《Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint》
Chapter 0
Prologue ¨C There are three ways to survive in a ruined world.
[There are three ways to survive in a ruined world. Now, I have forgotten a few, but one thing is certain. The fact that you who are reading this now will survive.
-Three ways to survive in a ruined world]
A web novel tform filled the screen of my old smartphone. I scrolled down and then up again. How many times have I been doing this?
¡°Really? This is the end?¡±
I looked again, and the plete¡¯ was unmistakable.
The story was over.
+
[Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World]
Author: tls123
3,149 chapters.
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¡®Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World¡¯ was a feature-length fantasy novel with 3,149 chapters.Its shortened name was ¡®Ways of Survival.¡¯
I have been steadily reading this novel since the third year of middle school.
During the time when I was bullied by iljins, when I ruined my entrance examinations and had to enter a local university, when the damned random draw went wrong and I was ced in the military unit at the forefront, when I repeatedly switched jobs and am now working as a contractor for an affiliate of argepany... Damn, let¡¯s stop talking about this.
Anyway...
¡¸Author¡¯s words: Thank you so much for reading ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ up to here. I wille back to you with an epilogue!]
¡°Ah... The epilogue still remains. Then the next chapter is really thest one.¡±
From the end of childhood to adulthood, it had been done over a huge period of 10 years. There was a mixture of despondency that a world wasing to an end along with a sense of satisfaction.
I opened thement box of thest message and rewrote the sentence several times.
-Kim Dokja: Writer, thank you for everything in the meantime. I am looking forward to the epilogue.
They were sincere sentences. Ways of Survival was my life¡¯s novel. It wasn¡¯t the most popr, but it was the best novel for me.
There were many words I wanted to say but I couldn¡¯t write them. I was afraid that my careless words would hurt the writer.
-An average of 1.9 hits per chapter.
-An average of 1.08ments.
This was the average poprity index of ¡®Ways of Survival.¡¯
The number of views for the first chapter was 1,2000, but it fell to 120 for the 10th chapter, and then 12 for the 50th chapter. By the time it was the 100th chapter, it was only 1.
Hits= 1.
I was overwhelmed by the feeling I got when I saw the numerous ¡®1¡¯ that appeared next to the list of chapters. In some cases, there was a ¡®2¡¯, but it was likely someone pressing the wrong button.
¡®Thank you.¡¯
The author published a novel with more than 3,000 chapters with just 1 hit per chapter over a period of 10 years. It was truly a story just for me.
I pressed on the ¡®Rmendation Board¡¯ and immediately started tapping on the keyboard, -I am rmending a honey jam novel.
The author wrote me a freepleted novel, so I should give him a rmendation. I clicked on thepleted button, andments quickly appeared.
¨CIt looks like a new anti.I searched for this person¡¯s ID, and they rmended the same novel several times.
¨CIsn¡¯t his rmendation banned?The author shouldn¡¯t do this here.
It urred to me that I had written a rmendation several months ago. In an instant, there were dozens ofments for investigation by ¡®spectators¡¯. My face flushed with embarrassment.
I was sure that the author would read this. So, I hurriedly tried to delete the message, but it was already reported that the message couldn¡¯t be removed.
¡°This...¡±
It was upsetting to think that the rmendation written with all my sincerity turned out like this.
If they even looked a little bit, why didn¡¯t anyone try reading the interesting novel? I wanted to give a donation to the writer, but I couldn¡¯t afford it because I was a sry worker barely able to make a living.
Then I received a notification that a ¡®message has arrived.¡¯
-tls123: Thank you.
A message flew in from out of nowhere. It took me a while to grasp the situation.
-Kim Dokja: The author?
tls123¡ªit was the author of ¡®Ways of Survival.¡¯
-tls123: I was able toplete it to the end thanks to you. I also won thepetition.
I couldn¡¯t believe it.
Ways of Survival won apetition?
-Kim Dokja: Congrattions! What is thepetition?
-tls123: You won¡¯t know it because it is an unknownpetition.
I wondered if he lied because he was ashamed, but I wanted it to be true. Perhaps I really didn¡¯t know. It might be a bit hit on other tforms. I was a little sad, but it was good to have an excellent story spreading.
-tls123: I would like to send a special gift to you as a thank you.
-Kim Dokja: Gift?
-tls123: It is thanks to my dear reader that this story hase into the world.
I gave the writer my email address as he asked.
-tls123: Ah, right. I got the mization schedule.
-Kim Dokja: Wow, really? When will it start? This masterpiece should¡¯ve been paid from the beginning...
It was a lie. The Ways of Survival was a daily series, so I would¡¯ve had to spend 3,000 won a month. 3,000 won was one convenience-store lunch for me.
-tls123: The mization starts tomorrow.
-Kim Dokja: Then the epilogueing tomorrow will be paid?
-tls123: Yes, I¡¯m afraid you need to pay for it.
-Kim Dokja: Of course, I have to pay! I will buy thest one!
There was no reply from the author afterward. I logged out of the site. Then I felt the pessimism sink inter.
The author left without a reply after he seeded...? My admiration turned into petty jealousy. What was I so excited for? In any case, it wasn¡¯t my novel.
¡°Will he give a gift certificate? It would be good if it¡¯s for 50,000 won.¡±
At that time, I was thinking naively. I didn¡¯t know anything about what would happen to the world the next day.
Chapter 1
Episode 1 ¨C Starting the Paid Service (1)
¡°I¡¯m Dokja.¡± (Dokja= can mean only son or reader).
I usually introduced myself to people like this, then the following misunderstanding would ur.
¡°Oh, are you an only child?¡±
¡°I am, but that isn¡¯t what I mean.¡±
¡°Huh? Then?¡±
¡°My name is Dokja. Kim Dokja.¡±
Kim Dokja (Kim Highly Respected Only Son)¡ªmy father gave me that name to be a strong man by myself. However, thanks to the name my father gave me, I turned out to be just a normal single and lonely man.
In short, it was like this. I was Kim Dokja, 28 years old, and single. My hobby was reading web novels on the subway.
¡°Then I¡¯ll go on my smartphone.¡±
In a noisy subway, I raised my head reflexively. A pair of curious eyes were staring straight at me. They belonged to an employee from the human resources team, Yoo Sangah.
¡°Ah, hello.¡±
¡°Are you going home from work?¡±
¡°Yes. What about Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
¡°I was lucky. The manager went on a business trip today.¡± Yoo Sangah sat down soon as the seat next to me became vacant. A subtle scent came from her shoulders, making me nervous.
¡°Do you normally take the subway?¡±
¡°That...¡± Yoo Sangah made a dark expression.
Come to think of it, this was the first time I¡¯d met Yoo Sangah on a subway train.
Starting with Personnel Manager Kang to Finance Manager Han... There were rumors that Yoo Sangah had men from thepany driving her home every workday.
Yet unexpected words came from Yoo Sangah¡¯s mouth, ¡°Someone stole my bicycle.¡±
Bicycle.
¡°Youmute by bike?¡±
¡°Yes! I have a lot of overtime these days and seem to becking exercise. It is a bit annoying, but it is worth doing.¡±
¡°Aha, I see.¡±
Yoo Sangah smiled. Looking closer at her, I could understand the feelings men held toward her. However, it was none of my business.
Every person had a genre of life, and Yoo Sangah was someone who lived a genre different from myself.
After the awkward conversation, we looked at our phones. I opened up the novel app I was reading on before while Yoo Sangah... What was this?
¡°Por favor dinero.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Spanish.¡±
¡°...I see. What does it mean?¡±
¡°Please give me some money,¡± Yoo Sangah replied proudly.
Studying on the subway while going home... She truly had a genre different from me. However, what was the use of memorizing words?
¡°You¡¯re working hard.¡±
¡°By the way, what is Dokja-ssi looking at?¡±
¡°Ah, I...¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s gaze was fixed on the LCD screen of my smartphone. ¡°Is it a novel?¡±
¡°Yes, well... I am studying Korean.¡±
¡°Wow, I also like novels. I haven¡¯t been able to readtely because I don¡¯t have time...¡±
It was surprising. Yoo Sangah liked reading novels...?
¡°Murakami Haruki, Raymond Carver, Han Kang...¡±
I thought so.
¡°Dokja-ssi, what writers do you like?¡±
¡°You won¡¯t know even if I say their names.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve read a lot of novels. Who are the authors?¡±
At this time, it was really hard to say that I read web novels as a hobby. I nced at the title of the novel in the app.
[The World after the Fall]
Author: Sing Shangshong (TL: The author uses the name of his previous novel and his author name, but with slight changes. I decided to go with the actual novel trantion name)
I couldn¡¯t say that I was reading ¡®The World after the Fall by Sing Shangshong.¡¯
¡°It is just a fantasy novel. That... Well, like the Lord of the Rings...¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Aha. Lord of the Rings. I¡¯ve seen the movie.¡±
¡°The movie is good.¡±
The silence continued for a moment. Yoo Sangah was looking at me like she was waiting for me to say something.
Our conversation was bing strained. So, I decided to change the topic. ¡°It has been a year since I joined thepany. This is myst year. Time moves really fast.¡±
¡°Yes. At that time, we both knew nothing, right?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. It seems like just yesterday, but the contract period is already over.¡± I realized that I¡¯d said something wrong when I saw Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression.
¡°Ah, I...¡± I had forgotten.
Yoo Sangah received credit for a foreign buyerst month and was already promoted to a full-time employee.
¡°Ah, right. My congrattions arete. I¡¯m sorry. Haha, I should¡¯ve worked hard to study a foreignnguage.¡±
¡°Ah, no Dokja-ssi! There is still the performance review and...¡±
I hated to admit it, but the sight of Yoo Sangah talking was wonderful. It was like the world¡¯s spotlight was shining down on only one person. If this world was a novel, the protagonist would be such a person.
In fact, it was the inevitable result. I hadn¡¯t tried, but Yoo Sangah made an effort. I just read novels on the Inte, while Yoo Sangah studied hard. It was natural that Yoo Sangah would be a full-time employee, and that my contract would be terminated.
¡°That... Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°If you don¡¯t mind... Would you like to know the app I use?¡± Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice momentarily became distant.
It felt like the world was far away. I braced my mind and stared straight ahead.
A boy was sitting in the seat opposite me on the train. He was 10 years old or so. The boy held an insect collecting as he sat next to his mother,ughing happily.
¡°...Dokja-ssi?¡±
What if I had a different life from now? I mean, what if my life genre was different?
¡°Kim Dok...¡±
If the genre of my life wasn¡¯t ¡®realism¡¯ but ¡®fantasy¡¯... Could I be the protagonist? I didn¡¯t know. It would probably be unknown forever. However, there was one thing I knew.
¡°It is okay, Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°It won¡¯t work even if you tell me the app.¡±
The genre of my life was obviously ¡®realism.¡¯
¡°Dokja has a solo life.¡±
¡°Huh? What...¡±
¡°I am just someone like that.¡±
In this genre, I wasn¡¯t a protagonist but a ¡®solo¡¯ person.
¡°The life of a solo...¡± Yoo Sangah had a serious expression on her face
However, I waved my hands to show it was really okay.
I didn¡¯t know why, but this person was really worried about me. Maybe because she was part of the personnel department... I was already aware of my performance though.
¡°Dokja-ssi is really good.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Then I will live an ivory life.¡± (Sangah=ivory)
Yoo Sangah seemed to have decided something as she turned back to studying Spanish. I gazed at her for a while before returning to the novel.
Everything had returned to normal, but strangely, my scrolling of the novel didn¡¯t go well. Maybe it was because I realized the weight of reality that I couldn¡¯t scroll down.
At that time, a notification appeared at the top of my smartphone. [You have one new mail.]
It was from the author of ¡®Ways of Survival.¡¯ I opened the mail.
-Reader-nim, my novel will be paid from 7 p.m. This will be helpful. Good luck.
[1 attachment.]
The author said he would give me a gift. What was the gift?
...Like my name, I was also a reader by nature. So, I was excited to receive the mail.
Yes, it wasn¡¯t bad living as a reader.
I checked the time. It was 6:55 p.m. I had exactly five minutes before the novel became mized at 7 p.m.
Then I opened up my list of preferred novels in the app. Since I was the only reader, I should leave a congrattoryment and give strength to the author.
However...
-The work doesn¡¯t exist.
I tried typing ¡®ruined¡¯ several times in the search box, but the result was the same.
The bulletin board for ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ had disappeared without a trace. It was strange. Had there ever been a case of a novel being deleted without notification when it was going to be mized?
At that moment, the subway lights turned off, and the inside of the train became dark.
Kiiiiiiiik-! The subway train shook loudly and let out a metallic sound.
It caused Yoo Sangah to scream and grab my arm. Then I heard the sound of other people getting stirred up. Yoo Sangah gripped my arm so tightly that I paid more attention to the pain in my left arm than the sudden stop. It took a dozen seconds for the train to stop fully.
Then I heard confused voicesing from everywhere.
¡°Uh, what?¡±
¡°W-What is this?¡±
In the dark, one or two smartphone lights turned on. Yoo Sangah still held my left arm tightly as she asked, ¡°W-What is going on?¡±
I pretended to be unconcerned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It isn¡¯t a big deal.¡±
¡°Is that so?¡±
¡°Yes, it is probably a disturbance from a suicide. The engineer will soon make an announcement.¡±
As I finished speaking, I heard the engineer¡¯s announcement, ¨CTelling all passengers on the train.Telling all passengers on the train.
The loud surroundings became calm.
I sighed and opened my mouth, ¡°See, it isn¡¯t a big deal. Now an apology will air, and the power wille back on...¡±
¨CE-Everyone run away...Run...!
¡®What?¡¯
There was a beeping sound, and the broadcast turned off. The inside of the train became a mess.
¡°D-Dokja-ssi? What is this...?¡±
A bright light shed from the front of the subway train. There was a loud drumming sound followed by a pop.
Something was heading this way in the darkness. It was just a coincidence that I saw the clock at this moment¡ª7:00 p.m.
Tick, it felt like the world was stopping.
Then I heard a voice:
[The free service ofary system 8612 has been terminated.]
[The main scenario has started.]
This was the moment the genre of my life changed.
Chapter 2
Starting the Paid Service (2)
¡¸ Dokkaebi. The first time he appeared, someone said so. ¡¹ (Korean goblin. Check out the link for more information.)
I didn¡¯t know why but that sentence suddenly popped up in my head.
The stopped subway train, the dark room... These details gave me a sense of deja vu.
The subway had stopped before, but it was rare. Even so, why? I remembered the familiar words from a novel... but it was ridiculous. Wasn¡¯t it impossible?
At this moment, the door of car 3807 opened wide, and the electricity returned.
Yoo Sangah muttered by my side, ¡°...Dokkaebi?¡±
My head was ringing. I trembled uneasily as the novel I knew and the reality before me ovepped.
¡¸With two small horns and wearing a small straw mat, the strange and fluffy creature was floating in the air. ¡¹
¡¸ It was too strange to call it a fairy, too evil to call it an angel, and too tranquil to call it a demon. ¡¹
¡¸Thus, it was called a ¡®dokkkaebi. ¡¹
And I already knew the first thing the dokkaebi would say.
¡¸&?#@!&?#@! ......¡¹
[&?#@!&?#@!.......]
Fiction and reality ovepped precisely.
¡°What is this?¡±
¡°Augmented reality?¡±
Amidst the chattering people, I was thrown into another world alone. This was unmistakably a dokkaebi¡ªthe very dokkaebi that opened the door to tragedy for thousands of lives in Ways of Survival.
...It was Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice that broke me out of my thoughts. ¡°It sounds vaguely like Spanish. Should I talk to it?¡±
I was a bit taken aback and asked, ¡°...Do you know what that is? Will you ask it for money?¡±
¡°No but...¡±
It was at this time that I heard the correct pronunciation of Korean. [Ah. Ah. Does this sound good? Ah, I had a hard time because the Korean patch didn¡¯t work. Everyone, can you hear my words?]
As a familiarnguage was being spoken, I could see people¡¯s expressions rx. Then the first one to step up was a big man in a suit. ¡°Hey, what are you doing right now?¡±
[...Huh?]
¡°Are you filming? I have to go because I have to quickly get to an audition.¡±
He seemed to be an obscure actor since his face was unfamiliar. If I were a casting director, I would¡¯ve picked him out for his brimming ambition. Unfortunately, the presence before him right now wasn¡¯t a director.
[Ah, auditions. That¡¯s right. This is also an audition. Haha, there was a shortage of data. I just entered when it was mized at 7 p.m.]
¡°What? What are you talking about?¡±
[Now, now. All of you, rx in your seats and listen to me. From now on, I will tell you something very important!]
My chest was bing stuffy.
¡°What? Quickly get off the train!¡±
¡°Somebody call the captain!¡±
¡°What are they doing without the cooperation of the citizens?¡±
¡°Mother, what is that? A cartoon?¡±
There was no doubt about it. This was the development I knew. I didn¡¯t want to be mixed up in this...but there was no way. The people present wouldn¡¯t listen to the small and cute-looking CG creature. The only thing I could do was stop Yoo Sangah who was trying to get up from her seat.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, it is dangerous, so stay here.¡±
¡°Huh?¡± Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes widened.
I spoke during a moment of bewilderment, but there was no way to exin what I understood. To be exact, I didn¡¯t have to exin.
[Haha, you are really loud.]
There was a presence with a stronger persuasive power than anyone else right now.
[I told you to be quiet.]
I closed my eyes slowly as the dokkaebi¡¯s eyes turned red. Something burst, and the subway became silent.
¡°Uh, uh. Uh...¡± There was a big hole in the forehead of the unknown actor who had to go to the audition. The man who had spoken several times copsed on the spot.
[This isn¡¯t a movie shoot.]
There was a cracking sound once again. This time, it was the person talking about the captain.
[It isn¡¯t a dream. It isn¡¯t a novel either.]
One, two... Blood sprayed into the air as the heads of some people started to burst.
They were all the people who had protested against the dokkaebi, as well as the ones who screamed or went wild. Those who caused the slightest fuss had a hole in their heads. Suddenly, the subway became a bloodbath.
[This isn¡¯t the ¡®reality¡¯ that you know. Do you understand? So everyone shut up and listen to me.]
More than half the people present here died. Blood and body pieces filled the subway. Now, the people didn¡¯t scream. Like primitive apes in front of a powerful predator, everyone just watched the dokkaebi with terror.
I was surprised and held tightly onto the shoulder of Yoo Sangah who was huping.
This was real. The strange message which entered my ears, the dokkaebi had appeared in front of me, and the train car that had be a bloodbath...
[Everyone, your lives have been nice so far. Isn¡¯t that right?]
By the special needs seating, an elderly grandmother met the eyes of the dokkaebi.
[You have been living too long for free. Isn¡¯t life too generous? You were born and paid no price for breathing, eating, pooping and breeding! Ha! You really live in a good world!]
Free? No one in the subway lived for free. The people strived to make money in order to survive, and they rode the subway on the way home from work. Yet at this moment, no one disputed the dokkaebi¡¯s words.
[But now the good days are over. How long can you continue living for free? If you want to enjoy happiness, it ismon sense to pay a price. Isn¡¯t that right?]
The gasping people couldn¡¯t answer. Then at that time, someone carefully raised their hand. ¡°D-Do you want money?¡±
I wondered what type of person could speak in the middle of this situation, but surprisingly, I knew his face.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. Isn¡¯t that Department Head Han of the finance team?¡±
¡°...Right.¡±
There was no doubt. He was a typical parachute in thepany and the number one person neers avoided. (Parachute: a person who relies on their connections) It was Han Myungoh, department head of the finance team. Why was that man riding the subway?
¡°I will give you money. Take it. Please note that I am a person like this.¡±
Department Head Han pulled out his business card as people cheered him on. It was the atmosphere of a savior fighting against terrorists.
¡°How much do you want? A big one? Or two?¡±
He was offering a sum that was overlyrge for a department head of a subsidiarypany.
There was a rumor that Han Myungoh was the youngest son of the leader of the affiliatepany and now I thought it might be true. I couldn¡¯t carry that many cheques in my wallet.
[Hrmm, you are giving me money?]
¡°T-That¡¯s right! The cash I have right now isn¡¯t much but... I can give you anything if you let me out of here.¡±
[Money, good. A nt fibre that many humans mutually agree on.]
The department head¡¯s expression brightened. It was an ¡®Indeed, money is everything¡¯ expression. How pitiful.
¡°Now, this is all I have¨D¡±
[It only applies in your time and space.]
¡°Huh?¡±
At the next moment, mes appeared in the air, and the cheques in the department head¡¯s hands burned up. Department Head Han let out a scream.
[That paper has no value in the macrocosm world. If you do this one more time, I will blow away your head.]
¡°U-Uhhh...¡± Fear once again spread on the faces of the people present. It was easy to read what they were thinking because it was just like the novel.
¡¸ What the hell will happen now? ¡¹
Only I knew what was going to happen in the future.
[Phew, the debt is piling up during the time when you are noisy. Well, yes. Rather than exin it a hundred times, isn¡¯t it quicker for you to make money yourself?]
The dokkaebi¡¯s horns rose like they were antennas, and its body floated to the ceiling of the train.
A momentter, a message rang out.
[#BI-7623 channel is open.]
[The constetions have entered.]
A small window emerged in front of everyone¡¯s nk eyes.
[The main scenario has arrived!]
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[Main Scenario #1 ¨C Proof of Value]
Category: Main
Difficulty: F
Clear Conditions: Kill one or more living things.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Compensation: 300 coins
Failure: Death
+
The dokkaebi smiled faintly as it became transparent and disappeared into the next space.
[Then, good luck everyone. Please show me an interesting story.]
Chapter 3
Starting the Paid Service (3)
People reacted differently after the dokkaebi disappeared. Some people tried to get out of the train while others called the police.
Yoo Sangah belonged to thetter group. ¡°Police, the police aren¡¯t answering! What, what should I...¡±
¡°Calm down, Yoo Sangah-ssi,¡± I said, staring straight into Yoo Sangah¡¯s unfocused eyes. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. Have you ever yed the game that the development team made? A game where the world is destroyed and only a few people survive.¡±
¡°Huh? What are you say...¡±
¡°Think about it. We are in a game right now.¡±
Yoo Sangah silently licked her lips. ¡°Game...¡±
¡°It is simple. Don¡¯t hesitate to do as I tell you. Understood?¡±
¡°U-Understood. What should I do?¡±
¡°Stay still.¡±
Finally, I slowly controlled my breathing. I too needed time to properly ept all of this.
[Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World]
The descriptions that existed only in the novel were now unfolding right before my eyes.
¡¸The dokkaebi stretched out its antenna. ¡¹
¡¸ The bodies scattered like trash in the carriage. ¡¹
¡¸ The bloodied office worker shaking. ¡¹
¡¸An olddy groaning in her seat. ¡¹
I watched every scene intently. It was like Neo in the Matrix, who suspected reality. Observing, questioning, and then eventually being convinced... I had to admit it. I didn¡¯t know the reason why, but there were no doubts about it.
¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ had be a reality.
Let me think... How should I survive in this new world?
¡°Come on, everybody! Everybody calm down. Start breathing calmly.¡± Someone stepped forward exactly five minutes after the dokkaebi disappeared.
He was a sturdy man with short cut hair, one head taller than the average height.
¡°Are you calm yet? Please stop your actions and pay attention to me for a moment.¡±
The people sobbing or making calls stopped. Once everyone¡¯s eyes were gathered on him, the big man opened his mouth again, ¡°As you know, in the event of a national disaster, small disturbances can causerge human casualties. That¡¯s why I will now control the situation.¡±
¡°What, who are you?¡±
¡°A national disaster situation? What are you saying?¡±
Some people btedly recovered and strongly resisted the world ¡®control.¡¯ Then the young man pulled a government official card out of his wallet. ¡°I am currently an army lieutenant serving in the 6502 unit.¡±
Some people¡¯s faces became relieved. ¡°A soldier, he is a soldier.¡±
However, it was too early to be relieved.
¡°I just received a message from my unit.¡±
People gathered in front of the soldier¡¯s smartphone. I was able to read the contents without difficulty because I was near it.
¨CA level 1 national disaster situation has urred.All troops gather quickly.
I could hear gulps all around me. It was a national disaster situation. I wasn¡¯t surprised because I had already expected this. In fact, I was surprised because of something else.
Army lieutenant Lee Hyunsung... That ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ was this man.
I knew who he was. It was the first time actually seeing his face, but his name was clear in my head. He was one of the main supporting actors of Ways of Survival.
¡¸ Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung. ¡¹
A character from the novel had appeared. Now I really had to acknowledge the situation.
¡°Soldier-nim! What is happening?¡±
¡°I have been trying to contact my unit, but...¡±
¡°The Blue House! What is the Blue House doing? Please contact the president quickly!¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry. I am just an ordinary soldier and don¡¯t have a hotline to the Blue House.¡±
¡°Then why are you taking control?¡±
¡°For the sake of the safety of all citizens...¡±
As Lee Hyunsung calmly responded to the absurd questions, I realized that the descriptions in the novel weren¡¯t wrong.
However, did Lee Hyunsung originally appear like this? While thinking about theseplicated questions, I had a strange hunch.
As the only reader of Ways of Survival, I could assure you that Lee Hyunsung¡¯s first appearance wasn¡¯t like this. The point at which he appeared in the novel was at the end of the first scenario.
...Then what was this situation? My mind became confused. I would know more clearly if I could read Ways of Survival once again.
¡°The prime minister is making a speech! It is really a level one disaster!¡±
Everyone turned on their smartphones at someone¡¯s cry. Yoo Sangah turned her screen toward me. ¡°...Dokja-ssi, look at this.¡±
There was no need to enter a search term. It was because the first result for all portal sites was ¡®Prime Minister¡¯s Speech.¡¯ Of course, I already knew the content of the video.
¨CTo all my fellow citizens,unidentified terrorists are currently active in an unspecified number of areas, including Seoul.
The contents of the speech were simple. The current government would mobilize all means and methods to fight the terrorists, and there would never be any negotiations. Thus, everyone should confidently continue with their lives...
I hadn¡¯t thought much of it when I read the novel, but now I was a bit shocked when hearing those words. Terrorism... Yes, that would be morefortable.
¡°But where is the president? Why is the prime minister making the speech?¡±
¡°The president has already been hit.¡±
¡°What? Really?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure. A Naverment¨D¡±
¡°Shit, then it is fake!¡±
Of course, I knew it wasn¡¯t a fakement.
¡°Uwaaaaack! What?¡±
People dropped their phones as gunshots were heard from all over. It originated from their smartphones.
Chiiiik, there was a loud sound, and blood filled the screen. After a moment, people held their breaths as they realized what had happened.
¡°P-Prime Minister...¡±
The prime minister had died. His head had exploded in real-time. There were several more sounds like gunfire before the screen became silent. The next thing that appeared on the screen was a dokkaebi.
[Everyone, I¡¯ve told you already. This isn¡¯t a game like ¡®terrorism.¡¯]
People were at a loss for words as their mouths gaped open like dumb goldfish.
[Do you still not understand? This won¡¯t do. Do you still feel like this is a game?]
It felt so ominous because his tone was so rxed. Subconsciously, I made a fist using all my strength.
[Haha, ording to the data, the people of this country are very good at games. So, why don¡¯t I try raising the difficulty?]
Beeep. A huge timer appeared in the air. At the same time, it started decreasing rapidly.
[The remaining time has been decreased by 10 minutes.]
[There are 10 minutes remaining.]
[If the first killing doesn¡¯t ur within the next five minutes, all lives in that carriage will be wiped out.]
¡°W-What is this? Is it a joke?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the message just now? Hey, didn¡¯t you hear it?¡±
¡°Soldier-nim! What do we do now? Why isn¡¯t the policeing?¡±
¡°Everyone, calm down and listen to me¨D¡±
The words of the dokkaebi caused the situation in the carriage to be so severe that Lee Hyunsung couldn¡¯t fix it. I could feel Yoo Sangah gripping my cor tightly.
Still, I couldn¡¯t shake off the incongruity of this situation. Lee Hyunsung, a supporting character, had already appeared. So, why hadn¡¯t ¡®he¡¯ emerged? ording to what I knew, I should¡¯ve seen him by now.
¡°T-There is a murder back there!¡±
A scene from the 3907 train car could be seen through the aisle window. Theplexion of the killer in that carriage was white.
¡°We have to keep them out! Don¡¯t let anyone in!¡±
People held tightly to the iron door, but it wasn¡¯t necessary. The enemy wasn¡¯t there in the first ce.
[All types of ess to the carriage will be restricted until the scenario isplete.]
Along with this message, people were thrown back from the iron door like they had hit a transparent barrier.
¡°W-What is this?¡±
Once again, the voice of the dokkaebi rang out, [Haha, there are some ces that are quite fun while other ces haven¡¯t started yet. Okay, this is a special service. I will show you what will happen if nothing urs in the next five minutes.]
A giant screen appeared in the subway. The ce that appeared on the screen was a ssroom.Girls in their navy blue school uniform were shaking.
A boy bit his fingernails and muttered, ¡°...Is that the school uniform of Daepong?¡±
Beep beep beep beep¨D An ominous beeping sound was heard.
Then the high school girls started to scream.
[The given time has run out.]
[Paid settlement will begin.]
Once the announcement ended, the heads of the high school girls sitting in the front row exploded.
One by one, one by one again... More and more heads exploded. The high school girls screamed and ran toward the ssroom doors or windows.
¡°Ahh, uh, how¨D¡±
Cleaning tools broke and nails were torn out, but the doors didn¡¯t open. No one could get out.
Peong, peeong. The heads of the high school girls continued to burst. Then a high school girl strangled her friend, who died with a groan. After a while, the only thing that remained on the screen was thest schoolgirl looking around.
[#Bay23515 channel. Daepong Girls¡¯ High School, Year 2 ss B survivor: Lee Jihye.]
The figure of the girl on the screen disappeared. Then the dokkaebi asked, [How is it? Interesting?]
The dokkaebi spoke with a smile, but people weren¡¯t looking at the screen anymore. The people who made eye contact were gradually moving away from each other.
¡°Shit! What is this?¡±
Even Yoo Sangah released her hold on me. However, she didn¡¯t move away from me. Both my hands were freed, and I turned on my smartphone.
Why was ¡®that guy¡¯ still not showing up? There was a mixture of information that I knew from the novel and information that I didn¡¯t know.
The only way to break through this situation was to read Laws of Survival again. However, where else could I find the novel? The novel wasn¡¯t popr enough to be shared illegally... No, wait a minute.
[1 attachment.]
I was stunned for a moment as I saw the notification on my smartphone. Perhaps... No? I was confused the moment I opened the mail attachment.
The name of the attachment sent by the author was:
[Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.TXT]
Chapter 4
Starting the Paid Service (4)
Laughter emerged. I had to clear my eyes and look again to see if it was a lie. The file extension was TXT. Then this person... The gift he sent me was a copy of his novel?
[You have obtained an exclusive attribute.]
[The exclusive skill slot has been activated.]
I heard a message in my ear after running the file. It wasn¡¯t surprising if the world had changed into ¡®Ways of Survival.¡¯ All survivors of Ways of Survival had exclusive attribute and skills.
I quietly said ¡®Attribute Window¡¯ in my mind. I needed to know the attribute that I received.
[You can¡¯t activate the Attribute Window.]
What? I once again tried to call out ¡®Attribute Window¡¯ but the result was the same.
It was absurd. There was something like this? If I couldn¡¯t use the Attributes Window, I couldn¡¯t know what attributes or skills I have.
Knowing oneself and one enemy¡¯s meant being invincible. But this was a situation where I didn¡¯t even know myself, let alone the enemy.
After staring into space for a while, I gave up and decided to read the text that the author gave me.
[Your reading speed has increased due to the effect of the exclusive attribute.]
I didn¡¯t know what the attribute as, but it took me less than a minute to read the first act of Ways of Survival thanks to the attribute effect.
I found it. The ce where my finger stopped was the beginning of the work, where the main character was doing some ¡®action¡¯ in the train scene.
¡¸ He saw people gathered at the back door of the 3707 carriage. The wheel of the tightly held lighter was cold.
In this life, he absolutely couldn¡¯t make a mistake. He would use any means for his purpose.
The expression of fear on the people¡¯s faces. He didn¡¯t feel any guilt.
Everything was fleeting.
He looked at the people with merciless eyes. After a while, his fingertips moved and fire rose. Then it all started. ¡¹
A chill went down my spine and I had to read the passage again and again. The reason for my difort was soon revealed.
¡°...3707.¡±
I reflexively checked the number of the carriage I was riding.
[3807].
The carriage I was on right now was behind the carriage that the protagonist was riding. My hands faintly shook.
...Wait a minute. How many people originally survived this carriage?
¡¸ He looked through the blurred window at the 3807 carriage. It was already toote. It was inevitable. Anyway, only two people survived in that carriage. ¡¹
Only two survived. It meant that everyone died except for two people. And I already knew who those two people were.
I raised my head and looked nkly at Yoo Sangah. Maybe this woman would die. Me as well.
¡°Dokja-ssi, shouldn¡¯t we stop this?¡±
Something was starting in the ce where Yoo Sangah pointed. It was groaning. A young man was crouching down in front of the elderly woman.
¡°Shit, I¡¯m in a bad mood and this olddy keeps whining and groaning! Won¡¯t you shut up?¡±
The young man was a male student who had been leaning against the entrance.
He was thin and had dyed white hair. His name was written on the badge attached to his uniform.
Kim Namwoon. It was a name that I knew.
¡¸ Only Lee Hyunsung and Kim Namwoon survived in that carriage. It doesn¡¯t matter. They are the only two I need anyway. ¡¹
¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to shut up?¡±
The agitated Kim Namwoon grabbed the grandmother¡¯s cor. The grandmother¡¯s powerless legs staggered. Kim Namwoon¡¯s palm moved through the air.
p. p.
In normal times, somebody would run to stop this. But now nobody was moving. It wasn¡¯t long before the ps changed to punches.
¡°S-Save me. Save me...!¡±
I could hear the sound of a hard fist hitting flesh. Some of the men around Kim Namwoon hesitated but none of them wanted to go forward. Surprisingly, the first person to act was Han Myungoh.
¡°Young me, treating an elder like this...!¡±
However, all he got in reply was a voice mixed with scorn.
¡°Mister, do you want to die?¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°You still don¡¯t understand the situation?¡±
¡°What bullshit is this brat saying?¡±
Kim Namwoon onlyughed at the cursing Han Myungoh. He pointed to the ceiling of the subway carriage with his finger.
¡°Can¡¯t you see that?¡±
On the ceiling, a holographic screen was ying.
[S-Spare me!]
[Aaaack!]
[Die! Die!]
It wasn¡¯t just train carriages or Daepong High School. It was a live video of people dying all over the country. Kim Namwoon continued speaking.
¡°You still don¡¯t understand? The army isn¡¯ting to rescue us. And somebody must die.¡±
¡°W-What are you saying...?¡±
¡°We have to choose a person to die.¡±
Han Myungoh wasn¡¯t able to answer. The hairs of his exposed wrist were standing up.
¡°Of course, I know what you are thinking. You have to kill your fellow countrymen to live. It is something only sons of bitches will do. But you know, it is a force beyond our control. Beyond our control. We will die if we don¡¯t kill. Who will me us? Are you going to die in the end because of your morals?¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
¡°Think carefully. The world you have known so far has just ended.¡±
Han Myungoh¡¯s shoulders trembled. It wasn¡¯t only Han Myungoh. Cracks were showing in people¡¯s eyes. It was a scene where the vague morality was copsing. Kim Namwoon put a wedge in that crack.
¡°A new world requires newws.¡±
Kim Namwoon. A young man who adapted to the world of Ways of Survival the fastest.
Kim Namwoon turned around and resumed punching the grandmother. This time, nobody stopped him. Han Myungoh, the other men... Even Lee Hyunsung.
The soldier¡¯s fists were trembling as he stared into the air with a lost expression. Maybe he had also made a decision.
¡°Sigh... It is hard to kill. Are you doing to just watch? Do you want to fall behind?¡±
People trembled at Kim Namwoon¡¯s words. Their facial expressions were as easy to read as the sentences in a cheap novel.
¡¸If there is no killing in five minutes, everyone in this carriage will die. ¡¹
People¡¯s eyes were changing.
¡¸If the grandmother doesn¡¯t die, we will die in five minutes... ¡¹
The most primitive eyes that a living creature could have.
¡°Yes... This bastard is right. If we don¡¯t do this, everyone will die.¡±
The first man rushed towards Kim Namwoon. He kicked at the olddy who had copsed and was curled up.
¡°Have you forgotten? Someone must die! So we can live!¡±
¡°Ah fuck... I don¡¯t know.¡±
The second and third.
The people standing aloof from the grandmother. The cowardly men who had been lingering. The university student filming this with their phone. The mother of the child and Han Myungoh.
They all lynched the grandmother, aiming for her death.
¡°Die! Die quickly!¡±
They were like guards cooperating for the death penalty. Like the guards pulling the lever at the same time so they couldn¡¯t tell who killed the prisoner, these people passively kicked and punched the grandmother.
And I was watching all of this. I was standing by, like someone watching what happened in another world.
The grandmother whose name I didn¡¯t know was someone who wasn¡¯t meant to live. In the original scenario, the grandmother died. So... It wasn¡¯t a sin to observe that death.
At that moment, Yoo Sangah got up.
¡°You will be killed.¡± I reflexively grabbed her. ¡°I told you not to move.¡±
The arm I was holding was shaking. Yoo Sangah made tight fists in an attempt to hide her trembling.
¡°I know, I know...!¡±
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi will die if you go now.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes were shaking with fear. Even so...
I realized it. Despite the genre of the story changing, some people still shone brightly.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. Sit down.¡±
However, the person who could change this story wasn¡¯t Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah wasn¡¯t the protagonist of this world.
¡°Huh? But¨D¡±
¡°Do as I say, just this once. I won¡¯t interfere after that.¡±
After forcibly putting Yoo Sangah back in her seat, I took a deep breath and turned around. I straightened my back and shook as I breathed out. I slowly loosened my ankles and wrist.
In fact, it was a little early toe forward. This wasn¡¯t my n originally.
¡°...Dokja-ssi?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer her call as I looked at the people. The people intent on assaulting the grandmother.
I wasn¡¯t still because I was afraid or Kim Namwoon and the people, nor did I consent to their inhumanity.
I was just waiting. It was for the moment I had to move. Thus...
Kwaang!
Right now.
¡°Ack! What?¡±
An explosion filled my ears and the train shook. People cried out. Smoke rose from the front right corner of this carriage. It had started. ¡®He¡¯ had moved.
I kicked off from the ground as hard as I could with my right foot. I passed by the people screaming and sitting down towards the grandmother.
¡°What? Eeeeok!¡±
Kim Namwoon collided with me and fell to the ground with a scream. At first nce, it seemed like I was saving the grandmother, but that wasn¡¯t what I was aiming for.
Where was it? I looked around quickly.
Somebody had fallen towards the grandmother due to the explosion. It was a kid crying in the middle of this hell. The kid who was holding the insect collecting before.
¡°Excuse me a moment.¡±
I took the from the child.
Once I put my hand into the, the chitin of a grasshopper reached my fingertips. I took one out and ced it in the kid¡¯s hands. Then I turned towards the people.
¡°Everybody stop. You can¡¯t live if you kill the grandmother.¡±
My voice was surprisingly clear due to the temporary silence after the explosion. One by one, people started looking at me.
¡°Let¡¯s say you kill the grandmother. What next?¡±
Their surprised faces looked good. Let me tell you a bit more.
¡°The grandmother¡¯s death will be recognized for what the dokkaebi calls the ¡®first murder¡¯ and some time will be bought. Then what next?¡±
¡°Ah...¡±
¡°If what the dokkaebi says is true, you each have to kill one thing. So who will you kill after the grandmother? Will you kill the person next to you?¡±
The people who thought about something retreated from each other. Horror was in their eyes. In fact, everyone knew. The grandmother was just the beginning.
Kim Namwoon noticed the shaky atmosphere.
¡°Haha, what are you all worried about? Then kill him next! Cowards. Don¡¯t worry about your turn in advance! The odds are equal!¡±
I figured that Kim Namwoon would say something like this. I cut him off with a slight wave of my hand.
¡°There is no need to gamble like that. There is a way for you to survive, even if you don¡¯t be a killer.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°W-What is it?¡±
The people became greatly agitated. Kim Namwoon¡¯s expression distorted.
¡°Have you forgotten? The scenario clear condition wasn¡¯t to ¡®kill a person.¡¯¡±
Most people were still puzzled but a few people noticed something.
[Kill one or more living things.]
That¡¯s right. From the beginning, the word ¡®person¡¯ was never specified in the contents of the scenario.
Kill one or more living things. In other words, any life was possible. A quick-witted person shouted at the collection in my hand.
¡°Insect! Insects!¡±
The grasshoppers were jumping in the collection. People¡¯s eyes were shining. I nodded.
¡°That¡¯s right, the insects.¡±
I put my hand into the and took out a grasshopper. It was a chubby one that I saw earlier.
¡°G-Give that to me! Quickly!¡±
¡°One only! I just need one!¡±
I stepped back slowly as I looked at the approaching people. I was now facing the explosive madness that tried to kill the grandmother. Yet a smile emerged. Why? Even in this breathtaking tension, why was my heart beating with joy?
¡°Would you like it?¡±
I waved the like a trainer provoking an animal. Several impatient people leapt towards me.
¡°Then catch them!¡±
I smashed the grasshopper in my hand.
[You have achieved the ¡®First Kill¡¯ achievement!]
[100 coins have been earned as additionalpensation.]
At the same time, I threw the in my other hand as hard as possible. It was towards the opposite side of the area where the grandmother and the crowd was gathered.
¡°This is crazy!¡±
The insects were released and jumped as hard as they could for freedom.
Chapter 5
Starting the Paid Service (5)
People panicked as they saw the insects running around the carriage.
¡°H-Hey! Why would you do such a thi¨D¡±
While some people were staring nkly, the quick-witted pushed toward me.
¡°You son of a bitch.¡±
¡°...You better find them soon. There are only three minutes left.¡±
These words were a signal as people started to look everywhere among the subway seats like beasts who had lost their minds.
¡°I got it! Aaack!¡±
The joy of those fortunate enough to obtain an insect, as well as the malicious attacks on them, caused the carriage to be chaotic.
¡°Hey, why did you do that? Couldn¡¯t you have just given them the insects?¡±
Looking back, I saw Kim Namwoon raising his body. I responded cautiously to Kim Namwoon, who was stretching his neck, ¡°There are 12 people remaining.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°There were three insects left in the collecting.¡±
Kim Namwoon frowned for a moment before smiling broadly. ¡°12 to 3? Hahahahat! Yes. Not all of them can survive anyway? So you threw that thing?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t make meugh.¡±
¡°...?¡±
¡°A person withmon sense wouldn¡¯t do such a thing for that reason.¡± Kim Namwoon¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Tell me honestly. You just wanted to see this scene, didn¡¯t you?¡±
I recalled the Kim Namwoon that I knew from Ways of Survival.
At this moment, I heard a message in my ears, [Exclusive skill, ¡®Character List¡¯ is activated.]
Next, a window opened in front of my eyes. I still didn¡¯t know exactly what my attribute was, but I looked at the window in front of me.
[Character Information]
[Name: Kim Namwoon.
Age: 19.
Constetion Support: None (Two constetions are currently showing interest in this person).
Private Attribute: Chuunibyou (General)
Exclusive Skills: Unusual Adaptability Lv. 3, Knife Fighting Lv. 1, ckening Lv. 1
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 3, Strength Lv. 4, Agility Lv. 6, Magic Power Lv. 4
Overall Rating: A chuunibyou who was ckened by a special asion. It is rmended that you don¡¯t get involved with him.]
Most of the chuunibyou that appeared in Ways of Survivalmitted suicide because they couldn¡¯t endure the nightmare that had be real. However, the chuunibyou before me, Kim Namwoon, was different.
He was the Delusion Demon, Kim Namwoon. The young man, whoter became known by this nickname, wasn¡¯t an ordinary chuuni.
This young man had been waiting for the destruction of the world for a long time and adapted to this world at an ¡®unusual speed.¡¯
¡°Team up with me. How about it?¡± That young man was now making an offer to me.
[The character ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ has a favorable impression of you.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ has increased.]
My immediate survival was guaranteed if I held hands with Kim Namwoon. If I hadn¡¯t read Ways of Survival, my choice might¡¯ve been a little different.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but I like to be alone.¡±
¡°Really? Hmm, it is regrettable.¡± Kim Namwoon licked his lips lightly and stood close to me. ¡°Then can you step aside? I have something to do with that olddy behind you.¡±
Hearing his words, I looked back to see that the bleeding and copsed grandmother was barely breathing.
¡°What do you want?¡±
¡°Do you have to ask?¡±
¡°You aren¡¯t catching the insects?¡±
¡°Insects? Why would I catch that?¡± Kim Namwoonughed. ¡°I already have a caught insect in front of me.¡±
I could feel Kim Namwoon¡¯s murderous spirit. The character that had only existed in the novel was facing me with vivid madness. Therefore, I felt a little bit in awe.
Kim Namwoon was really the person I had imagined.
[The character ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ has a slight decrease in favorability.]
¡°What are you looking at? Aren¡¯t you going to move aside quickly?¡±
¡°It is tough.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I won¡¯t move aside.¡±
¡°Haha, are you now going to imitate the apostle of justice? Do you have multiple personalities?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer.
A dark shadow slowly crept onto Kim Namwoon¡¯s face, and his shining eyes were bing cold.¡°No, wait a minute. Did you throw the over there to do this from the beginning? Really?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You want to save the grandmother? Hahaha! Amazing! Really amazing! No? Yes?¡±
I still didn¡¯t answer. As I looked closely at this guy, old memories resurfaced.
¡°Ah, it turns out that you are the type of person I hate the most. All old bastards are the same.¡±
They were memories of all the times I had been frustrated by this brat during Ways of Survival.
[The character ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ despises you.]
¡°What did you say?¡±
I considered the timing and lowered my head, avoiding the fist that flew before the words were even over.
¡°Oh, not bad?¡±
Despite knowing it wasing, I felt a sense of heat from above my head. It wasn¡¯t an ordinary punch.
[ckening Lv.1]
A dark aura rose from Kim Namwoon¡¯s whole body. This was the exclusive skill of the ¡®chuunibyou¡¯ attribute.
It was rare to release a skill before the end of the first scenario, but Kim Namwoon was already showing a skill. There was a reason why the main character had recruited him, despite his psychopath nature.
Peeok!
After he hit it, my right shoulder spasmed. There was no way to win if I kept fighting this way.
...Should I use ¡®that¡¯ now? I was calcting the time when I heard a message.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ has increased.]
[You are close to the conditions of use for the exclusive skill ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint Lv. 1.]
Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint? What was this?
[The conditions of use for the exclusive skill ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ Lv. 1 have been reached!]
Kim Namwoon¡¯s fist missed me and struck the ground.
¡°Haha, what? Haven¡¯t I be stronger?
A faint fist mark was left on the ground. Kim Namwoon was realizing his current strength little by little.
Kwang!Kwang!Kwang!
The fist that could break a bone with a single blow kept hitting the ground. Kim Namwoon was frustrated and couldn¡¯t control his temper. ¡°Ah, why can¡¯t I hit you?¡±
Of course, he couldn¡¯t hit me. It was all thanks to my second skill.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint Lv. 1 has been activated!]
As soon as this skill was activated, I was able to observe Kim Namwoon¡¯s attack direction like I was reading his inner thoughts. For example, like this...
¡¸ Right side. ¡¹
I quickly moved away from the direction of the attack.
¡¸Right eye. ¡¹
Then I quickly bent down and avoided the flying fist.
¡°You really are good at not being hit!¡±
It was unreasonable to counterattack because I was poor at sports, but I could at least avoid most of the attacks.
¡¸ Left thigh. ¡¹
This was enough to endure it. The important thing was to buy time. I avoided Kim Namwoon¡¯s first and pointed at the clock in the air. ¡°There are two minutes left, Kid.¡±
The distressed Kim Namwoon alternated looking between me and the grandmother. ¡°Dammit!¡±
At the moment of choice, Kim Namwoon¡¯s gaze was fixed on the grandmother¡¯s side.
I was forced to grab the grandmother and roll away. If the grandmother died, Kim Namwoon would clear the scenario. No matter what, I absolutely couldn¡¯t send this guy onto the next scenario.
¡°Haha, I knew you would move like that.¡± As Kim Namwoon took something out of his bag, I had an ominous feeling.
A de shone in the fluorescent light. It was a portable MacGyver Knife. I had forgotten. This person was a diehard military otaku.
Swiiik-
There was a link between the technical skill ¡®Knife Fighting¡¯ and the strengthening skill ¡®ckening¡¯. The direction that the de was pointing was obvious.
¡¸Heart. ¡¹
It was an attack that couldn¡¯t be avoided even if I knew the direction. So, I made a quick judgment. If I couldn¡¯t avoid the attack, it was better to be hit somewhere with minimal damage, if possible.
Chiiiik! The de narrowly missed my heart and made a deep cut on my shoulder.
It hurt. It really hurt. There was a searing pain in my skin. My vision shook, and it felt like death was approaching.
¡°Haha, now die!¡±
The time remaining to the end of the scenario was 1 minute and 30 seconds. I nced toward the grandmother. I was sorry for the grandmother, but now I really had to use ¡®that.¡¯
¡°Chungil High School, 2nd year, Kim Namwoon. I have one question for you.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°Do you think an insect egg is a living thing?¡±
I took out the body of the grasshopper I had killed earlier from my pocket. The plump egg-sac was clearly abundant. There was the sound of something popping, and something fluid spilled out. The disgusting feeling spread over my hand as I heard a message.
.......
[You have killed a living thing.]
[100 coins have been earned as additionalpensation.]
[You have killed a living thing.]
[100 coins have been earned as additionalpensation.]
.......
Multiple messages bombarded my ears.
Kim Namwoon frowned. ¡°Insect egg? What are you suddenly saying? Are you trying to waste time?¡±
¡°I guess so.¡±
¡°How would I know something like that? I was always sleeping in Biology ss.¡± Kim Namwoon looked at my bloody shoulder andughed happily. ¡°But there is one thing I know for sure. Do you know what it is?¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°You will die right now!¡± Kim Namwoon moved his Swiss knife before I could answer. It was an attack that was hard to avoid.
[Arge number of coins has been acquired! Do you want to check the coin usage tips?]
I omitted the exnation that entered my ears. There was no need to listen when I already knew the contents.
¡°No, it is you who will die,¡± I spat out while inwardly muttering something else.
[2,700 coins have been invested into ¡®stamina¡¯.]
[Stamina Lv. 1 -> Stamina Lv. 10]
[Your stamina level has increased dramatically!]
[The durability of your body has greatly increased!]
Kim Namwoon¡¯s knife prated toward my heart. To be exact, it looked like it was prating.
My skin was like solid rock, and the only thing that remained on it was a scratch.
Kim Namwoon¡¯s eyes showed that he was astonished. ¡°How?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll tell you the correct answer to my question. The answer is: an egg is a living thing.¡±
¡°W-What?¡±
¡°And in spawning season, grasshoppersy more than 100 eggs at a time.¡±
Egg, living thing, 100...
Unfortunately, the time left to understand the meaning of the information was too short for the schoolboy with a bad brain.
¡°What are you saying?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t understand. There is one minute left.¡±
Now fear appeared on Kim Namwoon¡¯s face. ¡°Aaaah! Die! Die!¡±
The knife moved toward my neck. I didn¡¯t even bother defending against the attack.
Kakakang!
Was it because the area was more vulnerable than the chest? The wound was a little deeper than before, but it still didn¡¯t hurt much.
¡°Kim Namwoon.¡±
Behind Kim Namwoon, there were people who were still crawling and looking for insects, as well as those who were willing to hurt each other for their own survival.
¡°You are right. I am the same type of human as you.¡±
Maybe I could¡¯ve saved some of those people.
¡°Shit! Why won¡¯t you die! Why won¡¯t you just die!¡±
55 seconds... 50 seconds... 45 seconds...
The knife kept leaving only scratches. Blood flowed but the de couldn¡¯t reach under the skin. There were 30 seconds left when Kim Namwoon opened his mouth. He dropped the knife and knelt before me.
¡°S-Save me.¡±
25 seconds.
¡°Save me! Please! Help me!¡±
¡°Why should I?¡±
20 seconds.
¡°P-People¡¯s lives are important! That¡¯s obvious!¡±
¡°That is the rule of the old world. It is just as you said. A new world requires newws.¡±
10 seconds.
¡°I don¡¯t want to, I don¡¯t want to! I don¡¯t want to die! Aaaaaaack!¡±
5 seconds.
Kim Namwoon ran at me with a loud scream and aimed for my eye. The moment that the knife tried to dig at my retina...
[The given time has run out.]
There was a loud sound, and Kim Namwoon¡¯s head exploded.
[Paid settlement will begin.]
Beginning with Kim Namwoon, people¡¯s heads started exploding everywhere. One, two, three, four...
The bursting heads were like fireworks announcing a new era. I watched the scene with a bit of joy, a bit of guilt, and a mysterious feeling.
Why? Why was I so calm at the sight in front of me? It was like I was looking at a novel.
[You have killed 124 living things.]
[Kill History: One grasshopper, 123 grasshopper eggs.]
[You have killed non-resistance living things, so the number of coins you have acquired is reduced by half.]
[6,200 coins have been acquired!]
[The number of coins used for the stats level up is automatically subtracted.]
[You have a total of 3,500 coins.]
[The ¡®Mass Murderer¡¯ achievement has been gained through excessive killing.]
My face could be seen on the darkened window of the carriage.
It was a face I had never seen before, despite looking into the mirror countless times in my life. I wiped at the blood on my cheeks. The blood wasn¡¯t erased. It turned out to be blood on the window.
Kkiiik.
There was a lurching feeling, and the train started to move again. It made the familiar train noise.
Soon, light flooded in, and darkness was lifted from the windows. We had arrived at the surface ground section of Line 3 between Apgujeong and Oksu.
Outside the window, the Han River and Seoul were revealed.
Ahh. Someone let out a moan. It was a moan which contained deep relief that they survived.
However, it didn¡¯t take long for the meaning of that moan to change. Ah, ah...
Thendscape outside the window was no longer the Seoul that they knew. Smoke and dust rose from the ruined city.
The Han River bridges had copsed. The Han River itself was red with the bodies of soldiers, while among the fallen buildings, a monster was trampling on a K1 tank like it was a toy.
[Main Scenario #1 ¨C Proof of Value has ended.]
[300 coins have been acquired as a basic clearance reward.]
[100 coins have been reduced for the channel usage fee.]
[Additionalpensation settlement will begin.]
One world was destroyed, and a new world was born.
...And I was the only reader who knew the ending of this world.
Chapter 6
Episode 2 ¨C Protagonist (1)
The subway stopped around halfway past Dongho Bridge.
¡°Oh my god...¡±
Several survivors stood up and looked at the scene taking ce outside. The ruined Seoul and copsed buildings. Monsters reminiscent of a giant snake were eating the wreckage of a fighter jet that had crashed into the Han River.
¡°W-What the hell...!¡±
I recognized their identity at once. An ichthyosaur. A monster that wasmonly called a sea serpent. It wouldter be ssified as a Grade 7 monster in the world of Ways of Survival.
One of the ichthyosaurs looked in this direction.
¡°U-Uwaaah! It ising!¡±
People screamed with fright. But I just looked apathetically at the approaching ichthyosaur. These guys couldn¡¯t be a threat.
Kurururung!
The ichthyosaur circled around the bottom of Dongho Bridge and vanished into an air bubble.
In the world of Ways of Survival, ¡®scenarios¡¯ took precedence over anything else. As long as we were protected by the scenario, we wouldn¡¯t have to deal with such monsters straight away. At least for now.
[Compensation settlement is dyed due to an unexpected scenario check. Please wait.]
Thepensation settlement should¡¯ve started right now but only an error message floated in the air.
It was probably due to me. I looked down at Kim Namwoon¡¯s body, which only had the torso remaining.
ording to the original Ways of Survival, Kim Namwoon killed most of the people in this carriage and moved onto the next scenario. But I stopped it.
If my thoughts were right, those who would be angry at Kim Namwoon¡¯s death would appear. Here? Not here. They were in the sky above.
[Due to the death of character ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯, two constetions show a faint hostility to you.
Constetions. They were mysterious beings in Ways of Survival. They sat watching from the distant nebs and were the masterminds of this tragedy.
Once the constetion¡¯s preferences sign appeared, I realized that it was now starting in earnest.
It was funny. A day ago, our positions were opposite. Now they were the ones watching me.
[A handful of constetions admire your scenario.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 500 coins.]
If there were some constetions who disliked me, there would also be some who liked me. Either way, it was an ufortable situation. However, I couldn¡¯t do anything about them right now. It was my turn to be a clown.
I picked up Kim Namwoon¡¯s Swiss knife on the ground and thought.
¡®Feel free to watch. You will end up paying the admission fee with your lives.¡¯
¡°...Dokja-ssi? Are you okay?¡±
I looked up and saw Yoo Sangah¡¯s face. Her shoulders were sagging. Blood covered her white blouse and there was a run in her stockings. There was no more of the Yoo Sangah I knew. I held Yoo Sangah¡¯s hand and said.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t save the grandmother.¡±
I looked down at the body of the grandmother, missing its head. I didn¡¯t know the name of the grandmother. In the future, many people would die in this manner.
Yoo Sangah looked at me with aplicated gaze.
¡°How is Dokja-ssi so...¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Ah, it is nothing. Rather... Thank you.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°That, I...¡±
I btedly thought back to the previous scene. I had thrown the in Yoo Sangah¡¯s direction. I knew what she was thinking.
¡°It was just a coincidence. It won¡¯t happen twice.¡±
¡°Ah...¡±
Yoo Sangah nodded silently. She didn¡¯t know the truth but she was smart. She knew what I meant. Someone lived because of my choice and someone else died. No matter who survived, I didn¡¯t deserve a thank you.
[Wow, amazing.]
The dokkaebi appeared in the air.
[What on earth happened here? I was just watching the other carriages...]
There was a mixture of delight and surprise on the dokkaebi¡¯s face. Twinkling stars floated over the dokkaebi¡¯s head.
I counted the number of stars. One, two, three... Twenty, twenty one. Twenty one in total. He would be happy.
[For 21 people to be connected to my channel... Haha, isn¡¯t this quite good? Gosh, thank you for your sponsorship. Constetions. Haha, everyone! Did you properly show off your value?]
The number of stars meant the number of constetions connected to the channel.
21 wasn¡¯t a lot, but it was a strange number for a beginner dokkaebi.
[The number of survivors is quite high? The fellow in the next carriage was a nutter as well... It seems that things are quite interesting today.]
The dokkaebi manipted something in the air. A momentter, a list of survivors came up.
[Survivors from the 3434 Train to Bulgwang, Carriage 3807: Kim Dokja, Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah, Han Myungoh and Lee Gilyoung. A total of five survivors.]
Five people. More people than I thought survived. I looked at the faces of the survivors one by one.
Lee Hyunsung had a good physique and excellent motor skills, so it was expected that he would survive. I even expected Yoo Sangah to a certain extent.
In addition, Lee Gilyoung. If my guess was right, ¡®Lee Gilyoung¡¯ was the name of the boy standing next to me. The fluids from the crushed grasshopper was still on the boy¡¯s hands. It was the grasshopper I had squeezed.
The boy was looking at his mother, who lost her head. The boy¡¯s mother had abandoned him to join in on killing the grandmother. The boy had just watched the whole thing from beginning to end.
I hesitated for a moment before touching the boy¡¯s shoulder. It wasn¡¯t foolish sympathy. To put it simple, this was...
That¡¯s right. Hypocrisy.
¡°Kid.¡±
The boy slowly turned his head and in his eyes, I could see the fear of death that he encountered for the first time in his life.
Unavoidable instincts. This boy wasn¡¯t grieving his mother¡¯s death. He was just afraid of his own death. It was natural. He was human.
¡°Do you want to live?¡±
The boy¡¯s eyes shook anxiously. His body trembled with a force that couldn¡¯t be resisted. Then little by little, the boy¡¯s head moved.
¡°Then let¡¯s go together.¡±
Lee Gilyoung moved slowly and came close to my legs. Yoo Sangah was watching me with an impressed expression. I unintentionally caused another misunderstanding. In fact, it was meant to be seen. But the target wasn¡¯t Yoo Sangah.
[A few constetions are impressed with your good deed.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 200 coins.]
I couldn¡¯t help thinking that it was a low move. But I also wanted to live.
Given the uing major events, it was essential to draw the attention of the constetions right now.
¡°W-Will you release us now? Didn¡¯t you get what you wanted?¡±
Han Myungoh in a torn shirt shouted from half a dozen steps away. Department Head Han Myungoh. He was a lucky human.
But I couldn¡¯t help wondering. Why was Han Myungoh riding the subway when he had so much money? This was the man who had shown off a new S ss Mercedes-Benz not long ago.
[Hrmm, released? Haven¡¯t you seen outside? Do you really want to go out there?]
The dokkaebi chuckled.
[It is somehow admirable. In fact, I didn¡¯t expect much from this carriage but you managed to pass the first scenario. This proves that bugs deserve to survive.]
His words made us realize our position. Maybe we were like grasshoppers in his eyes.
[Now now, shouldn¡¯t there be a reward for oveing the hardships? As a reward for the first scenario, you are entitled to the sponsorship of the ¡®constetions.¡¯ Waahhh! How about it? Aren¡¯t you looking forward to it? Hmm, you are all unenthusiastic. This is really a big deal.]
The reaction was natural. I was the only one here who knew what ¡®constetion¡¯ or ¡®sponsorship¡¯ was.
The sponsorship of the constetions. The meaning was obvious. One of the key events of Ways of Survival, ¡®Sponsor Selection¡¯ was about to begin.
[Hmm, everybody has confused expressions. I can easily tell you. Right now, you are incredibly weak. If you are thrown into the scenarios that will take ce, you will be killed when you meet a weak ground rat, let alone a ¡®kruk.¡¯ But kindly, there are some great people in the universe who pity you and would like to sponsor you. Do you understand what I am saying?]
Lee Hyunsung finally couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and opened his mouth.
¡°What are you saying? Who is sponsoring whom...¡±
[Hmm, my words are just entering dirty ears. Isn¡¯t there an old saying in South Korea? It is better to see it once than listen a hundred times. So experience it directly. Well, the less fortunate ones might not get the chance. Hahahat!]
I was tense. From now on. A good choice here would make my survival in the future easier.
¡°Dokja-ssi? Two strange choices suddenly appeared in front of me...¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know even if you ask me.¡±
This was naturally a lie to avoid suspicions. By the way, there were two choices. Yoo Sangah was quite lucky.
¡°Do itfortably. Think of it as an aptitude test.¡±
¡°Aptitude test...¡±
¡°Nobody knows what the situation is anyway. Why not do itfortably?¡±
¡°Ah... I understand.¡±
Yoo Sangah closed her mouth and started staring into space. It was a profound expression, as if she had encountered something curious.
The others suddenly became silent. Everyone was reading the options in front of them. I also had my own choices to look at.
[Sponsor Selection]
-Please select your sponsor
-Your chosen sponsor will be your strong supporter.
Abyssal ck me DragonDemon-like Judge of FireSecretive PlotterPrisoner of the Golden Headband.
There were four choices like a riddle. It meant there were four constetions that wanted to turn me into their incarnation.
Four choices wasn¡¯t small considering that the protagonist of Ways of Survival received five options the first time.
The constetions never revealed their true name. Therefore, all contractors must infer the identity of the constetions by words such as ¡®abyssal¡¯, ¡®demonic¡¯ and ¡®garden¡¯.
Of course, this puzzle was nothing to me, the sole reader of Ways of Survival.
Let¡¯s see.
First, the ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon.¡¯
ording to my memory, this constetion was a powerful entity that led the group of constetions called the ck Cloud. I forgot his real name but I remember it was a very long name.
The advantage of this constetion was that the contractor could receive a very strong attack power. In the early days when stamina and strength were in urgent need, there was no constetion as strong as the Abyssal Dark me Dragon.
Of course, that was limited to the beginning. As the power of this constetion was more frequently used, the mind became corrupted and the contractor would be a mad murderer.
This constetion usually sponsored the people with the ¡®chuuni¡¯ attribute... I didn¡¯t know why the constetion picked me. I felt ufortable and excluded this guy.
The second one, the Demon-like Judge of Fire.
I can¡¯t believe I was actually seeing this option. Somehow, the strong emotions I felt were enormous.
At first nce, the name was overflowing with evil. But this was actually a trap for the wicked. The ¡®Demon-like¡¯ actually meant ¡®not a demon.¡¯ Then the words ¡®fire¡¯ and ¡®judge¡¯ were added.
A being who wasn¡¯t a demon and who made judgments through fire. Paradoxically, the master of this constetion was an angel.
If I recalled corrected, it was Archangel Uriel... In fact, I remembered this because someone in the novel picked this constetion as a sponsor.
It was a pretty decent choice. This was pending. The constetions of ¡®absolute good¡¯ imposed ridiculous constraints if you wanted to use their enormous power.
The third, Secretive Plotter. It was the first time that I, the sole reader of Ways of Survival, had seen this choice.
This name might¡¯ve been mentioned in passing but... I didn¡¯t know it right now. If I could read Ways of Survival more thoroughly then I might get a feel of the constetion.
But I was certain that the owner of this constetion wasn¡¯t a very strong entity. Apart from the obvious modifier, there wasn¡¯t one ¡®proper noun.¡¯
Secretive Plotter, it was too simple for a constetion. This one was also pending.
Finally, there was Prisoner of the Golden Headband.
My heart jumped the moment I saw the fourth option. I didn¡¯t expect this constetion so early. I doubted my eyes several times. But it was unmistakably ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband.¡¯
At first nce, this name gave off a negative image due to the word ¡®prisoner¡¯. But you had to pay attention to ¡®Golden Headband.¡¯
Golden Headband. The smallest prison in the world.
It was a hint that anyone would recognize if they enjoyed reading Journey to the West as a child. There was only one prisoner who was held captive by the golden headband in the journey from east to west.
The master of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, who lived in suffering due to the shackle on his head. The Handsome Monkey King with the ¡®golden-gaze, fiery-eyes.¡¯
The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven, Sun Wukong.
Among the characters that appeared in the novel, there was one supported by Sun Wukong.
A wondrous power that could sweep through hundreds of incarnations and to kill thoughts with one lightning strike.
The author had described this part with a lot of energy so my memory of it was clear.
I didn¡¯t know why such a powerful constetion was showing me interest but if I became the incarnation of the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven, I would be able to survive in this new world more easily than anyone else.
But...
I quickly looked at the door connected to the carriage in front. Beyond that door, ¡®he¡¯ was looking at the selection screen like me.
If I chose The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven... Could I win against him?
[There is one minute left toplete the Sponsor Selection.]
Time was running out. I breathed lightly and looked through my options. My worries didn¡¯tst long.
Chapter 7
Episode 2 ¨C Protagonist (2)
[Sponsor Selection has ended.]
I took a deep breath as I watched the messages floating in the air.
[Some constetions are greatly affected by your choice.]
Yes, it was starting now.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is greatly displeased at your choice.]
[The constetions belonging to ck Cloud are shaken by the anger of the Abyssal ck me Dragon. You won¡¯t be sponsored by any of the ck Cloud constetions for a while.]
I wasn¡¯t surprised because it was an expected message.
To make every member of his group turn away because he was rejected...it seemed that this guy was Kim Namwoon¡¯s sponsor in the original work. As expected of the incarnation of this constetion.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is disappointed in you.]
[She will persistently monitor your justice in the future.]
In the case of Archangel Uriel, it was just disappointment. In the first ce, the constetions of absolute good would rarely hate someone unless theymitted a great injustice.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is interested in your choice.]
[200 coins have been sponsored.]
The Secretive Plotter¡¯s case was unexpected. Given the characteristics of the name, maybe he valued my caution.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is interested in your choice.]
And the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven...
I was concerned. Did I make the right choice? I didn¡¯t know. Maybe I had lost the tremendous opportunity right in front of me.
[You haven¡¯t selected a sponsor.]
But choosing a certain constetion meant being limited by that possibility. The sponsor contract was never a fair deal.
I would survive. But I wouldn¡¯t survive by being their toys. And if my expectations were right, there was a way to be strong without a constetion. Maybe it was a way to be stronger than the incarnation of the strongest sponsor.
[Haha, is this true...isn¡¯t there one interesting choice? Well, yes. There will be another chance.]
The dokkaebi¡¯s crescent moon eyes stayed on me for a moment.
[Now now, everyone has finished the selection. Rest here for a while. I have to go prepare the next scenario. I¡¯ll see you in 10 minutes!]
After the Sponsor Selection finished, the dokkaebi disappeared. He told us to rest, but these 10 minutes were really crucial.
In 10 minutes, I needed to sort out this situation and prepare for the following scenarios. I tried to recall my abilities in my head.
[Character List] and [Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint].
I didn¡¯t know the precise use yet but I had a general sense of these skills. This will work somehow.
¡°Let¡¯s all gather together.¡±
The survivors gathered at my words. The first one to reach out a hand was Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Hello, I am Lee Hyunsung.¡±
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°Nice to meet you...although I don¡¯t know if these words suit the situation. As I said earlier, I am a soldier...well, I should say that I was a soldier.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t contact your unit?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
The grip around my hand was considerable. As expected from the tanker that appeared in the early stages of Ways of Survival.
I must take Lee Hyunsung with me. He might not look like much now but Lee Hyunsung was an increasingly important figure in thetter parts of Ways of Survival.
¡°Ah, Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°I wanted to thank you. If it wasn¡¯t for Dokja-ssi, we would all be dead.¡±
¡°No, that isn¡¯t the case.¡±
¡°Even if I had lived, I would¡¯ve have been able to live as a person. Thank you very much. And...I am ashamed.¡±
Lee Hyunsung bowed deeply. My mind was a bitplicated. In fact, Lee Hyunsung would¡¯ve survived even if I didn¡¯t do anything.
Then somebody grabbed my shoulder.
¡°Haha, our contractor did one big thing. Dokja-ssi, do you know my name?¡±
I could tell who it was without looking back. I took the hand off my shoulder and said.
¡°I know, Han Myungoh-ssi.¡±
¡°Huh, Han Myungoh-ssi? Shouldn¡¯t you call me Department Head?¡±
Han Myungoh was still trying to use his position in this situation. He really was the king of authoritarianism in Minosoft.
¡°This isn¡¯t thepany.¡±
¡°Hah, look at this. Are you nning to not go work now? Where did you learn your basic etiquette?¡±
Once I saw Han Myungoh¡¯s angry face, I once again realized that the world I knew was over.
The man in front of me was a ¡®predator¡¯ of the world before the scenario began. And I was merely a prey to the predator. It was certainly like that.
¡°No matter how I think about it, your actions were too much. Yes? If you had the insects then you should¡¯ve tipped me off. Why would you throw them like that?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, you have to be good to me. How much time do you have left on your contract?¡±
All of a sudden, it became ridiculous. In the world I had lived in, I was too weak.
¡°Han Myungoh-ssi.¡±
¡°Eh?¡±
¡°Shut up.¡±
¡°W-What?¡±
¡°You still don¡¯t understand the situation? Weren¡¯t you hit by that bastard earlier? Minosoft? Do you think thepany still exists when the end hase?¡±
Han Myungoh¡¯s face was white and stricken.
I turned my eyes towards the other people. Since I was already saying it, I should make it stick.
¡°Han Myungoh-ssi isn¡¯t the only problem. Everyone, you need to wake up. As the dokkaebi said, this isn¡¯t a joke.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I think you should¡¯ve all roughly noticed the situation. Exclusive skills in the attributes window. A game-like interface. Is there anyone who still hasn¡¯t caught onto facts?¡±
Indeed, no one raised their hand. South Korea was easy. Due to the high pration rate of smartphones, there wasn¡¯t one person who hadn¡¯t yed a RPG game.
Even if they didn¡¯t y a game, they would¡¯ve read a fantasy novel at least once.
Lee Hyunsung sighed.
This is like a novel I was reading while standing on duty, but I still can¡¯t feel it. This really isn¡¯t a dream?¡±
¡°This is reality.¡±
My stern answer caused Lee Hyunsung¡¯s eyes to slightly change.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ feels a faint trust in you.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has increased.]
Lee Hyunsung nodded.
¡°It is good that you are certain. Then what do we do now? Dokja-ssi, do you have an opinion?¡±
¡°We have to go.¡±
I answered without hesitation.
¡°G-Go? Are you insane?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, I don¡¯t think...¡±
This time, Yoo Sangah joined it. It seemed everyone still hadn¡¯t woken up.
¡°Then how long we will stay here?¡±
In fact, my argument didn¡¯t make much sense. Outside was a heaven of monsters. But I knew. Right now, we have to get out of here.
¡°Have you thought about your parents? Do you think your parents are safe in this mess?¡±
¡°T-The line has been dead for some time. No Kakaotalk...¡±
Yoo Sangah cried out desperately.
Indeed, Confucianism was still strong in South Korea. Even Lee Hyunsung and Han Myungoh¡¯s expressions darkened at the word ¡®parents.¡¯
I grasped Lee Gilyoung¡¯s shoulder, whose head was bowed. The first person to get up was Yoo Sangah.
¡°Go. I will go out.¡±
¡°N-No! Didn¡¯t you hear what that thing said? Take a break here! If we move then our heads might explode!¡±
¡°Let¡¯s take a majority vote.¡±
Yoo Sangah raised her hand first, followed by me and Lee Gilyoung. But it was up to there.
¡°...I have to go to my base but it seems dangerous to move in this situation. There was also the warning.¡±
¡°Shit, you all go by yourselves! I¡¯m not going! I¡¯m not going outside!¡±
I didn¡¯t care about Han Myungoh but the problem was Lee Hyunsung. I had to take Lee Hyunsung with me no matter what...
Kuuong!
The thick iron te made a loud sound. The iron door to carriage 3707 was slightly distorted.
¡°W-What?¡±
Han Myungoh¡¯s cry was ignored as the iron door made a deafening sound again.
Kuuong!
Someone was trying to break the door from beyond it. This was an unexpected situation so I had to think.
Was it the next scenario? No. The dokkaebi hadn¡¯te back yet. Then...
My brain moved quickly. Small hairs stood up and a short shiver struck my body. That guy.
¡°W-What? Everybody stop it!¡±
Han Myungoh shouted and moved towards the door. Lee Hyunsung moved towards it as well but I stopped him.
¡°You can¡¯t stop it.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°We have to go.¡±
I looked at the iron door with heavy eyes.
¡°Huh? But...¡±
¡°If we don¡¯t go now¨D¡±
The only survivor of carriage 3707. I was well aware of who was beyond the iron door.
¡°We will all die before the next scenario arrives.¡±
Yes, that guy was finallying. The ¡®real¡¯ protagonist of this story.
Chapter 8
Episode 2 ¨C Protagonist (3)
I stared straight into Lee Hyunsung and Han Myungoh¡¯s eyes and said.
¡°Do you want to die from that guy beyond the iron door or do you want to try your luck outside the train? Which one will you choose?¡±
¡°U-Uh...¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, is there any guarantee that the person beyond the iron door is an enemy?¡±
The Steel Sword appeared at the crucial moment. There was a reason why Lee Hyunsung couldn¡¯t be leader of a party.
¡°Since they areing from another carriage, it is likely to be a survivor. If we meet...¡±
I looked at the bloody room instead of continuing. Lee Hyunsung followed my gaze and quietly spoke.
¡°...I was too careless. Let¡¯s find a way out.¡±
¡°G-Go! Go quickly!¡±
At this moment, both people were aware. The other survivors of the carriages would¡¯ve gone through the same thing as them. They wouldn¡¯t have the good luck of finding ¡®insects.¡¯
¡°This is broken!¡±
¡°Damn, we can¡¯t go this way!¡±
While listening to Lee Hyunsung and Han Myungoh¡¯s cries, I also checked the doors. There were no more barriers so the doors could now be touched.
Apart from the doors connecting the passageways, there were a total of eight ess doors on the subway. There were three exits that hadn¡¯t been confirmed yet.
Kung!
The iron door seemed like it could barely hold on for one minute.
Despite being the main character, I didn¡¯t think he would have such high strength in the beginning. I was honestly surprised that he could break such a thick iron door.
¡°Dokja-ssi! Here¨D¡±
I found a working manual switchgear.
¡°No!¡±
The opening and closing device worked smoothly but the door didn¡¯t open at once. They door opened around one fifth before stopping like it was jammed.
¡°...It seems to be broken here as well.¡±
¡°How about other ces?¡±
¡°This seems to be the only ce where we can escape.¡±
It was unknown for a child. But the gap was too narrow for men and women to escape. Han Myungoh and Lee Hyunsung tried to pull the doors open but they didn¡¯t move a bit.
[Coins Possessed: 4700 C]
One of the uses of the coins was to raise overall stats. I had already used 2,700 coins to make my stamina level 10.
This problem could be resolved if I used the remaining coins to enhance my strength. But it wasn¡¯t wise to use the coins when the situation was unknown.
In the end, there was only one way.
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi. Use a skill.¡±
¡°Huh? ¡°Skill...¡±
I quietly activated Character List.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[Character Information]
Name: Lee Hyunsung
Age: 28 years old.
Constetion Sponsor: Master of Steel.
Private Attribute: Soldier who Turned a Blind Eye to Injustice (General)
Exclusive Skills: Bay Skills Lv. 2, Camouge Lv. 2, Patience Lv. 2.
Stigma: Great Mountain Push Lv. 1
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 8, Strength Lv. 8, Agility Lv. 7, Magic Power Lv. 5.
Overall Evaluation: The overall stats are very good. Despite turning away from injustice, he received the choice of a constetion. This is another opportunity for him.
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s information came to my mind without any restrictions. Fortunately, the sponsor was the same as what I read in Ways of Survival.
¡°You should¡¯ve checked it when you opened the attributes window. Lee Hyunsung is a soldier so there must be a skill you can use in this situation.¡±
¡°Well...I have one but how do I use it¨D¡±
¡°Just think about using the skill.¡±
¡°...Will that work?¡±
¡°It will. I did it earlier.¡±
Lee Hyunsung didn¡¯t say anything else as he took a deep breath of determination.
¡°Haaap!¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s biceps swelled as he grabbed the door. It was the appearance of Great Mountain Push.
In fact, Great Mountain Push wasn¡¯t a skill but a ¡®stigma.¡¯ And a stigma was a power from the constetion. I used the word ¡®skill¡¯ in order to avoid suspicions.
Dudududu.
There was a sound like a huge spring turning and the door started to move.
¡°What? This guy has real strength!¡±
¡°That¡¯s it! It is really great!¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has started to trust you.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has increased.]
Rather than doubts, my reliability had risen. Lee Hyunsung was a simpler person than I thought.
¡°Come on, get off!¡±
But I felt relieved. I handed Lee Gilyoung to Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi. Carry the child on your back.¡±
¡°I understand.¡±
Now the iron door was almost broken. But if my prediction was right, the problem right now wasn¡¯t that iron door.
[...Ah, this is really. I knew this would happen. Didn¡¯t I saw it earlier? I told you not to go anywhere, Damn! The scenario isn¡¯t ready yet-]
The dokkaebi seemed to be angry as it floated over Dongho Bridge.
¡°Wahh! I knew this would happen! I told you not toe out!¡±
Han Myungoh wrapped a hand around his head, like he thought it would explode. But there was no need to worry.
[Sigh...it can¡¯t be helped. You are really lucky humans.]
It was because the second scenario started the moment the train door was opened.
[The second scenario has arrived!]
+
[Second Scenario ¨C Escape]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: E
Clear Conditions: Cross the broken bridge and enter Oksu Station.
Time Limit: 20 minutes.
Compensation: 200 coins.
Failure: ???
+
¡°Dokja-ssi, something is strange. It says the ¡®broken bridge¡¯ but the bridge is still...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry and just run! Quickly!¡±
¡°U-Understood!¡±
In fact, Yoo Sangah was right. The bridge hadn¡¯t been broken yet. In other words, the ¡®bridge was going to be broken.¡¯
¡°Dokja-ssi,e quickly!¡±
¡°I¡¯ming.¡±
It hadn¡¯t been broken yet because we got off the train ¡®too soon.¡¯ The dokkaebi said the preparation time was 10 minutes. But we escaped three minutes earlier.
Some people might call it cowardly but this scenario couldn¡¯t be cleared without such a shortcut. Especially if I was stuck with burdens such as Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung.
¡°Pant, pant. Indeed, Lee Hyunsung-ssi is a soldier and has high stamina.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t open your mouth. You will lose strength.¡±
Lee Hyunsung was running first with the kid. He was a natural monster who didn¡¯t invest any coins in his stats, yet the sum of his strength, stamina and agility exceeded 23.
The next one was Han Myungoh and then Yoo Sangah with me in the rear. It would be close but I thought we could make it in time.
¡°Ah, what is that?¡±
At this time, Han Myungoh¡¯s scream was heard. There was a huge whirlpool in the centre of Han River, letting out sshes of water.
And a giant monster was at the centre of the sshes. An ichthyosaur. The problem was that the ichthyosaur seemed to be twice the size of the one I saw through the window.
This wasn¡¯t a sea serpent...it was a seamander.
A general sea serpent was only a grade 7 monster. Given that a grade 9 monstrousnd rate was difficult for normal humans to cope with, an average human would be torn apart by a grade 7 monster.
In other words, the guying now wasn¡¯t a monster that could be caught in the early stages. Of course, there was no need to catch it. It wasn¡¯t created to be caught.
Ku ku ku ku!
The Han River surged like there was a tsunami and the ichthyosaur moved. It was chewing on the legs of the bridge.
¡°The bridge is breaking!¡±
¡°Run! If we run then we can cross it!¡±
The remaining distance was around 200 metres. If my calctions were correct, we could cross before the bridge copsed at our current speed.
[There is no fun if the game is too easy.]
Of course, this was a story for when there were no variables.
[The scenario difficulty has been adjusted.]
[Scenario difficulty: E -> D]
The sound of the dokkaebi¡¯sughter was heard.
[Is there any fun if you just run away? Let¡¯s create a bit of atmosphere!]
[The evil thoughts of the dead have returned.]
[The surrounding earth is filled with ck ether.]
[The demonic people have woken up!]
There was the sound of something chasing us from behind. Yoo Sangah muttered to herself.
¡°Z-Zombies?¡±
Zombie-like bodies wereing in huge waves. Some of them were people from the same carriage as us.
¡°We just need to go a little further! Quickly!¡±
The distance to the ichthyosaur was now less than a hundred metres. Fortunately, Lee Hyunsung carried Lee Gilyoung and had crossed the safety line. The problem was the rest of us, including me. Han Myungoh shrieked.
¡°Y-You bastards!¡±
There were too many demonic people. If there were only corpses from the subway, we might¡¯ve gotten away. The problem was...
¡°Kuweeeoooh!¡±
The drivers who died on the bridge became demonic people. The path that Lee Hyunsung broke through was covered with demonic people. I looked between the demonic people on the road and the approaching ichthyosaur.
¡°...Everybody get down.¡±
It was toote.
Kwaaaaang!
The legs of the bridge shook tremendously as the ichthyosaur¡¯s huge mouth bit it.
The scales of the ichthyosaur shone through the dust that poured down onto Han River like rain. A fishy smell of blood and water filled the area.
I staggered and raised my body.
Once the dust went away, the scenery around me was clear. Piles of shattered concrete and cut steel. The carcasses of the demonic people which the ichthyosaur had cleanly bitten through.
The broken leg of the bridge.
¡°...Dok...sii...kay?¡±
Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh raised their bodies from a little further away.
One of Han Myungoh¡¯s legs seemed injured and ufortable from the previous quake.
Lee Hyunsung and Lee Gilyoung cried out from across the bridge but their voices seemed blocked by the safety zone.
What should I do? I made ns on the basis of the bridge breaking. But I hadn¡¯t expected Han Myungoh and Yoo Sangah to be with me.
At that moment, a voice was heard in the air.
[Someone has received the favour of a constetion.]
[The constetion¡¯s scenario ¡®Deus Ex Machina¡¯ has been activated.]
Along with the voice, a brilliant bridge made of light was created among the remnants of the broken Dongho Bridge. Then a message floated in front of me.
+
[Deus Ex Machina ¨C Even Bridge]
Description: A bridge of light made by a constetion. Only an ¡®even¡¯ number of people can cross the bridge. The bridge will disappear as soon as an ¡®odd¡¯ number of people tries to cross it.
+
¡°Dokja-ssi. This, in my head, suddenly¨D¡±
I met the eyes of Yoo Sangah, who was talking nonsense. I could roughly guess the situation.
Deus Ex Machina. Constetions risked a huge loss by intervening in scenarios.
¡°...It is Yoo Sangah-ssi¡¯s sponsor.¡±
I didn¡¯t know what constetion it was but somebody had chosen Yoo Sangah as their incarnation and wanted her to live.
Deus Ex Machine was a rare phenomenon in Ways of Survival. And Yoo Sangah was a person who should¡¯ve already died.
I had a moment of doubt. What type of constetion was behind Yoo Sangah?
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
I was a bit surprised.
I couldn¡¯t see her with my skill? Why? Did she have a special background? Or did she have a mental barrier? But if she had something like that from the beginning...no, wait a minute. Perhaps this was...
¡°Dokja-ssi, what do we do now?¡±
I heard Yoo Sangah¡¯s bewildered voice. I didn¡¯t have much time to think.
Ku ku ku ku!
The Han River was swirling. The ichthyosaur had eaten one bridge leg and was turning its huge body around on the other side of Han River. I bit my lips and once again read the exnation of the bridge.
Only an ¡®even¡¯ number of people could cross the bridge.
In the end, ¡®Deus Ex Machina¡¯ was a toy made by the damn constetions who loved tragedies.
There was no way for everyone to survive.
Han Myungoh¡¯s body was shaking as his eyes met mine.
In the end, somebody must die.
Chapter 9
Episode 2 ¨C Protagonist (4)
At this moment, Yoo Sangah shouted.
¡°Dokja-ssi! Behind you!¡±
I reflexively leaned forward as a bloody fist came flying through the air. It was a familiar fist covered with energy.
I felt something falling towards me and instinctively kicked out. I didn¡¯t need to look back to know what was behind me.
A grade 9 human type, demonic person. Human mutants infected with ck ether.
That¡¯s why demonic people were ssified as a high-risk species, despite being grade 9. Demonic people made from a normal human base were no different from zombies, but it was particrly dangerous if their hosts were different.
I saw the badge of the school student with a damaged head.
¡°...Kim Namwoon.¡±
The guy whose head burst a few minutes ago was now aiming for me as a demonic person.
Kim Namwoon¡¯s vocal cords that burst out were in a bizarre shape.
¡°Kuweeeoooh.¡±
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint Lv. 1 has been activated!]
[This person doesn¡¯t have any consciousness. The skill Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint will be cancelled.]
Damn, it was as expected.
Chwaack!
My thigh was scratched by Kim Namwoon¡¯s overgrown ck fingernails.
A pain that felt like a burn spread through my leg. The skin which hadn¡¯t been cut by a knife was now torn by fingernails.
This was the main reason why demonic people were dangerous. The demonic people became several times stronger than when they were human.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, immediately¨D¡±
I felt something as I spoke. Without looking back, I could see what was going on.
¡°Let me go! Let go! Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi!¡±
Han Myungoh, who had just been limping, was carrying Yoo Sangah over one shoulder and moving across the bridge at an astonishing rate.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ admires how easy you are to fool.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is impressed with your sacrifice.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
...Indeed. nning to leave me?
By the way, the way he was running was a little strange. Despite being on one leg, he was running as fast as an Olympic athlete.
This couldn¡¯t be the exclusive skill of Han Myungoh, who had a big belly. Therefore, it must be the stigma of his sponsor.
[The One-legged Swift Horse]
And I already knew the constetion who provided that stigma. I used Character List on the distant Han Myungoh.
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
Once again, Character List didn¡¯t work properly.
If I remembered correctly, the stigma of ¡®One-legged Swift Horse¡¯ came from the constetion Lame Trickster.
Lame Trickster didn¡¯t give any stigmas in the mental barrier system. In addition, Han Myungoh couldn¡¯t possess such a skill from the beginning. In other words, my skill failed not because of Han Myungoh¡¯s ability.
...I was stupid.
I looked at the message window floating in front of me andughed.
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
I was thinking too hard when it meant literally that. Character List literally read the information of characters.
Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh were characters who didn¡¯t originally appear in Ways of Destruction. They were people who would¡¯ve died if I hadn¡¯t saved them. It was natural that I couldn¡¯t confirm their information with Character List.
¡°Gruk! Gruk! Gruk!¡±
On one side, the iing Kim Namwoon and demonic people were jabbering nonsense at me. On the other side, Han Myungoh had already halfway crossed the bridge. Lee Hyunsung and Lee Gilyoung had already entered the safety zone across the bridge so I couldn¡¯t ask for help from them.
This was truly a predicament. I couldn¡¯t cross the bridge alone.
My brain moved quickly.
Should I capture one of the demonic people and cross the bridge? It was worth trying, but the sess rate was too low. Unlike the name, the demonic people were categorized as non-human, meaning they didn¡¯t count as a person.
¡°Kuaaaack!¡±
Several demonic people lost their bnce and fell down the bridge.
Kwajijijik!
The fallen demonic people became the food of the ichthyosaurs. Like piranhas, the ichthyosaurs broke the demonic people into dozens of pieces in an instant.
Distant fear came flooding back in. If the number of people on the bridge became ¡®odd¡¯ for even a moment, I would be like them. It was impossible to cross alone.
Then?
¡°...Let¡¯s take it slow.¡±
I muttered as I attempted to control myself. Right now, I needed to remain calm. There were still a few usable methods, but the important thing was to handle matters in front of me. I controlled my breathing and walked to the demonic people.
¡°Kuweeok?¡±
Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t difficult to make the fall down the bridge using inertia.
Kyaaaack ¨C kwajijik!
I reduced the numbers by making them fall steadily. The dokkaebi¡¯s stopwatch floating in the air was blinking.
The time remaining before the scenario ended was 15 minutes.
¡°Sigh...¡±
Nails flew from a blind spot and pierced my shoulder bone. No matter how calm my mind, no matter how much information I knew, I couldn¡¯t help my untrained body.
¡°Kuwoooook!¡±
The wild Kim Namwoon¡¯s attacks were bing increasingly faster.
Left shoulder.
The right thigh.
The top of the head.
I had to break the flow. I barely avoided the flying fingernails and kicked his legs.
¡°Kyah?¡±
But this person lost all senses and wasn¡¯t hurt at all. I stepped back, hitting a broken steel frame. I could hear the raging sound of the ichthyosaurs at the bottom of the pirs.
[A few constetions are rejoicing in your adversity.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 200 coins.]
It was a steady umtion of coins. Now I held 5,000 coins. It was a significant number of coins for the beginning.
[Wow, you are quite good at surviving. Now now! Will any constetions help this poor friend?]
It was the dokkaebi¡¯s merchant-like voice. I wanted to tear it apart.
[Geez, there is really nobody?]
Of course.
It would be strange for a constetion to support me after what happened during the Sponsor Selection.
[What did I say? You should¡¯ve chosen well when you had the change. How pitiful.]
Kim Namwoon attacked me again and again, resulting in damage to my waist.
Of course, I also injured Kim Namwoon¡¯s left side with the knife. Thanks to that, his stomach was hanging out like a skipping rope.
In order to kill a demonic person, I had topletely destroy the heart. But the skin of a demonic person was hardest near the heart. The Swiss knife wasn¡¯t able to pierce it with sharpness alone.
Dammit, it wouldn¡¯t be so hard if I had just onebat skill.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ is activated.]
...Bookmark?
[¡®Character Bookmarks¡¯ is activated.]
[Avable Bookmark Slots: 3]
[Bringing up the list of avable bookmarks.]
[People Listed in the Bookmark Slots]
The Delusion Demon Kim Namwoon (Understanding 25).Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung (Understanding 35).Empty slot.
Bookmark. I¡¯ve read over 3,000 chapters of Ways of Survival and I never saw this skill name before. But I intuitively knew how to use it.
¡°Activate bookmark number one.¡±
There was the feelings of pages turning in my head. It was the scenes of Kim Namwoon in Ways of Destruction.
¡¸Hahahahat! I¡¯m full of strength! ¡¹
¡¸Die! Die! Die! Die!¡¹
¡¸A new world requires newws.¡¹
Kim Namwoon¡¯s memories crowded in and all of my muscle nerves started to tense up. The power of another person was spiking within me.
[The number one bookmark has been activated.]
[The level of the Bookmark skill is low, shortening the activation time.]
[Activation Time: One minute.]
One minute. That was enough.
[Your understanding of the character is low, so only a part of the character¡¯s skill is activated.]
[ckening Lv.1 has been activated.]
Kim Namwoon was breathing roughly as he rushed towards me. His body was covered with a ck energy that was threatening me.
I firmly ced strength on the heels of my feet and rushed towards Kim Namwoon. If we had the same skill, I absolutely wouldn¡¯t lose.
At this moment, I really was Kim Namwoon. I was the crazy killer who ruled the world of ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ with the protagonist.
In a situation where ckening was properly yed, the Delusion Demon of the battlefield couldn¡¯t be easily beaten.
¡°Kyaaack!¡±
The Swiss knife cut through ufortable sensations. It tore through muscles and flesh.
From the upper left arm to the heart. There was the sound of a whole human being cut up as Kim Namwoon staggered. If he still had eyes, he would be ring at me right now.
¡°Kuoh, kill. Ohhh. D.i.e¡±
The young man who felt pessimistic towards the world and dreamt of breaking away from it. If Ways of Survival hadn¡¯t started, he might¡¯ve gone to university after sitting his CSAT and enjoyed campus life.
¡°...Don¡¯t, want...to...die¡±
I watched Kim Namwoon falling down the bridge without saying farewell. Despite him being a hated figure, I couldn¡¯t help feeling strange emotions.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ has increased.]
[The number one bookmark has been disabled.]
A surge of fatigue overcame me as the power went away.
It was hard. Really.
¡°Kuwoooook!¡±
There was 10 minutes remaining. There were still many demonic people moving about.
It was unreasonable to take on so many even with Lv. 10 stamina. But from the beginning, I had no intention of taking care of them alone.
It was a littlete. He should appear around now.
Kwajik!Kwajijijik!
There was a crackling sound like he had been waiting. I knew it. I thought he would do reckless things in order to gain achievements and donations.
Kwajijik!Crunch.
It was obviously the sound of a person¡¯s flesh colliding with another body, but it sounded more like a mace crushing flesh.
In fact, I had collected this much coins and thought it would be worth challenging the protagonist.
But now I realized how mistaken I was.
From the stationary train, the demonic people were thrown away in a straight line, as if a tank had rushed through. Was this really a scene caused by a ¡®human¡¯?
¡°Kyaack?¡±
The headless demonic people realized that something was strange and started turning around. However, it was toote.
Kwajijik!
The man destroyed all the demonic people threatening me and appeared in front of me. An overwhelming force without any weapons. He beat the demonic people with only two fists.
I had prepared my mind in advance but sweat still flowed down my back.
Dealing with this guy? It was absolutely impossible. I couldn¡¯t win even if my overall stats rose by more than double what they were now.
¡°You, who are you?¡±
The man¡¯s cool gaze turned to me. I reflexively turned on Character List in order to ovee the fear.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Summary List.]
[Character Summary]
Name: Yoo Jonghyuk.
Attribute: Regressor (3rd turn) (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. 8, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 8, Weapons Training Lv. 8, Mental Barrier Lv. 5, Crowd Control Lv. 5, Reasoning Lv. 5, Lie Detection Lv. 4...
The list of exclusive skills continued endlessly. Before I could get to the end of the list, a rugged hand appeared and grabbed my neck.
¡°You, how the hell are you alive?¡±
The ¡®first way¡¯ to survive in a ruined world. The one who proved that method was right in front of me.
Regressor Yoo Jonghyuk. The grand tragedy of this world began with this person.
Chapter 10
Episode 2 ¨C Protagonist (5)
It would be quite a ludicrous sight if anyone else saw it. Arge adult man was being grabbed by the neck and hanging like a monkey.
I could see Lee Hyunsung looking this way from across the bridge. His expression was anxious but he couldn¡¯t actually see what was going on here. It was due to the safety ward. I could see over there but they couldn¡¯t see here.
¡°Name.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°What is your name?¡±
Look at this indifferent way of talking, just like a main character. But it wasn¡¯t good to provoke him here.
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°A strange name.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard that a lot.¡±
At this moment, my stomach sank in and felt turned inside out as Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fist hit it.
¡°...Ugh.¡±
Despite having skin that a knife bounced off, the attack was very painful.
¡°You have a solid body. Have you already mastered the use of coins?¡±
¡°It is the same with you...¡±
Bam. There was a hit to my stomach again. I barely managed to swallow back a groan.
This guy, the level of his strength was at least 15. It was at this scale despite only one main and one sub scenario urring. Indeed, natural born monsters were different.
¡°Stop the unnecessary answer. Only answer what I ask from now on. Understood?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer. I thought maybe this might happen. However, this was the worst situation that I desperately hoped would never happen.
In the beginning, Yoo Jonghyuk was more intimidating than any other figure.
His personality had worn out after going through regression three times. His principles were cut away in order to maintain his sense of self. The current Yoo Jonghyuk would never hesitate for the sake of his purpose.
¡°Your answer?¡±
¡°...I will.¡±
¡°Use honorifics.¡±
¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±
This time, I raised both hands to block the fist. The pain felt like my bones had broken but the shock was dissipated. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes widened like he was a bit surprised.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is on guard against you.]
Then it didn¡¯t matter. I wasn¡¯t going to be a punching bag just because he was the main character.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but you are younger than me, pro gamer Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi. Therefore, you should be the one using honorifics.¡±
¡°...You know me?¡±
¡°I know. I am the employee of a gamepany.¡±
It was a lie. Even if I worked for a gamepany, it was impossible to memorize the names of all professional gamers. In addition, until recently, ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ was just a character in a novel.
¡°You are famous. At one time, I was a fan.¡±
Being famous was just a setting of the plot. However, it wasn¡¯t a lie that I was a ¡®fan.¡¯
I liked, hated, grumbled and cheered Yoo Jonghyuk on. That¡¯s why I stuck with Yoo Jonghyuk for over 3,000 chapters.
¡°Fan. I haven¡¯t heard that in a long time.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk had a look of nostalgia in his eyes, like he was locked in his memories. However, it was only for a moment.
¡°I¡¯ll forgive your impudence this time. But your situation hasn¡¯t changed.¡±
¡°I can see that.¡±
I looked down at my two legs swaying over a nk space.
¡°I have only one thing I want to ask.¡±
¡°Ask.¡±
¡°How did you survive on the subway?¡±
It was the question I expected.
¡°Will you spare me if I answer?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll see.¡±
It was a lie. I could tell just by looking at his face. I was the only reader of Ways of Survival. Numerous possible repertoires were simted in my head. What could I say to convince this damn regressor?
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is increasing.]
[Your understanding of this person is already very high.]
...Huh?
[The conditions of use for the exclusive skill ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ stage 2 has been reached!]
[Do you want to activate the exclusive skill?]
Then after a moment, I was able to read someone¡¯s thoughts like a waterfall in my head.
¡¸ Only Lee Hyunsung and Kim Namwoon should¡¯ve survived in that carriage. ¡¹
¡¸ Yet Kim Namwoon died and the others survived. ¡¹
¡¸ How did you survive? ¡¹
¡¸ Who the hell is this guy? ¡¹
¡¸ Dig up information. Then if I find any disturbing elements... Kill. ¡¹
A dense flicker of thoughts.
It was obviously a crisis situation but I couldn¡¯t prevent the corners of my mouth from going up.
The time remaining until the scenario ended was 5 minutes.
I started the story. I told the story using as much concise, short and urate vocabry as possible.
It was from the first moment the ¡®dokkaebi¡¯ appeared in the subway to the end of the first scenario. Of course, I excluded the skills I got and any important issues.
¡°...You cleared the scenario by killing insects?¡±
¡°We were lucky.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was so surprised he seemed to have forgotten that his mouth was open.
¡¸ The future haspletely changed. ¡¹
He was shocked. Originally, the people in carriage 3807 would kill each other in a battle royale, with only Lee Hyunsung and Kim Namwoon surviving.
¡°You have keen eyes. How did you know there were insects in the carriage?¡±
Killing Intent filled Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes as thoughts brushed through my head.
¡¸ Is this guy also a regressor? ¡¹
¡¸If so, I have to kill him right now. ¡¹
A person whomits a fault thinks that everyone speaks of it.
I wasn¡¯t surprised that he misunderstood me. I quickly opened my mouth.
¡°An explosion.¡±
¡°Explosion?¡±
¡°I was able to find an insect due to an explosion from the carriage in front.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body stopped at these words.
¡°Exin it in a simpler manner.¡±
¡°When the explosion urred, a kid fell and dropped his insect collecting. I picked it up by chance.¡±
¡°...It is a suspicious coincidence.¡±
¡°Coincidences are always suspicious. If you don¡¯t believe me, ask the people beyond the ward. The boy standing there dropped the.¡±
Beyond the safety barrier on the way to Oksu Station, people were looking over at this side. The scenario wasn¡¯t over yet so they couldn¡¯t approach or talk to us.
Yoo Jonghyuk looked over but showed no signs of moving. His eyes changed and memories that seemed to belong to Yoo Jonghyuk crossed my mind.
¡¸ I see. ¡¹
¡¸ Explosion. ¡¹
¡¸This guy isn¡¯t a regressor. ¡¹
¡¸He isn¡¯t the one who changed the future. Rather, the future changed...¡¹
¡¸ Because of me. ¡¹
I saw people dying painfully in a powerful explosion and Yoo Jonghyuk nkly watching it.
¡¸ It is because I started killing them, unlike the other turns. ¡¹
Due to the impact of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint, I could feel Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mental pain and suffering.
¡°Are your questions over?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
¡°Then can you let me go? And let¡¯s go to Oksu together. There isn¡¯t much time remaining to clear the scenario.¡±
¡®It is difficult.¡±
However, a protagonist was a protagonist for a reason.
¡°Everything you said makes perfect sense.¡±
I have never seen a protagonist as careful as Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ A beginner can¡¯t be so calm. ¡¹
¡¸He is abnormally well-adjusted to this changed world. ¡¹
¡¸He probably killed Kim Namwoon. ¡¹
¡¸ He has gone beyond being useful to being dangerous. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s right eye started shining with a gold colour. I quickly realized what he was doing. In fact, it would be weird if this guy didn¡¯t use ¡®that.¡¯
Sage¡¯s Eyes. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s strongest detection skill. Sage¡¯s Eyes was the SS-grade skill that showed the target¡¯s attributes window as well as hidden information.
As long as he used it, I couldn¡¯t avoid revealing my identity. On the other hand, I thought it was a good thing.
I still didn¡¯t know my ¡®attribute¡¯ and ¡®skills¡¯. If Yoo Jonghyuk discovered my information, I would also be able to know about myself. Then hopefully, I would be able to use the information I learned to escape this situation.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
[Fourth Wall has detected the use of the detection skill Sage¡¯s Eyes!]
Sparks flew in the air and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body staggered.
¡¸...Kuk, what? ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk covered his right eye and watched me with confusion.
¡°You...what is your identity?¡±
I¡¯m sorry but I was wondering the same thing.
[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall has blocked Sage¡¯s Eyes!]
I didn¡¯t know that I had a skill that would defend against Sage¡¯s Eyes. After Bookmark, it was Fourth Wall.
Thisplicated things. Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t believe me now.
¡¸ I must kill him here. ¡¹
He was a person who didn¡¯t trust what he didn¡¯t know.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Then I also need to change ns.
¡°You need a reliablepanion.¡±
¡°...What do you mean?¡±
¡°You can¡¯t break through the 46th scenario alone. Shouldn¡¯t you be well aware of it?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes narrowed.
¡°How do you know this? Perhaps you¨D¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how I am.¡±
I stared straight into Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes and said.
¡°The important thing is that I can help you.¡±
¡¸ He isn¡¯t a regressor. If he was a regressor, I wouldn¡¯t be unware of him. ¡¹
¡¸ Then who is this person? ¡¹
¡¸ ...Perhaps? ¡¹
If I couldn¡¯t hide my hand and if I didn¡¯t possess the best hand, then there was only one way out. It was to show a hand that would make the other person misunderstand.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, I know the future that you don¡¯t know.¡±
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used the ¡®Lie Detection¡¯ skill.
[Lie Detection has confirmed that your words are the truth.]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes slowly widened.
¡°...How?¡±
¡°How else?¡±
¡¸ No way. There was a prophet other than Anna Croft? It is also in South Korea? ¡¹
Prophet. In Ways of Survival, it was the only attribute that could see the future and had the passive of ¡®nullifying all detection skills.¡¯ In fact, only one person had the attribute of ¡®prophet¡¯ in the world of Ways of Survival.
¡¸ Only a prophet can defend against my Sage¡¯s Eyes. ¡¹
I didn¡¯t answer and Yoo Jonghyuk bit his lips.
¡°Can you perhaps use ¡®Future Sight¡¯?¡±
¡°It is something simr.¡±
¡°You knew I woulde here.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡¸ I see. If this man is a prophet, all his actions are convincing. ¡¹
The flow was changing. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fluctuation was conveyed straight away. This was the only chance.
¡°I know that Yoo Jonghyuk has special powers. You also know things about the future. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°But that knowledge is never perfect.¡±
The only weakness of a regressor.
It meant that the future changed when they used their information of the future. In other words, all those who regressed would eventually live in a ¡®world they don¡¯t know.¡¯
¡°Make me yourpanion. I can fill in the parts you are missing.¡±
There was nopanion as good as a ¡®prophet¡¯ to the present Yoo Jonghyuk. In fact, my present self could y a role simr to a prophet. It was because I was the only reader of this story.
[There is one minute to the end of the scenario.]
Yoo Jonghyuk bowed his head and started to think.
¡¸ A prophet will certainly be helpful. ¡¹
[There are 50 seconds left toplete the scenario.]
¡¸Not just the 46th scenario, butter when fighting the ¡®chtustra.¡¯ But... can I really believe him? ¡¹
[There are 40 seconds left to the end of the scenario.]
¡¸ Companion. ¡¹
Finally, Yoo Jonghyuk raised his head as I stared at the clock with an irritated heart.
¡°I have decided. I will make you mypanion.¡±
[Excessive immersion has severely worn out your mental strength.]
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint has been turned off.]
I wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to fatigue or relief but the exclusive skill was released. Now Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face was as difficult as a philosophy book with nomentary written.
Yoo Jonghyuk started to take me across the ¡®Even Bridge.¡¯ Of course, I was still held by the cor but...I thought things would be all right now. I persuaded this damn regressor and was in a good position.
We had almost crossed the Even Bridge and were right in front of the safe area when Yoo Jonghyuk suddenly stopped.
¡°I will ask you onest thing.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°If you are really a prophet, you should know your future. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
The moment I saw Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s serene eyes, goosebumps broke out. His test wasn¡¯t over yet. The grip holding my cor tightened.
¡°Keok.¡±
His hand raised me up a little bit and a gentle wind passed by my feet. Underneath me waspletely empty.
The smell of blood mixed in with the smell of Han River as the ichthyosaurs jumped towards their prey with open mouths.
¡°Will I let go of this hand or won¡¯t I?¡±
For the first time, I started sweating. Let me think. Even without his thoughts, I knew this guy more than anyone else. I closed my eyes and thought about Yoo Jonghyuk.
[There are 20 seconds left to the end of the scenario.]
Then I came to a conclusion.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
I was certain about what he would do. No matter how I thought about it, there was no other ending when it came to Yoo Jonghyuk.
I talked as I watched a seamander approaching in the water.
¡°I will tell you two things first.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°One, I¡¯m not your subordinate. So I hope you will treat me fairly from now on.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Two, I will cooperate with you but you also have to promise to cooperate with me.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at me with interest and nodded.
¡°Well, what is your answer?¡±
I replied with a smile.
¡°Get your hand off me and get lost, you damn jerk.¡±
Then the power holding me disappeared. I was grabbed by the force of gravity. I saw Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face as I was falling. Yoo Jonghyuk was smiling brightly like something made him happy.
Son of a bitch.
¡°I believe you. You are definitely a prophet.¡±
Waiting for me at my crash point was the mouth of the giant seamander.
I closed my eyes from the shock of the impact along with the cold water of Han River. As I sucked in a breath, a warm and enormous darkness swallowed me up.
[You have failed to clear the scenario.]
...Damn, I have to use that method after all.
Chapter 11
Episode 3 ¨C Contract (1)
My body suddenly became heavy as I felt water entering my lungs. Then I was sucked in somewhere. I wasn¡¯t torn apart because I fell with perfect timing. However, I couldn¡¯t lose consciousness here.
I had to stay awake. I needed to wait for a while.
I somehow managed to curl up and hold my breath. 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds...I was barely breathing when my hands hit a tangible wall in the darkness.
¡°U-Uwek.¡±
I could barely breathe after coughing up the river water several times. My level 10 stamina saved me from being killed by hitting the water surface, but therge and small bruises all over my body were very painful.
I controlled my breathing in order to not fall into a panic and turned on my smartphone.
I was worried it might¡¯ve broken in the fall but the power was fortunately okay. It was good that I spent big and bought a smartphone with a waterproof function.
Pahat.
The shlight turned on and the surrounding scenery entered my eyes. There were huge walls with concrete by-products floating by. The stomach of an ichthyosaur was more disgusting than I thought.
¡°Dammit.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression as he let go of his hand without hesitation and got off the bridge was vivid. I expected it but it was more shocking than I thought.
...If I wanted to be hispanion, I had to survive.
It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t understand.
Companion. The weight of this word was too great for Yoo Jonghyuk. Since his failure in the first round of regression, Yoo Jonghyuk had never made a real panion.¡¯
It was rare for humans to easily follow the growth of a regressor. As a result, he solved everything alone, was revered as a savior and was naturally lonely.
To Yoo Jonghyuk, ¡®humans¡¯ were only subordinates or enemies.
Thus, this was a test. If I wanted to be in a equal position with him, I had to solve this much alone.
...Well, this was when looking at it from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s viewpoint.
¡°Apanion like you...crazy psychopath.¡±
I barely doggy paddled to a floating styrofoam panel and raised my body onto it. Thanks to the warmth of the stomach, I wasn¡¯t cold. However, the problem was from now on.
I closed my eyes and yed the message log that I heard.
[You have failed to clear the scenario.]
[Paid settlement will begin.]
[100 coins have been reduced for the channel usage fee.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has nodded at your exciting remarks.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ nods are your coice.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is disappointed in your rash remarks.]
There were quite a few messages. In addition, a few exposed constetions sponsored me. Maybe it was due to the final conversation between Yoo Jonghyuk and I.
I felt a little down as I read through the messages of the constetions one by one and collected the coins. If I had picked one of these constetions in the first Sponsor Selection, this might not have happened.
But there was no regret in my choice.
After encountering Yoo Jonghyuk directly, I was certain.
The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven might be a sponsor of the highest quality but he wasn¡¯t enough. I needed more than just ¡®sponsorship¡¯ if I wanted to confront Yoo Jonghyuk.
And I would gain it from here.
The walls of the stomach growled and small waves rose inside. The seamander seemed to be moving somewhere. I turned on my smartphone and calcted the time.
ording to Ways of Survival, the ichthyosaur started to secret stomach acid around three hours after ingesting food.
In other words, I didn¡¯t have much time left.
[Haha, it is sad that things turned out like this. It was very interesting.]
There was a sound effect before the dokkaebi¡¯s voice was heard.
¡°...Dokkaebi?¡±
[Yes, that¡¯s right. You don¡¯t seem panicked at all?]
¡°I knew you woulde.¡±
[Hrmm. It sounds like you were waiting for me?]
¡°Of course I have been waiting.¡±
Light turned on and the dokkaebi appeared. I couldn¡¯t tell for sure from his expression alone, but this guy was clearly interested.
I deliberately spoke calmly. If I was pushed here, I wouldn¡¯t be able to eat my meal.
¡°Are you doing to take coins from me?¡±
[...Coins?]
¡°You have to take coins in exchange for me failing the scenario.¡±
[Hmm, not your life?]
¡°If it was my life, you would have written ¡®death¡¯ in the failure results column, not three question marks. Doesn¡¯t this mean there is room to negotiation?¡±
[...Hahaha. How interesting.]
In fact, there was a loophole in my words. The scenario message was ¡®Failure: ???¡¯. This literally meant that the penalty of failure was unknown. It was just my assumption that it was in exchange for coins. Nevertheless, there was a reason why I was so certain.
¡°Am I wrong?¡±
It was because I already knew about this scenario. The dokkaebi hesitated for a moment before nodding.
[You are right. Amazing. That you could determine this point with such a clue... as expected from someone who is attraction the constetions¡¯ attention.]
The dokkaebi¡¯s tone was filled with sincere admiration.
[As you said, you can survive this sub scenario if you pay coins, even if you fail.]
¡°How much?¡±
[Pay 5,100 coins. Then I will let you live.]
I looked at how many coins I currently posessed.
[Coins Possessed: 5,100 C]
I couldn¡¯t help smiling. This jerk was messing around right now.
¡°That is too much.¡±
[Haha, then won¡¯t you die? It is up to me to ept the coins or not. If you do something wrong then I can just end it here.]
¡°Then kill me.¡±
[...Huh?]
¡°Kill me.¡±
[¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.]
¡°You can¡¯t kill me?¡±
The dokkaebi didn¡¯t move. It was natural. He was having a lot of fun with me right now. Furthermore, he wouldn¡¯t havee down here to see me if he had been nning to kill me. For this guy, I had to survive here or I at least had to die miserably.
[Haha. You are really making me angry. Look, now...]
The dokkaebi¡¯s t-shaped eyebrows wriggled furiously. It was time to stop the taunts and get to the main point.
¡°Low-grade dokkaebi, Bihyung. How are the activities of a streamer?¡±
If there was a crack in the face, it would look exactly like this. Dokkaebi Bihyung showed confusion for the first time.
[H-How do you know my name?]
¡°You haven¡¯t been enjoying broadcastingtely, right? The constetions are too stingy.¡±
[W-Who the hell are you? How does a human...]
Bihyung¡¯s horns shook. It was natural. An ordinary human couldn¡¯t know about the Star Stream system. But I wasn¡¯t an ordinary human.
[A few constetions have doubts about your existence.]
[The constetion Secretive Plotter¡¯s eyes are shining at your n.]
From now on, it wasn¡¯t a story for the constetions.
I mouthed to Bihyung, ¡°How about we talk after you close the channel?¡±
Bihyung was worried and closed the channel.
[#BI-7623 channel is closed.]
Once the constetions left the channel, Bihyung showed his true colours.
[Feel free to speak. You, how can an ordinary human know about the Star Stream broadcasting?]
¡°That isn¡¯t important.¡±
[Huh?]
¡°Bihyung, do you want to be ¡®king of the dokkaebis¡¯?¡±
[What now¨D]
¡°Don¡¯t you wish to be the best streamer in thework, surpassing Dokgak and Gildal?¡±
Bihyung¡¯splexion was changing.
¡°Dokkaebi Bihyung, sign a contract with me. Then I will make you the king of the dokkaebis.¡±
Chapter 12
Episode 3 ¨C Contract (2)
Star Stream system.
The star stream broadcasting was designed to ry its contents to the entire universe.
The subscribers were constetions at the top of the distant gxies. The actors were humans like me. And the storyteller that connected the two sides was the dokkaebi in front of me.
[Ha, hahahahat! You are crazy! A crazy human! I should¡¯ve known it when you refused to sponsoring of the other constetions!]
Bihyungughed for a long time before opening his mouth again.
[I don¡¯t know how you know about Star Stream Broadcasting but I can¡¯t ept the offer. I¡¯m a dokkaebi, not a constetion. I can¡¯t be your sponsor.]
¡°You seem to have misunderstood. I never told you to sponsor me.¡±
[Huh?]
¡°I am well aware that you are a weak dokkaebi. I don¡¯t need your strength. I need your channel.¡±
[My channel?]
¡°Since you can¡¯t seem to understand me, is there a problem with your Koreannguage patch?¡±
[No, what is this?]
¡°I will exin it simply. I want to sign an exclusive contract with your channel.¡±
Bihyung made a nk expression before btedly regained his spirit.
[Wait a minute. Do you want to make a ¡®stream contract¡¯ with me now?]
¡°Yes.¡±
A stream contract was originally a contract between dokkaebi and constetions.
The constetion¡¯s incarnation would appear on a particr channel and the dokkaebi would receive a portion of the coins earned by the incarnation of the constetion as amission.
Originally, the person who was the incarnation couldn¡¯t intervene in this contract. It was called sponsorship but the contracted incarnation was nothing but a ve.
[Hahat, this is a hit.]
Bihyungughed behind small fingers. The surrounding atmosphere was changing.
[I don¡¯t know how you know about such things but some human dares to mention the stream contract? It is also a trivial buy with no sponsor?]
The tone changed and the surrounding air was filled with killing intent. Indeed, even a low level dokkaebi was strongpared to humans. But it wasn¡¯t enough to make me back off.
¡°It is worth signing a contract because I have no sponsor.¡±
[...What?]
¡°What do you think the purpose of a constetion is to enter a channel?¡±
Bihyung looked like a bad student at the sudden question. From now on, it was a special lecture time for the low level dokkaebi.
¡°You don¡¯t have to be so nervous. You already know this information. But let¡¯s review it again to see what it means.¡±
Bihyung was caught in my pace and nodded despite himself.
¡°The Star Stream subscribers can bergely divided into two groups. One group are the ¡®fun seekers¡¯ who seek to relieve their boredom with the channel. The other group are the ¡®incarnation searchers¡¯ who want to find an incarnation to contract with them. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
[Yes. That¡¯s right.]
¡°For this reason, you must be able to satisfy one of the two groups in order to be a famous channel in Star Stream. In other words, either stick to the fun seekers or the incarnation seekers. You have to attract one of them properly.¡±
[You are moderately well informed. But so what? What does this contract have to do with why constetions subscribe?]
¡°I don¡¯t know how many more hints I have to give you. This is why your subscribers number still isn¡¯t over three digits.¡±
[...Shut up. Say it quickly.]
Seeing Bihyung thrust his small horns at me cutely, it was hard to believe the dokkaebi had blown up people¡¯s head a while ago. Now let¡¯s stop making fun of him and take a chance.
¡°What if there is a channel that can satisfy both the fun seekers and the incarnation searchers?¡±
[What are you saying? Such a thing is impossible. Even if it is possible, it is only for a while.]
Bihyung¡¯s words were correct.
The reason why it was impossible to satisfy all the constetions was due to the characteristics of the ¡®incarnation searchers¡¯ group.
The purpose of these constetions was to ¡®discover an incarnation.¡¯ They changed channels as soon as the Sponsor Selection was over. Due to this, the incarnation searchers group were just temporary customers. But.
¡°That is a story for when the Sponsor Selection proceeds normally.¡±
[What?]
¡°What if there is an incarnation who doesn¡¯t sign a contract with any constetion? And what if that incarnation shows an ability that transcends all over incarnations with sponsors?¡±
The existence of a strong incarnation would attract the eyes of the constetions. If this incarnation continued to not select a sponsor, the ¡®incarnation searchers¡¯ group would continue to subscribe without leaving the channel.
[W-Wait a minute! You, is this why you didn¡¯t select a sponsor....?]
¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±
[Ha...this is interesting.]
Bihyung grinned at me.
[Bing the strongest incarnation without a sponsor... if there is such a thing, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be a dream to be the best Star Stream channel. But such an incarnation can¡¯t exist.]
¡°Do you really think so?¡±
[...I admit that you aren¡¯t normal. You have attracted the attention of constetions from the beginning and thanks to it, I have also been having fun. However, there is a limit to your delusions. Haven¡¯t you noticed it after going through that? An ordinary human can never beat an incarnation. That is thew of the world.]
¡°I don¡¯t know that.¡±
[You have already missed the opportunity. Look around you. This isn¡¯t a main scenario. You failed a sub scenario and now your life is at risk. There are no constetions watching you¨D]
¡°Really?¡±
[......?]
¡°By now, the constetions must be in an uproar. Aren¡¯t they? Isn¡¯t everybody moring for the channel to quickly be opened?¡±
Bihyung was silent.
¡°Aren¡¯t they all going crazy with curiosity right now? Who is that crazy person who went against the regressor? Is he really a prophet? Can he really see the future? If he can see the future, what did he get eaten by the ichthyosaur?¡±
[S-Stop! You are...]
¡°From now on, I¡¯m going to show it. So shut up and do what I tell you. Do you want to be the king of dokkaebis?¡±
Bihyung¡¯s gaze towards me was changing. I could hear the sound of him gulping.
Bihyung was worrying. In any case, there was nothing to lose if he believed me here. Then? Bihyung¡¯s pupils moved quickly.
[Then let¡¯s settle the scenario failure first. Give me 5,100 coins...]
¡°What are you saying? I didn¡¯t fail.¡±
[...Eh?]
¡°Maybe by now I would¡¯ve met the conditions...¡±
I loosened my body and got up from my seat. My cold body was stiff. Bihyung still had a stupid expression on his face.
¡°Open the channel. It will start soon.¡±
[Start, what will¨D]
Then a message was heard in the air.
[The hidden scenario has arrived!]
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C Commander yer]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A+
Clear Conditions: Kill the ichthyosaur ¡®seamander¡¯ and escape from its stomach.
Time Limit: 10 days
Compensation: 9,000 coins
Failure: Death
+
¡°Look, didn¡¯t I tell you to be prepared?¡±
There were three types of scenarios in Ways of Survival. The main scenario was in charge of progressing the main story. The sub scenarios were responsible for minor events. And the hidden scenarios were only opened through special conditions.
[How on earth...?]
Bihyung¡¯s lips were shaking with shock.
Unlike the main scenarios and sub scenarios that a dokkaebi was in charge of, the hidden scenarios were characterized by their automatic appearance when certain conditions were met.
¡°You didn¡¯t even know. You low grade dokkaebi.¡±
[You...what on earth?]
¡°Anyway, if I can clear this, I will prove that I have the ability for the contract, right?¡±
Bihyung watched the scenario screen with gloomy eyes. He looked at me with a careful gaze and asked.
[This scenario, the difficulty is A+. Do you really believe you can clear it?]
¡°Yes.¡±
There was a small wave as the Han River water crashed against the wall of the ichthyosaur¡¯s stomach. Bihyung was silent for a moment before opening his mouth.
[...Okay. If you seed in clearing this scenario then I will ept the contract.]
¡°The terms of the contract will be negotiated after the scenario is cleared.¡±
[So arrogant...then I will open the channel again. Please try hard.]
¡°Ah, wait a minute.¡±
It would be difficult if he left already. I had something to check.
¡°You have something left to do.¡±
[...What is it now?]
Bihyung¡¯s mocking tone was somewhat annoying.
¡°Fix a system error for me.¡±
[System error?]
¡°My attributes window isn¡¯t opening.¡±
[No way. The system can¡¯t have an error. The scenario system is perfect.]
¡°Take a look yourself.¡±
Bihyung looked at me with suspicious eyes and started to mutter something.
[The dokkaebi ¡®Bihyung¡¯ has used ¡®System Interference¡¯ on you.]
System interference.
It was an absolute interference skill that could only be used by dokkaebis with the right to interfere in the scenario.
In fact, it was unclear if the reason why I couldn¡¯t see the attributes window was an error or not. But at least the dokkaebi would be able to find out something. And if he couldn¡¯t figure it out, that was also a profit for me.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
In the next moment, sparks flew in the air and struck Bihyung.
Chapter 13
Episode 3 ¨C Contract (3)
Looking at the situation, I got a sense of what happened.
¡°What is it? Is something wrong?¡±
[This isn¡¯t possible. How can there be a firewall preventing the system interference...?]
It seemed Fourth Wall blocked not just the skills of an incarnation but the dokkaebi¡¯s interference as well. If this was true, it meant nobody in Ways of Destruction could see my attributes window, including myself.
How interesting. It was the perfect condition to be a scammer.
¡°Forget about it.¡±
[P-Please wait! I can do it. U-Uh. What if I do this?]
¡°You can¡¯t do it.¡±
[Kuaaack!]
Bihyung screamed like he had received an electric shock. The white fluffy hair on his skin was burnt ck.
[T-This! This!]
¡°It¡¯s okay. If you can¡¯t do it then stop. I will ask for another favour.¡±
[This can¡¯t be! I am Dokkaebi Bihyung. If I can¡¯t solve this situation, the honor of the dokkaebi¨D]
I looked at the clock. It had been an hour since the ichthyosaur ate. There was no time to dy like this.
¡°The dokkaebi bag.¡±
Bihyung stopped his useless action of digging at the air.
[What?]
¡°Open the dokkaebi bag.¡±
[...How do you know about that?]
¡°Are you going to open it?¡±
[Only an incarnation with a sponsor can use the dokkaebi bag...]
¡°It is true that all incarnations that use the dokkaebi bag have a sponsor. But there is no rule that an incarnation without a sponsor can¡¯t use the dokkaebi bag.¡±
[...Wait a minute.]
Bihyung pulled out a manual and confirmed it.
[At this point, I don¡¯t know if I am a dokkaebi or you are. Are you actually a dokkaebi?]
The smiling Bihyung raised both hands.
[...Okay, there is no problem if you use it. However, the dokkaebi bag can only be used when the channel is open for streaming purposes. Is that okay?]
¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±
[#BI-7623 channel is open.]
[The constetions have entered.]
Then an electric current appeared in the air. A transparent screen emerged in front of me.
[Wee to the coin shop, the ¡®Dokkaebi Bag.¡¯]
The Dokkaebi Bag.
It was the moment when this damn world¡¯s ¡®cash store¡¯ was opened.
* * *
There were two ways to use coins in Ways of Survival.
One of them was to raise the level of the stats such as stamina and strength. The other was to use it as amon form of currency that could be used in various stores, including the dokkaebi bag.
[Buy it now! A starter pack for your incarnation for 2,500 coins!]
[A today only special! A 300% growth package, grow faster than others!]
[Did you identally pick an incarnation with a bad attribute? Don¡¯t worry! The ¡®Random Attribute Box¡¯ that can randomly change the attribute has been released!]
There were numerous coin items, including various packages. All of the advertisements in the Dokkaebi Bag were aimed at the constetions raising incarnations. It was natural. The original customers of the Dokkaebi Bag were constetions.
I got rid of the pop-up advertising windows one by one.
It was nothingpared to the ¡®disasters¡¯ that emerged after the fifth main scenario, but a seamander ichthyosaur was no different from a disaster for the early stage incarnations.
I needed some items sold in the Dokkaebi Bag to defeat the ichthyosaur. Let¡¯s see...
I looked at the catalog before ncing over at Bihyung.
¡°Hey, are these the only items I can buy right now? Is there a search function?¡±
[At that...shit. Wait. Constetions. Please. Please calm down.]
From the moment the channel opened, Bihyung was repeatingins with aic-like sweat.
[It was just a server error that shut the broadcast off for a while! I didn¡¯t turn it off on purpose.]
There was a total of 20 stars above Bihyung¡¯s head. Since not too many of them had left the channel, it seems that quite a few constetions wanted to see what happened to me. Of course, not all the constetions were friendly.
[A few constetions are questioning the fairness of the broadcast!]
[A few constetions are suspicious of the privileges you have received!]
It wasn¡¯t unexpected. While the broadcast was off, a hidden scenario started and the Dokkaebi Bag was opened. It was no wonder that the constetions were surprised.
[No, preferences? Look at this, Constetions. I am a dokkaebi. Don¡¯t you know that I will be extinguished if I do that? Don¡¯t you know that the storyteller vow is never light?]
¡°Will you help me?¡±
[...There is a product search button in the lower right corner.
¡°Thank you.¡±
I ignored Bihyung and pressed the magnifying ss icon at the bottom of the package window.
[The product search function is activated.]
[The produce search is limited to 5 times a day. Any additional searches will cost 100 coins per search.]
In any case, humans and dokkaebi were the same. The total number of free searches given was five. Two searches were enough to buy the materials I needed so I had three searches left.
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is wondering about your n.]
Yes, be curious. If you are curious, keep watching.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking angrily at your actions.]
Don¡¯t watch if you are going to get all twisted up.
I opened my mouth to use the search function.
¡°Search for the ¡®Ancient Dragon¡¯ item.¡±
[There are three search results.]
A small pop-up window soon emerged.
* Ancient Dragon¡¯s Heart ¨C Stock
* Ancient Dragon¡¯s Bone ¨C Stock: 1
* Ancient Dragon¡¯s Horn ¨C Stock: 1
I chose the Ancient Dragon¡¯s Heart.
[Item Information]
Name: Ancient Dragon¡¯s Heart
Rating: SS
Description: A heart containing the magic power of the ancient dragon ¡®Ignitus.¡¯ It possesses near-infinite magic power and the attribute ¡®Hellfire¡¯ will be acquired if a heart transnt is sessful.
Price: 1,500,000 C
Stock: Just sold out.
As expected, it was out of stock. From beyond the catalog, Bihyung, who was dealing with the constetions, looked at me with his jaw dropped.
[Crazy. How do you know the information about the ancient dragon?]
¡°I just called out a nice name.¡±
[...It seems like a lie.]
I shrugged.
In the original Ways of Survival, the owner of the Ancient Dragon¡¯s Heart was already determined. If I remember correctly, the owner of the heart was currently in Italy.
A person with good luck. They got such a diamond sponsor. I called out several more product names.
[The rted product search ispleted.]
* Great Demon¡¯s Eyes ¨C Stock: 0
* White Pure Star Energy ¨C Stock: 1
The Great Demon¡¯s Eyes was sold out... the hands of the constetions were really quick. Well, I couldn¡¯t buy it since the selling price was 1 million coins.
At any rate, it was good to have a sponsor. Now the incarnation with the Great Demon¡¯s Eyes would grow and destroy the beginner scenarios.
[What are you really? What type of cheat are you using? How do you know about items that can only be found in the search?]
¡°I just said usible names.¡±
Among the three items that I searched for, only the White Pure Star Energy was in stock. Furthermore, the price was 10,000 coins so I couldn¡¯t buy it now. I put it in the shopping cart for now.
[What, are you buying it?]
¡°Not right now. I am just window shopping.¡±
[Sheesh, what a waste of time.]
¡°I am going to buy something else so bring up the items I call out from now on.¡±
I called out several item names. After a moment, a list of items emerged in front of me.
* Mucus of the Hammer Sea Horse ¨C Stock: 124
* Stone Hog¡¯s Pointed Thorn ¨C Stock: 17
Ipared it to the list in my memories. The food of the ichthyosaur, the hammer sea horse and the stone hog, the nemesis of sea species... There was no doubt. Thisbination was the best when it came to attacking an ichthyosaur.
¡°Four mucus, four thorns. It is 800 coins?¡±
[Yes but...where are you going to use these misceneous items?]
¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡±
[...I don¡¯t want to be nosy but why don¡¯t you buy something else? For example, this Woryeong Sword Technique. It is originally 8,000 coins but I will now sell it for 4,000 coins. Wouldn¡¯t buying this be more helpful to clear the scenario?]
¡°Thank you but I will just buy this.¡±
Bihyung wasn¡¯t satisfied but received the payment.
[800 coins have been consumed.]
In the darkness, a sparkling powder gathered and four elongated thorns and four pockets of ck mucus appeared.
[I can¡¯t give a refund if you regret it now. Do you understand?]
¡°I know.¡±
I briefly nodded and started working. I took off my top, tied it around my waist and stuck the thorns in the gap, while the pockets were hung from my waist.
The stone hog¡¯s thorn was stumpy but became sharp at the end. It was approximately one metre in length. It was a reasonable size to pierce something.
[Hrmm...then I¡¯ll be going. I can¡¯t stay with you. There is something fun going on in another ce.]
¡°Do it.¡±
[Huhu, then hang in there. I hope the story will bless you.]
Bihyung disappeared in a sh of light and the surroundings became dark again. I could use the light on my smartphone but I wanted to save the battery as much as possible.
In the darkness, the stone hog thorn was emitting a bluish light. It was a feeble light but for the moment, it would be sufficient.
I pulled out a thorn and swung it. Maybe it was because I didn¡¯t have a skill such as Weapons Training or Incarnation of All Soldiers. I couldn¡¯t get used to holding the thorn.
[A few constetions are bored.]
The impatient constetions left the channel. I couldn¡¯t see it but Bihyung was probably fretting right now.
Then an hour passed.
Right, left, up and down.
I didn¡¯t like it but I no longer had a problem handling the thorn. The surface finish was rough and didn¡¯t seem like it would slip easily from the hand.
It was time to begin. I used the proper force and stabbed at the ichthyosaur wall above me.
Tiing!
It was like poking a rubber stic wall as the thorn bounced off. My current strength wasn¡¯t high enough to tear at the stomach of the ichthyosaur. It would probably be the same if I used a skill.
Ku ku ku ku!
At that moment, the small holes at the top of the stomach wall opened simultaneously. Then an absolutely disgusting liquid poured out.
¡°Kuweek!¡±
One of the demonic people floating on something in the stomach started shrieking.
Chuchuchu. The skin of the demonic person started burning. The digestion of the ichthyosaur had begun. The ichthyosaur¡¯s digestive juices quickly mixed in the river water and started to melt away at the concrete and other floating products.
Chu chu chu chu!
There was no time. It was going as nned.
I jumped from the floating object and gripped a bump on the wall of the stomach. Then I started climbing up the wall like I was rock climbing.
Gurgle gurgle gurgle.
The outlet of the digestive juices was right above. I put the thorn in my mouth and grabbed a pocket of mucus.
The mucus of the hammer sea horse. I poured the mysterious dark blue liquid onto my hand and applied the mucus carefully from the tip to the end of the thorn.
It was with precision and care, as if applying shaving cream to an area to be shaved. If the shaving cream protected the skin from the razor, the mucus protected the thorn from the digestive juices.
Go. I swung the thorn towards where the digestive juices wereing from. The angle was correct and I used my maximum strength.
Kwaang!
The digestive juices flowed down the thorn and dissolved the skin on my forearm. I experienced a terrible pain but didn¡¯t stop. If I made a mistake here then everything was over.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has relieved some of the pain.]
Gurgle, gurgle.Chururuk...
Before long, the thorn jammed up the emission point.
¡°Just one.¡±
After a deep sigh, I pulled out another thorn from my waist. I applied the mucus of the hammer sea horse, found another opening and blocked it.
[A few constetions admire your calmness.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 200 coins.]
I used this method to block three opening points. There were some left, but the small openings didn¡¯t releaserge amounts of digestive fluids.
There was one thorn left in the top tightly tied around me. All that was left was one thorn and two pockets of mucus.
I used the remaining mucus on my skin and clothes, then poured what was remaining down my throat.
¡°Kup.¡±
The fishy taste on my tongue was sickening but it was better than dying. The bitterness was nothingpared to the disaster that would ur from now on.
It was around five minutes afterwards that the entire stomach started trembling.
...It had started.
Kieeeeeeek-!
The ichthyosaur let out a painful scream. The blood vessels on the wall of the stomach were squirming. The thorns were visibly expanding into the blood vessels.
The thorns in the openings had started their aggressive growth activity. The stone hog¡¯s thorn grew in response to the body fluids of seawater species.
Gududuk, gududuk.
The thorn that became immune to the digestive juices due to the applied mucus absorbed the surrounding fluids and started to take root in the body of the ichthyosaur.
The stone hog¡¯s thorns wouldn¡¯t stop expanding until the ichthyosaur waspletely dead.
Keeeeeeh!
As I watched the liquid swirling under my feet, I grabbed the thorn tightly. I did everything I could. From now on, it was a mental fight.
Either I died or this guy would die. Only one of us would survive.
Chapter 14
Episode 3 ¨C Contract (4)
I didn¡¯t know how much time passed. My breathing was often interrupted and all my muscles were so stiff that I could barely move them.
[A few constetions admire your will to survive!]
[The constetions have sponsored you 100 coins.]
But I persisted. I persisted because I believed I could hold on. The light emitted from the thorn in the darkness confirmed that I was alive. After confirming the falling temperature of the stomach wall, I was convinced that he was dying.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ admires your spirit.]
[The constetion has sponsored you 100 coins.]
When I was hungry, I ced my tongue to the end of the thorn.
The condensed fluid that flowed out contained the life force absorbed from the ichthyosaur. The reason I drank the mucus in advance was to absorb this concentrate.
[Your stamina has slightly increased due to absorbing the power of the ichthyosaur.]
There wasn¡¯t an immediate effect of my stats level increasing, but by the time I escaped from the ichthyosaur, I would gain at least two levels in stamina.
It wouldn¡¯t work at a higher level, but this was one of the few tricks I could use to raise my stamina without using coins.
...Indeed, this wasn¡¯t a dream.
This was all I could do. I was just an ordinary reader. I wasn¡¯t a protagonist. It felt like I would wake up screaming in bed at any moment, but no such miracle happened no matter how much I blinked.
...Mother would be fine. She was okay. This wasn¡¯t anybody else, it was ¡®Mother.¡¯
I fell asleep whenever the liquid on the floor drained away and woke up every time the cold river water entered my mouth.
Finally, the ichthyosaur¡¯s digestion stopped. The warmth of the viscera suddenly cooled down and the stic stomach lining gradually solidified. Thus, I could be sure.
He died.
[...You are really great.]
A bright light in the darkness. Bihyung¡¯s dim figure was floating in the air.
[Using the stone hog¡¯s thorn like this. I never even thought about it. Constetions, isn¡¯t it the same for you?]
Bihyung looked at the stone hog¡¯s thorn emitting a faint light.
[The stone hog is a guy who mainly lives on the coast and feeds on small sea species. They insert the thorn into the skin of the prey but I didn¡¯t think it would be used to plug up the openings for the digestive juices...]
Bihyung¡¯s shining eyes weren¡¯t looking at me. The words weren¡¯t an exnation for me either.
[A few constetions are smiling as if they already know.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 100 coins.]
[A few constetions btedly understand your judgment.]
[The constetionsin that you should tell them by talking to yourself from now on.]
I ignored the messages from the constetions and drank thest of the condensed fluid.
[Your stamina has slightly increased due to absorbing the power of the ichthyosaur.]
[Your stamina level has risen!]
[Stamina Lv. 11 -> Stamina Lv. 12]
I aplished my intended purpose. Bihyung came down to me and looked at my burnt arm.
[Furthermore, the mucus...I didn¡¯t know the mucus of the hammer sea horse was so potent.]
Originally, my skin should¡¯ve melted from the ichthyosaur¡¯s digestive juices. I opened my mouth to stop Bihyung¡¯s nonsense.
¡°The mucus of the hammer sea horse is immune to digestive fluids. They evolved in this way after often being eaten by the ichthyosaurs.¡±
[A few constetions admire your knowledge.]
Then Bihyung looked at me with a betrayed expression.
[Excuse me, I should be the one exining...]
¡°I did it because you don¡¯t know. Now is the exnation over?¡±
[...Yes.]
¡°Then give me the reward.¡±
[Cheeky bastard.]
Bihyung grumbled while at the same time, a reward message appeared in front of my eyes.
[The hidden scenario has ended.]
[You have obtained 9,000 coins inpensation.]
[You are the first to have sessfully hunted a grade 7 species.]
[You have earned 1,000 coins as an achievement reward.
9,000 coins plus an additional 1,000 coins. It was a very huge ie.
[Coins Possessed: 14,800 C]
If I added the 500 donated coins from filming my survival, the total ie was 10,500 coins. It was over my target.
[Haha, Constetions. Did you see it well? Let¡¯s quickly watch an advertisement before going straight to the next scenario!]
I could hear the faint sounds of an ad somewhere.
New scenario opening featured package, 8,800 coins...
Once the eyes of the constetions disappeared, Bihyung started speaking to me in a friendly manner.
[Sigh...it was a great survival. The response from the constetions was amazing.]
¡°How much time passed?¡±
[Four days. I was in suspense the whole time I was watching. Were you unaware of the time?]
¡°My smartphone died.¡±
It took more time than I thought. The original goal was two days... Well, Yoo Jonghyuk took four days in the fourth round to catch this so the speed wasn¡¯t slow.
Anyway, I did it.
A pleasant feeling of fulfilment covered my whole body and made me confident. I was an ordinary person with ordinary skills. But even so, this didn¡¯t mean I could only do ordinary things.
¡°...How funny.¡±
It was strange. A novel that hadn¡¯t been helpful for 28 years was now making me extraordinary.
[Oh, you are already talking to yourself?]
¡°...¡±
[Isn¡¯t it good? For an incarnation, talking to yourself is essential. Of course, there are constetions who dislike it but usually...]
¡°Shut up and open the Dokkaebi Bag.¡±
[Why? Are you going to buy something?]
¡°I¡¯m not buying but selling.¡±
[Damn, I¡¯ll have to cut the ad short. Constetions, hold on a second. I¡¯ll adjust the volume.]
As Bihyung opened the Dokkaebi Bag, I looked at the thorns embedded in the wall.
The upper barrier was hardened and deep cracks formed around the thorns. I could now smash through the upper barrier with my strength.
I broke the wall little by little with the one remaining thorn. Shortly afterwards, I encountered the core of the ichthyosaur that was glowing blue.
[Ichthyosaur¡¯s Core]
It was an ether core found in monster species grade 7 or higher. I could raise my magic power level without coins if I ingested them. It was good quality because it was a seamander grade ichthyosaur.
I carefully cut at the flesh around the core while Bihyung looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
¡°I¡¯ll sell this.¡±
[You really...]
¡°Of course, I don¡¯t mean to sell it to you. I¡¯ll put it on the dokkaebi auction.¡±
Bihyung epted it like he was tired of asking me anything.
[Sigh...do what you want. How much are you going to charge?]
¡°I won¡¯t sell it for coins. I¡¯ll sell it by barter.¡±
[Damn, you know all sorts of things.]
Bihyung grumbled while uploaded the item to the dokkaebi auction. His desires were simple. This guy might listen better than I thought.
¡°Someone will show up to buy it. And the item exchanged must be ¡®Broken Faith.¡¯¡±
[Broken Faith? There is a person with it...in any case, it is registered.]
¡°Yes. And I will buy this...¡±
I saw White Pure Star Energy in the shopping cart. Indeed, nobody bought it yet. Most constetions weren¡¯t well aware of the value of coin items. The expensive items in the Dokkaebi Bag weren¡¯t unconditionally good.
[Wait a minute, can I talk to you for a moment?]
At Bihyung¡¯s words, the advertising volume increased again.
[The constetions areining about the long advertisement.]
Once I saw that one more advertisement had appeared, I had a hunch about what Bihyung wanted to say.
¡°Is it the contract?¡±
Advertising was the only way to hide the eyes and ears of the constetions without turning off the broadcast. From now on, it wasn¡¯t a story for the constetions.
[Yes. I wasn¡¯t certain but I became convinced after this scenario. Well...let¡¯s try it once. I can help you a little bit.]
¡°Won¡¯t this vite the streamer¡¯s pledge?¡±
[Ah, of course, I can¡¯t really help you. I¡¯m just saying that. Will you sign the contract?]
¡°What are the conditions?¡±
[Take a look.]
The dokkaebi pulled out an extravagant contract that had been prepared.
I read the contract that emerged as a transparent window in the air.
¡ª¨C
[Stream Contract Agreement]
Incarnation Kim Dojka (Gap) will sign an exclusive contract with Bihyung (Eul) until all scenarios arepleted or until his death.
(TL: Gap and Eul are based on the 10 celestial/heavenly stems (Link). In Korea, they are consistently used to denote the smaller andrger contractor in a legal contract.)
¡ª¨C
¡°... I am the gap?¡±
[Haha, don¡¯t humans like this? It doesn¡¯t mean anything. Keep reading.]
¡ª¨C
Incarnation Kim Dokja (Gap) will never choose a sponsor until all scenarios have ended or his death.
¡ª¨C
This was also as expected.
¡ª¨C
Incarnation Kim Dokja (Gap) should only be active on the channel of Dokkaebi Bihyung (Eul).Incarnation Kim Dokja (Gap) and Dokkaebi Bihyung (Eul) will distribute the revenue from stream contracts and this ratio will be determined through mutual consultation.Incarnation Kim Dokja (Gap) and Dokkaebi Bihyung (Eul) will be subject to destruction in ordance to thews of Star Stream if they break this contract.
¡ª¨C
I read the contract carefully to thest item. I thought he might y an unknown joke but I didn¡¯t see that part.
Except for one thing.
¡°There is the most important part.¡±
[What do you mean? You can just say that you agree. The stream contract is a soul pledge¨D]
¡°I¡¯m talking about the pay ratio.¡±
[A-Ahh. Haha. Right.]
As if this bastard didn¡¯t know.
This was the most important part.
¡°How about 5:5? Instead, I¡¯ll get rid of my channel fee. Ah, do you know how to calcte it? I will urately divide your future donations in this ratio. For example, if you get 100 coins, you will receive 50 coins and I will receive 50 coins.]
All stream contracts were like this. The constetions had incarnations appear on the dokkaebi¡¯s channel and the contributions received from other constetions would be divided by a percentage. This was normal.
¡°Are you taking me for a pushover? I won¡¯t ept.¡±
[What? B-But this is the industry¡¯s default settlement ratio...]
¡°I¡¯m an incarnation without a sponsor. When donating to an incarnation without a sponsor, the constetions must pay a huge fee to the dokkaebi. Haven¡¯t you already enjoyed a lot thanks to me?¡±
Bihyung¡¯s jaw slowly dropped open. But there was no point making that expression.
¡°10:0. You will only get themission. I won¡¯t pay you a single penny.¡±
[What?! That is ridiculous...h-how about 7:3?]
The ratio changed greatly. But I wasn¡¯t going to concede.
¡°10:0.¡±
[What is this fucking bullshit? It is a ridiculous rate¨D]
¡°Then don¡¯t ept. I will just go to another channel. ¡®Gildal¡¯ is doing well these days. I should ask him.¡±
[...8:2. I can¡¯t concede anymore.]
¡°10:0.¡±
[¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.]
Bihyung¡¯s expression changed to a threatening one. He looked at my head like it would explode at any minute. But I knew. He would never give up the contract. My existence was hisst chance.
¡°The advertisement ising to an end. Don¡¯t you see the constetionsining?¡±
In the end, Bihyung gave up.
[Shit, I understand. Then will you sign the contract?]
He surrendered easier than I thought. In fact, I was going to give up at 9:1.
...Maybe he earned more money than I expected. It was a bit disgusting.
¡°Yes. And one more thing.¡±
[What? What now?]
¡°You have to give a separate down payment. Give me 5,000 coins.¡±
Bihyung¡¯s expression tightened.
[Y-You really...]
Iughed. Why was a ¡®gap¡¯ a ¡®gap and why did humans dwell on it...I would let that damn dokkaebi know.
[The stream contract is concluded.]
[You have received 5,000 coins as a down payment.]
The advertisement finished and the constetions came back. I patted the dokkaebi on the shoulder and said.
¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±
Now was the real start.
Chapter 15
Episode 4 ¨C Line of Hypocrisy (1)
A meteor shower was pouring down in the starry sky. It was a sight that anyone would admire, but not Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ It is starting. ¡¹
The meteor shower was the precursor to the third main scenario starting. Now Seoul would be destroyed one by one ording to the scenario.
Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at the sky before bowing his head and looking at the Han River.
Thendscape around Dongho Bridge was quite deste since therge group of ichthyosaurs had recently moved downstream.
¡¸ It was too much. ¡¹
It had already been three days since Kim Dokja entered Han River. It might¡¯ve been too much to demand that he catch the ichthyosaur at the first level.
¡¸Indeed, it would be hard for me to catch an ichthyosaur in three days. ¡¹
But it would be impossible to take him if he couldn¡¯t do this much. If he couldn¡¯t even do this much, it would only hinder Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ A prophet isn¡¯t a big deal. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk closed his eyes with disappointment. He would go on his own again. Without anypanions.
It wasn¡¯t a big deal. He had been alone all this time.
¡¸ This time I will definitely change it. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk turned around.
But maybe he had turned away too soon.
* * *
¡°Wait...!¡±
[W-What?]
I blinked several times but could only see a grey-white ceiling. I was still inside the ichthyosaur. I turned my head and saw the surprised Bihyung.
¡°...I had a dream.¡±
[Ohu, are you trying to raise curiosity? It isn¡¯t bad?]
I didn¡¯t mean to do such a thing but I didn¡¯t mind the misunderstanding.
[A few constetions want you to move to a new ce quickly.]
I used 500 coins to buy the Ein Forest¡¯s Vital Force to help me sleep. I thought it was too dangerous to move while exhausted.
The Ein Forest¡¯s Vital Force quickly recovered fatigue and wounds in exchange for two hours of sleep. In other words, it was an expensive item.
¡°...I really want to go out.¡±
I talked to myself while stretching my body. The dream I just had was still clear. Maybe it wasn¡¯t a dream.
Kwajijijik!
I heard the sound of an electric current scattering and Bihyung disappeared without a word. Maybe he went to do his job.
I sighed with relief.
The stream contract with the dokkaebi. It was a gamble that I never would¡¯ve attempted if I hadn¡¯t known about Bihyung from Ways of Survival. But I did it with surprising calm. I never seeded in any contracts in ¡®real life.¡¯
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is in use.]
...This was real. I inserted strength to my right hand holding the thorn. I really thought this world was reality.
[A few constetions want you to act.]
Well, there was no time to worry about it. I swung the thorn as hard as I could at the stomach wall that lost its sticity. At the same time, there was the sound of something copsed and water pouring out. I plunged into Han River.
¡°Puah!¡±
Fortunately, I didn¡¯t see any other ichthyosaurs. Small seawater species approached with curiosity but no hostility was felt. Not all creatures would attack humans.
Dongho Bridge was over there.
I used a piece of the ichthyosaur corpse as a floatation device and made my way towards drynd.
My skin was cold from the cold water but I couldn¡¯t worry about it. After 30 minutes of swimming, my hand reachednd.
[A few constetions are nervous looking at you.]
Normally, danger would immediatelye after this message popped up.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is making an insidious smile.]
It was a pity for the constetions but something bad wouldn¡¯t happen to me. It was because I already knew the dangers.
[You have entered the region of the second main scenario.]
[Thend in the scenario area is deeply polluted.]
[Be careful about your breathing and move underground as quickly as possible.]
The message said this but in fact, I shouldn¡¯t be on the ground from the moment this scenario started.
Why? Look at my skin now.
[You have been exposed to poisonous fog.]
The skin touched by the violet fog turned ck.
Kyahh!
Once I followed the source of the fog with my eyes, I saw a monster making terrible cries.
It was a massive monster over 30 metres big. This fog was the fart of the grade 7 monster, ¡®great poisonous rhinoceros.¡¯ The rhino snorted and confronted a monster in the fog, which seemed to be an insect king species based on the shadow.
Kuaaaah...
The struggle in this new world wasn¡¯t just for humans. The monsters were also fighting for their homes.
I moved while holding my breath as much as possible.
They were grade 7 monsters like the ichthyosaur but I couldn¡¯t do with them right now. In the first ce, I could kill the seamander because I was prepared.
[You have used the Ein Monkey¡¯s Lungs.]
The monkey¡¯s lungs was an item I bought in advance that could be used as a substitute for an air purifier for 20 minutes.
[A few constetions admire your readiness!]
The aboveground station, Oksu Station had already bee destroyed. The nearest underground station from here was ¡®Gumho Station.¡¯ Maybe the others had moved there.
I moved quickly while avoided the small species that were eating the corpses. I only had 20 minutes, so I needed to move as quickly as possible while securing supplies.
The first thing I needed was clothes. My outerwear was melted by the ichthyosaur¡¯s fluids so it was necessary. Of course, there were many of them all around but... I felt ufortable.
...It couldn¡¯t be helped. I searched some bodies and grabbed clothes that roughly fit. Then I headed to a nearby convenience store.
I grabbed a few stic bags and swept in food randomly. Food would be a valuable trading item after going underground.
I filled three or four bags like this. It seemed that the colour of the monkey¡¯s lungs was bing increasingly darker. There wasn¡¯t much time left.
Then I heard someone¡¯s voice.
¡°Help...help me.¡±
There was someone still alive? A young woman was lying down in a corner. The poisoning was progressing on the surface of the skin, but the toxic condition wasn¡¯t severe due to the mask she was wearing. Her jacket was half removed and a bit of her skirt was torn.
¡°Are you okay? Can you stand?¡±
¡°Uhhhh...¡±
Was there such an extra in Ways of Survival? I wanted to take a closer look but I didn¡¯t have enough time. I picked up the woman and ran to Gumho Station.
I turned and a side street appeared. Now the distance to Gumho Station was 100 metres in a straight line. I breathed in and started to run with all my strength. I could see the Exit 3 sign in the distance.
....Closed. Then on the other side?
There was a fire shutter down at every exit due to the disaster situation. I could break the shutter with his thorn but if I did it wrong, the people inside might be damaged.
¡°E-Exit 4...¡±
Unexpectedly, the woman I was carrying was helpful. I ran towards Exit 4. Then I found a fire shutter that was rolling down. I ced the thorn in the gap of the shutter that was trying to close. Somebody yelled out.
¡°Shit, what is this?¡±
¡°Open the door.¡±
¡°N-No! You can¡¯te in! Go away!¡±
¡°There is a wounded person.¡±
¡°We are already in a full state! We don¡¯t need any more people!¡±
It was full of people? Strange. Was there such a development?
¡°I don¡¯t care about that.¡±
I used the thorn as a lever and lifted the shutter as hard as possible. Since I used the coins to increase my strength to level 10, I now had the strength of half a dozen adult males.
¡°Uwaaaaack!¡±
There was a loud sound and the people on the other side of the shutter became nervous.
¡°R-Run away!¡±
The scared men escaped into the darkness of the underground passage. I entered the station safely, lowered the shutter and put the girl down on the floor.
[You have entered the safety zone.]
The poisonous fog didn¡¯te down to the underground area. There was no possible scientific exnation. It was just because of the ¡®scenario.¡¯
¡°Put this in your mouth.¡±
I took off the woman¡¯s mask and handed over the monkey¡¯s lungs. It wouldn¡¯tpletely cure her but it would have a neutralizing effect.
¡°Umm...¡±
A faint groan emerged from the mouth of the woman. The woman who was abandoned.
I suddenly wondered about her information. This woman, it was likely that she had died in the original development.
A voice was heard as I was about to use Character List.
¡°There he is!¡±
Light from a shlight approached in the darkness. My eyes narrowed as I saw men holding metal pipes.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ frowns at the appearance of the uninvited people.]
A big man in the middle opened his mouth. His body was well bnced so he must be a strong person.
¡°Who are you?¡±
At this moment, I was strangely struck dumb. What should I say when this happened? I thought for a moment before speaking like Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°...Kim Dokja? That is your name?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Who asked that? What is this bastard?¡±
It was a more difficult question.
¡°U-Uh! That woman...¡±
One of the men found the woman beside me and shone the shlight on her.¡¯
¡°What, isn¡¯t that woman from the marginalized group? Didn¡¯t youe back with her?¡±
¡°T-That is...¡±
The man¡¯s shlight moved in a harassing manner near the woman¡¯s waist.
¡°...Ha, so it was like that. Cute guys. Why did you do that without Hyung-nim¡¯s permission?¡±
¡°Hehe. I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°No, of course Cheolsoo hyung-nim should be first...hehe, I was going to do that.¡±
Cheolsoo? Cheolsoo. Was there a character by that name? I couldn¡¯t remember. He must be nothing, as opposed to how he looked.
¡°Hey, hand that woman over to us...huh? What is that?¡±
The shlight shone on the convenience store bags on the floor. It was okay to escape the crisis but the flow was turning out bad.
¡°Leave that as well. Then you can live.¡±
To be exact, it wasn¡¯t good for these guys, not me.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is annoyed at these people.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is angry with the injustice urring.]
[A bounty scenario has urred at the request of the constetions!]
+
[Bounty Scenario ¨C Remove the Interference]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: F
Clear Conditions: The constetions feel great anger at the disruptors who are obstructing your rapid movements. Neutralize them within the time limit.
Time Limit: 5 minutes.
Compensation: ???
Failure: ???
+
I thought it would be like this. Poor bastards. I got up while holding the thorn.
There weren¡¯t any minors in the constetions right?
I hoped so. It was because it was now the adult broadcasting time.
Chapter 16
Episode 4 ¨C Line of Hypocrisy (2)
I often thought about it.
Why did so many ¡®predictable viins¡¯ appear in post-apocalyptic stories. It must be theziness of the authors to think that crimes such as rape or theft would ur indiscriminately in such a situation. If the real ¡®destruction¡¯ came, wouldn¡¯t humans act more rationally than they thought?
¡°It looks like he won¡¯t give it. Hey, go ahead and kill him!¡±
The answer was now right in front of me. I observed the mening towards me, as well as the man watching from the rear.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ expects a fair judgment.]
I once again realized it. The human imagination was clich¨¦, yet real humans were more clich¨¦ than the imagination.
Hwiiik!
The trajectory of the iron pipe moved in a funny manner through the air. It wasn¡¯t a strike with the intent to kill. In fact, it didn¡¯t hurt that much.
¡°I-If you don¡¯t run away then you really will die. Get lost!¡±
The four men surrounded me. One was trembling but the others looked more rxed than before. It was probably due to the advantage in numbers.
¡°What are these brats doing?¡±
Waaaah! Along with the shout, one man rushed forward. It was clearly a defenseless posture. I moved the thorn.
Puok!
¡°Aaaaack! My leg! My leg!¡±
¡°You bastard!¡±
¡°Hit him together!¡±
The agitated men rushed simultaneously but I wasn¡¯t afraid. Their strength level was just above 5. I endured the iing attacks and silently stabbed the thorn.
Tang!Kaaang!
Puok!Puok!
The men had their thighs sessively pierced and fell to their knees with a scream. But I didn¡¯t kill them. It was because the scenario clear condition was to ¡®neutralize¡¯ them.
[The constetions of the absolute good system nod at your judgment.]
[A few constetionsugh at your humanity.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 100 coins.]
If I became a murderer, I might be able to attract the attention of the constetions for a while. However, it was only a while. Instantly raising the threshold of stimtion wasn¡¯t good in the long run.
[There are three minutes to the end of the scenario.]
Two minutes had passed. Time calction was important in time attack scenarios.
¡°W-What the hell is this bastard? Why won¡¯t you die?¡±
At this time, their leader who was watching the situation from the back came forward.
¡°You are a fairly tough guy. Everyone back off. I will deal with him.¡±
¡°Cheolsoo hyung-nim! This guy seems to have a pretty strong sponsor!¡±
¡°Good. It looks like he has a lot of coins.¡±
Knuckles shining with a ck gloss. They weren¡¯t ordinary iron knuckles. Did he receive it from his sponsor?
Crunch.
There was the rxed sound of bones cracking from the knuckled hands.
[The character ¡®Cheolsoo¡¯ has used Threaten.]
[Threaten doesn¡¯t work because the overall capabilities gap is too big.]
¡°Hoh, aren¡¯t you quite good? You aren¡¯t getting scared at all.¡±
The man¡¯s fist moved before he finished talking. The attack was aimed exactly at my jaw. I quickly stepped back. That guy smiled.
¡°Aren¡¯t you quite good? Do you exercise?¡±
Even if I didn¡¯t have a footwork skill, anyone could do this if their agility exceeded level 10. Since I previously invested most of my remaining coins after buying items, the total sum of my body stats now reached 33.
Should I look at this guy?
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[Character Information]
Name: Bang Cheolsoo.
Age: 34 years old.
Constetion Sponsor: Monarch of the Small Fries.
Private Attribute: Assault Force Captain (General)
Exclusive skills: Dogfight Lv. 2, Bluff Lv. 2.
Stigmata: [Threaten Lv.1]
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 6, Strength Lv. 7, Agility Lv. 6, Magic Power Lv. 2.
Overall Evaluation: Amon small fry who was lucky to obtain a sponsor. He has a tendency to overstate his abilitiespared to his actualbat strength.
Ah...right. Now I remembered.
¡°Bang Cheolsoo of the Cheoldoo Group.¡±
¡°What, you know me?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see?¡±
My memory was dim because he disappeared like the wind at the beginning of the work, but I fuzzily recalled there was a character called Bang Cheolsoo.
He was the stupidest guy in the group at Gumho Station.
As far as I knew, these guys should¡¯ve been killed by Yoo Jonghyuk. Why were they still alive?
¡°Ohu, perhaps you are of ¡®that¡¯ category? You must¡¯ve killed people. Isn¡¯t that right? Yes, I feel that we are somewhat alike.¡±
[The character ¡®Bang Cheolsoo¡¯ has used Bluff.]
Bluff. It was a skill that anyone who was a thug possessed. It was a good debuff that could weaken the opponent¡¯s attack power, but this case was different.
[Fourth Wall has blocked the bluff of the character Bang Cheolsoo.]
[The confidence of the character Bang Cheolsoo is rapidly falling.]
¡°Are you ignoring me? You really want to die.¡±
Bang Cheolsoo took a threatening Greco-Roman wrestling posture and rushed towards me. But that was only a bluff. It was because he didn¡¯t have the ¡®wrestling¡¯ skill.
¡°Stop beating around the bush ande on.¡±
¡°Son of a bitch!¡±
The key skill that Bang Cheolsoo had was Dogfight Lv. 2. Hisbat power was insignificant unless he got into a melee.
¡°Die!¡±
The agility difference was so high that his attacks rarely hit me. I looked at him with a bit of sympathy.
Not all constetions had a desire to raise their incarnations as the ¡®protagonist¡¯ of the scenario.
For example, his constetion ¡®Monarch of the Small Fries¡¯ was famous for being thrifty with his incarnations. A masochist who enjoyed using idiots as his incarnation, enjoying watching them be crushed by other incarnations.
That was the ¡®Monarch of the Small Fries.¡¯
[The constetion ¡®Monarch of the Small Fries¡¯ is delighted.]
[The constetion ¡®Monarch of the Small Fries¡¯ has sponsored you 100 coins.]
Despite his incarnation being smashed, he was supporting the enemy. Originally, I was thinking about ending the time attack in one blow but now the story was a bit different.
[There are two minutes to the end of the sub scenario.]
Then I should make the most of the remaining time.
¡°You rat bastard!¡±
All of his lines were in the style of the Monarch of the Small Fries. How pitiful.
Peeok!
¡°Haha! I hit you!¡±
His attack luckily hit but there was little damage. The spot where I was hit just stung a bit.
¡°How?¡±
How? My stamina was Lv. 12. His strength was only Lv. 7. The difference in the overall stats gap created a hugebat power gap.
¡°Is it my turn now?¡±
I touched the cheek of the stupefied Bang Cheolsoo before hitting it as hard as I could. A few teeth flew out as Bang Cheolsoo screamed. I didn¡¯t hesitate and pierced his arm precisely with the thorn.
¡°Aaaagh!¡±
I fixed one of his arms to the wall with the thorn and started the indiscriminate assault. I chose the areas that were the most painful without knocking him out, such as the back, thigh, femur and side.
[The constetion ¡®Monarch of the Small Fries¡¯ is delighted.]
[The constetion ¡®Monarch of the Small Fries¡¯ has requested an extension of the sub scenario time.]
[The sub scenario is extended by one minute.]
I also paid attention to the parts where the woman had been injured.
¡°Cough! Kuheok! Kuheeok!¡±
Blood and flesh were scattered. Broken teeth fell to the ground and the broken bones twisted abnormally. However, I didn¡¯t stop kicking.
¡°S-Stop! Please! Let Hyung-nim go!¡±
The men standing to the side eximed with panic. I looked over at them once in a while. Then he looked at the half naked woman lying on the ground.
Humans were weak. How could such weak humans do such cruel things? They used the excuse of the world being destroyed. They killed, raped women and stole from others.
Was it because of instincts?
I was suddenly curious as I saw Bang Cheolsoo¡¯s eyes stained with fear in front of a stronger violence?
¡°Why did you do it?¡±
It was a question out of nowhere. In fact, I didn¡¯t expect an answer to this question. But the moment I was about to kick him again, Bang Cheolsoo opened his eyes.
¡°Fuck...just kill me you son of a bitch.¡±
The moment I saw his eyes, I knew he had answered my question in his own way. A look that didn¡¯t show any lingering attachment to life. Yes. It wasn¡¯t because of instincts.
Bang Cheolsoo talked in a voice that was subsiding.
¡°Dog, this dog-like world...¡±
This guy was a human who had been despairing long before this world was destroyed. Just like me.
[There are 10 seconds left to the end of the sub scenario.]
I didn¡¯t dy any further and gave a strong kick to his neck.
The breath was knocked out of him and Bang Cheolsoo finally fainted.
[You have met the conditions to clear the sub scenario.]
[You have earned 300 coins.]
I hope all of you are happy.
[The constetion ¡®Monarch of the Small Fries¡¯ is satisfied and has sponsored you 100 coins.]
The other men crawled and approached me one by one.
¡°H-How cruel...¡±
They looked at Bang Cheolsoo, who had been turned into a rag, and then up at me with fear. It was like they were dogs waiting to be disposed of at a ughterhouse.
I picked up the copsed woman and the convenience store bags. In any case, the world had been destroyed and I had to live a new life.
¡°Take me to where the group is.
* * *
Gumho Station was originally a ce that would grow into the region¡¯s base after it was organized by Yoo Jonghyuk.
In his first regression, Yoo Jonghyuk broke through the second main scenario with the Gumho Station group, allowing the people of the group to upy a ce in the new era.
But that was the first story. By the third round of regression, Yoo Jonghyuk was different.
The 3rd turn Yoo Jonghyuk was a monster who monopolized everything.
¡°...Even so, he was someone who would do the basic clean up.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
The man guiding me was surprised.
¡°I¡¯m just talking to myself. It is a habit.¡±
[The constetion Secretive Plotter likes your monologues.]
¡°Yes...anyway, this way.¡±
The men of the Cheoldoo Group, who were supporting each other, stopped moving. We descended to the bottom of the dark tform and found a ce where there was still light.
I heard the buzzing sound of people as we went down the stairs.
¡°The Cheoldoo Group! People are hurt!¡±
Some people rushed over to support Bang Cheolsoo¡¯s group. There was more of a system then I thought since people were moving in an orderly fashion.
In the meantime, I saw familiar faces run over.
¡°Oh my god. Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi!¡±
Fortunately, it looks like nothing happened.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°I¡¯m d. Really, I¡¯m really d!¡±
Yoo Sangah stood in front of me with a happy expression. I was startled and asked for an awkward handshake. There were a lot of scrapes on the back of Yoo Sangah¡¯s hand, showing she had suffered quite a hard time in the past four days.
I heard a sound and something became attached to my leg.
¡°You¡¯re alive.¡±
It was Lee Gilyoung. I stroked the boy¡¯s head.
¡°Have you been well?¡±
Lee Gilyoung nodded. He must be hungry since his cheeks were really thin. I pulled out a chocte bar from the bag and ced it in Lee Gilyoung¡¯s hand.
¡°I knew you were alive, Dokja-ssi. Hah...¡±
Finally, I looked at Lee Hyunsung. The muscles of his upper half seemed to have be more solid. Maybe Lee Hyunsung had protected these two.
¡°I¡¯m really sorry. At that time, I left Dojka-ssi...¡±
¡°It was an unavoidable situation.¡±
¡°Phew, I¡¯m d that Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi was right.¡±
...Yoo Jonghyuk? Why was that name heard here?
Lee Hyunsung noticed after a moment and said.
¡°That, Yoo Jonghyuk said that Dokja-ssi was probably alive...¡±
¡°...Where is Yoo Jonghyuk now?¡±
¡°He isn¡¯t here now.¡±
Not here?
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi left the station yesterday. So...¡±
I could determine many things before Lee Hyunsung finished speaking. I see. It was truly like that. He was a person in a rush.
¡°That reminds me, there is one more person.¡±
¡°Ah, the department head.¡±
Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t finish speaking because a group of men suddenly intruded. But it was a good thing.
¡°Everybody, out of the way!¡±
I didn¡¯t have to hear the exnation to see what happened straight away. Three or four men armed with a hammer or pipe started to surround me. There was a familiar face among them.
¡°Y-You...!¡±
Han Myungoh abandoned me on the Even Bridge and now he looked like he had seen a ghost. Han Myungoh must¡¯ve joined this group.
¡°G-Get rid of that guy! He is a very bad person! He shouldn¡¯t be here!¡±
A thief was always the one who felt pins and needles. Han Myungoh started eximing wildly.
However, I noticed that the other men looked at each other and didn¡¯t easily move. There was something weird. Han Myungoh was ced in the centre yet they didn¡¯t listen to him?
¡°Haha, Han hyung. Everyone should get along so why don¡¯t you stop?¡±
¡°Ah, t-that...¡±
¡°You are a new person.¡±
The men split apart to the sides and a path was formed. A slim man appeared among them. I could tell just by looking in his eyes. This guy had a sponsor.
¡°Nice to meet you. Can I ask what your name is?¡±
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi. I see. I am Cheon Inho.¡±
Cheon Inho? It felt like a name I should remember. I inserted strength to the hand holding the thorn. It looked like this guy was the leader of the Cheoldoo Group. He lost half of his men to me so he came here to make trouble.
¡°I heard the story from those you came with. You fought a monster and saved my group members.¡±
...What?
¡°Everyone, please gather! We have a brave new group member!¡±
After Cheon Inho¡¯s words, people started to turn this way one by one.
It was at this time that I knew. It was impossible for the charisma of Han Myungoh to gather this much power. Cheon Inho was the real leader of this bunch.
¡°Wah! It is food!¡±
Hungry eyes fell on the convenience store bags. Then Cheon Inho spoke as if he had been waiting.
¡°He delivered it exactly to us. He is a rare good person.¡±
The words made all the eyes look at me like I was a savior. The mother holding the child and the elderly man who hurt his leg were looking at me earnestly.
Cheon Inho...I seemed to remember. Yes, there was this guy in the Gumho station group.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is excited.]
In this ruined world, the real danger wasn¡¯t people like Bang Cheolsoo. Humans moving while feeling despair weren¡¯t the least bit dangerous to me.
The really dangerous people were those who used the despair of others as a fertilizer for power. Just like this guy.
¡°Wee to Gumho Station, Kim Dokja-ssi.¡±
Cheon Inho wereughing deeply while gazing at me. He inwardlyughed while shaking my hand.
Cheon Inho would never know. At this moment, his future had been decided.
Chapter 17
Episode 4 ¨C Line of Hypocrisy (3)
Despite the interference of Cheon Inho, the constetions didn¡¯t ask for a bounty scenario. In other words, it wasn¡¯t the best time to deal with him.
For around half a day, I focused on grasping the situation of Gumho Station. It was Lee Hyunsung who mainly gave information.
¡°Currently, there are 86 people in Gumho Station. Ah, I guess it is 87 people now with Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°It is less than I thought.¡±
¡°Yes. When the scenario broke out, only those near the station and those on the train survived. Everyone didn¡¯t say it but perhaps in the first scenario...¡±
I didn¡¯t need to be told the next words. I could see it from the expressions of the people. Those who survived had trampled on someone¡¯s life. All the humans here were murderers.
¡°Currently, Gumho Station is divided into two groups. Strictly speaking, it is one group and the rest.¡±
Lee Hyunsung looked at the people with a dark expression. There were men armed with iron pipes or other instruments. It was clear which was the faction in power.
¡°Believe in me! The group president is working hard and everyone will soon be rescued.¡±
The youngest son of Hankyung Group, Han Myungoh.
¡°Hyung-nim is right, everyone. Don¡¯t lose hope. We will be able to led.¡±
The one who embraced Han Myungoh and practically led the group was Cheon Inho. They were the ¡®mainstream group.¡¯
¡°Mother, I¡¯m bored...can¡¯t I y a game on the phone?¡±
¡°Hold on for a moment. The rescue team wille soon.¡±
¡°The government will act. It isn¡¯t that easy to copse a country.¡±
And the people who were protected by the mainstream group and wanted to get on with their lives were the ¡®marginalized group.¡¯
Their will was too weak to be killers. Even if 100 murderers were gathered together, they would be divided between the weak and the strong. Maybe they were thinking that they weren¡¯t murderers. They all believed it was unavoidable.
Lee Hyunsung watched the mainstream group inciting the people and said.
¡°Food distribution is determined by the mainstream group. Convenience stores and restaurants in the region have already been robbed...the foods that can be eaten right now are almost gone.¡±
¡°I see.¡±
¡°It is the reason why some people from the mainstream group were sent above ground for food exploration. Heewon-ssi, who you brought in, went with them¡±
¡°Heewon-ssi...?¡±
¡°Ah, it is the name of the woman who Dokja-ssi saved.¡±
I looked at the woman whoy on the subway bench. Under the bright light, her beauty could be seen. Her raised cheeks and gentle features meant she must¡¯ve often heard she was attractive. Thanks to the monkey¡¯s lungs, her colour was much brighter than it was this morning.
¡°Is Heewon-ssi the only one who didn¡¯te back?¡±
¡°No. In fact, a few more people went out this morning but only those from the marginalized group didn¡¯t return.¡±
¡°They didn¡¯te back?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s expression became sad again. He thought he roughly knew what happened.
I grabbed Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulder. I knew for sure after actually touching him. He truly was the steel sword. His strength would soon exceed level 10.
¡°W-Why are you...?¡±
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi should¡¯ve received a love call but you didn¡¯t ept.¡±
¡°Ah, that...¡±
Objectively, Lee Hyunsung¡¯sbat power was higher than Bang Cheolsoo. There was no way Cheon Inho wouldn¡¯t aim for him.
¡°I can¡¯t exin it but I thought I shouldn¡¯t ept. I don¡¯t know much about morals or ethics but...¡±
Lee Hyunsung scratched his head like he was embarrassed.
¡°I felt that something wasn¡¯t right.¡±
Not right... It wasn¡¯t an answer but I felt it was true. Indeed, Lee Hyunsung was Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Don¡¯t forget this heart.¡±
That way, I could continue to believe in him.
I heard a cute sound from somewhere and looked back, seeing Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung looking up at me. Their faces were like baby birds waiting for the mother bird, making meugh.
¡°That reminds me, it is already evening. Aren¡¯t you hungry? Take this one by one.¡±
I handed over the food from the convenience store one by one.
¡°Ah. Really? Can I?¡±
¡°This time is free. But next time, you should pay for it.¡±
¡°Huh? H-How much...?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you all have coins? It is 10 coins for one.¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
Confusion filled the faces of Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung. They looked like they hadn¡¯t expected my words.
¡°Of course. I will pay right now. I don¡¯t need freebies.¡±
Surprisingly, the one who spoke was the woman who had been lying on the bench. She had regained consciousness.
¡°I am Jung Heewon. Thank you for your help this morning.¡±
¡°It is nothing.¡±
I thought it was just a cute mask but I could see that it was a prejudice.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, Lee Hyunsung-ssi. Everyone, please wake up. It isn¡¯t the time to be making this look. This food, he obtained it by risking his life. Do you expect to get it for free?¡±
There was almost no expression on the face that spoke without hesitation.
¡°Ah...¡± Yoo Sangah turned red like she had woken up. ¡°I was too short-sighted, I¡¯m sorry. Of course we should pay...it is right. I don¡¯t like freebies either. I hate depending on other people.¡±
¡°I also agree with Yoo Sangah-ssi. I will pay coins from now on.¡±
I was a little surprised by the unexpected reaction. Indeed, just because it was an apocalypse didn¡¯t mean there was only one type of person.
¡°If you insist...I understand. Does everyone know how to exchange coins?¡±
¡°Yes. I learned a few days ago. Touch each other¡¯s index finger, um, and...¡±
¡°Just state how many coins you want to exchange.¡±
Starting from Jung Heewon, Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung paid 10 coins in exchange for food. It was fortunate that their resistance wasn¡¯t bigger than what I thought.
I didn¡¯t do this in order to get a few coins. At first, this judgment might seem harsh but people would soon realize this choice was right.
[¡¯Lee Gilyoung¡¯ has paid you 20 coins.]
¡°Huh? You gave me more than 10 coins?¡±
¡°It is the price for the chocte bar during the day.¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s expression while speaking was quite good. Maybe the fastest to adapt to a new world wasn¡¯t an adult but a child. It was easier for children to breakmon sense.
¡°Will Dokja-ssi keep staying with us?¡±
¡°Ah, that...¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
It wasn¡¯t Lee Hyunsung who called out to me. I looked back and saw Cheon Inho from the mainstream group. Yes, I thought he would be back soon.
¡°Can I talk with you for a while?¡±
Bang Cheolsoo was missing some teeth and ring at me from behind Cheon Inho. He stared at me before turning his head away. A foolish fellow.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s talk.¡±
I nodded and Cheon Inho spoke with a satisfied expression.
¡°Then can the rest of you vacate this ce for a moment? I want to talk to Dokja-ssi alone.¡±
¡°Ah, that...¡±
¡°No, you don¡¯t have to go. You can listen.¡±
Cheon Inho¡¯s eyes twitched at my words. Lee Hyunsung stopped as he was about to retreat.
¡°Hmmm, is that so? Well...I don¡¯t care.¡±
He acted like they were free to listen. Cheon Inho wiped the bench and sat down. Men from the Cheoldoo Group appeared on both sides of him and handed him a cigarette and lighter. He had seen too many movies.
¡°You seem to have a nature that dislikes cumbersome things, so I will get to the point.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Join our group.¡±
It was an expected offer.
¡°I can offer Dokja-ssi a high position in our group. I want to lead the group together with you.¡±
¡°Why me?¡±
¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know why?¡±
Cheon Inho nced towards the injured Cheoldoo Group members.
¡°Dokja-ssi is a hero who saved people from monsters. A hero needs such a ce.¡±
It was an interesting way of thinking. He would take advantage of my presence.
¡°And if I refuse?¡±
¡°Refuse? How interesting. I never thought about that.¡± Cheon Inho blew out cigarette smoke towards me. ¡°Dokja-ssi, this isn¡¯t a favour. You have a duty to do this. Can¡¯t you see the poor people here?¡±
People were looking this way with scruffy faces. There were crying children and tired elderly people.
¡°It isn¡¯t a big story. I am asking you to work together for survival. Dokja-ssi, don¡¯t you have the strength?¡±
¡°What exactly do you want?¡±
¡°I need someone to be a hitman.¡±
Hitman?
¡°Until a few days ago, there was someone else doing the job. He procured food alone and hunted in the tunnels. To be exact, we took it one-sidedly.¡±
I didn¡¯t need to ask.
This was the story of Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°But he suddenly leftst night.¡±
¡°So you need someone to rece him?¡±
¡°I think your strength is proven with Cheolsoo-ssi.¡±
Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes widened. Now they noticed what was going on.
¡°It isn¡¯t bad for Dokja-ssi. You are the hero of the people and will be the leader of the group with us. Everyone will like you and also...¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t be responsible for anyone. I don¡¯t want to join your group.¡±
¡°Hrmm. Is that so?¡±
¡°Above all, the way you run the group doesn¡¯t fit me.¡±
I looked at the health members of the Cheoldoo Group and the sickly-looking members of the marginalized group. In particr, Jung Heewon was looking at the Cheon Inho as if he was her mortal enemy.
¡°Is that so? It is fine. But if you change your mind,e back anytime.¡±
¡°That will not happen.¡±
¡°Haha, it remains to be seen.¡±
It didn¡¯t take long to find out what Cheon Inho¡¯s words meant.
As the members of the Cheoldoo Group retreated, the other group members approached as if they had been waiting. It was the people of the marginalized group. They grabbed me and raised their voices.
¡°Hey, is the rumour true?¡±
¡°Are you really monopolizing the food?¡±
¡°Are you going to eat it all when there is enough to share with everyone?¡±
¡°We are all staying here! Why are you the only one to have it?¡±
¡°Leave the food to Inho-ssi! He will distribute it fairly!¡±
I knew what was going on. I could see the smiling face of Cheon Inho in the rear of the people. His lips were moving.
¡®Choose.¡¯
Would I give food and be the hero? Or would I be the viin and monopolize it alone?
If I chose to be the hero, I would fall into Cheon Inho¡¯s game. After the food was distributed, I would have to hunt for food with the group members and would someday get stabbed in the back.
On the other hand, I would be isted in a group in a moment if I monopolized the food alone.
[The eyes of a few constetions are shining.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ has snorted.]
As the people became heated up, Cheon Inho came forward.
¡°Ahh, everyone. Calm down. There seems to be a misunderstanding. Kim Dokja-ssi isn¡¯t such a person.¡±
What was this? A decoy?
¡°Kim Dokja-ssi decided to work with us. The food he brought today will be left to the mainstream group and will be shared fairly. He also promised to continue to work with us¨D¡±
Of course, he believed I would choose him. It was hard to listen anymore.
¡°Stop.¡±
I worried about it for a short moment. What would Yoo Jonghyuk do? Ah, that¡¯s it. The answer was that he wasn¡¯t here right now.
But I wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Of course I will give out food.¡± I saw Cheon Inho¡¯s lips curve upwards. But people should listen to the end. ¡°However, it isn¡¯t for free.¡±
Unlike Yoo Jonghyuk, I wouldn¡¯t throw everything away to move forward. But I wouldn¡¯t be responsible for everyone. Food was given but it wouldn¡¯t be for free.
People were puzzled as if they didn¡¯t understand the words.
¡°W-Wait a minute! It isn¡¯t free?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll tell you. I don¡¯t intend to monopolize the food. But I won¡¯t give food to Cheon Inho¡¯s group. I¡¯m not UNICEF and I don¡¯t trust them.¡±
I smiled at Cheon Inho.
¡°I will make a deal with you. I will sell you the food for a fair price.¡±
¡°S-Sell?¡±
¡°What...?¡±
¡°Uh, how much...money?¡±
In the distance, I could see Cheon Inho¡¯s face stiffening. Iugh as I faced him.
¡°No, I only ept coins.¡±
* * *
After a while, only the people in the marginalized group with a rtionship with me returned.
¡°That...D-Dokja-ssi. Is this a good choice?¡±
¡°Sheesh, is there anything free in life? Dokja-ssi, you said it well. I feel refreshed.¡±
Jung Heewon dismissed Lee Hyunsung¡¯s concern. After I made the ¡®trade¡¯ deration, many citizens turned away from me. Maybe they were disappointed.
¡°I agree with Heewon-ssi. The people here are too tame to the mainstream group.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. The sons of bitches...Gumho Station is currently in their palms. People are treated as cattle and are sometimes taken to a ughterhouse. Just like myself this morning.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s body trembled.
In fact, it wasn¡¯t me but the mainstream group monopolizing the food. They monopolized the food on the pretext of ¡®fair distribution¡¯ and feed it to the tamed people.
Humans were the weakest when they believed someone protected them. Once authority was established in a one-sided rtionship, people started to depend on them.
¡°I agree. That¡¯s why I believe that Dokja-ssi¡¯s deration today was very meaningful. People need to have the will to do something on their own. However...¡±
Lee Hyunsung looked towards the food.
¡°Not even one was sold. 50 coins for one, isn¡¯t this price too expensive? Why don¡¯t you make it 10 coins like you did with us...?¡±
It wasn¡¯t unreasonable to think so. People only paid attention to the mainstream group and showed no signs of looking this way. People still needed time.
I responded calmly.
¡°Let¡¯s wait a little longer.¡±
Then night came.
The sound of huge monsters was heard intermittently from the ground and people often had nightmares. Lee Gilyoung and Yoo Sangah fell asleep first while Jung Heewon was dozing off.
¡°Dokja-ssi should sleep as well. I will stand vigil.¡±
¡°Nope. It is okay. Lee Hyunsung-ssi can sleep first.¡±
¡°But you will be tired.¡±
¡°I have work to do.¡±
¡°Work to do?¡±
I pointed behind Lee Hyunsung. Surprisingly, there were the shadows of people. It wasn¡¯t just one.
¡°That...are you still trading the food?¡±
Finally, the people started to move.
Chapter 18
Episode 4 ¨C Line of Hypocrisy (4)
The next morning, I was almost out of supplies. Jung Heewon stared at the convenience store bags as if she couldn¡¯t believe it.
¡°Oh my god, it is sold out?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Ha, really funny. Everyone was just watching and now...¡±
¡°Nope, it isn¡¯t just the marginalized group.¡±
The guests who came in the middle of the night weren¡¯t just members of the marginalized group.
¡°Kim Dokja-ssi, you are making the worst choice.¡±
Among them was Cheon Inho.
¡°You will regret it.¡±
More than half the food I had was taken by the mainstream group. Of course, they paid the exact amount.
Jung Heewon was in a rage after hearing the story.
¡°Wait a minute. Then the mainstream group will just monopolize the food again?¡±
¡°Something like that.¡±
¡°No, what is this? Weren¡¯t you going to weaken the power of the mainstream group by promoting transactions among the people?¡±
It was unexpected insight. I responded with a bit of admiration.
¡°That¡¯s correct. That was the intent. I wanted people to move voluntarily.¡±
¡°Then why did you sell food to the mainstream group? The situation won¡¯t change!¡±
¡°It has changed. I have obtained coins.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
It was 1,450 coins. It was a huge ie for one night.
¡°No...what is Dokja-ssi thinking? Sangah-ssi, can we really trust this man?¡±
Yoo Sangah flinched as attention suddenly turned to her but then she smiled brightly.
¡°I believe in him.¡±
It was burdensome.
¡°Dokja-ssi, did you leave enough food for yourself?¡±
¡°Nope, I sold it.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s mouth fell open as if she was dumbfounded. At that time, someone poked my cheek. I turned my head and found a biscuit.
¡°Huh? You want me to eat it?¡±
Nod nod. The head moved cutely. I smiled, took the biscuit and put it in Lee Gilyoung¡¯s mouth.
¡°I¡¯m okay. You eat it. Ah, I should tell you something... everyone, do you still have the food you ate yesterday?¡±
¡°Yes, I have it.¡±
¡°I have a bit left.¡±
¡°Why? Do you want to buy it back? I will sell it.¡± Jung Heewon waved the biscuit in a yful manner.
¡°No, you should eat it now.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Eat it all before today. You should do it.¡± I repeatedly stressed. ¡°Or you will regret it.¡±
¡°Why...no, wait a minute. Sangah-ssi, what are you doing now? Why are you listening to him?¡±
¡°There is a reason why Dokja-ssi would say this.¡±
Yoo Sangah smiled sweetly and opened a bag of biscuits. Lee Hyunsung was confused but ate the food. Meanwhile, Lee Gilyoung had eaten it the moment I spoke. He was a good listener.
¡°Ah well...I will leave one back.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t stop you.¡±
I shrugged at Jung Heewon¡¯s words. It was up to her to regret it.
At lunch time, there was a major announcement from the mainstream group. Cheon Inho stood on a tform surrounded by people and said.
¡°We will limit the food ration from today. The allocation is three biscuits per person. And¨D¡±
People became irritated before the speech was over.
¡°What? Three biscuits? How can we live on that?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right! Don¡¯t the scouts get more food? Do you think we don¡¯t know?¡±
Despite being cursed at, Cheon Inho justughed calmly.
¡°Your words are good. Yes. The scouts receive more rations. If you want food, please apply to be a scout.¡±
¡°Very few people havee back after applying to be a scout! The Cheoldoo Group members are the ones who alwayse back!¡±
¡°Do you want us to die now?¡±
Cheon Inho was nonchnt despite the violence reactions of the citizens.
¡°Those people were just unlucky. You know that it is terribly dangerous outside. Why don¡¯t you obtain food yourself if you are dissatisfied?¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
The people closed their mouths dumbly. If they went out now, they would die. Everyone knew this.
Cheon Inho wasn¡¯t finished.
¡°Ah, there is a way to get food without being a scout.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°A deal. We will be happy to exchange food for anything we determine to be of value. Every person can give something different. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
Cheon Inho¡¯s cold gaze caused the people to tremble. It was mostly the people who came to me yesterday and bought food.
[The character ¡®Cheon Inho¡¯ has activated the ¡®Incite Lv. 2¡¯ skill.
¡°Originally, I wasn¡¯t going to do this. But yesterday, Kim Dokja-ssi told me something nice. That¡¯s right everyone. Is there anything free in the world? If you want food, you have to prove your worth. This is the way it is. Haha, thank you for telling me something good. Kim Dokja-ssi.¡±
...Look at this?
At this moment, everyone¡¯s attention was focused on me. Their eyes were mostly filled with resentment.
¡°Because of that bastard...¡±
People wanted to be stupid and Cheon Inho had the ¡®Incite¡¯ skill. It was a skill that most good group leaders would have. But this way, the hostility would turn towards me again...
I looked at the back of Cheon Inho. It was a cute level. At leastpared to the people at Chungmuro and Seoul Station.
The people gathered in front of the podium were already trying to bargain.
¡°I-I will buy it with coins. How much do you want?¡±
¡°200 coins.¡±
¡°Huh? But I don¡¯t have that many coins.¡±
¡°Then go away.¡±
200 coins for one piece of food. Even the dokkaebi was likely to pass out.
One of the Cheoldoo Group selling food saw my look and trembled. He had a bandage around his thigh and seemed to be one of the guys I beat up yesterday.
¡°Did I ever say thank you for yesterday?¡±
I suddenly turned my head and saw Jung Heewon standing nearby.
¡°I think I heard it.¡±
¡°Still, I want to thank you again.¡±
I wanted to say something but Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes were fixed on the injured Cheoldoo member.
¡°The one with the injured leg, he was the one who tried to rape me yesterday.¡±
¡°...I see.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t touch him because I will kill him myself. Understood?¡±
Her killing intent was impressive. Was she chosen by a sponsor or was it ate blooming attribute?
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
I was a little worried about using this skill. This woman would¡¯ve died if I hadn¡¯t saved her. Would she be registered as a character?
[Character Information]
Name: Jung Heewon
Age: 27 years old.
Constetion Sponsor: None (Three constetions are currently showing interest in this person).
Private Attribute: Crouching Figure (General)
Exclusive skills: Demon yer Lv. 1, Kendo Lv. 1.
Stigmata: None
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 4, Strength Lv. 4, Agility Lv. 7, Magic Power Lv. 4.
Overall Evaluation: She was a ¡®crouching figure¡¯ with enormous potential. The attribute information wasn¡¯t verified yet because the attribute hadn¡¯t blossomed.
Fortunately, her information appeared. It was different from Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung and Han Myungoh. Was she originally not abandoned? By the way, it was a very interesting exclusive attribute.
¡®Crouching figure.¡¯
It didn¡¯t seem big based on the name, but it was one of the few ¡®super evolutionary¡¯ attributes in Ways of Destruction. ¡®Crouching Figure¡¯ was a general rated attribute, but it could reach a rare or legendary rating depending on the asion.
One of the 100 strongest people in Ways of Survival, the Crazy Butcher evolved from ¡®Crouching Figure.¡¯
Jung Heewon I thought she was just a passing person but I might have to consider taking her as a colleague.
It would take a while to grow her ¡®Demon ying¡¯ skill but this woman could be a powerful hitman if she was raised well.
¡°By the way, Dokja-ssi is very calm.¡±
Calm... It might seem like that.
¡°I am familiar with situations like this in the novel.¡±
¡°Huh? Does that make sense... Wait a minute. Where are you going?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer and descended from the tform. Jung Heewon wanted toe with me and I reached out a hand to stop her.
¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±
Jung Heewonnded lightly below the tform.
I walked along the railway tracks and watched the tunnel road to Yaksu Station. It was filled with thick darkness and the inside wasn¡¯t visible, but it smelt terrible. It was a bloody smell.
¡°You aren¡¯t going inside are you?¡±
Jung Heewon asked.
¡°Everyone who went that way has died. The thugs or anyone else. Everyone who goes inside will unconditionally die.¡±
Her words were wrong. Not everyone died. At least one person had already gone down this road and moved onto the next station.
We climbed onto the tform again. We had been gone for quite a time but the line of people to trade food was still long.
Some people who protested against the mainstream group were beaten up and other paid unusual prices for the food.
Shortly afterwards, Jung Heewon saw a few young women from the marginalized group sneak into the back of a tarp and she became furious.
¡°Ah, really annoying. Did you see that?¡±
¡°I saw it.¡±
Cheon Inho had said it. ¡®Anything¡¯ could be exchanged for food. But the girls who just entered weren¡¯t carrying anything.
Jung Heewon sprang to her feet.
¡°I can¡¯t just watch this.¡±
¡°What will you do?¡±
¡°Stop it. I have to tell them not to do it, no matter the circumstances!¡±
¡°Then those women will starve.¡±
¡°Are you just going to watch?¡±
¡°Yes, I think you should just watch this time.¡±
¡°What do you mean by that?¡±
I silently received Jung Heewon¡¯s contemptuous gaze.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi, stopping those women won¡¯t solve the current problem. Even if you stop them now, something simr will urte at night.¡±
¡°...Then I will stop them again. I will stop it and stop it.¡±
¡°Then what about their food? Among those who just entered the tarp, there is a mother with a child. If that child starves to death, will Jung Heewon-ssi be responsible for the child¡¯s death?¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes shook. She bowed her head as if to hide her expression.
¡°...Then what can I do? The alternative...¡±
I looked up at Jung Heewon.
With this, Jung Heewon wouldn¡¯t do anything unexpected. She was a ¡®Crouching Figure¡¯ with ¡®Demon ying.¡¯ Depending on how she acted, Jung Heewon might evolve into an indiscriminate murderer.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi, the key to this problem is food. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
¡°...That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Then we need to remove the cause of the problem.¡±
¡°Huh...?¡±
I looked at my watch instead of answering. It was time.
Kwajijijik!
Yes, he showed up. The air split apart and a familiar figure was revealed. Screams came from everywhere. The nightmare of humanity that opened up this tragedy.
[H-How are you all doing? Haven¡¯t you been free for a while?]
The dokkaebi.
¡°A-Aaaagh!¡±
The people panicked at the appearance of the dokkaebi. It was never a good thing when this guy showed up. Even Jung Heewon, who was full of energy, flinched momentarily.
By the way, it wasn¡¯t Bihyung. Originally, Bihyung was the dokkaebi responsible for all nearby channels. But this guy was different. Unlike the pure white fur of Bihyung, this dokkaebi had ck fur.
[M-My friend who was originally in charge of this channel is undergoing disciplinary action... S-So, I am responsible for this scenario.]
The dokkaebi¡¯s timid tone was very memorable.
[T-Then everyone. D-Don¡¯t you look very peaceful? T-That Bihyung, he pretended to be pretentious only to set this level of scenario difficulty...]
¡°W-What are you saying? Tell us what you want!¡±
[H-Hik. Don¡¯t be angry. Everyone. A-Anyway, I came for you guys...]
¡°For us?¡±
¡°T-Then give us food!¡±
[F-Food? Aha...if you want food...]
After his words ended, the dokkaebi moved his hand.
[A scenario penalty has been added.]
[From now on, food stockpiling is limited.]
[All existing stockpiled food has disappeared.]
¡°U-Uhh! What?¡±
The people with emergency food screamed. Whether it was from the mainstream group or marginalized group, everything that was called ¡®food¡¯ floated in the air.
[He, hehe. Then everyone. You can¡¯t. Y-You have to think about how to break the scenario.]
Susuk.
The canned food, biscuits, calorie bars, etc. The emergency food gathered by the people were destroyed with one gesture from the dokkaebi. The people¡¯s expressions became grim when they saw the food disappearing.
[Y-You want to eat? In any case, Earth trash...]
His tone suddenly changed. I seemed to remember his name. ording to the original setting, there was one dokkaebi like this. His tone was timid but he was crueler than any dokkaebi.
In the distance, Cheon Inho was watching me with confused eyes.
[Everyone, let¡¯s have fun from now on. Hehe...]
It was followed by system messages.
[A scenario penalty has been added.]
[The ¡®survival cost¡¯ use has been added.]
[From now on, 100 coins will be deducted every night for the ¡®survival cost¡¯. If you can¡¯t pay the ¡®survival cost¡¯, you will die.]
[The ¡®survival cost¡¯ penalty will be maintained until the second main scenario is cleared.]
Iughed as I read the rising messages. Yes, now it was like Ways of Survival.
Chapter 19
Episode 5 ¨C Shadow Keeper (1)
[T-Then I will let everyone take care of it! Yihihihit!]
The dokkaebi said these words and disappeared.
A food penalty and survival penalty. I already knew about the former penalty. However, thetter wasn¡¯t in the original Ways of Survival. Maybe my contract with Bihyung caused this development.
Jung Heewon confirmed that the biscuit in her pocket had disappeared and asked in a soft voice.
¡°Dokja-ssi, did you perhaps know something like this would hap¨D¡±
¡°I did expect it. I thought about what the dokkaebis would do first to harass humans.¡±
¡°...Aren¡¯t you really good at making predictions?¡±
I called Lee Hyunsung and the others over. The situation was created and now it was time to move.
¡°Give back our food!¡±
¡°How, how did this happen?¡±
The people of the marginalized group were crying. Cheon Inho and the mainstream group were also devastated by the sudden food shortage. My eyes met Cheon Inho¡¯s, who bit his lip.
[Perhaps...were you aware of it? No, that is impossible.]
If I could read his thoughts then that¡¯s what he would be thinking.
[You have urately read the thoughts of character ¡®Cheon Inho.¡¯]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Cheon Inho¡¯ has increased.]
...My understanding rose from this sort of thing?
I looked at other people¡¯s expressions and tried to guess what they were thinking. But the previous messages didn¡¯t pop up.
Meanwhile, Cheon Inho quickly gathered the people together in order to organize the chaos.
¡°Everyone, gather together. I will give you an emergency notice.¡±
The contents of the notice were simple:The situation had be worse so more ¡®scouts¡¯ from the marginalized group was needed.They had to hurry.Now there was no food underground.
¡°We won¡¯t distribute food to people who don¡¯t participate as scouts.¡±
Despite the hardline deration, there was no bacsh from the citizens. No, they couldn¡¯t. It was an inevitable result in this situation. The people noticed it and volunteered to be scouts one by one.
Despite the disappearance of the food, hope remained on Cheon Inho¡¯s face. As the situation became worse, more control was passed onto the mainstream group.
Lee Hyunsung became anxious when he saw this and opened his mouth.
¡°Dokja-ssi, what now?¡±
¡°Of course, we have to go and get food.¡±
The expressions of the party members became tense at these words. Obtain food. This meant only one thing.
¡°Then we have to be scouts? There is still food remaining aboveground.¡±
¡°Nope, we won¡¯t go aboveground. If we go there, we will unconditionally die.¡±
I looked at a gas mask on the floor. This tattered gas mask couldn¡¯t stop the poisonous fog.
¡°But we need to obtain food aboveground...¡±
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi. The world has changed. Then the food needs to change.¡±
I looked at the tunnel to Yaksu Station.
¡°Wait a minute. Dokja-ssi...don¡¯t tell me?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
In this world, humans were no longer the top predators. Even if we weren¡¯t predators, we didn¡¯t necessarily have to be prey.
¡°We will hunt monsters.¡±
* * *
After a while, several people from the marginalized group, including myself, were standing in front of the tunnel towards Yaksu Station.
¡°I see. You are going to enter the railway track?¡±
I thought Cheon Inho would challenge us when we refused to join the scouting group, but he seemed relieved that I was out of the group. He might think I was a threat to his own power.
¡°Well, looking at it in the long run, a team dedicated to attacking the scenario is required. Come back safely.¡±
He was a funny guy. He spoke like he was the captain. But the time for him to be finished wasn¡¯t far off.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Cheon Inho¡¯ has increased.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Cheon Inho¡¯ has reached a certain level.]
I see...I got it now. There were two major cases of character ¡®understanding¡¯ rising.
One was when I got the liking or trust of the character. The second was when I urately guessed what the character was thinking. Maybe now was thetter case.
[The character ¡®Cheon Inho¡¯ is suspicious of you.]
ording to the umted understanding value, a vague idea of the person¡¯s emotions could be obtained.
¡°Oh, can one of my group members join? I¡¯d like to get some information on the attack.¡±
Indeed, Cheon Inho wouldn¡¯t let us go so easily. I stared at the man behind him. It was the person who would go with us and an unlucky fellow.
¡°I-I have to go with them?¡±
¡°Eh, why else are you here, Han hyung? Didn¡¯t you want to reconcile with Dokja-ssist night?¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
Cheon Inho¡¯s party member who joined us was Department Head Han Myungoh.
¡°D-Dokja-ssi.¡± If you don¡¯t mind, I will go...¡±
¡°I understand. Let¡¯s go together.¡±
Han Myungoh was surprised when I responded readily. He thought I would refuse. Lee Hyunsung had a worried face but I had an idea.
In any case, the survivors party of five people from Carriage 3807, consisting of me, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh was reformed.
¡°Can Ie as well?¡±
¡°...Is it okay even if your body isn¡¯t fully healed?¡±
¡°This much is fine.¡±
There was one more. Including Jung Heewon, there was a total of six people in the party. It was a lot for a small number.
Grrr...
Of course, the number of people wasn¡¯t much in front of the uing crisis.
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
+
[Second Scenario ¨C Food Acquisition]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: E
Clear Conditions: Directly hunt the monsters that can be used as food and cook them.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: 500 coins
Failure: ???
+
As soon as they stepped foot in the tunnel, a sub scenario flew in.
Food acquisition. It was a sub scenario we had to go through before entering the second main scenario.
[A few constetions are anticipating your performance.]
The darkness of the tunnel became apparent before we even moved 10 steps. I lit up the tunnel with a shlight but the outline of the surrounding area wasn¡¯t visible at all.
It was proof of a curtain that was blocking the light. The real thing would be beyond this curtain.
¡°Dokja-ssi, wait a minute. It is really dangerous from here on.¡±
Jung Heewon, who walked beside me, stopped first.
¡°Are we really going this way? No matter how I look, it seems like suicide. There is also Gilyoung.¡±
¡°In fact, I was concerned from the beginning. It isn¡¯t toote so how about we leave Gilyoung behind? And if possible, the women...¡±
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi, I¡¯m not as good as you but I know how to fight. I took some kendo lessons.¡±
¡°But...¡±
An unnecessary controversy was about to heat up the atmosphere so I interrupted.
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi. I told you before. The world has changed. It is biased that a woman is physically weak. Right now, everyone can be stronger by raising their stats. But Jung Heewon-ssi, there is also a problem with your words.¡±
¡°...What is it?¡±
¡°Just as a woman isn¡¯t weak, a child also isn¡¯t weak. Gilyoung, show them.¡±
Lee Gilyoung came forward. He looked around for a while before sitting on the tunnel floor and reaching out his hand. Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°Oh my god, what is that?¡±
¡°S-Shit! Cockroaches!¡±
Han Myungoh cried out with fear.
The cockroach that appeared in the distance was connected to Lee Gilyoung¡¯s fingertips with a faint solid line. The cockroach listened to Lee Gilyoung¡¯s words like a well-behaved dog and disappeared into the darkness.
¡°My attribute is Insect Collector.¡±
Insect Collector. Lee Gilyoung possessed the rare ability tomunicate simply with insects through his ¡®Diverse Communication¡¯ skill.
¡°This is nothing in front of us. It is safe for 100 steps forward.¡±
Lee Gilyoung showed an overwhelming scouting power and the other people made a stunned expression. Lee Gilyoung spoke to them with a bold expression.
¡°Thank you for your concern. But I didn¡¯t follow all of you for you to take care of me.¡±
¡°Ah, yes.¡±
Jung Heewon nodded with a sour expression. Lee Gilyoung came to my side and I stroked his hair.
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s attribute hadn¡¯t been seen in the original Ways of Survival. It wasn¡¯t a wrong choice to save Lee Gilyoung in the beginning. We passed a clear barrier and entered the full-fledged darkness.
[You have entered a dangerous area.]
¡°Y-Yoo Sangah-ssi. It is dangerous to hold my hand while walking.¡±
¡°...Aren¡¯t you more afraid than I am?¡±
¡°N-No!¡±
The air inside the curtain was sticky from the humidity.
¡°Reduce the light.¡±
Yoo Sangah immediate covered the shlight. Since this model didn¡¯t have a light control function, she had to adjust the light with her hand.
¡°Ouch. Don¡¯t shine it downwards.¡±
Jung Heewon felt nauseous when she checked the ground. There were torn bodies. The bodies of those who tried to move through here were arranged at their feet.
Yoo Sangah closed her eyes tightly, Han Myungoh shook and even the bold Lee Hyunsung started sweating.
Lee Gilyoung was surprisingly calm, with not the slightest bit of fear on his face. I felt a bit worried. This guy, did he think it was all a game?
¡°There is something that isn¡¯t human.¡±
As Lee Gilyoung said, it wasn¡¯t only the bodies of humans on the ground. There was something the size of a fully-grown wolf. The bodies of the mole-like creatures were scattered all over the ce.
The 9th grade underground species, the ground rat. It was a name reminiscent of bug on Earth, but a name was just a name. They were underground piranhas. The ground rats were persistent hunters who burrowed through the ground in groups and aimed at their prey.
However, the ground rats copsed like they had received a bombardment. Jung Heewon sighed.
¡°...Who the hell did this?¡±
Obviously, there was only one human who could turn the ground rats into this. Yoo Jonghyuk. He proceeded to the next station through this path alone.
But I couldn¡¯t help wondering. Originally, it was supposed to be tonight or tomorrow when the third turn Yoo Jonghyuk moved to the next station.
Why was he so hasty? Did he be impatient? What was the reason?
¡°Dokja-ssi, can we use this for food?¡±
¡°The scenario said that we have to ¡®hunt¡¯ it ourselves so maybe it isn¡¯t possible.¡±
¡°...Well, it is kind of ufortable. What about cooking? Do you want to bake it on a fire?¡±
It could be baked. The problem was that it must be a special fire.
¡°Heewon-ssi, you said you were good at kendo?¡±
¡°Uh, it is a bit much to say I am good...but what are you doing now?¡±
I stabbed the body of the ground rat and started to cut it with a knife. I didn¡¯t know when I read it in the novel but it didn¡¯t go as well as I thought.
After somehow getting rid of the tough skin, I managed to remove the spine bones. This was the first time so I left many scratches, but it was useable.
¡°Why are you taking that?¡±
¡°You need a weapon for kendo.¡±
The stone hog¡¯s thorn wasn¡¯t enough but the spine of the ground rat consisted of a single bone, making it a pretty good weapon at the beginning of the scenario.
After cutting the cartge leading to the leg and shaping it, the bone actually took the shape of a knife. I gave it to Jung Heewon.
¡°Thank you. Suddenly I feel like I¡¯m back to the Paleolithic age.¡±
¡°You need to grind it a bit more for it to be useful. There are rocks around so skillfully grind the de.
¡°Huhu, understood. Captain.¡±
Jung Heewon started to grind the de with a slightly excited voice. I looked up and saw Lee Hyunsung watching the scene with a bit of envy.
¡°Do you want one?¡±
¡°Eh, you will make me one?¡±
¡°All of youe closer. It is better if you learn how to do it. Let¡¯s make it together.¡±
In fact, this was also my first time trying it. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it if the details hadn¡¯t been included in Ways of Survival.
Why wasn¡¯t Ways of Survival popr? It was simple. The author wrote too much of the setting.
¡°...Dokja-ssi, you are a beginner but you are good at it.¡±
We sat down and made weapons together. This time it was a spear, not a sword. They didn¡¯t have the Kendo skill so I decided it was more stable to make a long spear.
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s spear was made with the spine of thergest ground rat while Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh¡¯s weapons were made with the spine of average sized ground rats. Finally, Lee Gilyoung¡¯s weapon was made with the head bone of a young ground rat.
[You have seeded in acquiring weapons by yourself.]
[A very small number of constetions are interested in the primitive nature of humanity.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 100 coins.]
Everyone received these messages.
¡°We receive coins even for this type of thing.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want you to die. You have your own coins?¡±
¡°Yes, we do.¡±
¡°Whenever possible, leave enough coins for the survival cost and invest the rest in your strength, stamina and agility. Otherwise, you won¡¯t survive.¡±
¡°Ah, I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±
We finished the preparations and started to move forward again. The 100 steps that Lee Gilyoung mentioned was right in front of us now.
[The sub scenario ¨C Food Acquisition has begun!]
The ground rats crawled out from the ground. I quickly counted the numbers. One, two, three...there were exactly 13. It was more than I thought.
Grrr...
The group ofnd rats drew a line and started threatening us. The moment we crossed the line, the fight would begin.
¡°There is no n. We are beginners. It might sound cruel but honestly, I don¡¯t expect you to survive.¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
¡°Still, all of you survive. Please.¡±
Han Myungoh was the only upset one in the party. Everyone else was nervous but looked determined. In particr, Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes were very impressive.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s try it. Everybody, please live!¡±
Just as Yoo Jonghyuk tested me, I also had expectations for them. No matter how good a mentor, a person who wasn¡¯t determined couldn¡¯t survive in this world.
In the end, it was up to a person to save themselves. Everyone should use this opportunity to realize it clearly.
¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡±
I also knew who I must take among these people.
As we took one more step, the ground rats moved. The battle began.
Chapter 20
Episode 5 ¨C Shadow Keeper (2)
The party fought well. It was actually a little bit surprising. In particr, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon who stepped forward with me were very influential.
The battleposition naturally became the three of us in front with the other three in the rear. Less than a minute after the battle began, a few ground rats were stuck on the ground with their necks pierced.
Lee Hyunsung overpowered another ground rat, wiped the sweat on his forehead and said.
¡°...I think I can live.¡±
Once they raised their overall stats, the human race wasn¡¯t that weak.
Even so, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s mentality was very special in this world. A normal human couldn¡¯t be so nonchnt when encountering monsters.
There was a reason why he got the name of Steel Sword in the future. However, the more amazing person was Jung Heewon.
¡°The pattern is simpler than I thought?¡±
Maybe it was due to the Kendo skill but every time her sword stretched out, the ground rat was cut somewhere on their legs or tail.
¡°Hap!¡±
It was a case where Jung Heewon invested most of her coins into strength. Her endurance declined due to it but the power of one blow was better than I thought.
Hwiik!
Her sword moved in a terrifying manner through the air.
¡°Damn, I lost one! Please!¡±
Her voice trembled as she spoke. Her only weakness was that her stamina was low so her endurance fell.
Grrr!
The ground rats who moved between the party members were moderately smart. After seeding in scattering the ranks, they ran towards the opponent who seemed the weakest using a hunter¡¯s instincts.
¡°Leave it to me.¡±
However, the ground rats didn¡¯t know that they had picked the wrong opponent.
Peeok!
A blunt instrument thrown by Lee Gilyoung¡¯s hands struck the head of a ground rat. The impact wascking because he was a child but it was enough. The others could help him finish it.
Puok!
Yoo Sangah¡¯s spear pierced the body of the ground rat. The ground rat twisted several times. Yoo Sangah made a confused expression but she didn¡¯t remove her hand from the spear.
The ground rat lost its energy and fell down.
I honestly thought it would be difficult for Yoo Sangah to adapt but I was really surprised. Usually, it was normal to panic like Han Myungoh standing over here.
¡°U-Uhhhh...¡±
As the people were struggling, one person was hiding in the rear. He couldn¡¯t even hide properly and was bleeding near the shins.
I pierced thest ground rat with the thorn and the surroundings became quiet.
I shook the blood off the thorn and looked at everyone. Everyone suffered from minor abrasions except for Han Myungoh, but there were no major injuries.
It was a great first victory.
Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung rxed and sat down, while Lee Hyunsung stabbed his spear into the ground and wiped at the sweat on his forehead. Jung Heewonmented as she countered the number of ground rats in the vicinity.
¡°...Dokja-ssi, how many did you take care of?¡±
¡°Four of them.¡±
¡°Che, I killed two.¡±
¡°I got three.¡±
My pride was somehow hurt when I heard Lee Hyunsung¡¯s proud deration. There was only one difference despite my stats. I used a skill and looked at Lee Hyunsung¡¯s attributes window.
+
[Character Information]
Name: Lee Hyunsung
Age: 28 years old.
Constetion Sponsor: Master of Steel.
Private Attribute: Soldier who Turned a Blind Eye to Injustice (General)
Exclusive Skills: Bay Skills Lv. 2, Camouge Lv. 1, Patience Lv. 1, Sense of Justice Lv. 1, Weapons Training Lv. 2.
Stigma: Great Mountain Push Lv. 1
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 12, Strength Lv. 9, Agility Lv. 9, Magic Power Lv. 6.
Overall Evaluation: The moment of the attribute evolution is gradually approaching. The person¡¯s trust in you is considerable. The sponsor behind him is wary towards you.
* ¡®Starter Pack¡¯ is currently applied.
+
Hah, the starter pack. This was why he was strong. The Master of Steel seemed to quite like Lee Hyunsung.
The Starter Pack was a coin package that could be used when the average overall stats of the incarnation was less than level 10.
It was a good item that allowed you to learn Weapons Training, a useful skill in the beginning, while raising the level of the overall stats by one.
Considering the fact that most incarnations were being exploited for nothing, Lee Hyunsung was lucky to receive the Starter Pack.
¡°Dokja-ssi, yourplexion doesn¡¯t look good...¡±
¡°Ah, no. I was just thinking for a moment.¡±
Now I was a little bit envious...well, I had the money to buy it. I didn¡¯t buy it. My average stats exceeded level 10 so buying it would only damage me.
Damn, I opened the Dokkaebi Bag a bit early.
¡°Let¡¯s gather up the ground rats. We need to prepare today¡¯s food.¡±
¡°Ummm...by the way, how will we cook it? We can¡¯t eat it like this.¡±
¡°We can¡¯t eat it now but there will be a way.¡±
I guessed I answered too calmly. There was silence among my party members. Lee Hyunsung was the first one to open his mouth.
¡°Excuse me, I would like to ask you one thing.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, perhaps...do you know something about this situation?¡±
Whoops, I made a mistake.
¡°That...¡±
Suddenly, I remembered the regressors in the novel I read, followed by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words.
It was like this. The feeling of a regressor. Usually, these types of things happened to a regressor.
Some replies came to mind. I could shamelessly say that it was a hunch or I could lie like Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is anticipating your choice.]
[A few constetions are anticipating your answer.]
But from a reader¡¯s point of view, the best answer was...
¡°A-Aaaack!¡±
It was to create a situation where I didn¡¯t need to say anything.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ nods at your choice.]
¡°There is still one left!¡±
Jung Heewon shouted and Lee Hyunsung ran. However, the action of the hidden ground rats was faster than anyone else. It was much bigger than the other creatures.
¡°S-Save me...!¡±
It dragged Han Myungoh into a tunnel by one of his legs. The nearest Yoo Sangah swung her spear but the situation got worse because Han Myungoh held onto her.
¡°Grab this!¡±
Lee Hyunsung stretched out the handle of his spear but it only hit the ground. The ground rat and the two people had already disappeared into the ground.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ resents this frustrating person.]
Jung Heewon burst out.
¡°Ah...I knew I was going to get cancer because of that uncle.¡±
¡°...I¡¯m sorry. I was toote.¡±
Lee Hyunsung spoke in a sad voice. I tapped his shoulder to show it was okay.
¡°No one could¡¯ve done anything.¡±
¡°Should we chase after them?¡±
I looked at the hole where they had disappeared. It wasn¡¯t an ordinary hole. There was a touch of energy around it. The darkness gave off a gloomy feeling.
I retreated to the back and turned on my smartphone. There was only 5% battery remaining. At dawn, I exchanged one battery charge for food with a person from the marginalized group.
[Your reading speed has increased due to the effect of the exclusive attribute.]
Shortly afterwards, I was able to find the desired passage.
¡¸ ...The ¡®Edge of Darkness¡¯ is the habitat of the ground rats and is a type of subspace emitted from the ¡®Dark Root.¡¯ The ground rats that breath in ck ether instead of oxygen don¡¯t grow naturally unless they are near the ¡®Edge of Darkness¡¯... ¡¹
It was a fact that I knew roughly but it was meaningful to review it. That¡¯s right. This was the entrance to the Edge of Darkness. I read about it and put the smartphone in my pocket.
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
Lee Hyunsung was looking at me with a frustrated expression. I nodded.
¡°We will enter.¡±
¡°Ah, then...¡±
¡°But it very dangerous to enter with a lot of people. Lee Hyunsung-ssi and Jung Heewon-ssi will wait here at the boundary. If something happens, I will give you a signal.¡±
The startled Jung Heewon asked.
¡°Surely...you don¡¯t intend to go with only Gilyoung?¡±
¡°Gilyoung¡¯s ability will be helpful in pursuing them.¡±
The moment she tried to strongly resist, I raised a hand and called to Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi. Jung Heewon-ssi isn¡¯t in a good condition so please take care of her.¡±
Lee Hyunsung seemed to realize something.
¡°I understand.¡±
¡°Wait a minute. I am fine!¡±
¡°Jung Heewon, confidence is good but don¡¯t be reckless.¡±
¡°...¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s breathing was uneven. She wasn¡¯tpletely healed from the poisonous fog.
I left the two people and entered the hole with Lee Gilyoung. It was obviously a hole that was dug down in a vertical slope. But as soon as we entered, we could stand as if gravity was in effect.
It was due to the magic power emitted by the Edge of Darkness.
¡°This way.¡±
The darkness was so deep that I couldn¡¯t see anything, so I could only move forward with Lee Gilyoung. ck ether had the property of absorbing light, making a shlight meaningless. If Lee Gilyoung¡¯s ability Diverse Communication wasn¡¯t avable, I might have to use coins again.
¡°Excuse me Hyung.¡±
Lee Gilyoung called out to me.
¡°Did you do it on purpose?¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°When that uncle grabbed Noona and Ahjussi, you let it go.¡±
I had a moment of hesitation. In the darkness, Lee Gilyoung¡¯s fingertips were strange. Before I could ask how he knew, Lee Gilyoung spoke.
¡°At that time, I was looking at Hyung¡¯s face.¡±
He was watching me even in those short moments. A very scary kid. It was no good hiding from a person who was so quick.
¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±
The answer was terrible and a message bomb was set off in my head. Indeed, this was a spectacle for the constetions.
[The constetions of absolute good frown at your cruelty.]
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is pressing you with shining eyes.]
¡°Why did you do that?¡±
¡°Because of the habit of the ground rats.¡±
I decided to answer honestly.
¡°The ground rats have a habit of keeping their catches in the same ce as their treasure. It isn¡¯t just food. Many things that seem rare are gathered. For example, an item. However, the paths are soplicated that it can¡¯t be found unless I follow their path directly.¡±
Lee Gilyoung was silent for a moment. I continued speaking.
¡°I expected them to take Han Myungoh. I didn¡¯t expect him to grab onto Yoo Sangah.¡±
¡°Then your purpose isn¡¯t to save Noona or Ahjussi, it is the items?¡±
¡°Yes. Are you disappointed?¡±
¡°Nope.¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s small hand gripped my finger tightly.
¡°Hyung shouldn¡¯t lie.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°If Hyung was such a person, you wouldn¡¯t have saved me on the subway. I believe in you.¡±
Lee Gilyoung didn¡¯t act like a child but he was still a child. Lee Gilyoung didn¡¯t know. To be mature and to be an adult werepletely different things.
[Some constetions are touched to tears.]
[200 coins have been sponsored.]
In this world, there were mean adults who would take advantage of such maturity. The hole was longer than I thought and we had to go downwards for quite a long time.
¡°Hyung.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Hyung, are you a god?¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°Or the main character?¡±
Children sometimes asked sharp questions. It was because they lived in a world where stories and reality weren¡¯t clearly distinguished. Lee Gilyoung didn¡¯t know exactly what his question meant.
¡°I¡¯m not a main character. Rather, I always envy the main character.¡±
¡°But you still know something about this world?¡±
I thought for a moment before replying.
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Then I¡¯ll ask you one thing.¡±
¡°I will answer it if I can.¡±
¡°Once we clear all these scenarios...can we make a wish?¡±
¡°Wish?¡±
I was a bit confused.
¡°Usually there is a reward at the end of these stories. At the end of this story, is there something like that?¡±
In the darkness, Lee Gilyoung¡¯s breathing was trembling. Lee Gilyoung¡¯s expression when he saw his dead mother suddenly came to mind.
Those who adapted to this world suffered from it in different ways. Some were crazy, some were fanatics and some had irrational optimism.
¡°Yes, there is.¡±
I was grateful that this ce was dark. It was because Lee Gilyoung couldn¡¯t see my face right now.
¡°We are almost there Hyung.¡±
The surrounding ck ether was shrinking rapidly. It was evidence that Dark Root was nearby. I tensed up and gripped the thorn.
[A few constetions are holding their breaths.]
I heard the sound of the ground rats somewhere in the ground. As the sound got closer, the sense of space expanded rapidly. I saw a light in the darkness, as if someone had lit a fire.
Then I saw a tattered box beyond that light. The moment I was convinced that I hade to the right ce, messages rang in my ears.
[The sub scenario has been updated.]
[You have entered the ¡®Ground Rat¡¯s Treasure Trove.¡¯]
TL Note: Some of Lee Hyunsung¡¯s skill levels are less than the first time his attribute window was checked. Probably an author mistake.
Hyung= Term that males use for a male older than them.
Noona= Term that males use for a female older than them.
Ahjussi= Middle-aged man, uncle, mister, etc.
Chapter 21
Episode 5 ¨C Shadow Keeper (3)
¡°Hyung! This...¡±
Right after Lee Gilyoung discovered the treasure box, I blocked his little mouth.
¡°Shh, wait.¡±
The world of Ways of Survival was relentless. The constetions enjoyed the adversity of the characters and added obstacles in the scenarios just to fuck with humans.
Things saying ¡®Catch me!¡¯ usually contained traps and even system messages couldn¡¯t be trusted.
¡°The treasure trove doesn¡¯t just contain treasures.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is disappointed.]
Abyssal ck me Dragon... He had wanted me to die for a while.
Anyway, I waited. Shortly afterwards, shadows started to emerge around the treasure chest.
Grrr...
It was the ground rats. They brought something through the tunnel, threw it and exchanged information.
Hwaruruk.
Once a certain number of ground rats gathered, the number of lights illuminating the surroundings increased. It was ck fire, mes made with ck ether.
It was said that this ce was the core of Dark Root, which was why it had so much ck ether to burn. At that time, someone¡¯s voice was heard.
¡°It is all because of Yoo Sangah-ssi!¡±
There was no need to say who he was. It was a voice I would know at once. I gripped the shoulder of the surprised Lee Gilyoung tightly. It wasn¡¯t time yet.
¡°Because of me, what do you mean by that?¡±
In the dim light, there were two people captured by the ground rats. They were tied up tightly by branches that came up from the ground.
¡°I-If Yoo Sangah hadn¡¯t taken the subway, the situation wouldn¡¯t be like this!¡±
¡°Why does the subway matter now?¡±
How could she ept all this nonsense? Maybe Yoo Sangah was a saintly person. Or maybe the sponsor behind her was a saintly person.
¡°T-That...That, Yoo Sangah-ssi, you ride a bicycle all the time...¡±
Han Myungoh¡¯s voice shook as he wrote gibberish.
Yoo Sangah¡¯s tone was cold. ¡°Wait a minute. Were you the one who stole my bike?¡±
¡°W-What is this person? I clearly told you that I would drive you in my car! You should know how to ept favours!¡±
¡°Answer me. Did you steal my bike?¡±
All of a sudden, the situation made sense. This was it. It was why a person who drove a Mercedes-Benz S ss took the subway line 3.
Well, it wasn¡¯t strange. There were quite a few men who had their eyes on Yoo Sangah, not just at thepany but at Gumho Station as well.
In fact, Yoo Sangah was a worthy person. Her atmosphere was warm and she knew how to tter people.
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire hates the character ¡®Han Myungoh.¡¯]
Han Myungoh¡¯s face was so red that it could clearly be seen in the dim lighting. It looked dangerous.
¡°Yes, shit! I did it! So what?¡±
¡°Why are you talking like it isn¡¯t a big deal? You took someone else¡¯s things, it is theft.¡±
¡°Theft? Shit, don¡¯t talk bullshit! You should¡¯ve just got on my car from the beginning!¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ hates this trivial argument.]
I didn¡¯t mean to do this but there was no other way now. I quietly gripped the thorn.
¡°I didn¡¯t ask you just one thing. I continuously asked to take you home but you kept fucking rejecting me...¡±
I threw the thorn as hard as I could. The thorn scratched the corner of Han Myungoh¡¯s mouth and continued into the darkness.
¡°Uwaaaaack! What?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is pleased.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Yoo Sangah called out to me. But I wasn¡¯t looking at them.
Kuoooooh...
Across the habitat of the ground rats, the darkness was split apart by the thorn. Then that damned guy came. There was no way it wouldn¡¯t be in Dark Root.
[¡®Dark Keeper¡¯ could appear!]
[The sub scenario has been updated!]
[Sub scenario ¡®Kill the Guard¡¯ has begun!]
Like ves surrendering to a king, the terrified ground rats fell to the ground. A dark figure appeared in the dim light. A tentacled monster reminiscent of a god of death.
Lee Gilyoung¡¯splexion deteriorated sharply.
¡°Oof, Hyung, that...¡±
¡°It is okay.¡±
Eventually, Lee Gilyoung fell to the ground and started retching. It wasn¡¯t strange.
A lot of pressure was felt just looking at it from afar. The cockroaches crawling around long had their stomachs exploded. Lee Gilyoung, who was connected to the cockroaches, would¡¯ve suffered considerable mental damage.
¡°Gilyoung. How many more times can you use Diverse Communication?¡±
¡°...I think I can do it one or two more times.¡±
¡°I understand. Then rest here for a while.¡±
I left Gilyoung leaning against the side and approached Yoo Sangah and Han Myungoh. The panicked Han Myungoh was struggling.
¡°O-Ohuk! What is this...?¡±
I took the Swiss knife and cut the branches binding the two of them. I only moved the knife a few times. Then the part of the branch that it touched abruptly corroded and the de melted away. Yes, this was the power of a demonic species.
¡°Stay back.¡±
I said while raising a weapon made of the spine of a ground rat.
The grade 7 demon type species, Dark Keeper. Among the many monsters that appeared since the start of the destruction, the demon species were toxic.
In fact, the treasures of the ground rats were close to ¡®tributes¡¯ to the demon. Even if it was the same grade, the demon species were different from other monster species.
[The dark keeper has received the favour of the demon king it follows.]
¡°Kamyun. Der. Yitur.¡±
The demon species had their ownnguage, worshipped different demon kings and inherited some of the power of the demon king through Dark Root.
[The Dark Keeper has emitted ¡®Fear.¡¯]
[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall has neutralized most of the ¡®Fear¡¯ effect.]
Therefore, killing one demon meant bing the adversary of their demon king.
¡°Yitur!¡±
I didn¡¯t know what it was saying but the situation didn¡¯t look good. I didn¡¯t want to fight if possible.
¡°M-Mother?¡±
Yoo Sangah. She still hadn¡¯t left?
¡°I told you to stay back.¡±
¡°That monster just said ¡®Mother¡¯...¡±
I thought for a moment about what this meant. No, wait a minute.
¡°Uhh, I think...K-Karud, yemiren? Ah, this is the pronunciation? Aketu?¡±
For a moment, I thought I was mistaken. But I didn¡¯t hear wrong.
¡°Kallitu!¡±
Surprisingly, the dark keeper nodded at the end.
[The character ¡®Yoo Sangah¡¯ has activated the ¡®Interpreter Lv. 3 skill.]
...Oh my god, she wasn¡¯t only good at Spanish. Let¡¯s see what would happen.
¡°What is he saying?¡±
¡°That...it keeps saying ¡®be Mother¡¯...¡±
...Be mother? The dark keeper cried out again and pointed to Yoo Sangah.
¡°Kallitu!¡±
Yoo Sangah had a tearful face.
¡°Uh, Mother? I¡¯m not married yet!¡±
The dark keeper pointed at Han Myungoh this time.
¡°Kallitu!¡±
Han Myungoh turned pale as he wiped his mouth.
¡°W-Why am I the mother? Father!¡±
The dark keeper¡¯s tentacles rose.
Pushu!
¡°Ooooof!¡±
One of the tentacles entered his mouth and Han Myungoh turned ck. There was the sound of something moving down Han Myungoh¡¯s throat.
That¡¯s right. This was what it meant to be the mother. I btedly recalled that the demon species conceived their young in the body of other species.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, you don¡¯t n to have a child yet, right?¡±
¡°Of course!¡±
Yoo Sangah immediately understood the words and stepped back quickly. I swung the ground rat spear and tore at the tentacles attached to Han Myungoh.
The dark keeper roared angrily.
¡°Kallituo!¡±
Fushu!Teong!
The tentacles of the demon species were gradually breaking the ground rat spear. Even the stone hog thorn, which broke through the stomach of an ichthyosaur, would¡¯ve been destroyed the moment it was stuck in a demon¡¯s body.
Before I knew it, Han Myungoh was far away while Yoo Sangah looked at me.
¡¸ Is there a chance? ¡¹
Her eyes seemed to be asking me. To tell the truth, I didn¡¯t have a chance.
Pushu!Pushuu!Teong!
After a few strikes, the ground rat spear was almost destroyed. The hand holding the spear was in pain.
The monster guarding the treasure chest couldn¡¯t be caught, just like the ichthyosaur of Dongho Bridge. That¡¯s why the original n wasn¡¯t to deal with this monster but to obtain the treasure chest after it disappeared.
But as always, ns existed for things to go wrong.
¡°Dokkaebi. Are you watching?¡±
[U-Uh. You knew?]
The dokkaebi showed up in the darkness. I didn¡¯t know his name but he seemed to be a cousin of Bihyung.
¡°There should be some mail for me by now. I want you to hand it over quickly.¡±
[Hihit. It isn¡¯t my responsibility. I-It is Bihyung¡¯s thing.]
¡°Right now, you are taking Bihyung¡¯s ce. Don¡¯t you see the constetionsining?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband wants to scold the dokkaebi ¡®Biryu.¡¯]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ threatens the dokkaebi ¡®Biryu¡¯.]
The dokkaebi Biryu gulped.
[...O-Okay. Instead, it is just this once. I think it will be interesting!]
The dokkaebi muttered something and the summoning began.
[The item has arrived from the exchange.]
[The item ¡®Broken Faith¡¯ has been acquired.]
[The brokerage fee was exempted due to the effect of the contract.]
Broken Faith. The item bartered for the ¡®ichthyosaur core¡¯, which was registered on the Dokkaebi Bag¡¯ exchange, had finally arrived.
¡°Kik.¡±
The dark keeper saw the iteming out of thin air andughed. No wonder it wasughing. All I received was a D grade item. It was a knife broken in half.
[The item is too old to use. The durability will be poor and it will be difficult to achieve any performance.]
Even the dokkaebi who gave him the item was giggling.
[H-How can you fight with that old thing? And it can¡¯t be used if you don¡¯t have a special skill...]
I knew that much. I wouldn¡¯t have bought it if I didn¡¯t know.
¡°Sigh...¡±
I sucked in a breath and concentrated my mind.
Kiiing!
The hilt started trembling greatly. Biryu shouted with shock.
[Uh? How?]
It was natural to be surprised. It was because this was a skill I bought from his friend for a huge 10,000 coins. Blue ether started to settle slowly on the surface of the broken de.
[White Pure Star Energy]
After killing the ichthyosaur, I bought this skill from Bihyung. There were a few wspared to other superior energy techniques, but they weren¡¯t something that could be obtained for the time being.
[Broken Faith has responded to your star energy!]
[de of Faith is activated!]
Shortly afterwards, a brilliant white virtual de sprang up from the edge of the broken de.
Broken Faith. Its real performance was revealed when star energy was injected into it.
Pushuuk!
The number of tentacles increased by dozens and covered my field of view. I wouldn¡¯t be safe from these attacks with my current stamina level. It was scary. But now there was a chance.
Kiiing!
It was because the de of Faith was the best quality weapon when it came to demon species.
Pachuchuchuchut!
The tentacles touched by the de were oxidized and cut off. The dark keeper let out a terrible scream as its tentacles were destroyed. I felt magic power draining out but I wasn¡¯t in a hurry.
Sukakak!
I calmly moved the de.
I missed the tentacles many times because he didn¡¯t have the ¡®Fighting Senses¡¯ skill and I didn¡¯t have the Swordsmanship Training skill, so the way I wielded the de was terrible. It was natural. I was a reader, not a swordsman.
And a reader fought in the manner of a reader.
[The attribute effect has improved your memories of the pages already read.]
The pages of Ways of Destruction shed in my head.
¡¸...The dark keeper¡¯s attack pattern is simple. Unconditionally, the tentacle on the upper right will first... ¡¹
¡¸ ...After the attack, a single tentacle at the bottom... ¡¹
¡¸ ...Its tentacles regenerate but it will take a few minutes... ¡¹
I read diligently and used what I had read.
¡°Kuaaah!¡±
The dark keeper shrieked as its tentacles were cut.
On the other side of my field of view was Lee Gilyoung. The young boy looked at me with awed eyes. Unfortunately, unlike his wishes, I wasn¡¯t the main character in this world. But I was confident of at least one thing.
¡°Kar. Mien. Der.¡±
The dark keeper muttered as it barely managed to pull itself together from its shock. I didn¡¯t ask but Yoo Sangah muttered from behind me in a quivering voice.
¡°How do you know all my weaknesses...?¡±
This was what it meant. I gave an answer in a light manner.
¡°I usually read a lot of books.¡±
I knew more about this world than anyone else.
Chapter 22
Episode 5 ¨C Shadow Keeper (4)
Maybe we would¡¯ve fought for a long time.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ can now be activated.]
[The number two bookmark has been activated.]
[The level of the Bookmark skill is low, shortening the activation time.]
[Activation Time: One minute.]
Well, I had this. Otherwise my bones might be torn off my bones or my blood might clot.
[Your understanding of the character is low, so only a part of the character¡¯s skill is activated.]
[Weapons Training Lv.1 has been activated.]
But it didn¡¯t. To be exact, I couldn¡¯t afford it. I used all the powers I had. I squeezed out all my strength and ran through the tentacles.
Sukak!
Thendscape around me shed by. The only thing left was the afterimage of a sharp white light and the sense of cutting something.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has increased.]
[The number two bookmark has been disabled.]
I felt like I had lost strength. I had poured everything out in one blow. Then after a while. I heard a trembling voice in the air.
[...C-Constetions. Did you all see it? I-I didn¡¯t see wrong...?]
It was the appearance of Dokkaebi Biryu, who had forgotten his duties. In fact, it wasn¡¯t strange to be surprised.
[A few constetions are doubting their eyes.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is ring fiercely.]
It was a powerful grade 7 demon lying down with damaged tentacles in front of me.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ pulls his hair as if he is pleased.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
The severed tentaclesy on the ground and the surrounding ground rats had long been killed or fled in the aftermath of the fight. Only the dark keepery breathing roughly on the ground, its lips twitching.
¡°...Ki. Kii. Ki.¡±
Originally, the grade 7 demon was an enemy that I couldn¡¯t cope with. Thus, I was prepared. I wasn¡¯t as strong as Yoo Jonghyuk and I didn¡¯t have a good sponsor like Lee Hyunsung.
[The obsessivepulsive constetions praise your readiness.]
[200 coins have been sponsored.]
It was just that the ¡®information¡¯ I had was more advantageous than others. But sometimes, ¡®information¡¯ was more powerful than anything in the world.
Kiiing!
The very result of that information was the white light sword now in my hand.
[A-An ¡®ether de¡¯ in the beginning scenarios...C-Constetions. Is this a true story?]
Fortunately, I didn¡¯t have to exin it as the dokkaebi was in full swing.
Ether de. It was the gship technique of the incarnations supported by the highest level sponsor. The technique was often called ¡®energy de¡¯ in Murim novels.
¡°To be exact, it isn¡¯t a real ether de. The real one is much stronger than this.¡±
[T-That¡¯s right! Strictly speaking, it is Broken Faith that has absorbed the White Pure Star Energy and made the de...]
Looking at the dokkaebi, he wasn¡¯t aplete idiot.
[Amazing... There is this guy in that brat Bihyung¡¯s channel...]
As if waiting for this, the de of Faith turned off.
[Broken Faith¡¯s durability has run out. This item is no longer avable.]
It was a pity but it did its part.
¡°Give me thepensation for finishing the sub scenario.¡±
[Uhh, that¡¯s right. W-Wait!]
Biryu hurriedly entered something in the air and a message soon popped up.
[You have met the conditions to clear the sub scenario!]
[You have earned 500 coins.]
[A handful of constetions admire your scenario.]
The reward was smaller than I thought. It was natural. It was because I haven¡¯t killed the dark keeper.
[By the way, are you not going to kill that guy?]
Biryu looked at me with expectant eyes.
I let out an exhausted breath and nced at the dark keeper on the ground. Then I kindly said.
¡°I have a non-killing ideology.¡±
[N-Non-killing...?]
¡°I¡¯m not someone who kills easily.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ admires it!]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
Of course, it was a lie.
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is smiling slyly at you.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
The bewildered Biryu stammered.
[B-But won¡¯t the reward be great if you kill this guy? You will be the first to kill a grade 7 demon and I will give you 7,000 coins! Do you know how big 7,000 coins is?]
¡°I won¡¯t kill it. I need to open thepensation box so please step aside.¡±
I removed the irritating Biryu from in front of me. The dark keeper wasn¡¯t the real reason I came here. So...
Puok!
[The grade 7 demon, ¡®Dark Keeper¡¯ was killed.]
...What?
The dokkaebi who looked like it was so funny he would die and the dark keeper who died with a knife in his chest. Then.
¡°Haha, hahahahat! N-Now I can be strong! Kim Dokja, you son of a bitch! You didn¡¯t know this!¡±
Han Myungoh was the one holding the knife. I had a rough idea of what happened. Then explosive messages were heard in my ears.
[A grade 7 demon has been hunted for the first time!]
[An impossible feat has been aplished.]
[You have earned 8,000 coins.]
[Contribution: Kim Dokja, Han Myungoh]
Perhaps these messages were also shared with Han Myungoh. I only received a few coins because I didn¡¯t deal the finishing blow but...
I could see Han Myungoh dying with happiness at the messages.
¡°Non-killing ideology? Stupid guy! What is killing in this burning world? There can¡¯t be a person like you! You know¨D¡±
Then Han Myungoh stopped. Now he knew what he had done.
[The grade 7 demon ¡®dark keeper¡¯ has been killed and the demon king ¡®Asmodeus¡¯ has noticed the murderer¡¯s presence.
[The demon king Asmodeus will chase the one who dealt the finishing blow until they are dead.]
[The demon king Asmodeus has put a terrible curse on the person who dealt the final blow!]
[Final Blow: Han Myungoh]
¡°W-What? What is this message?¡±
Han Myungoh cried out fearfully.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ admires your wickedness.]
¡°Ah...didn¡¯t I tell you? I intentionally didn¡¯t kill it.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ has rmended your scenario to Star Stream.]
Han Myungoh stared into the air like he had lost his soul.
The curse of the demon king ¡®Asmodeus¡¯ was the most terrible thing for a killer. I didn¡¯t know what it was but it was surely terrible.
I looked back and saw Lee Gilyoung and Yoo Sangah looking this way with bemused expressions. I smiled as if nothing had happened.
¡°We¡¯ll open the rewards together.¡±
* * *
After a while, we searched through the treasures and pulled out one each.
¡°I got this.¡±
¡°I have this...¡±
Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung found a small bracelet and old shield respectively.
[Magic Power Recovery Bracelet]
[Old Iron Shield]
They were both D grade items but it was better than nothing. The Magic Power Recovery Bracelet was a useful item for everyone and the Old Iron Shield would be good for Lee Hyunsung.
It was difficult to ignore the ¡®iron¡¯ in the name. This iron was much harder than Earth¡¯s iron.
Yoo Sangah spoke with slight disappointment.
¡°It is less than I thought.¡±
Less. Her words weren¡¯t wrong. It was too shameful to call this a ¡®treasure trove.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk.
The guy who left yesterday had probably gone through this ce. He knew he would be tired fighting the demon so he took a chance and stole the treasure.
In the end, we were robbing a ce that was already robbed.
¡°it is okay because the main thing is still left.¡±
I looked at a ck box in the centre of the warehouse. We didn¡¯t waste any more time and opened the box.
The thing in the box was a stove. It was small enough to fit into a pocket and it was shameful to call it a stove.
[Magic Power Stove].
As expected, it was still here. This item was in fact the key item in this sub scenario.
[Magic Power Stove can only be used once per person.]
Obviously, Yoo Jonghyuk had taken one so there were two Magic Power Stoves in total.
¡°...What is that thing?¡±
¡°Well, I think I know a bit about its purpose.¡±
I purposely trembled, activated the stove with magic power and raised a dead ground rat¡¯s leg.
It was funny since it didn¡¯t fit the size of a te of food, but in five seconds, a remarkable change happened to the leg of the ground rat.
¡°Wow! A delicious smell!¡±
There was a sweet smell and the leg of the ground rat changed to a golden colour.
¡°Meat!¡±
Lee Gilyoung cried out excitedly. Yoo Sangah asked urgently.
¡°C-Can we eat this?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll try it first.¡±
I grabbed the greasy hind leg and dug into the flesh. The juices ran from the flesh...I forgot to chew and closed my eyes. Tasting it was different from reading it in the book.
[A few constetions are drooling.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 100 coins.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ has swallowed his saliva.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is biting his nails.]
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
The messages continuously popped up. Indeed, eating broadcasts were the best. Everyone was united in front of food.
¡°Eat it. I think it is okay.¡±
The two people rushed towards the meat as soon as I spoke. They hadn¡¯t had a proper meal for three days so they would be quite hungry. Han Myungoh recovered and came over hesitantly.
¡°D-Dokja-ssi...I-I went crazy for a second...¡±
¡°Eat. Don¡¯t worry about the other thing.¡±
¡°T-Thank you!¡±
¡°You will be a ghost after eating.¡±
¡°W-What...?¡±
Han Myungoh¡¯splexion turned as white as death. I said it like a joke but Han Myungoh really would die. Asmodeus¡¯ pursuit was hard for even Yoo Jonghyuk to ovee.
We each took one leg and started to eat. We were eating meat together because we were hungry after everything that started. Humans couldn¡¯t help it.
Everyone ate the meal in silence. Was it due to the light spreading gently from the Magic Power Stove? I was feeling a bit sentimental.
Killing something and eating it in order to live. This was the life of a human. It had been like this so far but I wondered why it felt so fresh.
Suddenly, I looked up and met Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes. Ha, Yoo Sangah came to her senses and suddenly cried out.
¡°I¡¯m pathetic.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi worked so hard and I am just eating like a pig... I was no help at all...¡±
¡°No, Yoo Sangah-ssi. That...¡±
¡°But how does Dokja-ssi know all this? You know how to cook a beast and...¡±
¡°Ah, that...¡±
¡°Indeed! It must be because you read fantasy novels, right? Really, I didn¡¯t know the world was going to be like this. My silly self was just memorizing Spanish.¡±
I felt somewhat strange when I heard Yoo Sangah say this. I opened my mouth tofort her.
¡°It is because Yoo Sangah-ssi studied foreignnguages that you learned thenguage of the demon species.¡±
Of course, it wasn¡¯t very helpful.
¡°I see... Thank you, Dokja-ssi...¡±
I smiled at Yoo Sangah and got up from where I was sitting. The party was immersed in eating again. I took a break and headed for the back of the party.
In fact, the Magic Power Stove was important but my real purpose was a separate item. I looked closely at the ¡®ck box¡¯ that contained the Magic Power Stove. It was this. There was no doubt about it.
Yoo Jonghyuk, who took the Magic Power Stove, probably didn¡¯t know about it. The real treasure of the warehouse was this ¡®ck box.¡¯
In the original story, Yoo Jonghyuk only knew about this after the 6th round of regression.
Who was the first to discover this. Was it ¡®Heavenly Maid Hori?¡¯ Well, it was hard to remember. It wasn¡¯t urate but it was probably something like this:
¡¸ ¡°Over there. There are strange boxes in the early areas. If you put something in there...¡± ¡¹
At this time, I met Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes.
¡°What is the box for?¡±
¡°Huh? Ah, this...¡±
Yoo Sangah said as she looked at the box. There were unknown characters written on the box.
...Could she read them?
¡°Random...item box?¡±
Damn. This was why foreignnguage proficiency was important.
¡°Uh...that...um. So that is what it means.¡±
I was a bit embarrassed. Yoo Sangah cried out.
¡°Quickly use it, Dojka-ssi!¡±
¡°...Is it okay?¡±
Nod nod. Lee Gilyoung nodded vigorously.
¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about us. All the items obtained here are yours. That is obvious.¡±
Yes, I was caught so let¡¯s do it quickly.
¡°Then I will use it well.¡±
[A few constetions are nodding at your decision.]
I took the nucleus of the grade 7 demon from my pocket. I had cut it from the dead body of the dark keeper. In addition, I took out Broken Faith which had run out of durability. ording to the original plot, the use of this box was simple.
¡¸ ¡°Who knew? There would be a limited edition coin item.¡± ¡¹
I ced the demon core and Broken Faith into the box.
¡¸ ¡°Ha, you can¡¯t believe me words? Is it real? Put sub items in there and close the box!¡± ¡¹
In fact, I didn¡¯t know what would happen when I put in these two items. But I was certain that something huge woulde out.
¡¸ ¡°A top item will unconditionallye out!¡± ¡¹
A momentter, a dazzling light burst out from the closed box.
Chapter 23
Episode 6 ¨C Judgment Time (1)
The limited random items box.
ording to the setting of Ways of Survival, this was a coin item that was sold as a limited edition in a past ¡®scenario.¡¯
[Ah, no, why is this thing here?]
The rmed Biryu shouted btedly.
[I-I-It was banned immediately after release!]
ording to the original Ways of Survival, the setting of this item was quiteplicated.
This coin item was released long before the 8612ary scenarios began. It was a product that was forced to be banned by the Star Stream Administration Bureau.
If sub items were put it, it would ¡®unconditionally¡¯ spit out a top item. This would have a tremendous impact on the bnce of the scenarios. In addition, the price of one item box was a huge one million coins.
The constetions were angry at this ridiculous billing policy and the stupid dokkaebi who invented this item was fired from the Administration Bureau.
[C-Constetions. It is like this¡ I don¡¯t know why it is here¡H-Hihihit! Broadcast end!]
[#BI-7623 channel has temporarily closed.]
The delirious sounding Biryu closed the channel and the voices of the constetions disappeared. I regretted not being able to see the reactions of the constetions but it couldn¡¯t be helped.
Dudududu.
I looked down at the vibrating box. The random draw was about to start in earnest.
[A sword type item will be awarded for putting in the same type of items!]
[The random draw has started!]
The limited edition random item box randomly spat out items of a higher rank rted to the item you put in. There was a chance for anything from a C grade to a SSS grade item toe out. In the end, it was all up to chance.
[The offered items are rted to a certain constetion!]
[The probability that an item associated with this constetion will appear is greatly increased.]
¡Eh?
It was an unexpected message. But it didn¡¯t seem to be a disadvantage for me. Both my hands were sweating. I hadn¡¯t been so nervous when I bought a random chance item in an online game. Please let it be an A rating.
[A top rated item has appeared!]
[The number of avable random item boxes is 0.]
The box soon stopped trembling and the faint light subsided. I looked around at Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung, whose eyes were shining.
¡°Shall we open it?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
We opened the box.
¡°W-Wow!¡±
Lee Gilyoung was so surprised that he screamed. By the way, it really was amazing. A luxurious silver guard and a white de¡the shape was somewhat simr to Broken Faith?
I immediately checked the item information.
+
[Item Information]
Name: Unbroken Faith
Rating: Star Relic
Description: In the past, it was the sword of the hero ¡®Kaizenix¡¯, who led the Grusiad during the Great Demon Age. The great ether dominance of Kaizenix allowed him to create a ¡®de of Faith¡¯ that contained fire, darkness and divine power respectively.
As an additional option, it increases strength and stamina level by 2.
+
I was speechless. No¡was this real? It wasn¡¯t a simple alphabet rating but a star relic item?
¡°D-Dokja-ssi! Doesn¡¯t it look like a huge item?¡±
It really was a huge item.
In the world of Ways of Survival, the ¡®star relics¡¯ were the only items excluded from the ratings table. It wasn¡¯t just because they had a strong performance but because these items were special.
Every star relic contained the power of a living constetion.
The difference in performance varied depending on whether the constetion was the hero of a certain world and how much awareness they had. However, they contained the power of a constetion so the relics had tremendous value.
In addition, it raised the level of his strength and stamina by 2. When taking into ount that A grade items increased the total stats value by 1, it must be at least a S grade item.
Yoo Jonghyuk hadn¡¯t obtained an item like this yet.
I looked around at Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung.
¡°¡I can really have it?¡±
¡°Of course. It naturally belongs to Dokja-ssi.¡±
Yoo Sangah responded in advance to his repeat question. Lee Gilyoung also nodded eagerly.
I looked at Han Myungoh but he was just eating the leg of a ground rat with a stupid expression. He was muttering unknown things to himself. I thought he would insist on having the item¡it was strange.
[You have acquired a star relic.]
[The owner of the star relic is curious about you.]
The message showed that the constetion existed somewhere. Later, I would open up Ways of Destruction and look for it.
¡°Then we should go back. There are plenty of ground rats out there so we can go back with just the Magic Power Stove.¡±
¡°But how do we get back?¡±
¡°It won¡¯t be a problem to leave with Gilyoung¡¯s power. Use Diverse Communication and¡¡±
However, Lee Gilyoung¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t bright.
¡°Hyung, I¡¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°There aren¡¯t any insects nearby.¡±
Come to think of it, the insects around here had burst from the pressure when I was fighting the dark keeper. It was a problem I hadn¡¯t thought about.
¡°There really isn¡¯t one? Some of them should still be alive. If we move for a bit and use the ability¡¡±
There were so many insects in the world that I didn¡¯t have any sympathy for the few who died. But Lee Gilyoung still had a dark expression.
¡°Well, there is one I can actually call¡¡± Lee Gilyoung closed his eyes and started concentrating.
¡°Dokja-ssi, isn¡¯t this a big strange?¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s eyes were gradually losing focus. Then blood flowed down from his nose.
¡°Gilyoung?¡±
All of a sudden, there was a loud vibration from above them. Dust started falling down. The vibration wasing from above ground¡
At this moment, goosebumps appeared on my skin.
Kuuong!
¡°Gilyoung! Lee Gilyoung! Wake up!¡±
¡°Ye¡Hyung?¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s eyes returned to normal.
¡°Gilyoung, stop the skill! Quickly!¡±
The surprised Lee Gilyoung stopped the skill and the vibration subsided. I sighed with relief.
There were incredibly dangerous monsters running around above ground. There were numerous high rated monsters, including the grade 7 rhinoceros. Among these monsters was the insect king. It was obvious a type of insect just based on the name.
¡°You really¡¡±
I ced my hand on Lee Gilyoung¡¯s head and didn¡¯t say anything. He was about to call an insect king from aboveground¡ was he Fabre? We almost got buried here.
¡°For the time being, seal this skill. Don¡¯t use it unless I tell you to. Understood?¡±
¡°Yes¡¡±
Lee Gilyoung replied in a sad manner. Now there was no choice but to wait.
¡°We will get lost in the darkness. Let¡¯s wait a bit longer and move when small insects appear in the vicinity.¡±
It was easy to enter but the Edge of Darkness was a very dangerous ce. It was a ce where someone could disappear for a day or two if a little mistake was made.
Then Yoo Sangah raised her hand.
¡°If it is just going back, I think I can fill in for Gilyoung.¡±
¡°¡How?¡±
I was going to ask if she would converse with the Edge of Darkness but stopped because it seemed sarcastic. Yoo Sangah replied in a slightly uncertain tone.
¡°I have a simr skill.¡±
When I thought about it, I still didn¡¯t know Yoo Sangah¡¯s attribute and sponsor.
¡°What is the skill?¡±
¡°That, it is aplicated skill to untangle¡¡±
Untangle?
¡°¡Excuse me, can I ask what Yoo Sangah-ssi¡¯s attribute is?¡±
Yoo Sangah wasn¡¯t a character in the novel so I didn¡¯t know her attribute. It was like Lee Gilyoung and Han Myungoh.
¡°Uh, that¡¡±
Yoo Sangah made a difficult expression. It wouldn¡¯t have been so frustrating if I could use Character List on Yoo Sangah. I tried to use Character List once again as a test.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
Indeed¡ But there was one more message.
[Currently collecting information about the corresponding figure.]
¡Eh?
It was a message that never existed before. Come to think of it, I heard a system message when Yoo Sangah used the ¡®Interpreter¡¯ skill. It wasn¡¯t something that was originally heard.
Was it possible for the Character List to be updated after some time? Perhaps¡
I organized my thoughts and decided to let Yoo Sangah go.
¡°Forget that I asked. By the way, nice work. In the future, don¡¯t let other people know about your personal attribute.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not it! I trust Dojka-ssi¡!¡±
Well, Yoo Sangah¡¯s appearance said otherwise. At the moment, I got an idea.
¡°Can Yoo Sangah tell me about the nature of your sponsor?¡±
Yoo Sangah bowed her head.
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
The words barely escaped from her trembling lips. Based on this level, it was possible that she made some type of promise in the contract with her sponsor. Perhaps there was a life constraint in respect with the spilling of information.
I didn¡¯t know what sponsor they were but it seemed they had decided to raise Yoo Sangah in earnest.
¡°It is okay. I understand.¡±
¡°Thank you, really¡¡±
There was no need to thank me. She couldn¡¯t tell me her sponsor¡it made my heart tense. It was the desire of a reader who wanted to fill the space between empty lines.
¡°Then try using your skill.¡±
Soon, a faintly shining thread emerged from Yoo Sangah¡¯s fingertips and started to stretch out.
¡°In fact, I tied up a ¡®thread¡¯ when I got kidnapped.¡±
One branch of the thread was connected to me and the other one was connected outside. Maybe it was bound to Lee Hyunsung or Jung Heewon.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
There was no reason for Yoo Sangah to have such a skill from the beginning. This was definitely the stigma provided by her sponsor.
By the way, it was a ¡®thread¡¯ to escape thebyrinth. This¡somehow, I thought it was a constetion I knew.
[#BI-7623 channel is open.]
I started hearing messages from the constetions again.
[A number of constetions have put a im on the channel¡¯s transmission system!]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is curious about what came out of the random item box.]
Ah, they haven¡¯t seen it? What a pity.
[Damn! That bastard messed with my channel¡hahahat! Did you stay well while I was away?]
And the nice¡no, a familiar voice was heard. Bihyung.
* * *
[¡You did such great things while I was gone?]
¡®Was it because of me that you couldn¡¯te back?¡¯
[It¡yes, it isn¡¯t unrted. I got a warning from the Administration Bureau because the advertisement went on for too long.]
Now Bihyung¡¯s voice was only audible to me. It was the ¡®dokkaebimunication¡¯ that only the dokkaebi could use. Of course, it was an obvious vition of the rules to allow me to use it.
[I have decided not to care about small things now. And I can go back and forth to the Administration Bureau. Rather¡ how do you know about the ¡®Random Box¡¯?]
¡®Just, I found it by chance.¡¯
[Dammit. There are still remnants of the ck history left. Why is that box there¡]
¡®ck history?¡¯
[¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.]
¡®¡Wait. Surely that absurd coin item wasn¡¯t nned by you?¡¯
As a reader of Ways of Survival, I didn¡¯t know this.
[Damn! If I wasn¡¯t greedy at that time¡]
¡°Wow, it really is delicious. What a surprise.¡±
Bihyung¡¯s grumbling was cut off by Jung Heewon¡¯s cry of admiration.
10 minutes ago, we safely encountered the rest of the party thanks to Yoo Sangah¡¯s guidance. Fortunately, Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung kept the boundary until we came back.
¡°You will recover a bit after eating.¡±
¡°Well, I really think that my better is getting better.¡±
Jung Heewon seemed much better as she swung her shoulders in a test. The meat of the underground species actually contained detoxificationponents.
¡°Did you get a lot of things in there? In addition to the Magic Power Stove¡¡±
¡°I got a few things.¡±
I looked at Lee Hyunsung and said.
Lee Hyunsung put on and removed the Old Steel Shield that he received from me several times. Now he was polishing the surface again and again. It was like someone with a new car.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ feels a faint loyalty to you.]
Jung Heewon seemed envious of the scene and asked.
¡°Is there anything I can use?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°What is that de?¡±
¡°It is mine.¡±
¡°¡Will you distribute the meat to the people?¡±
¡°If they have coins.¡±
¡°But¡you are really stingy. Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s say that I have a strong sense of survival.¡±
As we were passing around a piece of cooked ground rat, the tunnel ended. The surroundings suddenly brightened and people started to be seen. But the atmosphere was weird. What was this urgent and bustling mood?
[There are 20 minutes left until the paid settlement.]
[Prepare the survival fee.]
I btedly noticed the time. That¡¯s right. It was already that time. It was amazing that the word ¡®paid¡¯ sounded so scary.
¡°Coin, coins please!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have enough coins! Please, a few coins¡¡±
100 coins wouldn¡¯t be a problem if they faithfully participated in the scenario, but such humans were rare.
¡°I¡¯ll give you one million won, no, ten million won! Who will sell 100 coins?¡±
The price of the coins was soaring. It was funny. There was a ridiculous premium on money that had no value until the beginning of the destruction.
And there were people smiling as they watched from afar. These guys already had enough coins. It was Cheon Inho and the Cheoldoo Group.
A few women flocked towards the gang members and cried out.
¡°Y-You said you would give me 100 coins before!¡±
¡°Hrmm, is that so? I don¡¯t remember.¡±
¡°What¡?¡±
¡°I will think again if you will let me put it in one more time. How about it?¡±
Jung Heewon pulled out her de and stared at them.
¡°Those sons of a bitches¡¡±
[The attribute of character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is about to blossom.]
The time hade for Jung Heewon. It wasn¡¯t bad if her attribute blossomed now¡yet. She needed some patience in order to get the ¡®attribute¡¯ I was thinking about.
Then a system message emerged.
[After a while, the survival settlement will begin.]
¡°S-Save me! Save me!¡±
The expressions of the party changed. Lee Hyunsung bowed his head sadly while Jung Heewon bit her lip while holding her de.
Everyone knew what the price of the ¡®paid settlement¡¯ was. There was no one here who hadn¡¯t experienced it.
¡°¡Dokja-ssi.¡±
Then Yoo Sangah looked at me.
¡°Yes.¡±
In this world, coins were power. A person with coins could obtain good items or good stats. Coins were everything.
[Several constetions with scenario rmendations have been added to the channel.]
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is watching your choice.]
[The constetion Prisoner of the Golden Headband is watching your choice.]
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire is watching your choice.]
And I was current the person with the highest number of coins in the station.
Chapter 24
Episode 6 ¨C Judgment Time (2)
Just as I was about to open my mouth, I heard Cheon Inho¡¯s voice.
¡°Oh, Dokja-ssi! You came just in time.¡±
Cheon Inho smiled as he found us. I had a foreboding feeling as Cheon Inho spoke in a loud voice.
¡°Dokja-ssi has a lot of coins! How much? You are probably the richest one among us, right?¡±
[The character ¡®Cheon Inho¡¯ has activated the ¡®Incite Lv. 2¡¯ skill.
The crowd looked my way.
¡°C-Coins?¡±
¡°Who has a lot of coins?¡±
It didn¡¯t take long for all eyes to turn to me. Cheon Inho, he was a really great guy.
¡°Y-You are Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Please save me!¡±
People panted as they approached. The number of people flocking was estimated to be at least 20. If I gave all these people coins, I would lose 2,000 coins. But if I didn¡¯t give them coins, I would be a big viin of Gumho Station.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Cheon Inho¡¯ has increased.]
¡°Haha, Dokja-ssi. I don¡¯t have the coins to help all these poor people but...isn¡¯t Dokja-ssi different? Will you just wait and watch?¡±
I sighed quietly. I had seen this trick one or twice.
[The constetions of the Absolute Good system have defined Cheon Inho as ¡®wicked¡¯.]
I had enough of putting up with him.
¡°S-Save me!¡±
¡°Please save me!¡±
People burst into tears with the most pitiful expression in the world.
[Hahahat! This story is bing fun. For reference, there are 10 minutes left!]
Bihyung spoke in a voice that was full of joy and the party looked at me with strange expressions. I let out a short sigh and slowly closed my eyes before opening them again.
¡°I see. You want coins?¡±
Then Iughed.
¡°Why should I?¡±
I looked around at the people. The first scenario was original sin. Thus, none of the people here were innocent.
That made it more disgusting. Those who trampled on someone else to survive, who couldn¡¯t even bear responsibility for their own life.
¡°W-Why?¡±
¡°You have a lot of coins! Can¡¯t you give us a few?¡±
In the midst of the confusion, Cheon Inho burst outughing.
¡°I expected this from Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°From the very first moment Dokja-ssi showed up here. Didn¡¯t you sell food for coins? If you didn¡¯t make them buy food at that time, do you know how many people can survive now?¡±
¡°Yes! He is right!¡±
¡°Shit! Give me back my coins!¡±
Suddenly the atmosphere was flowing against me. Maybe this was what Cheon Inho wanted.
¡°Just a minute everyone! Your actions right now...!¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi isn¡¯t such a person!¡±
Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung tried to diffuse the crowd but they had already lost their sense of reason. Then Cheon Inho drove in thest wedge.
¡°Dokja-ssi. I will give you onest chance. Give the coins back to the people.¡±
¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±
¡°Then the worst will happen.¡±
The crowd of 20 people started to approach step by step.
¡°T-This..e! Give me your coins!¡±
Nevertheless, no one attacked first. Eventually, a member of the Cheoldoo Group came forward.
¡°You scum! What are you doing? Kill him! Why are you hesitating when you can snatch the coins after killing him?¡±
The man who shouted had a very sturdy physique. I triggered Character List and confirmed his information.
+
[Character Summary]
Name: Han Minsung
Private Attribute: Bully (General)
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 8, Strength Lv. 8, Agility Lv. 8, Magic Power Lv. 2.
+
He was the owner of abilities that fit a ¡®bully.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t originally at this level...this guy did ¡®it.¡¯ Yes, he acted rashly because he believed in his stats.
¡°Kill that bastard!¡±
The metal pipe in his hand moved. A steel pipe containing a Lv. 8 strength. The former ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ might be scared by this threat but... For the current me, it was just ridiculous.
Sukak!
The man¡¯s arm was cut off and rolled across the ground with the iron pipe.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
The blood covered Unbroken Faith was emitting a white light. I swept a nce over the quiet people.
¡°U-Uh...¡±
Everyone turned pale when they saw a Cheoldoo Group member being overwhelmed with one blow. Now that I had shown off a bit, it was time to start.
¡°Pathetic... do you really believe this situation is because of me?¡±
I looked left and right at each face in the crowd. On the other side, Cheon Inho was looking confused.
¡°In fact, you know very well that it isn¡¯t me.¡±
Like a sick goldfish, the mouths of the crowd dropped open. I spoke like I was disseminating food to them.
¡°You guys are doing this because you are scared. In fact, even though you knew what was wrong and are in a crisis, you are trembling in fear because of them.¡±
¡°Haha, look at this, Dokja-ssi! What are you saying...?¡±
¡°It is because they are stronger than you! Their overall stats are higher than you and they have a lot of coins! But everyone, you know what?¡±
I took a step towards the crowd and asked. The entire crowd retreated like surprised goldfish. However, they were already in my fish tank.
¡°Why are they stronger than you?¡±
I took one more step.
¡°More than anything, why do they have more coins than you? Is it because they are gangsters? Perhaps.¡±
[The characters around you are shaken.]
Even in fear, there were some emotions that could be conveyed with certainty. Questions passed over their faces.
¡°C-Cheon Inho-ssi, how many coins do you have...?¡±
¡°Haha, don¡¯t you know? Well, I have sold a few and¨D¡±
¡°Do you think it is possible to get that many stats with just that? Really?¡±
Cheon Inho closed his mouth. I turned from left to right, looking at the crowd¡¯s faces one by one.
¡°When I came to Gumho Station a few days ago, there were 87 people here.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°But how many people are left now? I don¡¯t think there is more than 50 people. Do you know why?¡±
¡°T-They went out as scouts and the monsters¨D¡±
¡°Monsters? Do you still believe that?¡±
¡°T-Then...¡±
¡°You fools. Think about it with your brains. Did those people really die because of the monsters? Then why haven¡¯t any of the Cheoldoo Group bastards died?¡±
The area became quiet in an instant.
¡°Why is it that theye back stronger?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ nods at your reasoning.]
¡°D-Don¡¯t tell me¨D¡±
The people turned to look at Cheon Inho. The Cheoldoo Group members hesitated. Now it was my turn to drive in the wedge.
¡°They said it before. If you kill me, you will get coins.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ pulls his hair in excitement.]
¡°But how do they know that killing a person will give coins?¡±
¡°Y-You...Inho-ssi! Don¡¯t tell me?¡±
¡°Shut up! I¡¯m being framed!¡±
As Cheon Inho moved back, the men of the Cheoldoo Group pulled out their weapons. The frightened people were weeping.
[Hahahat! There are 7 minutes left!]
I stepped forward towards the people.
¡°If you have anyst self-respect left, fight with your own hands.¡±
The de of Faith cried out violently. Anger filled the eyes of the people.
¡°At least get back what was taken from you.¡±
As I waited, the people of the Cheoldoo Group rushed towards me simultaneously. I also ran towards them.
¡°Now this world is such a ce.¡±
The white light moved and people screamed. Then someone shouted.
¡°Yes, shit!¡±
¡°Sons of a bitches!¡±
The people started to move. All in all, they were people who had already killed.
¡°M-Mother!¡±
¡°Dayoung,e here! Do this! Just like what you did on the subway with Mother!¡±
Children and mothers.
¡°This fuckin¡¯ bastards!¡±
There was a middle-aged Indian man.
¡°These scum!¡±
But they weren¡¯t a match.
The number of people left in the Cheoldoo Group was high and their fighting power was overwhelming due to all the coins they obtained through human hunting.
Or this would be the case if it wasn¡¯t for me.
Sukakak!
The arms and legs of the Cheoldoo Group members who rushed for me flew off. The eerie sensation of cutting off a person¡¯s limbs filled my hands. The incapacitated Cheoldoo Group members looked up at me.
¡°S-Spare me...¡±
At that moment. Someone moved ahead of me and stuck their de in the fallen Cheoldoo Group members.
¡°I said I would kill him.¡±
[All evolution conditions of the attribute ¡®Crouching Figure¡¯ have been met.]
The attribute of character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is blossoming.]
A dazzling brilliance was rising from her body. I nodded. It was now time.
[The attribute of ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has blossomed to ¡®Judge of Destruction (Hero).]
A judge to wipe out evil. The best of the three ¡®judge¡¯ attributes woke up from a crouching figure.
[You have contributed greatly to the attribute of ¡®Crouching Figure!¡¯]
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ won¡¯t hesitate to be your sword in the future.]
¡°Rest from now on.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes were pale blue as she dered.
¡°These guys are my share.¡±
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has activated the exclusive skill ¡®Judgment Time.¡¯]
[The Absolute Good constetions have agreed to the use of this skill.]
[¡¯Judgment Time¡¯ has been activated.]
Jung Heewon had a bloody aura around her body as her de painted an eerie trail. It was a light and precise kendo that moved between the Cheoldoo Group members. Blood spurted everywhere.
¡°Kuaaaak!¡±
It was a scene of aplete massacre. Of course, Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t the only one fighting. Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung and even Lee Gilyoung were protecting their respective positions. But no one was as active as Jung Heewon.
Like a person who was born for murder, Jung Heewon killed and killed. If I cut off a man¡¯s arm, Jung Heewon stabbed his heart. If I cut off his leg, Jung Heewon cut his throat.
Jung Heewon took care of all those I left behind. She moved without hesitation, like a person who had been longing for this moment.
¡°...¡±
The area was filled with blood.
The only person left from the Cheoldoo Group was Cheon Inho. However, many parts of his body were injured by the citizens. Jung Heewon looked at me and I nodded. Cheon Inhoughed as he looked at me.
¡°Hu, huhu...y-you...¡±
He never stopped speaking. Jung Heewon appeared behind Cheon Inho and cut him from top to bottom.
[All constetions in the channel feel intense joy.]
Finally, everyone stopped moving. The fight was over. However, they couldn¡¯t feel it.
The times when they ate grilled meat, felt the meaning of life, joked while walking and enjoyed moments of peace all seemed like a lie.
This damn scenario.
Yoo Sangah was crying. Lee Gilyoung closed his eyes. Lee Hyunsung bit his lips so hard he was bleeding. Jung Heewon exhausted her physical strength and was sitting in a pool of blood.
Yes, this was the truth of the world.
[The survival value will be settled.]
There was the sound of popping all around us. Those who had coins survived. Those who failed to get coins were now dead. And no one was able to save each other.
I said to the people.
¡°Wake up, everybody.¡±
Even if I raised my head, the sky couldn¡¯t be seen. I stared at the unseen sky for a while, resisting some great fate.
The noisy constetions had no answer this time.
¡°This scenario has just begun.¡±
While everyone was in deep thought, I was thinking about the next scenario alone. My mind was calm as pages flipped one after another.
I have obtained everything I needed from Gumho Station. The next stage was Chungmuro.
Chapter 25
Episode 6 ¨C Judgment Time (3)
The following morning, there were a few changes to Gumho Station.
First of all, Han Myungoh had disappeared.
He had hidden once the fighting started and disappeared after it ended. I didn¡¯t know if he was hiding somewhere in the station or was moving to the next station.
¡°Let¡¯s not worry about him now. I didn¡¯t like him from the beginning. In addition, he isn¡¯t the only one who disappeared.¡±
It was as Jung Heewon said. After the fight yesterday, the number of people remaining in Gumho Station was almost nonexistent.
It wasn¡¯t that there were few survivors. Rather, more people survivedpared to the original plot. However, most of those who survived left the stationst night. Perhaps they had their own reasons.
¡°...Will the remaining people be okay?¡±
Yoo Sangah asked as she looked at the survivors.
Me, Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung and Jung Heewon. Apart from us five, there were only five people left in this station.
Jung Heewon spoke first.
¡°Hey everyone. Are youing with us?¡±
The casual words caused a stir among the people. The representative was a young woman holding a child¡¯s hand.
¡°...We will go separately. We have some coins left.¡±
I honestly admired that the mother and child survived the bloody fight. If she had that much strength, they might be able to survive without going with us.
Jung Heewon nodded.
¡°Yes. I wish you luck.¡±
Once Jung Heewon turned around, relief appeared on the people¡¯s faces.
In fact, this response wasn¡¯t strange. Certainly, yesterday¡¯s situation was a bit shocking.
It was understandable. One refused to give out charity while another one brutally killed people, even if there was a reason. To them, Jung Heewon might not be much different from the Cheoldoo Group.
I touched Lee Hyunsung, who was making a stupid expression next to me.
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi?¡±
¡°Ah, yes!¡±
Lee Hyunsung, who was staring at Jung Heewon with a nk expression, looked at me with surprise. I think I knew what he was thinking.
He wondered if she was the woman struck by madness yesterday and killed all the Cheoldoo Group.
¡°Are the preparations finished?¡±
¡°Yep! It is a big rough but it is finished. There are stic bottles to be used as water containers, goods to protect from the cold and emergency supplies...¡±
Indeed, a soldier was useful in situations like this.
¡°...It is up to here. If you need anything else...¡±
There was nothing else I needed...I wanted to say but I suddenly thought about something.
¡°Oh, can you find me any portable secondary batteries?¡±
¡°You are talking about a battery? Why...?¡±
It was natural to wonder. A smartphone was useless because no signal was avable. I replied roughly.
¡°I have a ce to use it.¡±
Lee Hyunsung said he would look for it and started to search through the things left behind by the Cheoldoo Group. Lee Gilyoung and Yoo Sangah also said they would help. Jung Heewon looked at me and asked.
¡°Are we going now?¡±
¡°We¡¯re going.¡±
She asked naturally, as if there was no question that we would go together. This was Jung Heewon. It was wee from my viewpoint. The ¡®Judge of Destruction¡¯ was a talented person who even Yoo Jonghyuk would pay attention to.
¡°I have many questions.¡±
¡°Not now.¡±
¡°Ah really, you are an iron wall.¡±
Jung Heewon lightly punched me andughed.
[You have received 1,500 coins from the character ¡®Jung Heewon.¡¯]
¡°This...?¡±
¡°I am dividing it. I feel too sorry to eat it all alone. I will give it to other people.¡±
I understood what she was saying. Yesterday, Jung Heewon alone killed most of the Cheoldoo Group members. In other words, she obtained most of their coins. By the way... I was a bit nervous about this.
¡°You don¡¯t need to do this.¡±
Jung Heewon didn¡¯t know. In fact, I had a lot more coins.
¡°I¡¯m not Dokja-ssi, you know?¡±
She punched my arms a few more times before walking towards the tunnel with her backpack.
¡°Finish this off. I¡¯ll go ahead and make some arrangements.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t go too far ahead. There are dangerous sections to go alone.¡±
Jung Heewon waved her hands as if not to worry while wandering away.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ likes yourradeship.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ smiles slyly.]
I watched the messages in the air nkly and said.
¡®Did you make a lot yesterday? It must be good.¡¯
There was no answer. I spoke once again.
¡®Don¡¯t keep pretending and tell me. I know you are watching.¡¯
[Ah, hahaha... you caught me?]
It was Bihyung¡¯s voice.
¡®How much did you earn?¡¯
[...T-That. Um.]
I stared silently.
[Sigh, right. How did you know again...? I just can¡¯t get over it. Take this.]
[Dokkaebi ¡®Bihyung¡¯ has given you 4,500 coins.]
I thought so. This damn dokkaebi.
[...The constetions don¡¯t use the sponsorship system and send it directly to me. I don¡¯t know why. I¡¯ll give it to youter. Ah, there are these messages as well.]
Messages suddenly popped up.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is satisfied with your scenario]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is convinced of your judgment.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is satisfied with your n.]
This was why I didn¡¯t get the support messages yesterday.
I had been curious because such a great thing happened and I received less ie than I thought.
[Coins Possessed: 23,050 C]
I invested a lot of the coins I obtainedst time into stats and now I had a lot of coins again.
It was once again time to improve my stats. Then let¡¯s do it moderately. I couldn¡¯t open the attributes window so I had to remember the exact level of my stats.
First...stamina was important.
[1,200 coins have been invested in stamina.]
[Stamina Lv. 12 -> Stamina Lv. 15]
[The durability of your body has greatly increased!]
I had no separate passive attack skill so I also raised my strength.
[1,600 coins have been invested in strength.]
[Strength Lv. 11 -> Strength Lv. 15]
[A stronger force wille from your muscles!]
For agility, it was enough to be able to evade.
[400 coins have been invested in agility.]
[Agility Lv. 10 -> Agility Lv. 11]
[Now you can more a bit faster.]
I needed to maintain White Pure Star Energy so magic power must be over level 10.
[1,200 coins have been invested in magic power.]
[Magic Power Lv. 6 -> Magic Power Lv. 10]
[A mysterious energy lives in your soul.]
I could invest more than this but I purposefully didn¡¯t. Once I arrived in Chungmuro, there was another ce where I would have to use a lot of coins.
Besides, I had spent 4,400 coins just now. It was both easy and difficult to use. If I had been born with decent stats, I wouldn¡¯t have to spend so many coins.
Someone born with level 1 stamina... in Ways of Destruction, even Lee Gilyoung¡¯s stamina would be higher than that.
[By the way, I forgot...two more scenarios are rmended. You are really great. It seems that I will soon be able to upgrade my channel level.]
¡®I see.¡¯
I couldn¡¯t get the support of a sponsor like other incarnations, so I needed to collect more coins. But the reason why I didn¡¯t see the effect of contracting with Bihyung was because his channel was small.
The ¡®minor¡¯ constetions weren¡¯t enough. In order to gather more coins, it would take more constetions to configure the channel. Once I went to Chungmuro, the environment would be ready soon.
¡°If everybody is ready, we will leave. You aren¡¯t missing anything?¡±
Mypanions gathered together and nodded. Looking at their nervous faces, all of them seemed to have been enlightened by yesterday.
Finally, the journey to Chungmuro began.
* * *
They had crossed half the railroad lines when the system message popped up.
[The second main scenario is enabled.]
+
[Main Scenario #1 ¨C Meeting]
Category: Main
Difficulty: E
Clear Conditions: Cross the tunnel and meet the survivors in the first main base.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: 500 coins
Failure: ???
+
The message made me realize that it was really starting. Unlike the first main scenario, the second scenario had a ¡®main base.¡¯ Jung Heewon asked.
¡°The main base? Where is that?¡±
An answer wasn¡¯t required. Another message immediately appeared.
[The next main base is ¡®Chungmuro.¡¯
¡°Is it Chungmuro? It is only three more stops...¡±
It was originally like that.
Ku ku ku ku!
The ground rats appeared. There were around 30 ground rats. Jung Heewon stiffened.
¡°...Go three stops through this.¡±
It was Lee Hyunsung who came forward.
¡°I¡¯ll take the vanguard.¡±
Thanks to the support of his sponsor, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s total stats were now 37. He had earned less coins than me but he was chasing me...this was the advantage of being born with high stats.
If I knew this, I would¡¯ve done regr push-ups.
¡°I¡¯ll take the rear, Hyung.¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s total stats were still low but he was able to use Diverse Communication more flexibly through steady skill training.
¡°Please leave it to me.¡±
Yoo Sangah made a thread with magic power to block the movements of the ground rats. Her attack ability was low but her overall stats were simr to Jung Heewon.
Kwajik!
¡°...Isn¡¯t it just a lot of numbers?¡±
Finally, there was no need to talk about Jung Heewon. Compared to Lee Hyunsung, her total stats were low but her skills were sufficient.
There was the exclusive skill ¡®Judgment Time¡¯ that belonged to the ¡®Judge of Destruction.¡¯ As long as the opponent in front of her was ¡®wicked¡¯ ording to the Absolute Good constetions, Jung Heewon wouldn¡¯t lose.
Thest ground rat fell down. Lee Hyunsung held the shield by his side and started sweating.
¡°Sigh...this seems to be enough.¡±
In fact, this shouldn¡¯t have been cleared so easily. No matter how simple the pattern of the ground rats was, fighting 30 of them was tough. I wouldn¡¯t be able to annihte them myself without activating Bookmark. The party had be stronger.
They advanced further through the tunnel. Finally, a new tform appeared in front of me.
¡°Yaksu Station. By the way...there is nobody? No, that¡¯s not it.¡±
Yaksu Station was filled with dead bodies and ground rat corpses. Based on the injuries, some of the people were killed by Yoo Jonghyuk, not the ground rats.
¡°Keep going. There are two stops left.¡±
We continued to advance. Anyway, the distance from Yaksu to Dongdae was less than 1km in a straight line.
Once we arrived at the entrance of Dongdae Station, we encountered another group of ground rats and repelled them. We only moved a total of 2km along a simple path, but the fighting was so tough that the party¡¯s fitness dropped quickly.
¡°We will take a break here.¡±
¡°Sigh...there is one stop left. We should just go there and rx...¡±
¡°Nobody knows if we can rest or not once we arrive there.¡±
Everyone was silent at my words. Certainly, monsters weren¡¯t the only dangers things in this world.
I looked around for a moment and said.
¡°It seems that the people in this station moved quickly. Some basic necessities might remain.¡±
¡°Ah right. Then...¡±
After hearing ¡®basic necessities¡¯, Yoo Sangah gently raised her hand. Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes met. No words were exchanged but both of them nodded at the same time. Jung Heewon saw my look and asked me.
¡°What is it? Does Dokja-ssi want to know?¡±
Yoo Sangah paled.
¡°...Heewon-ssi?¡±
¡°Ahaha, I¡¯m just joking. Of course, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±
...A secret only between women. It would be strange if I didn¡¯t know what they were talking about. Human physiology didn¡¯t stop even in a world like this.
Lee Hyunsung also opened his mouth. ¡°Ah, then I will go to the bathroom.¡±
I was surprised for a moment but there was no reason not to use well-built facilities. This was why the subway was convenient.
¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±
It was Lee Gilyoung. The two people walked side by side. I looked at their rear view and thought they looked like affectionate brothers with arge age difference.
Yoo Sangah asked me.
¡°Will Dokja-ssi be alone?¡±
¡°I will go above ground for a bit.¡±
¡°Huh? There will be poisonous fog if you go out...will it be okay?¡±
¡°I¡¯m only going for a bit.¡±
Jung Heewon narrowed her eyes at my words.
¡°...Something is suspicious. Dokja-ssi, are you going to eat something good alone?¡±
I looked at Jung Heewon for a moment.
¡°It is a man¡¯s secret.¡±
* * *
After a while, I stood in front of Exit 6 of Dongdae Station. ording to the information I read beforehand, this ce was surely...
[You have been exposed to poisonous fog.]
The effect of the poisonous rhinos was still visible.
This time I didn¡¯t buy the Ein Monkey¡¯s Lungs so I had to work quickly. I jumped up the esctor to the east while holding my breath. Not long after that, a bronze coloured shining statue appeared.
[A constetion wearing a straw mat is filled with expectations at your actions.]
The statue was based on the appearance of a monk who lived in the mid-Joseon Dynasty. I felt an unknown nobilitying from the fact of the monk holding a bamboo stick.
I confirmed the name written vertically under the statue. Yujeong Samyeongdang (Wiki link )
Okay, good. There were no signs of anyone yet...
I stood in front of the statue, holding my hands together.
[A constetion wearing a straw mat is delighted with your actions.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
I didn¡¯t hesitate to use White Pure Star Energy to activate the de of Faith.
[A constetion wearing a straw mat is puzzled by your actions.]
Then I struck the statue of Samyeongdang.
[A constetion wearing a straw mat is appalled by your actions.]
Chapter 26
Episode 6 ¨C Judgment Time (4)
A few minutester, I once again entered Dongdae Station and ate a ground rat. It was in order to heal the skin contaminated by the poisonous fog.
It took a little time but the contamination could be recovered by eating the meat of an underground species.
[...Hey! Are you crazy? What did you do just now?]
I was eating when I heard Bihyung¡¯s voice furiously berating me.
¡®Shut up.¡¯
[No, this isn¡¯t an issue you can dismiss. You destroyed a constetion¡¯s idol! Do you want to see my channel fail? Once the ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ begins to talk...]
The idol of a constetion. Every world had their own constetions, South Korea as well.
By the way, Bihyung said it was the ¡®Bald General of Justice.¡¯ He was a great person in South Korea but...
Actually, I wasn¡¯t the type of person to say that.
[A constetion wearing a straw mat is furious at your atrocious actions.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ isughing.]
There was a difference in the degree of all idols, but they had the power of a constetion sealed in them.
If I released the seal of the idol in the right way, I could gain a certain amount of power, such as an item or skill that the constetion used in their lifetime.
However, ¡®unlocking the seal¡¯ took a long time and I wasn¡¯t sure if I could get the skill I wanted.
I looked at Ways of Survival on my smartphone.
¡¸ ¡°But if it is sealed in the bronze statue of Samyeongdang, how did you get the skill?¡±
¡°There is a saying that if you meet Buddha, kill Buddha.¡±
¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me...¡±
¡°Haha, I was just trying it out... but it is true. All the statues aren¡¯t just for worship.¡±
¡°Hey! This jerk, you should watch your mouth. You might be cursed by the constetion.¡± ¡¹
At thest gateway to enter Chungmuro, the ¡®skill¡¯ of Samyeongdang was essential.
And the most surefire way to get the skill was to destroy the idol. Of course, I could buy something simr from the Dokkaebi Bag but... the more coins I saved, the better.
¡°Then did you resolve the ¡®man¡¯s secret¡¯ well?¡±
I quickly turned off my smartphone screen. Mypanions, including Jung Heewon, had gathered.
¡°Yes. And I have something for you.¡±
I pulled out the items I gained from the idol. As luck would have it, the Samyeongdang idol contained items and skills.
[Samyeongdang¡¯s Beads]
[Samyeongdang¡¯s Straw Mat]
Rags and old beads. There were questions in the eyes of everyone present. I knew what they were thinking.
But I also knew this. In this world, ¡®old¡¯ was more likely to be ¡®good.¡¯
¡°They seem like good items. Because they are souvenirs of a great person.¡±
¡°Great person?¡±
¡°Do you know Samyeongdang?¡±
[A constetion wearing a straw mat has paused at your actions.]
Jung Heewon asked with a stupid expression.
¡°...Who is that?¡±
[A constetion wearing a straw mat wishes to appear before character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯.]
¡°Ah! I know!¡±
Fortunately, someone knew. Needless to say, it was Yoo Sangah.
¡°I remember seeing it when I was studying Korean history! Isn¡¯t he a monk from the Joseon Dynasty?¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±
¡°When the Korean military was struggling to defend against the Japanese invasion...he fought in the Nowongpyeong battle and Wukwandong battel!¡±
As expected from Yoo Sangah. I also studied Korean history but I didn¡¯t know this.
[A constetion wearing a straw mat is touched by character ¡®Yoo Sangah¡¯.]
I nodded and said.
¡°Anyway, these items have his strength.¡±
¡°...Really?¡±
¡°Wow, it is real!¡±
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung were surprised when they confirmed the item information.
¡°But how did Dokja-ssi know to get this?¡±
¡°Just, I put my hands together in front of the Samyeongdang statue and...they fell from the sky.¡±
¡°Huh? No way...¡±
I thought it was ridiculous but there was a reason people said such ridiculous words.
I put on a mock solemn expression as I watched the party.
¡°I think... it was sent by Samyeongdang for South Korea.¡±
¡°Ah...¡±
Their ¡®ah¡¯ were filled with many meanings. I ignored them and kept talking. It wasn¡¯t like I was asking for them to listen.
¡°He might¡¯ve left his belongings to save the country, just like during the Japanese invasion of South Korea. Anyway, now South Korea is a country undergoing turmoil.¡±
[A constetion wearing a straw mat is moved by your words.]
In times of turmoil, scammers always gained power.
¡°...In this strange world, it isn¡¯t weird if something like this happens. Maybe Samyeongdang is one of the ¡®constetions.¡¯ Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
Surprisingly, Yoo Sangah seemed convinced first. Maybe she didn¡¯t want me to be embarrassed. The funny thing was that once Yoo Sangah agreed, Lee Hyunsung was immediately convinced.
¡°Indeed, Samyeongdang...¡±
Lee Hyunsung grew up with patriotism for a long time and looked like he was reminiscing on the principle of military service. Lee Gilyoung also seemed curious.
It was only Jung Heewon who was watching me like it was nonsense.
[A constetion wearing a straw mat likes your revealing words.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ forgives your sins.]
Bihyung looked at the sky with a ¡®Is this okay?¡¯ expression before looking dumbfounded.
The power of a constetion was directly linked to their fame. Thus, the constetions loved it when their stories were spread this way. Where was a constetion that hated being praised?
¡°I will give Samyeongdang¡¯s Beads to Yoo Sangah, since you know him well.¡±
¡°Really? Can I ept it?¡±
¡°I think Samyeongdang will be delighted if Samyeongdang uses it.¡±
In fact, the performance of Samyeongdang¡¯s Beads wasn¡¯t goodpared to what the sponsor used it for. It wasn¡¯t a sponsor¡¯s star relic so maybe the fact that the Samyeongdang wasn¡¯t a world-recognized figure had an effect.
It was still a B ss item so it had a secondary option of boosting magic power to increase magic power recovery.
Jung Heewon watched Yoo Sangah like she was envious and said.
¡°Yoo Sangah knows a lot of things. I didn¡¯t know about Samyeongdang because I didn¡¯t do very well at school.¡±
¡°Ah...that...that.¡±
¡°I¡¯m joking, joking. Don¡¯t make such an expression.¡±
I spoke to the sulky Jung Heewon.
¡°I also have something for Jung Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°For me? Is it that straw mat?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay. No matter how urgent, I don¡¯t want to wear such a thing.¡±
¡°...Just try it. You won¡¯t regret it.¡±
Jung Heewon hesitated for a moment before throwing on the straw mat. She was trying to be fashionable but she just looked like a beggar.
[A constetion who likesradeship condemns your actions.]
[A constetion who praises friendship likes your actions.]
It would be different if the star relic ¡®Samyeongdang¡¯s Bamboo Stick and Straw Sandals¡¯ came out, but the other two items weren¡¯t necessary for me right now.
Jung Heewon saw her reflection on the screen door of the subway and made a slightlyplicated expression.
¡°It is hard to exin but...I suddenly feel like I can harness the power of justice.¡±
Samyeongdang¡¯s Straw Mat was an item that enhanced the justice and willpower of the incarnation. I didn¡¯t need it but it was a pretty good item for Jung Heewon.
¡°You said Samyeongdang? I feel sorry for some reason. I should study harder.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is happy at this situation.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
I jokingly said.
¡°Then let¡¯s put our hands together and pray.¡±
* * *
It was a joke but Jung Heewon really went to pray.
Jung Heewon was contaminated by the poisonous fog and spoke while eating a ground rat.
¡°...But who broke it? Surely it wasn¡¯t Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°...Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Be prepared. We will be at Chungmuro soon.¡±
I looked at the dark tunnel.
It had been 20 minutes since Lee Gilyoung used Diverse Communication, allowing them to safely move forward.
Considering the fact that Dongdae to Chungmuro was 1km in a straight line, it was time for ¡®that¡¯ to appear.
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
Indeed, as soon as I thought about it.
¡°Everybody step back.¡±
+
[Sub Scenario ¨C Wee Prison]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: D~F
Clear Conditions: Escape from Wee Prison within the time limit.
Time Limit: 1 hour
Compensation: 300 coins
Failure: ???
+
[Sub scenario ¨C Wee Prison has begun!]
Perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk had suffered quite a bit in this scenario.
This scenario was one of the most painful traps for a regressor.
Yoo Sangah asked.
¡°Wee Prison? What is this?¡±
She would know without asking.
¡°It ising. Everyone, please keep your mind straight.¡±
Before my words were over, a haze overcame me. The fog that instantly upied the tunnel blocked their field of view. The party members in the immediate vicinity couldn¡¯t be seen. When I looked around, I could only see a distorted scenery, as if I was on drugs.
¡°Uwah...I feel bad!¡±
Jung Heewon screamed. Maybe Jung Heewon was seeing something different from what I saw now.
¡¸Dokja.¡¹
The voice I didn¡¯t want to hear. That forgotten voice was heard in a drug-likendscape. If I was this way, my other party members would be worse.
¡°...Something feels strange. Dokja-ssi! Are you there?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi!¡±
In this distorted vision, the voices of my party members were gradually fading.
[Wee Prison].
A space that led to madness by touching a person¡¯s trauma.
¡¸ Dokja, you didn¡¯t see anything. Understood? ¡¹
Thendscape disappeared and the face of a person popped up. I smiled bitterly as I stared into the air. I wanted to deny reality.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
[Due to the skill effect, immunity to Wee Prison has urred.]
The moment his mind rxed, the ufortable feeling diminished.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ admires your spirit.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
[The curious constetions are sorry that they can¡¯t peek at your memories.]
As the power of Wee Prison weakened, I felt a sense of rm.
¡°Everyone, calm down and take deep breaths.¡±
Those trapped in Wee Prison would lose their minds and unleash their madness around them. Thus, the most dangerous thing in Wee Prison was thepanions around you. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s solo behaviour might be because he was worried about this prison.
¡°S-Soldier Lee Hyunsung. Did you hear wrong?¡±
¡°I was wrong. I was wrong Mother!¡±
¡°T-This dog bastard!¡±
...I was toote. I heard the screams of people filled with madness. But it wasn¡¯t everyone.
¡°...Dokja-ssi?¡±
At this moment, Yoo Sangah¡¯s appearance was revealed in Wee Prison. Samyeongdang¡¯s Beads around her wrist was glowing brightly. Fortunately, it worked.
I approached Yoo Sangah and said.
¡°Cover the surroundings. From now on, I will destroy this space.¡±
Yoo Sangah nodded with a nervous expression.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Destroy Evil Lv. 1¡¯ is activated.]
Destroy Evil. It was one level higher than the Repel Evil skill that could be bought with coins. It was a skill that I obtained after breaking the bronze statue of Samyeongdang.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Destroy Evil Lv. 1¡¯ has turned off ¡®Wee Prison¡¯.]
Indeed, it was a skill used by Samyeongdang. If I had bought Repel Evil, it would¡¯ve taken a minute to release it.
Sururuk.
As the fog retreated and Wee Prison disappeared, hispanions started to appear one by one.
¡°O-Our resolve! We are the South Korean army, loyal to the nation and the people!¡±
¡°Uh...Uh...Mother.¡±
The trauma could be seen with one nce. Lee Hyunsung was bowing with his head on the ground, while Lee Gilyoung had his head on his knees and was shaking.
Yoo Sangah came forward first.
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi? Gilyoung! Please wake up!¡±
At this moment, a de flew from the rear. Fortunately, the de wasn¡¯t fast and it wasn¡¯t difficult to avoid.
¡°...I will kill all of you.¡±
Jung Heewon was waving her sword through the air like a madman.
My heart ached as I watched Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes became gradually redder.
This was dangerous. It was a sign of ¡®Demon ying.¡¯
Peok!
I stunned Jung Heewon by strongly hitting her in the back of the neck. Luckily, Jung Heewon was intact.
I thought it wouldn¡¯t be like this with Samyeongdang¡¯s Straw Mat but Jung Heewon¡¯s mental state was more fragile than I expected.
¡°Yoo Sangah, please look after Jung Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°...Yes, yes!¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t over yet.¡±
[You have met the conditions to clear the sub scenario!]
[You have earned 300 coins.]
Monsters appeared as soon as the clear message showed up. They were a mass of liquid, reminiscent of ectosm.
The 8 grade Specter.
] It was the specters who made Wee Prison. I used White Pure Star Energy to invoke de of Faith.
Sukakak!
Fortunately, the battle itself wasn¡¯t difficult. In the first ce, the specters weren¡¯t difficult if Wee Prison was destroyed.
The creepy and weird specters were destroyed.
[Specter¡¯s Stone.]
I put the fallen stones into my pocket. This needed to be picked up. Thanks to Yoo Sangah, the others were recovering quickly.
¡°A-Are you okay?¡±
The one who recovered the fastest was Lee Hyunsung. Lee Hyunsung heard the story and bowed his head with surprise.
¡°...Thank you. I almost got into big trouble. I also want to thank Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°It is nothing.¡±
¡°I have a headache...¡¯
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s head was pounding. I stroked Lee Gilyoung¡¯s hair. He pretended to be okay but perhaps the one with the most terrible trauma in this ce was this child.
I saw a pale light in the distance. Yoo Sangah said,
¡°Dokja-ssi, I think it is over.
I worried about it for a short moment. Jung Heewon was stunned and it was difficult for others to exercise their power. Would we be okay to enter Chungmuro at this rate?
But my concerns were resolved by another person.
A de loomed in the darkness. But it was a pure threat, without the intent to harm.
¡°Who are you? Don¡¯t you know that this area is our hunting ground?¡±
In the faint light of the entrance, a girl holding a long sword stood. She looked to be 17 and was wearing a school uniform.
She was wearing a hood like she was trying to hide her name tag, but her appearance was noticeable.
¡°Ah, this girl...!¡±
Yoo Sangah had keen eyes and recognized her first. I also knew her. It was because she was one of the main characters of Ways of Survival.
The only survivor of Daepong Girls High School, Lee Jihye. She was one of the reasons why Yoo Jonghyuk went straight to Chungmuro in the shortest time.
¡°...Did you guys beat the specters?¡±
Lee Jihye discovered the stone in my hand and was surprised.
¡°How did you...only Master can catch them?¡±
I immediately used a skill.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[Character Information]
Name: Lee Jihye
Age: 17 years old
Constetion Sponsor: Maritime War God
Private Attribute: Scarred Sword Demon (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Sword Training Lv. 3, Demon ying Lv. 1, Absolute Sense Lv. 2, Ghost Walk Lv. 1.
Stigma: Sea Battle Lv. 1, Large Army Command Lv. 1.
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 13, Strength Lv. 12, Agility Lv. 13, Magic Power Lv. 9.
Overall Evaluation: A person who evolved into a ¡®scarred sword demon¡¯ after killing her closest friend. The sponsor behind her has an affinity for you and your colleagues.
* ¡®Starter Pack¡¯ is currently applied.
There was nothing unusual.
Maritime War God.
As scheduled, it was the sponsor behind Lee Jihye. She was a must in future maritime wars.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is touched at meeting an oldrade.]
[Lee Jihye¡¯s sponsor wees the ¡®Bald General of Justice.¡¯]
I felt a faint breeze in the subway tunnel where no trains were running. Looking at Lee Jihye¡¯s hair fluttering in the wind, I realized again.
[Main Scenario #2 ¨C Meeting has ended.]
[Thepensation will be settled.]
Yes, we finally arrived. This was Chungmuro.
Chapter 27
Episode 7 ¨C Landlord (1)
We followed Lee Jihye and entered Chungmuro. Yoo Sangah saw the shattered screen door of the tform and said.
¡°...It is a chaotic atmosphere.¡±
As they climbed up from the tracks of railway line 3, they saw some people sitting down.
[You have entered Chungmuro.]
[The third scenario is currently in progress.]
[#GIR-8761 channel is active.]
[#BIR-3642 channel is active.]
From Chungmuro onwards, the size of the scenario grew and the dokkaebi channels increased. From now on, that naive Bihyung would have a hard time.
Some middle-aged people saw us and waved their hands.
¡°Oh, little samurai. You brought new people?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
A samurai. I guess Lee Jihye could be called that if the sponsor behind her wasn¡¯t known. Sooner orter, they would be punished. Lee Jihye frowned at the middle-aged people.
¡°Are you drunk again?¡±
¡°Hahahat! What is there to do other than drink when the world has be like this?¡±
The middle-aged people seemed rxed, unlike those who were experiencing a disaster. It was natural since they were wearing the uniform of soldiers. It was definitely different from Gumho Station.
Now was the true beginning.
¡°But did your friendse through the tunnel? How great...won¡¯t they have a lot of coins?¡¯
Then one of the middle-aged men turned to Yoo Sangah.
¡°Youngdy over there, what is your name? Would you like to rent a room for cheap?¡±
¡°...Room?¡±
¡°Haha, you don¡¯t know the system here yet? This ce¨D¡±
Lee Jihye cut off the middle-aged man¡¯s words.
¡°Ajusshis. Don¡¯t try to trick the neers.¡±
¡°Uhuh, they must know anyway. This is what everyone is doing to live...¡±
¡°If you don¡¯t want to be injured then get lost.¡±
The middle-aged man paled at Lee Jihye¡¯s words.
¡°This...young children have already learned something bad to eat.¡±
¡°Hey, Kang-ssi. Stop it.¡±
The middle-aged people turned away. They disappeared into transit line 4 and Lee Jihye put away her sword.
¡°I brought you here so take care from now on. I¡¯m not a babysitter.¡±
This child was speaking so indifferently.
I looked around. Chungmuro. This was the stage of the third scenario, wherepletely different rules were in y.
¡°S-Shit! I¡¯ll kill you if youe close...¡±
A man was in the middle of the tform for subway line 3, waving a knife around and threatening people.
At this feet was a tile that was 1 pyeong (3.306 m2) in size, emitting a green light that stretched into the air. Yoo Sangah asked, ¡°...Why is he doing that?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
I could guess but there was no need to scare her just now. There were many people sitting down with a knife on subway line 3. Unlike the previous middle-aged men, their faces were filled with despair. I nced at them and asked Lee Jihye.
¡°Is Yoo Jonghyuk here?¡±
Lee Jihye, who was about to leave, turned her head at ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯ There was vignce in her eyes.
¡°...Who are you?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk had already ruined this child.
Well, I could understand. It was difficult to find a constetion on the level of Maritime War God, even if he searched through all of South Korea. If I was in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s position, I would¡¯ve found her soon aftering to Chungmuro.
¡°I am apanion of Yoo Jonghyuk who came back alive.¡±
¡°...Companion? How is that possible?¡±
Lee Jihye stared at me with suspicious eyes. I shrugged shamelessly.
¡°That guy will understand if you tell him. Where is Yoo Jonghyuk now?¡±
¡°...Master isn¡¯t here right now.¡±
¡°Really? This is difficult. I have something I need to say.¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s expression distorted as she stared at me with something like betrayal.
Ah, I knew very well what she thought of Yoo Jonghyuk. Moreover, it was already Master...it will be difficult to gain her this way.
Lee Jihye called out to a boy squatting in the corner.
¡°Hey, over there!¡±
¡°Eh? Yes, yes!¡±
¡°Watch over these people right here! I¡¯m going to find Master.¡±
The boy looked at us with puzzled eyes.
¡°...Who are they?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. Master¡¯s friends?¡±
At Lee Jihye¡¯s words, the eyes of the people on the tform became bigger. They looked at us with amazement and awe.
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi¡¯s friends?¡±
The boy ran up to us and eximed. It was a boy who looked roughly around Lee Jihye¡¯s age.
¡°Are you really Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi¡¯s friends?¡±
I couldn¡¯t lie when I saw the boy¡¯s clear eyes. At least, if I was an ordinary person.
¡°He is a good friend.¡±
Recently, I didn¡¯t seem to be an ¡®ordinary¡¯ person. At least, it was the case here.
* * *
While taking care of the unconscious Jung Heewon, I heard about Chungmuro from the boy. Along with Lee Jihye, this boy was one of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s followers.
¡°...Thus, we followed Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi. Are you listening to me?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Of course, I wasn¡¯t listening properly. The story of psychopath Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s heroism wasn¡¯t interesting.
The short summary was something like this.
¡°Three days ago, Yoo Jonghyuk appeared and saved some of you, including Lee Jihye, from the monsters. Isn¡¯t that the story?¡±
The boy frowned at his story be summarized so simply.
¡°Uh, the story isn¡¯t that simple...¡±
He was surely spellbound by Yoo Jonghyuk.
Suddenly, a presence with overwhelming force rescued them. It would be strange if they didn¡¯t follow him.
But the boy didn¡¯t know. The boy survived not because Yoo Jonghyuk was a good guy, but because the boy was luckily with Lee Jihye.
¡°Now can I ask you a few things I am curious about?¡±
Lee Hyunsung started asking politely while I was locked in my thoughts.
¡°Yes. Just ask.¡±
¡°How is the food supply here?¡±
¡°That, it is a bit embarrassing to say... some people, including me, are dependent on Jihye. Jihye hunts and asks Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi to cook...¡±
It was unknown when he made a checklist but Lee Hyunsung took out his notes and started to write something. He really was a soldier.
¡°Then how is your drinking water?¡±
¡°We give food or coins to the ¡®Landlord Alliance¡¯ upstairs in exchange.¡±
¡°...Landlord Alliance?¡±
I sat straight up. Now the story was bing interesting. The boy hesitantly opened his mouth.
¡°They are thendlords in charge of the Chungmuro area. They upy the upper floors and we call them the Landlord Alliance.¡±
Chungmuro¡¯s Landlord Alliance. It was a name that appeared in Ways of Survival.
¡°What type of people are they?¡±
¡°Well, what should I say...¡±
In fact, there was no need for me to ask. Perhaps, ording to my expectations, one of the ¡®10 Evils¡¯ was in Chungmuro right now.
¡°They are justndlords.¡±
This answer was the correct answer in a sense. They werendlords. Building owners who received fixed taxes. At this moment, the quiet Lee Gilyoung opened his mouth.
¡°Excuse me Hyung.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°I want to go to the toilet.¡±
¡°Is it urgent?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
The timing was a bit unexpected. It was even more puzzling because Lee Gilyoung normally didn¡¯t say something like this. Then I noticed that Lee Gilyoung was standing next to a blushing Yoo Sangah.
¡°...Excuse me, can I also go with you?¡±
At the moment, the image of Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon securing secret necessities at Yaksu Station came to mind. I thought I knew what was going on. That kid Lee Gilyoung, he quickly noticed it first.
The boy overhead the conversation and said.
¡°You need to go up to the second underground floor for the toilet, but it won¡¯t be easy to enter.¡±
¡°...Has something happened?¡±
¡°Yes. I think it is better to see directly...I¡¯m going up to, would you like to go with me?¡¯
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
I was the one who said it. Of course, it wasn¡¯t to go to the bathroom. I had to go up and check a few things.
Recently, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s movements were different from the ¡®third regression¡¯ that I knew. If so, I needed to be clear about the gap.
I went up to the third underground level with my friends, carrying Jung Heewon who was still unconscious.
¡°Oh, I heard that there were new faces. Have youe to see the rooms?¡±
A middle-aged man standing near the esctor for line 4 whistled. The boy shook his head and replied.
¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. We are going upstairs...¡±
¡°Eh, too bad. Be careful.¡±
The middle-aged man waved his hands without hesitation. Yoo Sangah watched the middle-aged man moving away and asked.
¡°That, by the way... what exactly is the ¡®room¡¯? I don¡¯t think it is the rooms that I know.¡±
¡°It is easy.¡±
The boy pointed to a square tile.
The tiles were also present on the tform of line 3. Green tiles that were 1 pyeong in size. Looking at the details, I saw something written in the air above the tile.
[Green Zone 0/1]
¡°The scenario name is ¡®green zone¡¯ and these tiles are called rooms.¡±
Near the tile, two men were fighting each other. They were fighting over the tile. It was Lee Hyunsung who asked this time.
¡°What is that? Why are those people fighting over it?¡±
The boy looked a bit reluctant. It was like talking to us would be a threat to his survival.
¡°You will know once you arrive at the second underground floor.¡±
As we climbed up to the higher floors, there were more fights over rooms. The room numbers were different. There were small roomsbelled (0/1) andrge roomsbelled (0/7). Thetter number was probably the capacity of the room.
I looked around carefully and asked, ¡°The third underground floor to the first underground floor is all the area of the Landlord Association?¡±
¡°...Yes. There are small forces but the Landlord Association has obtained most of it.¡±
All the infrastructure of Chungmuro was located on the second and first underground floors, yet a single alliance upied all of it.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t take any action? Didn¡¯t he save you?¡±
¡°That...¡±
The boy¡¯s face became noticeably darker at my question. The boy looked sullen for a while before barely being able to speak.
¡°He told us to stand on our own...¡±
I knew. Of course Yoo Jonghyuk would say something like this. Perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk never told them to follow him. They were fascinated by the overwhelming force that Yoo Jonghyuk showed and had hopeful dreams. How pitiful.
Not long after, we arrived at the second underground floor. There was tension on the boy¡¯s face.
¡°We have to be careful from here onwards.¡±
There were much more rooms on B2 than the lower levels. The group of people fighting couldn¡¯t be seen. Instead, people were guarding the green zones with scary eyes.
[Green Zone 7/7]
We passed by the people and headed towards the bathrooms.
¡°Uh...why stop here?¡±
Our pace stopped as we approached thest passage to the bathroom. Like a bottleneck, dozens of people were gathered in the passage.
¡°Let¡¯s go forward.¡±
I spoke while pushing people out of the way.
¡°Pildu-ssi! Please ept it! I won¡¯t do it again!¡±
¡°Please, please! Please let me stay one more day. I¡¯ll go into debt to get the coins!¡±
The leader at the head of the line was facing the heated up people.
¡°Now now, back off. Back off.¡±
On the opposite side, people who seemed to be from the Landlord Association were gathered. I could instinctively feel it.
One of the 10 Evils was here. I tried to find the ¡®10 Evils¡¯ member through the novel¡¯s description but it wasn¡¯t easy since all of them seemed to fit.
Did their impressions became simr after bingndlords?
I was shaking my head when someone grabbed my leg. It was Lee Gilyoung. I sensed something danger and was about to grab his shoulder when someone pushed Lee Gilyoung.
¡°Ah.¡±
Lee Gilyoung lost his bnce and fell down.
[The character ¡®Lee Gilyoung¡¯ has invaded private property!]
Suddenly, the atmosphere became cold and some of the ¡®Landlord Association¡¯ members in the front looked at Lee Gilyoung.
¡°What is this child?¡±
At almost the same time, the crowd of people screamed and withdrew.
¡°Crazy!¡±
¡°B-Back! Quickly!¡±
As if they were never there, the crowd of people rushed back like the tide. The people disappeared and red lines shone where they used to be standing. One man looked between the boundary and Lee Gilyoung in turn.
¡°Hrmm. You seem to be lost. Do you know where this is?¡±
¡°The way to the bathroom?¡±
¡°The bathroom? Haha, at one time. By the way, that kid...where are your parents?¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you learn that you shouldn¡¯t intrude on other people¡¯snd?¡±
Other people¡¯snd. Oh, it must be true.
The man stroked Lee Gilyoung¡¯s head with an unknown look.
¡°You don¡¯t know. From now on, I will teach you.¡±
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has activated ¡®Armed Zone Lv. 3!]
There was a whirring sound and mini turrets resembling gatling guns rose from the ground.
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ demands 500 coins for invading his privatend.]
[If you don¡¯t follow the rmendations, all nearby turrets will fire immediately.]
The man spoke.
¡°Give me money.¡±
The loaded turrets were all aiming at the same point. The confused Lee Gilyoung stood up and moved to my side. The man saw me andughed.
¡°Ah, you are his guardian. Then shouldn¡¯t the guardian pay 500 coins instead?¡±
I smiled at the hand that the man brazenly stretched out.
...How funny, Yoo Jonghyuk. You let these jerks go?
Chapter 28
Episode 7 ¨C Landlord (2)
The 10 Evils.
The list and rankings were often changed ording to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s regression cycle, but they were the 10 people in charge of being the main viins in this world of Ways of Survival.
Chungmuro¡¯s armed fortress master, Gong Pildu was one of the 10 Evils. Thus, a person wouldn¡¯t be aware of Gong Pildu unless they read to the end of Ways of Survival (like me).
[Green Zone 56/70]
Indeed, the size of his room was different. The size of the room couldn¡¯t be easily measured. This whole green zone was Gong Pildu¡¯s area.
Let¡¯s do the standard procedure. I hid Lee Gilyoung behind me and opened my mouth.
¡°Why should we pay you coins? Chungmuro Station is a public ce.¡±
¡°Haha, it was until eight days ago. But not anymore.¡±
For ordinary humans, 500 coins wasn¡¯t a small sum. But giving 500 coins just for stepping on hisnd...what a crook.
¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give it. But I¡¯ll give it to you directly.
¡°What?¡±
¡°You aren¡¯t Gong Pildu.¡±
Gong Pildu might be a viin but right now, the person in front of me was just Extra ¡®1¡¯ of the Landlord Alliance.
Where are you, Gong Pildu? I quickly looked around. Not him, not him... I wondered where Gong Pildu was.
¡°Haha, you are a funny guy. Hey, ying with me now...¡±
¡°Gong Pildu-ssi. Where are you? Take the fine.¡±
I ignored them and kept walking.
[You have invaded private property!]
The turrets aimed straight at me but I didn¡¯t stop.
Honestly, there was no guarantee that I would be safe if the turrets started shooting. But there was a need to show off mybat power here. That way Gong Pildu wouldn¡¯t underestimate me.
¡°It is up to here. I will give you if youe closer.¡±
Finally, Gong Pildu moved.
A bench covered with various supplies. A middle-aged man sitting on top of it and reading a magazine was staring at me.
Indeed, this was how he was described in the novel. His belly was half revealed and I could see the hair on it. This was Gong Pildu, the representative of the Landlord Alliance.
¡°This is a face I¡¯ve never seen before but you are great.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t it unfair that I need to pay to see you?¡±
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ is interested in you.]
In any case, I seemed to be the type that was popr with the bad guys. It was the same with Kim Namwoon.
¡°You are fairly good at talking. But it isn¡¯t good to be too cocky.¡±
Tadak. I heard magic bullets being loaded in the turrets. Damn bastard.
Gong Pildu smiled like an ordinary neighborhood ahjussi. But I knew. Gong Pildu could never be an ordinary neighborhood ahjussi.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Gong Pildu
Age: 48 years old
Constetion Sponsor: Defense Master
Private Attribute: Landlord (Rare), Great Land Owner (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Private Property Lv. 3, Patience Lv. 1, Profit Calction Lv. 2, Leadership Lv. 2, Incite Lv. 1, Weapons Training Lv. 1.
Stigma: Armed Zone Lv. 3.
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 9, Strength Lv. 11, Agility Lv. 10, Magic Power Lv. 19.
Overall Evaluation: Gong Pildu, the representative of the Chungmuro Landlord Alliance. His skill ¡®Private Property¡¯ and stigma ¡®Armed Zone¡¯ has the best effect in a battle against many. It is advisable not to make him an enemy.
* ¡®Starter Pack¡¯ is currently applied.
* A growth package is currently applied.
+
There were numerous ¡®gap¡¯ in this world, but few of them were as stable as and owner ofndlord. However, there were those who posted both characteristics and the ¡®armed fortress master¡¯ Gong Pildu in front of him was one of them.
I realized it when I saw this exnation. His magic power was already at level 19. Indeed, this would be enough for him to be one of the 10 Evils in the future.
¡°By the way, what did youe here for? I don¡¯t think your goal is paying the fine.¡±
He was also very sensitive. I pondered over it for a while. Should I negotiate here or overpower Gong Pildu.
It might be possible if I used all my power but it wasn¡¯t easy to break through Gong Pildu¡¯s Armed Zone. I needed to prepare for a big injury if I wanted to defeat the turrets.
What should I do? There was a separate ce where I had to use coins so it was impossible to increase my stats.
¡°I¡¯m warning you that you shouldn¡¯t think of anything.¡±
Gong Pildu smiled at me. His troops were surrounding Lee Hyunsung. He really moved quickly.
Iughed and raised both hands.
¡°Please calm down. Isn¡¯t it obvious for a tenant toe to thendlord?¡±
¡°Is it for a room?¡±
¡°Yes. Please let mypanions and I sat in your green zone¡±
This was a must. In order to clear the third scenario safely, we had to say in Gong Pildu¡¯s green zone. However, Gong Pildu¡¯s answer was as expected.
¡°No. The alliance doesn¡¯t ept outsiders. I¡¯ll think about it if every person pays 500 coins a day.¡±
500 coins a day? It was like selling coins. It was more than the Dokkaebi Bag.
¡°It is a bit tough so I will give you information instead.¡±
¡°What information?¡±
¡°Information about Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk. Theplexion of thendlords changed with one name.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk? Yoo Jonghyuk caused such an uproar not long ago...¡±
¡°You bastard! What is your rtionship with that guy?¡±
¡°Pildu-ssi! Isn¡¯t this bastard suspicious?¡±
There was a reaction. I thought that Yoo Jonghyuk would¡¯ve already caused a problem with the Landlord Alliance.
In fact, this point I was a bit unsure about. ording to the original story, Yoo Jonghyuk of the third regression should be fighting against the Landlord Alliance by now. What was he doing?
Gong Pildu stared at me with suspicious eyes.
¡°What is your rtionship with Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°We arepanions separated by life and death.¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t think it is like that?¡±
¡°Anyway, we are friendly.¡±
¡°How can I believe that?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t believe me. Don¡¯t you have nothing to lose?¡±
I threw out the bait. Perhaps Gong Pildu would have to ept my suggestion. It was because right now, Yoo Jonghyuk was the only person who could threaten the power bnce in Chungmuro.
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has activated ¡®Profit Calction Lv. 2!]
¡°Why won¡¯t I receive any loss?¡±
...?
¡°There is no guarantee that you aren¡¯t a scammer. I can¡¯t ignore my years of experience. In my experience, people like you run away to avoid paying the rent at the end of the month.¡±
It was so urate that I felt wronged However, it was difficult to push it here.
¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, it can¡¯t be helped. Maybe there will be damages.¡±
Gong Pildu¡¯s expression becameplicated. I turned around without hesitation. It was important not to show any regret. That way, he would regret it even more.
¡°Wait a minute.¡±
Indeed.
¡°You have to pay the fine for intruding. Where are you trying to flee?¡±
It was another regret. Dammit. I turned around and smiled awkwardly.
¡°How much? 100 coins?¡±
¡°No, you and that kid are 1,000 coins.¡±
The vein on my head bulged. Did this bastard think that 1,000 coins was 1,000 won...?
¡°That is too much.¡±
The dokkaebi still hadn¡¯t given me the cut of the coins but I couldn¡¯t give 1,000 coins to a jerk like Gong Pildu.
Gong Pildu grinned.
¡°Then you are disqualified as tenants. Die.¡±
I instinctively pushed through the men around me and ran to where my party members were.
Kwang!
There was the first firing sound and Lee Hyunsung held up a metal shield, blocking my back. He was really reliable.
¡°...Dokja-ssi.¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s strength and stamina were level 14 but he spoke very nervously. I could clearly see his trembling arm muscles.
Lee Hyunsung hadn¡¯t obtained his second stigma yet, meaning he couldn¡¯t hold on against the turrets. Moreover, there was no Jung Heewon. If I started a head to head fight, someone in this party would surely die.
¡°Gong Pildu-ssi, wait a moment. If we fight then you won¡¯t escape any damages.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°It is better not to fight us now.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
The damage had to be shown.
¡°If we fight now, you will die here.¡±
Gong Pildu¡¯s expression hardened. Even if I didn¡¯t add anything, Gong Pildu would¡¯ve noticed.
The presence of the guying down the esctor from B1. It would be strange if he didn¡¯t know when the guy was giving off such a huge momentum.
¡°My bestpanion ising.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk.
I didn¡¯t expect that damn regressor to be happy.
¡°Master, it is that person. He pretended to be Master¡¯spanion.¡±
Lee Jihye cried out shrilly as she pointed to me. The main character, the lone hero of a drama, was walking by her side. He looked at me with impressively fierce eyes.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is greatly disturbed.]
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]
There was a brief moment of dizziness and I started to hear his thoughts.
¡¸ How...already? ¡¹
I waved to him and said casually.
¡°Hi Jonghyuk.¡±
¡¸¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡¹
¡°Have you been well? Your face looks good?¡±
¡¸¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡¹
Lee Jihye and Gong Pildu looked between us like they couldn¡¯t believe it. They never thought I would be apanion of Yoo Jonghyuk. There was a tight tension in the air.
¡°These people don¡¯t believe I am yourpanion. Can you tell them?¡±
But I knew Yoo Jonghyuk. This bastard killed easily but he kept his promises.
[A few constetions are paying attention to character Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s answer.]
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire is observing the loyalty of Yoo Jonghyuk.]
Moreover, the constetions were paying a lot of attention.
¡¸¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk watched me and slowly opened his mouth. However, my words were faster.
¡°Ah right, it would be better if you let me use the bathroom!¡±
Finally, Yoo Jonghyuk pulled out a de.
* * *
After a while, we safely used the bathroom and came down to the tform of line 3. It was thanks to the fellow regressorpanion. I smiled widely.
¡°Its nice to see you, you rascal.¡±
¡°...You are alive.¡±
In conclusion, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t call me hispanion. He just pointed his de at Gong Pildu as his answer. Fortunately, Gong Pildu didn¡¯t want to sh with us and let us go.
¡°Were you hoping I would be killed?¡±
¡°I thought it would be good.¡±
This rottenpanion. I became angrier when I saw that cheeky face. I wanted to run over and strike him in the jaw, but I couldn¡¯t.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Summary List.]
Full version.
[Converting the character information of ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ into the ¡®full version.¡¯]
+
[Character List]
Name: Yoo Jonghyuk.
Age: 28 years old.
Constetion Sponsor: ???
Private Attribute: Regressor (3rd turn) (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. 8, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 8, Advanced Weapons Training Lv. 5, Strong Self-Defense Lv. 5, Mental Barrier Lv. 5, Crowd Control Lv. 5, Reasoning Lv. 5, Lie Detection Lv. 4...(Omitted)...
Stigma: [Regression Lv. 3]
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 24, Strength Lv. 24, Agility Lv. 25, Magic Power Lv. 23.
Comprehensive Evaluation: Theprehensive evaluation of this person is too long to load.
+
It didn¡¯t seem that great in the novel. But now that I saw it myself, I knew how extraordinary it was.
We were about to enter the third scenario and his physical body stats were just over 70. This crazy bastard. Dammit, this was the main character buff.
¡°Do you have anything to say?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s growth rate was steeper than it was in the original three regression. The fact that his growth was so fast meant he was taking great risks...what the hell was the person who only returned three times doing? Something was making me uneasy. I would have to dig it out sooner orter...
¡°I asked if you had anything to say.¡±
¡°No, I was just looking.¡±
¡¸ ...He is more tenacious than I thought. ¡¹
What tenacity? He had a serious chuuni disease.
¡¸ However, being cheeky isn¡¯t good. Should I just kill him now? ¡¹
¡°I¡¯m joking.¡±
I hurriedlyughed. Yoo Jonghyuk turned his head like he wasn¡¯t interested.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is disappointed in you.]
Anyway, I didn¡¯t want to alienate Yoo Jonghyuk right now. In order to clear the multiple scenarios, Yoo Jonghyuk was a necessary person. Even if we weren¡¯t realpanions, it was worth using him thoroughly.
...Why did it sound like I was making excuses?
¡°It looks like you¡¯ve obtainedpanions.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at the people behind me with emotionless eyes.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is a bit disappointed in you.]
...What? Why?
The answer became clear.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. 8!]
¡¸ He picked up Lee Hyunsung but was only to raise him to this level. ¡¹
I was at a loss for a moment because it was true. Certainly, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s growth would be better if he had moved with Yoo Jonghyuk.
Still...this bastard. I was just an ordinary reader who luckily got to know the future.
¡¸ It is below expectations. ¡¹
It seemed worse because I was hearing the words in my mind. At that moment, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes stopped as he was looking around. For the first time, confusion could be seen in his eyes.
¡¸...What is that? ¡¹
Chapter 29
Episode 7 ¨C Landlord (3)
Yoo Jonghyuk was looking at everyone except for Lee Hyunsung. The three remaining people were standing together and I couldn¡¯t figure out exactly who Yoo Jonghyuk was looking at.
¡¸...How is this possible? ¡¹
Who was he looking at? I wanted to ask but I was afraid that my skill would be exposed. Yoo Jonghyuk still didn¡¯t know that I knew him.
However, I guessed that he might¡¯ve seen the information of Jung Heewon. Jung Heewon saw Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s gaze and confronted him.
¡°What are you looking at?¡±
¡¸¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡¹
Good job, Jung Heewon.
¡¸ Kill... ¡¹
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡± I quickly opened my mouth. ¡°I was wondering about one thing.¡±
He turned to look at me. His eyes were questioning.
¡°Why are you leaving Gong Pildu alone?¡±
¡°If you are a prophet, you should know.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know everything.¡±
To be exact, I didn¡¯t remember everything.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used the ¡®Lie Detection¡¯ skill.
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk has confirmed that your words are true.]
He was thorough.
¡°...Indeed, I see. A prophet whose level of ¡®future sight¡¯ is low.¡±
Think what you want.
Yoo Jonghyuk continued speaking.
¡°I need Gong Pildu alive.¡±
¡°Is it because of a future scenario?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. It was like he was trying to gauge the information I knew.
¡°I know that you need Gong Pildu for future scenarios. But you only need Gong Pildu. You don¡¯t need the entire group that follows him.¡±
¡¸¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡¹
¡°Isn¡¯t it your style to remove what you don¡¯t need? Why are you just leaving them?¡±
¡¸...How annoying. ¡¹
What?
¡°I have a lot to do.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me quietly and said, ¡°You will never understand.¡±
¡°Wait! That isn¡¯t the problem. If you don¡¯t move now, most of the humans in Chungmuro will...!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes were cold.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±
I wasn¡¯t a humanist. I didn¡¯t believe that everyone in this world was worth living. The thing that was making me angry right now was Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk. Can I hit you?¡±
¡°If you have confidence.¡±
I angrily formed a fist as I heard a message.
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk has used ¡®Strong Self-Defense Lv. 5¡¯.]
I dropped my fist. Cowardly bastard.
¡°Are you finished?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Lee Jihye flinched at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s call. Lee Jihye, who bted followed Yoo Jonghyuk, looked at me with confused eyes.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is impressed by your chivalrous spirit.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
Of course, it waspletely misleading.
* * *
[There are 1 hour and 30 minutes before the third scenario is activated.]
There wasn¡¯t much time left and my mind wasplicated.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is angry that people¡¯s lives must be risked.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ wants an uprising.]
Samyeongdang spoke loudly in my head but I couldn¡¯t think of a good way. The third scenariosted exactly one week.
Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk was nning to gain some other advantage during the duration of the third scenario.
Of course, I couldn¡¯t let it go. I couldn¡¯t let it go...
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is wondering what you are thinking.]
¡°That jerk Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is satisfied.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
In fact, the problem in front of me wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk but Gong Pildu. In order to break through the third scenario, Gong Pildu¡¯s help was absolutely necessary. But if I couldn¡¯t get his help...
Suddenly, Jung Heewon looked up and smiled.
¡°Who is it?¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°You know, that person. The one you were talking to Yoo Jonghyuk about.¡±
I immediately exined about Gong Pildu. Jung Heewon was unconscious so she hadn¡¯t been able to see Gong Pildu. I didn¡¯t mean to change the subject. Jung Heewon immediately reacted.
¡°...What are these scum? Taking the public facilities and making people pay to use them?¡±
¡°The scum are upstairs.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll go and throw them out.
Jung Heewon picked up the ground rat de. That reminded me, I should change their weapons. There was a lot to be done.
¡°It is absurd.¡±
¡°We can win if we join forces. Don¡¯t you remember Gumho Station?¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s expression was confident.
It was natural. Jung Heewon had the Judgment Time skill as a trump card. She had good senses and was quick to adapt, so she would¡¯ve already figured out her attribute and skills.
¡°Don¡¯t dawdle! Let¡¯s go and kill them!¡±
As long as her opponents were ¡®wicket¡¯, her Judgment Time boasted the highest power.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has activated the exclusive skill ¡®Judgment Time.¡¯]
[The constetions of the Absolute Good system are silent at Jung Heewon¡¯s request.
[The skill has been cancelled.]
Jung Heewon¡¯s face filled with confusion.
¡°No, this...what? Is it broken?¡±
Jung Heewon tried to activate the skill again. However, the skill wasn¡¯t triggered.
¡°No...why isn¡¯t it activated? Aren¡¯t they obviously wicked?¡±
Iughed at Jung Heewon¡¯s question.
¡°That is what we humans think.¡±
¡°...What are you talking about?¡±
¡°The constetions might be different. There is no guarantee that the good and evil they know is like what we know.¡±
¡°Ah...¡±
¡°Justice is always decided by the majority.¡±
Right now, the majority of constetions have decided that they are ¡®good.¡¯ Humans no longer had the right to decide on justice. Humans were just the puppets of their sponsors.
¡°That...¡±
I looked at the party members.
Everyone didn¡¯t say anything but they thought in a simr way to Jung Heewon. Lee Hyunsung wiped the iron shield that was scratched by the magic bullets, while Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung sat next to each other on the ground, looking at cockroaches.
This sense of despair, I could understand.
They thought they understood after getting rid of the gang at Gumho Station. However, there was an iparable monster just three stations away.
It was time to start the torture of hope.
¡°That doesn¡¯t mean there is no way.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°It might be difficult but there is a way to defeat them.¡±
They simultaneously looked at me. Lee Hyunsung asked.
¡°...Do you really have a way?¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
I looked around and lowered my voice.
¡°Get Gong Pildu out of the Armed Zone.¡±
¡°What is the Armed Zone?¡±
¡°His stigma. It is optimized to defend an area.¡±
Armed Zone. The reason why it was difficult to go against Gong Pildu was this stigma. It was a fraudulent ability that could build ¡®turrets¡¯ in an area.
Right now, it was just Armed Zone. Once the stigma evolved in the future, it would be ¡®Armed Fortress¡¯ and a siege needed to be prepared to catch him.
But Gong Pildu had an obvious weakness.
¡°His Armed Zone will be released as soon as he leaves his designated area. His mini-turrets will also be useless. Usually, there are many restrictions on such a wide defense skill.¡±
At the same time, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon looked at me with admiration.
¡°Ah...I see.¡±
¡°You figured this out after seeing it once? Is this Dokja-ssi¡¯s attribute?¡±
The same thing was repeated but I saw that the people had adapted to me to some extent. Yoo Sangah asked.
¡°But how will you make him move?¡±
¡°We have to think about that for now.¡±
¡°Ah, I hate thinking.¡± Jung Heewonined.
Then everyone was silent for a while. It was Lee Hyunsung who gave his idea first.
¡°Attack when he goes to the bathroom...¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you see the things next to the bench?¡±
Gong Pildu never moved out of his Armed Zone. His bench had everything he needed. There was a sleeping bag, nket, food, basic with water to eat and sleep and even a ce to piss. Of course, the tenants provided him with them.
¡°Crazy. He is aplete shut in. No, is he not moving because he is hiding something good on thend?¡±
¡°It is the biggest ¡®room¡¯ in Chungmuro.¡±
¡°...Room?¡±
That reminds me, Jung Heewon still didn¡¯t know about the rooms. But there was no need for me to exin.
[There is 1 hour before the third scenario is activated.]
She would son find out.
¡°We also need to find a room.¡±
The moment our party got up, the people around us flinched.
¡°D-D-Don¡¯te closer!¡±
In particrly, the man with a knife who was protecting a single person room on the No. 3 line tform showed high vignce. However, other people rushed towards him before we could approach.
¡°Get out, your fucker!¡±
They attacked indiscriminately. As soon as the man was pushed out, the mark of the green zone changed. The owner had changed.
[Green Zone 1/1-> Green Zone 0/1].
The people were engaging in a bloody fight over the room. Someone was stabbed in the thigh while someone had their nose broken.
Jung Heewon frowned.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t we stop that?¡±
¡°Even if we intervene, the result will be the same. In the end, somebody will die.¡±
¡°Why does someone have to die?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t possible to avoid in this scenario.¡±
I had just finished speaking while Bihyung emerged in the air.
[Now no, shall we start the third day of the main scenario? New faces have arrived today so won¡¯t it be fun? Hahaha!]
Bihyung nced my way.
There were three dokkaebis in charge of the Chungmuro scenario. It seemed that Bihyung was temporarily the representative. It was a natural consequence of being the smallest of the three channels.
Then the third scenario arrived in front of us.
+
[Main Scenario #3 ¨C Green Zone (Day 3)
Category: Main
Difficulty: C
Clear Conditions: upy the ¡®green zone¡¯ in the station and survive the monsters that emerge every night at midnight. This scenario willst 7 days.
Duration: 8 hours.
Compensation: 1,000 coins
Failure: ¨D
+
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°T-This...!¡±
[It is simple. upy the green zone before other people. Of course, you can take away the green zone of others. By the way, you should hurry. If you don¡¯t have a green zone after the scenario starts, you will have a terrible experience. Haha, then everyone should try it!]
People¡¯s expressions hardened as they heard Bihyung¡¯s words. In the meantime, the screams of the people continued.
Peok!Peok!Peok!
¡°Die! Die!¡±
¡°I-I¡¯m not doing this because I have a grudge! I must survive...¡±
Maybe this was what everyone realized. The struggle in front of us was no longer a story. Yoo Sangah asked in a trembling voice.
¡°Surely we don¡¯t have to fight like these people?¡±
¡°We don¡¯t need to fight. Just find a room that can amodate arge number of people.¡±
¡°The size of the green zones vary by type. It ranged from fitting only one person to fitting 70 people like Gong Pildu¡¯s area.
¡°Of course, if there are any rooms left.¡±
Jung Heewon opened her mouth at my words.
¡°Dokja-ssi is really talented at making people uneasy... then let¡¯s move right away. Maybe there are some rooms left.¡±
¡°It might be faster to split up. Divide the team. Hyunsung-ssi will move with Sangah-ssi, while Heewon-ssi should take Gilyoung.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine on my own.¡±
I didn¡¯t have to say anything else. Everyone trusted me. Lee Gilyoung spoke first.
¡°Hyung, that...what if we can¡¯t find one?¡±
¡°If we can¡¯t find a room 20 minutes before the scenario starts, we will gather here again.¡±
¡°I understand. Then I¡¯m going.¡±
The team scattered in an orderly fashion. Jung Heewon and Lee Gilyoung went to B2 while Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung went to B3. I watched mypanions leave before turning on the smartphone. As soon as I opened Ways of Survival, a sentence immediately popped up.
¡¸ There were no rooms left in Chungmuro. ¡¹
This fact was written clearly. It was likely that they wouldn¡¯t be able to find any rooms.
Then they could only choose one way. In order to survive, kill someone else and take their room. But could Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon do it?
Not everyone here was ¡®wicked.¡¯ There were some who exploited others, like Gong Pildu. But in fact, most of them bared their teeth in order to protect themselves.
Could Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung bare their teeth to people like that? I would know the answer very soon.
Chapter 30
Episode 7 ¨C Landlord (4)
After the dokkaebi disappeared, dozens of casualties appeared on the tform of line 3.
Currently, there was only one room on the line 3 tform.
There was no one strong here, so the weak didn¡¯t back down and attacked each other.
¡°Die! Die!¡±
[There are 30 minutes before the third scenario is activated.]
As pandemonium urred around me, I was quietly reading Ways of Survival. Perhaps today¡¯s scenario would flow as I thought. In order to survive, I couldn¡¯t miss a single word.
[What are you doing now?]
Along with Bihyung¡¯s words, I could hear the messages of the constetions.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is wondering what you are doing.]
I reflexively turned off my smartphone. There was something I hadn¡¯t thought of until now. Why didn¡¯t the constetions respond when I read Ways of Survival?
In the original Ways of Survival, the constetions discovered that Yoo Jonghyuk was a regressor and raised questions about fairness. It was normal for them to say something about the text I was reading.
[What are you doing right now with a nk notepad? All the constetions are going crazy with frustration because of you!]
...nk notepad?
I turned on the smartphone again. Ways of Destruction appeared on the screen.
¡°Is this what you are referring to?¡±
[Yes! What are you going to do with that notepad? You will die if you stay still! Ha, I believed in a guy like this and sighed a contract...]
I got goosebumps.
The dokkaebi couldn¡¯t read this ¡®text.¡¯ If even the dokkaebis, which managed the system, couldn¡¯t read it then the constetions were the same.
Then the writer who gave me the text...what type of existence was he?
¡°Kuaack!¡±
Thest scream rang out. Finally, the owner of the room on tform line 3 was determined.
[Green Zone 1/1]
¡°...Don¡¯te any closer.¡±
A boy was pointing a knife at me. Surprisingly, the winner was the boy who guided us earlier. I still didn¡¯t know his name.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t take your room.¡±
I spoke in order to reassure the boy. The moment I had this thought.
¡°Really? You are quite rxed Ahjussi. Do you want to die?¡±
I didn¡¯t need to look back to see who was talking.
¡°It looks like you are quite free.¡±
¡°Nobody touches my room. I will send everyone who touches it to hell.¡±
Lee Jihye twirled a deep blue de round and round. In regards to specs, there was no one who could match Lee Jihye apart from Yoo Jonghyuk or people from the Landlord Alliance. Lee Jihye watched me carefully and opened her mouth.
¡°I don¡¯t want Ahjussi to die. You were quite impressive against Master earlier.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t die. It won¡¯t die even if I don¡¯t find a room.¡±
It was true. I wouldn¡¯t necessarily die if I couldn¡¯t find a room. There was an impossible man in this station who proved this. It was only three days ago.
Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes narrowed.
¡°Ahjussi, do you know what you are saying right now?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Ahjussi, are you strong? As strong as Master?¡±
Then Yoo Jonghyuk appeared behind Lee Jihye.
¡°Stop and go back to your room.¡±
¡°Ah...yup. Master.¡±
Lee Jihye obediently left and Yoo Jonghyuk turned towards me.
¡°Are you going to fight the monsters?¡±
I shrugged.
¡°You will die. Your fourpanions as well.¡±
¡°That remains to be seen.¡±
There was an unknown emotion in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes as he nced at me and left. I didn¡¯t use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. It wasn¡¯t always possible to expression emotions with words.
[There are 20 minutes before the third scenario is activated.]
There was the sound of peopleing down the stairs. Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung and Yoo Sangah... looking at their dark expressions, the result was as I expected. Yoo Sangah opened her mouth with a gloomy expression.
¡°Room...there were non.:
¡°It is okay. Rather, where is Heewon-ssi?¡±
¡°She is trying to negotiate upstairs.¡±
At these words, Jung Heewon jumped down with a terrible scream.
¡°One night is 2,000 coins? Are they joking right now? I am really going to hit them.¡±
The agitated Jung Heewon snorted and said.
¡°Dokja-ssi. Do you know what is happening upstairs? No¨D¡±
¡°They suddenly raised the taxes right?¡±
¡°Eh...you already know?¡±
It was predictable. The tenants would die if they couldn¡¯t get a room in 20 minutes. It was no wonder that the owners would take the initiative to raise the taxes.
¡°Did Dokja-ssi find anything?¡±
¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡±
¡°Ah...¡±
I examined their faces one by one. In the end, the time to choose hade.
¡°I have two ways.¡±
The eyes of the party members shone at these words. But my methods would probably betray their expectations.
¡°The first way is easy for all of us to live.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes narrowed.
¡°Usually it is the second method... what is the other one?¡±
¡°The second method is very difficult. It is likely that some of us will die.¡±
¡°Eh...that can¡¯t happen. Then I will choose the first way.¡±
¡°What do the others think?¡±
Lee Hyunsung responded first.
¡°The first method will be good if everyone can live.¡±
Lee Gilyoung nodded. Only Yoo Sangah hesitated.
¡°...Can I hear what it is?¡±
I nodded and lead them up the stairs to transit line 4.
¡°This is the first method.¡±
The party members looked at where I pointed. There was a group of five men and women shaking.
[Green Zone 5/5]
¡°They room they upy has exactly five spaces. But their individual abilities isn¡¯t that high. Honestly, if the five of us...¡±
¡°Wait, Dokja-ssi¨D¡±
¡°Yes, kill them and take their room.¡±
Their trembling increased at my calm voice. Jung Heewon made a deeply wounded expression.
¡°...Who doesn¡¯t know about this method?¡±
¡°If Hyung says so, I can do it.¡±
Lee Gilyoung spoke first.
¡°I¡¯m not afraid. I will do it.¡±
¡°No Gilyoung!¡±
Yoo Sangah grabbed Lee Gilyoung¡¯s shoulder. I deliberately looked uncaring.
¡°They would¡¯ve also killed someone to take that room. Honestly, we can¡¯t ovee future scenarios if we can¡¯t do this.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡± Jung Heewon interrupted. ¡°I killed people at Gumho Station. I killed because I wanted to and I don¡¯t regret it. But.¡±
Jung Heewon had a pained expression on her face.
¡°Just because I am a murderer doesn¡¯t mean I want to keep killing. I don¡¯t want to be a monster.
¡°...¡±
¡°...Dokja-ssi, I would like to know about the second method.¡±
I closed my eyes for a moment at Lee Hyunsung¡¯s words.
¡°I understand your thoughts.¡±
Yes, this was enough.
¡°Let¡¯s go the second way.¡±
The expressions of the party members seemed to brighten. In fact, I was going to use the second method from the beginning.
Killing was an easy way to survive, but I could never attract the attention of the constetions if I chose the easy method.
However, the second method required considerable determination. It wasn¡¯t just me but everyone. Thus, I needed to check their determination. I had to know what these people were really thinking.
Jung Heewonughed.
¡°...I thought so. Why are you talking when you were going to go with the second way?¡±
¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to test you. Whatever choice you made, I would¡¯ve respected it.¡±
I stroked Lee Gilyoung¡¯s head, who was looking up at me with uneasy eyes. Yoo Sangah sighed and opened her mouth.
¡°Dokja-ssi is really spiteful.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not a good person.¡±
¡°What is the second method?¡±
¡°There is no need to kill anybody with this method. But it is very difficult.¡±
At my heavy tone, the expressions of the party members became determined.
¡°If you choose the second method, please unconditionally follow my instructions. Please trust me, even if it doesn¡¯t make sense. If one person doesn¡¯t trust me¨D¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°We will all die.¡±
Someone gulped. The party members nodded almost simultaneously. Lee Hyunsung said.
¡°I believe in Dokja-ssi. I have survived up to here because of Dokja-ssi.¡±
[There are 5 minutes before the third scenario is activated.]
¡°Then follow me.¡±
I moved with the party members along railway line 3. We passed through the broken screen door and stood at the entrance of the tunnel leading to Euljiro-3.
Inside the dark tunnel, I saw a glowing ¡®red zone.¡¯ Perhaps the monsters would be created over there. They would sweep over line 3 and go up each floor towards the ground.
Lee Hyunsung asked nervously.
¡°...Then are we fighting the monsters here?¡±
¡°No, we aren¡¯t fighting. If we fight here then we will die.¡±
It wasn¡¯t possible to fight against the terrifying monsters and survive until dawn without the green zone.
This time, Jung Heewon asked.
¡°...Then will we run towards the Dongdae area?¡±
¡°That won¡¯t work. Once the scenario is activated, we will automatically die if we leave Chungmuro.¡±
¡°Then...¡±
¡°This operation needs to be shared. Lee Hyunsung-ssi, Yoo Sangah-ssi and Jung Heewon-ssi. Once the monsters appear, run straight in the direction they areing from.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°Understood? Just run towards them. Just before you encounter them, be sure to look at the left wall. Then you will know that I mean.¡±
The people didn¡¯t understand my words but there was no time to exin to them.
¡°Just trust me or you will die. Don¡¯t forget to look at the left wall.¡±
¡°I understand Dokja-ssi.¡± Yoo Sangah seemed to understand what I meant and answered first.
¡°I am telling you in person. You must run after the monster appears.¡±
I picked up a stone and threw it towards the tunnel. Then stone sparked as it hit something and fell. Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon nodded as if they understood.
¡°What about Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll find another way with Gilyoung.¡±
This method couldn¡¯t be used unless my party members believed in me. Who would go againstmon sense andmit a suicide attack by rushing towards the monsters?
The only thing left was their determination.
[The third main scenario is enabled.]
The barrier that was blocking the tunnel to Euljiro-3 disappeared.
¡°Run!¡±
The three people started running the moment I called out.
Grrr!
The monsters started to be created in the red zone. It was mainly the grade 9 ground rats. Then the middle ranks were filled with the intermediate grade 9 underground species, the ¡®groll.¡¯
Kuooooh!
A monster with a ck mane that was in the shape of a bear. The sharp horns on their foreheads was threatening.
One was rtively easy to deal with. The problem was the number. The crowded columns was already not suitable to be called a ¡®group.¡¯ We would die if we hit that wave.
The moment Lee Hyunsung encountered the first groll, I shouted.
¡°Now!¡±
Yoo Sangah found it first. Green tiles shimmering on the wall.
¡°Ah¨D!¡±
The enlightenment was instant The moment Yoo Sangah¡¯s hand touched the wall, it emitted a bright light.
[Green Zone 1/3]
The agile Jung Heewon immediately touched the wall behind her.
[Green Zone 2/3]
However, Lee Hyunsung missed the timing. It was because the ground rats clung to Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shield.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi! Catch it!¡±
Lee Hyunsung grabbed the ¡®thread¡¯ that Yoo Sangah threw him. Thanks to the strength of the two women, Lee Hyunsung flew through the air and reached the wall.
[Green Zone 3/3]
Good.
Grrrrrrr!
The monsters stared at them but once they entered the green zones, the monsters couldn¡¯t attack.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Yoo Sangah called out to me but there was no time to look back. I was already running with Lee Gilyoung on my back.
¡¸ ...In the third main scenario, there are several hidden green zones. This is activated on a specific wall and the green zones on the wall won¡¯t appear until after the scenario starts... if you think about it, humans were the ones who thought of it as the concept of a ¡®room¡¯. ¡¹
In Ways of Survival, Yoo Jonghyuk went through numerous regressions and found some secret green zones in Chungmuro.
On the tform of line 3, there were two such green zones.
Kiiiiit!
A few ground rats chasing after me bit me in the thigh. The blow wasn¡¯t big because of my high strength, but these small things could umte.
Kwack!
Lee Gilyoung hit a few ground rats with a blunt weapon from his position on my back. But there were too many of them. In addition, the groll were fast.
A dozen metres away, the boy was looking at me with terrified eyes.
[Green Zone 1/1]
It was cowardly but I was tempted to take the easy road for a second.
[Hahahaha! This situation is fun. Then like yesterday, should there be a penalty?]
A dokkaebi spoke followed by the system messages.
[A scenario penalty has been added!]
[Some existing green zones will be disabled.]
¡°N-No! Uack, aaaaack!¡±
Screams rang through Chungmuro Station. The closest scream came from the boy.
Kwajijijik!
¡°Aaaaack!¡±
As soon as the green zone disappeared, the boy¡¯s small body was shredded by the ground rats.
Thanks to the boy¡¯s body buying time, I was able to run into the passage. However, the monsters that came from beyond the broken screen door blocked the path.
I hid Lee Gilyoung behind me and pulled out Unbroken Faith. The de of White Pure Star Energy quickly pushed back the iing monsters.
But the numbers didn¡¯t go down at all. The person who fought with these monsters until sunrise, Yoo Jonghyuk was a monster. I wasn¡¯t sure it was possible for me, even if I changed all my coins to stats.
At this moment, Lee Gilyoung spoke.
¡°Hyung, you know.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk now. I¡¯m busy.¡±
¡°You can just leave me here.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°I really don¡¯t understand it. Why are you helping me, Hyunsung hyung and the noonas? If you are alone... you would be able to survive better.¡±
He could calmly speak such words before his death. Maybe this kid¡¯s mind was already dead.
¡°Yes, you are right.¡± Another ground rat fell to the ground with its head cut off. ¡°It isfortable to live alone, eat alone and survive alone. But...¡±
Why was I acting this way? If anyone asked me, I couldn¡¯t exactly exin. But I could say one thing with certainty.
¡°I know one novel that developed in such a way and was ruined.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
I thought it every time but I wasn¡¯t a protagonist. I wouldn¡¯t be a hero or a savior. But...
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s eyes were shaking. I lifted him onto my back again and said.
¡°Hold on tight.¡±
I wouldn¡¯t let Lee Gilyoung die. At least, not today.
Chapter 31
Episode 7 ¨C Landlord (5)
As I watched the surging wave of monsters, I gave strength to my thighs. The level 15 strength condensed at once and my feet developed a strong propulsion force.
The ground rats ran from all directions and the hard horns of the grolls flew from unexpected ces.
My skin, which was tempered by the level 15 stamina, became bruised and bloody from the grolls¡¯ horns.
[The number one bookmark has been activated.]
Bookmark was activated and Kim Namwoon¡¯s ckening wrapped around my body. I pushed away all the monstersing from the front.
Fangs burrowed into my body and a few ground rats bit my thighs. However, I didn¡¯t stop. Run and run again.
Over here. Finally, the original wall was visible. I jumped over the ground rats. There was a green zone for two people shining.
By the way...shit.
[Green Zone 1/2]
There was already someone inside.
¡°...¡±
I forgot about the monstersing from behind and stared at him. There was a guy who should never be there.
¡°Hey.¡±
He turned to me.
¡°Can¡¯t you get out? You don¡¯t even need to stay in here.¡±
¡°It is difficult. I am tired today.¡±
I pushed to punch this asshole¡¯s face. I didn¡¯t understand. This wasn¡¯t the ¡®third regression¡¯ Yoo Jonghyuk that I knew.
In Ways of Survival, it was written that Yoo Jonghyuk only found the first hidden green zone in the fourth regression... damn, did he know about this ce since the second regression and it just wasn¡¯t described? Then why didn¡¯t he originally use it in the third regression?
Grrrr!
There were the cries of the ground rats chasing me from behind. It was toote to me the writer. I could feel Lee Gilyoung¡¯s breathing. I stared into Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes. We spoke at almost the same time.
¡°Take the kid.¡±
¡°Give me the child.¡±
Still, it was lucky. The constetions would hear my words.
[Green Zone 2/2]
I moved Lee Gilyoung and the mark of the green zone changed. Now Lee Gilyoung was safe.
¡°Hyung! Wait a minute! Hyung!¡±
Lee Gilyoung urgently tried to rush towards me but Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hand restrained him. I swung my sword towards the ground rats.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ has closed his eyes.]
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire is watching you with ufortable eyes.]
At thest minute, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes seemed to move.
¡¸ I told you that you would die. ¡¹
The waves of monsters headed towards me. Now there were no more green zones remaining.
¡°I won¡¯t die.¡±
I ignored the monsters and put a hand in my pocket. In fact, I really didn¡¯t want to use this. I couldn¡¯t be assured that there would be no aftereffects. Now I had to believe in the Fourth Wall.
¡¸ That...? ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes shook with surprise. This bastard, did he find out? Well, I wouldn¡¯t have known this method without him.
I looked down at the white stone shining in the palm of my hand.
[Specter¡¯s Stone.]
It was an item I gained by hunting specters on the way to Chungmuro.
Hundreds of ground rats started biting at my body.
I was bleeding from minor wounds and the shoulders struck by the grolls¡¯ horns were red with blood. As the durability of my body rapidly diminished, I put the stone into my mouth.
Then something like water vapor started to emerge from my mouth. The water vapor formed a fog that covered me.
[The Wee Prison is activated.]
The ground rats and grolls stopped attacking me at once.
Everything around me started to distort. The tform, Yoo Jonghyuk and Lee Gilyoung calling out to me.
I became a ¡®ghost.¡¯
* * *
¡¸ Dokja. ¡¹
I noticed as soon as I heard my mother¡¯s voice. This was a dream.
I tried not to get caught up in it but it wasn¡¯t easy this time. The floor sank like a quagmire and swallowed me.
[Due to excessive immersion, the influence of Fourth Wall has temporarily weakened.]
Scenes started to weave in front of me, no matter what I wanted.
A living room covered with blood. The cold body of a man. The back of a woman looking down at the body. No. This memory was difficult to remember. I couldn¡¯t remember it.
I shook my head furiously and the scene in front of me scattered. This damn trauma...
It was a memory I didn¡¯t want to see.
This was why I was reluctant to eat the Specter¡¯s Stone. The Specter¡¯s Stone temporarily made the user a ¡®ghost¡¯ and turned them invisible to monsters. But it has a side effect of causing the user¡¯s trauma to peak.
That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t give it to the other party members. If it had been used by someone other than myself, they might¡¯ve turned into a madman.
I had to endure, even if my head was hurting like crazy.
Certainly, the Fourth Wall was a scam. The skill would even be able to eat away at this stone. I wouldn¡¯t see this effect even with the superior ¡®Mental Barrier.¡¯ Where was it? If my guess was correct, this skill...
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk? Are you Yoo Jonghyuk? ¡¹
I thought a trauma had started again but it wasn¡¯t my voice. It wasn¡¯t a voice created by my memories. I looked back and saw a strange woman.
¡¸ ...You aren¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk. I think you are Korean but who are you? ¡¹
A dazzling blonde foreigner. She was a little girl with a short height. The girl looked at me for a long time with an iprehensible expression.
¡¸ That...I don¡¯t understand. I¡¯ve seen the future a number of times but I¡¯ve never seen you before... ¡¹
In the girl¡¯s left eye, an ominous red swirl could be seen. The pages shed in my head. I knew this person. No, there was absolutely no way I couldn¡¯t know her. In this case...
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[The character ¡®Anna Croft¡¯ is using ¡®Mental Barrier Lv. 6¡¯.]
[Character List ignores Mental Barrier Lv. 6.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Summary List.]
+
[Character Summary]
Name: Anna Croft
Attribute: Prophet (Legend), Savior (Legend)
Exclusive Skills: Future Sight Lv. 5, Past Sight Lv. 4, Insight Lv. 8, irvoyance Lv. 4, Advanced Magic Training Lv. 4, Mental Barrier Lv. 6, Lie Detection Lv. 7, Great Demon¡¯s Eyes Lv. 1...
+
A woman who could ignore space constraints and freely enter the consciousness of other people. A woman who saw the future and tried to design the future of the world. There was only one ¡®woman¡¯ with such a way of thinking in Ways of Destruction.
¡°Anna Croft.¡±
¡¸ ...How do you know me? ¡¹
Her eyes widened and she red at me.
I replied quietly, ¡°I¡¯m a prophet.¡±
[The character Anna Croft has triggered Lie Detection Lv. 7.]
[Lie Detection has confirmed that your words are false.]
Indeed, I couldn¡¯t lie to a true prophet.
¡¸ ...Reveal your true identity. Who are you? ¡¹
Her small lips were tightly closed. It looked as though she was protesting.
I anticipated how the situation would roughly ur. The woman noticed my presence, perhaps because the influence of Fourth Wall temporarily weakened. If Fourth Wall was really the skill I thought it was...
By the way... it was disappointing.
¡°Do you really not know who I am?¡±
¡¸ ...Huh? ¡¹
¡°Didn¡¯t I send you the ichthyosaur¡¯s core?¡±
Anna¡¯s lips slowly widened.
¡°You must¡¯ve imnted the ¡®great demon¡¯s eyes¡¯ with the power of the core. Right?¡±
¡¸ T-Then you? You asked for Broken Faith...? ¡¹
[Great Demon¡¯s Eyes.] It was a huge one million coin item that was taken by this woman with a damn diamond sponsor. I felt envious.
¡¸ You! What is your name? How... ¡¹
[The influence of the exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is slowly returning.]
¡¸ Why... why can¡¯t I see anything...? ¡¹
Her eyes became blurred. The influence of the Great Demon¡¯s Eyes, which could interfere with the consciousness of others, weakened and her figured gradually faded. I waved my hands.
¡°Someday we will meet. Wait across the continent.¡±
[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall has beenpletely restored.]
Annapletely disappeared.
I sighed with relief. In fact, my spirit had been fluctuating back and forth when talking to Anna Croft. It wasn¡¯t very good.
[Due to the skill effect, immunity to Wee Prison has urred.]
...Dammit, the effect took ce toote.
I felt my consciousness clear up.
The difort still remained but it was much better than before. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. I looked at the distinct facts one by one in order to regain my rationality.
I am Kim Dokja. The world was destroyed. Ways of Survival had be reality. This was...Wee Prison. I ate the Specter¡¯s Stone and was a ghost for a while. If I was a ghost, I wouldn¡¯t be attacked by the underground species.
Yes, that¡¯s right. So... the world looked like this.
In the midst of thendscape that seemed like I had eaten drugs, the flow of time was hardly noticeable. I became a bit uneasy.
What happened to Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon? That Jonghyuk bastard, did he kill Gilyoung? Was the third scenario still in progress? What if there were still ground rats around? Were the grolls circling in order to eat me?
If so...
...Hyung.
...Please.
...Dokja-ssi!
Voices shed through my head.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Permanent Lv. 1¡¯ is activated.]
(TL: Temporary name. The skill hasn¡¯t appeared before, and there is no exnation. The Korean used for it is usually used for ¡®perm¡¯. I highly doubt that is right so I went with permanent. I will change if it I get more informationter)
Yes, it was time to go back.
* * *
I breathed out roughly. There was a soft texture touching my cheek.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
The fog faded and my vision became clear. The first thing that I saw was Yoo Sangah¡¯s face. Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon¡¯s worried faces also appeared.
¡°...The scenario?¡±
¡°It ended Dokja-ssi. We did it. We did it!¡±
...I see. We did it.
I looked at the agitated party members and tried to move my body. I had remained stiff for a long time and my muscles barely listened to me.
¡°Don¡¯t be...pleased.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Only one day has passed. Yesterday was the third day...¡±
Lee Hyunsung caught me as I tried to get up.
¡°Dokja-ssi! It isn¡¯t possible. You haven¡¯t slept at all.¡±
¡°What time is it now?¡±
¡°It is 8:30 a.m. 30 minutes have passed since the scenario ended.¡±
8:30... fortunately, not too much time passed. By the way, there was a face missing.
¡°Where is Gilyoung?¡±
¡°Ah, Gilyoung...¡±
Before Jung Heewon spoke, I already discovered where Jung Heewon was. Lee Jihye and Yoo Jonghyuk were looking down at Lee Gilyoung a few steps away.
...No, what was that bastard Yoo Jonghyuk doing?
At this moment, I remembered how Yoo Jonghyuk was surprised when he saw my party. Don¡¯t tell me, when Yoo Jonghyuk used Sage¡¯s Eyes...?
¡°When... you have chosen? Obvious never...before.¡±
Due to the aftereffects of using the stone, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t heard properly. Then Lee Gilyoung started talking.
¡°It is okay.¡±
¡°...You really won¡¯t go with me?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°You can be much stronger with me than with him. You still won¡¯t go?¡±
¡°Yes. I won¡¯t.¡±
¡°...Stupid kid.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned and looked my way.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]
¡¸ ...Lucky guy. He will be helpful so let¡¯s keep him a little longer. ¡¹
I wanted to say something but I had no energy in my body.
¡°Dokja hyung!¡±
Once he discovered that I woke up, Lee Gilyoung rushed towards me with swollen eyes. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts still rang in my head.
¡¸ There is no time to dy. I have to finish the attack today. Otherwise... ¡¹
...Attack? What was he talking about?
I had to think... Damn, I¡¯m too tired. As I rxed my body, the softness of the thigh I was lying on touched my cheek again.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi...¡±
¡°Y-Yes!¡±
¡°Sorry, I¡¯m going to sleep a bit...¡±
Then I fell sleep. It was a sweet sleep without any dreams.
* * *
I woke up two hourster.
[Hey, how long are you going to sleep?]
I opened my eyes at the loud and unpleasant voice. This time, the texture against my cheek was much thicker and harder than before.
¡°...Ah, Dokja-ssi woke up.¡±
Smiling lips. Jung Heewon was looking down at me.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi took a break. We didn¡¯t sleep wellst night.¡±
I turned my head and saw Yoo Sangah sleeping against a wall. Jung Heewon smiled.
¡°By the way, is Lee Hyunsung¡¯s thighfortable?¡±
I turned and saw Lee Hyunsung drooling.
¡°Today in the morning... the on-call officer will conduct the duties...¡±
...I thought the height of the pillow wasn¡¯t right. It turned out to be Lee Hyunsung¡¯s thigh. It was an army pillow with a bloody smell.
¡°Dokja hyung...¡±
I felt a heavy feeling on my stomach and looked down to see Lee Gilyoung leaning against me and sleeping.
The moment I carefully raised my body, I heard Bihyung¡¯s voice.
[Haha, you are awake? Then take this.]
Messages poured into my ears.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is sad about your trauma.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is interested in your past.]
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is wondering about your mother.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 1,800 coins.]
...Sons of a bitches. They were trying to steal a peek at my past.
This wasn¡¯t the end.
[You have endured Chungmuro¡¯s night without the green zone.]
[You have aplished the ¡®Never-ending Dawn¡¯ achievement at Chungmuro Station!]
[You have earned 1,000 coins as an achievement reward.]
[Coins Possessed: 22,650 C]
I had achieved the target amount. I didn¡¯t experience a hard night for nothing.
This time Jung Heewon asked. ¡°What should we do today? Like yesterday...¡±
¡°No, not today. That only works for one day.¡±
Of course, if we were lucky then we might be able to find the randomly generated green zone. Unfortunately, there was no detailed description of the location of the green zones on day four in Ways of Survival.
¡°Then...¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s expression became dark. But it was unnecessary worry.
¡°Today we willpletely end the third scenario.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
I carefullyid Lee Gilyoung and got up.
It wasn¡¯t originally nned but I couldn¡¯t wait after hearing Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts. Yesterday, he had no choice but to buy time. However, the story was different today.
¡°I will drag out thend owners.
¡°...How?¡±
Jung Heewon asked and I looked at Lee Hyunsung, who was sleeping deeply.
¡°I have to use the secret weapon that I saved.¡±
Now it was time to change the owner of Chungmuro.
Chapter 32
Episode 8 ¨C Emergency Defense (1)
¡¸ Lee Hyunsung was dozing like an officer on duty, ¡¹
Perhaps there would be such a description in Ways of Survival. And maybe there was this sentence.
¡¸ Maybe Lee Hyunsung didn¡¯t know. What would happen to him today. ¡¹
¡°Hyunsung-ssi?¡±
¡°...Ah, hmm, I fell asleep for a moment. Dokja-ssi, are you well rested?¡±
¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. By the way, you were talking. Officer on duty...¡±
¡°Eh, really?¡±
¡°Something about Second ss Soldier Lee Hyunsung...¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s face turned red.
¡°T-That... Just a trauma from my days as a soldier.¡±
¡°Days as a soldier? Isn¡¯t Lee Hyunsung an officer?¡±
¡°That...I was transferred to the third unit when I was a corporal.¡±
¡°I heard these cases are rare. You must¡¯ve been well-suited for the army.¡±
Lee Hyunsungughed. It was augh that I could understand. There were few people well-suited for the army. The people who remained didn¡¯t fit elsewhere.
Then it was time to throw a small stone.
¡°Still, I¡¯m d that Lee Hyunsung-ssi is here.
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°I¡¯m relieved when Lee Hyunsung-ssi blocks in front. It feels like someone is protecting me.¡±
¡°...Is that so?¡±
Lee Hyunsung smiled slightly. It was a weak smile, but it was certainly aforting smile. After exchanging brief greetings, I separated from Lee Hyunsung.
In the original third round development of Ways of Survival, Lee Hyunsung experienced a character evolution by protecting the people at Gumho Station from the Cheoldoo Group. But Jung Heewon took that chance.
Now Yoo Sangah, Jung Heewon and Lee Gilyoung were approaching me. I faced them.
¡°Did you see the demonstration? Just do what I did.¡±
¡°Yes. Well...pretty much. But why do we have to do this?¡±
There was a reason for it.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has started to feel responsible.]
Lee Hyunsung was currently wiping his shield with an innocent expression.
Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint was a scam. At least, as far as ¡®characters¡¯ went.
¡°I want to help Hyunsung-ssi. He looks a bit down these days. Won¡¯t he feel better if you cheer him up?¡±
I said this for Lee Hyunsung¡¯s sake. The innocent Yoo Sangah nodded her head.
¡°Is it the saying ¡®dance like a while at praise?¡¯¡±
¡°It is simr.¡±
¡°I understand. I¡¯ll give it a try!¡±
Unlike Yoo Sangah, Jung Heewon had an uncertain expression.
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi¡¯s sponsor isn¡¯t something like ¡®One-Eyed Forteller¡¯, right?¡±
¡°...What is that?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±
Well, there was something like this. For a moment, I thought that Jung Heewon might be the writer of Ways of Survival. For example, Gung Ye was the ¡®One-Eyed Maitreya.¡¯
¡°It isn¡¯t that. I have a special skill. It is a skill that understands people well.¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t know if I want to ask, so I won¡¯t.¡±
¡°Thank you.¡±
¡°But have you ever used it on me?¡±
I almost showed emotions on my face. It was fortunate that Jung Heewon didn¡¯t have Lie Detection. I looked at Lee Gilyoung and said.
¡°I only use it on men.¡±
¡°Oh my.¡±
It wasn¡¯t a lie. I haven¡¯t read Jung Heewon¡¯s heart. So far.
¡°Anyway, I am asking everyone to do this. First is Jung Heewon-ssi, then Yoo Sangah and Gilyoung isst. Please take it in turns to speak to him.¡±
¡°¡¯Oh my, I really believe in Hyunsung-ssi!¡¯ That type of feeling?¡±
¡°Please don¡¯t go so far.¡±
¡°Sigh, I am really going to die.¡±
Still, she needed to do it. In order for this n to seed, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s ¡®attribute evolution¡¯ was absolutely necessary. I would¡¯ve nned a bit sooner if I knew Yoo Jonghyuk would act like this... but if we tried hard, I should be able to see the result today.
In fact, they seemed to be doing well.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi is really dependable. You are like a pine tree.¡±
¡°Haha, thank you Heewon-ssi. My favourite song is Green Pine.¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ feels proud.]
¡°I didn¡¯t ask.¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ feels a bit sullen.]
¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen a righteous person like Hyunsung-ssi.¡±
¡°Ah... that isn¡¯t the case. Still, thank you. Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has started to worry about justice.]
¡°Hyunsung hyung has the best muscles.¡±
¡°Thank you, everyone.¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has increased his self-esteem.]
It was fortunate that Lee Hyunsung was a simple person and such empty praises worked well. After repeating the same conversation several times like this, the system messages started to change.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ is waiting for a chance to evolve his attribute.]
Okay. It went smoothly.
Yoo Sangah asked in a slightly worried tone. ¡°But I think Hyunsung-ssi is a bit burdened...¡±
Yoo Sangah was really nice. Even in this situation, she was concerned about someone else¡¯s heart. I didn¡¯t have that ability.
¡°Maybe a bit. But It is necessary. There are some people in the world who be stronger as they carry more burdens.¡±
¡°Ah...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. And...Gilyoung, did you do what I asked?¡±
¡°Yes Hyung.¡±
Lee Gilyoung replied from next to Yoo Sangah. On his head, there was a pair of small cockroaches like they were antennae.
¡°That noona, she is on B1.¡±
¡°Thank you.¡±
Lee Hyunsung was good. Now it was time to steal the power of others.
I walked up the stairs alone. The people of the Landlord Alliance weed me as I went up.
¡°Haha, who is this? If it isn¡¯t the illegal tenant.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You areing up here after doing well. Did you really survive yesterday without a room? Did Yoo Jonghyuk help you?¡±
I ignored them and kept walking. The Landlord Alliance members kept talking, as if they thought I was scared.
¡°Isn¡¯t it hard to live with Yoo Jonghyuk? Enter our alliance. Pildu-ssi said he would let you.¡±
I didn¡¯t care and counted the remaining green zones on every floor. One, two, three... in order for this n to seed, I couldn¡¯t miss a single one.
¡°Of course, under the condition that you bring both women.¡±
Now there were 11 green zones remaining. The number had reduced a lot after yesterday¡¯s scenario. It was a close number to carry out the n.
¡°Hey, are you ignoring me now?¡±
¡°I¡¯m listening. Tell him I¡¯m thinking about it.¡±
The alliance members looked at each other and chuckled at my words. They couldugh like that now.
I was walking up the esctor when a de suddenly reached my neck. I felt very few signs it wasing... there was only one skill that boasted this type of concealed movements in the beginning.
[Ghost Walk.]
¡°I¡¯m disappointed, Ahjussi.¡±
Lee Jihye. A proud girl with outstanding fighting skills. She wasn¡¯t chosen by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare for nothing.
¡°Ahjussi, don¡¯t you know what will happen to those women if you make a deal with them?¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°Do you really know? Yesterday, wouldn¡¯t you rather die?¡±
I shrugged.
¡°Put away the sword. Let¡¯s talk.¡±
¡°Talk? You came to find me on purpose.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Lee Jihye put away the sword. I followed behind Lee Jihye. Lee Jihye walked from B1 to the ticket barrier at the entrance. We seemed to walk for a while.
¡°What did you want to talk about?¡±
¡°But why are you standing there?¡±
¡°Master told me to defend this ce.¡±
¡°...Defend?¡±
¡°That¡¯s why I can¡¯t let you pass.¡±
Lee Jihye touched the ticket gate and drew her hand across her neck. I looked at the passage beyond the ticket gate. There were exit numbers leading to the ground. But not all numbers led to the ground. At that moment, I had an ominous feeling.
...That Yoo Jonghyuk, surely he wasn¡¯t trying that route?
If Yoo Jonghyuk wanted to protect this ce, there was only one reason.
As the scenario was in progress, he was secretly trying to attack the ¡®hidden dungeon¡¯ of Chungmuro. Hidden dungeon attack. It sounded good. In fact, it wasn¡¯t bad if the main character became stronger.
The problem was that this dungeon was a ce that Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t clear until the end of the third regression. It looked like I should finish this quickly.
¡°I need your help.¡±
¡°My help?¡±
¡°Today, I will shatter Gong Pildu¡¯s party.¡±
¡°...Are you serious?¡±
Lee Jihye looked at me like she was trying to see my heart.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has increased.]
¡°Ahjussi isn¡¯t strong enough. You won¡¯t be able to get rid of them.¡±
¡°Even if you help me?¡¯
Lee Jihye¡¯s head jerked like her pride was damaged.
It was natural. Lee Jihye had already challenged Gong Pildu the first day she came to this station. Then she ran away. If Yoo Jonghyuk hadn¡¯t appeared to rescue her, she would be dead.
¡°I have a way. I can do it if you help me.¡±
¡°...Master told me to stay here.¡±
¡°If you don¡¯t help, most of the people here will die.¡±
¡°People will die anyway.¡±
¡°Did Yoo Jonghyuk say that?¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes shook.
¡°The boy we talked to yesterday is dead. Do you understand?¡±
¡°...I know.¡±
¡°Maybe he could¡¯ve lived. Then today, he would be rushing at us to tell us about Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°That...¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk killed him. He could¡¯ve saved him.¡±
I feltplicated while talking. I noticed that I wasn¡¯t much different from Yoo Jonghyuk. The subway, Gumho Station... I ignored people I might¡¯ve been able to save because my safety was being threatened.
But hypocrites could speak usible words.
¡°I saw the video of your scenario when I was on the subway.¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s small shoulders shook.
¡°It was a video where you killed your friend to survive.¡±
¡°...Stop.¡±
¡°In fact, you didn¡¯t want to do that.¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ is greatly disturbed.]
¡°What do you know?¡±
¡°I know what I know. Of course I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just talking to myself.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°But since I am talking, I wanted to say this. If you turn away today, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Definitely.¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has fallen into deep agony.]
I didn¡¯t know the ¡®human¡¯ Lee Jihye but I knew the ¡®character¡¯ Lee Jihye. This girl was a loyal subordinate of Yoo Jonghyuk. But that was a story for the future, not now. She admired Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s strength but she was essentially different from Yoo Jonghyuk.
Lee Jihye opened her mouth a few minutester.
¡°If I help, people can live?¡±
¡°Not everyone, but some will survive.¡±
¡°...What should I do?¡±
¡°I will start at 7 o¡¯clock this evening.¡±
I told her the n. In order to implement this n, Lee Jihye needed to do the things I told her.
Lee Jihye stared nkly and opened her mouth.
¡°Are you sane? You will really do this?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°...Honestly, I don¡¯t think it will work. I¡¯ll tell you in advance. I don¡¯t think I can help.¡±
¡°The choice is yours.¡±
She said this but Lee Jihye would surely move. She was the person who was chosen by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.
[The constetion Secretive Plotter likes your impudence.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
[Lee Jihye¡¯s sponsor likes you.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
Now all the preparations were finished.
Chapter 33
Episode 8 ¨C Emergency Defense (2)
It was finally the promised time.
I gathered on the line 3 tform with the party. Every member was checking their weapons. Lee Hyunsung seemed to have handled it properly.
¡°I did as Dokja-ssi asked.¡±
Since the weapons they had used so far were very old, I asked Lee Hyunsung to produce new weapons. The materials were from the grade 8 underground species, the groll that were killed in the strugglest night. The des and spears were made by cutting the horns of the groll. They weren¡¯t long enough but they were appropriate as a temporary measure.
Jung Heewon smiled like she was satisfied.
¡°Isn¡¯t this much lighter and durable?¡±
¡°Ah... Dokja-ssi, Hyunsung-ssi. Thank you very much.¡±
Yoo Sangah bowed. The groll¡¯s horn couldn¡¯t be used to make a blunt weapon so only Lee Gilyoung was still carrying a weapon from a ground rat. Lee Gilyoung was silently gazing at the ground. This sulking child... I stroked his head and said.
¡°It won¡¯t be easy. This situation can be more dangerous than yesterday. Are you all ready?¡±
The party members nodded.
¡°Then we will start.¡±
From now on, it was a fight against time. We had to work as quickly as possible before the Landlord Alliance noticed the situation. Jung Heewon, Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung disappeared to their respective floors for their missions, while I started climbing the stairs with Lee Hyunsung.
Lee Hyunsung spoke in a voice without any confidence.
¡°Dokja-ssi, I am unsure.¡±
...He was the core of this operation. He shouldn¡¯t be talking like this. I deliberately answered in a strong voice.
¡°It will be fine.¡±
However, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s face was still timid.
¡°I think that people are relying on me more than they should. I¡¯m not sure I can do well.¡±
¡°Hyunsung-ssi is a dependable person.¡±
¡°...Thank you for saying so. In fact, this is my first experience. When I was in the army, I never got someone¡¯s trust like this.¡±
It was the first time I¡¯ve heard this story. That reminded me, I didn¡¯t really know about Lee Hyunsung¡¯s army life. Ways of Survival only mentioned it in passing.
¡°Once this is over, I want to hear Hyunsung-ssi¡¯s story.¡±
I said it casually but Lee Hyunsung was more shaken than I thought.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has started to open his heart to you.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has greatly increased.]
¡°Sometimes I feel strange when talking to Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Huh? Why...?¡±
¡°It seems like you knew me from a long time ago... I can¡¯t exin it well...¡± Lee Hyunsung scratched his head and trailed off. ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t mean anything strange. I just...¡±
¡°I know what you mean.¡±
¡°Thank you. I¡¯m also curious about Dokja-ssi¡¯s story.¡±
¡°My story?¡±
¡°Yes. I have never seen a person like Dokja-ssi before. I¡¯m curious about what you did before this happened.¡±
Somehow, I felt a bit strange. The ¡®supporting cast¡¯ of the novel I read was curious about me. I had a bit ufortable and had an itchy feeling.
¡°It isn¡¯t very interesting.¡±
¡°I still want to hear it.¡±
Suddenly, a question popped into my head.
If Ways of Survival hadn¡¯t be reality, would Lee Hyunsung be living in the same world as me? Or did the novel suddenly emerge as a reality? I didn¡¯t know. One thing was for sure. Lee Hyunsung was now a ¡®living person¡¯ in front of me.
¡°Oh, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s friend. Did youe to negotiate?¡±
At this time, a number of middle-aged men came forward. Chungmuro¡¯s Landlord Alliance.
¡°Hmm...but where are the women?¡±
The middle-aged man who spoke was holding a woman by her hair. She was part of the group that had been in the five spaces green zone just yesterday. The manughed at my gaze.
¡°Ahh, this friend didn¡¯t see hernd... This matter doesn¡¯t concern you.¡±
¡°S-Save me. Help me!¡±
The woman was gazing at me pitifully. In my head, the constetions of the ¡®absolute good¡¯ started moring. But I waited. It was because I had someone who would act instead of me.
¡°Let her go.¡±
It was Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Who are you?¡±
Lee Hyunsung looked at me after the middle-aged man¡¯s question. It was like he was asking for permission. I nodded.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ wants to practice justice of his own will.]
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ is about to evolve.]
The allied members pulled out their weapons and exerted a tremendous momentum. I checked the time. It was time to begin. I raised my stats with my coins.
[1,200 coins have been invested into ¡®stamina¡¯.]
[Stamina Lv. 15 -> Stamina Lv. 18]
[Your stamina level has increased dramatically!]
[1,200 coins have been invested into ¡®strength¡¯.]
[Strength Lv. 15 -> Strength Lv. 18]
[Your strength level has increased dramatically!]
This was the maximum efficiency with minimal investment.
[Coins Possessed: 20,450 C]
I had another ce to spend the remaining coins.
Kwaaaang!
Small sts were heard all over the subway. A big and small uproar followed. It was the signal.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi!¡±
Lee Hyunsung nodded. We ran forward towards the men in the front row. The confused alliance members shouted.
¡°What, you bastards!¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®White Pure Star Energy¡¯ has been activated.]
Sukakak!
¡°Kyaaak!¡±
The arm of the middle-aged man holding the woman¡¯s head flew away. The middle-aged men froze at the blood that emerged. Lee Hyunsung and I ignored them and kept running. The middle-aged men btedly chased after us.
¡°These crazy guys! Stop them!¡±
A corridor on B2. It was the privatend of Gong Pildu.
[You have invaded private property!]
¡°Surround them!¡±
The alliance members waiting in front discovered us. Some of the alliance members were missing, so there were less than expected. 20 in the back, 12 in the back. However, it was still a lot of people.
Well, I had no intention of dealing with all of them.
The moment I was about to sh with the alliance members, Lee Hyunsung moved ahead of me with a steel shield.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has used the stigma ¡®Great Mountain Push Lv. 1.¡¯]
Kwakakakak!
Lee Hyunsung used his tremendous muscle strength and they fell like dominoes.
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has activated ¡®Armed Zone Lv. 4!]
Turrets started to rise from all over the territory. The turrets were charged with red magic bullets and were prepared to fire. There were five mini-turrets. The level of Armed Zone had rised again.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
I overtook Lee Hyunsung and at the same time, I received his shield. As soon as the solid shield entered my hand, a stunning shock from a bullet pushed me away.
Kwang!Kwaang!Kwaang!
It was heavy, as if I was hit by a cannon. The arm holding the shield was in pain. The level 19 magic power was strong. But I had to hold on.
[Thepensation effect of Unbroken Faith has increased stamina to level 20.]
[A toughness that is one step higher has protected your body.]
¡°A cheeky tenant is here.¡±
Beyond the voice, I heard Gong Pildu¡¯s gruff voice.
Our feet were tied up by the powerful magic bullets while the alliance members were still chasing us. The durability of the iron shield was falling. Now it could only block a dozen magic bullets in the future.
Gong Pildu spoke like it was interesting.
¡°I don¡¯t think you came here to pay a fine. What is going on?¡±
¡°Now I will quit being a tenant.¡±
¡°How interesting. Are you coveting mynd?¡±
¡°We¡¯ll see. More than that...¡±
[Some of the trespassers¡¯ stats are reduced by the effect of Gong Pildu¡¯s privatend.]
...It had started. This was why Gong Pildu¡¯s power was scary. The special effect of Armed Zone was a ¡®privatend debuff.¡¯
Red magic power started condensing on the turrets.
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ is preparing the ¡®strengthened magic bullets.¡¯
As long as thebo of ¡®privatend¡¯ and ¡®armed zone¡¯ wasn¡¯t broken, there were very few incarnations who could deal with Gong Pildu.
¡°Die.¡±
The moment that the enhanced magic bullets were about to beunched, I heard the screams of people from far away. The woundedndlord alliance members were rushing to this side.
¡°P-Pildu-ssi! Thend...!¡±
There were signs they were injured by something sharp. Lee Jihye had moved. Now was the time. I looked at Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi, now.¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s eyes were shaking.
¡°Smash it.¡±
Lee Hyunsung raised his fists up high. He looked uneasy and irritated, but there was also a firm determination not to retreat.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has evolved.]
There was a blinding light and silver aura started to appear around Lee Hyunsung¡¯s bdoy.
I was a bit emotional at the sight. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s ¡®character evolution¡¯ was one of the scenes I liked most in Ways of Survival. It was the reason why Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung was called one of the strongest supporting characters. That is¨D
[Due to the character evolution, a new stigma has been opened.]
When it came to ¡®one blow¡¯, Lee Hyunsung was considered one of the strongest in Ways of Survival.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has used the stigma ¡®Great Mountain Smash Lv. 1.¡¯]
Pale magic power gathered around Lee Hyunsung¡¯s fist and within seconds, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s arms became big enough to transcendmon sense.
¡°Haaaat!¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s fists mmed down onto the ground.
Kwaaaaang!
There was a loud sound and the fragments of the broken floor scattered in the air. The alliance members screamed.
¡°W-What?¡±
Jjejejejeok!
Dangerous cracks spread across the ground and the positions of the turrets started to twist. The magic bullets were fired towards the wrong ce. An explosion spread and dust clouds rose. Then after a while.
Ku ku ku ku!
There was a great vibration and the ground of B2 started to copse.
[The green zone has been destroyed.]
[The character Gong Pildu¡¯s privatend has been destroyed.]
I looked at the copsing ground and grinned towards Gong Pildu.
¡°Let¡¯s go back to the days when we didn¡¯t have our ownnd.¡±
Chapter 34
Episode 8 ¨C Emergency Defense (3)
I couldn¡¯t kill Gong Pildu because he was useful in future scenarios, but I needed Gong Pildu to leave hisnd.
This was a difficult dilemma so I focused on the premise of the dilemma. For example if he was on ¡®privatend¡¯ then I had to destroy the privatend.
¡°Uhh... h-he is out.¡±
¡°This dog...¡±
However, using this method required strong force. An overwhelming force that could destroy a ¡®huge¡¯ privatend in one blow. That¡¯s why I hastened to evolve Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Eeeeok...!¡±
The people who fell down to the third underground floor groaned with pain.
The operation was a sess.
The green zones disappeared and thendlords lost their ¡®rooms.¡¯ Gong Pildu¡¯s face was covered with dust and looking this way. As he was about to open his mouth, Bihyung¡¯s voice entered their ears.
[What are you doing now? Waaah!]
¡®Be quiet.¡¯
[Crazy bastard! The dokkaebis of Chungmuro are freaking out because of you!]
I had a headache from the messages of the constetions that rang in my head.
[The constetion Prisoner of the Golden Headband likes your recklessness.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ likes your revolution.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ likes the destruction and chaos.]
[300 coins have been sponsored.]
¡°Y-You bastard!¡±
¡°Kill them!¡±
The alliance members shouted at us. I started running down to the tform with Lee Hyunsung.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character List]
Name: Lee Hyunsung
Attribute: Person who has Regained Justice (Rare)
Stigma: Great Mountain Smash Lv. 1, Great Mountain Push Lv. 2.
Exclusive Skills: Bay Skills Lv. 2, Camouge Lv. 2, Patience Lv. 1, Sense of Justice Lv. 2, Weapons Training Lv. 3.
+
The evolution of Lee Hyunsung was sessful. Strictly speaking, it was just the start. But the fact that Lee Hyunsung could use Great Mountain Smash would quickly enhance the power of the party.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi, how many more times can you use it?¡±
¡°...Probably once or twice more.¡±
Lee Hyunsung was gasping for breath and obviously quite worn out.
It was natural. The Great Mountain Smash stigma was an ultimate skill that consumed a tremendous amount of stamina and magic power. There weren¡¯t many skills that exceeded Great Mountain Smash when it came to pure physical force among the physical reinforcement type skills.
The group of people scattered all over the ce seemed to be running in this direction. I asked Yoo Sangah who was running in the front.
¡°Was there anywhere you couldn¡¯t break?¡±
¡°I broke both of them!¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t realize the rooms could be broken like this. We banged hard on the ground together and it smashed...¡±
Jung Heewon followed.
Yoo Sangah, Jung Heewon and Lee Gilyoung took out the small green zones. Most of the green zones fit three or fewer people, apart from Gong Pildu¡¯s green zone. There was some was an ambiguous scale but there was a separate person handling those.
[Hey! Can¡¯t you hear me? What are you going to do now?]
On the other hand, Bihyung was still shouting across the ¡®dokkaebimunication¡¯.
¡®What are you worried about?¡¯
[Have you forgotten? I¡¯m don¡¯t have the only channel in Chungmuro. Do you really not know what will happen if you do this?]
Of course I knew. Maybe the constetions in the channel with Gong Pildu would be in a frenzy right now.
¡®What channel is Gong Pildu in?¡¯
[...Biryu¡¯s channel. BIR-3642.]
¡®Biryu is the one who came while you were busy for a bit?¡¯
[That¡¯s right. That asshole.]
¡®How is his subscription configured?¡¯
[It is the gship channel for the ¡®finding amusement¡¯ group.]
The dokkaebis whose main purpose was to find amusement. That¡¯s why their broadcasts were radical. Great. Then the response within the channel would be much hotter than expected. Everyone would¡¯ve eaten the sweet potatoes properly.
I headed down the stairs of the transfer corridor to line 4 and saw a wee face. The de was moving through the air.
¡°You broke them?¡±
¡°Yes. It was easy.¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s role was to take out the green zones that contained five to eight people. It was a task that Jung Heewon would find hard to do alone. Indeed, she was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s disciple and was the incarnation of the sage hero. Now there were no more green zones left in Chungmuro.
¡°Now what? Those jerks wille running wildly. Ah, there they are.¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s expression twisted as she looked behind me.
¡°I¡¯m not going to help you this time.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡±
Jung Heewon scowled as she watched Lee Jihye retreating.
¡°What is with her?¡±
Come to think of it, Jung Heewon didn¡¯t know about Lee Jihye. But there was no time to tell her.
[Haha... you are fucked now.]
A message was heard along with Bihyung¡¯s words.
[A bounty scenario has urred!]
+
[Bounty Scenario ¨C Assassination Commission]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: C
Clear Conditions: The constetions of Channel #BIR-3642 have requested to kill a certain person. Please kill ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ of Chungmuro Station.
Time Limit: 10 minutes.
Compensation: 2,000 coins.
Failure: None
+
I thought this situation would unfold. It was going to be a lot of fun. Now all the incarnations in the region would gather on the tform of line 3 to catch me. Jung Heewon asked by his side.
¡°I will receive 2,000 coins if I kill Dokja-ssi right now?¡±
¡°Why, are you going to kill me?¡±
¡°Aye, perhaps. If you give me 200,000 coins then I don¡¯t know.¡±
Does this girl know how much 200,000 coins were worth?
¡°Dokja-ssi. Go behind me.¡±
Lee Hyunsung stepped out ahead of me. Jung Heewon stayed beside me while Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung moved to block any ess. It was a defense formed around me. Jung Heewon smiled.
¡°Now I can pay back my debt.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, we¡¯ll try to block it somehow.¡±
There were people showing hostility around us. The angryndowners and the tenants were blinded by the bounty quest. I watched Lee Gilyoung holding the weapon and opened my mouth.
¡°Don¡¯t be nervous.¡±
I lightly stroked Lee Gilyoung¡¯s shoulder and moved towards the railway tracks.
¡°We don¡¯t have to fight them.¡±
It was a few turns. I had read about such a scene. I didn¡¯t have time to check which regression it was but Yoo Jonghyuk had destroyed the green zones as soon as he arrived at Chungmuro.
Even then, it was like the current situation.
[All green zones in this region have been destroyed and the main scenario has copsed.]
[The difficulty is automatically adjusted ording to the remaining schedule of the scenario.]
[The scenario content is updated!]
+
[Main Scenario #3 ¨C Emergency Defense]
Category: Main
Difficulty: B-
Clear Conditions: All the green zones in the region are destroyed and the monsters that were going to be created in the remaining days have suddenly run wild. Survive against the flood of monsters for the remaining time.
Duration: 8 hours.
Compensation: 1,000 coins.
Failure: ¨D
+
Originally, there were three days remaining in the scenario.
Now the monsters supposed to be created during the remaining time of the green zone scenario would emerge all at once. In other words, it was simple.
[The emergency defense has begun!]
The defense game had started.
¡°W-What?¡±
The people approaching me started screaming. The cries of monsters were heard from outside the screen door. The feast of monsters moved like an angry wave.
¡°Crazy! What the hell is this?¡±
The tform of line 3 quickly became a mess. The faces of the people became spective as they watched the monstersing from all sides. The bounty scenario waspletely forgotten about.
Grrrr!
A few grolls ran and bit some of the alliance members. The upset people were shouting.
Now was the only chance. I shouted to my party.
¡°Go to the transfer route!¡±
I started jumping up the transit stairs with my friends. By the time we reached the upper level, people were blocking the path.
¡°What? Get out of the way!¡±
¡°Do you want to fall?¡±
I kicked some of the followers and pulled out a de. The people were surprised by the White Pure Star Energy de and backed away.
¡°You haven¡¯t grasped the situation yet.¡±
¡°W-What?¡±
¡°Even if youe up, you won¡¯t be able to survive.¡±
There was a sense of despair in the expressions of the people. There were no more rooms. Now there were no more safe zones from the monsters in Chungmuro.
¡°What should we do?¡±
¡°What else? Fight.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t speak crazy words! This is all because of you! If you hadn¡¯t broken our rooms...!¡±
I triggered the de of Faith and used it on the transfer stairs.
Kwarurung!
¡°Uwaaaaack!¡±
The centre of the staircase fell with arge sound, along with the people. It was cruel but necessary.
¡°Crazy! Quickly find another staircase! Quickly!¡±
Well, I don¡¯t think it would happen.
Lee Hyunsung was already running. I smashed the transit stairs we came up on and there was only one staircase remaining. Subsequently, the sound of arguing and something breaking was heard on the other side.
¡°Shit! Waaah!¡±
The cries of the people trapped on the tform of line 3 were heard. Lee Jihye approached me and asked.
¡°Ahjussi. This isn¡¯t what you told me. If you leave it like this...¡±
¡°I know.¡±
I looked at the lower floor that was bing pandemonium. If I left it like this, they would all be killed. Whether it was from the monsters or using each other¡¯s bodies as a stepping stone toe upstairs.
This wasn¡¯t what I wanted.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ can now be activated.]
[¡®Character Bookmarks¡¯ is activated.]
[Avable Bookmark Slots: 3]
[Bringing up the list of avable bookmarks.]
[People Listed in the Bookmark Slots]
The Delusion Demon Kim Namwoon (Understanding 35).Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung (Understanding 65).Demagogue Cheon Inho (Understanding 20).
I activated the third bookmark.
[The number three bookmark has been activated.]
[The level of the Bookmark skill is low, shortening the activation time.]
[Activation Time: 5 minutes.]
[Your understanding of the character is low, so only a part of the character¡¯s skill is activated.]
[Incite Lv.2 has been activated.]
Suddenly, it felt like my tongue wasing alive on its own. This was how Cheon Inho felt. I looked downstairs. In the middle of the mess, I could see a middle-aged man.
¡°Hey Gong Pildu. How long are you going to stand there?¡±
Gong Pildu red at me.
¡°This dog...!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you have to act in order to live? If you move, everyone else can live.¡±
The power of Incite permeated the ears of all the frightened people.
¡°P-Pildu-ssi!¡±
¡°P-Pildu-ssi, please save us!¡±
Gong Pildu¡¯s expression distorted. I felt good. This was what Cheon Inho would¡¯ve felt at Gumho Station.
¡°The third scenario isn¡¯t as hard as you think. Once everyone gives up on the rooms and participates in the defense, there are enough people to handle the monsters.¡±
My words were half true. If Chungmuro had united before I arrived here, there would be far less victims. After all, the biggest pitfall of this scenario was the green zone.
¡°If Gong Pildu fights with the people, you can survive.¡±
Those who fight together would survive, those who ran away would die.
[The sponsor behind Lee Jihye agrees with your wisdom.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ nods his head.]
¡°Now there are no rooms for you to run away to. Forget about whether you are andlord or tenant and fight. Or you will all die.¡±
The more urgent the situation was, the more the effect of Incite would increase.
¡°Damn, this fucking guy...!¡±
¡°Pildu-ssi! Please help us!¡±
The alliance members gathered around Gong Pildu. If he ran away here alone, Gong Pildu¡¯s Landlord Alliance would copse. In the end Gong Pildu made his decision.
¡°Dammit... Everybody gather here!¡±
The people downstairs started gathering around Gong Pildu.
¡°I need time to install a new Armed Zone. Everybody just hang on!¡±
The key was Gong Pildu¡¯s Armed Zone. However, the weak point was that Armed Zone took time to install every time it moved.
Blood sttered everywhere and people screamed as their limbs were torn off.
¡°Aaaagh!¡±
As expected, the first ones who abandoned the formation were the tenants, not the alliance members.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes. Please leave it to me.¡±
I didn¡¯t need to exin it. Yoo Sangah already understood what she needed to do.
Her Binding Thread stretched out and started to rescue the people who couldn¡¯t fight anymore. In any case, their mission was to buy time for Gong Pildu to deploy Armed Zone.
¡°U-Uhh... t-thank you.¡±
The tenants hung from the threat and were pulled upstairs.
The rescued tenants were shaking as they wrapped up their injured area. In the meantime, some of the people with weapons carefully looked at me. I smiled at them and said.
¡°Oh, do you want the bounty?¡±
[The time limit for the bounty scenario has expired.]
[The bounty hanging on Kim Dokja has been destroyed.]
¡°Sorry, it is toote.¡±
¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡±
The tenants seemed ashamed as they put away their weapons. I heard Gong Pildu¡¯s voice roaring from the bottom.
¡°Out of the way!¡±
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has used Armed Zone Lv. 3!]
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has activated ¡®Armed Zone Lv. 4!]
There was a mechanical sound as five turrets rose from the ground. The red magic bullets condensed in a short time and started firing.
Dududududu!
Kwang!Kwaang!Kwaang!
The ground rats screamed as they were hit by the bombardment of magic bullets while the grolls came to a halt. The group of people cried out.
¡°As expected of Pildu-ssi!¡±
¡°Wahhhh!¡±
It was truly Gong Pildu. In a defense type scenario, there was no incarnation that surpassed a yer¡¯sbat effectiveness.
The 10 Evils weren¡¯t called that for nothing.
¡°All of you damn scum disappear!¡±
The agitated Gong Pildu randomly fired. Lee Hyunsung spoke with admiration.
¡°It is a really tremendous stigma. Is it okay when the magic power consumption is so big?¡±
¡°It is a good stigma so it will be okay for a while.¡±
¡°Should we help...?¡±
¡°Gong Pildu alone is sufficient. If we do down then he will be distracted and stop shooting.¡±
The Defense Master sponsor behind Gong Pildu waspletely suited for this type of scenario. As long as he supported Gong Pildu, Gong Pildu wouldn¡¯t die here. As long as the sponsorship continued.
I sat down and stretched out my legs.
¡°We will be sucking honey for a while.¡±
¡°...Is it time for personal maintenance already?¡±
Lee Hyunsung sat down with me and the party members started to rx one by one. Jung Heewon asked.
¡°Thank you. I didn¡¯t get enough sleep... can I sleep now?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
10 minutester, Jung Heewon was lying on the ground and snoring. I said yes but I really didn¡¯t know how she could sleep so easily.
¡°A-Aren¡¯t we too easygoing?¡±
Yoo Sangah sounded concerned. Indeed, it would be confusing. There wasn¡¯t a ¡®scenario¡¯ like this so far. In fact, all we did was survive the brink of a crisis.
¡°Think of it as standing on the right line.¡±
¡°Then over there...¡±
¡°They got the wrong line.¡±
The confusion on the lower level had almost died down because of Gong Pildu.
Dududududu!
¡°Uwaaaaah!¡±
He should¡¯ve lived a better life.
¡°Fuck! Fuuuuuckers!¡±
In the midst of the endless procession of monsters, Gong Pildu¡¯s screams echoed.
Chapter 35
Episode 8 ¨C Emergency Defense (4)
One hour after the battle began, Gong Pildu fought and fought. The number of monsters had barely decreased but it was still great. Gong Pildu was considered to have the strongest defense among the 10 Evils for a reason.
¡°You scum!¡±
[The character Gong Pildu¡¯s Armed Zone has levelled up.
[The character Gong Pildu¡¯s Private Land has levelled up!]
[The character Gong Pildu has acquired the Protective Wall skill.]
The level up speed of Armed Zone was fast. The sponsor behind Gong Pildu was rushing to support his growth. If he could survive here, Gong Pildu¡¯s growth would be enormous.
As long as he could survive here.
¡°Uhweeeh...!¡±
ording to the scenario, Gong Pildu had to hold on for seven more hours. It would¡¯ve been nice if I had popcorn. Too bad.
Lee Jihye was giggling next to me as she watched the bottom floor. She told me earlier that I should save them... it was truly a transformation in the disposition of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s disciple.
¡°By the way, why isn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk here?
¡°How should I know? Master is always busy.¡±
Busy... yes, he might be busy. The person trying to be all alone was the busiest.
I looked down at the dying Gong Pildu as I asked, ¡°What time did Yoo Jonghyuk enter the dungeon?¡±
¡°It is roughly 9 a.m. today...¡± Lee Jihye stopped speaking and stared at me. ¡°...Wait a minute, how do you know that Master entered a dungeon?¡±
I ignored Lee Jihye and calcted the time. Now it was 8 p.m. Using simple calctions, it had already been over 11 hours since Yoo Jonghyuk entered. Yet he still hadn¡¯te out...
Damn, I had to move. Yoo Jonghyuk was the main character and it would be difficult if something happened to him.
I opened the dokkaebimunication.
¡®Bihyung.¡¯
Bihyung floating in the air turned to look at me.
[What is it? Calling me so suddenly.]
¡®Open the Dokkaebi Bag.¡¯
[What? N-No! I am currently getting a lot of subscriptions!]
I know. My stock price was rising due to my actions with Gong Pildu. My actions ofying a trap and then sitting back meant the constetions of the ¡®fun seekers¡¯ group wouldn¡¯t still be on the channel which Gong Pildu belonged to.
Where would the constetions go after leaving the channel?
[New constetions have entered the channel!]
It was naturally Bihyung¡¯s channel.
[#BI-7623 channel is ready for an expansion.]
[Huhu, huhuhut, look at this, look at this! Now my channel is also...!]
It wasn¡¯t unreasonable for Bihyung to be acting like this. But this wasn¡¯t the time for amusement.
¡®If you don¡¯t want your channel to be ruined, open it quickly. You can see that there will be an advertisement in preparation for the channel expansion.¡¯
[Ah, shit... really...]
Bihyung grumbled but opened the Dokkaebi Bag after showing an advertisement. It was finally time to use the coins I had saved.
¡®I¡¯ll give you 5,000 coins. Upgrade me to a gold member.¡¯
Bihyung stared at me quietly and sighed. It was followed by system messages.
[5,000 coins have been consumed.]
[Congrattions! You have be a gold member of the Dokkaebi Bag!]
My member rating changed and the background of the Dokkaebi Bag also changed. Coins were really good. New item listings were added. I put the necessary items into the shopping cart.
* Behind the Scenes Contract ¨C 10,000 C.
* Intermediate Magic Power Recovery Potion X 10 ¨C 5,000 C.
One contract and 10 intermediate potions... this should be enough.
The spending was a bit big but the channel was going to be expanded. It wouldn¡¯t be long before I recovered it. Bihyung was nervous when he saw the items I bought.
[...Why is there a contract? Have you already forgotten the terms? You can¡¯t have a sponsor!]
¡®What do you mean? Why would I get a sponsor now?¡¯¡¯
Even if I was doing that, why would I buy the contract with my own coins? At any rate, this Bihyung still needed a lot of work.
[15,000 coins have been consumed.]
[A ¡®Behind the Scenes Contract¡¯ has been acquired.]
[10 Intermediate Magic Power Recovery Potions have been acquired.]
Yoo Sangah showed curiosity when the items appeared out of thin air.
¡°What is that?¡±
¡°A contract to make a ¡®gap¡¯ an ¡®eul.¡¯¡±
I filled out the contract carefully, wrote my name in the ¡®gap¡¯ section and waited quietly. It was time for the ¡®eul¡¯ toe.
[The sponsor for character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ is asking for help from nearby constetions.]
Finally, the sponsor behind Gong Pildu reached his limits and started sending messages outside the channel. It was natural since the sponsor didn¡¯t have many coins in the first ce. Not everybody was rich just because they were a constetion.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ scoffs.]
The other constetions in Gong Pildu¡¯s channel would¡¯ve stopped sponsoring and the incarnation was dying... everything was going ording to n.
Bihyung noticed something and muttered.
[Wait a minute, surely you aren¡¯t...]
I talked towards Gong Pildu, who was in a half dead state.
¡°Hey, you over there.¡±
Dududududu! Gong Pildu fired crazily and looked up at me while breathing heavily.
¡°Will you die like this or will you sign a contract with me?¡±
¡°W-What...?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a constetion so I can¡¯t be a sponsor. But if you want, I can be a person behind the scenes. How about it?¡±
¡°What is this bastard talking about...?¡±
¡°Gong Pildu, shut up. I¡¯m not talking to you.¡±
¡°What...?¡±
I waved the ¡®contract¡¯ in one hand and the ¡®Intermediate Magic Power Recovery Potion¡¯ in the other hand.
¡°Answer quickly. I will give these items to you if you sign with me.¡±
A message window shed in front of me.
[The sponsor behind character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has revealed himself.]
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ is looking at you like you are crazy.]
Indeed. He wasn¡¯t yet ready to be an ¡®eul.¡¯ Don¡¯t worry. He would be in a hurry as time passed.
Bihyung was watching me.
[You... are you crazy?]
¡®This one as well.¡¯
[You are the first to try and support a constetion.]
¡®I can¡¯t do it?¡¯
[This is a constetion! Will it sign with an insignificant human?]
¡®That is just your thoughts.¡¯
The intermediate constetion, Defense Master. He was a low level constetionpared to his ability.
His world had long be a ¡®scenario¡¯ and waspletely destroyed. Therefore, the Defense Master¡¯s myth was no longer discussed. The myth had disappeared and the constetion couldn¡¯t get coins. One day, even his existence would disappear.
That¡¯s why some constetions, including the Defense Master¡¯ were obsessed with looking for an ¡®incarnation¡¯. The constetions were remembered in the world through their chosen incarnation.
¡®That guy, he doesn¡¯t have any coins left.¡¯
[What?]
Gong Pildu¡¯s power had fallen sharplypared to before. Unlike the ¡®Monarch of the Small Fries¡¯, the Defense Master was someone who cared about his incarnation. The fact that Gong Pildu was going to die meant he had run out of coins.
It was obvious but without coins, a new ¡®sponsor contract¡¯ was impossible. Then what happened to a constetion who couldn¡¯t create a new incarnation?
¡®Once Gong Pildu dies, that guy will be forgotten.¡¯
For a constetion, being forgotten meant death.
Faint fear filled Bihyung¡¯s eyes.
[You are...?]
Gong Pildu was a great card if I could afford it. Even Yoo Jonghyuk had attempted to subjugate Gong Pildu several times in countless regressions. Of course, he had never been sessful.
Yoo Sangah spoke.
¡°Dokja-ssi, that person will die.¡±
Gong Pildu was biting his lips so hard that blood was flowing. Now there were only two mini-turrets left in Armed Zone. It was time to end this.
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ is wondering about the contents of the contract.]
He wasing. Bihyung¡¯s eyes widened at the sight in front of him.
[...Really? No, is this real?]
I showed the contract immediately.
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ has started reading the contract.]
Gong Pildu, who was shedding blood on the lower floor, suddenly shouted. He had probably heard a message from his sponsor.
¡°W-What? What is this message?¡±
What? He was being sold.
¡°W-What is going on Pildu-ssi?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ is asking for some time to think.]
After a while, I heard some good news.
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ as added a condition to the contract.]
[If you agree with this condition, the constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ will agree to contract with you.]
I immediately read the contract.
.......
14. Incarnation Kim Dokja (Gap) recognizes the property rights of Constetion Defense Master (Eul)and should ensure the survival of ¡®Gong Pildu.¡¯
15. Incarnation Kim Dokja (Gap) should help Constetion Defense Master (Eul) so that his private property ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ grows well.
.......
Guaranteeing Gong Pildu¡¯s life and his growth. In fact, this didn¡¯t need to be included. It was natural for Gong Pildu not to die if the contract was signed. The only thing that mattered for me was the third condition.
3. Incarnation Kim Dokja (Gap) has amand authority over ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯, the private property of Constetion Defense Master (Up to 10 times a day).
I checked the contract and nodded.
¡°I will sign the contract.¡±
Before long, a faint thread connected me and Gong Pildu. Then system messages were heard.
[The contract has beenpleted.]
[You have be the co-sponsor of ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ due to the contract.]
[Due to the contract, you have been given the right tomand incarnation ¡®Gong Pildu.¡¯]
[The duration of the contract is five years and it won¡¯t be automatically renewed.]
Yoo Jonghyuk would be stunned if he knew that Gong Pildu could be obtained so easily. If I hadn¡¯t read to thetter half of Ways of Survival, I wouldn¡¯t have known to use the Behind the Scenes Contract this way.
I handed the recovery potions to Yoo Sangah.
¡°Give this to Gong Pildu. You should give him one every 40 minutes.¡±
¡°...It is okay to give to him?¡±
She had to give it. If not, this main scenario wouldn¡¯t be cleared. Gong Pildu was confused after Yoo Sangah handed him a potion.
¡°What is this?¡±
¡°Drink it and fight.¡±
Gong Pildu was suspicious for a moment but soon opened the potion¡¯s lid. Blue smoke emerged around his body and the destroyed turrets returned to their original appearance.
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ haspletely recovered his magic power.]
Gong Pildu wiped the potion stained lips and looked up at me.
¡°Stupid guy. Do you think I will forgive you because of this? Once I get out of here, it will be your end...¡±
¡°Shut up, Gong Pildu.¡±
[Under the terms of the contract, ¡®Command Rights¡¯ is activated!]
¡°O-Oof? Oof oof oof?¡±
Poor guy, he didn¡¯t even know what situation he was in.
¡°Fight hard. Don¡¯t touch my party members.¡±
¡°Hup...! Oof oof...!¡±
Dududududu!
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes widened when she saw Gong Pildu listened to my orders.
¡°D-Dokja-ssi? W-Why is that person...?¡±
¡°I made a ¡®gap¡¯ into an ¡®eul.¡±
¡°...Did you write something?¡±
¡°Now you can rest assured about Gong Pildu.¡±
Then the bombardment of messages from the constetions poured out.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ finds your idea interesting.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has dropped his stick at your strategy.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ thinks that you are impudent.]
......
I had secretly signed the contract but these guys already noticed. The Defense Master was only intermediate level but he was still a constetion.
A mere human became a co-sponsor with a constetion, the impact on the constetions would be enormous. There would be a bacsh among those like the Abyssal ck me Dragon. But.
[Many constetions are paying attention to you.]
[A number of constetions want to be your sponsor.]
The constetions who realized my value were overwhelminglyrger. If they became my sponsor, they would be able to use the power of Defense Master.
Then the owner of Gong Pildu¡¯s channel, Dokkaebi Biryu appeared in the air.
[Constetions! W-Why... are you suddenly leaving? D-Don¡¯t go! Just wait a little longer...!]
Biryu, whose channel was being ruined, made a desperate appeal. It was the dokkaebi who created the food penalty and ¡®survival cost¡¯ in Gumho Station.
[H-Hiiik! N-No...]
Dokkaebi Biryu gradually blurred and disappeared.
[Channel # BIR-3642 has been forced to leave after having the subscriptions reduced.]
Bihyung muttered in a trembling voice after seeing one channel falling to ruin.
[Excuse me... Dokja-nim?]
¡®What is it?¡¯
[You... were you aiming for Gong Pildu from the beginning?]
I shrugged.
[Crazy... human... what human did I sign with?]
Bihyung couldn¡¯t close his mouth. I didn¡¯t care. This ce was organized and I needed to move on to the next ce.
I spoke to the bewildered party members who still hadn¡¯t grasped the situation.
¡°Everyone. I¡¯m sorry but I have to leave for a while.¡¯
¡°Huh? Now?¡±
¡°There is a ce I urgently need to go to. Hyunsung-ssi and Yoo Sangah-ssi, please stay here. You don¡¯t have to do anything. Just throw Pildu a potion until the end of the scenario and rx.¡±
Jung Heewon asked, ¡°What about Gilyoung and I?¡±
¡°You wille with me.¡±
¡°To where?¡±
¡°Um... it is hard to exin but there is a bad guy.¡±
¡°A bad guy?¡±
¡°Yes. A bad person who disappeared to eat items alone, regardless if people die or not. From now on, I am going to hit him in the back of the head.¡±
It was very hard. Jung Heewon thought for a moment before asking.
¡°...Is he worse than Gong Pildu?¡±
I contemted for a moment before replying.
¡°He is much worse.¡±
¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll exin the detailster.¡±
I moved with Jung Heewon and Lee Gilyoung. Then somebody grabbed my shoulder. It was Lee Jihye
¡°Wait, where are you going right now?¡±
In any case, this was good.
¡°Great. You cane along.¡±
¡°Where are you going?¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk is in danger.¡±
Lee Jihyeughed like she thought I was joking.
¡°What nonsense are you saying? Master is in danger?¡±
My expression remained serious and Lee Jihye¡¯sughter soon disappeared.
¡°...Are you serious? No, how do you know this?¡±
How did I know? Perhaps I was the world¡¯s foremost, no the second highest authority who knew her master.
I checked the time.
¡°That jerk, he went to the hidden dungeon at Exit 1?¡±
¡°U-Uh?¡±
¡°And it has been 11 hours since he entered?¡±
¡°Uhhh...¡± Lee Jihye spoke nkly.
I remembered that Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ had attacked Chungmuro¡¯s ¡®hidden dungeon¡¯ a total of eight years. He failed twice and seeded six times. The problem was that the two failures were concentrated in his early regressions. The 8th turn and the 11th turn.
During the 8th regression, Yoo Jonghyuk died in Chungmuro¡¯s hidden dungeon.
But the current Yoo Jonghyuk was... the third turn.
¡°At this rate, Yoo Jonghyuk will die today.¡±
If my guess was right, our damn regressor would be on the ¡®sunfish route¡¯.
(TL Note: Seems to be based on the game ¡®Survive! M M! where you have to make a sunfish survive troubles in the sea. But the sunfish gets started and dies because of almost anything.)
Chapter 36
Episode 9 ¨C Omniscient Sunfish (1)
After a while, we moved towards the entrance of the ¡®hidden dungeon¡¯ on the first underground floor. I walked behind Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung and Jung Heewon while looking at my smartphone.
¡¸...In the midst of the splitting headache, Yoo Jonghyuk came to his senses.
¡®Give up on this life.¡¯
This was the end of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eighth life. ¡¹
It couldn¡¯t be. This hadn¡¯t happened yet.
...Shit, why was this guy doing this on only the third life? If he moved carefully like his second life, he would¡¯ve passed through the mid-tote scenarios.
I raised my eyes to see Jung Heewon looking at me.
¡°Dokja-ssi, what are you looking at?¡±
¡°...Ah, the calendar... This situation has made me lose my sense of the date.¡±
I actually thought it might be more interesting to look at the calender. Sometimes I wondered how I finished reading this novel.
Jung Heewon looked at me suspiciously before turning her head towards Lee Jihye.
¡°Then... did you say your name was Jihye? Do you also use a sword?¡±
¡°Yes. I like the sword.¡±
¡°Right? The sword is the best. It has a good taste.¡±
¡°...Unni also knows the taste?¡±
Jung Heewon smiled as she watched Lee Jihye¡¯s sword. It was a luxurious sword that obviously flowed smoothly. Maybe it was given by Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Your sword looks good.¡±
¡°Ah, Master gave it to me. Unni...?¡±
¡°My one... I-I like mine as well.¡±
Jung Heewon looked down at the groll horn de and then sneaked a peek at the sword on the other person¡¯s waist.
I didn¡¯t do anything wrong but I couldn¡¯t help feeling sorry. I had no choice but to hang something on Lee Jihye.
¡°Hey, why are you talking to Heewon-ssi but ignoring me?¡±
¡°Uh... that, I¡¯m a bit weak to older females.¡±
Lee Jihye responded with a quivering voice and Jung Heewon gave her a headlock, as if Lee Jihye was cute. There seemed to be a connection between the ¡®demon yers.¡¯ Lee Jihye barely escaped from the headlock and asked.
¡°By the way, why are you rescuing Master?¡±
¡°We arepanions.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±
¡°He is a useful guy.¡±
¡°...You sound like Master.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is wondering about your heart.]
Come to think of it, it wasn¡¯t just Lee Jihye but the constetions as well who must be wondering about my actions. He was a guy who would kill me if he got a chance. It was strange that I would run to save him.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ likes your desire to rehabilitate a fallen friend.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
This one misunderstood me. But the Demon-like Judge of Fire... unlike the expectations of the Archangel Uriel, I had a deeply personal reason for saving Yoo Jonghyuk.
It was to prevent him from ¡®regressing¡¯ after his death.
Regression after death. It sounded good. A ¡®regression stigma¡¯ that triggered every time you died. The protagonist had a fraudulent ability.
The problem was that this ability invokedplicated thoughts in the surrounding cast.
¡¸By the way, what happens to the world after you return? ¡¹
A supporting actor had asked this of Yoo Jonghyuk when Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s number of lives had broken into the double digits. I forgot his name but Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s answer from that time was clear.
¡¸ ...I also don¡¯t know. I always choose a world where more people can live. ¡¹
It was usible but in fact, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t know about the world he abandoned. In face, there was no definite theory about what happened to the world in Ways of Survival.
Science, magic, whatever.
This was why I was anxious. What happened to the world after the regressor disappeared?
Would it reset with the regression? Or would a parallel universe branch off? Thetter would be fortunate, but if it was the former...
¡°Hyung?¡±
¡°Ah, yes?¡±
Lee Gilyoung, who was holding the hem of my clothes, looked up at me with anxious eyes.
¡°I think we¡¯re here?¡±
[You are approaching the outside region. Be careful not to leave the scenario area.]
This message popped up. It didn¡¯t matter. Chungmuro¡¯s hidden dungeon was treated as an ¡®inside¡¯ area.
We turned the corner and Exit 1 appeared. A dungeon entrance with an ominous shade greeted us.
[You have found a hidden dungeon!]
[This dungeon has already been discovered by someone. You can¡¯t get the first discovery achievement.]
[A new hidden scenario has arrived!]
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C Theatre Dungeon]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A-
Clear Conditions: Defeat the master of Theatre Dungeon.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: 4,000 coins
Failure: ¨D
+
The surprised Lee Jihye hesitated and stepped back.
¡°...What is this? Theater Dungeon?¡±
Lee Gilyoung looked startled. Well, this must be the first time they encountered a hidden scenario. Jung Heewon also spoke.
¡°A movie theatre as a dungeon... it sounds romantic.¡±
Romantic. This was only because she didn¡¯t know how scary the movie theatre could be. We entered the theatre. The familiar lobby of the multiplex weed us.
[You have entered Theatre Dungeon.]
We were tense as we entered the bleak dungeon. It was a multiplex consisting of nine floors, from B1 to the 8th floor.
¡°Hyung, the posters are torn. Who would do that?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±
I said this but I actually knew the truth.
The core of this ¡®Theatre Dungeon¡¯ were the ¡®posters¡¯ on the wall. Perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk defeated every poster as he went upstairs. His intentions were to sweep up all the rewards.
Except for the torn posters, nothing strange was found on B1. There were no items and no monsters. The only exception was the smashed elevator in one corner with a distrted door.
Lee Jihye asked.
¡°Isn¡¯t this a dungeon? Why isn¡¯t there anything?¡±
¡°Something will appear.¡±
¡°...Do you know something?¡±
¡°A little.¡±
¡°How? Something is fishy about Ahjussi. Is this your second life?¡±
That was her master. But he had lived three times.
Then Jung Heewon said, ¡°It is due to the sponsor behind Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°...Really?¡±
I ignored the two women and tried to move to the ground floor when I was caught by Lee Gilyoung. The cockroach on his head was moving wildly. Lee Jihye drew her sword at almost the same moment I covered her mouth with a hand.
¡°Shhh, there is somebody else besides us.¡±
I breathed out while small sounds started to be heard. Just upstairs. Then... the lobby? I first thought it was Yoo Jonghyuk but it wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice.
¡°...Are you sure? Here... there are a bunch of things.¡±
¡°Yes. I bought the information with 1,000 coins.¡±
¡°The prophets?¡±
¡°Yes. They are disgusting but the information is obvious.¡±
I heard the sound of people talking. We went up the esctor and approached them. It seemed that four people were gathered in the lobby on the 1st floor.
Lee Jihye whispered, ¡°Who are they? I never once saw their faces in Chungmuro.¡±
¡°Maybe they came from the ground side entrance.¡±
¡°Ground side? Isn¡¯t that filled with poisonous fog? Furthermore, the scenario¨D¡±
¡°Different stations have different scenarios at different speeds. There are those who have finished the scenario faster than our station. If there is a weak poisoning, they can eat the meat from the underground species.¡±
I said this but I was confused.
¡®Prophets?¡¯
There was no information about such people in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s life. At this point, Yoo Jonghyuk and I should be the only ones who knew about the hidden dungeon.
What caused the variables? Needless to say, I needed to find out.
¡°Then let¡¯s go inside.¡±
A blue spotlight was floating above the men talking. A bright light surrounded them and then they disappeared.
¡°...What happened to them?¡±
Jung Heewon asked me but I didn¡¯t answer. Instead, I was searching the posters on the wall. This was torn, that as well... by the time I reached the end of the wall, only one wasn¡¯t torn. I read the words written on the poster.
Steven Spielberg, Samuel L Jackson, Jeff Goldblum...
That bastard Yoo Jonghyuk... he left this one alone? As expected from the third regression.
At that moment, the light came on again. This time, the spotlight was aimed on us. The surprised Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung stepped back, but there was no way to avoid it. The word ¡®ray¡¯ suited it.
I asked Jung Heewon, ¡°Heewon-ssi likes movies?¡±
¡°Of course. Do you usually like it?¡±
¡°You might hate it after this.¡±
¡°What do you¨D¡±
[You have been hit by a projection light.]
[The screening will begin.]
The surroundingndscape started to slowly change. It wasn¡¯t a simple illusion so Fourth Wall wasn¡¯t activated as before. The old linoleum floor became covered with green bushes, while the reception desk and popcorn stand turned into a lush rainforest. The ceiling turned into a blue sky with no clouds and no end in sight. Lee Ji-hye muttered in a small voice.
¡°Where the hell is this ce?¡±
Lee Jihye shouted and hacked at the surrounding trees and bushes, but nothing changed. Lee Gilyoung started looking for insects with a calm expression.
I tried to touch the nearby trees. It had a hard and moist texture. It was a real rainforest from the Mesozoic era. This was a different realism from the specter¡¯s Wee Prison. This was the power of the theatre master on the dungeon¡¯s 8th floor.
¡°It is a movie.¡±
¡°...Really ridiculous things are happening.¡±
A novel had be reality. There was now that a movie couldn¡¯t be reality as well.
Jung Heewon was a fast adaptor and quickly understood.
¡°Ahjussi, what movie is this?¡±
¡°You¡¯ll know soon.¡±
¡°...Can¡¯t you just let me know? Wait a minute, what is this kid doing...?¡±
At this moment, the shrubbery moved and something jumped out in front of Lee Gilyoung. An insect that resembled a giant preying mantis. The size was approximately 40cm. Lee Jihye was terrified and cried out.
¡°Hey Kid! Back away!¡±
However, Lee Gilyoung responded calmly to the fuss.
¡°It isn¡¯t a preying mantis. It is a Titanoptera from the Triassic period.
¡°What?¡±
Lee Gilyoung stretched out his hand to the titano. The insect didn¡¯t refuse the touch and after a moment, Lee Gilyoung and the insect¡¯s body was wrapped in a blue light.
Lee Jihye watched with a stupid expression.
¡°This... what?¡±
¡°Fabre.¡±
It really was good that I brought Lee Gilyoung. This guy¡¯s ability might allow us to pass through the gateway more easily.
The giant preying mantis moved its big mouth and Lee Gilyoung nodded. I didn¡¯t know what it involved but they were having a conversation. After a while, Lee Gilyoung paled as he talked to the preying mantis.
...What was it?
Lee Gilyoung hurriedly turned to me.
¡°Hyung!¡±
As he spoke, the sound of the earth shaking was heard. It seemed that something wasing at a tremendous speed, smashing the huge palm trees.
Kuoooooh!
The muzzle of the giant reptile that appeared through the rainforest was covered with reddish blood. Some bloody men were running in front of it. It was the men who entered before us.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
¡°S-Save me!¡±
Lee Jihye stepped back and spoke to Jung Heewon.
¡°I know what movie this is.¡±
¡°...Yes, me too.¡±
A body that was over a dozen metres tall and hard skin. Fierce muscles dominated the entire body. The strongest predator of the Mesozoic Era was in front of us.
At first nce, it was simr to a grade 7 monster. The difficulty level was atrocious considering this was the 1st floor of the dungeon. But my heart just thumped. The harder the hidden dungeon, the better the reward.
I pulled out a de and said, ¡°Get ready to fight.¡±
Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk skipped only this movie because of the contents. The main reward of Theater Dungeon was rted to the movie contents. Yoo Jonghyuk probably thought there weren¡¯t any worthy rewards in a movie where dinosaurs appeared. But he didn¡¯t know.
In this movie, a really important reward was hidden.
¡°...Are you serious? We are going to fight that?¡±
¡°We need to beat it to make an exit.¡±
¡°The exit?¡±
¡°It is a long movie. Have you forgotten?¡±
A T-rex was approaching quickly. The ind¡¯s centralboratory was seen behind it. And an escape helicopter was on the rooftop of theboratory.
This was a movie. A movie that the master of Theater Dungeon made into reality.
Therefore, there was only one way to escape from here.
¡°Let¡¯s make a great ending.¡±
Chapter 37
Episode 9 ¨C Omniscient Sunfish (2)
The moment the yellow eyes looked at us, a deafening roar echoed in our ears.
Kuoooooh!
[The 7th grade, Tyrannosaurus Rex has recognized you.]
[The ¡®Tyrannosaurus Rex¡¯ has triggered the ¡®Fear the Predator¡¯ skill!]
[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall has blocked the effect of the ¡®Fear the Predator¡¯ skill.]
My mindw as calm thanks to Fourth Wall, but I could stop the chills that urred. This was the fear towards a predator.
¡°Everyone, get out of the way!¡±
The petrified Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye regained their spirits. I fell back with Lee Gilyoung beside me.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
A long tail flew through the forest in front of us.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
The men who were running fell on the backs and coughed up blood. Fortunately, Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye were away from the danger zone.
I shouted to Lee Gilyoung lying down next to me.
¡°Gilyoung fall back, while Heewon-ssi and Jihye-ssi scatter to the left and right!¡±
Then a message popped up.
[The character ¡®Lee Gilyoung¡¯ has activated the ¡®Dinosaur Book¡¯ skill!]
...Huh?
¡°Tyrannosaurus are agilepared to their size, but they are vulnerable due to their narrow field of view.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°I saw it in a book when I was a child.¡±
¡°When you were a child?¡±
¡°...Younger than I am now.¡±
I stared nkly at Lee Gilyoung. This wasn¡¯t the time to tackle it.
Kuoooooh!
[The exclusive skill ¡®White Pure Star Energy¡¯ has been activated.]
I started waving the iridescent de to attract the attention of the T-Rex. Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon weren¡¯t tankers. I didn¡¯t even need to mention Lee Gilyoung. Therefore, I was the only one who could take the risk here.
¡°While I draw its attention, attack its rear¨D¡±
I hadn¡¯t finished talking when I saw Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon already at the T-Rex¡¯s rear. They noticed quickly.
Kuoooooh!
I barely avoided the iing teeth and the stomping legs. Before I could wield Unbroken Faith, its tail passed over my head. An electrifying thrill swept over my body. I wouldn¡¯t die because my stamina was over level 20, but it was dizzying.
Maybe I had been lucky until now. I might be the ¡®sunfish¡¯ rather than Yoo Jonghyuk.
Sukak!Supaak!
Meanwhile, Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye was steadily dealing damage from the rear. It was abination of ¡®Sword Training¡¯ and ¡®Kendo.¡¯ Noticeable sword wounds were being dealt to the T-Rex¡¯s big legs. If this continued, it might take some time but the T-Rex would be defeated.
¡°Hyung! I¡¯ll draw its attention!¡±
The boy didn¡¯t listen to me about staying in the rear.
¡°No, Gilyoung you¨D¡±
¡°I can do it!¡±
All of a sudden, Lee Gilyoung came forward and started to make an unknown signal. I wanted to say something. Then a huge praying mantis came from somewhere, stabbed the T-Rex¡¯s eyes and fled. It was the Titano that Lee Gilyoung had been talking to before.
Kuooooh!
The T-Rex¡¯s eyes moved confusedly as it followed the praying mantis that disturbed its vision. Lee Gilyoung used dazzling hand movements to control the praying mantis. I looked at Lee Gilyoung with a fresh mindset.
Wasn¡¯t this guy actually a hugely fraudulent character? No wonder why Yoo Jonghyuk coveted him.
Kuwoooh!
Thanks to Lee Gilyoung¡¯s sess, the battlefield quickly became advantageous. The T-Rex¡¯s movements became duller while a red light shone in Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes.
[Demon yer].
It made them vulnerable to mental attacks but it was a good skill that made them stronger when they were excited. The sight of the two women¡¯s eyes burning as they watched the rainforest was truly spectacr.
It was a pity that I had lost Lee Jihye to Yoo Jonghyuk. However, Jung Heewon also had overwhelming growth potential. Judge of Destruction was a good attribute and she didn¡¯t have a sponsor yet.
It felt like the T-Rex¡¯s stamina had decreased considerably. It was time to deal the final blow.
[de of Faith is activated!]
I started to focus my remaining magic power. I didn¡¯t have a sponsor, nor was I as fast as Jung Heewon or Lee Jihye. But that didn¡¯t mean my attack power was weak. I had a fraudulent system that overcame all of this.
Kuoooooh!
Ether de.
[The special option of Unbroken Faith is activated.]
[The ether property is converted to ¡®fire.¡¯]
An enormous amount of magic power was sucked in and my physical fatigue became extreme. But I didn¡¯t mind because there was a way to supplement itter.
The de increased by one metre and was surrounded by mes.
I ran to the rear of the Tyrannosaurus.
¡°Everybody out of the way!¡±
The moment that the Tyrannosaurus hesitated and its movements slowed, I climbed its tail. I almost fell over a few times because I didn¡¯t have the ¡®Sense of Bnce¡¯ but I somehow held on by stabbing the de into the epidermis.
Kuoooooh!
The T-Rex poured out blood and its body rolled across the ground. I rammed the de in wherever I could. mes poured into the wounds caused by the de.
The yellow eyes of the T-Rex stared at me as it gasped painfully, before finally dying.
[You have seeded in being the first to hunt the 7th grade species ¡®Tyrannosaurus Rex!¡¯]
[You have obtained 1,000 coins aspensation.]
¡°Ah...we really got it.¡±
¡°I knew we could do it.¡±
Jung Heewon breathed heavily as she spoke with a proud expression on her face. She could be proud because the T-Rex was top-ranked among the 7th grade monsters. Lee Jihye btedly rushed towards me.
¡°I had it!¡±
¡°What? It would¡¯ve taken a long time if you continued hitting it like that.¡±
I wiped off my sword while speaking. Jung Heewon asked.
¡°But was a Tyrannosaurus killed in this movie?¡±
¡°No but isn¡¯t this more fun?¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°The genre is fantasy, action and adventure. This should be enough.¡±
At this moment, a system message shed in my head.
[The theater owner is satisfied with the changed ending of the movie.]
Jung Heewon screamed like it was absurd.
¡°Eek?¡±
Yes. The strategy of Theatre Dungeon wasn¡¯t to see the ¡®real ending.¡¯
If so, Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t have been able to beat this dungeon. It was to create the desired ending for the ¡®theatre master¡¯ at the core of this dungeon. Please note that the theatre owner was an extreme psychopath.
¡°Do you understand now? We just need to smash it.¡±
In other words, if we removed all the obstacles to the ending, the movie would end naturally.
[Now you can move to the next floor.]
[Go to the helipad on top of the researchboratory.]
¡°We will move in a little while. We have to get some rewards.¡±
I started exploring the area around the T-Red. Soon after, I found one of the guys who entered before us. The rest were eaten or mutted by the T-Rex.
¡°Hey, wake up.¡±
¡°U-Uwooh...¡±
Blood was constantly flowing from the man. The wounds were from the T-Rex¡¯s ws. The bones were revealing, making it obvious that this person couldn¡¯t recover.
¡°Breathe slowly.¡±
¡°C-Cough! ...Alive...¡±
I fed the man drinking water I had brought in. The man drank some water before coughing up blood again. I was forced to urgently ask him questions.
¡°How did youe here?¡±
¡°P-Prophet...¡±
¡°Who are the prophets?¡±
The man¡¯s breathing was getting rougher.
¡°R-Revtion... received...¡±
...Revtion?
¡°I want to... live...¡±
Blood burst out from the man¡¯s mouth. He finally died. Jung Heewon and the others came up behind me.
¡°That person...?¡±
I shook my head and looked down at the fallen man.
¡®Revtion.¡¯ What funny bullshit.
As far as I knew, only Anna Croft had the ability of ¡®Future Sight¡¯ in Ways of Survival.
Then there was only one answer.
...There was someone else besides me. But they didn¡¯t know as much as I did. The proof was that they didn¡¯t daree here in person to test out the information.
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Take a break.¡±
We covered the man¡¯s body with arge lead and gathered near the dad T-Rex. W had to hurry to pursue Yoo Jonghyuk. But if we didn¡¯t get enough rest, the party would be wiped out before we met him.
I searched the T-Rex¡¯s body.
I looked at the head and heart but unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t find any monster cores. That didn¡¯t mean there was no ie. Jung Heewon drooled as she watched the T-Rex being cooked over the fire.
¡°...Can we eat this?¡±
¡°We can eat it because it is cooked with magic mes. The unripe parts can be cooked with the Magic Power Stove.¡±
We sat side by side around the T-Rex¡¯s leg. As we cut the cooked flesh of the T-Rex little by little, steam rose. Lee Gilyoung shouted.
¡°Fresh meat!¡±
Lee Jihye hurriedly rushed up and grabbed a pierce first. The rest of the group, including myself, also pickedrge pieces of flesh. Meat of this size? It was a luxury that couldn¡¯t be dreamt of back when I was an office worker. Lee Jihye closed her eyes while enjoying the taste. Then she murmured in an ecstatic voice.
¡°Ah, the best taste in the world...¡±
It really was delicious.
The fat was properly wrapped around the muscles, making it different from the ground rats. The feeling every time I took a bit... If Yoo Sangah was here, she would¡¯ve cried.
After I consumed the meat, I felt my stamina recovering. The meat of an advanced species had these special effects. However, caution was required in some cases. Jung Heewon sighed.
¡°Phew... I ate well. It is really delicious but I will cry if I eat anymore.¡±
We had a moderate rest and then headed straight to theboratory in the centre of the ind.
We encountered several raptors on the way but they were easy after the T-Rex.
There were many sks and ampoules in theboratory. There were small incubators containing dinosaur embryos and blood samples collected. There was only one thing missing.
My eyes caught a few items as we entered the inner corridor.
[Stamina Enhancing Ampoule]
[Magic Power Enhancing Ampoule]
[Agility Enhancing Ampoule]
[Strength Enhancing Ampoule]
As expected, it was here. I started to pack the ampoules. Just like the Ichthyosaur¡¯s Core, theseprehensive stat growth items were avable only in the early scenarios.
It wasn¡¯t just one or two ampoules. There were close to 20 bottles. If this was the case, my stats would be able to level up explosively. It was in anticipation of this hidden scenario that I saved coins instead of investing them in my stats.
These ampoules were only avable when the corresponding stat was less than level 30.
¡°Ahjussi, what did you find now?¡±
...Ah, this ghost-like girl.
¡°What? Stamina Enhancement Ampoule?¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes shone as she grabbed one ampoule.
¡°Are you trying to eat these alone?¡±
¡°Eat them all? Of course I will share it.¡±
¡°Unni, look at this! Ahjussi...!¡±
The other people in the party came closer due to the turmoil. Jung Heewon was shocked when she checked the item information.
¡°Oh my god... what are these items?¡±
¡°...This is a hidden scenario.¡±
I spoke with a bit of disgruntlement. Damn, this was a bit difficult. I didn¡¯t catch the T-Rex alone so taking all the items pricked my conscience...
[Some constetions are displeased with the situation.]
Lee Jihye looked at the Strength Enhancement Ampoule and opened her mouth.
¡°Can you give me the Strength Enhancement Ampoule? I am a bitcking in strength.¡±
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
It was a summary version that only contained theprehensive stats.
[Character Summary List]
Name: Lee Jihye
Private Attribute: Scarred Sword Demon (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Sword Training Lv. 4, Demon ying Lv. 1, Absolute Sense Lv. 2, Ghost Walk Lv. 2.
Stigma: Sea Battle Lv. 1, Large Army Command Lv. 1.
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 13, Strength Lv. 17, Agility Lv. 13, Magic Power Lv. 10.
This damn girl...
¡°Huh? Heewon unni, can¡¯t I have it?¡±
¡°Um, Dokja-ssi was the one who discovered it so it is his decision...¡±
Frankly, it didn¡¯t matter if the other party members received them but giving them to Lee Jihye was a bit of a waste. She was part of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s group anyway.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ expects your fairness.]
Fairness... yes, let¡¯s pick the most unbiased game I knew.
I smiled and made a suggestion.
¡°How about rock paper scissors?¡±
¡°Rock paper scissors?¡±
¡°There will be one winner at the end.¡±
Greed filled Lee Jihye¡¯s face.
¡°Okay!¡±
¡°Well... I will do what Dokja-ssi wants. But is it okay? It could be a mistake.¡±
¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean he is unlucky?¡±
Lee Jihye asked. She was excited at the thought of getting a share of the items.
¡°Let¡¯s start with a Strength Enhancement Ampoule.¡±
I put out the Strength Enhancement Ampoule and said to Lee Jihye.
¡°You will face me.¡±
¡°I¡¯m good at rock paper scissors. Will it be okay?¡±
¡°Ah, is that so?¡±
I smiled at Lee Jihye.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 1 has been activated!]
[The character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has prepared ¡®scissors.¡¯ ]
Chapter 38
Episode 9 ¨C Omniscient Sunfish (3)
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is curious about your scam.]
[The constetions have sponsored you 200 coins.]
The winner of the rock paper scissors was decided in an instant. Lee Gilyoung¡¯s face was slightly flushed while Jung Heewon had a satisfied expression. Lee Jihye flopped to the ground with a devastated expression.
¡°...This is ridiculous!¡±
Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t read Lee Gilyoung¡¯s mind so two ampoules went to him.
¡°You don¡¯t have to give it to me...¡±
¡°Take it.¡±
He was cute. I stroked Lee Gilyoung¡¯s head.
In addition, Jung Heewon won two Stamina Enhancement Ampoules. Jung Heewon received them with a smile.
¡°Thank you. It was tough so far with my stamina.¡±
It was only Lee Jihye who didn¡¯t obtain any ampoules.
¡°How can you beat me 18 out of 20 times? Did you cheat?¡±
¡°I am originally good at rock paper scissors.¡±
¡°Are you really going to do this? Can¡¯t you give me just one...¡±
¡°You have Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
I ignored Lee Jihye¡¯s whines and packed the ampoules.
Jung Heewon patted the shoulder of the grouchy Lee Jihye while staring at Lee Jihye¡¯s shining sword.
¡°Little sister, the world has to be fair.¡±
* * *
Dudududu. There was the sound of the helicopter¡¯s propellers. Lee Gilyoung looked at the distant dinosaur ind and asked, ¡°Hyung, can¡¯t I take it to the next floor?¡±
The big praying mantis was sitting in Lee Gilyoung¡¯sp and talking to Lee Gilyoung. The praying mantis rubbed its antenna against Lee Gilyoung¡¯s jaw.
¡°Unfortunately, you can¡¯t take it.¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s hugged the praying mantis with a sad expression.
¡°...Take care Titano.¡±
Kwiiik.
He had already given it a name. Unfortunately, monsters created in Theatre Dungeon couldn¡¯t move to another floor.
However, items could be taken to other floors. For example, I had the ampoules that increased stats and the item I was now holding.
[Tyrant T-Rex¡¯s DNA Ampoule]
The golden ampoule was the most decisive reason for choosing this movie. It was an item that increased all stats by 10 for 30 minutes after ingestion. Although it had the disadvantage that it could only be used in Theatre Dungeon, it was impossible to break through thest floor of this dungeon without this item.
Especially if Yoo Jonghyuk was in the worst situation as I thought.
The praying mantis that Lee Gilyoung released flew in the air and the dark sky started to copse.
[The first ¡®Ending Credit¡¯ has been reached.]
[Performers: Kim Dokja, Jung Heewon, Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung.]
[You have obtained 500 coins aspensation.]
I felt some dizziness and we appeared on the ground floor again. After we escaped, the movie posted on the wall was torn. It was evidence that we safely cleared it. Lee Jihye wasining.
¡°Do you have to pass a few more floors like this?¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk will have broken most of it so it will be faster than you think.¡±
We headed straight to the second floor via the esctor. From the second floor, the remaining space was narrow because it was the full-fledged theatre. Jung Heewon asked.
¡°There¡¯s no change?¡±
No matter how long we waited, the environment on the second floor didn¡¯t change. The camera wasn¡¯t seen and the screening didn¡¯t start either. Looking closer, all the posters on the second floor were torn. Lee Jihye noticed something.
¡°Is it only the movies whose posters are intact?¡±
I checked the torn posters one by one.
Pacific Rim directed by Guillermo del Toro... a giant robots righting movie? Too bad. If this had been intact then I could¡¯ve gotten the reward of Hardened Gloves.
Inception directed by Christopher Nn... it was good that this one was torn.
¡°Wow, I wanted to watch this.¡±
I saw the poster that Lee Jihye was looking at.
¡°Do you like superheroes?
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°It is fortunate. Otherwise you would hate it after this.¡±
¡°...I see.¡±
On the torn poster, a green monster was roaring at us.We went straight up to the third floor.
¡°It is the same here.¡±
All the posters on the third floor were torn as well. Yoo Jonghyuk had properly swept through it. It was fortunate since there were a lot of dangerous movies on the third floor.
Final Destination directed by James Wan... that bastard Yoo Jonghyuk, how did he break this? This was an annihtion movie.
¡°We are going up faster than I expected?¡±
Unlike Jung Heewon¡¯s bright voice, I was nervous every time we climbed a floor. Clearing the Theatre Dungeon required some luck. Some of the posters on each floor weren¡¯t covered in Ways of Survival. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t clear all movies.
There was a system message when we entered the fourth floor.
[You have entered the fourth floor.]
The spotlight poured down without giving me time to look at the posters. Jung Heewon gathered both hands together and prayed.
¡°Please don¡¯t be a ghost movie...¡±
I nced at Jung Heewon and she gave me an excuse.
¡°Ghosts can¡¯t be killed with a sword.¡±
...This was the reason.
[The screening has started!]
The background changed and when we opened our eyes, a sea breeze blew on the prow of a ship.
¡°This...?¡±
Salt was felt in my mouth and the open horizon spread out before me. I was enraptured by the scenery of the sea. I had been working every day and it had been a few years since I¡¯ve travelled anywhere.
¡°What is this movie?¡±
Next to me, Jung Heewon was wearing a full length dress.
A violin sound was heard from the inside of the cruise ship and there was the sound of excited people. It was an incredibly romantic atmosphere from a movie...
Oh, I know what this movie is.
Then Lee Jihye¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°Oh, elerating all of a sudden...¡±
I looked back and saw that Lee Jihye was vomiting. Jung Heewon rushed over and patted her back. After vomiting for a long time, Lee Jihye said.
¡°Uh, I get seasick.¡±
¡°It is okay, just vomit.¡±
...I had wondered this since a while ago. Why did the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare choose Lee Jihye? No, I read the novel but I just didn¡¯t want to know.
¡°But Unni... is this the movie? The boat that sinks.¡±
¡°It seems so.¡±
¡°Then... perhaps Unni is ¡®Kate Winslet?¡¯¡±
Lee Jihye looked at Jung Heewon¡¯s dress like she was envious, then she looked at me.
¡°Then Ahjussi is... DiCaprio? Uweeeek!¡±
I felt somehow grumpy when I saw her vomiting after saying that. At this time, Lee Gilyoung emerged from behind me.
¡°Hyung!¡±
Lee Gilyoung was dressed in formal clothing. This clothing was somewhat familiar...
Anyway, everyone was gathered.
¡°There is no time.¡±
The ship was now sinking. Unfortunately, the solution to this movie didn¡¯t appear in Ways of Survival.
How could we beat the Titanic? Was it a fight with the sea?
Lee Jihye was the first toment.
¡°The ship is sinking anyway. Do we just have to sink with it?¡±
¡°That is a little...¡±
It was frustrating. It would¡¯ve been better if the movie had a clear enemy to crush.
¡°Let¡¯s look for the viin Hyung.¡±
This was Lee Gilyoung¡¯s opinion. I didn¡¯t know if there was an obvious viin this movie., But since I couldn¡¯t think of anything else, I decided to follow it.
¡°Then let¡¯s handle the viin.¡±
We started moving. By the way, who was this movie¡¯s viin? Thest time I watched the Titanic...
But I didn¡¯t need to worry. The viin came to find us. A man in a clean suit was staring over here.
¡°Jack Dawson!¡±
Wait, Jack Dawson... the role that DiCaprio yed? But the man wasn¡¯t looking at me.
¡°...Me?¡±
...He was DiCaprio? I sighed as I looked at Lee Gilyoung.
* * *
After a while, we kidnapped a person we thought was the viin of the movie. But the theater master didn¡¯t respond. It wasn¡¯t enough to kidnap him...
I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth.
¡°Then...¡±
¡°Let¡¯s kill him.¡±
Lee Jihye pulled out her sword and pointed it. It was at a man struggling while his body was tied up.
¡°The theater master is a psychopath? Then isn¡¯t the answer to kill him quickly?¡±
I thought so as well. No, I was sure of it.
It was the answer to another movie like this in Ways of Survival. But Jung Heewon gazed at the man in horror and unexpected said,
¡°But...he looks like a real person.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°This is a movie but he is just like a real person.¡±
It was surprising that Jung Heewon said this when she had been neatly subjugating the weak a few days ago. Then again, Jung Heewon had said something like this: ¡®I might be a killer but I don¡¯t want to be a monster.¡¯
Lee Ji-hye asked, ¡°Unni, what are you saying this type of sentimental thing now? You don¡¯t want to kill him?¡±
¡°No, that isn¡¯t it...¡±
¡°It is good to save people. But if this person doesn¡¯t die, we will die. We are definitely alive but this guy is just a character!¡±
Characters...
I felt bemused at Lee Jihye¡¯s words.
Jung Heewon looked at me. ¡°...Do you think so?¡±
¡°Even if this guy is a ¡®real¡¯ person, he is still a bad guy! Why is killing him bad?¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s words might be right. This guy was definitely a viin of the scenario and would do bad things. So it was okay to kill him. Funnily enough, it was the logic that Yoo Jonghyuk often spoke about in Ways of Survival.
The moment I opened my mouth, Lee Jihye hurriedly drew her sword.
¡°Sigh, what is this? Master could be dying right now!¡±
The de descended and pierced the man¡¯s chest. Blood poured out. It was incredibly realistic. Then a system message was heard.
[The theater owner is satisfied with the changed ending of the movie.]
[The stern of the ship will lead to the next floor.]
¡°Look, I did it properly. Right?¡±
Lee Jihye shouted triumphantly.
The answer obviously wasn¡¯t wrong. The theater master acknowledged this and the constetions would give coins for our actions. We would survive with these coins.
It was a way of living that destroyed this world.
[The second ¡®Ending Credit¡¯ has been reached.]
[Performers: Kim Dokja, Jung Heewon, Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung.]
[You have obtained 500 coins aspensation.]
We weren¡¯t able to get a reward item from Titanic. Thus, we went straight to the next floor and followed the guidance of the system message.
[You have entered the fifth floor, the rewards room.]
Once we climbed the esctor, the rewards room finally showed up.
¡°Rewards room? It isn¡¯t a scary movie?¡±
¡°This is an exhibition hall. It was a ce they used to show original movie props.¡±
In fact, I knew this but I once again acted ignorant.
Various movie props appeared in ss tubes. Equipment and costumes used by the main characters of various movies, stage essories...
The funny thing was that they were no longer props.
Jung Heewon approached a ss tube and shouted.
¡°Oh my god, look at this!¡±
[Mikazuki Munechika ¨C Replica] A grade sword.
Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked at the ss tube and I nodded.
¡°You¡¯ve finally obtained a proper sword, Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°Whoa...¡±
It was obviously a great sword at first nce. The originally groll horn knife wasn¡¯tparable and it wasn¡¯tcking whenpared to Lee Jihye¡¯s de.
Jung Heewon started to swing the sword in his hand.
¡°Isn¡¯t this amazing? It is light and moves properly!¡±
I had never seen Jung Heewon like this.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is deeply grateful to you.]
It was nothing.
The main purpose of targeting the Theatre Dungeon was the pensation¡¯ of the fifth floor. The Theatre Dungeon was a good ce to farm for items early on. In particr, Jung Heewon would be stronger with this weapon.
[The reward items are limited to two per person.]
It wasn¡¯t a genuine ¡®star relic¡¯ person it was a movie prop, but the replica version had characteristics of the original item. A-grade items were close to a scam in the early stages.
By the way, Yoo Jonghyuk had already passed through here. Two items were already gone.
¡°Pick your items. Each one can only obtain two so choose carefully.¡±
I told Jung Heewon to pick an item Yoo Sangah could use while I found one for Lee Hyunsung. This one seemed useable.
[Hercules¡¯ Shield- Replica] A grade shield.
Good... It was an item that couldn¡¯t bepared with the Old Iron Shield. I thought of how Lee Hyunsung¡¯s eyes would shine with loyalty towards me and already felt warm.
Lee Jihye, who imed to be a fan of superheroes, was trying to pull an item from the corner.
¡°Ah, why can¡¯t I hold this?¡±
I came closer. This was it.
[Mjolnir ¨C Replica] A grade blunt weapon.
The hammer of the god of lightning, Thor. It would¡¯ve been an enormous item if it was a genuine star relic... still, the quality of the original was so great that the performance of the replica was significant.
I watched Lee Jihye groaning as she grabbed the hammer that couldn¡¯t be moved.
¡°Isn¡¯t this an item that only someone special can use?¡±
¡°Damn, I¡¯m not special?¡±
At this time, Lee Gilyoung came up behind her and reached out to Mjolnir.
¡°Hey Kid! This is mine...¡±
Mjolnir was lightly lifted by Lee Gilyoung¡¯s hands. Lee Gilyoung swung the hammer around before looking at me.
¡°Hyung, can I have it?¡±
¡°Yes, it looks good.¡±
Lee Jihye once again looked stunned.
¡°Only I am unhappy... just me...¡±
I ignored her and searched the remaining items. Let¡¯s see what was left.
[External Reinforced Suit ¨C Replica] A grade protective clothing.
I didn¡¯t know what would happen in the future but it would be nice to supplement my defense. Once I wore the suit, it wrapped around my arms and legs.
[Damage from external attacks is reduced by 10%.]
[The ability to detect enemies is improved.]
[You can move more agilely than before.]
It was a bit frustrating but it was still better than not wearing it. In particr, I thought about the fight waiting at the end of this.
Now the preparations were finished.
Since there were no significant changes in the dungeon, it was clear that Yoo Jonghyuk was alive. If we moved quickly through the sixth floor, we might be able to meet on the seventh floor. In the worst case scenario, if he was fighting the boss on the eighth floor... at least he was still alive.
Now, let¡¯s go and get our damn regressor back.
Chapter 39
Episode 9 ¨C Omniscient Sunfish (4)
Unfortunately, Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t on the sixth floor.
The onlyfort was that the movie on the sixth floor was easy. It was a typical thriller directed by Bryan Singer. I knew the killer so it was possible to clear it quickly.
[The theater owner is satisfied with the changed ending of the movie.]
[You have obtained 500 coins aspensation.]
Lee Jihye asked as if she was dumbfounded.
¡°...He was really the killer?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t tell me it is a spoiler? There is actually someone here who hasn¡¯t seen it.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ hates spoilers.]
In any case, an item was rewarded due to the movie¡¯s unique characteristics.
[Skill Book: Calm Observation.]
Calm Observation. It was quite a useful skill.
This skill allowed the user to see the movements of the target and figure out their overall stats. It didn¡¯t mean much to me since I could use Character List, but it would be quite useful for people like Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung. This skill would be good against enemies excellent at acting.
[The exclusive skill ¡® Calm Observation¡¯ has been acquired.]
Still, I felt a bit sad. It would be nice to experience a movie like diator.
I had yet to obtain a suitablebat passive skill. He might purchase the skill Weapons Training but it wasn¡¯t a good idea to spend coins on the skill right now.
¡°...Now I am tired of movies.¡±
I agreed with Jung Heewon¡¯s words. I didn¡¯t want to look at a movie theatre for a while. I should just be satisfied with the high performance fee.
We went directly up to the seventh floor. Maybe this time we could see Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s back...
Damn. Most of the posters on the seventh floor were torn. Yes, Yoo Jonghyuk was now in the boss room. Under these circumstances, there was really no time to dy.
¡°Run. It is almost thest floor.¡±
We started to run. We had to catch up with that guy as fast as possible. Before he gave up everything.
We passed through the auditoriums and ran down the aisles. The posters on the 7th floor were of Korean movies popr in the past.
Shit, please let all of them be torn...
However, unlike what I hoped, thest poster was still intact.
¡°Damn...¡±
[The screening will begin.]
The blue spotlight covered the party and the scene changed. My head spun and a salty smell entered my nose.
The stage was the sea. But... this time it wasn¡¯t a cruise ship. There was the smell of artillery. The rough texture of the Panokseon could be felt. (Panokseon wiki link)
The moment I turned my head on the shaky boat, I heard someone¡¯s voice.
¡°Everybody, down¡ª!¡±
I reflexively fell down and there was a bombardment of gunfire around me.Tang tang tang tang¨D A few soldiers copsed while bleeding.
¡°Protect the ship¨D!¡±
The soldiers dressed in old military garb were rushing around. An uneasy wind blew as war took ce. The turbulent Myeongnyang Strait was swirling and there was the distant sound of drums.
Dammit.
There was no Korean who didn¡¯t know this movie. It was because this movie had been watched by most South Koreans.
Jung Heewon looked at the horizon and muttered.
¡°This... how can we win?¡±
The ending of Theater Dungeon would only open when the master was satisfied.
Kukukukung!
300 Japanese warships filled the sea. I hurriedly confirmed the power on our side. Still, this was a movie based on historical facts. There was hope.
¡°...What is this?¡±
There was only one Panokseon where there should be 12. I hurriedly grabbed one of the sailors around him and asked.
¡°Where is themander?¡±
¡°Comman...der?¡±
¡°Admiral Yi!¡±
The navy sailor had no idea at all. My chest became cold. It was different from the movie I knew. The theatre master changed the story.
In no time, the enemy narrowed the distance. This was ridiculous. How could we win the Battle of Myeongnyang without help from the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare?
I looked around and hurriedly eximed.
¡°Lee Jihye!¡±
(TL: For those who won¡¯t know, this movie is The Admiral: Roaring Currents about Admiral Yi Sunshin, which broke records when it was released. Wiki link here)
* * *
I thought that this might happen. If fact, I brought Lee Jihye not just for her power but to consider the ¡®what if¡¯s.¡¯
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is sorry for Lee Jihye.]
It wasn¡¯t difficult to find Lee Jihye. There was only one boat and the ce where Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s messages could be heard was limited.
¡°U-Uhhhh...¡±
She was vomiting in a corner of the first floor deck.
¡°Hey, are you okay?
Lee Jihye looked up at me with moist eyes.
¡°I can¡¯t, I can¡¯t do it!¡±
This wasn¡¯t about me.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is encouraging ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
¡°Never, I will never do it! Oof...!¡±
She vomited once again.
I knew. The reason why this person was chosen by Duke of Loyalty and Warfare, despite hating the sea.
[Due to the effect of your exclusive attribute, the memories from the books you have read will increase.]
In my head, a scene from the 40th chapter of Ways of Destruction passed.
¡¸ ¡°Hey, how did she get chosen by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare when she is afraid of the sea?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. Um... maybe because she has the admiral in her ancestry?¡±
¡°...She is the descendent of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare? ¡¹
There was considerable criticism from a few readers apart from me who made it to the 40th chapter of Ways of Destruction.
No, did it make sense for her to have the blood of the great Duke of Loyalty and Warfare?
But I had read all the chapters except for the epilogue of Ways of Destruction so I knew. Lee Jihye wasn¡¯t of the bloodline of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ misses his old friend when he sees ¡®Lee Jihye.¡¯]
¡¸ ¡°Then are you a Lee from the Deoksu n?¡±
¡°No, I am a Jeonju Lee.¡± ¡¹
(TL Note: As with all Korean family names, the holders of the Lee surname are divided into different lineages, known in Korean as bon-gwan, based on their ancestral seat. Most such ns trace their lineage back to a specific founder, and are generally not rted to one another. Wiki Link)
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ looks at the descendant of an old friend.]
Lee Jihye was the descendant of Lee Eokgi, thepanion of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare. (Lee can also be romanized as Yi. I chose to make it Lee to match with Lee Jihye, his descendant. Wiki Link)
Duke of Firmness and Compassion, Lee Eokgi.
Along with the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare, he led the navy to victory in the Battle of Tanghangpo and the Battle of Hansan-do. He was one of the few who defended the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare, Yi Sunshin when he was arrested on unfair charges. However, he didn¡¯t have enough myths and didn¡¯t be a sponsor.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ with sad eyes.]
Due to that, the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare selected Lee Jihye.
She wasn¡¯t his descendant but the descendant of his closest confidant. Maybe it was simply the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s choice.
Perhaps the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare didn¡¯t see it.
The fact that the descendant of his deceased confidant and friend would be killed by his own hands and be a demon.
Well... this was ording to the setting of Ways of Survival.
[A bounty scenario has urred!]
+
[Bounty Scenario ¨C Those who seek death shall live. Those who seek life will die]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: B+
Clear Conditions: The ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is asking you for help. Encourage Lee Jihye, incarnation of Duke of Loyalty and Warfare, and win the Battle of Myeongnyang.
Time Limit: 2 hours
Compensation: A stigma from the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.
Failure: ¨D
+
I doubted my eyes for a moment.
The bounty scenarios were rarely requested by a constetion alone. I looked closely because it was strange and saw that the reward was also extraordinary.
...The stigma of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare?
If I cleared this scenario, I would be able to use one of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s stigmas without signing a contract. I shook Lee Jihye.
¡°Lee Jihye, stop it. Quickly.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to! Urgh... The three of you can handle it!¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you endure it a little bit?¡±
¡°...Endure? Ahjussi doesn¡¯t know.¡±
I didn¡¯t know...
Yes, this was her manner of talking. However, there was no time to ept her childish actions.
¡°No, I know. You aren¡¯t like this because of seasickness.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°It is because your dead friend liked this movie.¡±
Lee Jihye shook, like a boxer hit in the jaw. It was like a scene rushing into her head. It was the first scenario at Daepo Girls¡¯ High School. She strangled her friend with her bare hands.
¡°T-That... How did you...?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t ask how I know. There is no time to exin.¡±
Lee Jihye looked up at me with nk eyes.
¡°You killed your friend with your own hands only to die like this?¡±
The first floor deck was pierced with a hook. I grabbed the hook shooting towards Lee Jihye with my bare hands. Lee Jihye shook as she looked at me.
¡°You can run away here or not. You will never be forgiven. But¨D¡±
There were loud shouts. I could hear the sound of Japanese raiders jumping on the ship.
¡°If you wake up now, at least you can save some people.¡±
I came up onto the second floor deck with the trembling Lee Jihye.
Lee Gilyoung and Jung Heewon were already surrounded. I raised my weapon. The enemies were ordinary Japanese soldiers. We wouldn¡¯t lose in a one on one battle. The problem was that there were too many numbers.
¡°Kuaaak!¡±
I sliced at the iing soldiers but couldn¡¯t seen an end to it. The enemy ships were firing from a distance. We were finished if this ship sunk. The movie would end tragically and we would die here.
¡°Lee Jihye!¡±
I realized the greatness of Yi Sunshin.
How did he lead this battle to victory?
¡°Wake up now!¡±
This was a cursed scenario. We didn¡¯t have Song Yeojung or Jung Eungdoo. (Apparently closepanions of Yi Sunshin)
All we had was a weak girl protected by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare. The girl staggered on the deck of the second floor.
¡°I-I¡¯m disgusting. I...I don¡¯t deserve to be alive...¡±
Yes, it was disgusting. I was disgusting along with the way that I was using her.
¡°No one would be qualified.¡±
¡°U-Ughhh...¡±
Tears endlessly poured from Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes. I held Hercules¡¯ Shield and stood in front of her.
Kwang!Kwaang!Kwaang!
¡°Survive and take responsibility! Atone for the rest of your life or live a garbage life. Just somehow survive!¡±
The ship was being broken by the indiscriminate shelling. I turned to her with cold eyes.
¡°Or do you really want to die here?¡±
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has increased.]
All types of emotions came from the crying Lee Jihye. She was drowning in the dark emotions of resentment, self-contempt and disillusionment with the world. Nevertheless, there was a straightforward emotion under it.
¡¸ I don¡¯t want to die. ¡¹
The constetions were selfish. There were those who didn¡¯t support their incarnation or didn¡¯t care if their incarnation died or not. But.
As long as any constetion was in the stage of their ¡®myth¡¯, they wouldn¡¯t turn away from their incarnation.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ has responded to the will of ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
A brilliant red light burst around Lee Jihye¡¯s body. It was good for Yoo Jonghyuk but I didn¡¯t get nothing. I had something to gain.
[The character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has received a new stigma.]
The third stigma of Sword Demon Lee Jihye. It was the strongest stigma that wouldter make her a maritime admiral.
¡°...To God.¡±
Lee Jihye held the hilt of her sword and looked at the sea. There were many enemies and no allies. She quietly turned her sword towards the world.
¡°There are still 12 ships left.¡±
A radiant beam emerged from the end of her sword.
[The character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has activated the stigma ¡®Ghost Fleet Lv. 1!]
Water vapor rose in the area. Water sprayed all over the ce and 12 ghost ships appeared in the sea.
¡°Get revenge on the enemies.¡±
The drumming paused like it was embarrassed. Shells flew towards the ghost fleet. However, the ghost fleet was disembodied and didn¡¯t suffer any damages.
¡°Die in this ce.¡±
Finally, Lee Jihye¡¯s fleet started to move forward. 12 ships moved through the water, creating countless ripples. The white barrels started firing and the ships blocking the path copsed helplessly.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The girl who didn¡¯t cry led the battlefield.
In front of the ghost fleet, the warships werepletely overwhelmed. It wasn¡¯t just me., Jung Heewon and Lee Gilyoung also gaped at the scene.
This was the real power of a ¡®stigma.¡¯ It was the power of the admiral that wasn¡¯t pushed by anyone in a maritime war.
In the fading light of the sunset, the screams of the Japanese were heard from among the smoke. The whirlpool of Myeongnyang Strait sucked in the dead bodies. It took less than an hour for thest enemy ship to copse.
[The theater owner is satisfied with the changed ending of the movie.]
[The fourth ¡®Ending Credit¡¯ has been reached.]
[Performers: Kim Dokja, Jung Heewon, Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung.]
[You have obtained 500 coins aspensation.]
As soon as we received the ending credit, additional messages came up.
[The bounty scenario is cleared.]
[You have received the Maritime War God¡¯s reward for the bounty scenario.]
Frankly, I was filled with expectations. Maybe I would get Ghost Fleet. If I could just get it then I wouldn¡¯t be envious of Lee Jihye.
[The stigma ¡®Song of the Sword¡¯ has been acquired.]
I thought I heard wrong when the message popped up.
The stigma Song of the Sword. This was originally a stigma that Lee Jihye acquired midway in the story. Yet the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare gave me this stigma.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ thanks you.]
In a sense, this skill was something I needed more than Ghost Fleet right now. If I had this stigma, I might be able to prevent the worst from happening on the eighth floor.
The surrounding scenery slowly changed and we returned to the inside of the movie theatre. The exhausted Lee Ji-hye was staring at me.
¡°Ahjussi.¡±
¡°You rest here. We will go to save Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°But...¡±
¡°Listen up.¡±
I obtained a new stigma but I didn¡¯t have time tough. No matter how good the stigma, there was no meaning if this ¡®world¡¯ was over. In order to prevent that ¡®end¡¯, I had to save Yoo Jonghyuk.
I distributed the ampoules I gathered to everyone. When raising the stats level, the coins consumption was increased every 10 levels. Therefore, I would use my coins first before the ampoules.
[4,000 coins have been consumed.]
[Theprehensive enhancement ampoules have been used.]
[Stamina Lv. 18 -> Stamina Lv. 24]
[Strength Lv. 18 -> Strength Lv. 24]
[Agility Lv. 11 -> Agility Lv. 20]
[Magic Power Lv. 10 -> Magic Power Lv. 15]
[All stats have increased significantly!]
We climbed thest stairway.
¡°Everyone, get ready.¡±
[You have entered the eighth floor, the Heavenly Garden.]
The eighth floor of the theatre was a rooftop. It was a small dome reminiscent of an opera house. As soon as I stepped on the green grass of the rooftop, I found the back of the regressor I was looking for.
Ah...
When I thought about all those who would suffer if he died, my anger soared. Fortunately, the back of his head was good enough to be hit.
¡°Hey Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
I ran towards Yoo Jonghyuk and hit him in the back of the head.
Chapter 40
Episode 9 ¨C Omniscient Sunfish (5)
The cold sensation numbed my fingers. Dammit, I really wanted to beat this guy up. But...
There was something strange.
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
This guy, he didn¡¯t look back. A grey-white aura was flowing from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. The aura felt ominous and caused my hairs to rise.
I instinctively took a step back. Looking closer, the aura was connected to an old man sitting on a chair on the eighth floor. I knew everything the moment I saw this old man.
[The ¡®Theatre Master¡¯s Simcrum¡¯ has been revealed.]
...Dammit, it had be like this. Yoo Jonghyuk emanated the whitish aura and slowly turned towards me. It was the worst situation.
[The ¡®Theatre Master¡¯s Simcrum¡¯ has controlled the character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
Goosebumps covered my entire body. A formidable killing intent was rising from the guy who lost all sense of reason. There was no ¡®character¡¯ in the world who could stop this guy now.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used Force Palm Lv. 4!]
I barely managed to open my mouth.
¡°W-Wait a minute!¡±
Kwaaaang!
I experienced a strong pain in my side and my consciousness became numb. As this person who did as he liked shot forward, pages flipped through my head. I was alert.
¡¸ ...The 8th turn Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t die in Theatre Dungeon because he was weak. Strictly speaking, Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t lucky.
The boss of the ¡®Theatre Dungeon¡¯ is the worst opponent for a regressor lie Yoo Jonghyuk.. ¡¹
My breathing was back.
¡°Kuhup...heook.¡±
[The External Reinforced Suit is damaged.]
[There is a reduction in the defense.]
I got up while holding my abdomen. It was a really nonsensical attack power. I ate so many ampoules yet still received this much damage from one blow?
One blow dealt huge damage and I was blown away to the other side of the rooftop.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has used Demon ying Lv. 2!]
In the distance, Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes were burning. I tried to get up but my body wasn¡¯t listening to me.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used Hundred Steps Godly Fists Lv. 4!]
The current Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s opponent. She could endure a few blows due to Demon ying but blood started to emerge from Jung Heewon¡¯s mouth.
Yoo Jonghyuk was much stronger than I expected.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Summary List.]
[Only randomly specified items will be disyed ording to User¡¯s convenience.]
[Character Summary List]
Name: Yoo Jonghyuk.
Private Attribute: Regressor (3rd turn) (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. 8, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 8, Advanced Weapons Training Lv. 5, Mental Barrier Lv. 5, Hundred Steps Godly Fists Lv. 2, Red Phoenix Shunpo Lv. 1...Omitted...
Stigma: Regression Lv.3, Transmission Lv. 1
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 28, Strength Lv. 27, Agility Lv. 26, Magic Power Lv. 25.
* The character is currently in a loss of reason state.
This bastard. He activated a new stigma.
Transmission. It was a stigma that allowed Yoo Jonghyuk to wake up the skills he had in the past over time. Through this stigma, Yoo Jonghyuk would be a full-scale monster.
¡°Master!¡±
At this time, Lee Jihye came upstairs. The jerk flying towards Jung Heewon turned towards Lee Jihye.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
¡°Kyaaack!¡±
Thanks to the favour of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare or maybe Ghost Walk, Lee Jihye fortunately avoided the blow. I shouted toward Lee Jihye.
¡°He is being controlled! Go after the theater master!¡±
However, Lee Jihye wasn¡¯t free enough to do so. In the end, we couldn¡¯t reach the theatre master without going through Yoo Jonghyuk.
Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes crossed. Their swords moved towards Yoo Jonghyuk at the same time.
It was thebo of Kendo and Sword Training. But thebo that damaged even the T-Rex didn¡¯t work on Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Kuheok!¡±
Lee Jihye was hit in the face with Hundred Steps Godly Fists, spat out blood and copsed.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has activated the exclusive skill ¡®Judgment Time.¡¯]
[The constetions of the Absolute Good system are silent at Jung Heewon¡¯s request.]
[The skill has been cancelled.]
Jung Heewon cursed.
¡°Dammit...not this guy as well?¡±
It was natural. Yoo Jonghyuk was ruthless but his essence was ¡®righteous.¡¯
Jung Heewon was hit by a force punch and lost her sword, rolling across the ground. In this desperate moment, Lee Gilyoung used the special skill ¡®Mjolnir¡¯s Thunder¡¯ from behind me.
Kukukung!
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has offset the impact of the attack with ¡®Lightning Resistance.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk looked this way. Shit. I knew he would be strong but... this much? I touched Lee Gilyoung¡¯s shoulder and staggered forward.
¡°Gilyoung. Please. Do you know what to do?¡±
Lee Gilyoung quickly noticed and immediately nodded.
¡°Yes Hyung.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°No.¡±
Lee Gilyoung started to mumble something straight away. Lee Gilyoung¡¯s pupils slowly reversed. I didn¡¯t want to do this but now I had to mobilize all my cards.
[You have used the Tyrant T-Rex¡¯s DNA Ampoule.]
[All stats will explosively increase for 30 minutes!]
Yes...let¡¯s fight you son of a bitch.
[Stamina Lv. 24 -> Stamina Lv. 34]
[Strength Lv. 24 -> Strength Lv. 34]
[Agility Lv. 20 -> Agility Lv. 30]
[Magic Power Lv. 15 -> Magic Power Lv. 25]
[The vitality in your body is rising!]
[The potential of your muscles have exploded!]
[You can move more agilely than before.]
[Your heart is seething with an unknown energy!]
The gap in insufficient skills was filled with overwhelming stats.
If Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Transmission wasplete, it would be a useless gamble. But it was possible since the skill level was low.
Still, it would only be for a moment. This moment was good.
[The exclusive skill ¡®White Pure Star Energy Lv. 1¡¯ has been activated.]
[The umtion of stats will increase the level of White Pure Star Energy!]
[White Pure Star Energy Lv. 1 -> White Pure Star Energy Lv. 2.]
The feeling of the magic power at my fingertips changed. I didn¡¯t have to run as he rushed towards me first. I realized my momentum was unusual as he pulled out his sword for the first time.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used ¡®Splitting the Sky Energy Lv. 2¡¯.]
Kakakakak!
Sparks flew from our des. Neither Yoo Jonghyuk or I stepped back. I felt tremendous pressure as I gripped the de. Blue ether burned around his de.
At this point, it was wonderful beyond admiration. In the world of Ways of Survival, higher stats created an absolute gap in power. Now my physical stats were in the 3rd stage while Yoo Jonghyuk was in the 2nd. (TL: So over 30 and over 20).
Still, he wasn¡¯t pushed by me at all. No, it was to the point where I was pushed. I gritted my teeth.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]
As soon as the skill was activated, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts entered my mind.
¡¸ It is painful. ¡¹
¡¸ Several more times in the future. ¡¹
¡¸ Do I need to repeat this? ¡¹
I was furious. This bastard, already?
¡°Wake up you jerk!¡±
I struck his sword with all my might and stretched out a fist towards his jaw. The attack was possible because I read his movements with Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
Supak!
My fist hit his chin and he stumbled for the first time.
¡¸ Once the regression begins, everything will go back to the beginning. ¡¹
¡¸All mypanions will lose their memories and my history is erased. ¡¹
¡°You idiot!
¡¸Then everything will repeat again. ¡¹
In fact, sunfish were very durable creatures. They died because they were vulnerable to stress, not because they were weak.
Just like this guy in front of me.
The theater master was able to control Yoo Jonghyuk was due to his uneasy mental state. The theatre master had weak physical abilities but the best mental abilities. If Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Mental Barrier was over level 80,000, this wouldn¡¯t have happened.
¡¸ What am I...? ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes were blurred. I was furious once I heard the thoughts in his head.
¡°Aren¡¯t you a real protagonist?¡±
As someone who read all 3,149 chapters of Ways of Survival, I was furious.
¡°Haven¡¯t you only regressed three times?¡±
I once again hit his head with all my strength. Was it a miracle? The blow to his jaw slowed him down a bit. I didn¡¯t miss the opportunity and kicked his chest.
¡°Do you really think so? You have already forgotten the determination of your first attempt.¡±
¡¸I am the only living thing in this world. ¡¹
A lonely voice.
¡°You bastard... don¡¯t fall into those sentiments.¡±
I shouted while blocking his sword.
¡°If you can¡¯t find the meaning of life in front of you, didn¡¯t you decide to live for the greater cause?¡±
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
I didn¡¯t know who I was talking to anymore. Hot mes sprang up from the de. My eyes stung and my skin became raw from the heat. My voice was breathless. Maybe I was also lost in the moment.
¡¸ I am alone. ¡¹
It was as if I was Yoo Jonghyuk or even lived Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s life. My chest was tight.
¡°Alone?¡±
¡¸ I... ¡¹
¡°What did Ie here for if you are alone?¡±
¡¸ I... ¡¹
My sword struck and tore at his hands. Blood flowed and the flesh was torn. I wielded the sword like a madman. I gritted my teeth.
¡°Why are you alone? When you died like a fool in the Theatre Dungeon, when you cried over your dead little sister, when the prophet stabbed you in the back! When your loved one gave birth to a child...!¡±
As I was talking, I strangely recalled other memories. Letters and letters passed. My old memories of Ways of Survival.
¡°You went crazy after your child died!¡±
Theplex memories of his family affairs and things he experienced passed through my mind.
¡°Fighting against the demon kings and the returnees!¡±
The nightmares of the senior officers in the army.
¡°Helping people and fighting against the damn reincarnators! When you finally stood before the constetions!¡±
The days when I struggled to get a job and when my bosses were vile and abusive. Everything was in order to live. In order to survive every day.
¡°Look around you and try to live somehow!¡±
Even so, I returned home. I felt relieved when reading one novel.
¡°I...¡±
My hand holding the de trembled. I became too excited. Dammit. I just needed to buy enough time.
I breathed roughly and looked ahead. But...something was strange. Was it an illusion? It was only a moment but a dim light was returning to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hand.
¡¸ I... ¡¹
Some things couldn¡¯t be understood even if I read his mind. My heart thumped the moment I saw Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s look.
[The excessive immersion has caused the ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ to shake.]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes were staring straight at me.
¡¸ You... who are you? ¡¹
Chapter 41
Episode 9 ¨C Omniscient Sunfish (6)
¡°What?¡±
¡¸ What are you...? ¡¹
I was surprised by the sudden change in thoughts. Surely he didn¡¯t regain his sense of reason after hearing my words? How could that be?
I was a bit confused. In the first ce, I didn¡¯t start this operation with the expectation of such a result.
[The ¡®Theatre Master¡¯s Simcrum¡¯ is embarrassed.]
[The ¡®Theatre Master¡¯s Simcrum¡¯ has strengthened his control on the character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
¡°Kuaaak...!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes blurred again.
Indeed. I had felt hope but it was unreasonable for him to wake up himself. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be a sunfish. I would be grateful if he didn¡¯tmit suicide. The ether of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword trembled.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Splitting the Sky Energy¡¯ has grown!]
In the meantime, the skills received through Transmission were bing stronger. It was thanks to the talent of a main character.
The White Pure Star Energy gradually copsed as I kept struggling. I didn¡¯t know if it was the limit of the skill itself or a difference in talent.
I nced at Lee Gilyoung. Blood was pouring down from Lee Gilyoung¡¯s nose. The time hade.
¡°Jonghyuk.¡±
Perhaps after today, Yoo Jonghyuk would be surprisingly strong. I pushed his sword away as hard as I could.
¡°Do you remember what I asked before? I asked if I could hit you?¡±
There was a difference in natural talent. In the next few years, Yoo Jonghyuk would be iparable stronger than me.
But not right now. At least for now.
¡°You told me to hit you if I could. Do you remember?¡±
If I did this now, then at least for a moment...
[de of Faith is activated!]
[The special option of Unbroken Faith is activated.]
[The ether property is converted to ¡®fire.¡¯]
I could overwhelm this ridiculous guy.
Ether de. The fire ether appeared in empty space.
Hwaruruk!
Yoo Jonghyuk was surprised by the sudden attack and took a few steps back. He instinctively felt that it was something extraordinary. But it was toote.
[The stigma ¡®Song of the Sword¡¯ has been used.]
Song of the Sword. It was one of the strongestbat buffs that the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare was proud of.
[Your sword is filled with the words left by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.]
There was arge variation in the attack power depending on which verse was sung, but it was a perfect skill for me right now.
¡¸ Shooting arrows like rain and protecting the generalissimo from guns firing on all sides. ¡¹
Fortunately, it was a verse from the Nanjung Ilgi. (Wiki Link)
An enormous magic power emerged and all the burning ethers were united. I swung it towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ The chaos was like a thunderstorm. ¡¹
The fire ether took the shape of arrows and started to bombard him. It was an attack that couldn¡¯t be used for a long time due to insufficient magic power. However,this would suffice.
Dudududududu!
¡°Kuooh!¡±
Numerous red wounds appeared all over Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body.
In this damn world where coins represented all values and the constetions decided the development of the world, I still needed Yoo Jonghyuk.
Thus, I would protect him today.
Hwaruruk!
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s actions stopped as mes burned the area. His Fire Resistance meant it might not be a serious blow, but it was enough to force him into a state of inactivity. I looked at the ¡®theater master¡¯ sitting at the edge of the garden.
[The ¡®Theatre Master¡¯s Simcrum¡¯ is extremely alert to you.]
Now was the only chance. I started running. In the distance, I could see the theatre master stiffen.
Then.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used Recovery Lv. 2!]
Dammit, Yoo Jonghyuk was already chasing after me.
Recovery. It was a scam skill where he could recover quickly after being hit hard once a day. He already obtained this skill due to Transmission.
No matter how fast I ran, I couldn¡¯t be faster than Yoo Jonghyuk who used Red Phoenix Shunpo.
I ignored the theater master in front of me and collided with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword. I could only believe in myst card. I cried out with all my strength.
¡°Gilyoung!¡±
Kukukung!
The moment I cried out, there was a huge crack in the ceiling of Sky Garden.
The ck dome surrounding the roof was breaking. The Yoo Jonghyuk running towards me was also the Yoo Jonghyuk manipted by the theatre master. He looked up with surprise at the ceiling.
It was generally impossible for the shielded area of a ¡®hidden scenario¡¯ to be broken. But it was possible for ¡®umon¡¯ existences.
In the distance, Lee Gilyoung was crying while wiping his bleeding nose.
¡°U-Uwahh... uwahhhh...!¡±
In order to deal with a monster, you had to call a monster.
Kuoooooh!
A huge insect dug into the cracks of the broken dome.
Rattle!
Like thin ss, the dome broke and the roof was split apart. The astonished theater master screamed. A monster that could destroy the shielded area of a hidden scenario. It was like a gigantic praying mantis, the insect king of great size.
[The 6th grade insect king, Titanoptera has appeared!]
It was an appearance that caused goosebumps. The monster that had been fighting with the poisonous rhino the other day. This monster came here in response to Lee Gilyoung¡¯s Diverse Communication. Lee Gilyoungughed.
¡°He, hehe... Titano...¡±
Titano? Don¡¯t tell me... it did look simr but surely not.
Kuoooooh!
The huge preying mantis flew towards the theatre master. Then Yoo Jonghyuk blocked it.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used ¡®Strong Self-Defense Lv. 4¡¯.]
Kwaaaaang!
There was a massive sound and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body was pushed down into the floor of the rooftop. Yet Yoo Jonghyuk was still standing.
Ku ku ku ku!
...He was really a ridiculous monster. He could do with a 6th grade species with his current abilities? Yoo Jonghyuk evenunched a counterattack.
Kyaooooh!
The Titanoptera screamed at the hard blow. Surprisingly, Yoo Jonghyuk was on par with the 6th grade insect king.
Maybe it was something he saw when fighting with me. The colour of the theatre master was returning. Yoo Jonghyuk was strong. It was a sudden situation but the theatre master thought he could win.
He was wrong. He should¡¯ve been looking at me.
I ran towards the theater master again. There wasn¡¯t long left on Diverse Communicaton. I wouldn¡¯t let Lee Gilyoung¡¯s efforts be in vain.
[de of Faith is activated!]
The theatre master btedly discovered me and shouted.
The theater master¡¯s simcrum.
ording to the setting of Ways of Survival, this named boss was made with all the heart and soul of a constetion. A lot of time passed and he was in a deteriorated form, bing the boss of a hidden scenario. However... he was still able to prate Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Mental Barrier.
The one who received the divine protection of a constetion. He was never a pushover.
[The ¡®Theatre Master¡¯s Simcrum¡¯ has triggered ¡®Simcra.¡¯
It was a delirium skill on a higher level than the specter¡¯s Wee Prison.
The surrounding space distorted and all types of illusions appeared. The monsters seemed closer to reality than illusions.
The ground rats, grolls, poisonous rhinos, T-rex... The monsters I had encountered so far were running towards me. The fierce teeth and violence ws ripped and wed at me, but I didn¡¯t stop. I wasn¡¯t afraid. It was all fake. They didn¡¯t exist. They were all fiction from a novel.
The moment that the de of Faith reached his neck.
[The ¡®Theatre Master¡¯s Simcrum¡¯ has triggered ¡®Mental Erosion.]
Mental Erosion. It was the advanced cognitive maniption skill used on Yoo Jonghyuk. I wasn¡¯t afraid because I had the Fourth Wall. But something unexpected happened the moment he prated my head.
[The ¡®Theatre Master¡¯s Simcrum¡¯ is embarrassed.]
Abyss of the ego.
All types of thoughts gathered and the pages of Ways of Survival fluttered.
¨CT-This?This, is...!
Numerous texts emanated a faint light and floated in the darkness. It was the chapters of Ways of Survival that I had read.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
Theplexion of the theatre master changed as he dug into my head. He looked at the strings around him and his face whitened.
¨CDon¡¯t, tell, me, you...ahhh!
This was thest thing he said. Strangely, he looked at me in awe.
The moment de of Faith was about to cross his neck, a dazzling light came from his body. It was like a ghost touching a divine light or the penalty for breaking a taboo.
He was destroyed without a trace.
I looked down at my hands and felt dazed.
...What just happened?
[The ¡®Theatre Master¡¯s Simcra¡¯ has been killed for the first time.]
[You have obtained 9,000 coins aspensation.]
[You have met the conditions to clear the hidden scenario!]
[You have obtained 4,000 coins aspensation.]
These messages rose. I looked back and saw Yoo Jonghyuk copsing after being released from the theatre master¡¯s control. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t die. The same was true for Lee Gilyoung, who had forcibly used Diverse Communication.
¡°Hyung...¡±
I rushed over and embraced Lee Gilyoung. Lee Gilyoung lost strength and fainted in my arms.
[The barrier surrounding the Theater Dungeon has disappeared.]
The barrier covering the ceiling vanished and I looked at the insect king. Surprising, it turned around and fled. It was like all interest had vanished. I breathed out with a sense of relief.
It was over.
¡°...Are you okay?¡±
Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye staggered over.
¡°I¡¯m fine. Heewon-ssi?¡±
¡°I¡¯m okay. Fortunately, Jihye is safe.¡±
Lee Jihye was hit a lot by Yoo Jonghyuk and she couldn¡¯t speak because her mouth was swollen.
[The ending time for the third main scenario is approaching!]
Perhaps it was time for the end.
I looked around the rooftop and saw that dawn wasing, making the day brighter. If Lee Hyunsung was here, he would recite the ¡®homnd¡¯ prayer.
Jung Heewon groaned.
¡°Ah... Seoul.¡±
The ruined city area was illuminated by the faint light of dawn. I heard intermittent explosions from far away. Now there was no more poisonous fog. The poisonous rhinos were crushed under the copsed buildings. I could see people fighting among themselves. They were probably a group that ended the scenario before us. The entirendscape was trapped inside a huge dome.
It was arge barrier that seemed to be breaking.
Currently, Seoul was isted in a transparent dome.
Jung Heewon said, ¡°Really...it is all ending.¡±
It was a scene that had to be acknowledged once again.
I looked at the copsed buildings and thought that Mino Soft would be somewhere there. Yoo Sangah would be disappointed. It was because Yoo Sangah was a person who worked hard. Lee Gilyoung wriggled in my arms.
¡°Have you regained consciousness?¡±
Lee Gilyoung nodded and pointed to the sky.
From a distance, a meteor shower seemed to be falling. The meteor shower was originally the forerunner of the main scenario. However, the number of meteor showers was more than before.
It meant the ¡®hall¡¯ would open soon.
The meteor showers were probably falling all over the world.
Jung Heewon admired it.
¡°Pretty...¡±
Jung Heewon didn¡¯t know. The meteors that looked beautiful from a distance would make a nightmare for the people where it fell.
Now a bigger disaster woulde.
Lee Gilyoung gathered his small hands together and muttered something. Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye were silent for a while. Maybe they were also praying.
It was funny. Wishing to the beings who would be a source of nightmare, it was probably only human beings who did this in the entire universe.
After a while, Lee Gilyoung opened his eyes and looked up at me.
¡°Hyung isn¡¯t making a wish?¡±
I looked down at Lee Gilyoung and replied.
¡°I have made a wish.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Gilyoung, you shouldn¡¯t ask that.¡± Jung Heewon scolded him.
I watched Jung Heewon, Yoo Jonghyuk and then the copsed Seoul again.
¡°I wish to see the novel¡¯s epilogue.¡±
Lee Gilyoung looked at me with confusion.
I silently gazed at the sky. There were slight cracks in the sky above Seoul. Once the sun rose, the dokkaebis would open a new hell.
Chapter 42
Episode 10 ¨C Future War (1)
[Main Scenario #3 ¨C Emergency Defense has ended.]
[You have obtained 1,000 coins aspensation.]
The main scenario, which was supposed to begin only after the sun had risen, actually started less than 10 minutes after the third main scenario was over.
[The fourth main scenario is about to begin!]
Damn, how long had it been since the third scenario ended...
I went straight to Lee Jihye.
¡°You take Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°...Can I do that?¡±
¡°You can¡¯t go downstairs now anyway. It will be a problem for when he wakes up.¡±
Lee Jihye nodded as she looked at Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Please inform me when he wakes up. I want to give him another hit in the back.¡±
I headed downstairs with Jung Heewon. I carried Lee Gilyoung, who hadpletely fallen asleep after the meteor shower.
The dungeon disappeared and it turned into an ordinary theatre. The items in the rewards room on the 5th floor were turned into ordinary stage props. It was as if everything that happened yesterday was a dream.
Then BIhyung¡¯s voice was heard.
[...Do you know what I am going to say?]
¡®Yes.¡¯
[Sigh...I nearly fell down.]
I felt a little relieved as I listened to Bihyung¡¯s grumbles.
The constetions were powerful but they weren¡¯t omniscient. It was because all the sounds and images of the scenario were transmitted through the ¡®channel.¡¯ What did this mean?
¡®Was it filtered properly? I was too excited that I said too much.¡¯
[Of course it was. Is there something wrong with my channel? That level of information is automatically filtered.]
If my thoughts were correct, the words I said to Yoo Jonghyuk would be conveyed to the constetions in the following way.
¨CDo you really think so?You have already forgotten the determination of your ¡ö¡ö attempt.
-Why are you alone?When you ¡ö¡ö¡ö like a fool in the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, when you cried over your ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!When your loved one gave ¡ö¡ö to a ¡ö¡ö!
-Helping people and fighting against the damn¡ö¡ö¡ö!When you finally ¡ö¡ö¡ö before the ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!¡±
In fact, I didn¡¯t know how much filtering there was.
It might be more than this, but it wouldn¡¯t be weak. In the original work, Yoo Jonghyuk experienced information being blocked this way at the beginning, even when information about ¡®regressors¡¯ was spreading.
[The constetions didn¡¯t hear anything. Don¡¯t worry. The problem is that even I didn¡¯t hear much.
¡®...You didn¡¯t hear it?¡¯
This was a bit odd. The dokkaebi also couldn¡¯t hear the information?
[Yes, that¡¯s right. What were you talking about?]
Information that even the dokkaebi didn¡¯t know. I had one guess. Perhaps... the constraints of ¡®probability¡¯ had begun? I naturally came up with something from Ways of Survival.
¡¸ ¡®Probability¡¯ is a great deterrent that controls the Star Stream. ¡¹
...I was reminded of it but it didn¡¯t help me straight away. One of the reasons why Ways of Survival was ruined was that there were too many settings the writer didn¡¯t know well.
¡®What is the reaction among the constetions?¡¯
[They are fed up. There is still an uproar about what you were talking about.]
I guess so. The constetions experienced a filter and the movie suddenly changed into a silent movie.
If they were smart, they should start paying attention to the possibilities I had. The fact that my words were filtered meant I knew information that shouldn¡¯t be revealed at the present time.
[A few constetions are watching you to explore your secrets.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is excited by your existence.]
[2,000 coins have been sponsored.]
I thought Bihyung had forgotten.
[I received so many indirect messages that I didn¡¯t send them to you. Do you understand?]
¡®Do so in the future. I only want messages about coins.¡¯
[...Am I your manager?]
The figure of Bihyung disappeared. I thought he was bing cuter over time. One thing was finished and the other...
¡°Dokja-ssi, is it hard? I¡¯ll carry Gilyoung.¡±
¡°Ah, it would be appreciated.¡±
I handed Lee Gilyoung to Jung Heewon. Her face looked somewhat serious. I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth.
¡°Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°What are you worried about?¡±
¡°No, just...¡± Jung Heewon hesitated for a moment before sighing. ¡°Hah... okay. It isn¡¯t in my nature to keep it in.¡±
Indeed.
Jung Heewon got directly to the point.
¡°What is Dokja-ssi¡¯s identity?¡±
¡°...Did you hear something earlier?¡±
¡°A little bit.¡±
I thought she wouldn¡¯t hear it because we were quite far away. Unfortunately, she heard something. Jung Heewon was closer than Lee Jihye and no human-to-human filtering is possible...
Lee Gilyoung let out a loud snoring noise. I decided to be half honest.
¡°I know part of the future.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Jung Heewon thought about something for a while. She seemed to be wondering if my words were true or not. Then Jung Heewon seemed to have decided as she bit her lips.
¡°Do Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung know?¡±
¡°They don¡¯t know yet.¡±
I answered in earnest and Jung Heewon stepped away from me with Lee Gilyoung.
¡°...Surely you aren¡¯t going to kill me?¡±
¡®Why are you saying this all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Normally, a development like ¡®You know too much about me¡¯ will ur...¡±
Where did this normal developmente from? Somehow I seemed to be a bad person.
¡°I don¡¯t know what the normal development is but I would¡¯ve already killed Heewon-ssi if I wanted to.¡±
¡°Actually, that is a bit weird.¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t have bad thoughts. It is actually the opposite.¡±
¡°The opposite?¡±
I looked into Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes and said.
¡°The future scenarios will be more dangerous. You might almost die many times and might lose preciouse things.
¡°...So?¡±
¡°So...¡±
I looked into Jung Heewon¡¯s increasingly nervous eyes and said.
¡°Please stay with me from now on.¡±
¡°...What do you mean?¡±
¡°It means to be mypanion.¡±
It was time to make my people. ¡®Trustworthy people¡¯ who wouldn¡¯t easily betray me.
Jung Heewon, who I helped awaken and could read her mind, was the most suitable talent. Jung Heewon looked nk for a moment.
¡°Dokja-ssi didn¡¯t consider me apanion before?¡±
¡°It is actually the opposite. I¡¯m not the one who doesn¡¯t think of you as apanion.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes shook.
I deliberately took a step back.
¡°If you don¡¯t want to bepanions, think of it as a deal. I need Heewon¡¯s strength and my information will be helpful to Heewon-ssi. It is give and take. The important thing is that our rtionship won¡¯t change in the future.¡±
¡°It is a bit abrupt... Do I have to answer now?¡±
¡°No.¡±
For a person like Jung Heewon, a leisurely approach was better than a hasty and emotional one. In fact, Jung Heewon¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t bad.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is relieved at your honesty.]
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is seriously thinking about your proposal.]
Maybe it wouldn¡¯t be long. I had a big influence on Jung Heewon¡¯s awakening event and my presence would be deeply stamped in her subconscious.
Perhaps when this scenario was over, the second Sponsor Selection would begin. Then Jung Heewon would gain a sponsor. The real power of Jung Heewon would be shown from then on.
¡°Then can I ask you something?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Do you know what I am doing in the future?¡±
I looked up. Wouldn¡¯t this be filtered?
¡°I also don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°There is no Jung Heewon in the future that I know.¡±
¡°What...¡±
¡°That¡¯s why this deal is really necessary for Heewon-ssi.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes widened.
Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t in the original book. She was a variable that I raised directly. Her attribute was good enough and if she got a proper sponsor, she would y a key role in changing future scenarios. Especially if I fought against people with ¡®other variables¡¯ that I didn¡¯t know.
Then a loud noise was heard from downstairs.
¡°Think about it. Let¡¯s hurry.¡±
We descended to the tform where many people were putting pressure on a small group.
I understood the situation. The Landlord Alliance. They were still like this.
¡°Where did that bastard Kim Dokja go? Tell me quickly.¡±
Looking closer, I saw that the Landlord Alliance were harassing Lee Hyunsung. I deliberately walked towards them and spoke in a loud voice.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, Lee Hyunsung-ssi.¡±
¡°You!¡±
An alliance member cried out as soon as I came down to the tform of Line 4.
I saw a familiarndlord uncle. The evidence of the fierce battle remained on the bastard¡¯s body. At first nce, I could tell that his overall stats had risen sharply. I liked it.
¡°Gong Pildu.¡±
Gong Pildu used Armed Zone and eight turrets rose. The alliance members centred around Gong Pildu looked at me. They didn¡¯t know the person who saved them.
¡°This jerk...!¡±
The moment Gong Pildu was about to say something. There was an electric current in the air.
[The fourth main scenario will start in 5 minutes!]
Along with the system message, Dokkaebi Bihyung appeared.
[Hahaha, everyone! Have you been well?]
People¡¯s expressions stiffened at this nasty guy¡¯s face.
[It looks like you are all restless!]
¡°W-What is it now?¡±
[Of course I came because of the announcement for the fourth scenario.]
¡°This is shit...¡±
[Now now, don¡¯t act like that. Don¡¯t you know I go after the first person whoins? The fourth main scenario has to do with the other stations. A fairly exciting story is waiting for you. I¡¯m sure you will be satisfied!]
Everyone¡¯splexions darkened as they heard about other stations.
Chungmuro alone was this bad. It was obvious how much trouble there would be if other stations were involved. Bihyungughed.
[By the way, in order to proceed with this scenario, you have to perform another task first. Won¡¯t it be a mess if the number of people increases? Therefore, you need a presence to lead you. In other words, there must be a station representative!]
Representative. It was finally starting.
[From now on, we will y a ¡®skirmish.¡¯] It could be called a warm-up game. The rules of the game... well, you will see!]
Bihyung smiled and disappeared, while a message window popped up in front of everyone.
[The sub scenario has arrived!]
+
[Sub Scenario ¨C Elect a Representative]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: C
Clear Conditions: Take the ¡®white g¡¯ installed in the centre of the tform.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Compensation: 1,000 coins, Chungmuro¡¯s representative.
Failure: ¨D
* The representative of the station can exercise strong control over the members.
+
Before the message window fully popped up, Gong Pildu was already running to the g in the centre of the tform. He truly was like a ghost.
¡°Everybody get out of the way!¡±
Gong Pildu pushed people like a runaway lotive and was in the lead to get the white g. This couldn¡¯t happen. The moment his fingertips were about to reach the g, I opened my mouth.
¡°Gong Pildu, down!¡±
[Under the terms of the contract, ¡®Command Rights¡¯ is activated!]
¡°Waaack!¡±
I stepped on the back of the copsed Gong Pildu and took the white g.
[You have pulled the white g from the gpole.]
[You have be the ¡®representative¡¯ of Chungmuro.]
[You are qualified to walk the ¡®King¡¯s Road.¡¯]
Chapter 43
Episode 10 ¨C Future War (2)
As soon as my hand wrapped around the g, I felt a strong energy rising in my body. Originally, this was something the third turn Yoo Jonghyuk should have but... it didn¡¯t matter.
Wasn¡¯t he already strong?
[¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ has upied the white g.]
[If the white g doesn¡¯t change owners in the next five minutes, Chungmuro will be under his control.]
[If the g is snatched in the next five minutes, the timer will reset.]
A timer appeared in the air.
[5:00]
Gong Pildu pointed at me with a pale face.
¡°Take away the g! You only have to snatch it in five minutes!¡±
The alliance member btedly regained their minds and started rushing towards me. Oho, it was like this?
Lee Hyunsung turned to me.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
¡°Hyunsung-ssi!¡±
We called out to each other at the same time. Hercules¡¯ Shield flew out of my hands into Lee Hyunsung¡¯s hands.
¡°T-This?¡±
¡°I picked it out for you. Throw away what you previously used.
A big smile appeared on Lee Hyunsung¡¯s face.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has used the exclusive skill ¡®Wide-Area Defense!]
A translucent shield centred on Hercules¡¯ Shield surrounded our party. Indeed, this was the secondary skill attached to an A-grade item.
¡°Wah, what is this?¡±
People groaned as they ran into the air shield. They tried to break the protective shields with their old weapons but it couldn¡¯t be broken with E-grade or F-grade items. In the end, the alliance members had only one ce to turn to.
¡°Pildu-ssi!¡±
¡°Out of the way!¡±
The level of Armed Zone had risen considerably and there was already a small Armed Zone under Gong Pildu¡¯s feet. He reduced the area to shorten the cooldown time. He was using his brains.
Well, I had to handle it properly.
¡°Pildu, did I tell you to get up yet?¡±
¡°Heok?¡±
Gong Pildu¡¯s head once again mmed into the ground as he fell t.
[Under the terms of the contract, ¡®Command Rights¡¯ is activated!]
¡°Keep your head on the ground until I tell you to get up.¡±
The perplexed alliance members shouted at Gong Pildu.
¡°P-Pildu-ssi?¡±
¡°P-Pull me up! Quickly!¡±
The terrified alliance members tried to raise Gong Pildu up but it wasn¡¯t easy because Gong Pildu was very heavy.
¡°And... it is annoying so turn off the turrets.¡±
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has released ¡®Armed Zone Lv. 6!]
¡°T-This bastard...!¡±
¡°Shut your mouth as well. Stay silent for 30 minutes.¡±
[Under the terms of the contract, ¡®Command Rights¡¯ is activated!]
¡°Oof oof oof!¡±
The alliance members becamepletely panic stricken once Gong Pildu became powerless with just a few words. Of course, the same was true for Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon.
I said with a smile, ¡°Now everyone seems to have figured out the situation and I¡¯d like to talk to you...¡±
I could see people wincing and withdrawing.
There were roughly 29 people left. 20 members from the Landlord Alliance and nine extra people, including me and my party. The number wasn¡¯t high but it was better than I thought. It was because having too many people at the beginning was difficult to control. I watched them and said.
¡°Now you have two choices.¡±
It was time to pick a side.
¡°The first one is to leave Chungmuro and go to another station. Or stay here with me.¡±
¡°W-What are you saying so suddenly...?¡±
¡°Just answer me. Will you remain here or will you go elsewhere? You better decide before the main scenario starts. Or else your life will be in danger.¡±
The eyes of the people present started to quickly move. Someone looked at me, someone else looked at Gong Pildu and another person looked at the tunnel leading to another station. I could tell their thoughts just be looking at them.
¡°I won¡¯t stop anyone who wants to leave. But anyone who stays here will be under my control.¡±
¡°Control...?¡±
¡°Behaviour like the Landlord Alliance¡¯ is no longer eptable. I won¡¯t allow tyranny over a small group.¡±
A handful of people watching me furtively started to stand by my side. They had been treated harshly by the Landlord Association and thought it was better to stick with me. It was a good judgment. A few alliance members shouted.
¡°In the end, you are going to reign!¡±
¡°I won¡¯t deny it. But I won¡¯t take taxes or survival money.¡±
¡°Is our safety guaranteed if we enter your group?¡±
A man from the alliance asked. Well, they bothered the tenants so much that it was natural to worry.
¡°I¡¯ll guarantee some outside safety but I won¡¯t interfere with what is going on inside. You must deal with conflicts between individuals yourself.¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
¡°I¡¯ll give you one minute. You have until then to decide.¡±
There was no need to wait for one minute. People had already made up their minds. Some of the alliance members walked over to me with determined expressions and bowed their heads. They were rtively young.
¡°Thank you in advance. I was wrong in the past. Thank you for your generous forgiveness.¡±
¡°It is a pleasure. You don¡¯t have to ask for forgiveness from me.¡±
[Some members within the group fell a sense of trust towards you.]
However, several others decided to leave Chungmuro. They tried to raise the fallen Gong Pildu.
I watched them and said, ¡°Ah, leave Gong Pildu. That guy is mine.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°If you have decided then leave quickly.¡±
The five alliance members frowned at this and withdrew.
¡°Kang-ssi! Do you really not want toe with me? It is better than staying under him!¡±
¡°Let¡¯s all go! Are you really going to serve that guy? You¡¯ve seen him!¡±
But there were no more defectors.
The five men cursed a few times before heading for the tunnel towards Myeongdong. They wanted to gainnd elsewhere and be new ndlords¡¯. Unfortunately, their n would fail. In the fourth scenario, the people ¡®wandering¡¯ were good prey to predators.
Once five minutes passed, the system messages popped up.
[The sub scenario has ended.]
[You have earned 1,000 coins aspensation.]
[The white g will show its true effects to the Chungmuro representative.]
[Current Group: 24 people.]
[Your reputation is still too weak to gain the title of king.]
The title of king...
Indeed, it was hard to get the title of king with just a white g. In order to walk the proper king¡¯s road, I had to change the colour of the g. Of course, the white colour had its own ¡®authority.¡¯
[You have gained control of the Chungmuro Group through the effect of the white g.]
[You can punish a group member who goes against you.]
[There are currently five people who have left.]
I could give a ¡®punishment¡¯ to the five distant men but I left it alone. Terror was effective in controlling people but such tyranny wasn¡¯t suitable for me.
¡°Well, thank you.¡±
I said while looking everyone in the eyes.
Lee Hyunsung was looking at me with respect while Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon nodded. The rest of them were looking at me with simr expressions. They were still rabble but it wasn¡¯t a bad start.
Shortly afterwards, Bihyung appeared in the air.
[Ohu, you have voted for a representative. Then let¡¯s start the game!]
[The fourth main scenario is activated!]
+
[Main Scenario #4 ¨C Struggle for the g]
Category: Main
Difficulty: C
Clear Conditions: (Hidden because there are many contents)
Time Limit: 12 days.
Compensation: 2,000 coins.
Failure: ???
+
I press the clear conditions.
Numerous messages appeared in front of me.
+
[Clear Conditions]
1. Every station has a ¡®g¡¯ and ¡®gpole¡¯ that can be upied.
* The g can only be carried by the ¡®representative¡¯ of the station.
2. You need to protect the g from other station groups. If a g is taken away by another group, the losing group will be taken over by the group that upied the g.
3. You can put a ¡®g¡¯ in the ¡®gpole¡¯ of another station. The authority of the g is only for the ¡®representative¡¯ of each station. Once the representative dies in an armed conflict, the authority of the representative is transferred to the person who holds the g first. If you take the ¡®g¡¯ of another station group, the treatment of the group deprived of the g is determined by the group that took the g.
4. You must upy the ¡®gpole¡¯ of the ¡®target station¡¯ within a certain time limit. Failure to do so will result in the death of all group members.
5. The target station your group should upy is Changsin Station.
+
Jung Heewon thought for a moment before opening her mouth.
¡°...We have to keep our g and gpole while putting out g in other stations. Am I understanding it right?¡±
¡°That is how I understood it. We must take the g to Changsin Station.¡± Lee Hyunsung also spoke.
Then I said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Everyone has understood.¡±
Jung Heewon narrowed her eyes at my words. She knew I was pretending not to know. Now that I knew the future, she kept looking at me. I grinned towards Jung Heewon.
Yoo Sangah touched her shoulder and said.
¡°Again... we once again have to fight against people?¡±
Lee Hyunsung thought for a moment before replying.
¡°It said that we can decide on the treatment of the group if we upy their gpole... hopefully there might not be any casualties.¡±
¡°Ah, I see. That death won¡¯t necessarily ur if we take over the station? If we can ept the members of that station group when deciding the treatment...¡±
¡°Yes, it is possible to clear it without anyone dying.¡±
Lee Hyunsung replied with a smile. However, my heart wasn¡¯tfortable.
It seemed like Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung were trying to understand the world with some saintly logic.
There was no such thing as a scenario where no one died. The fourth scenario would have more casualties than any precious scenario.
As if she knew my heart, Jung Heewon changed the topic.
¡°What line is Changsin Station? I think we should know that first.¡±
Lee Hyunsung confirmed it on the route map.
¡°Line 6. If we go to the tunnel, we can use the transit route...¡±
¡°Then we should split the group. How about a few people guarding this ce while others go to scout?¡±
I didn¡¯t have to say anything as they actively exchanged opinions. It was somewhat heartwarming.
[The activation of the scenario will turn off Chungmuro Station¡¯s safety borders.]
[You can now freely move to other stations.]
As people were exchanging their opinions, I approached Gong Pildu.
¡°Gong Pildu, you can speak now.¡±
Themand was turned off but Gong Pildu couldn¡¯t easily open his mouth.
¡°I know that you feel badly towards me. But you have to adapt. The days when you are andlord are over.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I know why you have been so obsessed with nd.¡¯ But do it moderately. If you want to survive in the future. Don¡¯t you have something to do?¡±
Gong Pildu¡¯s eyes were shaky. I continued speaking.
¡°You will be in charge of protecting this ce.¡±
Just like the third scenario, Gong Pildu was very useful for the fourth scenario. As longa s Gong Pildu protected this ce, Chungmuro would be safe unless someone on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s level came.
¡°Why should I speak to you...?¡±
¡°This time I won¡¯t enforce it with amand. If you follow my request, there will be a reward.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Think carefully. Think about your family.¡±
Gong Pildu¡¯s eyes became bigger at my words.
¡°You, how...!¡±
At this moment, noise was heard from the tunnel.
Baang~!
There was a loud horn sound and headlights shone on the railway of line 4. There was a bike engine sound and an exhaust sound. Something wasing towards Chungmuro.
Chapter 44
Episode 10 ¨C Future War (3)
...It hadn¡¯t been long since the scenario began and already?
I tried to recall the original story but there was no recollection of such an early invasion. It meant variables had appeared.
In the darkness, the headlights turned off and there was the sound of people talking.
¡°Ah, we finally made it to Chungmuro.¡±
¡°Really, it took them a long time to break the scenario.¡±
¡°Hey, be quiet. They are going to hear. And don¡¯t you know that the scenarios are different between stations?¡±
I watched as the people came closer with weapons. The most important thing in a battle was to take the lead first. I went forward, followed by Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon, then Yoo Sangah in the rear. Lee Gilyoung was still sleeping.
How many seconds passed? The four men and women in the darkness walked towards this side. I opened my mouth.
¡°Stop there.¡±
¡°Eh? Well well.¡±
The people stopped in their traces when they saw the de I was pointing. There were white bikes beside them. I heard weapons being pulled out but a man¡¯s voice was faster.
¡°Wait a minute. Calm down. Oh, I can¡¯t even talk because I am too scared.¡±
¡°Put down your weapons and slowlye this way.¡±
The man put down his weapon and approached with both hands raised. Once he entered the light, the man¡¯s impression wasn¡¯t bad. He gave off a reasonably favourable impression. His thin eyes were in a gentle curve.
¡°Don¡¯t be too wary. We didn¡¯te here to fight.¡±
¡°Then why did youe?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s start with the introductions. I¡¯m Kang Ilhun and I help manage the Dongdaemun Group.¡±
Kang Ilhun? Nobody popped up in my head straight away. Furthermore, the representative of Dongdaemun... things were bing strange.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
Since the skill worked, he was certainly a character in the novel.
[Character Information]
Name: Kang Ilhun
Age: 31 years old
Constetion Sponsor: Shameless Good Gossiper
Private Attribute: Rumours Expert (General)
Exclusive Skills: Weapons Training Lv. 2, Art of Communication Lv. 3, Spread Rumours Lv. 1.
Stigma: Making a Commotion Lv. 1.
Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 12, Strength Lv. 13, Agility Lv. 13, Magic Power Lv. 10.
Overall Evaluation: Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t develop his character due to the wrong sponsor. But he is a person with good ability who can be used. He spreads rumours regardless of truth or lies, so be careful.
Rumours Expert... It was time for these guys to start acting. Kang Ilhun looked at me with slight impatience.
¡°Your name is...?¡±
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°Ah, Kim Dokja-ssi...?¡±
A sh of wonder corssed Kang Ilhun¡¯s face as he heard my name. However, it was only for a short moment.
¡°Nice to meet you, Dokja-ssi. Since you have a g, you must be a station representative?
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
He looked closely at the colour of my g and then the people around me. It was to confirm the power on our side. He was keen eyes but unfortunately, he met the wrong opponent.
¡°If you have seen enough, get to the main point.¡±
¡°Hahat. I beg your pardon. We also need to be concerned about safety.¡± Kang Ilhun continued speaking without any panic. ¡°Once again, we didn¡¯te to fight. What if we came with a good offer?¡±
I watched Kang Ilhun¡¯s party. None of them had a g.
¡°How can I believe that?¡±
¡°Hmm, won¡¯t you know if you check the rules? If we came to fight, we would¡¯vee with the representative. Only the representative can upy the gpole.¡±
It was true. It was obviously true.
¡°What is the offer?¡±
¡°We came to ask for an alliance.¡±
At these words, the members of Chungmuro started murmuring. Kang Ilhun shook.
¡°Ah, you are uncertain because Chungmuro just opened. In fact, the fourth scenario has already been in progress for two days.¡±
¡°...Two days?¡±
Yoo Sangah reflexively muttered. Kang Ilhun nodded.
¡°Yes, the third scenario is slightly different in content and duration between stations... perhaps you didn¡¯t know this?¡±
¡°Ah...¡±
The third scenario was just over but I already knew this. In the original story, Chungmuro was ater in the scenariopared to other stations. In other words, we started with some losses in terms of information.
In that sense, Kang Ilhun¡¯s alliance offer was a timely temptation. Information was required and this was beyond our strength. The problem was what did the other side gain?
¡°It is a difficult offer to ept. I don¡¯t know if you have an ulterior motive.¡±
¡°Hrmm, Dokja-ssi¡¯s words are definitely right. You won¡¯t believe in the alliance so I will first state what we will get from the alliance. In short, Chungmuro isn¡¯t our ¡®target¡¯ station.¡±
¡°How can I believe that?¡±
¡°You can believe it or not. But please think about it. If Chungmuro was our target, we would¡¯ve dragged the main force of our station here. To be honest, the gpoles are most vulnerable just after the station is open.¡±
It wasn¡¯t very persuasive.
¡°What will you do if our target station is Dongdaemun?¡±
¡°Haha, there is no need to worry about that. We already know the station that is targeting us. We didn¡¯te to you for no reason.¡±
¡°I see. Let¡¯s clear the scenario by helping each other, since our targets are different... is that what you mean?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. Isn¡¯t it good to help each other at this time?¡±
Kang Ilhun smiled and nodded. I was silent for a moment and Yoo Sangah opened her mouth.
¡°I have a question.¡±
Kang Ilhun grinned at Yoo Sangah.
¡°Yes, what is it pretty girl?¡±
¡°Why did youe to Chungmuro? If you came from Dongdaemun, you could¡¯ve made an alliance with other stations.¡±
It was an unexpectedly sharp point. Kang Ilhun looked slightly confused.
¡°Oh, that... as I told you, Chungmuro just opened. I mean... um, the other stations have already formed alliances. But I thought that Chungmuro wouldn¡¯t have... haha, I have to ask, has Chungmuro already made an alliance?¡±
Hrmm...
¡°No, we haven¡¯t.¡±
Kang Ilhun looked happy at my words.
¡°Then form an alliance with Dongdaemun. You won¡¯t regret it. Above all, we have a ¡®winning solution¡¯ for this scenario.¡±
¡°A winning solution?¡±
¡°Yes, in fact, our group knows the hidden secrets of this scenario.¡±
Kang Ilhun grinned and drove in thest nail.
¡°We will tell you if you agree to an alliance with us.¡±
* * *
After a while, I sat with Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon to exchange opinions. Yoo Sangah spoke.
¡°What do we do? Should we establish an alliance?¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to disagree. I can¡¯t believe them. I feel uneasy.¡±
Once Jung Heewon spoke, Lee Hyunsung gave his opinion.
¡°But it wouldn¡¯t be bad if they have information about this scenario. Certainly, we can¡¯t fully trust them as Heewon-ssi said...¡±
Finally, they looked at me. I shrugged.
¡°Then for now...¡±
Once we made a decision, we called over Kang Ilhun and the Dongdaemun Group, who were looking around Chungmuro Station.
¡°I will make a decision once I have met your representative.¡±
¡°Oh, is that so?¡±
¡°Where is your representative?¡±
¡°At Dongdaemun. If you don¡¯t mind, I will guide you...¡±
¡°Please do so.¡±
We got on the back seats of the bikes they came on. The people I took with me were Lee Hyunsung, Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon. Lee Gilyoung was left behind with Gong Pildu. It was because he overused Diverse Communication and hadn¡¯t woken up yet. Of course, I didn¡¯t forget to give an order to protect Lee Gilyoung.
¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡±
There was the sound of the bikes turning on and we started moving. Once 20 seconds had passed. I opened my mouth.
¡°By the way Kang Ilhun-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Those people, did they say anything else about Chungmuro?¡±
¡°Huh? What does tha...¡±
¡°For example, if youe here then there will be a very scary man called Yoo Jonghyuk...¡±
¡°Haha, what are you sayin...¡±
I gave a signal and our party jumped from the back seats of the bikes at the same time.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi!¡±
Yoo Sangah used Binding Thread and tied the four bikes together. There was a roar as the bikes collided with each other.
Kwaaaang!
¡°Aaaagh!¡±
The Dongdaemun members screamed as they crashed down.
Fortunately, our party was safely hanging in the air due to Yoo Sangah¡¯s thread tied to the ceiling. It was a type of seat belt. It was an incredible feat that made Yoo Sangah seem like Spiderman.
Kang Ilhun was covered in dust as hey on the ground and shouted.
¡°W-What are you doing?¡±
¡°What am I doing? That is what I want to ask.¡± I looked at the dark tunnel. ¡°In order to ambush us, you should raise the level of the stealth a bit more.¡±
It was enough for me to detect despite not having Absolute Senses. Kang Ilhun noticed something was wrong and screamed.
¡°Attack them!¡±
At almost the same time, people hiding all over the tunnel emerged. I knew it. They were aiming for my g.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has activated the exclusive skill ¡®Judgment Time.¡¯]
[The Absolute Good constetions have agreed to the use of this skill.]
[¡¯Judgment Time¡¯ has been activated.]
¡°Eh? I thought it might not... isn¡¯t this aplete mess?¡±
Jung Heewonughed with a surprised expression.
¡°It is hard to find bad people.¡±
Jung Heewon spoke in a cold voice and her sword shed through the dark tunnel. Her eyes were red from using Demon yer. The bloody light swept through the darkness as people were ughtered.
¡°W-What?¡±
¡°This crazy girl...! Aaaagh!¡±
Seokeok!Seokekeok!
There were 10 peope but Jung Heewon killed them without a hitch. It was a scene that showed how much Jung Heewon¡¯s stats had risen after the hidden dungeon was cleared.
I also used White Pure Star Energy and easily suppressed Kang Ilhun. A few hours ago, I was dealing with Yoo Jonghyuk. This guy wasn¡¯t very difficult.
¡°Dokja-ssi, Chungmuro...!¡±
I looked back at Lee Hyunsung¡¯s cry and saw that there was amotion in Chungmuro. They were ambushed as soon as we left Chungmuro. I left Kang Ilhun to be tied up by Yoo Sangah and rushed to Chungmuro.
There was already a melee happening on the tform. But I decided to watch the situation for a while. There was something I needed to check first.
¡°What are these bastards!¡±
Dozens of group members that ran from the Myeongdong direction waved weapons at the people of Chungmuro. By the way, the weapons they were carrying were familiar.
¡°That is Kim-ssi¡¯s weapon!¡±
The Landlord Alliance members who headed towards Myeongdong had already been hit by these guys. Indeed, the wanderers who lost their group were just seen as living coins.
The most noticeable enemy was one wearing a red g around his head like a bandana.
¡°Gain controlter! It will be over if I just put the g in!¡±
That¡¯s right. He was the ¡®representative.¡¯
Chapter 45
Episode 10 ¨C Future War (4)
¡°Push through to the g holder!¡±
Based on the direction he was running from, he seemed to be the representative of the Myeongdong Group. They had joined hands with Dongdaemun.
[The Myeongdong representative ¡®Kim Hyuntae¡¯ has used the additional effect of the ¡®red g¡¯!]
It was someone who already changed the colour of the g. Furthermore, it was ¡®red.¡¯
In fact, the key to ¡®Struggle for the g¡¯ was the colour of the g. It was from white to red, navy, brown, purple and ck. The g provided increasingly better effects as the colour changed.
[The Myeongdong Group has received the buff effect of the red g!]
[Attack and defense has increased by 5% each!]
If the g was already red, it meant he had upied one or more stations or had killed the g bearer of another station.
Looking at his eyes, he seemed to have pretty good fighting power. But...
He shouldn¡¯t have aimed for Chungmuro.
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has activated ¡®Armed Zone Lv. 6!]
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has activated ¡®Private Property Lv. 6!]
Gong Pildu didn¡¯t move toote.
¡°Trivial pups...!¡±
I was d I didn¡¯t have to use the Command Rights. If this was the case, I could leave Chungmuro¡¯s defense to Gong Pildu.
The eight mini-turrets fired at the same time towards the Myeongdong Group running towards the gpole.
¡°W-What?¡±
¡°Owaaaaack!
Dududududu!
Pieces of flesh flew through the air. Gong Pildu was truly a scam.
¡°Kuuack! Huddle up!¡±
The Myeongdong group gathered together in a tight defense formation but it wasn¡¯t enough to endure the shells from the level 6 Armed Zone. It was a rewarding site that made leaving him to clear the Emergency Defense scenario alone worth it.
Kwang!Kwaang!Kwaaaang!
How many shots were fired? The enhanced magic bullets caused the Myeongdong Group to be riddled with holed and copse. Gong Pildu was scary as an enemy but strong as an ally.
¡°T-There wasn¡¯t information about this!¡±
¡°Retreat!¡±
But there was no ce for them to run away.
¡°Where are you going?¡±
[The special option of Unbroken Faith is activated.]
[The ether property is converted to ¡®fire.¡¯]
Chwaaaaak!
The ether de made of mes created a wall of fire that blocked their escape. The moment that the confused people hesitated, Gong Pildu shot at them.
Dududududu!
¡°P-Pierce through! Quickl...cough!¡±
The Myeongdong representative was hit in the head by a magic bullet and the g was released.
Gong Pildu¡¯s eyes shone as he found the g. Sheesh, this brat.
¡°Do you want me to step on your back again?¡±
The running Gong Pildu stiffened.
¡°Damn...¡±
I immediately picked up the Myeongdong g that had fallen onto the tracks. Focus vanished from the eyes of the desperate Myeongdong Group members.
[You have won the g of the ¡®Myeongdong Group.¡¯]
[Your white g has absorbed the cumtive achievements of the red g.]
[Your white g has evolved into a red g.]
I felt a stronger force swirling inside my body.
[You are one step closer to the King¡¯s Road.]
The gs after the red g improved not just the abilities representative but also the surrounding group members.
Apart from overall stats or S-grade and above items, the g was one of the few ways to improve basicbat power. Due to this, groups aimed at stations other than the ¡®target¡¯ station.
The other ¡®king candidates¡¯ would¡¯ve already entered a full-fledged war to change the colour of their gs.
The stronger they became, the more they could enjoy this world.
[The remaining members of the Myeongdong Group are waiting for your decision.]
I grabbed one of the wounded Myeongdong members in the area and asked.
¡°Why did you aim for Chungmuro?¡±
I had realized something when I first heard Kang Ilhun¡¯s words. It was true that Chungmuro had just opened but it didn¡¯t make sense for them to rush in like they had been waiting. The observations of the party and the strange look he made when he knew I was the representative..
These guys knew about this station from the beginning. I brought my de to the man¡¯s neck and asked.
¡°Tell me, who gave you the information of Chungmuro?¡±
The most likely people were the Prophets. The guys I met in Theatre Dungeon mentioned ¡®hidden information¡¯ that other people didn¡¯t know.
I had been searching through Ways of Survival but I never saw the group name Prophets. If so, who were they?
There were two hypotheses.
One, due to an unknown variable, a new prophet had appeared apart from Anna Croft.
The second... besides me, there was another ¡®reader¡¯.
Honestly, I thought it was probably thetter. The ¡®prophet¡¯ attribute wasn¡¯t so easy to obtain. Furthermore, Prophets was a plural...
Well, I could check it from now on.
I looked at Gong Pildu and said, ¡°By the way... why didn¡¯t you act more moderately?¡±
¡°Why should I show mercy to those running wild?¡±
Gong Pildu looked annoyed.
Unfortunately, the people of Myeongdong Group weren¡¯t able to answer because they had been hit by too many bullets. As soon as I asked them a question, they coughed up blood and died.
In the end, I could only ask one person. I looked down at Kang Ilhun who was behind guarded by Lee Hyunsung. His eyes rolled uneasily while he was tied up with Binding Thread.
Yoo Sangah asked, ¡°Was everything nned from the beginning?¡±
¡°I thought there was a high probability. As soon as the station opens, two groups will unite and attack. It was a prior promise.¡±
¡°Saying things with such a good face...¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression became dark.
¡°Are you sorry? There isn¡¯t going to be an alliance.¡±
¡°...A little bit.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t believe in people too much. Things won¡¯t be as easy as you think in the future.
¡°I know. Still... if possible, I wanted to believe. I was able toe here because I believed in someone.¡±
Yoo Sangah looked at me.
¡°Hey, how long are the two of you going to talk? Quickly pry the information out.¡±
Jung Heewon interrupted us. Indeed, now wasn¡¯t the time to give life advice. I released the thread blocking Kang Ilhun¡¯s mouth.
Kang Ilhun was trying to stay calm.
¡°...What will you do with me now?¡±
¡°It depends on how much information you can give me.¡±
¡°Are you basing the standards on usability?¡±
This guy talked back even in this situation, there was more to him than I thought. If so, I had to use a hard-line method...
Jung Heewon said, ¡°In any case, the constetions see him as ¡®wicked.¡¯ How about trying torture?¡±
¡°Why bother with torture? Just kill him if he doesn¡¯t speak.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
I pulled out my sword without hesitation. Kang Ilhun trembled as he looked up at me.
¡°From now on, I will count to three. If you don¡¯t open your mouth in that time, you will die. There is no reversal.¡±
I deliberately triggered White Pure Star Energy and inserted the sword into the ground.
¡°One.
Kudududuk!
The ground was scratched with the power of White Pure Star Energy as the de started to move towards him. Fragments of the floor flew towards his face.
¡°Two.¡±
The heat of the de warmed his face as it approached his nose. In a short time, the ether de would cut his eyeballs.
¡°Three...¡±
¡°Dongmyo Station!¡±
I smiled. Torture? There was no need for that.
Kang Ilhun gasped for breath and exined, ¡°...The people from Dongmyo Station gave us information about Chungmuro.¡±
Dongmyo, who was there?
¡°Who was it?¡±
¡°He called himself a Prophet...¡±
By the way, this guy¡¯s condition was strange. His eyes were rolling and his tongue hung out like a dead person. I had an ominous feeling.
Surely it wasn¡¯t ¡®Suggestion.¡¯
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, hurry and block his mouth with a thread!¡±
Fortunately, Yoo Sangah¡¯s threat blocked this guy¡¯s mouth before it could close. Using Suggestion to control information from leaking... they were more meticulous than I thought.
On the other hand, it was easier for me to solve the problem. Suggestion was a skill that could only be used face-to-face.
I looked down at Kang Ilhun and stated.
¡°You are a lucky guy.¡±
If he was present, I could definitely identity one of the Prophets.
* * *
Before I went on the full-fledged search, I headed to the roof of the theater.
¡°He still hasn¡¯t woken up?¡±
Maybe it was because she didn¡¯t know I wasing but Lee Jihye shook. Yoo Jonghyuk was still unconscious and lying on her knees.
Jerk, he was the main character yet he wasn¡¯t going through any hardship. Meanwhile, I was the tired one despite being the reader.
¡°How is it downstairs?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry and rest.¡±
¡°Master... will he be okay?¡±
¡°He will be fine. Although there might be some trauma left.¡±
¡°...Trauma?¡±
¡°His mental state is more fragile than a child¡¯s. He will be a bit better after a good sleep.¡±
¡°It sounds like you know a lot.¡±
¡°I know him the best in this world.¡±
I spoke in a dry tone and pulled out some paper, writing on it with a pen. I filled it with notes and handed it to Lee Jihye.
¡°Don¡¯t read it but give it to Yoo Jonghyuk when he wakes up. Do you understand?¡±
¡°...I understand.¡±
She said so but Lee Jihye would definitely read it. However, Lee Jihye wouldn¡¯t be able to understand it since it was filled with things only Yoo Jonghyuk would know.
By the way, did the information on the paper also look like ¡ö¡ö¡ö for the constetions?
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ hates ¡ö.]
Indeed. I was turning around when Lee Jihye opened her mouth.
¡°By the way, can I ask you something?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Earlier, with Master. Master and Ahjussi...¡±
Somehow I seemed to know what Lee Jihye would say. Damn, Lee Jihye heard as well as Jung Heewon?
I¡¯ve been stupid. I only considered the constetions and never thought about the humans listening. Yoo Jonghyuk wouldugh at my stupidity.
What was a good excuse?
¡°Well, that. You two.¡±
¡°What?¡± I decided to feign ignorance.
Lee Jihye¡¯s expression became more serious.
¡°I mean, Ahjussi¡¯s words.¡±
¡°So what?¡±
¡°Wake up you jerk! Don¡¯t fall into those sentiments!¡±
Lee Jihye imitated my voice and shouted. I felt embarrassed suddenly hearing my words emerge from someone else¡¯s mouth.
¡°For the first time, that.. that determination! Have you already forgotten?¡±
¡°...?¡±
Wasn¡¯t something strange? This child, she almost heard it at the filtered level?
¡°I came here because of you! Why are you alone? We are together!¡±
¡°No, wait a minute.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve always been around you! Don¡¯t lose hope! Think of the child!¡±
¡°That isn¡¯t what I...¡±
¡°Why did Ie here if you are alone...!¡±
I stared at Lee Jihye for a moment.
...No, how could she hear it this way?
¡°S-Something like that? Ahjussi, you and Master...¡±
I sighed. ¡°Think what you want.¡±
¡°...Indeed. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give him this love letter!¡±
I shrugged and turned around. Behind my back, Lee Jihye¡¯s bullshit continued.
¡°Wait! How did you give birth to a child?¡±
¡°Ask Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Yes, Yoo Jonghyuk, I leave everything to you. The next moment, indirect messages exploded in my head.
[Some constetions are greatly affected by the truth of the filtering.]
[The constetion Prisoner of the Golden Headband respects your taste.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ likes yourradeship.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ thinks it is ridiculous.]
[600 coins have been sponsored.]
...Damn, there were other idiots. In any case, I told Yoo Jonghyuk what I needed to.
I hurried through the theater. During the time Yoo Jonghyuk was the sleeping prince, I had to gain as much benefits as possible.
Chapter 46
Episode 10 ¨C Future War (5)
Aftering down from the theater, I headed straight to Myeongdong Station with Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah. Dongmyo Station was important but there was something to be done first.
I killed the Myeongdong Representative and taken the g so I had to hurry and upy the empty station.
Lee Hyunsung spoke in a worried tone.
¡°Is it okay with just us?¡±
¡°There won¡¯t be a fight. I will decide what to do with them. If I leave it alone, they will die soon.¡±
The ¡®wanderers¡¯ who lost their group would be prey to other groups if they weren¡¯t lucky. Just like the Landlord Alliance members who left Chungmuro Station.
But the moment we arrived at Myeongdong Station, we saw an unexpected sight. The people in Myeongdong Station had already been hit by someone. It was also very gruesome.
I saw a group of men standing near Myeongdong Station. The men were flustered and quickly fled in the direction of Hoehyeong Station. It wasn¡¯t easy to chase them because they had bikes.
It was as if they knew I wasing. There was more than one or two odd things.
Lee Hyunsung asked, ¡°Who are these people? What happened?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±
¡°Even Dokja-ssi doesn¡¯t know...¡±
Lee Hyunsung gulped nervously. Fortunately, the g holder of Myeongdong Station was empty.
[Currently there is no group upying Myeongdong Station.]
[Are you sure you want to take over the station?]
I plugged the g into the g holder and pulled it out again. Then a g that was the same as mine appeared in the g holder.
[You have upied Myeongdong Station.]
[A station that has been upied can¡¯t be taken from you unless the ¡®main base¡¯ or g is taken away.]
[Currently upied: Chungmuro (Main Base), Myeongdong]
[The achievement points of the red g are rising.]
The red colour of the g turned darker.
[Your influence has expanded by taking over a new station.]
[The hidden scenario has arrived!]
[The King¡¯s Road has begun!]
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C King¡¯s Road]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A
Clear Conditions: Take over a minimum of 10 stations within the time limit.
Time Limit: 10 days
Reward: The attribute of a ¡®king¡¯.
Failure: If you can¡¯t take over a minimum of one station per day, you and your group members will all die.
+
I finally arrived at the terrible hidden scenario. Once I started this quest, I couldn¡¯t turn back. There were only two fates for a king.
Be a king or die.
[The new king candidate has started to walk along his road!]
From now on, it was the full-fledge g struggle.
* * *
I returned to Chungmuro, gathered the party members and told them about the hidden scenario. Jung Heewon made an interested expression while Lee Hyunsung looked confused. Yoo Sangah was as anxious as always.
¡°It sounds like a difficult scenario... Dokja-ssi, will it be okay?¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±
An angel or a fool.. In this situation, they were worried rather than jealous about the hidden scenario.
Lee Hyunsung said, ¡°I¡¯m d that Dokja-ssi is the king candidate.¡±
¡°Thank you.¡±
¡°Then should I call you Your Majesty?¡±
I was hit in the head by Jung Heewon after being touched by Lee Hyunsung¡¯s serious words.
¡°I don¡¯t want that.¡±
¡°Your Majesty, based on this hidden scenario, shouldn¡¯t we go upy a new station right away? You should think about the lives of your subjects.¡± Jung Heewon said sarcastically.
I nodded.
¡°I think we need to find out about the people who attacked us. I¡¯ll go straight to Dongmyo. Jung Heewon-ssi and Lee Hyunsung-ssi, will you go with me?¡±
Yoo Sangah raised her hand at my words.
¡°Then I...¡±
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi will stay here.¡±
¡°Ah, really... on the other hand, more...¡±
I listened to Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice and it sounded glum. Perhaps Yoo Sangah was thinking that she was useless.
Her damage wasn¡¯t as strong as Jung Heewon and she didn¡¯t have a strong physique like Lee Hyunsung. In addition, she didn¡¯t have a powerful trump card like Gilyoung.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°...Yes?¡±
All her previous ¡®specs¡¯ had be obsolete in this new world. But she was too good to be jealous of other people. Thus, her inferiorityplex was quietly festering.
¡°Yoo Sangah, not everyone can do the same things well.¡±
¡°Yes, I am aware of that.¡± Yoo Sangah smiled weakly.
I spoke carefully so that she wouldn¡¯t feel it was an admonishment. ¡°Do you remember the words that you said on the subway? Dokja has a solo life and I will...¡±
¡°I will have an ivory life. Yes, I remember. I wrote it on the notepad of my smartphone.¡±
Why did she look so ted? In any case, I couldn¡¯t hate it. I continued speaking.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi has things to do here. I can¡¯t leave the unconscious Gilyoung alone. I need someone to monitor Gong Pildu and to control the nervous group members.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes shook.
¡°Besides, the Hoehyeon forces must be kept in check. They might attack while we¡¯re away. Gong Pildu is here but Yoo Sangah¡¯s Binding Thread might be necessary.¡±
¡°C-Can I do this role well...?¡±
Yoo Sangah spoke weakly because of her low self-esteem.
¡°Hey everyone. In that way... I will give Yoo Sangah-ssi a job position. What do you think?¡±
Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon thought for a moment before nodding.
¡°Okay, I can trust it if it is Yoo Sangah.¡±
¡°King... if you wish then do so...¡±
I red at Jung Heewon. Did she think that was funny right now?
[You are using the unique permissions of a representative.]
[Chungmuro Station¡¯s representative, Kim Dokja is transferring some of his authority to group member ¡®Yoo Sangah.¡¯]
[Group member ¡®Yoo Sangah¡¯ has be the deputy of Chungmuro Station.]
[In the future, group member ¡®Yoo Sangah¡¯ can deal out punishments on behalf of the representative.]
Yoo Sangah looked at me with stunned eyes and stuttered. She looked terrified.
¡°G-Giving, giving this position to me...¡±
¡°I will leave it to Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
I meant it. Once again, not everyone could do the same things well. Based on what I remembered, Yoo Sangah would be appropriate for this.
Yoo Sangah was the best person in the human resources department, not someone else.
¡°Oh...I¡¯ll do my best.¡±
Yoo Sangah bowed before slowly raising her head. Tears could be seen in her eyes.
* * *
We headed straight for the tunnel on the east side.
We had to pass three stops before arriving at Dongmyo. We moved with the fainted Kang Ilhun. Honestly, taking this guy was a burden but I needed him to identify the faces. When I looked back at Chungmuro, I could hear Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice.
¡°Everyone, please gather!¡±
As I expected, Yoo Sangah worked harder in the shadows. The people were already organized and were receiving their orders. Sentries were set up and people were put in charge of different areas. Some of thendlords said they wouldn¡¯t listen to Yoo Sangah but...
[Chungmuro Station¡¯s deputy, Yoo Sangah has used the punishment.]
I vaguely heard someone moaning.
...Was this okay? Well, it should be fine.
Jung Heewon looked at my face and said, ¡°Good job. I felt that Yoo Sangah had been a bit depressed.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t select Yoo Sangah-ssi because I was thinking of her emotions. I thought Yoo Sangah-ssi would do really well.¡±
¡°...Ah, is that so? Then please me somethingter. It should fit me.¡±
¡°How about an executioner?¡±
¡°...Forget it.¡±
Jung Heewon grumbled and turned her head away. It was good after all the jokes she yed.
¡°But that gangster on the roof, is it okay to leave him?¡±
¡°Oh, you mean Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°I guess his name is simr.¡±
¡°It will probably be fine.¡±
¡°It sounds like you know him very well. What is it?
¡°That...¡± I thought for a moment before asking. ¡°Heewon-ssi, do you have a younger sibling?¡±
¡°...? Yes. Why?¡±
¡°A brother or a sister?¡±
¡°A brother.¡±
¡°How old is he?¡±
¡°He is one year younger.¡±
¡°How is it having a brother?¡±
¡°Annoying. He easily defies me and I had to take him to school instead of my mother...¡±
Jung Heewon feel silent as she wasining about her brother. She gazed somewhere in the air. Then I asked her.
¡°But now you are worried about him right?
¡°Well... we are family.¡±
¡°I am simr.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi also has a younger brother?¡±
¡°Nope, I¡¯m talking about Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°Ah...¡± Jung Heewon looked at me and nodded. ¡°Then do you like or hate him?¡±
¡°I hate him. I fought with many people because of him.¡±
I wasn¡¯t the only reader of Ways of Survival in the early days. Quite a few people followed along out of curiosity up to the 10th chapter. There were also 12 readers at the 50th chapter.
There was a guy who liked Kim Namwoon... while I argued with him. I wonder if any of the people who fought with me back then were alive. Maybe the people I was going to catch now was one of them.
¡°You two, you seem to have be very close.¡±
Lee Hyunsung interrupted and I suddenly realized I was walking too close to Jung Heewon.
Jung Heewon smiled.
¡°Why, soldier ahjussi. Are you jealous?
¡°Hrmm. It isn¡¯t like that...¡±
Come to think of it, didn¡¯t Lee Hyunsung join the army right after going to a male high school? I felt sorry for Lee Hyunsung when I thought about the setting.
¡°It seems we have arrived at Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station.¡±
In fact, the entrance of Dongdaemun History and Culture Park Station could be seen in the distance.
We nervously stuck to the tunnel wall and looked around. It was in case troops were waiting. But this worry was pointless. Jung Heewon muttered.
¡°It is strange. There are no sentries.¡±
The fact that there was no guards while Struggle for the g was ongoing meant that the station had already been eaten by another group. Once we confirmed this, we immediately approached the g holder.
[The station has already been upied by ¡®Dongmyo Station.¡¯]
[If you want to upy the station, take the g of Dongmyo Station or upy its g holder.]
It was as expected.
Then Kang Ilhun¡¯s body twitched. His body was shaking like he was having seizures and his condition was strange. I released the thread blocking his mouth and Kang Ilhun shouted.
¡°N-No...!¡±
¡°...What is this all of a sudden?¡±
¡°D-Dongdaemun... Dongdaemun Station...!¡±
Saliva spilled from Kang Ilhun¡¯s mouth as he stuttered. I felt something and unintentionally put a hand on his shoulder.
Then.
[The character Kang Ilhun is now a wanderer.]
It was evident that Kang Ilhun¡¯s affiliation to ¡®Dongdaemun¡¯ had changed. Jung Heewon asked, ¡°What is happening?¡±
¡°It seems that Dongdaemun Station has been taken over.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
Suddenly everything made sense. Yes. The people who leaked the information had this in mind.
¡°...A double trap.¡±
They incited the Myeongdong Group and Dongdaemun Group to strike Chungmuro because they knew the two groups would die in Chungmuro. While the main force were gone, they wanted to take Myeongdong and Dongdaemun. The unidentified people at Myeongdong Station probably also belonged to them.
But... how did they know we would win? They couldn¡¯t know about my presence. The representative of Chungmuro Station in the third turn was originally...
...Ah right. That jerk. Was this what they aimed for?
I was certain. The Prophets who created this n were surely...
At this moment, Lee Hyunsung reacted.
¡°People areing.¡±
A group of people were approaching from the Dongdaemun tunnel. On the surface, they were a group with a considerably good weapons.
The items seemed to have an average of a C-grade or above. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to arm them to this degree already... it was unbelievable power.
The man in the centre of the group spoke to us first. The man had a slim build and wore all types of items on his arms and neck.
¡°Eh, Kang Ilhun-ssi? Geez, you brought a needless load of crap to me.¡±
Kang Ilhun was shaking and he fainted with foam around his mouth. I wondered, perhaps this guy?
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
A momentter, amazing messages were heard.
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
Look at this?
The man looked at us. ¡°Is there going to be a self-introduction? Or...¡±
The group of men simultaneously pulled out weapons.
I took the lead to reply. ¡°We are from Chungmuro.¡±
¡°Chungmuro?¡±
At this moment, sparks popped in the air.
[Someone is using Explore Attribute on you.]
[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall has blocked Explore Attribute!]
The man stumbled like he had been shocked. He hesitated for a moment before turning bewildered eyes towards me.
¡°...I¡¯m sorry, what is your name?¡±
I nced at Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung once. Then I smiled and said towards the man. I spoke in my coldest and heaviest voice.
¡°I am Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Chapter 47
Episode 10 ¨C Future War (6)
It wasn¡¯t an illusion. The guy¡¯s eyes instantly widened when he heard my name.
¡°Don¡¯t tell me...?¡±
He carefully observed my face. That reminded me, what was the description of Yoo Jonghyuk in Ways of Survival? There wasn¡¯t a detailed appearance but the word ¡®handsome¡¯ was attached. And my face...
Could this be considered a fictional allowance?
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Ah, nothing.¡±
His tone became politer. I didn¡¯t know what was going on in there but his head was probably in aplicated state right now.
At least one thing was certain. The man in front of me had clearly read Ways of Survival.
I became more certain because he wasn¡¯t registered in Character List and he was surprised to hear Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s name.
His eyes urgently returned to Lee Hyunsung by my side.
It was inspecting the attribute... I see. Was he digging up information? I deliberately gave him some time to observe Lee Hyunsung before opening my mouth.
¡°Impertinent person. You better move your eyes carefully.¡±
¡°...Heok?¡±
He confirmed Lee Hyunsung¡¯s name and also noticed that he could view my character window with Detect Attributes. I didn¡¯t know how far he had read in Ways of Survival but there were a few characteristics that could be used to identify Yoo Jonghyuk.
One of them was the SS skill, Sage¡¯s Eyes which allowed for universal detection and protection against detection skills. Now he would be convinced that I had Sage¡¯s Eyes.
¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t know that you peeked at me with a B-grade skill?¡±
The spasms started from the man¡¯s eyes and spread through his face.
Then his eyes wandered to the red g I carried on my back. It was as I guessed. There were limits to the evidence that he could find about Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°You son of a bitch...!¡±
One of the men in the group hadn¡¯t figured out the situation and pointed a spear at me. The moment that Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung was about toe forward.
Peeok!
The man¡¯s head burst and red blood sttered like a fountain. The group immediately screamed. From beyond the blood, I saw a serious looking man.
...Look at this bastard? He slowly walked through the crowd towards me.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. Such a distinguished person had to see a horrible sight.¡±
¡°Who are you?¡±
The man tried to manage his expression at my cold tone. He was pretty good. If I was him, I would like like my heart was going to burst.
¡°I will formally introduce myself. My name is Lee Sungkook. I am the deputy in charge of Dongmyo Station.¡±
This guy approached and bowed before me. I liked it. Then I started the full-fledged Yoo Jonghyuk cosy.
After I snapped at him, I opened my mouth and spoke in a cold voice.
¡°Dongmyo Station? I see. Then get out.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°This is my station from now on so get out.¡±
This guy¡¯s mouth dropped open.
¡°What...¡±
¡°You aren¡¯t going to listen to me?¡±
I looked down at the g holder that had the Dongmyo g. Lee Sungkook btedly understood my point.
¡°T-That is impossible. You can¡¯t transfer a station already upied...¡±
¡°Do you think I¡¯m a fool? You are the deputy.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°If you have the authority of a deputy, the station can be transferred at will. You didn¡¯t know?¡±
¡°...!¡±
¡°If you don¡¯t take it out by the time I count to three, I will cut your neck. One.¡±
Lee Sungkook¡¯s face stiffened. The men slowly surrounded me, giving off a nasty atmosphere. Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung were nervous because they didn¡¯t know why I was suddenly doing such a crazy thing. I continued speaking.
¡°Does it sound like I am joking? Two.¡±
Was it hard to remember after reading the novel 10 years ago? It looked like he forgot who Yoo Jonghyuk was. Then I had to jog his memory.
[The exclusive skill ¡®White Pure Star Energy Lv. 2¡¯ has been activated.]
[de of Faith is activated!]
Chiiiiiing!
I saw Lee Sungkook¡¯s pale face beyond the burning white de. This was a game of chicken.
Remembering Yoo Jonghyuk meant he knew a bit about who Yoo Jonghyuk was.
If he knew how ruthless the early Yoo Jonghyuk was then he would never be able to continue this game.
If he didn¡¯t know Yoo Jonghyuk properly? Then it didn¡¯t matter. I would y the game and run away if we were going to lose. Now I had enough strength.
At this moment, Lee Sungkook hurriedly shouted.
¡°W-Wait a minute! I-I¡¯ll give it to you!¡±
This brat, he had read Ways of Survival. But he didn¡¯t read it properly.
¡°No need.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°You answered toote.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°This ce isn¡¯t enough. Give me Dongdaemun as well.¡±
Jung Heewon made an astonished expression by my side. She looked like she was ready to act. But she couldn¡¯t go out.
No, I had to act. Because I was now Yoo Jonghyuk. I had to speak more nonsense in order to make him believe I was Yoo Jonghyuk.
I aimed my sword at Lee Sungkook and dered.
¡°If you don¡¯t do this, there won¡¯t be a deal.¡±
¡°B-But...!¡±
¡°I will count to three again. One.¡±
Lee Sungkook¡¯s expression changed in real time. He was starting to believe that I was Yoo Jonghyuk. The protagonist of a novel was standing in front of him.
How would he cope? The way he acted here would determine my rtionship with these guys in the future.
¡°I-I can give you Dongdaemun History and Culture Park! But...¡±
¡°But?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have the authority to hand over Dongdaemun... if you don¡¯t mind, would you like to meet our representative?¡±
It was a great response. It was just the level of prey that I wanted.
Lee Sungkook kept on talking.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-nim¡¯s reputation is well-known. Our representative will be greatly looking forward to seeing Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. Please give our group a chance to talk with Yoo Jonghyuk-nim.¡±
¡°You know me?¡±
¡°How can I not know Yoo Jonghyuk-nim?¡±
Lee Sungkook shut his mouth the moment he said this. He thought he said something strange. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t be famous this early on.
¡°A-Anyway, it will be an honour if you apany me.¡±
I stared at him and replied. Yes, this level was eptable.
¡°Okay, show me the way.¡±
Lee Sungkook¡¯s expression brightened and he added useless words.
¡°Don¡¯t worry. I swear on the King¡¯s Honour that I won¡¯t harm Yoo Jonghyuk-nim.¡±
[Dongmyo Station¡¯s deputy, Lee Sungkook has sworn on the King¡¯s Honour.]
[If he breaks this vow, Lee Sungkook can be punished by you.]
What a great guy. But he did the right thing if he really thought I was Yoo Jonghyuk. Wasn¡¯t his understanding of Yoo Jonghyuk better than I expected?
Then he would pay for it.
¡°Hurt me? You guys?¡±
¡°Of course, none of us cany a finger on Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. Ha, haha. Then... this way.¡±
¡°Just a minute.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
I pointed to the g holder.
¡°Give me that.¡±
¡°...¡±
[You have received the transfer of Dongdaemun History and Culture Park.]
[Currently upied: Chungmuro (Main Base), Myeongdong, Dongdaemun History and Culture Park]
[The achievement points of the red g are rising.]
The g was changing before my eyes.
It was a good start.
No, wasn¡¯t this too easy?
¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡±
I watched Lee Sungkook¡¯s shaking shoulders and felt strange.
Wouldn¡¯t it be okay to continue living as Yoo Jonghyuk?
* * *
We were guided by Lee Sungkook towards Dongmyo Station.
The Dongmyo members didn¡¯t know my identity but Lee Sungkook¡¯s attitude was so stubborn that they couldn¡¯t protest.
I walked with my party at the rear of the group. Lee Hyunsung hesitated before looking at me and opening his mouth.
¡°Excuse me, Dokj..¡±
Kuk!
Jung Heewon noticed quickly and hit Lee Hyunsung¡¯s stomach. There was the sound of wind being blown from the lungs and Lee Hyunsung moaned.
As expected from Jung Heewon. She didn¡¯t know the exact situation but she knew how to match the mood.
I muttered out of the side of my mouth.
¡®You know what to do without me telling you?¡¯
¡®Yes, roughly.¡¯
I watched Jung Heewon and then Kang Ilhun being carried by Lee Hyunsung. The most important person right now was that guy.
¡®Make sure to restrain that guy. Understood?¡¯
Jung Heewon nodded and made a strange gesture. She kneeled in front of me and cried out in an exaggerated voice.
¡°Yes Jonghyuk! I will do as you say!¡±
Anyone who saw it would think about medieval knights. The funny thing was that the surprised Lee Hyunsung did the same thing.
¡°I-I will do as you say...!¡±
Lee Sungkook, at the head of the group, was surprised to hear these two voices. It was embarrassing but the result was good. I couldn¡¯t read Lee Sungkook¡¯s inner thoughts but it would be like this if I could read it.
¡¸ He must be Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
Lee Sungkook met my gaze and quickly turned his head back to the front. This was how a main character felt.
Not long afterwards, we arrived at Dongmyo Station.
They were a pretty powerful group seeing as many people were on the tform. There were some people with weapons like Lee Sungkook¡¯s group, but most of them didn¡¯t have any.
They were probably wanderers from other stations who lost their group.
¡°Move faster!¡±
¡°I-I understand.¡±
They were ughtering the ground rats while being supervised by the Dongmyo members or disassembling the corpses of the monsters to make equipment.
The so-called ¡®ve¡¯ ss. It was amon scenery in the age of kings.
Jung Heewon frowned.
¡°This isn¡¯t a real kingdom...¡±
I spoke to Jung Heewon.
¡°Don¡¯t be disgusted. Wait here and look at the situation.¡±
¡°Yesss...¡±
I¡¯m ignoring Jung Heewon and started to observe the surroundings. It was to take into ount additional variables.
Dongmyo was quite important in the original novel. If I remembered correctly... the representative of this ce was the ¡®invalid.¡¯
But the story was likely to have changed if the Prophets intervened. I looked at the back of Lee Sungkook¡¯s head.
At this point, I had two questions. One, did Lee Sungkook have his own text version? Two, how many prophets were there?
And if I had to say a third question, did they have the same ¡®skills¡¯ as me...
It didn¡¯t seem like it. Otherwise he would¡¯ve used Character List instead of Detect Attributes at the beginning.
Besides, he didn¡¯t seem to have the Fourth Wall when I used Character List. In other words, he was a case like Lee Gilyoung.
Well, I read over 3,000 chapters. It would be unfair if they received the same perks as me when they only read a few chapters.
Speaking of which, I don¡¯t think they had a text version...
By the way, what was this person looking so hard at? Lee Sungkook was looking at his smartphone.
[5,000 coins have been invested in agility.]
[Agility Lv. 20 -> Agility Lv. 30]
[An amazing agility lies in your body.]
I approached Lee Sungkook like a ghost.
¡°What are you looking at so hard?¡±
¡°H-Huh? It is nothing!¡±
The guy hurriedly hid his smartphone. It was a sh but I saw the screen. A yellow background and familiar speech bubbles.
I felt a sense of difort. If my eyes weren¡¯t wrong... I had definitely seen a chat room on the screen.
...The Inte? Right here?
Chapter 48
Episode 10 ¨C Future War (7)
The Inte, it wasn¡¯t possible.
Since the scenario started, the Inte had been shut down all over Seoul due to the activation of the dokkaebi channels.
No, wait a minute. This was Dongmyo Station. Ah... right. Then the Inte was possible?
Lee Sungkook looked at me with an uneasy expression and opened his mouth.
¡°Excuse me, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°We¡¯ve arrived. The representative is waiting inside.¡±
I saw a medium-sized tent roughly set up in the middle of the tform. The representative had an assortment of goods.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Lee Sungkook bowed his head and guided me. The inside of the tent was quite luxurious. It was unbelievably luxurious for such a shabby tent.
There was a red carpet and a bed that seemed to have been stolen from a luxury hotel. There was a round table for a meeting and a small desk with aputer.
The most interesting thing was the boy concentrated on surfing the Inte. The face seemed only a few years older than Gilyoung. The boy had dark circles and sat on the chair in his pajamas.
And there was a navy blue g held tightly in his arms. Amazing. This boy had already passed the halfway mark of the King¡¯s Road.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[Character Information]
Name: Han Donghoon
Age: 17 years old
Constetion Support: Shadow behind the Curtain
Private Attribute: Noble Invalid Hermit (Hero)
Exclusive skills: Wide-area Inte Lv. 5, Comments Maniption Lv. 3,Keyboard Attack Lv. 3, Small Eater Lv. 6, Sound Wave Blocking Lv. 2...
Stigma: Lack of Presence Lv. 2
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 10, Strength Lv. 10, Agility Lv. 19, Magic Power Lv. 26.
Overall Evaluation: A person who is the peak of the Noble Invalid Hermit type. His Wide-area Inte skill installs a virtual LAN cable to specific devices through the dokkaebi channels.
He has an amazing ability to incite public opinion but has weak mental defenses. The sponsor is very dissatisfied with the circumstances of his present incarnation.
* Currently under a powerful hypnosis.
I clearly remembered. Dongmyo¡¯s king. Maybe this boy would soon be the Hermit King of Shadows. The poor boy king was busy replying to Intements.
¨CIs it true that Seoul is now isted??? Gangnamnd prices will fall ~~ Are the rich people crying??
©»?? It isn¡¯t just Seoul but all the capitals in the world.Tokyo, Beijing, all of them are trapped in that dome.
©» Isn¡¯t there a n to recapture Seoul?Didn¡¯t it start yesterday?
-??? But now all the people inside have awakened powers ??? It isn¡¯t a crazy fantasy.
©» It became a fantasy the moment the monsters appeared.
The long-familiar Inte screen looked weird. I once again felt it was real. Indeed. This was the situation we were in now. On the outside of the dome, many people still didn¡¯t know the truth.
The boy king¡¯s fingers started to move.
-You guys, have you ever heard of the Prophets?I don¡¯t know what they are but they im to know the secrets of this situation ? ?
[Character ¡®Han Donghoon¡¯ has activated Comments Maniption Lv. 3.]
As soon as the activation message popped up, dozens ofments appeared under the boy¡¯s one.
©» Who would believe that?
©» I thought that as well, but not anymore...I saw a prophecy not long ago and it all came true.??
©»??? (TL: short form for ¡®real¡¯) Where is their ce of action?Shoot me the address.
Thement started to spread all over the Inte with tremendous power. It was surprising. They were already using the ability this way.
¡°Representative Han Donghoon?¡±
Lee Sungkook called out and the boy raised his head.
¡°A guest hase. Greet him.¡±
The boy, Han Donghoon¡¯s sunken eyes turned to me.
¡°H, He, H, Hell...o.¡±
Han Donghoon wasn¡¯t in a normal state.
This boy, who was called the ¡®Seventh King of Seoul¡¯ in Ways of Survival now looked so haggard. Originally, he avoided humans due to his nature but it wasn¡¯t this much.
Han Donghoon staggered up and sat on a chair at the round table, biting at his nails.
Lee Sungkook smiled as if he was satisfied.
¡°Now Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. Let¡¯s start the talk with the representative in earnest.¡±
I gazed at Han Donghoon andughed.
¡°Talk? What talk?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Are you joking with me right now?¡±
Han Donghoon¡¯s eyes were nk.
¡°...This is the representative?¡±
Obviously, the boy was the representative of this station. In name. But...
The word representative didn¡¯t meant in ¡®reality.¡¯
¡°How long are you going to make fun of me? You want to make me talk with a doll?¡±
I looked back and saw Lee Sungkook¡¯s hands shaking. He probably didn¡¯t think that Sage¡¯s Eyes would find out. He opened the smartphone to check something and sighed.
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk-nim, I¡¯m not usually like this. Please forgive me.¡±
¡°You are the real power of this station. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°How many other people know?¡±
¡°Only a few top executives.¡±
Setting up a person with a strong ability as a scarecrow and taking control of the station. It was a strategy often used in Ways of Survival but it was strange to see it in reality.
¡°If you are the real power, why did you bring me here?¡±
¡°It was to avoid the attention of other people. I don¡¯t know if you have realized, but there is a Sound Wave Blocking skill around the tent.¡±
I had expected it. In fact, this was one of Han Donghoon¡¯s abilities.
¡°It must be really important.¡±
¡°That¡¯s correct. Yoo Jonghyuk-nim, it is important for you and for all of us.¡±
¡°All of you?¡±
Lee Sungkook took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
¡°I¡¯m a Prophet. To be precise, I am one of them.¡±
The information I wanted was finallying out. I waited silently for his next words.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-nim, you will never know the enormous joy we are feeling right now. My colleagues and I have been waiting for this day of great victory for Yoo Jonghyuk-nim.¡±
Did I hear wrong? This guy started speaking strange words.
¡°We know about Yoo Jonghyuk-nim¡¯s special ability. A miracle that allows you to go back to the past after dying. In this world, only Yoo Jonghyuk-nim received such special power!¡±
I was a bit nervous about the constetions¡¯ filtering but I decided to keep listening.
¡°Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk-nim has already repeated a few lives. You have fought against terrible enemies and struggled against the beings of this world to save people. Enduring alone, lonely memories... We respect your sublime spirit.¡±
This jerk, such skillful ttery. Yoo Jonghyuk would be moved to tears if he heard. Later when he was depressed, I would have to tell him these words.
¡°But Yoo Jonghyuk-nim should¡¯ve realized it from your past regressions. Even if you have an outstanding miracle, you alone can¡¯t fight against the disasters that wille.¡±
Plus, he was right.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-nim, this time will be different. It is because we are here. We Prophets have received a special blessing and have been sent to help you.¡±
Wow, look at this?
Lee Sungkook smiled faintly.
¡°You must be wondering. Why did these guys who didn¡¯t appearst time suddenly show up now? It is very confusion but I hope you can trust us. It is because we have already received a revtion for this day 10 years ago.¡±
¡°...Revtion?¡±
¡°Yes. In our world, there is a ¡®revtion¡¯ that is secretly shared among the Prophets. Yoo Jonghyuk exists in it and is a living myth. It is a single revtion that records all of the past and future.
Wait. Don¡¯t tell me ¡®that¡¯ was the revtion?
¡°You don¡¯t believe me yet. We already knew that Yoo Jonghyuk-nim would gather Lee Hyunsung. They didn¡¯te with you but you probably already have Delusion Demon Kim Namwoon and Maritime Admiral Lee Jihye. But that isn¡¯t enough. At the very least, ording to the revtion...¡±
I hid my nervousness and asked.
¡°Where is the revtion?¡±
¡°Unfortunately, it has been damaged and we can¡¯t find the original. Don¡¯t worry. We each remember a fragment of the revtion. Through these fragments, we are prepared to walk the right path with you.¡±
...Ohu.
¡°If you live again the way you have always done, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim... will die again. But it will be different with us.¡±
Lee Sungkook was going in circles. I slowly closed my eyes and said, ¡°I see.¡±
Lee Sungkook hurriedly stopped talking. Maybe he was nervous. Yoo Jonghyuk had Lie Detection.
Of course, I didn¡¯t have this skill. But even if I did, his story wouldn¡¯t get caught by Lie Detection. It was because Lie Detection couldn¡¯t distinguish such falsehoods.
That¡¯s why I felt it even more.
¡°...It is surprising.¡±
It was true. I was shocked beyond surprise. This was a great ¡®setting.¡¯ A setting that was squeezed out in a short amount of time. Human creativity was really great.
¡°You are called Sungkook?¡±
¡°Yes, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim.¡±
I could write the book Ways of Survival. In order to help the hero who kept dying, readers received a revtion and came from outside the novel? This was more exciting than the real Ways of Survival. But that was it.
¡°Don¡¯t go around in circles.¡±
This was it.
¡°Get straight to the point.¡±
I heard the set up so it was time to speak.
¡°You have received the revtion of the future. Then what exactly are you going to do?¡±
Lee Sungkook quickly replied.
¡°We would like to form an alliance with Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. I-It is an alliance in name but it actually means going under you...¡±
He was a funny guy. In the end, this was his purpose? Riding the bus that was the main character?
¡°I see. An alliance. You want this.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°It is an interesting suggestion.¡±
¡°This means...¡±
I tapped my fingers against the table.
¡°But the order is wrong.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°How can I form an alliance with people whose identities I don¡¯t know? If you want to ally with me, isn¡¯t this the first thing you should start with?¡±
¡°M-My identity... I already...¡±
I got up from the chair and sat on the plush bed in the room. Then I crossed my legs and dered.
¡°Kneel down.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Kneel.¡±
Lee Sungkook was embarrassed for a moment before getting down from his chair while hiding his expression. As his knees slowly reached the floor, I opened my mouth.
¡°Tell me your attribute.¡±
Once I saw the strong hypnosis on the king candidate, I guessed this guy¡¯s attribute. However, I needed to make sure.
Lee Sungkook looked up at me withplicated eyes. His mind was probably working hard. He would think this.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk can see my information with Sage¡¯s Eyes. ¡¹
¡¸He already knows it so what is the reason for asking about my information? ¡¹
Lee Sungkook struggled for a moment before speaking.
¡°My attribute is... Hypnotist.¡±
As expected, it was Hypnotist.
¡°I see.¡±
Lee Sungkook looked a bit brighter at my nod. He thought he had passed a test.
¡°Is that all?¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
Lee Sungkook¡¯s eyes shook.
¡°...O-One more.¡±
I nodded.
¡°Tell me.¡±
¡°T-The 9th...
¡°The 9th?¡±
Lee Sungkook slowly lowered his head like he was ashamed.
¡°The 9th person... to get off.¡±
I see. This brat, the 9th...
...No, wait. Then how many people were there?
Chapter 49
Episode 11 ¨C Night of the Prophets (4)
¡°The 9th person to get off.. it is the first time I¡¯ve heard of this attribute.¡±
¡°Oh, you probably wouldn¡¯t have. This is the first time us Prophets have seen it.¡±
This brat was giving an excuse. I wanted to tease him a bit.
¡°But it is strange. If you really received the revtion, why aren¡¯t you a ¡®revtor¡¯ instead of ¡®someone who got off¡¯? What is with this name?¡±
¡°T-That... the revtion... no, the book of revtion...¡±
Lee Sungkook stuttered. It was delightful watching him try to avoid Lie Detection. I wondered how honest he could be. Lee Sungkook finally closed his eyes.
¡°When I read the book of revtion... I stopped!¡±
¡°You stopped reading it? Why didn¡¯t you read it?¡±
¡°The contents of the Book of Revtions are very difficult, vast and profound...¡±
¡°Then you were the 9th person to get off?¡±
¡°Yes...¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think that will be of much help to me.¡±
¡°N-No! I can definitely help you!¡±
The confused Lee Sungkook continued to speak gibberish while uneasily turning his smartphone off and on.
¡°Why do you keep touching that smartphone?¡±
¡°I-I-I¡¯m sorry. I am a smartphone addict...¡±
He was trying to get advice from the other ones who got off. But that didn¡¯tst long.
¡°Are you going on the Inte?¡±
¡°Y-Yes, that¡¯s right. It is the ability of the hermit...¡±
At Lee Sungkook¡¯s words, I looked towards Han Donghoon. The hypnotized boy was busy tearing at his fingernails with empty eyes.
The Hermit King of Shadows who had the powerful information maniption ability. This boy couldn¡¯t be kept under the prophets.
If the Prophets became involved in the story in this way, the original novel was ruined and the ns I set up would be wasted. I had to stop these guys before everything went wrong.
¡°Do the other prophets also have the attribute of ¡®getting off¡¯?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
¡°How many are there in total?¡±
¡°That...¡± Lee Sungkook hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth. ¡°As far as I know, there are 48 people.¡±
48 people? It was smaller than I thought.
Considering that chapter 1,200 had one hit and chapter 120 had 10 hits, I thought there would be at least 100 people.
Lee Sungkook¡¯s words resolved my curiosity.
¡°I know there were more prophets originally but I expect most of them didn¡¯t pass the first scenario.¡±
¡°They are dead despite knowing the future?¡±
¡°That... we have received the revtion but we only recently realized that it was a ¡®true¡¯ revtion.¡±
Now it made a little sense.
Perhaps at the start of the scenario, few readers thought that a novel that started serialization 10 years ago would be a reality. They might not remember it straight away.
I thought it was strange that Lee Sungkook survived. Furthermore, this guy was the ninth person to stop reading so he was literally one of the earliest readers. Then how did he survive?
¡°I fortunately survived the carriage. If it hadn¡¯t been for another prophet nearby, I would¡¯ve died.¡±
Another prophet in the same ce as him?
¡°That¨D¡±
The moment that Lee Sungkook was about to speak, the ground slightly shook. The vibration was transmitted despite Sound Wave Blocking.
Lee Sungkook and I ran out of the tent at the same time.
Kung!
I thought it was a sudden sub scenario but that wasn¡¯t it. Two people stood in the centre of the epicenter. The man and woman facing each other. I didn¡¯t know the man but the other person was...
¡°You aren¡¯t a supporting role... yet you dare to push me?¡±
¡°What are you talking about, you dog-like jerk.¡±
...Not surprisingly, it was Jung Heewon.
¡°What? Dog...? You bitch!¡±
The man grabbed a veryrge ring sword from his back. His overall level seemed in line with Jung Heewon¡¯s. But it wasn¡¯t enough.
Jung Heewon movements were already above incarnations of the same ss. Jung Heewon¡¯s de moved lightly as the man attacked.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has activated the special option of Mikazuki Munechika, ¡°Death God¡¯s Footsteps¡¯...]
¡°Jung Heewon!¡±
Jung Heewon stopped his ck just before she cut off the man¡¯s head. The hairs were rising on the man¡¯s neck.
It was a tremendous difference in speed. If I hadn¡¯t intervened, the man would be dead.
The startled Lee Sungkook cried out, ¡°Jung Minseob! What are you doing now?¡±
I realized it when I saw Lee Sungkook¡¯s confusion.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
Then the expected message popped up.
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
That¡¯s right. He was also a Prophet.
* * *
After a while, another prophet was on his knees in front of me, with Lee Sungkook next to him.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, my friend didn¡¯t know anything... Hey, apologize quickly!¡±
The man sitting beside him bowed towards me.
¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Unlike Lee Sungkook. he was a very prideful person and couldn¡¯tpletely remove the anger from his face. I looked at Jung Heewon and said,
¡°Jung Heewon, I told you not to be reckless.¡±
¡°T-This bastard...!¡±
¡°Jung Heewon!¡±
Jung Heewon made a surprised expression for the first time.
¡°...I¡¯m sorry, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim.¡±
Jung Heewon bowed and turned to leave, Lee Hyunsung following her with a strange expression. I knew that Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t the type to raise a sword to someone for no reason.
However, it was dangerous to move in this current situation.
The other man looked at me and asked, ¡°Are you really Yoo Jonghyuk-nim?¡±
¡°Yes, are you also a prophet?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
There was aplicated expression on his face. He looked between me, Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung. Then he nced at Lee Sungkook and said.
¡°Excuse me, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to leave you for a moment. Sungkook, talk with me for a minute.¡±
He left the tent while Lee Sungkook bowed to me.
¡°I won¡¯t wait long.¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
It wouldn¡¯t be like this if it was the original Yoo Jonghyuk. But I had a reason for allowing them to talk. As soon as Lee Sungkook left the tent, I immediately called to Bihyung.
¡®Hey Bihyung.¡¯
[What is it? Having fun again...]
¡®Hearing enhancement, 2,000 coins.¡¯
[¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.]
Now Bihyung had adapted. It took less than three seconds before an advertisement went up.
[2,000 coins have been consumed.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Hearing Enhancement¡¯ has been acquired.]
Bihyung warned.
[Hey, be careful from the fourth scenario onwards. For such a wide-scale scenario, the intermediate dokkaebis have jurisdiction....]
I ignored Bihyung¡¯s words.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Hearing Enhancement Lv. 1¡¯ is activated.]
I moved my body outside the tent blocked by Sound Wave Blocking. Then voices started to be heard. They weren¡¯t too far from where I was hiding.
¡°Hey, isn¡¯t it slightly strange?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Do you see that as a handsome face?¡±
¡°What are you talking about suddenly...?¡±
¡°The author said that Yoo Jonghyuk was handsome.¡±
This bastard? Fortunately, Lee Sungkook dismissed it.
¡°The author might have different tastes... He is Yoo Jonghyuk for sure. He has the same dirty nature.¡±
¡°You only got off at the 9th chapter, what do you know...?¡±
¡°This...! You don¡¯t really remember it since you read it a long time ago!¡±
¡°Still, aren¡¯t some scenes pretty clear with the ¡®Memory Benefits? Would you even remember the prologue without this privilege? You might not be alive if it wasn¡¯t for me...¡±
Their voices wereing closer.
¡°It is weird no matter how I look at it. Setting aside Lee Hyunsung, who is that strange woman? If I remember correctly, there wasn¡¯t such a woman in the third regression.¡±
¡°Then check it. See if he is really Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°...But what if he is real?¡±
¡°We will go ording to n. If we get Yoo Jonghyuk here, we can deal with those who read until the 50th chapter.¡±
Some really good information wasing in. Despite wanting to hug onto the main character, these guys were unleashing all types of curse words because of their situation. This was why they were humans.
Lee Sungkook and the man wasing closer.
¡°I apologize for the long wait. Let¡¯s go inside.¡±
We went back into the tent.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. I apologize for my previous disrespect. I will greet you again. I am Jung Minseob.¡±
The man smiled and bowed.
Once again, this guy had pretty good items for being beaten by Jung Heewon. In particr, there was the useful Fugitive¡¯s Mask which allowed the user to freely change their face and appearance.
I cut to the chase.
¡°Then where did you get off?¡±
Jung Minseob red at Lee Sungkook. He seemed to be saying something with his eyes.
¡°...The 1,089th person to get off.¡±
1,089. Considering the number of views for chapter 1,200 was 1 and the number of views for chapter 120 was 10, this guy was a person who got off quitete.
Maybe this was the guy who saved Lee Sungkook in the first scenario.
¡°As a prophet who has read the Book of Revtion, I am d and honoured to meet Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. However, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim... I¡¯m sorry but can I ask you some questions?¡±
¡°Question? What is the question?¡±
¡°That, regarding Yoo Jonghyuk...¡±
¡°Do you doubt that I¡¯m the real Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°...T-That¡¯s not it.¡±
His face was red from my intense gaze.
¡°Try it.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Ask me.¡±
The confused Jung Minseob nodded.
¡°Um... Then excuse me.¡±
In order to properly trick these guys, I had to keep a few things in mind.
¡°As far as I know, Yoo Jonghyuk took Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon as apanion in the third regression. Yet you have a strange woman with you instead of Kim Namwoon.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I thought she was Lee Jihye but she doesn¡¯t seem to be in her teens. I also heard you calling her a different name.¡±
His memory and observation skills were quite good. Like Jung Minseob said, this world had already changed from the third turn that I knew. Now I had to shift this changed world to ¡®suit my taste¡¯ as much as possible.
¡°If you are asking me why I don¡¯t have the Delusional Demon with me, the answer is simple. In this turn, the Delusional Demon doesn¡¯t exist.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡± D-Doesn¡¯t exist? Perhaps... did he die?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Their faces were filled with confusion for a moment. Jung Minseob asked, ¡°No, how... Who the hell killed Kim Namwoon?¡±
¡°The Delusion Demon Kim Namwoon...¡±
These prophets¡¯ mouths were slowly dropping. Now I would drive in thest wedge.
¡°He died at the hands of a prophet like you.¡±
Chapter 50
Episode 11 ¨C Night of the Prophets (2)
¡°A prophet like us?¡±
¡°Yes. At first, I didn¡¯t realize he was a prophet. Now it looks like he is. He knew the future like you.¡±
¡°...Then?¡±
¡°It seems like he knows a lot more than you do. He killed the Delusional Demon and gobbled up the hidden scenarios in the beginning. Thanks to that, my n became twisted.¡±
¡°T-There is a guy like that...?¡±
Of course there was. The person was right in front of you.
¡°He even seems to be impersonating me. When I encountered himst time, he was on the verge of death but he is still likely to be active near Chungmuro.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ admires your impudence.]
¡°...Chungmuro? Don¡¯t tell me?¡±
Jung Minseob was surprised and opened his smartphone, tapping the keyboard like Lee Sungkook. Maybe he was informing the other prophets.
Jung Minseob asked me a few more questions and I answered them briefly.
¡°It is like this! Ah... then the third regression changed... You really are Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Jung Minseob was deeply impressed.
¡°That¡¯s why you got that girl instead of the Delusional Demon. She seems enough to rece Kim Namwoon. She overpowered me in one blow...¡±
The most important thing was their misunderstanding.
Jung Minseob thought for a while before saying, ¡°But when listening to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s story, I seem to know who killed the Delusional Demon.¡±
¡°...You know?¡±
¡°Yes. I said this before... let me tell you this in advance, not all prophets are on the same side.¡±
I expected to hear this conversation. If there were 48 who knew the future, there would be some people who thought wrongly.
¡°There are those who call themselves the Twelve Apostles. They believe they are the only ones who have read the real revtion and that they can change this world.¡±
12 people. It was an exact match to the number of people who read up to chapter 50 of Ways of Survival.
¡°Why are they different from you?¡±
¡°They... they have read more of the revtion than us.¡±
I was right.
¡°Right now, there are 11 known apostles. I¡¯m guessing that the prophet that Yoo Jonghyuk-nim met is thest unknown apostle.¡±
As they were creative people, they adapted when thrown into the scenario. This was a convenient misunderstanding. No, wait a minute... a misunderstanding?
If I thought about it, one of the 12 people who read up to chapter 50 would be me.
¡°You don¡¯t have any good feelings towards the apostles?¡±
¡°To tell the truth... that¡¯s right. Unlike us, they are nning to use the Book of Revtion to conquer this world.¡±
...Why was my conscience pricked?
¡°They are the ones who pursue their own interests and sincerity rather than stop the destruction of the world by helping Yoo Jonghyuk. They are like the 10 Evils.¡±
¡°10 Evils...¡±
¡°That¡¯s why I would like to ask Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. Please lead us. Stop them.¡±
I see. This was their real purpose. To be honest, it was a bit surprising. I never thought they would need me because of infighting between the prophets. I thought for a moment before opening my mouth.
¡°Okay. I ept. I will form an alliance.¡±
¡°R-Really?¡±
¡°However, I have one condition.¡±
Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob¡¯s faces were tense as they waited for the conditions.
¡°First, give me Changsin Station.¡±
¡°Huh? Changsin Station...¡±
¡°It is the station right above Dongmyo. Haven¡¯t you eaten it already?¡±
¡°Ah, then Chungmuro¡¯s target station...¡±
Jung Minseob seemed to know something. In fact, this was the most major part of this alliance.
In Struggle for the g, the target that I must upy was Changsin Station. If I couldn¡¯t take it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to finish the fourth scenario even if I walked the King¡¯s Road to the end. If I didn¡¯tplete the fourth scenario, both me and my group would automatically die.
By the way, Lee Sungkook¡¯s expression was strange.
¡°Excuse me, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. I¡¯m really sorry... this is a bit difficult.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°The owner of Changsin Station isn¡¯t a member of our group.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t yours?¡±
It was strange. It was because Dongmyo Station was right before it.
Lee Sungkook said with a sigh, ¡°The ¡®Tyrant King¡¯ has upied it.¡±
The Tyrant King. My blood ran cold.
¡°...He has already be a king?¡±
One of Seoul¡¯s Seven Kings, the Tyrant King. He was one of the few people who could bepared to Yoo Jonghyuk at this point.
Shouldn¡¯t it take a few days until he blossomed as a king? The guy who started at Dobong Station had alreadye down this far? It didn¡¯t make sense no matter how I thought about it.
Lee Sungkook received my gaze and looked down.
¡°Actually... some of the prophets made a few mistakes and his power suddenly rose. In the midst of taking some prophets, he took the station... at the time, Prophets had 53 members.¡±
Suddenly, their credibility declined sharply. When I thought about it, I didn¡¯t know the beginning of the novel well without help. Why did I think these people would do well?
¡°D-Don¡¯t worry too much about it. We are preparing a powerful weapon to eliminate the Tyrant King. It isn¡¯t just the Tyrant King. It is a weapon to deal with the Twelve Apostles.¡±
Jung Minseob agreed.
¡°Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk-nim doesn¡¯t know it well. We worked very hard to figure out the revtions...¡±
No, I knew. These guys shouldn¡¯t be alone. I had to end it before these people could ruin the story.
¡°Ah, this is good. Sooner orter, you will have a chance to see the weapon.¡±
¡°A chance to see the weapon?¡±
¡°Tomorrow, with the exception of the Twelve Apostles, the Night of the Prophets will be held. I-If you don¡¯t mind...¡±
Jung Minseob¡¯s eager eyes turned to me.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-nim, I want you toe with us.¡±
* * *
After the talk, Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung and I gathered in the amodations provided by Lee Sungkook. I looked at the g of Chungmuro Station.
Throughout the afternoon, my g was changed to ¡®navy¡¯ due to the transfer of Dongdaemun Station and Cheonggu Station.
[You have used the benefits of the navy g.]
[From now on, you can use the ¡®group chat¡¯ with the group members.]
From now on, we didn¡¯t have to worry about conversations. The group chat couldn¡¯t be intercepted unless another group member was in the same area.
I briefly exined to them about what happened today. Jung Heewon vaguely noticed but Lee Hyunsung was surprised.
¨COh my god, it is unbelievable.They know part of the future... that¡¯s why Dokja-ssi is acting as Yoo Jonghyuk?
¨CYes.
¨CSigh... Then we should stay here for the moment.We need to find out more information about them...
¨CNope.
¨CHuh?
¨CToday I will take care of them.
I looked at Jung Heewon and said.
¨CI¡¯m sorry Jung Heewon-ssi.
¨CIts okay... I am just a bit hurt.
-......
¨CI¡¯m just joking.Isn¡¯t Dokja-ssi ying a gangster right now?If you are sorry, let me deal with that jerk from before.
Jung Heewon smiled and continued.
¨CThen tonight will be a hot night?
¨CH-Hot...?
Lee Hyunsung was freaked out by Jung Heewon¡¯s joke. I shook my head.
¨CI have something to do first.
¨CSomething to do?
¨CNow all of them are moving.It will be difficult.
I took out a small cloak as I finished speaking. My figure suddenly disappeared and Lee Hyunsung spoke with confusion.
¨CEh?Dokja-ssi?
¨CI will give you a signal.Then you will move.
It was a gold member¡¯s privilege item, ¡®Recluse¡¯s Cloak¡¯ which was purchased for 3,000 coins.
It was a five time consumable item but it could maintain ¡®absolute stealth¡¯ for 20 minutes once the ability was activated.
I melted into the darkness. It was useless against opponents with Absolute Senses Lv. 6 or higher but no one had such skills here.
I passed by the drowsy guards and arrived at Han Donghoon¡¯s tent. There was Sound Wave Blocking around the tent so I wasn¡¯t worried about anyone overhearing once I entered.
He carefully opened the tent and saw a boy sitting at the keyboard alone. The dark circles were thicker than they were in the daytime.
A solitary boymenting alone. The Prophets had turned this boy into a worn-out machine. A propaganda machine that manipted the future by scattering information that mixed fiction with truth. It didn¡¯t have much effect right now but the value of this boy would grow over time.
I quietly approached from behind and blocked his mouth. Han Donghoon gasped and struggled, but it was impossible to resist me with a level 10 strength.
I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the Mental Awakening medicine that I bought along with the Recluse¡¯s Cloak. It was a huge 3,000 coins.
It would be a lie if I said it wasn¡¯t regrettable, but if I could get the Hermit King of Shadows with 3,000 coins, it would be a profitable transaction.
Some time after being fed the stimnt, Han Donghoon¡¯s eyes changed. The Hypnosis effect was loosened and the boy¡¯s sense of reason started to return.
¡°U-Uhh, you...¡±
Hypnosis didn¡¯t mean that he forgot everything. In this little boy¡¯s head, all types of trauma would be running through them. Once the Hypnosis slipped, his sponsor would start to intervene to some extent.
[The sponsor behind character ¡®Han Donghoon¡¯ has revealed himself.]
[The constetion ¡®Shadow behind the Curtain¡¯ has thanked you.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
Han Donghoon stepped back while holding the g in his hand. I watched the g closely and deliberately stepped away.
¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not here to snatch the g.¡±
¡°Uh-Uwah, ah...¡±
¡°You¡¯re smart so you should understand right away. If I wanted to harm you, I wouldn¡¯t have released Hypnosis.¡±
¡°T-T-Then.¡±
¡°I want to be friends.¡±
Han Donghoon¡¯s eyes shook. I waited for a moment. It was until the turbulence in his head calmed down. But Han Donghoon wasn¡¯t able to speak easily. That reminded me, this guy had a problem.
¡°Is it hard to speak directly? If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to talk through this.¡±
Han Donghoon looked at the smartphone held in his hands and started muttering something.
[The character ¡®Han Donghoon¡¯ used ¡®Wide-area Inte Lv. 5¡¯ on your smartphone.]
[You can use the Inte anywhere in ¡®Seoul Dome¡¯ unless the consciousness of ¡®Han Donghoon¡¯ is interrupted.]
After a while, Han Donghoon¡¯s name appeared in the smartphone messenger.
¨CWho are you?
¨CI¡¯ve been looking for you.
¨CLee Sungkook also said that.
¨CI suppose so.
¨CI...
The boy¡¯s trembling fingers couldn¡¯t produce any more sentences. I instinctively realized. It was impossible to persuade this boy right now.
For more than 10 days, the boy¡¯s wounds had festered to the point where it couldn¡¯t be easily restored.
¨CI understand you.It is scary and confusing.
[The character ¡®Han Donghoon¡¯ is greatly disturbed.]
¨CDon¡¯t be ridiculous.
¨CI am different from those people.
¨CI can¡¯t believe you.
¨CDon¡¯t you hate the Prophets?
Han Donghoon¡¯s eyes shook. Deep rooted resentment filled the boy¡¯s eyes due to the hypnosis.
¨CIf you allow me to, I can get rid of them.
-...Why? You are a prophet...
¨CThey shouldn¡¯t exist. They are interfering with the ¡®epilogue.¡¯
Han Donghoon stared at me with eyes that couldn¡¯t understand and tapped on his keyboard.
¨CTo me...What do you want?You will just use my abilities anyway.
I looked up and slowly opened my mouth.
¨CNo, it is just the opposite.
I stared into Han Donghoon¡¯s eyes as I spoke aloud.
¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything.¡±
* * *
¡°Now those jerks time is over. It will all end tomorrow.¡±
¡°Sigh... when this is over, I will have a bottle of soju.¡±
¡°Yes. Did you see that bastard¡¯s eyes before? The Sage¡¯s Eyes red at me and I almost had a heart attack.¡±
¡°Hahat, how did a guy who got off at the prologue know about the Sage¡¯s Eyes?¡±
Cheerful voices. It was so exciting that I wanted to keep listening.
¡°Hey, the other prophets are still suspicious... how do I convince them? They¡¯ve been nagging me to go to Chungmuro...¡±
¡°Give me your phone and I will speak to them. At any rate... huh?¡± Jung Minseob¡¯s face stiffened as he fiddled with the keyboard. ¡°Why is the Inte not working all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Is that brat sleeping again? Go check it out.¡±
Jung Minseob was about to leave the tent when his body hit something. The moment he stretched out a hand.
¡°W-What is this...?¡±
Chiiiiiing!
¡°Aaaagh!¡±
Jung Minseob fell onto the ground with a scream. I took off the Recluse¡¯s Cloak and held the de of Faith.
¡°Y-Yoo Jonghyuk? Howe?¡±
The confused Lee Sungkook stumbled while Jung Heewon poked her head in from outside the tent.
¡°I took care of some of them. But there are too many people... I won¡¯tst long.¡±
Jung Heewon disappeared and the sound of fighting was heard from outside. Now the guards will flock.
¡°D-Don¡¯t you know what will happen if you do this? Yoo Jonghyuk, you won¡¯t be able to deal with all of us!¡±
¡°All? I don¡¯t have to deal with everyone. I just need to handle you.¡±
This remark made Lee Sungkook¡¯s lips twitch.
¡°I¡¯m sorry Yoo Jonghyuk but I can¡¯t let¨D¡±
Kudududuk!
I lightly swept the ether de towards the fallen Jung Minseob and cut the armour he was wearing. Jung Minseob screamed.
¡°Aack!¡±
His flesh was torn and a piece of cloth fell out. I picked up the piece of cloth that had fallen out.
[You have won the g of the ¡®Dongmyo Group.¡¯]
[Your navy g has absorbed the cumtive achievements of the navy g.]
[Your navy g has evolved into a brown g.]
[A strong g protects you.]
¡°You are the real representative of Dongmyo.¡±
¡°H-How...?¡±
¡°No matter how stupid you guys are, you wouldn¡¯t show the g so proudly.¡±
In the first ce, it was strange for them to give the representative position to Han Donghoon. They knew the future and wouldn¡¯t give the representative position to a character in the novel.
However, Lee Sungkook wasn¡¯t the representative. There was only one answer.
[The remaining members of the Dongmyo Group are waiting for your decision.]
Now the guards were meaningless. The hopeless Jung Minseob stuttered. ¡°Y-Yoo Jonghyuk! The other prophets will know this...¡±
¡°How will you let them know when the Inte doesn¡¯t work?¡±
Lee Sungkook cried out as he realized that all their ns were broken.
¡°Why... why are you doing this to us?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see.? This question is meaningless. Even if I was the ¡®real Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯, I wouldn¡¯t form an alliance with guys like you.¡±
¡°W-What... don¡¯t tell me...?¡±
I grinned at the pale-looking duo andughed.
¡°You should¡¯ve read to the end.¡±
Chapter 51
Episode 11 ¨C Night of the Prophets (3)
I was in a deep sleep. It was a long-awaited good night¡¯s sleep.
[The effect of the deep sleep haspletely restored mental power.]
[Some of your exclusive skills have been updated.]
I checked my clock and saw that it was already 4 p.m.
Once Dongmyo Station and the surroundings areas were upiedst night, the umted fatigue settled firmly on me.
[Currently upied: Chungmuro (Main Base), Myeongdong, Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, Dongdaemun, Dongmyo, Sindang Station, Cheonggu Station, Yaksu Station, Sinseol-dong Station ]
Thanks to eating the Dongmyo Group, I now had nine stations. Now I just needed one more and the King¡¯s Road scenario would be over.
Just a bit more and I could achieve one of the key goals of the beginning scenarios, King of No Killing.
Once I came out, Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung were waiting for me.
¡°We are ready. When will we go?¡±
¡°Please wait a moment.¡±
I looked towards the men who were heading towards me.
¡°Did you sleep well?¡±
Last night, I decided to have all members of Dongmyo join my group. The two men in front of me was the result of that decision.
Jung Minseob bowed to me and opened his mouth.
¡°...Please keep me alive.¡±
¡°Me too, me too. Sob!¡±
Originally I nned to kill Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob, but I changed my mind. These two were useful until Ipletely wiped out the prophets.
I put them in the Chungmuro Group and evolved the colour of the g to ¡®brown.¡¯
From the brown g, it became possible to restrict the actions of the group members.
[You have exercised the right of the representative.]
[Group members Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob have restrictions on their behaviour.]
Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob¡¯s expression changed at the emerging system messages.
¡°One, from now on, you can¡¯t tell others about my identity.¡±
¡°Yes, yep!¡±
¡°Two, you must unconditionally submit to mymands and you aren¡¯t allowed to act individually without my permission.¡±
¡°...Of course.¡±
[Group members Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob are willing to ept their limitations.]
[This restriction is a ¡®life¡¯ restriction.]
[If they break the restrictions, group members Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob will die.]
I nodded and said.
¡°Well... okay. I don¡¯t know when my heart will change, but everyone work hard. I will decide while watching you.¡±
The two of them gulped and made hrious faces. I didn¡¯t know what they were thinking. In any case, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to stick to Yoo Jonghyuk so it was better to stick to me.
¡°By the way, Representative-nim. What should we call you in the future...?¡±
¡°Call me like you are now. But call me Yoo Jonghyuk in front of the other prophets. Ah, Jung Minseob.¡±
¡°Yep.¡±
¡°Give me the Fugitive¡¯s Mask.¡±
Jung Minseob was upset but eventually gave it to me. Anyway, I had to pretend to be Yoo Jonghyuk if I wanted to go to the Night of the Prophets. This ¡®mask¡¯ would be a preventive measure for a situation I didn¡¯t know.
After a moment, the muscles on my face moved in a bizarre manner as my appearance started changing. It felt a bit weird but I soon got used to it.
¡°Huh, this is the real appearance of Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°Very handsome... The revtion wasn¡¯t wrong.¡±
These bastards...
I wanted to snap out but I closed my mouth. I didn¡¯t need to be angry over something like this.
That reminded me, it would be better to know the details of these guys just in case.
¡°Jung Minseob, what is your attribute...¡±
At this moment, a system message shed in my head.
[The history of this person has been updated.]
...What?
I tried to use Character List once again as a test.
[Character Information]
Name: Jung Minseob
Age: 25 years old.
Constetion Support: Cursed diator
Private Attribute: Light Projection (Rare), 1089th Person to Get Off (General)
Exclusive Skills: Sword Training Lv. 2, Powerful Blow Lv. 2, Berserk Lv. 3, Memory Enhancement Lv. 5]...
Stigma: Repay Grudges Lv. 1
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 18, Strength Lv. 16, Agility Lv. 12, Magic Power Lv. 10.
Overall Evaluation: An incarnation that possesses goodprehensive skills and attributes. His sponsor is a bitcking but his ability as a warrior is considerable. He would¡¯ve been one of the 12 apostles if he had been a bit more patient. He is very regretful.
...What did it mean that the Character List was updated?
A person I wasn¡¯t able to see the attributes window of yesterday suddenly became a character.
He was a prophet. In other words, a character outside the novel. Why did he suddenly change into a character?
¡°Oh, my attribute is...¡±
¡°No need.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
I also confirmed the attributes of Lee Sungkook.
Fortunately, his attributes were the same. Hypnotist and 9th Person to Get Off... Thetter was garbage but the former was a pretty good attribute.
¡°Give me your smartphone.¡±
¡°Yep! Here it is.¡±
I received a smartphone from one of them and connected to the chat room.
Ah... the Inte didn¡¯t work. Yesterday it was disconnected...
[The character ¡®Han Donghoon¡¯ used ¡®Wide-area Inte Lv. 5¡¯ on your smartphone.]
[The device¡¯s Inte is now avable.]
As soon as I thought it, the Inte was connected. I nced towards the tent where Han Donghoon was located. There was a vibration from the smartphone, indicating that a message had arrived.
¨CI¡¯m going to believe in you just once.
Maybe something changed with Han Donghoon after what happenedst night. I had been really worried about it so I was d.
I sent a reply to Han Donghoon.
¨CThank you.
Sooner orter, I would have a chance to talk to him. I once again opened Lee Sungkook¡¯s smartphone to the Prophets chat room.
[Chat Room]
[List of participants: No. 9, 15 I feel like Dying, 124 Let¡¯s Drop Off, No. 763, 887 Get Off, No. 645... a total of 36 people.]
I looked at the numbers in their names and got a sense of who they were. But something was strange.
¡°...36 people?¡±
Jung Minseob answered my question.
¡°All the prophets in the room stopped reading early. There are no apostles.¡±
I see.
¡°By the way, Representative-nim. Didn¡¯t you say it yesterday? ¡®You should¡¯ve read to the end¡¯... then do you know all of the Book of Revtion?¡±
I looked at the expectant Jung Minseob andughed.
I knew. Do you know?
¡°You won¡¯t regret taking my line instead of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s.¡±
***
After a while, we headed to Anguk Station while avoiding the surrounding conflict areas.
It was because the Night of the Prophets was scheduled to be held.
I spied on these guys through Lee Sungkook¡¯s smartphone.
¡ª¨C
No. 519: Really?Yoo Jonghyuk ising this evening?
No. 67: There is no doubt.No. 9 and No. 1089 said it yesterday.
887 Get Off: The 9th is a neer but I can believe it if it is the 1089th...
124 Let¡¯s Drop Off: This time they will all be behind us.
887 Get Off: No. 124, you are in Seoul ?? How can those jerks fall behind you?
124 Let¡¯s Drop Off: Ah, except for me of course.Local residents, victory ^ ^ v
887 Get Off: I would like to be a regressor...If I had read the novel at that time...No, if I had only read up to 50...I¡¯m jealous of those apostles scum...
15 I feel like Dying: But don¡¯t you think the people who read over 50 chapters are abnormal??I don¡¯t know how they read to over 50. ???
124 Let¡¯s Drop Off: Real psychos ????
¡ª¨C
As expected, humans who hid behind anonymity would reveal the truth. Perhaps the number before the nickname was where they stopped reading.
¡ª¨C
No. 888: But are you sure there is no txt version of this novel?
No. 124: A few days ago, I searched the Inte and there was really nothing left...Ahh...A novel without a txt... (tears)
No. 763: Even if you had a copy, you wouldn¡¯t share such a fraudulent thing.If I could really sell my soul, I would buy it.
¡ª¨C
The idea of trying to read Ways of Survival popped up. These guys, they should¡¯ve read it with me at that time.Now they didn¡¯t know the days ahead.
We¡¯ve arrived.¡±
I was about to say, ¡°What, already?¡± when I saw the tform of Anguk Station in front of me. The prophets who arrived in advance could also be seen.
But something was strange.
¡°Nobody has upied this ce?¡±
¡°Yes, it is a promise between the prophets. It could be dangerous to meet at an upied station. It is sort of like the DMZ.¡±
Then a prophet approached and waved.
¡°Hey, No. 1089!¡±
¡°Oh, it is No. 763 hyung.¡±
Jung Minseob waved and weed the person.
¡°How have you been? You face doesn¡¯t look good?¡±
¡°Well spotted. The Tyrant Kill is giving me hell.¡±
¡°I told you not to advance towards the Dobong side. Why didn¡¯t you listen...¡±
No. 763 nced towards me and his face suddenly stiffened.
¡°P-Perhaps... he is...?¡±
Jung Minseob nodded.
No. 763¡¯s eyes showed astonishment.
¡°I-It is really an honour. Yoo Jonghyuk-nim!¡±
The uproar caused the scattered prophets to gather one by one.
¡°Is that...?¡±
The prophets ran together and pushed in front of me. There were also a few female prophets.
¡°He looks better than I imagined! I am No. 998!¡±
¡°It is great to meet you, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim! I¡¯m No. 1055!¡±
This... I felt like a real king. Their shining eyes wanted to win my favour somehow. I wondered what they would all look like when they realized I wasn¡¯t really Yoo Jonghyuk.
Most of them weren¡¯t worth paying attention to. Their knowledge of the future was dim and their abilities were poor.
Yet there were some prominent people.
¡°It was very impressive when you fought against Demon King Asmodeus in the second regression.¡±
Hoh?
¡°It was mentioned briefly in the Book of Revtions... now that I¡¯ve met Yoo Jonghyuk-nim, I feel like hearing about it from you.¡±
Ways of Survival started with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ¡®third¡¯ regression and all the stories from the second regression were treated as recollections.
Yet this guy knew about Asmodeus? Why was he so impressed when he didn¡¯t read until the end?
¡°Who are you?¡±
¡°I am No. 1168.¡±
Then he almost read to the 50th chapter. Perhaps he was the one who read the most out of those present.
No. 1168 asked me, ¡°Excuse me, is it Yoo Jonghyuk-nim¡¯s third turn right now?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Ah, as expected...¡±
Some prophets had dark expressions.
Yes, I knew.
Ways of Survival was an infinite loop so those who discovered that it was early on in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s regressions would be quite disappointed.
These jerks, they only got the cute side of Yoo Jonghyuk in the beginning... in any case, those who didn¡¯t read until the end weren¡¯t satisfied.
Then there was a disturbance behind me.
¡°Lee Hyunsung-nim!¡±
¡°Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung?¡±
Lee Hyunsung blushed as he was surrounded by people.
¡°W-What are you doing? I¡¯m not the Steel... I¡¯m not that!¡±
¡°Wow, just like a real revtion. Look at those biceps!¡±
¡°Ohhh! So taut!¡±
Lee Hyunsung had a good-looking face and was quite popr among the female prophets. At that time, one passing prophet showed interest in Jung Heewon.
¡°Excuse, perhaps... are you Maritime Admiral Lee Jihye?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Then are you...¡±
¡°I am Jung Heewon. Why?¡±
¡°Ah, I see.¡±
The disappointed prophet moved past Jung Heewon towards Lee Hyunsung. Jung Heewon looked at the situation and spoke to me in Group Chat.
¨CWhy... isn¡¯t anyone interested in me?
¨CHeewon-ssi isn¡¯t famous in the future.
¨CChe.
¨CSo do well from now on.
I turned away from the miserable Jung Heewon. I came to the Night of the Prophets for a reason. I couldn¡¯t waste time talking like this.
¡°Where is the weapon?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°The weapon you have hidden. I will check it first.¡±
¡°Ah, here it is.¡±
The 763th prophet excitedly moved to the centre of the tform and removed the cloth covering something. There was a big stone present.
I remembered the moment I saw the meteor shower on the roof of the theatre. No, wait a minute.
¡°Is that a meteorite?¡±
¡°Haha, that¡¯s right. At this point, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim might not know... ording to the Book of Revtion, it contained a powerful weapon.¡±
¡°A weapon?¡±
¡°Yes! That¡¯s correct. Maybe it is a weapon like a top ranking star relic.¡±
¡°Doesn¡¯t the meteorite need hatching time and can¡¯t be used now?¡±
¡°Haha, we have a rotation that will provide magic power. It will hatch tonight at thetest. We have been working on it for a few days...¡±
I became colder as I looked at this proud bastard.
A red pattern. It was nonsense. This thing shouldn¡¯t be known until at least the fourth regression?
¡°Which bastard gave you the information?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°That person who brought the meteorite to you.¡±
¡°Oh, that... No. 1124, he was the first one...¡±
No. 1124? A person who stopped reading early on knew this information?
¡°Where is he?¡±
Jung Minseob looked around the ce and muttered.
¡°Uh... I guess he hasn¡¯te yet.¡±
The informant didn¡¯te. I thought for a moment before opening my mouth.
¡°We have to get out of here.¡±
It was a trap.
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Right now.¡±
This was the first time I got a cold sweat since Ways of Survival became a reality and since meeting Yoo Jonghyuk the first time.
This was a weapon? Who was stupid enough to think like this...
I nced around at the prophets staring at me with naive eyes. Then the tform started vibrating.
Kukukung...!
I looked at the trembling ¡®meteorite¡¯ and stepped back. I hade here to sweep away the prophets, only to be the one swept away.
¡°W-What is this?¡±
Jung Minseob made a stupid noise.
Dammit. The fourth scenario hadn¡¯t even ended and the ¡®disaster¡¯ of the fifth scenario was about to appear.
I shouted toward Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Run away!¡±
This was why I couldn¡¯t trust those who didn¡¯t read to the end. Due to these damn people who got off early, today became all wrong.
Chapter 52
Episode 11 ¨C Night of the Prophets (4)
A red aura appeared around the meteorite and glowing lights shot all over the tform.
¡°Ohh! Finally!¡±
A prophet screamed.
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung quickly approached me.
¡°Run away? What...¡±
It was toote. The red aura spread across the tform and a faint veil surrounded the station. Now none of the prophets would be able to leave Anguk Station.
[The constetions protest against the excessive filtering.]
[Many constetions¡¯ eyes are shining at the ¡®omen.¡¯]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is watching the situation with curious eyes.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is expecting your brilliant strategy.]
The constetions were excited and sent me indirect messages.
The most dangerous situation in the world of Ways of Survival was one where the constetions were partying.
I asked the nervous Jung Minseob, ¡°Was No. 1124 the one who suggested that you gather here today?¡±
¡°Huh? I don¡¯t know. We all agreed together...¡±
I felt clogged up, like someone had fed me ten sweet potatoes. I couldn¡¯t believe things had gone this far.
¨CEverybody move behind me.
I paid attention the meteorite while protecting them.
¨CAren¡¯t we running away?
¨CWe can¡¯t go.If you look behind, you can see a ward.
¨CHuh?What ward?
I didn¡¯t answer as I stared at the meteorite in the centre of the tform.
[Meteorite] was the main event in the fifth scenario. The danger sleeping inside the meteorite would differ depending on the colour, brightness, size and type. However, the meteorite I was looking at now was one that should never hatch.
They seemed confused because the meteorite that gave the star relic in the third regression was ¡®bright red¡¯...
¡°I wonder what star relic will appear?¡±
¡°That...¡±
Some prophets hadn¡¯t noticed yet and touched the meteorite.
[An omen of the fifth main scenario has appeared.]
Then the message popped up.
¡°Eh? What is this?¡±
¡°Why suddenly the main scenario...¡±
The surface of the meteorite cracked and a red light poured out. The first thing the light touched was the prophet staring at the meteorite with wonder.
The body of the prophet who lost his head slowly fell to the ground like a broken doll.
¡°What is going on?!¡±
The prophets screamed and retreated, but they were already unable to escape the crisis.
I took the party with me as I retreated to the edge and observed the situation. I remembered seeing this type of meteorite in Ways of Survival but it was tricky to know what woulde out.
Please, don¡¯t let it be that ¡®disaster.¡¯ The meteorite cracked and redva poured out.
The surrounding tform burned and released a bad smell. Then the temperature of the air rose rapidly and breathing became painful.
The surrounding environment was changing. This... ava zone? It meant...
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ has appeared!]
¡°Fuck! What? The star relic...?¡±
Several confused prophets btedly used skills. However, the meteorite stretched out a long tail and caught a few escaping prophets.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
The body of the prophet that caught by the tail suddenly burned up. Some prophets used skills to attack the tail but their weapons started to melt.
¡°T-This monster...¡±
The meteorite was at most two metres in length, but the monster crawling out from the gap was over five metres long.
Jung Heewon asked.
¨CWhat the hell is this?
¨CIt is a disaster.
¨CDisaster?
The remainder of the meteorite split apart and a dragon species entered this dimension.
Kuoooooh!
A violent dragon that was just born. Despite being a deteriorated version of a hatchling, a dragon still reigned at the apex of all monsters.
A 6th grade monster could wipe out all the prophets here and this was a 5th grade fire dragon.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-nim!¡±
Some of the prophets called out to me and all attention was still focused this way.
I frowned. The incident was caused by them yet they wanted me to solve it?
¡°Get back to the edges.¡±
Like an obedient puppy, everyone moved to a corner of the tform. The guys who were quick were already running upstairs from the tform. But.
¡°Shit, there¡¯s a ward!¡±
The lesser dragon was a ¡®disaster.¡¯ In a situation where a disaster appeared, the size of the despair was different. At least, this was the pattern I knew.
Among Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s numerous regressions, he had definitely faced this guy.
I looked at the party members.
¨CA hidden scenario will soon start.
¨CHidden scenario?
¨CThis is a guy who shouldn¡¯t havee out in the fourth scenario.It has an unusual difficulty so there will soon be an intervention.
In order to respond to this disaster, various benefits were needed in the fifth scenario. For example, if the blue meteorite came out...
But now we had nothing. Yes, something had to be given to bnce us.
[Some constetions areining about the unusual scenario difficulty.]
Indeed. The next moment, sparks flew in the air and a small child-like presence appearance.
It wasn¡¯t a low grade dokkaebi like Bihyung. He wore a tidy suit with two little horns on his head. He was an impressive guy with a small lump protruding from his side pocket.
I didn¡¯t know his name but I knew what he was. He was an intermediate dokkaebi.
[Hrmm. This is difficult. How did you guys get this ¡®root¡¯? It was only installed recently...]
Once his voice rang out, the movements of the lesser dragon stopped. Indeed, it was possible for an intermediate dokkaebi to intervene in the scenario to this level.
[A disaster woke up in the fourth scenario?]
The emergence of an intermediate dokkaebi meant that the ¡®early scenarios¡¯ had almoste to an end.
As long as he took notice of this ce, I would barely be able to see the contract benefits with Bihyung.
[Some constetions are poisonous so I can¡¯t spare you... it is also hard to downgrade the difficulty...]
His gaze focused on me.
¡°But this isn¡¯t right! We haven¡¯t cleared the fourth scenario!¡± One prophet shouted.
I could see the prophets around him quickly covering his mouth. There was nothing good about yelling at a dokkaebi right now.
[I have decided. I won¡¯t downgrade the difficulty.]
The prophets red at the dokkaebi. There was only the sound of breathing. They had read Ways of Survival so they would know.
The dokkaebi couldn¡¯t overturn thews. But they also knew this.
[Still... it won¡¯t be interesting if you all die this way. I will use my discretion to change the scenario content.]
The dokkaebi was more talkative than I thought.
[The hidden scenario has arrived!]
The lesser dragon started moving again. The red leather-covered paws hit the floor of the tform. I avoided the scattered debris and looked at the scenario that arrived.
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C United You Die, Scattered You Die]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A
Clear Conditions: Within the time limit, hunt down the ¡®lesser dragon Igneel¡¯ or survive his attacks.
Time Limit: 20 minutes.
Compensation: 3,000 coins
Failure: Death
Hidden pieces are hidden in this mission.
+
A 20 minute survival mission. From the title to the contents, it was ridiculous.
Lee Hyunsung asked.
¨CDo we have to hunt him?
¨CNo, don¡¯t even dream about it.
This disaster is a disaster for a reason. Even the real Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t catch a 5th grade fire dragon. I looked at the situation on the tform. Flowing mes started pouring out.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
The prophets caught in the mes turned to ashes. The walls burned by the mes melted and distorted terribly. He was slowly moving to this side.
¡°Everyone run counterclockwise!¡±
I opened my mouth and ran ahead of the rotation direction.
Fortunately, Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung followed me well. Jung Minseob and Lee Sungkook were a bit behind but they still seemed okay.
This time, we avoided it because I knew the pattern. The problem was that this type of attack wouldn¡¯t always ur.
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ is preparing the ¡®mes of Destruction¡¯.]
...It had started. We somehow avoided the general attack but the crisis came now.
¡°Look for a foothold.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Number 5... or 2 and 3! Anyway, just quickly find something that adds up to 5!¡±
[A hidden piece is activated.]
[Numerical footholds are activated.]
[Once the appropriate number of people enters the foothold, ¡®Absolute Shield¡¯ can be activated in 10 seconds.]
[Absolute Shield won¡¯t activate when the number on the foothold is exceeded.]
The prophets all heard this system message. At the same time, footholds the size of two pyeong appeared all over the station.
¡°Footholds? Ah, right!¡±
¡°There is a hidden piece!¡±
I looked at the moving prophets and bit my lips. The giggling constetions reflected in my eyes. Why did many constetions protest against the difficulty of the scenario?
It was simple. There was no fun in a story with ¡®only death.¡¯ They didn¡¯t want ants being trampled by a giant. These guys wanted the ants to fight back to survive. In order to live, the ants would even bit at their kin.
[Many constetions are watching the situation with excited eyes.]
Damn constetion scum.
¡°Shit, go!¡±
¡°Kuheeok!¡±
The prophets, who had called each other¡¯s numbers in a friendly manner, now wielded their weapons against each other to fight over the footholds with the number ¡®1.¡¯ Some prophets copsed bleeding as they approached a foothold.
The swift prophets were already stepping on the footholds, strengthening their alertness.
I kept an eye on them. Someone had clearly nned this trap. Maybe they were the apostles.
They knew the prophets would gather her and decided to use this opportunity to wipe out those who stopped reading early.
It was a good idea. No matter how trivial the information, the fewer who knew the future, the better.
Usually, the apostles would beughing at the prophets from far away. If they were ¡®ordinary¡¯ people.
Those who read more than 50 chapters of a boring novel weren¡¯t normal. They called themselves apostles and were greedy enough to control information.
¡®If they were intelligent enough to use the red meteor as a trap, wouldn¡¯t they know how to ovee the disaster?
If I was like this...
¨CRepresentative-nim!There is no foothold.
¨CThere is nothing here!
Jung Heewon and Jung Minseob cried out urgently. There were no footholds in the ce where out party was located.
¨COh, there is one here!But...
The foothold that was barely found had an ominous number. Four. In other words, only four people could survive on that foothold. But our party had five people.
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ is using the ¡®mes of Destruction¡¯.]
A huge spark started from the centre of the tform and started to spread throughout the station.
It was a lesser dragon¡¯s full attack skill. The heat was enough to burn my skin despite being so far away. If the shield wasn¡¯t activated now, my party would be destroyed.
¡°R-Representative-nim?¡±
Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob trembled as they met my gaze. I grasped the handle of Unbroken Faith.
At that moment.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-nim!¡±
I looked back and saw one prophet. The number ¡®2¡¯ was written on his foothold. Despite the urgent situation, this man still looked rxed.
¡°Come this way!¡±
This guy...? A few memories passed by quickly. I ran towards him while shouting at the people behind him.
¡°Activate the shield!¡±
[Absolute Shield is activated!]
Kuoooooh!
Then the mes burned everything on the tform. If it had touched me just a little bit then I would¡¯ve melted.
¡°Sigh... I¡¯m d.¡±
The man who triggered the shield at breathtaking timing sighed with relief. I asked him, ¡°Who are you?¡±
The manughed lightly. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed. Have you already forgotten? I am No. 1168. About Asmodeus...¡±
I remembered. He was the one who spoke to me about Demon King Asmodeus.
¡°That isn¡¯t my question.¡±
The eyes of No. 1168 shook.
I hadn¡¯t thought about it before.
The scene of the confrontation between Demon King Asmodeus and Yoo Jonghyuk. To be precise, the second regression Yoo Jonghyuk was one-sidedly beaten by the demon king.
It was a scene I remembered because I really liked it. However... this recollection didn¡¯t appear before chapter 50. I could say it with certainty as the full reader of Ways of Survival.
I pulled out my de and opened my mouth.
¡°I will ask you again. Who are you?¡±
[Due to the effect of your exclusive attribute, the memory effect of some scenes have increased.]
The story of Demon King Asmodeus appeared exactly in chapter 57 of Ways of Survival.
A crack started to spread in this man¡¯s rxed expression.
Chapter 53
Episode 11 ¨C Night of the Prophets (5)
The self-styled No. 1168 looked at the mes beyond the shield and asked,
¡°My identity? What are you talking about suddenly...?¡±
¡°Have you forgotten? I have Sage¡¯s Eyes.¡±
In fact, this guy¡¯s information wasn¡¯t avable to me.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
What was the difference between an updated person and a non-updated person? I still didn¡¯t know the exact reason why.
But whatever the reason was, deceiving this person wasn¡¯t difficult. It was because he believed I was Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°...I didn¡¯t think Yoo Jonghyuk-nim would notice.¡±
¡°You are an apostle. Right?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. You already knew it.¡±
The fact that he said it so easily meant there were ulterior motives.
¡°This is a trap. Is it because of the Butterfly Effect?¡±
¡°Haha, that¡¯s right.¡±
I wondered if my words were funny as No. 1168 smiled and looked at the other people around.
¡°If there are a lot of flying butterflies, unnecessary storms will happy.¡±
The prophets who couldn¡¯t find a foothold were melting like moths in the midst of the mes. The terrible screams and the information they knew disappeared into dust. It was the price they paid for trying to obtain a star relic without the proper information.
¡°You are killing thervae before they be butterflies.¡±
¡°Thervae that are about to be pupa are the easiest to kill.¡±
The fierce heat died down and the chemical reactions in the surrounding area were subsiding. The Absolute Shield was soon turned off.
[After one minute, the positions of the footholds will be recreated.]
The hidden scenario would end when footholds appeared 10 times and they survived the attacks. We had just passed one so there were nine left.
I tried pressing against the shield with my feet. The heat was high but it was enough to endure.
¨CRepresentative-nim!
I waved my hand to stop those running from afar.
Now wasn¡¯t the time to take care of them.
¨CThe attack patterns are familiar so please learn them and avoid them on your own.I can¡¯t take care of you right now.
The party members noticed something strange and stopped moving.
In a situation where the power of the apostles wasn¡¯t clear, it was dangerous to drag them with me.
No. 1168 looked at me and said, ¡°This isn¡¯t like what I saw in the Book of Revtions. Is this really your third regression?¡±
¡°Shut up. Where did you get off?¡±
¡°Hrmm? You would know if you checked it yourself.¡±
¡°I like a person who is the same on the outside. I can¡¯t make a deal with a person who has two different sides.¡±
The apostles¡¯ eyes widened. ¡°How interesting.¡±
¡°There must be a reason why you would so easily identify yourself.¡±
The tail of the lesser dragon flew through the air and struck the spot where we were. It was easy for me to avoid it with my over level 30 agility. However, No. 1168¡¯s astute movements were amazing.
I triggered Calm Observation that I got from Theatre Dungeon. It was a skill I saved for those who Character List didn¡¯t work on.
His perspiration, speed, breathing interval... The sum of his physical body stats was around 49~50. It was a significant level among the prophets I had seen.
I moved behind him and he opened his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll formally greet you. I¡¯m No. 1195. Among the apostles, I am the 5th Apostle.¡±
The number of views for Ways of Survival¡¯s first chapter was 1,200. If he was 1,195, he was among the top five of thetest people to stop reading. Then he knew about the ¡®red meteorite.¡¯
¡°What is your purpose? ¡°Do you also need my help?¡±
¡°Huhu. To save Yoo Jonghyuk-nim... what would you say to that?¡±
¡°It is more usible than the lie about mosquitos bing butterflies.
¡°Indeed, you have Lie Detection.¡±
He licked his dry lips. Should I do it now?
...No. A little bit more. Just listen a bit more.
¡°However, I¡¯m not lying about my desire to save Yoo Jonghyuk-nim. Things would be difficult if you die here. The revtions will be greatly ruined.¡±
¡°You knew I wasing.¡±
¡°We discovered it a few hours ago. Therefore, we hurriedly revised the n.¡±
There were sparks and a few more prophets near us died. There were still those who were hanging on. It was like they knew the patterns of the lesser dragon. I kept an eye on those people.
¡°Originally, we had no ns to participate. If only you Yoo Jonghyuk-nim wasn¡¯t here.¡±
¡°So?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you already know the answer?¡±
[The positions of the footholds will be created!]
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ is preparing the ¡®mes of Destruction¡¯.]
My party members sessful found footholds this time. The apostle and I also found a foothold that fit two people.
To be precise, the apostle tossed the person already upying it out with force. The drops of bloodnded on the brutal apostle. He wiped it off and said, ¡°We have to y the lesser dragon.¡±
Ku ku ku ku!
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ is using the ¡®mes of Destruction¡¯.]
The Absolute Shield activated and once again blocked the mes.
Kuooooh!
Only two stages had urred but there were less than a quarter prophets remaining. The party members had been keeping pace but it was uncertain how long they wouldst.
[A hidden piece penalty has urred.]
[The number of footholds created in the next turn will be reduced.]
I spoke with narrowed eyes, ¡°With your power alone?¡±
¡°It is possible. I have prepared enough.¡±
I felt uneasy as I heard his confident voice. That reminded me, he was shedding a single drop of sweat in this heat. A bluish chill spread over his skin.
This was... I see. Their preparations were outstanding.
¡°It is the ice pill.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
A pill that had a certain probability of appearing when a 7th grade elemental species was hunted in the Gangseo-gu area stations. They already managed to get their hands on this pill. It would release a powerful ice attribute for at least 30 minutes.
In other words, they had a foundation to hurt the lesser dragon. The problem was the attack power.
¡°It is impossible with you alone.¡±
¡°Who said I was alone?¡±
I looked at the survivors. There were a few people I was particrly keeping an eye on. I looked closer and saw that their bodies were covered with a bluish chill.
¡°Huhu, how can Ie here alone?¡±
I counted and there were five of them. They hadmitted half their power for this operation. The five apostles must have confidence after eating the five ice pills.
But.
¡°A few more people won¡¯t make a big difference.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why I am seeking help. I will give an ice pill to Yoo Jonghyuk-nim if you decide to help us.¡±
¡°If I refuse?¡±
¡°All of Yoo Jonghyuk-nim¡¯s party members here will die.¡±
¡°Do you think you will be safe like that?¡±
¡°Even if we can¡¯t take care of the lesser dragon, we can at least take care of our bodies.¡±
He was brimming with confidence. They would¡¯ve already lost their heads if I was the real Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Do you think I am worried about my party members? People die anyway. I can gather other people.¡±
I raised Unbroken Faith to his neck. Then he shook his head.
¡°Huhu, you are truly like the revtions. But you better think carefully.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°By now, Yoo Jonghyuk-nim¡¯s main base would¡¯ve entered our hands.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°Maritime Admiral Lee Jihye, a child who uses strange abilities. And one of the 10 Evils. It is different from the original revtion but you have made a fairly good party. If they all die, won¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk-nim face problems starting again?¡±
They had already investigated up to here. These bastards...
¡°Won¡¯t it be worse if we take away Chungmuro Station? Right now, it is just a proposal. But don¡¯t think this proposal willst forever. Our group has alreadypleted the King¡¯s Road scenario by taking over 10 stations. You should know the gap between a group with a ¡®king¡¯ and a group without a king.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Perhaps the situation would already be over by now. The king will be waiting for Yoo Jonghyuk-nim¡¯s choice in front of Chungmuro¡¯s g holder.¡±
...I see.
I knew their n. These guys, they nned to hit Chungmuro from the moment they received information I wasing to the Night of the Prophets.
¡°If you pledge to join us, we will promise the safety of your party as well as our full support in the future. This is a promise on the king¡¯s honour.¡±
My heart was pounding from the precise threat. They were actually this bold against Yoo Jonghyuk. It was rare to find this in someone who read Ways of Survival.
¡°Who is your king? Where did they get off?¡±
¡°Hmm... the king dislikes being called someone who ¡®got off.¡¯¡±
¡°So what do you call them?¡±
¡°Even if you are Yoo Jonghyuk-nim, please refrain from speaking about him like that. He is the only one among the prophets who has read all the revtions. He knows both Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s past and future.¡±
...What? I was surprised for a moment but didn¡¯t greatly panic. This was interesting. There was another reader who read all of the novel?
Laughter emerged. It was a ridiculingugh. It was because there absolutely couldn¡¯t be such a thing.
Kuooooh!
Finally, the third attack of the fire dragon was about to begin. I looked at the apostle and quietly stepped out of the foothold.
The bewildered apostle asked as I walked forward. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-nim? What are you doing?¡±
The party members far away were also surprised. I waved my hands.
¨CDon¡¯t worry.No matter what happens, you absolutely can¡¯t move from there.Understood?
I walked in the direction of the lesser dragon. It was with slow but sure steps. The fire dragon stared ferociously at me as it prepared the mes of Destruction.
¡°What are you doing?! Come back!¡±
The apostle behind me hastily eximed. I turned around and smiled at him.
¡°Did the king tell you about this future?¡±
As I listened to him, I kept thinking. These guys shouldn¡¯t be alive. But they had a ¡®strategy¡¯ and I couldn¡¯t kill them all by myself. If so... Iughed and continued talking.
¡°You guys, have you forgotten what my stigma is?¡±
If I was them. What would they ¡®fear¡¯ the most right now?
¡°I¡¯m not afraid of death. I can just start over again.¡±
The answer was simple. They believed I was Yoo Jonghyuk. If that was the case...
¡°I wonder. What will the effect be on you? You are unusual presences in this turn.¡± The most ¡®fearful¡¯ thing to them was what I feared most. ¡°If I die here, will you exist in the next turn? Or will you end with this world?¡±
They didn¡¯t want Yoo Jonghyuk to die.
¡°If you really read the revtions, you should know the answer right?¡±
The apostles¡¯ faces paled. There were times when it was easier to handle those who used their heads.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
The five apostles moved from the footholds and started to run towards me. I knew it. No matter how unconcerned they pretended to be, they were people who ¡®got off¡¯ and were caught up in this scenario.
What would happen to them in a world where the protagonist was dead? They didn¡¯t know.
¡°Catch him quickly!¡±
Just like me.
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ is using the ¡®mes of Destruction¡¯.]
The moment that mes burst out from the centre of the tform, I exploded all the strength in my muscles and ran towards the legs of the dragon. Then I put my g into the g holder of Anguk Station located there.
[You have upied Anguk Station.]
[Currently upied: Chungmuro (Main Base), Myeongdong, Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, Dongdaemun, Dongmyo, Sindang Station, Cheonggu Station, Yaksu Station, Sinseol-dong Station, Anguk Station]
[The achievement points of the brown g are rising.]
[You have upied 10 stations!]
[The hidden scenario ¨C ¡®King¡¯s Road¡¯ has been achieved.]
[Depending on the path you walk, you will receive a new ¡®king¡¯ attribute].
King of Arrogance and HypocrisyKing of Solitude and TasteKing of No Killing
I replied without reading the rising options.
¡°King of No Killing.¡±
[The new attribute, King of No Killing has been obtained!]
This was enough. I hadn¡¯t wanted to do this but it was necessary to get rid of the people here.
The apostles discovered the mes and hurried back to the footholds. However, it was already toote.
¡°You should¡¯ve been careful. You only have one life.¡±
The wave of mes covered them. It was an attack that couldn¡¯t be endured even if they ate the ice pill.
[The durability of the External Enhanced Suit has decreased dramatically.]
[The durability of the External Enhanced Suit has run out.]
My vision soon became dim. There was the feeling of flesh being burnt and I lost consciousness.
[You have died.]
.
.
A momentter, a system message was heard.
[The privilege of the King of No Killing is activated.]
Chapter 54
Episode 12 ¨C First Person Protagonist¡¯s Point of View (1)
One of the most painful deaths in the world was burning to death and I had just experienced it. The neurons in my brain seemed to emit light at once.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has attenuated the mental pain.]
The pain was slowly reduced. It was once again the Fourth Wall. I always felt strange when I escaped from trouble with the help of this skill.
Ways of Survival had be a reality and I was living in it. Then... what was this ¡®wall¡¯ that I felt every time?
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
No, these thoughts were futile. I was safe thanks to the attribute ¡®King of No Killing¡¯ and had to move again.
It was an attribute that could be gained only when the conditions of King of No Killing was met. Unlike its name, the privilege of the attribute was more like ¡®immortality¡¯ than ¡®no death.¡¯ It was conditional but...
In any case, I would soon return to my flesh. At least that was what I thought.
[Due to a conflict error with your exclusive skill, the privilege of King of No Killing would be dyed.]
Huh? A skill conflict error?
[Thanks to your death, your consciousness has beenpletely liberated from the constraints of your body.]
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been activated!]
I was ovee with a dizzy feeling. No, wait a minute. What was happening this time?
¡¸ ¡°Damn, if only it wasn¡¯t him.¡± ¡¹
The dizziness flooded in and my vision brightened. Then I was watching a ¡®scene.¡¯
¡¸ Gong Pildu licked his lips as he observed the people around the tform. Now he couldn¡¯t run away. He thought about it but he knew better than anyone that he didn¡¯t have the courage to do so.
¡°Um... Dokja hyung.¡±
There was a weight pressing against his knee and Gong Pildu looked down. It was a boy around 10 years or so. There was a boy sleeping on his thigh.
¡°Why am I like this...?¡±
Gong Pildu wondered as he looked down at the sleepy Lee Gilyoung. His old memories surfaced. A young child. Lee Gilyoung was his daughter¡¯s age.
He shook his head and sighed.
¨CPildu-ssi, we should stop now...
¨CDaddy.How long are you going to keep talking aboutnd?
There was a time when he was the breadwinner of the family.
He earned money to feed his family and buynd. If he was lucky, he would be andlord and then get tenants...
Finally, he became a ¡®big investor¡¯ in Chungmuro but it didn¡¯t take long to find out that he couldn¡¯t keep his small family.
¡°Isn¡¯t this surprisingly okay? You get along well with people.¡±
He looked up to see a beauty with a nice face. Yoo Sangah. Two days ago, this woman had be the deputy of Chungmuro.
¡°Quickly stop talking nonsense.¡±
¡°You were smiling just now...¡±
Gong Pildu made a look of distaste. Yoo Sangah sat down hesitantly next to Gong Pildu.
¡°Ahjusssi, how many times did you buynd?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°When I look at the people in the Landlord Alliance, only you are the one with the ¡®Land Owner¡¯ attribute.¡±
¡°...It isn¡¯t good to have a lot ofnd. It needs to be goodnd. You are naive.¡±
¡°Then what is goodnd?¡±
¡°Expensivend is goodnd.¡±
¡°What type ofnd is expensive?¡±
¡°It isnd that many people want.¡±
¡°Was yournd like that?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
It wasn¡¯tnd that he wanted.
Gong Pildu looked into Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes. This woman¡¯s curiosity had an oddly sharp corner. She was smiling on the outside but he couldn¡¯t help feeling ufortable.
Duduk.Duk.Duk.
Then a sound was heard in the distance. Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression hardened while Lee Gilyoung woke up in a sh from where he was sleeping on Gong Pildu¡¯s knees. The antennae of the cockroach on his back shook.
Ku ku ku ku!
Line 4, the tunnel from Hoehyeong. Something wasing this way. Yoo Sangah stood up while Gong Pildu used a skill.
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has activated ¡®Armed Zone Lv. 8!]
Gong Pildu bit his lips. This might be an intuition only richnd owners got. There was something like that.
¡°Hey! Huddle up!¡±
It was the feeling of someone trying to take away hisnd.
Dududududu!
Gong Pildu turrets fired all at once into the darkness and something fell. They were ground rats.
¡°The enemy! Gather around Gong Pildu-ssi! We will go with therge-scale exercise we practiced in the morning!¡±
Yoo Sangah called out and the people scattered on the tform ran.
¡°Group A is near the turrets, group B will be at the centre of the gunfire and group C will be protecting Gong Pildu-ssi!¡±
The people moved in the orderly ranks that they had practiced in advance. The ground rats copsed due to the people¡¯s quick response. It was much easier than when Emergency Defense was taking ce.
As the dozens of ground rats copsed on the ground, the same thought entered the minds of the Chungmuro members. It was easy. It truly was worth everyone cooperating.
Then they heard a voice from the tunnel.
¡°As expected, Hamelin¡¯s Flute isn¡¯t enough?¡±
¡°How can the 9th grade speciespare to a ce eaten by Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
A group of people appeared from the darkness. Four men and one woman.
Gong Pildu¡¯s expression hardened. He didn¡¯t know the reason. However, one thing was for certain. These guys were different from the ones they had dealt with so far.
¡°Dammit... quickly call the samurai girl!¡±
¡°I am already here.¡± There was a cold feeling as Lee Jihye came down from where she had been. ¡°And don¡¯t call me a samurai. If you don¡¯t want to get beaten up.¡±
Despite the grumpy answer, Gong Pildu felt a bit calmer. Lee Jihye was a great power. Yet Gong Pildu still felt uneasy. He was anxious and growled like a frightened beast.
¡°Who are you? Where did youe from?¡±
¡°It is real. The Maritime Admiral and Armed Fortress Master has be a team.¡±
It wasn¡¯t an answer that came back but words that were close to mocking.
Gong Pildu asked, ¡°What nonsense are you saying? Quickly go back. Otherwise I will shoot to kill!¡±
However, the five men and women didn¡¯t look at Gong Pildu. They just continued talking to each other.
¡°Who is on the dragon side?¡±
¡°Numbers 5, 6, 8 and 9. They aren¡¯t apostles but they are pretty good.
¡°With the exception of the one outside Seoul, there are five of us left.¡±
¡°The five of us are enough. Quickly sweep them away.¡±
The first one who came forward was a man in his 30s with a bulging belly.
He was a man with the number ¡®7¡¯ on his shoulders. He had thick eyebrows and looked at Lee Jihye¡¯s white legs like they were to his taste.
¡°I will take the Maritime Admiral. She isn¡¯t a big deal without the sea.¡±
¡°What are you bastards saying?¡±
Lee Jihye cried out sharply and rushed forward. Gong Pildu realized it couldn¡¯t be helped and infused magic power into the turrets.
¡°Damn, just go to hell!¡±
Dududududu!
The man with a ¡®4¡¯ on his cloakughed.
¡°As expected from one of the Ten Evils. If we came a bitter, we would¡¯ve been swept away.¡±
¡°Numbers 3 and 4. You two take Gong Pildu. Be vignt and attack the turrets one by one.¡±
The man with a ¡®3¡¯ on his forehead nodded.
¡°Yes... I understand. One of the 10 Evils can be handled by both of us.¡±
¡°Number 2, you handle the rest.¡±
The woman with a ¡®2¡¯ on her cheek frowned. She was holding a small flute in her hand.
¡°Why do I have to handle such petty reason?¡±
¡°It is the most appropriate for you.¡±
¡°What are you going to do?¡±
Then the man with a ¡®1¡¯ on the dark cloak opened his mouth.
¡°I will be taking the g holder.¡± ¡¹
The moment of immersion was broken and consciousness returned. Now it all made sense.
Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. I had a simr experience thest time I was in the ichthyosaur¡¯s stomach. At that time, I saw Yoo Jonghyuk.
By the way, it was amazing. I thought I had prepared for the apostles but it wasn¡¯t enough. I was able to guess their thoroughness just from the items they brought.
There was Hamelin¡¯s Flute that could control the ground rats and the Magic Power Bullet Shield that could defend against Gong Pildu¡¯s attack.
They really wanted to capture Chungmuro, obtain Yoo Jonghyuk and devour this world.
But it wouldn¡¯t be so easy.
¡¸ ¡°W-What? Was the Maritime Admiral this strong in the beginning? Hey, isn¡¯t something wrong?¡±
It was the 7th Apostle who cried out first.
Lee Jihye¡¯s sharp sword pushed the 7th Apostle back little by little. It was natural. The current Lee Jihye was much stronger than the Lee Jihye in the original ¡®third turn.¡¯
¡°Damn, why are these two turrets so hard?¡±
Number 3 and 4 were in trouble.
The 2nd Apostle ying Hamelin¡¯s Flute was also struggling due to Yoo Sangah¡¯s Binding Thread and Lee Gilyoung¡¯s Mjolnir¡¯s Thunder.
In the end, it was the 1st Apostle who came forward. He frowned before pulling something out and lighting it. Then he threw it at the Chungmuro party.
Kwaaaaang¨D! ¡¹
There was a loud roar and Chungmuro¡¯s tform was covered with explosions. I was startled.
...This son of a bitch?
[Mass Destruction Magic Bullet]
It was hard to deal huge damage to top monsters but against humans, it was the most powerful weapon of mass destruction.
It was a weapon that could be made with some items that appeared in the Gangseo and Gangnam areas, as well as some items bought from the Dokkaebi Bag.
Then he was the ¡®king¡¯ of the apostles. The purple g on his back proved it.
The dust settled down, revealing the Chungmuro tform. My chest was bing stuffy. If the apostles had this then the situation was unfavourable.
The dust cleared and the fallen Chungmuro group members were seen. People were coughing up blood.
Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung were lying on their floor. Even Gong Pildu couldn¡¯tpletely avoid getting injured despite using Protective Wall.
¡¸ ¡°Phew, now it looks good. Right?¡±
The 7th Apostle grabbed Lee Jihye¡¯s head while her uniform was torn. She was in the front and received the biggest blow from the explosion.
¡°Aren¡¯t you just a supporting actor, huh?¡±
¡°Bastards...cough!¡± Lee Jihye screamed as she was punched in the stomach.
¡°Can I have this gurl?¡±
¡°What will you do with her? There is no time.¡±
¡°What will I do? Looking back, isn¡¯t she destined to follow the main character and be miserable? Then I would rather...¡± ¡¹
Lee Jihye¡¯s small body shook in the air like a rag doll. Her lips were trembling. She was staring at me.
¡¸ He...lp...me. ¡¹
Impulsive anger filled my head. It was unlike me. Lee Jihye was clearly just a ¡®character.¡¯
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
[Excessive immersion has restricted some of the features of Fourth Wall.]
I was too immersed. I became dizzy and nauseous.
[Excessive immersionds to a profound increase in the proficiency of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.]
[Changing your viewpoint to first person.]
My consciousness narrowed and stretched like a rubber band. Then I opened my eyes. I was really in Chungmuro.
...How? Lee Jihye was looking at me with shaky eyes. It wasn¡¯t just her. At this moment, everyone on the tform was watching me.
My field of view moved slowly. I walked towards Lee Jihye. To be exact, my body was moving regardless of my will.
One step, another step. Slowly but steadily, I was closing the distance to her.
The 7th Apostle frowned and asked, ¡°You are...?¡±
I was ufortable, like I was wearing clothes that didn¡¯t fit my body. The height of my gaze was different from usual as well as my five senses.
At this moment, I realized who ¡®I¡¯ was. I couldn¡¯t helpughing.
I disliked it. I really disliked it.
Lee Jihye¡¯s lips moved a little bit.
¡°Ah...¡±
My hand gripped the hilt of the sword like it was something I had done millions of times.
The grip of my fingers was strange. It was natural and beautiful. I was thrilled with the fantastic feeling that I felt for the first time in my life.
The de moved silently. No one could see anything.
Just. It went through something. Something was cut off. Something fell to the ground.
Some people were shocked while other people¡¯s mouths dropped open.
The 7th Apostle holding onto Lee Jihye slowly sank down. Blood gushed from his neck. My hands moved and I caught the falling body of Lee Jihye.
¡°Ah, ah...¡±
I lightly ced Lee Jihye down on the tform. I raised my eyes and saw the apostles looking this way. The first one to speak was the 3rd Apostle.
¡°You... who are you?¡±
How funny. It was a stupid question. I slowly opened my mouth. It was like I was this guy from the start.
¡°I am Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The coldest and loneliest voice in the world. The sleeping prince had finally woken up from his deep sleep.
¡°And you shall die here.¡±
Now Chungmuro would be safe.
.
.
My consciousness escaped from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body and slowly returned to its original body.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been turned off.]
[The skill conflict error is normalized.]
[The dyed privilege of the King of No Killing has reappeared.]
[Your body is resurrected from death.]
Chapter 55
Episode 12 ¨C First Person Protagonist¡¯s Point of View (2)
[The recreation of your flesh has begun.]
Just like falling paint spread out, my vision slowly cleared. The surrounding contrast and saturation were unclear. By bones, capiries, digestive and respiratory tract and my whole eyes regenerated. My senses were confused because they still hadn¡¯t found their ce.
In any case, I could rest assured about Chungmuro.
No matter how strong the apostles were, they wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat Yoo Jonghyuk who was stronger than the original.
By the way... it was a truly unique experience. I shared a first person point of view with Yoo Jonghyuk. If possible, I didn¡¯t want to do it again.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ offsets the mental shock caused by your death.]
[Compensation is being prepared for the Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3.[
...Usagepensation?
I could see Jung Heewon shouting from afar. Her face was astounded as Lee Hyunsung held onto her. Jung Minseob and Lee Sungkook were in shock when they looked over here.
Fortunately, they were all safe. I wasn¡¯t toote.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Jung Heewon forgot and cried out my name.
Kyaooooh!
In fact, there was no need to hide it anymore. Air flowed into my newly created lungs. There was still the merciless lesser dragon in the vicinity.
¡°As expected from Yoo Jonghyuk-nim!¡±
¡°Did he use a divine restoration pill?¡±
These cries came from the few prophets who had survived. Of course, I didn¡¯t have a divine recovery.
Reviving from death waspletely different to recovering from a serious wound.
[The benefits of the King of No Killing has beenpleted.]
[100 karma points have been consumed.]
[The wastes of your flesh have beenpletely removed and the performance of your body has increased.]
[Physique and magic power has increased by 1 each.]
There was even a resurrection bonus. This was why ¡®King of No Killing¡¯ was a scam. In all of Ways of Survival, Selena Kim of the United States was the only one who obtained this attribute.
[Current karma points: 0/100]
[Fill up the points for your next resurrection.]
[One karma point will be obtained every time you save someone¡¯s life.]
The privilege of the King of No Killing was ¡®resurrection.¡¯ Of course, it wasn¡¯t unconditionally resurrection. Karma points were necessary. It was fortunate that the first resurrection started with 100 points.
Kyaooooh!
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ is using the ¡®mes of Destruction¡¯.]
I couldn¡¯t die as soon as I revived. Since my points had fallen to 0, the resurrection privilege couldn¡¯t be used for a while.
I looked around and saw the number ¡®2¡¯ written on a foothold. The other people were already standing on a foothold.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi, go over there! We¡¯ll go to the next one!¡±
Lee Hyunsung rushed towards me at Jung Heewon¡¯s quick judgement. Lee Hyunsung arrived and opened his mouth while sweating.
¡°Dokja-ssi, are you okay?¡±
¡°Just take a look.¡±
¡°...I thought my eyes were mistaken for a while.¡±
I didn¡¯t have time to exin in detail how it was possible.
[Absolute Shield is activated!]
The mes of Destruction burned in front of my eyes. I spoke to Lee Hyunsung, who was looking at me like I was Jesus.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi, do you have anything for me to wear? A poncho or...¡±
¡°I might be a soldier but... ah.¡±
Lee Hyunsung btedly recognized the situation and looked at my body. The resurrection was good except for one thing. The external suit had melted and most of the items I picked up were destroyed.
In other words, I was now naked.
¡°...No, that¡¯s okay.¡± I muttered.
Lee Hyunsung had raised his hand to his waist and now he returned it to his original position.
No matter how strong a person, this sense of sacrifice was too much. In any case, I didn¡¯t need clothes but the items that fell.
Even the mes of Destruction couldn¡¯t dissolve star relics or scenario items. In fact, Unbroken Faith was rolling around the lesser dragon¡¯s legs and the brown g was also on the ground. It was a location where other people couldn¡¯t easily pick them up.
As soon as the shield was lifted, people started to run from far away. The one who ran first was Jung Heewon.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s expression gradually stiffened as she ran towards me.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking at the ck me dragon.]
I felt her gaze covering my shoulders and back before she looked away.
¡°I didn¡¯t see anything so don¡¯t worry. Is now the time to care about that?¡±
I reflexively shrank back at the words. Then a poncho covered my body. Looking closer, it was a big one.
[Samyeongdang¡¯s Straw Mat]
Jung Heewon handed it over to me.
¡°Thank you, Jung Heewon-ssi.¡±
I was very thankful to her right now.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is a little sad.]
¡°Let¡¯s move.¡±
Kyaooooh!
The lesser dragon Igneel¡¯s physical movement stage had begun. We once again moved counterclockwise and avoided the attack.
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung ran ahead of me. They seemed to care about the ¡®ck me dragon¡¯ dangling from my lower body. The straw mat was more uneven than I thought and didn¡¯t cover the front.
Jung Minseob ran without noticing and asked, ¡°What now representative? All the apostles have died...¡±
As Jung Minseob said, I didn¡¯t see any remaining apostles.
The proof was that their ice pills were rolling around the areas where they died. They were items with a long digestion time and didn¡¯t melt in the mes.
A dragon¡¯s paw flew through the air.
¡°Kyaaak!¡±
Two prophets running behind the party were crushed.
I ran to the centre of the tform and grabbed Unbroken Faith and the brown g.
[You have recovered the brown g.]
[You can use the g¡¯s abilities.]
I looked around and it was only my party members remaining. As I was thinking, the time for the footholds to be activated had alreadye.
[Numerical footholds are activated.]
¡°Gather!¡±
Fortunately, a foothold with the number ¡®5¡¯ was activated. The problem was that there was only one active foothold this time.
The intermediate dokkaebi¡¯s voice could be heard in the air.
[Huhu, you are still holding up well. But will that luck continue?]
Next time, the number on the foothold might be three or four. If so, someone in the party would surely die. If it was six...
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ is using the ¡®mes of Destruction¡¯.]
[Absolute Shield is activated.]
We barely made it with 10 seconds to spare. I had to think of this as thest time.
¡°Phew... this bastard. Dokja-ssi, what do we do?¡±
Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon were exhausted. It was natural since they had ran dozens of times in an environment where it was hard to breathe.
¡°I think we should fight.¡±
¡°Can we catch it?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t impossible.¡±
I pointed to the ice pills rolling around on the floor. The number was exactly a match for the members of our party. If we ate the items that the apostles prepared, it wasn¡¯t impossible to damage the lesser dragon. The question was if we could kill it before the next full attack began.
[Absolute Shield will be released.]
¡°Run! Pick up the pills that have dropped on the ground!¡±
The party members popped out as I yelled.
[4,100 coins have been invested in magic power.]
[Magic Power Lv. 16 -> Magic Power Lv. 25]
[Your soul is attuned to the world!]
In order to get rid of the lesser dragon as quickly as possible, I needed to raise my magic power instead of my strength.
I picked up an ice pill and swallowed it.
[The ice property has temporarily opened.]
[40% ice damage is added.]
Now the only thing left was to inflict damage. What should I do? There was a limit to charging recklessly.
Lee Hyunsung had Great Mountain Smash but hecked agility. Jung Heewon had excellent agility but shecked a powerful finishing blow.
It would be good if we attacked a weak spot. Was it something that Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint could point out? Ah, that reminded me...
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint is already in use.]
[Thepensation for the exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 is avable.]
I used the reward.
[You have experienced the first person protoganist¡¯s point of view.]
[You can take one of the protagonist¡¯s skills.]
...What?
I was too puzzled to see the flying paw of the lesser dragon. Jung Heewon¡¯s body pushed against mine and the pawnded where I used to be.
Kwaang!
¡°Why are you freezing?¡±
Jung Heewon cried out but I couldn¡¯t easily answer. I could take one of the protagonist¡¯s skills. This meant I could get one of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s skills.
[Presenting the list of avable skills.]
Oho, I got a choice?
Now that I had eaten the ice pill, what if I could get one of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s skills?
If I could obtain something like Strong Self-Defense or Breaking the Sky Sword...!
[Please select a skill to acquire.]
Cold ResistanceFire ResistanceLie Detection.
...Shit, it was like this.
Things couldn¡¯t be resolved so easily. I liked Lie Detection the most among the avable skills, but it was useless for me right now.
The most useful thing for this situation was Fire Resistance...
Kuoooooh!
The lesser dragon roared and breathed out fire. Once this action was over, the mes of Destruction phase would being.
Let me think. I was a ¡®reader.¡¯ There would be an answer in what I had read.
[Due to the effect of your exclusive attribute, the memories from the books you have read will increase.]
The pages shed in my head. The lesser dragon¡¯s attacls. There was some information in the 12th, 14th and 17th regressions. Now these things were given to me.
¡°Dokja-ssi, quickly...!¡±
I slowly closed my eyes.
Then.
¡°Cold Resistance.¡±
I decided.
[The skill Cold Resistance is now avable to be used.]
I turned to the others and shouted.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi, Lee Hyunsung-ssi! Have you eaten your ice pills yet? Give all of them to me.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Lee Sungkook, Jung Minseob! You too!¡±
Jung Minseob¡¯s eyes widened just as he was about to put the ice pill in his mouth.
¡°Quickly!¡±
¡°Ah, yes!¡±
I quickly received the four ice pills. I avoided the mes and poured all of the pills into my mouth. I was certain. This was for the best.
[You have taken an ice pill.]
[The attribute ovey effect of the ice pill will increase the attribute damage.]
[200% ice damage is added.]
[The chill of your heart engulfs your entire body.]
I would¡¯ve never done this in a normal situation. The ice pill was actually a type of poison. Eating just one would make you feel like you were standing naked in the middle of winter.
It meant that I should usually only take one.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Cold Resistance Lv. 5¡¯ has protected you.]
The skill I gained from Yoo Jonghyuk started at level 5.
¡°Everyonee behind me!¡±
I shouted as I held the handle of my sword. Perhaps it was due to the memories when I was Yoo Jonghyuk. The feeling I got when I grasped the sword subtly changed.
[de of Faith is activated!]
Kiiing!
[The special option of Unbroken Faith is activated.]
[The ether property is converted to ¡®darkness.¡¯]
[The effect of the ice pill will add ¡®frost¡¯ to the ether property.]
The ether de became a dark blue. It was due to the ovey of ice and darkness.
Chwaaaaak!
The dark blue ether de started to hit the mes. I exploded all my muscle strength and ran to the lesser dragon.
Now it was an all out battle.
[The stigma ¡®Song of the Sword¡¯ has been used.]
[Your sword is filled with the words left by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.]
The buff ability varied ording to the verse of the Song of the Sword. Please don¡¯t let it be a strange verse.
¡¸ In the night, a god appeared in his dream and said, ¡°You will win big if you do this. Otherwise, you will lose.¡± ¡¹
I wanted a different verse when different colours appeared on the lesser dragon¡¯s body. Most of them were green but there were parts that looked a toxic red.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is supporting your battle.]
I realized the meaning of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare. I see. These were the weak points.
I ran through the fire and swung my sword at the lesser dragon¡¯s head. The first point was pale red.
Kyaaaah!
It floundered while I cut the Achilles tendon of its hind legs. The second was dark red.
Kyaaaak!
I jumped to avoid the tail and its paw swung towards me.
Peeeeok!
[The shield effect of the brown g is activated.]
The mes couldn¡¯t be blocked but the shield could endure a few ordinary attacks.
I ran as it roared and stabbed my de.
Puok!
It was at a red light on its chest.
Kyaaaack!
The lesser dragon started to wince.
The shield of the brown g was instantly destroyed and mes started to gather at its mouth.
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ is preparing the ¡®mes of Destruction¡¯.]
The attack phase was finally starting. Now I had no shield. I used all my magic power and the elongated ether de struck its chest. I swung and swung again.
The explosive ice damage hit its chest. But it still didn¡¯t fall.
Kuaaaaaah!
Just a bit more.
Kyaaaak!
A bit more...
[The 5th grade fire dragon species, ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯ is using the ¡®mes of Destruction¡¯.]
The mes burned in front of me. I would die once they struck me. I could hear the calls of the party members in the distance. I listened to the calls and swung my sword without backing down.
I could do it. My calctions weren¡¯t wrong. I was a ¡®reader.¡¯ If I had been Yoo Jonghyuk...
A sharp sense of emotion came as I wielded the sword in a trance. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword was invisible and silent. The sensation was strongly embedded in me.
I grabbed the hilt with all my strength. I recalled the feeling of that moment with my senses.
At least once. If I could iminate even a bit of that ¡®one sword.¡¯
Kuooooh!
The sword moved and I heard something burst. It was the sound of flesh exploding.
The blood of the lesser dragon soaked my eyes and its body parts flew through the air.
After rolling around in the high-temperature dust, I vomited up all the congested parts.
I shook my head to regain my vision. I staggered as I barely got up. I was staring into the lesser dragon¡¯s eyes. I was taken aback and shook. It seemed that the burning mes of Destruction had quietly turned off. The huge eyelids blinked once before it slowly backed away.
Kuuong!
The de of Belief was crying out silently from what it was stabbed into the dragon¡¯s heart.
[You are the first to kill the disaster ¡®Lesser Dragon Igneel¡¯.]
[You are the first to contribute to clearing the fifth main scenario.]
[An impossible feat has been aplished.]
The power slowly went out of my body. There was no power in my clenched fists. I gaped for breath as I sat down.
It was a reckless challenge. This time I really almost died.
[Thepensation settlement will take some time due to the impossible achievement.]
[Some low-grade dokkaebi have requested a ¡®usibility¡¯ request from the Administration Bureau.]
The intermediate dokkaebi was staring down at me quietly.
Anyway, now was the time for sweet rewards.
Chapter 56
Episode 12 ¨C First Person Protagonist¡¯s Point of View (3)
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ apuds your spirit!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ praises your courage!]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is curious about your tactics.]
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
[Some constetions are greatly impressed by your performance.]
[20,000 coins have been sponsored.]
I frowned as the indirect messages poured in without a filter. No one disliked praise. However, dozens of praises pouring in at once was too much.
Where did Bihyung go and why didn¡¯t he manage the messages? Ah... he would¡¯ve been called by the Administrator Bureau right now.
There was nopensation for the hidden scenario and the intermediate dokkaebi disappeared without saying something.
By the way, the total number of sponsored coins was 20,000 coins... The ¡®minority channels¡¯ were different from the rge channels.
I quickly looked at the fire dragon¡¯s body and pulled out the core.
[5th grade Fire Dragon¡¯s Core]
A core surrounded by a soft red light. The quality of the core that came out from the disaster was unusual.
It was deteriorated but it was still a dragon. There were many beneficial parts. For example, the bones and leather. It could be processed by a good cksmith or exchanged.
I looked down at the body of the fire dragon. I had caught a disaster but to only obtain this much...
Then there was a sudden pain from my back as well as a cheerful voice.
¡°Dokja-ssi, what game character are you?¡±
I turned around and saw Jung Heewon standing behind me.
A cough came out.
¡°...My physical state is so bad right now that I will die from one hit from you.¡±
¡°You will live even if you are killed.¡±
¡°That isn¡¯t necessarily the case.¡±
I expected Jung Heewon to ask but she was somewhat quiet. I realized that she was greatly shocked when I died.
She seemed to have cried... no, Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t crying. She lowered her voice like she was conscious of the other party members.
¡°...Did you know this and acted?¡±
¡°Not everything...¡±
¡°I really thought you were dead!¡±
¡°But I survived.¡±
Once again, her strong palm pped against my back. Lee Hyunsung came running outte.
¡°Dokja-ssi! Are you okay?¡±
¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡±
Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob were far away and came together. In fact, I wanted these guys to die here but they were really lucky. Well, they were in my group now so I could control them at any time. But...
Silence fell as everyone stared at me. I sighed and said, ¡°...You can ask one by one. What are your questions?¡±
A sudden hearing began.
***
¡°Resurrection is a new privilege I have gained. It isn¡¯t due to my sponsor.¡±
I moderately avoided the difficult information and only told them what I thought they needed to know. Jung Heewon muttered with a dumbfounded expression.
¡°Resurrection every time you save someone... isn¡¯t this a scam?¡±
¡°It is one resurrection per one hundred people but a scam is a scam.¡±
I honestly admitted it. However, the King of No Killing also had a fatal weakness.
As long as I had this attribute, I couldn¡¯t ¡®directly¡¯ take the life of another person.
It wasn¡¯t a problem to injure, oppress or make them unable to fight, but he couldn¡¯t kill them. The King of No Killing would be deprived of his throne when he killed a person.
Of course, I didn¡¯t talk about these things. No good woulde from it being known.
¡°You have to work hard to save people in the future.¡±
¡°In some cases, people need to be killed...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll kill them for you.¡±
Jung Heewon stated in a confident voice.
In fact, I was able to choose the King of No Killing with ease because of Jung Heewon. It was the reason why I raised the Judge of Destruction in the first ce.
It wasn¡¯t a big problem to keep the King of No Killing until the middle scenarios, although there might be frustrating moments when ying solo.
As time went by, there would be more fraudulent attributes. I got a good attribute in the beginning so it would be hard to miss the timing to change it.
¡°But this is really like a fantasy novel. Now you have all types of abilities...¡±
Lee Sungkook, Jung Minseob and Lee Hyunsung were watching. I intentionally stared at them. It was a warning to Jung Heewon not to say anything.
She epted it and Lee Sungkook opened his mouth.
¡°What did it feel like when you died?¡±
¡°...It was terrible of course.¡±
I wanted to ask why he asked this but Lee Sungkook spoke again in a serious voice. ¡°Honestly, I was a bit scared when I saw you rising alive again.¡±
¡°You are scared?¡±
¡°Yes. Strictly speaking, your entire body disappeared and was restored. Common sense says that such a thing can¡¯t happened. I don¡¯t know what the principle of this world is but if your existence can be duplicated in the entirety... you might not have been ¡®resurrected¡¯ but ¡®cloned.¡¯¡±
He spoke a creepy story in a calm voice. It was something I never thought about...
It reminded me that this guy¡¯s attribute was ¡®Hypnotist.¡¯
...Wasn¡¯t he interesting?
Jung Heewon started scolding him, ¡°Have you been watching too many movies?¡±
¡°This is an important matter. If there is no continuity between your death and resurrection, there is no guarantee that pre-death Representative-nim is the same person as post-resurrection Representative-nim.¡±
They were difficult words. Several memories crossed my mind. This brat, was he the one who got offended by the pedantic prologue?
¡°You have a very quaint idea but... there is no need to worry. I was still conscious after my death. Strictly speaking, it wasn¡¯t a real death.¡±
¡°Did you experience a soul state?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know if it can be called a soul but...¡±
I felt a bit of unease as I talked. Ways of Survival was a world created by the author.
This world became a reality. A world in which the soul wasn¡¯t proven now became a world in which the soul was taken for granted.
In such a world, what was ¡®my¡¯ existence? Me, my soul. Did it exist from the beginning? Or was I party of the story that the author made?
I shook my head. Now wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about this.
¡°In any case, are the useless questions over?¡±
¡°Ah, can I ask one more question?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Why are you suddenly using honorifics with me and Minseob...¡±
¡°My Yoo Jonghyuk concept is over.¡±
Lee Sungkook made a surprised expression as he btedly realized.
¡°Eh,e to think about it...¡±
I didn¡¯t need to hear his words. The concept of over but their treatment wouldn¡¯t dramatically change. I reached out a hand towards Lee Sungkook.
¡°Give me your smartphone.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°I want a phone.¡±
Lee Sungkook stuck out his phone. It was a good model. It was better than what I used.
¡°Can I have this?¡±
¡°...Wasn¡¯t the Yoo Jonghyuk concept finished?¡±
¡°This is my original concept.¡±
Lee Sungkook was on the verge of tears.
¡°Everybody rest. I have to look at something for a while. We will move in 10 minutes. You can also collect the items.¡±
The party members gathered the items scattered all over the ce while I used the smartphone to ess the Inte.
I pretended to be unconcerned but I was actually a little nervous.
[The hidden scenariopensation settlement will be dyed.]
[The ¡®usibility¡¯ request is currently underway at the Administration Bureau.]
It was due to these messages.
The usibility judgment. This was why the coinspensation from the hidden scenario weren¡¯t received.
I wanted to check the relevant parts in Ways of Survival but my smartphone was burned.
It was a mistake that wasn¡¯t like me. This was ominous. What if the mail sent by the author was erased...?
At this moment, a message appeared on the screen of my smartphone.
[Synching to a new device is avable.]
[Do you still want to proceed with the sync?]
...What is this?
I pressed OK, the download of the file proceeded and a new file was created on the background screen.
[Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.TXT]
I see. There was this. Indeed, a file that couldn¡¯t be read by the dokkaebis or constetions couldn¡¯t disappear so easily.
I looked at Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob collecting the items. I suddenly wondered. Would they be able to read this? Still... I should be careful as possible.
I opened up Ways of Survival and started to read.
[Your reading speed has increased due to the effect of the exclusive attribute.]
I found the ¡®usibility¡¯ request that took ce during Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s 6th regression.
¡¸ The intermediate dokkaebi of the Seoul Bureau ¡®Baram¡¯ frowned upon reading the scenario in front of him. (TL: Baram=Wind)
The top of the document had the name ¡®Regressor Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯
¡®A regressor... damn. The dokkaebis and constetions noticed quickly...¡¯
Baram looked over at the dokkaebis. No senior dokkaebis or great dokkaebis could be seen.
It was natural. This was a ¡®usibility request¡¯ that urred at the level of a local dome. The principle was that the world of the district should be solved in the district. Baram asked the nervous looking dokkaebis.
¡°Who petitioned the bureau?¡±
¡°Aooni of Japan.¡±
¡°Why is he worrying about a foreigner instead of his own country? Doesn¡¯t he have any business?¡±
¡°There is a lot of fierce fighting between the low grade dokkaebis these days...¡±
Baram frowned.
Certainly, ording to the report, it was worth doing a usibility request for ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯
There was also a lot of important information that was automatically filtered from the beginning.
In addition, the skill Sage¡¯s Eyes meant that some items couldn¡¯t be essed by the system. The data survey required the help of a higher level administration.
Baram sighed and covered up the report.
¡°It¡¯s okay. This guy is someone who has received permission from my superiors. Leave him alone.¡±
¡°Is it okay? The aftermath...¡±
¡°He has a sponsor that we can¡¯t afford to go against.¡±
¡°We can¡¯t go against a single constetion? What if the constetion alliance...¡±
Baramughed.
¡°How can you lecture me? Do you know who his sponsor is?¡±
¡°T-That¡¯s not it.¡±
¡°It will soon be the fifth scenario so take care of it. The usibility will be gradually offset as the scenario progresses.¡±
The atmosphere suddenly became cold and he said to the intermediate dokkaebi.
¡°Don¡¯t you have work to do these days?¡±
¡°Uh...!¡±
¡°Why do sales in the United States and India look like this? Isn¡¯t there the prophet in the US and the constetion alliance in India? Why are the sales like this when they are so many rich targets? Are you not making the products well?¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
¡°Shit, don¡¯t give excuses! Quickly sell the coin goods!¡± ¡¹
Augh emerged. I was reminded of Minosoft when looking at the dokkaebis working. The nning division wasn¡¯t a joke.
In any case, I was now in a situation simr to Yoo Jonghyuk in Ways of Survival. I thought that this would happen someday but... this was why it wasn¡¯t good to be noticed.
This... what if the judgment caused me damages?
At that moment, a trembling voice was heard in the air.
[How many times do I have to be called to the Bureau because of you...]
Bihyung. I opened the dokkaebimunication.
¡°How did it go?
Chapter 57
Episode 12 ¨C First Person Protagonist¡¯s Point of View (4)
[What is happening? Things have turnedpletely upside down. What skills do you have? Why can¡¯t I ess the information even when I ask the Supervisory Bureau?]
I was curious as well. I also wanted to see my attributes window.
¡®So what happened? Am I going to be penalized?¡¯
[Where did you hear that? Hey, do you know how hard I defended you? Administrator, please listen to me. Kim Dokja isn¡¯t a scammer or a strange person! He is just a very hard worker!]
He speak in a convincing manner.
[Fortunately, my earnest appeal was taken into consideration. I¡¯ve analyzed the entire scenario and found that you only used a few skills. It isn¡¯t enough to destroy the ecology of the scenarios.]
It was as I expected. I didn¡¯t learn passive skills for no reason. The more good skills I used, the easier it was to attract the attention of the Bureau.
[Besides, there are some loud guys in other areas... the Bureau is busy right now.]
¡®Then it worked out well?¡¯
[In fact, there are a few jerks... but instructions came down from the upper management and the ¡®great dokkaebi¡¯ said to dismiss it.]
I was amazed by the unexpected words. The great dokkaebi interfered?
[Sigh... listen to the intermediate dokkaebi. I shouldn¡¯t be here. There are suddenly more eyes on me. You should be careful. This is the jurisdiction of the intermediate dokkaebi and he has a firm grudge against you.]
¡®Grudge?¡¯
[Don¡¯t you know. The usibility meeting is like a tax investigation. In any case... you will have a hard time for a while.]
Bihyung disappeared. Then there was a huge spark in the air and the intermediate dokkaebi showed up in a formal suit. He looked around for a while before speaking in a gruff voice.
[...I¡¯m sorry everyone. There was a bit of friction and thepensation waste. It iste but I will now reward you.]
[3,000 coins have been acquired for clearing the hidden scenario.]
[You have earned 15,000 coins aspensation for killing the 5th grade fire dragon.]
[You have obtained the ¡®Protection Symbol of the Imyuntar¡¯ for being the first to prevent a disaster.]
[In the future, you will get the favour of the Imyuntar people.]
Fortunately, thepensation was paid normally. In addition, the Protection Symbol of the Imyuntar. Now that I got this, the uing fifth scenario wouldn¡¯t be so bad.
It wasn¡¯t as much as what I got but the faces of the other party members were hrious once they received a clear reward.
By the way... stingy bastards. I caught a disaster and these were the only rewards?
Then the intermediate dokkaebi started talking.
[By the way, you worked so hard that there was a bit of a problem with the scenario.]
There was something sarcastic and ominous about his tone.
[As a result of discussions with the Bureau, it was reported that the average skill of the local incarnations doesn¡¯t match the difficulty of the scenario. Therefore, I have arbitrarily adjusted the difficulty level in my area using my own judgment.]
...What? A random adjustment?
[The time limit of the fourth scenario has been significantly reduced.]
The mouth of the intermediate dokkaebi curved up strangely as he looked at me.
...No, this bastard?
[There are 48 hours left until the end of the fourth scenario.]
[All group representatives and members who haven¡¯t taken over the target within the next 48 hours will die.]
Yes... this was what he was nning? Jung Minseob stared at me from where he was picking up the fallen items. Everyone had probably heard the message.
¡°Who has Changsin Station now?¡±
¡°T-The Tyrant King.¡±
One of the seven kings of Seoul, the Tyrant King...
I said with a sigh, ¡°Then let¡¯s return to Chungmuro.¡±
By the way, I didn¡¯t know if Yoo Jonghyuk was doing well or not. Let¡¯s wrap up the fourth scenario.
***
The distance from Anguk Station to Chungmuro was further than I thought. During the journey, we exchanged a few stories.
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung walked ahead, while I walked in the rear with Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob.
I couldn¡¯t take the entire body of the fire dragon so I put half of it on the exchange. The other half was also ced on the exchange, but I deliberately put it at a ridiculously high price. It wasn¡¯t for sale but a trick to use the exchange as a warehouse substitute. Bihyung grumbled but I ignored it. Jung Minseob opened his mouth.
¡°By the way, Representative-nim.¡±
It felt strange because I really felt like a bigpany¡¯s president when I kept being called ¡®Representative-nim.¡¯
¡°Is your name Kim Dokja?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Ah... it really is your name...¡±
¡°Is it unusual?¡±
¡°...Yes. Honestly, you are more like a prophet than we are.¡±
His voice was rather subdued.
¡°Sigh... if only I hadn¡¯t stopped reading...¡±
It was a bted regret. At this moment, I had a moment of doubt. There was something I wanted to ask but I had forgotten.
¡°Jung Minseob-ssi, I want to ask you something.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°How did the prophets gather so quickly?¡±
This was a point that I always found strange. It hadn¡¯t been more than a month since the initial scenario started. However, these guys had already been working as a group.
Furthermore, the apostles were even worse. Based on the first person protagonist¡¯s point of view, they had a fairly high armed force that couldn¡¯t be obtained without upying arge number of stations.
It was a growth that couldn¡¯t be understood with mymon sense.
¡°There was someone who called us together.¡±
¡°Called you together?¡±
¡°Yes. Soon after the first scenario ended, he came to the station where I was.¡±
Interesting. How was this possible? At that point, there would still be a barrier between stations.
¡°He introduced himself as an apostle and said that he had read the great Book of Revtions. He recruited prophets to follow him. The odd thing was that it happened simultaneously in different stations. It is hard to believe it was done by one person...¡±
¡°In any case, we gathered because of that apostle. He pulled us into the group.¡±
¡°Yes, we call that apostle the 1st Apostle.¡±
¡°Is he the king of the prophets? The person who hates being called someone who ¡®got off¡¯?¡±
¡°Ah... you already know. Yes. He likes to be called another name.¡±
Another name?
¡°He ims to be a ¡®true reader.¡¯¡±
...What?
¡°There was a lot of talk about why he would call himself such a name. We couldn¡¯te to a conclusion. He imed to have read all of the Book of Revtions but...¡±
As the story continued, this person¡¯s identity became more and more doubtful. When I thought about the information he took advantage of, he didn¡¯t seem like a ¡®reader¡¯...
I was busy thinking when Chungmuro approached. It hadn¡¯t been long since I left but I felt like I had returned to my hometown as I took in the air of Chungmuro Station.
I restrained mypanions from entering the station.
¡°Wait a minute.¡±
Thinking about it, I was still naked. Why hadn¡¯t anyone said anything?
I spoke to Lee Sungkook. ¡°Lee Sungkook-ssi, please take off your pants.¡±
I took the lead to enter Chungmuro Station, while Lee Sungkook was forced to walk behind me in his underwear.
I could see Yoo Sangah weing me in the distance. I looked into her moist eyes and could see how hard it had been.
Something ran into me and I saw Lee Gilyoung attached to my right leg.
¡°Have you been well?¡±
The dusty Lee Gilyoung nodded.
Lee Jihye had a serious injury and hadn¡¯t woken up yet. Gong Pildu scoffed and turned his head as soon as he saw me.
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ reproaches you on yourte return.]
It was a reaction I could understand since his incarnation nearly died.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi!¡±
Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon didn¡¯t know what happened in Chungmuro and ran towards the people with an aghast expression. People around the tform were bleeding. In fact, Yoo Sangah had a cloth bound tightly to her shoulder.
Some of the railroad tracks were covered with blood. They were traces of a fierce fight. Jung Minseob stuttered, ¡°T-The apostles?¡±
The heads of number 2, 3, 4 and 7 were lined up side by side on the railroad tracks. Their expressions seemed like they didn¡¯t realize their own death. I knew who was this skillful.
I asked Lee Gilyoung.
¡°Where is Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
As I spoke, I felt an ominous presence from the Hoehyeong tunnel side. I knew despite the distance. Our arrogant and dignified hero practiced the Alone Under Heaven and Earth scripture.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
He looked at me with no change in his expression. I thought he would say something about what happened in the Theatre Dungeon... but what was this?
The cut off head of a person was still being held in his hands. Someone screamed while Yoo Jonghyuk threw the head this way.
The head rolling like a toy was covered with a cloak with ¡®1¡¯ on it. It was the 1st Apostle.
Yoo Jonghyuk was really great. He chased this guy to the end and killed him.
I was half relieved and half anxious. I still had questions but if the apostle died like this...
At this moment, something ridiculous happened.
¡°It is you! You screwed up my n! Right?¡±
The severed head suddenly started talking to me.
¡°Waaack! What?¡± Jung Minseob screamed and fell over.
The eyes looked up at me while he smiled smugly. It was impossible.
The skills that could be used even when the head was cut off was extremely rare even in Ways of Survival. It was possible if he used the skill Immortal Dy but even with that skill, he couldn¡¯t stay in a state with his head cut off.
Besides, there was no blood from the cut neck...
Wait. Perhaps?
The information that I received from Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob started to run through my head.
A man who revealed himself to all prophets and imed to be a ¡®true reader.¡¯ He appeared all over Seoul as soon as the scenario began and gathered people. In addition, it was possible to pass through the barriers, he didn¡¯t die when his head was cut and there was no blood...
¡°The Avatar ability...¡±
I was certain. The guy in front of me was a fake.
The severed head continued to speak.
¡°Wow, I am really impressed. Pretending to be Yoo Jonghyuk, beating the apostles and the dragon... What is your identity?¡±
I see. This guy didn¡¯t know my identity?
¡°What are you?¡±
As far as I knew, there were very few people who could use the ¡®Avatar¡¯ ability in Ways of Survival.
The upation that received such an attribute was normally fixed. They were upations engaged in creative work and frequently experienced dissociative personality disorder due to excessive stress.
I slowly looked him up and down before asking, ¡°You, are you perhaps a writer?¡±
Chapter 58
Episode 12 ¨C First Person Protagonist¡¯s Point of View (5)
Writer. It was one of the few upations in Ways of Survival that could give the Avatar ability.
Some of his strange miracles would be exined if he was a writer.
The lips of the 1st Apostle subtly twisted.
¡°Writer... do you mean the creator of the Book of Revtions? You have found out. That¡¯s right, I wrote the Book of Revtions.¡±
I didn¡¯t mean this but this bastard was suddenly talking nonsense. For me, it was a truth that wasn¡¯t possible. I looked towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint has been activated!]
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk is currently using Lie Detection Lv. 6.]
I knew it. He was a meticulous jerk. I asked once again, ¡°You wrote the Book of Revtions?¡±
¡°Yes. At the same time, I am also the sole owner of the Book of Revtions.¡±
A confidentugh emerged. Really? Let¡¯s challenge it once.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 6¡¯.]
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk has confirmed that the statement is true.]
...What? This guy was telling the truth? I suddenly panicked and my circuits got tangled up. It wasn¡¯t possible no matter how I thought about it.
I hid my confusion and asked again, ¡°What exactly is the ¡®revtion¡¯ you are talking about?¡±
¡°Why are you asking when you already know? A great epic about the future.¡±
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk has confirmed that the statement is true.]
...Strange. There was some truth about it?
¡°Now it is your turn. How did you know about the n of me and the apostles? Are you also an apostle?¡±
¡°You wrote the Book of Revtions yourself? Then shouldn¡¯t you know?¡±
¡°It is fun to be an omniscient creator?¡±
He giggled like a leisurely viin while I regained myposure. No matter how I looked, he wasn¡¯t the author of Ways of Survival.
If he was really the writer of Ways of Survival, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t know that he gave me a text version.
¡°By the way, it is interesting. I thought the woman in Seodaemun Prison would be thest apostle but a man like you was hiding...¡±
¡°...Seodaemun prison?¡±
¡°Hmm, you don¡¯t know yet? Let¡¯s trade. Reveal your true identity. Then I will give you some information.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see? I don¡¯t think you have information that I want.¡±
¡°I might¡¯ve been overpowered but this isn¡¯t my real body. You were a bit lucky...¡±
¡°I know information about the future.¡±
I deliberately interrupted him. Now was the time to sprinkle a bit of spice for Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°In addition, I know much more than you.¡±
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk has confirmed that your words are true.]
The expression of the 1st Apostle stiffened.
¡°You¡¯re barking nonsense. I know more than you...¡±
At this moment, something shed in his eyes.
¡°Wait a minute, perhaps?¡±
The moment he realized something, I also noticed something. This guy, was it ¡®him¡¯? Right now, there were five truths that I knew.
One, he had read Ways of Survival. Two, his upation was a ¡®writer.¡¯ Three, he wasn¡¯t the writer who wrote Ways of Survival. Four, he wrote a ¡®text¡¯ that told the future. Five, his knowledge was only ¡®somewhat¡¯ urate.
I read through 3,149 chapters of Ways of Survival.
As far as I knew, Ways of Survival wasn¡¯t popr and there was no illegal text version. But if he was the guy that I thought... it would be understandable if this guy had a ¡®text¡¯ version and knew a lot about Ways of Survival.
I opened my mouth.
¡°Do you like to live while copying others?¡±
¡°W-What?¡±
His eyes were shaken. There was no doubt. The 1st Apostle was him.
¡°I didn¡¯t think you would live like this. The revtion... Do you want to live like this? My teeth starts grinding together when I think about your ims of being the creator of the Book of Revtions.¡±
¡°What...?¡±
¡°It is somewhat strange. The information that you have used is meager.¡±
The guy paled.
¡°Isn¡¯t it time to stop acting like this? Are you still doing it despite the world bing like this?¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
The guy hurriedly looked at Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Work with me!¡±
He was silly.
¡°As I said before, I know all of the revtions. Only I can take you to the end of this road in this world!¡±
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]
[Due to high fatigue, you are unable to activate Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2.]
Damn, right now?
¡°Think carefully! You can¡¯t break through the 46th scenario alone. You have to hold hands with me to defeat Anna Croft and the Chtustra!¡±
This jerk was speaking the same words I did. Yoo Jonghyuk shook his head.
¡°I have never heard of the revtions.¡±
¡°It is like a prophecy! Can¡¯t you see my attribute? It even says that I am the st¡¯!¡±
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. 8!]
I also activated the skill.
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
Damn, I couldn¡¯t see it. Yoo Jonghyuk verified something with Sage¡¯s Eyes and looked at me. The severed head continued to speak.
¡°Kill him! You should know that he is dangerous. He pretended to be you and will seriously damage you in the future. If you leave him alone, he will cause a serious butterfly effect and ruin all your ns!¡±
I was outraged. Did this jerk want to die together with me?
¡°...Isn¡¯t it the same for you?¡±
¡®I am different! Yoo Jonghyuk, hold hands with me. I will give you a vow or whatever you want! I will never betray you!¡±
He came out strongly. Yoo Jonghyuk watched the situation and opened his mouth.
¡°I see. Joining hands...¡±
Life started to creep into Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes as he looked at me. I couldn¡¯t inside his mind so I was going crazy. Yoo Jonghyuk slowly moved his sword towards me. The 1st Apostle¡¯s momentum rose as he shouted.
¡°Go ahead and kill him! Kill him!¡±
¡°One is a prophet and one is a revtor...¡±
¡°Kill him!
Peok! Yoo Jonghyuk trampled on the head of the 1st Apostle.
¡°Kuk... what?¡±
¡°If you really know the future then let me ask you one thing.¡±
¡°What?¡±
The de moved to my neck. The ¡®One Sword¡¯ that I experienced through Yoo Jonghyuk was now heading towards me. I felt a sting and something warm flowed down my neck.
¡°Hey! What are you doing?¡±
The surprised Jung Heewon ran towards this side. I raised my hand and restrained the party. I was nervous but it wasn¡¯t good to stimte Yoo Jonghyuk here.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked the 1st Apostle.
¡°I will ask you. Will I kill this guy now or not?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°If you have really received a revtion of the future, you will know my choice.¡±
...This bastard had a bad habit. He was doing this again?
The face of the 1st Apostle looked agonized. Maybe I was the same on the ¡®Even Bridge.¡¯ Surprisingly, the answer came quickly.
¡°Of course you will kill him! You must do it!¡±
It was a face full of strong convictions. His face was arrogantly assured that Yoo Jonghyuk would act like this.
¡°Come on, kill him! And...!¡±
The sword moved. But what followed wasn¡¯t the sound of flesh being cut.
Kwajik!
The head of the 1st Apostle burst as it was stepped on.
The person wouldn¡¯t die because it was an avatar, but he would suffer considerable psychological damage.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword was soon removed.
¡°He was a mouthy bastard.¡±
I was a bit stunned. Yoo Jonghyuk chose to spare me? I felt a bit shaken. I wasn¡¯t sure...
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me for a moment before walking away.
¡°Hey! Where are you going?¡±
This jerk, he must think he was so cool.
...Honestly, he was a bit cool.
¡°Just wait! Are you going to leave with Lee Jihye?¡±
¡°Since the future has changed, the n has also changed.¡±
¡°Why don¡¯t you act together with me? I can help you.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk turned towards me. I reflexively shrank back at his eyes.
¡°The debt is paid off. Myst favour is not taking away your g.¡±
This bastard? But I couldn¡¯t retreat like this.
¡°In any case, you can¡¯t leave the station unless I remove you from the group. Do you want to receive the punishment?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly moved his hand towards the hilt of his sword. I quickly added.
¡°I know what your n is. Aren¡¯t you going towards Jung-gu? It is your goal toplete the ck g by walking the King¡¯s Road. I will help you.¡±
¡°I would rather take your g right now.¡±
¡°Then try it. Is your sword faster or my tongue faster?¡±
It was a gamble. Yoo Jonghyuk could stab my neck before the effect of the punishment appeared.
¡°You don¡¯t need to go towards Jung-gu. Go to the north. The territory of the Tyrant King will be yours and it will help you make your grand g. Getting a g and removing the enemy, isn¡¯t it killing two birds with one stone?¡±
¡°I can do it myself.¡±
¡°There are 48 hours left until the end of the fourth scenario. Can you upy 20 stations andplete the ck g in that time?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hands hesitated. He was caught.
¡°Besides...don¡¯t you have a reason for going north? Surely you aren¡¯t going to throw away your family member at this time?¡±
¡°...You.¡±
¡°Remain calm. I am speaking in good faith. I really will help.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s angry eyes stared at me for a moment. The atmosphere was strained. The killing intent soon disappeared.
¡°There is no such thing as anything free in the world. What are your conditions?¡±
As expected, the regressor was quick to notice. I said with a smile, ¡°It is simple. Let me know just one thing. My condition is that simple.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°That guy you just stepped on, what is his attribute? One would be the st to get off.¡¯ What is the other one?¡±
After a while, Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth.
***
10 minutes afterwards, I called Jung Minseob and Lee Sungkook. It was a separate matter for the two of them. Before I could open my mouth, Jung Minseob asked me first.
¡°In the end, what was that guy?¡±
I hesitated for a moment before asking.
¡°Do you know the novel ¡®SSSSS grade Infinite Regressor¡¯?¡±
¡°Ah, I read it!¡±
Lee Sungkook raised his hand.
¡°Wasn¡¯t it the number one tinum novel on Textpia? It was really fun...¡±
¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I had forgotten but now it rings a bell. How did it finish?¡±
The two of them started speaking loudly as memories popped up. As expected, these guys must be interested in web novels if they read Ways of Survival.
¡°There were all types of elements but... it was still fun.¡±
In fact, I read that novel. I was reading Ways of Survival and idently clicked on it since it was on the ¡®Today¡¯s Best¡¯ list. Then I was surprised to see the development and setting of the novel.
¨CAn infinite regressor psychopath.
¨CSponsorship from transcendent beings.
¨CStreaming system.
¨CA survival game with absurd missions.
In fact, these weremon settings. The problem was the details of themon settings and the way they werebined. I had left ament as soon as I read it.
¨CIsn¡¯t this giarizing Ways of Survival?
I remembered. Rather than a giarism controversy, I was criticized forparing it to a bad novel.
I received terrible messages from the readers of SSSSS grade Infinite Regressor.
¨CIsn¡¯t your business over there?Stop causing inconveniences ? ?
I was furious and even sent a note to the writer of Ways of Survival. Then the author said something. He was in a better mood because the number of views had increased. I teared up because I thought the author was pitiful.
Lee Sungkook asked, ¡°But why are you talking about this novel?¡±
¡°The 1st Apostle is the author of SSSSS grade Infinite Regressor.¡±
¡°Huh? It can¡¯t be.¡±
That author would know Ways of Survival.
Now that the world had turned into the novel, a writer who giarized the novel could im copyrights on this world. In addition, he added the absurd setting of the ¡®revtion.¡¯
After some exnations, Jung Minseob understood and made an absurd expression.
¡°It was a giarized novel?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Come to think of it, the novel was simr... I can¡¯t remember well because it is old... why didn¡¯t that novel pop up first in my mind? I was much more famous.¡±
¡°Is it due to the attribute? Only the portion we read popped up. The ¡®SS¡¯ part is also confusing because there are too many novels with them.¡±
¡°Is that so? In any case, the 1st Apostle is a giarist? Then he will have a text version...¡±
I nodded and said.
¡°Maybe he has a copy of his own giarized work. He copied the plot of the original so he can see the future of this world to a certain extent.¡±
It was painful when thinking that a giarist was sessful even in this changed world. It was time to implement justice.
¡°Then isn¡¯t it impossible to win against him? If he copied the original to the end...¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t to the end. He only copied the early parts. He would stop early to prevent a giarism controversyter on. After a bit more time, the information he knows will decrease.
¡°How do you know this?¡±
¡°I just know.¡±
It was natural. In the chapters in the 100s, I was the only reader of Ways of Survival.
¡°Excuse me, how far did Representative-nim read in the original work...?¡±
¡°Before that, there is something you have to do. To be exact, it is something we have to do together.¡±
Their shoulders stiffened.
¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me before? The prophets were hit by the Tyrant King.¡±
¡°Ah... maybe there are still a few people being used by him.
¡°Really? Then it is better.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
The time remaining until the scenario ended was 48 hours. It was hard to do it alone if I wanted to hunt the Tyrant King.
¡°I will disturb the information of these guys.¡±
If the Tyrant King was using the prophets, I could take advantage of it.
¡°Reveal part of the revtions.¡±
¡°Huh? How...?¡±
They still didn¡¯t understand what I was talking about so I kindly exined.
¡°From now on, we will make a text of SSSSS grade Infinite Regressor and spread it.¡±
If there were several enemies, the answer was to make them fight against each other.
Chapter 59
Episode 13 ¨C War of Kings (1)
My n was clear.
The 1st Apostle, the giarist, had information about the ¡®third and fourth regressions¡¯ that were the beginning of Ways of Survival. As was always the case with informed people, he monopolized information and hid it from the prophets.
On the other hand, the Tyrant King was one of Seoul¡¯s Seven Kings who used the ¡®revtions¡¯ after knowing about the existence of the prophets.
The guy who wanted to monopolize information and the guy who tried to dig it out. It was obvious what would happen if the two of them faced each other.
Lee Sungkook asked, ¡°...Then you are going to make a novel text?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
The n itself was simple. We would make a text of the giarized writer¡¯s novel. Then spread it among the people of each station.
Well, it was roughly this type of feeling.
¨CSome of the prophets¡¯ revtions have been leaked!
The finish wasid out well.
Thanks to Han Donghoon¡¯s Intements maniption, information on the prophets had already spread on the Inte. If the leaking of a txt version was known, there would be a big ripple.
A few early readers would try to get a hidden piece while the Tyrant King would naturally move to obtain them.
¡°But...I have forgotten most of the contents of SSSSS grade Infinite Regressor. How will we make the text?¡±
¡°Why do we need the contents of the giarized novel?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°We remember the original.¡±
¡°Ah...!¡±
There was a short cry of admiration. However, Jung Minseob¡¯s face was still dark.
¡°Eh... there is still a problem. The hidden pieces that we know about in Ways of Survival have been mostly used...¡±
¡°I will give you information in hidden pieces. I know a few that are present in the beginning. I will release information on items of the right level.¡±
Above all, it had to catch the eye of the giarist writer and the Tyrant King.
Lee Sungkookughed awkwardly. ¡°This is funny. I will make a text version. I am usually just a reader.¡±
This jerk... was he an illegal downloader?
Jung Minseob also spoke.
¡°But if we do this, won¡¯t we be the same as him? In the end, we are giarizing the original story to make a story...¡±
It made sense. I thought for a moment before saying.
¡°There is such a thing. giarism is about not wanting you to know the original, a parody is more fun if you know the original while a homage wants you to know the original.¡±
¡°Oh, this is interesting.¡±
¡°From now on, we will be making a homage.¡±
It was true. I hoped that many people woulde to know SSSSS grade Infinite Regressor. That way he would be quickly ruined.
We borrowed aptop from Gong Pildu and started typing. We didn¡¯t have a lot of experience in writing novels so we had to put our heads together. Jung Minseob pulled his hair and said,
¡°Writing is so difficult... writers are great...¡±
¡°Just write roughly. We just need information that will attract them. Rather, an imperfect revtion might be easier to deceive the prophets. Mix the truth and lies.¡±
I watched what Jung Minseob typed and added some information.
¡°Let¡¯s change the names of the people in the novel. I am a bit anxious.¡±
Lee Hyunsung and Lee Jihye would be shocked about being characters in the story. Whether I liked it or not, someday they would find out that this world was a ¡®novel¡¯. But it didn¡¯t have to be right now.
Then Jung Minseob unexpectedly said, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think you need to worry about that part.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°In fact, I tried to test some people by saying that this was a novel. But they didn¡¯t understand it at all. It is like a NPC... No matter how serious I am, they just take it as a joke.¡±
It was an unexpected piece of information.
Jung Minseob and the other apostles had spoken to characters several times about them being ¡®supporting actors.¡¯ Thinking about the reactions of the characters at the time...there was definitely something strange.
Jung Minseob continued to speak.
¡°This was how the 1st Apostle was able to easily find the prophets. The ¡®characters¡¯ were very displeased by the words ¡®this is a novel¡¯ or they didn¡¯t listen. Perhaps this was why the apostles used the term ¡®revtion.¡¯¡±
I suddenly felt uneasy when I heard this. I opened my mouth. ¡°...What is the difference between the characters and us?¡±
¡°Huh? Um... we are people in reality and characters are people in novels? Isn¡¯t that the difference?¡±
¡°Then... when was this world divided into reality and a novel?¡±
¡°Hrmmm, well... When the first scenario started?¡±
My question wasn¡¯t resolved with Jung Minseob¡¯s answer.
Jung Minseob and Lee Sungkook were obviously outsiders of the novel like me. It was because I couldn¡¯t see their information at first.
But not long after, it was updated and I was able to look at their information in Character List.
Then were they now ¡®real people¡¯ or were they ¡®characters?¡¯ If everyone became a character over time...
I looked at Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung for a moment.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[Currently collecting information about the corresponding figure.]
Fortunately, I still couldn¡¯t see the information for both of them.
Yoo Sangah suddenly looked back at me and smiled. Lee Gilyoung also looked at me.
¡°What is it Hyung?¡±
¡°It is nothing.¡±
I didn¡¯t know why but I felt strangely relieved.
***
Soon after, we approximatelypleted the novel.
The quality was so bad that if it was serialized in Textpia, it would¡¯ve bombed. But that didn¡¯t matter right ow.
¡°Let¡¯s first sprinkle the information that the Book of Revtions has been leaked.¡±
Lee Sungkook asked.
¡°Is there enough time to spread the information?¡±
¡°Donghun will take care of it. If we take advantage of the Hermit Invalid, it can be spread in a short amount of time.¡±
¡°Oh, Donghu... I see. But what if not all stations are capable of the Inte?¡±
¡°Then we will send someone.¡±
I looked behind me. Kang Ilhun nodded as if he had been waiting.
Lee Sungkook agreed. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. If it is Ilhun-ssi... I had forgotten.¡±
¡°Kang Ilhun-ssi, are you ready?¡±
Kang Ilhun, the deputy of Dongdaemun. It was worth intentionally saving this guy.
Kang Ilhun nervously opened his mouth. ¡°Leave it to me. I am confident that I can catch them. I just need to spread rumours?¡±
[The character ¡®Kang Ilhun¡¯ will follow your will.]
[Your understanding of this person has increased.]
Kang Ilhun. It was finally time to use the attribute of Rumours Expert. The time remaining until the scenario ended was 44 hours.
The next day, the game would begin.
***
¨CDonghun, thank you.
¨CI am just paying you back so don¡¯t worry.
[The character ¡®Han Donghoon¡¯ trusts you a little bit.]
Sincest time, ¡®Hermit King of Shadows¡¯ Han Donghoon had moderately opened up his heart to me. The fact that I saved him from the prophets seemed to have yed a bigger role than expected.
¨CI feel a strange sense of familiarity with you.
¨CFamiliarity?
¨CSince a long time ago... are you also a hermit?
¨CUm, no I wasn¡¯t.Although I was a bit timid.
¨CI see.I feel an unknown wall with Hyung.I can¡¯t exin it well but I like the feeling.
¨CIsn¡¯t it usually bad to feel a wall?
¨CI only believe in people with walls.In order to understand someone, I think I should face that wall first.
A person who was barely 17 years old was speaking like a wise man.
In any case, the wall. I was sure that he was right. Some walls couldn¡¯t be crossed no matter how desperate the person.
¨CIn any case, the rumour has spread.But how will you sow the revtions?On the Inte again?
¨CNo, the wrong people will read it if I ce it on the Inte.I will sell it.
¨CSell it?How?
I started to exin to Han Donghoon.
***
There were 40 hours remaining until the end of the scenario.
I finally summoned the Chungmuro group members.
¡°This journey won¡¯t be easy. If we can¡¯t take Changsin Station in the next 40 hours, our group will be wiped out. However, our current forces isn¡¯t enough.¡±
¡°Well, since when has it been easy? Who is the opponent?¡±
I replied to Jung Heewon¡¯s question. ¡°He is called the Tyrant King. He is one of the top seven kings of Seoul and the king with thergest territory.¡±
Lee Hyunsung asked this time. ¡°What type of person is he?¡±
¡°He is someone who started from Dobong-gu and built his own kingdom. He says that any beautiful or handsome man and woman will be concubines, while any ugly people will be killed or be ves.¡±
Jung Heewon frowned. ¡°If Dokja-ssi is caught, you will be a ve.¡±
¡°...Well, I think it will be dangerous for Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°Being a concubine is difficult... Why don¡¯t we just go ahead and kill him?¡±
¡°It will be hard because his sponsor is quite strong. Now there are two paths. Take his g or take over his headquarters, Dobong Station.¡±
Neither was easy, causing everyone to feel tense. I decided to get to the point.
¡°We will go to Gwanghwamun.¡±
¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t you say not to fight them?¡±
¡°They wille to us.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°I leaked a bit of information. We have to consider the time he moves so we will leave soon. Everyone should be prepared... eh?¡±
¡°...What is it?¡±
I subtly smiled at Yoo Sangah¡¯s question.
¡°Nothing. It is just happening faster than I expected.¡±
Han Donghoon¡¯s message appeared on my smartphone.
¨CI was able to put it on the exchange. But is it okay?
¨CYes, its fine.Well done.
Then system messages entered my ears one after another.
[The items on the exchange have been sold.]
[The items on the exchange have been sold.]
At that moment, a trembling voice was heard from the air.
[...Are you a scammer?]
¡®What is the reaction among the constetions?¡¯
[They are really excited. The filtering limit has started to unravel... there are those who gave it as gifts to their incarnations. But if you do this, you will receive attention again. Will you be okay? And if you release all the information you know, won¡¯t it go against you?]
¡®It isn¡¯t disadvantageous.¡¯
I still had information remaining. The information I released wasn¡¯t information I needed. Rather, it was information that would be damaging to someone.
¡®Give me the coins.¡¯
[Here.]
[16 volumes of SSSSS grade Infinite Regressors have been sold on the exchange.]
[You have earned 16,000 coins.]
Of course, I didn¡¯t release the information for free.
Anyone who needed to information would have a sponsor, so it was better to sell it on the ¡®exchange¡¯ than to release it for free on the Inte.
If I released the Book of Revtions for free, it would be more suspicious. But what if I sold it?
Of course they would buy it. It was because they would mistakenly think the information had ¡®value.¡¯ The quality of the information was sometimes determined by value rather than content.
By the way, it was 16,000 coins. This was a profit.
I spoke to the people. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I will sleep for a while.¡±
¡°...Aren¡¯t you taking it too easy?¡±
¡°I also need to sleep.¡±
Iy down. Yoo Sangah covered me with a thin nket. Jung Heewon still found it absurd.
Then I fell asleep. After a while, a system message was heard in my blurred consciousness.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been activated!]
So far, I figured out that Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint was divided into three stages.
Stage 1 allowed me to read the simple actions or emotions of characters.
Stage 2 allowed me to see deep inside the character.
Stage 3 allowed me to see the surrounding scenery where the characters were located or directly immerse myself in the character.
So far, I had entered stage 3 twice. Once was in my dream and the second time was when I died. In my dream, I saw Yoo Jonghyuk leaving Gumho Station. When I was dead, I witnessed the scenery of Chungmuro.
These two incidents had simrities. My consciousness was muddled and unstable. But this wasn¡¯t the only condition to trigger stage 3.
There was one important fact. It was...
¡¸ ¡®Representative-nim, are you watching? Damn... is this right?¡¯
Kang Ilhun muttered to himself as he gazed into the air.
¡®I have spread it to the King of Tyrants. Those guys will move soon. By the way, you are listening to me right?¡¯ ¡¹
The character and I needed to be thinking about each other at the same time.
After a while, my point of view shifted to Kang Ilhun.
¡¸The man smiled, revealing his white teeth. A man wearing a magnificent crown and a coat of gold slowly rose from the throne, women surrounding him.
¡°A new revtion?¡±
¡°It is certain. I bought the information using coins.¡±
¡°Who released the information?¡±
¡°It is probably one of the prophets.¡±
¡°Is it reliable?¡±
¡°I checked some of the hidden pieces in the revtions and they were all true.¡±
The manughed, revealing his teeth.
¡°Let¡¯s go to Gwanghwamun. Before the others get there first.¡± ¡¹
Good. The Tyrant King was finally moving. Now the problem was on the other side.
I thought about Jung Minseob.
¡¸ ¡®Representative-nim! I have arrived.¡¯ ¡¹
The timing was good.
Jung Minseob was at Sejong University and heading to Gwanghwamun in advance. He then looked at the surrounding scenery.
¡¸ I am certain since he is wearing the same hood like a chunni. It is him.¡¯ ¡¹
People were in the lower part of the building. As I thought, the giarist was the fastest. Gwanghwamun contained one of the hidden pieces most useful for the third regression. The giarist wouldn¡¯t be able to run away from this ce.
¡¸ The problem is that more people areing. Yeongdeungpo, Yongsan, Seongdong-gu, the kings on those sides are moving... isn¡¯t this bing too big?¡¯ ¡¹
No, it was what I was hoping for. The people who were hiding started to emerge one by one. It was better since I didn¡¯t need to visit each one individually.
Finally, the fourth scenario was ending. The real War of Kings would begin.
Chapter 60
Episode 13 ¨C War of Kings (2)
My consciousness rose silently and my senses slowly returned to reality.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has ended.]
The third stage was more tiring than I thought and I couldn¡¯t maintain it for long.
In addition, I found out one more thing that I regretted.
It was that using Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 wouldn¡¯t always result in gaining a skill. It seemed to be a reward that could be obtained by entering the 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view. Unfortunate, I didn¡¯t know the entry requirements.
It would be great if I could get Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s skills every time I fell asleep and used 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view.
I opened my eyes and saw Jung Heewon watching me.
¡°You were talking in your sleep again.¡±
Talking? No way.
¡°What did I say?¡±
¡°It sounded like... Mother.¡±
¡°...Mother?¡±
Why was I saying that to myself? It was hard to know if this was the truth or not.
Jung Heewon just looked at me with a mysterious smile.
I gave a cursory reply.
¡°Well, I¡¯m not really worried about my mother. Rather, I have a request for Jung Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Heewon-ssi, please don¡¯t participate in the Gwanghwamun battle this time.¡±
¡°...Why?¡±
¡°There is something else you need to do. I can only entrust Heewon-ssi with it.¡±
Jung Heewon licked her lips like she couldn¡¯t believe me.
¡°I will try. What is it?¡±
***
The first thing I did after conversing with Jung Heewon was to decide who would stay in Chungmuro and who would go to Gwanghwamun.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi has a mission and I will decide the rest of the people remaining in Chungmuro.¡±
The other members gulped. They looked like vassals about to be chosen by the king.
¡°First of all, Gong Pildu and Lee Hyunsung will stay behind.¡±
¡°Bah, I am just your ve.¡±
Gong Pildu scoffed like he already expected it. The problem was Lee Hyunsung. The slightly pale face was troubled, as if he had somehow missed out on a promotion.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi must remain. I need someone to protect this ce with Gong Pildu-ssi. Hyunsung-ssi can protect Chungmuro and lead the people as well as Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°...Yes. I understand.¡±
His expression was somewhat sad but he had no choice. There was a reason for leaving the Steel Sword behind.
¡°Hyunsung-sso already has great skills. The problem is that the skill levels are too low. While we are gone, Hyunsung-ssi should increase the proficiency of Great Mountain Smash. Hyunsun-ssi¡¯s help will be needed after the end of this scenario.¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s face brightened slightly.
¡°Yep! Please leave it to me.¡±
Soldiers were the most efficient when followingmands and when they had a routine.
Thus, we embarked on the journey to Gwanghwamun. Apart from Lee Jihye and Yoo Jonghyuk who were impossible to control, the core members were Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung and Lee Sungkook.
The Chungmuro group members waved as they watched us leave.
¡°Deputy-nim! Come back safely!¡±
¡°You must be safe!¡±
For a few days now, Yoo Sangah¡¯s poprity had pierced the sky. Yoo Sangah only led the people for a short amount of time but everyone was concerned about her. However, Yoo Sangah looked uneasy.
¡°Dokja-ssi, will I be a help to you?¡±
Her self-deprecation had returned. I had to say it this time, even if she would be hurt.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. You will be disruptive if you keep acting like this.¡±
¡°Yes...¡±
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi is good enough. Would I take someone with me for no reason?¡±
¡°I believe in Dokja-ssi. But I can¡¯t be as helpful to you as Heewon-ssi or Hyunsung-ssi...¡±
¡°The two of them can¡¯t do what Yoo Sangah-ssi can do. Yoo Sangah-ssi is necessary for this n.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression slightly rxed as it was emphasized once again. Yoo Sangah was an exceptionally talented person. She just needed confidence.
¡°Didn¡¯t you study Korean history before?¡±
¡°Ah, yes.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression became brighter once mentions of the past emerged. But it was only for a moment as she quickly became grouchy again.
¡°...It is useless now.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t useless. This is why I brought Yoo Sangah-ssi along.¡±
Originally, I hadn¡¯t intended to give this role to Yoo Sangah. There was a suitable person if I went down to Gwangjin-gu. However, I didn¡¯t have time to look for him so Yoo Sangah would have to be enough.
The Yoo Sangah that I knew was smart enough to memorize the entire history of South Korea just to get a first grade degree in Korean history.
¡°Do you remember the statue of Samyeongdangst time?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°There will be many simr things on the way to Gwanghwamun. There is the National Museum and several statues.
Yoo Sangah shouted once she realized what I was saying.
¡°Ah! I see. That reminds me, the power of the constetions can remain in relics or remnants of themselves.¡±
¡°Yes, Yoo Sangah-ssi¡¯s mission is to find such keepsakes or relics.¡±
¡°I understand! I will use my head.¡±
¡°There are some famous people but the more unknown they are, the better.¡±
Despite being on the same level, a constetion¡¯s strength varied ording to their poprity.
It could be seen in the difference between Samyeongdang and Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.
The items left behind by Samyeongdang were B grade, while the sword left by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare had the quality to be S-grade.
¡°We need to gather as much items on the way to Gwanghwamun as possible. Our side has a rtively small number of people.¡±
Perhaps the Tyrant King hade with hundreds of incarnations. The giarist would have his own forces. I also needed to be careful of the kings who came from Yeongdeungpo, Yongsan and Seongdong-gu.
Thetter part of the fourth scenario was just like a proxy war for the constetions. At the end of this scenario, an event greatly coveted by the constetions was hiding.
Unlike before, the incarnations would have a high coordination with their constetions and the risks would increase ordingly. Since many constetions were determined by the history of their lives, Yoo Sangah who knew history would be useful in many ways in this scenario.
Yoo Sangah suddenly pped.
¡°Ah, that reminds me of a ce.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m remembering correctly but... there will probably be Gwangsengmyo Shrine near here.¡± (Link:)
¡°Gwangsengmyo?¡±
¡°Yes, it is on the way and the power of a great person might be there. He isn¡¯t South Korean but...¡±
Not South Korean? I was a reader of Ways of Survival and I had never heard of Gwangsengmyo.
In any case, we decided to move ording to Yoo Sangah. We walked for a while.
The first one who screamed was Lee Sungkook. ¡°Eh, is that it?¡±
There really was an old shrine nearby. The Gwangsengmyo shrine. There was a ce like this in the middle of the city?
I read the description and was even more surprised. Huh, it was this person? It was an unexpected figure.
It was a shrine for one of the best Chinese god of war.
Yoo Sangah asked with a tense expression.
¡°Now what...?¡±
I looked around. An idol couldn¡¯t be seen.
¡°Let¡¯s pray.¡±
This was different from Samyeongdang. I wouldn¡¯t always be able to get a good reward for destroying the idol.
We collected water from the shrine and prayed quietly. Some time passed. Then a system message was heard.
[This shrine has been neglected for a long time.]
[A constetion who loves gaundaos is pleased.]
[A constetion who loves gundaos has revealed his modifier.]
[The constetion ¡®Lord of the Beautiful Beard, Marquis Zhuangmou¡¯ has blessed you.] (TL: Constetion is Guan Yu = Link)
Lord of the Beautiful Beard, Marquis Zhuangmou. He was Chinese but he was a great person almost everyone in South Korean knew.
It was because this constetion was Guan Yu from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
[The constetion¡¯s blessing increases your strength and physique by 5 for the next 24 hours.]
Lee Sungkook turned rosy like a flower.
¡°Crazy... Representative-nim, isn¡¯t this aplete jackpot?¡±
¡°It is a decent start.¡±
I didn¡¯t know why there was a shrine for Guan Yu in Seoul but it shouldn¡¯t be strange when there was a shrine for the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare in Japan. Guan Yu was world famous, just like the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.
¡°I guess it is hard to get an item from here.¡±
¡°It would¡¯ve been nice to get something like a guandao...¡±
He was a great person of China. Even if there was an idol, it didn¡¯t mean a good item would appear in South Korea. It was more likely that an incarnation of China had obtained it...
He couldn¡¯t bepared to the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven or Uriel, but he wouldn¡¯t lose when it came to the Chinese constetions.
Lee Gilyoung grabbed my cor.
¡°Hyung.¡±
The cockroach¡¯s antennae was moving wildly. I had a bad hunch and saw a group walking in the distance. There were approximately 50 people.
I used Calm Observation and saw that their average physical body stats were around level 40. It wasckingpared to the apostles, but it was still enough to call them elites.
A warlord with 50 elites.
Lee Sungkook muttered, ¡°That armour, somewhere...¡±
The historical clothing reminded me of a museum gallery. I looked at the members and they were all handsome men.
Lee Sungkook muttered, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Hwang Sungmin in the first row? He seems to be an entertainer?¡±
Anyone who saw it would think it was a historical drama filming but bloodthirst wasing from them. A man came forward and pointed his spear towards me.
¡°Who is blocking the way of the king?¡±
¡°Who are you?¡±
I guessed but I still asked. I thought I would meet this personter but the timing was faster than expected.
A woman¡¯s voice was heard from among the group of men.
¡°That brown g... are you also a king?¡±
¡°...So what?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t think there would be a king in Jung-gu. It is amazing.¡±
Her voice was like petals blowing in the spring breeze. It was a stage voice.
I replied, ¡°Kings are nowmon in this world.¡±
¡°A king might bemon but not just anyone can be king. Everyone, open the path!¡±
The retainers moved in unison and a woman dressed in a royal costume appeared in the centre of the ranks. Her hair was raised in an elegant manner. She was a stunning beauty that could easily be the heroine of a historical drama.
¡°A-Are you Min Jiwon?¡±
Lee Sungkook stuttered. The womanughed.
¡°You recognize me?¡±
¡°I am a fan!¡±
Lee Sungkook stepped forward in a spellbound manner. Fool. The Hypnotist was being bewitched first?
[The exclusive skill ¡®Permanent Lv. 2¡¯ is activated.]
I used it the moment I met Lee Sungkook¡¯s eyes.
¡°I-I-I¡¯m sorry.¡±
The woman¡¯s eyes narrowed.
By the way, it was interesting. Lee Sungkook recognized the name Min Jiwon like she was a person who actually existed.
...One of the Seven Kings of Seoul, the King of Beauty was a real person?
I felt a bit strange. It was because the real name of the King of Beauty in Ways of Survival was ¡®Min Jiwon¡¯.
Was it just a coincidence? I should check it out.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
Fortunately, the skill was activated safely.
[Character Information]
Name: Min Jiwon
Age: 26 years old
Constetion Support: Lady of the Brocade Sleep
Private Attribute: Actor (Rare), King of Beauty (Hero)
Exclusive skills: Weapons Training Lv. 5, Military Command Lv. 2, Love Affair Demon Lv. 4, Skin Correction Lv. 1, A Thousand Faces Lv. 3, Acting Lv. 2...
Stigma: Heavenly Charm Lv. 4, Unique Heroine Lv. 3
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 18, Strength Lv. 18, Agility Lv. 21, Magic Power Lv. 23.
Overall Evaluation: An incarnation with an excellent sponsor behind her. Her wonderful beauty will shine even more with the backing of her sponsor. Her army will only be loyal to her unless her beauty fades.
As expected, she was the King of Beauty in the original Ways of Survival.
Looking at Character List, she didn¡¯t seem to be a real person... then how did Lee Sungkook know her?
Did it have something to do with Lee Sungkook¡¯s entry in the Character List?
I bowed my head once.
¡°Min Jiwon-ssi, it is an honour to meet you.¡±
¡°...Are you also my fan?¡±
Fan...
She had an outstanding beauty but it wasn¡¯t my style. Looking objectively, Yoo Sangah was just as beautiful as her. Lee Sungkook was spellbound due to the unique skill this woman possessed.
I deliberately spoke like I was in a historical drama.
¡°I¡¯m not a fan. But do you know him? Seongdong-gu¡¯s king.¡±
Min Jiwon¡¯s expression hardened.
¡°You...?¡±
Lady of the Brocade Sleep.
There was only one constetion with such distinctive features in all of Ways of Survival.
¡°It looks like you have a very high degree of sympathy with your sponsor. Please tell this to your sponsor. It is an honour to meet thest queen of Si.¡±
Lady of the Brocade Sleep. This was the title for thest queen of Shi, Queen Jinseong (Wiki link)
[The sponsor behind ¡®Min Jiwon¡¯ is greatly shaken.]
¡°Don¡¯t panic. Didn¡¯t youe to realize Si¡¯s wish?¡±
It sometimes happened like this. The coordination between sponsor and incarnation was overturned. The sponsor would force their unfulfilled wish onto their incarnation.
It was a mistake often made by the senior constetions. There was a possibility of being destroyed by the posthumous storm.
Min Jiwon narrowed her eyes.
¡°You...¡±
Now ording to the development of Ways of Survival, the three areas of Seongdong-gu, Yongsan-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu were fighting fiercely.
Just like the old days on the Korean penins. Then a message popped up.
[A bounty scenario has urred!]
Huh? Bounty?
+
[Bounty Scenario ¨C Unification of the Three Kingdoms]
Category: Bounty
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: The great people of Si want the incarnation of Si, ¡®Min Jiwon¡¯ to be king of the three regions. Help incarnation ¡®Min Jiwon¡¯ and kill the kings who have the backgrounds of Later Baekje and Taebong. If this scenario seeds, you will gain the favour of the constetion, Lady of the Brocade Sleep.
Time Limit: 38 hours
Compensation: 2,000 coins.
Failure: ¨D
+
I stared at the scenario window nkly while Min Jiwon sent me a coquettish smile.
¡°My sponsor wants to see your sincerity. Won¡¯t you ept? I won¡¯t speak much longer. Be my subordinate.¡±
She spoke in such a domineering tone despite only offering 2,000 coins. I couldn¡¯t help smiling. This sponsor waspletely seeing me as a poor person.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ dislikes the sponsor of ¡®Min Jiwon¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ isughing at the constetion.]
[2,000 coins have been sponsored.]
[5 volumes of Revtion ¨C SSSSS grade Infinite Regressor have been sold on the exchange.]
[You have obtained 5,000 coins aspensation.]
I was curious about what this woman would look like if she heard the messages that I was hearing right now.
What did she want me to do for 2,000 coins?
TL: This chapter was a pain to trante with all the titles and Korean history. Theter part is referring to the The Later Three Kingdoms of Korea (from 892-936). Wiki Link ).
Chapter 61
Episode 13 ¨C War of Kings (3)
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is waiting for your response.]
I shrugged towards the confident Min Jiwon and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
Min Jiwon¡¯s eyes shook violently. Some of the men opened their mouths and even the actor Min Jiwon couldn¡¯t control her face. She spoke in a dumbfounded voice.
¡°...Huh?¡± Rather than epting the given reality, she chose to doubt her hearing. ¡°I think I heard wrong... can you tell me again?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to be your underling.¡±
It wasughable to be her subordinate for only 2,000 coins. I spoke to my party members waiting behind me. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We have to hurry.¡±
We turned around without hesitation and Min Jiwon shouted in an urgent voice.
¡°Wait a minute! I can give more coins if it iscking. I can talk to my sponsor¨D¡±
¡°There is no need.¡±
¡°I said to wait!¡± She ran urgently and blocked my way. It was a rather quick movementpared to her agility level. ¡°Don¡¯t you know the value of 2,000 coins?¡±
Didn¡¯t she know? I could easily get a few bursts of 2,000 coins.
Min Jiwon spoke with narrowed eyes. ¡°Can you afford to pretend like this?¡±
¡°...Pretending?¡±
¡°The war between the three kingdoms will soon begin. I don¡¯t know who your sponsor is but the small and medium groups in the area will be cleaned up. Honestly, it isn¡¯t enough that you didn¡¯t ept the 2,000 coins. But is it possible that you haven¡¯t figured it out yet? I am the king of Si. The king who will soon unify the three kingdoms!¡±
She seemed to lose sight of reality as she became immersed in her acting. Well, Min Jiwon was originally like this.
She was an excellent actress and due to her deep sympathy with ¡®Queen Jinseong¡¯, she would live thinking that she really was thest queen of Si.
This was why method acting was scary.
¡°It seems you are mistaken about something. This isn¡¯t the age of the Later Three Kingdoms.¡±
¡°You are the one who is mistaken about the era. The Republic of South Korea is over. Are you still waiting for rescue?¡± She suddenly started speaking bullshit. ¡°A new era has opened. The beginning of this era will start with me, Min Jiwon.¡±
I was mistaken. This type of nonsense sounded usible when ced in this context. I was worried about how to separate from this woman when Yoo Sangah handled it for me.
¡°Q-Queen-nim?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°As far as I know... Si is the weakest country in the Later Three Kingdoms... won¡¯t it be hard based on the history? The one who unified the Three Kingdoms...¡±
Min Jiwon paled from the surprise attack.
¡°W-What do you know?¡±
¡°I... have a 1st grade degree in Korean history.¡±
¡°1-1st grade Korean history...¡± The embarrassed Min Jiwon stuttered. ¡°What is so great about 1st grade Korean history?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go Yoo Sangah-ssi. She doesn¡¯t know history very well.¡±
Min Jiwon¡¯s words became redder at my words.
¡°Just wait! My proposal isn¡¯t over yet. How about 3,000 coins?¡±
I turned around without saying anything.
¡°3,500 coins! I¡¯ll give you 3,500!¡±
It was only increased by 500. Now I knew the scale of the queen¡¯s capital. As expected, the constetions had different levels of wealth ording to their poprity.
I ignored her and kept walking.
¡°3,600, no 3,700...!¡±
My footsteps stopped. I looked back and saw Min Jiwon making a ¡®that¡¯s right¡¯ expression.
I was also a bad guy. I could just walk away but I wanted to smash it. I opened my mouth and spoke in a blunt voice. ¡°Rather, I want to make you an offer.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°10,000, how about it?¡±
¡°...10,000?¡±
¡°Oh, is it too low? You are a king... then I will make it 20,000.¡±
Min Jiwon¡¯s expression hardened. She red at me.
¡°Are you joking with me right now? 20,000 coins? I don¡¯t think you are worth that much...¡±
¡°No, I mean that I will buy you for 20,000 coins.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°To be exact, you and all your troops.¡±
Her mouth dropped open in a daze before she barely regained her senses.
¡°Y-You don¡¯t have that many coins.¡±
¡°I wonder what you will say when I show you this.¡±
I pressed my index finger and thumb together. Then at the end of my index finger, the part of my coins showed up.
[20,000 coins.]
Min Jiwon¡¯s barely maintained poker face finally copsed.
¡°T-This is ridiculous!¡±
¡°Do you believe me now?¡±
It didn¡¯t take long for distrust to turn to astonishment, astonishment to turn into greed.
It was natural. 20,000 coins was a truly huge amount. It was an amount that could affect the dominance of the three forces in the Later Three Kingdoms.
Unfortunately, greed couldn¡¯t break her pride.
¡°Are you trying to buy me with money?¡±
¡°Why? Is it impossible? You are the one who made the proposal first.¡±
The leader of her subordinates came forward.
¡°You dare!¡±
He had a slender body and was very handsome. He didn¡¯t seem to have much muscles but they were hidden. Yoo Sangah said, ¡°Dokja-ssi, this man...¡±
I realized it the moment Yoo Sangah spoke. Yes, Si had this constetion.
Si wasn¡¯t at an absolutely disadvantage in the war between the three kingdoms. Looking at the era, there were quite a fewpetent people.
For example, Kim Yushin or... the problem was that there was no Kim Yushin in the current Si period.
¡°Gwanchang is a good constetion. But he is rash. What if my constetion was Gyebaek? I don¡¯t think you want to reproduced the battle of Huangshanbeol.¡± (Gyebaek= general from Baekje. Link . Battle of Hwangsanbeol link )
The confused man¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°You... are you from Baekje?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Hwarang Knows No Retreat¡¯ is angry at yourments.] (TL: Hwarang= elite youth corps of Si).
This person truly was his sponsor.
Hwarang Knows No Retreat, Gwanchang. His stigma wasn¡¯t that great but his loyalty to the fallen kingdom was wonderful.
¡°I¡¯m not from Baekje. I¡¯m an ordinary South Korean person.¡±
¡°This guy!¡±
¡°I respect your patriotism but you should be more prudent. I don¡¯t have only 20,000 coins.¡±
I moved my fingers one more time and the number of coins started to rise. The man¡¯s face started turning pale.
Wealth was an object of desire for the poor. However, overwhelming wealth caused reverence and fear. Especially for those who were familiar with the power of ¡®coins.¡¯
Min Jiwon, who had been frozen for a while, btedly opened her mouth. ¡°You... who are you?¡±
She asked me too soon. I naturally had no intention of answering.
¡°Min Jiwon-ssi, you can¡¯t solve everything in the world with money. I thought you would know this since you are an actor. I¡¯m disappointed.¡±
I finally turned around and started leaving. The party members followed me as I heard Min Jiwon¡¯s voice.
¡°W-Wait!¡±
However, she couldn¡¯t follow me anymore. Once we got a certain distance away from the Si group, Yoo Sangah spoke in a slightly grouchy voice.
¡°Dokja-ssi, can I ask you something?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Is she a famous person?¡±
I hesitated for a moment at the unexpected question.
¡°Huh? Um...maybe?¡±
¡°I see. Dokja-ssi and Sungkook-ssi recognizes her... I used to watch a lot of historical dramas, why don¡¯t I remember her at all?¡±
This was why she was grumpy?
Lee Gilyoung interrupted. ¡°Noona, I also don¡¯t know her.¡±
¡°Ah, haha. I¡¯m d.¡±
It wasn¡¯t a strange story. It was natural for Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung not to know ¡®Min Jiwon¡¯ if she only appeared in a novel.
The problem was Lee Sungkook.
¡°Lee Sungkook-ssi.¡±
¡°Ah, yes.¡±
Lee Sungkook responded from the rear of the group. Min Jiwon¡¯s beauty seemed quite impressive.
¡°I heard that you are a fan of Min Jiwon...?¡±
¡°Huh? Haha. That¡¯s correct. Don¡¯t you know? She is a famous actress...eh?¡±
Lee Sungkook¡¯s expression became strange.
¡°Uh... Min Jiwon...ssi? Eh? Why do I know Min Jiwon? No, did I know her from the beginning...?¡±
I quietly activated Character List.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Lee Sungkook
Age: 25 years old.
Constetion Support: Manager of the Old Ticker
Private Attribute: Hypnotist (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Hypnosis Lv. 3, Bluff Lv. 4, Weapons Training Lv. 3, Detect Attributes Lv. 2...
Stigma: Comfortable Sleep Lv. 1
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 13, Strength Lv. 13, Agility Lv. 17, Magic Power Lv. 18.
Overall Evaluation: The currentprehensive evaluation is currently in progress.
+
It was the second time I saw Lee Sungkook¡¯s information. Nothing had greatly changed, except for one thing. Lee Sungkook¡¯s ¡®9th to Get Off¡¯ attribute had disappeared.
¡°Lee Sungkook-ssi?¡±
¡°Uhh... yes?¡±
¡°No, it is nothing.¡±
I stopped speaking in order to prevent confusion. In the world of Ways of Survival, an attribute only disappeared when the qualifications for that attribute weren¡¯t met anymore.
All those who ¡®got off¡¯ knew the ¡®future¡¯ of this world. However, the future that Lee Sungkook knew was only near the prologue. The evolution of the current scenario surpassed the information he knew.
Then a hypothesis emerged. Maybe all those who ¡®got off¡¯ would be simple characters the moment they caught up with the ¡®future¡¯ they knew?
It was still a leap, but it was a possible hypothesis. If this was the case, it was understandable that Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob¡¯s information started to be seen.
If it was like this...
Maybe one day I would also...?
[The character ¡®Min Jiwon¡¯ shows a weak liking towards you.]
...All my thoughts copsed at this absurd message. I reflexively looked back. Min Jiwon was still standing still and looking this way. I couldn¡¯t see her face but her gestures looked angry.
Then this message... no, wait a minute. Why did I forget that episode?
It suddenly came to mind. On the 11th regression, she had pped Yoo Jonghyuk as soon as he met her. Then Min Jiwon supported him throughout that regression...
I suddenly had an ominous feeling. Perhaps... it couldn¡¯t be?
At least I wasn¡¯t hit on the cheek.
***
An hourter, we moved through the forest of buildings near Gwanghwamun as quickly as possible. I didn¡¯t see any humans but it was clear that the kings who bought my text were hiding near here.
¨CPay attention to when they start to move.We will also move in time with them.
I said to my party members while moving cautiously.
In any case, I knew the kings¡¯ goals.
¡¸The moment he reached the entrance of the National Pce Museum, his heart started pounding. Most of the artifacts sleeping here were garbage. Only one of them was real.
The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
The strongest SSSSS grade item was hidden here in Gwanghwamun! ¡¹
I wrote it but my hands and feet curled up just reading the words.
It was true that the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was at the National Pce Museum.
Of course, the rating of the item wasn¡¯t SSSSS. In the first ce, there was no such rating.
The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword boasted a great performance and in fact, Yoo Jonghyuk of the third regression also favoured this sword at the beginning.
¨CHyung, if there is such an item, shouldn¡¯t we get it first?
¨CThere is no need.
Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was a good sword but it wasn¡¯t a necessary item right now.
However, the giarist and other kings would think differently. They could get the bestbat power at the beginning with the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. They would surely be looking for the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
My n was simple. Take the other artifacts while they were aiming for the sword.
The problem was when would those guys move? There was no need to worry about it in advance.
In this damn world, those guys always appeared when the scenario was stagnant.
[Huhu, this is really surprising. All the key people are gathered.]
It was as I expected. There were sparks and an intermediate dokkaebi appeared out of thin air.
[Shouldn¡¯t good children be awarded a prize?]
There was the sound of something started to rise from the centre of Gwanghwamun.
It was a single throne covered with a golden light.
There were gasps everywhere in Gwanghwamun. There wasn¡¯t an exnation yet but all the kings would¡¯ve realized it at this moment.
Only a single king could take that throne.
[The main scenario has been updated!]
[Main scenario # 4 ¨C The King¡¯s Qualifications has begun.]
TL: I¡¯ve made a discord group to discuss all my novels, both BL and non-BL. Feel free to join if you want to chat about ORV or anything else. Invitation link is below:
Chapter 62 - War of Kings (4)
Episode 13 ¨C War of Kings (4)
Lee Sungkook was surprised by the system message and muttered.
¡°Another new scenario...¡±
It certainly wasn¡¯t good timing. Another scenario appeared before we couldplete the clear conditions of the existing scenario.
I opened up the new scenario as soon as it arrived.
+
[Main Scenario # 4 ¨C The King¡¯s Qualifications]
Category: Main
Difficulty: A
Clear Conditions: upy the ¡®Absolute Throne¡¯ located at Gwanghwamun.
Time Limit: 8 hours.
Compensation: 10,000 coins
Failure: ¨D
* This scenario can only be challenged by those who havepleted the hidden scenario ¡®King¡¯s Road.¡¯
* The absolute king has absolutemands over all the other kings.
* There are additional special clear conditions for this scenario.
+
The situation wasn¡¯t good. Our group hadn¡¯t been able to take the target of the Struggle for gs yet.
The burden had doubled. I mustplete the scenario rted to the throne while taking down the Tyrant King and upying Changsin Station.
The intermediate dokkaebi said.
[Look at your confused faces. Please don¡¯t worry too much. This scenario will proceed slowly.]
Gwanghwamun was still despite everyone being in a state of agitation. It was natural. The surviving kings knew how important it was to listen to the dokkaebi.
[As you have guessed, the fourth main scenario is to be the only king to sit on the throne. Of course, being a king doesn¡¯t mean that everyone can sit on that throne. Only a person who has proved his/her qualifications can sit there.]
The intermediate dokkaebi said with a badugh.
[Then I will reveal the first qualification.]
+
[King¡¯s Qualification]
1. ¡¸ The owner of the throne should be braver than anyone else. ¡¹
-The Absolute Throne never wants a ¡®weak king.¡¯ To challenge the throne, you must own at least a ck g.
(Additional qualifications will be released after a while.)
+
A ck g. It was disgusting from the very beginning.
[Huhu, the motive wa given. Now make a fun story!]
The intermediate dokkaebi disappeared and Yoo Sangah made an anxious expression.
¡°If it is a ck g... you need to upy 20 stations?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
Our group had a brown g. It was a g that could be obtained after upying 10 stations.
¡°What do we do? In order to create a ck g, we need 10 more stations. If there are vacant stations nearby...¡±
¡°This is a condition that appeared because there are no empty stations.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
As far as I knew, no king had achieved the ck g at this point.
¡°Did you forget? There isn¡¯t only one method to change the colour of a g.
The achievement value of the g went up when taking over a station. However, there was a way to get achievement values much faster.
¡°Ah...!¡±
It was to take the g of another representative. Right now, there were a bunch of kings with gs in Gwanghwamun.
I calmed down the party members.
¡°Don¡¯t worry. This wasn¡¯t unexpected. We will proceed as nned.¡±
As nned. I said this but it wouldn¡¯t be easy.
There were clouds of war hanging over Gwanghwamun. It was a breathless tension just before the storm blew. The sound of weapons being pulled out and the organization of battle lines could be heard.
People would soon start moving.
Thosepeting for a promotion would now kill each other with real swords. Those who wanted a wider territory would take each other¡¯s gs to upy more stations.
Kill each other and get better items. It was in order to survive.
Lee Sungkook watched the buildings around them and muttered in a surreal tone. ¡°It is scary. Is this really South Korea?¡±
¡°It is South Korea. It is still South Korea.¡±
¡°Representative-nim, aren¡¯t you scared?¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid.¡±
It wasn¡¯t a lie. I was obviously scared. To be honest, I often felt that way. Even if I read Ways of Survival, I was still a regr office worker. I didn¡¯t express it but I often wondered if I could survive.
Of course, my worries didn¡¯tst long. It was because it was useless to think about it. It was the same in any world.
Kim Dokja who worked at Mino Soft was now Kim Dokja who lived in the world of Ways of Survival. Death woulde whether I wanted it to or not. The most important thing was...
¡°At least I feel like I am living right now.¡±
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
I suddenly turned around and saw Lee Sungkook looking at me with reverent eyes.
¡°When I look at Representative-nim...¡±
¡°Attack!¡±
Someone¡¯s shout was heard before Lee Sungkook¡¯s words were over. 300 metres away, there was a king who started marching north.
He was a king with a brown g like me. I couldn¡¯t see his face because he was too far away but he was probably the king of a small district.
At almost the same time, the warlords hiding in Gwanghwamun started to appear. They were each armed with excellent self-defense equipment.
The most prominent one was a man wearing a kilt in splendid colours. I could tell who he was without looking.
Our target, the Tyrant King and the rule of Dobong-gu and Seongbuk-gu.
The vibe he gave off was new. The Tyrant King who had thergest forces among Seoul¡¯s Seven Kings. Now that he moved, the 1st apostle and the kings of the three kingdoms would act.
¡°Maybe most of them will go after the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.¡±
In fact, the direction of the kings¡¯ march was the northern Pce Museum where the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was located. I didn¡¯t see him but the giarist would also be moving to that side.
Some forces ignored any damage and were running towards the museum. It was understandable.
Since the qualifications of the absolute king wasn¡¯t clear yet, they thought it would be more advantageous to obtain a good item.
If the item was the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword, they could fill in thecking achievement points of their g at once.
Lee Sungkook asked anxiously, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go? The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword is a pretty good item.¡±
¡°We will just be defeated if we go.¡±
We didn¡¯t have a lot of people. Moreover, there were many high level sponsors among them.
¡°Go to the west.¡±
I moved while leading the party. All the kings were heading for the northern Pce Museum so the west was rtivelycking.
It was the historic Gwanghwamun so there were museums all over the ce. Presseum, Korean Financial History Museum, Korean National Police Heritage Museum...
Yoo Sangah asked, ¡°We aren¡¯t going to these ces?¡±
¡°We should avoid the modern and contemporary exhibits.¡±
An old relic was better.
Of course, the relic simply being ¡®old¡¯ wasn¡¯t enough. The hoe used by farmers in the Iron Age was also such an item but it was only F grade. The important thing was that it have a rtionship with a famous person or a narrative.
¡°Let¡¯s go here.¡±
The ce we stopped at was the Seoul History Museum facing Gyeonghui Pce.
A light shed in Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes.
¡°What are we looking for here?¡±
¡°We must find the Ganpyeongui. It is a relic of the Joseon Dynasty that resembles a disc, but I don¡¯t know what floor it is on.¡± (Ganpyeongui is an astronomical observation device. Image will be provided below)
¡°Okay, I will try and find it!¡±
¡°We have to find it quickly so let¡¯s scatter. Gilyoung, you move with Sangah noona. And Lee Sungkook-ssi¨D¡±
As I was speaking, something sharp flew from behind me. I reflexively crouched down, pulling the party members with me.
The exterior wall of the building was pierced by an arrow. There was a trace of magic power on the shaft.
I got goosebumps.
[Strong Magic Arrow].
This person had learnt the archery skill properly. Who was it? The unexpected ambushplicated my thoughts. Was there someone who read the movements of my party?
¡°Everybody go inside! Quickly!¡±
Several more arrows flew.
[de of Faith is activated!]
I swung my sword and struck the flying arrows. Fortunately, the amount of magic power wasn¡¯t high so they weren¡¯t difficult to block.
The problem was the number. One arrow flew out and pierced my thigh. I quickly retreated and hid behind cover.
¡°Hahaha! Where is the novice king wandering to?¡±
A voice echoed through the area. A group of men armed with bows and swords appeared 500 metres away.
Their g couldn¡¯t be seen. In other words, they sent out a detached force. Some kings were smarter than I thought. Was he going to eat up items while taking away the gs of the smaller kings?
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
I used a skill on a person in the lead.
+
[Character Information]
Name: Chu Wangin
Age: 33 years old.
Constetion Support: The Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol
Private Attribute: Minor Actor (General)
Exclusive Skills: Weapons Training Lv. 4, Acting Lv. 1, Weak Investigation Lv. 1.
Stigma: Baekje Kendo Lv. 4, Prepared to Fight to the Death for the Country Lv. 2, Detached Force Management Lv. 3.
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 19, Strength Lv. 19, Agility Lv. 21, Magic Power Lv. 15.
Overall Evaluation: It is a case where even a nobody can grow if he meets an excellent sponsor. Due to the high degree of sympathy with the sponsor, the strength of his stigmas is significant.
+
Damn, a tiger hade. I didn¡¯t expect to meet Hwangsanbeol¡¯s master here. Those with actor attributes tended to cling to these types of constetions.
¡°If you know honour as a king, surrender your g. Then your group members won¡¯t lose their lives.¡±
The poor dramatic tone told me why he was only a minor actor. The Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol was attached to such a person. It seemed that bad luck with partners applied even to constetions.
But this was difficult. The level of the stigmas Baekje Kendo and Detached Force Management was too high.
Considering the number of people, it would be hard to handle all of them without raising my overall stats.
[Coins Possessed: 68,150C]
...Should I use my coins here? However, the difficulty of thest phase of the fourth scenario would increase sharply if I used coins to raise my overall stats here.
It would disturb my whole n.
If I closed my eyes and used around 20,000 coins...
¡°Isn¡¯t it embarrassing for you to persecute the king of a weak nation using the name of the Three Kingdoms?¡±
I looked around as I heard a voice and saw a familiar person approaching. The incarnation of Gyebaek, Chu Wangin made a fierce expression.
¡°What is the queen doing here?¡±
¡°Your crude tone is just as expected for the master of a ruined kingdom.¡±
The woman shot back with a smug expression. King of Beauty Min Jiwon. Why did this woman appear here?
...Surely she hadn¡¯t followed me?
No. There was no way.
Min Jiwon¡¯s eyes nced at me.
[The character ¡®Min Jiwon¡¯ shows a weak liking towards you.]
...Really?
¡°Shut up! The cowardly Si blood now ims to be rule of the Three Kingdoms? I won¡¯t recognize a girl like you as a king!¡±
Chu Wangin¡¯s roar of anger burst from his body. He might be a minor actor without much skills but his voice was very loud.
By the way, it was interesting. Gyebaek and Queen Jinseong were born in different eras but they could face each other like this after bing constetions.
I asked Min Jiwon, ¡°Why are you helping me?¡±
¡°Si doesn¡¯t ignore weak countries.¡±
¡°It is Si who destroyed Gaya.¡±
¡°...Did you also have a 1st-grade degree in Korean history?¡±
¡°Any high school graduate would know this much.¡±
Min Jiwon¡¯s expression became slightly gloomy.
¡°I don¡¯t know because I didn¡¯t go to high school.¡±
It was natural. Min Jiwon had been an actor since her teens. She became an actress at an early age and learned things other than history.
¡°Your words are correct. I can¡¯t obtain people with money. I¡¯m repaying the debt caused by my rudeness. That¡¯s it.¡±
I knew Min Jiwon¡¯s history as an actress and could feel the sincerity in her words. It was still surprising. She was an incarnation with a high pride so I didn¡¯t think she would bow before me like this.
Gyebaek¡¯s incarnationughed at our conversation.
¡°A king is swayed by personal matters? That¡¯s why a chick like you...¡±
Min Jiwon¡¯s captain came forward on behalf of the Hwarang.
¡°Rude! How can a man like you be the king of a country?¡±
Gyebaek¡¯s eyes were drawn to the Hwarang.
¡°Hwarang...? Very interesting. Did you sign with that constetion?¡±
The Hwarang captain turned red at the words. It reminded me that the Hwarang captain¡¯s sponsor was Gwanchang.
¡°Do you want your neck to be cut like your sponsor?¡±
In the battle of Hwangsanbeol, Gwanchang died from Gyebaek cutting his throat.
¡°Shut up!¡±
Thank you foring to help but the rtionship between constetions was the worst. This was particrly bad due to their high level of sympathy.
There was a hierarchy among the constetions due to the history of their lives.
A person couldn¡¯t go against their king and the enemy was determined ording to historical records.
For example Kurushima Michifusa of Japan could never beat the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.
It was just like how Gwanchang couldn¡¯t win against Gyebaek.
Min Jiwon also knew this and didn¡¯t look happy.
I spoke first. ¡°Just defeat the army. Or we can¡¯t win.¡±
Baekje¡¯s army had slightly more military force.
Gyebaek was a militarymander. The more people he led, the stronger his power. Gwanchang was no match for him.
Then Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°Dokja-ssi! I¡¯ve found it!¡±
I looked back and found Yoo Sangah running with a small disc. She found it already?
The Ganpyeongui. The relic resembling a wall clock glowed in Yoo Sangah¡¯s hands.
At this moment, I had an idea. I looked at Ganpyeongui, then Min Jiwon and the incarnation of Gwanchang. Then I made a decision. Perhaps I could win this without using coins?
¡°Attack!¡±
[The character ¡®Chu Wangin¡¯ has used the stigma Detached Force Lv. 3!]
The Hwarang kept falling under the hands of the Baekje forces. Min Jiwon looked towards me with a desperate expression and I said, ¡°I think we can win.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°We will recreate the battle of Hwangsanbeol.¡±
Many people knew this but Hwangsanbeol was a battle that Si won.
TL: I gave you a wiki link in thest chapter but I will give a short summary, since this information is important to understand what is going on.
Battle of Hwangsanbeol was a major battle that took ce between Baekje and Si. Themander of Baekje was Gyebaek and themander of Shi was Kim Yushin.
The Si army was 50,000 strong while Baekje could only rally up 5,000 people but Gyebaek rallied his forces with a heroic speech. The Baekje forces won several skirmishes and the Si forces lost morale.
Then a general sent out his son, Kim Gwanchang to single-handedly fight the enemy. Gwanchang was captured before being released by Gyebaek. After returning to the Si camp, Gwanchang once again charged to the enemy. Gyebaek captured him again and executed him this time.
Thanks to Gwanchang¡¯s martyrdom, the Si forces regained morale and Kim Yushin was victorious. Gyebaek died in battle.
Image of the Ganpyeongui:
Chapter 63 - War of Kings (5)
Episode 13 ¨C War of Kings (5)
Min Jiwon was surprised by my words.
¡°...Battle of Hwangsanbeol?¡±
¡°Yes, Si originally won the Battle of Hwangsanbeol. This is ording to history.¡±
Chu Wangin¡¯s sword ran through a Hwarang member.
Obviously, Shi would win if it was like history. If it was like history. But before I could speak, the captain of Hwarang came forward and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t retreat! There is no stepping back in a battle!¡±
At the same time, the Hwarang pulled out their weapons.
¡°No!¡±
¡°Victory! Loyally serve the king!¡±
¡°Serve!¡±
This bastard?
[All of the Hwarang of Si are subjected to the effect of Mundane World Five Commandments Lv. 2!]
¡°Hahaha, you are pushing them!¡±
Gyebaek¡¯s incarnation, Chu Wangin cried out. Hwarang¡¯s captain came running towards him with a spear. He was following his damn sponsor.
[The character ¡®Chu Wangin¡¯ has used the stigma Baekje Kendo Lv. 3!]
¡°Keeoook!¡±
The body of the Hwarang captain flew through the air after being hit by a big sword.
I shouted towards Min Jiwon. ¡°Tell them to set up the formations!¡±
¡°Take your formations! Hurry!¡±
[Character ¡®Min Jiwon¡¯ has activated Military Command Lv. 2.]
[The army has lost their sense of reason.]
[The skill activation is cancelled.]
¡°Set up the formation!¡±
Min Jiwon screamed again but the Hwarang were already inspired by Mundane World Five Commandments and didn¡¯t listen to her order. In the first ce, they were loyal to the beauty of Queen Jinseong, not her charisma.
I heard a sound. Then Lee Gilyoungnded next to me from where he broke through the window of the museum¡¯s second floor.
¡°Hyung, should I call Titano?¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s eyes shone as he prepared to use Diverse Communication.
¡°No, it is okay.¡±
It would be helpful if Lee Gilyoung could call the 6th grade insect king likest time but then he would be unconscious for two days. High grade monsters were difficult to control and could also sweep away allies.
In any case, Lee Gilyoung was my hidden card. I had to save him until the beginning of the war with the kings.
¡°Kuaaak!¡±
The Hwarang in front of us were knocked out. On the other hand, there wasn¡¯t a single dead Baekje person.
I reached out to Yoo Sangah who ran to me.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, the relic...!¡±
Yoo Sangah handed me the Ganpyeongui.
The Ganpyeongui. Everyone was distracted by the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword but in fact, the Ganpyeongui was an essential item for the fourth scenario.
The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword had no meaning if this item didn¡¯t exist.
¡°Kuheeok!¡±
The captain of Hwarang was a wreck as he was hit by Chu Wangin again. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if he died in one more blow.
[The constetion Hwarang Knows No Retreat is in a hurry.]
[The constetion ¡®Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol¡¯ is happy.]
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is irritated.]
The momentum of the Baekje army grew while Si¡¯s morale broke down. It felt like the spirit of Gyebaek was flowing from Chu Wangin¡¯s body.
¡°Destroy the damn Si!¡±
The more that the constetions were in a situation simr to the history that they lived, the greater the coordination with their incarnation and the stronger the power of the stigma.
In addition, the encounter with ¡®rted¡¯ constetions...
It was time for the ¡®stage¡¯ to be created.
¡°Uhh?
What?¡±
People screamed with surprise. Sparks filled the surrounding space and the scene changed. Seoul¡¯s Gwanghwamun was transformed into a rugged mountain wilderness.
¡¸Stage Transformation. ¡¹
It was a phenomenon that urred when the coordination was high between incarnations with historical corrtions.
Space Transformation summoned the space-time that the constetions had fought in. Of course, the space wasn¡¯t really changed. It was close to an augmented reality.
The problem was that this wasn¡¯t the case for the people who summoned the stage.
¡°Hahahaha... I missed you Hwangsanbeol!¡±
Chu Wangin achieved a considerable level of coordination with his sponsor and shouted. Now he seemed topletely believe he was Gyebaek.
Gyebaek was in a hurry. If a constetion did something like this in the early scenarios, it was likely they would receive a sanction from the Bureau. However, Gyebaek was less likely to be affected than the low level constetions.
¡°U-Uwaaah!¡±
The frightened Hwarang started to step back.
Lee Sungkook muttered, ¡°He isn¡¯t one of the Seven Kings but he has such power... does this make sense?¡±
¡°It is possible because Gyebaek is the protagonist of this stage.¡±
Chu Wangin was like a mad monster as he ran around. Once Stage Transformation urred and coordination with the sponsor increased, the incarnation¡¯s strength would multiply.
I looked at the trembling Min Jiwon and opened my mouth.
¡°I have two ways. One is to let the incarnation of Gwanchang die.¡±
¡°That...what do you mean?¡±
Originally, the Battle of Hwangsanbeol was a battlefield that Shi won thanks to Gwanchang¡¯s sacrifice. One half of the battle wasplete if he died.
¡°As soon as Stage Transformation began, this has be the battlefield of history. If the incarnation of Gwanchang dies, the morale of the Si troops will rise due to their anger. This is recorded in history.¡±
I didn¡¯t listen to Min Jiwon¡¯s answer.
¡°The second way is to change history.¡±
I looked down at the Ganpyeongui in my hands. Ganpyeongui, an astronomical observation device produced by Joseon in the 17th century.
Min Jiwon felt uneasy and asked, ¡°What will happen if it fails?¡±
¡°Your country will perish.¡±
¡°Then of course it will be the first option...!¡±
This was truly Queen Jinseong. She was considered an ipetent ruler for a reason.
¡°I didn¡¯t mean to give you a choice. I will do the second method.¡±
¡°Then why did you mention it?¡±
¡°I gave you a chance. You are not what Si needs right now.¡±
I manipted the two discs that made up the Ganpyeongui.
The two discs were called the sky disc and the earth disc respectively. The top was the earth disc and the bottom was the sky disc.
There was a simple definition for Ganpyeongui in Ways of Survival.
¡¸ The Ganpyeongui is an item that can find the constetions in heaven.¡¹
As I slowly turned the earth disc, the constetions engraved on the sky disc started to burn brightly.
[Ganpyeongui¡¯s special option ¡®Echo of the Stars¡¯ has been activated.]
[¡®Echo of the Stars¡¯ allows you to ask for the help of a constetion.]
[The constetion can refuse your request and the number of times Ganpyeongui can be used is reduced when the constetion responds to the request.]
There were seven constetions left on the sky disc. In other words, I can use it seven more times in the future.
It would¡¯ve been good if there were more constetions left on the relic. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped.
Lee Sungkook seemed to have noticed something and asked, ¡°Are you going to get help from a constetion with that?¡±
¡°Not all the constetions are avable but there are some great people.¡±
Lee Sungkook was filled with admiration at my answer. He btedly found out the true value of this item.
¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Lee Sungkook cried out excitedly, ¡°How about calling Xiang Yu or Lu Bu? If you call them, you can easily deal with Gyebaek.¡±
¡°I have to know the modifier of the constetion.¡±
In the world of Ways of Survival, the modifier was like the constetions¡¯ space-time coordinates. The modifiers were like the the X and Y axis coordinate system in the Star Stream.
¡°Ah... then...¡±
Lee Sungkook made a sad expression. He thought that I didn¡¯t know the modifiers of Lu Bu and Xiang Yu. But that was an illusion. There was no one in the world who knew as many constetion modifiers as me.
¡°I¡¯ll call a constetion.¡±
[The great constetions hear your voice flowing through the stars.]
Of course, the constetion I was calling wasn¡¯t Lu Bu or Xiang Yu. There was no guarantee they would respond to this request and there was someone more fitting for this battlefield.
I stared at the stars in the sky. I faced the numerous stars and opened my mouth.
¡°I want to call Hwarang Leader King Heungmu the Great.¡±
[The star navigation has begun.]
A part of the sky darkened and a shadow fell to the ground. The battle between Si and Baekje stopped.
¡°What nonsense are you saying?¡±
Chu Wangin sensed something suspicious and started running towards me.
¡°Representative-nim, we will stop them.¡±
Lee Sungkook pulled out a sword. I didn¡¯t know how long the hypnotist would be able to endure but I should have some time.
After a while, one of the stars in the sky shone brightly. He finally appeared.
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is looking at you.]
¡°General.¡±
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is listening to you.]
¡°There are people here who need your help. I am calling you because your people are dying.¡±
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is silent at your words.]
King Heungmu the Great. He wasn¡¯t royalty but he was the only person who was given a posthumous name of a king of Si.
He probably wouldn¡¯t reject my request. It was because Hwangsanbeol was his battlefield.
But something unexpected happened.
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ doesn¡¯t want to be involved in the history of modern life.]
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ will reject your offer.]
...What? The constetion was about to fade away when Yoo Sangah interrupted.
¡°General, please listen to my words!¡±
The smart Yoo Sangah noticed who King Heungmu the Great was.
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is looking back.]
¡°I¡¯m well aware of General¡¯s story! The Battle of Hwangsanbeol, the Siege of Pyongyang...! I¡¯ve read all about it in the records!¡±
Yoo Sangah took a deep breath before starting to talk.
¡°I understand that you want to respect the past and history. But General! Some histories don¡¯t end after they are recorded.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice was clear and straightforward.
¡°Don¡¯t you regret it? The battlefield where the young Hwarang are sacrificed and countless people are buried...! Have you already forgotten?¡±
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is listening to incarnation Yoo Sangah¡¯s story.]
¡°History won¡¯t change. The soldiers on the field won¡¯t beforted and the lives of the young Hwarang won¡¯t return. But General! The history here hasn¡¯t ended yet! If youe here, at least you can change the history in this ce!¡±
I had forgotten how good a talker Yoo Sangah was. During her early days, she was the queen of PT at Mino Soft.
¡°General! Your Battle of Hwangsanbeol is over... but we are still at Hwangsanbeol.¡±
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ has silently closed his eyes.]
There were such moments in life. I knew what would happen from now on, even if no one said anything.
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ has responded to your request.]
One of the constetions on Ganpyeongui disappeared and a light from the star in the sky shone on me.
I smiled at the nervous Yoo Sangah. ¡°Well done Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
[You have temporarily received the protection of constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great.¡¯]
The muscles in my body twitched like they were surprised. My heart pumped and light and darkness crossed several times in my head. Something was being constructed inside me.
[This is just on old man¡¯s reminiscence of the past.]
This was the mantra of the constetion. Just listening made my existence at stake.
[Please, lend me your voice for a while.]
I nodded while opening my eyes. Everyone on the field of Hwangsanbeol was looking at me.
The incarnation of Gyebaek, Chu Wangin was astonished. ¡°That person...?¡±
The spirit of a constetion was felt despite him not descending directly. This was the size of the existences called constetions.
¡°It has been a while, Gyebaek.¡±
There was a strange depth in my voice. In the distance, the incarnation of Gwanchang staggered.
¡°Hwarang Gwanchang, there is no need to pay respect to me.¡±
¡°G-General...!¡±
King Heungmu the Great was watching the world through me. He looked at Gwanchang, Gyebaek and the broken Seoul. I was also watching the world through King Heungmu the Great. The sunlight covered the ins of Hwangsan.
¡°It is funny. Why is it that all of you have gathered here again?¡±
Chu Wanginughed madly at these words. It was augh filled with deep-seated resentment. At this moment, he really was Gyebaek.
¡°Don¡¯t you know? It was to meet you again on this field!¡±
[The character ¡®Chu Wangin¡¯ has used the stigma Baekje Kendo Lv. 4!]
Chu Wangin¡¯s sword filled with power and moved. Originally, it was an attack that I wouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid or block. But I avoided the attack without much difficulty.
¡°Gyebaek, why are you doing this to your incarnation? Have you forgotten the constraints of usibility? You will destroy your incarnation.¡±
It was as he said. Gyebaek was acting unreasonably. I also wondered this as a reader of Ways of Survival.
¡°Kim Yushin... You must¡¯ve heard nothing about this world.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. My wish was achieved the moment I met you. I¡¯ll have no regrets even if I die now!¡± The incarnation of Gyebaek cried out. ¡°I carry on Baekje¡¯s legacy of Buyeo, Gyebaek of Hwangsanbeol! I will settle my lifelong regret here!¡±
King Heungmu the Great watched Gyebaek¡¯s incarnation with sad eyes and opened his mouth through me.
¡°I am the 15th captain of Hwarang, Kim Yushin.¡±
King Heungmu the Great, Hwarang Leader Kim Yushin.
¡°I willfort the soul of the unfortunate constetion and correct the history of modern humans.¡±
The man who led the Battle of Hwangsanbeol to victory sent me his will. I moved my right hand. A bluish glow grew from the hilt.
¡¸ The sword of the Hwarang leader is now on the battlefield. ¡¹
[The power of the star relic ¡®Blue Dragon Sword¡¯ is temporarily stored in Unbroken Faith.]
The de of the Blue Dragon Sword soared high into the sky of Hwangsan.
All of Hwangsan seemed to scream. Enormous magic power escaped and arge crack appeared in the earth, centred around me.
¡¸ Dragon Flower Tree unit,e to this ce right now. ¡¹
[The stigma ¡®Gather the Hwarang¡¯ is activated!]
Something was happening in the crack.
The forgotten ghosts buried in the eternal history. There were no names left but they were Hwarang who once lived on thisnd and who fought only for honour.
Kuoooooh!
The Dragon Flower Tree, Kim Yushin¡¯s elite unit showed up from the pages of history.
Chapter 64 - Master of the Throne (1)
Episode 14 ¨C Master of the Throne (1)
Kim Yushin¡¯s stigma ¡®Gather the Hwarang¡¯ was a skill that called the elite Hwarang that died in history, the Dragon Flower Tree.
To put it simple, it was a ground version of the ¡®Ghost Fleet¡¯ that Lee Jihye used.
It wasn¡¯tparable to the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s power but it was still a great stigma used by a constetion.
¡°Go!¡±
The buried bones were removed and the Dragon Flower Tree unit rose to fight with Baekje¡¯s army. Some Hwarang had no eyes while others had no arms or legs.
It was cruel. They would raise their des as long as Kim Yushin was here. This was despite their souls being worn down, their anger erased and even their hearts gone.
They were soldiers who fought to prevent the fall of their kingdom. Now they were fighting for a fallen kingdom.
¡°You are still a coward Kim Yushin! Now you are even pushing your dead men!¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Come on! Let¡¯s have a one-on-one fight!¡±
I was still at Gyebaek¡¯s provocation. It was because Kim Yushin didn¡¯t want to move. He would crush Gyebaek with the overwhelming force of the Dragon Flower Tree. The magic power that emerged from his sword mercilessly filled the air.
¡°Kim Yushin¨D!¡±
The shout filled the air and even the emotionlessly Dragon Flower Tree hesitated for a moment.
This was Gyebaek. Thest master of Baekje, Gyebaek.
Gyebaek was a constetion that overwhelmed Kim Yushin just in terms of physical buff abilities. In fact, Gyebaek never fought one-on-one against Kim Yushin in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol.
To be exact, it right to say that Kim Yushin avoided the confrontation.
[The character ¡®Chu Wangin¡¯ has used the stigma Prepared to Fight to the Death for the Country Lv. 2!]
In history, Gyebaek¡¯s army fought against Kim Yushin¡¯s army that outnumbered them by several times and won a few impossible battles.
Thest winner might be Kim Yushin but Gyebaek wasn¡¯t defeated until the final battle of Hwangsanbeol was held.
He united his soldiers with patriotism and his shouts were close to insane.
I carried Kim Yushin behind me right now but if things were different, I might¡¯ve called Gyebaek.
Gwanchang¡¯s incarnation shouted, ¡°General!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±
Kim Yushin spoke through my mouth. My expression was unchanged despite looking at the dying Dragon Flower Tree members.
Kim Yushin¡¯s serene image was conveyed.
Gyebaek shouted, ¡°Your cowardice hasn¡¯t changed despite you bing a constetion!¡±
That¡¯s right. Kim Yushin was a coward. He was afraid of death and afraid of defeat. That¡¯s why he was strong. His emotions were unshakable and he didn¡¯tmit rash acts.
Defeat the enemies in a way that achieved victory. That¡¯s how he won the final battle of Hwangsanbeol, despite being defeated four previous times.
¡°Kuaaaaak!¡±
The hundreds of Dragon Flower Tree members shed fiercely with Gyebaek. His incarnation was so severely hurt that he could no longer survive. His whole body was bloody while there were fatal wounds on his arms, thighs and sides.
However, Gyebaek kept moving through the crowd of Dragon Flower Tree members towards me.
¡°Kim...Yu...shin...!¡±
[The stigma ¡®Request for Reinforcements¡¯ has been activated!]
Ghost soldiers appeared like shadows from behind Kim Yushin and sprang towards Gyebaek. Based on the different articles of clothing on the soldiers, they might not be Si troops.
Perhaps they were the Tang Dynasty troops called to destroy Goguryeo.
As expected from Kim Yushin. The only thing important to him was winning. Using foreign forces wasn¡¯t an important issue for him.
Numerous spears pierced his chest. Gyebaek¡¯s incarnation couldn¡¯t ovee the pain and fell to his knees.
¡°Kuheok...!¡±
The incarnation of the strong Gyebaek was now at his limit.
Gyebaekughed.
¡°...I am resentful. I can¡¯t touch you even on this fake stage. I wanted to exchange swords with you just once.¡±
Gyebaek¡¯s red eyes made me feel confused. Gwanchang was alive, history had changed. But this was one part that didn¡¯t change.
Kim Yushin asked, ¡°Gyebaek. Why did you do this?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°If you die in this state, you can¡¯t choose another incarnation for a while. Why did you suddenly abandon the scenario?¡±
Gyebaek had a distant look on his face and then he gave a meaningful smile. Kim Yushin waited before pulling out a de.
I hurriedly took back control of my voice.
¡°He can¡¯t be killed with my hands.¡±
[Why?]
¡°...There are restrictions.¡±
The King of No Killing meant I couldn¡¯t carry out direct ughter. As soon as I killed one person, I would lose my throne.
Kim Yushin nodded like he understood.
[...I see. I roughly understand. Don¡¯t worry. The stars will honour yourmitment. But it is I, Kim Yushin, who will deal with Gyebaek, not you.]
¡°But...¡±
[...There is a lingering attachment, please understand.]
Kim Yushin gestured and one of the Dragon Flower Tree members nodded. I handed over my voice to Kim Yushin.
¡°Gyebaek, let¡¯s meet in the next world.¡±
Gyebaek¡¯s incarnation looked up at us silently. He wanted to say something but he couldn¡¯t open his mouth. At thest moment, his face looked like a minor actor whopleted his scenes rather than Gyebaek.
Then the incarnation¡¯s head quietly flew through the air.
[Stage Transformation has ended.]
[You have experienced the Battle of Hwangsanbeol.]
[1,000 coins have been earned as experiencepensation.]
I looked around and saw that all of Baekje¡¯s army was wiped out.
[The authority of King of No Killing is retained due to the indirect nature of the killing.]
It was fortunate. King of No Killing was only lost when I killed someone directly with my own hands. The life that the Dragon Flower Tree member took wasn¡¯t recognized as me killing someone.
¡°Representative-nim! Are you okay?¡± Lee Sungkook¡¯s voice was heard from behind me.
Yoo Sangah sighed with relief while Lee Gilyoung was disgruntled that he couldn¡¯t do much. Then Min Jiwon asked, ¡°What the hell was that...?¡±
She looked like she hadpletely lost her soul.
I shrugged and said, ¡°You should study history if you want to be a king.¡±
I might¡¯ve called Kim Yushin but I didn¡¯t belong to Si or Baekje. I called Kim Yushin because he was the most appropriate one to deal with Gyebaek.
Anyway, I was d that the result was better than expected. I was able to thoroughly check the performance of the Ganpyeongui and I could get some coins and items from the Baekje members.
[You have earned 5,400 coins.]
[Coins Possessed: 74,950 C]
Now I wasn¡¯t afraid of the final phase of the fourth scenario.
¡°It is time to go to the north.¡±
[The remaining duration of the call is three minutes.]
Kim Yushin¡¯s divine blessing still remained. I should take advantage of the remaining time left on the Ganpyeongui. It could only be used seven times so I couldn¡¯t waste it.
¡°Rise up Dragon Flower Tree!¡±
The broken fragments of the Dragon Flower Tree unit rose again and I pointed north with my sword.
¡°Advance!¡±
The consumption of magic power was huge so the operation time of the Dragon Flower Tree unit was short. The Dragon Flower Tree unit started to march north, randomly sweeping away the small and medium groups.
It might be possible to wipe out all the forces of the other kings gathered at the National Pce Museum.
There were screams as forces fought all over the street.
¡°What are these skeletons? Ak!¡±
The incarnations that ran towards me were crushed by the Dragon Flower Tree unit.
Since I wasn¡¯t the one attacking, I didn¡¯t get a penalty for killing. Yes, this was an invigorating taste.
Kim Yushin¡¯s holy voice was heard in my head.
[There is something strange about you. Your mind is intact despite hearing my true voice...]
¡°I have a strong mentality.¡±
I was a bit surprised by the words. The constetions used the ¡®indirect messages¡¯ tomunicate for a reason.
Kim Yushin was just a low-ranking constetion but most people would pee their pants or faint hearing his holy voice.
In fact, I was a bit worried about that too...
[Remember, you owe me a big debt. In order to help you, I had to embrace more possibilities than necessary.]
There was something sinister about his tone. I quickly expressed my appreciation.
¡°I am thankful. I won¡¯t forget General¡¯s help.¡±
[You are a hasty friend. You don¡¯t have anyone to pass it onto yet...]
¡°...Won¡¯t it happen one day? If I give birth to a child, I will surely tell them what happened today.¡±
[Rather, you don¡¯t seem to have a sponsor.]
I had an ominous feeling. Damn, this old fox kept talking.
[I like you. If you don¡¯t mind, I would like to be your sponsor in this world.]
His words were nice but it merely meant to be his ve.
¡°That will be a problem.¡±
[Why? Isn¡¯t my strength enough? You can be the strongest of this age with just my stigma.]
The Gather the Hwarang stigma was good. But that was when applied to Kim Yushin¡¯s saga.
The strongest in this era? He was trying to scam me.
The words were ridiculous for someone who wasn¡¯t a fable level. If the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven heard it, he would¡¯ve squeezed Kim Yushin¡¯s head tightly.
¡°Now isn¡¯t the age of the Three Kingdoms. You are old and should take a break.¡±
We had fun together but let¡¯s not see each other again.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ isughing at ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯.]
[300 coins have been sponsored.]
Kim Yunshin was silent for a moment, perhaps because his pride was pricked. I thought he would back off but a sharp pain suddenly shot through my head.
[Have you forgotten that my divine blessing still remains?]
Currently, Kim Yushin and I were connected through the Ganpyeongui. The muscles of my body spasmed in an unusual manner. No matter what, wasn¡¯t he a great person of Korea...? No, maybe he could do this because he was a great person of Korea.
Dammit.
[It would be better to think again.]
Yoo Sangah looked at me with worry.
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. Get away from me. Quickly!¡±
My trembling right hand didn¡¯t listen as it raised Unbroken Faith and started pointing it at Yoo Sangah.
Kim Yushin started to exert control over my body.
[Did you say there was a restriction on your actions? I wonder what the restriction is. What if I kill that woman right now?]
¡°Kim Yushin, this is your will. It isn¡¯t my karma.¡±
[Huhu, I don¡¯t know. What if I disengage the moment I stab the de? Won¡¯t it be recognized as your actions? And this woman seems to be quite precious to you?]
¡°...Stop.¡±
[Make a promise. In the next Sponsor Selection, you will choose Kim Yushin.]
The intent of this old fox was obvious. The second Sponsor Selection would begin the moment the fourth scenario was over. Kim Yushin wanted to use this pledge as an opportunity to acquire me.
If I hadn¡¯t read Ways of Survival, it might not be a bad choice. Kim Yushin was a fairly decent constetion and there were a few scenario in the middle that could be cleared with Gather the Hwarang alone.
However, if I was going to pick a sponsor, I would¡¯ve picked the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven in the beginning. Why should I choose Kim Yushin now?
¡°I said no.¡±
In addition, I had the contract with Bihyung that didn¡¯t allow me to choose a sponsor.
Kim Yushin¡¯s voice hardened.
[You are a stubborn young man. But it is the wrong choice. How long can you endure?]
The de in my hand started moving towards Yoo Sangah.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, quickly¨D!¡±
Why didn¡¯t the smart Yoo Sangah move? I looked at my right hand moving against my will and finally made a decision. Dammit, I respected him as a great person but he forced me to do this...
I took a deep breath. This was my body. I would never give it to this guy or any constetion.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
Chapter 65 - Master of the Throne (2)
Episode 14 ¨C Master of the Throne (2)
The pages of Ways of Destruction shed in my head. A light streamed through my head and the strings of light started to line up. They were the text of Ways of Survival.
[Heok...?]
Kim Yushin discovered something was wrong and his presence became noticeably thinner. The old fox noticed quickly.
[The echo of the constetion connected through Echo of the Stars has disappeared.]
At thest moment, Kim Yushin¡¯s astounded voice was heard.
[What are you...?]
Then Kim Yushin was gone.
I was surprised as well. I expected it to be possible with Fourth Wall, but I didn¡¯t think the Ganpyeongui connection to the constetion could be broken so easily.
The encounter in the Theater Dungeon was a hint. The Fourth Wall had destroyed the theatre master the moment he tried to look inside my head.
I was hoping the same thing would happen to the constetion but Kim Yushin noticed quickly and ran away.
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ has doubts about your existence.]
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ will be watching you closely in the future.]
In any case, I was still being followed by the old geezer.
¡°...Are you okay?¡±
¡°Yes. I¡¯m fine. But...¡±
What was this? I looked up and found that my limbs were tied up with magic power. It was a chrysalis-like appearance. Yoo Sangah¡¯s face waspletely red.
¡°That... I couldn¡¯t run away but I couldn¡¯t let you attack me.¡±
I roughly understood what was going on. She used Binding Thread on me during that short interval. I thought she was frozen with surprise but she was actually using a skill.
¡°Your improvisation is amazing.¡±
¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°It is apliment. If I start acting strange in the future, act like you did now.¡±
¡°I-I will release you!¡±
Yoo Sangah looked embarrassed but I was serious. It was my mistake when I thought of her as an ordinary office worker.
I looked back and saw Min Jiwon looking between me and Yoo Sangah with curious eyes. ¡°Well...it turned out like this. I came to help only to end up being helped.¡±
I nodded. ¡°We will be enemies the next time we meet.¡±
¡°...Why don¡¯t you join us now? It is amon proceeding in dramas.¡±
¡°This isn¡¯t a drama.¡±
¡°My friend! Make friends with faith. It is the banner of our Hwarang.¡± Min Jiwon said with a smile before moving away.
Could she be a good king? I don¡¯t know. Perhaps even the King of Beauty didn¡¯t know.
¡°We will go as well. Lee Sungkook-ssi! Come on.¡±
Lee Sungkook emerged from behind the building with Lee Gilyoung. This bastard, when did he hide in such a ce?
I took mypanions and started to move north.
The ce that Kim Yushin¡¯s Gather the Hwarang swept through was devastated.
The armed forces of the small kings were lying all over the ce. This was the dignity of a proper constetion. Kim Yushin was a cowardly but useful constetion.
I picked up three gs and built up my achievements.
[Your brown g has absorbed the cumtive achievements of the brown g.]
[Your brown g has evolved into a purple g.]
[You are able to use the perks of the purple g.]
Indeed, the best thing was to grow without a fight. I looked around and saw that most gs had already been collected.
From the purple g onwards, the achievement values of the g wouldn¡¯t rise well. In other words, it was useless to grab a small king from now on.
¡°Jung Minseob-ssi, are you there?¡±
The next moment, Jung Minseob appeared out of thin air. The Recluse¡¯s Cloak that I handed him in advance was covering his body. Jung Minseob¡¯s mission was to scout the National Pce Museum.
¡°How many have gone inside so far?¡±
¡°A total of nine kings have entered, including the Tyrant King and True Reader.¡±
Nine. It was a reasonable number.
¡°What are the g types?¡±
¡°There are seven purple and two brown gs. In particr, there are two with really a really deep purple colour.¡±
¡°I guess they are the Tyrant and True Reader.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
Jung Minseob, wasn¡¯t his talent quite useful?
I opened my mouth. ¡°This time, I will only go with Yoo Sangah-ssi and Gilyoung. Both of you wait outside. Stay hidden using the cloak.¡±
¡°...Will it be okay?¡±
¡°Yes, I only need three people right now.¡±
¡°I will enter if you call us.¡±
I appreciated the thought but it would just be a disruption. It was because the current Seoul Pce Museum was a dungeon.
[A new hidden scenario has arrived!]
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C Artifact Trials]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: F ~ A+
Clear Conditions: Clear the right ¡®artifact dungeon¡¯ with the proper personnel.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: 500 ~ 5,000 coins
Failure: Death
+
A white marble lobby appeared before us as we entered the museum. There were no signs of anyone else in the lobby.
Yoo Sangah spoke in a soft voice.
¡°I can¡¯t like culture now without feeling scared. There was the previous theatre and now this museum...¡±
¡°Hyung, are we going to get the legendary sword?¡±
¡°No, not right now.¡±
Of course, I could find the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword in this dungeon. That¡¯s why I sowed the information.
[Please select the type of dungeon you want to enter.]
* Single yer dungeon ¨C Nagak (Large seashell yed as a horn in Korean traditional music)
* Three person dungeon ¨C Acupuncture Copper Man
* Five person dungeon ¨C Dongui Bogam (Korean bookpiled by a royal physician, considered as one of the ssics of Oriental medicine)
* Seven person dungeon ¨C Dragon Jar
However, the dungeon with the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword couldn¡¯t be entered in a normal manner. It was because the dungeon was only essible using the Sang Pyong Tong Bo coin which was given as a reward when clearing a dungeon.
I will choose the three person dungeon, the Acupuncture Copper Man.¡±
[You have entered the three person dungeon.]
Lee Gilyoung looked a bit disappointed. He had been expecting to get a great artifact.
¡°Gilyoung. An artifact isn¡¯t about the outward appearance.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°There are many impressive looking things that have no substance.¡±
The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was one such item. Rather, the good things in this dungeon could be obtained from themonce dungeons.
An example was the skill that could be obtained the Acupuncture Copper Man dungeon.
Yoo Sangah was amazed and surprised as soon as we entered the dungeon.
¡°...There are other people besides us.¡±
Intermittent screams could be heard from the dungeon.
¡°Uwaaaaack! Go away!¡±
It was a monster in human form with a matte colour. The three person dungeon was filled with these copper people.
It was the 7th grade species, the Acupuncture Copper Man.
After a certain amount of time, these guys would self-proliferate unless the method to attack them was known. The Acupuncture Copper Man didn¡¯t suffer because they had a strong body, no internal organs and no neuralworks.
¡°Aaaah! Save me!¡±
Some of the incarnations¡¯ swords cut at copper men but they didn¡¯t receive much damage. Rather, they pulled the incarnations¡¯ bodies down.
The body of a man in his 50s was torn to pieces in the hands of the copper men.
¡°...Dokja-ssi, how do we deal with these guys? They don¡¯t receive damage at all.¡±
Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung aimed their weapons or skills at the iing copper men but there was hardly any effect.
Sometimes Lee Gilyoung¡¯s blunt attack would damage them but he didn¡¯t have any idea of what he did.
¡°Look at their bodies.¡±
The monsters that appeared in the ¡®artifacts trials¡¯ were based on relics kept in Seoul Pce Museum.
For example, the monsters in the one yer dungeon was literally a musical instrument made of a seashell and as for the Dongui Bogam five person dungeon... there was no need to exin anything. It was the same for the Acupuncture Copper Man in the three person dungeon.
Yoo Sangah stared closely at a copper man and opened her mouth.
¡°Is there something etched on the body?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
In fact, the Acupuncture Copper Man was a relic that disyed 354 acupuncture points on the human body, including the front, back, arms, legs and head.
It was an artifact used to study acupuncture in the Joseon Dynasty.
[de of Faith is activated!]
I stabbed one of the acupuncture points on the copper man. Then I twisted it and the body scattered into powder. It was a meaningless end for a 7th grade reproduction species.
[You have hunted the first Acupuncture Copper Man!]
¡°If you look closely, the colour for each acupuncture point was subtly different. Some are devoid of blood and some are deadly. Some of the points... there is a different effect every time an acupuncture point is hit.¡±
¡°Ah...!¡±
The important thing was to find the acupuncture point that didn¡¯t break the flow.
I demonstrated a few times and Lee Gilyoung and Yoo Sangah got the knack for it very quickly.
Lee Gilyoung used Diverse Communication to shock the points with small insects, while Yoo Sangah applied Binding Thread. I honestly admired what I saw.
These two people, they really had excellent growth.
[Your party is the first to hunt 100 Acupuncture Copper Men!]
[You have cleared the three person dungeon.]
[Four Sang Pyong Tong Bo coins are obtained as a basic reward.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Hit a Pressure Point¡¯ has been acquired.]
I got the skill I aimed for.
Hit a Pressure Point. It was a unique technique to use the pressure points to subdue the enemy. It was an essential skill for me to maintain the ¡®King of No Killing.¡¯
Yoo Sangah looked at the Sang Pyong Tong Bo coins curiously and muttered, ¡°Can we buy something with this?¡±
¡°It can be exchanged for coins or a dungeon ticket.¡±
¡°Then...¡±
¡°Of course, we will use it for the dungeon admission ticket. Now we have three of them. Let¡¯s obtain 10 of them.¡±
¡°10? Wait a minute, Dokja-ssi...?¡±
¡°We will enter the hidden dungeon where we can get the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.¡±
Yoo Sangah asked with surprise.
¡°But didn¡¯t you say we wouldn¡¯t get the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword?¡±
¡°We aren¡¯t going after the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.¡±
We were going to ¡®hunt¡¯ the kings.
Chapter 66 - Master of the Throne (3)
Episode 14 ¨C Master of the Throne (3)
We were going to enter the dungeon but not to get the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung immediately understood what I meant.
¡°You are going to take their gs.¡±
¡°Then you will kill them.¡±
They had different interpretations.
Yoo Sangah looked down at Lee Gilyoung with surprised eyes. The interesting thing was that Lee Gilyoung looked up at Yoo Sangah with disappointment.
¡°Hyung, leave the finishing touches to me.¡±
This boy... he already noticed that I couldn¡¯t directly kill a person.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[Currently collecting information about the corresponding figure.]
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s information still wasn¡¯t avable.
I turned my head and encountered Yoo Sangah¡¯s worried eyes. She looked between Lee Gilyoung and I before bowing her head. I spoke to Lee Gilyoung, ¡°Do as you please.¡±
I could see what Yoo Sangah was worried about. Lee Gilyoung wasn¡¯t even in middle school yet. But she should be aware of it. The morals that we used to have were now useless in this world.
¡°This isn¡¯t a game. Be careful.¡±
¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry.¡±
I listened to Lee Gilyoung¡¯s voice and hid the g on my back.
Until now, the g was a good bait to attract the small kings. However, from now on, it would just be bait for predators. There was nothing good about advertising that I was a king on this battlefield.
The intermediate dokkaebi¡¯s voice was heard.
[Huhu, everyone is doing well! So many people are doing hidden scenario then what is the meaning of ¡®hidden¡¯?]
It had no nerves. I would find it embarrassing now and again.
[Someone has already fulfilled the requirements for the first qualification. Once again, this is interesting.]
A king had already achieved the ck g. It was probably one of the Seven Kings.
[After a while, the requirements of the second qualifications will be revealed.]
I turned to look at the party members and said, ¡°Quickly. The dokkaebi¡¯s ¡®after a while¡¯ might not be long.¡±
I put together the Sang Pyong Tong Bo coins in the lobby one by one.
[You have entered a hidden field using 10 Sang Pyong Tong Bo coins.]
[Do you want to enter the hidden chapter, the Big Dipper?]
Right now, I had the purple g. The kings with the same purple gs would flock to the Big Dipper. In other words, my prey were all gathered in one ce.
[You have entered the Big Dipper chapter.]
My vision waved and the lobby soon changed. The white marble lobby was transformed into a spacious waiting room.
There were seven doors at the end of the waiting room.
¡°Uh...!¡±
Yoo Sangah let out a brief groan and took a step back. There were bodies at Yoo Sangah¡¯s feet. They were the bodies of group members who had fought each other. Lee Gilyoung looked down at the corpses with an expressionless face.
There were so many bodies that it was hard to walk straight. Hundreds of bodies were scattered all over the ce like graves. There was a wave of blood already.
I felt a bit strange. If I hadn¡¯t spread the giarist writer¡¯s textbook, they might not have died. Then didn¡¯t they die because of me?
¡°Hey, there are people.¡±
The centre of the waiting room contained a huge body using the bodies of people as fuel.
I could see the faces of some survivors. I didn¡¯t know if they were allies or held a truce, but they weren¡¯t fighting.
I looked at the group of people and spoke to my party members. ¡°Be careful.¡±
A group stood up. Greed could be seen in their eyes.
¡°You are a neer. Who is your king?¡±
Some people secretly moved behind out party while others drew our attention. The encirclement was gradually bing narrower.
¡°Is it you? Or maybe the woman next to you? It can¡¯t be the kid.¡±
[Many of the constetions are annoyed by the pests.]
[A few constetions want you to take serious action.]
I was already nning on that.
¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you answering... aack!¡±
The white light of Unbroken Faith filled the air. The unstoppable trajectory cut off the limbs of a person. A confused person shouted, ¡°Damn! Just kill him!¡±
The people took out their weapons like they had been waiting. But it was toote.
¡°W-Why are you so fast?¡±
There were few people were agility higher than me right now.
They didn¡¯t have high level skills so no one other than the Seven Kings could follow my movements right now.
The de of Faith swung in a semicircle and cut five or six people at the same time.
The attack that followed cut off a hand holding a weapon. I pierced another wrist.
¡°Kuaaaak!¡±
The severed limbs flew unrealistically through the air. I walked behind a man screaming painfully and used a skill.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Hit a Pressure Point Lv. 1¡¯ is activated.]
I had cut off the man¡¯s limbs but there was no need to be cruel.
There was a dark blue dagger hidden in the man¡¯s arms. This was the poisonous dagger that could be obtained at the end of the 5 person dungeon, the ¡®Dongui Bogam¡¯. If my response had been even a bitte, this would¡¯ve been us.
As soon as the people copsed, I called to Lee Gilyoung.
¡°Please.¡±
Lee Gilyoung nodded. Lee Gilyoung¡¯s hand stopped the people¡¯s breathing one by one. He moved his hand like he was killing insignificant insects. I was also a little surprised.
Then Yoo Sangah came forward.
¡°I¡¯ll do it Gilyoung...¡±
¡°...Can you do it?¡±
¡°I will still do it.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s tone was unusually stubborn. She looked grimly at Lee Gilyoung. She held a knife and turned her back to me. Maybe Yoo Sangah despised me.
Perhaps it was fortunate that I couldn¡¯t read Yoo Sangah¡¯s mind.
Yoo Sangah moved even more efficiently than Lee Gilyoung and took the lives of the remaining people. Her fingertips trembled as the work finished.
¡°...Will we continue in this fashion?¡±
¡°Yes, probably.¡±
¡°I will do it in the future instead of Gilyoung.¡±
¡°Can you do it?¡±
¡°...There is no problem. It is just like breaking an egg.¡±
Yoo Sangah used an analogy as she pretended to be calm.
¡°I can do it better.¡± Lee Gilyoung grumbled, making Yoo Sangah ce a hand on his head.
There would be many twists and turns in the future. Sometimes we might feel like copsing or want to give up. But we had to ovee it.
Most of the Seven Kings we would soon meet would have higher stats than us and they would also possess unique skills. There would certainly be situations where we couldn¡¯t win without being hit by the enemies.
We silently picked up the items that the group dropped.
[You have earned 2,300 coins.]
[The item ¡®Dongui Bogam ¨C Various Diseases (Upper Half of the Body)¡¯ has been acquired.]
As expected, they were people who cleared the five person dungeon. A total of eight books were avable from the five person dungeon, each with different usages. I was sure there were a few people who cleared the five person dungeon so the others should be moderately easy to find.
Unfortunately, there was no ¡®king¡¯ in the group I just killed.
p p p.
Then the sound of pping was heard.
One of the men watching from the big bonfire approached me with a smile on his face. He showed no signs of panic despite the other group being wiped out.
I raised my item and warned them casually.
¡°What do you want?¡±
The man took one step back and raised both hands as if he had no intention of fighting.
¡°Uhh, calm down. I don¡¯t want to fight.¡±
I took a closer look at the man. There was arge spear on his back. The firm chest muscles were revealed by the clothes and his long hair was tied back.
¡°You have great skills. You don¡¯t seem to have any passive skills but you wiped out the Chungjeong group... those bastards, they are one of the groups that lost their king.¡±
Of course, that¡¯s why they came forward so recklessly.
¡°But you¡¯re a littlete. The major kings have all entered the dungeon. They will be busy fighting now. Well, the winner is almost decided but... thest king who passed through here was incredibly fierce.¡±
¡°Who is that?¡±
¡°Do you know the Tyrant King?¡± The man continued to speak. ¡°He is currently the most powerful king in northern Seoul. This is a story between those who already know. The owner of the Absolute Throne will surely be the Tyrant King.¡±
A person might think so if they saw the Tyrant King in person. The Tyrant King¡¯s armed force was certainly the top among the Seven Kings.
But it wasughable for him to be the owner of the Absolute Throne. The Tyrant King was strong but he wasn¡¯t the strongest among the Seven Kings.
As if reading my mind, the man opened his mouth.
¡°But I don¡¯t think so. I think that the Tyrant King will never be the owner of the Absolute Throne.¡±
¡°...Why do you think that?¡±
¡°I saw it myself. He has a strong power but he doesn¡¯t know how to handle people. A king must know the hearts of the people.¡±
The hearts of the people?
¡°My king is able to do that. It is why many incarnations follow him. I am sure that my king will be the master of the Absolute Throne.¡±
I followed the man¡¯s nce. The Big Dipper chapter consisted of seven entrances. Perhaps his king was moving in one of the passages.
¡°What is your point? Do you want us to join you?¡±
¡°Haha, that would be nice but you won¡¯t follow me just like that, right? I just want to make an offer. If you don¡¯t mind, why don¡¯t you ally with us?¡±
I realized why this man was still in the waiting room. This guy was a bait.
¡°Why should I?¡±
¡°The Tyrant King is very strong. I believe in my king but I don¡¯t think he can defeat the Tyrant King alone.¡±
In contrast to his loyalty, he was a very realistic guy. But he was a ¡®real¡¯ loyalist.
¡°Think about it. What will happen if we can¡¯t stop him from holding the legendary sword? What if he gets the Absolute Throne and controls all the kings in Seoul? Don¡¯t you think that you should stop this no matter what?¡±
I dimly remembered.
It didn¡¯t happen in the third regression but the ¡®Anti-Tyrant King Alliance¡¯ had formed many times in Ways of Survival.
Once again, the future had changed.
¡°You have a point.¡±
¡°That is why I¡¯m making this suggestion. Our group will soon be acting against the Tyrant King. We have already talked with several other kings. I don¡¯t know what group you belong to but you won¡¯t lose anything by joining us. You just need to give us a spoonful.¡±
It was exactly as he said. The problem was that the price of the spoonful was bigger than he thought...
The man took my silence as my eptance.
¡°If you are serious, you can meet our king and think about it. It is almost time for him to return to the waiting room... Oh, there he is.¡±
In fact, one of the seven doors opened and the group that entered the Big Dipper returned.
¡°King...¡±
The people standing at the door knelt down at once. Then the man in the centre of the crowd approached this side.
He was a clean shaven man. There was a brown club in his hands.
Wait. This guy, was it him?
Chapter 67 - Master of the Throne (4)
Episode 14 ¨C Master of the Throne (4)
The one-eyed man approached us. This was my first meeting with one of Seoul¡¯s Seven Kings.
Yoo Sangah talked in the group chat.
¨CDokja-ssi, this person is perhaps...
¨CYes, you¡¯re right.
I nodded to Yoo Sangah. It was impossible not to think of this person when seeing the appearance.
¨CBy the way, I don¡¯t understand.Even if the constetion is ¡®that person¡¯, why is the incarnation dressed like that?
¨CHis sympathy with the constetion seems to be high.The higher the sympathy rate, the more the incarnation is influenced by the lifestyle of the constetion.
¨CI should never cough in front of him.
The man with long hair tied back was bowing to the man approaching us.
¡°Your Majesty. You came.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°What happened?¡±
¡°Do I need to say it? Here.¡±
The one-eyed man pointed to his staff. There was a blue jewel avable from the Big Dipper embedded on it.
[Greedy Wolf Star].
The long-haired man admired it.
¡°Ohh...!¡±
Wasn¡¯t he quite good? Already gaining one star jewel...
The star jewels were the rewards of the Big Dipper chapter.
It was an item that increased overall stats by one level. It had a good effect on its own but the star jewels were meaningful when seven were collected.
It was because the jewels were the summoning material for the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
The one-eyed man looked at me. ¡°Who are these people?¡±
¡°They have just entered the Big Dipper chapter. Their abilities are quite good so I was thinking about getting them to join.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
The one-eyed man and I extended our hands to each other at the same time.
¡°I am Cha Sangkyung.¡±
¡°I am Kim Dokja.¡±
I shook his hand while activating a skill.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Cha Sangkyung
Age: 26 years old
Constetion Support: One-eyed Maitreya
Private Attribute: Pseudo Sect Founder (Hero), Maitreya King (Hero)
Exclusive Skills: Weapons Training Lv. 5, Mental Barrier Lv. 3, Eloquent Speech Lv. 3, Skillful Deception Lv. 3, False Prayer Lv. 1...
Stigma: Maitreya Promised Land Lv. 2, Law of Interest Lv. 2, Demonic Enemy Lv. 3
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 28, Strength Lv. 26, Agility Lv. 28, Magic Power Lv. 25.
Overall Evaluation: No one can be free in front of his ¡®eye¡¯ that gives insight into everything. Be careful not to cough in front of him.
+
It was regrettable that Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t here. If she saw this man in front of me, she would never speak nonsense about my sponsor again.
Cha Sangkyung said, ¡°I have a burden of seeing things. Can I look at you once?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Yes, he could try.
[The character ¡®Cha Sangkyung¡¯ has used Law of Interest Lv. 2!]
The stigma ¡®Law of Interest¡¯ was quite interesting among the investigation techniques in Ways of Survival. It didn¡¯t reveal the attributes window of the opponent but it was a skill that roughly gave information about the personality of the opponent. In other words, he would see a ¡®Easily fooled Demonic Enemy¡¯ if the person was ¡®good¡¯, while he would see a ¡®Back-stabbing Demonic Enemy¡¯ if the person was ¡®bad.¡¯ For example...
[The character ¡®Cha Sangkyung¡¯ has discovered that you are a demonic enemy that shouldn¡¯t be touched.]
It was like this.
¡°T-This?¡±
¡°King, why are you acting like this?¡±
[The character ¡®Cha Sangkyung¡¯ is greatly disturbed.]
Cha Sangkyung shouted with a pale face.
¡°D-Demonic enemy!¡±
¡°Huh? It can¡¯t be...¡±
At his words, the group members of the Maitreya King simultaneously looked at me. The atmosphere became tense when Cha Sangkyung urgently added.
¡°N-Nothing. I have made a mistake.¡±
¡°Huh? There¡¯s nothing?¡±
¡°Yes, it is nothing. Everyone back off.¡±
Indeed. He would be a fool to ignore the warning of the constetion. By the way, a demonic enemy that shouldn¡¯t be touched...
Maybe the One-eyed Maitreya didn¡¯t want to fight with me.
¡°Sigh... it isn¡¯t surprising.¡±
The dubious thing was the reaction of the long-haired man. It was momentary but there was an expression of ¡®regret¡¯ on his face.
¡°The n will start in one hour. I¡¯m looking forward to your participation despite being a bitte.¡±
Cha Sangkyung said before returning to his group members.
The first encounter with Gung Ye ended like this. (TL: Gung Ye had a slight mention earlier in the novel. He is a king who proimed himself a Buddha and became a tyrant who sentenced death to anyone opposing him, including his own wife)
The long-haired man said, ¡°Phew, it almost became a major event. I¡¯m d.¡±
¡°It is absurd to say that he is a king who knows the hearts of the people.¡±
¡°Haha, Gung Ye might be recorded as a tyrantter on but he was a good and wise king first. You never know what will happen in the future. History can change.¡±
I looked carefully at the long-haired man and asked, ¡°By the way, who are you?¡±
¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t introduced myself yet. I am Han Sooyoung. I am Cha Sangkyung¡¯s assistant.¡±
A man who supported the incarnation of Gung Ye. It was highly likely that he was attached to Gung Ye¡¯s side because of his sponsor.
Who was it? Perhaps it was a king? I immediately used a skill.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
...What?
¡°Um? What¡¯s wrong?¡±
I looked at the shamelessly speaking Han Sooyoung and couldn¡¯t helpughing. I see... now I knew who this person was.
¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just... I feel like you are a demonic enemy.¡±
¡°Haha, what do you mean?¡±
I could see Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes change strangely. Maybe at this moment, both of us were thinking the same thing. The question was who would pull out a sword first.
The doors of the waiting room started to open one by one.
¡°The kings areing!¡±
There was tension in the Maitreya group while several people in the waiting room started cheering.
I watched the kings walking out the door and asked Han Sooyoung.
¡°Are they on the same side?¡±
¡°Yes, they are all kings who promised to cooperate with us. From left to right, there is the ¡®Prudent King¡¯ Yoon Kiyoung and ¡®Fighting King¡¯ Kim Baekho Then thest one who came out is the ¡®Earth Dragon King¡¯ Gu Daesung.¡±
I remembered something when I heard this nickname.
The Prudent King and Fighting King. They were just like their nicknames. They had decent skills and stats but they were one stepckingpared to the Seven Kings.
The only one I needed to pay attention to was the Earth Dragon King Gu Daesung.
Gu Daesung discovered Cha Sangkyung and asked, ¡°You have alreadye out?
Fast.¡±
¡°You are a rude earthworm.¡±
¡°...Earthworm? Is that what you are calling my sponsor?¡±
Yoo Sangah was startled when she heard their words and whispered to me, ¡°That person, I think he has a good sponsor behind him.¡±
¡°...How do you know?¡±
¡°I heard the story that the king of Baekje was born from an earth dragon.¡±
¡°Earth dragon?¡±
¡°That¡¯s what they meant by ¡®earthworm.¡¯ The other kings are calling him the son of an earth dragon in a mocking manner.¡±
She was really amazing. She figured out the identity of Gu Daesung with this much information.
Yoo Sangah was right.
Earth Dragon King Gu Daesung. In my memories, he was one of Seoul¡¯s Seven Kings with thete King Gyeon Hwon as his sponsor.
¡°There are quite a few people with kings as a sponsor. Then the king we saw before...¡±
I nodded. In fact, it wasn¡¯t a coincidence that there were so many incarnations with a ¡®king¡¯ as their sponsor.
The situation would be simr in other areas, not just the Seoul Dome.
In Japan, there would be apetition between the three heroes including Oda Nobunaga. In the UK, there would be apetition between Richard the Lionheart or Henry VIII.
The world¡¯s greatest constetions would be preparing for a war over the Absolute Throne, raising their coordination with their incarnation to a breathtaking level.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is expecting the appearance of a new fable ss constetion.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is watching the situation with sweaty hands.
The other high-ranking constetions were also interested. It was natural. As I said before, the fourth scenario was an event for the greatest constetions of each country.
¡°Is everyone gathered?¡±
The kings soon gathered in the middle and gave a speech.
¡°Our enemy is the Tyrant King who entered the third door! The Tyrant King has already received two jewels from this dungeon and cowardly raided innocent kings. Some of the people present would¡¯ve lost a king to him.¡±
That¡¯s why this waiting room was a field of corpses.
Perhaps the Tyrant King killed two kings and took away their star jewels. It meant he would soon gather all seven star jewels...
¡°The new Seoul shouldn¡¯t be handed over to such a person. If he gets the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword and then takes the Absolute Throne, there will be endless grief and tragedy in Seoul!¡±
¡°Thus, the people have to fight! Get up right now! The kings here are all wise. The future will be fine no matter which of us bes the absolute king. We have to at least stop the worst king!¡±
¡°This will be a struggle for a righteous way of living! Take care! You will be great fighters taking your first step into a new history!¡±
The speech didn¡¯t have much substance but people became excited. Some people cheered, some sympathized while others were touched to tears. It was like they were real revolutionaries fighting for justice.
I looked at the scene alone.
Just one month ago, the people here had voted for a president. They did their duty and agreed to have private property through legitimate economic activities. All of a sudden, it felt like a dream.
In just one month, Seoul had returned to the kingdom days.
¡°Depart!¡±
Hundreds of people entered through the third door. Cha Sangkyung¡¯s group was at the back and we moved in line with them.
Our vision wavered before a giant tunnel appeared. It was a huge tunnel where the size couldn¡¯t be easily measured.
Han Sooyoung walked beside me and opened his mouth. ¡°This is so exciting. I feel like I¡¯m in a martial arts novel.¡±
¡°A martial arts novel?¡±
Han Sooyoung nodded with a meaningful smile. ¡°Why, don¡¯t you think it is like a martial arts novel? It is like a treasure map. The legendary sword is sleeping in the stone chamber and whoever obtains the sword shall be the best person in the world!¡±
Han Sooyoung spoke apanied by gestures seemed quite usible. It wouldn¡¯t be unbelievable if he was an actor.
¡°It is amon cliche in a martial arts novel, the treasure sword.¡±
¡°Oh, Dokja-ssi, do you read martial arts novels as well?¡±
It couldn¡¯t be missed when talking about genre fiction.
¡°I read quite a bit. By the way, there is amon development in these cliche novels.¡±
¡°Common development? What is it?¡±
¡°It turns out that the treasure map is a fake! This type of development.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes shook. ¡°This is interesting. What happens next?¡±
¡°It is an obvious story. The ¡®shadow¡¯ughs quietly and kills the people gathered because of the fake treasure.¡±
¡°Hoh... is that the current situation? Could someone be a shadow?¡±
I nodded and stated, ¡°It is a possibility although I don¡¯t like such obvious cliches.¡±
¡°Um? What does that mean?¡±
¡°To be honest, there are too many cliches like the treasure sword.
¡°Hmm... there are too many stories, making it bad?¡±
¡°For writers, I think it is a story thatcks distress.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression slightly hardened. ¡°Then what would Dokja-ssi do if you were the writer? What if you had to write about the treasure sword?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure. I am a ¡®reader¡¯ as my name suggests.¡±
¡°I think that a reader would do the same. Writing familiar cliches will give satisfaction to the readers.¡±
Yes, I thought he would say something like this. I smiled and asked, ¡°Who said this? You are speaking as a writer. I¡¯m not saying that cliches are bad. At the very least, a giarist shouldn¡¯t use it.¡±
¡°...giarist?¡±
¡°Yes, a giarist.¡±
It was funny to see Han Sooyoung¡¯s face change colours.
¡°Well, every story is simr. It is the details that are a bit different... Can it really be called giarism? Perhaps if Dokja-ssi is the writer¨D¡±
¡°Nope, I would do it differently.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyebrows twitched. ¡°...You would write it differently? How?¡±
¡°For example, like this.¡±
I raised Unbroken Faith and cut his neck. No blood was visible as his head fell down.
I added, ¡°Why are you hiding when it will be revealed anyway?¡±
Then Han Sooyoung¡¯s head spoke from where it was lying on the ground. ¡°How interesting. Kim Dokja.¡±
Chapter 68 - Master of the Throne (5)
Episode 14 ¨C Master of the Throne (5)
I picked up his severed head and asked, ¡°As expected, this is also an avatar. Han Sooyoung is your real name?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Han Sooyoung was the First Apostle as I thought. That damn giarist was always hiding like a coward.
¡°W-W-What is this guy?¡± People shouted with rm from all sides. There were confused voices and voices filled with betrayal. I stepped to one side with Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung. Of course, Han Sooyoung¡¯s talking head was still held in one hand.
¡°I was right. It is you who spread out the ¡®text novel.¡¯ Right?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right, I scattered the text version of your giarized novel.¡±
¡°...The revtion isn¡¯t giarized.¡±
¡°It is giarism. Did you write the original setting?¡±
¡°Don¡¯tpare my work to that rubbish.¡±
¡°You understand what I am saying and don¡¯t deny reading the original.¡±
Han Sooyoung red at me.
¡°Everyone, kill him! What are you doing?¡±
¡°A-A head is talking!¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression distorted. People were rmed by the turmoil but showed no signs of acting. In addition, they would soon have no room to worry about us. I smiled at Han Sooyoung.
¡°The cliche that you said will start soon.¡±
I waited and there was a burst of light. The rings of light moved, drawing lines of blood on the bodies of some people.
¡°What...?¡±
A person screamed as blood spurted from a body cut to pieces. The people in the back screamed and moved.
¡°Damn these guys!¡±
It was ck magic power that came from a strong presence approaching in front of me.
¡°Raise the pnquin.¡±
The neutral voice came from therge pnquin. There was the shadow of someone inside the pnquin. I reflexively shouted.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, Gilyoung! Move back!¡±
A voice flowed from the pnquin.
¡°Move.¡±
The pnquin started to approach the group of people. The three rings of light mercilessly swept over the battlefield. Dozens of people died at once.
People stared with disbelief as their limbs disappeared and blood spurted. The start of the battle lines instantly became bare.
¡°Uwah...¡±
The terrified group members retreated. In the seething silence, everyone shut their mouths like dead mice.
The Tyrant King walked out of the pnquin.
¡°They really aren¡¯t very good. The kings of the previous age...¡±
He held the Three Ring Loop in his hand, an item that released condensed magic power. It was a hidden item avable in northern Seoul but it wasn¡¯t something the original Tyrant King had.
It must be true that he had some prophets.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Jung Youngho
Age: 33 years old.
Constetion Support: Great King Heoncheon Hongdo Gyungmun Wimu
Private Attribute: Circus Member (Rare), Tyrant King (Hero)
Exclusive Skills: Grabbing Techniques Lv. 5, Sky Steps Lv. 3, Weapons Training Lv. 5.
Stigma: Pnquin Tank Lv. 5, Cheoyongmu Lv. 5, Tyranny (Lv. 4) (TL: Cheoyongmu is a Korean mask dance that is the oldest surviving Korean court dance. It is also considered a shamanistic dance because it is performed to drive off evil spirits at the end of the year.)
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 30, Strength Lv. 28, Agility Lv. 28, Magic Power Lv. 34 (+2)
Overall Evaluation: The worst tyrant on the Korean Penins has met disgruntled citizens. Small citizens dissatisfied with the social system won¡¯t ignore the opportunities he gives them.
* ¡®Starter Pack¡¯ is currently applied.
* A growth package is currently applied.
* The New Scenarios package is currently applied.
+
The attributes window made sense. He was so strong because he used three packages. He also had a constetion who liked to walk dangerously on a tightrope.
An aura covered his entire body.
The Tyrant King was raising his sympathy with his sponsor to the limit. Several dokkaebis, including Bihyung, were staring at him from the air. They were prepared to make a ¡®usibility request¡¯ at any time if he vited ¡®usibility.¡¯
¡°I certainly was a tyrant. But I am no longer a tyrant.¡±
The Tyrant King, Great King Heoncheon Hongdo Gyungmun Wimu.
¡°History isn¡¯t scary. It is because from today onwards, I will make a new history for thisnd.¡±
The top tyrant of the Korean penins who wasn¡¯t recorded as a ¡®king¡¯ in history.
¡°I am Yeonsangun (born Lee Yung)!¡± (TL: Yeonsangung is considered the worst tyrant of the Joseon Dynasty, perhaps al of Korean history, notorious forunching two bloody purges of pce officials. Once overthrown, he didn¡¯t receive a temple name. Temple name exnation link. )
A tremendous magic power emerged from the Tyrant King as sympathy with the sponsor reached its limit.
The group members in the way exploded. Level 30 magic power was inserted in the Three Ring Loop. It was very dangerous.
¡°Don¡¯t back down!¡±
¡°Everyone fight!¡±
However, the Anti-Tyrant King Alliance was also unbelievable. Apart from the other kings, there was also the Maitreya King and the Earth Dragon King.
Once the kings united, the disadvantages were gradually reduced. The other kings raised the sympathy with their sponsor close to the limit. It wasn¡¯t just the incarnations, the constetions were also desperate.
I looked down at Han Sooyoung¡¯s head and asked, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to fight?¡±
Han Sooyoungughed at my words.
¡°Laughing? I guess you still have room to spare,¡± I said.
¡°You... do you think it will go as you nned? Yeonsangun and the other kings have started to fight. Once they are exhausted, you will be able to take the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. Right?¡±
It was pretty close.
¡°But it won¡¯t work! Your act of spreading the text was quite good but I have been preparing for today much longer than you.¡±
¡°What nonsense are you saying?¡±
¡°In the end, the cliche will win.¡±
The voice of the intermediate dokkaebi was heard in the air.
[Huhu, everyone is fighting well. Great constetions, are you desperate? I see. The incarnations and constetions should work hard. Does everyone want to go up another narrative ss?]
The battlefield quieted down at the dokkaebi¡¯s voice.
[That¡¯s why I¡¯ve brought good news. From now on, the second qualification test will begin!]
+
[King¡¯s Qualification]
1. ¡¸ The owner of the throne should be braver than anyone else. ¡¹
-The Absolute Throne never wants a ¡®weak king.¡¯ To challenge the throne, you must own at least a ck g.
2. ¡¸ He who dreams of the throne must desire it. ¡¹
-The number of ¡®kings¡¯ that can challenge the throne is decided. In order to gain the right to challenge it, you must remove the other kings around you.
+
The intermediate dokkaebiughed.
[Please note that only five kings can challenge the final qualification of the Absolute Throne. The remaining number is... let¡¯s see.]
[Number of kings remaining: 14.]
The people started murmuring.
¡°F-Fourteen?¡±
¡°Are there still kings outside?¡±
[For your reference, there are 12 kings currently inside the hidden dungeon.]
I was a bit surprised. There was so many kings in this dungeon. Well, I didn¡¯t think I would be the only ¡®hidden¡¯ king.
¡°Who is it? Who is the king that is hiding?¡±
The Tyrant Kingughed at the confused people.
¡°Hahaha! It is very funny that you are hitting each other in the back of the head!¡±
¡°Now isn¡¯t the time to fight among ourselves! We must pay attention to the Tyrant King!¡±
It happened when the kings barely regained their sense of reason.
¡°Here! This guy is the king!¡± Han Sooyoung¡¯s head shouted to everyone. ¡°I saw it! He has a g!¡±
¡°What?¡±
This was really...
I quickly trampled on Han Sooyoung¡¯s head. Everyone¡¯s attention focused on me. It was the moment when the death of one of the ¡®remaining kings¡¯ was decided.
¡°If we kill him...¡±
I felt it was cheap. The giarist¡¯s plot was too shallow. Wait a minute, perhaps?
...How interesting. Was it like that?
I focused on the people secretly moving behind the kings. They were the loyal subjects that the kings cherished.
¡°Cough...!¡±
The thin knife cut off the head of a king.
[The number of remaining kings has been reduced.]
[Number of kings remaining: 12.]
The Prudent King and Fighting King were exhausted, while the Maitreya King and Earth Dragon King were hit hard by the surprise attack. Even the Tyrant King was stabbed in the side and thighs by three men from behind.
¡°These damn people...!¡±
I realized who was behind this. The humans who betrayed their kings didn¡¯t bleed when their heads were cut off. The gems of the fallen kings were quickly taken by someone.
¡°The jewel! My jewel!!¡±
The star jewels were moved through the hands of the hidden ¡®avatars¡¯ and gathered in one person¡¯s hands.
¡°I told you. In the end, the cliche won.¡±
A beautiful girl moved through the air andughed as shended on a niche. Surely this wasn¡¯t the main body of the giarist writer?
...I hadn¡¯t expected a woman.
The seven jewels gathered in her hands emitted light.
[The Fake King Han Sooyoung has gathered all seven star jewels!]
[The seven star jewels are sacrificed to summon a new item.]
[Fake King Han Sooyoung is summoning the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword!]
In the end, the giarist writer became the master of the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
She was the Fake King. It was an attribute that matched amazingly well.
¡°Dokja-ssi. What should we do?¡±
¡°It is still okay.¡±
Yoo Sangah made a strange face at my se words.
¡°Is it okay to be so calm? That is a great item.¡±
That¡¯s right. The S+ grade item was great. But Yeonsangun¡¯s Three Ring Loop was also a S-grade item. The performance was a bit different but it wasn¡¯t that bad.
¡°Hahahahat! Die! Die!¡±
A dazzling magic power poured out of the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword and swept through the battlefield. However, people didn¡¯t die easily. People thought they were going to explode but they managed to neutralize her magic power.
Her magic power was weakened because she used a lot of avatars and above all, the three main kings were still alive.
The confused Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°W-What is this? Why is it so weak?¡±
¡°Kill her! Kill her and take away that sword!¡±
¡°U-Uwaaah! Back off! Back off!¡±
It turned out like this. Han Sooyoung was pushed back to where my party was located. I said to her, ¡°The cliche has broken.
This is what usually happens.¡±
¡°Shut up!¡±
¡°Do you want me to help you?¡±
¡°No need!¡±
Han Sooyoung cried out and waved her sword again. But she seemed to be getting pushed back. I wanted to say something to this silly girl. The weapon wasn¡¯t famous because it was strong, but because the original owner was strong.
¡°I will kill you!¡±
The Tyrant King recovered his confidence and started attacking, while the other kings started to fight as well.
The battle soon became a melee with no allies. By the way, it should be time for him toe...
Was he still wandering? The northern region of Seoul was far but it was enough time for him to return.
[Number of kings remaining: 11.]
The signboard in the air changed.
[Number of kings remaining: 10.]
Ah, indeed.
[Number of kings remaining: 9.]
He came.
¡°W-What?¡±
¡°Why is the number dwindling suddenly?¡±
The surrounding kings were filled with fear. The number of kings started decreasing for an unknown reason.
[Number of kings remaining: 8.]
The fear of the kings¡¯ reached the limit as the number decreased to one digit.
¡°There is someone. Someone is killing the kings!¡±
On the other hand, there was someone rejoicing.
The Tyrant King.
¡°Hahaha! Who cares? You will also die!¡±
The Tyrant King was about to fire the Three Ring Loop again when the ceiling copsed and the Tyrant King fell.
Kwaaaaang!
A formidable storm of magic power struck and the Tyrant King screamed painfully. The enormous storm of magic power that disassembled all living things into particles destroyed the Tyrant King¡¯s body.
¡°Uhh...ahhh...uwaaack!¡±
Then.
[Number of kings remaining: 7.]
Only the cold appearance of a person remained in front of them. The people close to the unusual scene trembled and flopped down.
¡°W-What? What is this?¡±
A man had killed the Tyrant King in a single blow, like he was a bug. The explosion cleared and his appearance was gradually revealed. The surviving kings and dying kings, everyone looked at him with captivation.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s legs shook with fear and she retreated.
¡°Nonsense... this is nonsense!¡±
The words of her avatar suddenly came to mind. The strongest among the Seven Kings in Seoul was the Tyrant King. I previously thought so but these words weren¡¯t true.
So far, I had met five out of the Seven Kings, including Han Donghoon who didn¡¯t be a king because of the prophets.
Hermit King of Shadows, Han Donghoon.
King of Beauty, Min Jiwon.
The Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung.
Earth Dragon King Gu Daesung.
Tyrant King Jung Youngho.
Apart from the Neutral King, who hadn¡¯t appeared yet, there was still one person.
Then who was the remaining person? The answer was simple. In fact, I met him before any other kings.
A furious voice rang through the battlefield.
¡°Kim Dokja...¡±
I smiled and waved towards him. Arge ck g flew behind the person heading towards me.
¡°You came...¡±
Of the Seven Kings of Seoul, the strongest was naturally the Supreme King, Yoo Jonghyuk.
Chapter 69 - Master of the Throne (6)
Episode 14 ¨C Master of the Throne (6)
Nevertheless, a main character was a main character. I sent him to Gangbuk Station but he already had a ck g.
If a non-representative took away the g of a representative, the hidden scenario ¡®Revolutionary Road¡¯ would open. He knew this and killed a representative on the way here, making him a king.
Looking at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s current appearance, it seemed like Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon did a good job.
I took a few steps back and looked at Han Sooyoung. ¡°Hey, quickly give me that sword.¡±
¡°I-I don¡¯t want to.¡±
¡°Do you want to die here?¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes were shaken as Yoo Jonghyuk moved. I eximed, ¡°Gilyoung!¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s eyes turned white like he had been waiting. I heard a tearing sound and something pounding on the dungeon.
Then after a while. The sickle of a praying mantis flew through one wall.
[The 6th grade insect king, Titanoptera has appeared!]
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s ability was the best. The whole cave shook with the enormous power of the giant insect king. As Yoo Jonghyuk looked back, I struck Han Sooyoung.
¡°A-Ack...!¡±
Han Sooyoung groaned and let go of the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. I picked up the sword as well as the g hanging from Han Sooyoung¡¯s neck as a bonus.
[You have won the g of the ¡®Hongik University¡¯ group.]
[Your purple g has absorbed the cumtive achievements of the ck g.]
[Your purple g has evolved into a ck g.]
[You are able to use the perks of the ck g.]
[Congrattions! You havepleted the first king¡¯s qualification.]
[Number of kings remaining: 6.]
I ran straight towards the Tyrant King. The Tyrant King was lying down between a pile of stones, his body crushed like dough. It was terrible. He tried to kill everyone only to die in vain like this.
Han Sooyoung shouted from behind me. ¡°You thief!¡±
I ignored her and quickly swept up the Tyrant King¡¯s items.
[The item ¡®Three Ring Loop¡¯ has been acquired.]
[The item ¡®Dragon Jar¡¯ has been acquired.]
The revival ¡®Dragon Jar.¡¯ The Tyrant King obtained it by clearing the seven person dungeon.
¡°...Kim Dokja!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was chasing after me at a scary speed. Despite the fact that I had 30 agility, he narrowed the distance to me in an instant. I looked around and hid behind the nearest king.
¡°W-What?¡±
It was the king of Later Baekje, Gu Daesung.
¡°Kuaaaak!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s relentless blow cracked his head while Yoo Jonghyuk obtained his g.
[The constetion ¡®Founder of Hannamgun¡¯ is looking at you.]
I felt sorry for Gyeon Hwon but it couldn¡¯t be helped. I promised to make it up to him next time.
At this time, I decided to stop running away.
¡°Jonghyuk, stop for a minute. Let¡¯s talk.¡±
¡°That note...¡±
¡°The note?¡±
¡°My sister.¡±
It was only two words but I instantly understood. Fortunately, Lee Jihye handled things safely. The note was given to Yoo Jonghyuk at the right time.
¡°What about your sister?¡±
¡°Where did you hide my sister?¡±
¡°What are you talking about?¡±
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk is currently using Lie Detection Lv. 6.]
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk has confirmed that your words are false.]
¡°If you don¡¯t tell me right away, you really will die.¡±
I knew it was true even without Lie Detection. The reason why Yoo Jonghyuk was like this was entirely due to my plot.
I drove him to go north to save his sister, causing him to waste time searching the north. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s less worn-out personality in this third regression made the n possible.
It couldn¡¯t be helped, even if I was acting cowardly. If Yoo Jonghyuk, who was much stronger than the original third regression, ignored everything and engaged in the war of kings, this scenario would¡¯ve ended at his pace.
Then I would never get the ending that I wanted.
¡°...Okay. Let¡¯s put the sword down and talk. What if I was a real jerk?¡±
¡°Are you taking my family hostage?¡±
¡°That¡¯s going overboard. Isn¡¯t that just your words?¡±
The concept of a hostage didn¡¯t exist for him in the first ce. This guy could just die and go back.
¡°Then why did you do this?¡±
¡°Why do you think¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk noticed that I was buying time and his expression cooled. ¡°I should¡¯ve killed you at that time... then die.¡±
The moment that Yoo Jonghyuk raised his sword, a voice was heard from the air.
[Everyone here, please calm down. Why are you still fighting? Let¡¯s see, you¡¯ve met the qualifications.]
The intermediate dokkaebi appeared at this moment.
Yoo Jonghyuk also confirmed the number board floating in the air.
[Number of kings remaining: 5.]
[The ¡®Last King¡¯s Qualification¡¯ has begun.]
The bodies of the remaining kings, including me and Yoo Jonghyuk, started to be forcibly moved through space.
¡°Kim Dok...!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk reached out for me but it was toote.
I finally reached thest phase of this scenario.
[The qualified kings will move to the final testing ce.]
Thendscape started changing. It felt like my body was being sucked somewhere else. The next moment, tung! There was the sound of me bumping my head against something. A momentter, I became conscious again.
[You aren¡¯t qualified to take past in the ¡®Last King¡¯s Qualifications.]
...What?
I looked around and saw that I was standing in the centre of Gwanghwamun. I had bumped into a barrier the size of a schoolyard. The centre contained the Absolute Throne, thest reward of this scenario.
Why couldn¡¯t I enter?
[Hahahat! This, this! You were only looking at the big picture and missed something important!]
I looked up at the sound ofughter and saw the ridiculing face of the intermediate dokkaebi. I thought he was ying tricks on me but then an unexpected message shed.
[You have failed to upy the ¡®target station¡¯ of the fourth scenario.]
[You must first take the target station to be qualified for the ¡®Last King¡¯s Qualifications¡¯.]
[Your group¡¯s target station is Changsin Station.]
Ah... I was only thinking about the kings and forgot. I hadn¡¯t upied it yet.
[Thest phase can¡¯t be performed unless the previous phase is cleared properly. Did you think you could get away with it?]
There was already fighting going on inside the barrier. If this continued, everything I had done would be in vain. I thought I should run to Changsin Station before it was toote.
By the way... damn. Wouldn¡¯t all the scenarios end if I ran there?
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Yoo Sangah was rushing over here while carrying the copsed Lee Gilyoung. But there were more people with them. Huh?
¡°Heewon-ssi?¡±
Jung Heewon ran to this side while holding the hands of a unknown girl.
¡°Is my brother really here?¡± The girl asked.
¡°Yes. How many times do I have to say it?¡±
¡°But I¡¯m hungry.¡±
Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t supposed to be here right now. After saving a girl from the Gangbuk area of Seoul, she should wait at Changshin Station. That was Jung Heewon¡¯s job in this scenario.
¡°Heewon-ssi, why are you here? I told you to wait at Changsin Station...¡±
¡°No, how long was I waiting? Besides, she has been hungry since morning. Aren¡¯t you worried about your sister?¡±
At Jung Heewon¡¯s words, the girl pointed to me and said, ¡°That person isn¡¯t my brother.¡±
¡°Eh?¡±
¡°He is uglier than my brother.¡±
Damn kid. Jung Heewon was surprised as she looked between me and the girl. ¡°Eh? This isn¡¯t Dokja-ssi¡¯s sister? I thought that was why you asked me to save her.¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Then who is it?¡±
It was natural for Jung Heewon not to know. Who would think this girl would be the psychopath¡¯s sister?
I heard a growling sound from the girl¡¯s stomach. I listened to the sound andughter emerged.
...Would my perfect n copse here?
¡°Dokja-ssi, where are you going?¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to upy Changsin Station.¡±
I had to challenge it, even if I waste. I wish there was a long-distance teleport scroll but the intermediate dokkaebi wouldn¡¯t let me open the Dokkaebi Bag.
Then Jung Heewon looked at me and opened her mouth. ¡°Why would you go there?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Kid, bring that thing out. Didn¡¯t I give it to you before?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sister, Yoo Mia put her hand in her mouth. After a moment, her mouth became abnormallyrge and an unusual sized stone emerged. It was Yoo Mia¡¯s exclusive skill, Inventory. I moved towards the chunk of stone.
¡°What is this?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡±
I examined the rough surface of the stone. Then I saw a small groove that could hold something.
...I never thought of this. Was this method possible? No one had tried this in Ways of Survival.
Jung Heewon shamelessly said, ¡°Don¡¯t you need the gpole to upy the station?¡±
What type of ignorant human would think up an idea like this? Jung Heewon had cut up the floor that contained the g holder of Changshin Station.
[The constetion ¡®Adventurer who Stands Up an Egg¡¯ admires Jung Heewon¡¯s idea.]
I tried to say something but fell silent.
¡°Why, is something wrong?¡±
¡°...No.¡±
¡°Then what are you doing? Go ahead and insert the g.¡±
I nodded and pulled out the g.
[You have upied Changsin Station.]
[You have earned 2,000 coins as a reward for ¡®Struggle for the g.¡¯]
I really did it.
[Your group has upied the target station.]
[Your body has moved to the battlefield of the ¡®Last King¡¯s Qualification.¡¯]
My consciousness flickered again. A message popped up as a king¡¯s qualification was added.
+
[King¡¯s Qualification]
1. ¡¸ The owner of the throne should be braver than anyone else. ¡¹
-The Absolute Throne never wants a ¡®weak king.¡¯ To challenge the throne, you must own at least a ck g.
2. ¡¸ He who dreams of the throne must desire it. ¡¹
-The number of ¡®kings¡¯ that can challenge the throne is decided. In order to gain the right to challenge it, you must remove the other kings around you.
3. ¡¸ A single king stands alone without any help. ¡¹
-The king who can challenge the throne must be able to prove his strength was just his body.
+
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is calmly watching the situation.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is cheering for the upper-grade constetions.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ isughing.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ scoffs at the upper-grade constetions.]
The constetions had opposite reactions unlike other times. It was because the constetions had different ranks.
The gap between upper-grade and narrative-grave was like the difference between a child and an adult.
That¡¯s why the reaction of the constetions watching the broadcast differed. Like adults not paying attention to a child¡¯s game of hide-and-seek, this scenario was meaningless for constetions above narrative-grade.
But the upper-grade constetions were different.
In this scenario, the triumphant upper-grade constetion would climb to the absolute throne and build up their ¡®story.¡¯ This was why the upper-grade constetions were impatient once the King¡¯s Qualification scenario began.
I opened my eyes and the King¡¯s Battlefield began.
[From now on, all kings can¡¯t receive the support of their sponsor.
[From now on, the attack and defense of all items will be limited.]
[From now on, all skills, stigmas and special item options will be sealed.]
[From now on, the total stats of all kings will change to 10/10/10/10/10.]
[The Last King¡¯s Qualification will continue until one person is left.]
Chapter 70 - A Kingless World (1)
Episode 15 ¨C A Kingless World (1)
Thest king¡¯s test. It was an extreme trial that had to be ovee with your body only.
The floor of Gwanghwamun was a mess. The Absolute Throne was in the centre while the kings were fighting each other.
King of Beauty, Min Jiwon.
The Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung.
Supreme King Yoo Jonghyuk.
Then the middle-aged man in the corner... He was the Neutral King. The Neutral King raised his hands as he met my eyes.
[The Neutral King has abstained from fighting for the throne.]
As the name suggested, the Neutral King wasn¡¯t greedy for the throne. Only the remaining three were greedy.
One of the three was Yoo Jonghyuk so the fight should¡¯ve ended in less than a minute. At least, if it was the original story.
¡°Die!¡±
Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung¡¯s leg split apart the air while Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s kick struck Cha Sangkyung¡¯s abdomen.
¡°Kuk!¡±
However, Cha Sangkyung wasn¡¯t as damaged as expected. It was because all stats were changed to level 10. The skills were sealed so Yoo Jonghyuk had to win the battle with just his flesh memories.
Min Jiwon looked behind them and saw me. I nodded slightly at her.
¡°We meet again.¡±
¡°...Yes. I didn¡¯t want to fight you if possible.¡±
Min Jiwon must¡¯ve filled the other king¡¯s qualifications if she came to this ce. It was great. I honestly didn¡¯t think she could survive until the end.
¡°If you don¡¯t abstain, I will attack.¡±
¡°Try it. Do you think it will be easy?¡±
We have to fight with all our stats at level 10 with no skills or no stigma. It was too shabbypared to the kings who broke the city while fighting a while ago.
There was a loud noise and Cha Sangkyung screamed, ¡°Cough! W-Why...?¡±
Cha Sangkyung rolled around painfully on the floor after being struck by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fist. It had been an equal fight until then but something was changing little by little.
Skills and stigmas couldn¡¯t be used but Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s attacks were getting faster and harder. It wasn¡¯t merely Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯sbat sense.
Min Jiwon became surprised as she noticed.
¡°...How?¡±
If I remembered correctly, Yoo Jonghyuk knew the loophole of thest phase. Maybe these messages were currently rising in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mind.
[400 coins have been invested in physique.]
[400 coins have been invested in agility.]
[400 coins have been invested in strength.]
The funny thing was that this battlefield controlled everything except for one factor. It was the use of the coins.
[The constetion ¡® Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ questions the fairness of the scenario.]
The intermediate dokkaebiughed.
[Haha, what is your question? It is a natural right to be able to use coins. The ¡®coins¡¯ are the hard-earned work of the incarnations. They worked so hard to gather coins that they should have a chance to use it.]
Yoo Jonghyuk was raising his stats using his coins.
[Oh, the stats increased with the coins will be reset after the scenario is over. So be careful! It is like throwing away coins into the air! Hahahat!]
Min Jiwon and Cha Sangkyung¡¯splexions darkened once they heard the words of the intermediate dokkaebi. Perhaps they didn¡¯t have much coins remaining. It was natural. They wouldn¡¯t be able to save coins in the battlefield between kings.
But Yoo Jonghyuk was different. Yoo Jonghyuk grew by breaking through all types of hidden scenarios from the beginning and always carried an appropriate amount of coins in reserve.
The original third round Yoo Jonghyuk had around 30,000 coins at this point. Now he had more coins than the original story so... it should be around 40,000?
There was the loud sound of somebody being hit and Cha Sangkyung¡¯s body flew through the air.
[The Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung is out ofbat.]
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at the nearby Min Jiwon. She jumped with surprised and hurriedly raised both hands.
¡°...I will abstain.¡±
[¡¯King of Beauty¡¯ Min Jiwon has abstained from the battle.]
Finally, Yoo Jonghyuk turned towards me. His angry eyes calmed down. It was understandable. If he took the Absolute Throne, he could control all kings and it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to get his sister back from me.
But would that happen?
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
We aimed out swords at each other. I couldn¡¯t use any skills so I had to rely on my flesh memories and my stats.
For the first time, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s de was visible. It must be a fake. He was estimating my stats and how much coins I had left.
He was truly a prudent person. It was a trick to win by investing the minimum amount of coins.
However, his pride would cause his defeat this time. It was because there wasn¡¯t any king in Seoul who had more coins than me right now.
[Coins Possessed: 80,850 C]
Who would think that I had 80,000 coins? Iughed at Yoo Jonghyuk who was running towards me.
¡°I¡¯ll hit you gently so please don¡¯t die.¡±
Now was the time to spend big. I invested arge number of coins into ¡®strength.¡¯
[4,000 coins have been invested in strength.]
[Strength Lv. 10 -> Strength Lv. 20]
[5,000 coins have been invested in strength.]
[Strength Lv. 20 -> Strength Lv. 30]
[6,000 coins have been invested in strength.]
[Strength Lv. 30 -> Strength Lv. 40]
.
.
[11,000 coins have been invested in strength.]
[Strength Lv. 80 -> Strength Lv. 90]
[12,000 coins have been invested in strength.]
[Strength Lv. 90 -> Strength Lv. 100]
[72,000 coins have been consumed.]
[Your ¡®strength¡¯ has broken through the limits of a human.]
[The achievement has been processed! You are the first to achieve a three digit level in strength.]
[30,000 coins have been acquired as a reward.]
I adjusted the power in my fist. A strike containing 100 strength was enormous. It would be difficult if I identally killed Yoo Jonghyuk.
I felt the space around my fist bend slightly. ording to Ways of Survival, all stats had different destructive power from the moment they broke through the three digits.
How did it feel? Of course, it felt like I was a killer. It felt like my fist was holding a check for a billion won.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes widened as he hurriedly used coins. However, it was toote. There was a sound like a sonic boom.
Yoo Jonghyuk shot into the sky like a baseball being hit by a bat.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to hit a home room in this stadium. The flying Yoo Jonghyuk hit a barrier, bounced in the opposite direction and hit another barrier andnded on the ground after repeating this ping-pong action five or six times.
...Surely he wasn¡¯t dead? I ran towards Yoo Jonghyuk with a bit of confusion in my heart.
Damn, why did I do this? I should¡¯ve used a bit less strength. I carefully pulled Yoo Jonghyuk off the ground. Then.
Ah, this was a main character. Yoo Jonghyuk was staring at me with wide open eyes. He was still conscious despite being hit by a punch filled with 100 strength?
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°...¡±
His eyes didn¡¯t move. This bastard, did he faint with his eyes open? Did I hit him that hard? No, I would have to keep hitting Yoo Jonghyuk in the future.
¡°Wel;, yo will be in trouble if you keep acting as usual. How can you say to kill me every time you see me?¡±
I pped his swollen face. Somehow, I felt his eyes move whenever I hit him, causing my to feel nervous...
In any case, he was breathing. The bones in his body were broken and he was bleeding...
It was a situation where he couldn¡¯t use the Recovery skill so his life could be in danger.
I had to do my work quickly.
[Supreme King Yoo Jonghyuk is out ofbat.]
[Congrattions! You have passed all the tests of the Absolute Throne.]
The ward in the air slowly disappeared.
[The temporary stats added by the coins are reset.]
[All constraints on the kings have disappeared.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has his hair standing up from excessive carbonic acid.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ apuds your actions.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ admires your patience.]
[4,500 coins have been sponsored.]
I also heard the messages of the upper-grade constetions.
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is regretful.]
[The constetion ¡®One-eyed Maitreya¡¯ has thrown away his eyepatch.]
[The constetion ¡®Founder of Hannamgun¡¯ feels a grudge towards you.]
Of course, the kings of the three kingdoms med me. Thanks to me, they missed an opportunity to jump to the ¡®narrative¡¯ grade.
[...Oh, a surprising winner has appeared.]
The intermediate dokkaebi looked somewhat dissatisfied. He hadn¡¯t expected me to win. Yet I had won.
[Well... good. This is the result. Now, I am informing all incarnations of Seoul. Just now, a new owner of the Absolute Throne was born!]
I stopped the intermediate dokkaebi who was about tounch the system messages.
¡°Wait a minute.¡±
[...What do you want?]
The dokkaebi¡¯s eyebrows twitched.
¡°You are too hasty. I haven¡¯t even sat on the throne yet. Shouldn¡¯t you ask me first?¡±
[You will go up now so does it matter?]
I approached the Absolute Throne. At this moment, I felt all constetions observing the Seoul Dome focus on me.
The Absolute Throne floating in the sky slowly descended towards me. It showed off its golden charm like it had been waiting for me for a long time.
I asked the intermediate dokkaebi, ¡°What can I do with this?¡±
[You can do anything to humans.]
It was short but scary.
[The Absolute Throne is just the name of the item. As long as you sit on the throne, you can be an omnipotent power. No one on this earth can stand against you and everyone will bow before you!]
The people looked at me enviously after hearing the dokkaebi¡¯s exnation.
It was natural to envy me. Everybody had run to this ce for this reason.
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is licking her lips.]
Even the constetions...
It was really pitiful and strange. They felt envious despite knowing the real identity of the item. I really disliked the constetions.
¡°Is that all?¡±
[...Huh?]
¡°It is too good that it is ridiculous. I will enjoy absolute power on thend that I control.¡±
[Isn¡¯t it right to receive a reward in return for suffering? How many times have you almost died due to the throne...?]
¡°Ah, so the throne can act beyond the constraints of usibility?¡±
[What?]
¡°You are good at lying. Aren¡¯t you a dokkaebi? Won¡¯t the Bureau say something if you scam me like this?¡±
The expression of the intermediate dokkaebi hardened. On the other side, Bihyung was looking at me with a pale face. [I am tired of this talk.
I have to finish the scenario. Now sit on the throne. If you talk nonsense one more time, I will break the Absolute Throne.]
¡°...Ah, you can do that? Then go ahead.¡±
[Huh?]
I looked at the dokkaebi and the people staring before opening my mouth.
¡°I will never sit on this Absolute Throne.¡±
A terrible silence swept through Gwanghwamun.
Chapter 71 - A Kingless World (2)
Episode 15 ¨C A Kingless World (2)
There was the sound of thunder in the sky and it started to rain. Light rose from the Absolute Throne to touch the sky. Thick rain clouds swirled around this light. It was a sign of the fifth scenario, the Great Hall.
The intermediate dokkaebi opened his mouth amidst the rain.
[...What did you say just now?]
¡°The throne, I won¡¯t ept it.¡±
[I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re doing such a thing. Don¡¯t you think it will benefit you to gain more coins at this time? Didn¡¯t you just use a lot of coins? You should be rewarded. If you don¡¯t have the power of the Absolute Throne, the Seoul Dome will never survive the fifth scenario.]
The people in Gwanghwamun screamed at me once they heard the dokkaebi¡¯s words.
¡°What? What are you thinking?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be stupid and sit down quickly!¡±
¡°Damn, I will sit...!¡±
The dokkaebi kept talking like he thought it was going his own way.
[That throne can give you what you want. Just sitting on the throne will build up your ¡®narrative¡¯ and the sponsor you have contracted with will rise. Don¡¯t you know what this means?]
In fact, I could hear the outcry of the constetions in my ears.
[The constetion ¡®Adventurer who Stands Up an Egg¡¯ wants to be your sponsor.]
[The constetion ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil¡¯ wants to be your sponsor.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
The intermediate dokkaebi continued to speak in a cold voice.
[I will warn you in advance. I¡¯m not like the low level dokkaebis. Don¡¯t think that flimsy tricks will work on me.]
I looked at the Absolute Throne. As the dokkaebi said, the fifth scenario would be difficult to clear without the Absolute Throne.
However, I knew what the dokkaebi wasn¡¯t saying. If I used this ¡®Absolute Throne¡¯ once, I would never be able to reach the end of the scenarios. In the original work, Yoo Jonghyuk noticed this only at the 14th regression.
The ¡®Absolute Throne¡¯ was such an item.
¡°Why aren¡¯t you bing king?¡±
An agitated person appeared among the crowd. The man breathed out and spat at me like I insulted him.
I turned towards the man. ¡°That is what I want to ask. Why do you want me to be king?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°What will you do if I kill you after you be king?¡±
The lips of the man stiffened for a moment. I continued watching the people around us. ¡°All of you are the same. Have you already forgotten? We originally didn¡¯t live in a kingdom. Why are you acting like citizens of a kingdom?¡±
Why didn¡¯t I want to be king? It was simple.
¡°I don¡¯t want to be the king of ugly humans like you.¡± I looked up at the sky while speaking. ¡°In addition, I don¡¯t want ugly constetions like you to be my sponsor.¡±
Then I looked at the throne.
¡°Thus, I will never sit on the Absolute Throne. But.¡± I pulled out my de. ¡°I won¡¯t allow other people to sit on the throne.¡±
Once someone sat down, it meant that no one else could sit. The intermediate dokkaebi¡¯s cold eyes shed.
[You should be careful. I¡¯m not that patient...]
I continued to speak as I stared at the dokkaebi.
¡°How long will you continue to be drawn helplessly into the dokkaebi¡¯s scenarios? Does anyone know what it means to sit on the Absolute Throne?¡±
I knew how much the people who were once ¡®obedient¡¯ would pay to leave this obedience.
¡°The constetions of the Korean penins. It is the same for you. I know that not all constetions are the same. Some constetions are low and some are high.¡±
There was an invisible rank among constetions.
Just as some constetions watched the incarnations, other constetions watched the constetions. To be precise, the low constetions were the ones being watched.
¡°But is it enough now? How long will you turn thisnd into a yground for unhappy guests?¡±
[The constetion ¡®One-eyed Maitreya¡¯ is immersed.]
¡°Working up to build up history to be a constetion and then building up narratives to be narrative-grade constetions... then what? The higher the sky, the brighter the star? How long will you continue using the descendants of thisnd for your own sake?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is silent.]
At this moment, the intermediate dokkaebi acted.
[I can¡¯t stand it any longer.]
A system message arrived at the same time.
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
+
[Sub Scenario ¨C Forced Session]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: B
Clear Conditions: Suppress the incarnation ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯, who doesn¡¯t want to sit on the throne and ce him on the throne.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Compensation: 6,000 coins
Failure: ¨D
+
Yes, I thought it would turn out like this.
The people who had been shaken by my words were now approaching.
In the end, it was just like the dokkaebi said. The people present and me as well. No matter what I said, they would sell their conscience for a few coins.
Of course, this didn¡¯t apply to everyone.
¡°Pass me if you can.¡± A woman appeared in front of me. People faltered at her growled out words. It was Jung Heewon.
¡°No matter what the world is like, there is something you shouldn¡¯t forget.¡± Yoo Sangah suddenly approached. Lee Gilyoung was standing behind me with a hammer like he had been waiting. Jung Minseob and Lee Sungkook also came forward.
¡°...Sometimes, Representative-nim is more like the protagonist than Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk isn¡¯t this crazy...¡±
There were also surprising people.
¡°Just this once, I will help you.¡±
¡°Your words are convincing.¡±
They were King of Beauty Min Jiwon and Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung. I didn¡¯t know which of my words had moved their hearts. However, it was clear that something had changed. Even so, it was only a handful.
[You are ying well... what are all of you doing? Pull him down now!]
People started running towards the throne. Jung Heewon pushed through the people around me and asked, ¡°Dokja-ssi, do you have an idea?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°What should we do?¡±
¡°Buy me some time. I have to destroy this throne.¡±
The length of the new scenario was contained in this throne. I pulled out a sword causing someone to cry out.
¡°The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword!¡±
The S+ grade Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
However, it was an item that could be changed into a star relic if certain conditions were satisfied. It was because the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was an item made with the soul of a constetion.
[Ganpyeongui¡¯s special option ¡®Echo of the Stars¡¯ has been activated.]
[¡®Echo of the Stars¡¯ allows you to ask for the help of a constetion.]
¡°I¡¯ll call a constetion.¡±
[The great constetions hear your voice flowing through the stars.]
I called out to the constetions like I had memorized a spell.
¡°I want the first star of the Big Dipper.¡±
The Greedy Wolf star (Dubhe).
¡°I want the second star of the Big Dipper.¡±
The Great Gate star (Merak).
¡°I want the third star of the Big Dipper.¡±
The Blessing star (Phecda).
¡°I want the fourth star of the Big Dipper.¡±
The Literate Turn star (Megrez).
¡°I want the fifth star of the Big Dipper.¡±
The Clean and Pure star (Alioth).
¡°I want the sixth star of the Big Dipper.¡±
The Military Turn star (Mizar).
[The star navigation has begun.]
[The six constetions are looking at you.]
The thousands of constetions disappeared and my mind became heavy like a crowded subway. I felt dizzy while blood flowed from my nose and ears. It was hard to even think. My brain became overloaded the moment I contacted six constetions at the same time. The Great Bear stars started talking.
[What are you thinking?]
[You called all of us.]
[Your mind will bepletely destroyed.]
[Why call us?]
[Why don¡¯t you go the easy path...]
[Instead of the thorny path?]
However, I didn¡¯t stop. Yes, one more constetion needed to be called if I wanted to use the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. But there were no constetions left on the Sky Disc.
[You have exhausted the number of times that Ganpyeongui can be used.]
I pulled out the Dragon Jar that I got from the Tyrant King and dissolved something in it.
The 7 person dungeon, the dissolving jar. I put two items in the jar.
¡°I will sacrifice the S-grade Three Ring Loop and the S-grade Ganpyeongui to call one more constetion.¡±
[The ¡®Dissolve¡¯ power of the Dragon Jar has shown its strength.]
[The S-grade Three Ring Loop has disappeared as a sacrifice.]
[The S-grade Ganpyeongui has one more use.]
I once again used Ganpyeongui and called onest constetion.
¡°I want the seventh star of the Big Dipper.¡±
The Broken Army star (Alkaid).
Seven stars filled the air. The seven stars that made up the Big Dipper were all gathered. At the same time, the seven stars spoke to me.
[What do you want from us?]
¡°I want to cut off the signs of the constetions. Lend me your sword.¡±
[...Do you know what this means?]
¡°I know.¡±
I did this despite being well aware of the risk.
The final reward of the fourth scenario was the Absolute Throne.
The throne was an item that borrowed the power of a ¡®god of the world.¡¯
It would be very convenient if I got the throne. I would be able to put restrictions on Yoo Jonghyuk and the enemies threatening me would disappear.
But Seoul would surely be eliminated. It would be aplete destruction without any salvation or miracles.
It was the price to be paid for borrowing the power of the throne. In order to obtain the ending I wanted, no one could take this throne.
[Even the heavenly constetions are afraid of the founder of the throne.]
[But you, a human, wants to challenge the owner of this thing?]
¡°I can do it with your help. And I¡¯m not fighting against the owner. I just want to cut the connection between the owner and this thing.¡±
[It is likely that you can¡¯t afford it.]
[You will die.]
¡°It is something that I¡¯ve decided. Then I will start now.¡±
The seven stars were silent. Some time passed. The Big Dipper shone brightly and their signs were engraved onto the sword.
[I shall respect your will.]
[Even if you die here.]
[We will remember you.]
A dazzling light wrapped around the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword and it started to burn with bright mes.
[The S+ grade Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword has evolved into the star relic ¡®Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.¡¯]
The star relic Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was originally a ceremonial sword. It was a sword to cut off evil energy and prevent disasters.
I swung the sword towards the Absolute Throne. There was a loud sound and fire red.
The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was one of the few items that could break the link that a constetion had to a star relic.
There was a tearing sound in the air.
As if it started to notice something, an ominous ck light floated above the Absolute Throne. I swung it a few more times and the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword started to copse. Now I had to believe in the Big Dipper stars. Yoo Sangah cried out, ¡°Dokja-ssi! Quickly!¡±
I wielded the sword like a madman. I ignored the breaking de and continued to hit the throne. Sparks shed and the de broke.
Then finally.
[The constetion linked to the star relic ¡®Absolute Throne¡¯ has disappeared.]
[The ¡®Unknown God¡¯ has noticed a change in this world.]
The Absolute Throne became an ordinary chair and lost its light. The intermediate dokkaebi¡¯s angry voice was heard.
[You lowlifes can¡¯t grasp who you are dealing with...!]
[The sub scenario has ended.]
People stopped moving. The scenario was over so they didn¡¯t have to continue. The Big Dipper stars told me.
[Incarnation, prepare for the flooding of possibilities.]
As soon as I heard the voice, blood poured from my mouth.
It felt like something was pulling at my presence. An enormous power that seemed to tear at my flesh surrounded me. I struggled to regain my mind. It was going to be okay.
The ¡®possibility¡¯ would be ¡®usibility¡¯. I tried my best to make everything usible. Thus, I could ovee this.
I barely held onto consciousness. Then a star in the distant night sky shone quietly.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at you.]
It was a calm, lonely but gentle gaze.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is looking at you.]
Then two.
[The constetion ¡®Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol¡¯ is looking at you.]
Three.
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is looking at you.]
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
The intermediate dokkaebi called out when he saw the messages from the constetions.
[Why...?]
Every time a star was added, my pain diminished a little bit. I realized that the constetions were sharing the ¡®probabilities¡¯ that I had to bear. The ¡®story that isn¡¯t usible¡¯ became a ¡®usible story¡¯ with the consent of many stars. Numerous stars were wrapping me in their light. The Big Dippers also lent me their strength.
[Is this the story that you wanted to show?]
I wanted to answer but I didn¡¯t have the power.
[We will watch you, king of the world without kings.]
The chaotic Seoul night sky. I looked at the stars that sent me light.
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®One-eyed Maitreya¡¯ is looking at you.]
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
All the upper-grade constetions of Seoul were shining towards me. There were many stars. Still, it wasn¡¯t enough to overturn the dark night sky.
I looked up at the turbulent clouds that filled the Great Hall.
[The fourth scenario is forcibly ended.]
[There was an unscheduled incident so it will take time to settle the scenario.]
I wiped the blood pouring from my nose and the intermediate dokkaebi approached.
[You have made the worst choice. You will regret what you did today for the rest of your life. I will make sure of it.]
Iughed as my vision blurred. The dokkaebi¡¯s words meant that I won the game.
[You have aplished a non-existence achievement.]
[Your new narrative is created.]
[The narrative ¡®King of a World without a King¡¯ has been born.]
[You have obtained the possibility of a stigma.]
I didn¡¯t have a next ¡®regression.¡¯ I would reach the end of the story in this world.
Chapter 72 - A Kingless World (3)
Episode 15 ¨C A Kingless World (3)
The first narrative was built. With this, the main goal of the fourth scenario was achieved.
¡°What the hell is going to happen now?¡±
¡°No, why did you break the throne?¡±
There were people who were bewildered by the situation while others were scared about what the angry dokkaebi would do.
From the perspective of the people present, I was a sinner who made the fifth scenario difficult. Some people cried out to the dokkaebi.
¡°Make the Absolute Throne again! I¡¯ll join the scenario again!¡±
¡°This time I will be the master of the throne!¡±
[The scenarios that have already ended can¡¯t be changed by anyone. Anything that happens to you from now on is the fault of that human.]
The intermediate dokkaebi¡¯s answer was cold.
The dokkaebi pointed towards me while the wet shoulders of the gathered people shook.
[A world with no kings? Okay. Let¡¯s try it once. I will see how well you can survive without a focal point.]
The intermediate dokkaebi flicked his finger. Then the people in Gwanghwamun started to disappear like smoke. People screamed and ran away.
¡°What? What is this all of a sudden?!¡±
...This was an unscheduled development.
I looked back and saw Jung Heewon, Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung and the others calling out to me.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
The next moment, Yoo Sangah disappeared. Then Lee Gilyoung and Jung Heewon. Next was Jung Minseob and Lee Sungkook. One minute after the dokkaebi flicked his finger, I was the only one remaining in Gwanghwamun. The intermediate dokkaebi looked at me with a creepy smile.
[Please keep this in mind. If this world is destroyed, it is all because of you.]
The moment I wanted to speak, there was a ringing sound.
My body shook and I was moved elsewhere. It was apanied by severe nausea and a headache. I lost consciousness because I had consumed a great deal of energy.
[10,000 coins have been earned as settlement for the fourth scenario.]
***
I slept for quite a long time because I was tired from excessive contact with the constetions.
I even dreamt. It was a dream from before the end began.
¨CHey, aren¡¯t you awake?
The moment I heard the voice, I realized it was my high school days. They were the days when I was beaten up by the school gangsters.
...Yes. There were times like this. It was a childish dream but I became furious when I thought about it again.
¨CWhat?Why are you looking at me like that?Do you want to kill someone?
My head fell back from his p.
Blood flowed from my cracked lips and my tingling cheeks caused a feeling of shame.
Arms, legs, and shoulders. Pain came from all these ces. It might be a dream but it was more painful than reality. Maybe it was because there was no Fourth Wall here.
¨CWhy?If it is too much, stab me.Do you want to appear in the same newspapers as your mother?
My clenched fists trembled but I couldn¡¯t hit him. At that time, what had I been thinking?
¡®...If only I was Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯
Yes, that¡¯s right. This was what I thought in my misery. It was the time when I was reading Ways of Survival.
I say the name on the uniform¡¯s name badge.
Song Minwoo.
What was he doing now? I remember that he had gone to university and was working well. That was the first time I thought the world was unfair. I didn¡¯t know if he was still alive.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
My dream copsed and I was left in the dark again.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been activated!]
Voices started to ovep.
¡¸ Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay? ¡¹
¡¸ Representative-nim? ¡¹
¡¸ Dokja-ssi, where are you? ¡¹
They were the familiar voices of people I knew.
The words were conveyed through the ¡®third person perspective¡¯ of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯s third stage. I knew who the voices belonged to without looking.
¡¸ ¡°Ah...why here? Dokja-ssi? Can you hear me?¡± ¡¹
There was a bar with various types of wine. Jung Heewon was frowning and sighing.
¡¸ ¡°A love letter... I will meet that ahjussi again... damn, why did I fall to the school?¡± ¡¹
Lee Jihye was touching her cheeks as if she had been hit by someone.
¡¸ Howe... why... here...? ¡¹
Lee Hyunsung was trapped in a nearby military base.
...I could roughly guess what happened based on people¡¯s reactions.
The people in Gwanghwamun seemed to be moved to ces they had an association with. That¡¯s why Lee Jihye was at a school while Lee Hyunsung was sent to a military base. Lee Hyunsung was the most pathetic one.
Maybe it was the damn intermediate dokkaebi¡¯s doing.
He created a situation where the incarnations were scattered all over the ce. No matter how irrelevant it was to the main scenario, the intermediate dokkaebi would surely be reprimanded.
I looked at the confused people and muttered.
¡®I¡¯m fine so take care of yourself. I will see you soon.¡¯
They couldn¡¯t hear me but I hoped the words would reach them.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has ended.]
I slowly returned to consciousness as my eyelids opened. ck clouds were still swirling over Seoul like a ck hole.
I got up and looked around. It was a panoramic view of Seoul. It was a ce where skyscrapers and high-rise buildings could be seen.
That reminded me, I should be moved to a ce rted to me. At first nce, it looked like the rooftop of a high-rise building in Seoul...
¡°This ce...?¡±
Damn, I thought it was possible but I really didn¡¯t want toe here.
[A few constetions are looking forward to the words you will say to yourself.]
¡°...Mino Soft?
This was the rooftop of thepany I worked for, Mino Soft.
[A few constetions are disappointed.]
[The constetions who don¡¯t like to be rushed are pleased.]
When I saw the indirect messages that came to my mind, I felt that the constetions focusing on me had expanded after I broke the Absolute Throne.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ threatens the newly appeared constetions.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is coughing at the pretentious people.]
Why did Ie here? A street in Seoul without any cars. The offices with the lights turned off.
I felt nostalgia as I saw these familiar buildings. It was the first time I went to work in a month.
I felt really weird when I remembereding up to the rooftop with Deputy Yoon after being scolded by Team Leader Han. When previously I had been testing new games, now I was cutting people with a de.
Was Deputy Yoon still alive?
I turned my head and saw messages shing in the air.
[There are 10 days before the start of the fifth scenario.]
The scenarios were flowing as I expected. If the Absolute Throne was destroyed, Seoul Dome would get a respite for 10 days.
The fifth scenario, the Great Hall.
During this grace period, I had to find a way to clear the fifth scenario without the Absolute Throne.
[A sub scenario is in progress to supplement the interlude.]
+
[Sub Scenario ¨C Survival Activities]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: C+
Clear Conditions: Survive for 10 days in the ruined city. You should eat three meals a day and get at least six hours of sleep a day. Don¡¯t forget to pay 500 coins per day before going to sleep every night. There will be a clear penalty if you vite any of these three rules.
Duration: 10 days
Compensation: None
Failure: Death
* This is a scenario where a ¡®coin event¡¯ is applied.
* All monsters in the scenario have a certain probability of dropping coins.
+
I roughly knew how things had gone. The existing scenario waspletely destroyed so they hastily put together a sub scenario.
Furthermore, it ovepped with a coin payment event. I thought they were going to do it soon but I hadn¡¯t expected it to start already.
A survival fee of 500 coins a day... it was a scenario that couldn¡¯t be cleared without a coin event.
Anyway, now I had to move. I couldn¡¯t miss out on the chance to replenish my coins.
Then people¡¯s voices were heard from below the roof.
¡°Drag it! Quickly!¡±
I looked down and saw armed people entering the building, with others behind them.
Mino Soft was located near Seocho-gu. But in my memories, there were no ¡®king¡¯ forces in the Seocho area.
...Then who were they? I carefully observed the armed people and realized something.
Yes, they were the ¡®wanderers¡¯. Each person had a different way of living in this destroyed world.
Someone would be ¡®king¡¯ and others would be ¡®the people.¡¯ Someone else would be a ¡®wanderer¡¯ without any affiliation.
And Seocho was thend of wanderers.
I turned on my smartphone to look up the information on this area. Unfortunately, I was out of battery. I needed to find a ce to recharge the battery or find a spare battery...
I opened the roof door and went downstairs. I passed through the president¡¯s office, the nning department and the finance department. I walked through the office of the QA team that I had worked in for a while when I stopped.
It was fair to say that my memory was quite good. I went into the office and opened the drawers one by one.
It was because I thought a spare battery might be left behind. At that time, someone entered with a shlight.
I reflexively pulled out my sword but there was a strange noise.
¡°Eh?¡±
...?
¡°D-Dokja-ssi? It is Dokja-ssi!¡±
Then I saw the man¡¯s face.
¡°Deputy Yoon?¡±
¡°Ahh, you¡¯re alive! You are alive!¡±
It was Deputy Yoon of the QA team.
***
¡°It was really terrible.¡±
I heard from Deputy Yoon about what happened at Mino Soft. To be exact, it was what happened after I got off from work.
¡°The first scenario started for all the people on the night shift.¡±
Deputy Yoon spoke while holding his nose.
The corridor of thepany was filled with rotting body odor and maggots. Some of the bodies had faces of people I knew but I didn¡¯t see any mourning or sadness on Deputy Yoon¡¯s expression.
¡°Do you know? That guy over there, Team Manager Kim, I killed him. Why, that bastard... I stabbed his neck with a ballpoint pen and blood... it really was like a game.¡±
¡°...Deputy Yoon.¡±
¡°S-Sorry. Is it ufortable talking about this? Haha.¡±
It was a natural change but I felt bitter seeing Deputy Yoon¡¯s changed appearance. No... maybe this was what Director Yoon was like now.
¡°Are you alone here?¡±
¡°Huh? Ahh, I¡¯m not alone. By the way, where was Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Ah, I...¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t see you in thepany. What group are you affiliated with? Where you somewhere else?¡±
¡°Yes, well... Something simr. I was originally on the Gwanghwamun side of the bridge when...¡±
Deputy Yoon didn¡¯t listen to the end as he interrupted.
¡°Aha, I see. Dokja-ssi, you luck is really bad.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°There is no need to pass through all the scenarios. Don¡¯t you know? If you hide well and use moderate tricks, most scenarios will be broken by other people. There is no need to risk your life. Haha, it is veryfortable despite the world being like this.¡±
It was true. If you became a ¡®wanderer¡¯ who didn¡¯t belong to anyone, you could get rid of some scenario that must be cleared and have the main scenarios cleared by someone else. There were many such people in Seoul Dome.
They problem was that if you lived in hiding and were caught by surrounding groups, you would die. There was no prey as good as the ¡®wanderers¡¯ moving alone.
¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. Wanderers also have a lot of power. Is there a need to be a king to build power?¡±
We exited Mino Soft. People were crowded around thepany and there were a bunch of wanderers gathered. Some of them were seen moving kidnapped people. At this time, one armed man asked, ¡°Yoon Sangho-ssi, who is this?¡±
¡°Ah, he is one of my coworkers. We met by chance.¡±
¡°Hrmm... a wanderer? No one from a group is epted. Do you know?¡±
Deputy Yoon nodded lightly and the man passed by us. I looked at the man and asked, ¡°Who is this person?¡±
¡°The manager of a ¡®coin farm¡¯.¡±
¡°Coin farm?¡±
¡°Ah... Dokja-ssi doesn¡¯t know.¡±
For a moment, a dismal expression appeared on Deputy Yoon¡¯s face.
Coin farm... that reminded me of something. But these guys already started it?
¡°Look here.¡±
There were two people trapped in cages ced at regr intervals, like it was a zoo or police station. The wanderers around them screamed with excitement.
¡°Hey! Are you kidding me? Fight harder! Who will give you coins if you look like this?¡±
Inside the cage, two people were fighting each other. Blood sshed, eyes were pulled out and a man with guts hanging out cried out like an animal.
[The constetion who likes the Colosseum is delighted.]
I looked closely and there were several such cages. Not all of the cages contained fighting.
There was one cage with a naked woman and several men inside, while another cage contained a lone woman, like the men had already finished with her. I could hear pained moans and cries from all corners.
Outside the cages, the wanderers holding their penises wereughing.
¡°Hey, how are you? Good? Come out quickly!¡±
¡°Next is my turn you bastard!¡±
[The constetion who likes excitement is delighted.]
Deputy Yoon opened his mouth.
¡°In the game industry, consumers were the king. In Mino Soft, the president was the king. Dokja-ssi, who is the king in this new world?¡±
¡°...Are you depending on the sponsorship of the constetions?¡±
¡°Yes. Sometimes there are crazy constetions like this. The most stimting the sight, the more coins that the constetions will give. It is like the star balloons. We get coins from these people and in return, we provide them with food to survive.¡± (TL: Star balloons are the way of donating on Korean video streaming sites)
Deputy Yoon threw a chocte bar into one cage. The woman behind bars cried out and grabbed for it.
There were those in the world who first identified the system and figured out how to exploit it. The ¡®coin farm¡¯ was the structure that those who first understood the world devised in order to take advantage of the system.
¡°I see people from ourpany...¡±
¡°They were from ourpany.¡±
I realized for certain after hearing his cold tone. The ¡®Deputy Yoon¡¯ that I knew from Mino Soft, he didn¡¯t exist in this world anymore.
¡°Hey! There are new ves! Imprison them!¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
The ves were moved to the prisons. I was stunned to see a familiar face among them.
Deputy Yoon smiled.
¡°Oh, there is a new one? Hey! Strip her and bring her to the cage!¡±
A petite person with white skin. Fine ck hair that fell down to the shoulders and slightly raised eyebrows.
I rubbed my eyes but there was no doubt. The First Apostle, giarist Han Sooyoung was here.
Chapter 73 - A Kingless World (4)
Episode 15 ¨C A Kingless World (4)
Han Sooyoung was thrown into a cage.
She was unconscious and probablycking magic power after I took the g from her.
Han Sooyoung must¡¯ve been moved to the area near here. She was a writer so she might have a management or publishingpany nearby.
¡°Aren¡¯t you quite good looking? Hey, you haven¡¯t touched her already have you?¡±
¡°No. I know that the constetions are all gathered here.¡±
[A constetion who likes obscenity is excited.]
[A few constetions have eyes that are shining in ascivious manner.]
White underwear was revealed by Han Sooyoung¡¯s torn jeans. There were men already ying rock paper scissors.
I stared at Han Sooyoung beyond the bars. No matter how I looked, there were no signs that anything happened.
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
This woman would be a hindrance if she was left alive. She was the one who knew the most about this world, apart from me.
The story hadpletely changed from the third or fourth regression from the first quarter of the story and the knowledge she had might be obsolete, but...
The moment I thought this, I shuddered with disgust at myself.
...Why was I worrying about this?
Killing someone because they would be dangerous in the future. Who should I save because they would be useful in the future?
I wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk to be thinking about these things.
¡°Do you want to do it Dokja-ssi?¡±
Deputy Yoonughed as he saw me staring intently. It was a expression that said ¡®I can help you¡¯.
¡°If you promise me one thing, I will let Dokja-ssi do her first. How about it?¡±
¡°...What do you want me to promise?¡±
¡°You have a group, right? Please introduce me to Dokja-ssi¡¯s group. We will soon start expanding our forces. Looking at Dokja-ssi¡¯s items... it is a pretty big group?¡±
I stared at Deputy Yoon and said, ¡°I can introduce you if you like. But I want you to stop this.¡±
¡°Huh? Haha, Dokja-ssi. What does that mean?¡±
¡°Let that woman go.¡±
Deputy Yoon¡¯s eyebrows twitched because he knew it wasn¡¯t a joke.
¡°Hmm...Dokja-ssi. What is wrong with treating people like this? If you have survived to this point, don¡¯t you already know?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I have been watching Dokja-ssi for a long time. I knew that if it was Dokja-ssi, you could survive anywhere.¡±
There was a strange ridicule in Deputy Yoon¡¯s expression.
¡°Aren¡¯t you always reading web novels alone? You alwaysmute to work in a gloomy fashion. Sometimes you would talk to me and a few other colleagues. They were good people like Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°What does that have to do with this?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi is enjoying the situation right now. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
Enjoying it? It was like aiming a dagger at my heart from apletely different angle.
Deputy Yoon grabbed my shoulders.
¡°I am also like Dokja-ssi. We are on the same QA team. I heard the same nagging every time and lived with their contempt. Do you remember what the other departments called us? The training dummy team. We are cheap people who don¡¯t have any specs. We just test games.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi. Those people who are trapped right now, don¡¯t you know who they really are? Look carefully. They are the scum who ignored us.¡±
My vision broadened and the screams of people could be heard. Looking closer, I did recognize them.
Many of the people trapped behind bars were those I knew from Mino Soft. There were people I didn¡¯t know very well, people who didn¡¯t know me or who didn¡¯t care.
¡°It is over now. The finance team, the nning team, none of that matters. The best ones in the world right now are our QA team. Haha. Dokja-ssi, shouldn¡¯t you know from testing bugs? This world is a game. A game with bugs. There are too many loopholes that I can take advantage of.¡±
Numerous messages from constetions were heard in my head.
The messages that wanted a more stimting, morescivious, more decadent story quietly ovepped with Deputy Yoon¡¯s face.
Sometimes inferiority turned people into monsters.
¡°There is nothing to be afraid of. This world is a game that exists for us! Do you know how many coins my group earns a day with this?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°It is 5,000 coins a day. 5,000 coins... can you imagine? We don¡¯t do the scenarios and we get 5,000 coins. It is 5,000 coins just from making people fight and mate. It is the same as the nning team taking cash items. Don¡¯t you know what this means?¡±
I saw men approaching Han Sooyoung one by one. I slowly breathed out. So far, I showed courtesy to the colleague who once shared a rooftop with me by listening to his story.
I removed Deputy Yoon¡¯s hand from my shoulder and opened my mouth. ¡°If you want to make coins, there is a better way.¡±
¡°What?¡± Deputy Yoon turned red. ¡°Did Dokja-ssi also find a bug? What is it?¡±
¡°The principle is the same as a coin farm. Stimte the constetions.¡±
¡°Oho, there is something more stimting than this? Is that possible?¡±
¡°Yes, it is. Would you like me to let you know?¡±
¡°It would be good if you share the know-how!¡±
¡°The constetions really like...¡¯
[de of Faith is activated!]
¡°...This.¡±
There was the sound of the bars being cut apart. I swung my de indiscriminately towards the wanderers surrounding the cage. I cut the Achilles tendon of those running away.
The knees of those who weren¡¯t prepared for resistance became twisted.
¡°Aaaaack! What is with this bastard?¡±
¡°My leg! My leg!¡±
I kept swinging my sword amidst the rising blood.
¡°Something like this.¡±
I cut off the hands harassing a member of the human resources department then the arms of a man trying to take off Han Sooyoung¡¯s shirt.
¡°This is also good.¡±
Blood sttered onto my cheek. I quietly wiped the blood and continued cutting at arms and legs. Then Deputy Yoon¡¯s voice was heard.
¡°W-What are you doing? What is this?¡±
¡°Thank you for the story.¡±
I turned to look at Deputy Yoon.
¡°I created a situation that the constetions really like because of you.¡±
With just two knives, none of the men who entered Han Sooyoung¡¯s cage could do anything against me.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is pleased with your judgment.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is snorting from the relentless punishment.]
[Many of the constetions who dislike the atrocities of some constetions are greatly satisfied with your judgment.]
[8,000 coins have been sponsored.]
Deputy Yoon turned white and flopped to the ground.
Iughed at him.
¡°Why bother creating something like the coin farm? It is easy to earn money.¡±
¡°...Y-You son of a bitch!¡±
There was arge number of wanderers. In an instant, approximately 20 wanderers surrounded me.
It was an ambiguous number that might make me vite the principle of ¡®no killing¡¯ but I wasn¡¯t overly concerned. I just had to get out of here.
I retreated a bit while hugging Han Sooyoung¡¯s light body. Suddenly, her eyes shed open and she asked, ¡°...Why did you save me?¡±
¡°Were you awake? Then get up.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s voice was weak.
¡°If you save me, won¡¯t the constetions in your channel run away? Don¡¯t you know what the constetion¡¯s hate most?¡±
¡°There are some who like it.¡±
[The constetion who has been waiting for a harem carefully puts both hands together.]
[The constetion who likes ¡®enemies turning into allies¡¯ is delighted.]
Han Sooyoung frowned.
¡°Now this is a cliche. Right? The moment that the woman is about to be raped, the hero will rescue her. Why are you acting like this despite saying that you dislike cliches?¡±
¡°You are mistaken about two things.¡±
I started while lightly cutting a wanderer¡¯s legs.
¡°One, I¡¯m not a hero. And two...¡±
[You have saved a life.]
[Your karma points have increased by one.]
[Current karma points: 14/100]
Karma points were gained when the system determined that a person had been ¡®saved.¡¯ In other words, if I left it alone, it was likely Han Sooyoung would¡¯ve died.
¡°You¡¯re not a woman.¡±
¡°...Put me down!¡±
I threw her to the ground without hesitation.
Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°You really put me down?¡±
¡°You fight as well.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°We will fight together. Don¡¯t you like cliches?¡±
¡°No matter how much I like cliches, isn¡¯t it really cliche to fight on the same side as an enemy?¡±
She grumbled but we were quite well matched. I cut the legs of the approaching wanderers while Han Sooyoung followed me and stopped their breathing. We took their lives slowly and carefully until only a few survivors were left.
The terrified wanderers started to flee the coin farm.
¡°This is aplete profit.¡±
I looked at the coins that I got from the wanderers while Han Sooyoung staggered with a smile.
[You have acquired 18,400 coins.]
Her contribution wasn¡¯t as high as mine but she would¡¯ve got a decent amount of coins. I didn¡¯t get as much coins as I would¡¯ve without Han Sooyoung present but I decided to think of it as a tip.
I looked in front to where Deputy Yoon was still sitting on the ground.
¡°Haha... psychopath. I thought you would be like this. I should¡¯ve known when I heard the rumour...¡¯
¡°Sick jerk. You are too talkative.¡±
Han Sooyoung stabbed Deputy Yoon in the neck. Blood spurted from Deputy Yoon¡¯s neck and the light in his eyes died.
Another person who remembered Kim Dokja in reality disappeared.
Han Sooyoung saw me watching and grumbled. ¡°...What is with your expression? Are you sorry that this jerk is dead?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Then why did you keep listening to him?¡±
I was a bit surprised because I didn¡¯t expect these words to emerge from Han Sooyoung¡¯s mouth.
¡°You were just listening to this guy¡¯s bullshit. Why? The constetions don¡¯t like frustrating things.¡±
I listened nkly to her words before smiling.
What was this?
¡°You don¡¯t seem to know but it is better to listen to this bullshit moderately in order to get more coins when they are killed. There is no refreshing feeling without being frustrated first.¡±
¡°No? Dokja... no, don¡¯t the constetions prefer to kill right away? What do you know when you aren¡¯t a writer?¡±
¡°I know very well. I am a reader.¡±
¡°This...!¡±
I ignored Han Sooyoung and rummaged through the items that had dropped. Most of it was garbage but there was a suit that I could wear.
[Old Gentleman¡¯s Close Combat Suit]
It was a B-grade item and only slightly improved defense but it was better than not wearing it. I couldn¡¯t wear Samyeongdang¡¯s Mat forever...e to think of it, I should start item farming.
The fleeing wanderers seemed to be heading to theirir. It would be better to pursue and hit the wanderers.
If I remembered currently, Seocho had a few ¡®meteorite stones¡¯ to use in the fifth scenario. If it fell here then I had to obtain it.
Once I got a secondary battery...
[You have saved a life.]
[Your karma points have increased by one.]
[Current karma points: 25/100]
One or two people approached. They were all those who had been stuck behind bars.
Colour returned to the faces of some people who remembered my face.
I raised my hand before they could speak.
¡°I can¡¯t help you now. Take care of your own lives.¡±
Faint despair filled their eyes but it wasn¡¯t a situation where I could help. It seemed cold but in the end, I had saved their lives.
¡°Pick up the items in moderation and then go to Chungmuro if you can afford it. There might be some people who can help you there.¡±
Before I finished speaking, people started picking up the items that had fallen. Their eyes were zing again as they hoped for survival.
Watching them, I understood why the dokkaebi brought me here.
¡°That is mine! Put it down!¡±
¡°I-I saw it first!¡±
The people who was victims were now looking at each other while holding weapons. They pointed the weapons at each other without hesitation.
This was a kingless world.
There was no one to control this world.
The dokkaebi was trying to show me this sight.
A world without a king was wild, without thews and ethics that we had been guarding, showing how poor our belief in other humans was.
An unexpected voice stopped those who were about to wield their weapons.
¡°Do all of you want to die?¡±
Chapter 74 - A Kingless World (5)
Episode 15 ¨C A Kingless World (5)
The frightened people looked at Han Sooyoung at the same time.
Han Sooyoung squatted down and spat out.
¡°Are you all idiots? Wake up. Think properly if you want to live. You don¡¯t know when you will meet other bad people yet you want to cut down the number of people who can be colleagues?¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
¡°In this world, the underdogs have to be united. You want to fight over a few garbage items instead ofbining forces?¡±
The people suddenly came to their senses and reddened.
The intermediate dokkaebi probably didn¡¯t know that among the people he scattered, one of them was a web novelist.
¡°Don¡¯t you have the necessary weapons and supplies? Can¡¯t you survive? Don¡¯t you know that the selfish ones are the first to fall? Do you think you can get stronger just by picking up a few more trash items?¡±
Theplexions of the survivors darkened. Their bloodthirstiness slowly subsided.
¡°If you can¡¯t be strong enough so that no one can touch you, make trusted colleagues. Isn¡¯t thatmon sense?¡±
It was natural for a giarist to say such things.
In fact, her words were effective. People started to look awkwardly at one another. If someone opened their mouths at this moment, the people could unite. A few words caused their survival rate to rise sharply.
I stared at Han Sooyoung and opened my mouth. ¡°But for you to say this...¡±
¡°Do you understand. Everyone should act correctly!¡± Han Sooyoung said quickly before turning and running away. Her stamina was low so she couldn¡¯t run far. ¡°Pant, pant! Why are you chasing me?¡±
¡°You even giarized the words of the novel?¡±
¡¸ ¡°If you can¡¯t be strong enough so that no one can touch you, make trusted colleagues.¡± ¡¹
This was the advice that Yoo Jonghyuk gave to survivors in Ways of Survival. Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°How is it giarism? These lines are from my novel!¡±
¡°Then why are you running away?¡±
¡°...No reason! Why are you chasing me?¡±
She refused to admit that she giarized to the end. I grabbed her cor.
¡°I saved you so you should pay back the value.¡±
¡°What value?¡±
Iughed at Han Sooyoung¡¯s nervous expression.
¡°If you have a spare battery, take it out. You must need it for your novel text.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression distorted.
***
I hadn¡¯t intended to take Han Sooyoung with me at first.
To be honest, Han Sooyoung was a bad person considering what she had don so far. However, her ¡®avatar¡¯ ability was quite useful and I had a few things to figure out. Most of all, she would be useful to clear the current sub scenario...
¡°I don¡¯t have a spare battery. I lost everything in Gwanghwamun.¡±
¡°Then give me your novel.¡±
¡°No. Pay for it if you want to read it.¡±
¡°How am I supposed to pay when all the tforms are gone?¡±
I took her smartphone away from her. The upset Han Sooyoung clung to my shoulders and reached out an arm.
¡°What? Give it to me!¡±
The text version was on her desktop. She was rxed.
[SSSSS-grade Infinite Regressor]
Let¡¯s see...
I nervously clicked on the app file. I wondered if her text version would be invisible to everyone else like mine.
However, that wasn¡¯t the case. A page in the middle of the book appeared, like I had been reading the novel.
¡¸ ...Yoo Joonhyun quietly opened his status window. He wanted to check the Sage¡¯s Eyes that he just received.
+
[Character Information]
Name: Yoo Joonhyun
Age: 27 years old.
Star Contract: ???
Private Attribute: Regressor (3rd turn) (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. 1, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 1, Weapons Training Lv. 1, Mental Barrier Lv. 1, Lie Detection Lv. 4... (Omitted)...
Stigma: [Regression Lv. 3]
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 24, Strength Lv. 24, Agility Lv. 25, Magic Power Lv. 23.
+
Yoo Joonhyunughed as he confirmed his status window.
¡°Huhu, I finally got Sage¡¯s Eyes. I am lucky this regression.¡± ¡¹
I read up to there and looked at the frozen Han Sooyoung.
¡°Don¡¯t you have a conscience?¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you copy the personal information from Ways of Survival? As a writer, shouldn¡¯t you change theposition?¡±
Han Sooyoung hesitated for a moment before muttering, ¡°Ways of Survival is a sponsor and mine is a star contract. It ispletely different. And there is noprehensive evaluation in my novel!¡±
¡°...Even so. Isn¡¯t the name of the protagonist too much? It is like Joonhyun was a typo. Shouldn¡¯t you change it more? The author of Ways of Survival would cry if he saw this.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s face turned red and she screamed, ¡°It is just... no, so what? What are you curious about?¡±
¡°How many chapters of the original did you read?¡±
¡°99...hey! Can¡¯t you give that back to me?¡±
She read up to chapter 99?
What would the author think if he knew that the person who read Ways of Survival the most after me was a giarist?
Well, he was the one pleased by the views raised during the giarism controversy so he might say, ¡°Thank you for reading up to chapter 99. You are a true reader.¡±
I sighed and asked, ¡°Chapter 99, then do you know the location of the meteorite in the fifth scenario?
Didn¡¯t it appear in your novel?¡±
¡°There is no such thing as a meteorite in my novel!¡± It was surprising. I thought she would¡¯ve copied this as well. ¡°I have a sealing stone!¡±
As expected.
¡°Then I am going to get the sealing stone, so be prepared.¡±
¡°You are going to get the meteorite?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s unify the terms. Anyway, you know that I saved you?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t ask you...¡±
The meteorite containing the fire dragon was found by Han Sooyoung. I almost died because of this woman. That reminded me, I put the carcass of the fire dragon on the Exchange. Had it been sold yet?
I ignored Han Sooyoung for a bit and called out to Bihyung.
¡®Bihyung.¡¯
There was no answer.
The existing scenariospletely disappeared in an unexpected way. Perhaps the dokkaebis of the Seoul Dome were in a meeting right now.
They might be saying something like, ¡°This edition is ruined anyway so sell a lot of coin products...¡±
The next moment, the ¡®Exchange¡¯ window and ¡®Dokkaebi Bag¡¯ window opened at the same time.
This brat, he didn¡¯t have time to send a message?
[Many constetions are dissatisfied with the sudden advertisements.]
Furthermore, he didn¡¯t forget to y the advertisements. I opened up the sales history on the Exchange first.
[The item ¡®Fire Dragon¡¯s Scales¡¯ has been sold for 8,000 coins.]
[The item ¡®Fire Dragon¡¯s Bones¡¯ has been sold for 5,000 coins.]
Unexpectedly, there was someone who bought these expensive items.
The items that weren¡¯t meant for sale were also sold.
[The item ¡®Fire Dragon¡¯s Bones¡¯ has been sold for 22,222 coins.]
...The items that I had stored on the Exchange were sold. Someone must be desperate for the fire dragon¡¯s bones. If I knew this, I would¡¯ve set the price as 99,999.
The incarnations that possessed such power at present were Anna Croft, Ranveer Khan of India and China¡¯s Feihu... in any case, that person was ignorant.
I opened the Dokkaebi Bag and bought some items that I needed. Then Han Sooyoung spoke to me in a timely manner.
¡°Why do you want me to go with you? You can go alone.¡±
¡°It is like what you just said. The most important thing for survival is to obtain reliable colleagues.¡±
Han Sooyoung looked at me suspiciously.
¡°Hrmm...¡±
I pulled out an item I just bought.
¡°Now, swear here.¡±
[The item Temporary Pledge has been used.]
+
[Temporary Pledge]
1. Kim Dokja (Gab) will sign a contract with Han Sooyoung (Eul) until the sub scenario currently in progress is over.
2. Kim Dokja (Gap) and Han Sooyoung (Eul) will not harm each other until the sub scenario currently in progress is over.
3. During the contract period, Kim Dokja (Gap) and Han Sooyoung (Eul) will sleep alternately in prepared for the ¡®sleeping penalty.¡¯
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
6. During the contract period, the guidelines for the party will prevail over Kim Dokja¡¯s (Gap) opinions.
7. During the contract period, Han Sooyoung (Eul) will cooperate with Kim Dokja (Gap) to clear the scenarios. She will follow Kim Dokja¡¯s orders as long as her life isn¡¯t in danger.
8. During the contract period, Kim Dokja (Gap) will protect Han Sooyoung (Eul).
9. This contract will expire at the end of the sub scenario. The body will be destroyed if the contract is vited.
+
Temporary Pledge. It didn¡¯t have the effect of a sponsor contract but it was effective for short-term contracts.
Han Sooyoung looked at me with surprised eyes.
¡°Do you think I will sign this?¡±
¡°Then don¡¯t.¡±
¡°...Why should I sign it? I have never done it before.¡±
¡°Good. The first experience is important.¡±
Han Sooyoung gritted her teeth. Even so, I knew she would ept. There was no other choice for a person with exhausted magic power. It was suicide to wander alone in Seocho-gu and she needed someone to protect her for a bit.
¡°...Okay. I ept. But I have one condition.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°We will share information with each other. How about it? I have a lot to ask you. You should answer honestly. I have Lie Detection.¡±
She already got something that I couldn¡¯t obtain?
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has used ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 1¡¯.]
...It was real.
Han Sooyoung got to the point. ¡°What is your attribute?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that your words are true.]
Han Sooyoung made a stupid expression and raised a hand to her temple.
¡°...Is this broken?¡±
¡°No, it is normal. Then ask me the next question quickly. I will only answer three. For your reference, you have already used one.¡±
¡°No, what do you mean that you don¡¯t know your attribute?¡±
¡°I really don¡¯t know. Now, what is the next question?¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes narrowed and she reluctantly continued to ask questions. ¡°Why did you give up the Absolute Throne?¡±
I figured that this question would emerge.
¡°My n was ruined because of you. If it wasn¡¯t for you... do you know how hard I prepared those apostles only for them to be eliminated? If I was sitting on the throne, I would¡¯ve been prepared for the next scenario by now...¡±
¡°If you sat on the throne, Seoul would¡¯ve perished.¡±
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that your words are true.]
Han Sooyoung frowned. ¡°Why does the skill keep breaking?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t broken. We would¡¯ve been ruined if anyone, not just you or me, sat on the throne.¡±
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that your words are true.]
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°How do you know? Where did you get off? Why do you know this when I don¡¯t?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not someone who got off.¡±
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that your words are true.]
Han Sooyoung was extremely shocked and managed to squeeze out a question after a moment.
¡°You...how far did you read in Ways of Survival?¡±
¡°Your three questions are over.¡±
¡°This is the most important question!¡± Han Sooyoung¡¯s chin trembled. ¡°No way... right? You... there can¡¯t be such a crazy guy... yes, it is unlikely...¡±
Da da da da!
Then something that sounded like horse hooves were hard in the distance.
I told the muttering Han Sooyoung to be silent and we quickly fled to the rear of a nearby building. Something was approaching.
It was in the form of a human...? I used Character List on the people rushing towards me in the cloud of dust.
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
Looking closely, I could see that all the people running had fur sprouting from their whole body.
Their faces were human but their bodies were monster-like and twice as big as a human. They seemed like bipedal wolves.
Looking closely, one monster in the lead was holding a man by the neck. It was the biggest of the monsters.
Grrr.... ¡°Where is he?¡±
¡°T-This area! The coin farm...¡±
There was a sound and the man¡¯s head was blown away. He was one of the wanderers who had been in front of Mino Soft. The monsters rushed eagerly and started eating the man¡¯s body.
I think I knew what these monsters were.
Han Sooyoung realized something and muttered, ¡°...The outside species?¡±
Wanderers had their own ways of survival. There were those who still existed as humans and made coin farms, while others gave up on being human and walked the path of a new species.
The outside species had limits but because they gave up on their humanity, they could grow faster than others in the beginning to mid part of the story.
Maybe these guys were the werewolves...
¡°...They gained the power of the meteorite.¡±
Right now, it was only the fifth scenario. At the current time, the only way people could evolve into werewolves was by using the power of the meteorite. The wanderers had already got their hands on the meteorite that fell in Seochu-gu.
Han Sooyoung opened her mouth. ¡°I know him. That bastard, he is someone who stopped reading.¡±
¡°...How do you know?¡±
¡°I can see it. It is the privilege as thest person who got off the novel.¡±
¡°Privilege?¡±
¡°I can read the information and attributes of those who stopped reading.¡± She spoke in a slightly boasting tone.
Speaking of which, I remembered a story that I heard from Jung Minseob.
Shortly after the scenarios began, the First Apostle came to them. This would be exined if Han Sooyoung had the ability to find those who stopped reading. Then she used her Avatar ability to appear before them.
Han Sooyoung kept speaking.
¡°That¡¯s why I doubted your identity. A guy who can¡¯t be read by my skill...¡±
Han Sooyoung stared at me before looking back at the outside species.
¡°At that time, there were a few people who refused my offer. That wanderer was one of them. I thought it wasn¡¯t a big deal since most of them would die early...¡±
¡°Who is that guy?¡±
¡°He is Song Minwoo.¡±
Song Minwoo? It definitely wasn¡¯t the name of a character. Yet I had heard the name somewhere...
[The 6th grade outside species ¡®Werewolf Song Minwoo¡¯ is searching the surroundings.]
I could see the face of the person in the distance. Ah...perhaps.
A recent memory came to mind. It was the dream I had a few hours ago. I remembered my days in high school and the gangsters who bullied me. Many years had passed but his facial expression seemed to fit. No matter how much time passed, I couldn¡¯t forget that name on the name badge.
Song Minwoo... it must be him. But that bastard was someone ¡®who got off?¡¯ That gangster read a novel?
¡°Where did he get off?¡±
¡°That guy... he was a bit strange. He is a bit different from the usual readers.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
Han Sooyoung worried for a moment before saying,
¡°In my eyes, he... got off at chapter 173.¡±
At this moment, Song Minwoo sniffed and he turned his head this way. His yellow eyes seemed to be saying, ¡®I found you.¡¯
He fell to the ground on all fours and started rushing to this side.
Chapter 75 - A Kingless World (5)
Episode 15 ¨C A Kingless World (5)
By the time I realized, Song Minwoo was immediately in front of me. It was a tremendous speed. His agility must be at least above level 40 in order to achieve this speed.
¡°You?¡± He asked in a tearful voice. This guy had already finished his transition to an outside species.
[The 6th grade outside species, Song Minwoo has triggered ¡®A Predator¡¯s Threat Lv. 5!¡¯]
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has used ¡®Mental Barrier Lv. 3¡¯.]
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has alleviated some of the effects of A Predator¡¯s Threat.]
In a moment, his hand shot out and grabbed Han Sooyoung¡¯s throat.
¡°Keok...¡±
Han Sooyoung might not be in a perfect physical condition but it was too much for her to be suppressed at once.
The 6th grade outside species. It was the worst enemy to deal with right now.
It was differentpared to the 5th grade fire dragon. At that time, my ice attribute overwhelmed the fire attribute and I could take advantage of the dull movements of the big monster.
But now...
Song Minwoo stared at me. ¡°Did you break my coin farm?¡±
The tone was certain despite it being a question. Han Sooyoung screamed the moment she saw Song Minwoo¡¯s white fangs. ¡°Shit, kill him quickly!¡±
I used de of Faith while Han Sooyoung used Avatar. At almost the same time, Song Minwoo¡¯s powerful kick arrived. The just created Avatar¡¯s head burst while I went flying through the air.
[The 6th grade outside species, Song Minwoo has triggered ¡®elerate Lv. 5!¡¯]
Song Minwoo¡¯s fist followed at a speed that was almost invisible. Head, shoulders, belly. The onught poured out towards those areas. Air burst out from me.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s voice cried out, ¡°Kim Dokja!¡±
...No, even if this was an outside species, how could he be so strong? It was toote to avoid the blow. I hurriedly raised my overall stats.
[16,000 coins have been invested in stamina.]
[Stamina Lv. 24 -> Stamina Lv. 50]
[A giant-like physical fitness fills your body.]
The pain quickly dwindled and it reached the point where I could tolerate it. But the situation wasn¡¯t over.
¡°Kim Dokja? Where did I hear that name?¡± I heard Song Minwoo mumbling.
I could see this face through my defenses and that was the problem. This guy wasn¡¯t strong. The problem was me.
[The effect of A Predator¡¯s Threat has reduced your will to fight.]
[A Predator¡¯s Threat has slowed down your movements.]
It was ridiculous. I overcame the threat of the 5th grade fire dragon only to be affected by this guy?
It was impossible. I had the Fourth Wall...
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking.]
This situation had happened once before.
It happened when I fought Yoo Jonghyuk in the Theatre Dungeon and when I was immersed in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s first person view... but now Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t here. So why?
Song Minwoo roared and raised his ws. ¡°...Kinda familiar. Do I know you?¡±
¨CHey, Kim Dokja.What is this?
A familiar voice ovepped with the same voice.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking.]
I grabbed his wrist and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°Really? I think I remember.¡±
¨CStop reading and go and get me some bread.Yes?
[The 6th grade outside species, Song Minwoo has triggered ¡®Memory Enhancement Lv. 3!¡¯]
¡°I know you.¡±
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking.]
...Dammit. I see. Now I knew what the Fourth Wall skill was.
There was a smile on Song Minwoo¡¯s face. ¡°Strange. How does a geek like you survive up to this point? You were reading a novel every day.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Haha, you are that person. Aren¡¯t you the guy who was beaten up by me while reading a novel in your spare time? Don¡¯t you remember?¡±
I remembered. Of course I remembered. Ate rage filled my head.
¡°You are Song Minwoo. You should remember the face of your old school friend right? It is good. I was wondering if you were still alive.¡±
When I was 17, I used to think that if I had the strength, I would tear apart this guy in front of me.
Song Minwoo kept talking. ¡°The novel you were reading at that time. Where can I see it?¡±
The moment I heard this, a scene came to my mind. I had been sitting in my seat and scrolling through the novel when he hit me.
...Perhaps?
¨CThis otaku, you are reading this?Is this fun? It isughable.
Of course, the novel I was reading at that time...
Song Minwoo¡¯s fist struck my abdomen and my body flew through the air. The moment I mmed into the outer wall of a building, Han Sooyoung¡¯s avatars attacked Song Minwoo. The exterior wall of the destroyed building fell on me.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking.]
The Fourth Wall. It was an exclusive skill that I had from the beginning. I still didn¡¯t know all the functions of this skill but I was confident of at least one thing.
This skill made me recognize this world as a ¡®novel.¡¯
In fact, I often felt strange. I made judgments and did actions that weren¡¯t possible in reality. It was like I was calmly watching this world from the outside.
It was due to the Fourth Wall.
¡°Shit.. What are you doing?¡±
An angry voice was heard. As I cleared away the pile of stones, the angry Han Sooyoung blocked my way.
Her dozens of avatars were dealing with Song Minwoo and the werewolves in the corridors of the building. Blood was flowing from Han Sooyoung¡¯s nose and her blood vessels popped out as she struggled.
It was because Han Sooyoung was squeezing out every drop of her already low magic power to exert this strength.
¡°I believed in you but what are you doing now?¡±
I slowly raised myself while feeling a sharp pain in my bones. This was truly real pain. I had forgotten since the Fourth Wall acted as a cushion for this pain.
[Many constetions are confused by the unexpected development.]
I endured the pain and stood up, shaking off the dust. ¡°This is an awakening event.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°Where is the fun in easily winning all the time? Sometimes I should go through adversity.
¡°Oh, is that why you are so beaten up?¡±
¡°I was just thinking for a while.¡±
[Many constetions are relieved.]
The Fourth Wall was a skill that made reality like a novel. Then it was obvious why the wall was shaking. It was because I currently regarded Song Minwoo as ¡®reality.¡¯ He was the asshole who beat me up and made my teen years a tragedy.
¡°...Do you know that bastard?¡± She was a writer and a really quick female. I stared at her and the hesitating Han Sooyoung hurriedly added. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t want to hear it but the words he said to you...¡±
I replied honestly to the person who had Lie Detection. ¡°Yes, I know him.¡±
¡°I can roughly guess...¡±
¡°That bastard. He is obviously a trauma.¡±
¡°...Where is the obvious trauma? A trauma is serious.¡±
Han Sooyoung stated as she spat out blood.
¡°Then what is the problem? Han Sooyoung, you can help me awaken. If you tell me a few words from Ways of Survival, won¡¯t I awaken?¡±
¡°Do you think I¡¯m Lee Hyunsung?¡±
In the end, I had to solve this problem myself. I would have a hard time going forward if the Fourth Wall shook every time I met a person who stimted my traumas.
Above all, I was 28 years old right now. I wasn¡¯t a 17 year old who was flustered by a bully.
[A constetion who likes revenge has revealed his own modifier.]
[The constetion ¡®One who Ovees the Late Trials¡¯ is cheering for you.]
[Some constetions are in agreement.]
[A bounty scenario has urred!]
+
[Bounty Scenario ¨C Oveing Trauma
Category: Sub
Difficulty: C
Clear Conditions: Some constetions, such as One who Ovees the Late Trials hasmissioned a bounty scenario for you. Ovee your trauma within the time limit and get rid of the specter of the past.
Time Limit: 1 hour
Compensation: ???
Failure: The contempt of One who Ovees the Late Trials.
+
One who Ovees the Late Trials was a constetion I had seen in Ways of Survival.
As far as I knew, this guy was a constetion of a different world... well, more of these constetions would start emerging in the fifth scenario.
In any case, this was a blessing in disguise. I threw Samyeongdang¡¯s Straw Mat to Han Sooyoung.
¡°Wipe up your nosebleed and stay back.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°It is enough.¡±
I jumped over Han Sooyoung¡¯s avatars towards the group of werewolves.
[6,000 coins have been invested in agility.]
[Agility Lv. 30 -> Agility Lv. 40]
[An amazing wind lies in your body.]
[15,500 coins have been invested in strength.]
[Strength Lv. 25 -> Strength Lv. 50]
[Your muscles are squirming like they are monsters.]
I should¡¯ve done this sooner. I had been too wary since being hit by the ¡®possibilities storm¡¯ not long ago.
[The special option of Unbroken Faith is activated.]
[The ether property is converted to ¡®divine¡¯.]
There was no reason for me to lose this fight. I just had a momentarypse in judgment from the Fourth Wall shaking. If I thought about it, I had the means to overpower these guys. In fact, I had many methods.
The werewolves copsed before my de. Werewolves had the dark attribute, making them vulnerable to the divine attribute.
Moreover, I didn¡¯t need to worry about the ¡®no killing¡¯ penalty with them. As I said, they were an outside species, not human. They weren¡¯t my kind any more.
I found Song Minwoo¡¯s face among the werewolves. His eyes slowly grewrger while Han Sooyoung¡¯s voice was heard behind me.
¡°Hey! Is it okay?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer. In fact, this situation was almost exactly the same.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking!]
However, it would turn out differently from earlier.
¡°It¡¯s okay. My awakening event is over.¡±
I ran straight towards Song Minwoo.
Grrrrr!
A few thoughts passed through my head. If I used Ganpyeongui and called the ¡®Hunter of the Hexagram¡¯, this game would end easily. But I wouldn¡¯t ovee my trauma by fighting like that.
This time, I had to fight with my own capabilities.
[The 6th grade outside species, Song Minwoo has triggered ¡®elerate Lv. 5!¡¯]
Song Minwoo¡¯s body moved at great speed after eleration was triggered. He already had level 40 agility and now his speed was increased with the effect of eleration Lv. 5.
I didn¡¯t have any footwork skills so I was forced to use a shortcut.
[7,000 coins have been invested in agility.]
[Agility Lv. 40 -> Agility Lv. 50]
[An amazing storm lies in your body.]
If I didn¡¯t have skills, I could use stats. I lightly dodged the flying ws and raised my de.
¡°Kuaaaak!¡±
His arm flew through the air and I cut off his other arm. The confused Song Minwoo lost his bnce. I didn¡¯t miss this gao and cut off his legs.
Song Minwoo roared as his limbs were severed in an instant. Along with the roar, his severed limbs were growing back.
This was the privilege of a werewolf¡¯s ¡®Physical Regeneration¡¯. However, normally the speed was lower... this bastard, did he receive a ¡®protection¡¯?
Yes... this was better.
[The constetion ¡®One who Ovees the Late Trials¡¯ is focused on your actions.]
The goal of the bounty scenario was to ovee the trauma. The constetion wouldn¡¯t be satisfied with an easy kill. I turned off the de and used my fists instead.
[8,000 coins have been invested in strength.]
[Strength Lv. 50 -> Strength Lv. 60]
[Your power has started to attract the attention of the giants.]
[Your total stats have almost reached the limit of this scenario.]
I grabbed Song Minwoo¡¯s neck.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking.]
Whenever I looked at this guy¡¯s face, I felt the ¡®17 year old Kim Dokja¡¯ inside me shrink back.
Poor thing. From now on, I would get revenge for ¡®him.¡¯
¡°Minwoo, I didn¡¯t greet your properly earlier.¡±
¡°What...?¡±
¡°It is nice to see you.¡±
I hit him in the stomach.
¡°Kuheeok!¡±
¡°By the way, I was in pain a lot back then.¡±
The 17 year old Kim Dokja was watching me in my memories. Feel free to watch.
¡°If you have a conscience, shouldn¡¯t you apologize first?¡±
I held him with one hand and continued to punch. The chest, the stomach and the face.
¡°What is wrong with reading a novel? Eh? Did I harm you?¡± On behalf of the 17 year old Kim Dokja, I hit him again and again. ¡°Bastard, I even used some money to buy the books.¡±
His teeth were broken, his chest muscles damaged and his bones shattered. The nearby werewolves growled at the assault but couldn¡¯te close. I was giving out a Predator¡¯s Threat despite not using any skill.
Real fear came from a strength that was on a different dimension. 10 minutes passed before Song Minwoo started begging.
Grrr! ¡°S-Sorry, I¡¯m sorry...!¡±
¡°Really? You¡¯re sorry?¡±
¡°Yes! I¡¯m really really sorry! I-I was young at the time...¡±
Of course he was. I knew. That degree of malice was understandable in his immature days. But.
¡°You must be mistaken... I wasn¡¯t trying to get an apology.¡± This was something that couldn¡¯t be understood or forgiven. ¡°In the first ce, I¡¯m not the one you should apologize to.¡±
¡°What does that...¡±
¡°First, I will hit you until all my trauma has disappeared.
I watched the copsed Song Minwoo and thought of my teen years. I was helpless, weak and only knew novels.
In fact, Han Sooyoung was right. There was no obvious trauma in this world.
All trauma was severe for the person involved so I didn¡¯t think these actions wouldpletely eliminate my trauma.
I would often have nightmares as the 17 year old Kim Dokja repeated the tragedy of that time.
Still, this might be a bitforting. Just like when I read Ways of Survival back then.
The 28 year old Kim Dokja might be able to help the 17 year old KIm Dokja escape from the nightmare for a short time.
¡°Keok! Cough! S-Stop... stop...¡±
Just like ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ was to me in those days.
¡°Keoook...¡±
How long did I hit him? Finally, there was a moment when I looked at Song Minwoo¡¯s face and felt nothing.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯s¡¯ shaking has subsided.]
[You have met the conditions to clear the bounty scenario!]
Chapter 76 - The Fifth Scenario (1)
Episode 16 ¨C The Fifth Scenario (1)
Song Minwoo¡¯s blood dripped onto the ground.
The feeling of my blood-soaked fist was dull. Song Minwoo was bleeding but he didn¡¯t open his eyes or talk. The shattered flesh seemed to have given up on restoration.
Han Sooyoung muttered, ¡°A scary guy... you killed a werewolf with bare hands?¡±
The other werewolves had already run away or were taken care of by Han Sooyoung. I looked down at Song Minwoo and said,
¡°He hasn¡¯t died yet.¡±
Now the Fourth Wall didn¡¯t shake when I looked at him. I didn¡¯t know if the trauma was resolved but I could resist it more than in the past.
[The constetion ¡®One who Ovees the Late Trials¡¯ sends encouragement to you.]
[The constetion ¡®One who Ovees the Late Trials¡¯ wants to give you his own stigma.]
Giving me a stigma? Really? The bounty scenario wasn¡¯t a single constetion request so it was surprising to give a stigma as a reward.
Of course, I appreciated it.
[The stigma Self-rationalization has been acquired.]
[The constetion ¡®One who Ovees the Late Trials¡¯ smiles with satisfaction at you who has seeded his stigma.]
[You will now have a defense mechanism that won¡¯t be bothered by any trauma.]
Thanks... I stared absentmindedly for a bit.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is grabbing his belly andughing.]
Self-rationalization? What did this mean? Are you kidding me?
Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you going to kill him?¡±
¡°Eh?¡±
¡°I¡¯m talking about that.¡±
I looked down at Song Minwoo in my hands. Should I kill him? There was no burden since he was an outside species.
[The backer of Song Minwoo is looking at you.]
The constetions of Bihyung¡¯s channel would like it if I killed him.
[Many constetions desire your revenge.]
I looked at Song Mingwoo for a while before putting him down.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
¡°What? Really?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
[Some constetions are disappointed with your hypocrisy.]
[Many constetions are questioning your judgment.]
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is watching your judgment.]
¡°You really won¡¯t kill him? Won¡¯t this bastard have coins?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Then can I kill him?¡±
¡°Go ahead. But won¡¯t you regret it?¡±
¡°Regret?¡±
I shrugged and walked towards her.
To be exact, it was in the direction that the werewolf group had run away. Perhaps their origin would be at the end of this direction. If my guess was right, the meteorite was what helped transform them into werewolves. The meteorites must be collected to prepare for the disaster scenario.
Han Sooyoung looked after me with a suspicious expression.
All of a sudden, the sound of footsteps died up and headed in another direction. It was in the exact direction of Song Minwoo.
Her avatar...
Yes. I thought Han Sooyoung would do this. I let her do what she want. In return, she would turn a blind eye to my hypocrisy.
Then after a while.
¡°Shit! What is this?¡±
Han Sooyoung gave a terrible scream and shook. I could tell the messages that were appearing in her head. Perhaps they would be messages like this:
[The 6th grade outside species ¡®Song Minwoo¡¯ has been killed and the demon king ¡®Andras¡¯ has noticed the murderer¡¯s presence.
[The demon king Andras will remember the one who dealt the final blow.]
[The demon king Andras will search for the one who dealt the final blow.]
[Final Blow: Han Sooyoung]
Han Sooyoung looked at me with a pale face and Iughed.
¡°I told you that you would regret it.¡±
Song Minwoo was a member of the 72nd demon king, Andras¡¯ household.
***
The 72nd demon king.
The constetions weren¡¯t the only strong ones among the Star Stream.
There were some strong people who refused to be subscribes to the heavens and travelled arounds. One of these superpowers was the ¡®demon kings.¡¯
¡°You are a really bad jerk.¡±
The demon kings sought their own ¡®households¡¯, just like the constetions chose incarnations. Corrupted incarnations could choose to join the household of a demon king.
The werewolf was one of his symbols and was located at the bottom of the 72nd demon king Andras¡¯ caste.
It was due to Andras¡¯ blessing that Song Minwoo had the Physical Regeneration ability.
Han Sooyoung stuttered out, ¡°H-How can I...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. Some people I know were cursed by a demon king like you but they didn¡¯t die right away.¡±
¡°Why are you saying it now?¡±
Come to think of it, Han Myungoh who was cursed by the demon king, Asmodeus... I didn¡¯t know what happened to him. Was he still alive?
¡°I think it is good. Andras isn¡¯t a very high ranking demon king. If you are enemies with a demon king, you will get the favour of the absolute good constetions and get more donations. It is a good thing.¡±
¡°Will the archangels care? Besides, I don¡¯t get along with sponsors and angels!¡±
Why? Was it also a demon king? I couldn¡¯t help thinking so when I suddenly closed my mouth.
...What did she just say?
¡°You don¡¯t get along with sponsors and angels?¡±
Han Sooyoung noticed my gaze and cursed.
¡°Damn, my damn mouth...¡±
¡°Do you not have a sponsor?¡±
It wasn¡¯t impossible. I also had no sponsor. In fact, in the first scenario, many of the survivors wouldn¡¯t get sponsors. To be precise, they didn¡¯t have any choices.
However, it was unexpected that a strong person like Han Sooyoung had no sponsor.
¡°I didn¡¯t choose one. Isn¡¯t it strange to choose from the beginning? I can only pick once.¡±
¡°Well, that¡¯s right.¡±
If the Sponsor Selection could be postponed, it was better to postpone it.
There were many good constetions and depended on how the person acted in a scenario, they could literally go from a ¡®turd to a Mercedes.¡¯
The Sponsor Selection urred once after the first scenario and were regrly implemented before the ¡®disaster scenarios¡¯ urred.
The fifth scenario was a ¡®disaster scenario¡¯ so Han Sooyoung would be able to participate in the uing second round of the Sponsor Selection.
I raised my hand and asked, ¡°Who will you choose? Is there a constetion you are thinking about?¡±
Han Sooyoung made a confident expression at my words. ¡°Won¡¯t you be surprised when you find out? They are already interested in me.¡±
¡°Who is it?¡±
Was it perhaps the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven?
¡°Have you heard of the Abyssal ck me Dragon?¡±
...The ck me dragon?
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking at your reaction.]
I hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°Ah, yes. He is a good sponsor.¡±
The Abyssal ck me Dragon was the sponsor of the Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon in the original novel. The Delusional Demon was one of the best fights along with the Steel Sword, so it wasn¡¯t a bad choice.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking at you with aplicated gaze.]
This guy wasn¡¯t interested in me anymore.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyebrows twitched at my nonchnt tone. ¡°What is with this sour expression? Who is your sponsor?¡±
¡°No, it is nothing. I was just feeling envious.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Really.¡±
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has used ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 1¡¯.]
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is false]
¡°Is this real?¡±
I didn¡¯t care about the Abyssal ck me Dragon. I just wanted her to get a sponsor. Han Sooyoung and this thug matched very well.
[The constetion who likes harems is cheering on you and Han Sooyoung.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression distorted like she heard the same message as me.
¡°What is this again...?¡±
Unfortunately, the wish of the harem constetion wouldn¡¯te true. Han Sooyoung and I would only be together for the next 10 days.
There was a moment of cooperation but it didn¡¯t change that she was a threatening enemy.
¡°It looks like we¡¯ve arrived.¡±
After a while, we reached the ce that was probably the base of the werewolves.
It was near a broadcasting station. There was a bloody smelling from the narrow forest of buildings. I heard the cries of the werewolves and people in the distance, like a battle was going on. Han Sooyoung said, ¡°It seems that we are a bitte. Is there a preceding visitor?¡±
I didn¡¯t seen any werewolves moving around as guards. Once we entered a bit further, a coin farmer that was bigger than Director Yoon¡¯s one was installed.
The coin farms were the exclusive property of the destroyed world. I was tired of facing these sights all the time.
It seemed like the coin harvest was over because there were no surviving people behind bars.
Han Sooyoung was moving ahead when she suddenly grabbed her nose.
¡°Yuck, what is this?¡±
As we headed through the imprisonment area to the residence of the werewolves, a more horrifying sight awaited us. Severed human thighs were hanging from rubber bands. It was like pork in a butcher¡¯s shop, making the purpose obvious.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has offset your emotional trauma.]
I read these scenes in the text but this was my first time actually seeing them. There was a fixed way for humans to evolve into an outside species.
Cannibalism In other words, to eat their own people.
Han Sooyoung cursed, ¡°You fucking scum...¡±
Most outside species evolved identally. Those who couldn¡¯t clear the ¡®find food¡¯ sub scenario usually walked this path. Once they ate a person, they couldn¡¯t stop. Those who changed species would no longer feel guilty about killing humans.
I stated, ¡°You look upset when you see this.¡±
¡°Of course. Who wouldn¡¯t be upset?¡±
¡°The other prophets said you want to use your information to control the world.¡±
¡°Who said that?¡± Han Sooyoung sneered and added, ¡°It is just as absurd as you calling me a giarist.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°World domination? It would be good. But my first goal is to prevent the destruction. Why else did I collect the apostles?¡±
¡°The apostles were all trash.¡±
¡°They were originally trash? Is that my fault?¡±
Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang!
We reflexively held our breaths. There was a loud sound from in front of us. I would hear the sound of flesh exploding.
Tatang!
No matter how I thought about it, this was the sound of gunshots. Wasn¡¯t the army already wiped out?
We ran towards the building towards the gunshots. Even if the army was still intact, it was ridiculous to deal with a werewolf with guns. But the sight in front of me changed the story.
Bodies of werewolves were piled up in front of me like a mountain. All of the bodies had bullet wounds. Han Sooyoung and I talked almost simultaneously.
¡°Attribute bullets.¡±
¡°A bullet with the divine attribute?¡±
I saw some people pointing guns in the distance. They were armed with modern rifles and unusually, they were all wearing prison uniforms.
Han Sooyoung nervously grabbed my cor. ¡°Hey, do you remember me telling you that there was someone like you in Sondaemun Prison?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°They are her forces.¡±
Han Sooyoung was pointing to a woman wearing a mask. It would be hard to know the sex if it wasn¡¯t for the long hair hanging down, covering most of the body including the face.
¡°She is the leader. It is obvious that she is a reader but I don¡¯t have any information on her.¡±
I see. They were from Seodaemun Prison... Then why wasn¡¯t this force visible during the struggle for the throne?
Han Sooyoung opened her mouth while looking at the mountain of werewolf corpses.
¡°They are also wanderers. They are quite powerful wanderers... the most powerful wanderers I know.¡±
A woman with a gun headed straight to this side. It wasn¡¯t the leader that Han Sooyoung pointed out.
I pulled out Unbroken Faith while Han Sooyoung prepared Avatar. The gun of the woman approaching us moved.
She leaned back and her muzzled headed to one of the mountain of werewolf corpses.
Dududududu!
The dead bullets copsed from the bullets. Then something hidden under the bodies were revealed.
¡°This is?¡±
There was a glowing stone that was 2m in length and height. It was one of the meteorites I needed to prevent the ¡®disaster.¡¯
The yellow meteorite was here. This meteorite was also the source of the werewolves¡¯ strength.
The woman gazed at the meteorite before slowly turning to me.
¡°Are you Kim Dokja?¡±
Chapter 77 - The Fifth Scenario (2)
Episode 16 ¨C The Fifth Scenario (2)
Looking closely, the woman seemed quite old.
Based on the wrinkles, she wasn¡¯t in her 40s but she was at least in her mid tote 30s.
She knew me? How?
I was a bit embarrassed but I maintained myposure as I looked at the woman.
¡°You must be mistaken. My name is Yoo Jonghyuk. Kim Dokja is the name of the guy I hate the most.¡±
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°Yes. So tell your leader not to talk nonsense. Just tell her, even if you¡¯re not sure what I mean.¡±
I looked to the side and saw Han Sooyoung watching me with an absurd expression. I winked at her. If it was Han Sooyoung, she would know what to do from now on. The woman opened her mouth.
¡°I already know that you are Kim Dokja. Stop the unnecessary lies.¡±
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is true.]
Han Sooyoung nodded towards me. This woman came because she knew for certain who I was.
¡°The king said that she will entrust this meteorite to you.¡±
It was unexpected. She knew me and now she was giving me the meteorite...
¡°Who are you?¡±
¡°We are the people of the Wanderer King.¡±
¡°That woman over there is your king?¡±
The woman nodded. I looked at the tall masked woman in the distance. Looking closely, I felt a sense of deja vu. But there was something strange.
¡°King... You don¡¯t seem to have a g?¡±
¡°The king doesn¡¯t dwell on such things.¡±
...What was with this answer? The woman continued speaking. ¡°The king said that we will take care of the disaster in the north. But she will leave the other four disasters to you.¡±
Before I could ask anything, the woman turned and left like her words were over.
Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°Hey! What are you suddenly saying? Shouldn¡¯t you exin it before you go?¡±
Despite the shouts, the woman kept walking away with turning back. Han Sooyoung looked at me and asked, ¡°What is this... do you know that woman?¡±
¡°How can that be?¡±
I quietly activated Character List.
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[You can check the information of the person by updating Character List. Do you want to update it?]
It seemed that the update cycle was back. I nodded.
[The update has beenpleted.]
[Some people will be added to the dictionary.]
Then a window popped up.
+
[Character Information]
Name: Cho Youngran
Age: 37 years old.
Constetion Support: First Spiritualist of Joseon
Private Attribute: Escaped Prisoner (General), Officer of Justice (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Prison Escape Lv. 3, Patience Lv. 6, Execution Time Lv. 3, Shooting Lv. 4...
Stigma: Transformation ult Art Lv. 2
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 30, Strength Lv. 34, Agility Lv. 36, Magic Power Lv. 28.
Overall Evaluation: The currentprehensive evaluation is currently in progress.
* ¡®Starter Pack¡¯ is currently applied.
* A growth package is currently applied.
+
Look at this, the First Spiritualist of Joseon?
[The constetion ¡®First Spiritualist of Joseon¡¯ is looking at you with wary eyes.]
I didn¡¯t think there would already be a woman with Jeon Woochi as a sponsor. (Jeon Woochi was a taoist sorceror during the Joseon Dynasty. Wiki Link:)
In addition, she had the fairly good attribute of Officer of Justice, although it was less than the ¡®judge.¡¯
If the subordinate was this good, what was the king like? I immediately looked at the tall woman.
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
The moment I met the gaze of the woman in the mask, a stinging pain shed through my head.
I reflexively looked away from the woman. My heart beat quickly.
The Fourth Wall instinctively shook.
The woman caused an even greater shaking than Song Minwoo. Despite having Self-rationalization, I didn¡¯t want to take the risk because I wasn¡¯t sure of the stigma¡¯s performance.
Han Sooyoung asked me anxiously, ¡°Hey, what is it?¡±
¡°...Never mind.¡±
The Fourth Wall responded to people who had an important influence on me in real life.
In other words, that woman was someone I knew. But there was only one person in this world who gave me a bigger trauma than Song Minwoo.
I see... As expected, she survived. However, I didn¡¯t expect her to be in Seoul.
It was why she was able to make arge force and why they were wearing prison uniforms. It was convincing if it was that person.
The wanderers soon began to move.
They aligned themselves and headed back the way they came. It was a march with no hesitation. A loyalty could be felt from the group.
The leader moved at the forefront of the group.
A crown like the Tyrant King, a woman who was different from the King of Beauty.
I looked at the ruins that they moved through. There were the broken coin farms and the survivors they spared. They had ced nkets and necessities beside the survivors. The survivors watched the leaving wanderers with awe-filled eyes.
I had forgotten.
A person didn¡¯t need a g or to sit on the throne to be king. In this kingless world, there was still a king.
***
After a while, I examined the yellow meteorite they left behind.
A yellow meteorite.
The meteorite, also called the moon stone, was usually a star pierce that hovered in other dimensions.
It was truly the same as I read in the novel.
It was from the exhrating magic power felt when I touched it, the faint light from the opaque interior and the white stripes all over the meteorite. The yellow meteorite clearly had the power to counter the disaster.
Then a system message was heard.
[The ¡®moon stone¡¯ wants to provide you with a high level strength.]
I refused the meteorite¡¯s offer and the power returned to the meteorite.
The moon stone basically had the power of the night and the outside species would receive this power. Perhaps the cannibals who received the power of the night were able to evolve into the outside species, the werewolves.
[The moon stone¡¯ gives off a feeling of familiarity.]
However, the real use of this meteorite wasn¡¯t simply to evolve the outside species. Even a few hundred werewolves couldn¡¯t prevent the future disasters.
Of course, a few thousand would help but then another disaster woulde from the high number of outside species and the power of the demon kings.
¡°I feel like a volunteer... Hey, did you find something?¡±
As I was examining the meteorite, Han Sooyoung was taking care of the survivors lying nearby. It was a little unexpected but she was probably targeting coins.
[The constetions of the Absolute Good system are touched by Han Sooyoung¡¯s good works.]
In a ce filled with the demon king¡¯s household, the dominations would be bigger than usual.
Indeed, a human¡¯s double-sidedness was profound.
Among the constetions of the Absolute Good system, there might be the Abyssal ck me Dragon. The second Sponsor Selection wasing up so Han Sooyoung would be looking at him. I looked around and said,
¡°The avatars are useful.¡±
Dozens of avatars were quickly organizing the surroundings. The corpses of the outside species were burned, while the terrible cages and human butcher stores were also demolished. She earned coins while getting a nosebleed...
Han Sooyoung wiped the blood and asked, ¡°When are you going to tell me?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I¡¯m talking about that.¡±
I realized her question wasn¡¯t about the meteorite. ¡°Are you still worrying about that?¡±
¡°How can I not care?¡±
There were two types of ¡®readers¡¯ that she didn¡¯t know about. In addition, there seemed to be a connection between the two. It was natural for Han Sooyoung who was the st to get off¡¯ to pay attention.
¡°Who knows?¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t you know?¡±
¡°I only know the woman, the leader of the group.¡±
¡°The Wanderer King?¡±
I nodded and said, ¡°That person isn¡¯t someone who got off. To be precise, she never read the original.¡±
¡°What? Then how does she know the contents of the plot?¡±
¡°By talking directly to me.¡±
Han Sooyoung looked like she had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer. ¡°You told others about the story? Why?¡±
¡°I needed something to tell her when I met her.¡± I gave her a moment before continuing. ¡°Because I had nothing else to say to her.¡±
Maybe she sensed my dark mood, making Han Sooyoung hesitate as she was about to question me. She probably had a lot that she wanted to ask me. Who was the woman and what was her rtionship with me?
Han Sooyoung was silent for a while before speaking again. ¡°I don¡¯t know what your rtionship with that woman is but is it okay to leave her alone? If there are more people besides us who knows the future...¡±
I understood her concerns but it should be fine. At the very least, that woman was a person with principles and she couldn¡¯t carelessly use the future information.
I knocked on the moon stone and opened my mouth.
¡°Rather, there is something more important. From now on, we will wake this up.¡±
¡°What? This thing?¡± Han Sooyoung watched me like I was insane. ¡°You want to wake up the disaster?¡±
¡°Why are you so startled? Didn¡¯t you do it before?¡±
Han Sooyoung had incited the Night of the Prophets and awakened the fire dragon, Lesser Igneel.
¡°Hey! I picked a small disaster. This one...¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t a disaster.¡±
¡°...Then what is it?¡±
¡°It looks like you were negligent in your giarism. Don¡¯t you remember? Do you really not know what will appear here when the scenario starts?¡±
Han Sooyoung stared at me before turning on her phone and reading her own novel.
¡°Ah... This, perhaps...¡±
¡°Have you realized? You copied it well.¡±
¡°Shut up. But the main scenario hasn¡¯t opened yet. Is it okay to do this? Moreover, what if a usibility request urs?¡±
¡°It won¡¯t happen.¡±
¡°The intermediate dokkaebi hates you..¡±
¡°Then I will deal with him.¡± Right now, he would be busy being reprimanded by the Bureau. ¡°We will start injected mana. Based on my calctions, it will hatch in 10 hours. I will take four hours and you will take six hours.¡±
¡°Why do I have to inject mana for six hours?¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t your magic power level higher?¡± At this moment, the number of avatars decreased dramatically. I noticed something. ¡°Tell me honestly. What level is your magic power?¡±
¡°Why should I tell you?¡±
¡°It is information needed to clear the scenario.¡±
[The provisions of the Temporary Contract will take effect.]
Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression distorted.
¡°...Level 55.¡±
I was honestly surprised. I thought it would be over level 40 because she could control dozens of avatars but level 5... this was almost approaching the scenario limit.
Her physique and strength were rtively low so she must¡¯ve been putting all her coins into magic power.
¡°I will change it. I will take two hours. You will take eight hours.¡±
¡°Hey! That¡¯s unfair! And now I have run out of magic power.¡±
I opened the Dokkaebi Bag and bought a few Intermediate Magic Power Recovery Potions.
¡°Then drink this.¡±
¡®What is this?¡±
¡°Coin item.¡±
¡°...Is your sponsor huge? You are just giving something like this to me?¡±
¡°I am the one who is big.¡±
Han Sooyoung nced at me. ¡°Did you put anything strange in it?¡±
¡°Then I¡¯ll start first.¡±
I touched the moon stone and started injecting magic power. 10 hourster, the guy inside the meteorite would wake up.
***
How long was I asleep? I opened my eyes at the sound of someone waking up.
¡°Hey, get up quickly! That guy has started to move!¡±
Han Sooyoung shouted with a nervous face while touching the meteorite.
The meteorite had started to crack.
It was a phenomenon simr to when the fire dragon broke out of the meteorite. It wasn¡¯t an aggressive reaction but if I said one word wrong... both of us might die here.
A brilliant light emerged from the moon stone, lifting some of the darkness of the night.
It was an awakening of a powerful presence that gave off a heavy pressure just looking at it.
Chapter 78 - The Fifth Scenario (3)
Episode 16 ¨C The Fifth Scenario (3)
The broken pieces of moon stone fell to the ground. A being scattering a silver mane was hatching. If he was a cub, I could control him using the ¡®imprinting¡¯ phenomenon. But this being wasn¡¯t such a naive creature.
[You have encountered a creature from a different world for the first time in this scenario.]
[Affinity with the species from a different world has increased.]
[2,000 coins have been rewarded.]
[You have received a bonus skill for smoothmunication with the other world species.]
[¡®Other World Interpreter Lv. 1¡¯ has been acquired.]
I could hear Han Sooyoung gulp next to me.
It was natural to be nervous since the encounter with the other world species was the prelude to the fifth scenario.
It waspletely different from the previous scenarios. The slightest mistake in the fifth scenario could cause all of Seoul to disappear.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Other World Interpreter Lv. 1¡¯ is activated.]
[The effect of the item Protection Symbol of the Imyuntar has increased understanding of the specifguage.]
The item I got from the fire dragon would be helpful from now on.
[Automatic interpretation has started.]
I heard a voice from the shining moon stone.
¡°¡°#%#$... damn, already?¡±
The creature curled up inside the moon stone grumbled and raised its body. The silver mane reminded me of a wolf at first nce, but I knew he was different from a wolf. Above all, I knew the species of this person.
¡¸ They are three metres tall. The dominant species of the world ¡®Chronos¡¯ that can transform using the moon stone at night. They are fighters with monstrous physical strength who use the power of the wind. ¡¹
One of the five dominant species of Chronos.
¡°I am the great first wolf.¡±
¡¸ In Chronos, they call the first wolf ¡®Imyuntar¡¯. ¡¹
¡°I am Lycaon of the Imyuntar.¡±
There was a creepy breathing sound in the darkness of the night, causing the surroundings to be still. I made eye contact with him while Han Sooyoung hid behind me. Of course, I didn¡¯t back down.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Lycaon Isparang
Age: 371 years old.
Constetion Support: Shadow of a Destroyed World
Private Attribute: Noble Imyuntar (Hero), Humiliated Survivor (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Way of the Wind Lv. 9, Advanced Weapons Training Lv. 9, Roar of the Battlefield Lv. 8, Sage¡¯s Insight Lv. 4, Steel Skin Lv. 8, Acting Lv. 4...
Stigma: Destruction Delivery Lv. 1
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 75, Strength Lv. 75, Agility Lv. 75, Magic Power Lv. 75.
Overall Evaluation: One of the five dominant species of the destroyed Chronos. After losing his world, he invested in the Star Stream and became a guide in the scenario. He is characterized by always looking at the world with eyes filled with remorse.
+
As expected, the hero of another world had great skills and stats. The average stats was level 75. He exceeded the current limit of the scenario. He was the goal of many representatives.
Lycaon¡¯s blue eyes looked down at me like I was interesting.
¡°You are the ones who woke me up?¡±
I nodded.
¡°I see... Is it finally time? Congrattions on clearing the tutorial scenarios, warriors of this world.¡±
It sounded like a tutorial. It was funny how he imitated the dokkaebi for dramatic effect.
There was no tutorial in this world. Every scenario was an actual event and the dead couldn¡¯te back again. Then what type of tutorial existed?
¡°Those who are facing extinction. First, I deeply regret that ¡®disaster¡¯ hase to your world.¡±
Lycaon spoke while looking up at the sky.
He was looking at the Great Hall over Seoul, Korea.
A huge vortex reminiscent of a ck hole was gradually increasing its volume every moment. Lycaon would¡¯ve also seen the Great Hall on the day his world was destroyed.
All guides in the scenarios were those who lost their homes to the scenarios.
¡°Since I am here, you can rest assured. I am a ¡®guide¡¯ to stop the destruction of this world. I will train you to prepare for the disaster and give you the necessary instructions. And...¡±
It came out quite hastily but he was good at reciting the words. He probably got a manual grom a dokkaebi.
Lycaon suddenly stopped talking.
¡°...By the way, you are the only ones who woke me up?¡±
¡°It is just us.¡±
¡°Strange. The fourth scenario isn¡¯t cleared? If it had been cleared properly, the five guides, including myself, would be hatched in the same ce... Where is the owner of the Absolute Throne?¡±
He was right. Originally, the five guides, including Lycaon, would gather as soon as the master of the Absolute Throne was born.
I spoke to Lycaon. ¡°We have no king.¡±
¡°There is no king... did the master of the Absolute Throne die? No way. At present, there is no way to kill the master of the Absolute Throne.¡±
Lycaon expressed his disbelief in a threatening manner.
¡°There was no owner of the Absolute Throne from the beginning.¡±
¡°What does that mean?¡±
¡°We cleared the fourth scenario without getting the Absolute Throne.¡±
mes appeared in Lycaon¡¯s eyes.
¡°Are you lying to me right now? Such a thing is impossible! The fourth scenario doesn¡¯t end until someone takes the throne.¡±
¡°There is also the method of destroying the Absolute Throne.¡±
Lycaon¡¯s expression stiffened. He seemed to grasp my words and his eyes widened.
¡°...Perhaps?¡±
The embarrassment of such a noble hero was really worth seeing. His silver mane quivered as he looked closely at me.
¡°The numerous constetions...surely you didn¡¯t destroy the throne...?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°How could you do such a terrible thing?¡±
Lycaon let out many curses that I couldn¡¯t hear properly. Han Sooyoung looked at the bellowing Lycaon and whispered to me, ¡°Hey, was it that serious? For you...?¡±
Han Sooyoung also received Other World Interpreter and heard the conversation. Lycaon screamed before I could answer.
¡°Why did you do that? Now there is no one in the world under the banner of that great god?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Ahh! The Star Stream constetions didn¡¯t care about Chronos! Now this world is ruined! Living things with less intelligence than a kobold should do their jobs!¡±
I felt scorn as I watched the despairing Lycaon.
Yes, this was the essence of these guys. On the surface, they were dispatched to help this world. However, they had a separate purpose that I would never let happen.
¡°Prince of the Imyuntar, Lycaon Isparang. It is too early to be frustrated.¡±
The prideful prince of the Imyuntar immediately responded to the change in my attitude.
He growled out angrily. ¡°Cheeky human. Show respect in front of a great species! You don¡¯t know the weight of your sin!¡±
¡°Lycaon, didn¡¯t you see anything when your world perished? The Imyuntar were the ruling species of Chronos, not Earth.¡±
Lycaon¡¯s expression stiffened. I didn¡¯t miss this gap and continued, ¡°There were five disasters that destroyed your world.¡±
¡°What...¡±
¡°The southern continent of Chronos where you lived was destroyed by the dragon. Right?¡±
Lycaon¡¯s eyes filled with disbelief. ¡°How do you know this?¡±
¡°Fire Dragon Igneel. The Disaster of Burning Hell. It is the name of the disaster that destroyed your world.¡±
The small disaster that I killed, Lesser Igneel was originally a ¡®disaster.¡¯
A single me could turn a small city into a sea of fire and a single p of its wings could destroy a lower species.
The southern continent of Chronos was destroyed by him. The fire dragon that woke up from a meteorite.
Lycaon gritted his teeth. ¡°You are speaking like it is someone else¡¯s story. You will regret it. Pretty soon, your world will also struggle in that hot hellfire.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. Igneel won¡¯te down to this world.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I have already killed him. There will be no ¡®Burning Hell¡¯ disaster in this world.¡±
Lycaon had a bemused expression, like he heard his home had been brought back.
¡°That is the best joke I¡¯ve ever heard. Is there such a joke in this world? Is it fun to joke about the world that will soon cease to exist?¡±
Well... of course not. I pulled out a blue coloured medallion. Then like magic, Lycaon¡¯sughter subsided.
The Protection Symbol of the Imyuntar. Lycaon¡¯s shaking hands reached out to take the medallion.
¡°W-Why... how do you have this...?¡±
The Protection Symbol of the Imyuntar was proof that a person had hunted a disaster dragon.
¡°Lycaon of the Imyuntar. Pay respects to the protector.¡±
Lycaon¡¯s body slowly fell. First his knees touched the ground, slowly followed by his head. There was a severe shaking of his eyes like he couldn¡¯t admit it.
¡°Do it properly.¡±
Before long, his head touched the ground. He was over three metres tall so it wasn¡¯t until he fell down that his eyes were lower than mine. I looked down at Lycaon.
This was the useful part of catching the fire dragon.
Han Sooyoung wasn¡¯t able to grasp the situation yet and looked at Lycaon with confused eyes. I was almost killed by Han Sooyoung¡¯s brutality but she ended up making things easier.
Lycaon spoke in a quivering voice. ¡°Great dragon hunter... With the benefit of hindsight, I would like to ask you to forgive my rudeness.¡±
¡°My name is Kim Dokja.¡±
Once again, I thought that my name wasn¡¯t that great. This would be a great scene if my name was Yoo Jonghyuk. I added a quick remark to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
¡°Lycaon. There is something I need you to do.¡±
Lycaon carefully looked up.¡±
¡°Teach me the Way of the Wind, which is the secret technique of your people.¡±
Lycaon¡¯s eyes slowly became bigger. This was my purpose behind hatching Lycaon.
The southern disaster of the fire dragon had disappeared so the first disaster in the fifth scenario would surely be the ¡®east disaster.¡¯
In order to prevent the catastrophe in the east, I needed to gain the secret technique of the Imyuntar.
Way of the Wind It was the only answer to the disaster of the east, the ¡®Disaster of Questions.¡¯
***
An hourter, I exined the situation to Han Sooyoung who hadn¡¯t been able to follow the conversation.
¡°Then the medallion you got from killing the fire dragon is an important thing for them?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°I still don¡¯t understand... the fire dragon you killed at that time was one of the disasters?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°...Then in the fifth scenario, we have to prevent four instead of five disasters?¡±
¡°You seem to understand yet not understand?¡±
Han Sooyoung frowned.
¡°I still don¡¯t understand. Didn¡¯t you kill the ¡®Lesser Igneel?¡¯ Isn¡¯t he a deteriorated dragon so why is he the disaster? Is this also a development of Ways of Survival?¡±
¡°...Everything that hatches from a disaster meteor is a disaster. That guy came out instead of Igneel so Igneel won¡¯t appear in this disaster. In addition, Igneel didn¡¯t appear in the original. Igneel¡¯s hatchling came out. It is only the fifth scenario so how can something like that wake up already?¡±
¡°...You speak well. Are you a spokesman for Ways of Survival? Are you actually the writer?¡±
The scenario difficulty was ridiculous but it was adjusted so that it could be cleared if people risked their lives.
...Of course, the adjustment was carefully controlled.
The Lesser Igneel, the deteriorated version of the hatchling had annihted the prophets, which could be called the elite troops at the time. Was that all? I was once killed by that dragon. If it wasn¡¯t for the King of No Killing, I wouldn¡¯t be standing here.
If Lesser Igneel had been released into Seoul and continued to level up, Seoul would¡¯ve ended up the same as Lycaon¡¯s hometown.
Of course, Han Sooyoung had no knowledge of such matters and was busyining.
¡°Anyway, aren¡¯t the disasters a bigger deal than I thought? I have a lot of trouble grasping the scale because of the way it was expressed in Ways of Survival...¡±
¡°We were lucky with the fire dragon. The disasters that wille will be in their original state. Terrible beings will appear.¡±
It was pleasant to see the expression of the giarist writer at the word ¡®original.¡¯
¡°Then what should we do?¡±
¡°We have to use that guy.¡±
I looked at Lycaon, who was preparing for the training in a distant ce.
Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°He looks strong. Do you want him to fight?¡±
¡°That guy is a coward. In addition, the guides are prohibited from fighting against disasters of another world. We have to take care of our work on our own.¡±
I heard Lycaon calling out to me.
¡°Protector, I am ready.¡±
Protector was the title for the owner of the medallion. I told him to call my name a few times but Lycaon didn¡¯t yield.
¡°From now on, I will teach you the secret technique of my n, the Way of the Wind.¡±
Way of the Wind. It was a hidden skill that allowed the user to use the wind like their own limbs.
Among the other species, only those with the Protection Symbol of the Imyuntar could learn this skill.
Yoo Jonghyuk was originally scheduled to obtain this but not this time. I couldn¡¯t give the strong person all the good skills.
¡°Then I will start.¡±
For the next three hours, I sweated hard to learn the skill.
It would be nice if the system had a message like ¡®Would you like to learn the skill?¡¯ but this wasn¡¯t possible. It was only possible to gain the skill by learning it directly.
I had read the novel so I was able to follow Lycaon¡¯s movements a little bit. To be exact, I thought I was following it.
Approximately one more hour passed. Lycaon hesitated before opening his mouth. ¡°Protector. I¡¯m sorry to say this but...¡±
Chapter 79 - The Fifth Scenario (4)
Episode 16 ¨C The Fifth Scenario (4)
I gasped and asked, ¡°What? Is it over?¡±
¡°No, that is...¡±
¡°...Then what am I doing wrong?¡±
¡°To be precise...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t drag it out and tell me quickly.¡±
¡°It is all wrong.¡±
It was so sincere that I sat down like I had received a nuclear punch. I breathed roughly and looked up at the sky. All of a sudden, the Great Hall floating in the sky seemed bigger. It seemed to be mocking me.
Lycaon looked at me and prepared for the kill.
¡°Protector... you don¡¯t have any qualities suited for Way of the Wind. No, to be honest, you don¡¯t have the qualities for almost every skill.¡±
If this went wrong, the world might perish because of me.
***
A few more hours passed like this and then days went by. There were eight days left until the start of the fifth scenario.
I didn¡¯t give up and continued to learn Way of the Wind. Of course, it wasn¡¯t possible.
Grrr. ¡°Protector, it is better to give up...¡±
¡°...Why can¡¯t I learn it?¡±
Han Sooyoung giggled beside me and said, ¡°Why? It is because you have no talent.¡±
¡°That isn¡¯t possible.¡±
¡°Why not? You aren¡¯t the protagonist. Do you think that you became Yoo Jonghyuk because you have been doing a good jobtely?¡±
My chest was sore like I had been stabbed. I spoke with a frown, ¡°But I understand everything in my head.¡±
¡°Ah, yes. Everyone thinks they can go to Seoul National University.¡±
¡°I¡¯m telling the truth.¡±
I remembered most of the enlightenment associated with Way of the Wind. I felt so frustrated one hour ago that I got a second battery from the survivors and read the text again.
¡°There is a gale in the right hand and a storm in the left hand. The Way of the Wind will be opened when the straight lines and the curves meet.¡±
¡°H-How... You really understand it!¡±
Lycaon felt admiration from where he was listening to me.
In fact, the words I just muttered was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s enlightenment in Ways of Survival. In Ways of Survival, Yoo Jonghyuk gained insight in a single ¡®phrase¡¯ followed by a Chinese character. He learned Way of the Wind in just 5 minutes.
But it wasn¡¯t that simple and I had wasted two days already.
¡°How can I do this?¡± I grumbled.
¡°Huh? You just said it... there is no representation more urate than that.¡±
¡°No, it was a metaphor.¡±
¡°Your words weren¡¯t a metaphor.¡±
It was enough to make me go crazy. This time the problem wasn¡¯t solved by the writer¡¯s description in Ways of Survival. It was because the exnation was justplete noise to me and the Fourth Wall was also useless at this moment. Fourth Wall gave me judgment and calmness but it didn¡¯t give me talent.
I felt a little feverish as I spoke to Lycaon. ¡°Then you should try this. One wind will meet another wind to form ying and yang. Once again, one wind will meet another wind to form the principles of negative and positive.¡±
Yin and Yang was a concept from Earth but Lycaon understood it instantly.
¡°How could you have gained such profound insight?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t just speak it, spread it directly through your body.¡±
¡°So it is like this.¡±
Lycaon concentrated and winds from different directions started to form around him. The two winds swirled, adding a hot and cold energy to the wind.
...To be honest, I thought it was ridiculous. He just heard it and could carry out the technique instantly? Then why couldn¡¯t I do the same?
My pride was provoked.
¡°Then how about this? ¡®Four winds meet and form a defense. Then another four winds are added, making it the Eight Trigrams. Therefore, wind is everywhere yet exists nowhere.¡¯ Can you do this as well?¡±
This sentence was the enlightenment that Yoo Jonghyuk gained in the 9th round of regression. This time Lycaon made a puzzled expression. I spoke in a triumphant voice.
¡°You can¡¯t? This is how I am feeling.¡±
¡°Pushov... no, Protector. I really appreciate it.¡±
...What?
[The 5th grade other world species ¡®Prince Lycaon of the Imyuntar¡¯ has received great enlightenment.]
Lycaon suddenly turned and started practicing.
[You have a great impact on the evolution of Prince Lycaon of the Imyuntar.]
[Lycaon of the Imyuntar feels a great appreciation towards you.]
[Some constetions from the ruined world ¡®Chronos¡¯ thanks you.]
[2,000 coins have been sponsored.]
I finally figured out what was going on. That damn wolf gained enlightenment by hearing what I said.
Han Sooyoung wasughing so hard that she was holding her belly.
I felt bted frustration. Maybe I knew Ways of Survival but I didn¡¯t know anything about myself.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ admires your patience.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is disappointed in your weakness.]
Looking at the system messages appearing in the air, I thought about signing a contract with a sponsor. Of course, it was impossible due to the contract with Bihyung.
[So why did you break the throne? Fool.]
I looked up and saw a transparent figure floating in the air. I opened the dokkaebimunication.
¡®Is it okay to talk now? What about the intermediate dokkaebi?¡¯
[He won¡¯te for a while. He is being properly disciplined. He won¡¯te before the fifth scenario opens. Ah, my channel also upgraded again. Hopefully I can reach the intermediate level next month. It is all thanks to you.]
¡®That¡¯s good.¡¯
[Why don¡¯t you look happy? It is also good for you if I do well.]
¡®You will be busy when you reach intermediate level.¡¯
Bihyungughed at my words.
[Brat, don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t know about other incarnations but won¡¯t I look after you? These days there are many intermediate dokkaebi at the Bureau but... it is noisy because some bastards are twisting their probabilities extensively.]
I didn¡¯t need him to tell me who it was.
[Oh, of course it isn¡¯t you.]
It waspletely Yoo Jonghyuk.
In fact, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s growth rate was impossible through any possibilities. He was growing at a rate that was close to a cheat.
[There is one abnormally fasting growing guy and the Bureau can¡¯t touch him... I think his sponsor is probably a formidable guy.]
Perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ¡®possibilities¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be a problem in the future.
In the end, the ¡®possibility¡¯ wasn¡¯t a problem if there was a constetion capable of that ¡®possibility.¡¯ And it was possible for Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sponsor.
[By the way, why don¡¯t you buy a growth package? I¡¯ll sell it for a cheap price if you buy it now. Aren¡¯t you suffering right now because you can¡¯t learn that skill? This package...]
¡®I won¡¯t buy it. In any case, isn¡¯t the growth package only applicable to skills already learnt? Did you show up just to eat money?¡¯
The growth package had a penalty when abused. It was why even the powerful Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t use the growth package.
[Sheesh, you knew...?]
Bihyung muttered with a dissatisfied expression.
¡®But it is time to buy something.¡¯
[Coins Possessed: 62,372 C]
I still had a lot of coins despite raising my stats due to selling the fire dragon parts.
If I had 40,000 more coins, I would¡¯ve bought Sky Dragon Steps but I couldn¡¯t this time.
Bihyung¡¯s face became rosy.
[Oh, really? What do you want to buy?]
¡®Aren¡¯t you going to receive new coin items soon?¡¯
[...How do you know? Did you nt a mole?]
¡®It is natural since a new scenario will open soon. At that time, tell me. I¡¯ll buy it.¡¯
[Hoh, you will...]
I turned off the dokkaebimunication. I didn¡¯t want to talk to him when there was nothing to say. I looked back and Lycaon was still gaining enlightenment. Han Sooyoung approached me and raised her chin.
¡°Hey, what are you going to do now?¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m still thinking.¡±
¡°Then let me learn it.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Or let the other survivors learn it.¡±
I looked at the people around us.
It was two days after the coin farms copsed. The rescued survivors were working together and caring for the other wounded.
The atmosphere was quite different from the survivors of Deputy Yoon¡¯s coin farm. Perhaps Han Sooyoung¡¯s hypocrisy-filled good deeds had changed them. It turned out that hypocrisy was a good thing.
Han Sooyoung opened her mouth again. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just learning Way of the Wind? Does it matter who learns it?¡±
¡°...Right, anyone can learn it.¡±
¡°Why do you insist on being the one to learn it? Are you trying to get the attention of the constetions alone?¡±
It wasn¡¯t wrong, but it wasn¡¯t exactly right.
¡°Only people with the protection medallion can learn Way of the Wind.¡±
¡°Then give it to me.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t transferable.¡±
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is true.]
This woman really...
¡°You are the first person who is more suspicious than Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°You brought it up. This skill, Yoo Jonghyuk should¡¯ve originally learnt it?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Then why do you have to go through this trouble? You can leave it to Yoo Jonghyuk. It isn¡¯t toote now so let¡¯s go find Yoo Jonghyuk. He is growing well. That guy would manage it somehow.¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk doesn¡¯t listen to what other people will say.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll tempt him.¡±
I stared at Han Sooyoung before looking away. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk doesn¡¯t like the body of a child.¡±
¡°Are you ignoring me now?¡±
¡°Besides, there is also a problem in finding Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Even Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t learn Way of the Wind without the protection medallion.
It meant the medallion needed to be taken from me, but ownership wouldn¡¯t be released until I died.
In other words, Yoo Jonghyuk must kill me. Besides, even if he had the medallion...
¡°You know that I beat him up pretty badly in the end. Once we meet, he will definitely try to kill me.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk flew from my punch filled with 100 strength. In the meantime, the eyes that wanted to tear me to pieces was still vivid.
¡°...Well, he was really bold when he cut off my head.¡± Han Sooyoung stroked her neck as memories of Chungmuro Station surfaced.
¡°Besides, finding out where he is now...¡±
At this time, an uproar was heard in the distance.
¡°There is someone injured. Please help! It is serious!¡±
Someone had found a wounded person nearby.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking forward to yourradeship.]
[Some constetions are expecting you to treat the wounded.]
The messages of the constetions, including Uriel, arrived. What was going on?
I took Han Sooyoung and headed there.
After a while, I found the cause of the problem and red at Bihyung floating in the air.
Bihyung sniggered at me.
[I didn¡¯t know about this.]
The bleeding Yoo Jonghyuk was waiting for me there.
Chapter 80 - The Fifth Scenario (5)
Episode 16 ¨C The Fifth Scenario (5)
I stepped away from the bleeding Yoo Jonghyuk lying down and spoke to Bihyung.
¡®Is this your doing?¡¯
Even if Yoo Jonghyuk was nearby, he couldn¡¯t be found in such a timely manner. It was clear that Bihyung had made a sub scenario to bring Yoo Jonghyuk over here.
[Are you suspecting me? Is there evidence?]
There was no evidence but I felt it in my heart.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is concerned with your judgment.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
I felt a strong belief.
Han Sooyoung whispered to me as I looked down at Yoo Jonghyuk with a dumb expression. ¡°...We found him. What are you going to do?¡±
¡°What else?¡±
¡°Shouldn¡¯t you save him? This jerk, he is the protagonist.¡±
Of course I had to save him. However, if I saved this bastard, I would surely die. Han Sooyoung looked scared that Yoo Jonghyuk would wake up straight away.
¡°Do you have anything that will restrain him?¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk won¡¯t tolerate them.¡±
¡°Lock him up...¡±
¡°Then he willmit suicide.¡±
¡°But if he goes back... Damn, what will happen if he regresses?¡±
Han Sooyoung btedly came to this realization.
What would happen to this world if Yoo Jonghyuk went back? It was one of my biggest challenges living in this world.
¡°We have to stop it. Nobody knows what will happen.¡±
It was right to assume the worst when things were unknown. If I made a mistake and the world was reset, my existence would disappear.
By the way... how did this jerk end up like this?
I looked closely at him. There was a wound around the belly. All internal organs and ribs were broken. It felt like someone incredibly powerful had hit Yoo Jonghyuk in one blow...
At this moment, I stared nkly at my fist. Perhaps?
¡°What is with that expression? Why is your face suddenly dark?¡±
¡°...It is nothing.¡±
All of a sudden, I was convinced. He was hit with a fist filled with 100 strength...
Then he had been like this for two days. I felt sorry with the benefit of hindsight. With this, it might not be possible to restore my rtionship with Yoo Jonghyuk.
As I slowly looked from his belly to his face, I took a few steps back because I got goosebumps.
¡°...Shit.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was staring at me with bloody and teary eyes. His lips were moving and he was obviously saying something like ¡®Dead, Kim Dokja.¡¯
I thought Han Sooyoung was beside me but she had run away as quickly as possible. I shouted towards Yoo Jonghyuk from a distance.
¡°Hey! Can¡¯t you release your anger?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Wasn¡¯t it a fair fight? Didn¡¯t you try to kill me as well?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t change. Dammit...
I had no choice. Yoo Jonghyuk had to survive here, even if he killed me. I might be able to stop the Disaster of Questions without Yoo Jonghyuk but I wouldn¡¯t be able to prevent the other disasters and the world would be destroyed.
Why was the protagonist of Ways of Survival such a person? The story would¡¯ve been easier of it was Lee Hyunsung or Jung Heewon.
...This wasn¡¯t the time forints.
I decided to use a skill. It was obvious what he was thinking but I needed to check.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]
At this moment, something amazing happened.
¡¸ Kim Dokja. ¡¹
My eyes widened as I watched Yoo Jonghyuk.
...Did he just call out to me?
¡¸ You can hear my words. Isn¡¯t that right? If I look back at what you have done so far... ¡¹
...What?
¡¸ Say that you can hear me. If you don¡¯t move now, the world will... ¡¹
I looked at him in a slightly confused state.
¡¸ ...It was my mistake. Dammit. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes slowly closed. I hesitated for a moment before approaching Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t seem to have the power to fight me at all in this state. Besides... I didn¡¯t see any animosity towards me.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk. Can you hear me?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk struggled to raise his eyelids, only to close them again. It was strange.
No matter how badly wounded he was, he would¡¯ve automatically triggered Recovery when he was hit. Then why was he still in this state?
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Summary List.]
+
[Character List]
Name: Yoo Jonghyuk.
Private Attribute: Regressor (3rd turn) (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare), Supreme King (Hero)
Exclusive Skills: Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. 8, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 9, Advanced Weapons Training Lv. 8, Mental Barrier Lv. 6, Hundred Steps Godly Fists Lv. 6, Red Phoenix Shunpo Lv. 6...Omitted...
Stigma: Regression Lv. 3, Transmission Lv. 3
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 60, Strength Lv. 60, Agility Lv. 60, Magic Power Lv. 60.
* Currently in an abnormal condition.
* Currently, this person is affected by the Thousand Spirits Poison.
+
There were no problems with his stats. Yoo Jonghyuk was still one of the strongest incarnations in Seoul and his skills had grownpared to thest time I saw him.
The problem was his abnormal status.
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t have the skills Thousand Poisons Resistance or Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons yet. Therefore, poison was currently one of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s few weaknesses.
He was like this because he was poisoned.
I looked closer and saw that there were blue blood vessels all over his body. It hadn¡¯t been long since he was poisoned. Fortunately, he was still alive.
But it was strange. I knew of only one person who could infect Yoo Jonghyuk with Thousand Spirits Poison at this time...
A woman watching me in the distance asked, ¡°You... are you Kim Dokja-ssi?¡±
I nodded. I looked at the woman who brought Yoo Jonghyuk here.
¡°He was like this the whole time. He kept asking me to take him to Kim Dokja...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk?
I looked down at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face, which was more blue-tinged than before, and instantly had many thoughts. The terrified Han Sooyoung who had been fleeing came back.
¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on?¡± Han Sooyoung poked my shoulder but I didn¡¯t answer.
I struggled for a moment before speaking to Bihyung.
¡®Bihyung, open the Dokkaebi Bag.¡¯
[Now do you understand? This wasn¡¯t my doing.]
¡®Open the bag.¡¯
After confirming my remaining coins, I found a coin item that could cure Yoo Jonghyuk.
He was affected by the THousand Spirits Poison so it couldn¡¯t be removed simply by eating the Ein Forest Essence. I quickly turned on the text and checked some of the ingredients before purchasing items from the Dokkaebi Bag.
[You have purchased one Midday Tryst.]
[You have purchased one Old Barbara Branch.]
[You have purchased two Putna Daltun Horns.]
[You have purchased one Detox Potato.]
[You have purchased two Aintern Temple¡¯s Purification Water.]
[You have purchased one Ein Forest Essence.]
[A total of 7,370 coins are consumed.]
It was an unexpected bleeding service. I asked the survivors around me for a small bucket, lit the Magic Power Stove and poured the ingredients into it. Han Sooyoung asked,
¡°What are you going to make?¡±
¡°An antidote.¡±
¡°Did you decide to save him?¡±
I nodded and replied, ¡°This bastard, he came to me deliberately.¡±
¡°Deliberately? Why?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°Did hee to ask you for help? I don¡¯t think Yoo Jonghyuk woulde all this way to kill you.¡±
¡°That is impossible for Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°How do you know?¡±
¡°I know. He is that type of bastard.¡±
I adjusted the mes of the stove.
Fire zed and the contents in the bucket started to boil. Based on the colour and form, it looked like food from the Death Valley goblins. It might seem terrible but this soup was an excellent antidote.
Han Sooyoung ced her hands on her knees and stared at the terrible food. ¡°By the way, was Yoo Jonghyuk such a bad person in Ways of Survival?¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°It was a thought that I had. Didn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk save a lot of people and do good deeds? Of course, he is like a psychopath but isn¡¯t he moving for the people? He is fighting to save the world. I don¡¯t want to admit it because I am a bad person.¡±
When I thought about it, Han Sooyoung¡¯s words weren¡¯tpletely wrong. Iughed and said, ¡°Your defense of Yoo Jonghyuk is energetic because you haven¡¯t read as far as me.¡±
¡°But that is that and this is this. You can¡¯t judge people by only looking at one side.¡±
It was an unexpected conversation so I looked up at Han Sooyoung for a while.
Han Sooyoung was smiling coldly.
¡°No matter how much you im that my work is giarism, it has actually never been affected by Ways of Survival.¡±
¡°...You almost convinced me without saying that. It is a real pity.¡±
I said this but my mind was a bitplicated.
What type of person was Yoo Jonghyuk? Could I really say that I was familiar with the existence of Yoo Jonghyuk?
I was able to confidently answer until a while ago. I was the only reader who read all of Ways of Survival.
But I felt that some of my answers were being diluted in the soup. Did I know Yoo Jonghyuk at all?
Not long after that, the soup started boiling.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is impressed with your good deed.]
[The constetions of the absolute good system support your good deed.]
[3,000 coins have been sponsored.]
It was rare for a person to be damaged by sponsorship. Shit.
I approached Yoo Jonghyuk with the soup. Han Sooyoung brought me a spoon from a nearby store. I scooped up the soup with the spoon and put it in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mouth. Han Sooyoung watched me blowing on the soup.
¡°You are acting like a wife.¡±
¡°Do you want to do this?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
In fact, I wouldn¡¯t have given the job to her anyway. It was due to the system message that I heard every time I scooped up a spoonful of soup.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is impressed with your good deed.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
It was tremendous to receive coins every time I fed him.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is impressed with your good deed.]
[300 coins have been sponsored.]
I thought it was a loss to me but it turned out to be a huge honey event. Indeed, people should live a good life.
However, I started to feel a bit strange after 10 spoonfuls.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is impressed with your good deed.]
[400 coins have been sponsored.]
...Was this constetion really impressed with the good deed? Would itst until the bowl was empty?
Yoo Jonghyuk started to open his eyes with a slight groan. He was still in bad shape but he was gradually healing from the poison. I didn¡¯t miss his opportunity and took out one item.
[You have used the Midday Tryst.]
[You are seeking consent from the target.]
Midday Tryst was an item that allowed for a one on one conversation with the selected target for a specified time period. If I had a bit more coins, I would¡¯ve learnt the Sound Transmission skill but I didn¡¯t have that much to spare. Therefore, I chose the next best thing.
[The target has agreed tomunicate with you.]
[The Midday Tryst has started.]
Once I sent a message to Yoo Jonghyuk, a small messenger window emerged in front of me.
¨CHey, can you hear me?
The connection was formed.
I purchased this item for three reasons.
One was because Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s tongue was paralyzed by the effect of Thousand Spirits Poison and the second reason was to avoid leaking information to Han Sooyoung. The third and most important reason was that I didn¡¯t want to confirm to Yoo Jonghyuk that I could read his thoughts.
The next moment, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s message came up.
¨CKim Dokja, move to the east right now.
Chapter 81 - SSS Grade Talent (1)
Episode 17 ¨C SSS Grade Talent (1)
I frowned at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words.
Move to the east right now? I saved his life and now he was giving me an order?
I was a bit annoyed but Yoo Jonghyuk spoke before I could say anything.
¨CThe Disaster of Questions is waking up.
...What?
I was frustrated because I couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying and Yoo Jonghyuk frowned.
¨CSomeone is waking the disaster up.
***
After a while, Han Sooyoung and I left Lycaon who was still receiving enlightenment and headed for Gangdong-gu.
It was at a tremendous pace.
¡°Can we just leave that wolf?¡±
¡°The Imyuntar can feel the master of the medallion. He wille find us when he wakes up. Rather...¡± I looked at Han Sooyoung running beside me and said, ¡°Can¡¯t you carry him? You can use your avatar.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± The disgusted Han Sooyoung quickly moved away from me.
¡°Didn¡¯t you say earlier that Yoo Jonghyuk might not be a bad guy?¡±
¡°That is that and this is this. Isn¡¯t he the one who cut my head off?¡±
I couldn¡¯t say anything to refute her words. Yoo Jonghyuk spoke through Midday Tryst.
¨CYou can leave me.I don¡¯t need help.
¨CDon¡¯t be so prideful.I really will abandon you.
I couldn¡¯t see Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face because he was being carried on my back.
¨CWhen will you be able to move by yourself?
¨CIn two days.
¨CWill you kill me when you recover?
I asked half-jokingly but this bastard didn¡¯t give an answer. I deliberately reduced the pace at which I was moving.
¨CThen I can¡¯t help you.How can I believe a guy who is trying to kill me? I will help you if you swear an Oath of Existence.Swear not to kill me until the end of this regression.
¨CI can¡¯t do that.
Lousy bastard.
¨CThen swear you won¡¯t hurt me until the fifth scenario is over.If you can¡¯t do that, I really won¡¯t help you.
Yoo Jonghyuk thought for a moment before replying.
¨CI swear.
Surprisingly, Yoo Jonghyuk agreed to the oath. The Oath of Existence. It was a constraint on the person who swore it.
A cold me emerged from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body and dug into his heart. If he broke the oath, this blue mes will burn his heart. I felt a bit relieved but then Yoo Jonghyuk continued.
¨CI won¡¯t kill you.But...
¨CBut?
¨CI will hit you once.
¨CWhat?
I was dazed for a moment. He was going to hit me?
¨CIs this because of two days ago?
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer again. I thought it was strange that Yoo Jonghyuk agreed to the oath so easily.
-...It is one hit.I¡¯ll do it gently.Understood?
Yes, it might not be bad if one hit could restore my rtionship with Yoo Jonghyuk. In my current state, I wouldn¡¯t die from one of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s blows.
Shortly after that, we crossed Cheongdam Bridge and entered Gwangjin-gu.
I felt the surrounding ecology change little by little. Grass was growing on the streets and instead of rotting bodies, the smell of monster feces filled the area.
The trunk of a huge nt emerged from the ground and wrapped around the surrounding high-rise buildings.
[The 7th grade nt species ¡®Yanaspleta¡¯ is on the lookout.]
I spoke to Han Sooyoung who was pulling out a weapon. ¡°Don¡¯t act so rashly. It is fine as long as we don¡¯t attack first.¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t these type of monsters suddenly attack with tentacles?¡±
¡°That is just in the manhwas. They are gentle. Just be careful not to step on the roots.¡±
At the top of the building, the head of the nt that resembled a sunflower followed after us with its eyes. It seemed scary but it was actually a good monster. This didn¡¯t mean that the situation was optimistic.
The nt species originally came after the Great Hall was fully opened.
¡°The terraforming has started.¡±
Terraforming.
The fifth scenario was world versus world. Humanity fought against the worlds that wereing.
Just like Seoul was suffering from the erosion of Chronos, China would be facing the ¡®3rd Murim World¡¯ while Japan would be facing the ¡®White Demon World.¡¯
Han Sooyoung scouted around with avatars and said.
¡°It is a monster colony. Damn.¡±
¡°The terraforming will be even faster if the disasters awaken.¡±
¡°What type of person is waking up the disaster?¡±
¡°A person like you. You woke up the fire dragon.¡±
Han Sooyoung bit her lips.
¡°...Didn¡¯t you tidy it up?¡±
¡°At that time, the intermediate dokkaebi ced a penalty on the fire dragon. And what if I didn¡¯t kill it? Don¡¯t tell me that you would catch it?¡±
¡°There was a penalty? Then didn¡¯t it benefit us to catch a weakened disaster?¡±
¡°The Disaster of Questions has no penalty. It is questionable if the dokkaebi would even ce a penalty on it.¡±
We moved quickly to avoid the monster¡¯s colony. In the streets, the ground rats and grolls were eating corpses.
Looking at the traces of the destroyed monsters, Yoo Jonghyuk seemed to havee through this path. Yoo Jonghyuk was great to walk so far in this physical condition.
I spoke to Yoo Jonghyuk.
¨CI have a question.
¨C......
-Whye to me?I honestly thought you wouldmit suicide.
¨CSuicide?How ridiculous.
If he had seen his future in the 8th turn, he wouldn¡¯t be able to say this. I was a bit confused by his next words.
¨CIf I was going to give up so easily, I wouldn¡¯t have started this journey.
It really felt like the first time I read Ways of Survival. I thought that maybe Han Sooyoung was right. The Yoo Jonghyuk I believed I knew was the Yoo Jonghyuk who easily gave up, easily killed people and repeatedly caused numerous tragedies.
However, the Yoo Jonghyuk of the third round wasn¡¯t yet like that. Maybe I didn¡¯t know the Yoo Jonghyuk of the third round.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is increasing.]
In the meantime, Yoo Jonghyuk said.
¨CI thought of you right away. I thought you would be a bit of help since you are the one who smashed the Absolute Throne.
¨CYou aren¡¯t going to say anything about me breaking the throne?
¨CI don¡¯t want to talk about what already happened.In addition, I thought about it.You must¡¯ve done it to rule out the ¡®god of the other world.¡¯
-...You know?
I was honestly frightened because I had never really spoken to Yoo Jonghyuk before.
Putting aside his coolness, this bastard had such a great mind?
Yoo Jonghyuk kept speaking.
¨CHonestly, I think it isn¡¯t a bad way.The problem is what happens next.After you crushed the throne, the guides were scattered and there was a setback in collecting the meteorite.This is why the terraforming of Gwangjin-gu and Gangdong-gu is so fast.The wanderers are using the power of the meteorites.
¨CWhat do you mean?Terraforming won¡¯t elerate simply by using the meteorites.
¨COne of the 10 Evils has taken possession of a ¡®disaster meteorite.¡¯
The 10 Evils. My heart instantly sank. I had expected it but actually hearing it was a different matter.
¨CIs it the Poisoner?
-...You know.
¨CShe is the only one who uses Thousand Spirits Poison.
But there was still a part that I didn¡¯t understand.
¨CThen why are you poisoned?If you knew that the opponent was the Poisoner, shouldn¡¯t you have avoided facing her from the front?
¨CI was trying to convince her.
¨CConvince?You?
Then a scene btedly popped up. Yoo Jonghyuk said.
¨CI wanted to make her apanion.
Companion... I see. I remembered now. Poisoner Lee Seolhwa was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯spanion in the second round.
The 10 Evils weren¡¯t always opponents.
Just like Armed Fortress Master Gong Pildu changed in this round, Lee Seolhwa was transformed into apanion in several rounds, including the first regression. In all other regressions so far, Poisoner Lee Seolhwa was one of the fewpanions that Yoo Jonghyuk could rely on.
¨CYou did something that isn¡¯t like you.
¨CI admit it.I was pathetic.
¨C......
¨CShe isn¡¯t the person I remember.I knew it.Still, I wanted to believe for a moment that the woman in my memories was still alive.I wanted to be with her again.
I couldn¡¯t help opening my mouth at the loneliness that he had buried deeply.
In his second life, Lee Seolhwa didn¡¯tst long but she was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s lover.
¨CI understand.
Yoo Jonghyuk was silent for a moment.
¨CYou are talking as if you have regressed before.
¨CI don¡¯t need to regress to understand.
I knew that I shouldn¡¯t speak about understanding. Still, I wanted to say it. Since he wouldn¡¯t receive understanding from anyone in the future, I thought I could say this.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is deeply shaken.]
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has received a faint constion.]
¨CStrange.You obviously aren¡¯t a regressor...But I feel like you really understand these emotions.Is this also the power of a prophet?
I didn¡¯t answer, making Yoo Jonghyuk continue speaking.
¨COf course, you aren¡¯t a good person.You are the unscrupulous person who kidnapped my sister.
¨CWhen did I kidnap her?I just protected her.You must¡¯ve understood with Lie Detection...
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
We stopped talking at Han Sooyoung¡¯s tense voice. The road from Cheonho Bridge to Gangdong was visible. The Great Hall emitted a bright light and something fell towards Gangdong-gu.
Dammit, it was already happening.
We fully entered Gangdong-gu and the density of the strange grasses covering the ground increased. Dirty trees grew between buildings and there were small beasts running on the trees.
Gangdong-gu was already half of another world.
Han Sooyoung bit her lips and asked, ¡°Are we toote? What if the disaster has already awakened?¡±
¡°It hasn¡¯t happened yet. Then we would¡¯ve received the scenario.¡±
We took a few more steps and saw several markings on the ground. It looked like graffiti but it was actually a territorial disy.
It was a warning that no one should enter.
From here on, it was the area of the Poisoner. Like the other wanderers, she settled in Gangdong-gu and started to expand her base.
The progress was faster than I expected.
Han Sooyoung said, ¡°If this group is well guarded, it won¡¯t be easy to attack... Have you thought of something?¡±
No. I didn¡¯t intend to wage an all-out war in the first ce.
¡°We only need the meteorite. We can just steal it. I will buy time while you take the meteorite.¡±
However, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy. The story might be different if I had an assistant like the Wanderer King.
Yoo Jonghyuk interrupted.
¨CThere is no need to rush.Even if the disaster begins, the Disaster of Questions is a disaster that can be suppressed at an early stage.
An early suppression. Indeed, it was possible for Yoo Jonghyuk.
¨CEarly suppression?Who will do that?Are you a half god?
¨COf course it should be you.Weren¡¯t you thinking about it anyway?
¨CWhy do you think that?
¨CYou have already woken up the guide and received the Way of the Wind.
Based on his tone, he was slightly anger that I had taken the Way of the Wind that he was supposed to learn. I said with a smile.
-I didn¡¯t learn it.
-...Why?There wasn¡¯t enough time?
I¡¯m actually d.
¨CNo, I don¡¯t have talent.
I could feel Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s deep contempt in his silence.
¨CYou, from the beginning...
¡°There are people.¡±
The moment I heard Han Sooyoung¡¯s words, I raised Unbroken Faith. It was the territory of one of the 10 Evils so the peple would naturally belong to their group.
I entrusted Yoo Jonghyuk to Han Sooyoung¡¯s avatar.
¡°...I will be gone for a while so take him. Do you understand?¡±
The people were getting closer. But something felt strange. Usually it wasn¡¯t so loud when a single group moved. Then the clear voice of a woman was heard in front of us.
¡°Everybody run towards Cheonho Bridge!¡±
It wasn¡¯t the Poisoner¡¯s group.
They weren¡¯t as powerful was the Wanderer King¡¯s group but some people who survived the Poisoner¡¯s Group were escaping from Gangdong-gu. The unarmed survivors gasped for air when they found us.
¡°O-Out of the way! Hurry!¡±
Terrible arrows came flying towards them. The man who spoke to me fell down after being hit by an arrow. The man¡¯s back quickly became discoloured and ckened. It was poison.
¡°Get those scum!¡±
The Poisoner¡¯s group. Dozens of men and women simultaneously fired arrows.
The moment we tried to avoid it by moving behind a building, threads of silk spread out in the air.
Dozens of webs were arranged at once, causing the arrows to be tangled in the thread and not go any further. Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°...What the hell is that technique?¡±
In fact, it was fired from behind the Poisoner¡¯s group. The thread was like steel wire. The sharpness of the thread caused the legs of people to fly through the air.
¡°Kuaaak!¡±
All the threads were connected to one woman. The woman wearing a tight ck battle suit flew through the air. Two knives stretched out from the fingers of the woman brilliantly riding the thread of magic.
The woman freely manipted the length of the thread and she swept away the Poisoner¡¯s group in an instant.
There wasn¡¯t any hesitation in her hand. The movements were beyond beautiful. Thebination of stats and skills showed that she didn¡¯t have an ordinary sponsor.
[The information of this person can¡¯t be read in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
[This person isn¡¯t registered in ¡®Character List.¡¯]
She wasn¡¯t even on the Character List.
Han Sooyoung muttered. ¡°Hey, that woman...¡±
I knew without her saying anything. It was because this woman was someone I knew.
¡°...Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
I hadn¡¯t met her in two days yet she waspletely different from the girl I knew.
Chapter 82 - SSS Grade Talent (2)
Episode 17 ¨C SSS Grade Talent (2)
The bodies of her enemies were torn apart whenever Yoo Sangah¡¯s daggers moved.
Amazing.
...Was this really the Yoo Sangah that I knew?
There weren¡¯t many skills that could show such power against arge group. At the present time, it was probably just Armed Fortress Master Gong Pildu¡¯s Armed Zone and Han Sooyoung¡¯s Avatar. Yet Yoo Sangah was showing such power without such a great skill.
How did she be so strong? What was this talent?
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke as if he had read my thoughts.
¨CShe grew faster because you aren¡¯t around.You seem to have no aptitude for raising your fellowpanions.It is the same with Lee Hyunsung.
-...They grew to this extent because I pushed them in the beginning.
Actually, I didn¡¯t really believe it but I wanted to say it. Damn, why did she get stronger when I wasn¡¯t around? Why didn¡¯t I seem to be much help?
¡°Hey.¡± A voice was heard. I nodded at Han Sooyoung¡¯s words. I couldn¡¯t be overwhelmed by Yoo Sangah forever. In any case, there were many enemies and Yoo Sangah was alone.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, this way!¡±
Yoo Sangah stopped when she heard my words. She clearly hadn¡¯t expected to meet me in this ce.
¡°Han Sooyoung, please.¡±
Han Sooyoung triggered Avatar like she was waiting. Dozens of avatars disturbed the vision of the Poisoner¡¯s group and I safely made contact with Yoo Sangah.
¡°Dokja-ssi? How are you...¡±
¡°Let¡¯s talk after moving.¡±
The group members were chasing from afar. Fortunately, the survivors seemed to have escaped safely through Gangdong Bridge. The problem was on our side.
¨CGo back to the high-rise buildings. The most important step is to go up and secure visibility.
As expected, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s judgment was valid. I might¡¯ve read all of Ways of Survival but I couldn¡¯t make battlefield judgments like Yoo Jonghyuk. Then Yoo Jonghyuk followed with meaningful words.
¨CAnd that woman, you should be careful of her.
Be careful? Who? Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t say anything else.
We quickly hid inside a nearby high-rise building. The monsters suddenly flooded the area, probably due to the turmoil, and just narrowly missed our tail. They soon gave up and returned to inner Gangdong.
I looked back at Yoo Sangah.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, are you okay?¡±
¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Yes, I¡¯m also fine.¡±
It had only been a few days but the conversation was awkward. It felt like I was meeting an alumni from high school 10 years after graduation. I looked away from her in her tight battle suit and opened her mouth.
¡°That, um...¡±
I couldn¡¯t figure out what to ask.
In the meantime, I looked at Han Sooyoung. Yoo Sangah saw Yoo Jonghyuk being carried on the back of Han Sooyoung¡¯s avatar and gave me an unknown smile.
¡°Dokja-ssi must¡¯ve done a lot in the meantime.¡±
It was time to listen to a short story.
***
After the Absolute Throne was smashed, Yoo Sangah fell to Gangdong-gu. Fortunately, there was someone who fell with her.
¡°Gong Pildu was with you?¡±
¡°Yes. Ahjussi helped me a lot.¡±
Seeing that she was calling him ahjussi, they seemed to have be quite familiar with each other.
¡°Where is Gong Pildu?¡±
¡°Two days ago, he was injured while we were fighting the Gangdong-gu group. It was while trying to save me...¡±
Many surprising things kept happening today. ¡®10 Evils¡¯ Gong Pildu risked himself in order to save someone else. Yoo Sangah bowed her head and spoke with difficulty.
¡°In the end, Ahjussi lured them to Han River...¡±
Yoo Sangah bit her lips and a poisonous expression filled her face. I suddenly realized why Yoo Sangah killed the Poisoner¡¯s group without hesitation.
I spoke tofort her. ¡°Gong Pildu is probably okay. Don¡¯t worry.¡±
I had a contract with Defense Master so I would know immediately when Gong Pildu died. I would be penalized ording to the terms of the contract. The fact that there was no reaction meant that Gong Pildu was alive somewhere.
Like the Poisoner, Gong Pildu was also part of the 10 Evils. It wasn¡¯t that easy for him to die.
¡°Where did you get those clothes and the dagger?¡±
¡°Ah, this...¡±
After separating from Gong Pildu, Yoo Sangah found the green meteorite. The green meteorite was a meteorite containing rare items. I checked the items she had. I remembered that there was a meteorite containing these items in the vicinity of Cheonho-dong.
[Ancient Assassin¡¯s Dagger]
[Rich Cat¡¯s Leather Suit]
Both were excellent S-grade items.
The Ancient Assassin¡¯s Dagger had the option of increasing damage to distant enemies while the Rich Cat¡¯s Leather Suit increased movement speed the longer the duration of the attack.
¡°They are great items.¡±
¡°Yes, I am able to fight well thanks to these items.¡±
Yoo Sangah smiled and then the quietly listening Han Sooyoung spoke up.
¡°Hrmm, are you sure that¡¯s all?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s say that you ¡®identally¡¯ got the items. But it doesn¡¯t make such to have suchbat skills with barely any items. Who the hell is your sponsor? How did you raise ¡®Quick Movements¡¯ or ¡®Dagger Mastery¡¯ so quickly? It is impossible for the growth to be so fast even with a growth package.¡±
¡°...Who are you?¡±
¡°Me? It am the 1st Apostle.¡±
Yoo Sangah raised her weapon without speaking. ¡°Calm down Yoo Sangah-ssi. This person isn¡¯t an enemy.¡±
Yoo Sangah looked at me with disbelief. ¡°Are you friends now?¡±
¡°We aren¡¯t friends...¡±
¡°The Chungmuro group members died because of that person. Surely you haven¡¯t forgotten?¡±
Yoo Sangah was the deputy of Chungmuro while I was absent.
Therefore, her affection towards the Chungmuro members would be much deeper than mine. Han Sooyoung said, ¡°Chungmuro? Ah, I see. You are that woman?¡±
Yoo Sangah narrowed her eyes at the words.
Han Sooyoung smiled and added, ¡°Hey, Kim Dokja. I am a bad person but I am also a good judge. She has a big sponsor behind her.¡±
¡°You...¡±
¡°When I saw her at Chungmuro, she wasn¡¯t that strong. Isn¡¯t it strange? She can¡¯t grow so explosively in such a short period of time, even if she has a narrative grade sponsor. Maybe if she has a SSS grade elerated growth skill... How can many constetions can provide such support to South Korea?¡±
My heart wanted to deny it but rationally, I knew that Han Sooyoung was right. There was also Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words from a short while ago. In addition, Yoo Sangah had been hiding her sponsor from me.
Yoo Sangah¡¯s troubled eyes met mine.
I used to think that Yoo Sangah¡¯s sponsor was ¡®Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth¡¯.
The only person who could find the path through the magic room was the person who handed the thread to Theseus in Daedalus¡¯ Labyrinth, ¡®Ariadne.¡¯
But as Han Sooyoung said, it was impossible for her to grow to such a degree with Ariadne¡¯s sponsorship.
In addition, the movements that she showed while moving through the air in the previous battle was closer to the Hermes Walking Method than Air Steps. Ariadne¡¯s incarnation couldn¡¯t use Hermes¡¯ stigma.
I was about to open my mouth when something unexpected happened.
[Haha, everyone! How have you been?]
Dammit... this timing. I immediately looked out the window. A new dokkaebi was floating in the sky.
[The participants in this scenario are quite hasty. There is still a week before the start of the scenario and people are already waking up a disaster. Are you curious about the next scenario?]
It wasn¡¯t the level of Bihyung¡¯s nonsense but it was still talking nonsense. Perhaps there was no one in charge so this low-grade dokkaebi took their ce.
[The dokkaebi have left their positions so I will be here for this period... haha. Now have you all eaten your fill? You do know that this event can¡¯t be skipped, right?]
This wasn¡¯t good. It was a really bad development.
[I want to do that but I won¡¯t be a dokkaebi if I don¡¯t give scenarios.]
The fact that a scenario was appearing now told me one thing.
[The sub scenario ¨C Disaster Prevention has arrived.]
It meant that the outbreak of a disaster was just around the corner.
+
[Sub Scenario ¨C Disaster Prevention]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: S-
Clear Conditions: Unknown powers in Gangdong-gu are trying to hatch one of the disasters. Defeat them and stop the iing ¡®disaster.¡¯
Time Limit: 2 hours
Compensation: 22,000 coins
Failure: Early emergence of the Disaster of Questions.
+
Since we received the ¡®Disaster Prevention¡¯ scenario, the Poisoner¡¯s group would¡¯ve received the ¡®Defend the Disaster¡¯ scenario.
The damn dokkaebis were still trying to be part of this unforeseen situation. I looked at the party members and said, ¡°It isn¡¯t the time for us to fight. Now we have to handle this situation.¡±
Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah nodded at the same time.
***
The Poisoner¡¯s group was based in Cheonho-gong of Gangdong-gu. To be exact, it was an area filled with churches and a cathedral.
If their purpose was to awaken the disaster early, it was a good choice to choose a religious area. The prayers of those who lost their ces would create an environment suitable for hatching the ¡®disaster.¡¯
Han Sooyoung finished scouting and opened her mouth.
¡°The road with the lowest level of terraforming is in the northeast, centred on the base. It is 16 Cheonjung-ro. If we go this way, we can reach the base in the shortest time. But the defenses are formidable.¡±
I nodded. We didn¡¯t have time so we had to go through the fastest way.
¡°It¡¯s okay. We have to reach that building as quickly as possible. Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah-ssi will take the front. Don¡¯t fight each other.¡±
¡°...I understand.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t help right now so I decided to leave him on the roof of the high-rise building with Han Sooyoung¡¯s avatar. His role was to watch the battlefield. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t express much dissatisfaction. He just gave this piece of advice.
¨CIf possible, get rid of them before the disaster hatches. Without Way of the Wind, the initial suppression of the Disaster of Questions is almost impossible.
Of course, I wanted to do that if possible.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
The moment I gave the signal, we jumped down the building.
Han Sooyoung used Avatar and took the lead. Dozens of avatars jumped onto the road and attracted the attention of the Poisoner¡¯s group.
¡°What? Kill them!¡±
As the confused group members chased after the avatars, thin and transparent thread filled the air.
¡°Kuaaak!¡±
The people chasing after the avatars were caught by sharp threads and their legs were cut off. This wasn¡¯t the end. There was another strong thread in the location where the people fell.
Their heads were cut off and flew through the air.
It was a terrifying double trap designed by calcting the angle of the fall. Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue.
¡°She is brutal.¡±
¡°You aren¡¯t someone who should be saying that.¡±
Apart from their feelings towards each other, thebination of the two was worth looking at. No, it was very useful.
Thanks to their help, I was able to dig into the centre of the base while avoiding their surveince.
It wasn¡¯t difficult to find the disaster meteorite. It was a huge meteorite over 8 metres high. It emitted an ominous aura and seemed to say ¡®I am the disaster.¡¯
Certainly, it felt like the fire dragon was noparison. If I couldn¡¯t stop this disaster, Seoul would surely be destroyed.
Then a woman appeared next to the meteorite. She had hair as white as snow. As I saw the lips that were like red flowers on a snowy mountain, I could see Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s taste.
The cold and ssy eyes stared at me and I felt a terrible spirit emerge from her body.
It made my skin crawl. It was an overwhelming feelingpared to Gong Pildu.
I see. Did she also receive the power of the disaster meteorite?
¡°...Who are you?¡± One of the 10 Evils, the Poisoner Lee Seolhwa asked.
Chapter 83 - SSS Grade Talent (3)
Episode 17 ¨C SSS Grade Talent (3)
There were three ways to wake up a disaster meteorite.
One was to let the meteorite hatch in line with the scenario. The second method was to draw out the power of the disaster meteorite in advance. The third and fastest way was to supply magic power to the disaster meteorite.
Dozens of Lee Seolhwa¡¯s group members were praying.
A faint magic power was flowing out of their bodies into the disaster meteorite.
The hatching ceremony. They had chosen the third method. Based on the meteorite¡¯s heavy shaking, the disaster would hatch in 30 minutes.
I looked at Lee Seolhwa and opened my mouth. ¡°Won¡¯t you stop? Unless you want to die together.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°What are you thinking?¡±
It was strange.
In the third round of regression in the original, there was no one foolish enough to wake up the disaster, even if they did borrow the power of the disaster.
Yoo Jonghyuk must¡¯ve visited Lee Seolhwa in advance because he knew about it.
¡°Stop hatching the disaster meteorite. Then I will spare you.¡±
Lee Seolhwa looked at me quietly. ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±
¡°You¡¯ll die here.¡±
Poisoner Lee Seolhwa had an expression of ridicule on her face. Her hands moved and the humans praying towards the disaster turned towards me at the same time.
[The eighth grade outside species ¡®Lower Human Nam Minhyuk¡¯ has showed hostility towards you.]
[The eighth grade outside species ¡®Lower Human Jung Minji¡¯ has showed hostility towards you.]
[The eighth grade outside species ¡®Lower Human Kin Gapil¡¯ has showed hostility towards you.]
Antennae grew on their heads and their hands turned sharp like rakes. These wanderers seemed to be transformed humans rather than wolves. There was a worrisome point.
¡°...It is strange. Isn¡¯t transforming humans the power of the disaster meteorite?¡±
I murmured at the same time that Lee Seolhwa shouted, ¡°Die!¡±
The loyalists leaped into their air, their wings spreading out. I aimed the hilt towards them.
[de of Faith is activated!]
[The special option of Unbroken Faith is activated.]
[The ether property is converted to ¡®fire.¡¯]
White mes split apart the air. All species with insect properties were weak to ¡®fire.¡¯ The ether mes of Unbroken Faith spread to the skin of the lower humans.
One to two, two to three.
¡°Kieeeek!¡±
The mes burned the skin of the lower humans. I cut off the legs and wings of the lower humans.
¡°Kiiit!¡±
Magic power gushed out and burned the lower humans in a sh. It was the same in the case of the werewolves. They walked a path other than human and I didn¡¯t receive a penalty from killing them. I broke through the mes and ran towards Lee Seolhwa.
For the first time, Unbroken Faith was blocked. Lee Seolhwa¡¯s fingernails and forearms were tinged with a dark light.
The power of the disaster increase the level of the stigmas. By borrowing the power of the disaster, her Poisonous Nails could block the de of Faith. However, that didn¡¯t mean she could prevent all damage.
¡°Kuuack!¡±
Sparks flew and Lee Seolhwa¡¯s body was pushed back a few steps. It would be strange if this didn¡¯t happen.
My current overall stats were the highest among all incarnations apart from Yoo Jonghyuk. I might have no talent but I wasn¡¯t weak among the incarnations.
¡°Give up. It won¡¯t be good for you if the disaster hatches now. Doesn¡¯t this sub scenario have no penalty for failure?¡±
Lee Seolhwa looked towards the disaster meteorite nervously. There was a change in the atmosphere.
It felt like she was aiming at the ¡®disaster¡¯ rather than power from the disaster meteorite.
It was strange. Even a person who didn¡¯t read the original novel would expect Seoul to be destroyed when a disaster hatched. Then why did she want to wake up the disaster?
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Lee Seolhwa
Age: 26 years old
Constetion Support: Guam Divine Doctor (Guam =pen name of Heo Jun, court physician who wrote Dongui Bogam, a medical text that showed up in a previous chapter)
Private Attribute: Competent Physician (Rare) Master of Poison (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Weapons Training Lv. 7, Love Affair Demon Lv. 4, Emit Deadly Poison Lv. 5, New Poison Preparation Lv. 4, Counteract Poison Lv. 5...
Stigma: Deadly Poison Lv. 4, Thousand Spirits Poison Lv. 4, Crossroad of Life and Death Lv. 3
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 44 (+10), Strength Lv. 42 (+10), Agility Lv. 44 (+10), Magic Power Lv. 35 (+10).
Overall Evaluation: The currentprehensive evaluation is currently in progress.
* This character is currently infected with a ¡®parasite.¡¯
* The parasite is controlling the body of the character.
* Some of parasite Antinus¡¯ stats will be transferred to the character.
+
...Damn. I didn¡¯t think her condition would be like this.
[Due to the effect of your exclusive attribute, the memory effect of some scenes have increased.]
In my head, pages flipped and the sentences of some pages flowed over my retinas.
¡¸ There are five dominant species in the world of Chronos. The Velkia in the east, the Parasites in the west, the Imyuntar in the south and the Mistilen in the north. Finally, the Inba in the centre. ¡¹
I avoided the poisonous attack and kicked her back, causing her to lose her bnce. Lee Seolhwa rolled around the ground and groaned. I watched Lee Seolhwa and opened my mouth.
¡°The fifth scenario is a scenario where the ¡®Disasters of Chronos¡¯ was made into a motif.¡±
Lee Seolhwa¡¯s eyes shook as she heard ¡®Disasters of Chronos.¡¯
¡°On the day that Chronos was destroyed, the five dominant species of Chronos elected one hero from each species. The five chosen heroes shamefully survived the destruction and carried on Chronos¡¯ path.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°They were sent to another through through a contract with the Star Stream. They came to that world, encountered other species and promised their lives in exchange for stopping the disaster there.¡±
A non-human cry emerged from Lee Seolhwa¡¯s mouth at the story.
¡°They were called guides.¡±
¡°...Kit. How does a human of Earth know such things?¡±
How did I know? I knew because I saw it in a book.
¡°You aren¡¯t Lee Seolhwa.¡±
The disasters were hatching faster than the original. There were no ¡®humans¡¯ who would do such a thing.
¡°Parasite Queen Antinus. Why is a guide trying to wake up the disaster?¡±
Only a ¡®fallen guide¡¯ would dream of such a thing.
[The 5th grade Parasite Antinus is looking at you.]
Parasites were a parasitic species that lived through other species. Now Lee Seolhwa was being manipted by one of the guides.
I looked at the dead bodies of the lower humans.
Just like with Lycaon¡¯s meteorite, it wasn¡¯t the power of the disaster but the power of Chronos¡¯ guide that promoted the human transformation.
¡°Why are you infecting the humans here? Why are you doing this?¡±
Kiiik...
¡±What do you get for waking up the disaster early? Isn¡¯t the purpose of the guides to prevent the disaster along with the people of this world and unite with us to build a new world? Why are you trying to destroy the terraformed world?¡±
Kikik, kikikik...!
¡°This is an act that vites your mission! It isn¡¯t toote so get out of her body right now. Do the right thing, Guide Antinus!¡±
If possible, I didn¡¯t want to kill Lee Seolhwa. Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk would do the same.
The Poisoner became one of the Ten Evils after being infected by the Parasite. Lee Seolhwa might not be one of the 10 Evils if the infection was removed.
It was why Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s conversation didn¡¯t work. He tried to protect his old lover from the Parasite Queen.
The messages of the Midday Tryst blinked in the air.
¨CKill her.
It was Yoo Jonghyuk.
¨CThe important thing isn¡¯t her life but the survival of this world.Act wisely, Kim Dokja.
Due to the far distance, I couldn¡¯t see what Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression was like.
He had to worry about this world rather than the woman to whom he once gave his affection. Maybe this was the nature of a hero.
I said.
¨CThen you will be unhappy.
¨CIt doesn¡¯t matter.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voce was steady and firm. But I knew. If Lee Seolhwa died here, Yoo Jonghyuk would someday copse.
Kiiit!
The deaths of his acquaintances would pile up, gnawing at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s memories and making his mind weary.
¡°Kit! You are just a human!¡±
The Parasite Queen spoke through Lee Seolhwa¡¯s mouth. Hatred for humans was ingrained in her tone.
In fact, I knew why she hated humans so much. However, the situation wasn¡¯t rxed enough for me to think about her feelings.
¡°Kit. Die.¡±
ck liquid started to flow from Lee Seolhwa¡¯s body. The Thousand Spirits Poison. This was when Lee Seolhwa¡¯s talent started to be shown off. ck liquid shot from her fingernails towards me.
I took a few steps back while the Thousand Spirits Poison melted the ground. If Yoo Jonghyuk was an ordinary incarnation, he would¡¯ve already be like this ground. Yoo Jonghyuk asked.
¨CDo you have a countermeasure to the Thousand Spirits Poison?
¨CI do.
I also wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. Strictly speaking, I wasn¡¯t an incarnation. Lee Seolhwa¡¯s poison spread through the air towards me.
It felt like it had its own will as the poison freely moved through the air and found my weakness. A few drops sshed on my thighs and then my forearms. A part of the suit hit by Thousand Spirits Poison started to melt.
A satisfied smile appeared on Lee Seolhwa¡¯s face. However, this was an early judgment.
I ran through the poison and punched her hard in the belly, throwing her back.
¡°Kiiiiiet!¡±
She flew through the air with a terrible cry.
My skin touched by the Thousand Spirits Poison showed some discolouration but it soon returned to its original colour. Lee Seolhwa was upset.
¡°...Kik, the Thousand Poisons Resistance?¡±
Horror was in her eyes. Thousand Poisons Resistance was the terror of all beings who used poison. However, I didn¡¯t have Thousand Poisons Resistance or Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons.
¡°Antinus, you don¡¯t know the sponsor behind your host?¡± I put my hand in my pocket. ¡°That¡¯s why you don¡¯t know. You don¡¯t know but I¡¯m sure its inside that body. Right?¡±
After a while, a book appeared in my hands.
[A constetion worried about the degradation of Oriental medicine has revealed his own modifier.]
[The constetion ¡®Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ looks at you with amazement.]
¡°Kiiit...?¡±
[Dongui Bogam- Unfinished Book]
It was one of the greatest Oriental medicine records of the East. The Dongui Bogam was an item that appeared in the five person dungeon during the King¡¯s Qualifications.
¡°I had a hard time collecting this.¡±
During the King¡¯s Qualifications scenario, all the kings were frantically trying to get the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
While the kings coveted the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword, I picked up other items. Many items were thrown away because they didn¡¯t know their value. Among them, I was interested in the Dongui Bogam.
Internal Medicine ¨C 4th part.
External Medicine ¨C 4th part.
Various Diseases ¨C 11th part.
Remedies ¨C 3rd part.
Acupuncture ¨C 1st part.
Table of Contents ¨C 2nd part.
It was a star relic that could bepleted after 25 parts were collected.
Unfortunately, I only collected eight pieces but that alone was enough to see an effect. Even if I only collected eight parts, the Dongui Bogam had the effect of the S grade Immunity to Poison Bead.
[The effect of the Dongui Bogam ¨C Iplete has been activated.]
[Your body has temporarily gained the Poison Resistance ability.]
The baffled Lee Seolhwa shouted.
¡°How? The Thousand Spirits Poison...!¡±
¡°I know. Thousand Spirits Poison is a poison that can¡¯t be counteracted with ordinary poison resistance. But it is possible for the Dongui Bogam. Why do you think that is?¡¯
[The constetion ¡®Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ is smiling faintly.]
One constetion faintly glowed as if in response.
¡°It is because the constetion who made the Thousand Spirits Poison is the author of Dongui Bogam.¡±
Chapter 84 - SSS Grade Talent (4)
Episode 17 ¨C SSS Grade Talent (4)
¡¸ The greatest good person can turn into the worst killer at any time. ¡¹
This was a sentence that described Guam Divine Doctor in Ways of Survival.
Guam Divine Doctor Heo Jun.
ording to the records in Ways of Survival, the task that Heo Jun devoted hisst years to wasn¡¯t medicine but poison. Like many great people whoter became constetions, Heo Jun reached a level beyond the actual history records.
¡¸ ¡°If I make a poison that can kill anyone, I can make a pill that can save anyone.¡± ¡¹
Heo Jun was banished after the death of King Seonjo and devoted hisst seven years to this question.
Why was poison a medicine for some people and a poison for others? One day in hisst years, he finally reached a mystical answer.
¡¸ ¡°It isn¡¯t the body but the spirit that determines the action of the poison.¡° ¡¹
A poison made by analyzing a thousand souls. The result was the heavenly poison that flowed out of Lee Seolhwa¡¯s body, the Thousand Spirits Poison.
Dongui Bogam was actually written from Heo Jun¡¯s failure to reach Thousand Spirits Poison.
¡°Kiik, kiiik!¡±
I moved through the Thousand Spirits Poison and dealt a merciless blow to Lee Seolhwa.
Lee Seolhwa flew through the air. It wasn¡¯t hard to defeat Lee Seolhwa if her poison was disabled.
It was the Thousand Spirits Poison that solidified her reputation as one of the Ten Evils. If I hadn¡¯t got the Dongui Bogam, I would¡¯ve be a sacrifice of her reputation¡
This time her luck was bad.
[The constetion ¡®Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ is looking at you like he is sorry.]
[The constetion ¡® Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ is looking forward to you dealing with this properly.]
[300 coins have been sponsored.]
The ¡®Parasite¡¯ infection was irrelevant to Guam Divine Doctor¡¯s intentions. In other words, Lee Seolhwa¡¯s attack on me wasn¡¯t ording to Lee Seolhwa¡¯s will.
By the way, only sponsoring 300 coins¡
[The constetion ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil¡¯ you dealing with this properly.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ expects you to do your best.]
[300 coins have been sponsored.]
I ignored the response of the constetions and approached Lee Seolhwa. Lee Seolhwa crawled across the ground with fear.
I could feel Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s gaze in the distance. Yoo Jonghyuk would probably be hurt badly if Lee Seolhwa died here.
I looked at the fallen Lee Seolhwa and opened my mouth. ¡°Hey.¡±
To be exact, I spoke to Parasite Antinus inside her.
¡°It would be good if youe out.¡±
¡°Kik?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t toote now. Return to your duties as a guide. Teach people skills and get along with them.¡±
¡°¡¡±
¡°If you work hard, maybe you can be a constetion one day?¡±
The Parasite Queen, Antinus was a strong hero.
It wasn¡¯t possible for her to exert all her strength because she was restricted by the probabilities. It wasn¡¯t impossible for her to be a constetion if she continued to be a ¡®guide¡¯ and umted history.
¡°You humans¡ I hate¡¡±
The problem was that she thought of humans as enemies. It was also a mortal enemy. I nced at the disaster meteorite that was intermittently shaking.
¡°I am sorry that your world was destroyed. But is it necessary to destroy this world? Are you going to reproduce the same tragedy here?¡±
¡°¡All of you will die.¡±
I watched the smiling Antinus and sighed. If she didn¡¯t go out on her own, I would have to force her out.
In fact, I didn¡¯t want to use this method. It wasn¡¯t just due to the pain Lee Seolhwa would go to. I didn¡¯t want the burden of dealing with Antinus after she left the body.
I nced up at the sky. The constetions of the Korean penins. I owed them a debtst time so this time I had to make a concession.
[The special option of Dongui Bogam ¨C Iplete has been activated.]
[Dongui Bogam ¨C Iplete has conveyed the essence of Oriental medicine to you.]
I had an iplete version of Dongui Bogam so I couldn¡¯t do miracles like making a powerful poison or saving a dying person. However, I could do simple treatments.
For example, taking a parasite out of a body.
Her body had to be bound for a smooth treatment, so I held Lee Seolhwa¡¯s arms from behind, holding her to the ground. It was a misleading position but her consciousness was buried deep inside her.
Common sense told me not to go after Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ex-girlfriend unless I was a madman. Especially in front of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Hit a Pressure Point Lv. 2¡¯ is activated.]
I started to press at different pressure points on Lee Seolhwa¡¯s body.
Soon after, her skin turned red and I nted a needle made of magic power into her reacting blood. It was my first time doing this so I didn¡¯t know if it would work.
¡°Kiiit! It hurts! It huuuuurts!¡±
Lee Seolhwa howled loudly. I ignored her and kept pressing the pressure points.
¡°Kiiit!Kihit!Kyaaaak¡!¡±
Then Lee Seolhwa¡¯s screams gradually changed. It changed from the cry of an insect to a human voice.
The mysterious thing was using Oriental medicine to remove a parasite from the body. I was embarrassed that a person who had relied on Western medicine so far was now practicing Eastern medicine.
[The essence of Oriental medicine is effective!]
[The constetion ¡®Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ is looking at you with a warm expression.]
I got up while Lee Seolhwa gasped for breath.
Yellow mucus was flowing from the nds in her body where poison had been secreted. The mucus was the main body of a Parasite.
¡°K¡Kuock¡¡±
This would¡¯ve satisfied the constetions.
[The constetion ¡® Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ thanks you for your good deed.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
Lee Seolhwa¡¯s eyes slowly opened. Consciousness had returned to her eyes but there was still no focus.
It was because she had been infected with a Parasite not long ago. She wouldn¡¯t be able to see my face right now with her five senses half dead.
¡°You¡ who are you?¡±
I was well aware of the events that would happen if I answered this question. A simr thing happened when Yoo Jonghyuk saved Lee Seolhwa in other rounds. That¡¯s why the important thing wasn¡¯t my identity.
¡°I was sent by Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¨CKim Dokja.Don¡¯t do anything unnecessary.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s angry voice pierced my ears. Lee Seolhwa¡¯s expression changed.
¡°¡Yoo Jonghyuk? Who is that?¡±
¡°You will soon find out.¡±
Poisoner Lee Seolhwa had to be part of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s group.
After the prophets appeared and the Absolute Throne broke, the flow of this world was slowly changing from what I knew.
It was difficult to make the mistakes of the original but it was also hard to see the future that I didn¡¯t know.
That¡¯s why it was necessary to bnce the important events directly. Some things flowed the same while others flowed differently.
There were twists and turns but in any case, I thought that this ¡®round¡¯ was approaching the ideal approximation that I was thinking of. And the Poisoner¡ No, Immortal Doctor Lee Seolhwa could be one of the greatest set points of this approximation.
¡°Kim Dokja, this side is done!¡±
I turned around and saw Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah approaching this way. Amazing. The two of them swept up that many people?
It might be a situation where the Poisoner was missing but they were still the ¡®Poisoner¡¯s Group¡¯¡
The original n became meaningless. The two of them might beparable to Lee Jihye¡¯s Ghost Fleet and Gong Pildu¡¯s Armed Zone.
¡°Wait, don¡¯te over here.¡±
I had to restrain their movements. It was difficult if they didn¡¯t have immunity to being infected. This fight hadn¡¯t ended yet.
Kiiiit¡ human¡!
The mucus that escaped from Lee Seolhwa¡¯s body gathered in a ball at one point in the air.
Parasite Queen Antinus. She was scary in parasitic mode but even scarier when she didn¡¯t have a host.
The mucus moved like a small bug and formed a shape. It was a body made of nutrients that had been absorbed for many years. It was a body with beautiful curves and solid muscles.
She had dragonfly-like wings and a tail that resembled a scorpion. She was covered in an insect¡¯s shell apart from the face, but she looked more like a bipedal creature than an insect.
The real battle started now.
¡°Get away before you are infected!¡±
The sharp tail aimed for my stomach.
[The effect of the Dongui Bogam ¨C Iplete has been activated.]
[Your body is immune from a parasitic infection.]
It was so fast I couldn¡¯t avoid it despite having over 50 agility. I narrowly caught the tail before it pierced me. But if it hit, I would¡¯ve definitely got a hole in my stomach.
Kik.
She used the fact that I was holding her tail to fly towards me and hit me. I was knocked onto the ground and a strong pain filled my body.
Strong. She became even stronger when she wasn¡¯t in a host. The power of her main body wasparable to a 5th grade insect king species.
Once Antinus unleashed her fighting power, it was equivalent to the degraded fire dragon I once killed.
It might be destroyed but she was still the hero of her world. She was as strong as Lycaon who emerged from the yellow meteorite.
This didn¡¯t mean I had no chance.
It was a clear vition of the scenario rules for the ¡®guide¡¯ to cause such an uproar before the fifth scenario ended. It wasn¡¯t just killing a few people. She even tried to hatch a disaster, which meant she had given up on her probability.
The sign of a probability storm was already descending on Antinus¡¯ body.
As time passed, the copse of her body would elerate, even if I didn¡¯t attack. It was a fight I could win if I just bought time.
Kiiiiit!
The problem was how much time I could buy before dying. At this moment, the Protection Symbol of the Imyuntar started shaking.
Ah, that¡¯s right. There was this. I held my aching body and said to her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m not your opponent.¡±
As I spoke, a sh of silver light crossed the sky, causing a sonic boom. The gorgeous mane scattered in the air as somethingnded in front of me with a loud roar. The being was over three metres tall.
Lycaon, Prince of the Imyuntar, stood up.
¡°I¡¯m sorry for the dy, Protector.¡±
Chapter 85 - SSS Grade Talent (5)
Episode 17 ¨C SSS Grade Talent (5)
Prince Lycaon of the Imyuntar paid respect to me before immediately turning to look at Antinus.
I couldn¡¯t feel reassured because the other world species werepanions.
¡°Antinus.¡±
¡°Lycaon...¡±
¡°What the hell is this?¡±
The queen of the Parasites justughed.
¡°Have you forgotten your mission? Why are you fighting the humans of this world?¡±
¡°Kikik, mission? Was there something like that?¡±
Lycaon¡¯s expression became determined at her teasing tone. ¡°We are the ¡®guides.¡¯ We have to tell the people of the other worlds the right way to face the disasters that areing.¡±
¡°You have already been spellbound by the dokkaebis. Wake up Lycaon.¡±
¡°You are the one who needs to wake up Antinus!¡± Lycaon¡¯s voice was furious. ¡°Have you forgotten the sacrifice of the Chronos warriors? Have you already forgotten the moment when the five ruling species was destroyed? We are here to stop the disasters. Work with the species here to defend the terraformed and rebuild Chronos¡¯ civilization in this world! It is our sacred mission!¡±
Rebuilding Chronos¡¯ civilization. Antinus no longerughed. ¡°Lycaon, it is impossible. This will perish. It is the fate of the scenario.¡±
¡°No, this time will be different.¡± Lycaon nced at me. ¡°The Protector has stopped a disaster before all the disasters woke up. He has the medallion of my people as proof. Perhaps there is a way to prevent the destruction.¡±
¡°If it was a deteriorated disaster, we could¡¯ve stopped it at any time.¡±
¡°Earth is now only in the fifth scenario! There is no that has stopped a disaster before the fifth scenario began. Think about it Antinus! There is still hope for this!¡±
Antinus¡¯pound eyes slowly blinked. The cry of an insect was boiling inside her. Her cry was full of anger.
¡°Don¡¯t be so arrogant. You came here to stop the disaster? If you really wanted to help them, why didn¡¯t you start when the disaster¡¯s destination was set to ¡®Earth?¡¯¡±
¡°That...¡±
Han Sooyoung quietly approached me while listening to their story. ¡°These guys, what are they saying now?¡±
Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t know the details of this scenario. The guides didn¡¯t have such an in-depth conversation in the original third and fourth regression. Now they were talking about something vague.
Antinus continued speaking. ¡°Lycaon! You are like me. We came to this for revenge! We will return the same disaster to those who brought us the disaster!¡±
¡°If you do that, you will die. The probability of the Star Stream won¡¯t forgive the ¡®guide¡¯ for going against it.
Antinusughed. ¡°Lycaon, I died with my kind on Chronos.¡±
¡°...It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± Lycaon exposed his fangs. ¡°Antinus. The conversation ends here.¡±
¡°Kikikik! Lycaon! Poor wolf of the Imyuntar! Have you forgotten the history of Chronos? The wolf has never once won against the insects!¡±
The battle between the prince of the wolves and queen of the parasites began.
Grrrrr!
Lycaon roared. The flow of ambient air was different. Some winds were fast while some winds were slow. Sometimes there was no wind and sometimes it was strong wind.
¡°I¡¯m not the Imyuntar you knew!¡±
The winds in the surrounding area started to press on Antinus. Lycaon was finally showing his Way of the Wind that had evolved one step.
¡°Kiiit... interesting! I¡¯ll check to see how your ¡®way¡¯ has grown!¡±
Antinus was the first one to move. The air barrier created by Way of the Wind and Antinus¡¯ tail hit each other. Sparks filled the air and the sound of leather tearing was heard.
Han Sooyoung and I looked up at the sky, spellbound for a moment. This was the fight between fifth grade species. It was the confrontation of those who showed a superior physical superiority to humans.
Antinus quickly made her way through the gaps in the atmosphere and arrived in front of Lycaon. Antinus¡¯ tail underwent an external transformation into a wedge and rushed to Lycaon.
It was only one attack but it could mean the different between defeat and victory. But at this moment, Antinus¡¯ movements slowed down. It was like a repulsion force was pushing at her tail.
Kihit?
On the other hand, Lycaon¡¯s movements were slightly faster. His attacks suddenly elerated. Antinus¡¯ tail struck empty air.
[The 5th grade species Parasite Antinus has activated elerating Wings Lv. 8.]
Antinus¡¯ wings spread open and vibrated before she disappeared.
The S-grade movement skill, elerating Wings.
Her wings pped thousands of times per second and she instantly appeared in front of Lycaon, as if she had teleported. Antinus¡¯ arms turned to scythes and flew towards Lycaon¡¯s back.
[The 5th grade species Parasite Antinus has activated Praying Mantis Breakthrough Lv. 8.]
The elerated scythes struck the atmosphere wall, causing a terrible burst of noise. It was so fast that it seemed like even Lycaon couldn¡¯t avoid it.
Even so, Lycaon evaded. At the decisive moment, Antinus¡¯ attack slowed down while Lycaon¡¯s movements elerated. It was the difference between life and death. Antinus¡¯pound eyes blinked with surprise.
Yoo Sangah asked with surprise, ¡°What type of technique is that. Instant eleration?¡±
¡°No, that is the Way of the Wind.¡±
The secret technique of the Imyuntar, Way of the Wind.
At first nce, the two of them seemed to change speed but this was actually Lycaon¡¯s ability. The surrounding atmosphere flowed ording to Lycaon¡¯s will.
¡°Kit, this damn wind...!¡±
Antinus also noticed. There was wind on the path that she moved. Antinus was caught in the wind and Lycaon used the wind.
It was a skill that controlled the movements of elerating Wings while avoiding Antinus¡¯s Praying Mantis Breakthrough. The roads made of wind could be used for evasion or to attack.
This was why I needed this skill. If I learnt Way of the Wind, I could rece the necessary skills with that one skill. Lycaon roared.
¡°Queen of Insects! Kneel in front of the wind!¡±
The wolves of the wind. The sharp ws of the wind tore at her wings, while a gale like kick hit her abdomen. His blow was filled with the wind¡¯s eleration and struck the upper part of Antinus¡¯ shell.
¡°Kyaaaack...!¡±
Antinus¡¯ lost half of her wings and she fell down. Perhaps if it wasn¡¯t for the enlightenment I gave him, Lycaon wouldn¡¯t have been able to defeat Antinus now.
I thought it was only good for others but it turned out to be helpful for me. The sign of a probability storm on Antinus¡¯ body became stronger.
¡°Kiiit! It won¡¯t end like this.¡±
Antinus attempted anding with half her wings.
¨CKim Dokja!Kill her!Quickly!
I was already running towards Antinus when I heard Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice.
[de of Faith is activated!]
It was possible to be caught up in her probability storm but that wasn¡¯t important right now.
¡°My world, my race, my children!¡± She was heading in the direction of the disaster meteorite. ¡°The cost of destroying my world, I will absolutely make you pay it!¡±
She shot all her magic power towards the disaster meteorite.
Lycaon ran to block the magic power while I swung the fire property de of Faith towards Antinus¡¯ neck.
The insect¡¯s mouth became a smile of ridicule. Was it blocked? I turned my head and saw Lycaon¡¯s pale face.
¡°Grrr...Protector, sorry...¡±
Then all sound disappeared.
Light burst from the disaster meteorite and a huge explosion struck me. One of the fragments of the exploded meteorite struck my head. The world shook. Lycaon flew away from the explosion.
The ¡®guide¡¯ couldn¡¯t withstand the force of this disaster. It was impossible to rewrite the history of ¡®defeat.¡¯
The bnce of the world was copsing.
[You have failed to clear the scenario.]
[The ¡®Disaster of Questions¡¯ hase to your world.]
My vision darkened and I was buried under a pile of shattered building fragments. I barely came to my senses when Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice rang in my ears.
¨CKim Dokja!Wake up!Hurry!
-...Recover your spirit.
¨CGet moving!Now you can still stop the disaster!
I honestly thought it was too much. I didn¡¯t have Way of the Wind and the Disaster of Questions had hatched. It was better to consider a different route than to carry out a suicide attack.
Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth like he read my mind.
¨CYou, are you that weak?
¨CWhat?
-All the words you told me were false.
I reflexively raised my body. This bastard...
¨CThe one who told me not to give up on this world will sumb to a disaster of this degree?
Laughter emerged. I had to hear this from Yoo Jonghyuk, not anyone else. Suicide wasn¡¯t enough to get rid of the shame.
¨COf course not.I was just thinking for a second.
The damn Yoo Jonghyuk was right. It was too early for me to say that was ¡®impossible.¡¯
I emerged from the pile of building fragments. The eight metre tall disaster meteorite had split in two. It was obvious that something had hatched from it.
I looked around quickly but couldn¡¯t see the disaster.
¡°Hey, this is...¡± Han Sooyoung approached me with a restless expression.
I couldn¡¯t see Yoo Sangah. Then I heard a voice.
¡°This ce...¡±
There was a boy around a dozen steps away. He looked like a high school student. He waspletely naked without a stitch of clothing. The boy muttered.
¡°This is... perhaps?¡±
The boy stretched and looked around like he couldn¡¯t believe it. I listened to his murmurs and thought that I had to kill him right now.
However, my body couldn¡¯t move.
[An early hatching has weakened the Disaster of Questions.]
[Due to the early hatching penalty, you won¡¯t be able to attack the Disaster of Questions for three minutes.]
Dammit...
We were the ones being penalized? That dokkaebi scum, what was he doing?
The boy walked around the area and arrived in front of a woman nearby. It was a woman who was part of the Poisoner¡¯s group.
The boy shouted in a clear voice towards the woman. ¡°Woman! Hey, are you okay?¡±
¡°U-Uh... who...¡±
¡°Excuse me, can I ask you something?¡±
No. She shouldn¡¯t answer that question. I wanted to shout but my voice didn¡¯te out.
¡°Where is this ce? What year is it now?¡±
¡°W-Why all of a sudden...¡±
¡°Are you asking me a question back?¡±
The boy¡¯s strange tone seemed to bewitch the woman.
¡°T-This is Seoul and... the current year...¡±
A system message was heard the moment the woman answered.
[The first question has been resolved.]
[The first seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been released.]
¡°Ha, haha... Hahaha!¡±
¡°W-What is that...?¡±
The boyughed wildly at the confused woman and asked, ¡°Do you know how much I suffered? Do you know?¡±
¡°H-Huh?¡±
¡°Have you lived for 100 years? In a ce where I was the only human... Do you know that there are other dimensions?¡±
¡°Other... dimension?¡±
¡°Disgusting insects, werewolves and bird people... I have a problem. Can you guess what it is?¡±
The confused woman shut her mouth. The boy asked, ¡°Insects, wolves, birds. Which of these three races are the best?¡±
¡°What... the best?¡±
Once the woman asked, the boyughed like he was dying with joy. It was a creepyugh.
¡°Then... who among the three has the most delicious meat?¡±
I listened to the Disaster of Questions and thought. Yes, it might be natural that Antinus wanted to destroy Earth. It was because a ¡®human¡¯ of Earth destroyed her world.
The woman didn¡¯t answer the boy¡¯s question.
¡°P-Please, spare me...¡±
There was a sound and the woman¡¯s head flew away. The boy chuckled and looked around.
¡°Now, there is this development. What, a S-grade incarnation? Those scum are squeezing this kid. It is also a heavy duty alliance. No wait, before that...¡±
[The early hatching penalty has ended.]
[The power that controlled your movements has disappeared.]
Shit. It was toote. I was about to yell when the boy disappeared and moved to a remote location. Unfortunately, it was a ce where another woman was standing.
¡°Haha! Noona is pretty! Yes?¡±
I cursed.
¨CYoo Sangah, avoid him!
Yoo Sangah raised her dagger and asked cautiously, ¡°...Who are you?¡±
The boy grinned at the question.
¡°Are you curious?¡±
The boy¡¯s hand grabbed Yoo Sangah¡¯s chin at a speed that couldn¡¯t be seen.
¡°Should I tell you?¡±
One of the five disasters that destroyed Chronos, the Disaster of Questions. He was a ¡®returnee¡¯ of Earth transferred back to this world.
Chapter 86 - SSS Grade Talent (6)
Episode 17 ¨C SSS Grade Talent (6)
Returnee. This was the first statement that mentioned them in Ways of Survival:
¡¸Some people go back in time, others go to another dimension and some are born again. In the end, the way to adapt to destruction varies from person to person. ¡¹
The second ¡®method¡¯ of ¡®How to Survive in a Ruined World.¡¯ To survive, destroy other dimensions and return.
¡°Answer me. Are you curious about my identity?¡±
Returnee Myung Ilsang. This boy was a returnee from Earth who was summoned to be a warrior in the world of Chronos.
¡°Hmm...isn¡¯t it normal to blush and lower your eyes in this situation? Noona is looking straight at me?¡±
The Disaster of Questions was such a bastard.
Yoo Sangah opened her mouth. ¡°What...¡±
¨CYoo Sangah-ssi, don¡¯t answer the question!
Yoo Sangah¡¯s head turned towards me at my words. However, her chin was caught by Myung Ilsang and forced her to look back.
¡°Where are you looking? Look at me. Is that your boyfriend?¡±
¡°Remove your hand.¡±
Yoo Sangah shook off Myung Ilsang¡¯s hand. Her dagger moved in a threatening manner through the air. Myung Ilsangughed.
[The second question has been resolved.]
[The second seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been released.]
¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ve had a baby-face for 100 years.¡±
The boy¡¯s cold eyes turned towards me. I didn¡¯t use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint but it was clear even without the skill.
¡°You were having fun in this peaceful world?¡±
His right arm aimed at me. At the same time, purple particles condensed around his hand.
[The character ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has triggered ¡®Small ck Fire Cannon¡¯!]
ck Fire Cannon. This was the fire of death that destroyed the eastern part of Chronos and burned all the insect kings in the forest.
The whole atmosphere was burning and I was surrounded by mes. Pain spread across my skin. I cursed inside my heart. Damn! It hurt. It really hurt. It hurt...
...Less than I thought?
After a while, the mes turned off and I looked at my skin. Every inch was scorched and painful, but it was a bearable pain.
This was the ck fire cannon that drove the insect kings to fear? However, the Small ck Fire Cannon... it didn¡¯t hurt?
I looked up and saw Yoo Sangah wielding her dagger. Unexpectedly, she had the advantage. Even the Disaster of Questions was perplexed by the overwhelming attacks.
¡°...What? Why are you so strong? Is Noona also a returnee? Or am I weak?¡±
I didn¡¯t understand. The original Disaster of Questions with two seals released should be stronger than this.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Myung Ilsang
Age: 17 years old (127 years old)
Constetion Support: Mass Production Maker
Private Attribute: SSS-grade Warrior (Hero), Disaster of Questions (Legend)
Exclusive Skills: SSS-grade Growth eleration Lv. 10 (Currently Lv. 1), SSS-grade Swordsmanship Lv. 10 (Currently Lv. 1), ck Fire Cannon Lv. 9 ((Currently Lv. 1), SSS-grade Footwork Lv. 10 (Currently Lv. 1)...
Stigma: The Answer is Fixed and You just Need to Answer Lv. 7 (Lv. 2).
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 99 (Currently Lv. 55), Strength Lv. 99 (Currently Lv. 55), Agility Lv. 99 (Currently Lv. 60), Magic Power Lv. 99 (Currently Lv. 55)
Overall Evaluation: The Disaster of Questions that destroyed Chronos. All stats are sealed due to the current scenario penalty. Every time a seal is released, the stats will rise. Once all seals are released, the real power of the disaster will awaken. If you want to survive, don¡¯t answer his questions. But you are still going to die.
+
I was nervous about the constant ¡®SSS¡¯ filling the screen but once I read it in detail, I understood why he was weak.
The dokkaebis were fair. Right now, he was weaker than the original disaster.
¡°Han Sooyoung! Yoo Sangah-ssi!¡± I didn¡¯t know if Bihyung was using his strength but now we had a chance. ¡°Attack with all your strength! We must kill him now!¡±
If this was his current state, perhaps we could win without Way of the Wind. I poured my remaining coins into my stats.
[Physique Lv. 50 -> Physique Lv. 60]
[Agility Lv. 50 -> Agility Lv. 60]
[Magic Power Lv. 25 -> Magic Power Lv. 60]
[39,500 coins have been consumed.]
[All stats have reached the scenario limit.]
I ran aggressively while activation Unbroken Faith.
¡°Remember! You should never answer his questions!¡±
Myung Ilsang seemed interested when he saw my de of Faith. ¡°What? An energy sword?¡±
My attack missed by a hair¡¯s breath due to his high agility.
Myung Ilsang kept chattering. ¡°Ahjussi, are you a martial artist? How can you use the energy sword already? Isn¡¯t this crazy?¡±
I ignored him and triggered a stigma.
[The stigma ¡®Song of the Sword¡¯ has been used.]
[Your sword is filled with the words left by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.]
A random verse of Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s story appeared in front of me, followed by a message.
¡¸ The 28th day. Clear skies. I went to do official business. ¡¹
Then nothing happened. Dammit, the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare didn¡¯t help me at this time.
The Nanjung Ilgi (Yi Sunsin¡¯s war diary) didn¡¯t always contain content that fought against the enemy. In fact, most of the contents were ordinary.
The sky was clear.
The Duke of Loyalty and Warfare went to do official business.
If I wrote a ¡®Destruction Diary¡¯, my diary would roughly be like this.
The sky was dark.
Kim Dokja was right.
I rolled across the ground to avoid Myung Ilsang¡¯s kick.
Myung Ilsang¡¯s expression gradually became serious. He carefully looked at my de of Faith and sighed with relief.
¡°Phew... that¡¯s right. It isn¡¯t a real energy de. Ahjussi, why are you acting like it is real? You almost scared me?¡±
¡°Brat, you talk too much.¡±
It was a cold female voice. While I was stalling for time, Han Sooyoung made dozens of avatars and they ran towards him.
¡°Die!¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s attacks poured onto the boy whose movements were blocked.
However, her attacks weren¡¯t strong enough to harm Myung Ilsang¡¯s body. Rather, Yoo Sangah was unable to do any damage due to the excessive number of avatars.
Myung Ilsangughed as he was hit by Han Sooyoung¡¯s small hand.
¡°Aren¡¯t you also quite pretty? How old are you? A student?¡±
¡°Shut up, die!¡±
Myung Ilsang¡¯s face was marred by the continuous hits.
¡°...What is wrong with everyone? What did I do wrong? If you see a nice-looked returnee like me, shouldn¡¯t you wee me with open arms? Should I get rid of all the monsters from now on?¡±
¡°What a mad dog!¡±
¡°Ah, were my words ridiculous? Wait a minute, perhaps you are...¡±
Myung Ilsang¡¯s expression changed.
¡°You guys are from the Hunters Association! Right? Isn¡¯t there normally this development? Aren¡¯t they always the first one to show up with a returneees back?¡±
¡°This chuuni bastard... no, shit?¡±
[The third question has been resolved.]
[The fourth question has been resolved.]
[The fifth question has been resolved.]
[The third seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been released.]
Myung Ilsang smiled and nodded.
¡°You are from the Hunters Association.¡±
It was really crazy. His momentum became even stronger. The surrounding avatars were destroyed by a powerful wave of energy emitted from Myung Ilsang¡¯s body.
Myung Ilsang burst outughing. ¡°Now, it is the munchkin¡¯s time!¡±
Han Sooyoung stepped back and nced at me with an absurd expression. ¡°What is with that bastard?¡±
I gasped with irritation. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to answer him? You are just feeding that jerk.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t answer! I just swore.¡±
¡°Just don¡¯t speak.¡±
The point of the questions asked by the Disaster of Questions wasn¡¯t to get an answer. No matter what the answer, he would use it to strengthen his abilities.
Myung Ilsang kept speaking, ¡°Then who should I kill first?¡±
But his words didn¡¯tst. It was because Yoo Sangah appeared behind him while emitting a fierce killing intent.
[Hermes Walking Method].
[Theseus¡¯ Resolution].
[Arachne¡¯s Web].
The system messages didn¡¯t pop up but I was able to recognize these skills. In a future scenario called Ragnarok, these skills were clearly described. They were the stigmas of the Olympus rted constetions.
The surprised Myung Ilsang unleashed a series of Small ck Fire Cannons to keep Yoo Sangah in check.
However, Yoo Sangah rushed towards Myung Ilsang without caring about the ck fire cannons.
¡°Something like this...?¡±
It was impossible.
As long as they didn¡¯t experience a special scenario event, there was no way for an incarnation to simultaneously possess the stigmas of various constetions.
It was a situation where I only had two stigmas. Then how could Yoo Sangah have such arge number of stigmas?
¡°Let¡¯s try it! Does it hurts?¡±
Sweat covered Yoo Sangah¡¯s forehead.
The thread of magic power kept expanding and shrinking. She stepped freely through the air. The dagger pierced without hesitation whenever there was a visible gap. The vitality inside her body was burning.
It was an extraordinary change in just two days...
At this moment, I sensed something. The stigmas of various constetions in one incarnation.
There obviously wasn¡¯t a single case in Ways of Survival. It didn¡¯t even apply to Prophet Anna Croft of the United States. Then Yoo Sangah...
¡°Dokja-ssi! Now!¡±
Yoo Sangah gave the signal and I supported her explosive attack with the de of Faith. Han Sooyoung also participated. Little by little, Myung Ilsang became dizzy from all the hands and feet.
His movements were dyed for a moment and my de of Faith aimed at the gap, cutting his shoulder and belly.
¡°Shit...!¡±
Blood flowed out. Myung Ilsang pulled back and chanted something.
[The character ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has used Blink Lv. 1.]
Myung Ilsang¡¯s figure became blurry. My mind was in a hurry. He couldn¡¯t get away.
I aimed the de at his waist. But his body faded away just as the de hit. The only thing left was scattered blood.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ lets out a sad sigh.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is going crazy from all the sweet potatoes.] (Sweet potato is ng for when something is so frustrating that there is a stuffy sensation)
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is pointing a finger at your heart.]
[The excitement of some constetions has reached a critical level.]
Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°Shit, we missed him!¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay. He is injured so we can catch him soon.¡±
[Some constetions have calmed down.]
¡°Yoo Sangah. You did really well... Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
There was no answer from Yoo Sangah. I headed over because I sensed something strange, where she was standing there stunned. Han Sooyoung asked,
¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±
I btedly realized. Theseus¡¯ Resolution was a skill that drew out all the power of the incarnation. The use of that skill allowed Yoo Sangah to deal with a monster for a while.
I looked at her for a moment before handing her over to Han Sooyoung.
¡°Giving another person to me? Am I a daycare centre?¡±
¡°We need to find the disaster quickly. Shouldn¡¯t you scatter more avatars?¡±
¡°I think I roughly know where he went.¡±
¡°Please guide me.¡±
I couldn¡¯t miss that guy here. Han Sooyoung opened her mouth again, ¡°I don¡¯t remember well... He bes stronger every time he answers a question, right?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. He is weak at first but bes stronger every time he hears an answer. The returnees are too strong so there is a penalty when they fall into this world. Didn¡¯t you see the seals being released?¡±
¡°That boy... how many seals does he have?¡±
¡°Perhaps dozens. There will be no answer if he releases all of them.¡±
So far, five seals were released.
Fortunately, the additional scenarios of the dokkaebis hadn¡¯te down yet.
If an additional scenario was released, many people would try to hunt that bastard and his seals would be released in a sh due to the many idiots answering his questions.
...The moment I was feeling relieved.
[Hrmm. Everyone, aren¡¯t you great? Despite the penalty, this is still a disaster. Only three people putting pressure on him...]
Han Sooyoung and I looked up at the air at the same time.
[By the way, aren¡¯t you being too greedy? As the old saying goes, you should share the beans.]
¡°Shit.¡±
Han Sooyoung cursed while messages arrived like they had been waiting.
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
[The sub-scenario ¨C SSS-grade Hunt has begun!]
I grasped the handle of Unbroken Faith. The situation was reaching the limit.
Chapter 87 - A Reader’s Fight (1)
Episode 18 ¨C A Reader¡¯s Fight (1)
The dokkaebi¡¯s voice rang out.
A group of low-grade dokkaebis were looking down like they were watching a burning house. Bihyung¡¯s figure could also be seen. He whistled when he met my eyes.
The dokkaebi in the middle of the crowd slowly opened his mouth and spoke to all of Seoul.
[Incarnations of Seoul! I have to tell you unfortunate news. Unfortunately, due to the actions of some people, one of the disasters has woken up in Gangdong-gu.]
The dokkaebi smiled as he met my eyes. This bastard?
[Ah, the sound of your sighs can be heard from here. I can see people who are already leaving Gangdong-gu. Haha, everyone. You should listen to the end. You will regret itter if you run away now. This disaster is definitely an opportunity for you.]
The dokkaebi spoke in a loud voice.
[Haven¡¯t you been having a hard time gathering coins? I know it all. Your life copsed overnight and now strange existences are taking your coins. The people who were friends yesterday are suddenly stabbing you today. I¡¯m d I¡¯m not you. Right now, the stars in the sky are probably tell you, ¡°Hey, shake your ass a little better. I¡¯ll give you 100 coins.¡±]
[A handful of constetions are giggling andughing.]
The dokkaebi didn¡¯tugh.
[I understand that you feel like shit and hate these jerks. Since the world is destroyed, you just want to live the way you want. You are very courageous but you feel a sense of helplessness when you realize that this world is divided in two. You feel disappointed when you realize that your constetion, which was barely obtained after shaking your ass, is inferior to the constetion of a sessful person. You feel angry about the unfair world. I¡¯m well aware.]
[Some constetions oppose the dokkaebi¡¯s speech.]
Speaking of which, this dokkaebi wasn¡¯t ordinary. A low-grade dokkaebi with weak courage wouldn¡¯t be able to say this. Their channel would be ruined if there was a bacsh from the constetions.
But this was only for minority channels. The bigger the channel, the more different the dokkaebi.
They knew thews of the story. They couldn¡¯t tell a big story if they were only obsessed with subscriptions. A true storyteller must deal with the ¡®person¡¯ rather than the ¡®audience.¡¯
I closely observed the dokkaebi who was still talking.
[I have prepared something for all of you. You who are unlucky, lucky or worked hard, you have a chance to be ¡®someone¡¯ overnight.]
The pointed horn on the crown. The leg shown through the white cap looked like a one-legged crow.
Wait a minute, surely this bastard wasn¡¯t...Dokgak?
At this moment, a huge screen appeared in the air. A bleeding boy fleeing was shown on the screen.
[Now, this boy you are seeing is a SSS-grade item walking around! Are you looking at him from head to toe? His name is Myung Ilsang. He was fortunate enough to be picked by the Star Stream to go to another world. Can you imagine it? Imagine being summoned to another dimension, suddenly receiving a powerful strength, spending a hot night with a cute elf girlfriend, saving the world and being loved as a warrior! That¡¯s right. This damn guy is the ¡®disaster¡¯ you have to catch today.]
It was somewhat strange.
I was wondering why a low-grade dokkaebi reced the position of an intermediate dokkaebi. It was because he was the dokkaebi of a major channel.
[I can already hear your resentment. How the hell can you kill a SSS-grade? Haha, there is no need to worry. This guy currently has a penalty on him. His powers are sealed. He is strong but he is a treasure chest if you hit him all at once.]
¡°...He is creepy.¡± Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue. As a writer, she had already grasped the dokkaebi¡¯s intentions.
If a disaster was called a disaster, no one woulde. Then what if the disaster was a treasure chest?
[Your life hasn¡¯t been ruined yet. Rather, I can say that you have good luck. The sub scenario that I offer now will be a great stepping stone to reverse your life. Now, the chance will only be for one day! Move immediately! Only those who move the quickest can be the owner of a SSS-grade item!]
As soon as they heard this, the incarnations scattered throughout Seoul would gather in Gangdong-gu.
[The sub scenario has been updated.]
+
[The sub-scenario ¨C SSS-grade Hunt]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: B ~ ???
Clear Conditions: Get rid of the SSS-grade Myung Ilsang.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: 50,000 coins, ???
Failure: The fall of Seoul Dome.
+
The worst scenario was beginning.
Perhaps due to the failure result of the scenario shining red in the air, the huge reward that had never been seen before seemed insignificant.
¡°Quickly find him before everyone dies.¡±
¡°...Won¡¯t he be affected by probability?¡±
¡°The probability is offset to some extent by the interest of the constetions.¡±
This was why dokkaebis preferred exciting scenarios. The stories that many constetions wanted offset the probabilities. Of course, it would be the responsibility of the dokkaebis if it failed, but this situation was different.
[The eyes of many constetions are shining.]
If it went as Dokgak nned, Seoul would end before the fifth scenario began. Han Sooyoung immediately used all her magic power to summon the avatars to search.
Five minutes passed before Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°I found him. He is 2km northwest from here!¡±
I ran along the road with Han Sooyoung and soon heard voices.
¡°Over here! There he is!¡±
¡°That brat went this way!¡±
There were already people flocking. Myung Ilsang wasughing as he was surrounded by a group of people.
¡°Uh... right. Here I am.¡±
¡°You jerk! Are you having fun?¡±
¡°I¡¯m having a lot of fun...¡±
¡°This fuc...hey! Kill him!¡±
It was surprising to see so many humans with an inferiorityplex. Myung Ilsang avoided the swords waving through the air and asked, ¡°Are you jealous and want me to send you to that other world?
¡°What, you will send me there?¡±
¡°Of course. I will send you. You really want to go right?¡±
¡°If I can go then of course I want to go! It is better than this shitty world...¡±
Myung Ilsang nodded and extended his right arm towards the crowd.
[The eighth seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been released.]
[The ninth seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been released.]
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
¡°Then go well. Although I have no idea if it is better than here.¡±
¡°What?¡±
[The twelfth seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been released.]
[The thirteenth seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been released.]
[The fourteenth seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been released.]
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
I felt a sense of hopelessness as I watched the messages appearing in the sky. It was toote.
¡°Because that ce, I destroyed it.¡±
[The character ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has triggered ¡®Small ck Fire Cannon¡¯ Lv. 3!]
I grabbed Han Sooyoung and rushed behind a building.
A violet sh overturned the forest of buildings. Up to half a dozen high-rise buildings were hit and an entire street disappeared. Those who ran towards him disintegrated without leaving even bone dust behind.
A single entity that could be a disaster. This was the real strength of a returnee.
Han Sooyoung copsed beside me. ¡°Crazy... how do we defeat that?¡±
This was real fear. It was fear that caused our bodies to shake, rather than a skill. I spoke in an effort to resist it. ¡°We can win.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense and let¡¯s go back. We can never kill that guy.¡±
¡°No. I can catch him. We will be better off if I kill him now.¡¯
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has used ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 2¡¯.]
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is true.]
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°...Really? You couldn¡¯t kill him before.¡±
¡°A person who only thinks about one thing, how can you live?¡± I was only speaking a half truth. In fact, the original n was to defeat the Disaster of Questions and build up a second narrative.
The problem was that my n was based on learning Way of the Wind.
¡°Does anyone else want to go to the other world? Raise your hands! I will send you!¡±
People screamed and ran away. Myung Ilsang was getting closer.
Then Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice was heard from a translucent window.
¨CThere is no chance if you fight him head on.
¨CI know.But I still have to try it.
¨CWhy did you make the situation like this?
¨CWhat?
¨CYou had many chances.You could¡¯ve killed Lee Seolhwa.Or if you had killed Antinus with Lycaon, you could¡¯ve stopped the disaster.
I couldn¡¯t give any excuses. I didn¡¯t kill Lee Seolhwa because of Yoo Jonghyuk and I didn¡¯t fight with Lycaon because I couldn¡¯t find a gap.
¨CI¡¯m not a regressor like you.I have to be careful in case of failure.If I don¡¯t think until the end...
¨CCareful?Don¡¯t be so cocky.Do you think you are a constetion?Knowing the future doesn¡¯t mean you can control everything.
I felt like someone had punched me. Funnily enough, I thought that Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words were right.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is in use.]
It was arrogance from knowing the future. I thought I could somehow make it even if the story was distorted. Maybe that led to the current situation.
¨CThen why don¡¯t you fight a little?
I couldn¡¯t answer.
¨CDon¡¯t use having no talent as an excuse.Not having the Way of the Wind doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t win.
¨CI can win?
Yoo Jonghyuk was silent for a moment. The moment I was about to break the silence, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice continued.
¨CMy attribute is a ¡®pro gamer.¡¯What is yours?
¨CWhat?
¨CI¡¯m asking what can you do well?
...What could I do well? There was a tickling feeling somewhere deep in my head. I felt that I was missing something important. But there was no time to think.
¡°I¡¯ve found you! You haven¡¯t left yet.¡±
Myung Ilsang whistled as he rounded the corner. Han Sooyoung groaned while I stepped back.
¡°...Uh?¡± The Hunters Association people from before?¡± Myung Ilsangughed. ¡°Great. I really wanted to meet you. Don¡¯t you know that my wonderful debut ns were ruined because of you?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I was trying to live well. Kill some S-grade incarnations, defeat the bad groups and love the pretty noonas. But what is this? I havepletely be a viin. What should I do?¡±
I grasped my sword instead of answering.
[The stigma ¡®Song of the Sword Lv. 1¡¯ has been used.]
[Your sword is filled with the words left by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.]
¡¸ Today I am prepared for death. I pray to God in Heaven, may I destroy the enemy. ¡¹
The Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s words recorded in his war diary. Fortunately, the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare took my side this time.
[The stigma ¡®Song of the Sword¡¯ has been used.]
[The decision to die has improved your fighting power.]
I squeeze out all all my magic power at once.
[de of Faith is activated!]
The de of Faith burst out. I ran towards him. Myung Ilsang¡¯s hands lightly struck the de of Faith.
The splitting pain caused me to loosen my grip. It was only one blow but I could clearly know it. The overall stats of Myung Ilsang had already exceeded the limit of this scenario.
¡°What, you want to fight? Really? Didn¡¯t you just see me fighting?¡±
I looked at hisugh and was reminded of Ways of Survival. What could I do well? It was to ¡®read.¡¯
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 1 has been activated!]
Then I started to hear his movements.
¡¸ Right shoulder. ¡¹
¡¸ Left thigh. ¡¹
The strikes still hit me despite me reading the moves. The fists surrounded by a purple light ruthlessly poured towards me.
¡¸ The belly, the belly, the belly, the belly. .¡¹
Blood poured from my mouth and my vision shook. I didn¡¯t give up. I thought and thought again.
[The character ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ admires your spirit.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has increased.]
The information contained in Ways of Survival alone couldn¡¯t beat him. It was different from when I hunted the Dark Keeper. I couldn¡¯t fight despite calcting everything.
¡¸ Strong weak midway up. ¡¹
Too much information poured in at once, causing my dizziness to worsen. This was despite borrowing the power of the stigma. At this rate, the battle would be over in no time. I wiped the blood at my mouth and backed away.
...Did I have to use Ganpyeongui? I felt bitter that thest method I had was to borrow the power of the constetions. If I called a powerful constetion, I could probably win.
However, there was a burden of the probability after thest incident and most of all, I didn¡¯t like to owe the constetions.
Damn, I wish I had talent. It would be preferable if I could steal someone¡¯s talent.
...Eh? Wait. Steal? A dull shock filled my head. So far, my main weapon was ¡®information.¡¯ However, there were so much ¡®information¡¯ that I actually forgot some of them.
Pathetic. Why the hell did I forget about this skill? Wasn¡¯t this the first thing I should¡¯ve done?
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ can now be activated.]
[¡®Character Bookmarks¡¯ is activated.]
[Avable Bookmark Slots: 4]
[Bringing up the list of avable bookmarks.]
+
[People Listed in the Bookmark Slots]
1. The Delusion Demon Kim Namwoon (Understanding 35).
2. Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung (Understanding 75).
3. Demagogue Cheon Inho (Understanding 20).
4. Empty slot.
+
There was no change apart from the one additional slot.
I chose the empty slot.
+
[List of People who can be Registered on the Bookmarks]
1. Poisoner Lee Seolhwa (Understanding 10).
2. King of Beauty Min Jiwon (Understanding 25).
3. Tyrant King Jung Youngho (Understanding 10).
4. Hermit King of Shadows Han Donghoon (Understanding 30).
5. The Prophet Anna Croft (Understanding 1).
6. Armed Fortress Master Gong Pildu (Understanding 30)
.
.
As expected, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s name wasn¡¯t on the list. The main character was the main character. Special conditions must be met before he was unlocked.
In addition, people who weren¡¯t characters like Han Sooyoung, Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung weren¡¯t on the list.
It didn¡¯t matter. They weren¡¯t the people I needed right now. I scrolled for a bit and finally found the person I wanted.
There he was. Why did I forget that he was also a ¡®character.¡¯ I didn¡¯t hesitate to put him in the fourth bookmark.
[The level of the Bookmark skill is low, shortening the activation time.]
[Activation Time: 30 minutes]
[Your understanding of the character is significant. You can select some of his skills to import.]
I chose a skill. The next moment, a silver storm emerged around my body. I felt the courage of a wolf nestle in my body.
Damn, I felt like a fool. What had I been trying to learn so far? I wasn¡¯t a regressor or a returnee.
[The character ¡®Prince Lycaon of the Imyuntar¡¯ has been registered on bookmark 4.]
[The number four bookmark has been activated.]
I was a ¡®reader.¡¯
[Way of the Wind Lv. 8 has been activated.]
And this was the way I fought.
TL: I have some chapters stockpiled but release rate is currently unknown due to my holiday in Vietnam approaching. I will still be releasing chapters and the release rate will go up once I get back.
Chapter 88 - A Reader’s Fight (2)
Episode 18 ¨C A Reader¡¯s Fight (2)
As I felt the refreshing wind wrap around my body, I recalled the sentences that appeared in Ways of Survival.
Han Sooyoung was summoning avatars when she noticed the skill I was going to use.
¡°What? I thought you didn¡¯t learn this?¡±
¡°Step back.¡±
Way of the Wind.
¡¸ There is a gale in the right hand and a storm in the left hand. The Way of the Wind will be opened when the straight lines and the curves meet. ¡¹
The sentence that I couldn¡¯t understand became a reality the moment I felt wind at my toes.
Myung Ilsang¡¯s fist suddenly approached my nose.
The attack that should¡¯ve hit was meaningless. The overwhelming power of this skill filled in mycking stats. This was the secret technique of the Imyuntar.
Myung Ilsang¡¯s eyes shone.
¡°...Huh? You sped up?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer as I focused on enlightenment. From now on, it was a fight against time. The remaining time for Bookmark was 30 minutes.
¡°Aha, I understand. Is it the skill of those wolves?¡± Myung Ilsangughed at me. ¡°Did you receive a great enlightenment that allowed you to use this shitty skill?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Do you know? I killed the king of those guys with my own hands.¡±
Of course I knew. I remembered the creatures of Chronos who died.
Prince Lycaon of the Imyuntar, Parasite Queen Antinus...
The fate of those who survived their destroyed world was to be used in the scenarios unfolding on another. I would be in the same situation as them if Earth was destroyed.
A Medium ck Fire Cannon shot from Myung Ilsang¡¯s right hand.
¡¸ One wind will meet another wind to form ying and yang. Once again, one wind will meet another wind to form the principles of negative and positive. ¡¹
I used all my imagination to put these words into images.
Hot and cold wind swirled in front of me and the direction of the wind started to twist.
The ck fire was deflected once it hit the wind and energy spread in every directions.
All ether attacks were propagated through a medium. If the root of the medium was dispersed, the attack would have no choice but to go back.
Myung Ilsang looked surprised. ¡°...Pretty good. You must have some talent?¡±
Myung Ilsang once against started to flee.
[The character ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has used Blink Lv. 4.]
It was another Blink. However, it wasn¡¯t hard for me to pursue him. Once I closed my eyes and concentrated on the wind, I could read everything near me.
I ran along the street at a speed that matched Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Red Phoenix Shunpo and found Myung Ilsang. He was grabbing people randomly and asking them questions.
I kicked off the steel frame of a building and flew towards Myung Ilsang. It was a blow that would crush bone but he stood up.
[The twenty-fourth seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been released.]
His next seal was released by a hair¡¯s breadth.
¡°...It was ticklish?¡±
Myung Ilsang spoke in a yful manner. He believed that he would win anyway. His wounds were healed by the seal being released and as time went by, more of my magic power was being consumed.
¡°Hahaha, try to stop me!¡±
In fact, I couldn¡¯t kill him if I used Way of the Wind as a buff skill. If this alone could defeat the Disaster of Questions, Chronos wouldn¡¯t have perished in the first ce.
I had to do ¡®it.¡¯ The problem was... someone needed to buy time for me to use this technique.
...Huh? Something suddenly fell from the sky diagonal to me. It looked like a descending hawk as it pierced through the air towards Myung Ilsang.
There was a terrible explosion and a small crater appeared. A familiar person was seen where Myung Ilsang was lying on the ground. I looked at the man with a wide mouth and muttered, ¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Didn¡¯t this bastard say he would take two days to recover? I looked at the approaching Yoo Jonghyuk and reflexively stepped back. Surely he wasn¡¯t nning to hit me right now?
However, Yoo Jonghyuk stopped a few steps in front of me and turned around.
¡°Get started.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk stood before me as if he knew what I was trying to do. ¡°I¡¯ll block him.¡±
Han Sooyoung muttered on my behalf from where she was lying nearby. ¡°Ha, shit. As expected from the protagonist...¡±
But unlike her words, Yoo Jonghyuk appeared to be in a dangerous state. His body was still unsteady and the blood vessels on his body were still bulging.
Meanwhile, Myung Ilsang stood up from the crater,ughing while coughing up blood.
¡°Ah, it is a bit annoying...¡±
He wasn¡¯t badly damaged despite the impact. It was unbelievable that he was on the weak side of the ¡®returnees¡¯ who would appear.
Myung Ilsang ran forward and Yoo Jonghyuk met him.
Then I invoked Way of the Wind.
¡¸ Four winds meet and form a defense. Then another four winds are added, making it the Eight Trigrams. Therefore, wind is everywhere yet exists nowhere.¡¯ ¡¹
It was my turn to use the verse that gave Lycaon enlightenment. The mysterious air wall in the shape of an octagon started to swirl.
It was a small dome of space. The tight seal choked me.
From now on, it was a fight against time. Yoo Jonghyuk flew back from a blow while Myung Ilsang¡¯s expression hardened. He finally realized that this wasn¡¯t a game.
¡°What...?!¡±
The next moment, all the air in the dome was removed. My ears became blocked and all sound disappeared. The wind blew terribly but the dome was as calm as the eye of a storm.
Myung Ilsang opened his mouth.
¡°...!¡±
¡°...?¡±
He moved his mouth several times but his voice wasn¡¯t heard. Sound wasn¡¯t possible because there was no medium.
He was in aplete vacuum. Due to the difference in air pressure, the air in my lungs momentarily escaped. I quickly sucked it back in.
Outside the dome, Han Sooyoung was shouting something.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]
¡¸ What is this? ¡¹
I could hear Myung Ilsang¡¯s thoughts.
¡¸ Why don¡¯t I have a voice? Magic? ¡¹
Myung Ilsang was shouting with confusion. It was natural. All returnees had a penalty. This was especially true for returnees who could quickly recover their original strength under certain conditions.
[The penalty of the Disaster of Questions is activated.]
[The power of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been weakened.]
[The twenty-fourth seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been locked.]
¡¸ Uwaaah, no! ¡¹
They had the condition of being ¡®weakened¡¯ as easily as they were ¡®strengthened.¡¯
[The twenty-third seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been locked.]
Why did the Disaster of Questions keep asking questions? It was simple. His abilities would weaken if he didn¡¯t ask questions.
¡¸ Shit! Release this! Quickly release it! ¡¹
His fist hit the wall of air many times but the wall didn¡¯t break easily. In a space without a medium, the ck mes didn¡¯t burn.
[The twenty-second seal of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has been locked.]
A vacuum prison that could be made using Way of the Wind. This was the optimum strategy against the Disaster of Questions that I knew.
¡¸ Uwaaaaah! ¡¹
Myung Ilsang btedly rushed towards me. He thought that the vacuum prison would be broken if I died but it wasn¡¯t the case. This was a ce that I made.
I used Way of the Wind to avoid his attack and quickly reduced the area of the prison.
Once the wall shrank, I made a narrow passage and escaped outside the dome with Yoo Jonghyuk. Now Myung Ilsang was the only one left inside the dome.
¡¸ ...You jerk! ¡¹
A returnee wasn¡¯t a returnee for nothing. The dome cracked a little bit under his power. I raised my hand and the wind filled in the weak spot. Then the size of the dome started to shrink rapidly.
Blood flowed from my nose due to my excessive concentration. My ultimate goal was to limit the vacuum prison to his body.
However, it wasn¡¯t easy to control. Shit, Yoo Jonghyuk had managed it easily. Why was this so difficult?
¡°Don¡¯t try to control it. You must lead the wind.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice was heard.
At that moment, I received enlightenment. Maybe it was my mistake to make a ¡®wall.¡¯ The important thing was to remove the medium around his body.
¡¸ U-Uwaaah, uwaaaaah! I¡¯m choking! ¡¹
Myung Ilsang frantically scratched at his neck, causing himself to bleed.
¡°...Pretty good. Although you still aren¡¯t very talented.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice was heard again.
Then Myung Ilsang attempted hisst hurrah.
[The character ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has used Great ck Fire Cannon Lv. 3.]
Myung Ilsang¡¯s right arm was surrounded by dark mes. To my surprise, the great mes shot through the dome of wind.
I fell down while protecting Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. A dull impact filled my head. Myung Ilsang seemed to be squeezing out his remaining magic power as the ck fire cannon continued.
But the wind wasn¡¯t still. Once the ck fire cannon was fired through the dome, wind instantly filled up the spot again.
Thest hurrah didn¡¯t change anything. The problem was that people were dying from the ck mes.
Yoo Jonghyuk saw my face and said, ¡°Kim Dokja, don¡¯t think about it. They wouldn¡¯t care if you died.¡±
¡°There are people like that.¡¯
But not everyone was like that. I got up and confronted the ck mes.
The ck mes were scattered and twisted by the power of the strongly rotating dome. A terrible pain followed. It was because I intercepted the majority of the ck mes.
The ck mes burned mu skin and the sensation in my bones faded little by little.
I could do it. He wasn¡¯t strong right now. At this moment, I reached an area beyond my limits. As my senses became faint, my body was like the wind.
[A constetion who loves effort enjoys your pain.]
[A touch of talent sleeping in your soul has blossomed.]
I controlled the vacuum prison with my left hand while moving the wind with my right hand to dissipate the energy of the ck mes. In aplete trance, I tasted new heights in Way of the Wind. The wind at my fingertips was creating andscape I had never known before.
[The thickness of the exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has temporarily thinned.]
It was a strange feeling. This was how the ¡®characters¡¯ saw the world.
No matter how hard I read the text, I didn¡¯t know what to feel. I felt that a part of the narrative that was felt through the pages touching my fingertip, which I could never full reach, was nowpletely understood.
Reading was different from understanding. Maybe I still didn¡¯t understand one percentage of this world yet.
Soon afterwards, I felt the power of Myung Ilsang¡¯s ck mes weaken.
¡¸ Shit! Scum! Die! Diee!! ¡¹
The momentum of the ck mes was rapidly declining. In addition, my magic power was still full.
It was a strange feeling. Even if I was in a trance, how could I have this much magic power left?
Behind me, Yoo Jonghyuk said, ¡°...I will kill you.¡±
...Somehow I had absorbed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s magic power.
Then after a while, Myung Ilsang¡¯s attacks ceased.
[All seals of the returnee ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ have been locked.]
Yoo Jonghyuk and I looked at each other.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 8¡¯ has been released.]
The fear-stricken Myung Ilsang stared at us.
¡°C-Cough, cough...!¡±
I threw Unbroken Faith towards the man who was gasping for air and trying to run away.
¡°Kuheeok!¡±
He fell down with the de in his back. He wouldn¡¯t be able to escape with Blink anymore. I ran over and grabbed his neck.
¡°...Hah, it is really frustrating not being able to speak. Have your questions finished?¡±
¡°Keeeok...¡±
¡°I will kill you if you ask me a question right now. Don¡¯t ask anything.¡±
Returnees. The most arrogant and brutal existences in Ways of Survival. Among the returnees, Myung Ilsang was one of the worst.
¡°Now I don¡¯t want to hear one sound from you.¡±
Peeok!Peeeok-!
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
Myung Ilsang looked up at me like it was unfair. I hit him again and again until that fear waspletely crushed. The beaten up Myung Ilsang barely managed to say, ¡°I-It can¡¯t be like this...¡±
I looked at this guy and remembered when he was a warrior.
¡¸ ¡°I-I am a warrior? I am a real warrior? Really?¡± ¡¹
The 17 year old high school student, Myung Ilsang. The innocent boy who was chosen as a warrior to save the world and fell onto Chronos.
He obviously didn¡¯t want to be like this. He didn¡¯t want to be a murderer that wiped out life on a continent. But he did so.
¡°It is you who chose to be a disaster.¡±
Now he couldn¡¯t change that fact.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Myung Ilsang¡¯ has increased.]
Myung Ilsang¡¯s face distorted. ¡°I, obviously, p-protagonist, this, world...¡±
The man who wanted to be a protagonist but failed in the end. The real protagonist soon approached and mmed a de into his head.
I looked into the eyes of the man killed by Yoo Jonghyuk. It was a futile death for the disaster that destroyed a world.
[You have won against a ¡®returnee¡¯ for the first time in the scenario!]
[Contributor: Kim Dokja, Yoo Jonghyuk]
[You have earned 40,000 coins as an achievement reward.]
[A new item will be added to your story.]
[The narrative ¡®Person who Opposes the Miracle¡¯ has been added.]
[You have obtained the possibility of a new stigma.]
Chapter 89 - A Reader’s Fight (3)
Episode 18 ¨C A Reader¡¯s Fight (3)
I looked at the system messages that appeared after Myung Ilsang¡¯s death. He left this world with just a few lines of messages.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is satisfied.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ nods with slight discontent.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is greatly pleased with your story]
[Someone has rmended your scenario to the Star Stream.]
[25,000 coins have been sponsored.]
I got up and slowly looked around.
Gangdong-gu was ruined. The disaster had only briefly passed but the ground was destroyed and the tall buildings copsed.
On the road lit by the glow of the sunset, people covered with ck dust crawled out. They were all people who ran here to obtain items. People who wanted to be the protagonist but had to remain as ¡®characters.¡¯
Some people held their injuries while others wiped their tears. I could also see people bowing down to me. However, most people were lying on the ground as cold bodies.
I had read all of Ways of Survival. I understood the settings, the meaning of the exnations and finally thought that I had figured out the author¡¯s intentions. But in Ways of Survival, there were no sentences describing these deaths.
I turned and saw Yoo Jonghyuk watching the same scene as me. Perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk had seen this scene alone many times.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡± He turned to look at me. I rolled the words around the tip of my tongue for a bit before shutting my mouth. ¡°...It is nothing.¡±
The scenarios would continue in the future and I would see this moment many times. I would encounter scenes that weren¡¯t expressed in the text several times.
Then a translucent window appeared in front of me and I heard an unexpected message.
[The dokkaebi ¡®Dokgak¡¯ has invited you to his channel.]
...Who was inviting me to a channel? I was confused for a moment but decided to ignore it. Then the message shed again.
[The dokkaebi ¡®Dokgak¡¯ has invited you to his channel.]
I looked up at the air and saw one dokkaebi looking down at this side. It was a one-legged dokkaebi with an unpleasant smile. Bihyung was behind him with a terrible expression and looked between us. There was a gap even among dokkaebis of the same rank.
...Yes, I had a rough idea of this situation. I took a deep breath and deliberately spoke in a loud voice, ¡°What? You won¡¯t give me the rewards?¡±
Dokgak¡¯s eyebrows twitched at my words. However, his mouth was still rxed.
[Oh, of course. I¡¯m sorry. I made a mistake.]
Dokgak was a scary dokkaebi. He wasn¡¯t silly like Bihyung but had a different constitution from the intermediate dokkaebis. Not just anyone could be a streamer of a major channel.
[The sub-scenario ¨C SSS-grade Hunt has ended.]
[Thepensation settlement will begin.]
[You have obtained 50,000 coins aspensation.]
I felt better when I received a huge number of coins. This scenario gave me 50,000 coins in one go. It was a great scenario.
Given the fact that sub scenarios were formed at the discretion of the dokkaebi, most of these coins woulde from Dokgak¡¯s pocket. I thought his stomach would hurt but Dokgak was smiling softly.
[It is a great pleasure to see interesting stories. How can I not be amused?]
He muttered like he read my mind. Well, he had a big channel in Tokyo Dome so this level of coins being bled wouldn¡¯t matter.
Why did he leave Japan now? Chances were high that great yers like Oda Nobunaga or Miyamoto Musashi would still be active. Yes... was he full because the incarnations in his house were so busy?
¡°Then give me the extrapensation quickly. Is this all?¡±
[Ah, of course. I should naturally give it to you. You are the one who made this scenario interesting.]
I somewhat became angry at his sarcastic tone. If it wasn¡¯t for this bastard, the Disaster of Questions would¡¯ve been a lot easier. Bihyung nced at me from behind andmunicated with me.
¨CHey... you know.
However, Dokgak interrupted Bihyung before his words could be conveyed.
[Bihyung, prepare thepensation.]
Bihyung made a surprised and angry sound.
[Huh?]
[Prepare forpensation. Do I have to tell you twice?]
Look at this? Bihyung hesitated before opening his mouth again. [You are currently in charge of the sub scenario...]
[How interesting Bihyung. You dare act like this in front of the incarnations?]
A fierce aura started to crush Bihyung¡¯s body. The power of the dokkaebi depended on the size of the channel.
[It seems to be true that the size of your channel has growntely.]
Bihyung shrank back as Dokgak kept talking.
[N-No! It is a misunderstanding!]
[You do know that the sixth scenario involves Korea and Japan together? Have you already forgotten?]
[I-I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯ll prepare it right away!]
[Get started right away.]
[Yes!]
I didn¡¯t feel good because Bihyung was the one managing my channel To be honest, Bihyung and Dokgak¡¯s rtionship seemed simr to how Song Minwoo bothered me during high school.
[Additionalpensation settlement will begin.]
[You have acquired Parasite Species¡¯ Benefactor as a basic reward.]
[An additional selection reward exists.]
[You are thergest contributor to this scenario.]
[You have the first choice of additionalpensation.]
I saw a translucent catalogue appear in front of me. Once again, it was quite useful to catch a disaster.
[Infinite Dimension Space Coat] ¨C SSS-grade.
[Dark Fire Half-Gloves] ¨C SSS-grade.
[Sylphid¡¯s Jump Boots] ¨C SSS-grade.
Triple S-gradepensation items. I quickly looked at the options of the items.
The Infinite Dimension Space Coat had a special option of a ¡®inside pocket space¡¯ that allowed him to carry many things.
Dark Fire Half-Gloves greatly amplified skills with the dark and fire attributes.
Finally, Sylphid¡¯s Jump Boots allowed me to use the ¡®jump¡¯ effect three times a day.
They weren¡¯t star relics but it was enough to go to the 10th scenario. People might say, ¡®It is SSS-grade but it is only to the 10th scenario?¡¯ But the world of Ways of Survival was originally like this.
The item grade intion was substantial in the world of Ways of Survival. The difference in performance of the items obtained in the early stages to the middle stages was huge, despite having the same grade.
Of course, it wasn¡¯t necessary to throw away SSS-grade items now but special materials would be needed to transcend equipment.
This was why it was good to have star relics. Unlike other items, star relics didn¡¯t need transcendence. Once scenarios opened, the star relics would recover their inherent power that was beyond the constraints of probability.
[...Please choose a reward.] Bihyung told me with a grouchy expression. He was exhausted by the harassment.
At this moment, I heard Bihyung through the dokkaebimunication.
¨CPersonally, I rmend the Infinite Dimension Space Coat. There is one more hidden option. It is easier to transcendter.
He was working as my manager. The quick-witted Dokgak was staring at Bihyung.
[Bihyung?]
[...Yes!]
[You must exin the items to the constetions. Have you forgotten?]
[I-I understand!]
Bihyung quickly started to exin the items to the constetions of Seoul Dome. I used this break to talk to Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, what are you going to choose?¡±
I had first choice but I decided to give it to Yoo Jonghyuk since I received his help.
...Of course, this was if Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t hit me into the ground.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
He didn¡¯t answer. He was just staring at me.
¡°Did you pass out again?¡±
I waved my hand in front of his eyes several times but his pupils didn¡¯t change.
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk is currently using Recovery Hibernation Lv. 3.]
...Indeed, it was abnormal for him to move with that body. His body must be half broken to be able to use Recovery Hiberation. I couldn¡¯t just pick so I left a message with Midday Tryst. Han Sooyoung watched by my side and interrupted, ¡°...Perhaps I should choose instead?¡±
¡°Only if you want to be hit by Yoo Jonghyukter.¡±
Han Sooyoung became silent in an instant. I spoke to Bihyung, ¡°I will choose Infinite Dimension Space Coat.¡±
However, the answer didn¡¯te from Bihyung. Dokgak nodded and turned off the catalogue with a flick of his fingers.
[You have picked a good item. Then let¡¯s go the payment area.]
Payment area?
[The additionalpensation can¡¯t be paid here.]
Look at this.
¡°Where are you going to take me?¡±
[I¡¯ll take you to my ¡®Dokkaebi Official Post¡¯.]
The Dokkaebi Official Post. (Official post in Korean also means a horsehair cap worn by officials)
In folk tales, it was a type of clothing but here it was different. It was a ¡®room¡¯ that all dokkaebis had. It was a room that hid their true colours.
¡°That is a problem. Just give it to me here.¡±
It was their unique space. I didn¡¯t know what to expect. As far as I knew, there was no procedure regarding moving to a Dokkaebi¡¯s Official Post in order to receive additionalpensation.
It was obviously this guy¡¯s suggestion to go to his official post. Bihyung was watching me anxiously from next to him. I watched Dokgak with narrowed eyes.
[Hrmm... do you want me to cancel the additionalpensation?¡±
¡°Try it.¡±
The scenario¡¯spensation was a fixed rule of the Star Stream. Even a sub-scenario made with a dokkaebi¡¯s discretion couldn¡¯t take back an item that was given after the scenario was over.
A smile shed on Dokgak¡¯s face.
[How interesting.]
¨CThis isn¡¯t a good idea.
The dokkaebimunication.
As Dokgak opened his mouth, two voices were heard.
[Kim Dokja. I¡¯ve heard your story. You are so famous that the constetions of thends beyond the penins know about you.]
¨CI know about your contract with Dokkaebi Bihyung. But among the dokkaebis, it is possible to ¡®transfer incarnations.¡¯
[I¡¯ve heard that you act proudly in front of dokkaebis and today I have discovered that the rumour isn¡¯t false.]
¨CI will speak bluntly.Come to my channel.I am going to expand my channel to the Korean Penins.I will be happy to meet your desired items and conditions.
Interesting. He made me a scouting proposal in this manner. The suggestion from Dokgak could be seen as moving from a team in the Asian League to a top team from La Liga.
It was an attractive offer. The problem was... the transfer. I knew this guy called ¡®Dokgak.¡¯
¡°I might look like this but I¡¯m actually really scared. I¡¯m trembling while talking to you like this. So give me the item quickly.¡±
Dokgak¡¯s expression hardened at my words.
[How interesting. You are humble.]
¨CYou are too arrogant.You will be humbled one day.
¡°...What does that mean?¡±
¨CBihyung¡¯s channel will soon disappear.
Augh emerged from Dokgak¡¯s mouth.
[Then it can¡¯t be helped. I originally wanted to announce this after paying the pensation¡¯ but I¡¯m sorry.]
...An announcement? What announcement?
Dokgak looked up at the sky. He looked at the constetions emitting light and slowly opened his mouth. His voice seemed to echo in all of Seoul.
[I have regrettable news for the constetions who have watched the scenario with interest so far.]
The low-grade dokkaebis quickly withdrew from Bihyung¡¯s vicinity. Bihyung made a bewildered expression. It wasn¡¯t good whenever the dokkaebis acted like this.
[Unfortunately, among the channels operating in Seoul Dome, there is a channel that has been illegally manipting the scenarios.]
[Many constetions are paying attention to ¡®Dokgak¡¯s words.¡¯]
[It is the #BI-7623 channel of Dokkaebi Bihyung. As a result of a survey, the low-grade dokkaebis in Seoul Dome have concluded that ¡®probability¡¯ has been infringed due to excessive channel scenario maniption.]
...Wait, what?
[On behalf of the low-grade dokkaebis of Seoul Dome, I am formally asking the Bureau to determine the ¡®probability conformity¡¯ of this channel.]
Chapter 90 - A Reader’s Fight (4)
Episode 18 ¨C A Reader¡¯s Fight (4)
Han Sooyoung asked with a dumbfounded expression.
¡°What? What does this mean? Why did he suddenly mention the probability?¡±
¡°He is arguing needlessly.¡±
¡°Arguing? Why?¡±
Why? Was it because I rejected his offer? Dokgak floated in the sky and reported to the Bureau.
The probability judgement...
I didn¡¯t think it would be used in this way. I expected the dokkaebis of other big channels to start a fight but I didn¡¯t expect it to be like this.
Bihyung¡¯s face turned red and he was tearful as he looked between me and Dokgak. It looked like tears would burst out as soon as he was touched.
¨CW-What?What do I do now?
¨CTell me honestly.Did he find out about our contract?
Bihyung shook his head.
¨CDid he notice you opening the Dokkaebi Bag?
¨CT-That can¡¯t be.
¨CReally?
¨CP-Probably...
¨CWell, don¡¯t panic yet. Even if that is the case, it isn¡¯t something that is worth asking for a ¡®probability conformity request.¡¯In the first ce, it isn¡¯t a vition of regtions.
It was true. There was no precedent in which an incarnation made a ¡®stream contract¡¯ or could use the ¡®dokkaebi bag¡¯, so it wasn¡¯t a direct vition of Star Stream¡¯s regtions.
Bihyung btedly nodded with relief.
¨CY-Yes.I understand.
Seeing this childlike Bihyung, I didn¡¯t know if he was the dokkaebi or if I was. I looked at Dokgak and the low-grade dokkaebis again.
[The #BI-7623 channel maniption has been reported.]
[The Bureau is currently discussing this issue.]
If I was right, the probability request would eventually be cancelled. Although the story would be different if Dokgak had ¡®evidence¡¯ for this...
He was hiding information and I had no way to figure out what it was. Then there was only one way left.
¡°Hey, can you stop stalling and quickly give me my reward? Don¡¯t you see that the constetions are bing bored?¡±
[That is a problem. This is more important than thepensation payout.]
¨CHave you changed your mind?If you agree with my proposal, I will get rid of all of this for you.
I looked up at Dokgak. Yes, let¡¯s try a frontal confrontation.
¡°What are your concerns? Let me look. How is the channel I belong to illegally manipting the scenario? Is there any evidence?¡±
I would find out what his evidence was if he had it. If he was bluffing, the situation would end immediately.
Dokgak smiled like he had been waiting.
[Do you really want to hear it? You will regret it.]
¡°Tell me.¡±
[This issue involves you, Kim Dokja.]
¡°...Me?¡±
At this moment, I had a thought.
Was it because I used future information from the text? But due to the filtering, this information shouldn¡¯t have spread to the constetions or the dokkaebis. Otherwise I would¡¯ve already been caught in a probability storm...
[Do you see the screen?]
A huge screen appeared in the air. The screen showed videos of my recent battles. The first screen showed my conflict with Poisoner Lee Seolhwa.
[This is proof.
¡°...What is the proof?¡±
The screen just showed that I didn¡¯t kill Lee Seolhwa. Dokgak changed the screen.
[This is also proof.]
The second screen showed me watching the battle between Lycaon and Antinus. What was this...
[This is the third proof.]
On the third screen, I was attacking the Disaster of Questions, Myung Ilsang. It was a scene where Myung Ilsang continuously released his seals. Suddenly, my stomach felt pained.
[What do these screens have inmon?]
I realized it at this moment. This guy wasn¡¯t talking to me right now.
[The constetions looking at the screens, do you have any idea?]
Everyone in the area became quiet.
[The fight against the Poisoner, the fight against Antinus and the fight against the Disaster of Questions. There is one thing these three fights have inmon.]
Then the screen kept changing.
[He actually had a chance to kill the Poisoner and stop the disaster.]
His finger pointed to the Poisoner.
[He could stop the disaster by killing Antinus.]
Then he pointed to Antinus.
[He could¡¯ve stopped the Disaster of Questions before the seals were released.]
He pointed to Myung Ilsang then he pointed towards me.
[But he ¡®deliberately¡¯ didn¡¯t do it.]
¡°Wait! You are now...!¡±
Now I noticed what Dokgak was trying to do. Goosebumps covered my entire body.
I see. This was what the dokkaebi was nning.
[Constetions. Incarnation Kim Dokja colluded with the channel¡¯s streamer, ¡®Bihyung.¡¯ He deliberately concealed his strength and manipted the development of the scenario. He made the scenarios harder for malicious purposes.]
Then the final screen appeared. It showed me using Way of the Wind to stop Myung Ilsang.
[He did this to ¡®direct¡¯ thest catharsis.]
This bastard, he didn¡¯t intend to ask for the ¡®probability conformity request¡¯ from the beginning.
Dokgak...
This was his real purpose.
[It is just to rip off coins from you.]
It was the end of Bihyung¡¯s channel.
[Some constetions are silent.]
The evidence that Dokgak exposed didn¡¯t vite the terms of the ¡®probability conformity judgment.¡¯ Dokkaebis controlling incarnations to make a scenario interesting wasn¡¯t umon.
The problem was the constetions who hated it. The moment they thought I wasn¡¯t serious about the scenario, the constetions would lose interest.
It was like alienating them from the y. The moment the fourth wall between the audience and the character copsed, the audience would cool off straight away.
This was what Dokgak aimed for.
[The constetion Bald General of Justice¡¯s mouth is gaping open.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is chuckling.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ shrugs like it is fine.]
Some constetions were astonished, some constetions had no idea and some constetions were silent.
The problem was the other constetions.
[Some constetions have left the channel.]
[The constetions questioning the fairness of the channel has left the channel.]
[Some constetions are requesting coin refunds from the channel.]
The constetions left and Bihyung¡¯s channel started to shrink.
[The size of the channel is reduced.]
The messages continuously popped up. Bihyung¡¯s pale body was bing smaller. His horns were shrinking.
I eventually sighed. ¡°The channel is dead.¡±
There was only one way left. I looked at the dwindling number of constetions and spoke to Dokgak.
¡°I understand so give me thepensation when you are done talking. I will ept your offer.¡±
Dokgak¡¯s lips curved upwards.
¨CYou are smart.
Bihyung¡¯s eyes grew wider with disbelief.
[Y-You...!]
¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. It can¡¯t be helped.¡± I shrugged while speaking in a loud voice.
BIhyung¡¯s lips trembled from the betrayal. This child was scared.
¨CBihyung, do you trust me?
¨CWhat...
¨CTrust me this once.Aren¡¯t you already ruined?
I finished themunication and spoke to Dokgak.
¡°Start moving.¡±
[Good. Then let¡¯s have a sweet rewards time.]
Dokgak flicked his fingers and the surroundingndscape disappeared. We reappeared in a room reminiscent of a luxury hotel suite.
...This was his ¡®official post¡¯? I looked around a bit nervously. Low tables and chairs suitable for a dokkaebi were ced over luxurious rugs. There was a wide variety of alcohol on one side. Later I realized that it was a suitable setting for a dokkaebi who liked to drink.
I finished looking around and approached the window. Thendscape outside was...
Oh my god. A darkness with no end filled my vision.
Glittering stars flowed in the darkness of the grand universe. It was a superb vision of the grand universe like endless jewels. The constetions repeated their orbits and rotations, each one part of the huge gxy.
It was funny that at his moment, I was purely impressed. This was the Star Stream. It was the flow of the great stars that governed all scenarios. Every story began here.
¡°It is great.¡± I looked back and saw Dokgak standing there. ¡°Sometimes I just stare nkly at thisndscape. I never get tired of this sight.¡±
¡°You are now...¡±
¡°Ah, are you surprised? This is my ¡®real¡¯ voice.¡±
It was the first time I heard the dokkaebi¡¯s voice. Previously it was always heard through a broadcast. In other words, the sight before me was Dokgak¡¯s real ¡®body.¡¯ Dokgak¡¯s eyes shone.
¡°What are you thinking about?¡± I asked.
¡°What do you think? Ah, do you think I¡¯ll kill you?¡± He burst outughing. ¡°You know that is impossible.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not crazy enough to fight against a dokkaebi either.¡±
¡°I like it. Then let¡¯s start the contract.¡±
Dokgak flicked his fingers and a dokkaebi with a contract appeared before him. It was Bihyung. He was tied up by the system and stared at me with reproachful eyes.
¡°I brought Bihyung as a notary. In any case, you have to break the contract with him to form a contract with me. The cost of the destruction will be covered by Bihyung.¡±
I was a bit surprised. This guy, he knew about my contract with Bihyung. It meant he knew from the beginning that I was a good person to attract the ¡®find an incarnation¡¯ group.
I pretended to be calm. ¡°Do as you like. I don¡¯t care.¡±
¡°It is good that the story is fast. Would you like to check the contract? It is also my first time making such a contract.¡±
I read the contract. Needless to say, the contract waspletely full of adverse conditions for me. Donations would be distributed 5:5. There were also some conditions that bound my freedom. Even now, I was the ¡®gap¡¯ instead of the ¡®eul.¡¯
Dokgakughed. ¡°How about it? This is the industry average but I can make some adjustments.¡±
It sounded like the industry average. Bihyung also tried a simr contract in the beginning.
I nodded and said, ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t bad. But before I sign the contract, I have a suggestion.¡±
¡°Suggestion? What is it?¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t it a shame if I¡¯m the only one moving channels? Surely you won¡¯t be satisfied with just one thing? There are some strong constetions in my channel.¡±
¡°Hoh? Who are they?¡±
¡°Prisoner of the Golden Headband, Abyssal ck me Dragon, Demon-like Judge of Fire...¡±
Dokgak looked surprise at each modifier.
¡°Prisoner of the Golden Headband? I didn¡¯t think you would have such constetions... Bihyung, you are quite good.¡±
Bihyung hissed through his gag.
I continued speaking. This was the most important part.
¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t want to leave these constetions behind in this channel. Therefore, I want you to build a bridge so that the constetions can move channels with me.¡±
Chapter 91 - A Reader’s Fight (5)
Episode 18 ¨C A Reader¡¯s Fight (5)
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ will judge your sincerity.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is somewhat annoyed.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is actively giving off annoyance.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ asks if you really want to move channels.]
Dokgak smiled like he was interested.
¡°A bridge?¡±
¡°Connect your channel to me.¡±
¡°Then isn¡¯t it like a duplicated connection?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You will be able to move channels through me without having to struggle with the constetions.¡±
¡°Hrmm. That¡¯s true. Very interesting.¡±
¡°There is also something I¡¯m curious about.¡±
¡°Curious about?¡±
¡°What types of constetions are in the channel I will contract with? I¡¯m just wondering what a big channel looks like since I¡¯ve only been in a small channel like this. I would like to see it in advance. Is it okay?¡±
I deliberately spoke towards Bihyung. Bihyung¡¯s expression became hurt in real time. A smile of satisfactory appeared on Dokgak¡¯s face.
¡°Bihyung, you signed with a really good incarnation. I really think so.¡±
Dokgak¡¯s hands moved through the air and he started to manipte the system.
¡°Good. Then let¡¯s show you the air of a big city.¡±
The next moment, it felt like a new cord was stuck in my body. There was a definite connection that seemed to lead somewhere.
I slowly blinked and felt countless gazes on me. One, two, three... all the hairs on my body rose. It was quite different from Bihyung¡¯s channel. I could feel their presences just from their eyes.
Amazing. This was the channel of a dokkaebi who dominated Tokyo Dome?
¡°How is it? There is a new league for you to y in.¡±
It seemed that there weren¡¯t just Japanese constetions. Did this jerk had fixed subscriptions on other continents or worlds? If I worked in such a ce, how many coins could I get at once? To be honest, I couldn¡¯t even guess.
I murmured, ¡°Great. Isn¡¯t this really big?¡±
¡°Then the contract...¡±
¡°Before that, I want to say hello for a moment. Is that okay?¡±
¡°...Please do so.¡±
Dokgak made a disgruntled expression but he eventually allowed it. I started talking with my eyes closed. ¡°Constetions of Tokyo Dome. Can you hear me?¡±
[Some of the constetions who hate the Korean penins are looking at you.]
¡°I¡¯m sure that some of you have heard my story. I am Kim Dokja, the one who smashed the Absolute Throne and became the king of a kingless world. Please note that I have no sponsor... um, well. That¡¯s correct. I hope to get along with you in the future.¡±
[The constetions of Tokyo Dome are listening to you.]
I only gave a brief introduction and some constetions were already starting to approach me indirectly.
Good. The start wasn¡¯t bad?
¡°By the way. As a memorial to my channel, I will do a small event. I mean, a joint event between South Korea and Japan... If you are curious, please connect to #BI-7623 right now. I will draw tickets for the early constetions and give coins¨D¡±
Then the channel link was disconnected. I opened my eyes and saw Dokgak staring at me as he asked, ¡°What the hell are you doing now?¡±
¡°What? It is an event.¡±
¡°What are you thinking? Do you want to die? The constetions in my channel don¡¯t y in such shallow waters...¡±
I would dly give him a surprise because he cut me off at the point where people were feeling curious. Then Dokgak¡¯s body started to slowly change.
¡°Wait, constetions. Where are you going?¡±
The flow was changing. Constetions started pouring into Bihyung¡¯s channel little by little.
[A number of constetions have entered channel #BI-7623.]
[The channel level has risen.]
I smiled widely. ¡°A lot of you came. Thank you. Are you here for the event?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is annoyed at the appearance of these constetions.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ resents the appearance of hostile constetions.]
¡°Wait, don¡¯t fight. I didn¡¯t call you here to fight.¡±
[The constetion who likes Murasama is urging you to proceed with the coin lottery.]
[Some constetions are asking about the coin event.]
¡°Don¡¯t be in a hurry. I¡¯ll do it in a bit. Think about it. Is it so important to get a coin or two? What is the point if you don¡¯t have incarnations to spend the coins on? Go slowly, slowly.¡±
[Some constetions are looking at you with disgruntled eyes.]
¡°You may have heard of this but I¡¯ll tell you again. I am Kim Dokja and I don¡¯t have a sponsor. I won the war between kings and prevented a disaster before it began. There are probably few incarnations stronger than me if you look around the world. There will be none with no sponsor. By the way... it will be hard tost until the end.¡±
Dokgak started to turn pale as he noticed my intentions.
¡°Wait! You...!¡±
Iughed at Dokgak. A production? Yes, I would show him what a real ¡®production¡¯ was.
¡°Seoul Dome is now ahead of the fifth scenario. If you are smart, you will know what that means. Yes, that¡¯s right. There will soon be an event that you will like.¡±
Now there was less than a week until the start of the scenario. Before the entire disaster scenario started, a special event would be hosted. A banquet for all the constetions in the Star Stream. Soon, the second Sponsor Selection would start.
I continued speaking. ¡°In celebration, I would like to do a surprise event. If the number of subscriptions to this channel reaches 10,000 on the day of the Sponsor Selection...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is gulping.]
¡°I will make one of the constetions in this channel my partner.¡±
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is looking at you with interest.]
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what gender, race or world you originated from. It doesn¡¯t matter if you are strong or weak, famous or not famous. Anything is okay. What I am looking for is passion. I hope you have the passion to send the end of this damn story with me.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ wipes his head.]
¡°Whoever is good. I will be waiting for you. 10,000 viewers. Do you remember? Please convey it to other people properly.¡±
¡°W-Wait a minute! Wait! Just wait!¡±
Dokgak cried out but it was already toote. There was a wicked voice and unstoppable channel messages. I was dizzy from the indirect messages that came from everywhere.
Some time passed.
Cold anger rose on Dokgak¡¯s face. He made a decision and raised his hand towards me. ¡°Incarnation Kim Dokja. You will die here.¡±
Yes, I thought he would react like this. Iughed while pretending to be calm. ¡°There are currently many constetions watching. Aren¡¯t you afraid of the storm?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the master of Tokyo Dome.¡±
There was no patience left in Dokgak¡¯s furious face. Damn.
¡°Do you think I can¡¯t deal with the probabilities caused by killing a bug like you?¡±
Dokgak¡¯s fingers moved. It was a gesture like he was flicking away a bug. Powerful sparks appeared around me. It was the ¡®balloon burst¡¯ that was Dokgak¡¯s specialty. The currents would cause my body to burst like a balloon. My swollen intestines would scatter as fragments and all the pieces that made up my body would be dust scattered into the universe.
This was what originally should¡¯ve happened.
¡°...What is this?¡±
He tried again. Dokgak flicked his fingers two more times. However, there was no change. Not long afterwards, even the sparks disappeared.
¡°T-This is...¡± The confused Dokgak stared at his fingers. However, he still didn¡¯t understand. The problem wasn¡¯t his fingers.
There was a chill and a enormous shadow appeared behind me, darkening my vision.
¡°Hey. Dokkaebi.¡±
A voice was suddenly heard. I instinctively knew. The owner of this voice was now protecting me. It was natural when thinking about it. One a dokkaebi who used the system could prevent the use of the system.
¡°Is it fun to show off your power?¡± It was the first time I heard Bihyung¡¯s real voice.
The astonished Dokgak stuttered, ¡°Uh, how did you get Character Redemption...?¡±
¡°Ah, this? Didn¡¯t you just give me a hard time because of your strength?¡±
Dokgak¡¯s face turned red. Bted rage filled his face. ¡°You are at best a low-grade dokkaebi... Bihyung! What do you mean by this rudeness?¡±
¡°Low-grade? You are also low-grade despite your number of subscribers.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t get a promotion on purpose. Do you dare anger me, the master of Tokyo Dome?¡±
¡°Tokyo Dome? Good, Tokyo Dome. Are there many good constetions left there?¡±
Bihyung moved from behind me towards Dokgak. ¡°By the way, were you this small?¡±
Their appearance looked the same but now Bihyung was several timesrger than Dokgak.
Bihyung¡¯s giant shadow proved it. Once again, a dokkaebi¡¯s power increased with their number of subscribers.
The fear stricken Dokgak staggered back. ¡°H-How...?¡±
¡°You were talking very well earlier. What? I was illegally manipting the scenario?¡± A ck arm emerged from Bihyung¡¯s shadow and grabbed Dokgak¡¯s neck, raising him into the air. ¡°The jerk who steals the incarnations of others... who taught you business ethics?¡±
¡°U-Uh. You absolutely won¡¯t be safe if you do this...!¡±
¡°What the fuck!¡± Bihyung¡¯s right arm swelled enormously. ¡°Go to Andromeda and find your concept!¡±
The shadow¡¯s fist burst through the shield on the ceiling and Dokgak flew to the far side of the universe.
He wouldn¡¯t die because he was a dokkaebi but he would be hit hard for a while. Bihyung let out a breath like he was relieved.
By the way, I nearly died. I sighed with relief and approached Bihyung. The channel had just grown but Bihyung seemed strange. We looked at each other and I was met with Bihyung¡¯s confused eyes.
I couldn¡¯t tell if he wasughing or crying. Perhaps this was the expression that dokkaebis made when they were really happy.
¡°Do you know what I am seeing right now?¡±
I didn¡¯t know but I had an idea. It probably wasn¡¯t much different from what I¡¯m seeing.
[The channel level has risen.]
[The channel level has risen.]
[The channel level has risen.]
.
.
.
[A constetion who likes the Korean penins wants to be your sponsor.]
[A constetion who wants historical reconciliation wants to be your sponsor.]
[A constetion who likes to change gender wonders about your heart.]
[A constetion that enjoys subculture is interested in you.]
The endless messages started to fill the ears of me and Bihyung. Now the stage would expand to the world.
Chapter 92 - Singularity (1)
Episode 19 ¨C Singrity (1)
Since it was the first time I came to a dokkaebi¡¯s official post, I looked at some of the documents on the table while Bihyung managed the constetions.
[Singrity Trend Report]
...Singrity? The moment I curiously turned a few pages, the documents disappeared into dust. It seemed to be a database system, not real documents.
Bihyung looked this way.
-...What are you doing?
¨CNothing.
Bihyung saw the powder on the table and looked at me suspiciously. Then he sighed and opened his mouth.
¨CHey, are we okay?
¨CWhy?Are you regretting it now?
¨CThat...you know.The constetions thate out using this method will quickly leave.
The fallen constetions would return to the Tokyo Dome channel. At that time, Dokgak¡¯s revenge would begin. But that was for then.
¨CBesides, you lied before. What the hell are you going to do?What if the subscriptions really reaches 10,000?It is already at 5,000.
I shrugged without speaking and Bihyung continued.
¨CWasn¡¯t there a condition for you to not choose a sponsor when you signed the contract with me?How can you say something like this?
¨CIt will work out somehow.You can also break the contract.
¨CI can¡¯t do that.
¨CJerk... I risked my life for you yet you can¡¯t do this?
Bihyung¡¯s expression darkened.
¨CThat...
Indeed, I was a fool to expect anything. I told him, Don¡¯t worry, I have an idea.
-...Really?
¨CYes, so give me my item.Dokgak is gone so shouldn¡¯t you hand me the item now?
¨CAh, that¡¯s right.
Bihyung btedly manipted the system. Then after a while, a white coat descended from the air. The clean design carefully paid attention to fashion as well asbat function. I took the coat and checked the pocket first.
[The special ¡®space¡¯ feature of the Infinite Dimension Space Coat is activated.]
The advantage of this coat was that I could store various items in it without the Inventory skill. It was a good item for me since there were many troublesome items to carry such as the Ganpyeongui, Dongui Bogam and Magic Power Stove.
¡°...By the way, it is white unlike the catalogue photo.¡±
[The other colour is out of stock.]
Out of stock. How many of these items were there?
[Don¡¯t you know? This is a mass production item.]
I checked the options of the items.
+
[Item Information]
Name: Infinite Dimension Space Coat ver1.1 (made by Mass Production Maker)
Rating: SSS
Description: A customized coat for returnees. Despite being a mass produced product, it was mysteriously given a SSS rating. In consideration of the returnees who can¡¯t activate the attributes window, the additional ¡®Subspace¡¯ function can be activated from the inner pocket of the coat. Of course, the space isn¡¯t wide so use it cautiously.
+
I looked at it again. Only the subspace could be used but it had a SSS rating? When considering that the ancient dragon Ignitus¡¯s heart had a SS grade...
[...Honestly, it is just due to the influence of the maker. He is a powerful constetion.]
It made sense. The Mass Production Maker was a famous constetion among returnees... Even if the rating was a bit off, this was one of the best items to get early on.
In any case, I received it.
[Then let¡¯s go back.]
Bihyung flicked his fingers and the surroundings started to change. I blinked once and returned to ground. Han Sooyoung freaked out and retreated when I suddenly appeared in thin air.
¡°Hey! Where the hell did you go?¡±
¡°I had to do something for a moment.¡±
¡°...Was it resolved well?¡± Sometimes Han Sooyoung had a habit of speaking like this without knowing what happened. Was it a writer¡¯s ego? I just nodded.
¡°New clothes? Damn, I¡¯m envious.¡± She gazed at the coat I was staring with envious eyes and then Yoo Jonghyuk, who was still unconscious. She looked between Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck coat and my white coat before opening her mouth.
¡°By the way, are you a couple?¡±
¡°...It is just a coincidence. It is amon design.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is delighted for an unknown reason.]
[A constetion who likes to change gender has shining eyes.]
...Come to think of it, there were many unique constetions. Who was the constetion who liked to change gender? Did this constetion appear in Ways of Survival? I thought I should look through the novel soon.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is controlling the constetion who likes to change gender.]
Speaking of which, I decided to look at Yoo Jonghyuk. Fortunately, his recovery seemed to be going smoothly. His breathing was stable and his wounds were healing.
¡°Let¡¯s go quickly. Before this jerk wakes up.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk had fainted with two clenched fists. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine what would happen if this guy woke up first.
***
I left Gangdong-gu with Han Sooyoung. Yoo Sangah was being carried by Han Sooyoung¡¯s avatar. She was still unconscious from exhaustion.
I had gone back to the battlefield where we fought Antinus but couldn¡¯t find Lycaon. There was no body so he seemed to be alive. I just didn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯te to me. He must be severely injured after being struck by the hatching disaster.
Han Sooyoung looked back at me and asked, ¡°Is it really okay to leave him?¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±
¡°But that is the Poisoner. Can you trust her?¡±
The unconscious Yoo Jonghyuk was left with Lee Seolhwa.
¡°The Poisoner originally isn¡¯t a bad person. It is due to the Parasite.¡±
In many episodes where she wasn¡¯t infected by the guide, Lee Seolhwa was called the ¡®Doctor¡¯ rather than the ¡®Poisoner.¡¯ Maybe she would be called that in this regression.
¨CTake him and go towards Gaebong-dong.In the 5603th military division, a poor soldier will be waiting for you.
I confirmed Lee Hyunsung¡¯s location using Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint and decided to ept Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s advice. I was arrogant to think I could raise my colleagues with my strength.
I had a limited time and information, even if I was aplete reader. Therefore, the best trainer for Lee Hyunsung right now wasn¡¯t me, but Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°I¡¯m hungry. Shall we eat that?¡±
I pointed to a nt growing around a high-rise building.
[The 7th grade nt species ¡®Yanaspleta¡¯ is looking at you.]
Han Sooyoung looked at the huge sunflower¡¯s eyes and cried out with fright, ¡°...Can we eat that?¡±
¡°We have to eat it because there is nothing else. ording to Ways of Survival, it is quite delicious. It is also a child and easy to hunt.¡±
¡°Uh...¡±
Han Sooyoung made a disgruntled expression and soon started to summon her avatars. We cut off the stems and tentacles of the nt species. The yanaspleta was shortly disconnected from its roots and closed its eyes.
Once again, I felt like I had be stronger. Even if it was young, a seventh grade species was handled so easily.
¡°Han Sooyoung. Are you going to eat?¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°Then I¡¯ll cook.¡±
I started cooking the yanaspleta like I had read in Ways of Survival. I peeled off the hard skin of the stem and sprinkled a bit of herb salt that I got from a nearby grocery store.
The inside contained pinkish flesh reminiscent of seasonal crab meat. Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes shone.
¡°What the hell is this? It is a nt right?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°We are eating a sd?¡±
¡°Of course not. I¡¯ll burn it.¡±
I roughly cut off a branch of the surrounding tree, turned the yanaspleta stalk into skewers and put it on the Magic Power Stove. I set the stove to a medium fire but it took a long time to cook because it was a seventh grade species. I flipped it around a few times and then sprinkled more salt. After some time, the smell of grilling meat filled the area.
¡°Hey, can you smell it?¡±
¡°Wait, we can¡¯t eat it just yet.¡± I stopped her from reaching into the stove and handed her a teacup that had been warming up on the side. ¡°Drink this before eating.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Juice from the boiled stem. It needs to be consumed before eating the yanaspleta.¡±
Han Sooyoung took the cup with a doubtful expression. Then after a while, her expression became impressed. She drank all the juices and started to cut the stem.
¡°Eat slowly.¡±
¡°...This isn¡¯t a joke. You can really cook.¡±
¡°Maybe only in this ruined world.¡±
Iughed because she looked like a five year old child stuffing her face with good food.
[Some constetions who love cooking are curious about your cooking.]
[Some constetions who like fast progress and violence areining.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ says to keep watching.]
There was one week left until the start of the fifth scenario. The Burning Hell disaster and Disaster of Questions had been ovee, making the development smooth.
Yoo Jonghyuk would take the disaster in the west with Lee Hyunsung once he woke up while the Wanderer King would handle the north. The only thing to be aware of now was the ¡®central disaster.¡¯
I picked up the yanaspleta juice and looked at the still unconscious Yoo Sangah. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
Was I mistaken? The unconscious Yoo Sangah obviously flinched.
¡°I know your mental state right now. Come and eat this.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°If you don¡¯t, I will just eat it.¡±
Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t rise. Then I heard a growling sound from her stomach.
¡°You must be sleeping. Then we will eat this. Ah, too delicious.¡±
¡°...W-Wait a minute!¡± Yoo Sangah cried out and rose from her spot. As expected, Yoo Sangah couldn¡¯t just lie down after smelling the food. She consumed a lot of stamina so it was natural for her to be hungry.
I nced over at Han Sooyoung, who was still eating. ¡°Hey. You have eaten a lot so get up.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Do you have to ask?¡±
¡°...Che. You make people feel ufortable. I understand.¡±
Maybe Han Sooyoung knew that Yoo Sangah was already awake. She also knew that Yoo Sangah wouldn¡¯t move because of Han Sooyoung¡¯s presence. This girl was really bad.
¡°I will go around the area once. Don¡¯t eat it all and leave me some. Understood?¡± Han Sooyoung grabbed a skewer and disappeared into the darkness.
Once shepletely disappeared, Yoo Sangah slowly approached. The skewer on top of the stove made a delicious cooking sound. I gave the skewer to the hesitating Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah epted it and started biting into it.
Yoo Sangah ate one skewer and barely managed to open her mouth.
¡°...Delicious.¡±
There were tears in her eyes. Anyone who saw her now wouldn¡¯t think she was that girl wielding the daggers.
¡°Eat slowly.¡±
The two daggers at her waist showed that her appearance during the daytime wasn¡¯t a dream. It was one month since the destruction began. I felt like there was a lot of work to do.
Yoo Sangah ate the skewers silently while I also ate while watching her. The skewers were really delicious. It was as if the taste wasn¡¯t of this world...
Yoo Sangah watched the mes zing from the stove and muttered, ¡°...This is real.¡±
¡°Probably.¡±
¡°Now we can¡¯t go back?¡±
¡°Yes, probably.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s hands faintly trembled. She killed humans with those hands. In order to live, her hands had taken away the lives of others.
The hand that had been covered in someone¡¯s blood now covered her eyes. Her shoulders intermittently shook. It was probably herst pride that no sobs leaked out.
¡°It isn¡¯t your fault.¡± I didn¡¯t know if my wordsforted her or not. I couldn¡¯t see Yoo Sangah¡¯s heart. Yoo Sangah started to cry. Tears flowed down her face and the skewer she was eating fell to the ground.
How much more would she cry? Little by little, her sobs died down.
The 7th grade yanaspleta showed a strong sleeping effect when eaten without taking the juices.
I looked at her for a while before opening my mouth. ¡°It really isn¡¯t your fault.¡±
These words were for Yoo Sangah.
¡°So...¡± At the same time, I spoke words not directed towards Yoo Sangah. ¡°I hope to find out who you are, how about it?¡±
In the ruined city, the spooky cries of monsters were heard. It seemed like I was talking to myself. I watched Yoo Sangah while asking, ¡°Are you going to pretend?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know why you are watching me but haven¡¯t you been doing it for a while now?¡±
The white de of Unbroken Faith shone in the darkness.
¡°I won¡¯t hesitate to do anything to reach my purpose.¡± I pushed the white de towards Yoo Sangah¡¯s throat. ¡°You better open your mouth quickly. Unless you want your precious incarnation to die.¡±
From now on, it was a game of chicken. I waited while gradually pushing the de towards her throat. The de was 1cm away from her throat and blood started flowing. All of a sudden, Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes shone.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has offset your mental shock.]
There was a guest of wind and I was thrown away from Yoo Sangah¡¯s body.
There was a menacing presence that made my heart dull. A faint glow appeared around Yoo Sangah¡¯s body. I looked into Yoo Sangah¡¯s blurry eyes. Revolving in the pupils, the shadow of a distant neb was seen. Then a voice like thunder burst inside my head.
[Insignificant human.]
I wiped the blood flowing from my mouth and grinned. They finally appeared. The damn constetions of Olympus.
Chapter 93 - Singularity (2)
Episode 19 ¨C Singrity (2)
In the world of Ways of Survival, the constetion were divided into two types. One type were the free constetions that didn¡¯t belong anywhere. The second type were constetions belonging to a particr neb.
[A trivial human dares to threaten the great stars?]
I swallowed my saliva in front of that furious momentum. There were several famous nebe based on the myths of Earth.
There was Asgard from Nordic mythology and Eden from the apocalypse type mythology. Then there was the equally famous Olympus in front of me.
I told them, ¡°...Pick a form. I¡¯m not a devotee.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression changed. The constetions that suddenly descended looked a bit embarrassed but I kept talking.
¡°The probabilities in the beginning scenarios will never allow ess to the gods of Olympus. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
[You...!]
If the probabilities didn¡¯t exist as a bnce, the Seoul area would¡¯ve already been destroyed by the Olympus 12 descending. The ripple effects of the storm would be huge. Many of the gods of Olympus might look down on it but they weren¡¯t stupid. I saw the threads of magic power wrapped around Yoo Sangah¡¯s body.
¡°It seems that you are currently the only one who cane out, Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth.¡±
Just like Korea had great constetions, Olympus also had great constetions. In fact, the majority of Olympus were great constetions.
The Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth. This was the modifier for Ariadne, the lover of Theseus.
¡°You represent the lowest possible cost so Olympus must be quite stingy to send you.¡±
{Shut up! You dare!]
The magic threads fluttering around her caused the ground to shake. The ground was split apart by the momentum.
Indeed, Ariadne couldn¡¯t be ignored. No matter how weak the power of her story, she was still stronger than non-constetions. But I knew that she couldn¡¯t attack me.
Sparks flew in the air. The shackles of probability had moved. It wasn¡¯t a full descent but arge amount of probabilities was consumed when she deprived the will of the incarnation and partially descended.
Besides, Ariadne was a constetion belonging to a big neb. Her movements were bound to be exposed to other powerful beings.
The Great Hall in Seoul¡¯s sky was howling. An unprecedented fear filled me and my whole body got chills.
Yoo Sangah¡¯splexion paled due to Ariadne inside her.
¡°I don¡¯t think you have much time. Shall I get straight to the point?¡±
This was the reality of the constetions. They were the strongest of the Star Stream but they couldn¡¯t throw off the heavy shackles of ¡®probability.¡¯
¡°The gods of other worlds seem to have noticed you.¡±
[...How can a human know this?]
¡°Is that important right now? Didn¡¯t youe to me for a reason? I don¡¯t think the constetions can endure the probability storm that will soon ur.¡±
Thunder struck around the Great Hall. As expected, it was too early for the great constetions to descend.
I continued speaking, ¡°I will ask three questions. If you answer my questions, I will answer your questions.¡±
[You want to do the three questions exchange?]
¡°Yes.¡±
The three questions exchange. This was originally the trading style of the constetions to minimize the consumption of probability.
Ariadne red at me with disapproval. [A human using the constetion¡¯s method of trading...]
¡°Are you going to agree or not?¡±
[...Wait.]
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes closed. Perhaps Ariadne was nowmunicating with the other Olympus constetions through theirwork.
[A constetion who doesn¡¯t like the excitement to be broken is interested in your proposal.]
In any case, the Olympus spectators had appeared. Ariadne finished themunication and opened her eyes.
[I will allow the questions.]
Then a message was heard.
¨CThe Divine Three Questions and Answers has begun.
¨CBoth sides will exchange three questions and answers.
¨CAll questions should only be answered with the truth.
¨CBoth sides can refuse to answer one question.
¨CThe conversation won¡¯t end until the questions and answers are fully exchanged.
¡°I will ask first.¡±
[Okay.]
¨CThe first question ticket has been used.
¡°One, why are you in Yoo Sangah¡¯s body?¡±
[...]
¡°Your home is on the other side of the continent and aren¡¯t you busy working on your scenarios? Why this ce?¡±
[It is to monitor the singrities of this world.]
¨CThe first answer has been received.
¡°Singrity?¡±
[Is that your second question?]
Dammit, she was quite smart. The ¡®question ticket¡¯ disappeared even when the person answered the question vaguely.
¡°No. Now you ask.¡±
¨CThe constetion Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth has used the first question ticket.
[What is your identity?]
¡°Me? I am one of the singrities you are watching.¡±
¨CThe constetion Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth has received the first answer.
The embarrassed Ariadne muttered, [...How do you know this?]
¡°I just guessed I was a singrity.¡±
I was just talking but it ended up being right. Ariadne¡¯s eyes narrowed.
[You...]
¡°Don¡¯t be angry. Don¡¯t you guys do it often?¡±
[A constetion who doesn¡¯t like the excitement to be broken is pleased with your wit.]
Ariadne¡¯s atmosphere became filled with killing intent. However, the ¡®Three Questions Exchange¡¯ should be done in this way. Those who answered the other person¡¯s questions straight away would only see a loss. The questions ticket should be used in a useful way while wasting the opponent¡¯s question ticket. This was the intense fight of the Three Questions Exchange.
I continued speaking.
-The second question ticket has been used.
¡°Then this is my second question. What the hell is a singrity?¡±
[It means beings like you.]
Urgh, she was using her head. However, this time I couldn¡¯t ept this much.
¡°Answer it properly. Or do you want to keep spinning in circles?¡±
[...In principle, they are the ones who appear in a ¡®divine message.¡¯]
¡°Can you tell me more? I still can¡¯t get the hang of it.¡±
Ariadne thought for a moment before speaking.
[We originally didn¡¯t mean to monitor you. It is just a coincidence that we found you.]
...A coincidence?
[We were trying to monitor someone else. He carries the wheel of a giant destiny on his back and destroys the probability. A singrity is such a person.]
As soon as I heard this, I understood what a ¡®singrity¡¯ was.
¨CThe second answer has been received.
Those from Olympus had already found Yoo Jonghyuk in this regression. An Olympus level neb would be able to search through the mass-produced filters and trace the information back.
First of all, they had the excellent information tracker in Hermes. In addition, the great constetions would already be aware of the deviation in the world¡¯s probabilities due to Yoo Jonghyuk...
However, there was something strange. The information about the ¡®regressor¡¯ wasn¡¯t information that the current Ariadne could reach.
[It is my turn for an answer.]
¨CThe constetion Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth has used the second question ticket.
[Who will you select in the next Sponsor Selection?]
It was an unexpected question. I didn¡¯t expect Olympus to be aiming for me.
[A constetion who doesn¡¯t like the excitement to be broken is listening to you.]
[Some constetions that love the Korean penins are nervous.]
[The constetion Prisoner of the Golden Headband is chanting his own modifier.]
It was difficult but I had no choice.
¡°I won¡¯t answer. Is it any fun if I tell you who I will pick?¡±
¨CYou have used a ¡®refusal ticket.¡¯
¨CYou can¡¯t exercise the right to refuse to answer a question from now on.
It seemed she had expected this as Ariadne immediately followed with a question.
¨CThe constetion Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth has used the third question ticket.
[Then I will ask thest question. How did you notice that we were watching?]
Shit, this was her purpose from the beginning. It was probably the result of Ariadne thinking hard. Simply asking for my ¡®identity¡¯ didn¡¯t give an answer so she created a specific question. I thought for a moment before opening my mouth.
¡°I read a book well.¡±
[What?]
¡°I found out after reading books.¡±
My answer wasn¡¯t convincing but I couldn¡¯t reveal the story of Ways of Survival here. It would all be filtered anyway, making it impossible for her to understand. In addition, I didn¡¯t want to exin.
¡°Originally, us Koreans know the myths.¡±
[...What does that mean?]
¡°You are quite famous in my country. You are so popr that children¡¯s cartoons are produced. Don¡¯t you know that you are quite famous in my country? Is there anyone who doesn¡¯t know about Olympus?¡±
Ariadne¡¯s confusion was conveyed through her shaky eyes.
[It is impossible. A small country...]
¡°The Cretanbyrinth.¡±
[......!]
¡°A half monster.¡±
Her eyes became bigger.
¡°The lover who forgot you. Naxos Ind. The love affair afterwards... shall I continue?¡±
[S-Stop! I understand so stop!]
¨CThe constetion Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth has received the third answer.
Ariadne made apletely wounded expression and closed her mouth.
[How can humans in a trivial country...]
I inwardly sighed. I somehow seeded in oveing this. Ariadne was a constetion with a low probability cost. It was fortunate that she came out as the representative of Olympus.
The movements of the Great Hall was bing increasingly restless.
I opened my mouth, ¡°Then this is thest question. What is the content of the ¡®divine message¡¯ you received this time?¡±
Ariadne worried about it for a long time while her eyes looked like she was measuring an invisible scale.
[I can¡¯t tell you.]
-The constetion Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth has used the refusal ticket.
¨CAll questions and answers have been fully exchanged.
¨CThe three questions and three answers have ended.
I expected it but I felt sorry. In fact, thest question was the most important.
[A constetion who doesn¡¯t like the excitement to be broken has a taste of regret.]
Ariadne looked at the lightning bolts falling from the sky and frowned.
[My husband was curious about your story and I gave him a bit of entertainment, but it ends here.]
Her voice started to elerate like she realized she had no time.
[I only came here for one reason. Olympus will give you a stern warning. Don¡¯t hinder our work. We are working to prevent the destruction of the world. This woman will grow into a breakwater of the great destruction.]
¡°Why this woman?¡±
[Looking for the reason is pointless. Even the three sisters who spin the thread of fate don¡¯t know why.]
Damn. Olympus used the excuse of the Fates.
[Incarnation caught in the scenario. The direction of fate is turning. The stories of the stars are gathering in one ce and the fate of the constetions will begin.]
¡°What are you talking about? Are you referring to Gigantomachia?¡±
[...You even know this information. You are really amazing. But even if you know this information, you shouldn¡¯t arrogantly think that you understand everything.]
The sparks around Yoo Sangah¡¯s body were reaching the limit. It was the sign of a probability storm.
[You, a puppet of the moment, will never understand. Remember. Once the timees, if you aren¡¯t standing on the right side¨D]
At that moment, a lightning bolt struck Yoo Sangah¡¯s body and I felt Ariadne¡¯s power draining out of her. The sound of tearing through space and time resonated and Yoo Sangah¡¯s body copsed like a broken doll.
I hurriedly grabbed Yoo Sangah¡¯s body. Then I felt someone¡¯s gaze from the sky. I shouldn¡¯t raise my head right now. Nobody told me this but I instinctively knew. If I looked above me...
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has offset your mental shock.]
I looked up with confusion. There was something in the distant Great Hall. It was a presence that destroyed Ariadne¡¯s power. It seemed to be a tongue or a tentacle but in the end, it didn¡¯t resemble anything. It was a fear that was beyondnguage and it was unable to beprehended.
A god from another world.
Time seemed to slow and sweat soaked my forehead and back. It was a flow of time filled with breathless pain. I barely blinked and the Great Hall returned to normal. I trembled with fear. This thing was what I had to fight.
I saw Han Sooyoung running towards me in the distance. The roar of agitated monsters filled the moonlit night and the screams of humans came as they were intermittently hit by lightning.
There were several scenarios rted to ¡®the end.¡¯ Ragnarok. Gigantomachia. Armageddon... I didn¡¯t know what Ariadne was talking about but it was certain that something was different from what I knew.
This was what I wanted. I could never reach the end I wanted if it flowed like the original story.
I carefullyid down the copsed Yoo Sangah. It felt like her flesh would break if I touched it. Yoo Sangah¡¯s face was pale and she had a tight clenched fist, as if she didn¡¯t want to support her sponsor.
Humans were weak. However, there was one thing overlooked by the stars who were only afraid of a great probability. It was that all the myths on Earth started from the weak humans they ignored.
I gently touched my fist to Yoo Sangah¡¯s fist.
[In the depths of your soul, the power of the ¡®story¡¯ is wriggling.]
[Your first stigma is ready to germinate.]
I would build a ¡®story¡¯ that didn¡¯t fall to any myths.
***
At this time, a silver wolf was running through the darkness.
¡®Kiik... damn wolf.¡¯
Parasite Queen Antinus frowned as she looked at her body. The newest body she required was an Imyuntar.
Of course, it was a situation where she just survived. Her body was torn by the probability storm and she would¡¯ve died if Lycaon hadn¡¯t been lying unconscious nearby. Her instinct of survival saved her. It was only possible because she was a parasitic species.
ck blood poured from Lycaon, who was hit by a fragment of the disaster. The guides had a body that couldn¡¯t resist the disasters. Now Antinus didn¡¯t have much time left.
¡®...I need a new host.¡¯
Antinus shook as she thought of the men who killed the Disaster of Questions.
Those humans prevented the disaster that destroyed her. She was desperate in front of the unbelievable sight and decided again. She would get revenge through any means. She would exterminate the humans who destroyed her home, Chronos. At this moment, her antennae reacted.
¡®This aura?¡¯
A familiar aura was felt. It was a power that she felt from the insect kings species found on Chronos in the past. Antinus¡¯ increased her pace. If she infected a person with this potential, revenge wasn¡¯t impossible.
Finally, Antinus reached the location and encountered an unexpected being. She couldn¡¯t believe it. How was this presence on Earth?
¡°K-Kieeek¨D!¡±
She instinctively made a sound and the boy¡¯s eyes gleamed in the moonlight.
¡°You will be the first insect!¡± The boy, Lee Gilyoungughed at Antinus.
Chapter 94 - Singularity (3)
Episode 19 ¨C Singrity (3)
It was already morning when I opened my eyes. Han Sooyoung saw me wake up and smiled. She was thest person keeping guard. ¡°Did you have a nightmare?¡±
¡°A little bit.¡±
The embers of the firewood burning all night was white. I put out the fire and touched my forehead, which had a splitting headache. The scene that I saw through Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint...
Gilyoung, I didn¡¯t know if he was okay. ¡°Where is Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
¡°She went to scout.¡± Han Sooyoung answered while touching her smartphone.
I asked her, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±
¡°A novel.¡±
¡°Your novel?¡±
¡°What other novel would I look at?¡±
Indeed, it would be strange to read other novels under these circumstances.
¡°I always wondered, is it fun for a writer to read what they wrote?¡±
¡°It is very fun.¡±
¡°Even though you know all the details?¡± I actually asked without thinking but Han Sooyoung gave me an unexpected answer.
¡°I sometimes feel that the story is different despite reading the same thing.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°A writer doesn¡¯t haveplete mastery of the novel. There are many holes whenever I look back. In the end, reading is the process of keeping the irregr holes in ce.¡±
¡°I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±
¡°...It means that after some time, I can see it as someone else¡¯s writing. Ultimately, every human is their own writer.¡±
The words were unexpected and I felt surprised. Han Sooyoung was able to say such a difficult thing.
I told her, ¡°Come to think of it, you are like that. You really wrote someone else¡¯s novel.¡±
Han Sooyoung yelled something back but I blocked my ears for a while. Who told her to giarize in the first ce? Han Sooyoung turned off her smartphone and asked me, ¡°By the way, what are you going to do next?¡±
¡°What will I do? I will wait for the start of the next scenario.¡±
¡°Who would believe that? I¡¯m sure you have a n.¡±
She seemed to have something to say so I let her speak. In fact, she kept on talking anyway.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk is taking charge of the west and the Wanderer King is handling the north. What about the centre?¡±
¡°We will stop it all together.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t there an easy method? Have you forgotten?¡±
I stopped for a moment and stared at Han Sooyoung. ¡°Did you copy that as well?¡±
¡°...When did I do that? I just came up with it in my novel.¡± Han Sooyoung fumbled with her words while pouting. ¡°In any case, aren¡¯t I right? As far as I know, there is an easy way to prevent the disaster in the centre.¡±
Certainly, her words were right. If we did that, we could clear the fifth scenario and prevent all disasters without difficulty. Han Sooyoung looked at me with piercing eyes. ¡°Are you going to do it?¡±
¡°That... let¡¯s think about it on the way.¡±
I looked around and saw Yoo Sangah waving her hand in the distance. Han Sooyoung grumbled, ¡°Why do you look so happy after seeing her?¡±
¡°It is because she is a trustworthy person.¡±
¡°Che. Untrustworthy people will survive.¡±
We set out again. There were five days remaining until the start of the scenario. We moved west along the Han River.
There were two purposes behind this. One was to look for the missing Gong Pildu around Han River and the second was to collect coins from nearby monsters. More than anything else, it was currently a coin event so I should gain as much as possible.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, to the left! Han Sooyoung, take the lead!¡±
We hunted all the visible 7th grade monsters. Once Yoo Sangah joined us, we were able to hunt 7th grade species and even 6th grade. I had a thought while watching Yoo Sangah.
Maybe she didn¡¯t know about those from Olympus. I called them out to figure out their intentions. They had used up their assigned probability and couldn¡¯t interfere with Yoo Sangha for the time being. The battle ended and I approached Yoo Sangah.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. You should only use one stigma at a time in the future.¡±
¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. Was I a big problemst time?¡±
¡°No, that isn¡¯t the reason.¡±
The people supported by a neb were special. Of course, being sponsored by a neb didn¡¯t mean all constetions in the neb would support her. However, thews of the Star Stream applied to the constetions and incarnations.
The price for going against thews would eventually be returned to the constetions and incarnations. The constetions might have a way to escape but the problem was the incarnations.
¡°Using multiple stigmas will ce a burden on Yoo Sangah-ssi¡¯s body.¡±
The damn Olympians wouldn¡¯t tell her this but there was a limit to the story that a single being could afford. Every stigma contained the history of the constetion and the random blend of histories would impair the human spirit.
If Yoo Sangah borrowed the stigmas of arge number of constetions, her remaining vitality would be reduced in an instant. Then in probably one year...
Yoo Sangah smiled faintly. ¡°Thank you for your concern.¡±
I realized something and opened my mouth. ¡°Did you already know?¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes moved downwards and she spoke quietly, ¡°Dokja-ssi, do you still think that I¡¯m apetent office worker?¡±
Yoo Sangah continued speaking. ¡°I¡¯m different from Dokja-ssi. I can¡¯t do anything in this changed world. This is a world where the TOEIC, degrees and service scores are useless.¡±
I wondered, ¡°Do you think everything can be resolved if you be stronger?¡±
¡°A little bit.¡±
Her words were correct. In fact, strength only made up for some of the world¡¯s problems.
¡°I have decided to build up useful specifications of this world. That is the only thing I can do.¡±
There were numerous wounds on the back of Yoo Sangah¡¯s hand as she spoke. The wounds felt like a big hole for me. Han Sooyoung had said, ¡®In the end, reading is the process of keeping the irregr holes in ce.¡¯
If there was something a reader had to do, I needed to read it properly. I felt a vibration in my arms. I opened my smartphone and saw that there was a notification window.
¨CHan Donghoon: Hyung, are you okay?
The Hermit King of Shadows, Han Donghoon. I was stunned when I read the message.
¨CHan Donghoon: I haven¡¯t been able to connect to the Inte recently so the messages are dyed.I am struggling with my ability...
He had been sending messages for a long time and they stacked up. It seemed the piled up messages arrived at the same time once the Inte connected.
I showed the messages to Yoo Sangah in order to change her mood. I looked at Yoo Sangah¡¯s smile and thought.
I wasn¡¯t apletely ipetent reader.
***
I connected to Han Donghoon through the messenger but I could hear news about other people through it.
¨CHan Donghoon: I am on the Yongsan-gu side.There is also Gilyoung.
-Kim Dokja:Gilyoung is there?
¨CHan Donghoon: Yes.
The location of my main party were roughly grasped. Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon¡¯s positions were also confirmed through Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
I was a bit curious about what happened to Jung Minseob and Lee Sungkook but it was difficult to care about them. They had some prior knowledge so they should manage. Lee Jihye... well, Yoo Jonghyuk would take care of it.
-Kim Dokja:For the time being, don¡¯t leave Yongsan.I¡¯ll be there soon. If possible, try contacting other people.
A reply didn¡¯te back. Perhaps it had disconnected again. I looked around at the party members and said, ¡°I think we¡¯ll have to cross the river.¡±
Currently, we were south of Han River. North of Han River was Yongsan-gu.
¡°We have to cross that?¡± Han Sooyoung asked me with a dumbfounded expression.
It wasn¡¯t strange. I looked at Han River with her. Flickering shadows could be seen from the swirling water. The ichthyosaurs that had travelled near Dongho Bridge had once again filled Han River. We had been following the river but I never thought of crossing because of them.
¡°Have you seen Cheonho Bridge? It is broken.¡±
The ichthyosaur was a 7th grade monster species. It wasn¡¯t a problem to hunt but there were too many. It wasn¡¯t just one or two so it would take a few days to deal with all of them. We were going to cross Han River in such a situation? It was unthinkable.
¡°We will move along the river. There might be a ce that isn¡¯t broken.¡±
We moved along the river for several hours but an intact bridge couldn¡¯t be found. Instead, we found a group of wanderers.
Han Sooyoung was going to raise her weapon but Yoo Sangah moved first. She took meat out of her backpack, making Han Sooyoung irritated. ¡°What are you doing?¡±
¡°The people are hungry.¡±
¡°So what? You want to share that? Are you crazy? Don¡¯t you know that people are the most dangerous existences in an apocalypse?¡±
¡°I can kill all of them if I want.¡± Han Sooyoung saw killing intent for a moment on Yoo Sangah¡¯s face and shut her mouth. ¡°Therefore, I can save all of them if I want.¡±
Yoo Sangah took the meat from the monsters and distributed it to the people. Some people felt sorry and bowed to her.
¡°Ah, this...¡±
¡°It is just leftovers. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±
I left Han Sooyoung alone and pulled a yanaspleta stem out of my bag. It wasn¡¯t possible for everyone to be a ¡®hunter¡¯ in this world. By now, there would be a great deal of research about the monster species all over the world. The man who received the nt from me bowed deeply.
¡°Ah! Thank you...¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing. Difficulties should be shared.¡±
Of course, I was essentially a different person from Yoo Sangah. All my good deeds were nned activities.
[A few people have a great liking towards you.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Shin Yooin¡¯ has increased.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Ma Kangcheol¡¯ has increased.]
[New characters have been added to your bookmarks.]
Han Sooyoung said sarcastically, ¡°You¡¯re a fake.¡±
¡°...Sometimes I do good things.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is impressed with your good deed.]
[400 coins have been sponsored.]
Han Sooyoung grumbled as she watched Yoo Sangah, ¡°Damn, she is like a woman from a novel.¡±
I agreed with her words. Yoo Sangah was like the heroine of a novel even before the fall of the world. Now that reality had be a novel...
From among the crowd, a child approached me. She was a young girl around the same age as Gilyoung.
¡°What is it?¡±
The girl who bowed had a Western look. Her eyes were bright and her face was full of an exotic cuteness. The child bowed 90 degrees towards me.
¡°Thank you.¡±
She was a very polite child. I looked around but didn¡¯t see anyone who looked like this child¡¯s parents. The child noticed my gaze and said, ¡°They aren¡¯t here anymore.¡±
¡°Both of them?¡± The child nodded.
I was a bit confused. A child without a guardian survived alone until the fifth scenario. It was almost impossible in Ways of Survival.
...Wait a minute? The moment I used Character List, the child spoke again, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be going.¡±
Did shee just to thank me? I tried to grab the child and reflexively looked back at Han Sooyoung. She happened to be looking elsewhere.
¡°...Be careful.¡±
It would soon be dark. I worried for a moment before summoning the party members together.
¡°We will rest here today.¡±
We looked for a ce to sleep. Han River was cold even when we lit a fire, so we decided to use a partially destroyed building. Han Sooyoung became firmly determined and warned Yoo Sangah.
¡°Just watch. Those people from earlier will be back. Didn¡¯t you see them covet our weapons? They will clearly bite the hand that fed them.¡±
Han Sooyoung dered that all humans were wicked and trash who would repay goodness with malice. I carefully looked at Yoo Sangah who said, ¡°Not every person in the apocalypse is bad.¡±
¡°No, they are all bad. Almost everyone is bad.¡±
One hour passed.
¡°They¡¯lle soon. Then you will be crying.¡±
Two hours passed.
¡°Um, they are patient people.¡±
Three hours passed.
¡°...Is this possible?¡±
Finally, four hourster, noises started to be heard outside. Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression darkened and Han Sooyoung smiled with satisfaction.
¡°Look, what did I say?¡±
Han Sooyoung had just taken out her weapon when someone entered the building.
¡°H-Hello?¡±
Han Sooyoung stopped as she was about to get up. The one who came was a young girl. It was the child who politely thanked me during the day. The little red-eyed child held something out.
¡°T-This...¡±
It was a nket. She must¡¯ve grabbed it from the area because she was afraid we were cold. Han Sooyoung made a surprised expression while Yoo Sangah looked nk. In the apocalypse, goodwill wasn¡¯t always repaid with malice.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is making a loving smile.]
[2,000 coins have been sponsored.]
Yoo Sangah acted as the representative of the party. ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll use it well.¡±
¡°Yes...¡±
¡°By the way, are you alone? It is dangerous to wander around at night.¡±
¡°It is the same everywhere.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression darkened at the words. ¡°Would you like to stay with us?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°It will be fine if you are with us.¡±
Yoo Sangah looked at me like she was asking for permission. However, the child¡¯s answer was faster. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a nuisance.¡±
It happened when the child was trying to run away. A g flew from somewhere and fell in front of the child¡¯s feet. The frightened child feel down and Han Sooyoung¡¯s scathing voice followed.
¡°Wait a minute. You can¡¯t leave.¡±
¡°What are you doing right now?¡± Yoo Sangah looked at Han Sooyoung and spoke in a cold voice. However, Han Sooyoung was looking at me.
¡°Kim Dokja, don¡¯t you know what to do? Isn¡¯t that why you wanted to sleep here?¡±
I slowly closed my eyes. Damn, she had noticed... It was a miscalction. I didn¡¯t know this person could use Detect Attributes. Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°Ah, are you going to act as a hypocrite? Is it because the other person is a child?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°The other person is a child? Then the viin must solve it.¡±
Han Sooyoung approached and Yoo Sangah blocked the way.
¡°Stop.¡±
¡°Get out of the way. Do you want me to kill you?¡±
¡°Why are you killing an ordinary kid all of a sudden?¡±
¡°An ordinary kid?¡± Han Sooyoungughed and pointed towards the child.
¡°I told you to stop.¡± At the same time, Yoo Sangah¡¯s dagger pointed to Han Sooyoung¡¯s neck. Then Han Sooyoung summoned dozens of avatars. Han Sooyoung grumbled.
¡°Kim Dokja, exin it quickly. Before I turn around and kill everyone.¡±
It ended up like this. I sighed and opened my mouth. ¡°This child...¡±
The child looked up at me with innocent eyes and I felt a sense of urgency.
¡°...Five dayster, she will destroy Seoul.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes shook. If Han Sooyoung hadn¡¯t found out, I might¡¯ve let it pass by but now it couldn¡¯t be helped. This damn scenario never gave us the happy endings we wanted.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is smiling.]
[Many constetions are interested in the development of this scenario.]
It had been a long time since the messages of the constetions seemed so hateful.
¡°This child is thest disaster of the fifth scenario.¡±
Chapter 95 - Singularity (4)
Episode 19 ¨C Singrity (4)
That night, the child didn¡¯t die. Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t want to kill her and I agreed.
¡°Do what you want.¡± Han Sooyoung muttered and left in a huff, leaving only Yoo Sangah and I in the abandoned building. The child was temporarily frozen with Hit a Pressure Point. Yoo Sangah stroked the sleeping child¡¯s hair and spoke in a dark voice.
¡°She is a disaster?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, do you know this with your ability?¡±
¡°It is something simr.¡±
I recalled a sentence from Ways of Survival.
¡¸ The final disaster of the fifth scenario. The Disaster of Floods is the most dangerous and saddest disaster. ¡¹
Yoo Sangah bit her lips and asked, ¡°Is she the same as the Disaster of Questions?¡±
¡°It is simr but a bit different.¡±
The Disaster of Floods. If she used all her strength, she would be an unmatched disasterpared to the Disaster of Questions. The Disaster of Questions would just affect Gangdong-gu but the Disaster of Floods was different. With her power, Seoul would be wiped out in less than an hour.
¡°No matter how I look, she doesn¡¯t seem like a disaster. Can this kid be a disaster in just five days?¡± Yoo Sangah wondered.
In fact, Yoo Sangah was right. Right now, the child wasn¡¯t a disaster.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Shin Yoosung
Age: 11 years old
Constetion Support: None (Two constetions are currently showing interest in this person).
Private Attribute: Beast Tamer (Rare), Reflexive Killer (General)
Exclusive Skills: Taming Lv. 5, Diverse Communication Lv. 7, Agile Feet Lv. 6, Hybridization Lv. 4
Stigma: None
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 12, Strength Lv. 12, Agility Lv. 16, Magic Power Lv. 24
Overall Evaluation: She has good magic power but her overall abilities are low. She has excellent talent and rare attributes but isn¡¯t receiving the attention of constetions due to her fragile nature.
+
Shin Yoosung. This child¡¯s name showed that she was the disaster. This child would destroy Seoul in five days.
Yoo Sangah said, ¡°I heard that disasters hatch from meteorites. Yet this child didn¡¯te from a meteorite...¡±
¡°That¡¯s correct. This child didn¡¯t hatch from a meteorite. She was born and raised on Earth. She will still be a human of Earth in five days.¡±
¡°Then why...¡±
¡°The Disaster of Questions was originally from Earth.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°This child is like the Disaster of Questions...¡±
¡°Yes and no.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
All disasters from Earth were returnees. They were destroyers who wiped out another world and returned. This child could be called a returnee because she destroyed Chronos. However, that wasn¡¯t all.
Among the five disasters of Chronos, this child was special. She was also the most dangerous.
¡°The one who will cause the disaster isn¡¯t this child, but her future self.¡±
¡°Her future self?¡±
¡°This child came back from decades in the future to finish off Earth.¡±
The sweet and innocent child would be one of the most terrible disasters of this world in the future.
¡°That is why Han Sooyoung said to kill this child. If we kill this child now, we can eliminate her ¡®future¡¯.¡±
A disaster that even Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t stop.
***
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk looked at the empty hole in his chest. It was a wound that couldn¡¯t be healed without using Recovery immediately. He angrily asked the woman who made the wound.
¡°Shin Yoosung. Why... have you thoughts changed?¡±
¡°Changed? I didn¡¯t change.¡± Shin Yoosungughed. ¡°I¡¯m not a regressor like Captain. I¡¯m just a toy stuck in the cogs of the scenario. I have the same personality as the ¡®disasters¡¯ that Captain has met in the past.¡±
¡°Then why...¡±
¡°Is this currently your third regression? I must¡¯ve given you a chance in the second regression. Yet Captain once again failed. I gave you so much information but you failed again.¡±
Shin Yoosung smiled sadly at the nk-looking Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°You can¡¯t change the world. Many things are still intact and nothing has changed.¡± Shin Yoosung spoke while looking up at the Great Hall in the sky. ¡°Thus, I thought about it. Indeed, this world should end here.¡± ¡¹
My old emotional state came back as I read Ways of Survival again. This was the taste of Ways of Survival.
¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± I heard a voice and turned off my smartphone. It was Han Sooyoung and she asked, ¡°What did you decide?¡±
¡°I¡¯m still thinking.¡±
Han Sooyoung frowned at the indecision in my voice. She whispered while paying attention to Yoo Sangah and Shin Yoosung. ¡°Have you forgotten? Yoo Jonghyuk almost died because of thest disaster in the third regression.¡±
¡°He didn¡¯t die.¡±
¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. The important thing is that we can¡¯t win in a frontal battle.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s words were true. The third round Yoo Jonghyuk actually ended up dying because of Shin Yoosung.
¡°If you hadn¡¯t killed him then the Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon could¡¯ve...¡±
Unfortunately, this time there wasn¡¯t the Delusional Demon to kill the young Shin Yoosung.
¡°I certainly said that I am opposed to it. I warn you, do you think I will do nothing?¡±
[Some constetions dislike the burning of the sweet potatoes.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is preparing carbonated drinks for the sweet potatoes.] (TL: Once again, sweet potatoes describes a stuffy feeling while cider/carbonated drinks is a refreshing feeling)
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ expects your wise judgment.]
Perhaps this conversation wasn¡¯t properly filtered. The filtering of future information was slowly loosening up...
Yoo Sangah sighed after talking to Shin Yoosung and came this way. ¡°Dokja-ssi, you can¡¯t think about it.¡±
Her face was desperate.
¡°It is a future that hasn¡¯t happened yet. If we take good care of her now, perhaps the disaster won¡¯t happen? Like the butterfly effect...¡±
It wasn¡¯t without reason. The person who came to this world was the ¡®future Shin Yoosung.¡¯ This world was the ¡®first world¡¯ that created the future Shin Yoosung.
In other words, if we changed the present Shin Yoosung then the disaster might note. It was theoretically possible. It was the same as killing Shin Yoosung to prevent the disaster. However, there was a problem.
¡°The event that makes this child a disaster happens in the distant future. It won¡¯t be affected by anything we do now.¡±
The butterfly effect didn¡¯t happen that easily. A butterfly pping its wings in the Pacific Ocean would cause a typhoon on the other side of the world?
It was theoretically possible. The important thing was the time it took for the wings to be the ¡®typhoon.¡¯
Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression became grouchy. ¡°You don¡¯t know that...¡±
¡°Once again, it isn¡¯t possible at this time. Even if we change the kid, the disaster that wille in five days won¡¯t change.¡±
In fact, Yoo Jonghyuk had attempted it several times in the mid tote regressions. The first thing he did was find Shin Yoosung and try to prevent her from bing a disaster. He failed every time. No matter what changes were made to the Shin Yoosung in the present, the future Shin Yoosung would return in five days. Then she destroyed Seoul.
Yoo Sangah voice gradually weakened. ¡°Why is this child a disaster? What happened in the future?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
I naturally knew the answer but I didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, I walked towards the child who was eating meat and asked, ¡°Is it delicious?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
I could feel Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung watching me from a distance.
¡®No.¡¯
¡®Kill her.¡¯
¡®I won¡¯t let it happen.¡¯
¡®Kill.¡¯
In fact, killing Shin Yoosung wouldn¡¯t damage the important part of the ending point. If I didn¡¯t kill Shin Yoosung now, the slightest mistake meant Seoul would be destroyed.
Looking in the short-term, saving Shin Yoosung would only bring damages. Shin Yoosung ate the meat and looked at me with unknown eyes. ¡°Ahjussi, can you see the future?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°I... am I a bad person in the future?¡±
Perhaps she heard our conversation. I replied quietly, ¡°Perhaps.¡±
¡°How bad am I?¡±
¡°You are probably the worst person in Seoul.¡±
¡°As bad as Joker or Thanos?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
Shin Yoosung lowered her head. ¡°It isn¡¯t unusual.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°I am already a bad person.¡±
She didn¡¯t have to tell me why. I already knew how Shin Yoosung was able to survive in this world.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has increased.]
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]
¡¸ I killed him. ¡¹
She killed her dog in order to survive the first scenario.
¡¸ I¡¯m sorry. ¡¹
She stole a coat from an old man who copsed from an attack. She killed a woman who always looked after her to protect her own green zone. She handed over a person chased by someone in order to get food.
In this world, everyone was forced tomit crimes. Not everyone could rationalize such things.
¡¸ I will be punished. It isn¡¯t worth living. ¡¹
Determination filled the child¡¯s frightened eyes. The expression of a person determined to die was no different for an adult or a child.
¡°You can kill me. I¡¯m ready.¡±
If I was the protagonist of this story, I would¡¯ve killed Shin Yoosung without hesitation. However, I was a reader. A reader had to make a reader¡¯s choice.
Of course, I wasn¡¯t a writer so the only things that emerged from my mouth were obvious words. I stroked Shin Yoosung¡¯s head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your death isn¡¯t in the ending that I want.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s regression would have no meaning if I killed this child. He was fighting to change the past. If someone killed another person because the future was fixed, what did this suggest?
Thus, I would prevent this child¡¯s death for Yoo Jonghyuk.
Her eyes shook.
[The character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ feels a faint loyalty to you.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has increased.]
¡°But I must die...¡±
¡°There is a way to stop the disaster.¡±
I could hear Han Sooyoung sighing behind me. By her side, Yoo Sangah was watching with tightly closed lips.
¡°I can do it with your help.¡±
In the first ce, the ending I wanted was impossible. Yet if I changed small impossible things one by one, I might end up changing it to the impossible ending. Shin Yoosung would be one of the small cornerstones of this impossible story.
I immediately opened the Dokkaebi Bag and bought a few items. Shin Yoosung muttered without any confidence, ¡°What can I do? I don¡¯t have a sponsor.¡±
¡°Why does it matter if you don¡¯t have a sponsor?¡±
[You have sponsored the ¡®Growth Package I¡¯ to the incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung.¡¯]
Shin Yoosung¡¯s mouth dropped open.
[You have sponsored the ¡®Growth Package II¡¯ to the incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung.¡¯]
[You have sponsored the ¡®New Scenario Commemorative Package¡¯ to the incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung.¡¯]
......
The messages continued rising. Shin Yoosung paled.
¡°W-What is this?¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay, I have a lot of money.¡±
¡°Ahjussi, who are you?¡±
¡°I am Dokja. Kim Dokja.¡± I tapped the head of the child who lost her sense of realism. ¡°In the next five days, you will be stronger than anyone here.¡±
It was true. Beast Lord Shin Yoosung. This child wouldter be one of the world¡¯s 100 most powerful people.
This child, who might be a disaster, would be my ¡®first incarnation¡¯ in this round.
Chapter 96 - Singularity (5)
Singrity (5)
I wanted to sleep for a while but it was early dawn when I opened my eyes.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ encourages you to take care of your incarnation.]
I unknowingly woke up from Uriel¡¯s message. Damn, the constetions had been making a fuss since I made the ¡®sponsor deration¡¯ yesterday.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is chuckling at your choice.]
Truthfully, there was no way I could be a sponsor when my narrative wasn¡¯t properly built. A sponsor who couldn¡¯t give their incarnation a stigma was just a hindrance, although I had a lot more money than a decent sponsor.
[Many constetions are curious about your choice.]
[Some constetions think that your actions are ridiculous.]
The reaction of the constetions to my incarnation was split into two. Those who liked me were the ¡®incarnation seekers¡¯ while those who disliked me were the ¡®amusement seekers.¡¯
Of course, there was one constetion who was unclear.
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is watching your strategy with interest.]
[1,000 coins have been sponsored.]
I thought he was ordinary when I first saw the modifier but I recently changed my mind. The average size of his sponsorship was toorge. This constetion was at least ¡®narrative¡¯ grade. However, no matter how much I searched through Ways of Survival, I couldn¡¯t see the name Secretive Plotter at all.
This meant he wasn¡¯t a constetion of this world or he wasn¡¯t properly handled in Ways of Survival. Who was it?
Wooong. Sincest night, Shin Yoosung had been practicing her skills in one corner of the abandoned building. Shin Yoosung used the magic power recovery potions that I gave her and kept using a skill on the nearby young groll.
A faint aura stretched out from Shin Yoosung and touched the skin of a groll. This was the power of Diverse Communication that I saw from Lee Gilyoung.
I looked down at Shin Yoosung who had dark circles under her eyes. ¡°Yoosung, have you slept?¡±
¡°Not yet.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know the penalty for not sleeping? Go to sleep.¡±
¡°Just a bit more.¡±
[The character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has used ¡®Diverse Communication Lv. 8.¡¯]
[The character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has used ¡®Taming Lv. 7¡¯]
Shin Yoosung¡¯s concentration soon disappeared.
[Taming has failed!]
[The monster has started to run wild!]
The groll broke away from the control and rushed towards Shin Yoosung. Before I could move, the drooling Han Sooyoung sleeping nearby acted. The groll stopped breathing as it mmed into a wall of the abandoned building. Han Sooyoung fell asleep again.
I spoke to Shin Yoosung, who was controlling her breathing with a dejected face. ¡°Do you understand now?¡±
¡°Yes.¡± Shin Yoosung made a gloomy expression.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
The abridged version.
+
[Character List]
Name: Shin Yoosung
Private Attribute: Beast Tamer (Rare), Reflexive Killer (General)
Exclusive Skills: Taming Lv. 7, Diverse Communication Lv. 8, Agile Feet Lv. 8, Hybridization Lv. 6.
Stigma: None
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 19, Strength Lv. 14, Agility Lv. 44, Magic Power Lv. 45
* Growth Package I is currently applied.
* Growth Package II is currently applied.
* The New Scenario Commemorative Package is currently applied.
+
Her skills growth rate was enormous thanks to the growth package I bought her.
There was also the New Scenario Commemorative Package that promoted the evolution of stats. I didn¡¯t know if any incarnation on the Korean penins had received such package support.
She was a talented person so Diverse Communication would soon break through the 10th level and be Advanced Diverse Communication.
The problem was that she couldn¡¯t properly tame the 8th grade groll despite her stats. This should be impossible thanks to the help of the system. Shin Yoosung bowed her head like she was embarrassed. ¡°...I don¡¯t have any talent.¡±
If she didn¡¯t have talent then I should just kill myself.
¡°Don¡¯t worry. You have talent. ¡± I couldn¡¯t let my precious incarnation be frustrated. Perhaps Shin Yoosung couldn¡¯t use it properly because of her trauma. ¡°What are you thinking of?¡±
¡°I¡¯m scared.¡±
It wasn¡¯t hard to guess why she was scared. I told her, ¡°The monsters aren¡¯t pets.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°Still, it might be okay to make one apanion. They are durable and strong.¡±
Shin Yoosung was someone who killed her dog with her own hands. It was to survive. This fact still remained deep in this child¡¯s heart. I thought for a moment before saying, ¡°Did you know? If all the scenarios are cleared, you can make a wish...¡±
¡°Ahjussi¡¯s face changes when you lie. Your nostrils berger.¡±
This reminded me of Gilyoung. Perhaps the children with Diverse Communication were more sensitive to bodynguage. I decide to go forward like a gangster. ¡°...What do you want to ask?¡±
¡°Can I do it?¡±
¡°You can do it.¡±
¡°You are speaking without any sincerity.¡±
¡°I chose you.¡± Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes shook at my words. ¡°I chose you instead of Seoul. I don¡¯t regret it.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You can do better than anyone else.¡±
Shin Yoosung looked up at me as she squeezed her fingers together. Then she started to tear up. ¡°Ahjusshi, if I really be strong...¡±
¡°Strong?¡±
Shin Yoosung hesitated for a moment beforeughing. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I will try hard.¡±
Then Shin Yoosung turned around and used the skill again. I suddenly remembered something. I recalled the type of person Shin Yoosung was like in the original novel.
¡¸ ¡°Jonghyuk oppa is handsome.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Jonghyuk oppa is the best.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°I like Jonghyuk oppa the most.¡± ¡¹
...This girl, she was a fan of Yoo Jonghyuk in Ways of Survival. Of course, she wasn¡¯t a heroine candidate. Due to her age, she was in the younger sister position. I remember her having a big fight with Yoo Mia...
I suddenly became a bit worried. Would I lose the person I worked so hard to raise to Yoo Jonghyuk?
I suddenly turned my head to where Han Sooyoung was stretching as she woke up. Han Sooyoung noticed my gaze and turned away. This girl, she had been sulking since yesterday.
I called out to her. ¡°Hey.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Are you going to keep sulking?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk to me.¡±
¡°There is something I want to ask you.¡±
Han Sooyoung raised an eyebrow at my words. I lowered my voice so that Shin Yoosung couldn¡¯t hear and asked, ¡°What do you think about my looks? Especially whenpared to Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Han Sooyoung looked at me like bugs had entered her ears. ¡°Why the hell are you asking me this?¡±
¡°I¡¯m just purely curious.¡±
I had never been interested in what I looked like since I graduated from high school. Then I thought about the reactions of the prophets when I pretended to be Yoo Jonghyuk and it seemed that I was ugly. I didn¡¯t think I was ugly when I took asional selfies in the bathroom.
[A windy constetion is looking at you like you are pathetic.]
She replied, ¡°ept your fate.¡±
¡°No, I really am just curious...¡±
¡°All I can do now is cheer you up.¡±
Shit.
¡°...To that extent?¡±
I quietly looked at Shin Yoosung and made up my mind. I could never let her meet Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯
***
We hunted the monsters around us and collected the coins. I invested the collected coins into Shin Yoosung, causing her stats to grow remarkably fast.
The coins were primarily used for agility and magic power. It was to maximize the advantages of Agile Feet, Taming and Diverse Communication.
By the time night came again, Shin Yoosung finally learnt Advanced Diverse Communication. However, the Taming skill still didn¡¯t seed. Shin Yoosung asked, ¡°The future me will be much stronger?¡±
Of course. The current Shin Yoosung was no match for the future Shin Yoosung in a frontal battle.
However, if she trained intensively then she could seal one of future Shin Yoosung¡¯s important abilities. The Disaster of Floods was dangerous because she could lead an army by herself.
¡°I believe in you more than the future that hasn¡¯te yet.¡±
If the future Shin Yoosung could do it then it was a possibility for the present Shin Yoosung. Besides, there was a chance of winning if she confronted her future. It was because the future Shin Yoosung could never kill the present Shin Yoosung.
¡°I ate well.¡± Yoo Sangah gave a short prayer after eating the groll meat and cleaning up its bones.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi is religious?¡±
¡°No I¡¯m not.¡±
¡°Then why pray...¡±
¡°I did it for the gods of Olympus.¡±
It was such a realistic prayer that I was dumbfounded. That reminded me. The gods we knew had be reality and the objects of our prayers were no clear.
¡°Today Han Sooyoung and I will stand guard first. Yoo Sangah can sleep.¡±
¡°Is it okay?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Yoo Sangahy down and fell asleep first. Han Sooyoung leaned against the wall opposite her and messed around with her smartphone.
It was natural to be ufortable. They were enemies by nature. Han Sooyoung¡¯s ideas were the opposite of Yoo Sangah¡¯s ideals. No matter what happened in the future, the two of them would be more antagonistic than friendly.
The tired Shin Yoosung had fallen asleep and only embers remained of the fire. Han Sooyoung spoke first. ¡°You sleep too.¡±
Iy on the floor but sleep didn¡¯te easily. There were four days left until the start of the fifth scenario. Shin Yoosung hadn¡¯t made any new progress today but a message came from the Gangseo area this afternoon.
[Someone has dealt with the Disaster of Ice that came from the west.]
This was the message. I didn¡¯t have to ask who killed the disaster. Yoo Jonghyuk had prevented the disaster that would¡¯ve caused Seoul to be an Ice Age. Perhaps he had met up with Lee Hyunsung.
Han Sooyoung was watching the embers when she suddenly opened her mouth. ¡°Hey, I have a question.¡±
¡°You are ugly.¡±
Han Sooyoung frowned. ¡°Who is wondering about that? You bastard.¡±
¡°...Then what is it?¡±
¡°What do you want to do?¡±
¡°What do I want to do?¡±
¡°What is your purpose? I think it is strange every time I see you. You shattered the throne and didn¡¯t kill me. What do you want?¡±
¡°I have a desired ending.¡±
¡°Ending?¡±
I nodded lightly. Unexpectedly, Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t ask anything else. Instead, she spoke about something else. ¡°There was an ending I wanted to write.¡±
¡°For your novel?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Then let me ask you something.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Why did you giarize? You write well.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t giarism. Do you think that Ways of Survival is like the Bible? Aren¡¯t the ideas everywhere? The sponsorship of transcendent beings. Survival missions. A protagonist who regressed. Isn¡¯t it harder to find a novel that doesn¡¯t have one of these ideas nowadays?¡±
¡°It is because yours is the closest.¡±
¡°There is a reason for that. Shall I tell you a story? In the past, there was a poor girl...¡±
¡°It is a story of a literary girl living in poverty who became frustrated with her dream and eventually giarized a novel for food and living.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s mouth gaped open. ¡°Can you actually read someone¡¯s mind?¡±
¡°Eh?¡±
¡°Anyway, something like that is possible. Right?¡±
¡°What type of god do you think I am? I wouldn¡¯t be suffering like this if I had that skill.¡±
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has used ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 3¡¯.]
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is false.]
Han Sooyoungughed. ¡°Is it possible for me?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer.
¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to tell me. In any case, if possible please read my mind right now.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t read it.¡±
¡°In fact, I didn¡¯t giarize.¡±
I looked at Han Sooyoung suspiciously and she used Lie Detection on herself.
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is true.]
...What?
¡°It is just a coincidence that the story I wrote was simr to Ways of Survival. I just wrote ording to the dreams I had.¡±
[The character Han Sooyoung has confirmed that the statement is true.]
...This girl was using her subconscious as a shield.
¡°In any case, you saw it. It was a dream to you.¡±
¡°Maybe that is true. Then...¡± Han Sooyoung hesitated before saying, ¡°Sometimes I think about it.¡±
¡°Think about what?¡±
¡°If this reality is the original and I only reproduced the original then I might¡¯ve giarized...¡±
¡°What are you saying? Then you did giarize?¡±
¡°Who said that? I said it was just a thought.¡±
In fact, I didn¡¯t mean it. It was a thought I had from the moment Ways of Survival became reality.
Was this world oveid on a novel? Or was reality turning into a novel?
I stood up and shook my head. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s change the shift. Go ahead and sleep. The constetions on my channel will be reduced if I keep listening to such a painful story.¡±
¡°My constetion support has reduced because I¡¯ve been with youtely.¡±
¡°That¡¯s because you keep doing cancerous things.¡±
We shot a few more barbs at each other before shutting up. I leaned against the wall of the building and looked at the snoring Han Sooyoung.
I suddenly had a thought. Perhaps I was a bit lucky that she was here. At least I wasn¡¯t alone in knowing that this world was a ¡®novel.¡¯
At some point, I fell asleep. It might be because I was too tired or perhaps I was distracted by the unexpectedfort. It was a short but sweet sleep. However, perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have fallen asleep.
When I opened my eyes the next day, Han Sooyoung was a cold corpse.
Chapter 97 - Disaster of Floods (1)
Episode 20 ¨C Disaster of Floods (1)
My heart sank as soon as I looked for Han Sooyoung¡¯s pulse. I was more shocked by the fact that Han Sooyoung was dead. A bit of time passed before my sense of reason returned.
¡°...Dokja-ssi?¡± Yoo Sangah noticed something and got up. I examined Han Sooyoung¡¯s corpse with Yoo Sangah¡¯s help.
¡°There are no wounds.¡±
The situation was to a standstill. There were no wounds. Then was it a poison? If there was a poison that could kill Han Sooyoung without leaving any traces then it was a terrible poison.
However, such a poison couldn¡¯t be released now. That wasn¡¯t the only problem. Why was only Han Sooyoung poisoned while the rest were safe? Even if there was a person with such a poison, there was no reason to only poison Han Sooyoung.
It was strange that I suddenly feel asleep in the first ce.
...Wait a minute, I fell asleep?
¡°Uh, I¡¯m sorry. I slept too much.¡± Shin Yoosung finally opened her eyes.
I suddenly looked back at Yoo Sangah. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, did you sleep all night?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
Yoo Sangah blushed like she was embarrassed. If Yoo Sangah hadn¡¯t woken up then no one was standing guard yesterday. I was thest lookout and once I fell asleep, everyone was sleeping.
I was a fool. My suspicions should¡¯ve started from ¡®Why did I sleep?¡¯ rather than ¡®Who killed Han Sooyoung?¡¯
Was it a sleeping spell? No, only returnee had such magic. Hit a Pressure Point? They must be able to fool my senses to use it.
In the end, there was only one answer remaining. I approached the fire where the bones of the groll I ate yesterday was hanging.
This was the only possibility for everyone falling asleep. I cleared up the bones that were eaten cleanly of their flesh and some green powder fell to the ground.
¡®It is the stem of the yanaspleta.¡¯
It was as expected. There was only one reason for this being here. Someone had mixed the nt stem powder into the groll meat. The stem of the yanaspleta had a powerful sleeping effect if not taken with the juices. It wasn¡¯t poisonous so it couldn¡¯t be resolved with Dongui Bogam. That¡¯s why I always boiled it with the juices.
¡°Who cooked the groll yesterday?¡±
¡°It was Sooyoung-ssi...¡±
I inwardly sighed. The meat I ate yesterday was the young groll that Shin Yoosung failed to tame. The one who killed the groll was none other than Han Sooyoung.
¡°It was one blow.¡±
I approached the pale body of Han Sooyoung. I was so confused that I had forgotten for a while. An avatar didn¡¯t vanish unless the head was destroyed.
However, why did she set up this y? She was bound by the ¡®Temporary Pledge¡¯ and couldn¡¯t run away. At that moment, a blue light emerged from Han Sooyoung¡¯s heart. This was...?
¡°Wait a bit.¡±
I didn¡¯t care about the reaction of the others and trampled on Han Sooyoung¡¯s head. The blue light burst out and the avatar was destroyed.
[The character Han Sooyoung¡¯s avatar has received the punishment for viting the contract.]
[The character Han Sooyoung has offered up her avatar as a sacrifice to offset most of the punishment of the Temporary Pledge.]
¡°Ah...¡±
Yoo Sangah let out a groan as if she realized something. I had no idea the avatar had such an effect. I had seen it receive damage on behalf of the original but I didn¡¯t know it could take the contract¡¯s punishment. It looked like only some of the punishment was offset but Han Sooyoung wouldn¡¯t die.
Shin Yoosung asked, ¡°That unni went away?¡±
¡°It seems so.¡±
The question of why was meaningless. Once I thought about it, Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t have much to do with me.
-My constetion support has reduced because I¡¯ve been with youtely.
I would soon meet with the people of Chungmuro and they would be hostile to Han Sooyoung, just like Yoo Sangah.
Che. A person who couldn¡¯t be trusted would live in misery. Han Sooyoung would be alone, surrounded by enemies. For a moment, I mistook her for apanion.
There were some coins and a piece of paper in the ce where the avatar turned into white powder.
¨CThe value of the meals.
This was how she said goodbye. As if to turn the time we spent together into nothing, her avatar was blown away by the strong winds of Han River.
Still, I was curious about why Han Sooyoung stayed with me for so long despite being able to use ¡®Surrogate Death¡¯ through her avatars.
I didn¡¯t know. I couldn¡¯t read Yoo Sangah or Han Sooyoung¡¯s mind. Ways of Survival, which exined everything, didn¡¯t tell me this.
¡°We should get up.¡±
Then a strange sensation overcame me. Was it Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint? I instinctively looked in the direction that I felt it but couldn¡¯t see anything.
...Was I mistaken?
***
¡°A fool.¡±
Han Sooyoung looked at the abandoned building from a distant high-rise building. The wind of Han River permeated through her ripped jeans and was cold. She bit her lip and muttered.
¡°...Shouldn¡¯t you pretend to feel something?¡±
However, she knew he couldn¡¯t do that. It was natural. He was as much a ¡®reader¡¯ as she was.
She turned on her notepad and started to type something. It was the habit of an author to write it down when inspiration struck.
¡¸ Reading a book doesn¡¯t mean you will understand people. ¡¹
¡®I will see you again.¡¯
She didn¡¯t know the ending that Kim Dokja wanted. However, they would surely meet again as long as they kept moving towards the end.
¡¸ She didn¡¯t know if they would be enemies or not the next time they met. ¡¹
Han Sooyoung covered her smartphone and started walking.
***
The morning hours passed quickly.
That afternoon, Shin Yoosung¡¯s agility and magic power reached the scenario limit of level 60. I felt that it was time and bought the Sponsor Contract from Bihyung. Bihyung grumbled but still gave me the contract.
[...You do know that this won¡¯t change the disaster?]
¡®...¡¯
[The present her isn¡¯t directly rted to the future disaster. The disasteres from a world derived from the ¡®first world¡¯ line. Even if their existences are connected, the history...]
¡®Don¡¯t speak useless words and give me the contract.¡¯
I finished writing the contract and handed it to Shin Yoosung. ¡°I have no stigma right now and can¡¯t lend you my strength like other constetions. I only have a lot of coins.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have to sign the contract if you don¡¯t want to. However, you won¡¯t regret it if you sign with me.¡±
¡°Mother told me not to mess around with this type of stuff...¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t really mean to be a typical sponsor.¡±
¡°If I sign this, I can¡¯t contract with another constetion?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Shin Yoosung nodded with determination. ¡°Okay. I believe in Ahjussi.¡±
[The Sponsor Contract has been concluded.]
[You have be the sponsor of the incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung.¡¯]
A brilliant light rose and wrapped around me and Shin Yoosung. Unlike the brilliant light, a humble message popped up.
[You aren¡¯t a constetion. You are unable to use most of the functions of a sponsor.]
[List of Avable Functions]
[1. Sponsor the incarnation.]
[2. Encourage the incarnation.]
Well, I had expected it. This was about it for now.
[The constetion Prisoner of the Golden Headband scoffs.]
[The constetion Secretive Plotter congrattes you on your first contract.]
[5,000 coins have been sponsored.]
[A number of constetions want to be your sponsor.]
The reactions of the constetions were hot. It was different from the time with Gong Pildu. Shin Yoosung was now my direct incarnation. Therefore, the ¡®incarnation seekers¡¯ group were going crazy over me.
I wasn¡¯t a constetion, I was an ¡®incarnation¡¯ with an ¡®incarnation.¡¯ If they signed a contract with me, Shin Yoosung would naturallye under that constetion as well. As I increased my number of incarnations, the number of constetions who wanted me would increase rapidly.
[The channel is going crazy...!]
Bihyung screamed happily as I looked at the party. ¡°It is time for us to leave. We will cross Han River.¡±
¡°We still haven¡¯t found any bridges. Will it be okay?¡±
¡°We¡¯ll go swimming.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know how to swim?¡±
¡°I do know but...¡± Yoo Sangah looked at the river with concern.
I knew what she was worried about. The water levels of Han River had increased. There were more ichthyosaurs present than yesterday and they were intermittently roaring. They were all 7th grade. Shin Yoosung muttered, ¡°I can¡¯t swim...¡±
¡°Hold onto this and cross.¡±
I pulled out a styrofoam box that I had obtained in advance. I asked Yoo Sangah to connect the box to me using Arachne¡¯s Spiderweb.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
I jumped into Han River without hesitation and Yoo Sangah immediately followed me. Shin Yoosung was frightened but she quickly grabbed the styrofoam box and dipped her feet into the water of Han River.
The cold temperature of Han River wrapped around my body. There was the smell of strange beasts and the movements of the ichthyosaurs started to change. Yoo Sangah asked,
¨CIs this really okay?
Of course it wasn¡¯t okay. However, it was the only way considering the time remaining.
¨CIf it gets really dangerous then get out as soon as possible.
-...Yes.
¨CThat¡¯s why you should pretend to be in danger before it is actually dangerous.
¨CHuh?
¨CIt is for Yoosung to quickly awaken.I am deliberately creating a crisis.Understood?
I pulled the styrofoam box as I started swimming in Han River. This was the reason why I raised Shin Yoosung¡¯s skill level without worrying. It wasn¡¯t shown in the attributes window but she had an innate ability to adapt.
An ordinary girl could never survive until the fifth scenario. Shin Yoosung seemed like a good child but her inner self wasn¡¯t that simple.
A child who killed her dog, who tricked adults and who disguised herself to gain favour from the strong. Shin Yoosung was such a child. The first time we met, there were many calctions going on inside her head.
I spoke to Shin Yoosung who was looking around. ¡°Yoosung.¡±
¡°Y-Yes!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t run away.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°If you run away from here, you can¡¯t go back.¡± Shin Yoosung closed her slightly open mouth. Shin Yoosung was a clever child rather than a brute. ¡°Do what you can.¡±
Tricks wouldn¡¯t work on her. I couldn¡¯t protect her just because she was a child.
¡°I understand.¡±
Fear was fear, fear was determination.
[The character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has used ¡®Advanced Diverse Communication Lv. 3.¡¯]
Killing intent was all around me. The predators seeking prey were increasing. I could see 10 of them above the surface of the water. It was a difficult number to fight all at once. However, I could escape and survive. The ichthyosaurs couldn¡¯t chase me the moment I left Han River.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Yoo Sangah called out a warning. The attack of the ichthyosaurs began. Sharp fangs flew from every direction.
[de of Faith is activated!]
I swung the de and immediately pierced one ichthyosaur. The serpentine body hit the surface of the water.
The ichthyosaur¡¯s writhing overturned Han River. I flew in the air along with the river water. Looking back, Shin Yoosung had let go of the styrofoam box and was also rising in the air.
Something quickly rose into the sky and Yoo Sangah¡¯s spiderweb wrapped around Shin Yoosung. It was the linked Hermes Walking Method and Arachne¡¯s Spiderweb.
Yoo Sangah retrieved Shin Yoosung safely while I stepped on the dead ichthyosaur and started swinging my sword at the approaching ichthyosaurs.
¡°This way you bastards!¡±
More than a dozen ichthyosaurs swam in my direction. Huge waves rocked the river and the body of the ichthyosaur I was standing on was in danger. I took a deep breath and adjusted my posture.
Way of the Wind would allow me to easily handle this crisis but it wasn¡¯t time yet.
¡°Ahjussi!¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s face became desperate as she was held in Yoo Sangah¡¯s arms. Several fangs aimed at my skin as I wielded the de. A few ichthyosaurs received mortal blows and fell down. The flowing blood cooled down and this area was bing more and more crowded. However, Iughed.
Be more urgent.
Be more anxious.
Be more desperate.
It was the only way.
A terrible injury was created where an ichthyosaur¡¯s fans grazed my skin. Blood started to pour from the wound.
¡¸ No¨D!¡¹
The scream entered my eardrums.
[The character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ is about to evolve.]
[Incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has entered a trance state.]
Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes were turning white. It was the same as when Lee Gilyoung used his power. It was as I thought. All of this was staged for Shin Yoosung¡¯s awakening.
[The character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has used ¡®Taming Lv. 9.¡¯]
The level 60 magic power started to spread out through Han River, the aura pouring like a waterfall.
The ichthyosaurs¡¯ momentum slowed. The ichthyosaurs shivered and groaned, as if responding to an enormous spirit.
The number of ichthyosaurs seen above the surface of the water increased. Previously it was around 10 and now it was more than 20. This meant that below the water, more than twice the number of ichthyosaurs were gathering.
Then the ichthyosaurs started looking at me again. The confused ichthyosaurs emitted a sharp killing intent and became more violent.
Dammit, was it a failure?
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi!¡±
It couldn¡¯t be helped. It was best to use her stigma to escape quickly. Yoo Sangah nodded, escaped the ichthyosaurs and released her threads. I called out to Shin Yoosung.
¡°Yoosung. You can stop. Shin Yoosung!¡±
However, Shin Yoosung didn¡¯t answer. The waves around Shin Yoosung grew stronger and now her body was covered with a bluish aura.
At this moment, a whirlpool urred in the centre of Han River. I couldn¡¯t grab onto anything and was swept away by the water. The surrounding ichthyosaurs screamed. I barely endured the centrifugal force while hanging onto the scales of an ichthyosaur.
The next moment, there was a huge ssh of water. Then an ichthyosaur five or six times bigger than the other ichthyosaurs slowly rose.
It was so big that it didn¡¯t seem like an ichthyosaur. It was much bigger than the seamander that I killed previously. It had a majestic beard and arrogant eyes that dominated its species.
All the ichthyosaurs around it bowed their heads to the surface of the water.
[The fifth grade seawater species, the ¡®Queen Mirabad¡¯ has been discovered!]
...Shit, she called this monster? I knew Shin Yoosung had great talent but I didn¡¯t know it was enough to call a ¡®queen.¡¯ This was a monsterparable to a disaster.
I opened up Bookmark and was about to invoke Way of the Wind when Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice was heard.
¡°...Dokja-ssi?¡±
I looked back and found that Shin Yoosung¡¯s body was floating in the air.
She followed the path of the aura that stretched out to Queen Mirabad and Shin Yoosung slowly approached the queen. The queen looked at Shin Yoosung and Shin Yoosung looked at the queen. Then Shin Yoosung¡¯s small hand quietly touched the queen¡¯s nose.
The river water subsided and the ichthyosaurs quietly disappeared. I looked over and saw Shin Yoosung riding on the queen¡¯s head. I now realized what Shin Yoosung was.
Beast Lord. The ruler of all monsters.
The colour slowly returned to Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes as she watched me. She wiped at her bleeding nose like it was nothing and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Ahjussi.¡±
I nodded.
Chapter 98 - Disaster of Floods (2)
Disaster of Floods (2)
I remembered Han Myungoh boasting about a private yacht at his Maldives vi. He had said this: The propeller cutting through the water was like a highway on the sea.
Now I knew what that feeling was like. If Director Han¡¯s boat on the ocean was like the Gyeongbu Expressway then I was currently on the Autobahn.
¡°It is really amazing.¡±
Yoo Sangah and I rode on the back of the queen and watched the ripples of Han River with fascination. As if testing her control, Shin Yoosung led the queen straight through the group of ichthyosaurs. Now Han River had be a safe zone and it was preferably to disembark near Yongsan-gu.
The ichthyosaurs swam after Queen Mirabad like ducklings following their mother. I closed my eyes and felt the cool air against my face. This was a real feeling. It was a luxury I wouldn¡¯t have enjoyed if the world had remained the same.
Shin Yoosung kept mumbling on the queen¡¯s head in order to sync their spirits. Yoo Sangah watched Shin Yoosung and spoke with aplicated voice. ¡°By the way, Dokja-ssi. If Yoosung bes stronger now then won¡¯t her future self be stronger as well?¡±
I thought she would ask something like this.
¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±
ording to the original novel, the disaster that woulde was the Shin Yoosung of the ¡®future of different regressions.¡¯ She was betrayed by Yoo Jonghyuk and abandoned outside the world.
She lost her sense of time and wandered the universe. Then she became part of the scenarios due to the Star Stream¡¯s blessing and she became a ¡®disaster¡¯ of past scenarios.
Yoo Sangah raised a question. ¡°Then why will the future disaster be stopped if the current Yoosung dies? If the branch ispletely different...¡±
¡°Have you heard of the Disconnected Film theory?¡±
¡°...No.¡± I watched the water and opened my mouth. ¡°Put simply, it is like this. Let¡¯s assume that the history of Yoosung from the first world is a film.¡±
¡°Film... are you talking about the film for movies?¡±
I nodded and continued. ¡°Assuming that this world is film one, there must be countless films of the other worlds right? There could be two films and there could also be 34 films.¡±
¡°I see. Is that right?¡±
¡°What happens when one of the films, with the front broken, sticks to the back of the first film? For example, what if the ripped 34th film sticks to the back of the first film? What do you think will happen if the film is yed?¡±
Yoo Sangah seemed troubled for a moment. ¡°Then the movie would change along the way... ah, wait a minute. The two stories will never affect each other?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Ah... Yoosung is currently in such a situation. The present Yoosung is from the first film while the disaster Yoosung is from the 34th film. The two stories arepletely independent and any changes in our world can¡¯t affect the disaster.¡± Yoo Sangah was truly smart. ¡°Still, the question remains. Shouldn¡¯t the disaster remain if the current Yoosung is killed?¡¯
¡°The contents of the film don¡¯t affect each other but the two films are connected.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°What if the front of the film is set on fire?¡±
Yoo Sangah shouted after realizing. ¡°The rear film... will be on fire as well.¡±
The two world lines were connected. If the present Yoosung dies, the future Yoosung would also die. However, any changes to the present Yoosung wouldn¡¯t change the future Yoosung. That ambiguous paradox was at the heart of this disaster.
¡°Dokja-ssi really knows a lot. I¡¯ve heard of parallel cosmology but I¡¯ve never heard such a theory before.¡±
I awkwardly nodded. Of course she wouldn¡¯t know it. It was a theory that the author of Ways of Survival created. As far as I knew, thews of Ways of Survival had never been ruined.
After a while, the water of Han River calmed down. We finally arrived at the other side of Han River. The queen dropped us off and then disappeared into Han River again.
Shin Yoosung sighed like all the tension had been released. ¡°...How was I?¡±
¡°Are you really asking? Well done.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s expression changed. She was pleased at receiving praise. Now there was nobody left to praise the child.
Then I felt a fierce hostilitying from the buildings of Yongsan-gu. A huge shadow came out from the shadows of the building.
...A giant praying mantis? The boy on top of the praying mantis looked down at me.
¡°Dokja hyung?¡±
There were Lee Gilyoung wearing a snapback and Han Donghoon with headphones.
Lee Gilyoung slid down the praying mantis and rushed into my arms. Lee Gilyoung¡¯s snapback fell off his head.
It was a reunion after one week. Then a message popped up on my smartphone. It was from Han Donghoon.
¨CIt is good to see you, Hyung.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t you say it is nice to meet me after a long time?¡±
¨CI don¡¯t want to.
***
Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung had a war of nerves as soon as they met. Lee Gilyoung¡¯s hair was moving like it was really an antennae while Shin Yoosung kept touching her hair.
¡°Ahjussi, that boy keeps ring at me.¡±
¡°Hyung, who is she?¡±
It seemed people of a simr type recognized each other. One was a beast master and the other was an insect master. I didn¡¯t know if they would fit together.
I asked Lee Gilyoung, ¡°You haven¡¯t met Heewon-ssi yet?¡±
¡°Yes. However, I know where she is. I sent an insect to look. Heewon noona is currently in the north.¡±
As expected from Lee Gilyoung. He was already searching for the group members without needing to be told.
By the way, the north was where the King of Wanderers was currently located. Maybe Jung Heewon was in contact with her.
¡°I knew Hyung wasing. I sent a lot of diving beetles.¡±
Speaking of which, the bugs on Lee Gilyoung¡¯s head had increased. There had definitely only been a cockroach before... Shin Yoosung frowned like it was disgusting. I checked the power of the party and concluded.
¡°It is better to stay here for two days. Raise your skill levels as high as possible and collect coins in your spare time. Take care of your overall stats. Ah, Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Did you contact your family?¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s face suddenly darkened. It seemed that she hadn¡¯t contacted them yet.
¡°Donghoon.¡±
Han Donghoon kept his headphones on and nodded silently. Han Donghoon had Wide-area Inte as a skill. In other words, it was possible tomunicate with the outside world.
Yoo Sangah¡¯s smartphone rang and there was a message that it was connected to the Inte. Yoo Sangah looked down like she doubted her eyes before staring at me tearfully. I nodded and continued.
¡°Please tell your family of this situation. Once this scenario is over, the outside of Seoul will no longer be a safe zone.¡±
¡°What will happen?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what will happen. Just tell them to be prepared. That is enough for now.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, don¡¯t you have to contact anyone?¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±
¡°But...¡±
¡°My family is in Seoul.¡±
¡°Seoul? Then...¡±
¡°They are safe.¡±
I silently stared towards the north. Then the system message arrived like it had been waiting.
[Someone has dealt with the Disaster of Water in the north.]
The King of Wanderers had finished her work safely. There was only one disaster left. It was the Disaster of Floods.
***
¡¸ The bright energy sword made a faint sound as it was raised in the air. It struck dozens of energy des at once. Blood flowed from Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes and scattered through the air. Soon Jung Heewon¡¯s sword stopped.
¡°I think that¡¯s it.¡±
Jung Heewon carefully inspected the sword and smiled with satisfaction. The middle-aged woman across from her also smiled faintly.
¡°Jeon Woochi¡¯s technique is amazing.¡±
¡°Heewon-ssi¡¯s kendo is also excellent. You will soon have a sponsor and I might not be a match anymore.¡±
¡°I¡¯m ttered.¡±
Jung Heewon stared at the woman¡¯s blue prison uniform. In the past week, Jung Heewon had been indebted to them. It was a debt that probably couldn¡¯t be repaid with the remaining time. A middle-aged woman asked.
¡°Do you really not want to join our New Wave group? The king will be delighted if Heewon-ssi joins.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry but mypanions are waiting.¡±
Jung Heewon raised her hands in an apologetic manner. The middle-aged woman just smiled like it couldn¡¯t be helped. The woman already knew who the members of Jung Heewon¡¯s party were.
¡°I hope he knows that Heewon-ssi is this desperate.¡±
¡°He knows.¡± Jung Heewon looked at the sky with a slightly disgruntled expression. ¡°Somehow, I think he is watching me right now.¡± ¡¹
...This was why I didn¡¯t want her knowing about Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
In any case, Jung Heewon seemed to be growing well. I was worried since her character hadn¡¯t seen the light in the original book but I was d my choice was correct.
Then I watched someone else using Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. Unfortunately, there weren¡¯t many visible points to determine the person¡¯s identity.
...Um? What was this? A familiar face soon appeared on the screen.
...It was me? Wait. These people?
¡¸ ¡°Hey, you.¡± Lee Gilyoung spoke in a ferocious voice. ¡°Stay away from Hyung.¡±
Then Shin Yoosung, who was lying next to me, replied, ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±
¡°This mongrel...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk to me, you worm bastard.¡±
Lee Gilyoung was stunned. The cockroach and other bugs moved wildly on his head. Lee Gilyoung barely regained hisposure.
¡°Hyung hates kids like you.¡±
¡°I know who Ahjussi likes.¡±
¡°...You know who Hyung likes? Who?¡±
¡°An unni.¡±
Lee Gilyoungughed. ¡°Unni? I think you are misinformed. Hyung likes a man.¡±
¡°How do you know?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been with Hyung for a long time.¡± ¡¹
I barely managed to wake up as the terrible conversation began. I hurriedly looked around and saw Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung sleeping with their heads leaning on something.
...Did I see wrongly? Was it just a dream?
¡°Dokja-ssi, what¡¯s wrong?¡±
I shook my head at Yoo Sangah¡¯s question. It must be a dream. I was just lying back down when I heard a whisper from somewhere.
¡®Hey, bug. Come to think of it, you hugged Ahjussi earlier?¡¯
¡®...¡¯
¡®Are you a baby? Do you like old people?¡¯
It wasn¡¯t a dream.
¡°Excuse me... aren¡¯t you sleeping?¡±
Yoo Sangah warned. Then the surroundings became silent and the children¡¯s snoring started soon afterwards.
***
Two days flew by in a sh.
[The sub-scenario ¨C Survival Activities has ended.]
Everyone heard the system message as they woke up and got ready. It was a long but short scenario. Then a message from Bihyung arrived.
[9,421.]
It was a number. Bihyung spoke again.
[9,513.]
¡®What?¡¯
[Don¡¯t you understand? 9,611.]
I noticed right away what the number was. At that time, I made a ¡®10,000¡¯ promise.
[The constetions who love the Korean penins are nervous about the number of subscribers left.]
I asked Bihyung, ¡®Did you do what I told you?¡¯
[...I did but I don¡¯t know if it will be any good. In any case, I wish you luck. 9,781.]
The swirling Great Hall in the sky showed an unusual omen. There was a thunderstorm and the intermittent sound of thunder was heard. Then an intermediate dokkaebi appeared in the air.
[Everyone, you have been waiting a long time.]
The intermediate dokkaebi looked gaunt. He had probably been suffering from the bureau.
[Did you enjoy the survival activities? The scenario that you have been waiting for will finally begin. There were some disruptions but... yes, well. It will be a fun scenario to look forward to.]
He looked at me and the incarnations and continued speaking in a disgruntled tone.
[You have stopped four of the five disasters. I fully acknowledge your aplishments. But do you know? The other four were just child¡¯s ypared to thest disaster.]
The faces of the people became tense. In fact, he was right. None of the other disasters couldpare to the Disaster of Floods.
[Depending on the sess of this scenario, everything that you have done so far might go away and everything will be over. Frankly, the odds of that happening are over 90%. Fortunately, there are those whomiserate with you.]
I formed tight fists. It was finally starting. Thest event before the fifth scenario started.
[Then, from now on I will start the second Sponsor Selection.]
Chapter 99 - Disaster of Floods (3)
Disaster of Floods (3)
There were bright lights in the sky that shot all over Seoul.
Some lights went to the north while some went to the west. However, the width of the scattering wasn¡¯trge. Most of the lights were gathered in central Seoul. It was evidence of where the incarnations were gathering to prepare for the scenario.
¡°Finally a contract! I will also have a contract!¡± The incarnations waiting in the area cried out enthusiastically.
I wasn¡¯t the only incarnation who survived this far without a sponsor. Soon little stars emerged over the heads of the incarnations without a contract. The number of stars represented the number of constetions who wanted the incarnation.
[Sponsor Selection]
-Please select your sponsor
-Your chosen sponsor will be your strong supporter.
Perhaps by now, all the unsigned incarnations would be seeing the same thing I was. Of course, mine was probably a bit different.
1. Prisoner of the Golden Headband.
2. Abyssal ck me Dragon
3. Secretive Plotter
As expected, there was the Prisoner of the Golden Headband and the Secretive Plotter. I felt sorry to keep rejecting them but it couldn¡¯t be helped.
...This Abyssal ck me Dragon was here again. He had Han Sooyoung so why did he keeping to me?
4. Seo Ae Il Pil
5. Bald General of Justice
6. King Heungmu the Great.
The great people of the Korean Penins also lined up. Seo Ae Il Pil was probably Ryu Seongryong... (Wiki link)
Ah, our Samyeongdang also came. In addition, there was the fox Kim Yushin. Did he think I would really choose him?
The list continued.
21. Goryeo¡¯s First Sword
22. God of Wine and Ecstasy
Anyone who was called Korea¡¯s best swordsman could be Goryeo¡¯s First Sword. Then there was Dionysus... Olympus had also stepped into the race for Kim Dokja. I felt a bit confused as the list continued. It was because unexpected constetions kept appearing.
48. ck Light of Guidance
49. Scribe of Heaven
50. Ruler of Revenge and the Apocalypse
I didn¡¯t remember all the modifiers so I only had dim memories of ck Light of Guidance and Ruler of Revenge and the Apocalypse.
However, I was certain about Scribe of Heaven. That guy, he was a powerful constetion of the absolute good system. The archangel Metatron. Based on angelic authority, this guy was ranked much higher than Uriel. This was the second heavenly being. Dammit, what type of constetions were watching me?
......
The hundreds of stars above my head formed a magnificent spectacle. It was a brilliance that seemed like it would light up all darkness near it. Some incarnations stared this way with soulless expressions.
¡°That...¡±
¡°What is that person?¡±
Shin Yoosung stared above my head in a nk manner and muttered, ¡°Ahjussi, you are like a Christmas tree.¡±
[The constetions who love the Korean Penins want you to keep your promise.]
[A number of constetions want to see your faith.]
In the end, it came. I take a deep breath and called to Bihyung.
¡®Bihyung.¡¯
[What?]
¡®How many are there now?¡¯
I had made a promise to the constetions when fighting off Dokgak. If the number of subscribers to the channel reached 10,000 before the Sponsor Selection ended, I would choose a sponsor.
[9,812. No, 14... 16.]
The number of constetions continued to rise. Bihyung¡¯s tone became tense.
[There are three minutes left toplete the Sponsor Selection.]
Now the result would be determined in three minutes.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is looking nervously at you.]
Unfortunately, there was no point looking at me desperately.
[There are two minutes left toplete the Sponsor Selection.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ has sponsored you 200 coins.]
[The constetion ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil¡¯ has sponsored you 300 coins.]
[The constetion King Heungmu the Great¡¯ has sponsored you 300 coins.]
The sponsorshippetition was finally starting. It was a natural choice for the constetions if they wanted to stand out.
[Some great constetions above narrative grade constetions are clicking their tongues.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has sponsored you 5,000 coins.]
This was the exact development I hoped for. Good, good. Give me more money.
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ has sponsored you 30,000 coins.]
...As expected of Metatron. It was an entirely different ss. It should be obvious since he was a chancellor of heaven.
[The constetion Prisoner of the Golden Headband is looking at the Scribe of Heaven.]
[There is one minute left toplete the Sponsor Selection.]
I asked Bihyung. ¡®How many now?¡¯
[9,973... 76, 77.]
It had finally reached a breathtaking level.
[9,981... 84.]
30 seconds left.
[9,993.]
20 seconds.
[9,998.]
[A few constetions are holding their breaths.]
10 seconds.
[9,999...]
5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds...
[The Sponsor Selection has ended.]
Then I let out a light sigh. I gazed at Bihyung who opened his mouth with a smile.
[I¡¯m really sorry everyone.]
[Many constetions think it is ridiculous!]
There was no use in yelling.
[Current number of subscribers: 9,999]
The screen that floated next to Bihyung showed reality. Some incarnations saw it and their mouths dropped open. Shin Yoosung asked, ¡°Ahjussi, are you a star on Youtube?¡±
Maybe it was simr. I spoke in a shameless voice towards the sky. ¡°It is too bad. I would¡¯ve selected a sponsor if there were 10,000 constetions.¡±
[Many constetions wonder who you would¡¯ve chosen.]
Then Bihyung intervened.
[This information can¡¯t be revealed to protect the privacy of the incarnation.]
Well done Bihyung.
[A number of constetions are rioting!]
The sky above Yongsan-gu distorted and lightning started to fall towards the innocent people. Sparks filled the air. The dokkaebi¡¯s power to influence probability could also block the constetions¡¯ wrath.
[Now now, all constetions. Please calm down. Unfortunately, the event had to be cancelled because we arecking one person...]
Then Bihyung nced at me and continued.
[As an apology, I will create apensation event.]
The lightning temporarily stopped.
[Perhaps you are thinking this? Shit, what should I do if it continues like this?]
[Many constetions are listening to the dokkaebi Bihyung¡¯s words.]
[I understand your thoughts. So! I will punish the incarnation who didn¡¯t choose anyone in the second Sponsor Selection! However, I will only do this if the constetions are in favour of it...]
[Many constetions are in favour of the dokkaebi Bihyung¡¯s words.]
Bihyung nodded with satisfaction. Shin Yoosung stared at me with a dumbfounded expression. ¡°What is happening?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be upset by the events unfolding.¡±
¡°Ahjusshi, why didn¡¯t you choose a sponsor?¡±
¡°Well, it isn¡¯t time yet.¡±
Honestly, I was a bit shaken when I saw Metatron but if I chose someone here, everything I had done would be in vain. I couldn¡¯t enter under anyone else. This was the only way.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. Take the kids and hide.¡±
¡°...Do you have an idea?¡±
¡°Of course. Nevere out unless I signal to you.¡±
[A new bounty scenario has arrived!]
[You have be the target of the bounty scenario.]
As expected, the bounty scenario began.
+
[Bounty Scenario ¨C Punishment]
Category: Bounty
Difficulty: A
Clear Conditions: Brutally kill the incarnation ¡®Kim Dokja.¡¯ The more brutal his death, the more coins you can receive.
Time Limit: 20 minutes.
Compensation: 40,000 ~ ????? coins.
Failure: ¨D
+
Anyone who saw it would think I was the fifth disaster. It was 40,000 coins to kill one person. Shin Yoosung paled when she received the scenario. ¡°...Ahjussi?¡±
Yoo Sangah grabbed Shin Yoosung who was reaching for me and retreated. At almost the same time, the incarnations in the area discovered me and started to flock. There was the ¡®target¡¯ mark floating above my head.
¡°Crazy! 40,000 coins?¡±
¡°Hey, get that fucker!¡±
[Many constetions are enjoying the development of the scenario.]
The constetions angry at my choice loved the way I was being chased like a rodent. Everybody had forgotten something about the ¡®10,000 event.¡¯ Yes, this was the nature of constetions.
Bihyung nced at me andmunicated with a nasty expression.
¨CI didn¡¯t realize it would turn out like this.
¡®I knew. I used to do this when working at the gamepany.¡¯
The only way to appease angry users was to open a new event. Bihyung shivered and murmured.
¨CIs this okay?If it is noticed... I really will receive a Probability Conformity Request this time.
In fact, it was an obvious channel maniption that the number of subscribers didn¡¯t break through 9,999.
It was because from the beginning, Bihyung¡¯s #BI-7623 channel only amodated 9,999 viewers.
I wouldn¡¯t be able to escape if someone like Dokgak provoked a fight. Fortunately, there was no one like that present. The low grade dokkaebis had been on guard since thest incident.
¡®I decided to take the chance.¡¯
It was still a dangerous method. There was no doubt that some smart constetions would doubt this. The number stopped exactly at 9,999. This defied coincidence. Thus, an event to shift the attention of the constetions was needed.
The constetions hated annoying things and were vulnerable to fun. I used the current Punishment event to take advantage of that.
Bihyung opened his mouth and spoke to everyone.
[Constetions, please note that the incarnation ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ can receive a penalty if coins are sponsored.]
The moment he spoke, my body suddenly became heavy.
[A selfish constetions has given you a speed penalty.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
The more coins I received, the more penalties that would be inflicted on me. The incarnations, who normally never would¡¯ve been able to follow me, were right on my tail.
¡°Everyone seems blinded by the coins. Right?¡±
I smiled and wielded de of Faith.
¡°Uwaaah!¡±
[A constetion who wants your misfortune has given you an attack penalty.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
My attack power was halved and the incarnations didn¡¯t die. I was actually d about this. I didn¡¯t want to kill them,
[A constetion who wants your death has given you an defense penalty.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
The fucking sponsorship. A dagger flew from somewhere and hit my arm, causing terrible pan. My arm would¡¯ve been cut off if it wasn¡¯t for the Infinite Dimension Space Coat.
[A few constetions feel sorry for your adversity.]
There were also constetions who supported me. Thank you for your tears. I grabbed my injured arm and ran to the southwest of Yongsan-gu.
If I was right, the meteorite where the Disaster of Floods slept was in that direction. The energy of the meteorite showed it was close to hatching.
[Bihyung. What the hell is this?]
[What¡¯s the matter? It is simple entertainment before we enter the game.]
Another dokkaebi¡¯s voice was suddenly heard. Now Bihyung was speaking in a strong manner.
It was a sharp contrast to my heavy body. Just a bit more...
A river finally appeared.
¡°Hold it!¡±
I barely managed to escape from the clutches of other people and plunged into Han River. The other incarnations knew what was in Han River and couldn¡¯t easily follow me.
¡°This crazy guy!¡±
The 7th grade ichthyosaurs swarmed like they had been waiting. They wanted to make my feeble self their food.
[Many constetions are filled with joy.]
I had a thought as I watched the ichthyosaurs. I didn¡¯t have any talent. No matter how hard I trained, I wouldn¡¯t be as skilled as I wanted. However, I didn¡¯t want to use that as an excuse to say I was weak.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ can now be activated.]
The way that I could be stronger was different from other people.
[¡®Character Bookmarks¡¯ is activated.]
[Avable Bookmark Slots: 4]
[Bringing up the list of avable bookmarks.]
¡°I will release Demagogue Cheon Inho from the 3rd slot and add Beast Tamer Shin Yoosung.¡±
[The number three bookmark has been activated.]
A bright light surrounded my body and the smell of the monsters changed. Some smells were friendly while some were filled with hostility. I realized that there was a world I didn¡¯t know. After all, it was sensitivity to the world that determined how a person read it.
[The level of the Bookmark skill is low, shortening the activation time.]
[Activation Time: 30 minutes]
[Your understanding of the character is significant. You can select some of her skills to import.]
One of the far-off ichthyosaurs synched with me andplex circuits were forming in my head.
[Advanced Diverse Communication Lv. 3 has been activated.]
[Taming Lv. 9 has been activated.]
Blood flowed from my nose. This was how the kids always felt. I slowly opened my mouth, ¡°Come, Queen Mirabad.¡±
Chapter 100 - Disaster of Floods (4)
Disaster of Floods (4)
The ichthyosaur queen cut through the water. The grandeur of her streamlined body filled Han River. The confused incarnations immediately moved away from Han River.
¡°Uwahh, shit!¡±
¡°What is this?¡±
There was a feeling of solemnity as I faced her. I was facing the ruler of a species. I once again felt how great Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were.
¡°Come down.¡±
The queen¡¯s whiskers touched the water at my words. Once again, it was unreasonable to have the same effect even with the same skill. It was simr to when I used Lycaon¡¯s Way of the Wind. I approached her and climbed up using the scales.
The body of the queen shook like she was rejecting my touch. This was the limit for me. Honestly, it felt like my frontal lobe was burning from the connection with the queen.
I left the incarnations hunting me behind and opened my mouth, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Then my struggle with the queen began. As if she was ying with me, the queen swam through the water regardless of my breathing.
¡°Puhah!¡± I gasped for air, looking like a wet mouse. ¡°This...!¡±
The surrounding ichthyosaurs poured towards me like they were amused.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ isughing at you.]
My control was a mess but the queen was moving in the direction I wanted. It was southwest of Yongsan-gu. It was Nodeulseom, one of the few inds in Han River. If I remembered correctly, this ind was the ce with the most potential for the Disaster of Floods to hatch.
¡¸ The fifth disaster hatched on an artificial ind in Han River. ¡¹
Ways of Survival was a novel where the year wasn¡¯t specified.
Therefore, I didn¡¯t know exactly what year Ways of Survival was based on. I thought it was close to the year I lived in but it had been serialized for 10 years and the technology development wasn¡¯t right. There was little mention of modern devices in Ways of Survival and sometimes there were no fixed geographical names used.
This situation was an example.
¡®An artificial ind in Han River... where the hell is it?
Nheless, I was able to determine that it was Nodeulseom due to the description and the size of the meteorite.
My thoughts were interrupted by the queen¡¯s sudden stop. I rolled down and was thrown on Nodeulseom. Queen Mirabad nced at me before disappearing into Han River. She was a heartless jerk.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ has been turned off.]
¡°Uweeeek.¡±
The world turned around as I coughed out the river water. I raised my head and thendscape of Nodeulseom spread out in front of me.
I had never been to Nodeulseom before but something felt strange. The trees on Nodeulseom looked like they were before the world was ruined.
The ichthyosaurs disappeared and the incarnations were preparing to cross the river. I could see some of the incarnations flying through the sky. I hid behind a tree and held my breath as I watched them.
¡°Where is he? Didn¡¯t he obviouslye here?¡±
I didn¡¯t think there would be so many people who had learnt Flight Maneuvers. These jerks weren¡¯t regressors. Why did they adapt so fast? Many of themnded on Nodeulseom and looked around.
¡°Hyung, let¡¯s look around. I don¡¯t have any confidence facing him alone.¡±
¡°I agree. Did you see all the stars above his head? He is a monster.¡±
¡°Hero-like traits aren¡¯t necessary when dealing with a monster.¡±
¡°...Will he be as strong as the king in the west?¡±
It was a conversation discussing how to kill someone. I thought it was too shameful topare me to Yoo Jonghyuk. I wanted to hide until the end of the time limit but someone showed up from the forest on the ind.
¡°Ahjussis should be careful. Get off this ind if you know what is good for you.¡±
It was a strong voice. The girl dressed in a ck hoodie over her uniform walked towards the men.
¡°Who are you?¡±
¡°A young person who is unafraid...¡±
¡°My armmmmm!¡±
¡°Uwaaaah!¡±
Her sword moved through the air and the men who had their arms cut off screamed. One of the rtively younger incarnations shouted.
¡°It is her, the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare!¡±
¡°What? Why is that girl here?¡±
¡°Run! Run away!¡±
The incarnations hurriedly used Flight Maneuvers but their talent wasn¡¯t as high as I thought. A few of them were slightly strong. However, the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare wouldn¡¯t make anyone his incarnation, even if they were a descendant of his friend.
The girl pointed her sharp de at me. ¡°Ahjussi, are you going toe out? Why are you hiding when you have the target mark on you?¡±
That reminded me, I still had the arrow above my head. I sighed and left the forest with both hands raised. ¡°Are you going to kill me?¡±
¡°I¡¯d like to but Master will be sad.¡± The long-haired girl, Lee Jihye put away her sword with augh. Her strength had increased in the 10 days we hadn¡¯t met.
Lee Jihye saw my injured arm and said to me. ¡°How have you been? I don¡¯t think you have been well.¡±
¡°Then why ask? I thought you had returned to Daepong High School. Why are you here?¡±
¡°Master picked me up a few days ago. I don¡¯t know how he found me.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk? I knew that Lee Jihye was a key member of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s party but to go there and find her...
I looked at her physical body stats using Calm Observation. The total value was roughly over 160. Her strength and physique seemed slightly lower but she had reached the limit on her stats for the fifth scenario.
Moreover, Demon yer and Sword Training had improved further. It seemed that all characters in Ways of Survival grew faster when they weren¡¯t around me. Did they all have a mental block because of me?
¡°What about Ahjussi¡¯s party? Have you meet Heewon unni?¡±
¡°The others are waiting in Yongsan-gu. I haven¡¯t met Heewon-ssi yet.¡±
¡°Too bad. She wanted to see you.¡±
Come to think of it, Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye were in simr positions. I looked around carefully and asked, ¡°Did youe with Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°Huh? Why does Ahjussi know everything?¡±
At this moment, I heard a sound from the edge of Nodeulseom. Incarnations who had been fighting the ichthyosaurs finished and approached the ind.
Some came on duck boats and some swam. Some of them came on boats or used special skills. They looked like group tourists.
¡°I found him! There he is!¡±
I was the tour product. Lee Jihye became angry when she saw the incarnations. ¡°Why did you drag that bunch of trash here?¡±
¡°I brought them to catch the disaster.¡±
Some people were preparing themselves for the disaster but not everyone. Those who didn¡¯t belong to any groups were hiding all over Seoul, waiting for someone to clear the main scenario. Then they would take action in the resulting power loss.
Thest disaster couldn¡¯t be broken by such a flimsy determination. If everyone didn¡¯t fight together...
¡°Why did you do that? There is no point.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°There won¡¯t be a disaster. Master is taking care of it.¡± My eyes stared at Lee Jihye with disbelief. ¡°Thest disaster won¡¯t be dangerous at all. Instead, useless people can¡¯t enter the ind... shit, they are entering.¡±
Lee Jihye once again pulled out her sword. This was the reason why she controlled the ind. Lee Jihye wasn¡¯t the only one controlling entrance to the ind. Arge person waved towards an iing ship.
¡°Everyone, you aren¡¯t allowed inside here. This is a danger zone!¡±
¡°What? Who are you?¡±
¡°A lieutenant of the 6502 unit...¡±
¡°What nonsense is this?!¡±
A flying de was caught in the man¡¯s hands and he stated, ¡°...It is dangerous to resist the authorities.¡±
¡°Y-You!¡±
The lieutenant wore a suit reminiscent of a giant bear and had a dirty beard.
¡°I will take you to a safe ce.¡±
The lieutenant lifted the man with one hand and threw him to the other side of Han River. The man flew across Han River at a great speed andnded on the other side.
The lieutenant asked, ¡°Is there anyone who needs guidance?¡±
¡°Crazy! A monster!¡±
The lieutenant facing the incarnations had tired eyes, like a mountain had piled up on his shoulders. It was a face that looked terribly weary.
¡¸ It is hard... .¡¹
¡¸ I think I will die... ¡¹
¡¸ Dokja-ssi, where are you? ¡¹
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi.¡±
At that moment, Lee Hyunsung looked at me. His expression was like he found an oasis in the middle of a desert.
¡°Dokja... Dokja-ssi?¡± Lee Hyunsung came towards me. I instinctively took a step back. ¡°D-Dokja-ssi! It¡¯s me! Lee Hyunsung!¡±
I was about to open my mouth when another group of incarnations disembarked.
¡°There he is! Catch him!¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s expression distorted. ¡°I... told you it is a danger zone!¡±
He turned around and mmed his fist into the ground.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has used the stigma ¡®Great Mountain Smash Lv. 5.¡¯]
The entire ind of Nodeulseom shook as the edges exploded. I was captivated by the second scene of incarnations flying. That Yoo Jonghyuk bastard, how did he raise a person?
I asked the delighted looking Lee Hyunsung, ¡°Where is Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s expression became slightly sad. ¡°Oh, he is in the middle of the ind. That...¡±
¡°I will be right back. Then we will talk.¡±
I ignored Lee Hyunsung¡¯s desperate gaze and ran to the centre of the ind. There were many things I wanted to ask Lee Hyunsung but now wasn¡¯t the time. I had to check something quickly.
How long did I walk through the forest? I finally saw a huge meteorite stuck in the centre of the forest. The size of the meteorite was overwhelmingpared to the other ones. The red aura on the surface implied a sure destruction. There was a woman standing in front of the meteorite.
¡°Oh, you are...?¡±
My expression changed at the sight of Lee Seolhwa when the person I was looking for emerged from the rear of the meteorite.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk stood there calmly, exuding a steady presence. I asked him, ¡°What are you doing right now?¡±
¡°You must know because you have Future Sight.¡±
I was speechless at the calm answer. The yellow meteorite stuck in the middle of the huge disaster meteorite. I immediately noticed why Yoo Jonghyuk wanted toe here quickly.
¡°Are you feeding the guide meteorite to the disaster?¡±
¡°The guides will only interfereter. It is better to kill them while we can handle them.¡±
Once again, my ominous feelings were always right. This bastard was trying to hatch the disaster early. He was Lee Seolhwa¡¯s lover for a reason.
¡°No, why? Putting aside the guide, why are you trying to wake up the disaster early? Have you finally gone crazy?¡±
There was slight disappointment in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes as he replied, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to know a lot this time.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°This disaster was my colleague in a past life.¡±
Who didn¡¯t know this? Yoo Jonghyuk dered with an arrogant expression, ¡°That¡¯s why this disaster is safe.¡±
...Safe? Several thoughts passed through my head.
...Jonghyuk. Yes. Sometimes he was too nice.
[The Disaster of Floods has hatched.]
I had forgotten for a while because I received his help several times. This guy in front of me was someone who barely took a step towards the end after dying over one hundred times.
Chapter 101 - Disaster of Floods (5)
Disaster of Floods (5)
The situation became clear. This Yoo Jonghyuk believed in something he shouldn¡¯t have.
I shouted towards Lee Seolhwa, ¡°Lee Seolhwa! Take the kids and escape from this ind right now. The Disaster of Floods is different from the past. We must fight her together. If we don¡¯t all fight¨D¡±
¡°Kim Dokja, don¡¯t disturb me if you don¡¯t want to die.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk came up behind me and grabbed me by the neck. All of a sudden, my body lost strength and my knees fell to the ground.
I bit my lip and eximed, ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, listen to me! The Shin Yoosung waking up now isn¡¯t the Shin Yoosung you know. Once you meet her...¡±
I wanted to say more but my voice suddenly changed into a squeaky sound. Dammit. I used Hit a Pressure Point to gradually relieve the energy that Yoo Jonghyuk had released into my blood.
Now I had to subdue him...
Of course, no one in Seoul could subdue Yoo Jonghyuk. No, there was only one. That person wasing right now.
[The Disaster of Floods is waking up.]
Along with the message, a green light emerged from the meteorite. Finally, the hatching of the meteorite began.
I heard the voice of the intermediate dokkaebi.
[The incarnations of Seoul are really hot-tempered. Other areas aren¡¯t so eager to wake up the disaster and are struggling to avoid the disaster...]
It was difficult for Bihyung to stall any longer.
[Do you miss your firstpanions? Now, prepare to face the disaster. Yourpanions are waiting for you in the other world.]
[A new main scenario has arrived!]
+
[Main Scenario # 5 ¨C Disaster of Floods]
Category: Main
Difficulty: SS
Clear Conditions: Kill the Disaster of Floods, Shin Yoosung.
Time Limit: ¨D
Compensation: 100,000 coins, ???
Failure: The fall of Seoul.
+
Therge meteorite split apart and revealed the interior that was reminiscent of a womb. Apletely nude woman was trapped inside like a fossil.
It was a mysterious woman with pure white skin. Her beautiful hair was tied up in a ponytail and wrapped around her body. This was the appearance of the adult Shin Yoosung.
¡°A girl?¡±
¡°What is this? That is a disaster?¡±
Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung stopped while some incarnations secretly looked at her. They seemed to feel the severe gap in power.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has offset your mental shock.]
The Disaster of Floods was different from other disasters. Unlike other disasters who were weakened by the early hatching, the Disaster of Floods had no such thing. The Disaster of Floods was stronger the earlier she woke up.
The moment that Shin Yoosung opened her eyes, white fur grew all over her body. The white fur was reminiscent of an animal¡¯s pelt and covered her body in the form of clothing.
Shin Yoosung slowly emerged from the meteorite and stepped on the ground. She was like a child taking her first step. She had just taken a step when everyone around her was frozen.
She was a species with a different strength. Even the strong ones among the incarnations found it hard to move. However, there was a person who wasn¡¯t troubled by her pressure at all.
¡°I have been waiting, Shin Yoosung.¡±
Shin Yoosung slowly turned towards the man.
¡°...Captain?¡± It was a short encounter but Shin Yoosung instantly realized something. ¡°Captan was waiting for me... this isn¡¯t the first time you have seen me? Right?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk nodded. ¡°I need your help.¡±
¡°Before that, what regression are you on now?¡±
¡°Why are you wondering?¡±
¡°I need to know.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk hesitated for a moment before replying. ¡°The third time.¡±
¡°Ah, I see... Then you met me in the second regression. Right?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
She was the reason why Yoo Jonghyuk could reach the 46th scenario in the second regression. It was thanks to the Disaster of Floods in front of us.
The Disaster of Floods was Shin Yoosung from the 41st world line. She came to the past because of the Yoo Jonghyuk of the 41st regression. Shin Yoosung was abandoned by his world, travelled for many years and eventually descended into a scenario of the past Earth.
¡°This is the third regression. I gave you informationst time but you still failed?¡±
¡°That¡¯s why I need more information.¡±
The second regression Shin Yoosung chose Yoo Jonghyuk and gave him all the information she knew. It was a final consideration for the Yoo Jonghyuk that she knew. It was only for the second regression.
Shin Yoosung opened her mouth. ¡°...It took thousands of years.¡±
I could feel countless years of fatigue piled up in Shin Yoosung¡¯s expression. The things done by the 41st round Yoo Jonghyuk were worse than murder. Thousands of years. This period of time was enough to make a person copse and for their ego to wear down. Shin Yoosung endured all that time and finally became a disaster.
¡°Captain, do you know how hard it was for me? I endured all these years toply with your request.¡±
¡°...What do you mean?¡±
¡°I wanted to see Captain.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t see the despair in Shin Yoosung¡¯s smile. He opened his mouth in a nonchnt manner. ¡°Give me all the information from the 41st regression. Did the future me say anything?¡±
I wanted to shout at him but my voice wouldn¡¯te out. Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes were as calm as the eye of a storm. Only I could read the turbulent emotions hidden deeply in her eyes.
¡¸ Nothing has changed. ¡¹
Thanks to Yoo Jonghyuk, Shin Yoosung moved alone in thebyrinth of worlds for over 1,000 years. She worked 200 years for the sake of humanity. She kept her promise to defend the world for 200 years. Then for another 200 years, she remembered Yoo Jonghyuk and herpanions.
Throughout the years, Shin Yoosung used the handful of memories to protect herself. However, questions rose the more she remembered.
¡¸ What does all of this mean? ¡¹
Time erased her cause and sense of justice. Once the cause disappeared, only the poor human truth remained.
She felt resentment towards Yoo Jonghyuk who turned her and herpanions into a tool of ¡®regression.¡¯ Loneliness and despair of losing the world permeated her bones. Shin Yoosung hated Yoo Jonghyuk who made her into this.
¡°Captain has never changed.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t say unnecessary things and turn over the information. I don¡¯t have time.¡±
¡°What are ¡®we¡¯ to Captain?¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°I did everything for you. I gave you one chance. However, Captain is still here.¡± She graciously helped Yoo Jonghyuk in the second regression. ¡°You will keep going forward. You will turn people like me into tools and abandon me in the terriblebyrinth of worlds. It is all because of that goddamn sense of justice. I hate you for living in this world alone.¡±
Now Shin Yoosung was facing the Yoo Jonghyuk of the third regression.
¡°There is only one thing I¡¯m going to tell you. Captain can¡¯t save anyone.¡± Shin Yoosungughed. ¡°Your third regression ends here.¡±
Light emerged from Shin Yoosung¡¯s hands the same moment I was able to release myself using the pressure point. I ran with all my strength and was hit by the ether storm.
¡°Get out of the way Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
My belly was split open and my mind became nk. A massive crater formed in the centre of the ind. Me and Yoo Jonghyuk jumped into the air and then rolled along the ground for a while.
It hurt. Shit. It really hurt.
¡°...Kim Dokja?¡± The surprised Yoo Jonghyuk looked down at my fallen self.
My breathing was fast and the sky had turned yellow. It was true that I had been lucky so far. The world was originally like this. Only one thing had to go wrong for the world to be destroyed.
¡°Kim Dokja!¡±
Bastard, there was no need to make a big fuss. I smiled at Yoo Jonghyuk and told him, ¡°Hey, kill me. You usually want to kill me.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°There is one minute left so I¡¯ll let you kill me. Kill me.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at my belly. I wanted to touch my belly but it felt like nothing was there. Blood constantly emerged from my mouth and I was dizzy enough to vomit. I kept struggling to breathe.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has offset some of the pain.]
If it wasn¡¯t for Fourth Wall then I might be weeping. I couldn¡¯t feel itst time because I died in one blow.
¡°Wait Kim Dokja! It isn¡¯t toote.¡±
¡°It is toote.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t!¡±
¡°If you kill me now then you can gain coins. I¡¯m already dying. Just kill me.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk made an expression that I hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. It was the expression he made when he first saw me on the subway.
¡°I can¡¯t do it.¡±
My vision blurred. I could see Yoo Jonghyuk trying to stop the bleeding but I had already lost too much blood. More than anything... my internal organs were gone. There was no way I could live. It was unreasonable even for Lee Seolhwa. My consciousness slowly scattered into the air like a copsing sandcastle.
[You have died.]
.
.
A momentter, a system message was heard.
[Current karma points: 100/100]
[You have enough karma points to use the privilege.]
[The privilege of the King of No Killing is activated.]
***
As expected, I opened my eyes in the darkness. It was this state again. It was a truly dirty feeling.
[Due to a collision error with your exclusive skill, the privilege of King of No Killing would be dyed.]
[Thanks to your death, your consciousness has beenpletely liberated from the constraints of your body.]
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been activated!]
I heard familiar messages in the darkness. The next moment, a screen appeared in front of me. It was the third person observation.
¡¸ ¡°Flood.¡± ¡¹
It was like the intermediate dokkaebi said. The Disaster of Floods was more than the other disastersbined. Shin Yoosung gave an order and the air distorted, making monsters pop out.
Monster Gate, the main feature of the legend grade attribute Beast Lord. The numerous monsters domesticated by her as she travelled the dimensions were being released as nightmares on Earth.
¡¸ ¡°Tear, break, destroy.¡± ¡¹
Many 7th grade and 6th grade species could be seen. There were even someparable to the 5th grade fire dragon.
¡¸ ¡°It is time for the disaster.¡± ¡¹
Nodeulseom exploded and waves covered Han River. The confused incarnations became the food of monsters. Thete-arriving ¡®kings¡¯ started giving orders. Then I saw a person with a fearsome aura behind Shin Yoosung.
¡¸ ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you, Shin Yoosung.¡± ¡¹
...This crazy bastard? Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ether de moved through the air with a terrible sound.
Shin Yoosung avoided the attack and smiled lightly. ¡¸ ¡°Your level of Breaking the Sky Sword is quite high already? However, you can¡¯t beat me no matter how you try. At most, it is this level?¡±
¡°You must turn in this round.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll see. I won¡¯t die now. It might be possible if it was 10 yearster.¡±
¡°I will kill you.¡±
¡°...Captain, aren¡¯t you too agitated? What is the reason?¡± ¡¹
I quietly prepared 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view. In the current situation, it was best to transfer to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. I didn¡¯t feel good but it would be a bit easier to deal with the disaster if I transferred to this guy.
¡¸ ¡°Something is strange. Are you really Captain?¡± ¡¹ Then Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes shifted to my dead body. ¡¸ ¡°Who is that person? I haven¡¯t never seen such a person before.¡± ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk stayed silent. He just swung and swung his sword. This was his only answer. How long did he swing his sword?
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly opened his mouth.
¡¸ ¡°...That guy.¡± ¡¹
Shin Yoosung¡¯s face gradually filled with doubt and disbelief. The silent Yoo Jonghyuk finally spoke.
¡¸ ¡°He is mypanion.¡± ¡¹
Chapter 102 - Things That Can’t Be Changed (1)
Things That Can¡¯t Be Changed (1)
¡¸ ¡°...Captain, what did you just say?¡± ¡¹
I came to my senses because of Shin Yoosung¡¯s disbelieving voice.
¡¸ ¡°Say it again. What did you say just now? What? Companion?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°That man is yourpanion?¡± ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t reply to the voice filled with distrust. I was surprised as well but Shin Yoosung¡¯s shock was devastating. The Yoo Jonghyuk with a strong ego had called me his panion.¡¯
¡¸ ¡°Yes.¡± ¡¹
This suddenly scared me. No matter how I thought about it, he wasn¡¯t someone who would call me a panion.¡¯ Didn¡¯t this bastard know I was going to be resurrected?
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is touched by yourradeship.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is blushing at yourradeship.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
Yes, now I understood. Yoo Jonghyuk, he was looking for coin sponsorship. It was a little strange to see that Uriel wasn¡¯t involved but he must be targeting sponsorship by one of the constetions.
I became convinced as I watched him bleeding. Considering that this was his third regression, it wasn¡¯t impossible for Yoo Jonghyuk to say the word panion.¡¯ In the early rounds, he had called Lee Hyunsung and Lee Seolhwa panions¡¯ when they died.
It hurt to think about therge number of coins he would be receiving right now. I couldn¡¯t help my emotions bing cold. Damn, I should¡¯ve said that line.
¡¸ ¡°Captain, how can you say that?¡± ¡¹
Of course, Shin Yoosung didn¡¯t know Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts and looked as if the world had copsed.
There was no choice. The 41st round Shin Yoosung...
She never once heard Yoo Jonghyuk call anyone hispanion. Shin Yoosung¡¯s fist hit Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s de.
Despite the sh between the body and the weapon, the thing that received damage was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword. It was the SS-grade Heaven Shaking Sword. Putting aside the special options, the durability and strength was one of the best. Yet this sword was damaged by Shin Yoosung¡¯s fist.
In the end, the Heaven Shaking Sword failed to ovee the shock and was bent. The mighty Splitting the Sky was helplessly deflected.
¡¸ ¡°How dare you say this in front of me?¡± ¡¹
Shin Yoosung shouted and didn¡¯t use any special skills. She just threw a punch that contained ether condensed to the limit.
Yoo Jonghyuk coughed up blood and flew back at this blow. Her attacks, her speed and her variations. Shin Yoosung was superior to Yoo Jonghyuk in all aspects.
The Red Phoenix Shunpo and Breaking the Sky Sword that Yoo Jonghyuk was proud of faded in front of Shin Yoosung.
There was the terrible sound of the body breaking and Yoo Jonghyuk was pushed back. It wasn¡¯t a matter of talent but a matter of time.
Despite being weakened by the descent, the 41st Shin Yoosung was the Beast Lord who was close to the limits that Shin Yoosung could reach. On the other hand, the current Yoo Jonghyuk was in the early stages of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s growth.
¡¸ ¡°Why call him apanion? Is it because he sacrificed himself for you? Just because of this?¡± ¡¹
Blood emerged without stopping. However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t give up. He didn¡¯t stop and kept wielding his sword. That jerk, why the hell was he fighting?
I watched the bleeding Yoo Jonghyuk and became increasingly frustrated. Shouldn¡¯t he run away after realizing something was wrong? Wasn¡¯t that what he normally did?
Once again, Shin Yoosung opened her mouth.
¡¸ ¡°Then what about me and the others? Jihye unni and Hyunsung oppa. Seolhwa unni? What the hell are the people who fought with you?¡±
¡°I... I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°There is only one thing I know.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk wiped the blood from his lips and said. ¡°You killed mypanion in this round. Thus, you will also die.¡± ¡¹
Damn, this time I couldn¡¯t help feeling touched.
[Excessive immersion has restricted some of the features of Fourth Wall.]
I was fooled by his acting. Yes, I read Ways of Survival for this taste. Come to think of it, I had been in tears when Yoo Jonghyuk said something simr to Lee Hyunsung.
I suddenly felt restless. A mere reader became apanion of the main character, Yoo Jonghyuk.
Shin Yoosung looked at Yoo Jonghyuk with a face that seemed to have lost everything.
¡¸ ¡°You can¡¯t be like this...¡± ¡¹
An ominous aura filled her surroundings. It was a process where emptiness turned to betrayal and betrayal turned to anger.
¡¸ ¡°You are changing. I can¡¯t tolerate it.¡± ¡¹
Ether filled Shin Yoosung¡¯s fists. I wanted to watch a bit more but I was filled with a sense of crisis.
[Excessive immersion leads to a profound increase in the proficiency of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.]
If this went wrong then Yoo Jonghyuk would really die. I couldn¡¯t let him be killed here. I quickly switched the mode of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
It was from third person to 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view.
[Changing your viewpoint to first person.]
......
[Changing to the 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view has failed.]
What? Why?
[You have failed to meet the conditions to change the viewpoint.]
It felt like I had been hit in the back of the head. There were two conditions to use 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view.
One, I must be dead and in an out of body state. Two, the target and I should be thinking about each other.
The first condition was met but the problem was the second condition. That jerk wasn¡¯t thinking about me right now?
Then what was with all the running amok because of revenge? I watched Yoo Jonghyuk who was frantically attacking and became stunned.
¡¸ ¡°Die. I will kill you.¡± ¡¹
...That bastard, was he thinking about anything? Shin Yoosung watched Yoo Jonghyuk and opened his mouth.
¡¸ ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I was going to finish it quickly but I changed my mind.¡± ¡¹
Shin Yoosung smiled like she was a devil.
¡¸ ¡°I will finish off Captain¡¯s world in the most terrible way.¡± ¡¹
Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes shifted away from Yoo Jonghyuk. My heart sank the moment I followed her gaze. Shit, I really couldn¡¯t wait here and watch. If I couldn¡¯t transfer to Yoo Jonghyuk then someone else...
At this moment, a sharp sensation crossed my mind. An unexpected character was thinking of me.
...Could I transfer to this person? Was it possible? Ah, that¡¯s right. It was because Yoo Jonghyuk said those words. Yes, maybe it would be better to transfer to this person. I don¡¯t know, let¡¯s just try it.
I started projecting my mind towards that person. Then after a while. My vision shook and I became dizzy.
[Changing your viewpoint to first person.]
My consciousness was sucked to another ce.
***
¡®Companion?¡¯
The first time she heard it, Shin Yoosung questioned her ears. Companion. How was this possible? This was Yoo Jonghyuk, not another person.
Shin Yoosung couldn¡¯t understand the emotion that blossomed deep inside her heart. It was an emotion she had forgotten for a thousand years.
Yoo Jonghyuk,panion.
She didn¡¯t know what had happened to Yoo Jonghyuk. But if it was true, perhaps the Yoo Jonghyuk of that time towards her...
Shin Yoosung touched the ground without realizing it.
¡®It is low.¡¯
Shin Yoosung thought so. Thus, I thought so.
¡°This is yourst chance.¡± She couldn¡¯t tolerate such a lowly thing. ¡°If you cancel your words then I will send you away without any pain. Say it. Say he isn¡¯t yourpanion, just someone you know.¡±
The bleeding Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer despite his condition. Shin Yoosung had crushed one arm and his legs were weak. Even so, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes were still alive.
Shin Yoosung stared at Yoo Jonghyuk and gritted her teeth before giving an order. ¡°Hold onto Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The 6th grade sulfur mummies that had passed through the Monster Gate started moving. Their white bandages grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s limbs were pulled as if they were going to be torn apart. Shin Yoosung dered, ¡°Captain, I¡¯ll kill them one by one. Captain, you are the one who chose the most painful way.¡±
Shin Yoosung walked towards the edge of the ind, leaving Yoo Jonghyuk alone.
¡°Kill her! She is the disaster!¡±
The incarnations climbing up from the water discovered Shin Yoosung. Shin Yoosung waved her hands towards them. The incarnations were touched by the light that came from her hands and were torn apart like wet newspaper. There was no time for them to scream.
¡°Flood.¡±
Monsters poured from the Monster Gate at her order. Two of the most powerful monsters were standing behind her like they were guards.
The 5th grade sea species, King Masswood. The 5th grade behemoth, Heavy Metal Bean.
They were monsters who could cause small disasters in this world. She was about to speak when a sharp strike came from the side.
¡°Where are you going?¡±
It was a shy sword. The person wielding it wore a ck hoodie over a slim skirt. Shin Yoosung immediately recognized who she was. Demon ying was burning in Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes.
¡°You dared to make Master look like that?¡±
The majesty of a great constetion emerged from Lee Jihye¡¯s body. It was the power of a person who was stronger than anyone in the sea. Shin Yoosung noticed the stigma that Lee Jihye wanted to use. This ce was a river.
¡°...To God.¡±
The moment she started reciting a passage, transparent ships emerged from every corner of Han River.
¡°There are still 12 ships...!¡±
23 ships appeared on Han River, scattering the water. It was a sight that made people speechless. The stigma of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare, Ghost Fleet. Despite the oppressive aura of the ships, Shin Yoosung just smiled like she had missed it.
¡°...Indeed. This is Unni¡¯s skill.¡±
¡°Unni? You are a lot older than me!¡±
¡°However, you still have a long way to go. The captain should be on the ship. Why are you in a ce like this?¡± Shin Yoosung reached her in an instant and touched Lee Jihye¡¯s chin. There was no time for resistance. ¡°Poor Unni. You don¡¯t know anything.¡±
¡°Shit! What is this speed?¡±
Lee Jihye hurriedly retreated but she couldn¡¯t escape Shin Yoosung¡¯s speed.
¡°You don¡¯t know. Yoo Jonghyuk will use you and abandon you. You will die.¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s de flew towards Shin Yoosung. Shin Yoosung lightly grabbed the de.
¡°You, who wanted to be acknowledged by Yoo Jonghyuk, died in the sea you loved so much. You were horribly ughtered by the Japanese who hated your sponsor.¡±
¡°Everybody, attack with full power!¡±
The 12 ships started firing the moment Lee Jihye shouted. Shin Yoosungughed as she watched the flying shells.
¡°Do you know what Yoo Jonghyuk said after losing you?¡±
The shells hit Shin Yoosung¡¯s body. There was the loud sound of an explosion. Shin Yoosung emerged from the smoke and kept talking.
¡°In the future, sea battles will be a bit difficult.¡±
The countless shells didn¡¯t damage Shin Yoosung¡¯s white fur armour. It was one of Shin Yoosung¡¯s unique skill, her strongest defense skill called Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity. The white fur wrapped around her didn¡¯t tolerate even a single scratch.
¡°Don¡¯t worry Unni. That won¡¯t happen this time.¡±
Shin Yoosungughed.
¡°I¡¯ll send you away without any pain.¡±
Chapter 103 - Things That Can’t Be Changed (2)
Things That Can¡¯t Be Changed (2)
Shin Yoosung¡¯s right hand quietly rose towards the sky.
¡°Cry, King Masswood.¡±
Then the ichthyosaur king behind her quietly raised his body. The king of the ichthyosaurs, the King Masswood used Ice Breath. Han River instantly froze and the ghost fleet firing their shells gradually lost their function. The fleet was unable to move.
¡°Unni, I will give you one piece of advice. The ghost fleet is nothing without water.¡±
Everything happened in an instant. Shin Yoosung¡¯s fist moved as well. There was the sound of something popping. Lee Jihye lost her sword and flew through the sky.
¡°Of course, it is useless to give the advice at this time.¡±
The bleeding Lee Jihye flew away and had already lost consciousness. King Masswood¡¯s Ice Breath had spreadpletely across Han River.
¡°Aaaagh! What?¡±
The incarnations crossing the cold water shrieked. The hundreds of people were destined to be frozen along with Han River. It was a person watching nearby who saved the helpless incarnations.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has used the stigma ¡®Great Mountain Smash Lv. 5.¡¯]
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s abnormally inted right arm hit the frozen river. His right arm seemed to burst as he used Great Mountain Smash to break up the ice.
His efforts were rewarded. The surface of the cracked Han River copsed and the influence of Cold Breath weakened. The incarnations took the opportunity to climb onto Nodeulseom.
¡°Wahhhh!¡±
¡°Attack!¡±
Shin Yoosung saw Lee Hyunsung standing in the middle of them and smiled sadly. ¡°Yes, Hyunsung oppa. I knew you would be here.¡±
¡°...You know me?¡±
¡°You were our most reassuring shield. You saved my life many times.¡±
Shin Yoosung gestured and the huge chimpanzee behind her hit his chest and walked forward. The 5th grade behemoth, Heavy Metal Bean. He stomped his hind legs and the nearby incarnations rolled around on the ground.
Lee Hyunsung rushed towards Heavy Metal Bean. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s swollen arm hit the Heavy Metal Bean¡¯s steel muscles. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s power was amazing. He wasn¡¯t pushed back by the 5th grade behemoth despite his blood vessels bursting and blood flowing from his mouth. No, he was rather overwhelming.
Shin Yoosung kept speaking to Lee Hyunsung. ¡°You are the same as ever. Hyunsung oppa. One of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s most loyal...¡±
¡°...Who are you?¡±
¡°You saved the lives of countless people and protected Yoo Jonghyuk to the end. Then you were hit with the breath of the iron blood dragon and scattered into a handful of ashes.¡±
¡°What...?¡±
¡°Do you know what Yoo Jonghyuk said then?¡± Shin Yoosung¡¯s tongue was a sharp scalpel that transnted the wounds she received onto another person. ¡°I lost a bad shield.¡±
Shin Yoosung saw Lee Hyunsung¡¯s changed expression and struggled with a solitary pleasure. ¡®Yes, you should feel this too. The pain I felt, the sights I saw. I won¡¯t unleash all of them but you should understand this too.¡¯
However, she didn¡¯t know. This round of regression was different from what she knew.
Lee Hyunsung hit the Heavy Metal Bean and opened his mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about but I don¡¯t follow Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I am in Kim Dokja¡¯s party.¡±
¡°Kim... what?¡±
The Heavy Metal Bean fell to the ground with a loud sound. Shin Yoosung¡¯s expression hardened and she approached Lee Hyunsung.
¡°What are you talking about?¡±
There was a popping sword and Lee Hyunsung flew through the air. Shin Yoosung had punched Lee Hyunsung in the belly. The ether storm pierced through Lee Hyunsung¡¯s solid skin and he flew to the middle of Han River.
The blow was hard enough to cause all his organs to rupture. The Lee Hyunsung of the third round would no longer be able to live. However, a question remained in Shin Yoosung¡¯s head.
It was a name she had never heard of before. Kim Dokja... Who was he?
Shin Yoosung tore off the heads of the incarnations rushing towards her and slowly walked towards the frozen river. The frightened incarnations fled and were torn apart by the ws of monsters. Little by little, despair filled the eyes of the people.
A sense of resignation spread through the incarnations facing the impossible disaster.
¡°Shoot!¡±
Of course, there were some people who tried to resist. The kings grouped up and used long distance skills to fire arrows and ether bullets. Shin Yoosung knew them.
King of Beauty, Min Jiwon.
The Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung.
The Neutral King, Jeon Ildo.
It was strange. They were those who originally shouldn¡¯t be alive or had already gone under Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s leadership. It was because all kings other than Yoo Jonghyuk should¡¯ve been incorporated into one throne at the end of the fourth scenario.
Then what the hell was this?
¡°Attack! There is only one enemy!¡±
Who the hell was this army under? Where had the Absolute Throne gone? Who was governing this world?
It was at this moment that she felt killing intent. The ground where Shin Yoosung was standing was frozen.
...Ice Breath?
She reflexively looked behind her and saw arge serpent pouring its breath towards her. It wasn¡¯t the King Masswood. She raised her right hand and the King Masswood moved.
Two ichthyosaurs roared towards each other at the same time and started to bump against each other.
The king and queen bit at each other, turning the entire Han River into a huge battlefield. An ichthyosaur the size of a dragon was fighting King Masswood. This ichthyosaur, Shin Yoosung knew its identity.
¡°...Queen Mirabad?¡±
She knew that the queen was on Earth but there was no reason to attack her. No, what was this?
¡°Are you the future me?¡± A voice was heard.
She looked back and Shin Yoosung¡¯s mind became nk. The nostalgic days shook her soul.
¡°Save Ahjussi!¡±
The girl shouted while a woman tried to stop the girl.
¡°Yoosung, no!¡±
Shin Yoosung recovered from the shock and noticed everything.
¡°Haha... yes. I knew it.¡±
Shin Yoosung moved towards the girl. She knew why Yoo Jonghyuk had done this. He was a human who would just any means and methods to achieve his purpose.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, you son of a bitch...¡±
¡°Yoosung, flee!¡±
Yoo Sangah simultaneously activated Hermes Walking Method and Arachne¡¯s Spiderweb. Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes narrowed.
¡®...Olympus?¡¯
However, Yoo Sangah¡¯s dagger didn¡¯t reach Shin Yoosung. Shin Yoosung made a simple hand gesture and the flying monsters gathered around the gate flew towards Yoo Sangah. In a sh, Yoo Sangah disappeared into a horde of monsters.
Shin Yoosung ignored Yoo Sangah and approached the little girl. The girl looked up at her with fear and anger. The girl wasn¡¯t able to move an inch. Shin Yoosung raised a hand to the girl¡¯s cheek.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk really did find the ¡®me¡¯ of this world.¡±
¡°Uh, ah...¡±
¡°He tried to kill the little ¡®me¡¯ to stop me. Right?¡±
A terrible joy filled Shin Yoosung¡¯s head. The faded hatred and anger quickly returned to their ce. There were some things that couldn¡¯t be changed no matter how many times a person went back to the past.
The ¡®disaster¡¯ Shin Yoosungughed. ¡°Hello, my past self.¡±
The moment her hand moved, a strong blow came from the rear and swallowed up Shin Yoosung. The dust rose and a giant praying mantis appeared.
¡°A 6th grade insect king?¡±
¡°Titano! Do it!¡±
The sickle attacks of the praying mantis turned the ground into tofu. It was a scary attack. Of course, it wasn¡¯t an attack that could kill a disaster.
¡°Get lost.¡±
The ether condensed in Shin Yoosung¡¯s right arm and drilled a hole in the titanoptera¡¯s stomach. The praying mantis spilled green blood and fell to the ground.
¡°Titano!¡±
The outraged Lee Gilyoung jumped from the head of the praying mantis. A yellow mucus emerged from Lee Gilyoung¡¯s body and spread into the air.
¡°Go! Antinus!¡±
A wind parasite emerged from Lee Gilyoung¡¯s body. It was a 5th grade parasitic species. Shin Yoosung was startled.
¡°...Antinus?¡±
Shin Yoosung knew this presence. It was because she destroyed Chronos beforeing to Earth. Antinus was the from the dominant species on Chronos. She was a monster in the form of a queen.
Shin Yoosung couldn¡¯t believe it. The child had dominated Antinus?
¡°You are better than expected, Kid.¡±
After her moment of surprise, Shin Yoosung grabbed the parasite in her hands. Antinus¡¯ mucus that was touching her fingertips started to burn ck. It was natural. The guides had bodies that couldn¡¯t resist the disasters.
¡°You have the talent to tame a guide. You are a child with the talent of a Lord. Right? He also found...¡±
Lee Gilyoung shouted without caring about her questions. ¡°What did you do to Dokja hyung?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Where is Hyung?¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s fist hit her belly. It was a direct blow but Lee Gilyoung was the one whose wrist broke. He was a great talent but the opponent was too terrible. Shin Yoosung grabbed Lee Gilyoung¡¯s neck and lifted him into the air.
¡°....Who is Dokja?¡± Blood poured down the struggling Lee Gilyoung¡¯s face. ¡°Say it. Otherwise I will kill you.¡±
At this moment, a booming sound was heard in the distance and shells fell towards the ground where she was standing. Shin Yoosung jumped lightly and avoided the shells. The Ghost Fleet started firing again? How?
¡°Gilyoung!¡±
She could see Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung running in the distance. Doubt filled Shin Yoosung¡¯s head..
It was strange. Surely those were deadly blows. How were they still alive? Did her strength control fail? Her?
Shin Yoosung feel annoyed and inserted more strength into the hand holding Lee Gilyoung¡¯s neck. In any case, it was better to ask them.
¡°Goodbye Kid.¡±
The moment she increased her grip, pain spread in her head. She was startled and dropped Lee Gilyoung to the ground. Her trembling right hand was wriggling abnormally.
Surely she wasn¡¯t infected with a parasite? No, it was impossible. A 5th grade parasite couldn¡¯t interfere with a returnee. Then what was this?¡± Why wasn¡¯t her body listening to her all of a sudden?
Then she heard a voice. ¡¸ Stop, Shin Yoosung. ¡¹
Strangely, Shin Yoosung found something deep inside her react the moment she heard this voice. One side of her heart started to ache like crazy. She didn¡¯t know it. It was obviously a voice she didn¡¯t know.
¡°...W-Who the hell are you? Get out of me!¡±
What was this nostalgic feeling? Shin Yoosung grabbed her head like she was resisting her own senses.
¡°You! Get out of me!¡±
She was filled with the desire to vomit as unknown memories revolved in her head. The films of the worlds were bing tangled together.
¡¸ Yoosung. ¡¹
She was distracted by the voice when the young Shin Yoosung approached.
The young Shin Yoosung¡¯s lips moved. ¡°Ahjussi, are you there?¡±
Chapter 104 - Things That Can’t Be Changed (3)
Things That Can¡¯t Be Changed (3)
Controlling the body of a disaster? I didn¡¯t intend on this from the beginning. Originally my n was something else. I decided to modify the n the moment my mind transferred to Shin Yoosung¡¯s body.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been activated!]
[The 1st person supporting role viewpoint has been activated.]
To be exact, I had to modify it.
¡¸ ...I can¡¯t admit it. ¡¹
¡¸ Then what am I? How long have I lived? ¡¹
¡¸ What can I get for returning? ¡¹
In the midst of Shin Yoosung¡¯s turbulent pain, I saw the world with her eyes. I breathed through Shin Yoosung¡¯s nose and killed people with Shin Yoosung¡¯s hand. I expressed Shin Yoosung¡¯s thoughts with her voice. I was Shin Yoosung.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking!]
Then I met Lee Jihye. I knew the moment I met her that Lee Jihye would die here. Thus, for the first time I tried something that I hadn¡¯t done before.
[The 1st person supporting role viewpoint interferes with the behaviour of the character.]
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking ominously.]
There was an electric current in my head followed by tremendous pain. Yet the moment Shin Yoosung dealt the decisive blow, I was able to pull back her right hand. It was a fine adjustment so Shin Yoosung didn¡¯t notice, but I definitely did it.
Lee Jihye didn¡¯t die.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has increased.]
The same thing was repeated with Lee Hyunsung. My mind had be a bit ragged but I thought that I might be able to do something. I poured more of my heart into it and increased my grip on Shin Yoosung¡¯s body.
Finally, it happened when Shin Yoosung grabbed Lee Gilyoung¡¯s neck.
¡°W-Who are you?¡±
I seeded in controlling Shin Yoosung¡¯s right hand.
[You have a very high understanding of the character ¡®Shin Yoosung.¡¯]
Someone else¡¯s arm moved ording to my will. It was an amazing experience.
¡°...Ahjussi?¡± Shin Yoosung asked.
¡°Get out of me!¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s right arm under my control starting shaking. The abnormally deformed arm turned ck and swollen, like the blood vessels were bursting. The young Shin Yoosung rushed to grab the ckened arm.
¡°Ahjussi, you¡¯re in there right? Ajusshi!¡±
The young Shin Yoosung grabbed my right arm. At this moment, a strong spark entered the right arm. It was a spark simr to a storm of probability. The surprised people came running but the sparks blew them away.
The ¡®disaster¡¯ Shin Yoosung and the ¡®young¡¯ Shin Yoosung saw each other at the same time. The wave of memories were gathering.
¡¸ ¡°Ahjussi.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Captain.¡± ¡¹
It wasn¡¯t possible. If the ¡®Disconnected Film¡¯ theory was correct, the two people shouldn¡¯t have a shared history.
¡¸ ¡°You... can kill me. It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°I wanted to survive.¡± ¡¹
When I thought about it, the Disconnected Film theory only applied to ¡®characters.¡¯ I came from outside the novel. What if my existence yed a role in connecting their memories? What if I connected the two films?
I could feel both Shin Yoosungs holding my hand. The third round and the 41st round. The two different times were facing each other.
¡¸ ¡°Is it worth it for me to live?¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Then what is the value of this life?¡± ¡¹
¡°No! This... these memories...¡±
The panicked disaster Shin Yoosung stuttered and bit on her blue lips. A mighty energy was being created inside Shin Yoosung¡¯s body.
There was the sound of something tearing and the young Shin Yoosung was thrown away from the right arm.
Shin Yoosung was damaging her own body in an attempt to get me out. Blood flowed from her and herbat power started to rapidly drop. The bnce of her flesh was being broken due to the excessive magic power.
¡¸ Shin Yoosung! Wait, stop this! ¡¹
¡°Aaaack!¡±
Shin Yoosung grabbed her head and struggled to expel me. I shared her senses and felt like I was going crazy from the nausea and pain. Shin Yoosung¡¯s mind was nk.
I was troubled for a moment. If this continued, the disaster Shin Yoosung...
Dammit!
.
.
My consciousness left Shin Yoosung¡¯s body and all five senses disappeared.
[The skill conflict error is normalized.]
[The dyed privilege of the King of No Killing has reappeared.]
[Your body is resurrected from death.]
......
Maybe this wasn¡¯t the right choice. However, I wanted to give it a try.
[A constetion who likes to change gender is sad.]
I would always regret it if I didn¡¯t.
[The recreation of your flesh has begun.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ offsets the mental shock caused by your death.]
[Compensation is being prepared for the Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3.[
It was my second resurrection after dying from the fire dragon.
I felt my nerves being reconstructed and struggled once again. The regenerated lungs filled wit hair and the optic nerves were connected, restoring my vision. The abstract activity of the mind was transnted onto the cerebral cortex.
[The privilege of the King of No Killing has beenpleted.]
[100 karma points have been consumed.]
[The wastes of your flesh have beenpletely removed and the performance of your body has increased.]
[Physique and magic power has increased by 2 levels each.]
[You have exceeded in overall stats limit for the scenario.]
Fortunately, it was the second resurrection and I didn¡¯t have an unseemly appearance.
I looked around and saw my scattered items and clothing. It was lucky that no one had taken them. I started putting on my clothes when I heard an eerie voice behind me.
¡°...Kim Dokja?¡±
Ah,e to think of it, that bastard was right beside me. I looked back and saw Yoo Jonghyuk staring at me with disbelief. His shoulders were still covered with the sulfur mummies¡¯ bandages.
¡°How on earth?¡±
I sighed. I couldn¡¯t exin about the King of No Killing here so I said something else. ¡°...Don¡¯t say that you will kill me again. I really will die this time.¡±
¡°Kim Dokja, you...!¡±
¡°I will exin itter. There is no time.¡±
I swung the de of Faith and freed Yoo Jonghyuk from the sulfur mummies¡¯ bandages. The sulfur mummies shrieked and stared at me. Then I activated Way of the Wind through Bookmark.
I carried the injured Yoo Jonghyuk on my shoulder and rushed towards the frozen Han River.
From afar, I could see incarnations fighting with monsters. There was a ck aura rising from Yongsang-gu, Seoul. It was for certain. The disaster Shin Yoosung was over there.
¡°Ahjussi?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
I found my party members running towards me. I put Yoo Jonghyuk down on the ground and ordered.
¡°Take a break.¡±
Then I ran straight towards the disaster Shin Yoosung.
¡°Dokja-ssi, it is dangerous.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I stopped Lee Hyunsung and moved forward. ¡°Shin Yoosung.¡±
The Disaster of Floods was sitting down while holding her head. Blood flowed down and hit the ground.
I was certain that the incarnations didn¡¯t dare approached because of the terrible aura she was emitting. Right now, everyone could kill the current Disaster of Floods if theybined forces.
¡°You... who... are you?¡± The disaster Shin Yoosung looked at me with trembling eyes. ¡°It¡¯s all ruined... because of you... this isn¡¯t the round that I know.¡±
The soul that hadsted over a thousand years was shaking with fear.
¡°No, not at all.¡±
The change began with Yoo Jonghyuk and then her spirit started copsing the moment she encountered the Shin Yoosung of the past.
She hated Yoo Jonghyuk. Her anger had umted over a thousand years. The strong emotions had crumbled at the memories she received.
Maybe this hope could change the world. It was the small bit of hope that the disaster Shin Yoosung saw. It might be very small but hope could overwhelm despair.
I approached Shin Yoosung and knelt down beside her. Shin Yoosung stared at me.
¡°Well done.¡± I kept thinking about what she would most want to hear. No such thing had appeared in Ways of Survival. I could onlye up with the words myself. If I was Shin Yoosung... ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time.¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes shook uneasily. ¡°...You have been waiting? Who are you?¡±
¡°A person who wants the same world you do.¡±
At this point, Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes changed drastically.
¡¸ I... ¡¹
Little by little, Yoo Sangah touched my shoulder.
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
I nodded and got up. Mypanions were looking at me. I looked at them and opened my mouth.
¡°Everyone.¡±
I liked the Disaster of Floods episode. I loved all the characters who appeared in this episode and valued them. Perhaps that was why I hoped for this episode to not happen.
¡°I won¡¯t kill the disaster.¡±
I thought about it. In the original third round, the Disaster of Floods died after the young Shin Yoosung was killed. However, I wondered if there was another ending to this episode that I didn¡¯t know about. It was an ending that had never been attempted.
¡°I won¡¯t ept any arguments. This time, I hope you will listen to my suggestion.¡±
¡°Ahjussi, what is this bullshit?¡±
There was no time limit for the fifth scenario. What if the Disaster of Floods gave up her role and what if we didn¡¯t hunt the disaster?
Perhaps this scenario would just continue without anyone dying. Some people understood while others looked confused. The first one who nodded was Yoo Sangah and then Lee Hyunsung opened his mouth.
¡°You must have an idea. I will follow Dokja¡¯s will.¡±
¡°It is fine if that¡¯s what Hyung wants. But can I hit her as much as she hit Titano?¡±
¡°Damn, do whatever you want. Since when hasn¡¯t Ahjussi done what you wanted? But is it okay?¡±
I listened to the party members¡¯ words and then looked at the young Shin Yoosung.
¡°I...¡±
The girl had tears in her eyes. Perhaps Shin Yoosung had seen it, everything that her future self experienced.
Thus, it was cruel to ask the young Shin Yoosung about what to do with Shin Yoosung. I stroked the child¡¯s hair and finally looked back at the disaster Shin Yoosung. She had a distorted expression like she was a wounded beast.
¡°You will spare me? Don¡¯t make meugh. Who are you to say that?¡±
The only thing she had left was her pride.
¡°I have lived through the 41st round of regression. I remember everything that no one in this world knows. What do you know? How did I spend that time? How can I forget all of that?¡±
The words of the future Shin Yoosung stopped. It was because Yoo Jonghyuk was watching her.
¡°...¡±
In this moment, Shin Yoosung realized the real meaning of what she said. Being lost among worlds. Losing her loved ones. Nevertheless, living in that world again. There was only one person in this world who understood her grief.
¡°Every regressor lives hating the things that haven¡¯t happened yet.¡±
Regressor Yoo Jonghyuk started talking.
¡°That guy will be a bad person in the future and I should kill him. That person will kill mypanion in the future and I should kill him. That person will be mypanion in the future and I should save them.¡±
I could read the emotions that ended Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes. Since I was able to read them, Yoo Jonghyuk felt strange to me for the first time. I had never seen such an honest Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°It is a future that hasn¡¯t happened yet. I know they don¡¯t remember me and that they haven¡¯t done anything yet. Still, I believed and acted like they did. That¡¯s how I lived. It is because everything clearly happened to me and I can¡¯t live by denying it.¡±
Anger returned to Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes.
¡°Yes! It is because you lived that way! Mypanions...¡±
¡°So you also live that way, Shin Yoosung.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°If you want, I will bear your hatred.¡±
I couldn¡¯t say anything because I was too saddened by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words.
¡°Survive this round for the sake of killing me.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke some final words. Perhaps this was the warmest that Yoo Jonghyuk could be.
It was the first time I noticed that Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s back was so big and wide. His back was wide and lonely.
Shin Yoosung stared at Yoo Jonghyuk with her mouth wide open.
Ironically, she understood the man who she hated for thousands of years due to all the years she lived.
¡°Captain... wait. Captain!¡±
I was able to feel the ripples in Shin Yoosung¡¯s heart.
¡¸ ...Is this really okay? ¡¹
¡¸ Keep going for this reason. ¡¹
¡¸ This world, you don¡¯t have to abandon it... ¡¹
Some anger hadn¡¯t disappeared and some sorrows hadn¡¯t been erased. However, as long as she lived, salvation woulde one day.
I told Shin Yoosung, ¡°Shin Yoosung, this is your ¡®round¡¯ now.¡±
I couldn¡¯t change anything when I was a reader. It was because I was a reader that I could change it now. I thought I could change it.
At least, until the voice of the intermediate dokkaebi was heard.
Chapter 105 - Things That Can’t Be Changed (4)
Things That Can¡¯t Be Changed (4)
[I¡¯m sorry but that¡¯s a bit difficult.]
I thought it was time for this guy toe out. It was the fucking intermediate dokkaebi. This guy managed the entire Seoul scenario and couldn¡¯t help moving at this time.
However, I was a bit confident. ¡°Why is it difficult? We aren¡¯t breaking the scenario¡¯s rules.¡±
[Spare the disaster? Are you insane? You must want to die.]
¡°No, it is the opposite. I am doing this to live.¡±
The voice of the intermediate dokkaebi became harder.
[Don¡¯t you know that this is a vition of the rules? The content of the scenario is to kill the disaster. If you don¡¯t stick to the scenario...]
¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will kill the disaster.¡± Everyone looked at me the moment I said these words.
¡°Ahjussi, what are you...?¡± In particr, Lee Jihye looked at me like I was a psychopath.
It wasn¡¯t strange. I previously said I wouldn¡¯t kill the disaster and now I said I would. Most of the party members were waiting for my next words. I felt a bit ttered by the trusting silence.
¡°Just not right now.¡±
[What?]
¡°The scenario doesn¡¯t indicate a time limit. Then it is up to us when we want to kill the disaster.¡± The intermediate dokkaebi looked like he had eaten Chinese medicine. ¡°Thus, there is no need to rush.¡±
The disaster Shin Yoosung looked up at me with a bemused expression. She hadn¡¯t known that such a thing was possible.
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is looking at you with strange eyes.]
The agitation of the constetions couldn¡¯t be felt. There weren¡¯t many episodes that rebelled against the scenario, even when I searched all of Ways of Survival. That¡¯s why it was of great interest to the constetions.
This was particrly true in situations where the distinction between good and evil was ambiguous. The number of subscribers from the absolute good or absolute evil constetions would rise in an overwhelming manner. It was their daily routine to discern the good and evil of the characters.
[I can¡¯t allow it.]
¡°Are you going to interfere in another scenario? Have you forgotten what happenedst time?¡±
[...]
My confidence came from the fact that this was a main scenario, not a sub-scenario.
It was also the fifth scenario that was scaled to engulf all of the dome, making it difficult for the intermediate dokkaebi to change the criteria of the scenario. In addition, the intermediate dokkaebi had already received disciplinary action from the bureau.
He must be afraid of being punished again and didn¡¯t have much chance of winning this fight against me.
I saw Bihyung biting his nails nearby and told him, ¡®Be prepared. If something happens, you are the only one I can believe in.¡¯
¨CDammit, why should I?
¡®Don¡¯t forget that we will die together.¡¯
Bihyung settled down and the intermediate dokkaebi opened his mouth.
[Very interesting. But it won¡¯t turn out as you think.]
Yes, I knew he wouldn¡¯t give up easily.
[Not all incarnation in Seoul Dome are the same as you.]
The intermediate dokkaebi flicked his finger. Then system messages popped up.
[A new sub-scenario has arrived!]
I knew what he was thinking. If he couldn¡¯t touch the main scenario then he would set up the sub-scenario.
[From now on, I will double the bounty on the disaster.]
The originalpensation was 100,000 coins and it was doubled, which meant 200,000 coins. It was an amount that could make someone rise to the top of Seoul Dome in an instant. It was enough to risk their lives...
For some reason, no incarnations came running.
¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±
¡°Cherish your lives. If you don¡¯t want to die like moths!¡±
The powerful kings were controlling the incarnations. They were King of Beauty Min Jiwon and Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung. There was also the Neutral King, Jeon Ildo.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is proud of the incarnations on the Korean Penins.]
Of course, there were forces that the kings couldn¡¯t control but they also didn¡¯t act. They had already seen the power of the disaster. It was natural that a small number of people wouldn¡¯t act, regardless of whether the reward was 100,000 or 200,000 coins. There was also our party covering the disaster Shin Yoosung...
[...How disappointing. The incarnations of Seoul Dome are cowards.]
There was an ominous feeling in the air. The intermediate dokkaebi was thinking about how to make this situation worse. I had to act quickly. At this point, I had to go for victory.
¡°Do you yield? Honestly, won¡¯t everyone be satisfied?¡±
[Everyone will be satisfied?]
I didn¡¯t say anything else. I¡¯m sure the intermediate dokkaebi understood without me saying anything.
[Haha, I see. Is that what you were thinking? I heard from Dokgak but you truly put on a great show.]
The reason for the existence of the dokkaebis was the scenarios. They were the scenarios that many constetions responded to and many constetions liked.
In the world of the Star Stream, there was only one case where there was a miracle that reversed the scenario. It was if the majority of constetions saw the scenario and wanted to change the direction of the scenario.
[...Certainly, violence isn¡¯t the only stimulus.]
I tried to appeal to the constetions with disaster Shin Yoosung¡¯s situation. I chose words to avoid the filtering and continued to ignite the constetions by exposing information. I made them sympathize with the disaster Shin Yoosung.
It was all to support my rebellion. As a result, this whole situation was created. Indeed, I could hear the messages of the constetions in my ears.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ respects your will.]
[The constetion ¡®Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol¡¯ admires your will.]
Everything was going as nned.
¡°If you understand then can you decide now? Give me the reward or continue with the fifth scenario.¡±
There was no problem with continuing the sixth scenario even if the fifth scenario hadn¡¯t ended. It was possible to run multiple main scenarios. If the dokkaebi was smart then he should stop while the constetions were satisfied.
[Incarnation Kim Dokja. You are the smartest and scariest out of all the incarnations I know.]
I felt a strange sense of incongruity from the dokkaebi¡¯s expression.
[However, it is this cleverness that is grabbing at your ankles.]
¡°...What does that mean?¡±
The dokkaebi¡¯s following words weren¡¯t for me.
[Okay Constetions. Now I will show you the story you have been waiting for.]
Sparks filled the air. The intermediate dokkaebi was moving the scenario.
[The intermediate dokkaebi has intervened in the scenario.]
[ording to the scenario contract, control of the ¡®Disaster of Floods Shin Yoosung¡¯ has been transferred to the intermediate dokkaebi.]
Shin Yoosung¡¯s expression started to change at the system messages.
¡°N-No. Wait. I... aaaack!¡±
A ck aura rose from disaster Shin Yoosung¡¯s body. I hurriedly shouted, ¡°Wait! What are you doing?¡±
[I am fulfilling the contract. This is a cog in the scenario.]
I only realized now what he was trying to do. It was the scenario enforcement right. It was the power to control the fate of all ¡®parts¡¯ involved in the scenario. I knew it existed in Ways of Survival but I didn¡¯t think it would be used immediately.
[The personality of the character is forcibly changed.]
[The personality of the character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ will be fixed to ¡®evil.¡¯]
The disaster Shin Yoosung was bing a monster. I bit my lip. The scenario enforcement generally wasn¡¯t used because the dokkaebi consumed a lot of probability. But to use it now...
[Many constetions are cheering the development of the scenario.]
[Many constetions hate your new drama.]
It could only be used if many constetions agreed to this development. Dammit, why?
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Hyung!¡±
The party members nervously approached my side. They realized that something was wrong. However, I couldn¡¯t understand. Why had the constetions suddenly turned their backs on me?
Bihyung¡¯s expression was dark as he looked at the sky.
¨CSorry, I tried to persuade them but it didn¡¯t work.
¡®Why...¡¯
¨CYour reputation is worse than you expected.
The intermediate dokkaebi said, [Arrogant incarnation. Do you think the constetion would be that easy?]
...Then what about all the favourable indirect messages?
[Well, humans originally have the habit of believing what they want to believe.
I had misjudged due to the indirect messages that popped up one after another.
[Many constetions areughing at your decision.]
[Some constetions have withdrawn their support for you.]
That¡¯s right. Not all constetions sent indirect messages. Only a small number of constetions sent messages.
[Many constetions are wary of your intentions.]
It might be natural that public opinion was bad towards me. I cheated them through a trick and canceled the event. The constetions probably already knew that Bihyung¡¯s channel had a capacity of 9,999. They knew but had been deceived by my scenario. Now they were no longer fooled.
[The constetions of the Korean Penins are looking at you sadly.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at you withpassion.]
Maybe I was too shallow when I thought about the constetions.
[It seems like your luck ends here, Incarnation Kim Dokja.]
¡°Ahhhhh!¡±
A disturbing aura flowed from the body of Shin Yoosung who had been forced to be evil. It was a killing intent that felt like it could melt flesh. The incarnations screamed and fled. I could see Yoo Jonghyuk pulling out Heaven Shaking Sword in the distance.
[I hope you show a good scenario to the end.]
I slowly withdrew from the disaster. Shin Yoosung¡¯s face distorted sadly. It ended up like this. I quickly nced at Yoo Jonghyuk. Things had turned out this way and it was obvious what choice he would make.
¡°Wait a minute, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°You have failed.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t touch the child.¡± I hid the young Shin Yoosung behind my back. ¡°I won¡¯t forgive you if you touch this child.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk red at me. ¡°There is no other way.¡±
A way... I bit my lips until they bled.
¡°There is a way. We need to show the constetions their favourite scenario.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°Defeat the disaster.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°It is suicide Kim Dokja. Are you going to be a pushover?¡±
I saw Shin Yoosung turning into a demon and destroying everything around her. I didn¡¯t want it to be like this. This wasn¡¯t the ending I wanted. This damn world, even resisting a scenario became another scenario.
[Many constetions are excited by your words.]
[Many of the constetions want an exhrating melee.]
Yes, they wanted to see this.
¡°Support me Yoo Jonghyuk. I will stop the disaster.¡±
I had to give it a try.
¡°Kim Dokja, you...¡±
¡°I can do it.¡±
I blinked slowly and the option I had postponed emerged in front of me.
[You have experienced the first person supporting role viewpoint.]
[You can take one of the supporting role¡¯s skills.]
[Presenting the list of avable skills.]
[Please select a skill to acquire.]
I opened the list and picked an option without hesitation.
¡°No. 3, Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity.¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity¡¯ has been acquired!]
As if waiting, an ether storm emerged from disaster Shin Yoosung¡¯s hands. It was the ether storm that made a hole in my belly and made Yoo Jonghyuk incapable of fighting.
I protected my party members and received the storm head on.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity Lv. 3¡¯ has been activated.]
A pure white fur cloak. It was a unique skill of Beast Lord Shin Yoosung. More than half of my magic power was consumed activating it and I became dizzy, but I seeded in receiving the attack of Shin Yoosung. The dignity of Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity didn¡¯t lose to the mighty storm.
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned. ¡°You stole her skill but it is still impossible.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
I looked at disaster Shin Yoosung. Despite her nature being set to evil and losing control of her body, her eyes were filled with emotions. She told him.
¡¸ ...It¡¯s okay. Kill me. ¡¹
Who could swing a sword after seeing those eyes? The woman who wandered for over a thousand years and suffered. I had to kill her now.
This was the price I paid for failing to change the story... For the first time, I felt resentful that Ways of Survival had be reality.
¡°Open your eyes and watch carefully.¡± I looked up at the sky and dered. ¡°This is the scenario you wanted.¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ can now be activated.]
Now that Shin Yoosung was in her final phase, it was an unwinnable fight. In the end, it was a fight that no one could win.
[¡®Character Bookmarks¡¯ is activated.]
[Avable Bookmark Slots: 4]
[Bringing up the list of avable bookmarks.]
¡°I will release Delusion Demon Kim Namwoon from the 1st slot and add Judge of Destruction Jung Heewon.¡±
Chapter 106 - Things That Can’t Be Changed (5)
Things That Can¡¯t Be Changed (5)
[The level of the Bookmark skill is low, shortening the activation time.]
[Activation Time: 30 minutes]
[Your understanding of the character is significant. You can select some of her skills to import.]
Shin Yoosung ran towards me and I ran towards her. No one wanted to kill each other and there was no sincerity. This was only a fight for the constetions¡¯ amusement. Everything was a scenario and therefore everything was fake. However, the result of this battle was that someone was going to die.
[¡¯Judgment Time Lv. 5¡¯ has been activated.]
The activation skill was level 5. It seemed that Jung Heewon had been training hard. Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t here but it wasn¡¯t bad.
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is embarrassed.]
[The constetions of the Absolute Good system are deep in thought.]
It was natural to be confused since someone who wasn¡¯t a judge had used an unauthorized skill. Yet they were bound to give me permission. It was because the presence in front of me was obviously evil.
[The Absolute Good constetions have agreed to the use of this skill.]
A hot aura sprang up from deep inside my body. It was a blind sense of righteousness that would punish all evils in the world. The history of the archangels who fought a holy war with the great demons passed through my head in pieces.
¨CPunish evil.
Judgment Time was originally a skill used by the great valkyries. Thus, the user of this skill received the archangels¡¯ favour.
The madness that excluded everything other than the narrow definition of justice wriggled in my brain. Jung Heewon felt like this every time she killed other people for me. It was terrible.
A wave of unrivaled magic power burst out from the de of Faith. The ether de resonated and moved in a straight line towards Shin Yoosung.
Blood sshed from the shoulder of the surprised Shin Yoosung. The Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity that wasn¡¯t damaged by the shells of the Ghost Fleet was finally torn. Drops of blood fell onto the white fur.
Judgement Time. The user of this skill couldn¡¯t be defeated as long as the enemy was ¡®evil.¡¯
Now all my stats rose to the point where I could resist the disaster Shin Yoosung. Judgment Time was a fraudulent skill. There were only a few skills in all of Ways of Survival that could give such crazy buffs.
¡°Everyone attack!¡±
I might¡¯ve be stronger but Shin Yoosung¡¯s skill masteries were still ahead of me. Thus, I needed help.
¡°When she is attacking normally, support using ranged attacks. When trying a wide range attack, be sure to get behind me!¡±
The party members nodded at my words.
¡°If you don¡¯t have ranged support then kill the monsters emerging from the Monster Gate. It is urgent as well.¡±
In fact, it was because monsters were still emerging from Shin Yoosung¡¯s Monster Gate that Yongsan-gu was almost on the verge of copse.
¡°Everyone fight!¡±
The kings ordered and the full-fledged battle began. The forces of the kings blocked the monstersing from the Monster Gate. Most of them were 7th grade species and were quite daunting. Fortunately, the incarnations didn¡¯t seem to be greatly pushed back.
¡°I¡¯ll take care of that monkey.¡±
Lee Hyunsung ran towards the 5th grade Heavy Metal Bean.
¡°I will take Yoosung¡¯s king.¡±
Lee Gilyoung moved with the young Shin Yoosung.
Queen Mirabad controlled by Shin Yoosung roared and some of the insect kings¡¯ subordinates that Lee Gilyoung summoned rushed towards the King Masswood. The cold breaths of the ichthyosaurs poured towards each other and Lee Jihye stepped forward.
¡°Ahjussi, let the support firing to me.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll block her movements.¡±
Lee Jihye fired the cannons and Yoo Sangah made a trap with Arachne¡¯s Spiderweb, keeping the movements of the disaster Shin Yoosung in check. Of course, it was only a small help.
The shell bombardment barely damaged her and Shin Yoosung just tore apart the web. It was better than nothing.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk. Can you fight?¡±
Apart from me, only Yoo Jonghyuk could follow the movements of Shin Yoosung and endure her attacks to some extent.
¡°...Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk spilled blood on the floor as he stood beside me with the Heaven Shaking Sword. He might¡¯ve already used Recovery because his condition seemed better than before. There wouldn¡¯t be long until he received the bacsh of using Recovery.
I asked, ¡°How many minutes do you have left?¡±
¡°30 minutes. You?¡±
¡°I am the same.¡±
It was only possible to use Bookmark for 30 minutes. Thus, I had to end it in only 30 minutes. The ck aura flowing from Shin Yoosung¡¯s body thickened. It meant that her physical stats were increasing due to the evil energy.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°...It seems that she joined hands with a great demon to cross worlds.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s guess was right. In fact, now her soul was mortgaged to a great demon. Then that great demon turned her over to the damn dokkaebis.
[Hahaha, interesting. Very interesting.]
The intermediate dokkaebi sounded pleasantly surprised.
[The scenario is now like this.]
It was a battlefield were blood sttered and flesh was damaged. The destruction of Seoul Dome, which I wanted to prevent, was approaching with every second.
[Many constetions are excited by the battle.]
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Yoo Jonghyukunched himself quickly along with his words. Shin Yoosung puffed up and blew a breath towards us.
Beast King¡¯s Breath. It was an ether storm of destructive that wasparable to the 5th grade sea species¡¯ Ice Breath.
¡°Avoid it!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk invoked Red Phoenix Shunpo to the extreme and escaped from the attacks of the disaster Shin Yoosung. I didn¡¯t avoid the attacks like Yoo Jonghyuk and used Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity instead. I felt genuinely impressed with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯sbat senses.
The disaster was a disaster but Yoo Jonghyuk was a monster. It was only Yoo Jonghyuk who could resist the disaster without the Judgment Time buff. He was a strong, cool, ruthless regressor. I was relieved that he was currently on my side.
¡°Do it properly, Kim Dokja!¡±
¡°I¡¯m doing it!¡±
¡°Dammit...¡±
I just needed to approach and deal a blow, but it wasn¡¯t that easy. After several sessful attacks, Shin Yoosung became more violent.
She was in a berserk state and kept firing the ether storm. Her magic power might be depleted but I was barely able to withstand it with Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity.
Yoo Jonghyuk had dealt some blows but the damage hardly umted. How long did we exchange blows? It had been already 20 minutes when I came to my senses.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s physical strength dropped sharply and the magic power potions I drank like juice were running out.
Strong. I never thought I would struggle so much despite using Judgement Time. My stiff body creaked violently. The side effects of Judgment Time were gradually being felt.
[Hahaha! This is a really nice scenario. Constetions, don¡¯t you agree?]
I listened to the voice of the intermediate dokkaebi and moved forward with all my strength. The fur of the Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity pped like crazy.
My skin became ck from the ether storm. One step, two steps. I got near but time wasn¡¯t on our side. I wouldn¡¯t be able to do enough damage before the 30 minutes was up.
Then something happened inside Shin Yoosung¡¯s body. Her body shook like she was struck by lightning and her dark eyes temporarily recovered its senses.
¡¸ Attack me. ¡¹
The disaster Shin Yoosung was controlling her body with her will.
¡¸ Stop me. ¡¹
I didn¡¯t say it but I heard it.
¡¸ Protect this ¡®round.¡¯ ¡¹
I broke through the temporarily weakened ether storm and ran forward with Yoo Jonghyuk. I swung my sword and blood sttered from Shin Yoosung¡¯s body.
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is looking at you.]
I did my best not to show the worst performance.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at you.]
Shin Yoosung screamed as she was cut by the de and the storm blew Yoo Jonghyuk back.
¡°...Go, Kim Dokja.¡±
I pierced through the gap that Yoo Jonghyuk made. The de of Faith dug exactly into Shin Yoosung¡¯s shoulder without hesitation.
Magic power ran through the de and ripped through the Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity. Then Shin Yoosung¡¯s left arm was cut off.
Blood fell. I stared into Shin Yoosung¡¯s face. Just like in Ways of Survival, Shin Yoosung was smiling. I realized that she deliberately allowed herself to be hit by my sword.
[A number of constetions can¡¯t take their eyes off your battle.]
¡°Dammit...¡± I smiled weakly and the sword fell from my hands.
Shin Yoosungughed.
¡¸ Don¡¯t you look stupid? ¡¹
She grabbed me and threw me to the ground without any screams of anger. However, it didn¡¯t hurt. It wasn¡¯t an attack.
¡¸ Do you want to continue? ¡¹
¡°Yes.¡±
I swung my sword towards her and Shin Yoosung fired a breath at me again. It was like an answer to a question. We frantically damaged each other.
¡°it can¡¯t continue like this.¡±
My Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity was losing its effect because I wascking magic power. Judgement Time strengthened my body to the limits but it was just a temporary crutch. Blood flowed and the world spun because of dizziness. However, I didn¡¯t stop. The damage was definitely umting.
[Some constetions reluctant towards you have be curious.]
Go crazy.
[The constetions roaming the battlefields are paying attention to your battle.]
Make a lot of fuss.
[The constetions of the great battlefields praise your will.]
Just wait until the day I go and pull out your tongues.
How many more blows did we exchange? My weakened body staggered back.
[There are 30 seconds left for Bookmark.]
Some internal organs were damaged and a broken rib kept irritating my lungs. I did the best I could yet the disaster was still strong. The recovered eyes of Shin Yoosung were once again turning ck.
In any case, this Disaster of Floods seemed stronger than the original novel. The disaster Shin Yoosung looked at me with anxious eyes.
¡¸ It isn¡¯t enough. ¡¹
She couldn¡¯tmit suicide. The intermediate dokkaebi wouldn¡¯t allow her to die that way. This was the limit that she could penalize herself. I was also at my limit in a different way.
¡¸ How are you going to stop me? ¡¹
¡°Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯lle soon. The person who will stop you.¡±
From the beginning, I had no intention of killing Shin Yoosung with my own hands. It was impossible for Yoo Jonghyuk in his current state. There was still one person remaining who could kill her.
The moment Shin Yoosung¡¯s mouth was about to open, the ground around her exploded.
There was the distant roar of artillery. A woman dressed in a blue prison uniform appeared from the north. The monsters split apart and troops advanced to this side. A woman in a mask stood in the middle andmanded the army.
The King of Wanderers. I thought she had gone somewhere but she had been taking care of the monsters as she advanced from the north. However, they weren¡¯t the one I was waiting for.
I looked at a person who was running this way. The woman turned this way and asked, ¡°Sorry, am Ite?¡±
¡°Just a bitte.¡±
¡°Stop pretending. Aren¡¯t you still alive?¡±
The Judge of Destruction. 10 dayster, Jung Heewon was much more restrained than I knew. She lightly patted my shoulders and moved.
¡°Leave it to me and take a break.¡±
A red aura rose as she activated Judgement Time. It was much more powerful than the skill I stole. Jung Heewon was thest card I had left. If this failed...
Had I done enough damage to Shin Yoosung? Would Jung Heewon finish the job well?
¡°What are you so worried about?¡± Jung Heewon asked with a smile. Confidence that was different than usual filled her voice. It wasn¡¯t just Judgment Time that she believed in.
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is talking to himself.]
¡®The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ shows hostility towards Jung Heewon¡¯s sponsor.]
That reminded me, Jung Heewon had a sponsor. Who had she chosen? Shin Yoosung watched Jung Heewon with shaky eyes.
¡¸ You... ¡¹
¡°I roughly know the situation. My sponsor was making a lot of noise along the way.¡± Jung Heewon faced Shin Yoosung with sad eyes. ¡°Thus, there is no need to worry.¡±
Jung Heewon lightly swept her sword in front of her. mes started to rise from the ces her hands touched.
It was early in the morning. On a night where the darkness of Seoul was the darkest, Jung Heewon¡¯s de burned. The mes on the de were brighter than any mes I had seen. It was the holy white mes of a stigma that would punish all evil.
[Hell mes Ignition.]
I naturally knew this stigma very well. I remembered the description of the stigma from Ways of Survival.
In some cases, it was one of the greatest stigmas of Ways of Survival and boasted powerful destructive powerparable to the stigma of The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven.
Hell mes Ignition was the stigma of Demon-like Judge of Fire.
Jung Heewonughed coldly. ¡°I will finish this damn scenario.¡±
The archangel Uriel chose Jung Heewon as an incarnation.
Chapter 107 - Things That Can’t Be Changed (6)
Things That Can¡¯t Be Changed (6)
Jung Heewon ran forward. Her muscles were strengthened by Judgment Time to the limit and the Demon ying buff gave her a sharp edge.
Along with Uriel¡¯s Hell mes Ignition, herbat power was enhanced to the most ideal form.
The zing mes of judgment. They weren¡¯t judging Shin Yoosung. Even so, it was Shin Yoosung who would receive the mes.
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire is watching the battlefield with sad eyes.]
Jung Heewon¡¯s de dered the opening.
[The character ¡®Chu Wangin¡¯ has used Hell mes Ignition Lv. 1.]
The stigma was only level one but the hell mes burned through Shin Yoosung¡¯s ether storm.
The power of a great demon, the Beast King¡¯s Breath poured out but Jung Heewon didn¡¯t care. She just grasped her sword as firmly as possible and drew a line connecting the sky and earth. The Beast King¡¯s Breath turned to smoke as soon as it met Hell mes Ignition.
Someone muttered, ¡°Oh my god, what is that?¡±
Hell mes Ignition was a stigma that could evaporate the sea of a when it reached the final level. When the ¡®Messiah¡¯ appeared in the original novel, it was Uriel who opened the way in preparation for him.
The archangel feared by all demons, the great demons¡¯ enemy that was closest to a great demon.
Shin Yoosung nodded as she saw Jung Heewon rushing through the mes.
¡¸ I see. Uriel. You were waiting for this. ¡¹
The disaster didn¡¯t back down in the presence of the terrible archangel.
¡¸ It is enough to make an ending. ¡¹
No, she looked rather rxed. It was as if she had finally fulfilled her duty.
The ether wrapped around Shin Yoosung¡¯s fist and the mes that clung to Jung Heewon¡¯s de collided. Shin Yoosung stumbled and Jung Heewon pushed forward without missing this gap. No matter how good the ovepped skills, the powerful buffs would have a short duration.
Jung Heewon was well aware of this and elerated her attacks. The surroundingnd was affected by the holy mes.
Shin Yoosung persisted despite being long exhausted. She was like a seasoned actor ying thest performance of her life as she tried her best to live.
[Many constetions are excited about your design.]
The constetions that came over from Dokgak¡¯s channel were excited.
[15,000 coins have been sponsored.]
The hateful donations of the constetions rose sharply. Affection and hatred were just a moment of entertainment for the constetions. Unfortunately, the story thatsted a moment for them was a life for humans.
[The constetions of the Korean Penins are looking at you sadly.]
In front of the many watchers, I drew the ending of this scenario by myself.
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is focused on your choice.]
In the meantime, Jung Heewon had turned the Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity into rags and the mes of Hell mes Ignition were gradually burning Shin Yoosung. Injuries were also piling up on Jung Heewon¡¯s body. It was a close match but victory wasn¡¯t on the side of the exhausted Shin Yoosung.
Jung Heewon ignored all defenses and plunged through the ether storm, stabbing her sword into Shin Yoosung¡¯s belly.
A bright ze of mes surrounded Shin Yoosung¡¯s body. The holy mes burned at the energy of the great demon in her body. The ck auraing from her turned to smoke.
Blood sttered from the ce where the sword was pulled out. Shin Yoosung looked down at her blood like it was a prop on a stage. It was finally settled.
I suddenly saw the copsed King Masswood and Heavy Metal Bean. The Monster Gate had closed and the fight against the monsters was ending. I approached Shin Yoosung.
Control of her flesh hade back but her body wasn¡¯t normal. Shin Yoosung looked down at her body and stated.
¡¸ ...I am dying now. ¡¹
In normal cases, the Beast Lord wouldn¡¯t die from these wounds. The Beast King¡¯s Vitality was as good as Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Recovery. Unfortunately, she was hit by Hell mes Ignition.
The mes of hell were deeply embedded in her body, burning her vitality to extinguish all evil. Uriel¡¯s stigma was a fire that never burned out until all the evil was gone.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking!]
[Due to excessive immersion, stage 2 of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint will always be activated.]
The fire was inside her body and Shin Yoosung would never survive. Shin Yoosung watched me and smiled weakly. ¡°I¡¯m d to be here during this round of regression. It was good to hear Captain say those words.¡±
¡¸ It hurts. I¡¯m going to disappear like this. ¡¹
¡°Now I can die in peace. Something really might change.¡±
¡¸ I don¡¯t want to die... ¡¹
The omniscience was a curse. Knowing someone¡¯s heart meant always deceiving someone.
She smiled and stared up at the air. There was an intermediate dokkaebi with a stiff expression. ¡°I¡¯m going to die now. Isn¡¯t it okay as a drama? This was a great scenario.¡±
[Some constetions are nodding.]
[Some constetions areining.]
The intermediate dokkaebi was silent. Well, he hadn¡¯t expected this. The scenario waspleted but it wasn¡¯t as he intended. Now he would pay for what he intended.
I looked back and saw Yoo Jonghyuk approaching. He asked, ¡°Is she going to die?¡±
¡°...Perhaps.¡±
¡°You must becking hatred.¡±
This bastard was really...
Yoo Jonghyuk pulled out his sword. I was about to stop him from trying to kill Shin Yoosung when his Heaven Shaking Sword stopped. The cold de was supporting Shin Yoosung¡¯s head. Shin Yoosung said, ¡°Hold on until the end. I will die soon Captain.¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s thoughts flowed into my ears.
¡¸ There is something I want to hear from you. ¡¹
¡¸ Just once. ¡¹
¡¸ I wish to hear it just once. ¡¹
They were words that could never be said. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t hear these words and spoke nonchntly. ¡°I have something to ask.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
I felt miserable as I saw the anticipation on Shin Yoosung¡¯s face. It was because I knew her expectations would never be rewarded.
¡°Who is the great demon that helped you cross over to this world?¡±
She stared nkly at Yoo Jonghyuk for a moment beforeughing. ¡°...Captain is the captain to the end.¡±
¡¸ You don¡¯t change. ¡¹
¡°Tell me.¡±
¡°Have you heard of the ¡®Great Demon of the Horizon¡¯?¡±
¡¸ That is why I admired you. ¡¹
¡°I know the name.¡±
¡°If Captain¡¯s luck is bad, you will meet him soon. However, never fight him. It is almost impossible for Captain to kill him...¡±
¡¸ For a long time, a really long time... ¡¹
Her earnest sincerity didn¡¯t reach its target and I struggled. I wanted to say something. This stupid Yoo Jonghyuk, who couldn¡¯t hear the vivid voice in front of him. The moment I opened my mouth, Shin Yoosung¡¯s hand grabbed me.
Yoo Jonghyuk kept speaking. ¡°I will remember.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk turned around at these words. Then Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s inner thoughts were conveyed to me.
¡¸ I will get revenge for you. ¡¹
I trembled at the sadness in these words. I looked down at disaster Shin Yoosung. I see. This person was already aware of it. She didn¡¯t need to hear it to already know.
Something was pouring down from Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes. For the first time, I thought that Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint might not be omniscient.
¡¸ Goodbye, Captain. ¡¹
¡¸ Good job. ¡¹
¡¸ I¡¯ll leave it to you. ¡¹
¡¸ Rest. ¡¹
Only a few stray sentences were left as I stared at the two people. Their thoughts had definitely reached each other. I clearly read this story. Then Shin Yoosung started to scatter into ashes.
¡¸ Pretty... ¡¹
The young Shin Yoosung approached me and held onto me. What did she feel when she saw her future self disappearing? No matter how many books I read, there were some emotions I couldn¡¯t reach. The disaster Shin Yoosung smiled at me and the young Shin Yoosung.
¡¸ ...I¡¯m envious. ¡¹
The lower body of the disaster Shin Yoosung had almost disappeared. The speed of her destruction was elerating.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has closed her eyes.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is sighing.]
As the constetions watched her, I kneeled and grabbed the hand of the disaster Shin Yoosung. Shin Yoosung was surprised by my unexpected behaviour and looked at me.
I invoked Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity with myst remaining magic power. It was to pass on a gift to her.
The mysterious senses of the beast kings touched and for a short moment, Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul was connected to mine. It was a sensibility that only beasts shared.
The passing wind whispered something. It was a story that neither the constetions or dokkaebi could hear. The dying Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes widened like she couldn¡¯t believe it.
¡¸ ...Are you serious? Really? ¡¹
Fortunately, the message was properly delivered. Her chest had already turned to ashes and now she had no voice left.
¡¸ Why... ¡¹
Tears slowly filled her eyes. She tried to tell me something but the cold wind stopped her. The connected films of two worlds were breaking again.
The pieces that she was made of turned to ashes and scattered. Her eyes, nose and mouth. Her voice. The person who lived over one thousand years scattered into pure white ashes like snow.
The ashes like a trail as it disappeared into the sky. It was like a distant journey or even a dance.
I looked up at the faint traces drifting in the air. I couldn¡¯t believe it was real and the young Shin Yoosung held onto me tightly.
¡°Did she really die?¡±
I steadied my heart.
¡°Can¡¯t you change it? Really?¡±
Then she nodded.
¡°Ahhh. Ah...¡±
Lee Gilyoung grabbed my sleeve and wiped his eyes with it. Yoo Sangah was crying and I didn¡¯t know why but Lee Hyunsung was also tearful. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t cry while only Lee Jihye didn¡¯t know the exact situation. ¡°...Why is everyone crying? I am also sad.¡±
My forehead was cold and sleet was falling from the misty sky. There was no snow or rain. The cold sensation relieved the people. It was funny. Humans felt most alive when they confirmed the death of another.
¡°Ah...¡±
The people of Seoul Dome copsed once their tension disappeared. There were peopleughing, crying or feeling angry.
The donations of the constetion flowed here and there. The responses were different but there was one thing they all agreed on.
The ¡®Disaster of Floods¡¯ Shin Yoosung had died.
There was a frozen intermediate dokkaebi staring up at the sky. Bihyung, who had been watching silently, finally opened his mouth.
[Intermediate dokkaebi. The scenario has ended.]
[ How? This... ]
[If you don¡¯t do it then I will end it.]
A momentter, a message was heard.
[The fifth main scenario is activated!]
[Thepensation settlement is being prepared.]
Finally, the scenario dered her death. The future Shin Yoosung had died and the disaster was over. This was the conclusion of the fifth scenario. Everyone thought so and believed so.
.
.
.
To be exact, everyone except me had to believe this. From beginning to end, everything had to be a perfect drama. It was a drama that dered things couldn¡¯t be changed.
A tragedy that followed the constetions and scenario. This was the only way for the 41st round Shin Yoosung to escape from the damn scenario.
At this moment, the young Shin Yoosung¡¯s hand heated up.
¡°I will kill...¡± The girl¡¯s eyes were fixed on the intermediate dokkaebi floating in the air. ¡°That dokkaebi, I¡¯ll kill him.¡±
I was trying to restrain her when sparks flew in the air. The sky was crumbling and a portal was opening.
Two white dokkaebis emerged from the portal. The low-grade dokkaebis found the two dokkaebis wearing white armour and backed away at once.
It was natural.
These dokkaebis were people that all dokkaebis hoped to never meet. The bureau. They were the dokkaebis of the Executive Branch, responsible for investigating the ¡®probability¡¯ in scenarios. The two dokkaebis had a fearsome atmosphere as they approached the intermediate dokkaebi and arrested him.
[ ...Executives. What are you doing?]
An executive dokkaebi dered to the shocked intermediate dokkaebi.
[Intermediate dokkaebi ¡®Paul.¡¯ You shall be arrested for viting the Star Stream regtions.]
Chapter 108 - Three Promises (1)
Three Promises (1)
The Executive Branch¡¯s emergency arrest.
ording to Ways of Survival, an emergency arrest was only possible when a dokkaebi acted in a manner that severely vited the probability of a scenario.
[Intermediate dokkaebi ¡®Paul.¡¯ From now on, you will be led to the Executive Branch. You will remain silent about all scenarios and be deprived of all progress in the main scenarios.]
The expression of the intermediate dokkaebi Paul kept changing.
[You will lose the achievement points of all the scenarios you have built up and will be demoted to a low-grade dokkaebi after your punishment...]
[D-Demoted? Wait! Wait a minute!]
The intermediate dokkaebi Paul hurriedly shouted. He made an unfair expression and looked at the dokkaebis around him.
[A sudden demotion? Shouldn¡¯t you tell me what I did well?]
[Are you really asking because you don¡¯t know?]
Another dokkaebi of the Executive Branch asked. Paul hesitated for a moment at the dignified voice before continuing.
[I don¡¯t know. What the hell did I do wrong?]
He even had the audacity to move forward.
[Look at the constetions. Aren¡¯t they all happy? Didn¡¯t the scenario end brilliantly?]
The executive dokkaebi frowned at Paul¡¯s confident words.
[There is no problem with the probability. I used the scenario enforcement with the consent of the constetions and the constetion also...]
[...This is the problem with streamers. They sing songs of the constetions.]
Not all dokkaebis respected the constetions. It was because among the dokkaebis of the Executive Branch, there were some who had once been constetions.
They were constetions but they lost their characteristics and were forced to live as dokkaebis. They were the dokkaebis of the Executive Branch. Paul continued despite his customers being insulted.
[Your words are going too far.]
[Don¡¯t panic Paul.]
[You might be an enforce but I can¡¯t tolerate insults to my customers.]
Paul rode the momentum and continued.
[I can guess why the executives came here. It is probably because I used the enforcement rights.]
[The scenario enforcement can only be used when the majority of constetions support the probability of the scenario.]
[I¡¯m aware of that. Otherwise, there is the risk of a probability storm. But the constetions¡¯ satisfaction is high...]
[Satisfaction? Paul, look at yourself and tell me.]
Paul looked down at himself and he paled.
[T-This...?]
The space around him was filled with blue sparks. It was the forerunner of a probability storm.
[Why am I receiving a probability storm...?]
The probability storm was a punishment for going against the flow. The probability of the world now wanted to erase Paul¡¯s existence. The enforcer dokkaebisughed.
[The enforcement right is a power that demands the greatest amount of probability from a dokkaebi. Did you think you would be safe using this authority for such a crude development?]
[That, that isn¡¯t the case!]
[Paul. You have a chance to end the scenario without using the executive rights. It was a fresh development I had never seen before. Why did you stop it? Thanks to your brutality, an emergency was dropped on Seoul Dome¡¯s bureau.]
[T-That... no, wait a minute. I exercised the enforcement rights ording to the opinions of the constetions!!]
Paul looked around.
[C-Constetions! Didn¡¯t you agree with my development?]
However, no constetions answered.
[...Constetions?]
The numerous indirect messages from the constetions died out.
[Unbelievable... Why?]
All the constetions who supported his development had left the Korean channels.
The executive frowned. [You stupid fool. Can¡¯t you see that the constetions are gone?]
Many of the constetions who wanted to kill me and who instigated him had left the Korean penins inrge numbers once it turned into a ¡®drama.¡¯
It was natural. It was strange to keep watching when an unwanted development urred. In fact, Bihyung¡¯s channel lost close to a third of its subscribers.
The remaining ones were:
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at the intermediate dokkaebi ¡®Paul¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is chuckling at the intermediate dokkaebi ¡®Paul¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is mocking the intermediate dokkaebi ¡®Paul¡¯.]
......
They were all constetions who didn¡¯t agree with the intermediate dokkaebi¡¯s development.
[N-No. I can¡¯t be destroyed in this way. Executive!]
[Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t be destroyed.]
[W-What does this mean...?]
A glimmer of hope appeared on Paul¡¯s face.
The executive dokkaebi said something that turned off the lightpletely.
[You will be given a worse punishment than destruction. Our bureau received arge probability debt because of you.]
The executives will use Dokkaebi Paul¡¯s Redemption Code.]
Then the body of the dokkaebi Paul was forcibly pulled into the world. The intermediate dokkaebi Paul trembled. His true voice emerged because he lost his broadcasting rights.
¡°T-This is a conspiracy. It can¡¯t be like this!¡±
Then Bihyung spoke from beside him,
[This is why you didn¡¯t want to finish the scenario quickly.]
¡°Bihyung!¡±
In the end, Paul exploded. Paul held the Redemption Code and pointed at Bihyung.
¡°Executives! Arrest him as well. I have evidence that his channel broke the rules of the Star Stream!¡±
[He will naturallye along as well.]
Paul¡¯s expression brightened. However, the people of Korean knew that people should listen to the dokkaebis¡¯ words to the end.
[It is because he is the dokkaebi who called us.]
¡°W-What... don¡¯t tell me?¡±
The executive dokkaebi said.
[Yes, the dokkaebi who reported you is Bihyung.]
Bihyung briefly waved towards the red-eyed Paul. The executive smiled coldly.
[Dokkaebi Bihyung. He is a very good dokkaebi. Look at his humility. He has the integrity of a streamer who ignores everything and immerses himself in the scenarios. It is different from you and the dokkaebis who only wear luxurious clothing.]
Bihyung had a shy expression on his face. He didn¡¯t know that his poverty would help him in this way.
¡°N-No! That guy Bihyung is...!¡±
[Shut up.]
Paul screamed terribly from where he was tied to the Redemption Code. The executive dokkaebi kept talking.
[You have been punished twice before. This is your third time. You are familiar with the third punishment, right?]
¡°T-This is ridiculous! Do you think my superiors will allow this? You are making a mistake right now. If you touch me...¡±
[I will listen to your bullshit after going to the bureau.]
A glowing portal appeared in the air. It was finally time to say goodbye to the intermediate dokkaebi. Perhaps I wouldn¡¯t see him in the future scenarios anymore. Paul¡¯s eyes red at me. A me burned inside me the moment I met his eyes.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking due to your high emotions.]
The Shin Yoosung of the future had scattered into ash. She might¡¯ve been saved if it wasn¡¯t for the intermediate dokkaebi.
She could never return to her time but she might¡¯ve been able to live in this new world. The intermediate dokkaebi trampled on thatst possibility. That was why I opened my mouth. ¡°Wait a minute.¡±
He might receive the death punishment but I couldn¡¯t be satisfied. My words shocked my party members.
[...Are you calling us?]
The dokkaebis were surprised. They didn¡¯t expect an incarnation to stop the dokkaebis of the Executive Branch. The executive dokkaebi looked at me quietly and opened his mouth.
[That¡¯s right. You are the incarnation ¡®Kim Dokja.¡¯ Right?]
The other executive dokkaebiughed.
[Do you know this person?]
[He is a famous incarnation in this area. He is one of the strongest incarnations on the penins but he hasn¡¯t signed with a sponsor.]
[Hoh?]
I watched the leisurely dokkaebis and spoke to Bihyung through the Dokkaebi Communication.
¡®Bihyung. I¡¯ll give you 100,000 coins.¡¯
¨CWhat?
Bihyung¡¯s eyes widened.
¡®Promote me to a tinum member of the Dokkaebi Bag.¡¯
¨CNo, why all of a sudden?
¡®Just do it.¡¯
¨CShit...
I looked at the executives and rushed Bihyung. Bihyung sighed and started to manipte something in the air.
[100,000 coins have been consumed.]
[Congrattions! You have be a tinum member of the Dokkaebi Bag!]
Originally, there would be splendid special effects for the promotion but I asked Bihyung to omit it. Unlike the gold membership that could be obtained for 5,000 coins, the treatment of tinum members were different.
[Yes, Incarnation Kim Dokja. Why did you call us?]
The executives didn¡¯t know about my promotion and asked me again. These dokkaebis were really big and I was nervous facing them. They might¡¯ve fallen but some of them were originally great people.
I breathed lightly and opened my mouth. ¡°I am requesting the Dokkaebi Solo Meeting Right.¡±
[What?]
The executive dokkaebis were confused by my words. Thenughter soon emerged.
[Only tinum members can ask for the solo meeting right... Don¡¯t tell me?]
¡°That¡¯s right. Please check it.¡±
The two dokkaebis looked at each other again. They manipted the system to identify a few things and soon let out a cry of amazement.
[It is real.]
[How can an incarnation be a tinum member?]
¡°Aren¡¯t I qualified now?¡±
The executives hesitated for a moment before nodding.
[That¡¯s right. What do you want with the solo meeting right? The tinum qualifications allows you to meet with a senior dokkaebi. The appointment schedule...]
¡°I don¡¯t want that. The dokkaebi I want is currently with you.¡± I pointed a finger at the dokkaebi I wanted. ¡°I want a solo meeting with the intermediate dokkaebi Paul.¡±
Chapter 109 - Three Promises (2)
Three Promises (2)
The two executive dokkaebis nced at each other. How long did thisst? Then the two dokkaebis burst outughing at the same time.
[Kuk. Kuhahahat!]
[Interesting. Don¡¯t tell me...]
The smart executives seemed to have noticed something. Paul watched the scene with a puzzled expression.
[I will allow a solo meeting with the dokkaebi Paul.]
[The free solo time is 20 minutes.]
The executives of the bureau agreed to my request like it was interesting. I figured they would do this.
Originally, the executives didn¡¯t like streamers. They were closer to the ¡®subscribers¡¯ than the ¡®streamers.¡¯ The moment they spoke, a transparent dome formed around me and Paul. The original ¡®solo meeting right¡¯ was a space for constetions and dokkaebis to secretly meet.
[The solo meeting with the intermediate dokkaebi Paul has begun.]
However, the usage could be changed ording to the user. I saw Bihyung talking to the executives outside the dome.
Paul was trapped with me and revealed his hostility. ¡°Why did you want to see me? Do you want to deal some medicine to those up there?¡±
His body was still affected by the executive dokkaebi¡¯s Redemption Code. As long as the code existed, Paul wouldn¡¯t be able to use his own power as well as the authority of a dokkaebi. In other words, the person in front of me waspletely helpless.
¡°Don¡¯t bluff. I know your current situation.¡±
Paul winced and withdrew to the edge of the dome. Yet there was still a smile on his face. ¡°Haha, I see. I know what you are thinking. Do you want to get revenge for that ve?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°How funny. Don¡¯t you know it is a superficial human desire? Yes, you can try it once. I don¡¯t know how you found about the solo meeting rights but this is a ce where we can¡¯t hurt each other. No matter how hard you try...!¡±
I ran to him and punched him as hard as I could. Blue blood emerged from his nose and the person who couldn¡¯t grasp the situation screamed and btedly copsed. I told him, ¡°I can¡¯t kill you but I can beat you to a pulp.¡±
¡°Keooook! You dare...!¡±
¡°Yes, now your true nature is emerging. I don¡¯t want to hear those disgusting honorifics.¡±
¡°Heok, kuheok...¡±
¡°Is this the first time you are feeling pain? You must¡¯ve never been beaten up like this after living as a dokkaebi.¡±
¡°K-Kuhut! Kuhuhut...¡± Paul was still smiling despite his blood dripping down. ¡°You made a mistake just now. There are special rules in ce to prevent people like you from exploiting the solo meeting rights.¡±
Then the system message arrived like it had been waiting.
[You have injured the dokkaebi in the solo meeting space.]
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
These dokkaebi, they were really great. They prepared a penalty in case the constetions tried anything. It was a coins penalty. However, I was aware of the penalty and just shrugged.
Paulughed as he wiped off his blood. ¡°Foolish human. You are bringing destruction on yourself with your anger. Yes, try to hit me as many times as you like. The coins you have at the moment...¡±
¡°How much coins do you think I have?¡± Paul fell silent. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? How could I be a tinum member when I am an incarnation?¡±
I grinned at his shaky eyes. ¡°I have a lot of coins. I made a lot of money thanks to you.¡±
My fists descended towards the pale Paul. The damn scenarios I experienced so far passed through my head.
[Coins Possessed: 205,902 C]
I remembered Shin Yoosung¡¯s dying appearance. These were among the things I told her:
¨CThat dokkaebi, I¡¯ll beat you to death.
This was the first promise I would keep.
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
Once again, my fist moved and his nose was broken. I didn¡¯t say that it was someone¡¯s share. In the first ce, this couldn¡¯t be anyone¡¯s share.
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
¡°Kuaaak! A-An insignificant human dares...!¡±
Peeeok-!
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
¡°Y-You won¡¯t be safe if you do this to me...!¡±
Peeeok-!
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
¡°I¡¯ll kill you! I will surely kill you...!¡±
Peeeok-!
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
¡°W-Wait a minute! Wait! Stop...¡±
His frightened body curled up and I stopped my fists for the first time. For a moment, hope filled his eyes.
¡°Y-Yes. You thought well There is nothing about doing this here...¡±
I watched him hurriedly speaking with honorifics and asked, ¡°Did you stop?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°When Yoosung asked you to stop, did you?¡±
I quietly looked down at him. He didn¡¯t say anything and just looked at the ground. Then he raised head and stared at the sky. He felt resentment for the ones who made him like this.
¡°This doesn¡¯t mean anything! Your deadpanion won¡¯te back to life!¡±
My dead colleagues wouldn¡¯te back to life. He was right.
¡°It means something.¡± However, I raised my fist to the trembling guy. ¡°So what if she is dead. Shin Yoosung would¡¯ve done this as well.¡±
Peeeok-!
Paul¡¯s fangs protruded as he rolled across the ground.
¡°Lee Hyunsung would¡¯ve done so as well. Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung also.¡±
My fist mmed into his belly.
¡°Maybe... that bastard Yoo Jonghyuk...¡±
Mypanions outside the dome were looking this way.
Shin Yoosung was forming fists with red eyes. Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung were shouting something. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s eyes were red as he made a serious expression and Yoo Sangah was staring at me with wide eyes. Yoo Jonghyuk was thest one I looked at before ncing back at Paul.
¡°I-I am outside the scenario! You can¡¯t earn coins by doing this! It won¡¯t benefit you!¡±
Coins...
Yes, only the dokkaebis would think like this. Some stories would be coins. Some stories wouldn¡¯t be coins.
¡°Maybe that is true.¡±
None of the constetions had made a bounty scenario, nor was there a sub-scenario. However, this behaviour was meaningful. Nobody was making me do this.
¡°I¡¯m not intending to get any benefits from this.¡±
¡°W-What?¡±
Since the fall of the world, coins had be the principle behind every human¡¯s actions. They moved if the constetions gave coins and didn¡¯t move if there were no coins. Still, humans often moved regardless of whether there were coins or not.
¡°You don¡¯t know it but humans are animals that seek for the meaning of life through these things.¡±
¡°W-What...kuoock!¡±
I raised my fist and started beating him again.
Peeeok-!
The subsequent punches crushed his face, ribs and joints. I didn¡¯t have to control my power because there was no fear of him dying. One blow was the best blow. Every time bones broke, something exploded inside of me.
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
In fact, I knew.
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
I knew very well. No matter how hard I beat him up, it wouldn¡¯t give me anyfort over Shin Yoosung¡¯s death. The dead Shin Yoosung would never see this sight yet I still moved my fists. I hit and hit him again.
Peeeok-!
It was just like Yoo Jonghyuk. He kept repeated his regressions until thest moment, even if no one knew his cause.
[500 coins have been consumed as a penalty.]
Then the message of a constetion was heard.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is excited about the unseen development.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
I stopped punching for a moment and stared up at the sky. Even this was a story to the constetions.
¡°It isn¡¯t an act this time.¡±
[You have returned the 500 sponsored coins to the constetion.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is very embarrassed.]
Think of it as a free service. Now things would be good for me.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is interested in your actions.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is thrilled with your actions.]
I started punching again. There were only the sounds of the dokkaebi¡¯s skin bursting and intermittent groaning.
The constetions silently watched what I was doing. No one gave me any coins but I could feel them watching me. Sometimes, this alone was sufficient.
¡°U-Uhhh... I was wrong. S-Spare me! P-Please! Please!¡± Paul couldn¡¯t endure it anymore and dragged his body to the edge of the dome.
The wall of the dome made a faint sound but the executives didn¡¯t respond. Rather, they were pleased with my actions. Maybe they would be saying something like this:
¡¸ That coin making bastard. ¡¹
¡¸ Damn streamer scum. ¡¹
The executive dokkaebis didn¡¯t like streamers. The executives who evolved from constetions were good at fighting but had no talent in leading the scenarios.
Shortly after, Paul¡¯s body becamepletely ragged. I grabbed at his bloody neck. At this point, I asked what I really wanted to know. ¡°Where is Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul right now?¡±
***
Dead souls that were part of the scenario couldn¡¯t escape from the confines of the contract, even in death. It would¡¯ve been different if the contract itself had been destroyed.
The intermediate dokkaebi Paul opened his mouth after he was hit a few more times.
[T...That. I also don¡¯t know. You borrowed the power of an archangel and... our contract was destroyed...]
Indeed, it was like this. The dokkaebis had been handed the ¡®disaster Shin Yoosung¡¯ by a great demon. In the course of the transfer, the strings of the contract were created using the great demon¡¯s power.
Then Uriel¡¯s Hell mes Ignition had burned those strings. In other words, Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul was now floating around the world.
[Y-You. Absolutely, can¡¯t, regain,panion... Her soul, soon, thebyrinth...]
Paul finally copsed.
[The ¡®Dokkaebi Solo Meeting Rights¡¯ has ended.]
The transparent dome disappeared and the executives whistled.
[Oh, you are in terrible shape even before the disciplinary hearing.]
They nced at me before moving away with delighted smiles. I watched Bihyung hurriedly chase after them and asked,
¡®Did you get back the money?¡¯
-Of course.But didn¡¯t you use too many coins?
¡®I still have a lot left.¡¯
I hit Paul exactly 124 times.
[Coins Possessed: 143,902 C]
Bihyung sighed as he nced at me.
¨CI won¡¯t be able tomunicate with you after entering the bureau.I will keep the channel open so don¡¯t get into trouble in the meantime.Please.
I watched Bihyung and thought it was good. Without him, no one would argue with him from now on.
[The scenario error will dy furtherpensation settlement.]
The administrator of the main scenario hadpletely left the scene and the scenario development was likely to be stagnant for a bit. It should only be a day or two but that was enough time.
I looked up at the dokkaebis disappearing into the portal and recalled thest conversation I had with Shin Yoosung.
¨CDon¡¯t worry.You won¡¯t die.
¨CWhat do you mean?
¨CI can help you resurrect.I¡¯ve resurrected twice so it isn¡¯t as bad as you think.
In fact, I tried to avoid using this method until the end. After all, ording to the design, she must ¡®die once.¡¯ There was also no guarantee that she could revive again.
¨CI don¡¯t know how long it will take.If you just wait and don¡¯t give up, I will surely revive you.
If Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul had fallen in to thebyrinth of the world, it was almost impossible to revive her again. However, that wasn¡¯t necessarily the case. She would surely survive if I could regain her soul. The problem was ¡®how¡¯ to find her soul.
I suddenly looked back at Yoo Sangah. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul might enter a new world line but in the all, all souls escaped from this world through the ¡®Underworld.¡¯
I remembered some constetions rted to the afterlife. All of them were in a ce I didn¡¯t dare touch or were beyond my reach. Still, there was one person that I could talk to.
¡°Can you call the Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth here?¡±
Yoo Sangah hesitated for a moment before nodding. After a while, faint sparks appeared around her. It wasn¡¯t the previous method of directly descending due to the increased probability consumption but it was certain that Ariadne nestled inside her.
I opened my mouth. ¡°Olympus. I want to do business with you.¡±
The sparks bouncing around the area were rough. Well, ourst encounter wasn¡¯t great. This time, I had to make concessions. I took a deep breath before getting to the point.
¡°Let me meet with the King of Hell.¡±
Now it was time to keep the second promise.
Chapter 110 - Three Promises (3)
Three Promises (3)
I could see Olympus¡¯s answer from Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression. She became red and then paled. Based on Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes, I thought I was too hasty in bringing up the story.
¡°That...Dokja-ssi.¡±
I wondered what she had heard to make her hesitate while watching me. I felt sorry for some reason.
¡°Can you tell me what the sponsor said?¡±
Sparks flew from Yoo Sangah¡¯s body. Ariadne seemed to be running wild. I waited a bit until the situation calmed down. I hadn¡¯t realized the aftermath of the three questions and answers would be sorge. The sparks soon subsided and Yoo Sangah spoke in a mixed voice. ¡°The Father of the Rich Night isn¡¯t someone who can be easily met...¡±
The Father of the Rich Night. It was the modifier given to King Hades, one of the three head gods of Olympus.
One of the three head gods of Olympus, he resided in a famous ce that the ¡®12 gods of Olympus¡¯ couldn¡¯t enter. Hades was far too great for Ariadne to contact him.
I quickly thanked her. ¡°Thank you Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°By the way, Dokja-ssi...¡±
The smart Yoo Sangah probably already knew that the Father of the Rich Night was Hades. She had a vague idea of why I was looking for Hades.
The story of Orpheus, who visited the Underworld in order to revive his wife Eurydice, was a famous myth in South Korea.
¡°...Is it possible?¡± Yoo Sangah wondered.
As a rule, resurrecting the dead was impossible.
I was subjected to the probability correction of the King of No Killing effect, but in most cases, there was no such correction. It was the same for Shin Yoosung. If resurrection was possible then Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t have needed to regress.
Yet if I could somehow obtain her soul...
¡°I can¡¯t tell you the details right now. I¡¯m sorry.¡±
I didn¡¯t want to speak about my future ns in a situation where the constetions were staring at me. There were many constetions who disliked me due to the previous situation.
I threw the bait and now I had to wait and see if they bit. The important thing was to be patient.
I looked at the people around me and opened my mouth. ¡°Shall we organize things?¡±
Then my party members approached me one by one, as if they had been waiting. Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were with Lee Hyunsung, while Lee Jihye stood in a distant ce with a slightly sulky expression.
I heard the voice of a low-grade dokkaebi.
[I am the dokkaebi ¡®Younggi¡¯, who will temporarily take charge of thepensation settlement.]
He was a newbie dokkaebi and spoke in a slightly stiff voice.
[I will now settle the additionpensation for the fifth scenario.]
Perhaps all the higher level dokkaebis had disappeared.
[You have received the ¡®Ein Forest¡¯s Vital Energy.¡¯
People caught the small fruit that fell from the air.
[This is the most popr recovery item in the Star Stream. Even if you are seriously injured, you can recover quickly by eating this and sleeping.]
It was the first time I had seen such a polite dokkaebi and it gave me a feeling of resistance. Then dokkaebi talked to me and some other people.
[Additionalpensation for the key contributors will be given this evening. Thank you for all your hard work. I hope you cheer up in the following scenarios.]
The voice disappeared and I watched all the people holding the fruit. Characters I didn¡¯t know would be dead and some people would be dying right now. Still, we survived. The party members weren¡¯t sure to be grateful or sad. Once this happened, someone was bound to act as the representative.
I stared at them and slowly opened my mouth. ¡°Everyone, you have suffered.
The moment when nothing was decided only remained for a moment. Sadness was sadness and happiness was happiness. If we made decisions then at least these moments would remain meaningful.
¡°You really struggled.¡±
Relief slowly filled the party members¡¯ faces as I didn¡¯t say anything about rewards. They deserved it.
Lee Jihye was the one who spoke first. ¡°...By the way, it was really shocking Ahjussi. You looked cooler than Master for a moment? I acknowledge you.¡±
Then Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon also opened their mouths.
¡°...It was wonderful.¡±
¡°I felt refreshed.¡±
...These people, this was all they wanted to say to me? A wry smile appeared on my face as they started making a fuss. The biggest crisis of the beginning scenarios was over and Seoul was protected. For the time being, Seoul wouldn¡¯t be threatened until a few scenarios had passed.
¡°Dokja-ssi also suffered.¡± Yoo Sangah stared at me and smiled brightly.
Maybe this was the reward given to me.
There was the sound of something hitting me and Shin Yoosung ced her forehead against my side. Lee Gilyoung was somewhat disgruntled but he didn¡¯t say anything. I ced my hand lightly on Shin Yoosung¡¯s head.
...Yes, this as well.
***
In the evening, the additionalpensation for the main contributors began. There were three main contributors who received additionalpensation. They were me, Jung Heewon and Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The additionalpensation for the fifth scenario is a B-grade skill.]
Someone else might say that a B-grade skill as a reward wasn¡¯t right, but it was actually bnced. A low alphabet letter didn¡¯t mean the skill was useless.
In addition, the scenariopensation was in the form of a ¡®free choice.¡¯ In other words, I could choose the B-grade skill I wanted. There was a skill that was difficult to acquire among the B-grade skills and I had to get it.
[Do you want to see the list of B-grade skills?]
It was a list with tens of thousands of skills. I was able to avoid a difficult choice because there was a skill I thought of from the beginning.
[Do you want to receive the B-grade skill Lie Detection aspensation?]
I nodded and there was a faint glow as additional messages appeared.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Lie Detection¡¯ has been added to the skills list.]
I finally obtained it. It had been really frustrating not having Lie Detection...
I looked back and saw that Jung Heewon was having a hard time picking something.
I asked Lee Jihye who was next to me. ¡°Hey, do you know where Yoo Jonghyuk is?¡±
¡°Ah, he was going somewhere with Seolhwa unni.¡±
...Lee Seolhwa? Lee Jihye looked at me with pitying eyes, as if she knew what I was thinking.
¡°...Sigh, it isn¡¯t what Ahjussi thinks.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Really. I watched the whole time. It ispletely different from the two of you. I¡¯m certain.¡±
I had a headache. Speaking of which, it was certain that they were lovers in the second regressions but I couldn¡¯t remember in the third regression. Yoo Jonghyuk had a long road to walk. So where the hell did he go? Was it to pick up his younger sister?
[The sixth scenario will start in three days.]
A system message was heard. I think I knew what Yoo Jonghyuk wanted to do. The sixth scenario was when we finally encountered incarnations from other domes.
He was a restless guy so he probably went to get some hidden skills and items that he couldn¡¯t get in thest regression.
There were still some hidden scenarios in Seoul Dome. It was a bit upsetting that they would be taken away by Yoo Jonghyuk but it was better than he eating up skills.
Moreover, he needed to be stronger than he was now to make the rest of the scenarios easier.
¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I have a message for Ahjussi from Master?¡±
¡°For me?¡¯
Lee Jihye nodded as she grasped her sword and dered in a serious tone. ¡°Kim Dokja, the oath period is over.¡±
My heart sank. The Oath of Existence. I had forgotten about it.
¨CThen swear you won¡¯t hurt me until the fifth scenario is over.If you can¡¯t do that, I really won¡¯t help you.
¨CI swear.
We had made this oath. That guy... surely he hadn¡¯t left me alive because of the oath? Then I remembered strange nonsense.
¨CI won¡¯t kill you.I will hit you once.
I couldn¡¯t help gulping. Surely this wasn¡¯t his n? Was he going to learn a skill to hit me?
¡°By the way... what oath did the two of you swear?¡±
¡°Shut up.¡±
Yes, it would somehow be okay. Above all, I had the Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity used by the disaster Shin Yoosung. It was also level 3.
...I had Way of the Wind through Bookmark and there were also my strongpanions.
I met Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes as she said. ¡°You know that I won¡¯t help you against Master, right?¡±
¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting anything from you.¡±
Instead, I looked at Lee Hyunsung. I was really impressed when he told Shin Yoosung that he was part of my party, not Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s. Lee Hyunsung gazed at me with perplexed eyes before opening his mouth. ¡°That...Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°To tell you the truth, I¡¯m a bit scared of Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi.¡±
¡°...Ah, it¡¯s okay. I understand.¡±
Come to think of it, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s strength was because of Yoo Jonghyuk. Dammit. However, it was too early to be frustrated.
I also had Jung Heewon. She was someone who didn¡¯t appear in the original novel and I raised her with my own hands.
Then Jung Heewon scratched her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what this is about but I won¡¯t get involved in the fight between the two of you.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°I won¡¯t disturb the two of you... what the hell is this?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is making a loving smile.]
I suddenly got a chill down my spine. What was that angel thinking?
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is watching Demon-like Judge of Fire with solemn eyes.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has jumped and changed her expression.]
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡± I looked up with astonishment and saw Yoo Sangah smiling calmly at me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Jonghyuk-ssi isn¡¯t a bad person.¡±
¡°...I hope so.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure that he is a good friend.¡±
I heard Yoo Sangah¡¯s words and inwardly sighed. I didn¡¯t know why but I thought of Han Sooyoung at this time. Apart from me, she was the only one who knew what type of person Yoo Jonghyuk was. Well, she wouldn¡¯t have protected me even if she was here...
The scenario was over but I didn¡¯t know what she was doing now. We finished organizing the surroundings and collected items.
It becamete in the night and Yoo Jonghyuk still hadn¡¯t returned. Instead, Jung Heewon went to scout and returned with wee things.
I was amazed. ¡°That is still remaining?¡±
Jung Heewon had six bottles of beer and soju with her. She said with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s have a drink as a memorial.¡±
We set up a campfire and sat down. I quickly hit Lee Jihye¡¯s hand as she grabbed a beer.
¡°You¡¯re a minor.¡±
¡°...There are nows now. Why does it matter if I¡¯m a minor?¡±
¡°Drink cider with the kids.¡±
In the meantime, I took a quick swallow of the alcohol. Jung Heewon had red cheeks as she drank while Lee Hyunsung snored like a bear after drinking a few beers. He was weaker to alcohol than he looked.
¡°The mood...¡±
Lee Jihye secretly drank a few cups and copsed with a red face. Surprisingly, Yoo Sangah had already drank four bottles of soju. I couldn¡¯t see any signs of her being drunk.
¡°I¡¯m a heavy drinker.¡±
Come to think of it, I had never seen Yoo Sangah get drink at a work party.
¡°...It is hard to get drunk.¡±
There was sorrow in her words. Thepany had a few men who wanted to do something to Yoo Sangah while she was drunk. Maybe this was the first time she could drink while at ease.
¡°Isn¡¯t it okay for today?¡±
Perhaps it was because she was paler than usual that I looked away with shame.
There was a lonely moon in the sky and the cries of monsters couldn¡¯t be heard today. The other drinking groups around us were making loud noises.
I wanted to drink well in this situation but I also thought it was because of this situation that I had to drink.
It was a world where everything couldn¡¯t be endured without drinking. Then small sparks appeared around my ss. The surprised Yoo Sangah looked at me.
I nodded. It was a good thing I hadn¡¯t drank too much alcohol. The alcohol poured down onto the ground.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ wants to talk to you.]
Olympus had finally taken the bait.¡¯
Chapter 112 - Three Promises (4)
Chapter 112: Episode 22 ¨C Three Promises (4)
The God of Wine and Ecstasy. The only person who used such a modifier was Dionysus, one of the 12 gods of Olympus.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is humming.]
I couldn¡¯t hear the song but I could see the drops of alcohol dancing to an unknown melody. The bubbles moved like they had life, forming numerous notes on the ground. The notes repeatedly moved between me and Yoo Sangah.
Yoo Sangah looked at the notes carefully and opened her mouth. ¡°It is the puppy waltz.¡±
¡°Can you read musical notes?¡±
¡°A little bit.¡±
Yoo Sangah cocked her head and continued speaking.
¡°Why did Chopin suddenly appear?¡±
I didn¡¯t have a clue. It was strange that Dionysus knew about Chopin in the first ce. No. ording to the original story, he was someone with great interest in the musical culture ofter generations. It wasn¡¯t strange.
The notes formed a circle and then arrows that pointed towards the remaining soju bottles. Yoo Sangah wondered, ¡°...Is he telling us to drink more?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s drink.¡± There was no other way to interpret it. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, drink only a little bit. At least one person should be sane.¡±
I needed someone to protect my teammates if I became drunk. I could wake up Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung, who only drank cider, but I wanted to let them sleep well.
¡°Dokja-ssi can¡¯t drink well?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a strong drinker.¡±
I lightly tapped my ss against hers and drank the soju. The alcohol entered my body and made me feel hot. However, the notes didn¡¯t stop.
¡°...I think I should drink more.¡±
I drank a few sses in session. Heat rose from inside me and I could feel the redness in my face. The movements of the musical notes became more active. No, did it look more active because I was drunk? Yoo Sangah smiled. ¡°It is nice to drink with you. I was a bit lonely.¡±
Thus, I drank a few more cups. I felt a bit better as a mellow smell rose. I suddenly turned around and found that I was very close to Yoo Sangah. I had obviously been quite far away...
I was mistaken. The sound of breathing was harsh. I didn¡¯t know if it was my breathing or the breathing of Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah¡¯s shoulder lightly touched mine.
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
It was clearly a face free of makeup but it was hard to find any blemishes. Yoo Sangah slowly leaned towards me. Her face was getting closer and closer.
A pair of quarter notes and eighth notes danced intensely around us. My heart started to beat faster at the touch against my shoulders.
...Wait, something was strange.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has offset some of the drunkenness.]
The message popped up and my mind cleared. Yes, this couldn¡¯t happen in reality. Yoo Sangah wasn¡¯t such a person. It was only possible because this was Ways of Survival. I firmly held Yoo Sangah¡¯s shoulder and urged her, ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, stay alert.¡±
¡°Huh? Ah... ah?¡± The startled Yoo Sangah blinked. Her face turned red for the first time. ¡°I-I, what did I...?¡±
As expected, it wasn¡¯t Yoo Sangah¡¯s will. I was in a slightly miserable mood as I opened my mouth and spoke towards the notes hovering on the ground. ¡°Stop ying and get straight to the point.¡±
The notes all stopped at the same time. It was a serene silence, like the midnight festival had suddenly stopped. The alcohol bubbles fell to the ground and sparks flew. Then the bubbles formed one string of words.
-You broke the excitement.
I was a bit surprised by the letters written on the ground. A few words written in bubbles on the ground might not seem great, however it was extremely difficult for constetions tomunicated with incarnations in Ways of Survival. It was why the constetions used the dokkaebi channels to convey ¡®indirect messages.¡¯
In the first ce, spreading messages to Earth without the help of the dokkaebis was only possible among the highest-ss constetions and the consumption of probability was huge. The probability of the world was sensitive to nguage.¡¯
I heard a faint cry from the Great Hall in the sky. The god of this world had noticed Dionysus¡¯ existence. The fact that he delivered a message directly without going through an incarnation meant he had confidence in his backer... As expected, the 12 gods of Olympus were different.
I opened my mouth in a deliberate provocation. ¡°If you are so confident thene and talk to me in person.¡±
Then the string of words moved.
-I don¡¯t like those with tentacles. It is annoying to fight. If I go down myself, everyone will die.
In fact, I hadn¡¯t expected anything. Seoul would be turned into powder if the 12 gods of Olympus really descended.
-My mother died that way because of my father.
Yoo Sangah saw this sentence and whispered to me. ¡°...What does this mean?¡±
¡°Maybe he is talking about the myth of his birth.¡±
As far as I knew, Dionysus¡¯ parents were Zeus and Princess Semele of Thebes. Hera was jealous of Zeus and Semele and disguised herself as Semele¡¯s nurse, encouraging Semele by saying the following. ¡®Zeus might be a fake. Ask him to show you what he really looks like when he is in Olympus.¡¯
Semele was fooled and demanded that Zeus do this. Then she died from Zeus¡¯ brilliance.
Yoo Sangah listened to the story and cocked his head. ¡°Uh... isn¡¯t it a bit different from the story I know? As far as I know, his mother isn¡¯t the princess of Thebes...¡±
I was a bit surprised by Yoo Sangah¡¯s knowledge. I wondered if she had a level 1 degree in myths, not just Korean history. Of course, I didn¡¯t have such a degree.
The string of words changed like it was amused.
-Hrmm. You humans know me very well.
As Yoo Sangah said, Dionysus¡¯ birth myth was twofold. One was the version where Princess Semele of Thebes was his mother. The other version had Hades¡¯ wife, Persephone as his mother.
I asked Dionysus, ¡°I¡¯m curious. Which of the two versions is real?¡±
-Is it important?
¡°It is important. There is a reason I need it to be thetter.¡±
In fact, Jung Heewon¡¯s suggestion to drink was an attempt to lure Jung Heewon.
Dionysus was the son of Persephone. If this myth was correct, Dionysus could probably contact Persephone, Hades¡¯ wife.
-Rude human.
The string trembled.
-Still, I like rude humans.
In fact, I already knew which myth it was. Dionysus¡¯ story was mentioned in Ways of Survival.
-There used to be a human as foolishly brave as you. He was someone who yed the lyre very well. He didn¡¯t end up well.
¡°I¡¯ll be different.¡±
-I can open up the entrance of the Underworld. The Father of the Rich Night doesn¡¯t like me but the goddess of the Underworld will listen to me. However, it is very dangerous and there is no guarantee you wille back alive.
¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±
-Good. I like eager people.
I became nervous due to the excellent atmosphere. Dionysus was a constetion that I never knew what he was thinking.
-Keep this in mind. I can only give you 12 hours. If you don¡¯te back in that time then you can never return to the scenarios.
I became dizzy and then suddenly felt drowsy. I realized what was going to happen. Damn, this was why he made me drink.
I hurriedly spoke. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, wake up the kids.¡±
Perhaps these were myst words.
[A new hidden scenario has arrived!]
The moment I closed my eyes, the drops of alcohol seemed to beughing.
-I hope the Father of the Rich Night will listen to you.
***
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is guiding your soul.]
[You are free from the physical restraints of your body.]
Many colours passed through my mind and it was like I was on drugs. There was a sharp pain from my forehead and then a faint voice was heard.
[Who is this?]
[...Interesting.]
[The soul of an incarnation is walking in the world of the constetion?]
[You will regret it.]
The voice spoke negative words. Perhaps it was someone from Olympus.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated.]
The noisy voices disappeared like they had been muted.
[The soul of a living person has entered the Underworld.]
[The judges of the Underworld have noticed your presence.]
Once I heard thest message, countless traces disappeared from my surroundings. The world turned around quickly and my body sank heavily. After a while, it felt like I had reached somewhere. It was hard to move but I could guess what I would see when I opened my eyes.
The air of the Underworld was sticky. The sand at my fingertips were cold. Perhaps I was at the river of the Underworld that Hades ruled. There was Acheron River flowing towards Hades¡¯ pce and the Underworld boatman Charon would be waiting for me. And...
¡°Hey! Wake up! What are you doing here?¡±
Something dull hit my head and it felt like oil was being poured on me. I took deep breaths as I sat up. Someone fumbled at my body, grabbing my neck and lifting me up.
¡°A newbie? I¡¯ve never seen this face before.¡±
I had also never seen this face before. It was a man with a rough face and big muscles. The people in the surroundings were gazing at us.
¡°He looks fine? Check his body. He might¡¯ve brought something with him.¡±
¡°Hey, don¡¯t touch. If he fell here then he must be a mess. Have you forgotten the crazy person who came a while ago?¡±
¡°That crazy jerk was a bit special. Are people like himmon?¡±
I let the people to talk among themselves and looked around. It was a spacious ce where a hot heat could be felt. Judging by the infestation of ghosts, this seemed to be the Underworld.
Frames made of the metal of the Underworld were all over the ce and there were also furnaces for smelting metals. It was a factory-like atmosphere. The dead spirits were enved in the Underworld and making something. At first nce, it seemed like a giant robot...
What was this ce?
¡°Hey, are you ignoring me now?¡±
I ignored his words and slowly twisted his arm that was holding me.
¡°W-What? This strength...!¡±
I couldn¡¯t waste time dealing with these small fries. I decided to check the hidden scenario that I had received.
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C Scenic Walk]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A+
Clear Conditions: Avoid the eyes of the judges and return safely to the ground.
Time Limit: 12 hours.
Compensation: 10,000 coin
Failure: You will be forced to be a resident of the Underworld.
+
The scenario came out properly. The time that Dionysus said was urate. Then why was I here? I should¡¯ve fallen at Acheron River.
¡°T-This bastard! Daring to look down on us...!¡±
The big man was just about to punch my head when I heard a voice from behind me.
¡°Over there, what¡¯s going on? Did something funny happen?¡±
¡°U-Uwaaah!¡±
¡°Haha, let me in on it as well. Huh? I¡¯m bored to death because I¡¯ve been working on the Gundam every day.¡±
¡°Run away! Run away!¡±
The people surrounding me started to shrink back. It was like herbivores meeting a predator. I looked to the side where the voice came from. It was a young man with a slim body and bangs covering his forehead. The young man discovered me and moved towards me.
He peered closely at me and muttered with an aghast expression. ¡°...Why are you here?¡±
I couldn¡¯t understand his words for a moment. This person knew me?
¡°What? You can¡¯t recognize me? Have you really forgotten?¡±
The young man lifted his bangs and I recognized him.
...Dammit. Come to think of it, the Underworld was a ce where the dead came. I hadn¡¯t even thought about it. Of course the person I killed here woulde after dying.
¡°Ah, don¡¯t be so vignt. Aren¡¯t we both dead?¡±
The curious young man¡¯s eyes came closer. There was a mean and cruel look in them. I only saw him for a short time but it was an unforgettable impression. The man smiled. ¡°Yes, who the hell killed you? Please open your mouth. Huh?¡±
The person who died in the first scenario, Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon was in Hades¡¯ domain.
Chapter 113 - Three Promises (5)
Chapter 113: Episode 22 ¨C Three Promises (5)
I looked around and discovered what this ce was. Then I felt despair.
Damn, there was no doubt. This ce was...
¡°You don¡¯t have to be so nervous. I won¡¯t bite if you get closer.¡± Kim Namwoon told me and I sighed.
I was certain. It was Tartarus, the famous prison of the Underworld. I nced at the three-headed monster guarding the entrance of the prison. It was a cerberus, a mythical monster dog. Two of its heads were dozing off while one head was acting as lookout.
¡°That son of a bitch. It should be a 4th grade monster. There are even stronger ones downstairs.¡± Kim Namwoon spoke like he was a guide to hell.
He was right. This was how it was described in Ways of Survival. The strongest prisoners were trapped in the lower floors of Tartarus, meaning the size of the cerberus became bigger with each floor you descended.
Kim Namwoon chuckled and asked, ¡°What do you think of hell?¡±
I watched his attitude and opened my mouth. It was natural to be nervous when this psychopath had changed. ¡°I have something to ask.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Is there anyone else beside you?¡±
¡°There is Ahjussi.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not talking about me.¡±
I closely watched the faces of the ghosts passing by. There were no faces that I recognized. For example, the Disaster of Questions or people like Song Minwoo.
Kim Namwoon told me, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was the only one from the subway who came here.¡±
Hades¡¯ Underworld was just one of the myriad worlds. The dead incarnations probably went to different Underworlds ording to their beliefs or random characteristics. It was the same for Myung Ilsang and Song Minwoo.
I kept an eye on Kim Namwoon¡¯s expression as I asked, ¡°Has a young womane here recently?¡±
¡°Young woman?¡±
¡°She has white hair in an um... ponytail. She is really pretty.¡±
Kim Namwoon frowned for a moment before suddenly giggling. ¡°Aha, now I understand.¡±
I listened in case he had seen Shin Yoosung.
¡°Ahjussi, you died trying to save a woman?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°This is the problem with people like you. Dying because of love... when did you write this story?¡±
¡°Did you see her? Just answer that.¡±
¡°Of course I haven¡¯t see her. How can I see your dear girlfriend?¡±
As expected, Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul hadn¡¯te here. Perhaps she still hasn¡¯t crossed the Acheron River. She was a soul that came from another world. She would stay here for a while before being deported out of the world. All I had to do was get to her soul before then.
¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked.
¡°I was making something. Now Ahjussi is going to make it with me.¡± Kim Namwoon shook the ashes off his hand and pointed to something. ¡°It is that thing. Doesn¡¯t it look like a Gundam?¡±
I stared at it. The appearance resembled the figure of a giant. The huge weapon was finished off with a ck, glossy metal and it breathed slowly like a living creature. It was a weapon prepared for the most terrible war in the myths.
The Giant Soldier. Hades was already preparing for Gigantomachia. It was different from the 12 gods of Olympus who yed around, ate and fought using the excuse of preparing for Gigantomachia. Come to think of it, Hades was a constetion of the Greek myths but he wasn¡¯t part of the Olympus neb.
Then a loud noise was heard from outside the entrance. Kim Namwoon grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Come on. Come with me.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you see the managering? There is a ce where I am working. Go there and pretend to hammer. You have to move quickly if you are a neer. Understood?¡±
I knew this much. If this ce where really Tartarus¡¯s ve smithy then I knew something about it. That¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t surprised by Tartarus.
Kim Namwoon bit his lips. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±
I tried not to say it but I couldn¡¯t help myself. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any thoughts about me?¡±
¡°What thoughts?¡± Kim Namwoon thought about it for a moment before an eerie smile appeared on his face. ¡°Aha, are you afraid of me?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You think I will get revenge. Right?¡±
It would be abnormal if I wasn¡¯t scared. I killed the person who was a psychopath in the original novel, even more than Yoo Jonghyuk. Now he suddenly acted friendly with me. I was strange if I wasn¡¯t scared.
¡°Haha, don¡¯t be afraid. Is it necessary to be wary when we have both already died? I also changed a lot aftering here. I had a lot of time to reflect.¡±
I was speechless. The Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon reflecting was as impossible as Yoo Jonghyuk bing a girl. I knew it was a lie but I still activated Lie Detection as ast courtesy for him. In any case, it was a skill that I acquired to use.
[You have confirmed that the statement is true.]
...What? I was taken aback and stared at him. Kim Namwoon cried out, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth Why don¡¯t you trust what I am saying? Aren¡¯t I living in atonement? I am even thankful that you killed me.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°A meal is served when it is time to eat. I can sleep when it is time to sleep. I don¡¯t have to go to school and won¡¯t be nagged at by my parents... It is a bit hot but this ce is the best.¡±
He was talking about Tartarus in hell. ¡°Besides, I can assemble the Gundam if I get bored. Isn¡¯t this good?¡± He saw the Giant Soldier as a gundam. ¡°It is thanks to you. I¡¯m serious. Really thank you.¡±
This guy was really crazy.
[The character ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ has a favourable impression of you.]
Damn, I couldn¡¯t not believe it when these system messages came up.
¡°Thene this way quickly. There is no time.¡±
I was led by Kim Namwoon towards his workshop. His tools were ced along the workbench and I could see the metal that the gundam was made out of. It was a metal of the Underworld. I felt that this was a setting for this person¡¯s chuuni disease.
Kim Namwoon said, ¡°They¡¯reing. Listen.¡±
The cerberus started barking.
Grrrr...
My bones seemed frozen when I heard the sound. The administrator holding a whip and bat passed by the cerberus and entered Tartarus. It was a subordinate of Hades wearing a ck cloak. He didn¡¯t look as strong as the judges but it wouldn¡¯t be good if I was caught.
I stood and pretended to be hammering. Kim Namwoon was giggling next to me. The administrator went to a tform at the entrance and cried out in a scratchy voice.
-Tell all the ves on the 1st floor. There will be an unannounced inspection.
Kim Namwoon frowned and grumbled, ¡°These jerks are always the same. If they have nothing to do then an inspection...¡±
However, the administrator¡¯s next words shut Kim Namwoon up.
-There is an illegal intruder in the Underworld. It is said that the soul of a living person crossed Acheron River.
The ghosts had confused expressions. The administrator¡¯s words continued.
-If the Great Death finds out about this, terrible things will happen to you as well. This inspection is to find the impure intruder. It isn¡¯t a formal one so don¡¯t be nervous. Everyone stand in ce.
Dammit, the progress was faster than I expected. In this case...
Kim Namwoon¡¯sints could be heard. ¡°This is really stupid. Even if a living person came here, why would they hide in Tartarus? When someonees in, they can¡¯t go out. Right?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Ahjussi?¡±
¡°Uh, yes.¡± I replied one beatte.
Kim Namwoon watched me and muttered in a dumbfounded voice. ¡°I just want to ask you. Perhaps they are talking about Ahjussi...¡±
¡°Right.¡±
¡°Shit.¡± Kim Namwoon threw the hammer andughed. ¡°Wow, it is amazing that you are a living person. I have been talking to someone alive?¡±
It was an expression where he didn¡¯t know to be angry or amused. I sighed and asked, ¡°Is there anywhere to hide here?¡±
¡°Shit, you want to hide in a prison? If you can¡¯t find anywhere then hide in the gundam over there!¡±
I looked at the Giant Soldier. I really could hide in there. The problem was that it was already close to a ¡®living creature¡¯. I was likely to be digested if I went inside.
¡°Has that beenpleted?¡±
¡°Not yet. There is something wrong with the core. Are you really going to hide in there?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Good thinking. Ahjussi will disappear if you go inside there.¡±
¡°...I thought you wanted to livefortably?¡±
¡°I¡¯m only good to people who are also dead. I¡¯m sorry that we met when you are a living person. Ahjussi, you should die soon ande back again.¡±
Kim Namwoon spoke like I was in a terrible position. As we were talking, the administrator had neared this area. If the Giant Soldier had beenpleted then I could¡¯ve beaten the cerberus and going straight to Hades¡¯ pce. Now that was impossible.
[Due to the effect of your exclusive attribute, the memories from the books you have read will increase.]
I desperately searched through the contents of Ways of Survival. Yoo Jonghyuk had visited the Underworld in the mid tote regressions. What had he done at the time?
¡¸ ¡°Tell this to the king. I will take the Great Soldier.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die then tell everyone to get lost.¡± ¡¹
...Dammit. He was a crazy bastard. I liked it when I read it but it didn¡¯t help my situation at all.
Facing Hades¡¯ judges head on. This thing was possible for the regressor Yoo Jonghyuk. He had that type of power and opportunity. Yet I...
No, wait a minute. Why couldn¡¯t I do it like him? The direction of my thoughts suddenly changed. Of course, I couldn¡¯t really act like Yoo Jonghyuk.
However, there were many courageous ways that I could use. Why couldn¡¯t I be caught by the judges? Would I fail the hidden scenario and be a resident of the Underworld? No, perhaps the judges would see Hades¡¯ behaviour and try to destroy me?
I was a fool. There was no need to worry if I solved one issue. The administrator finally came to our workshop. I faced him.
Then the administrator asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±
¡°The one you are looking for.¡±
At this moment, a light shone in the administrator¡¯s eyes. The sharp sound of metal was heard from somewhere. I felt my body gradually freeze and my back was cold. If I looked back now then Hades¡¯ judges would grab me by the neck.
I resisted the freezing cold and opened my mouth. ¡°You should think carefully before killing me.¡± I didn¡¯t have Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s strength but I had something he didn¡¯t. ¡°If you kill me now, you will surely be defeated during Gigantomachia.¡±
The administrator¡¯s eyes shook and the chill subsided for a moment. I didn¡¯t miss this moment and looked up at the Giant Soldier.
¡°Tell the Father of the Rich Night. I know how to finish the Giant Soldier.¡±
A fearsome silence descended. The area around my neck was slowly freezing but I didn¡¯t resist.
This was a test. The ice came down from my neck to my shoulders and chest. I didn¡¯t panic. A little bit more. Just a bit more. Finally, the cold reached the edges of my heart. Suddenly, it stopped like magic.
Then a message appeared in my head.
[The hidden scenario has been updated.]
.
.
After a while, I was guided by the judge towards Hades¡¯ pce. I looked back as I moved away and saw Kim Namwoon behind the cerberus. I waved my hand towards Kim Namwoon, who stared nkly at me.
Stay well in hell, Namwoon.
Chapter 114 - Three Promises (6)
Chapter 114: Episode 22 ¨C Three Promises (6)
Kim Namwoon¡¯sst look remained with me but I hadn¡¯te to rescue him in the first ce. Besides, why should I save him when he liked Hell?
The legless judge climbed the stairs quietly, like a ghost. Some of the symbolic bodies along the way looked at me with interested eyes. Were they constetions who dwelled in Hades¡¯ pce? I didn¡¯t know. It wasn¡¯t all constetions here.
The judge seemed aware that I was drifting off and spoke without looking back.
[You will lose your way if you don¡¯t follow along well.]
It was a scratchy voice that made me feel ufortable. Still, it was the correct advice.
I looked at the judge before shifting my gaze to the ceiling and opening my mouth slightly. ¡®Hey, can you hear me?¡¯
It was a small whisper that the judge couldn¡¯t hear.
¡®I know you¡¯re listening.¡¯
This wasn¡¯t Earth but Hades¡¯ Underworld. I was curious. Did the dokkaebi channel work here? Then a faint voice entered my ears.
-...Yes.
There was a reply on the dokkaebimunication. It wasn¡¯t Bihyung¡¯s voice.
¡®Are you a new dokkaebi?¡¯
-Yes. I am the low-grade dokkaebi Youngki. I am temporarily serving as an administrator while Bihyung is at the bureau.
Dokkaebi Youngki. Perhaps it was the dokkaebi who dealt with thepensation settlement for the fifth scenario during the day. I got straight to the point.
¡®Why aren¡¯t you doing your work properly?¡¯
-Huh?
¡®The hidden scenario has updated but why aren¡¯t you letting me know the contents?¡¯
I came to this terrible ce and should at least getpensation.
-Ah, t-that...!
It turned out that this dokkaebi was a beginner. I could see how good Bihyung was at handling things. He just slightlycked intelligence... The dokkaebi was silent for dozens of seconds before stuttering.
-E-Excuse me...
¡®What is it now?¡¯
-How do I update the scenario?
I was speechless for a moment.
¡®Why is a dokkaebi asking a constetion?¡¯
-B-Bihyung told me to ask Kim Dokja-ssi if I¡¯m not sure of anything.
That bastard Bihyung made me an advisor?
-P-Please wait a moment! I¡¯ll ask another dokkaebi about it. Ah, and...
¡®...What else?¡¯
-I¡¯m sorry but would you like to receive the backed up indirect messages? It was the first time I was in this situation...
I reluctantly nodded. I never expected a day woulde when I missed Bihyung. Then messages exploded in my head.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ rejoices in your plight.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is excited about your adventure.]
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is wondering how you will escape.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ prays that you can return safely to yourrades.]
...
As expected, the constetions were enamored with watching me. On the other hand, there were those feeling admiration.
[The constetion ¡®One-eyed Maitreya¡¯ admires the Underworld.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is greatly shocked by the appearance of the Underworld.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ begins to doubt his religion.]
...
This was a spectacle for some constetions. Not all constetions coulde to Hades¡¯ castle.
[12,000 coins have been sponsored.]
I got 12,000 coins just from showing Hades¡¯ pce. It was a huge profit. This was like illegally filming privatend.
Some time passed. The silently walking judge finally opened his mouth.
[We¡¯ve arrived.]
The door opened and a huge banquet hall appeared. The interior wasn¡¯t visible because it was dark. The judge disappeared and the door closed.
A small light appeared in the middle of the dark hall. An oval antique table was waiting for me. There was a splendid statue that could be seen as a statue of the king. The table contained many dishes that stimted the salivary nds.
There was a woman looking at me at the end of the table.
[How interesting. A living soul hase to this castle. Furthermore, you also brought unpleasant observers... Today is a really special day.]
I immediately recognized who she was. In Hades¡¯ pce, there was only one existence who could upy the seat of the hostess. I bowed and opened my mouth.
¡°It is an honour, Queen of the Darkest Spring.¡±
Queen of the Darkest Spring. She was Persephone, Hades¡¯ wife and the famous queen of the Underworld.
[You know my modifier. You are a polite incarnation.]
¡°You¡¯re overpraising me.¡±
[The even more interesting thing is that your soul didn¡¯t shake when you heard my true voice.]
Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t feel much when I heard the truth voice of the constetions.
Persephone was a constetion that was at least narrative grade. Due to the difference between us, my soul should¡¯ve been damaged or destroyed the moment I heard her true words.
Moreover, I previously heard the words of Kim Yooshin, an upper-grade constetion...
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated.]
It was the first time that ¡®strongly¡¯ was attached to the skill message. Perhaps my unconscious mind saw this situation as ¡®unrealistic¡¯ due to the person I was meeting.
[Sit down, Incarnation Kim Dokja.]
I thanked her for the hospitality and sat across from her. Honestly, it was an unexpected favour. The aroma of sweet delicacies tickled my nose.
I looked around but only Persephone was sitting at the table. ¡°The king...?¡±
[The king is ufortable with your sudden visit. That¡¯s why I thought it would be better for me to talk to you.]
It ended up like this. I had expected it. There hadn¡¯t been a single incarnation who had met the three heads of Olympus. Besides, I didn¡¯t y the lyre well like Orpheus.
¡°Do you mind if I ask you a question?¡±
[You can ask.]
¡°Is this your true body?¡±
[Of course it is a symbolic body. My true body isn¡¯t something that a human like you can withstand.]
I quietly gazed at Persephone¡¯s symbolic body. She looked like an old woman.
...It was a terrible hobby. Honestly, I had to think like this. Persephone smiled softly.
[You don¡¯t like older women like this?]
¡°That isn¡¯t the problem.¡±
It didn¡¯t matter if she looked like a grandmother or grandfather. The problem was that she looked exactly like the ¡®grandmother¡¯ on the subway in the first scenario.
[If you feel ufortable then I can change to someone else.]
Persephone¡¯s appearance slowly changed into Yoo Sangah¡¯s image. It wasn¡¯t the usual Yoo Sangah. This Yoo Sangah wore a ck Chinese dress and a garter belt, with seductive eye makeup...
I turned red just staring at her face. Dammit, did she peep at my dreams?
¡°Just be the grandmother.¡±
Of course, Persephone didn¡¯t listen to me.
[There isn¡¯t much time so get to the point.]
¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±
[I heard a bit from my child but it has more meaning to hear it directly from the children.]
Her child must mean Dionysus. I nodded and took a deep breath before exining. ¡°I¡¯m looking for a woman¡¯s soul. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard but I¡¯m ready to make a trade.¡±
[Soul... it is an outdated idea.]
Her eyelids lowered as she seemed to think of something. Before long, Persephone¡¯s long fingers moved and she started to slice the steak on her te.
I patiently waited. It proceeded slowly. The fork firmly held the meat as the knife moved slowly back and forth, slicing the meat with care. The red juices flowed out as a clean section was cut. The fork carefully moved the meat that it had pierced.
Persephone made a face like she was worrying about whether to eat it or not. She seemed to have forgotten about me.
I was about to open my mouth when she opened her mouth first. Of course, it was to eat the steak.
[There is no such thing as a ¡®soul¡¯ in this world.]
Souls didn¡¯t exist. It was a matter that all modern physicists would agree on but the problem was the person saying it was a god. It was a god of Olympus, who had long defended the logic of the souls.
I said sarcastically, ¡°to and Aristotle would rise from the grave.¡±
[They are constetions right now so they wouldn¡¯t be in their graves.]
¡°I didn¡¯te here to y around.¡±
[I¡¯m not ying around. Incarnation Kim Dokja. The soul doesn¡¯t exist. It is just an illusion created by humans who want the continuity of themselves.]
¡°Then what about the people in the Underworld? Aren¡¯t they souls?¡±
She pointed to the steak she just cut.
[They are like this.]
The steak slowly entered Persephone¡¯s mouth. She took her time chewing the meat, like she was relishing it. Her red lips glistened enchantingly.
[Well, it is very special. Why don¡¯t you try it once?]
The same steak that she ate appeared in front of me. I looked down at it and said after a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
[Are you going to be rude?]
¡°Yes. I¡¯m really sorry but I have to be rude.¡±
It would surely be tasty if I ate it. There were at least 12 pages in Ways of Survival describing the taste. However, at the end of a long description, the following sentence was written:
¡¸ It wasn¡¯t until the end of the regression that Yoo Jonghyuk regretted eating the food. ¡¹
Those who ate the food of the Underworld couldn¡¯t return to Earth. Persephone seemed to read my mind andughed.
[The people of the Underworld aren¡¯t as terrible as you think. Most of the known theories are false. You can go out of the Underworld at any time as long as you have the permission of the king. It is a simr concept to a ¡®career soldier¡¯ in your world.]
¡°The military life was the most terrible memory in my life.¡±
[Is that so? Don¡¯t the males in your country say that they should stay in the army? That¡¯s why I thought it wasn¡¯t a big deal. I guess it was a misunderstanding.]
I didn¡¯t know why the goddess of another country knew so much about Korean mean. Persephone continued speaking.
[Incarnation Kim Dokja. You will be treated better than you imagined.]
¡°The person who advised me to be a professional sergeant told me something simr.¡±
[Did he rmend a steak like me? For example, the steak currently in front of you. Do you know what will happen if you eat it?]
¡°I can taste the juices of a cow.¡±
[You can be a ¡®sword master¡¯ right now.]
I thought I heard wrong for a moment. Sword master. It was a higher realm that only returnees who left this world could reach after hard work.
[The pasta next to it. You can be a ¡®great magician¡¯ if you eat it.]
...This pasta?
[The soup? It can make you a SSS-grade hunter.]
This... it was a wondend instead of a hell?
I couldn¡¯t help gulping. I could get power to ovee the current Yoo Jonghyuk if I just ate this meat.
[You still won¡¯t eat?]
I slowly moved my fork and picked up a piece of the steak. The moment my fork pierced the meat, strange scenes shed in front of my eyes. It was the memory of a man training alone with a sword.
¡¸ I can¡¯t be weak. I have to learn the sword. ¡¹
¡¸ I will strive to be stronger. ¡¹
¡¸I-I finally did it! I did it! ¡¹
There were only a few scenes. I was surprised and put down the fork. This wasn¡¯t a dead cow that I was poking.
¡°This is...?¡±
Persephone nodded.
[Yes. This small piece of meat. It is the soul that humans believe in.]
She once again ate the meat. I btedly understood why Persephone said I could be a sword master if I ate this. I stated, ¡°...It contains the memories of the sword master.¡±
[Memories? No. To be more precise...]
She paused for a moment to pick her words.
[It is a story.]
The sight of her licking her lips gave me goose bumps.
[It is the story that is the favourite food of all constetions.]
Chapter 115 - Three Promises (7)
Chapter 115: Episode 22 ¨C Three Promises (7)
I got goose bumps as I heard the words that came out of the constetion¡¯s mouth. Those who were crazy about stories ate the stories. This was the nature of constetions.
[Death is the end of the story. Just as a cow that has be a steak can¡¯t revive, the dead can¡¯t revive. Their story is finished.]
¡°I know there are exceptions.¡±
[They are false folklore. There are no exceptions.]
It was a lie. There was a saying for this in Greek mythology. ¡°Can you swear on the Styx River?¡±
She naturally couldn¡¯t swear. For the first time, anger filled Persephone¡¯s expression.
[...The soul you believe in is just a crude lump of a story.]
¡°I want that crude lump of a story.¡±
[A person who looks backwards in the Underworld will feel regret. You need to understand that the time has passed.]
If she was taking such a hard line then I had to use the trump card I had saved.
¡°Queen-nim. Time isn¡¯t necessarily about ¡®going forward.¡¯ I thought you knew that.¡±
At this moment, the world turned grey. A vast killing intent filled the whole hall. For a moment, I felt that I had seen Persephone¡¯s essence. My mouth didn¡¯t open but I wanted to scream.
Souls didn¡¯t exist? Wasn¡¯t it my soul that was feeling creeped out right now? Sweat dripped down my back as the killing intent disappeared.
Persephone smiled like nothing had happened. [Huhu... how interesting. As expected from the child that Olympus calls a singrity.]
Her small was subtly different from before. I could feel it without speaking. From now on, I could get to my goal.
¡°I know it isn¡¯t just that. I have seen the Giant Soldier in development in Tartarus. If you make a deal with me, you can shorten the time it takes to use it...¡±
[That is the story. Gigantomachia is an important issue but the Giant Soldier can bepleted on time without your help.]
I was speechless for a moment. She was a truly formidable goddess. It was Persephone¡¯s turn.
[However, I might consider this deal if you tell me how you know the information...]
¡°It is difficult. To be honest, I don¡¯t know how to exin it.¡±
I felt sorry for Shin Yoosung but this wasn¡¯t possible. My ns for the future were finished if I revealed this. Persephone gazed into my eyes to gauge the truth of my answer. Then she muttered in a strange voice.
[Indeed, ¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö...]
...What? The next second, the messages of the constetions exploded in my ears.
[The constetion Prisoner of the Golden Headband is doubting his ears.]
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯s eyes have widened.]
[The constetion Scribe of Heaven points out the Queen¡¯s rashness.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is immersed.]
Persephone frowned.
[The uninvited guests should stay quiet.]
I asked with a shocked expression,
¡°What did you say just now?¡±
[Ah, it isn¡¯t a big deal.]
I was really confused.
...¡ö¡ö¡ö?
I couldn¡¯t pronounce it properly but her words sounded like filtered information. It generally happened with information not made public yet in the scenario. However, the filtering wasn¡¯t triggered if a person already knew the information.
It didn¡¯t make sense. There was information I didn¡¯t know despite reading all of Ways of Survival? No, maybe...
[I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯ll end the entertainment here. I have no reason to make the deal with you. I can use other methods to find out your information.]]
The light reflected in a creepy manner off the knife. I didn¡¯t feel like knowing why.
[I keep thinking this but... you look delicious.]
Persephone suddenly approached and grabbed my chin. I refrained from pushing back my chair and smiled.
¡°Will you be able to handle the storm that will ur if you harm an incarnation in the middle of the scenario?¡±
[Hrmm. You are disrespectful. Do you think I can¡¯t afford this probability?]
¡°The constetions watching me also won¡¯t tolerate it.¡±
Persephoneughed. [Do you think the king will be afraid of such trivial constetions?]
Of course, Hades deserved to be this arrogant. Still, the word ¡®trivial¡¯ shouldn¡¯t be used in such a way.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ swings his rod as if he has been provoked.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ pulls out her sword with cold eyes.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is excited and encouraging the situation.]
Persephone also pulled out her power.
[I see. Do you want to try it now?]
The ceiling of the hall started to fill with dark clouds. Red and blue sparks urred like a thunderstorm and white mes spread throughout the banquet hall. This was the battle between constetions.
A huge aura rose from Persephone¡¯s symbolic body. I would explode if this continued.
I calmly opened my mouth. ¡°You said you liked stories.¡±
The atmosphere of the constetions softened for a moment at my words.
¡°Then how about a different deal?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is listening to your words.]
Persephone stared at me.
¡°If you help me, I will show you the most interesting story in the world. A story that is iparable to the steak you just ate.¡±
[Does that mean I can eat it?]
¡°If you like gourmet meals, I think no more meals are needed. This story will be enough.¡±
Persephone noticed what I was trying to say andughed.
[...Are you nning to take the money without letting me eat?]
¡°I will let you have a taste. However, if you eat me now, you will regret it for the rest of your life.¡±
[Why?]
¡°You would think it would¡¯ve been more delicious if I hadn¡¯t eaten it.¡±
Persephone looked intrigued.
[...How can you be so sure?]
¡°I can stand against time-defying beings without a sponsor.¡±
Persephone¡¯s eyes shook lightly.
¡°I have destroyed a returnee and prevented disasters without the help of the god of this world. And so far, only five scenarios have passed.¡±
Persephone¡¯s bit her lower lip in a tantalizing manner.
¡°As a living soul, I entered the Underworld and encountered you like this. Aren¡¯t you curious about what I will do in the future?¡±
[You speak very well. But...]
Persephone lowered her gaze and continued.
[It doesn¡¯t seem to be a deal?]
¡°You can call it a courtship.¡±
[...Huh?]
I smiled.
¡°I¡¯m serious. I¡¯ll show you stories you have never seen before and stories that you can¡¯t endure wondering about.¡±
Maybe it was wrong to think about making deals with constetions. They were those bound by eternity. They couldn¡¯t make serious deals with trivial incarnations. If so, it was better to say ridiculous and far-fetched things. At the very least, it would make an impression.
Like all myths, the gods were more moved by a handful of sincere words than a hundred words of deceit. In fact, Persephone¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t bad at all.
[Hrmm, it is difficult. This is why males are...]
¡°Of course, it isn¡¯t courting you but courting the Father of the Rich Night.¡±
Persephone¡¯s eyes widened at my words and she burst outughing. She stepped away from me and slowly crossed her legs to sit on the table. Her coy eyes swept over my body.
[How interesting.]
It was frightening that she was posing like this with Yoo Sangah¡¯s body. Persephone stared into the dark air and slowly closed her eyes. It was only a moment but it felt like hours of heavy silence. I was about to choke on the weight of the silence when she spoke.
[I¡¯ll give you a task.]
It finally came.
[You want to show me an interesting story? If you seed, I will let you find the soul you want.]
Then a system message popped up.
[A new hidden scenario has been activated.]
There were a few myths that came to mind when I heard her words. That reminded me, Hercules performed something called the ¡¯12 Tasks.¡¯ Persephone¡¯s eyes shone.
[I want to see it once. The children of Olympus often do it but I haven¡¯t been able to watch it since meeting my king.]
¡°What task is it?¡±
[Your task is to cut off the head of the snake.]
¡°...Snake? Do you mean the snake with multiple heads?¡± I asked in a slightly timid voice.
It was because ¡®that snake¡¯ was a 2nd grade monster. Persephone shook her head.
[I¡¯m not talking about the hydra. Only Hercules can kill it. The snake you have to kill is somewhere else.]
¡°However, I can¡¯t go far because of the scenario.¡±
[Don¡¯t worry. The snake will be wherever you go.]
Persephone lightly flicked her fingers and a screen popped up in the empty air. There was the message that the channel was connected and I realized what this screen was.
...Was this how the constetions watched us? A vast green forest filled the entire screen. It wasn¡¯t long before I figured out what this ce was. It was the stage for the sixth scenario that was about to start. Wait a minute. What was this?
¡¸ Ahjussi, pull out some of the wood over there and make a ce to rest. Aren¡¯t you good at that? ¡¹
¡¸ I¡¯m not good at clearingnd. Dumb female. ¡¹
I stared at the screen. The two people were the missing Gong Pildu and Han Sooyoung. How was this possible? The sixth scenario hadn¡¯t started yet? I could feel Persephone staring at me.
[How about it? Do you want to try it? It might be hard but it is a worthy task.]
I recovered my spirit. I could sense the ¡®snake¡¯ that Persephone wanted me to kill. I slowly nodded.
***
The incarnation left and darkness came to the hall.
Persephone remained alone, staring at the rest of the feast before opening her mouth.
[Clear it away. It doesn¡¯t taste good.]
Hands appeared in the darkness and quickly took away the tes. Persephone watched as the food went straight into the garbage can. Sword master, SSS-grade hunter, 10th circle magician...
She was already tired of these delicious tastes. Then a voice came from the darkness.
-Persephone. Why did you do that?
It was like the space itself was talking.
[Oh, my shy husband is finally talking.]
-I asked you why.
[Hades, you wanted this.]
-I never said that.
Persephone stared into the darkness.
[You rarely like incarnations. I think you particrly like that child. Am I mistaken?]
-Why do you think so?
[It was because you didn¡¯t kill him when he entered the Underworld.]
The darkness was silent for a moment.
[You always felt envious that Zeus had Hercules. This time, I read a bit of your mind.]
Persephone looked down at her hands for a moment before making a fist.
[Honestly, it was amazing. There were some constetions I couldn¡¯t afford to go against. They are all chasing after one incarnation...]
A screen appeared in the darkness. However, the channel¡¯s signal was unstable and the video didn¡¯t appear immediately. The darkness gazed at the screen and opened its mouth.
-There will soon be signs of theter days.
Theter days. Persephone listened to these words and opened her mouth with a mixture of distrust, doubt and anxiety.
[...Will theter days reallye?]
-Perhaps.
[You will still be with me at that time right?]
Hades didn¡¯t answer. The warm darkness just carefully wrapped around her symbolic body. Persephone felt the darkness and said.
[I am very excited to see what story that kid will show me.]
Her eyes watched as Kim Dokja moved through the darkness to leave the Underworld. Kim Dokja moved forward without looking back.
Persephoneughed lightly, as if he was cute.
Chapter 116 - Abandoned World (1)
Chapter 116: Episode 23 ¨C Abandoned World (1)
I was guided by the judge towards the exit of the Underworld. The exact location wasn¡¯t known because I was wearing a special eye patch. We seemed to go up and then down. After a long walk, the judge took off my eye patch.
[Follow along this path.]
I opened my eyes and saw a dark and narrow road. Perhaps this was the exit that didn¡¯t require going through Charon, the ferryman.
[You should look in ¡®front¡¯.]
¡°What does that mean?¡±
I looked around but the judge had already disappeared.
I had no choice but to start walking along this path. The light faded and darkness settled around me. It was initially possible for me to determine the direction using the walls but the walls soon disappeared. The ce I relied on disappeared and I felt like a ship floating on the ocean without buoys.
The myth of Orpheus suddenly popped into my head. What would happen if I looked back? Then a faint light appeared in the darkness.
[You are afraid of what is behind you. That¡¯s why you are a pitiful child.]
It was a message from Persephone.
[Keep this in mind. In order to find the ¡®front¡¯, you must know where the ¡®back¡¯ is. It is because the front can only exist when there is a rear.]
Speaking of which, the judge had said something simr. However, just because I heard usible words didn¡¯t mean I suddenly gained enlightenment and could make enormous changes.
[It looks like you need some motivation...]
The stream of light in the air stretched out like it was hesitating.
[Okay. I can¡¯t bring you to the beginning of the worldbyrinth but this much should be possible.]
I suddenly felt something. The string of light disappeared and a small firefly appeared in front of me. It was a distant light. It was a very fragile and shimmering light. Nobody told me anything but I knew what this light was.
-You...
It was Shin Yoosung of the 41st regression.
-Ah, ahh...
I could tell how long she had been waiting just from her voice. If she was already at the beginning of the worldbyrinth then the concept of time would be different. It wasn¡¯t long by my standards but it might¡¯ve already been a few years for Shin Yoosung.
The small light shivered a few times before speaking in a hesitant voice.
-Ahjussi.
Perhaps she was influenced by the memories of the young Shin Yoosung.
-...C-Can I call you that? No...?
The way she called me was a bond. It was a wish to be tied somewhere. Perhaps ¡®Ahjussi¡¯ was thest lingering attachment of the 41st round Shin Yoosung. I smiled softly.
¡°You are currently older than me. Is it still okay?¡±
The soft light once again trembled. The light gently touched my face. There was warmth in that gesture...
My heart felt pained. She must¡¯ve been waiting for a long time. Even so, this child had to wait longer.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t save you now.¡±
The light moved up and down like she understood.
-Don¡¯t overdo it. My story now...
¡°It isn¡¯t over yet.¡± I spoke without giving her time to finish. ¡°You have suffered for so long and it can¡¯t end like this.¡±
-Why...
¡°I will never let that happen.¡±
The light stared at me. She trembled in a confused and pathetic manner.
-I got to know Ahjussi through the memories of this world. But Ahjussi... why are you so good to me? Does Ahjussi know me?
I didn¡¯t answer. We got to know each other through different means. Just as the 41st round Shin Yoosung knew me through the memories of her younger self, I knew her through Ways of Survival. Nevertheless, I couldn¡¯t exin this.
-I feel strange. I definitely don¡¯t know Ahjussi but when I¡¯m with you, I feel like I understand everything about you. As if you are a ¡®god¡¯...
If I was really a god then I would be the most ipetent god in the world. The most helpless god in the world who knew everything but couldn¡¯t exin anything.
Shin Yoosung¡¯s light was rapidly fading away. I couldn¡¯t see her but I seemed to know what she looked like.
-Please save me, please...
¡°I will.¡±
The tail of the light shaking in the air became smaller and I reached out towards the light. I felt like my heart had been imprisoned. I could feel Shin Yoosung¡¯s despair. The long wait...
My heart ached with an indescribable grief. Little by little, Persephone¡¯s words made sense. There must be something behind in order to go ahead. This was my ¡®back¡¯ and at the same time, the ¡®front¡¯ that I had to face.
Maybe this was how Yoo Jonghyuk felt. He constantly returned to the past but was only able to move forward.
The moment I was certain of my direction, the environment stabilized. A string of light appeared in the scattered darkness.
[I held her for a while with my power but you don¡¯t have much time left if you want to save her.]
I remembered the faint warmth of Shin Yoosung. Persephone continued speaking.
[Please keep this in mind. Humans are ¡®stories.¡¯ By the time you get her back, no one knows how much of her story will remain.]
After that, I was pulled towards somewhere. The cries of ghosts receded and the sensations of my body returned one by one. I could feel the warm sunlight on my eyelids. I felt a dampness and opened my eyes to see a familiar face.
¡°...Ahjussi?¡± The young Shin Yoosung was watching me. The child¡¯s clear eyes reassured me. The wildly beating heart slowly subsided.
I had returned. I breathed slowly and the muscles of my body regained their function.
[The hidden scenario ¨C Queen of the Underworld has ended.]
[You have earned 15,000 coins as an achievement reward.]
Thepensation for the updated scenario was also received. The dokkaebi had done his job properly.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ congrattes you on your safe return.]
I saw the indirect message and my anger btedly soared.
This bastard Dionysus, I wouldn¡¯t have to go through all this trouble if he hadn¡¯t ced me in Tartarus. I was stuck in Tartarus with Kim Namwoon and almost had to spend the rest of my life making the gundam.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is asking you for reconciliation.]
[7,942 coins have been sponsored.]
7,942? What was this pig-like apology? Well, I¡¯ll let it go since he still gave me coins.
[There is one new hidden scenario.]
I immediately confirmed the newly arrived hidden scenario.
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C Snake Hunt]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: S-
Clear Conditions: Hunt the target in the sixth main scenario area.
Time Limit: Until the end of the main scenario.
Compensation: 80,000 coins, the trust of the Queen of the Darkest Spring.
Failure: No ess to the Underworld.
+
As expected, Persephone¡¯s task was presented in the form of a hidden scenario.
[Once the target gets close, the scenario rm will be automatically triggered.]
A snake hunt. The target of the scenario wasn¡¯t specified but I guessed the ¡®snake¡¯ would appear in the next scenario.
I slowly raised my upper body and Shin Yoosung asked anxiously, ¡°Ahjussi, are you okay?¡±
¡°Yes. I¡¯m fine.¡±
¡°Sangah unni asked me to watch you...¡±
It reminded me of what I told Yoo Sangah before I copsed.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
It wasn¡¯t difficult to find Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah was curled up on the ground and fast asleep. I looked at her sleeping face and recalled Persephone¡¯s image. Then my face became hot.
...
By the way, the Chinese dress and garter belt... it was really great.
¡°Unni fell asleep just before you woke up.¡±
¡°Ah.¡±
¡°She told me to tell the others if you didn¡¯t wake up.¡±
The series of words ignited guilt inside me. I could see dark circles under Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes. She must have a hangover as well...
Chinese dress? Garter belt? Shit, I was garbage.
¡°Are you awake now?¡±
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung approached me. They were covered in sweat and seemed to havee back from a morning spar.
Jung Heewon told me. ¡°Dokja-ssi is awake so we are ready to go.¡±
¡°Ready?¡±
¡°The other people have already started.¡±
Come to think of it, there weren¡¯t as many people around as there were yesterday. I asked, ¡°What happened overnight?¡±
¡°The announcement of the sixth scenario came.¡±
...Already? I didn¡¯t have a chance to ask when a huge string of words appeared in the sky.
[Survivors are advised to gather in Yongsan Station.]
We packed up and left.
We were originally in Yongsan so it wasn¡¯t hard to go to the station. I carried Yoo Sangah while Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung were responsible for the remaining luggage.
Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung followed us while standing far apart from each other. I didn¡¯t know where Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s party had gone.
We soon arrived near the station which was already crowded with survivors. I couldn¡¯t believe there were still so many people who survived in Seoul. Everyone was watching the huge screen floating in the air.
¡°Ah?¡±
¡°This ce?¡±
The party members and I looked up at the screen together. It was the same screen I had seen in the Underworld. It was a lush forest and monsters were running around the forest. They were clearly scary monsters but they looked like they were part of a giant ecosystem.
The appearance of incarnations was also seen. Some of the people who had started huntingughed as they cut off the head of a monster. These dokkaebis. They edited it well like it was a tourist destination.
Someone spoke. ¡°Eh? Aren¡¯t they Japanese?¡±
If I remembered correctly, the sixth scenario was an event scenario with another dome. The man who appeared on the screen was Izumi, a famous incarnation of Japan.
The Tokyo Dome was faster than us so they would¡¯ve reached the sixth scenario earlier. In many ways, it could be said that South Korea had a rtively unfavourable start.
[A new main scenario has arrived.]
Chapter 117 - Abandoned World (2)
Chapter 117: Episode 23 ¨C Abandoned World (2)
Along with the message, the contents of the scenario emerged in my head.
+
[Main Scenario #6 ¨C ????]
Category: Main
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: ???
Time Limit: ???
Compensation: ???
Failure: ¨D
+
¡°Eh? There isn¡¯t a difficulty level or clear conditions.¡±
¡°...What the hell do they want us to do? Why is everything question marks?¡±
The confused people summoned the window several times but the contents of the scenario were still covered with question marks. I wasn¡¯t surprised because I already expected this. It was because this scenario...
¡°This scenario can only be done by a few people.¡± A tall, middle-aged man standing near me dered.
¡°You...¡±
¡°It has been a while, Kim Dokja-nim. This is the first time I am greeting you formally.¡±
...This ahjussi was here as well. I wanted to speak but the man asked me to shake hands first.
¡°I am Jeon Ildo and I¡¯m called the Neutral King.¡±
¡°I am Kim Dokja.¡±
The Neutral King, Jeon Ildo. He was one of the few kings remaining in Seoul who survived the Absolute Throne struggle along with the Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung and the King of Beauty Min Jiwon.
I had an impressive memory of Jeon Ildo. He was the only king who gave up the throne of his own will.
¡°During the struggle for the throne and this time as well. I was very impressed with Dokja-nim¡¯s performance. You don¡¯t know how much my sponsor talks about Dokja-nim. Half the time it is about Dokja-nim.¡±
He gave a good-looking smile. That reminded me, who was his sponsor? I immediately used a skill.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
It was a summary list that only contained the attribute and sponsor.
[The settings of the summary list have been changed.]
+
[Character List Summary]
Name: Jeon Ildo
Private Attribute: Clumsy Intellectual (General), the Neutral King (Hero)
Sponsor: Expert at Sitting on the Fence
+
...Now that I saw it, I had a question. Of course it would be this constetion. Expert at ying Both Sides seemed to be an old-fashioned person withplicated internal rtions but it was actually the modifier of a ¡®king.¡¯
[A constetion who advocates neutral diplomacy has revealed his modifier.]
[The constetion ¡®Expert at ying Both Sides¡¯ shows good intentions towards you.]
It was the modifier for Gwanghaegun, a king of Joseon famous for his neutral diplomacy. (Wiki Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwanghaegun_of_Joseon)
Jeon Ildo had the title of Neutral King for a reason.
I said to him, ¡°I want to hear your story a bit more. What do you mean by only some people can carry out the scenario?¡±
¡°Ah, you didn¡¯t know.¡±
The kings had quickly obtained information. Of course, I knew it the best but I still needed to listen to them. Maybe things were different from the Ways of Survival that I knew.
¡°ording to information provided by the low-grade dokkaebis this morning, the participants of this scenario will be decided from volunteers.¡±
¡°Volunteers?¡±
¡°Yes. This scenario doesn¡¯t require everyone to participate. There is also no penalty for not participating. It is incredible considering the scenarios we¡¯ve experienced so far.¡±
It was like what I expected. I pointed at the screen and asked, ¡°Will the participants be going there?¡±
¡°That¡¯s what I heard.¡±
I could hear relieved voices all over the ce after Jeon Ildo¡¯s words.
¡°What? Not all of us has to go?¡±
¡°Shit, I¡¯m d. I saw those monsters... why are they so big?¡±
At this point, the incarnations were divided into three broad categories. First, there was the type that furtively watched. Most of them didn¡¯t have an affiliation and probably thought they could survive by hiding.
However, this idea was wrong. All scenarios in the Star Stream increased exponentially in difficulty from a certain point in time. Perhaps these incarnations would face a terrible future in exchange for not participating in the scenario.
¡°...Isn¡¯t it interesting?¡±
Then there was the second category. They had somewhat adapted to the harsh environment of the scenario. People strengthened their resolve by looking at the screen or checking their equipment in advance. Maybe they would be able to survive in the meantime.
Finally, the third category...
¡°Jeon Ildo-nim! Where are you?¡±
There was a shout from outside the crowd. Jeon Ildo looked at his watch and groaned. ¡°The time has alreadye.¡±
¡°You can go. I¡¯m fine.¡±
¡°No, I can¡¯t go alone. It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±
¡°...What do you mean?¡±
¡°Dokja-nim, I actually came here to find you.¡±
¡°Find me?¡±
Jeon Ildo nodded. ¡°A world without kings.¡±
He looked around. It was only a moment but it felt like many people¡¯s gazes were focused here. Jeon Ildo gaze a mysterious smile as if he noticed the gazes.
¡°The kings left in this unfortunate world are waiting for you toe.¡±
This was the third category. They were the people who used others in order to survive.
***
I followed Jeon Ildo to the kings¡¯ gathering ce.
They gathered at the central tform of Yongsan Station and the meeting room was covered by a big tent. There were dozens of guards around the tent. Every one of them were formidable. They were the elite troops of the kings. They were probably hunting the monsters in other areas while we were fighting Shin Yoosung.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but only the kings can go inside.¡± The sentries stopped us and I looked back at my party members.
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung understood the situation and nodded. I left Yoo Sangah with Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Dokja-ssi. Scream if anything happens. Understood?¡± Jung Heewon told me.
I smiled at her and opened the door of the tent.
[Sound Wave Blocking is activated in the area.]
They even had Sound Wave Blocking? There seemed to be a pretty good assortment of people. I walked in and saw a round table in the wide space. There were a few biscuits and beef jerky on the table.
The chairs that people were sitting in were different. Some were stic chairs, some were wooden chairs and there was even a sofa. Still, no matter where they sat, it was definitely a throne.
The surviving kings were here.
¡°You said that our group has an advantage? South Korea will be ater. Do you think we can deal with those who are already present? However, it will be different if our group goes. I will go...!¡±
The booming voice of the middle-aged man faded away at my appearance. All the kings were staring at me.
¡°Thest king hase.¡± King of Beauty Min Jiwon stated.
I lightly greeted her and looked around at the kings. There was no Yoo Jonghyuk. Well, it was obvious. Apart from me, there were a total of five people present.
King of Beauty, Min Jiwon.
The Maitreya King, Cha Sangkyung.
The Neutral King, Jeon Ildo.
The King of Wanderers.
This was four people and the remaining person...
It was strange. I didn¡¯t know him?
¡°Who is this person?¡±
¡°I am Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°Oh, you are... hum, hum. I am the president of Yeouido, Yoo Hyunho.¡±
Yeouido¡¯s president? The president already died. What was this bullshit? Min Jiwon added in a sour voice. ¡°...Yoo Hyunho-ssi isn¡¯t a king but he leads arge force. That¡¯s why he is here.¡±
¡°What king? Do you really think this is the Joseon Dynasty? We are living in the era of a democracy. Please wake up!¡±
I quietly activated Character List.
+
[Character List Summary]
Name: Yoo Hyunho
Private Attribute: Corrupt Politician (Rare)
Sponsor: Master of Manipting State Affairs
Exclusive Skills: Bribery Lv. 5, Military Command Lv. 4, Corrupt Power Lv. 6, Control of the Masses Lv. 7...
+
I suddenly remembered. A politician who survived the first scenario. There had clearly been such a person in several regressions. Usually Yeoido was erased during the monster flood so he was lucky this time.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is angry with the corrupt officials of Joseon.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ hates the incarnation Yoo Hyunho.]
These messages probably had something to do with Yoo Hyunho¡¯s sponsor. A master of manipting state affairs who lived during the Joseon period...
I would¡¯ve been able to ask Yoo Sangah if she was here.
¡°This person called Lee Sookyung is attending for a simr reason. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard but she is called the King of Wanderers.¡±
The King of Wanderers looked at me. She was still wearing a mask. I stared at the mask for a moment before turning my head to the left.
¡°Please stop the introductions. I would like to know why you called me.¡±
Jeon Ildo sitting at the centre of the table spoke after hearing my words. ¡°We are here to select the representatives who will participate in the sixth scenario.¡±
This was their purpose. Yoo Hyunho spoke after Jeon Ildo. ¡°The people gathered here are those with the greatest forces in Seoul Dome at present. Kim Dokja-ssi is rtively small but you received the great honour of a special invitation due to your contribution to the scenario.¡±
¡°Ah, is that so?¡±
Special? Honour? What a ridiculous guy. He hid somewhere while I cleared the scenario... Now he wanted to say these words?
Yoo Hyunho looked around and kept speaking. ¡°Once again, it is time for us to escape from the barbarians. For a while, we went back to the primitive era and repeated the struggle of society. However, our essence is that of citizens who act ording to strict social contracts! Then wouldn¡¯t it be better to pick the next scenario participants using the democratic process?¡±
It was a dog barking but it sounded usible because he mixed in several usible words. Min Jiwon replied, ¡°What democratic process are you talking about?¡±
¡°Like I said before, I think it is right to allocate the participants ording to the size of the force.¡±
Jeon Ildo immediately retorted. ¡°I know that Yeouido¡¯s group is the greatest simply looking at numbers. That proposal isn¡¯t fair.¡±
¡°Jeon Ildo-ssi, I am saddened by your words. Aren¡¯t we all Koreans? It doesn¡¯t matter if a certain amount of people from a particr group is selected. Once we enter the scenario, we will be facing foreign opponents. Then the group we belong to won¡¯t matter. Are we going to fight each other when the enemy is in front of us?¡±
He truly was a politician but Jeon Ildo wasn¡¯t that easy. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t matter who is picked then there isn¡¯t a reason to pick from your group.¡±
¡°Uhum, ording to the democratic process, we have many powerful people...¡±
I became annoyed when I heard it. ¡°We are here to talk about this? I don¡¯t know why we are picking people in the first ce. Just send everyone who wants to go.¡±
¡°We originally thought like that but things changed.¡±
¡°Changed?¡±
Min Jiwon nodded. ¡°The scenario has a limited quota.¡±
Limited?
¡°The kings received a message from the dokkaebis but you must not have received it yet.¡±
At this moment, a system message shed in my head.
[Seoul Dome¡¯s initial allocation is 10 people.]
[Additional numbers will be decided depending on the incarnations in the scenario.]
Oh, this was why they were fighting. Unlike the other incarnations, the kings knew that an early preemption of the scenario was important. If they could put their own forces into the initial quota then they thought the initiative of future scenarios woulde to their group. In the end, this ce was set up as a fight to take away the king¡¯s seats.
¡°My group will go. I heard there are a lot of Japanese people in the scenario area. I think it is right for me to take the lead as a descendant of Si.¡±
¡°No, I will go. Baekje had many exchanges with Japan since ancient times.¡±
¡°That¡¯s Baekje. Your sponsor is from Later Baekje.¡±
¡°What does that mean? Of course I have to go. How can I believe in your antiquated sponsor...¡±
¡°Everyone, wait a minute. Please calm down...¡±
Jeon Ildo came forward but couldn¡¯t calm down the confusion. I looked around with a sigh and saw the King of Wanderers. She was watching me without saying a word. I could see a slight smile below her half mask.
I had to settle this. The arguing kings had a fierce atmosphere like there was going to be bloodshed.
¡°There is no use in us arguing here.¡± The kings looked at me the moment I said these words. Yoo Hyunho¡¯s eyes were saying, ¡®What do you mean by that?¡¯
I could feel the faint vibration of the ground and picked up a biscuit on the table. Now he wasing. Why did he always show upte?
¡°Thest king hasn¡¯te yet.¡±
The moment I broke the biscuit, one side of the tent exploded and the self-styled president of Yeouido fell down with a scream.
¡°Kuaaak!¡±
A person appeared behind Yoo Hyunho. I moved through a hole in the tend and I saw dozens of copsed guards behind him.
This was our regressor. His temper was the same, no matter the regression. The peculiar ferocious eyes swept through the group and soon focused on me.
¡°K-King!¡± Some of the kings groaned.
Then the king, Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°I will announce the people who will participate in the next scenario.¡±
Chapter 118 - Abandoned World (3)
Chapter 118: Episode 23 ¨C Abandoned World (3)
There was no room for disagreement. For him, the representatives selection wasn¡¯t a subject of discussion but a presentation.
¡°Speak now if you have aint.¡±
There was no way to express dissatisfaction towards such a fearsome killing intent. The kings knew Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s strength and trembled without even thinking about rebellion. Ah, except for one person.
¡°G-Get lost! Move your feet!¡± Unfortunately, the self-styled President of Yeouido had never heard about the Supreme King. A politician was insensitive to rumours. ¡°Why did you suddenly appear...?¡±
Kwajik!
¡°Kuaaack!¡± Yoo Hyunho screamed as his hand was crushed. ¡°My hand! My hand!¡±
Kwajijik!
¡°Kuaaack! Bodyguards! Where are my bodyguards?¡±
Yoo Hyunho struggled for help but there was no one here who could help him. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s feet pressed against his back and soon after, Yoo Hyunho found it hard to breathe and passed out.
Once everything became calm, Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t think so. Then I will announce the roster.¡±
The faces of the kings became tense. Yoo Jonghyuk truly was great. Taking the reigns of power so easily...
The kings quickly fell from the ¡®picking¡¯ position to ¡®being picked.¡¯ I grabbed a beef jerky from the table and waited for Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words.
Min Jiwon stared nkly from next to me.
¡¸ How can you be so calm? ¡¹
I¡¯m sorry but I was in a different situation from them. It was because I was someone Yoo Jonghyuk recognized as a panion.¡¯ He threatened me by saying that the oath was over but he did acknowledge me.
Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°The first one will naturally be me.¡±
Well, it was obvious. How could he not be on a list created by himself? Behind Yoo Jonghyuk, the rest of his party members had appeared. Lee Jihye and Lee Seolhwa.
Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon also looked inside with anxious eyes. In particr, Jung Heewon was about to jump inside and I stopped her with my eyes.
Yoo Jonghyuk continued. ¡°The second person will be Lee Jihye.¡±
I thought the second one would be me so I was naturally surprised. Well, I originally wasn¡¯t hispanion so his other party members might be disturbed if he called me first. He might look cold but he looked after his people. I could understand that heart.
Lee Jihye couldn¡¯t hide her joy as she smiled at me.
...Still, it was a bit annoying.
¡°The third is Lee Seolhwa.¡± Lee Seolhwa nodded and came forward.
Every time a person¡¯s name was called, the faces of the kings darkened. They all felt an ominous feeling. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s list was a fixed list.
¡¸ There are seven people remaining. We still have a chance. ¡¹
¡¸ The Supreme King only has three party members. He will have to choose other people. ¡¹
¡¸ We are the strongest among the remaining people... ¡¹
I could tell by their faces what they were thinking. Me? Of course, I wasn¡¯t worried. I would naturally be on the list. Maybe I would be next...
¡°The fourth one is Lee Hyunsung.¡±
...What? Lee Hyunsung became pale as his name was called.
¡°Y-You mean me...?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk ignored the words and looked at the next person. ¡°The fifth is Jung Heewon.¡±
¡°...It¡¯s me?¡± Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes widened with surprise. It was unexpected that he chose Jung Heewon over me. This bastard was picking from my party?
¡°The sixth is Lee Gilyoung.¡±
¡°...Uh? Huh?¡±
Then Yoo Jonghyuk looked at Shin Yoosung who was next to Lee Gilyoung. Shin Yoosung hid behind Lee Gilyoung with fearful eyes.
The confused Lee Gilyoung was stunned for a moment but he stood in front of Shin Yoosung like he made a decision. Yoo Jonghyuk looked down at the two children with an unknown look before turning his head away.
¡°Then...¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes finally stopped on me. Yes, it was finally my turn. Did he deliberately leave me until the end? As expected from a main character, he knew how to direct a show.
¡°...You can take care of the rest.¡±
I coughed on the beef jerky. Yoo Jonghyuk looked around the tent before turning to leave, like there was no more work to be done. This was it? Really?
...Then what about me? Why was he looking at me like that? I btedly chased after him but Yoo Jonghyuk was already gone. How long did I stand there?
Jung Heewon stood in the distance and asked me carefully. ¡°Weren¡¯t the two of you friendly?¡±
I thought so.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ isughing with delight.]
Lee Jihye also added in a strange tone. ¡°Ahjussi, didn¡¯t you meet Masterst night? I thought you would be first on the list...¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°Last night Master said he was going to see you?¡±
¡°Last night?¡±
¡°It was around one or two o¡¯clock? Were you sleeping?¡±
I thought about the time. It was between one or two o¡¯clock in the morning. I think it was just before I went to the Underworld. ¡°I was awake at that time but Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯te.¡±
¡°That¡¯s strange? He definitely went to find you. He was also a bit angry when he came back.¡±
¡°Angry?¡±
¡°You know that look Master makes when he is angry. Like he is contemptuous of a person...¡±
I pondered on the memories of that time. What was I doing right before I went to the Underworld? Ah, yes. A memory came to mind. At that time, I was drinking with Yoo Sangah. Dionysus poured alcohol and made the atmosphere strange, then... uh...um.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is making a yful expression.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ isughing with delight.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
I felt a bitplicated as I exined what happened. The party members looked surprised. Jung Heewon stared at me with narrowed eyes.
¡°...You kissed Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
¡°No, that¡¯s not it... what did you hear?¡±
¡°Was it really Dionysus? You weren¡¯t pretending to be drunk?¡±
¡°It was because of Dionysus and nothing happened.¡±
Jung Heewon looked at me with suspicious eyes.
...Why was this brought up?
¡°Hrmm... perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi saw it? That¡¯s why his mood is bad...¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk isn¡¯t that type of person.¡±
¡°Even if Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi witnessed Dokja-ssi¡¯s kiss scene, I don¡¯t think there is a reason to feel angry...¡±
¡°It wasn¡¯t a kiss.¡± I grumbled and Lee Jihye eximed with a smile.
¡°Ah! I think I know...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says it is aradeship.]
Jung Heewon cocked her head. ¡°...Comradeship?¡±
Lee Jihye dealt a big blow. ¡°What is Unni¡¯s sponsor? They think it is justradeship?¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°Comrades, I think I understand.¡± Lee Hyunsung unexpectedly interrupted. ¡°Come to think of it, I would also feel offended if I saw Kim Dokja doing that.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has snorted at the unexpected remark.]
¡°...Yes? Why would Hyunsung-ssi feel bad?¡± Lee Jihye looked like she was going to get a nosebleed.
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s expression was serious. I was nervous about what bombshell words Lee Hyunsung would say. ¡°We are risking our lives in every scenario. Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi trains his body every morning to prepare for the following scenarios. I trains severely every day to protect hisrades.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡± Lee Jihye made a strange expression at the unexpected answer. Jung Heewon listened to Lee Hyunsung¡¯s words with a doubtful expression.
¡°If arade is blinded by sexual desire in such a situation then I would be in a bad mood. I would also feel betrayed. Yoo Jonghyuk might not be a soldier but he is a very austere person. Such a person would react sensitively when people aren¡¯t disciplined. It would feel like ourradeship is falling people.¡±
¡°Um... it make sense.¡± Jung Heewon agreed.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is disappointed with her incarnation.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ resents Lee Hyunsung¡¯s wrongradeship.]
I heard Lee Hyunsung¡¯s words and thought it was true. A scene from Ways of Survival suddenly came to mind. I opened the text, searched Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s third regression and was able to find evidence.
¡¸ Pathetic person. You sell yourself to women with one nce. ¡¹
¡¸ Those with strong sexual desires are excluded from my list ofrades. It is easy for them to make mistakes. ¡¹
It was really unfair if Yoo Jonghyuk had actually misunderstood me. It wasn¡¯t even a kiss. Damn, I couldn¡¯t tell him it was a misunderstanding now...
¡°Kim Dokja-ssi? We want to pick the rest of the people.¡± Min Jiwon suddenly approached me.
I looked back and saw the other kings watching me.
¡°The Supreme King picked six people and there are four spots remaining.¡±
¡°We have to pick four...¡±
Yeouido¡¯s group had already been destroyed and now there were five kings remaining. The Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung noticed and opened his mouth first.
¡°Hum, there are only four spots and the remaining people are...¡±
¡°Why don¡¯t we decide it with a match?¡± I was the one who gave the opinion. ¡°We will just be wasting time arguing among ourselves. Everyone wants to fill the spots with their own forces so let¡¯s fight. The king who wins will decide the remaining spots.¡±
The kings nced at each other at my words. A momentter, the reply was heard.
¡°Okay.¡±
***
Once again, the Neutral King dered that he would abstain.
¡°I¡¯ll stay behind. Someone should stay here and lead the people...¡±
It was a wise choice. If they couldn¡¯t get ahead in the scenario then it wasn¡¯t bad to build a power base here. In addition, people didn¡¯t know it yet but there was a scenario for the incarnations left behind. The dokkaebi who loved strong stimuli couldn¡¯t let the incarnations live peacefully.
The King of Wanderers also raised her hand to express her intention to abstain. The other kings seemed surprised but thought i was fortunate that theirpetitors had reduced. Min Jiwon looked at me and dered confidently.
¡°The same method as before won¡¯t work.¡±
Maybe she knew that I won the Absolute Throne with my stockpile of coins.
...Did I seem that shallow? We exchanged blows. It took less than five minutes before the match was over.
Who won? There was no need to ask.
¡°No way... I thought only the Supreme King was a monster. How did you be so strong?¡±
Cha Sangkyung was bloody while Min Jiwon gasped as she spoke. Yes, it would¡¯ve been easier if I had done this from the beginning.
I shrugged and stated, ¡°The initial quota is 10 people so everyone should wait. The second round will start soon.¡±
¡°...Hah, you use every means. Who will you take with you?¡±
¡°One will be me and she will be the other person.¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes brightened at my words. She had been worried about being left alone.
¡°The remaining two are...I am thinking of someone.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t me?¡±
¡°Yes, it isn¡¯t Min Jiwon-ssi.¡±
¡°Che... I see.¡±
Min Jiwon got up from the dusty ground. The depressed kings left their spots one by one. I gave amand to my party members. ¡°Please leave first. I need to do something. Meet me in front of the stationter.¡±
The party members nodded and left the tent, the crowded interior bing empty in an instant.
...
After a bit more time, only one person besides me was left in the tent. It was a masked woman. Then her mouth opened for the first time.
¡°It seems like you have many friends.¡±
I hesitated to thest moment. I didn¡¯t want to talk to this person. However, I needed to ask her for help to get the person I needed in the next scenario.
I took a deep breath before saying to the King of Wanderers. ¡°It has been a long time, Mother.¡±
Chapter 119 - Abandoned World (4)
Chapter 119: Episode 23 ¨C Abandoned World (4)
The King of Wanderers smiled slightly at my words. ¡°It has been a long time? I saw youst time.¡±
¡°We just passed by each other at the time.¡±
So far, I had seen the King of Wanderers twice. The first was when Han Sooyoung and I destroyed Song Minwoo and the second was when the Disaster of Floods was killed.
This was the third time...
The King of Wanderers slowly took off her mask. As expected, it was her face.
I asked, ¡°When did you get out?¡±
¡°A little while ago.¡±
We looked at each other for a moment. My mother and I didn¡¯t look alike. No matter how hard I looked, it was only a face in thete 30s. When I was a child, I often heard that she looked like my older cousin. Of course, that was when I still had my father.
¡°Did you live in Seoul?¡±
She replied, ¡°I came to meet someone I knew.¡±
¡°Then you were identally caught in the Seoul Dome?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°You have been released. Why are you wearing the prison uniform?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see? Perhaps it is out of a desire for atonement?¡±
¡°...Atonement? You?¡±
¡°Every human is a prisoner. They have their own prison.¡±
I stared at my mother. That shameless tone... She really hadn¡¯t changed. She told me, ¡°Can¡¯t you say any words of thanks? You would¡¯ve had a harder time without me.¡±
...Certainly, she helped. My mother led her forces north to the disaster. It was great, no matter how weak the disaster. In fact, I believed that she would do it properly. I hated my mother but I also knew my mother well.
¡°You are meeting your mother but you don¡¯t seem happy.¡±
¡°Do you really want that?¡±
¡°A little bit.¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 1¡¯ is activated.]
[You have confirmed that the statement is false.]
How funny. I knew it was a lie but I still had to check. I said, ¡°You have survived. You are a great survivor.¡±
¡°It is thanks to the story you told me.¡±
¡°...I guess so.¡±
¡°You are the only one who came to the prison to see me and told me about the novel you read.¡±
That was correct. I never had a proper conversation with my mother during all the times I visited her at the prison. I only talked about Ways of Survival. Once I became tired of it, I stopped visiting. ¡°I didn¡¯t have anything else to say apart from the novel.¡±
¡°How can that be?¡±
¡°The novel was all I had.¡±
An image of the past came to mind before disappearing. If there hadn¡¯t been Ways of Survival or the author who wrote the story, perhaps I wouldn¡¯t be in this world right now. This story was the onlyfort to the Kim Dokja who didn¡¯t have a mother or a father.
My mother muttered, ¡°It is at most a fantasy novel...¡±
¡°In the end, you survived thanks to that novel.¡±
We stared silently at each other for a moment.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at you with excited eyes.]
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is looking at you with strange eyes.]
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire is watching you with sad eyes.]
I was the one who broke the silence first. ¡°What attributes did you get? It might be rted to the novel I told you.¡±
¡°Should I tell you?¡±
¡°Yes, if you still think of me as your child.¡±
¡°I wonder if you think of me as your mother.¡±
¡°A little bit.¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Sookyung¡¯ has used ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 1¡¯.]
[¡®Lee Sookyung¡¯ has confirmed that the statement is false.]
Dammit. My mother already had this skill. There was a hint of sorrow in my mother¡¯s expression. I had no way of knowing if it was acting or not.
She asked, ¡°Are you still holding a grudge against me?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not here to talk about that.¡±
¡°Your father was the bad guy.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
There were certainly ¡®bad people¡¯ in this world. One type used violence against their wives, illegally gambled and threatened their family¡¯s livelihood.
My father was a bad person. I knew it, my mother knew it and South Korea¡¯sws said it. However...
¡°Your actions weren¡¯t right just because my father was a bad person.¡±
¡°There are things we have to sacrifice for a better life.¡±
¡°There is no suchw in South Korea. There is aw that any human whomits murder should go to prison.¡±
¡°You are good at speaking because you only read novels.¡±
¡°For me, reality was more like a novel. Because of you.¡±
At this point, it already wasn¡¯t a normal conversation between mother and son. This was why I didn¡¯t want to talk to her. I knew what would happen when we talked. We knew too much about how to hurt each other.
I changed the topic. ¡°Do you know why I am looking for you?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see?¡±
¡°I can tell when you are lying so stop beating around the bush.¡±
My mother smiled lightly.
¡°You have prisoner no. 406? Lend the grandmother to me.¡±
¡°...Wouldn¡¯t it be better to take the incarnation with Jeon Woochi as a sponsor than this grandmother? I have many useful incarnations.¡±
¡°Jeon Woochi is Mother¡¯spanion. Besides, the grandmother will be more help.¡±
My mother stared at me for a moment before nodding. ¡°Certainly, she might be useful because of the opponents. By the way, how do you know the sponsor of No. 406?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t say.¡±
¡°Do you have a skill to see sponsors?¡±
I couldn¡¯t say anything to my mother. ¡°Are you going to lend her to me?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll lend her. Instead...¡±
I was a bit afraid of what she would say next. My mother would probably suggest a deal I couldn¡¯t imagine at all. She said with a faint smile, ¡°Next time, introduce me to your friends.¡±
I was stunned and couldn¡¯t pick my next words.
...Shit. It was a perfect blow. My mother was the best at making bad people worse.
¡°Dokja. Look straight at reality. Even if fiction bes reality, you shouldn¡¯t think of fiction as reality.¡±
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking violently!]
I only heard a few words but my entire world seemed to shake. I knew for sure. To this, this person was the strongest reminder of the ¡®reality¡¯ I hated.
¡°Do you understand?¡±
[The stigma ¡®Self-Rationalization Lv. 1¡ä is activated.¡¯
Disgusting. Now she wanted to act like a mother. Too many rivers had been crossed to go back now.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯s¡¯ shaking has subsided.]
I couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and stood up. ¡°That¡¯s right. I think that fiction is like reality. Why? It is because I have always been living that way.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Maybe it seems pathetic to you. However, know this. At least I didn¡¯t sell ¡®reality as fiction¡¯ like you did.¡±
I left the tent with thesest words. Cool air entered my coat¡¯s cor and reached my body. I looked in front of me and saw the slightly startled Yoo Sangah.
¡°I-I¡¯m sorry... Dokja-ssi waste...¡±
It was difficult. No, rather than difficult... It was shameful.
¡°Did you hear everything?¡±
Yoo Sangah bowed her head in a deep apology. The crown of her head could be seen.
I eventually sighed. ¡°Would you like to take a walk?¡±
We walked along the tform of Yongsan Station. It was definitely a cold wind but the temperature changed when it touched my cheeks. There wasn¡¯t time to wash my hair but a nice fragrance floated from Yoo Sangah¡¯s hair.
I asked, ¡°How is your hangover?¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay. By the way, I heard that you carried me on your back. I¡¯m sorry. I troubled you.¡±
¡°It was because you were looking after me.¡±
We were silent for a moment before I opened my mouth. ¡°Do you think it is strange? Why are a mother and son talking like that?¡±
¡°That¡¯s not true.¡±
She was lying. It was extremely strange.
¡°Do you want to know?¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes shook for a moment. ¡°...If you don¡¯t mind.¡±
I smiled bitterly. Yes, now was the time to talk. I took a deep breath before saying with exaggerated tone. ¡°My mother killed my father.¡±
Strangely, my words sounded ridiculous. I spoke like it was someone else¡¯s story.
¡°She went to prison for her sin.¡±
I continued speaking.
¡°My father... it is shameful to say this but he is someone meant to die. Domestic violence, gambling, guarantor... my mother and I lived in fear every day. There wasn¡¯t a single day without bruises. I was sometimes hit. Then one day, my mother made up her mind and it happened.¡±
¡°Ah...¡±
¡°I thought it was quite well-known at thepany. Yoo Sangah-ssi didn¡¯t know?¡±
There was no answer from Yoo Sangah. She realized with the benefit of hindsight that she had touched a wound she shouldn¡¯t have touched.
¡°Do you feel even stranger now? It is legally wrong but you don¡¯t understand why I hate my mother.¡±
¡°No! I¡¯m not Dokja-ssi so I don¡¯t fully understand...¡±
¡°Honestly, do you think I should forgive her?¡±
Yoo Sangah couldn¡¯t say anything. It couldn¡¯t be helped. The touched wound had already burst.
There was an awkward silence before I spoke again. ¡°Do you know the book called the Underground Killer? It was previously on the Kyobo bestsellers list.¡±
Talk about a book emerged all of a sudden. Yoo Sangah thought the previous topic was closed and replied awkwardly, ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard of it. Wasn¡¯t it an amazing bestseller?¡±
¡°It was an essay written by an abused woman in prison after she killed her husband. It was praised by critics at the time. They said that a Korean version of Notes from Underground hade out. Of course, it waspletely overrated.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s face suddenly darkened. She had noticed. I hadn¡¯t changed the topic at all.
¡°That¡¯s right. My mother wrote it.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s lips dropped open.
¡°I still remember the time a bunch of reporters waited in front of my house. They kept asking me if the essay was real.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I remember everything my ssmates said. They told me that my mother made money by selling murder.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi...¡±
¡°My rtives also said this. My mother is a murderer. How dare she slip her face into the newspapers?¡±
Yoo Sangah wanted to say something but I kept going.
¡°It was a bit hard because of this. No, it was hard for a long time.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I could bear to be the child of a murderer. However, it is different to be sold as a story. It is a different matter when my life was turned into money by someone.¡±
I looked at the sky. It wasn¡¯t night but I was more certain than ever that the distant constetions were watching me. Perhaps this story was meant for them as well.
However, no constetions sent me coins. Should I be d? I didn¡¯t know.
¡°Do you still think that I should forgive my mother?¡±
I didn¡¯t want an answer. I didn¡¯t want her to understand in the first ce. Maybe this was the ugliest form of violence I could do against Yoo Sangah, who grew up in a well-off family. It was an arbitrary disy of unhappiness forced onto someone who would never understand.
The kind Yoo Sangah would grieve knowing that it was impossible for her to understand. Iughed at the unknown sense of victory. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It was a joke.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°It was a lie. Were you fooled? Do you think there is a novel like this? My mother and I are ordinary people and my father was in an ident when I was young...¡±
Then something small and soft gripped my hand. The texture was so warm that I forgot what I was about to say. For a while... I stopped walking.
Yoo Sangah wasn¡¯t looking at me. Thus, I wasn¡¯t looking at her either. We walked hand in hand without facing each other. It was as if this alone was sufficient. Strangely, my heart gradually calmed.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking faintly.]
Perhaps it was due to the realistic body temperature.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
We neared the entrance of the station and there was the sound of people rushing forward. We reflexively let go of our hands. Jung Heewon ran over and asked, ¡°Did the two of you kiss again?¡±
¡°K-Kiss?¡±
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi is blushing. You did it, you did it!¡±
I would¡¯ve misunderstood if I didn¡¯t know Yoo Sangah a bit more.
¡°Stop ying around. Nothing happened.¡±
¡°Yes yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± Jung Heewon looked at me and said, ¡°A strange grandmother came to find us. She was called by Dokja-ssi?¡±
An old woman with a cane walked out from the back of the party. ¡°I hope this useless old body will be of help...¡±
Like other prisoners, the grandmother was wearing a blue prison uniform. She was prisoner no. 406. My mother acted very quickly.
¡°Are you Kim Dokja?¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you from Sookyung. It is a pleasure.¡±
¡°It is also a pleasure.¡±
Sookyung was my mother¡¯s name. I looked around at the party members and said, ¡°She is indeed the person I called. Let¡¯s depart.¡±
We exited Yongsan Station and went to a ce where people were gathered. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s party and the kings were already gathered there.
A white crystal slowly fell from the Great Hall in the sky. It was a crystal that shone with light.
[Warp Crystal.]
This was the item we would use to go to the next scenario area.
Chapter 120 - Abandoned World (5)
Chapter 120: Episode 23 ¨C Abandoned World (5)
There were exactly five grooves in the crystal. Yoo Jonghyuk and I were well aware of what to ce there.
Yoo Jonghyuk stood next to me and said, ¡°You came.¡±
¡°Yes. Unfortunately.¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you sit this one out.¡± I turned towards Yoo Jonghyuk at the unexpected words. This guy was still talking without looking at me. ¡°You have a woman you love.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°It¡¯ll be hard.¡±
It felt like I understood something that couldn¡¯t be resolved. Perhaps he didn¡¯t want to take me to the scenario out of care towards me? It was ridiculous. Yoo Jonghyuk?
¡°It could be thest time.¡±
I shook my head. It wasn¡¯t necessarily impossible when I thought about it. Yoo Jonghyuk had lost Lee Seolhwa in the second regression. It wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that Yoo Jonghyuk was arguably the world¡¯s greatest authority when it came to losing a loved one.
I told him, ¡°It¡¯s not like that. Do you think my face is full of love?¡±
I didn¡¯t mean it but the words sounded like self-deprecation. Let me say this first. I have a decent face.
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me quietly and said, ¡°Certainly, I don¡¯t care if you die.¡±
Shit.
¡°Your words are too harsh. I¡¯m hurt.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t forget I still have one hit left.¡±
¡°...Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten. Thanks for reminding me.¡±
I didn¡¯t know if this bastard wanted me to live or to die. Imunicated directly to mypanions through the group chat.
-I will inform you of the precautions now.
Using the group chat meant that things should be kept secret. The party members focused on my story while pretending to be quiet.
-The warp crystal transports two people together. That¡¯s why we will move in pairs, like I mentioned before.
-Yoosung will be with me as team 1, Heewon-ssi and Hyunsung-ssi will be team 2, Yoo Sangah-ssi and No. 406 will be team 3. Gilyoung doesn¡¯t have a partner so he will go with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s group. That Yoo Jonghyuk... he can take care of himself.
-You might be dizzy when moving through the crystal. Please don¡¯t panic. The scenario will start as soon as you arrive. Keep in mind that once the scenario contents open...
I was rapidly pouring out words when the dokkaebi appeared on top of the warp crystal.
[Wait a minute. I¡¯m really sorry but I have an emergency announcement.]
Emergency announcement?
[I forgot to mention that the number of people who can participate from Seoul Dome is 8, not 10.]
¡°What are you suddenly saying?¡±
All the participants were fixed...
Looking closer, this was the dokkaebi who asked me about how to update the scenario in the Underworld. Was he called Youngki?
[This scenario... there are those who have already gone to the sixth scenario due to the dimension warping in the fifth scenario bing twisted.]
¡°...There are already people?¡±
[Yes, Seoul Dome already has two people in the scenario.]
That reminded me, Han Sooyoung and Gong Pildu were already in the scenario. I saw them on the screen in the Underworld but had forgotten for a moment.
By the way, part of the dimension warped. It seemed that the intermediate dokkaebi had intervened quite a bit in the scenario to kill me.
[It might be a scenario error but I am removing two of the existing spots for fairness.]
¡°What? You can¡¯t do that! Then who the hell is going?¡±
The people who weren¡¯t even going were the most upset. The party members looked at me with troubled expressions. Even Yoo Jonghyuk was watching me. It was an expression that told me to make the decisions. Damn...
Unexpectedly, the first one to raise her hand was Yoo Sangah. ¡°I¡¯ll stay back.¡±
She noticed my difficulty and decided to be considerate first. I had to take that grandmother, even if I lost Yoo Sangah.
Next it was Jung Heewon who raised her hand. ¡°I will also stay back. Isn¡¯t there a secondary allocation anyway?¡±
¡°Is it okay?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi looks worried today but don¡¯t you know? This time that scary person is on the same side.¡±
Certainly, it was reassuring if Jung Heewon and Yoo Sangah were left behind. They would be able to make it into the second allocation, even if there was a lot ofpetition.
In the end, the two people dropped out and Lee Hyunsung paired up with the grandmother. The grandmother looked somewhat happy.
Just before we left, I whispered to Yoo Sangah. ¡°I forgot to say this but tell the King of Wanderers to be wary of Jeon Ildo. I think you already know why.¡±
Yoo Sangah nodded and hesitated before whispering to me. ¡°Don¡¯t die.¡±
I nodded. Then Jung Heewon asked, ¡°...Aren¡¯t you departing now? I¡¯m not a constetion but they must be impatient.¡±
Yoo Sangah blushed and retreated while my party and I approached the warp crystal. I pulled out everything that I acquired from the disasters.
The Protection Symbol of the Imyuntar.
Protection Symbol of the Parasites.
The Protection Symbol of the Jenobel.
Then Yoo Jonghyuk and No. 406 pulled out one each. They were protection symbols obtained from defeating the Disaster of Ice and Disaster of Water.
[Insert the five protection symbols.]
The message flowed from the Warp Crystal and we ced them in the grooves.
There were five protection symbols. It was proof that this world was protected from the disasters. Only those who survived the disasters were qualified to go to other worlds.
[The qualifications areplete.]
[The Warp Crystal is activated.]
The crystal split into four pieces and a blue coloured door was created. We entered in pairs. Shin Yoosung and I held each other firmly and moved through the door.
[The main scenario has been updated.]
***
I opened my eyes and Shin Yoosung and I were in a green forest. We stumbled and felt the y texture of the soil. I was dizzy enough to vomit. I told the party members not to panic but it was funny that I was the only feeling dizzy.
I looked around and saw that Shin Yoosung was in the midst of vomiting. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
¡°Urgh...¡±
I patted Shin Yoosung¡¯s back and looked around. My mind was confused but I couldn¡¯t stay in this chaotic state. I looked in front of me, behind me and to the side. Only the forest was visible.
We were in the middle of the forest. It was a scenery that was too simr to Earth.
[The main scenario ¡®Abandoned World¡¯ has begun.]
The scenario message rose straight away. However, I couldn¡¯t afford to check the details of the main scenario right now. I could already feel killing intent from the nearby bushes.
¡°Yoosung.¡±
Shin Yoosung came to her senses and raised her head. Rustling sounds came from the bushes. This was one of the ces where new scenario entrants were warped to. If I assumed the worst, those in the bushes were the incarnations of other countries that arrived in advance.
I nervously prepared to use the Bookmark skill. Maybe those who warped to this world were the elite among the elites. If I didn¡¯t do my best in the beginning, my head could fly in the blink of an eye.
However, the thing that emerged from the bushes wasn¡¯t what I expected.
[The 7th grade monster ¡®steel wolf¡¯ has appeared.]
The same expression appeared on Shin Yoosung¡¯s face when I heard she was a 7th grade monster. It was funny. We were probably the only ones who would be relieved by this message.
¡°I think they are quite small Ajusshi.¡±
Given the fact that typical monsters were the size of a house, the current steel wolves were the size of ordinary wolves. There were approximately 10 of them. It wasn¡¯t a difficult number to deal with.
[The character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has used ¡®Advanced Diverse Communication Lv. 3.¡¯]
Shin Yoosung used Advanced Diverse Communication to make the monsters fight each other. Those Shin Yoosung failed to tame were killed by the de of Faith. The 7th grade monsters were unbelievably fragile. It seemed that their strength was reduced as their size became smaller.
Shin Yoosong wondered, ¡°...Uh? There are no coins?¡±
¡°The event is over.¡±
¡°There aren¡¯t even any items. There are no cores.¡±
¡°There is a lot of difference in stats.¡±
¡°Are they really 7th grade monsters? They seem more like 9th grade...¡±
Shin Yoosung looked a bit lost. It was probably because the first monsters she met after being so tense were weak.
That reminded me, the condition of the forest was a bit strange. This type of forest would normally have trees that rose far above my head. However, these trees were only a little bit taller than my head.
The contents of the scenario were still a mystery. There was only the title ¡®Abandoned World¡¯ while everything else were still filled with question marks.
[The scenario activation conditions haven¡¯t been met yet.
I jumped up a bit and looked around. Fortunately, the height of the trees were low so I could see the scenery of the surrounding area just by jumping lightly.
¡°It isn¡¯t all a forest. Let¡¯s go over there.¡±
In fact, I knew what to expect if I left this zone. We moved along a forest path. Not long afterwards, the forest ended and a ins appeared. On the ins...
¡°...Ahjussi?¡±
We faced a group of soldiers.
¡°They appeared! It really is a scenario!¡± Someone shouted at us. It sounded like Korean, even if it was an aliennguage.
The confused Shin Yoosung stepped towards me.
Hundreds of troops were filling the vast ins. There were dozens of cavalry and hundreds of archers. In addition, there were hundreds of infantry. There were enough people for a war waiting for us here.
¡°Everybody prepare their skills!¡±
¡°Prepare to advance!¡±
Numerous people pointed spears andnces at us. We didn¡¯t do anything but were seen as enemies.
¡°Attack¨D!¡±
It would obviously be an overwhelming sight if it was normal. If only it wasn¡¯t for their size.
¡°Waaaaahhhhh!¡± The troops running across the ints were small people the size of my fist.
Shin Yoosung cried out, ¡°The people are very small!¡±
¡°They are the inhabitants of this ce.¡±
¡°Surely we don¡¯t have to fight them? No?¡± Shin Yoosung stepped away from the small people who were running. ¡°...I feel sorry because they are so small.¡±
[You have met with the people of this world. Check the scenario contents.]
Then a scream came from the distance.
¡°A-A disaster has appeared on the other side!¡±
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
¡°R-Run away! Full retreat!¡±
The small people rushing towards us started running away. It was due to the incarnations killing the small people in the distance.
¡°Hahahahat!¡±
¡°What is this? It is a really easy scenario!¡±
It was probably a foreignnguage being interpreted. There were two samurai wielding swords. They were Japanese. They were yful as they casually cut down the small people like bugs.
Shin Yoosung watched the ruthless butchery and cried out in a stricken voice. ¡°...Ahjussi? What is this scenario? What should we do?¡±
I knew why Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t want to bring Shin Yoosung. If I thought about it, he might be more humane than me.
¡°It isn¡¯t just our that runs scenarios in the Star Stream.¡± I pointed to the small people fleeing the ins. ¡°This scenario is a scenario that we share with them.¡±
[Many of the constetions are hungry for violence and blood.]
[A significant number of constetions are urging you to make a bold choice.
[The main scenario is activated.]
+
[Main Scenario # 6 ¨C Abandoned World]
Category: Main
Difficulty: S
Clear Conditions: Wipe out all dominant species on the No. 9871ary system, the called Peace Land.
Time Limit: 40 days
Compensation: 200,000 coins, ???
Failure: ¨D
+
In the sixth scenario, we no longer had the role of preventing a disaster.
[You have be a disaster of the Peace Land.]
In this ce, we must be disasters that destroyed this world.
Chapter 121 - Things that Can Be Changed (1)
Chapter 121: Episode 24 ¨C Things that Can Be Changed (1)
Soon afterwards, the ins became stained with blood from the battle. No, it couldn¡¯t be called a battle.
Internal organs flowed from the torn flesh of the small people. Every time the Japanese moved, the small people were trampled on.
¡°Aaaaaaack!¡±
¡°S-Save me! Save me!¡±
It might be a small scream but the weight of life was the same. They were small in size but they had a normal life like the humans on Earth until the scenarios arrived. People ate, worked and lived an ordinary life with their family...
The familiar scenes from Earth ovepped with the corpses of the fallen small people.
The Japanese incarnations shouted. ¡°Hahaha! This is what it feels like!¡±
Perhaps Xun Kuang should¡¯ve been born in this age. It was an age where evidence that human nature was fundamentally evil was everywhere.
The victims who were ughtered by someone immediately turned into the perpetrators when provided power and rewards. Maybe they were even worse because they had been hit once.
Shin Yoosung asked me, ¡°...How can they do this?¡±
Perhaps it wasn¡¯t a question that she was really curious about. She already knew the answer to the question. I ced a hand on Shin Yoosung¡¯s shoulder without a word. Shin Yoosung¡¯s shoulders shook like a person carrying a heavy burden.
¡°This is too much...!¡±
Gain coins, gain new items, gain skills and be stronger. People didn¡¯t know a way to live a bit longer in this world. That¡¯s why all survivors understood other survivors. Some survivors lived in shame because they understood it.
¡°D-Disaster...¡± A small person crawled towards our feet. ¡°P-Please, mercy...¡±
The power that went beyondmon sense evoked fear and awe. For the inhabitants of Peace Land, humans were both gods and disasters.
I bent over and extended a finger to the small person. His hand reached out towards this finger. There were rough breathing sounds as the small person came into contact with the tip of my finger.
A strange joy filled the face of the small person at the moment of his final breath. It was as if he touched a god and received salvation.
[Perform the duties of a disaster.]
Now we had to kill these small people. I felt Shin Yoosung emitting a boiling magic power next to me. I was afraid she would immediately rush to the Japanese people but her killing intent was directed in a very rational direction. ¡°That... that guy made this scenario?¡±
It was the intermediate dokkaebi. Unlike low-grade dokkaebis, a graceful looking dokkaebi was effortlessly floating in the air with crossed arms. It wasn¡¯t Paul who was taken to the bureau. He would be melting in the heat of Hell right now.
I remembered the text of Ways of Survival that I read beforehand.
¡¸ The intermediate dokkaebi of the Abandoned World scenario. His name is Ganul. ¡¹
The intermediate dokkaebi Ganul said.
[As expected, the 3rd quota yers of Japan Dome are hot from the beginning. I hope you will make a lot of coins on Peace Land.]
It was the third quota...
As expected, the scenario of Japan Dome was very hard.
¡°Haha, this is the best! This is the reason why the first and second quota people ran so quickly.¡±
¡°Do you see the coinsing in right now? Isn¡¯t this apletely free scenario?¡±
[Many constetions are excited.]
[Some constetions want to see 10 small people being killed at the same time.]
Anger soon filled the face of Shin Yoosung.
¡°It is because of these bastards...!¡±
However, there was no ce for her rage to go. The constetions were on top of the Star Stream. They weren¡¯t someone that Shin Yoosung who was only an ¡®incarnation¡¯ could face. That¡¯s why all we could do was find a scapegoat to pour out this anger towards.
¡°Hahaha, 10 at once! I will kill you first!¡±
I couldn¡¯t find any traces of reason in the eyes of the Japanese people joyfully wielding their swords. In their eyes, the small people probably looked like living coins.
¡°Ahjussi, this...!¡±
Then a heavily armed small person walked out of the troops. He seemed to be themander of this army.
¡°Glory to Kal-Seiviah!¡±
Themander of the army raised his sword and bravely rushed towards the disaster. The Japanese people seemed annoyed and swung their swords.
Surprisingly, the small person escaped with swift movements. The surprised Japanese incarnation cried out. ¡°W-What?¡±
Themander ran along the de and seeded in stabbing the back of the Japanese person¡¯s hand for the first time. It was a greatbat power. The startled Japanese person waved his arms to shake off the small person.
¡°Dammit! It hurts!¡±
The small person screamed as he was thrown onto the ins. The other Japanese peopleughed like it was interesting.
¡°There is a pretty brave person?¡±
It was almost as if there hadn¡¯t been a sessful blow but there was a faint smile on the face of the small person who seeded. There was a small scratch on the back of the Japanese person¡¯s hand, as if he had been stabbed by a needle.
¡°L-Look! A disaster is bleeding!¡±
¡°Wahhhhh!¡±
It was one drop of blood. This drop of blood was a miracle to the small people. They could also kill a disaster. The gods were bleeding. It was only one drop but it taught the small people.
¡°We can do it! Attack! Just a bit more!¡±
The small people stopped fleeing and started running towards the disaster.
¡°What is this all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Go away! You worms!¡±
The small people swung swords smaller than toothpicks at the Japanese people. The useless arrows filled the air and the cavalry maintained their formation without giving up, driving theirnces towards the feet of the Japanese. There was still no damage but the small people didn¡¯t give up.
Shin Yoosung watched the scene with her hands sped tightly together. Then an indirect message was heard.
[A small¡¯s constetion is supporting the incarnation ¡®Gillemium.¡¯]
The constetion of a small. A constetion that was born on a small and grew on the beliefs of the small humans.
[A small¡¯s constetion has sponsored 10 coins to the incarnation ¡®Gillemium.¡¯]
Perhaps the incarnation called ¡®Gillemium¡¯ was the name of the small person who hurt the Japanese for the first time.
¡°Kal-Seiviahhhh!¡±
All of the small people were excited, as if they could win if they attacked a bit more. At least, until the voice of the intermediate dokkaebi was heard.
[This situation is fun. Isn¡¯t it more exciting with resistance?]
The dokkaebi Ganulughed as if to ridicule the resistance of the small people. It was a strangeugh.
[The bigger the despair, the darker the story.]
A ck aura emerged from the bodies of the Japanese incarnations. The small people realized that something was wrong and stopped attacking.
[Now part of the disaster penalty is lifted. If you choose the path of ¡®evil¡¯, you can get additional buffs.]
The Japanese people looked down at their bodies and frowned. ¡°Why do we need this?¡±
¡°This game is already too easy... This will make the fun vanish.¡±
[This is also easy. Think of it as a game to relieve stress.]
¡°Well, if you say so...¡±
The Japanese people chuckled and didn¡¯t hesitate. A strong magic power filled the Japanese people. Based on their stigma, they seemed to have a samurai sponsor. I didn¡¯t think they were famous...
[Some of the probability constraints on the disaster have been lifted.]
[The synchronization with the disasters and sponsors will increase for a period of time.
[Thecking probability will be paid by the Star Stream¡¯s bureau.]
The ground was crushed and blood sttered from over a hundred of the small people. It was a considerable destructive power. However, from the viewpoint of the small people...
...No, it would be surprising for the small children. In front of these disasters, several small people urinated while others fell unconscious. The small people stared nkly at the disaster, as if they had forgotten how to scream.
¡°Ah, ahh... Uwah...¡±
The small people holding weapons knelt down. Even themander who first hurt the Japanese people dropped his sword onto the ground. The eyes filled with courage were nowpletely broken.
¡¸ We can¡¯t win. ¡¹
¡¸ Our, now... ¡¹
This form of despair was familiar, making it painful to see.
[The small¡¯s constetion has discovered you.]
Then a message was heard.
[The small¡¯s constetion is looking at you with pathetic eyes.]
[The small¡¯s constetion is expecting yourpassion for a small.]
[The small¡¯s constetion is looking hopefully at you.]
[A small¡¯s constetion has sponsored you 10 coins.]
I frowned and looked up at the sky.
[You have returned the sponsored 10 coins.]
Then the messages continued.
[The small¡¯s constetion is embarrassed.]
[The small¡¯s constetion has turned red with shame.]
It was a misunderstanding. The constetion thought I wasn¡¯t moving because 10 coins was too small. However, this idea was wrong.
I spoke in a small voice towards the air. ¡®If you are really thinking about your then don¡¯t do that.¡¯
[The small¡¯s constetion is embarrassed.]
¡®Don¡¯t make your a story to sell for money.¡¯
[The small¡¯s constetion is silent.]
In the distance, the second Japanese attack wasing. It would surely wipe out the remaining small people.
Shin Yoosung dered, ¡°Ahjussi, I can¡¯t stand it anymore.¡±
The ck aura around the Japanese incarnation¡¯s body was gradually bing thinner. The probability buff was slowly being released.
It was time to act. I spoke to Shin Yoosung. ¡°There is a way to clear the scenario even if we don¡¯t be disasters.¡±
¡°...Ahjussi?¡±
¡°However, it will be really hard and terrible.¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes shook.
¡°You might be tempted to give up. Do you still want to do it?¡±
In fact, I was going to do this from the beginning. I just waited to increase the odds. No matter how pitiful the inhabitants of the, they were a different species after all. The most important thing for me right now was Shin Yoosung¡¯s life.
[The probability constraints of the disasters have been restored.]
The ck auras around their two samurais returned to its original state. Shin Yoosung nodded.
¡°I can do it.¡±
I gave her a signal and ran forward.
[The Star Stream has detected anomalies from you.]
[Warning. Be careful to avoid being hostile to other disasters.]
Maybe Shin Yoosung would soon regret her decision. It would soon be clear what would happen to those who gave up ¡®convenience¡¯ in an easy scenario.
However, sometimes a person had to give up convenience to defend their beliefs.
[de of Faith is activated!]
Light exploded and a roar filled the ins.
Chapter 122 - Things that Can Be Changed (2)
Chapter 122: Episode 24 ¨C Things that Can Be Changed (2)
In short, the small people were ¡®human beings¡¯ but they weren¡¯t from ¡®Earth¡¯ like I was. There was a clear contradiction in opposing the human race of another.
Therefore, my current actions were due to the enormous ethics of ¡®humanity¡¯ or ¡®justice.¡¯ If I opposed the ¡®small people¡¯ here then I would miss out on the achievement I needed for the ending.
This was the only reason I needed to stab de of Faith into the ground.
[The Star Stream has detected anomalies from you.]
[Warning. Be careful to avoid being hostile to other disasters.]
[If the hostile acts are repeatedly umted...]
Dust flew up and the Japanese screamed as they lost their vision inside the dust.
¡°Uwaaaaack! ¡°What is this all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Cough cough!¡±
It was a blow filled with considerable power so the dust didn¡¯t sink easily.
[A small¡¯s constetion is touching his chest.]
I was troubled for a moment. If I killed them with my own hands, I would be able to get a new scenario right away.
However, the penalty for it would be tremendous. I wanted to dy that moment as much as possible. That¡¯s why, at least...
¡°Ahjussi, I¡¯ll do it this time.¡± Shin Yoosung pulled out a dagger that she had received from Yoo Sangah and stepped forward. ¡°I will deal with both of them.¡±
¡°Can you do it?¡±
¡°It won¡¯t be a problem.¡±
She was like Lee Gilyoung. I didn¡¯t know why kids were so proud these days. Yoo Sangah would¡¯ve stopped her but I wasn¡¯t Yoo Sangah.
I encouraged Shin Yoosung. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t fight for a long time. Did you hear the penalty message just now? You should handle them as quickly as possible.¡±
My options in this scenario would be wider if Shin Yoosung could deal with both these people.
I had a lot to do in Peace Land. Among them, one of the most important goals was to catch the ¡®snake¡¯ that Persephone mentioned. If I didn¡¯t get any penalties in advance then I might be able to catch the snake earlier than expected.
¡°What bastard did this?¡±
Shin Yoosung ran through the dust towards where the voice was heard. At almost the same time, I hid myself using Recluse¡¯s Cloak. It would be an invalid item if they had high level detection skills but these guys didn¡¯t seem to have it.
Sharp magic power emerged from Shin Yoosung¡¯s dagger and moved in a half moon arc.
¡°Uwah!¡±
The Japanese people withdrew from the dust. The earlier move that created the dust had been intentional. I missed a golden opportunity but there was a way to defeat them without me fighting.
The Japanese people were surprised when the child appeared in the dust.
¡°What, this kid?¡±
The Japanese incarnations spoke to Shin Yoosung.
¡°Kid, why are you stopping us?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know what will happen if you do this?¡±
Unfortunately, it just sounded like a foreignnguage to Shin Yoosung who didn¡¯t have the Interpreter skill.
¡°...What are you saying?¡±
Now the Japanese people noticed the situation.
¡°Are you perhaps from South Korea?¡±
¡°Ah, that¡¯s right! This time, the first Korean group entered...¡±
¡°Dammit, the first group will be huge...?¡±
Theirplexions suddenly darkened.
¡°Kid, get lost. We don¡¯t have to fight each other.¡±
¡°Don fight! Don fight! Okay?¡± (TL: They¡¯re speaking in bad english)
¡°We just have to kill them. Small people. Kill! Okay?¡± (TL: They¡¯re speaking in bad english)
The Japanese said they had no intention of fighting in poor English but Shin Yoosung just shook her head. Her sharp dagger pointed at them and the Japanese people shrugged.
¡°Get lost or die. It is one of these two options.¡±
The Japanese started to slowly step back from Shin Yoosung.
¡°Damn... this doesn¡¯t make sense. There isn¡¯t a bounty scenario.¡±
¡°My sponsor wants me to kill this little kid?¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t there two of us?¡±
¡°Did you forget the fighting power of our first group?¡±
¡°Uh...¡±
They were clever people.
Everywhere in the world, those selected for the sixth scenario were the elites of their country. In Japan, the gap between the first group and those who came afterwards was probably considerable. Simr emotions emerged on the faces of the two Japanese.
¡¸ ...Should we run away? ¡¹
On the other hand, strange delight spread among the small people as they watched the confrontation between Shin Yoosung and the Japanese.
¡°Ah, ahh...
¡°Why...?¡±
They were shocked. A small disaster was suddenly fighting against a bigger disaster.
¡°Perhaps it is the small savior?¡±
¡°Yes, the prophecy was right!¡±
[A small¡¯s constetion is supporting the incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung.¡¯]
[A small¡¯s constetion has sponsored 10 coins to the incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung.¡¯]
[The incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has received the possibility of a new scenario.]
I watched the scene while grasping the hilt of my sword. It was a bit underhanded but it was a way to chase them if they ran away.
As I thought, things wouldn¡¯t go so smoothly. The intermediate dokkaebi watched from the air and giggled.
[Japanese incarnations, you might think you are disadvantaged but are you really?]
In any case, this damn dokkaebi. The Japanese people realized something and muttered, ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right! That reminds me, the first group...¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t Asuka be affected by a mutation? The Korean people would be affected by the same thing. I¡¯m telling you now...¡±
¡°There is no need to tell me. In any case, she is just a Korean chibi.¡±
The eyes of the Japanese people changed after they made a decision. Both of them stared at Shin Yoosung with killing intent.
¡°Yes, let¡¯s fight once.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t like children...¡±
They let out unpleasantughs. Shin Yoosung didn¡¯t understand the words but she immediately grasped the situation. Their des moved as the two men slowly surrounded Shin Yoosung.
The killing intent around all three people rose while the two men moved simultaneously.
Shin Yoosung had raised her agility to the maximum and avoided their des without much difficulty. However, the difference was narrow.
These men might not be the best elites of Japan but they were part of the top incarnations. I saw their swordsmanship and was reminded of a description in Ways of Survival.
They used only one sword instead of two and it wasn¡¯t the Large Rock Style. This meant I didn¡¯t need to worry about them being Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, some of Japan¡¯s top swordsmen.
It wasn¡¯t bad for Shin Yoosung¡¯s debut.
¡°It will be hard for you to keep running Kid!¡±
Their aura became even sharper as their sponsors lent them power. The de that wanted to cut the legs aimed at the legs while the de that wanted to cut the arms aimed at the neck. It was natural to step back at the attack.
However, Shin Yoosung¡¯s movements were caught by the swordsmen. No matter how high Shin Yoosung¡¯s overall stats, the swordsmen¡¯sbat skills were overwhelming superior. Shin Yoosung¡¯s cor was cut and a small line formed on her arms.
I firmly held the hilt and prepared to move at any time. It was a pity that I couldn¡¯t act properly as her sponsor.
¡°Die!¡±
The Japanese cried out in an exaggerated tone and aimed at other parts of Shin Yoosung¡¯s body. This time Shin Yoosung didn¡¯t try to escape.
Shin Yoosung was weak in strength and lost her grip on her dagger. The Japanese took this chance to dig through the gap.
However, Shin Yoosung didn¡¯t panic.
[The character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has used ¡®Advanced Diverse Communication Lv. 3.¡¯]
Rather, she turned back and settled on the back of the monster waiting for her. It was a steel wolf.
¡°...What?¡±
It was the right judgment. The basis of fighting was to minimize the opponent¡¯s advantage and maximize your advantages.
Awoooooo!
There were the cries of the wolves as dozens of steel wolves simultaneously emerged from the forest. She had tamed so many wolves in such a short time. She truly was the future ¡®Beast Lord.¡¯
¡°Shit!¡±
The surprised men swung their swords at the wolves but the wolves were already biting onto their arms and legs.
¡°Fuck! These bastards!¡±
They might be weakened 7th grade monsters but the two people would have to consume a lot of magic power to deal with them.
It was truly a rewarding sight. However, Shin Yoosung was still unaware of something. This was why I warned her not to waste time.
[The Star Stream has detected abnormal behaviour from the incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung.¡¯]
[Hostile acts against a disaster have been detected.]
[The incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has been given a first scenario penalty.]
The penalty had finally begun.
¡°Uh...?¡±
Shin Yoosung groaned as she suddenly felt less magic power. Some wolves suddenly left Shin Yoosung¡¯s control and returned to the forest.
[The character Shin Yoosung¡¯s body size has decreased.]
[The character Shin Yoosung¡¯s total stats has decreased.]
The Japanese also noticed it.
¡°T-That¡¯s it! I knew this would happen!¡±
¡°Just a little longer!¡±
...It ended up like this. Shin Yoosung nced at me with anxious eyes. I approached behind Shin Yoosung using Recluse¡¯s Cloak and touched her shoulder.
Shin Yoosung¡¯s trembling subsided. ¡°...Thank you Ahjussi.¡±
Shin Yoosung understood something and bit her lips.
[The incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has been given a second scenario penalty.]
Shin Yoosung¡¯s body size was getting smaller. That¡¯s right, this was the result of a disaster abandoning their authority. Still, she had enough power remaining to take away the lives of the Japanese people.
Shin Yoosung showed the highest agility level and approached their backs using the beast.
¡°A-Aaaagh!¡±
Did she learn from watching Yoo Sangah? Shin Yoosung stabbed her dagger in a poisonous manner. Her dagger moved and a man¡¯s carotid artery was cut.
¡°K-Kuoock, r-ridiculous...¡±
The man paled as blood gushed from him and he fell to the ground.
[The character ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has defeated the ¡®disaster without a name.¡¯]
[Major contributor: Shin Yoosung]
Shin Yoosung wiped the blood that sttered onto her cheek and moved to the next target. The man was terrified and stepped back. The steel wolves rushed in and bit his arms and legs.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
Shin Yoosung approached to cut off the man¡¯s breathing. It all happened in an instant.
[The incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has beenpletely deprived of the rights of a disaster.]
[The dokkaebi of the Star Stream sees Shin Yoosung¡¯s behavior as taking action against the scenario.]
[The incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ has been given a third scenario penalty.]
[The small person transformation will begin.]
In this scenario, a person who gave up their qualification to be a predatory species would be the prey. Shin Yoosung¡¯s body became smaller at an iparable rate.
¡°Ah...?¡±
There was a small groan as Shin Yoosung¡¯s clothes became too big and her dagger fell to the ground. Shin Yoosung¡¯s height shrank from my waist, to my knees and finally to my shins. Then Shin Yoosung¡¯s body was buried in her clothes.
Her stats diminished and her control became weaker, causing the steel wolves to return to the forest. A small Shin Yoosung emerged from her clothes and lumped towards the man.
¡°Yoosung, you can stop.¡±
Shin Yoosung gasped for breath. There was a mixture of poisonous anger and grief in her eyes. There had been many fights with monsters but this was probably the first time shemitted a serious killing.
¡°He is already knocked out.¡±
Shin Yoosung stared at the fallen Japanese man. He was lying on the floor while foaming at the mouth. I tore away a bit of my clothes and covered Shin Yoosung¡¯s body.
Shin Yoosung was as small as my fist and observed her body for a while. She probably realized what had happened to her. ¡°We have to fight them in this state?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°...How many are left?¡±
¡°A lot.¡±
Shin Yoosung looked up at me with aplicated gaze. ¡°Ahjussi, did you know? We will be a small person if we are hostile to the disasters.¡±
I nodded and approached the fallen Japanese man. I checked and he was in his early 20s at best. He was still breathing.
¡°Are you going to use this person?¡± Shin Yoosung asked me.
¡°There is a person I have to kill before I change.¡±
New messages rose as soon as I said this.
]Be careful to avoid being hostile to other disasters.]
[Those who are hostile to disasters will lose the right to be a disaster.]
There was still a dokkaebi having fun in the sky. Yes... Laugh while you can.
[The Star Stream thinks that your ¡®disaster activities¡¯ isn¡¯t enough.]
[If you don¡¯t kill the rule of Peace Land in the next hour, you will be deemed as unwilling to act as a disaster and will be deprived of the status of a ¡®disaster.¡¯]
I looked down at the Japanese man and slowly took off my cloak. There was one hour remaining. In this one hour, I had to catch their ¡®king.¡¯
Chapter 123 - Things that Can Be Changed (3)
Chapter 123: Episode 24 ¨C Things that Can Be Changed (3)
TL: The earlier chapters uploaded in December was from when I transferred older tranted chapters over to here. The novel was only publicly released a few days ago and the official schedule is starting from today. Official schedule will be 12 a week.
¡¸ Suzuki walked through the forest and thought, ¡®I was really lucky.¡¯
Suzuki trembled as he recalled what happened. A girl who manipted monsters and wielded the dagger with great skill. Suzuki couldn¡¯t forget how Murakami died with one blow.
¡®South Korea is scary. A child is already at that level.¡¯
She was just a kid so Suzuki couldn¡¯t guess how skilled the man near him was. The man was wearing a pure white coat and held a white sword. There wasn¡¯t anything special about him apart from the colour of his coat but he was a life saver to Suzuki. ¡°Thank you very much. I would¡¯ve died if you hadn¡¯t been here.¡±
¡°It was nothing.¡±
¡°I was honestly impressed. I didn¡¯t expect to get help from a Korean person.¡±
¡°It was natural to help.¡± The man in the white coat was modest.
Above all, Suzuki liked that the man was good at Japanese. It was obviously a skill but having the Japanese Interpreter skill was a sign that he liked Japanese culture.
Suzuki asked, ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know your name yet. Can I get your name? I am Suzuki Tatsuya.¡±
¡°My name is Dokja. Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°Kimu Dojega?¡±
¡°...Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°Hoh.¡± Kim Dojega. Wasn¡¯t it a good name? Suzuki liked this Korean name. ¡°By the way, did you see the child? She killed my colleague...¡±
¡°Unfortunately, I missed her.¡±
¡°Sigh... I see.¡±
Suzuki didn¡¯t know if this was true or not. It couldn¡¯t be helped even if it wasn¡¯t true. In any case, this person was South Korean. It wasn¡¯t strange for him to hide the child or pretend he didn¡¯t see the child.
Still, it was disappointing. Suzuki would¡¯ve been able to get revenge very easily if he caught the child. As part of the third group from Japan, he already knew about the ¡®small person transformation¡¯ hidden piece of the sixth scenario.
He stated, ¡°You saved me so you must¡¯ve witnessed the small person transformation.¡±
¡°If you¡¯re talking about how she became smaller, I naturally saw it.¡±
¡°Then the story will be quick. We are from different countries but we don¡¯t have to fight each other in this scenario. Our enemies are the small people, not humans.¡±
¡°I know. That¡¯s why I saved Suzuki.¡± Fortunately, the Korean man in front of him seemed to agree. Kim Dojega said, ¡°By the way, the Japanese side knows many things.¡±
¡°Yes. We progressed quickly through our scenario and there were simr cases among the previous yers.¡±
¡°It was simr?¡±
¡°There were a few cases where a human turned into a small person.¡±
¡°What happened to them?¡±
¡°Most of them are dead. Only one person is still alive.¡±
Kim Dojega heard this and seemed to think of something. It was hard to know what the Korean was thinking. The slightly nervous Suzuki opened his mouth. ¡°This is just a reminder but I don¡¯t hate South Korea.¡±
¡°...Why are you saying this all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t Koreans think that Japan hates Korea?¡±
It was said by the prime minister, who was part of Japan¡¯s first group. Of course, it was just a nickname and he wasn¡¯t the real prime minister.
-South Koreans have a strong nationalist sentiment. They will dislike anyone who badmouths their country.
Suzuki disliked the prime minister but never received any damages from listening to his words.
¡°Kim-san. I also like Kim Ahyeon and Park Sungji.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Autumn Sonata is also very interesting. My mother liked it.¡±
Always mention Kim Ahyeon, Park Sungji and Autumn Sonata when meeting a Korean. This was the prime minister¡¯s advice.
¡°I love Japanese manga.¡±
¡°A-Ah. It is like this.¡± The prime minister was apparently right. Suzuki asked excitedly, ¡°What manga do you like?¡±
¡°It is hard for me to pick one. I don¡¯t know if I can keep reading now.¡±
¡°...Certainly, it is a bit unfortunate. I waited for the manga every week but I don¡¯t even know if the mangaka is alive.¡±
It was bitter thinking of such things. Suzuki also liked these things. Manga was one of them.
¡°It is because everything has changed.¡± ¡¹
-Ahjussi.
Shin Yoosung¡¯s voice broke the immersion. I was in the process of using Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 so I couldn¡¯t answer Shin Yoosung immediately.
[The exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 has ended.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Suzuki Tatsuya¡¯ has increased dramatically.]
Immersing myself in the character made it easier to understand them. It was smooth because he had a shallow personality. My focus wasn¡¯t high because I was conscious but it wasn¡¯t hard to read what Suzuki was thinking.
-Ahjussi?
-Sorry, I was busy practicing a skill.
The small Shin Yoosung was currently in my pocket. Shin Yoosung spoke to me through a direct connection because of our sponsor contract.
...It was a bit surprising. I could tell what she was asking without thinking.
I watched Suzuki Tatsuya who was still telling his story. Suzuki appeared as a passing character in Ways of Survival. The world was described from his point of view for a smooth storytelling but he could only get a few pages in Ways of Survival. Still, most ordinary lives could be summed up in a few chapters.
-I don¡¯t understand. Such an ordinary person, how can he do such cruel things...
Shin Yoosung couldn¡¯t understand because of the foreignnguage but she caught the gist of the conversation. I couldn¡¯t help noticing her agitation.
¡°I mean, Kim-san...¡±
The talking Suzuki seemed like an ordinary university student. He was an ordinary youth who took great joy in talking to others and could be found anywhere in the world. I told her.
-I saw it a lot in South Korea. An ordinary person killing the person next to him to survive.
-At the time, it couldn¡¯t be helped because of the scenario.
-It is the same now. That person is doing it because of the scenario.
-It is just an excuse. He won¡¯t die even if he fails...!
-Don¡¯t think about it this way.
I asked her.
-If the dead small people were in our position right now, would the situation be different?
-I don¡¯t think Suzuki is evil. However, I¡¯m not saying he is good either.
-The original evil is ordinary. We are ordinary people but we seem like the most terrible disaster.
-Then he isn¡¯t a bad person?
-No, every human is a disaster for each other.
I deliberately exaggerated things. If I didn¡¯t say this, Shin Yoosung might not be able to escape from the guilt of killing a person. She asked, -Then will I be a disaster in the future?
-Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll stop it from happening.
There was something buzzing in my ears and insects were flying around me. Suzuki was annoyed as he continued the story.
¡°The insects here are still the same size. Aren¡¯t they disasters to the small people?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
There was no way. In this small world, insects couldn¡¯t be the same size as Earth.
-Yoosung. Do you understand what they are saying?
The species that could be tamed by Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were different but it was possible to understand thenguage of other species through Diverse Communication. There was a reason why I ced Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung in different groups in the first ce.
-Hyung... second team... met...
-Good. Then can you pass along my message?
I could feel Shin Yoosung nodding. The insects flying around soon disappeared into the forest. Suzuki saw the distant insects and asked, ¡°Kim-san. Are you listening to me?¡±
¡°I¡¯m listening. Weren¡¯t you talking about creatures from another world?¡± I thought a person who could talk about manga even in this situation was very rare. I struggled to ept it. ¡°I heard that this genre is popr in Japan.¡±
¡°Haha, yes. Creatures from another world are my favourite. It is simr to our situation now. However, it is hard to draw.¡±
The story contents in Japan just before the fall of this world would¡¯ve been simr to South Korea.
Japan and South Korea¡¯s novel sections were full of stories about going back to the past. However, the Japanese side was probably a bit worse. The young Japanese people thought there was no hope when returning to the past.
I wondered, ¡°Isn¡¯t it fun when it is hard?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°This is what I like.¡±
¡°You¡¯re having fun.¡±
Suzuki cut through the low bushes and suddenly thought of something. ¡°That reminds me, we have a mangaka on our side. A person called Asuka Ren...¡±
Asuka Ren?
¡°...That person said something simr to Kim-san. A story isn¡¯t fun if it is too easy.¡±
¡°That person right now...¡±
¡°Oh, we have arrived.¡±
A small empty clearing appeared in the heart of the forest. The anticipation that could be felt everywhere tickled my skin. Perhaps this was the main base of the Japanese early arrivals. By the way, something was strange.
[You have entered somebody¡¯s ¡®colony.¡¯]
[Your physical condition meets the requirements of a ¡®colonist.¡¯]
[The colony effect reduces your overall stats.]
Suzuki¡¯s expression towards me had changed. He asked, ¡°You said it is better to solve hard problems?¡±
Dozens of armed Japanese people popped out of the bushes.
¡°Good. Then I will make it that way.¡±
I was a bit surprised by the unexpected betrayal. Was Suzuki originally this type of person?
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character List Summary]
Name: Suzuki Tatsuya
Private Attribute: Double-Faced Person (Rare)
Sponsor: Silent Sword
+
I see. This was his attribute. I was stillcking.
In any case, Ways of Survival was a novel that could be never ending. How many people weren¡¯t summed up in a few pages?
By the way, the ¡®colony¡¯ effect was activated so it seemed the king of this area wasn¡¯t the ¡®snake.¡¯ He knew I was Korean and deliberately drove me to this side...
¡°You brought the Josenjing.¡± (TL: a Japanese slur for Korean people.)
A samurai who emerged from the bushes said and Suzuki bowed his head. The samurai asked, ¡°You are from the third group. Are you part of the prime minister¡¯s group?¡±
¡°No...¡±
¡°Then is this a tribute?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°What is your name?¡±
¡°Suzuki Tatsuya.¡±
¡°I see. Well done Suzuki. From now on, you are in our group.¡±
Prime minister...
Things had be worse. As far as I knew, there was only one Japanese incarnation who was called ¡®prime minister.¡¯ He was one of the enemies I had to be most wary of, apart from the ¡®snake¡¯ I had to catch. It was because his ability exerted a nearly absolute influence on Koreans.
The samurai stepped forward and spoke. He wasn¡¯t the prime minister. ¡°The ve of the great Japanese Empire has walked into the colony.¡±
I grasped the handle of Unbroken Faith and dered. ¡°If you attack me now then the small person transformation will begin.¡±
¡°We don¡¯t attack you. You will attack us.¡±
¡°Why should I?¡±
¡°Otherwise, your colleagues will die.¡±
What?
¡°Dokja-ssi... I¡¯m sorry.¡±
I looked towards the voice and saw four small people standing side by side. To be precise, they were ¡®transformed into small people.¡¯
Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Lee Jihye... Finally, the smiling no. 406 grandmother.
The samurai ced his sword against Lee Hyunsung¡¯s neck. ¡°Do you understand the situation now?¡±
I couldn¡¯t helpughing. Normally this would be a cancerous development but I was rather pleased. As expected, mypanions had hurt the Japanese people and became small people.
Shin Yoosung asked,
-Ahjussi, what should we do?
What else?
[Hunt the ¡®small people¡¯ in 10 minutes. Otherwise the Star Stream will determine that you have no intention to carry out the activities of a disaster...]
It was the wrong timing to catch the snake. Then... well, the new target wasn¡¯t much different.
¡°Come on, Josenjing.¡±
I looked up at the sky and sighed. Then the stars shone at me like they had been waiting.
[All the constetions of the Korean Penins are looking at you.]
It couldn¡¯t be helped. If they expressed such aversion...
[Every constetion of the Korean penins are angry at the atrocities of Japan!]
[Some of the constetions who have lived in a certain time are waiting for you to call.]
It was proper for me to punish the other party.
Chapter 124 - Things that Can Be Changed (4)
Chapter 124: Episode 24 ¨C Things that Can Be Changed (4)
[The Star Stream has detected anomalies from you.]
I hadn¡¯t fought yet but my body was already showing subtle signs of shrinking. If I received the penalty then I would be like my otherpanions in a sh.
I deliberately approached them slowly and asked. ¡°Why are you hostile to Koreans?¡±
There was a fight against the Japanese in the original novel but it hadn¡¯t started so early. Besides, I destroyed the Absolute Throne and South Korea¡¯s entry into the scenario was slower. That¡¯s why this unfolded...
¡°Do you have to ask? You were hostile to us first.¡±
¡°...Are you talking about nationalist sentiment? I don¡¯t have any anti-Japanese feelings.¡±
¡°You Josenjings killed us first.¡±
I looked at Lee Hyunsung and asked, ¡°Really?¡±
¡°No! It is true that we fought to defend the small people but we didn¡¯t kill the Japanese.¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t?¡±
The samurai gritted his teeth. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about you. If you¡¯re going to feign innocence then stop.¡±
Weren¡¯t we the first ones to enter?
...Wait. Somehow I knew why the Japanese incarnations felt like this.
The samurai cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss...!¡±
Yes, this was it.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ can now be activated.]
[The number four bookmark has been activated.]
[Way of the Wind Lv. 8 has been activated.]
A gust of wind blew my way. The Japanese screamed as they were pushed back by the wind pressure and I rescued my party members in this short gap.
¡°Everybody grab onto me.¡±
Lee Hyunsung and Lee Jihye hung onto my shoulders while Lee Gilyoung slipped into my pocket with Shin Yoosung.
¡°This is my spot!¡±
¡°You can go to the other pocket!¡±
As the children were fighting, I grabbed onto grandmother no. 406 with both hands.
¡°Then I¡¯m going.¡±
I started running through the forest. There was no need to deal with all the Japanese people here. If I killed anyone then my n would be a failure.
[Hostile acts against a disaster have been detected.]
[You have been given a first scenario penalty.]
[Your body size has reduced.]
[Your total stats have decreased.]
Due to magnitude of the battle, the penalty already started. My body size was reduced by approximately 5 cm. Fortunately, my coat was decreased along with my body. As expected from the SSS-grade item, it changed shape with the user. I wondered how small it could be.
¡°Catch him!¡±
I saw the Japanese people running behind me.
[Some constetions want to pay back the nation¡¯s humiliating history.]
[2,000 coins have been sponsored.]
The messages from the Korean constetions rang in my ears. In fact, it wasn¡¯t strange for them to be angry. At first nce, some of the Japanese had constetions that would provoke anger.
I asked Lee Jihye who was clinging to my shoulder. ¡°Why did you get captured already when your sponsor is Duke of Loyalty and Warfare?¡±
¡°...There isn¡¯t any water around here.¡±
The Duke of Loyalty and Warfare was useless without water until he got the Two Dragon Sword. Lee Hyunsung would¡¯ve been penalized while protecting the small children and Lee Gilyoung... he was currently having a conversation with Shin Yoosung.
¡°You should cherish insects. Don¡¯t just kill them.¡±
¡°...The small people aren¡¯t insects.¡±
¡°They are as small as insects.¡±
Yes, I knew what happened. Sometimes I was afraid that Lee Gilyoung would be a psychopath.
¡°He is going in the prime minister¡¯s direction!¡±
¡°Contact the prime minister!¡±
Thanks to the penalty and the colony effect, the Japanese people were catching up to me despite Way of the Wind. I told Lee Hyunsung and the others.
¡°There is a person I have to catch before the snake hunt.¡±
¡°You have to catch the prime minister?¡±
¡°He is someone who leads the Japanese fighters and the disasters will pause for a bit after his death.¡±
Once the small person transformation began, the gap with the disasters was too big. If I didn¡¯t catch the prime minister now then he would be the hardest to deal withter on.
Grandmother no. 406, who was sitting on my hand, asked me. ¡°Young man, am I heavy?¡±
¡°It is heavy.¡±
The grandmother was heavy. It wasn¡¯t became my body size had been reduced.
¡°Do you understand? There is only one chance.¡±
The grandmotherughed. ¡°Yes, yes.¡±
The core of this mission was the grandmother No. 406. It might be fortunate that I found the prime minister, even if I missed the snake. The prime minister was strong but as long as this grandmother existed, the prime minister would surely be killed.
Then a man appeared from the bushes in front of me. ¡°My sponsor is mouring... what is the fuss?¡±
The man wore a gold armband and looked like a yakuza. Needless to say, he was the person I was looking for. He was ¡®Prime Minister¡¯ Yamamoto.
¡°...A Josenjing?¡± The prime minister was holding an iron cage with a female small person trapped inside.
Lee Jihye screamed furiously. ¡°This person...!¡±
The girl in the cage was probably ¡®Asuka Ren¡¯ of the first group. She was the first person from Japan who refused to be a ¡®disaster.¡¯ Just like not all Koreans were good people, not all Japanese were bad. Good and bad were just determined by ident ording to the circumstances.
The prime minister asked, ¡°Hey, who are you?¡±
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Yamamoto Hajime
Age: 64 years old
Constetion Support: Korean Empire Invader
Private Attribute: Colonialist (Hero), Lustful Person (Hero), fear of a Ron (rare), Anti-Korean (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 7, Advanced Weapons Training Lv. 4, Japanese Kendo Lv. 8, Mental Focus Lv. 3, Crowd Command Lv.4...
Stigma: Colonization Lv. 7, Spirit Concentration Lv. 5
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 60 (+10), Strength Lv. 60 (+10), Agility Lv. 60 (+10), Magic Power Lv. 60 (+10).
Overall Evaluation: This is Yamamoto Hajime, who leads one of the four major groups in Japan. He can use ¡®colonization¡¯ to exert a powerful influence on people from a particr nation. If you are Korean or Chinese, it is rmended not to confront this person.
+
¡°Why did the colonial vese here?¡±
Just as there were the three kings in South Korea, Japan had this person. Every country had those who lost sense of what era this was.
[Yamamoto Hajime¡¯s synchro rate has risen due to the scenario buff.]
Korean Empire Invader. The sponsor behind Yamato was Ito Hirobumi, the first prime minister of Japan.
[The effect of ¡®Colonization¡¯ has made your movements dull.]
[The effect of ¡®Colonization¡¯ weakens your mind.]
Yamamoto¡¯s stigma Colonization gave a powerful debuff to people who had experienced domination by Japan in history. The mental debuff was offset by Fourth Wall but the constraints on my movements were quiterge.
I tried to resist capture as I said, ¡°Don¡¯t try to pretend to be a great person.¡±
¡°Trivial person...!¡±
Perhaps the Korean Empire Invader was trying to umte stories in this scenario. However, it wouldn¡¯t work.
[The constetion who longs for the independence of his nation is looking at you.]
[The great independence fighter promises to kill him if you give the constetion three bullets.]
I ran straight towards Yamamoto. I put away Unbroken Faith and pulled out Ganpyeongui.
¡°Kill him!¡±
The clever Yamamoto used his men as a meat shield. It was an act that he did because he knew I would be a small person the moment I killed one person.
Killing Yamamoto himself wasn¡¯t a problem. The problem was that after I killed, the damage I would receive wasn¡¯t just the small person transformation.
If I killed someone then I would lose the effect of King of No Killing. Of course, I would give up the King of No Killing in this scenario.
However, not right now. I couldn¡¯t afford to kill the prime minister. Thus, I wouldn¡¯t be the one fighting here.
[Ganpyeongui¡¯s special option ¡®Echo of the Stars¡¯ has been activated.]
[¡®Echo of the Stars¡¯ allows you to ask for the help of a constetion.]
[The constetion can refuse your request and the number of times Ganpyeongui can be used is reduced when the constetion responds to the request.]
I turned the Earth Disc and the constetions on the Sky Disc shed brightly.
[The great constetions hear your voice flowing through the stars.]
I didn¡¯t hesitate to call one constetion. ¡°I want the Nation¡¯s Independence Activist.¡±
In the long history of invasions on the Korean penins, there were a myriad of people who received the title of independence activist. Among them, there was only one person with the modifier of Nation¡¯s Independence Activist.
It was because all the other constetions of the Korean Penins gave her this modifier.
[The constetion ¡®Nation¡¯s Independence Activist¡¯ has responded to your call.]
A calm and clear energy prated my mind and the constetion¡¯s image surfaced. She wore ck mourning clothes and a white skirt. A girl who was too young to climb to the throne of a constetion.
I opened my mouth but the constetion shook her head. It was as if there was no need to say thank you. I nodded. If Japan had Ito then South Korea had this constetion.
¡°What? Who is his sponsor?¡±
The confused Japanese incarnations yelled. However, there were no signs of abnormalities from me and the Japanese regained their spirit.
[The stigma ¡®Deration of Independence Lv. 1¡¯ has excluded the energy of Colonization.]
They were unaware that my strike had already begun.
[The stigma ¡®Non-Violent Zone¡¯ blocks the movement of you and people from certain countries..]
Suddenly, all the Japanese people in the vicinity froze.
¡°My body...?¡±
If Colonization was a stigma exclusively for Koreans, Non-Violent Zone was a stigma exclusively for the Japanese. Once this stigma was used, all Japanese people in the area would be unable to move one step. It wouldst for one minute.
¡°Move! Move now!¡±
Among the confused Japanese people, only Yamamotoughed like it was interesting. He was also trapped by my stigma. ¡°The power of this constetion... how interesting. My sponsor is going crazy.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°However, you also can¡¯t move. How will you kill me?¡±
I smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you.¡±
It was natural. The person who would kill Yamamoto had been decided from the beginning.
¡°Grandmother, now!¡±
The person sitting on my left hand, prisoner no. 406 moved. Like magic, the grandmother¡¯s body started to grow rapidly.
¡°W-What is that?¡±
In fact, the grandmother had never been affected by the small person transformation. It was because she was a ¡®small person¡¯ from the beginning. It was thanks to the magic that my mother¡¯s subordinate, Jeon Woochi ced on her.
¡°Don¡¯t panic! She is just a grandmother!¡±
The Japanese staggered due to the binding force as they tried to stop the grandmother. The grandmother just approached them with a smile.
[The character ¡®Lee Boksoon¡¯ has activated the skill ¡®Elderly Person Lv. 7¡¯.]
[Characters younger than ¡®Lee Boksoon¡¯ will feel respect for her.]
¡°Shit, what is this?¡±
The Japanese people retreated like they were conceding seats on the subway. Of course, it wasn¡¯t intentional.
¡°Huhu, thanks for letting me pass. In fact, there is no need to make concessions.¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Boksoon¡¯ has activated the skill ¡®Old Strength Lv. 6¡¯.]
¡°This grandmother is strong.¡±
The Japanese people pushed by the grandmother screamed and fell down. Their arms were swollen like they would burst. Her appearance had transformed into a muscr body. Lee Hyunsung gaped over the wonderful muscles.
¡°...B-Block! Block her!¡± Prime Minister Yamamoto realized something was wrong and screamed.
I opened my mouth. ¡°Grandmother, do it quickly.¡±
Lee Boksoon nodded. It might be a favourable situation but she would be a small person if she killed even one person. The important thing was killing the target before bing a small person. The energy of Lee Boksoon¡¯s sponsor emerged.
[The constetion ¡®Nation¡¯s Independence Activist¡¯ and ¡®Harbin Sniper¡¯ has created an ensemble effect.]
[The Harbin Sniper will gain a 100% hit rate.]
[The Harbin Sniper¡¯s bullet damage will increase by 150%.]
Now Lee Boksoon looked more like a fighter than an old person. A fighter who dedicated his life for only one purpose.
¡°How long have you been sitting in the elderly seats? This isn¡¯t the Korean Empire. I tried to get along with the young people but they should know when to move out of the way.¡±
[The character ¡®Lee Boksoon¡¯ has activated the skill ¡®Three Shots Lv. 1¡¯.]
Lee Boksoon made a gun shape by stretching out her index finger and thumb to a 90 degree angle. Magic power formed at the tip of her index finger. Most incarnations were hardly ever damaged by magic power bullets. Except for one person.
The prime minister was shocked. ¡°T-That ability? Your sponsor is...!¡±
¡¸ Stage Transformation. ¡¹
The phenomenon that urred when constetions rted to each other met was activated.
The surrounding scenery distorted and I seemed to hear the engine of a steam lotive. It became an old train tform. It was my first time seeing it but I knew where this ce was.
The year 1909, Harbin, China.
¡°Aaaaah...!¡± It was the ce where Ito Hirobumi had died. ¡°N-No! Dammit! Stop her!¡±
Yamamoto shouted with fright. For Stage Transformation to ur, the synchronization with the constetion had to be absolute.
[Specialized damage of ¡®Three Shots¡¯ is applied due to the influence of Stage Transformation.]
[The bullets¡¯ damage will increase by 2000%.]
The bullets made to kill only one person burned at Lee Boksoon¡¯s fingertip.
[The constetion Korean Empire Invader is requesting help from the other constetions of Japan!]
[The constetion Korean Empire Invader is screaming and staring at incarnation ¡®Lee Boksoon¡¯.]
Prisoner number 406, Lee Boksoon. The sponsor behind here was the righteous An Junggeun. (TL: Person who assassinated Ito Hirobumi)
¡°Farewell, Japanese lord.¡±
The three shots fired and Yamamoto stared nkly at his chest as he fell backwards.
Chapter 125 - Things that Can Be Changed (5)
Chapter 125: Episode 24 ¨C Things that Can Be Changed (5)
Yamamoto was killed with only three bullets. White smoke emerged from Lee Boksoon¡¯s fingertips like she was a Western cowboy. She was a really tough grandmother.
[The Disaster of Fame has been killed.]
[The disaster called a ¡®colonialist¡¯ has disappeared.]
[You have earned 5,000 coins.]
[Major contributor: Lee Boksoon, Kim Dokja.]
It was regrettable that I didn¡¯t catch the snake but hunting the prime minister wasn¡¯t a bad ie. The absence of the prime minister in the uing wall would greatly undermine the advance of the Japanese army. Thepensation was also great.
[Some constetions are against your excessive nationalistic sentiment.]
There were many constetionsining about my scenario but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Nationalism on the Korean Penins gave coins. If I had to sell a story then it was better to sell it at an expensive price.
[Many constetions of the Korean Penins are cheering for your reenactment.]
[10,000 coins have been sponsored.]
Indeed, there were constetions who haven¡¯t forgotten the old days. The confused Japanese incarnations ran towards Yamamoto but it was already toote..
¡°P-Prime minister!¡±
In the meantime, I ran towards Lee Boksoon who was a dozen metres away. Lee Boksoon¡¯s body was rapidly shrinking.
[The character ¡®Lee Boksoon¡¯ haspletely abandoned her rights as a disaster.]
[The dokkaebi of the Star Stream sees Lee Boksoon¡¯s behavior as taking action against the scenario.]
[The small person transformation will begin.]
Lee Boksoon had a tired expression but it seemed to be the aftereffect of using Three Shots. The stigmas of certain constetions could cause severe physical and mental damage to the person who used it. Thus, she waspletely exhausted the moment she used the stigma.
¡°Young man, give me a lift.¡±
¡°Put on the clothes in my pocket first.¡±
There were a few pieces of clothing I got in return for saving the small people earlier. I put the grandmother in the left pocket of my coat and Lee Jihye helped her dress.
[Way of the Wind Lv. 8 has been activated.]
The remaining time for Bookmark was 10 minutes. Now I had to get out of the forest area in 10 minutes.
¡°The prime minister is dead!¡±
¡°Stop them!¡±
The Japanese people were angry.
[You have received the second scenario penalty.]
[Hunt the ¡®small people¡¯ in 5 minutes. Otherwise the Star Stream will determine that you have no intention to carry out the activities of a disaster...]
Damn. It was 5 minutes rather than 10 minutes. The time was too short.
¡°Take me with you!¡±
The Japanese woman inside the cage that Yamamoto had dropped when he died shouted.
¡°Please! Please!¡±
...Asuka Ren. I felt no hesitation. I intended to bring her with me in the first ce. I jumped forward like a gust of wind and ced her in my hand after smashing her cage.
¡°Thank you! Really...¡±
I skipped the greetings and tensed the muscles of both legs. ¡°Hold on tightly.¡±
I used all of my magic power. The wind split apart and the fastest ¡®road¡¯ appeared. The wind force around my legs captured the precise movements of my muscles and created the optimum speed.
Colonization had disappeared and it was easier to run than before. However, my stats were halved and the speed wasn¡¯t satisfactory. However, I could actually reach this speed with a level 30 agility. Way of the Wind was a truly great skill.
Asuka Len told me, ¡°You are really fast. This speed is as good as Karasu from Japan.¡±
Karasu was probably referring to the tengu ¡®Karasu.¡¯
¡°I¡¯ll be faster if I have more power.¡±
¡°Do you know Karasu?¡±
¡°It is a ssic monster from Japan.¡±
I should be faster than Karasu-tengu with Way of the Wind but now wasn¡¯t the time. Besides, I couldn¡¯t say that Way of the Wind was my skill. Bookmark had a time limitation.
¡°Kill him! In any case, we will just be smaller!¡±
¡°We will take care of the smaller ones so kill him!¡±
The Japanese didn¡¯t hesitate anymore.
¡°Get revenge for the prime minister!¡±
A few swords narrowly missed my shoulder. It was dangerous but then the terrain in front of me started to change. The surrounding trees wriggled and took the shape of a forest path. The shape of the forest was changing.
I thought it was magic but Asuka Ren told me. ¡°It is night. Look out!¡±
I btedly recalled a mention of it in Ways of Survival. The forest area of Peace Land changed shape at night.
It was a type ofbyrinth as the forest itself turned into the stomach of a giant monster. Sticky digestive juices emerged wherever I walked. The reason why the small people of Peace Land didn¡¯t enter this forest was be none of them returned when it was night.
¡°Catch him!¡±
¡°Aaaaack!¡±
The forest camouge had begun and the Japanese people chasing me seemed lost. Of course, the big disasters couldn¡¯t be digested by the forest but there was enough time.
[Hunt the ¡®small people¡¯ in 3 minutes.
I did my best but the maze-like forest area paralyzed my sense of direction. There was no specific way to escape from the night forest in Ways of Survival. Instead...
¡°This way!¡±
It was written in Ways of Survival:
¡¸ The first person to be obtained in Peace Land is Asuka Ren. ¡¹
I followed Asuka Ren¡¯s directions.
¡°Run to the right at that tree!¡±
¡°Japanesedy, do you know the way?¡±
Lee Boksoon asked in fluent Japanese and Asuka Ren replied hesitantly. ¡°I know this forest well.¡±
¡°Huhu, is it a relevant skill?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
I knew that Asuka Ren was lying. She couldn¡¯t navigate this forest because of a path finding skill. Perhaps as far as Peace Land was concerned, she was as much an expert in it as I was in Ways of Survival. Maybe this was why the Japanese saved her.
I carried Asuka Ren and used Way of the Wind at its highest level. I ran quickly but the time limit was faster.
[Hunt the ¡®small people¡¯ in 1 minute.]
A bit more, just a bit more.
¡°Catch him!
¡°We must catch him!¡±
The number of Japanese people chasing me decreased sharply as the road twisted several times.
¡°Almost there!¡±
Finally, I reached the end of the forest zone.
[You were unable to hunt the small people within the time limit.]
The dokkaebis of the Star Stream have determined you won¡¯t carry out the activities of a disaster.]
[You have been given a third scenario penalty.]
[The small person transformation will begin.]
Damn.
¡°Get away from me!¡±
My party members noticed something at my shout and removed themselves from my body. It was like my body was being spun in a juicer. The power left my body and there was the sound of thunder in my ears.
I blinked again and my line of sight was almost at the ground. This was how a small person felt. Fortunately, the coat shrank with my body. I didn¡¯t lose any items because I ced all of them in the subspace, including Unbroken Faith. The problem was when I took them out again...
¡°Ajusshi, are you okay?¡±
I nodded towards my party members and spoke to Asuka Ren, who was watching me from a distance. ¡°Asuka Ren-ssi.¡±
¡°...Did I introduce myself?¡±
¡°The other Japanese people told me your name. I would like to ask you to take my party members to Veronica Castle.¡±
Asuka¡¯s eyes grew bigger at my words. She wondered how I knew the name of a ce in Peace Land.
¡°There is no time to exin. Please. I will stop them here.¡±
¡°I understand.¡±
There was the sound of the Japanese people breathing in the distance. Three of them managed to chase me to the end. They varied in height but all of a sudden, they looked like monsters.
¡°Damn Josenjing!¡±
If there was one person then the party members might somehow be able to beat them after joining forces. But three of them...
There was no certainty that we could beat them, even if we use all our powers. Lee Hyunsung said, ¡°We can¡¯t leave you alone.¡±
¡°You have to go so that all of you can live. I have a way to escape if I am alone.¡±
The Japanese people who had struggled through thebyrinth forest spat on the ground and smiled cruelly at us.
¡°I¡¯ll trample on them like bugs.¡±
I watched them approach and shouted, ¡°Gilyoung!¡±
Lee Gilyoung nodded with understanding. Small insects were flying towards this side.
¡°I will see all of youter.¡±
The insects started carrying the group members on their backs in ones or twos. Based on the speed of the insects, quite some distance could be gained while I buy time.
¡°Wait a minute! Ajusshi!¡± Shin Yoosung cried out as a samurai de flew towards me.
The de stabbed into the ground next to me. There was a wave of magic power and I reflexively rolled my body. It wouldn¡¯t be a big deal when I was a human but now even the edge of the de was dangerous for me. Maybe I would be simply cut into two.
¡°Die!¡±
I had a n to catch the prime minister with Lee Boksoon but now I had no specific measures. I could somehow buy time by running into thebyrinth forest again or...
¡°I will kill him. Chase after the rest!¡±
Two of the three Japanese people nodded and chased after the people on the insects. I couldn¡¯t let that happen
[The stigma Non-Violent Zone Lv.1 has been used!]
The Japanese people stopped.
¡°Damn, again...!¡±
The stuck Japanese people looked back at me with irritation.
My magic power had been significantly reduced as a result of the small person transformation and it took a considerable amount of magic power juts to block the three of them. My head hurt and blood flowed from my nose.
[The constetion ¡®Nation¡¯s Independence Activist¡¯ has blessed you.]
Along with the message, the magic power required to use the stigma decreased and my body becamefortable. I heard the voice of a constetion in my head.
[Child, this is the only time I will respond to a call.]
¡°Thank you, Martyr.¡±
[History is recorded in order to not repeat mistakes. Make sure you don¡¯t repeat the past for the sake of individual sess.]
The constetion seemed to notice that I used her for excessive directing. I used Non-Violent Zone for violence and the constetion became angry. I barely managed to nod and looked around nervously.
[Non-Violent Zone has 30 seconds left.]
Once Non-Violent Zone ended, I had to run to the forest area with all my power.
The swords were filled with a tremendous magic power and were determined to cut me in two. I might not die here but I would be seriously wounded if I made a mistake.
15 seconds, 14 seconds, 13 seconds...
Then a questionable message was heard.
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯miserates with your plight.]
...Huh? The moment I heard the name of a familiar constetion, there was a strange sound and explosive gunfire was heard.
[The character ¡®Gong Pildu¡¯ has activated ¡®Armed Fortress Lv. 1!]
Dududududu!
Chapter 126: Episode 24 ¨C Things that Can Be Changed (6)
I was a bit surprised to see it. It was Armed Fortress, not Armed Zone. Gong Pildu¡¯s stigma had passed level 10 and entered the next step.
[You have invaded private property!]
It was a surprise. This message was wee in a moment like this.
¡°Ack! It hurts! What is this?¡±
The Japanese screamed painfully as the hundreds of turrets fired at the same time. One hit wasn¡¯t a big blow but it was disastrous once hundreds of bullets poured out. The damage was even greater because their movements were restrained.
Dududududu!
Blood flowed from their bodies as the Japanese were hit by the bullets.
¡°Eyes! My eyes!¡±
¡°What? What is this?¡±
The shells flew without stopping. The Japanese screamed and sat down as they were hit.
¡°Full advance!¡±
The army of small people hiding at the entrance of the forest joined in. Originally, it would¡¯ve been hopeless but the situation changed due to the current state of the Japanese people. Small des dug into the holes made by bullets and the Japanese screamed in session. Then I heard a dignified voice. ¡°Don¡¯t invade private property. This is mynd.¡±
As expected from the Armed Fortress Master. Hey down private property even whening to this world.
The wounded Japanese got up and shouted, ¡°R-Retreat! Let¡¯s go back!¡±
It was great. Gong Pildu¡¯s turrets were strong enough to make three disasters retreat despite their small size.
I turned around and saw a small fortress rising from the ground. It was hard to call it a proper fortress but I could see why he was called Armed Fortress Master.
¡°Waaaaahhhhh!¡±
¡°We won! We defeated the disasters!¡±
The jubnt small people gathered around and shouted for victory. There were two people standing on top of the fortress. One of them was Gong Pildu. The other one...
¡°Why is this yournd? This isn¡¯t a ce where private property is recognized.¡±
¡°A little girl doesn¡¯t know what she is talking about...¡±
¡°Hrmm, shouldn¡¯t you show more courtesy to this goddess?¡±
...This voice? The small people shouted again. ¡°Goddess-nim, hooray! Hooray!¡±
...Goddess? The woman at the top of the fortress discovered me and jumped down. Her short dress blew in the breeze and the sound of a lightnding was heard. She had a distinctive prideful look. She really hadn¡¯t changed.
The small people parted in front of her like the waves before Moses. I smiled and opened my mouth, ¡°Haven¡¯t you be very sessful?¡±
Han Sooyoung approached and raised my chin with her fingers. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Kim Dokja. You are still ugly.¡±
I once again met Han Sooyoung, the goddess of Peace Land.
We headed to the castle and I heard about the things that happened to Han Sooyoung. ¡°I was walking down the street when I was hit by a bus full of survivors.¡±
¡°Then?¡±
¡°I woke up here.¡±
¡°Does that make sense? What about Gong Pildu?¡±
¡°I fell into Han River and was here when I opened my eyes.¡±
I felt disbelief. ¡°What is this fantasy novel?¡±
¡°Have you forgotten where we are now?¡±
This was the conversation.
In fact, it seemed absurd but something simr had happened in Ways of Survival. There were quite a few returnees who travelled to another world after falling into Han River or being hit by a bus. Still, to experience such a thing during a scenario...
What the hell were those dokkaebi jerks doing? I asked, ¡°Then why are you the goddess? Did you ask them to call you that?¡±
Han Sooyoung shook her head and grumbled. ¡°Che, treating me like this for saving you.¡±
¡°What? Tell me.¡±
¡°Have you forgotten who I am?¡±
¡°Eh?¡±
¡°Has your brain decreased due to your smaller head?¡±
Come to think of it, this was a stupid question. Han Sooyoung was the only prophet remaining in Seoul Dome.
Moreover, one day on Earth was three days on Peace Land. We had been separated for a week so the time Han Sooyoung spent in PeaceLand was around three weeks.
She knew the future and was given three weeks. It wasn¡¯t strange for Han Sooyoung to be the goddess of another world... no, it was still a bit strange. Why was she a goddess instead of a queen?
¡°You two know each other very well.¡± I looked back and saw Gong Pildu watching us with a disgruntled expression.
I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth. I didn¡¯t want to but there was something I should say. ¡°Gong Pildu.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°What are you talking about?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry for not taking care of you.¡±
¡°...Who asked you to take care of me?¡±
¡°I¡¯m really sorry. Thank you for saving me.¡±
I really was apologetic this time so I spoke in honorifics. Frankly, I had been too busy in the fifth scenario to care about Gong Pildu. This time he saved me when my life was in danger. It was too embarrassing to call myself a patron of the Defense Master.
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ scoffs at your apology.]
¡°Che.¡± They seemed to suit each other well.
[You have sponsored the Defense Master 5,000 coins.]
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ reluctantly nods.]
Gong Pildu red at me for a moment before turning away. ¡°Then do well next time.¡±
It was funny to see a person so full of pride. In any case, I was d that both of them were alive, even if they had be small people. Eh? Wait. They became a small person...?
I nced at the two people for a moment. That reminded me, why had they chosen to stop being disasters? Both of them weren¡¯t the type of people who would do this?
¡°I am here to say thank you.¡±
I looked back and saw that Lee Hyunsung and the others were approaching. They had been riding the insects towards Veronica when they countered Gong Pildu¡¯s group passing by.
¡°No need. I just did what I had to do.¡± Han Sooyoung smiled slightly and waved her hands. I now knew what it was like when a devil wore a mask.
Lee Jihye watched Han Sooyoung and opened her mouth. ¡°By the way... who are you?¡±
That reminded me, this was the first time that people saw Han Sooyoung¡¯s actual appearance, not her avatar. In other words, the party members had no idea that she was the First Apostle.
Han Sooyoung nced at me and I answered on her behalf.
¡°Uh, that...¡±
Lee Jihye surely wouldn¡¯t stay still if she found out this was the First Apostle. Lee Jihye was the one who suffered the most damage when the apostles attacked Chungmuro.
The party would be turned upside down if Han Sooyoung¡¯s identity was revealed and a blood feud might ur. Eventually, I decided to close my eyes and betray my conscience.
¡°She is just a friend I know.¡±
I didn¡¯t know if I could use the word ¡®friend.¡¯ Well, it didn¡¯t matter. I had no friends anyway. I couldn¡¯t see Han Sooyoung¡¯s face.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but... can I ask you one thing?¡± The one who broke the awkward atmosphere was Asuka Ren, the Japanese person I rescued from the cage.
Han Sooyoung looked between me and the Japanese person. Lee Jihye was the same. ¡°...Then who is this Japanese person? Is this person also a friend?¡±
It was a somewhat sarcastic tone. Damn brat.
¡°Asuka Ren... she is an incarnation from Japan. She isn¡¯t a friend but a trapped prisoner I saved.¡±
¡°Why did she need to be saved? She is Japanese.¡±
¡°This fight isn¡¯t Japan vs. South Korea. It is the small people against the disasters.
Lee Jihye seemed dissatisfied but she was convinced.
Han Sooyoung whispered to me. ¡°What is this? Was this person in the original novel?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±
She probably read up to the fourth regression but she didn¡¯t know Asuka Ren? Oh, was Asuka Ren not active then? Asuka Ren nced between Han Sooyoung and I with nervous eyes before opening her mouth again. ¡°Excuse me, the question...¡±
¡°Ah, say it.¡±
¡°How did you already get the Peace Land approval?¡±
That¡¯s right. Certainly, it was natural for Asuka Ren to be curious. Han Sooyoung wondered, ¡°Kim Dokja, what is she saying?¡±
¡°She is asking how you became the goddess.¡±
¡°Ah, that?¡±
The others btedly understood the question and stared curiously at Han Sooyoung. I also wondered what the hell happened. No matter how fast she grew, it waspletely different from bing stronger in three weeks and bing the goddess of a kingdom.
¡°I told you. The first ce where we fell was the north. Ahjussi and I fell in the middle of an attack on Veronica.¡±
¡°It was during a raid?¡±
¡°Some of the first Japanese group were attacking Veronica.¡±
¡°So?¡±
¡°Ah, one of the Japanese brats looked at us and said something. I was annoyed and killed him.¡±
I was speechless for a moment. I roughly knew how things had gone. The Veronica Kingdom was going to perish because of the disaster. Then two people suddenly fell and killed the disasters. From the viewpoint of the small people, Han Sooyoung and Gong Pildu probably seemed like gods.
¡°Well... I wouldn¡¯t have killed him if I knew I would be a small person.¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t read this scenario?¡±
¡°I was walking along the street when I was suddenly transported somewhere. How could I know this was the sixth scenario area?¡±
...That¡¯s why the Japanese saw us and attacked. These two people were one of the causes.
¡°Because of you, we...¡±
¡°Ah, I can see it.¡±
Beyond the ins, the castle of this abandoned world could be seen. We looked at the pce. It was a broken pce. The traces of the disaster could been seen from the ruined castle walls. The people were crying in the ruined kingdom.
¡°Goddess-nim!¡±
¡°The goddess is back...!¡±
The small people who became nothing in front of an overwhelming disaster. A scruffy looking crowd came out to greet us.
Han Sooyoung showed a bitter smile. ¡°...It is already over. Fucking Peace Land.¡±
I listened to her words and realized again. I¡¯ve been lucky until now but that would end in the next battle. The struggle with the disasters had just begun and we had to continue fighting a losing battle.
I stared at the people who wereing. The people of this world resembled the old Earth. There were no sword masters, no 9th circle monsters and even the use of a ¡®system¡¯ was limited. The people of the so-called ¡®authentic fantasy¡¯ couldn¡¯t stop the invaders, no matter how hard they tried. And I knew whose ¡®work¡¯ this world belonged to.
¡°Asuka Ren.¡±
The beautiful woman flinched and looked at me. The key to this scenario was this girl. Despite reading Ways of Survival, Asuka Ren knew this world better than I did.
¡°Join the South Korean group. We need your help.¡±
Chapter 127 - Those Who Face a God (1)
Chapter 127: Episode 25 ¨C Those Who Face a God (1)
My party arrived at Veronica and rested for one day. The next morning, I got up first and stood at the entrance of the castle as I informed the party of my ns. Lee Hyunsung asked, ¡°Surely you¡¯re not going alone?¡±
¡°I won¡¯t be alone. I¡¯m going with those two.¡± I pointed to Han Sooyoung and Asuka Ren.
Then Lee Jihye wondered, ¡°What are we going to do while Ahjussi is gone?¡±
¡°You and Hyunsung-ssi are in charge of guarding Veronica¡¯s walls. Have you checked the updated scenario?¡±
¡°...Is it to defend Veronica Castle until the end of the scenario period?¡±
¡°Yes. That is your mission.¡±
¡°But...¡±
¡°Do it.¡±
¡°...I understand.¡±
I looked at Lee Hyunsung. ¡°There is Gong Pildu but it will be hard to stop the disasters with Armed Fortress alone. I¡¯m sorry to leave it to you but...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. Protecting a base is my specialty.¡±
I was relieved by his determined words but I knew it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. It might seem like an easy task but surviving this scenario was harder than going with me.
¡°If you see the ¡®snake¡¯ of the first group, don¡¯t confront him head on. Flee Veronica Castle if you have to. Can you promise me this?¡±
¡°I promise.¡±
Their mission was to protect the castle until I returned. I gave orders to Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung. ¡°Secure as many insects and monsters as possible. Your mission is to buy time.¡±
Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung nodded.
¡°If you go to the north forest then there will be many unique monsters of this world. Go and tame those monsters.¡±
¡°Yes Hyung.¡±
¡°I understand Ahjussi.¡±
Arge number of monsters would help bridge the gap with the disasters. In the process, the children¡¯s skills would also increase significantly. I left Veronica Castle. Han Sooyoung saw the people watching us from behind and asked, ¡°So where are we going?¡±
¡°The eastern rocky zone.¡±
The startled Asuka Ren told me. ¡°The Japanese has already upied that area.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
I stared straight at Asuka Ren. She had soft and curly silver hair. She had a clear face with sharp lines, like a cartoonist had painstakingly drawn it. It was a face that gave off the feeling of a warrior rather than just a beauty.
I told her, ¡°That¡¯s why I brought you.¡±
¡°Do you trust me?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t trust you. I just want to get back the value of saving your life.¡±
¡°...I see.¡±
It was easier to say this than to buy her favour with kindness. In fact, Asuka Ren looked worried about something. Perhaps when her troubles were over, she would tell me the information in earnest.
We travelled over the ins area towards an area filled with rock formations. The trip was estimated to take two days but we could do it within one day if we moved fast.
Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°What is the n?¡±
¡°Unlike us, Japan has an Absolute Throne. In other words, there is an ¡®absolute king¡¯ among the first group whomands all of them.¡±
Han Sooyoung pondered on my words. ¡°...Do you mean to catch the king?¡±
Han Sooyoung was really quick to understand. I nodded.
Han Sooyoung muttered, ¡°Well, your idea is correct. There would be a profound effect on the entire group if the master of the Absolute Throne dies...¡±
¡°Of course, killing the king won¡¯t stop all of them. Still, it will allow us to hold on until the end of the scenario.¡±
¡°Hrmm, then you¡¯ve been aiming for the boss since the beginning? I like your ambition.¡±
Then Asuka Ren interrupted. ¡°Do you know who the king of Japan is now?¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t he the Sovereign of Eight Heads?¡±
The Sovereign of Eight Heads. It was abbreviated to just a ¡®snake.¡¯
¡°H-How do you...?¡±
Asuka Ren was astonished and her body shook. It was natural. She was part of the first group and knew that type of existence the Sovereign of Eight Heads was.
For reference, the Sovereign of Eight Heads wasn¡¯t the nickname for the Japanese king but the modifier of his sponsor. The king didn¡¯t have a nickname because there was no meaning in one.
¡°You must¡¯ve heard his modifier somewhere but he isn¡¯t as easy as you think...¡±
¡°I¡¯m aware of that. He is Yamata no Orochi.¡±
The sky darkened at my words and there was a rumbling sound. Perhaps that guy had heard me speaking. It was a powerful force belonging to the constetions.
¡°...Orochi? Isn¡¯t that the name of a mythical monster in Japan?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. Now he is Japan¡¯s king.¡±
¡°Then why is he called by his sponsor¡¯s name? Doesn¡¯t he have a nickname?¡±
¡°It is meaningless. That incarnation isn¡¯t sane anymore. During the six scenarios, he made a ridiculous contract with the Sovereign of Eight Heads and had his soul stolen.¡±
Asuka Ren¡¯s mouth gaped open when she heard my words. She was surprised that the incarnation of another country knew more about the circumstances then she did.
¡°Then he will be in the rocky zone?¡±
¡°Yes. However, we can¡¯t catch him right now. Preparations are necessary. We are going to meet someone else in the rock area.¡±
¡°Meeting someone? Is it... Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°He is better than Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°...Is there a person better than him?¡±
¡°It is possible.¡±
¡°Who?¡±
¡°A strong person from Peace Land.¡±
Han Sooyoung frowned. ¡°From Peace Land? Are you joking right now?¡±
It was understandable. This information didn¡¯t appear in the first 100 chapters.
¡°Don¡¯t you know how weak the kids here are?¡± Han Sooyoung eximed without giving me a chance to answer. She always looked particrly agitated when she became angry.
¡°There isn¡¯t a third rate swordsman here, let alone a sword master! The only magic these kids can use is to create fire on a stove.¡±
I know.
¡°This isn¡¯t a first generation fantasy novel... It is like someone has maliciously gathered only weak people. No, I don¡¯t understand it. Why did the dokkaebis make this world a stage? Is this an alternative idea to give coins?¡±
I could understand why Han Sooyoung was so upset. This girl might be a giarist but she was a popr fantasy writer.
¡°Rx. This world wasn¡¯t made by the dokkaebis.¡±
¡°What?¡±
I looked behind me. There was a woman looking down with a flushed face. It felt like a very new writer standing in front of an experienced writer.
Asuka hesitated for a moment before bowing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Han Sooyoung seemed to realize something.
¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me?¡±
Asuka Ren slowly nodded. ¡°...Peace Land is a world I created.¡±
Perhaps Asuka Ren shouldn¡¯t have revealed this.
At first, Han Sooyoung was so astonished she couldn¡¯t believe it was real. Then after five minutes, she murmured, ¡°Well, my novel became a reality.¡± Then another five minutes passed and she started scolding Asuka Ren.
¡°Why did you do that?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Huh? Why? Answer me, writer. Why did you make a world like this?¡±
Asuka Ren ended up half crying. ¡°That... there are many mainstream worlds in Japan. So...¡±
¡°Ah, you created this to resist the mainstream worlds?¡±
¡°I-I thought that as a writer, I shouldn¡¯t bring out a mass production story.¡±
¡°Mass production?¡± Maybe she said something she shouldn¡¯t have. Han Sooyoung dered, ¡°Your work can¡¯t even be mass produced.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
Han Sooyoung stared at Asuka Ren like she was pathetic and then told me. ¡°Hey, Kim Dokja. Is this it? I stayed a few days in Veronica and in this world, the earl speaks ill of the duke. Besides, the knights are all like parasites and only know how to dither...¡±
Asuka Ren protested, ¡°W-Wait a minute!¡±
¡°Shut up. We are suffering now because of you.¡±
¡°I made it but I wasn¡¯t the one who called you here.¡±
¡°Look at this girl? The dokkaebis bought it from you and made your world into reality! The manga must¡¯ve been ruined! Let¡¯s throw all the ruined mangas into a world and kill them! You must¡¯ve prayed with this thought and received a message like ¡®I will listen to your wishes.¡¯ Right?¡±
It was the first time I had heard such creative reasoning. She truly was a writer.
¡°N-No! That isn¡¯t possible!¡±
¡°Then what is it?¡±
I became curious when I heard this. There was no mention of why Asuka Ren¡¯s Peace Land was adopted as a scenario in Ways of Survival. Perhaps I could get a hint about the writer of Ways of Survival from this?
¡°That...¡±
Han Sooyoung was pulling out a sword while Asuka Ren took one step back. I interrupted them. ¡°I¡¯m really curious but I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t hear it now.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Run!¡±
We moved by a hair¡¯s breadth and sharp swords shed at where we had been standing.
Asuka Ren desperately ran with a pale face. Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°Shit, when did they follow us?¡±
¡°They are good at stealth.¡±
¡°How many are there?¡±
¡°Four people.¡±
They didn¡¯t underestimate us and tried to assassinate us. We had no chance in a head on battle.
Asuka Ren gasped for air and said, ¡°It seems to be the Wind Shadow Squadron. They are the subordinates of the Sovereign of Eight Heads.¡±
¡°Those brats have weird names.¡±
This wasn¡¯t the timing for them to chase me. It seemed that it was a mistake to mention Orochi¡¯s true name. As soon as we entered the rocky area, the range of our movements became better.
It was due to Asuka Ren¡¯s guidance. Once again, the person who created the world was different.
Nevertheless, the distance was narrowing as the Wind Shadow Squadron caught up to us.
Han Sooyoung spoke like she had made up her mind. ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know. Kim Dokja, go first. I¡¯ll buy some time.¡±
¡°Is it okay?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know me? I¡¯m a master at dying.¡±
¡°Then I¡¯ll believe in you.¡± I grabbed Asuka Ren and ran. ¡°Ren-ssi, there is no time anymore. Quickly find him.¡±
¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying.¡±
¡°The returnee Kyrgios.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
I shouted while avoiding a flying sword. It seemed that Han Sooyoung had missed some people.
¡°Tell me where Kyrgios is.¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t know who that is?¡±
I expected it to be like this. In Ways of Survival, it only mentioned that Kyrgios was here and he never came out directly.
¡°I really don¡¯t know! I never created such a person!¡±
¡°Nope, you know. He is the only powerhouse of Peace Land.¡±
¡°There isn¡¯t a person like that in my manga! Besides, the characters in my manga are weak!¡±
Then a sword thrust at us. I turned sharply and stopped. I didn¡¯t want to do this but I had to touch her wound.
¡°Your Peace Land was terminated early in the 11th episode and you didn¡¯t get a single volume published after that.¡±
¡°H-How do you...?¡±
¡°I know that you wanted authentic fantasy in your heart. However, it didn¡¯t work out. Your manga, is it really authentic fantasy?¡±
Two people from the Wind Shadow Squadron appeared in the smoke. I would be able to cope with them if I was my usual self, but now it was hard to stop even one. I brushed aside the katana but my wrist was broken.
I activated White Pure Star Energy and shouted calmly. ¡°It was just once but you became angry when you saw the reaction of readers and drew a person.¡±
¡°W-What are you saying?¡±
¡°He is a strong person not fit for Peace Land. You felt guilty about pandering to the public by drawing such a person. That sense of guilt ruined your Peace Land.¡±
¡°No! I never did that!¡±
¡°Please take responsibility until the end. Even if only one reader watches this world.¡±
¡°Ah, ahh...
It became more and more difficult for me to avoid the des. The panicked Asuka Ren waspletely frozen. Two katanas flew towards my upper and lower half. Dammit, was I wrong?
¡°...I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Then a voice was heard. ¡°You¡¯re right. I obviously...¡±
The next moment, the surrounding air changed. I felt my limbs be stiff from the cold. Then another voice was heard.
[Who are you?]
I didn¡¯t look back but it was clearly a presenceparable to the constetions. Otherwise my Fourth Wall wouldn¡¯t be shaking so much.
I looked ahead and saw the Japanese people standing like stone statues. They couldn¡¯t even speak as pure white lightning fell towards them from the sky. The powerful disasters turned into ashes from the lightning.
Once the clouds that caused the lightning disappeared, a small doll was floating. It was unbelievable. The powerful presence floating in the air was definitely a small person.
...He was properly hooked.
[I will ask again. Who are you?]
¡°It is nice to meet you, Kyrgios.¡±
Kyrgios Rodgraim of Peace Land. He was one of the strongest returnees in Ways of Survival.
Chapter 128 - Those Who Face a God (2)
Chapter 128: Episode 25 ¨C Those Who Face a God (2)
The strongest existences in the Star Stream were often called ¡®constetions.¡¯ They observed the stories of every world from above.
However, as I said earlier, the constetions aren¡¯t the only ones who could go against constetions. There were those who refused the path of a constetion and became demon kings or dragons that ruled at the peak of all monsters from birth.
Then what about humans? Could humans who didn¡¯t walk the path of a human reach the level where they could oppose the constetion?
The answer was currently right in front of me.
[Interesting. You gave up your existence for another?]
Kyrgios could see my identity with one look. He nced at the confused Asuka Ren besides me.
[I¡¯ll let it pass just once because of your courage. Take that woman away.]
A returnee. Born with special talents, they transcended the category of a human thanks to the blessing of the Star Stream.
Among the returnees, Kyrgios Rodgraim was a special existence. He was very powerful among the returnees and earned enough money not to be dragged into the stories made by the dokkaebis. He was a returnee who never acted in Ways of Survival.
¡°I have something to say to you.¡±
[...Say?]
The skills that exceeded the level of transcendence manifested and revealed their presence to me. It was the presence of a constetion that could destroy mortals just existing.
[Do you think you are in a position to talk to me?]
I was surprised that there was so much moisture inside me. My back was soaked with sweat.
[Your dare oppose the White Storm?]
He was strong. I got goosebumps at the thought of how a small person could be so strong.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
However, I had a ¡®wall.¡¯ No matter how terrifying the presence beyond the wall, it wouldn¡¯t harm me as long as I didn¡¯t cross it.
[The character ¡®Kyrgios Rodgraim¡¯ is curious towards you.]
Kyrgios noticed something strange.
[...You endured it? How? Do you have the protection of a higher being?]
I opened my mouth before he became interested in the wrong thing. ¡°Kyrgios. This world needs your help.¡±
Kyrgios¡¯ expression changed.
[This is why you came looking for me?]
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
[The small person...]
Then the ¡®small person¡¯ replied.
[A small¡¯s constetion is looking tearfully at Kyrgios Rodgraim.]
[A small¡¯s constetion has sponsored 10 coins to Kyrgios Rodgraim.]
Kyrgios frowned.
[I don¡¯t need it.]
[The small¡¯s constetion has received a great impact.]
A few raindrops fell from the sky.
[...Every world has a time of destruction and every storyes to an end. It is now time for this.]
There were no emotions in Kyrgios¡¯ eyes as he stared into the distance. However, I knew. Even if you became insensitive to everything in the world, there was no one who could escape from the bounds of their own story.
¡°Then why did youe back here? You left Peace Land a long time ago.¡±
[...Something called me.]
My eyes nced towards Asuka Ren, who was staring at Kyrgios. I knew what Kyrgios had probably felt.
¡°Don¡¯t deceive yourself. Didn¡¯t youe back here to defend your home?¡±
[There are no good memories here. This ce...]
¡°Is this the ce where you were born ¡®weak¡¯?¡± Kyrgios shook for the first time. ¡°It is because of your mother gave you a cursed body?¡±
[...You know me quite well, incarnation of the scenario. Then I¡¯ll say this. Get lost. I won¡¯t tell you a third time...]
¡°Are you scared?¡±
[What?]
¡°I asked if you are scared. This is your world and these constetions are destroying it. Are you scared of that snake?¡±
At this moment, a fearsome pressure that almost made my eyes pop out pushed down on my body.
[If you want to die then I will kill you.]
I gasped for air but didn¡¯t stop speaking. ¡°Don¡¯t deceive yourself about why you came here.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is displeased with the behaviour of Kyrgios Rodgraim.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is criticizing Kyrgios Rodgraim¡¯s justice.]
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is severely criticizing Kyrgios Rodgraim¡¯s interference in the scenario.]
The indirect messages emerged one after another and Kyrgios¡¯s aura subsided.
[Weird people are chasing after you. The monkey king and archangel? It is strange. They have a strong pride...]
I spat out blood and started talking again. ¡°Focus on my story. Did youe here to see the end of this?¡±
[I can¡¯t help this.]
Blue sparks appeared around his body. It was the probability storm. It was caused by killing the two Wind Shadow Squadron members.
He wasn¡¯t a being summoned by the scenario and was limited by the probability, even if it wasn¡¯t as much as the constetions.
Kyrgios firmly grabbed a spark and said. [If I act then I will only hasten the destruction of this.]
I understood what he meant. Probability was like a scale for the constetions. If one side changed the flow of the story without a valid probability then thew of Star Stream would forcefully correct the bnce.
[If I interfere with the scenario, other constetions watching the scenario will also be able to move. All I can do... is watch the end of my home.]
I remembered. This was the real ¡®image¡¯ of Kyrgios Rodgraim that I knew. He left his home, overcame countless trials and returned, only to be unable to save his home despite his strength.
This was White Storm, Kyrgios Rodgraim.
¡°There is no need to take action with your own hands.¡±
However, if I was to back down here then I wouldn¡¯t havee see Kyrgios in the first ce.
¡°Don¡¯t you need a disciple to learn the top secret technique of your white purity energy?¡± The calm Kyrgios was greatly shocked by my words. ¡°Please ept me as your disciple. I will be your agent on Peace Land.¡±
However, the shock onlysted a moment.
[...I don¡¯t ept outsiders as a disciple. In addition, your strength iscking to be qualified.]
My pride was a bit hurt. If Yoo Jonghyuk was here then would Kyrgios hesitate to ept him as a disciple?
¡°I¡¯m not qualified despite this?¡±
I picked up a branch in the vicinity. My magic power was absorbed by White Pure Star Energy and a wave of mana shed at the tip of the branch. It wascking in power but it was still enough to show my achievement.
Kyrgios watched with amazement. In the second scenario, the first thing I purchased was this hidden skill. White Pure Star Energy was Kyrgios Rodgraim¡¯s famous technique.
¡°I will say it once again. The outsider Kim Dokja requests for the master of the White Storm school to ept me.¡±
.
.
Kyrgios made a decision after a few hours.
He released the white energy and spoke in a human voice. ¡°The White Storm school was wiped out after I left. I don¡¯t know if it still exists.¡±
He kept me waiting for two hours just to say this.
The strong people of the Star Steam lived in a ¡®unique time zone¡¯ in order to maintain their sense of self over the long years.
¡°Okay. I will receive you as a disciple.¡±
Kyrgios didn¡¯t ask me how I knew White Pure Star Energy and how I knew about his secret technique. Then the training started.
¡¸ ...Kyrgios Rodgraim was a ¡®Murim World Returnee.¡¯
Despite the inherent limitations of the small people, he mastered several martial arts and seeded in transcending his race without the help of the system.
There are many legends about him who advanced to the First Murim and reigned as the leader. He killed all the enemies taller than himself, cut off the penis of a drunk man making fun of his height and has an association with the famous constetion the ¡®snake¡¯... ¡¹
¡°Your smartphone has be smaller as well?¡±
I heard Han Sooyoung¡¯s voice and turned my smartphone off. ¡°I put it in the subspace of the coat and it became like this.¡±
¡°Damn, you hog all the good things to yourself.¡±
Han Sooyoung was able to safely ovee the Wind Shadow Squadron and join up with us. They were probably deceived by the ¡®dead enemy¡¯ like I was. She muttered, ¡°I never imagined that Kyrgios, the strongest person in First Murim would be from Peace Land.¡±
¡°The strongest person can¡¯t be obscured and he is close to the strongest. But how do you know this name?¡±
¡°The name appeared in the first part of the novel. It is the first time I¡¯ve seen it myself.¡±
¡°This is also my first time. In any case, wait near Ren.¡±
I was taught by Kyrgios in the rocky area. My goal was to learn Kyrgios¡¯s secret technique in two weeks and return to Veronica. If the story progressed as the original then this should be when the Japanese king, the Sovereign of Eight Heads moved to trample all four kingdoms.
Of course, things weren¡¯t that easy. On the first day, this was the task that Kyrgios gave me.
¡°Repeat this a million times.¡±
¡°...A million times?¡±
¡°Yes, one million. Did you see what I just showed you properly?¡±
I saw it well. Kyrgios stood in front of me and stretched out his sword. This was the basic ¡®stab¡¯ posture.
¡°Why this...¡±
¡°Every disciple starts here. It is to aim for the smallest point. In one extremely condensed and tempered ¡®point¡¯, the universe begins.¡±
¡°...I see.¡±
I didn¡¯t know what he meant.
¡°You were born big and don¡¯t know the meaning of being small.¡±
The moment I heard this, something popped into my head. ording to Ways of Survival, Kyrgios had aplex about his height. I told him, ¡°Humans aren¡¯t very big either.¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. In the end, all of us are specks of dust from the perspective of the universe. That¡¯s why it is wrong to call a small person a small person. Humans and small people are just dust in the end.¡±
It felt like he was rationalizing his small height.
¡°However, isn¡¯t big dust different from small dust?¡±
¡°The important thing is the size of the universe, not the size of the dust. Even if you are just a speck of dust, the degree of your existence can vary depending on how big the universe is. No, the smaller the dust speck, the closer it is to the origin of the universe. This makes it easier to understand the essence.¡±
I thought it sounded nice. ¡°Ah.¡±
¡°Do you understand?¡±
¡°What does that have to do with stabbing?¡±
Kyrgios looked at me with contempt and said, ¡°This is why people shouldn¡¯t be born big. Work hard on the stabbing.¡±
Then Kyrgios disappeared. He seemed disappointed in me. It was natural. Way of the Wind had proven my poor talent. It might take me two decades to learn the secret technique instead of two weeks.
Four days passed.
¡°Do it straight. Shouldn¡¯t you attempt to do it properly?¡±
Five days passed.
¡°This is why those born with big bodies...¡±
A week passed. Kyrgios¡¯ hatred of big people didn¡¯t stop. ¡°Have you ever been born as an insect? Cockroaches probably learn better than you.¡±
¡°If such a cockroach exists then I would like it as a teacher.¡±
¡°Do you want to die?¡±
Finally, it was the end of the second week. I was tired of stabbing and fell down.
¡°You...¡±
I still hadn¡¯t learnt the skill. Kyrgios was deeply disappointed with my talent and soon disappeared. It was like a small breeze had blown for a moment.
Once Kyrgios waspletely gone, I found Asuka Ren and Han Sooyoung waiting nearby.
¡°Let¡¯s run away.¡±
¡°What? Did you learn everything? It looked like you couldn¡¯t do anything at all.¡±
¡°I stole it.¡±
I quietly closed my eyes and whispered something. The next moment, a violent white lightning bounced around me. It was the secret technique of Kyrgios, Electrification.
¡°Eh? What is this? You clearly couldn¡¯t...¡±
¡°I told you. I stole it.¡±
[¡®Kyrgios Rodgraim¡¯ has been added to the fifth bookmark.]
This was my purpose from the beginning. I ced the strongest returnee Kyrgios into my Bookmark skill and tried to raise my understanding of him as much as possible.
In the first ce, Kyrgios wasn¡¯t willing to teach me properly. Strong people like Kyrgios weren¡¯t simply enough to give up their secret techniques because of ttery.
His purpose was to keep me here until the end of the scenario and then torture me after the scenario ended to find out everything I knew.
¡°That¡¯s why we have to run away.¡±
¡°Shit, I understand.¡±
Han Sooyoung grumbled. By the time we finished the preparations, the sun was shining in the distance.
The warmth of dawn surrounded us. Peace Land changed seasons every two weeks. It was winter when the training started but now spring wasing.
Asuka Ren suddenly paled. ¡°The Sovereign of Eight Heads has started moving.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°He is using the Absolute Throne to call the Japanese incarnations together.¡±
It was time. Spring was the season where creatures that hibernated woke up one by one. The season of the ¡®snake hunt¡¯ would soon arrive.
Chapter 129 - Those Who Face a God (3)
Chapter 129: Episode 25 ¨C Those Who Face a God (3)
Veronica¡¯s high walls. Giants filled the ins below the hignds. They were once humans but were now disasters. Gong Pildu roared as all the turrets on the castle fired. ¡°Damn bastards. This is mynd!¡±
There were approximately 50 Japanese people who ran through the ins. This level of strength meant that more than half the disasters of Peace Land had gathered.
Dududududu!
¡°Get lost¨D!¡± Gong Pildu was slightly upset as he fired the guns. He didn¡¯t know how he got into this situation. However, Lee Jihye thought that the aftereffects of Kim Dokja destroying the Green Zones still remained.
Lee Jihye watched the great army of disasters and her fingers trembled. ¡°Damn, I wish there was ake...¡±
¡°Let¡¯s do as much as we can.¡±
Lee Hyunsung walked over from the lookout post and stood beside Lee Jihye. Lee Jihye turned around and saw Lee Boksoon. Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°Grandmother, can you borrow the power of your sponsor?¡±
¡°Huhu, do you want my ancestor to continue their service?¡±
¡°Ah, this is really... Soldier ahjussi, Heewon unni¡¯s group still isn¡¯t here?¡±
Lee Hyunsung nodded heavily. ¡°There is no news of the next group. Before he left, Dokja-ssi said they would be doing a bonus scenario...¡±
¡°Damn. Then we have to stop them.¡±
Then dim shadows appeared above them in the sky. Lee Jihye discovered the small insects filling the sky and was frightened.
¡°Ack!¡±
There were a variety of flying monsters mixed in. Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung had finished preparing the beast and insect army. Lee Gilyoung was sitting on an insect that resembled a wasp and waved his hand.
Meanwhile, the disasters arrived at the castle and started to break down the walls.
Lee Hyunsung spoke in a tense voice. ¡°...They¡¯reing.¡±
The full-fledged siege began.
Dududududu!
On one side, Gong Pildu fired while on the other side, the small people shouted.
¡°Fight!¡±
¡°For Veronica!¡±
The voices resonated through the castle as the walls were gradually crushed by the disaster¡¯s kicks. Now the term ¡®disaster¡¯ seemed really fitting for these humans.
¡®Would I be like that if I chose to be a disaster?¡¯
Lee Jihye remembered Kim Dokja¡¯s words and bit her lips. The answer was still unknown.
The party held on better than expected.
There were Gong Pildu¡¯s guns and Lee Hyunsung¡¯s Great Mountain Smash that dealt effective blows to the disasters. Therge number of insects and monsters also bought time.
At this rate, they might be able to protect the castle. This was what Lee Jihye thought until ck clouds covered the horizon.
¡°What is that?¡± Lee Jihye doubted her eyes.
[The king of disasters has received the scenario buff effect.]
[Some of the probability constraints on the constetion ¡®Sovereign of Eight Heads¡¯ has been lifted.]
¡°Crazy, how do we defeat that?¡±
Something the size of a huge fortress wasing this way. There were eight heads and a tail.
¡®Ahjussi! Come quickly!¡¯
Lee Jihye inwardly screamed.
***
We left Kyrgios¡¯ territory and moved through the rocky area towards the ins.
Asuka Ren opened her mouth, ¡°I think the Sovereign of Eight Heads has already started acting. I can¡¯t feel his call in this area.¡±
¡°Ren-ssi, are you okay?¡±
¡°I can resist it to a certain degree thanks to my sponsor. However, the incarnations with weak sponsors have already flocked to the ins.¡±
In the case of the Absolute Throne, there was a difference in the intensity of themand depending on the distance. There was nothing absolute in the Star Steam, even if it had the ¡®absolute¡¯ qualifier.
Along the way, we found the bodies of the small people. Asuka Ren spoke with a bitter expression.
¡°...Not everyone in Japan chose to be a disaster.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
I read the original so I could say it clearly. Apart from Asuka Ren, the Japanese people who became ¡®small people¡¯ couldn¡¯t be seen because they were already dead or hiding somewhere in this world.
¡°In fact, I don¡¯t think the Japanese people who choose to be a disaster are bad. They are just ordinary.¡±
In the original work, a number of Korean incarnations also chose to be a disaster. This was probably a normal choice for ordinary humans. Han Sooyoung also agreed.
¡°To put it bluntly, I didn¡¯t choose to be a small person. Kim Dokja also didn¡¯t make this choice to protect the small people.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s words were sharp.
[The small¡¯s constetion is looking at you with hurt eyes.]
It didn¡¯t matter if it was for the sake of the small people or the disasters.In the end, the fight here was a spectacle.
People became immersed in their role and forgot this fact. They sold their lives to make money. Then that money would be used to buy other stories. Maybe humans always lived this way.
Then a huge aura rose from the rocky area. It was quite far away but I could feel the formidable aura from here.
¡°Kyrgios has noticed. Hurry.¡±
I ran away after asking him to teach me. I would suffer incredible pain if I was caught. We started to run across the ins in the direction of Veronica.
In the midst of running, Asuka Ren often looked back at the rocky area. Han Sooyoung nced at Ren and asked, ¡°Are you sorry?¡±
¡°Huh? No.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you feel that it is weird? It is probably the first time you saw a character that you made.¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
¡°Furthermore, he is handsome.¡±
I didn¡¯t say it before but Kyrgios was handsome. In Ways of Survival, a handsome person was often described as parable to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ and this was a perfect way to describe Kyrgios.
The problem was his height and his temper...
How did it feel to see a person you created breathing and talking? If the author of Ways of Survival was alive somewhere then wouldn¡¯t he feel something simr when looking at Yoo Jonghyuk?
Asuka Ren spoke to me. ¡°Ah right, Dokja-ssi. I have a question.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°How did you gain Kyrgios¡¯ favour?¡±
¡°His favour?¡±
¡°I got the impression that Kyrgios liked Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°Kyrgios acts angry when he likes someone.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is listening.]
That reminded me, Kyrgios treated me quite well despite me not having talent. Despite all the times he swore at me...
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
I looked back at Ren¡¯s words and my expression stiffened along with the two women. Dark smoke was rising from the ce where I was looking. It was in the direction of Veronica Castle. We nced at each other and started running.
Not long afterwards, the battlefield of Veronica Castle was revealed. There were the bodies of the fallen monsters as well as the trampled corpses of the small people. I also saw people whose heads were crushed. Perhaps this was Lee Hyunsung¡¯s work.
As we got closer, the number of small people corpses increased and the bodies of the Japanese incarnations decreased.
No way, I couldn¡¯t bete. Then after a while, we witnessed a terrible scene at the back of the shattered pce.
Dududududu!
Gong Pildu¡¯s cannons fired.
Fortunately, all the party members were safe. Lee Hyunsung was badly injured while Lee Jihye and the children were exhausted, but their lives were intact. However, it was dangerous. They were fighting...
¡°Crazy!¡±
Han Sooyoung shouted and stepped back towards me.
¡°Ahh! Izumi...¡±
Asuka Ren groaned with pain as she grabbed her temples and fell down. 20 Japanese people were united around one being.
Behind the body of a man whose pupils had turned ck, there was a shadow of a huge monster that covered the whole sky. The heads and tail were reminiscent of a blood red valley. The king of the disasters was in a streamlined form.
Suddenly, one head bent down towards the nearest small person. Th small person turned white with terror and the snake smiled at him. There was a crunch and only the lower body of the small person remained.
¡°S-Save me! Save me!¡±
The flesh of the small person was sucked into the mouth of the red snake. Nobody was able to stop it. All the small people, including my party moments, stood like hardened mannequins and watched the scene.
I btedly realized. It wasn¡¯t because my party members fought hard that they were unharmed. The gunfire continued but it was resignation, not killing intent that filled Gong Pildu¡¯s face. It was the same for Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye and the others. The reason they were still alive because they were meals for the narrative grade constetion.
Every time the mouth of the snake opened, a few small people would disappear.
[The small¡¯s constetion is struggling with pain.]
[The small¡¯s constetion is screaming.]
Han Sooyoung muttered. ¡°Shit... what the hell is this?¡±
One of Japan¡¯s three great viins, the father of Shutendoji, a flood control mythical monster. That monster was the ¡®Sovereign of Eight Heads¡¯, Yamata no Orochi. Maybe I would be torn apart by his teeth if I fought against him.
¡°D-Don¡¯t fight. We absolutely can¡¯t win.¡± Asuka Ren mumbled and the entranced Han Sooyoung grabbed me.
¡°Kim Dokja. Surely we aren¡¯t going to fight that? Let¡¯s run away. Yes?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer. The giant head once again swept over the small people. It was a natural movement, like taking fish out of a fish tank.
Han Sooyoung kept urging me, ¡°It isn¡¯t toote. Now we can save the kids. Quickly bring them and run...¡±
Kwaduduk!
¡°Ah!
They¡¯re all going to die!¡±
I shook my head.
¡°Let¡¯s wait a bit longer.¡±
If I acted now, that guy would never move. Just a bit longer...
Then the snake¡¯s mouth headed towards Lee Jihye. Damn. I reflexively got up and ran forward. However, the snake¡¯s head was moving quickly towards Lee Jihye.
At this moment, something moved faster than me. One of the snake¡¯s heads fell to the ground with a pained scream. The cloud of dust was lift and a man could be seen standing on the snake¡¯s head. He looked at me with a distinctive cold expression. ¡°...Kim Dokja.¡±
Yes, why did he always show upte? I smiled at him. ¡°You arete, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
He had be a small person like me but I felt a strong energy from Yoo Jonghyuk. This person was holding a violet and glossy ornamental knife. As expected, he obtained the knife.
We stared at each other without speaking before simultaneously turning towards the disaster.
[The constetion ¡®Sovereign of Eight Heads¡¯ has revealed killing intent towards to you.]
Yamata no Orochi has his mealtime disturbed and his body started to swell up.
¡°Stay away Kim Dokja. I will catch this guy.¡±
¡°No, not this time.¡±
I stepped towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ can now be activated.]
I felt the strong white energy seething in my heart.
¡°This time I have to catch him.¡±
In this scenario, I would break the principle of no killing that I had been maintaining.
Chapter 130 - Those Who Face a God (4)
Chapter 130: Episode 25 ¨C Those Who Face a God (4)
Yoo Jonghyuk red at me and said, ¡°It is too unreasonable with your skills.¡±
Messages poured in.
[Constetions who hate the Korean Penins are showing hatred.]
[The constetions who hate violence and ughter are going crazy.]
[The constetions who hate the Korean Penins desires your death.]
I looked at the Japanese incarnations. Their sponsors were all people I knew. They had entered Bihyung¡¯s channel and drove someone I knew to death.
¡°I made a promise. Thus, I have to catch him.¡±
¡°Promise?¡±
The first promise was to kill the dokkaebi and the second promise was to revive her. Finally, there was the third promise. It was this.
¡°I promised to get revenge on the constetions who killed her.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk probably understood from these words alone. Maybe in this world, only Yoo Jonghyuk could understand. Yoo Jonghyuk replied, ¡°I can¡¯t concede because of that.¡±
¡°...This bastard really doesn¡¯t understand.¡±
We started moving as soon as we finished talking. The ce where we were standing was destroyed and the head of the giant snake stared at us.
[The constetion ¡®Sovereign of Eight Heads¡¯ is furious!]
It was a fearsome presence. It wasn¡¯t just the body but the ¡®shadow¡¯ of the constetion. This much power was revealed despite only a handful of the probability constraints being lifted.
This was the dignity of the ¡®narrative-grade¡¯. It was an opponent that I would¡¯ve normally never dealt with.
¡¸ Yamata no Orochi. He was interpreted as an evil spirit in ancient Japanese mythology. There is only one way to deal with him at this point. ¡¹
I observed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword and said, ¡°You have obtained the Totsuka-no-tsurugi.¡±
In the original third regression, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t get the sword. It was probably because Yoo Jonghyuk had be stronger in this round.
Yoo Jonghyuk wondered, ¡°...You know this sword.¡±
¡°I know. It is a famous sword.¡±
Totsuka-no-tsurugi. It was the sword used by Susanoo to cut down Yamata no Orochi. In other words, in a distant story, it defeated Yamata no Orochi once.
It was the same as Gyebaek and Ito. The history of ¡®defeat¡¯ was a fatal weakness for all beings made of stories. The eight heads cried at once and shed bloody tears.
[Cheeky...worms...]
Crazy... was he using his true voice?
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
The whole area was devastated with a single word. More than half the small people who heard it died of their internal organs rupturing. Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung coughed up blood and also copsed. There were even disasters who bled after hearing the words.
Of course, I had the ¡®wall¡¯ and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Mind Barrier had a high level so we could endure it.
¡°You don¡¯t speak well so shut up.¡± I taunted him. However, the snake didn¡¯t use his true voice again. He didn¡¯t have sufficient permissions so using his true voice consumed arge amount of probability. Instead, his anger led to action.
The eight heads simultaneously breathed out fire, turning the area into a furnace. We quickly ran behind a wall. It was Yoo Jonghyuk who acted first.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used ¡®Giant Body Transformation Lv. 2!]
As expected, this skill had also been passed to him. I thought that I should learn this skill.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body swelled up he leapt into the air. Giant Body Transformation was a technique that temporarily exploded thetent power of a body to imitate the power of a giant.
For a short time, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯sbat power would be even stronger than it was before he became a small person. The problem was the duration of the skill was only five minutes.
The power of Splitting the Sky filled Totsuka-no-tsurugi. Yoo Jonghyuk kicked off from the wall and rushed forward. Splitting the Sky reached a perfect state and gushed out from the ether de.
Breaking the Sky Sword.
Vanish.
Splitting the Sky Destion.
The sh of light that emerged from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword split into dozens of branches and struck the sword.
Gruesome ck blood emerged from the wounds caused by Totsuka-no-tsurugi and one of the eight heads started to rot.
This was the only sword that could kill Yamata no Orochi. Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t a constetion so Stage Transformation didn¡¯t ur. Still, it was obvious that the sword was effective.
[The constetion ¡®Sovereign of Eight Heads¡¯ is howling.]
One head was cut off but Yamata no Orochi was still intact. In order to kill him, all eight heads must be cut off.
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t hesitate and jumped towards the second head. The battle was so gorgeous that no one could interrupt. It was amazing as Yoo Jonghyuk zigzagged to avoid the heads and tail
The main character was the main character for a reason. Even so, a person like this died over a hundred times in Ways of Survival. Once again, this world was terrible.
¡°Kim Dokja! Are you going to just watch? Didn¡¯t you say you would catch him?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk destroyed three heads in an instant and shouted towards me as he gasped. It seemed like he was losing steam?
I smiled and replied, ¡°Ah, I meant I would deal the final blow.¡±
¡°You bastard!¡±
I leisurely managed my stamina and waited. It wasn¡¯t time yet.
On the other hand, Yoo Jonghyuk was in a hurry and squeezed all out all his fearsome strength at once to hit the other heads. In the process of cutting off the fourth head, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ¡®Giant Body Transformation¡¯ was released.
mes and poison poured out from the snake¡¯s heads at once. Yoo Jongyuk dodged with agile movements but couldn¡¯t escape being damaged by the tail.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used ¡®Strong Self-Defense Lv. 9¡¯.]
Only the tip of the tail touched him but Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body was thrown back into the castle¡¯s wall. The bloody Yoo Jonghyuk emerged from the terrible dust clouds.
¡°Kim Dokja! Your help...¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to act now.¡±
¡°Stupid person! You can¡¯t do it alone! Back off now andter¨D¡±
¡°You¡¯ve had a hard time. Now it is your turn to watch me.¡±
The moment the remaining four heads gazed at me, I picked up Totsuka-no-tsurugi on the ground and ran towards Orochi.
[The number five bookmark has been activated.]
[Activation Time: Three minutes.]
[Your understanding of the character is low, so only a part of the character¡¯s skill is activated.]
It was fine. This much was still good.
[The skill can only be used be a ¡®small person.¡¯]
[Your current body configuration is simr to the physical makeup of the character.]
I only needed one skill anyway.
[The level of the character is too high to fully reproduce the skill level.]
[The level of the skill being activated is forcibly adjusted.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification Lv. 10¡¯ is activated.]
¡¸ The magnitude of the consciousness determines the degree of existence, making it possible for the smallest being to see the greatest universe. ¡¹
The phrases left by Kyrgios in Ways of Survival passed through my head and the flow of magic power around me changed. The magic power soon became particles and the electrons that resonated with each other started to tremble violently.
¡¸There is a beginning in existence, so the smallest is the greatest. ¡¹
There was the sound of something popping deep in my mind. Maybe it was something like the coolness of the Big Bang. I opened my eyes and saw my body covered with a blue-white lightning. It was like I had be lightning.
The formidable power was wriggling inside me. It felt like I could do anything. If I wanted to prate the sky, I would prate the sky. If I wanted to separate the sea, I would do so. Then if I wanted to cut off this snake¡¯s head, I would cut it.
There was a roar as I took the first step. Then with the second step, I appeared right in front of the snake¡¯s neck. The third step caused the white lightning to scream in the area and then the fourth step...
I passed by Orochi, leaving a storm behind. My feet were damaged by the lightning and blood poured from my nose and mouth. My body stumbled like I was experiencing an electric shock.
I looked back and saw three snake heads falling to the ground. I drank a magic power recovery potion and the swelling in my hand decreased.
[The constetion ¡®Sovereign of Eight Heads¡¯ is shocked by your swordsmanship.]
In just a moment, Orochi had one head left and was floundering from the pain.
[The constetion ¡®Sovereign of Eight Heads¡¯ is questioning the fairness of the scenario!]
Iughed loudly. ¡°...You are raising an issue of fairness?¡±
The duration of Electrification was three minutes but right now, my body couldn¡¯t take more than three steps. In other words, I had to kill him in three steps.
Sparks filled the air and then that damn voice was heard again. [Geez, a person of noble blood looks so ugly.]
I thought I would hear this voice. The intermediate dokkaebi Ganul was looking down at this ce.
[...Ah, really. I can¡¯t just watch. This is a big problem.]
Unlike his words, he didn¡¯t seem to want to interfere.
[The constetion ¡®Sovereign of Eight Heads¡¯ is shouting with anger.]
[Hrmm, you can¡¯t make an impossible demand. As you can see, you¡¯ve used up all the probability allowed in this scenario. ¡®They¡¯ can¡¯t lend you any more power.]
Yamata no Orochi¡¯s roar covered all of Peace Land. This must¡¯ve been the first humiliation that the narrative-grade Yamata no Orochi had experienced.
Someone was always a spectacle. Now the victim of the spectacle was himself. He was filled with anger. There might be only one head left but Orochi¡¯s strength was increasing.
¡°Protect the king!¡± The confused Japanese incarnations ran forward. This was the power of the Absolute Throne.
I heard a message from the dokkaebi Youngki in my head.
-D-Dokja-ssi. The channel is about to burst. I will block the indirect messages for a while!
I was currently using the power of Kyrgios so all types of constetions woulde to watch me.
¡°Stop!¡±
My party members regained their spirits and ran to stop the disasters. Lee Hyunsung barely raised his blood body while Gong Pildu supported them with gunfire.
Meanwhile, Yamata no Orochi was preparing for the final reversal.
[No, wait a minute! Hey Constetion! What are you doing...!]
An ominous current was appearing around Izumi¡¯s body, the incarnation of Yamata no Orochi. It was the sign of a probability storm. The panicked dokkaebi shouted.
[L-Look here! Turn back! The bureau! It is an emergency!]
It was a real disaster brought about by the desire not to be defeated by me. The dokkaebi btedly used the system control but it was unfortunately toote.
The Great Hall opened in the wide sky.
I realized that Orochi had crossed the line. He even borrowed the probability that the supreme being granted to the Absolute Throne.
¡°Ahh, ah!¡±
Everyone held their breaths as they stared at the sky.
[Someone has interfered with the scenario system.]
Restless sensations were surging from the Great Hall. Chaos. Disorder. A void. It was the origin of all fear. This existence was lending its probability to Yamata no Orochi.
The shadow of the remaining snake head started to growrger due to the probability. It grew bigger and bigger. It would grow until it covered the castle and the entire.
[Measuring... sword...!]
All beings, whether they were incarnations or small people, copsed on the ground and groaned as they coughed up blood. The dreadful difference pressed heavily on my body. My knees were forced to the ground. Everything was the worst.
[Mere... hum...ans... going... against... a... great... star...!]
I instinctively realized. I couldn¡¯t win even if I used Electrification. At my level, I couldn¡¯t win even if I woke up the dead.
Nevertheless, Iughed. ¡°You just made the worst mistake.¡±
The Star Stream was about bnce. If someone destroyed the probability then someone else would obtain it. Thus, the bnce would now be adjusted.
A fearsome aura wasing from a distance at a rapid pace. It wasn¡¯t Yamata no Orochi or the unknown god beyond the Great Hall. However, nobody here could ignore this arrogant existence.
[Since when could a god from another world intervene in the scenario?]
He was the absolute being born on this.
[Don¡¯t get involved in my¡¯s matters, if you don¡¯t want to confront me where my story began.]
The White Purity, Kyrgios Rodgraim.
[Get lost! Monster of this world!]
Lightning stretched out as Kyrgios soared towards the sky. It was a powerful force that wasn¡¯t pushed back at all by a narrative-grade constetion.
Kyrgios revealed his true strength and broke through the tentacles, forcibly closing the entrance of the Great Hall. Then Orochi¡¯s power started plummeting.
[This... ah... ah...! You...!]
I didn¡¯t miss this gap and used the remaining three steps. All the magic power in my body flowed towards Totsuka-no-tsurugi.
Then I saw the incarnation of Yamata no Orochi smiling at me. It was an expression that weed the long-awaited liberation.
Killing one person to save other people¡¯s lives. The selfish sword moved and something rolled along the ground.
[You have killed a person.]
[You have been deprived of the title of ¡®King of No Killing¡¯.]
The constetion of Yamata no Orochi blinked from the severe blow. There was a terrible scream and the shadow of the constetion started to scatter into ashes.
[An unbelievable feat has been aplished.]
[You have hunted a ¡®King of Disasters¡¯ for the first time!]
[The script of the ¡®King of Disasters¡¯ descending in the scenario wasn¡¯t expected!]
[You have achieved a non-existent story.]
[Due to thepletion of an impossible story, all dokkaebis of the Seoul Dome and Tokyo Dome will enter an emergency meeting.]
I looked up at the constetions shining in the sky. All of them wouldn¡¯t know. It was the feeling of a person running hard only to arrive at the starting point.
[Congrattions! The Star Stream has acknowledged your grade.]
[You have aplished a total of four stories.]
The end of the sixth scenario. I finally arrived at the starting point towards the end I wanted.
[Now you must build yourst story to be a constetion.]
Chapter 131 - Scenario Destroyer (1)
Chapter 131: Episode 26 ¨C Scenario Destroyer (1)
[200,000 coins have been acquired aspensation for your achievement.
[We are currently discussing thepensation for the major contributors.]
After the death of Izumi, Yamata no Orochi¡¯s incarnation, the Japanese people immediately surrendered. The copse of the Absolute Throne loosened the power controlling them and the hidden anti-disaster people started appearing.
¡°Thank you, Kim Dokja.¡±
I recognized the speaker¡¯s face. The greeting was from one of the Japanese people that Yoo Jonghyuk visited, just like I found Asuka Ren. I nodded and greeted the speaker. ¡°Kizuki Hiroshi.¡±
¡°You know me?¡±
¡°You got the Totsuka-no-tsurugi in a hidden scenario.¡±
¡°Hoh, that¡¯s right. It looks like you heard it from Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Of course I didn¡¯t hear it from Yoo Jonghyuk. I was aware of it because I read the original novel. If I remembered correctly, this person had a sponsor rted to the myths of Susanoo and Yamata no Orochi.
¡°You managed to kill the Sovereign of Eight Heads... Many things have been settled thanks to you. I will surely repay this kindness.¡± Kizuki lead the remaining Japanese people and disappeared.
The Japanese who chose to be disasters took advantage of the fact that they wouldn¡¯t die even when failing the scenario. Izumi was the incarnation of Yamata no Orochi but Kizuki was also a powerful and clever incarnation. He would be able to lead the incarnations well for the time being after returning to Tokyo Dome.
[A constetion born from the sea and storm has revealed his modifier.]
[The constetion ¡®Snake Cutter¡¯ has developed a great liking towards you.]
The constetion ¡®Snake Cutter¡¯ was Susanoo, the original master of the SSS-grade item Totsuka-no-tsurugi.
I nced at the Totsuka-no-tsurugi that I gave back to Yoo Jonghyuk. Totsuka-no-tsurugi had been greatly damaged. It wasn¡¯t strange that it was said to have broken after killing Yamata no Orochi.
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me and the party members who had fallen asleep after eating the Ein Forest¡¯s Vital Energy.
¡°Ah, I thought I was really dead this time.¡± Lee Jihye shook her head and held her forehead after waking up. It was because of the blow from directly hearing Yamata no Orochi¡¯s true voice.
¡°No, what was that? I just heard a few words...¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t get such a feeling when themander made a surprise visit...¡±
Lee Hyunsung was talking only to freeze when he heard the voice behind him.
¡°It looks like you¡¯re alive, Lee Hyunsung.¡±
¡°Y-Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi.¡±
¡°I told you to follow my group. Why didn¡¯t you listen?¡±
¡°T-That...¡± Lee Hyunsung trembled and nced my way. It was a face asking me to do something but I couldn¡¯t. Yoo Jonghyuk stared at Lee Hyunsung for a while before turning away.
¡°Ahjussi.¡± I looked around and saw Shin Yoosung holding onto me. She looked up at me like she wanted to be picked up.
I lightly patted Shin Yoosung¡¯s back. ¡°Was it hard? Well done. You did well.¡±
I wanted to say something usible but these were the only words I had. Shin Yoosung shook her head from within my arms.
¡°Hyung, it wasn¡¯t that hard.¡± Lee Gilyoung interrupted and pushed Shin Yoosung away from my arms. Despite the arguing, the two children seemed quite familiar with each other. As expected, kids understood kids the best. It was worth leaving the two of them together.
¡°You¡¯re popr with children.¡± I looked at the small person who spoke. Was his name Gillemium? ¡°There will be a royal banquet in the evening. The castle has almost copsed and the scale will be very small but... I would like to invite you to attend.¡±
I looked up at the sky.
[Time remaining until the end of the scenario: 27 days.]
[The disasters have given up the scenario and the sixth scenario is scheduled for an early termination.]
It might take a bit of time because of the disasters scattered throughout the world. However, once Hiroshi went around Peace Land then the scenario would end automatically.
A banquet...
Was it to y and drink? Ah, then perhaps?
¡°I understand. We will attend.¡±
***
¡°It looks like you are very fond of drinking.¡±
¡°Well... it has been hard to see then these days.¡±
I brought out a lot of distilled spirits that remained in the warehouse with Gillemium¡¯s help. Peace Land¡¯s drinks had very low alcohol content so I needed a lot to make the drink I wanted.
[The constetion ¡®Snake Cutter¡¯ is interested in your brewing.]
I poured alcohol into a bucket the size of a human, threw in all the ingredients I had and started to stir.
[Eighth Head of the Sovereign of Eight Heads.]
[Seventh Tail of the Sovereign of Eight Heads.]
These were items that came out when defeating Yamata no Orochi. They were fragments rather than proper body parts because the true body hadn¡¯t appeared. Still, they contained part of the constetion¡¯s power.
It was only Yoo Jonghyuk who realized what I was going to do. ¡°You know this hidden piece.¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t I a prophet? Now give me your sword.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk knew what I was going to do and obediently offered his sword. I threw the Totsuka-no-tsurugi that I received from Yoo Jonghyuk into the alcohol. Originally it shouldn¡¯t be made like this but I used a shortcut. The Totsuka-no-tsurugi melted into the alcohol.
[Two tales give meaning to your actions.]
[The narrative of the Sovereign of Eight Heads and the Snake Cutter has beenbined.
[Some parts of the story are damaged due to incorrect transmission.]
The damaged part was a bit disappointing but it couldn¡¯t be helped.
[The narrative of Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi is expressed!]
ording to the stories, Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi was the sword that came out of the tail of a drunk Yamata no Orochi. However, it was possible to acquire it using a shortcut. In any case, I just needed to drink.
Lee Jihye asked doubtfully, ¡°Why did you throw the sword into the precious alcohol?¡±
¡°Wait and see.¡±
A momentter, a mysterious aura flowed from the alcohol and a sword surrounded by a pure white light rose.
[The star relic ¡®Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds¡¯ has appeared!]
As expected, it appeared. There was nothing wrong with the method from Ways of Survival.
Yoo Jonghyuk reached out his hand. ¡°This is mine.¡±
¡°Hey! We caught him together.¡±
¡°I was the one who caught him.¡±
Usually, I would¡¯ve insisted by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes were serious this time. This son of a bitch...
Of course, the relic itself wasn¡¯t my goal but it was still bitter to have the star relic taken away right in front of me. I couldn¡¯t fight him here so I gave up on the sword.
[The star relic ¡®Grass-Cutting Sword¡¯ has appeared!]
A knife rose from the alcohol.
...Eh?
The contents of Ways of Survival flowed quickly through my head.
¡¸ Names give birth to narratives and narratives are reproduced in reality. In the world of the Star Stream, Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi has a total of five names. In other words, Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi isn¡¯t ¡®one sword.¡¯ ¡¹
I btedly realized. Perhaps the name of Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi was used for five things in total. In other words, one sword appeared in Ways of Survival and the other four weren¡¯t mentioned.
I quickly grabbed the knife. ¡°Then this is mine. Anyints?¡±
¡°That...¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s narrowed eyes stared at me before he turned away. ¡°Do what you want.¡±
I inwardly sighed with relief. I was satisfied with the grip of the knife in my hand. It was the second in the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi, the Grass-Cutting Sword. This sword contained the power of a dragon killer s I didn¡¯t need to be afraid of any dragon species that I encountered in the future.
Lee Jihye watched from the side and pouted. ¡°These petty-minded males obtained the swords...¡±
Lee Jihye joked yfully before poking the jar of alcohol. ¡°Can we drink this now? The smell isn¡¯t a joke.¡±
¡°You are a minor...¡±
It wasn¡¯t just Lee Jihye. People were flocking to the golden coloured alcohol. Everyone seemed to be hungry for alcohol. Well, they would be drunk just from smelling it...
¡°Drink up everyone.¡±
People started to drink like crazy after I gave my permission.
¡°Ohh, how could it have this taste?¡±
¡°A heavenly drink!¡±
The people drank the golden alcohol and eximed with joy. It was fermented with the magic power of a constetion so it would naturally have a good taste. In fact, the alcohol content in it was insignificant but it also had the effect of increasing stats.
¡°Aren¡¯t you drinking?¡± I asked Yoo Jonghyuk. I looked closer and saw that Yoo Jonghyuk was making a simple dish.
He was slicing and roasting meat and vegetables. It was an outdoor party so the food ingredients brought by the small people were piled up in the area. However, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s cooking...
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke in a cold tone. ¡°I don¡¯t consume anything made by others.¡±
¡°Are you afraid of being poisoned?¡±
¡°It is because it isn¡¯t delicious.¡±
¡°How delicious can the food you make...¡± I said this but I quickly took a bite out of the dish Yoo Jonghyuk was making.
Then... No, what was this?
Lee Seolhwa, who was helping Yoo Jonghyuk nearby, smiled and asked me, ¡°Is it delicious?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
It was damn delicious. Really, it was delicious. No, it was the best dish I had ever eaten. What was this meat skewer?
One side of the expressionless Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mouth curved up. Damn. Even if he was a regressor, how could this bastard cook so well?
I mumbled something and moved away when I heard something that was like a musical instrument. It was excellent music that was very calm and profound.
I followed the sound and saw a doll sitting on top of the castle. It was the smallest person who was as handsome as Yoo Jonghyuk.
It was Kyrgios Rodgraim. He sat on the ledge and yed the vi while staring at the distant sky. It was gentle and sometimes sad. It was filled with a faint longing. The noisy crowd stopped one by one and listened to the music. The exaggerated heat cooled down.
First, someone¡¯s eyes reddened. Then the next person burst into tears. It seemed contagious and they all started to cry. As if they missed the moments they had to cry, everyone burst out crying.
The inhabitants of Peace Land also experienced the scenarios. This was music thatforted them.
I drank a bit of the alcohol while listening to the melody. Then Asuka Ren came up to me. She hadn¡¯t joined the Japanese group.
I asked her, ¡°Ren-ssi, have you seen Han Sooyoung?¡±
¡°Ah. I was telling her a few settings and she suddenly said there was a ce she had to go.¡±
I see. It seemed she left to find a hidden piece. That girl...
The sound of the vi spread through the broken castle and I recalled something as I saw Asuka Ren¡¯s face. A person who had reached the end of a long dream was likely to make this face.
I thought I could ask now. ¡°How do you feel?¡±
¡°...It is weird.¡± She hesitated for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m thinking that I shouldn¡¯t have given up.¡±
I understood immediately what she was saying. She licked her lips before opening her mouth, breaking the moist film on her mouth.
¡°Who would¡¯ve thought of this when reading my manga?¡±
¡°Someone obviously did.¡±
Asuka Ren smiled sadly and looked down at her hands. Her red cheeks made it clear she had drank a lot of alcohol.
¡°I suddenly had a thought. Maybe I¡¯m not a member of a world someone drew...¡±
I paused before saying, ¡°Perhaps it is a world that doesn¡¯t matter.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°There is the story I wanted to hearst time...¡±
I noticed Asuka Ren didn¡¯t understand and added a bit more exnation. Asuka Len said, ¡°Ah, an email arrived shortly after the series ended. They wanted to borrow the setting of my manga...¡±
I was a bit surprised by the unexpected words. There was no such thing in Ways of Survival.
¡°Borrow the setting?¡±
¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t think much about it at the time but this situation urred not long afterwards...¡±
¡°Do you remember the exact details? For example, an email address or...¡±
¡°As soon as I replied to the email, all rted emails were suddenly erased. So the detailed address...¡±
¡°I see.¡±
Asuka Ren heard something in my voice that made her feel sorry. She hesitated before adding, ¡°...That, um. I¡¯m not certain but I think the email address started with a ¡®t¡¯.¡±
t? I became dazed and reflexively asked, ¡°Could it be... tls123?¡±
Chapter 132 - Scenario Destroyer (2)
Chapter 132: Episode 26 ¨C Scenario Destroyer (2)
tls123. This was the ID for the author of Ways of Survival.
Asuka Ren¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Eh? tls123...?¡±
I urged her, ¡°Do you remember?¡±
¡°Remember... eh?¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
Asuka Ren blinked and her eyes became dazed for a moment. Faint sparks appeared around her body.
¡°¡ö¡ö¡ö...¡ö¡ö¡±
Huh? I was shocked and asked, ¡°What did you just say?¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°The words you just said...¡±
¡°What do you mean? What did I...¡±
Asuka Ren¡¯s face showed that she didn¡¯t know anything. I felt a terrible sense of foreboding. I quietly activated Character List.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Asuka Ren
Age: 31 years old
Constetion Support: Master of the Niten Ichu-ryu.
Private Attribute: Peace Land¡¯s Creator (Legend), Mangaka (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: Kendo Lv. 7, ck Pen Tip Lv. 4, usible Dignity and Laws Lv. 5, Imagination Stimtion Lv. 4...
Stima: Niten Ichu-ryu Lv. 3.
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 55 (Currently Lv. 17), Strength Lv. 55 (Currently Lv. 17), Agility Lv. 49 (Currently Lv. 11), Magic Power Lv. 54 (Currently Lv. 16)
Overall Evaluation: The currentprehensive evaluation is currently in progress.
+
As I saw in Ways of Survival, this woman must be the creator of Peace Land.
Then...
...Was it ¡®editing?¡¯ The next moment, I saw the disappearance of an entire feature window in front of my eyes. Like sand, the letters scattered one by one in front of me.
+
Private Attribute: Mangaka (Rare)
+
Very slowly, goosebumps crept up my spine. Why was ¡®Creatore of Peace Land¡¯ missing all of a sudden? It was impossible for any constetion to do this.
Asuka Ren looked at me and asked, ¡°Sorry, what were we talking about?¡±
¡°We were talking about Ren-ssi¡¯s work.¡±
¡°My work?¡± Asuka Ren made a face like she couldn¡¯t remember anything. She couldn¡¯t remember any of the settings of Peace Land that she created.
¡¸ At this moment, she knew that the world hadpletely left her hands. ¡¹
I had a throbbing headache. Was there such a sentence in Ways of Survival? I didn¡¯t know.
However, one thing was for certain.
The melody of the vi ying in the lonely night. The cries of the small people. The sad and rich atmosphere elevated by the emotions. This was the moment the world called Peace Land waspleted.
Now there was nothing to add to this story. Finally, one story had bepletely independent from its author.
I suddenly thought I understood why an attribute disappeared from Asuka Ren. The moment the world was finished, the author had to descend from the position of creator.
I suddenly wondered. Where did the finished story go?
[You havee to know the Peace Land.]
[All beings belonging to Peace Land are faintly aware of your gaze.]
[The small¡¯s constetion rejoices in your presence.]
[The beings of Peace Land have started to write legends about you.]
The funny thing was that I hadn¡¯t asked for it.
...I see. The destination of the story that left its creator was decided from the beginning.
After that, I asked Asuka Ren a few more things while using Lie Detection. However, she really didn¡¯t remember anything.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really don¡¯t know. It is like a manga I have read...¡±
It was like she read her own story. Somehow, I felt depressed. Asuka Ren closed her eyes for a moment before saying, ¡°However, I think I enjoyed reading it. Definitely...¡±
Sadly, the information about the author of Ways of Survival that I barely managed to touch stopped here. It was still unclear what type of person the author of Ways of Survival was and what he wanted.
Still, at least one thing seemed vaguely clear. Perhaps like me, the author of Ways of Survival wasn¡¯t satisfied with the existing ending. That¡¯s why he gave me this textbook before the end of the world. If so, I would meet those expectations.
I stepped away from Asuka Ren who was enjoying the scenery and pulled out a small ampoule.
[Ancient Serpent¡¯s Sacred Blood]
It was an item obtained with the constetion parts. I sent a signal and the distant Lee Hyunsung nodded and approached. Lee Hyunsung wasn¡¯t drinking. I was sorry but I had some work for him to do today.
¡°Then I asking you.¡±
¡°Leave it to me.¡±
Lee Hyunsung was entrusted to be my guard. It was because I was going to copse for a bit. I sprinkled the Ancient Serpent¡¯s Sacred Blood into the cup and the golden alcohol turned into a dark red.
[You have drank alcohol made from the Ancient Serpent¡¯s Sacred Blood.]
[The greedy snake will test your mental power.]
This was a hidden piece that Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t know about in the third regression. It was a ceremony that could only be done when the alcohol made from Orochi¡¯s parts was mixed with the sacred blood. I wouldn¡¯t have given up an excellent trait like King of No Killing if it hadn¡¯t been for this.
[The snake has confirmed your eligibility for Dragon yer.]
[The new attribute ¡®Eight Lives¡¯ is being prepared.]
...Good. Now that it was being prepared, I would have a new attribute when I woke up.
One thing was finished and the other...
I poured the remaining alcohol into my mouth. I became dizzy and felt drunk. However, I couldn¡¯t fall asleep right away. I sat on the ground and wrote a message.
¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy.¡¯
Why? Dionysus was unresponsive despite the joyful atmosphere. The same was true for Persephone.
It was a difficult situation. I aplished my task but there was no one to take me to the Underworld.
Should I bring Yoo Sangah over? If there was a direct terminus with Olympus then I could send the signal right away.
¡®Father of the Rich Night.¡¯
It happened when I wrote Hades¡¯ modifier. An eerie aura swept over my body.
I was filled with the urge to vomit and when I opened my eyes again, I realized that I had alreadye to the Underworld. This disturbing and unpleasant air could only be felt in the Underworld.
Looking around, it was fortunate that I hadn¡¯t fallen into Tartarus. Someone was standing in front of me.
[You shouldn¡¯t enter the Underworld right now.]
It wasn¡¯t Hades or Persephone. I could tell the moment I saw the outfit resembling the envoy.
¡°Judge-nim.¡±
It wasn¡¯t the judge who guided mest time. I replied to him, ¡°I came to report that I¡¯vepleted the queen¡¯s task.¡±
[I know. Once again, you can¡¯t enter the pce.]
¡°...Why?¡±
[I can¡¯t tell you that.]
The judge waved his hand like it was troublesome.
[Go back. I summoned you using the power of the father but it is impossible for you to enter.]
¡°I have an appointment with the queen. I must enter.¡±
[You can¡¯t right now. Go back.]
What type of crap was this? Despite his strength, the judge was minisculepared to Persephone. Still, looking at this stubbornness...
¡°...Perhaps they are both away?¡±
The judge hesitated before nodding.
[That¡¯s right.]
¡°What¡¯s going on...¡±
Hades and Persephone were absent at the same time. I didn¡¯t know what it was but there was a high probability that something big had happened. If it was an emergency meeting for the 12 gods of Olympus... but was there anything worth making that summons at this point?
¡°Did they leave something for me? Something I can pick up if I arrive...¡±
[Why should I tell you if there was such a thing?]
I knew that the judges had different personalities but I didn¡¯t expect to be caught by such a tough one. Based on the way he talked, there must be something. There was no way that the meticulous Persephone would¡¯ve just left...
It couldn¡¯t be helped.
¡°I¡¯ll let you take a sip of this if you help me.¡±
I took out the Yamata no Orochi alcohol that I had ced into a bottle in my coat. I opened the lid and the smell of sweet fermented liquor spread.
[T-That is...?]
The judge was shocked. For a person who had lived a long time, alcohol was like drugs. It was the only means to forget the tragedy of the long years. This wasn¡¯t alcohol but alcohol made from the parts of a constetion.
[H-Hrmm. Hrmm...]
¡°If you don¡¯t like it then I can go.¡±
[W-Wait a minute! I understand. I¡¯ll give you the thing that the queen left.]
He ate the bait. This waspletely different from the harsh judge I sawst time.
[Hah... good...]
The judge grinned with satisfaction after taking a sip and pulled out a yellow bead.
[Here, take it and go.]
It was a bright yellow bead. I realized it was the soul of Shin Yoosung that I had been eagerly looking for. I rubbed the bead several times and it shone with a faint light as it floated in the air. I ced my hand on the bead and thought, ¡®I¡¯m sorry, am Ite?¡¯
The bead only screamed, like she had lost most of hernguage.
[Ah...ah.]
A woman who lost her words and her memories. Despite dedicating her life to the scenario, the only story left to her was a horrible history of pain. This was what a normal person would say.
¡®You¡¯ve gone through enough so rest and take it easy.¡¯
However, Shin Yoosung couldn¡¯t rest. She still had work to do in this world.
[Ah...jussi...?]
The soul trembled after a long time.
[Really, really...]
¡®Yes.¡¯
[Why...?]
¡®You still have work left to do in this world.¡¯
I didn¡¯te here because I sympathized with her. I did it because I needed Shin Yoosung¡¯s help. There was something that only she could do with the story she built up for a long time. Shin Yoosung responded with slight fear.
[I... what should I do?]
I touched her soul and showed her some of my thoughts. Shin Yoosung was silent for a while before she burst outughing.
[Haha, ha... a cruel person, Ahjussi... in a way, you are more cruel that the captain...]
¡®I¡¯m sorry.¡¯
[But... okay. I ept. No... I want to do it. This is what I want. This time, I want to see the ¡®ending¡¯ of this world.]
¡®Your memories might disappear. Can you endure it?¡¯
Shin Yoosung nodded.
[I¡¯m not afraid. Ahjussi... I¡¯ll believe in what you told me.]
Finally, Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul disappeared back into the bead. She probably wouldn¡¯te out for a while. The moment we would meet again was after she gained a physical body.
The judge watched us and opened his mouth.
[As you might know, the body isn¡¯t resurrected just by taking the soul out of the world. Moreover, it is impossible for the soul to settle into a new body after a long time.]
The judge chuckled.
[There might be a way with reincarnation but this soul hasmitted so many sins that it won¡¯t be born again as a human. If you want her to be born again as a human then you have to throw away all the stories of the soul. In that case, she won¡¯t be the person you knew.]
¡°I know.¡±
As Persephone said, the soul was a story. Even now, Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul was bing ¡®not Shin Yoosung.¡¯ However, that wasn¡¯t the only path for Shin Yoosung.
I immediately called to someone. ¡®Bihyung.¡¯
He was silent. I waited, looking down at the bead until Bihyung responded. Only high value beings could choose the body a soul was reincarnated in...
She had been dominated by the story so far and now she would be reborn as the ruler of the story. I finally felt Bihyung through the channel. I opened my mouth. ¡®I need your help.¡¯
-What help?
I didn¡¯t answer. Bihyung was silent as he nced between me and Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul. He soon noticed the meaning of my words.
-Surely, you... you want me to do ¡®that?¡¯
I nodded.
-Hey, think about it. It isn¡¯t as easy as you think. It might be better off if she disappears here...
¡®Do you want to ruin your channel?¡¯
-Shit. Hey, this is really... I¡¯ve never done this before!
¡®We will try it from now on.¡¯
-Fuck.
Bihyung hesitated for a long time before finally giving me a golden egg. The egg from the greatest ¡®Star Story¡¯ came down.
I put Shin Yoosung¡¯s soul into this egg. The egg trembled and gave off a brilliant light before it flew up into the sky again.
Bihyung couldn¡¯t say anything for a long time before muttering in an absurd way.
-I never thought I would receive a ¡®child¡¯ this way...
My enemies weren¡¯t just inside the scenarios. The Shin Yoosung of the 41st regression, she would be the only ¡®streamer¡¯ for me in this round.
Chapter 133 - Scenario Destroyer (3)
Chapter 133: Episode 26 ¨C Scenario Destroyer (3)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
The negotiations with Bihyung finished and the judge urged me.
[If it is over then go back.]
The judge was absentmindedly staring at my liquor bottle again. It seemed that he hadn¡¯t drank enough...
Wait. He said that Hades and Persephone wasn¡¯t present right now?
¡°Hey, Judge-nim. One more thing.¡±
[I don¡¯t know what it is this time but...]
¡°I¡¯ll give you the bottle.¡± The judge¡¯s eyes shed at my words. ¡°Please take me to Tartarus again.¡±
***
There was no time so I went down to Tartarus and then came back up again. It was only a short time but the judge was already drunk.
[Then are you done?]
¡°Yes.¡±
Hades and Persephone being away was a divine move for me. I only gave a bit of information but if I knew Kim Namwoon, that alone would make a big difference. I was looking forward to the Gigantomachia that would arrive one day.
[There is a message that the queen left.]
¡°The queen?¡±
[Yes. I will directly recite it.]
The judge repeated Persephone¡¯s words in a profound voice.
[Incarnation Kim Dokja, you havepleted the task in a very interesting way.]
¡°...¡±
[Many nebe in the Star Stream are now watching you. Many of them are hostile towards you.]
In fact, this scenario had caught too much attention from the constetions.
[You should be prepared.]
I became a bit nervous after listening to the story. Was this rted to Hades and Persephone¡¯s departure? The reactions from the otherrge constetions had noticeably decreased a while ago.
In particr, Uriel or... Uriel. Please note that Uriel was part of the ¡®Eden¡¯ neb.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ feels sorry.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ isforting ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband.¡¯]
These guys were still here.
[Then go well.]
I nodded. There was no point worrying about it now. The important thing was to build up my stories. Some nebe might despise me like Persephone said but it wasn¡¯t everyone.
There was a distant whirlwind and my field of view gradually changed. Once I opened my eyes again, I had returned.
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
There was a strange tension in the voice. I hit my cheeks toe to my senses. Then I saw Lee Hyunsung¡¯s anxious face and asked, ¡°What happened?¡±
The people around us were buzzing. Lee Jihye and the others were all crowded around one ce. In the air, traces of a distorted space were appearing.
A portal. It was the pathway that mypanions and I had gone through. Why was this thing open? Hadn¡¯t the scenario ended?
Lee Hyunsung exined, ¡°The second South Korean group has shown up.¡± The second group? They came now? ¡°I¡¯m not really sure...¡±
There was a sense that the second group hade toote. Usually the second group appeared a week after the first group, but this time the personnel supplement didn¡¯t ur until after the scenario ended. It was different from Japan, whose third group were deployed in an instant.
Lee Hyunsung and I headed towards the portal.
¡°Ahjussi, this way!¡±
I headed in the direction of Lee Jihye¡¯s voice and then a man appeared from the portal. His whole body was charcoal, as if he had been burned all over.
¡°Uhhh...¡±
This man was someone I knew. I asked with a shocked expression, ¡°Jung Minseob-ssi? What is this...?¡±
Jung Minseob. He was one of the few readers who was on my side when I was fighting the prophets. I thought he had died after the War of Kings because I hadn¡¯t seen his face for a while. Why was he here...?
Lee Seolhwa appeared and started to treat Jung Minseob. However, it was already toote. At thest minute, Jung Minseob met my eyes and muttered towards me. ¡°D-Don¡¯t...e... back...¡±
They were Jung Minseob¡¯sst words.
***
[You have protected the peace of Peace Land.]
A huge string was shining in the air. There was still a festive atmosphere but the expressions of my party members were different. Lee Jihye wondered in a confused voice, ¡°What the hell is this?¡±
It was a situation where the scenario wasn¡¯tpletely closed so it wasn¡¯t unusual for additional personnel to be dispatched. Yet the extra personnel was injured from the beginning.
¡°Was there a case like this in Japan?¡±
Asuka Ren shook her head at Lee Hyunsung¡¯s question. ¡°Perhaps they were attacked by something when crossing the portal...¡±
¡°Is that possible?¡±
There were times when there were dimensional species living in the portal. However, based on my memories, that didn¡¯t happen in this scenario.
Then Lee Jihye gave her opinion. ¡°Perhaps the remaining people are fighting among themselves?¡±
I didn¡¯t want it to be like that but it was the most realistic guess. Asuke Ren nodded and added, ¡°There is no Absolute Throne on the South Korean side?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Then this isn¡¯t likely.¡±
Japan was currently in simr situation. In countries that weren¡¯t affected by the Absolute Throne, the leaders of a group often changed. As far as I knew, this happened a few times in Ways of Survival.
This situation was a bit surprising. It was still the early stages of the scenario. If the isted ones joined together, their strength still wasn¡¯t high enough. Moreover, Seoul had prepared a contingency n. There was Yoo Sangah, Jung Heewon and my mother, the King of Wanderers.
It was impossible for a new leadership group to emerge as long as they were there. The eyes of the party members were anxious.
¡°Perhaps... it can¡¯t be.¡±
None of the scheduled second group hade. Only Jung Minseob arrived and he was in a dying state. There was even the message ¡®don¡¯t go back.¡¯ I could guess a few possibilities but...
¡°We won¡¯t know for certain unless we go back.¡± When did he appear? Yoo Jonghyuk spoke from beside me.
I nodded at his words. ¡°You are correct. Let¡¯s go back and check it.¡±
Then the scenario message was heard.
[Additionalpensation for the major contributors has arrived.]
[Major contributors: Kim Dokja, Yoo Jonghyuk]
Finally, the main scenario rewards had arrived.
[Do you want to check thepensation history?]
I nodded.
[Rewards List]
1. Moon Wave Folded Fan (SSS-grade)
2. Blue Dragon Sword (SSS)
3. Magic King¡¯s Bracelet (SS-grade)
4. A choice of one of the following A-grade skills.
There were a total of four rewards. Thepensation list was considerable because the scenario was very difficult.
The items such as Moon Wave Folded Fan and Blue Dragon would show strengthparable to star relics after they were gradually enhanced. There would be no damages. In addition, there was the Magic King¡¯s Bracelet. This was a good item to defend against beginner and intermediate spells from magic-based returnees.
However, I had obtained the Grass-Cutting Sword and the first two items weren¡¯t very advantageous. The Magic King¡¯s Bracelet was intriguing but the value was reduced unless I met a returnee. Thus, the answer was fixed from the beginning.
¡°I will pick the fourth option.¡±
A list of skills appeared in front of me. The reason for the increase in rating was because the skills that appeared mainly belonged to the Murim system.
Manifestation of Nature New Feat
Small Yang Sword.
Taichi Blurred Palms.
...
There were the exquisite techniques of the Shaolin school or famous ones like the 24 Plum Blossoms Swordsmanship. Every one was a skill I coveted but I only had one choice, so I had to be careful.
As I mentionedst time, regardless of the skill¡¯s level, some skills were highly difficult to obtain. There would be a chance to get the Murim skills again but if I missed this chance, there was a skill I would never get. For example, the Peace Land limited ¡®A-grade skill.¡¯
¡°I will pick the A-grade skill, Miniaturization.¡±
Lee Jihye saw my choice and screamed, ¡°Ahjussi, are you crazy?¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Why would you choose such a thing? It is too stressful to be small... I would rather you choose the Blue Dragon Sword and give it to me!¡±
Lee Hyunsung also looked surprised. The kids didn¡¯t care and were ying with each other. On the other hand, the small people looked strangely touched. They probably thought I chose this skill to remember them.
[Now that thepensation has ended, it is time to go back. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve be attached to each other but please say goodbye.]
The dokkaebi made an announcement and then a huge portal appeared in the air. Gillemium and the small people gathered around us.
¡°Go carefully!¡±
¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll definitely remember you.¡±
The small people sang a song of farewell for us. Asuka Ren¡¯s eyes reddened. The Japanese group also disappeared into the portal. My party members were thest ones to leave. The song of the small people continued.
I kept listening and seemed to hear some lyrics.
-Hero who saved Peace Land.
His name
It isn¡¯t Dokuja
Dokja
Ohh it is Dokja.
Shit, what were these lyrics?
[The beings of Peace Land are linked to your legend.]
[This achievement can be viewed after bing a constetion.]
On top of a bell tower, I could see Kyrgios looking at me. I thought he would run this way and make all sorts of threats after the scenario was over, but he just watched quietly.
Asuka told me, ¡°I think he appreciates you.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°It is just a feeling. I don¡¯t know why.¡±
Asuka Ren smiled at me. Her qualifications as a creator might be lost but the author was still one of the readers.
¡°Let¡¯s survive and meet again, people of South Korea.¡±
Asuka Ren bowed and disappeared into the portal. Then we also entered. My vision swirled and once I came to my senses, my feet were touching the ground. I wasn¡¯t too dizzy since I had experienced it once before.
[The main scenario has ended.]
The view of Seoul entered my eyes. I looked around and Yoo Jonghyuk was the only one who arrived at the same ce as me. We might¡¯ve entered the same portal but the exits were different. Still, why was I with this person...
¡°Kim Dokja, move.¡± The moment Yoo Jonghyuk spoke, the ground where we were standing exploded. The magic bullets that flew over turned this area into a mess.
¡°The Supreme King!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t panic! Shoot!¡±
¡°They aren¡¯t on the same side anyway! Leave the Supreme King and go for the King of No Killing!¡±
In a way, it was an expected ambush. Dozens of people were gathered beyond the dust clouds. At first nce, they had a great deal of equipment and had sponsors.
Were they incarnations belonging to other nebe like Persephone had warned me about? The answer was still unknown.
¡°He can¡¯t kill anyone! There is a penalty if he kills! Therefore, don¡¯t hesitate!¡±
¡°There is a possibility that he collected points and will revive again. Don¡¯t miss the time of revival and kill him!¡±
...When had that information leaked? They even knew the information of ¡®King of No Killing.¡¯ After a moment, the person leading them appeared through the dust.
¡°Kim Dokja! Slowly put down your weapon ande this way!¡±
I listened to his words. As they came closer, their armed appearance became clear. Each person was wearing A-grade equipment and their overall stats were outstanding.
They wouldn¡¯t be pushed by the wanderers group that my mother led. Where the hell had these peoplee from? The leader smirked at me like it was already over.
I smiled at him and asked, ¡°Where did you get my information?¡±
¡°What are you going to do?¡±
¡°I will let you know that one part is wrong.¡±
¡°What?¡±
[de of Faith is activated!]
de of Faith was pulled out and instantly cut the leader and his men who were surrounding me.
Chapter 134 - Scenario Destroyer (4)
Chapter 134: Episode 26 ¨C Scenario Destroyer (4)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
¡°U-Urgh?¡±
The heads of the people in front fell down and the people around them withdrew in fear.
¡°He killed! That guy killed!¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t he the King of No Killing? This is different from what I was told!¡±
The flustered people urgently rushed out with their weapons. I didn¡¯t need any special skills to catch these tadpoles. I literally used de of Faith and cut down those who were running.
¡°Aaaagh!¡±
I neatly destroyed the encirclement around me. Thest person started screaming when he was half-cut. I stuck my de in the struggling man. It was without hesitation.
¡°I-I didn¡¯t hear about him having this much skill...?¡±
¡°Run away!¡±
Up to now, I had tried not to kill no matter who attacked me. Of course, I didn¡¯t want to lose the King of No Killing. As I repeated this behaviour, I developed the habit of refraining from killing.
It was different now. I would create a weakness if I didn¡¯t act more aggressively. That weakness meant that countless hyenas would emerge in the future. Once I decided, there was no hesitation in my hands.
The rest of the hyenas copsed in an instant. There was only one left.
¡°You are slow.¡±
I heard a sword and saw Yoo Jonghyuk putting away his sword. There was no expression on the face of the person who killed a lot more people than I did.
¡°U-Uhh,it was clearly said that the Supreme King doesn¡¯t cooperate with him...¡±
One remaining man walked backwards while his limbs shook.
I asked him, ¡°Who made you do this?¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
[The character ¡®Seol Ingu¡¯ has fallen into deep agony.]
The next moment, his expression changed and he suddenly ran towards me.
¡°Aaaah!¡±
It couldn¡¯t be like this. It was strange. Why run to die when he had no chance of winning at all? A cool sensation shed through my mind.
Then the man yelled. ¡°For the liberation of humanity!¡±
He had the look of a martyr.
...The liberation of humanity? Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword moved and the man¡¯s head fell down.
¡°What are you looking at stupidly?¡± Ipletely woke up at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s testy voice.
¡°Don¡¯t you think something is wrong?¡±
¡°It is rare for a person to have such strong loyalty.¡±
¡°You know, humans aren¡¯t such loyal animals. Moreover, in the current circumstances...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk scolded me, ¡°You dragged out time and the ones hiding escaped.¡±
I couldn¡¯t have a conversation with this jerk. We decided to follow the trail of those who ran away. I asked, ¡°...By the way, are you going to keep going with me?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Are you perhaps looking for your chance to hit me?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk watched me with his uniquely fearsome eyes and slowly opened his mouth. ¡°You are the one who reminded me. Thanks for letting me know.¡±
¡°...I would be more grateful if you kept forgetting about it.¡±
I sighed and checked the surrounding area. It was near Kkachisan Station of Seoul Subway Line 5.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke with a puzzled expression. ¡°...Strange. The hunting scenarios should be in progress in Seoul Dome.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. The hunt might not actually be hunting.¡±
All the roads leading to Kkachisan, including Ujangsan Station, Sinjeong Station and Mokdong were covered with the blood of incarnations. There were corpses lying on the street. There had been many bodies previously. The problem this time was the method of killing.
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at the wounds and nodded. ¡°The cause of these wounds are humans.¡±
If the monster hunting scenarios had proceeded then all the wounds on the bodies would be tooth marks or w marks from monsters. However, these people had clearly died from sharp weapons or magic bullets.
In other words, there was a fight here regardless of the scenario. Not long afterwards, we discovered a person who had fled.
¡°Over there.¡±
Before we could approach, the man was pierced by an arrow fired from somewhere. I drew my sword to face a new enemy only to meet an unexpected group. They were the Hwarang. They started talking about the dead person.
¡°There is no doubt. It is the remnants of the Savior.¡±
¡°Finish him.¡±
I confirmed they weren¡¯t enemies and ran towards them.
¡°Wait a minute!¡±
Then the woman looked back at me. She had a face weary frombat.
¡°Kim Dokja-ssi?¡±
She was Min Jiwon.
***
We heard unexpected news from her.
¡°...The king faction was disbanded?¡±
¡°First, the Maitreya King¡¯s forces were hit and then it was the King of Wanderers.¡±
I was startled. For a moment, there was a strong feeling of dizziness. ¡°Is the King of Wanderers dead?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know her whereabouts. She is currently missing. Jeon Ildo, the Neutral King joined the other side.¡±
It was certainly possible if it was the Neutral King. Sometimes the word ¡®neutral¡¯ referred to those who were the most cowardly.
My mind becameplicated. If my mother was hit then there was no guarantee that Jung Heewon or Yoo Sangah would be safe. Who the hell were these people?
I asked, ¡°Is it the Yeouido forces we saw before?¡±
¡°No, it is an emerging force. Those bastards call themselves the Salvation Church... and Yeouido is in their hands right now.¡±
...Salvation Church? I naturally knew this name very well. It was because the Salvation Church was a group that upied an important position in the original novel.
However, something was wrong. The original Salvation Church appeared in the tenth scenario after the liberation scenario of Seoul was over.
¡°The Salvation Church suddenly appeared on the day you left. They said they were going to liberate the human race from the scenario... the forces that went against them were removed without hesitation.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked. ¡°Where was such a force hiding? All the big powers in Seoul would¡¯ve gathered at the start of the sixth scenario.¡±
¡°...They aren¡¯t from Seoul.¡±
I immediately understood what she meant. Light suddenly gushed out in front of us. It wasn¡¯t one or two light rays falling from the sky. Humans were summoned with the light rays, as if it was a spotlight from heaven. Half of them seemed crazy but the other half had very clear eyes.
Then a message was heard.
[New people have entered the scenario zone!]
[The seventh main scenario is currently underway at Seoul Dome.]
More than 900 people were summoned to the square. Everyone was wearing casual clothing, notbat equipment.
Yoo Jonghyuk muttered, ¡°It¡¯s already time for new people to be added.¡±
At present, the main scenarios were in progress only in the capitals of countries around the world. As we went through the scenarios, too many incarnations died. In such cases, the bureau would summon a certain amount of humans in ordance with internal regtions. Most were randomly summoned from all over the country.
Like right now.
¡°U-Uhhh.... uhhh...¡±
Most of the people were frightened but many incarnations had already started to explore the surroundings. Based on their looks, they seemed to have just gone through the first scenario.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°The Salvation Church was summoned like them?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense. Those who are just summoned won¡¯t be able to defeat existing incarnations.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words were right. Of course, the recently summoned would receive better rewards for the sake of bnce control. However, that alone wasn¡¯t enough to beat the existing incarnations.
Min Jiwon bit her lip and said, ¡°The Salvation Church¡¯s lord was strong from the beginning.¡±
The trembling of her shoulders indicated someone who experienced real horror.
¡°Supreme King, I know you are strong. However, never fight him. His strength and resourcefulness has already transcended humans. He isn¡¯t human. He is like another creature...¡±
Then the dokkaebi appeared among the murmuring people.
[Now, everyone. Don¡¯t panic. Calm down and look here.]
The new incarnations paid attention to the dokkaebi, like well-behaved children.
[Your are now summoned and are like chicks who have lost their mother. Of course, there are people who have already chosen a good sponsor but you should know that it isn¡¯t easy to survive in this world. Thus, you have to find a ¡®group¡¯ to protect yourselves. They will be the ¡®mother¡¯ who protects you until you be a mighty incarnation.]
At this time, some of the incarnations screamed.
¡°There isn¡¯t anything else. This information already came out!¡±
¡°You¡¯ve told us so get out of here!¡±
The incarnations started to move before the dokkaebi finished his words. There was the event rted to the prophets and internal information was also released by the incarnations with the power of the Inte. Many of them were probably already prepared.
¡°Supreme King! I have to stick to the side of the Supreme King!¡±
¡°That¡¯s right! The strongest incarnation is the Supreme King!¡±
These poor people were heading to their deaths themselves. I prayed for their soul.
¡°I heard the King of Beauty is good.¡±
¡°What are you doing? She is weak.¡±
¡°She is unbelievably beautiful.¡±
¡°...Should we go see her first?¡±
Yes, this might help her feel better. On the other hand, some people were more cautious.
¡°Stupid fools. The real power isn¡¯t the Supreme King or King of Beauty.¡±
I could hear some of the people with somber eyes who gathered.
¡°The King of No Killing, or the Immortal King is the best.¡±
¡°The King of No Killing?¡±
¡°It is said that he doesn¡¯t die even when killed.¡±
¡°Wow. Amazing.¡±
¡°In fact, there is a rumour that the Supreme King and King of Beauty were beaten by him. There are also many women chasing after him?¡±
Uh... Is that right?
¡°Really? Who is it? What is the king¡¯s name?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure...¡±
¡°Damn, then how can we find them?¡±
¡°I heard that we should find the ugliest king.¡±
I suddenly felt a gaze and saw Yoo Jonghyuk staring quietly at me. What was he looking at?
¡°No, recently...¡±
Meanwhile, the conversation of the incarnations continued. Which king was better and who should they go under? I felt frustrated that I had removed the Absolute Throne.
At this moment, a sound that was like a horn was heard in the distance. Min Jiwon jumped and she started shaking. ¡°We have to run away.¡±
A voice was heard before Min Jiwon could finish speaking.
¡°Poor people ying out the scenarios of the highest beings.¡±
The voice was vast and it was like the whole space was ringing. They appeared on a monster species that resembled a giant elephant. As if they were performing, the Salvation members were mumbling something on the elephant. This march that was like a miracul,ous scene overwhelmed all incarnations.
¡°We havee to save you!¡±
It was the appearance of the Salvation Church. However, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression was strange as he stared at the centre of the group.
¡°I didn¡¯t know he was going to follow me in this life.¡±
Chapter 135 - Scenario Destroyer (5)
Chapter 135: Episode 26 ¨C Scenario Destroyer (5)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
I reflexively asked Yoo Jonghyuk, ¡°Do you know these people?¡±
¡°Just one of them.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk knew the Salvation Church? Well, he would¡¯ve met them in the second regression. I was also familiar with the Salvation Church. ording to the original novel, the Salvation Church was a group thatpletely abandoned the stereotypes of the word ¡®salvation.¡¯
¡¸ ¡°There is no salvation in the afterlife.¡± ¡¹
The first sermon of the Salvation Church began with this.
¡¸ ¡°The most important thing is the story and ¡®today¡¯ is what we need to liberate ourselves from. ¡¹
At first nce, their doctrine had no problem. It gave importance to the present, not the past or the future. It was a story I heard many times even before the destruction came.
The Salvation Church mumbled unintelligible words while leading enormous forces. The elephants making harsh cries were the 7th grade desert thorn elephants. There was a person among the people who could ¡®tame¡¯ the elephants.
¡°O-Ohhh...¡±
¡°The Salvation Church!¡±
The incarnations cheered at the splendid appearance. I was a bit nervous. The Salvation Church had already appeared. Someone was intervening in the future I knew. It was also a very strong presence.
I heard a voice from the elephant in the front. ¡°Young incarnations. The Salvation Church hase. We will free you from the scenario.¡±
At these words, the Salvation members spread out their arms towards the incarnations. Some of the incarnations came forward.
¡°...What do you mean by liberation from the scenario?¡±
¡°Literally what I said. I will give you freedom from the scenarios.¡±
The words were still elusive but they were appropriate to tempt the incarnations.
Liberation, freedom.
Some incarnations were prepared but for most of the incarnations who were forced into this ce, they were sweet words.
¡°C-Can we be stronger if we enter the Salvation Church?¡±
Some incarnations were already convinced while others were more cautious. They believed in immediate power rather than vague words of ¡®salvation.¡¯
¡°Stronger...¡± A shadow moved on the pnquin atop the elephant. The gender of the voice couldn¡¯t be identified. ¡°What do you think strength is?¡±
Gazes focused on the man who asked the original question and he stuttered with a red face. ¡°Well, strength is to be powerful... or to have strong skills! Isn¡¯t that what it means?¡±
¡°A strong power and strong skills... something like this?¡±
Magic power slowly stretched from the pnquin and formed a gigantic palm. It was magic power manifestation. A technique that could be used by a returnee was being implemented by a mere incarnation in the scenario.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is hostile towards the ¡®palm¡¯.]
A huge palm that was overwhelming covered the sky and fell towards the man.
¡°Waaaaahhhhh!¡±
Everyone screamed at the overwhelming magic. The moment the palm covered the incarnations, it transformed into wind and disappeared. A warm and gentle airflow surrounded the incarnation.
¡°You are pursuing fleeting things. Strength and weaknesses are all images made by stories.¡±
The curtain of the pnquin was lifted and something emerged. Like the bright sun rising, a light was emitted from the whole body. It was like a god descending as the lightnded on the ground.
Then I realized something. I hadn¡¯t thought that the ¡®Salvation leader¡¯ I knew would alreadye into the scenario. The incarnation who asked for strength hesitated and opened his mouth.
¡°W-What does that... can I be stronger if I go under you?¡±
The lord of the Salvation Church spoke with a benevolent smile. ¡°There is no meaning.¡±
¡°N-No meaning?¡±
¡°Poor living thing trapped in a pile of time. You are now being deceived by the story.¡± The hand of the Salvation leader touched the forehead of the incarnation. ¡°Tell me. Who inspired you to be ¡®strong¡¯? Why do you want to be stronger?¡±
The incarnation opened his mouth like he was possessed. ¡°T-That... being strong... can survive...¡±
¡°What does it mean to survive?¡±
¡°To survive... is to survive! Be stronger and live...¡±
It was repeated like a silly song. However, maybe this was the most honest answer. The Salvation leader asked, ¡°Is that your life?¡±
¡°W-What...?¡±
¡°If you live all day in order to be stronger, where is your life?¡±
As if realizing something that he shouldn¡¯t be aware of, the body of the incarnation shook.
¡°My life is... huh?¡±
Tears flowed from the man¡¯s eyes. The man continued crying without understanding the meaning of his tears.
Whenever a human faced an iprehensible emotion, they would try to forcefully gain an answer. Everyone watching the scene felt a sense of exaltation. It was as if they had been waiting for someone to fix the situation.
The Salvation leader wiped the tears of the man and some people sighed.
¡°This is the trap of the story.¡±
I looked up at the air and the dokkaebi seemed to be listening with interest. The leader of the Salvation Church dered, ¡°Don¡¯t be eaten in the future.¡±
Every word wedged in the hearts of the incarnations.
¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by the salvation of the afterlife that wille someday.¡±
All the incarnations who just entered the scenario watched spellbound. Whether they understood it or didn¡¯t understand it, the words became a sound that permeated everyone¡¯s heart.
The Salvation leader continued speaking, ¡°Salvation is here now and here is where you should be.¡±
Live and protect the present. Regain human pride without being eaten in the future.
¡°Struggle here! Then leave yourself with a new story! This is the only way to be liberated from the scenario!¡±
It was beautiful to hear. At least, if the person saying it wasn¡¯t the ¡®Salvation Church¡¯s leader.¡¯ I looked at Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was also pulling out a sword. There was a fierce killing intent on his face. ¡°It is a great way to train a suicide unit with tremendous bullshit.¡±
The Salvation leader turned around at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words. The moment they locked eyes, Yoo Jonghyuk demanded, ¡°You better turn it off and leave, Salvation Leader.¡±
¡°You?¡±
A vast wave of air seemed to encroach on the surroundings and the Salvation leader started to slowly fly to this side. The person wearing ghagra and flying in the sky gave off an exotic atmosphere like a fairy. The leader of the Salvation Church called out, ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Why? A beautiful smile spread on the face of the Salvation leader. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Do you know how long I have been looking for you?¡±
He was stronger than any incarnation I encountered before. ording to the original novel, it should be a long time before this person appeared. Thus, I wasn¡¯t prepared for him.
I quietly activated Character List.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Summary List.]
Then a message I saw for the first time popped up.
[There is still too much relevant information about this person. Character List will try to summarize it again.]
[The information summary has failed.]
[The relevant information of the person can¡¯t be summarized.]
It was ridiculous. It was impossible to summarize the information? I thought for a moment before changing the setting to only the ¡®first attribute¡¯ of the person.
[The settings of the summary list have been changed.]
+
[Character List Summary]
Name: Nirvana Moebius.
Attribute: Reincarnator (Legend)
+
...I got goosebumps the moment I got the information. Dammit, it really was him.
The third way to survive in a ruined world. The person in front of me was the third method. The reincarnator, Nirvana. A human who wasn¡¯t a human.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡± It was a jubnt voice.
I watched the man approaching and my palms became wet with tension. This person¡¯s mindset was different from ordinary humans. No matter how much I read Ways of Survival, there was a limit to how I could take advantage of him. So, what should I do...
Nirvana smiled brightly and spread open his arms. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Be one with me!¡±
At this moment, I understood how I could use him.
***
Nirvana clearly remembered the first moment he woke up in this ¡®world.¡¯ Funnily enough, Nirvana was a diving beetle.
¡®...¡¯
As soon as he opened his eyes, Nirvana was eaten by a frog. In the next life, Nirvana was born as a frog.
¡®It wasn¡¯t an easy life.¡¯
In that life, he was eaten by a rattlesnake and died. Nirvana became a rattlesnake the life after that.
¡®At least I can eat frogs.¡¯
In that life, Nirvana was killed by an anaconda. In the next life, Nirvana was born as an anaconda.
¡®I will eat all snakes.¡¯
In that life, Nirvana evolved into a powerful monster. Soon after, he experienced the crisis of being hunted by humans. The humans blinded by rewards harmed him and Nirvana suffered great injuries. On the brink of death, Nirvana hid from the hunters in the forest.
However, he was noticed by a human.
¡°...You look injured.¡±
Why? The human didn¡¯t hurt him. The man took care of his wounds and then released him into the forest. Nirvana couldn¡¯t understand kindness but he remembered this man¡¯s hand for a long time.
Then Nirvana was born as a human.
[The constetion ¡®Mand¡¯s Protector¡¯ is observing your life.]
Nirvana knew someone was watching him. Heter realized it was a so-called constetion. Since then, Nirvana continued to be born as a human.
He became an excellent farmer and then the person who led the farmers. He became a soldier and then a sword master respected by soldiers. He was a ve and a noble who ughtered ves.
He experienced countless deaths and lived countless lives. He went through numerous scenarios. Then he realized that he was the only ¡®special being¡¯ in this universe.
¡®Only I am reincarnated with all of my memories.¡¯
This fact made him terribly lonely. He was lonely so he enjoyed life even more. He lived as if he could never survive again. Only once had he lived like he had ¡®one life.¡¯ He taught others how he lived. Then he survived alone.
One day, he received a message.
[You are caught in the huge wheel of time.]
[Your reincarnation circuit is subject to the wheel of time.]
[The constetion ¡®Mand¡¯s Protector¡¯ feels pity for your destiny.]
[You are participating in theary System 8612 scenarios.]
Nirvana came across a person.
¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯
For the first time, he found someone who repeated their life. The form was different but he was still bound to the wheel of eternity.
¡®You are like me.¡¯
Just this allowed Nirvana to receive tremendous salvation. In this vast universe, there was someone who understood him.
¡®I failed in my past life. This time will be different.¡¯
The Salvation leader approached Yoo Jonghyuk and shouted, ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
Nirvana watched Yoo Jonghyuk andughed even more. Nirvana had been waiting for this day since he entered Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ¡®time.¡¯
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Be one with me!¡±
¡°Stop with the bullshit. Before I kill you.¡±
Nirvanaughed at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s attitude. He was so bored that even this felt cute.
¡°You pretend to hate me but in fact, you want me more than anyone else. You need my strength!¡±
Last time Nirvana ruined his work but this time would be different. Nirvana kept shouting, ¡°I¡¯ll help you! Have you forgotten yourst failure? Only I can save you! I will liberate you from the wheel of...¡±
¡°I don¡¯t need a person like you.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Nirvana asked in a gloomy voice and Yoo Jonghyuk nced to his side before speaking again.
¡°I have apanion already.¡±
Chapter 136 - Scenario Destroyer (6)
Chapter 136: Episode 26 ¨C Scenario Destroyer (6)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
I doubted my ears for a moment. This bastard Yoo Jonghyuk... what was he doing now?
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ appearste and looks around.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is giggling at the situation.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is astonished.]
[The constetion ¡® Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is praying for the line to be spoken again.]
Nirvana asked again like he couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°Just now...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ likes this triangle.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has sponsored you 2,000 coins.]
What damn triangle? I saw Nirvana¡¯s white face and realized something was wrong. I was in the middle of putting together a good n dammit.
I opened my mouth. ¡°What is this nonsense? We aren¡¯tpanions?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk replied with a nk expression. ¡°No one was talking about you...¡±
No matter what Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s intentions were, the situation was already worsening. Nirvana shivered and spoke in a trembling voice. ¡°Why isn¡¯t it me...¡±
A fearsome killing intent was released from Nirvana¡¯s body and a huge mand appeared behind him.
I instinctively took a step back. Why were the people around Yoo Jonghyuk always so anxious to be recognized as apanion? I wouldn¡¯t mind giving this jerk to them.
¡°Why isn¡¯t it me? Why is it him?¡± A brilliant light burst from Nirvana¡¯s mand.
I hurriedly whispered towards Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Hey, just say that you like him. Quickly.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
¡°Why? Hey, just close your eyes and do it once...¡±
Nirvana shouted angrily when he saw me whispering. ¡°Don¡¯t whisper in front of me!¡±
Then Yoo Jonghyuk spoke in a loud voice, ¡°I¡¯m not interested in men!¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ cries out for blood.]
[2,000 coins have been sponsored.]
Nirvana looked like he would puke.
¡°I¡¯m not a man!¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is embarrassed.]
¡°Of course, I¡¯m not a woman either!¡±
It was aplete mess. I was annoyed by the wave of magic power that was strengthened by Nirvana¡¯s passion.
¡°What are you doing? Just say you like him! You can use himter...¡±
¡°He is too dangerous.¡±
Shit, this damn pride. Nivana¡¯sbat power was expected to exceed Yoo Jonghyuk. There was also no guarantee if all the Salvation members joined in.
¡°Wait a minute!¡±
I eventually stepped forward and opened my mouth. A reincarnator was a card that could be useful in future situations. I didn¡¯t have to fight against him here.
¡°I think there is a misunderstanding so talk to me.¡±
[The character ¡®Nirvana Moebius¡¯ has lost his sense of reason.]
¡°We have no intention of being hostile to the Salvation Church. He just isn¡¯t good at expressing himself...¡± I deliberately bumped into Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s shoulder. ¡°In fact, we were thinking about going under you. Let¡¯s throw away the future and live for the present! How good would that be? Jonghyuk, don¡¯t you think so?¡±
Of course, I didn¡¯t actually agree with the doctrines. In the Star Stream, if you threw away the future and lived in the present then you would just fall. I wanted to live longer, even if I was a bit less happy. That¡¯s why I was a ve to capitalism.
¡°...Really? Answer, Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
Nirvana¡¯s fierce aura gradually declined but Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t help the situation. ¡°It is nonsense.¡±
¡°No, wait a minute!¡± I shouted but it was already toote.
Nirvana gritted his teeth. ¡°Indeed, it was like this. Then go to hell!¡±
I used Bookmark the moment Nirvana moved.
[The Bookmark skill is currently updating.]
[Recing old bookmarks with new bookmarks.]
[There are five minutes left until the bookmarks recement isplete.]
What? Damn, right now? Meanwhile, Nirvana had elerated to right before my nose. It was fast, as if he was using Way of the Wind.
...No, was this really Way of the Wind? I btedly recalled that he was an Imyuntar in a past life.
Yoo Jonghyuk stood in front of me. Nirvana¡¯s mand and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Heaven Shaking Sword collided, causing a sound like a building was copsing.
Nirvana said, ¡°What a lovely friendship. You are thinking of yourpanion first?¡±
¡°Kim Dokja, back away! This person...!¡±
¡°Toote.¡± Nirvana¡¯s words were faster. No, his words and actions were faster. ¡°Yourpanion will die.¡±
Nirvana chanted a spell and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body stiffened like a stone statue.
[The character ¡®Nirvana Moebius¡¯ has used the stigma Eternal Nightmare Lv. 8.]
I knew this skill. It was the most lethal technique against Yoo Jonghyuk. Sparks flew around the hardened body of Yoo Jonghyuk. Like a broken robot, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s neck froze as he turned back to me. He was looking at me but it wasn¡¯t me he was seeing.
R...un... aw...ay.
Yoo Jonghyuk was currently trapped in a prison of his most terrible trauma. A horrible prison where one memory was repeatedly yed. It was a mental skill that was a level higher than the skill used by the boss of the Theatre Dungeon.
¡°Come here, cheeky person who was reborn.¡±
Nirvana had the highest level mental skill to dig into the gap in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s weakness.
It was an incredible feat. However, a reincarnator was still affected by probability. It was impossible for him to have such strength at this point. I stared at Nirvana¡¯s slender muscles.
¡°I will make you holy.¡±
Did he abandon everything physical and invest everything in the mental system and eleration? This was the only thing that made sense.
Nirvana raised a counter skill just for Yoo Jonghyuk, who had a weak mental state. It was unknown about other existences but he couldn¡¯t lose against Yoo Jonghyuk. By the way, how did he get the exact right skill? Unless someone else gave him the information...
¡°Run away!¡± Min Jiwon and the Hwarang blocked the iing Nirvana. She didn¡¯t back down in front of the person who could even stop Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Quickly! There is no hope in Seoul if you die!¡±
¡°King of Beauty.¡± Nirvana smiled happily at the sight of Min Jiwon. ¡°Last time you ran away well but now you seem inspired by my thoughts!¡±
The two of them had already met.
¡°You knew you were going to die and realized something? Humans really have to live in the present. Humanity is all about the present.¡±
Min Jiwon shouted at me, ¡°Go quickly! It is too much for you alone! If you are with Yoo Sangah-ssi and Jung Heewon-ssi...!¡±
Nirvana moved before the King of Beauty¡¯s words finished. More than a dozen Hwarang flocked to Nirvana but they weren¡¯t a match for him in the first ce. Nirvana touched the forehead of the Hwarang and they copsed on the spot. It was the use of Thought Infection.
¡°U-Uwah, uwahh!¡±
The Hwarang copsed and started to scream with pain.
¡°Life is hell!¡±
Along with the screams, the shouts of the Salvation members were heard from the rear.
¡°Die for the present!¡±
¡°Today is the only ce where we can live!¡±
The members recited threats and sprang towards the Hwarang. As I looked at the Salvation members, Nirvana was already reaching towards the King of Beauty¡¯s forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, King of Beauty. I like pretty existences.¡±
¡°U-Uhhhh...¡±
¡°Thus, I won¡¯t kill you.¡±
[The character ¡®Nirvana Moebius¡¯ has used Thought Infection Lv. 9.]
A white aura stretched from Nirvana and started to wriggle around Min Jiwon. Like tentacles, the aura stems pierced her body.
¡°ept your present.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to! I don¡¯t want to...!¡±
The hidden desires of the King of Beauty were pouring out thanks to this aura. Nirvanaughed at her desires.
¡°You want to go to a luxurious spa while yourpanions are dying? Foolish woman.¡±
¡°N-No. I...¡±
¡°You just want to enjoy a splendid life. You still haven¡¯t forgotten the days when you were an actor. Thus, you became a king.¡±
Nirvana was enjoying himself greatly.
¡°ept your desires. Admit that you have such sick thoughts while yourpanions are dying! That is what a human is. If you deny your desires then you are nothing.¡±
The king of Beauty¡¯s eyes gradually became cloudy. It was a skill that violently convinced a person of their own desires and forced their time into the ¡®present.¡¯
This was the process of joining the ¡®Salvation Church.¡¯ Dammit, Bookmark was still...
[The Bookmark update has beenpleted.]
That¡¯s it!
[The update has increased the efficiency of the bookmarks by 20%.]
I activated Bookmark.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 9¡¯ has been activated!]
I stepped on the wind and flew through the air. The increased bookmark efficiency raised the level of Way of the Wind.
Okay, then there might be a chance of victory. I swung de of Faith towards the confused Nirvana. Nirvana narrowly avoided my de but there was still a big cut.
I raised Min Jiwon. ¡°Are you okay?¡±
¡°Ah, ah...¡±
Nirvana, who retreated, was once again flying towards me. Light flowed from the mand into his grip.
I swung the de of Faith. Sparks shed and my hands hurt, but I held on more than I expected.
Like Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Transmission, the reincarnator had a simr Session skill. It allowed him to inherit skills from his past life. As I expected, this person focused more on mental abilities and speed than closebat.
¡°How can you use Way of the Wind? It can¡¯t be...¡± Nirvana frowned as he blocked my de. ¡°Are you the one the ¡®neutral¡¯ guy mentioned?¡±
¡°I¡¯m a bit famous?¡±
¡°Impertinent fellow!¡±
Nirvana once again collided with the de of Faith. Then a white aura was emitted from the mand.
[The character ¡®Nirvana Moebius¡¯ has used Thought Infection Lv. 9.]
It appeared like expected.
¡°Now die! ept your fate!¡±
Nirvana¡¯s white aura shot towards me but I didn¡¯t avoid it.
¡°Human beings aren¡¯t ves of desire. They are animals fighting their desires.¡±
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated.]
The white aura digging into me melted away in an instant. I¡¯m sorry but your thoughts would never eat at me. It was because my ¡®present¡¯ wasn¡¯t here.
[The Fourth Wall haspletely invalidated the effects of Thought Infection.]
I rushed to the astonished Nirvana.
Chapter 137 - Unreadable (1)
Chapter 137: Episode 27 ¨C Unreadable (1)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Nirvana was astonished by his mental attack bouncing off the Fourth Wall and then he was hit by the White Pure Star Energy.
¡°What the hell is this...?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. It is the power of the story.¡±
¡°What?¡±
I didn¡¯t believe in the doctrines of the Salvation Church but there was one thing I agreed with. ¡°You said that strength and weakness is determined by the story.¡±
A high health warrior would just be food to a magician if they didn¡¯t have any magic defense skills. Strength and weaknesses were determined by the history of the characters.
¡°It is your fault that you didn¡¯t get any closebat skills in this life. All because you wanted to aim at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s weakness.¡±
I never thought things would be resolved this way. Something influenced Nirvana¡¯s growth path and he became the counter for Yoo Jonghyuk. However, since Nirvana became Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s counter, he could never win against me.
Nirvana¡¯s eyes shook as he read something in my tone. He stared at me quietly and said, ¡°I know your name. Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°We are talking about names? Okay, Nirvana Moebius. Do you want to have a heart to heart talk?¡±
The light of the mand turned off. A reincarnator wasn¡¯t a reincarnator for nothing. As if a switch was turned on, the agitated Nirvana disappeared and the Nirvana who regained hisposure was in front of me.
¡°Some nebe warned me to be careful of you. Of course, I didn¡¯t know what to expect.¡±
Some nebe... I was certainly drawing attention.
Nirvana asked me, ¡°How did you get such a strong mental barrier? The only person who hasn¡¯t been infected with my thoughts until now was Anna Croft.¡±
I smiled bitterly at the familiar name. That woman had already touched the reincarnator. It wasn¡¯t strange. Anna Croft would¡¯ve already started contacting the strongest yers in the world. In order to save the world, that woman would even sell souls to the devil.
Nirvana read something in my face and said, ¡°You... know the prophet. What the hell are you? Are you a regressor? Or...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is interested in the story.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is quietly contemting the situation.]
The information filtering should¡¯ve gradually started being removed. Information about regressors and reincarnators would start to enter the ears of the constetions. I¡¯m sure those of the great nebe should already know about it.
Nirvana looked at me and kept talking. ¡°This is an interesting rebirth. I have lived for over a hundred years yet I am curious about you...¡±
¡°You talk too much. It will be hard for you to get Yoo Jonghyuk in the future.¡±
¡°Kuhahat! I will ept you as a follower.¡±
[A constetion who recites the Buddhist scriptures is wondering about you.]
It was a proposal I would¡¯ve readily epted earlier. However... ¡°I respectfully decline. Among those who are supporting me, there is one who hates your sponsor.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ reveals hostility to Nirvana Moebius¡¯s sponsor.]
Nirvana¡¯s mouth slightly opened. ¡°The monkey king? Why is he chasing you?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°...I have be even more curious. Come under me along with Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about the secrets of this world? I can help you survive even after the end of this world. It has nothing to do with the failure of the scenarios.¡±
The words were persuasive. If I wasn¡¯t a ¡®reader¡¯ then I might¡¯ve epted it.
¡°I¡¯ll allow you to be one with me!¡±
Behind Nirvana¡¯s back, the mand started to shine again. Hundreds of faces appeared on the slowly rotating mand. The pained faces screamed. All of them were ¡®one¡¯ with Nirvana.
I eximed, ¡°Shut up you pervert.¡±
¡°If you don¡¯t agree then I¡¯ll have to force you.¡±
Nirvana¡¯s face was still rxed despite the unfavourable situation. In any case, the opponent was a reincarnator. He had lived countless lives and had a much betterbat sense than me. As time passed, my movements would start to be read by him and I would fall into a disadvantage.
If so, the answer was to win the fight before that happened. A white energy swirled around the mand. I didn¡¯t hesitate and rushed towards the mand.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Miniaturization Lv. 1 is activated!]
[The effect of Miniaturization will decrease the size of your body.]
My body became very small and the blow from the mand missed. Nirvanaughed. ¡°...What is this petty trick?¡±
Was it really a petty trick?
[Due to the effects of Miniaturization, all your equipment will be transformed to fit your size.]
[The skill level is low and the duration is shortened.]
[The duration of Miniaturization is two minutes.]
This was why I chose Miniaturization over all the other good skills. It was because only Miniaturization could make me the most powerful person I knew.
¡°I will choose the fifth bookmark, Kyrgios Rodgraim.¡±
[Your current body configuration is simr to the physical makeup of the character.]
[The level of the character is too high to fully reproduce the skill level.
[The level of the skill being activated is forcibly adjusted.]
The white lightning energy swelled and nestled in my heart. It was the power to break the sky and cause thunder. Beyond the mighty lightning, I could see Nirvana¡¯s pale face.
I wondered, ¡°Do you still see this as a petty trick?¡±
No matter how strong Nirvana was, he couldn¡¯t surpass Kyrgios¡¯s power at this moment.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification Lv. 10¡¯ is activated.]
Intense lightning appeared all over my body and clouds of lightning started to gather at my fists. If I couldn¡¯t take advantage of the reincarnator then it was better to get rid of him here.
I stretched out my fist towards Nirvana. ¡°Pray to be born human again.¡±
The lightning storm exploded towards Nirvana¡¯s side. Nirvana screamed terribly and I heard the incarnations shouting. The level of Miniaturization was low so there wasn¡¯t as much powerpared to when I dealt with Orochi, but it was still tremendous damage.
A cloud of dust appeared and Nirvana was blown away with arge hole in his side.
...He was alive? How could that be?
¡°Kieeeeeeek!¡±
Blood poured from his mouth. It seemed to be a serious blow but I wasn¡¯t satisfied. It was strange. He couldn¡¯t survive this attack, even if he was a reincarnator.
Then I could see lotus petals growing on his body. I thought I knew what was going on. I thought this stigma wasn¡¯t possible because of the probability? This bastard, don¡¯t tell me?
¡°Using my memories in a mere ce like this...¡±
A grim voice was heard. I looked at the sparks around the petals and knew how he had survived.
[Story Payment.]
He borrowed the power of his sponsor in exchange for his story.
¡°...I will see you again.¡±
His body was covered in arge lotus leaf. I rushed towards him. My fist hit his chest but Nirvana wasughing with a distorted face.
¡°You will pay for going against the ¡®present.¡¯ It will be in the most terrible manner.¡±
Starting from the centre of the chest that I hit, his body started turning into lotus leaves. I stretched out my hand and tried to grab onto the left arm of the disappearing person.
¡°Just wait!¡±
The next moment, Nirvana disappeared, leaving only his torn off left arm and flying lotus leaves.
[The character ¡®Nirvana Moebius¡¯ has used the stigma No Ownership Lv. 7.]
No Ownership. It was a stigma where he abandoned some of his memories in exchange for escaping from danger. He paid using the memories of his reincarnations and escaped me.
¡°L-Leader!¡±
¡°Leader-nim! Where did you go?¡±
The Salvation members were copsing. Some were already running away. Others saw their leader being defeated by me and the mental shock was huge.
I sighed as I watched the Salvation members retreating. Smoke emerged from my body and Miniaturization and Bookmark were released at the same time. My overworked muscles were crying out in pain. I didn¡¯t manage to kill Nirvana but there were some harvests.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ can¡¯t hide his joy at your victory.]
[10,000 coins have been sponsored.]
The incarnations who saw my victory looked at each other incredulously.
¡°The Salvation leader lost!¡±
¡°Who is that incarnation?¡±
¡°Wait a minute, that face, that...!¡±
Someone pointing me and shouted, ¡°The ugliest king!¡±
I ignored them and found Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk was released from his paralysis and could be seen stumbling in the distance. This sunfish bastard, he didn¡¯t help when it was important.
¡°Hey, are you okay?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk held his head like he had a headache and asked, ¡°The reincarnator?¡±
¡°He fled.¡±
¡°Pathetic. Did you miss him?¡±
¡°Do you have the right to say something like that?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression was serious. ¡°We have to quickly chase him. His purpose isn¡¯t to clear the scenario.¡±
¡°I know that.¡±
¡°If you know then how could you let him leave? If you don¡¯t catch the reincarnator before the 10th scenario ends, Seoul will...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ btedly regained her spirit.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ wants to exin why she came here.]
At Uriel¡¯s words, Yoo Jonghyuk and I looked up at the air simultaneously.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ needs your help.]
It was difficult to grasp the exact context due to the limitations of the indirect messages but it wasn¡¯t difficult to guess what happened.
Uriel was Jung Heewon¡¯s sponsor. Uriel, who was supposed to be with Jung Heewon, came all the way here and contact with Jung Heewon was broken. This meant...
¡°Min Jiwon-ssi. Do you know where Jung Heewon-ssi is?¡±
However, Min Jiwon was still unconscious. This wouldn¡¯t work.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, defend me.¡±
¡°What?¡±
I immediately closed my eyes and focused. I had be quite familiar with it after all the practice while sleeping. There was the feeling of my body sinking to the ground and darkness was everywhere.
I felt a shallow sleep and immediately used Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. I needed to find a voice. I was looking for a voice.
However, the voice was missing. I became increasingly uneasy. I told them to think about me when something happened... was there a problem.
¡®Dokja-ssi.¡¯
For the first time, someone called me. My vision distorted and Third Person¡¯s Viewpoint was triggered. I groaned at what I saw on the screen.
¡¸ Hwaruruk! ¡¹
The entire screen filled with white mes. It was the stigma of judgement that burned everything in the world. I didn¡¯t have to ask. This was definitely Jung Heewon¡¯s Hell mes Ignition.
It was fortunate. Jung Heewon was still alive. By the way... it was strange. This wasn¡¯t Jung Heewon¡¯s viewpoint? After a while, I saw the lotus patten shin on Jung Heewon¡¯s forehead within the mes.
...Damn, Nirvana already got to her. Well, Yoo Jonghyuk was hit by it. It would be weird if Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t affected. However, a question still remained. Who called me?
¡¸ Jung Heewon-ssi?¡± ¡¹
It was an unsophisticated soldier¡¯s voice. It was Lee Hyunsung.
¡¸ Kukukuku! ¡¹
There was a loud sound and the screen vibrated. The surrounding incarnations were blown away. Everywhere touched by the mes started burning. It was a location where I couldn¡¯t help immediately.
In any case, there would definitely be consequences. Jung Heewon was affected by Thought Infection and wouldn¡¯t hesitate. The innocent Lee Hyunsung was helplessly exposed in front of her de.
Damn, what should I do?
¡°Cough!¡±
Suddenly, the darkness burst and the screen was broken. I opened my eyes with a strong sense of nausea and saw Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s angry expression.
¡°Why are you going to sleep now?¡±
Saliva ran down my mouth and I felt incredibly sick. That jerk, did he hit me to wake me up?
...Wait a minute, hit? I gained sudden enlightenment. Yes, this was it. I hated it but it couldn¡¯t be helped.
I spoke to Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Hey, hit me one more time. A really strong one.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
They were misleading words. Then I had to say it again. ¡°No, kill me now.¡±
Chapter 138 - Unreadable (2)
Chapter 138: Episode 27 ¨C Unreadable (2)
Everyone had a few words that influenced them. Lee Hyunsung had something like this. For example, when Lee Hyunsung was a undergraduate, these were the words he heard the most from his teacher.
¡®Everyone, be creative!¡¯
¡®Think about what other people can¡¯t!¡¯
¡®You must be able break out of this ce!¡¯
At the time, Lee Hyunsung had thought, ¡®So how do I do that?¡¯
The demands of society were sudden for Lee Hyunsung who had been used to going to school, eating meals and then going to sleep since childhood.
So far, he had been told how to move and now he was forced to do something he had never done before?
What was creativity? What was thinking about an idea that other people couldn¡¯t think of? Why did it suddenly be a world where he had to do something like this? Then what had he been doing so far?
Lee Hyunsung wandered all throughout university and then he naturally joined the army.
¡®I think you have a natural constitution to be a soldier. Please apply to be a senior officer.¡¯
If he hadn¡¯t heard the administrator¡¯s words at that time, what would his life be like now? It was impossible to know.
There was nothing he knew about the future he hadn¡¯t chosen. In any case, he was a soldier and he lived without regretting his choice. For a person who found society difficult, the army was rtivelyfortable.
The administrator congratted Lee Hyunsung for passing the senior officer¡¯s test and said,
¡®Ensign Lee. If you¡¯re not sure then just follow what the manual says. Then at least people won¡¯t hold you responsible.¡¯
He heard these words instead of the toast. The memory was as clear as the lunch he ate a week ago. However, if he could meet the administrator again then he would ask one thing.
¡®Administrator, what should I do now?¡¯ Lee Hyunsung looked at the iing sea of hell mes and bit his lips. ¡®I have no manual for cases like this.¡¯
He thought it would be easier for him to call out the military creed as Lee Hyunsung shouted, ¡°Jung Heewon-ssi! Please regain your mind! Please!¡±
Just as the service creed couldn¡¯t move the hearts of the soldiers, his voice didn¡¯t reach Jung Heewon.
Hwaruruk!
He narrowly hid behind a building as the hell mes covered the ground and the incarnations burned painfully.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
¡°Help me!¡±
Lee Hyunsung couldn¡¯t save any of them. He looked at the deaths happening in front of his eyes and once again realized that the ¡®justice¡¯ sleeping inside him was just a manual.
Jung Heewon¡¯s figure was approaching through the hazy heat.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is looking at you.]
Lee Hyunsung received that silent gaze and bit his lips.
¡®Dokja-ssi. What should I do?¡¯
Should he fight? Could he stop her?
Lee Hyunsung looked at the iing Jung Heewon and his fists shook. Lee Hyunsung had no idea what this shaking meant, why he hesitated and why he couldn¡¯t run away from this ce.
Maybe it wasn¡¯t the world that was hard. The difficult thing was Lee Hyunsung himself.
¡®Dokja-ssi, please let me know the answer!¡¯
Despite knowing it wasn¡¯t possible, Lee Hyunsung prayed like a reservist desperately hoping the training would be cancelled due to the weather. Then amazingly, he heard the voice he had been waiting for.
-Lee Hyunsung-ssi.
He thought it was a joke.
-Can you here me?
However, it wasn¡¯t a joke. He looked around but there was no source for the voice. In other words, the voice was heard in his head.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Was this the enemy¡¯s trap? Still, he was willing to believe it even if it was the enemy¡¯s trick.
-Let¡¯s start thinking while running away. There are two ways.
Lee Hyunsung instinctively rose and ran. It wasn¡¯t a trap. There was only one person who would speak like this.
Jung Heewon was chasing behind him but he wasn¡¯t afraid anymore. His breathing stabilized and he was ready to ept newmands. His muscles started to tense as his breathing became heavy.
-One method is to kill Jung Heewon.
¡°...It is a familiar choice.¡±
Kim Dokja had always been this way. It had been like this since the first time they met. He always released the safest and most brutal solution first. The party members themselves rejected it.
¡°The second method is to keep running away like this?¡±
-...That¡¯s right.
¡°Then we will do it the third way.¡±
Kim Dokja¡¯s solution was always the third answer. He was a person who always thought of the third situation. That was who Kim Dokja was. Thus, Lee Hyunsung believed in him.
However...
-Lee Hyunsung-ssi. This time there was no third method.
***
Of course, I had a third method. I just had to wait for the right time.
[Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 is activated.]
[¡®1st person supporting role viewpoint¡¯ is currently iplete.]
Jung Heewon was using Hell mes Ignition. It was terrible even if the opponent was bad. Well, who would be different?
¡°...Why are you always like this?¡± Lee Hyunsung cried out while breathing harshly. The 1st person viewpoint meant I could feel the heat of the hell mes.
Jung Heewon swung her sword like she intended to turn all of Seoul into a sea of fire. In fact, strictly speaking, the first and second methods I presented would have the same results.
Lee Hyunsung had to either kill Jung Heewon or flee. If he left, Jung Heewon would run out of magic power and die. In other words, one of them would die. This was the damn ¡®Nirvana¡¯ scenario.
¡°Kill Heewon-ssi? You came to give me that advice?¡±
Jung Heewon was approaching. It was different when they were allies but now I knew for sure after she became an enemy.
The Judge of Destruction, Jung Heewon was strong. Even if she didn¡¯t use Judgement Time, she was the owner of Demon ying. In addition, there was Uriel¡¯s stigma Hell mes Ignition.
She was one of the strongest members of my party. It was almost impossible to suppress the berserk Jung Heewon without killing him.
¡°I can¡¯t ept this method.¡±
What the hell was this courage? Lee Hyunsung started running towards Jung Heewon.
-Wait a minute, Lee Hyunsung-ssi!
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi! Wake up!¡±
Lee Hyunsung kept running towards Jung Heewon. He rushed as if he was angry for believing in me, the country and the manual. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s Great Mountain Push and Jung Heewon¡¯s Hell mes Ignition shed.
However, the palms that could push a mountain found it hard to break through the archangel¡¯s mes. His right arm soon started to melt from the pure white light.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi!¡±
Lee Hyunsung let out a pained and depressed cry. Lee Hyunsung lost his right arm and reached out with his left arm. I cried out urgently,
-Lee Hyunsung-ssi, if you run away then at least one of you can live.
¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
-Nobody will me you if you run away.
¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡±
-Don¡¯t you think of me as a manual? Then please listen to me!
¡°I don¡¯t believe in such a manual!¡± Lee Hyunsung¡¯s answer was unexpected. At the same time, it was Lee Hyunsung¡¯s answer.
Everyone was contradictory. The person who followed the manual actually hated the manual more than anyone else. He was a creative person who were more subordinate to the system than anyone else. It was when he broke through this contradiction that his story would begin.
¡°I can¡¯t give up, even if the results aren¡¯t good! It doesn¡¯t matter if I die here!¡±
More matter how durable Lee Hyunsung was, it was unreasonable for him to resist Hell mes Ignition that melted even Shin Yoosung. His left arm and then his right leg started to melt.
Nevertheless, Lee Hyunsung resisted. Like a moth towards the mes, he tried to reach Jung Heewon. He staggered as his right knee disappeared and I told him,
-I see. You did well.
Lee Hyunsung didn¡¯t answer. I smiled bitterly.
-This is the third method.
The third method wasn¡¯t something I could tell him. It was up to Lee Hyunsung to decide for himself. I wasn¡¯t even convinced that it would work. Even so, I chose this path because I found the sad feelings that urred in Lee Hyunsung¡¯s mind the moment he saw Jung Heewon.
-You found the path yourself, without the manual.
Lee Hyunsungughed as he copsed in the mes. ¡°Dokja-ssi, thank you.¡±
I could feel the ecstasy that urred in Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body. It was an emotion that humans reached when they broke through the contradiction and received an answer from death.
Perhaps this sensation was the reality that Nirvana wanted to reach. It would¡¯ve been wonderful if Nirvana could see this. Jung Heewon was the one infected but it was Lee Hyunsung who lived in the present more than anyone else.
-Thank you. It is starting now.
This was the beginning of the story. It was up to the audience to determine the continuation of this story. There was one being watching Lee Hyunsung with more delicate eyes than anyone else.
-Master of Steel. One of the most steadfast beings in the Star Stream.
I spoke slowly.
-When are you going to act?
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is listening to your words.]
The constetion ¡®Master of Steel.¡¯ The master of Orichalcum, the hardest in the universe and the sponsor of Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung. I cut to the chase.
-Give your incarnation a chance.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is silent.]
-I know your fears. You must be afraid of the probability.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ has closed his eyes.]
-But when are you going to notice the nebe around you? Are you going to be daydreaming until the end of the scenario?
Lee Hyunsung had done enough. Now it was up to his sponsor.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ acknowledges the courage of the incarnation ¡® Lee Hyunsung.¡¯]
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ says it isn¡¯t time yet.]
I had expected it. In fact, Lee Hyunsung was still too weak for the awakening.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ thinks that the incarnation ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ won¡¯t be able to handle his narrative.]
The narrative of steel was hard and heavy. Lee Hyunsung wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it. Of course, if he was alone.
-I¡¯ll bear it with him.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is looking at you.]
The Master of Steel seemed to be thinking of something. A momentter, a message was heard.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ has nodded.]
Then sparks filled the vicinity.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ is preparing for his attribute evolution.]
[A narrative is required in order to evolve the attribute.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is putting the narrative to the test.]
[The narrative ¡®Proof of Steel¡¯ has begun!]
A torrent of silver light rose from Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body. I looked at the brilliant light and was reminded of a scene from Ways of Survival.
Who was it? A character asked Yoo Jonghyuk a question.
¡¸ ¡°Why is Lee Hyunsung called the Steel Sword? Ahjussi doesn¡¯t use a sword.¡± ¡¹
Lee Hyunsung never used a sword at all in the original Ways of Survival. Even so, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s nickname was Steel Sword.
¡¸ ¡°Lee Hyunsung doesn¡¯t need a sword.¡± ¡¹
Steel started to grow from the melted arms and leg of Lee Hyunsung. Like scales, the steel grew to cover his whole body. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body changed into one big sword.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has activated the stigma ¡®Steel Transformation.¡¯
A single sword that wouldn¡¯t break before any trial. If Yoo Jonghyuk was here then he would¡¯ve said it clearly.
¡¸ ¡°That guy, he is the sword.¡± ¡¹
Chapter 139 - Unreadable (3)
Chapter 139: Episode 27 ¨C Unreadable (3)
The newyer of skin was made of steel. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body was being reshaped, as if he was another species.
Steel Transformation.
Only the first stage ¡®Armour¡¯ was activated but this alone wasn¡¯t the usual power. Lee Hyunsung who mastered stage one was harder than Gong Pildu¡¯s armed fortress and wouldn¡¯t die even after being hit by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Heaven Shaking Sword.
¡°Li...live...¡±
The problem was that stage one wasn¡¯t fully activated yet.
-This is the real stigma that Lee Hyunsung-ssi needs to learn.
Lee Hyunsung realized the situation and quickly retreated.
[The Steel Transformation isn¡¯t yetplete.]
[The stigma can only be used by those who have achieved a story.]
All sponsors gave a stigma to their incarnations.There were stigmas in the form of gifts and some that could only be used under difficult conditions.
Steel Transformation of the Master of Steel was one of the difficult stigmas.
[The story ¡®Proof of Steel¡¯ has begun!]
It was because this stigma required the indirect ¡®proof¡¯ of what the constetion had experienced.
+
[Proof of Steel]
1. ¡¸ True steel is born in tens of thousands of quenches. ¡¹
+
It was an unkind sentence thrown into the scenario. Lee Hyunsung seemed confused. ¡°What does this mean?¡±
-The basis of quenching is cooling after a high heat treatment.
¡°Don¡¯t tell me...¡±
-It seems right. Please keep your mind straight.
In a sense, it might be fortunate that Jung Heewon was Lee Hyunsung¡¯s opponent. Lee Hyunsung turned pale.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is interested in the story of this world.]
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ wonders how his strengthpares.]
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire has both hands sped together in a nervous manner.]
The zing hellfire turned blue along with the messages of the constetions. Maybe Jung Heewon¡¯s Hell mes Ignition had increased a level because the mes became deeper and fiercer.
The asphalt mixed with impurities melted from the pure white mes and the high heat turned them into a deadly weapon.
The silver armour instantly started to melt and the scattered foreign materials prated the armour like bullets, damaging Lee Hyunsung¡¯s insides. New steel grew from the melted areas but it wasn¡¯t without damage.
¡°Kuk...!¡±
Blood emerged from Lee Hyunsung¡¯s mouth.
He would¡¯ve been able to resist Hell mes Ignition if his Steel Transformation was perfect, but it wasn¡¯t yet. In any case, Hell mes Ignition was the highest level stigma belonging to the fire property. It was amazing that he didn¡¯t just copse.
Lee Hyunsung took one step back and screamed. I was pained to see this scene but it wasn¡¯t yet time. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s steel was burning red. A bit more, a bit more...
[The temperature has exceeded the standard value!]
That¡¯s it.
[The quenching has begun.]
The base of steel was quenching. The heart of this story was to burn in a high temperature above the standard until the body became made of perfect steel.
-Hold on! You can do it!
Fortunately, Lee Hyunsung wasn¡¯t ¡®evil.¡¯
Hell mes Ignition was a stigma with the ¡®fire¡¯ and ¡®divine¡¯ properties. If Lee Hyunsung was ¡®evil¡¯ then he would¡¯ve already been turned into a pile of ashes from Hell mes Ignition.
As Lee Hyunsung was enduring, I quickly looked at the information of Jung Heewon.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is currently suffering from ¡®Thought Infection.]
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is in a lost state.]
[The trauma of the character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ ispletely open.]
...
...That bastard, hepletely made a mess of a human¡¯s mind.
¡¸ I can¡¯t forgive them... ¡¹
Nirvana¡¯s Thought Infection pulled all the dark parts of a person¡¯s mind to the surface in order to settle their time in the present.
¡¸ I should kill them. ¡¹
Humans who faced the reality of a cliff where the future had disappeared usually lose hope. This was especially true when the reality was terrible.
In the process, someone would feel despair and copse while someone else would turn into a beast and release relentless desires.
Some resisted angrily and lose their sense of reason. Once this resignation was repeated, they would find a ¡®savior¡¯ tofort themselves. They would martyr themselves for this saviour, sacrificing their humble lives before the great ¡®present.¡¯
¡¸ Kil all the men. ¡¹
I seemed to know what her trauma was. Jung Heewon¡¯s initial attribute of ¡®crouching¡¯ was based on a strong psychological shock. Looking back on the first moment I found her, it wasn¡¯t unusual for her to have a strong hostility towards ¡®men.¡¯
¡°This... is this Heewon-ssi¡¯s heart?¡± Lee Hyunsung asked from amidst the zing mes.
-Can you hear her?
¡°That, a bit...¡±
I never thought that Lee Hyunsung would be able to hear the messages of ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.¡¯ Was it because I was immersed in the first person viewpoint? Did Lee Hyunsung feel my emotions as much as I understood Lee Hyunsung?
Lee Hyunsung spoke like he had forgotten the heat. ¡°This is Dokja-ssi¡¯s ability?¡±
-Yes. It is my skill.
I had to confess because there was nothing good about lying here.
-I apologize for hiding it until now.
However, Lee Hyunsung didn¡¯t seem upset. ¡°I¡¯m a bit embarrassed. My heart...¡±
The second wave came before he could finish. The intense heat melted the incarnations in the surroundings and the area was filled withva.
The entire ground melted from the powerful heat. The buildings sank with the ground. Now I had to make a decision.
-You should head in the direction of suppression.
¡°Won¡¯t I hurt Heewon-ssi?¡±
Lee Hyunsung was at the disadvantage but he was worrying about the other person. Still, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s words weren¡¯t wrong.
-Her heart is hurt.
The most obvious solution was to kill Nirvana or resolve Jung Heewon¡¯s trauma. The former was impossible now and thetter...
I wouldn¡¯t have been so worried if Jung Heewon was a character with a big role in the original novel.
Jung Heewon was a newly discovered person and I didn¡¯t know her well. The only thing I could do was take care of the symptoms, not the cause.
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
-Let¡¯s try it.
We nodded as one body. The distance from Jung Heewon was get far because he had stepped back a bit. I had to be close to her to try this method.
The skin of steel grew to cover Lee Hyunsung¡¯s face. The muscles all over Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body were twitching. He was like a silver knight as the steel properly covered his body. The silver knight started to run through the mes.
In ordance with this, the wall of mes became higher. It was a warning not toe closer. He wasn¡¯t allowed here.
¡°Uwooooh!¡±
Lee Hyunsung acted like it was training and ran straight through the mes. He was burned again and again. Steel pieces melted and fell to the ground. His eyes were bing blurred from the heat.
¡°Heewon-ssi! We will save you!¡±
It was one step.
¡°We... are...!¡±
Once again, another step.
¡°Heewon-ssi!¡±
I watched Lee Hyunsung and had a thought. I had forgotten for a while because I could hear the hearts of other people. Originally, reaching a person¡¯s heart was a difficult and painful thing.
Lee Hyunsung and I clearly saw the world from the same eyes but we didn¡¯t see the same thing. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s heart bursting with emotions was proof of this.
It was a strange feeling. Originally, it wasn¡¯t supposed to be like this. The story changed thanks to me.
¡°Uhhh... kuoooh!¡± Lee Hyunsung¡¯s knees copsed when there were ten steps left.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has reached the limits of his mental state.]
I was awakened by my shaking vision. Even if the story changed, this was still Ways of Survival.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is looking at his incarnation with sad eyes.]
All characters struggled in utter despair. This was Ways of Survival.
-Hyunsung-ssi.
Still, I was sometimes curious when reading Ways of Survival. Had the author of Ways of Survival regretted the ¡®ending¡¯ that he created?
-Leave it to me for a moment.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking!]
[The ¡®1st person supporting role viewpoint¡¯ is extremely active.]
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s consciousness was shaken and my consciousness entered. Control of his body was transferred and the senses of the entire body were strongly activated.
Lee Hyunsung was suffering from this pain. It was enough to make him crazy. The whole body burned in the mes and the melted bone joints and tendons made it feel like my limbs were cut off.
I used Lee Hyunsung¡¯s voice and shouted at Jung Heewon. ¡°Jung Heewon-ssi! You will die if this continues!¡±
There was no response from Jung Heewon. She just kept emitting the hellish mes.
¡°Lee Hyunsung will die! Do you want to kill Lee Hyunsung-ssi?¡±
I raised Lee Hyunsung¡¯s legs with all my strength and moved forward a bit. One step, two steps, and... Shit, it was too hot.
I heard a voice as my knees bent from the pain. ¡®Dokja-ssi. I¡¯ll do it.¡¯
It was Lee Hyunsung¡¯s voice.
¡®I must do it.¡¯
[The will of steel has responded!]
I nodded. After all, I was a ¡®reader.¡¯ I must not forget my duty. My consciousness left and Lee Hyunsung regained his body again. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body was regaining a perfect steel shape.
¡°Heewon-ssi.¡±
The zing hellfire made her face blue. This fire would eventually gnaw at her. Her tears dried as soon as they fell down.
Lee Hyunsung acted unexpectedly towards her. ¡°Excuse me for a moment.¡±
Lee Hyunsung took thest step and embraced Jung Heewon.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is embarrassed by the unexpected love betweenrades.]
Jung Heewon¡¯s small body entered Lee Hyunsung¡¯s wide arms. It was so wide that he could touch his fingertips together without touching her. Rather than avoiding it, Jung Heewon made her mes stronger. It was like the mes were all she could do with her emotions.
There was a rattling sound and walls of steel started to be created around Lee Hyunsung¡¯s arms. It was a wall that would free one person from the world. In order to remove mes, the oxygen must be shut off.
Lee Hyunsung knew this and sacrificed himself to be the wall for her. He would bear her wrath on behalf of the world.
All I could do was watch the two of them. I hoped that Lee Hyunsung could reach the heart of Jung Heewon who couldn¡¯t speak.
How much time passed?
[The story ¡®Proof of Steel¡¯ has beenpleted.]
Finally, Jung Heewon¡¯s mes died down.
***
It was a familiar female voice that woke Lee Hyunsung up.
¡°I¡¯m choking...¡±
He looked down and saw Jung Heewon¡¯s face. He looked around and it was an unimaginable sight. The steel that grew out from his body covered Jung Heewon while blocking the surrounding area.
¡°U-Uhh! I-I¡¯m really sorry! I will release you now!¡±
Maybe it was because the melted steel wall had hardened but the steel wall wasn¡¯t easily released. As Lee Hyunsung was feeling confused, Jung Heewon¡¯s forehead touched Lee Hyunsung¡¯s chest. ¡°Thank you.¡±
Lee Hyunsung shook his head at the soft touch to the steel.
¡°...No.¡±
It was a very small gesture but it was enough. His heart had clearly been delivered.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ hates thisradeship.]
¡°By the way Hyunsung-ssi, who else was here?¡±
¡°Huh? That...¡±
Jung Heewon looked grumpy at Lee Hyunsung¡¯s confusion. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It isn¡¯t important. Rather, release this quickly. There is no time.¡±
¡°...Huh? Did something happen?¡±
Jung Heewon nced at Lee Hyunsung but shouted in a loud voice towards the sky. ¡°Kim Dokja-ssi, are you listening right now? Yoo Sangah-ssi is in danger.¡±
Chapter 140 - Unreadable (4)
Chapter 140: Episode 27 ¨C Unreadable (4)
[Your body has woken up due to a powerful shock.]
[Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been turned off.]
My senses gradually returned as my consciousness settled into my flesh. By the way, something was strange.
...Why didn¡¯t I see the resurrection message?
[You can¡¯t be rewarded for ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ stage three because of the unstable connection of 1st person supporting role viewpoint.]
As I was feeling surprised by this unexpected message, I slowly felt the pain and weight of my flesh. There was something wrong.
I saw Yoo Jonghyuk who was staring at me. Shit, I was almost surprised to death.
¡°Kim Dokja, are you dead?¡±
I thought I knew a bit about what was going on. I knew why the resurrection message didn¡¯te up and why there wasn¡¯tpensation for Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage three. I never died in the first ce.
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
I was just hit really hard. Damn bastard, why didn¡¯t he kill me? This jerk, not killing me when I wanted to be killed...
¡¸ ...Should I have just killed him in the beginning? ¡¹
I heard an unexpected thought and shut my mouth. Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint had automatically activated. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts poured in like a waterfall.
¡¸ Everything is twisted because of this person. ¡¹
¡¸ It is different from what I know in the earlier regressions. The amount of information avable is too limited. I can¡¯t save the world like this. ¡¹
What was this?
¡¸ The reason I was hurt by the Salvation Church was because we spent too much time in thest round. It was a mistake to train for 100 years then. My mind was permanently damaged. ¡¹
¡¸ Maybe it was a mistake not to get the Absolute Throne. ¡¹
¡¸ I will start from the beginning again... ¡¹
Dammit, the regressor¡¯s depression had begun. Was it due to the mental attack? I cried out in fear of what he would decide. ¡°I¡¯m hurt you jerk!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked over at my provocation and spoke in a subdued voice. ¡°...You are the one who wanted me to kill you. Is the matter resolved?¡±
¡°Roughly. The urgent fire has been put out.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look bright so I touched my pained stomach and told him some of what I learned.
I told him about how Lee Hyunsung saved Jung Heewon. Of course, I didn¡¯t mention that I watched from the ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.¡¯
I usually would¡¯ve added on ame story but the half-hearted Yoo Jonghyuk nodded with a gloomy expression. ¡°That is what happened. Then what are you going to do now?¡±
¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet but the situation is very optimistic.¡±
¡°The woman called Yoo Sangah is important to you so you must be desperate to find her first. Was she caught by the Salvation leader?¡±
¡°Maybe. In any case, I am hopeful about the situation.¡±
¡°...What is so hopeful about it?¡±
¡°Jonghyuk, we can save the world. Don¡¯t you know?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±
I thought I was being too obvious so I added an excuse. ¡°Well, it is like this. If my guess is correct, Nirvana wouldn¡¯t have touched Yoo Sangah. If he is the Nirvana I know.¡±
¡°...Do you know the reincarnator?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes narrowed. Min Jiwon, who hadn¡¯t wanted to disturb us, finally interrupted. She had a startled expression on her face as she said,
¡°The two of you are quite familiar with each other.¡±
¡°I¡¯m a friendly person. By the way, are you okay?¡±
¡°...Thanks to you. I almost joined the Salvation Church.¡±
Min Jiwon trembled because the encounter with Nirvana left a deep trauma. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have time to consider her situation.
¡°King of Beauty, I think I need some help.¡±
***
I started to collect the scattered people using the King of Beauty¡¯s Hwarang.
The urgent task was to prevent further damage from Nirvan¡¯s Thought Infection. In particr, it would be disastrous if Lee Jihye was infected with strange ideas. Then the ghost fleet on Han River would turn Seoul into a wreckage.
Fortunately, Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung were in close proximity with each other and it wasn¡¯t difficult to find Gong Pildu who had upied a building. Heined, ¡°I wanted to stay in thatnd.¡±
¡°Peacend?¡±
¡°Dammit...¡±
Gong Pildu seemed sorry that the previous scenario was over. Well, Gong Pildu was a king there. Han Sooyoung used to be a goddess so I wondered how she felt now.
¡°Honourable Supreme King! Please ept me!¡±
¡°I respect you!¡±
The ttering words that were difficult to hear came from the new incarnations who entered the scenario. The rumour that we returned from Peace Land had spread. I looked to the side and saw the frowning Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ Those people can¡¯t save the world, even with 100 trucks. ¡¹
¡¸ Once again, the answer is regression... ¡¹
¡°Now now, our Supreme King isn¡¯t in a good mood right now so back off. Do you want to die?¡± I personally stepped forward to get rid of any causes of depression.
The new incarnations red at me like fans kicked out by a celebrity¡¯s manager.
¡°Who is this bastard?¡±
¡°He is the Ugliest King.¡±
These scum. I was going to say something when unexpectedly, Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth.
¡°If you want to join me, be a person who can help me.¡±
Unlike usual, there was a strong mncholy in his cold voice. They were insulting words but fans truly were different.
¡°Shit, so cool... that excellent young and dark voice...¡±
The incarnations, both male and female, looked entranced.
¡°So chic! I will be stronger! I will definitely be helpful!¡±
Why was the world so unfair? By the way, why were they looking for Yoo Jonghyuk? Had they all forgotten that I was the one who overpowered the Salvation leader?
At this moment, someone opened his mouth. ¡°Hey, based on what I saw earlier, the Ugly King is more powerful.¡±
¡°Eh? Is this real?¡±
I didn¡¯t know if it was real but I was pretty strong.
¡°Are your eyes in the back of your head? The Supreme King overpowered him with one hit.¡±
¡°Is that right?¡±
My shaking hands became heavier and I noticed that Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung had grabbed onto my hands.
¡°I think Ahjussi is handsome.¡±
¡°Hyung, the face isn¡¯t everything.¡±
The only one on my side were the kids... no, Shin Yoosung. By the way, what was with the Ugly King? It seemed to be positioned as my nickname.
I honestly didn¡¯t understand. I had never heard the word ¡®ugly¡¯ used towards me until the fall of the world.
Yoo Jonghyuk was depressed but I was the one who had to suffer.
¡°The Ugliest King? Puhaha! It fits really well.¡±
I turned my head at theugh and saw Lee Jihye. Almost all my party members were gathered except for Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung, who were rtively far away.
Then what should I do now? I had a headache.
At this moment, a loud sound appeared from somewhere and Yoo Jonghyuk responded first. ¡°...Arge monster species. It is 6th grade.¡±
¡°Is there a scenario in progress here?¡±
Lee Jihye was right. The seventh scenario ¡®Monster Hunting¡¯ was an event scenario for incarnations who didn¡¯t participate in Peace Land and the new incarnations.
...Sixth grade monsters were already showing up in the seventh scenario? It was Min Jiwon who answered the questions I had. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but the seventh scenario is already over.¡±
¡°...It isn¡¯t in progress right now?¡±
¡°You arrived around the time the rewards were given. The situation is already finished. The Salvation leader received the highest reward.¡±
As expected from the Salvation leader. Speaking of which, the Salvation Church seemed to have hunted monsters when I first met the leader.
¡°Then where are these monstersing from?¡±
¡°Be prepared. It isn¡¯t just one or two.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk raised the Heaven Shaking Sword while the other party members also brought out their weapons.
The 6th grade heavy hound appeared and broken buildings with huge paws. At first nce, there were over 10 of them.
¡°The sixth grade monsters shouldn¡¯t move around in groups like this. What is with these bastards?¡±
We swung our weapons at the monsters. Lee Jihye used Demon ying while Gong Pildu used Armed Fortress. In addition, there was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Breaking the Sky Sword and Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung¡¯s Diverse Communication. Certainly, our party members were strong.
We cleared ten 6th grade monsters in an instant but the situation wasn¡¯t resolved.
Gong Pildu shouted, ¡°They¡¯reing again!¡±
¡°Everyone,e this way!¡±
I had to reduce the damage so I evacuated the new incarnations and cut off the head of the heavy hound with the de of Faith. Of course, I didn¡¯t forget to collect the cores of the fallen monsters.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is wondering about your reasoning.]
However, there was something ufortable. This development didn¡¯t appear in the original third regression of the novel. It didn¡¯t appear in the fourth, fifth... or even the 10th regression.
It felt like I was missing something important. Think. Kim Dokja. When did this scenario happen?
[Due to the effect of your exclusive attribute, the memories from the books you have read will increase.]
...Perhaps?
[I wish to inform all incarnations of Seoul Dome.]
Then the message of the dokkaebi came. It wasn¡¯t Bihyung but a voice I was hearing for the first time.
[Aren¡¯t you surprised by the monsters suddenly appearing? Sigh... as you might¡¯ve expected, the next scenario has started. We also wanted to give you a break... it is regrettable. This scenario wasn¡¯t created by the dokkaebi but is an automatic scenario.]
[A new main scenario has arrived.]
[Main scenario # 8 ¨C The Strongest Sacrifice has begun.]
It was a different name from the eighth scenario I knew. I opened the contents of the scenario.
+
[Main scenario # 8 ¨C The Strongest Sacrifice]
Category: Main
Difficulty: S
Clear Conditions: Survive the wave of monsters (this scenario requires caution because the rank of the monsters rises every four hours).
Time Limit: ¨D
Compensation: ???
Failure: Death
*There are additional clear conditions.
* Hints are provided once every four hours.
+
[Ah, for your information. It starts from the 6th grade. In four hours, the 5th grade species will emerge and then four hours after that, it will be 4th grade. Then four hourster... huhu, well. Don¡¯t you know?]
Then one of the incarnations shouted, ¡°What? What is an automatic scenario?¡±
¡°Eh? There isn¡¯t a time limit?¡±
[A time limit? Haha. There is no such thing.]
I knew the words were true. Nirvana appeared and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s party was much stronger than the original third regression...
I vaguely guessed what was going on. This development had appeared in Ways of Survival.
[It is because all of you are too strong. Oh my god, the Korean incarnations have be so strong that they don¡¯t fit the bnce anymore. Aren¡¯t you being a bit too greedy? This is a scenario that automatically urs when the incarnations of certain domes be too strong.]
The Seoul incarnations were at a loss.
[As mentioned, there are two solutions to this scenario.]
Additional conditions appeared in the air.
+
Additional Clear Conditions (Pick 1):
1. The death of half the incarnations in Seoul Dome.
* Current number of incarnations (107,624).
+
The dokkaebi spoke with admiration.
[Hmm, there are still so many people? It is good that it is an even number.]
¡°Shit! Don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡±
¡°You are telling us to just die? Dokkaebi scum!¡±
The dokkaebi smiled and added,
[Please calm down. There is a second condition.]
+
Additional Clear Conditions (Pick 1):
1. The death of the strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome.
+
I understood.
...The name of this scenario was the ¡®ultimate sacrifice.¡¯
In other words, even if half of Seoul didn¡¯t die, the scenario would end with the death of the strongest incarnation.
The incarnations shouted excitedly, ¡°The strongest incarnation? What? Who is that referring to?¡±
¡°Tell us who it is!¡±
[Haha, I can¡¯t tell you that. Is it any fun if I tell you? Well, he is the strongest so he would know the best.]
The dokkaebi said,
[Then work hard to find them. Or do you already know? Perhaps the strongest incarnation is the apostle of justice who will sacrifice themselves for you. Ah, I¡¯m a bit bored so let me give you a hint. I wish you the blessing of the story.]
+
[Hint 1]
The tenth strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome is ¡®Maritime Admiral Lee Jihye.¡¯
+
¡°Wow, what? Nonsense. I am only 10th?¡± Lee Ji-hye grumbled.
However, no one was able tough at her. Everyone was busy watching one person. He was the person I was eavesdropping on right now.
¡¸ Everything is too twisted. ¡¹
¡¸ A scenario I don¡¯t know about has appeared. ¡¹
Ah, please. Yoo Jonghyuk...
¡¸ I can¡¯t think of a way to fix it. Maybe I should regress... ¡¹
Damn, what would happen to me if he regressed? I absolutely refused to be swept up in his death without knowing anything. I red at Yoo Jonghyuk in front of me and formed a fist.
Chapter 141 - The Ultimate Sacrifice (1)
Chapter 141: Episode 28 ¨C The Ultimate Sacrifice (1)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
30 minutester, all the 6th grade monsters were cleaned up. My party members and I were very active, particrly Gong Pildu. It was a rewarding moment for one of the 10 Evils.
¡°We can take a break now. What about four hourster?¡± Lee Jihye wondered while slipping her sword back into the sheath at her waist.
I looked around and the fighting in the area was also entering a lull. I didn¡¯t know about other areas but at least we protected this one. Of course, not everyone was safe.
¡°Father! Please wake up! Father!¡±
¡°Somebody help!¡±
Many incarnations who didn¡¯t have the know-how yet couldn¡¯t resist the 6th grade monsters. There were those who suffered severe trauma from the heavy hound¡¯s paws or had their internal organs burst. Most of them were new incarnations.
[* Current number of incarnations: 90,531 people.]
It was only the first wave and one-tenth of Seoul Dome had died. A little further away, Yoo Jonghyuk was watching the incarnations. I became a bit nervous as I watched Yoo Jonghyuk.
The dokkaebi stated that the sacrifice of the strongest incarnation would save all the incarnations in Seoul Dome.
¡°Hey, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk turned to look at me. I didn¡¯t know exactly what scenery held value for Yoo Jonghyuk.
As I said every time, reading Ways of Survival didn¡¯t really tell me about this person. After all, I was only understanding the text, which had been processed and transmitted to me. Some things couldn¡¯t be read because they were unreadable.
¡°Let me talk to you for a bit.¡±
***
We went to the rooftop of a high rise building. On the way, I used Character List on Yoo Jonghyuk for the first time in a while.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Summary List.]
[Only randomly specified items will be disyed ording to User¡¯s convenience.]
+
[Character List Summary]
Name: Yoo Jonghyuk.
Constetion Support: ???
Private Attribute: Regressor (3rd turn) (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare), Supreme King (Hero)
Exclusive Skills: Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. 9, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 10, Advanced Weapons Training Lv. 10, Advanced Mental Barrier Lv. 3, Hundred Steps Godly Fists Lv. 9, Red Phoenix Shunpo Lv. 8, Splitting the Sky Lv. 8...Omitted...
Stigma: Regression Lv. 3, Transmission Lv. 5.
+
This guy still didn¡¯t know who his sponsor was. I already knew why it wasn¡¯t visible.
Even in the original Ways of Survival, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sponsor wasn¡¯t revealed in the end. I thought maybe it would show up in the epilogue but unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t read the epilogue of Ways of Survival.
His sponsor was more resistant to the ¡®probability¡¯ than any constetions I knew. They had the power to turn back the wheels of time while deceiving other constetion. Until the end of Ways of Survival, the constetion didn¡¯t provide anything other than ¡®regression¡¯ to Yoo Jonghyuk.
I didn¡¯t know exactly who they were and what they wanted to gain from Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°...Is there a way to kill Nirvana?¡±
This jerk, he was always so impatient. He had been given time to rest but he was still busy thinking. Regardless of his depressed state, Yoo Jonghyuk was Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Before that, let¡¯s take a moment to breath. The view is great.¡± I said while sitting on the roof railing.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked me, ¡°What are you up to?¡±
¡°I¡¯m just looking at the world. Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡± The city of Seoul was destroyed by the monsters. I quickly added, ¡°It was originally a beautiful ce.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t likendscapes.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°They are things that will disappear someday.¡±
I thought I had a bit more understanding of the third regression Yoo Jonghyuk after fighting against Shin Yoosung. I wanted to believe he was a person who could love this world without giving up or feeling despair.
I told him, ¡°However, we need to protect these things.¡±
¡°Kim Dokja, you don¡¯t know.¡±
This might be my misunderstanding. Yoo Jonghyuk could give up at any time because he was still in the midst of his regressions.
In the end, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s purpose was to prevent the ¡®destruction of this world.¡¯ Paradoxically, he could give up on this world at any time. His essence was regression and this fact would never change.
¡°No, I know,¡± I replied.
¡°What?¡±
¡°The fact that you can regress at any time means that death is meaningless.¡±
I looked down at Lee Seolhwa caring for the injured. Lee Seolhwa was feeding her boiled soup to an unknown person. Despite her efforts, there was a high probability that the character would die. Even if they lied now, they would die tomorrow. If they miraculously survived tomorrow, they would die the day after tomorrow.
It was the same in the fourth regression and the fifth regression. There would always be ¡®death¡¯ in the world of Yoo Jonghyuk, even after passing the 100th regression.
¡°If there is no sense of death then the value of life also disappears.¡±
¡°What do you know...¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, wake up. Don¡¯t think things will improve if you repeat them a few times.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk remained silent like he was surprised by my hard words.
¡°There is a chance that you can do better in the fourth regression. However, there is also a chance that won¡¯t happen. Have you already forgotten the Theatre Dungeon? If I hadn¡¯t appeared at that time¨D¡±
¡°The next regression will obviously be better. There were many unexpected things in this round so the next round will certainly be better.¡±
¡°Why? Do you know a lot of the future?¡±
There was the vague belief that he could do better in the next round with more information. It was easy for him to give up on this regression if something went wrong.
This was the precursor symptom of ¡®regression depression.¡¯ Some of the contents of Ways of Survival passed through my head.
It was around the 48th regression. Yoo Jonghyuk had consulted with an incarnation of the constetion ¡®Discoverer of the Subconscious¡¯ on the ¡®regression depression.¡¯ At the time, he seemed to be speaking like I was now.
I continued speaking, ¡°Yes. It might be as you say. If you repeat it 10 or 20 times then it will surely get better. You¡¯ll be exposed to more scenarios and see more of the future. The real problem is when you someday save the world in this manner.¡±
¡°What does this mean?¡±
¡°At that time, do you really think you saved this world?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Do you think you will be able to keep the same mindset after repeating it 100 or 200 times?¡±
¡°I won¡¯t regress that many times.¡±
I silently stared at Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ ...Don¡¯t tell me? ¡¹ Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes slowly widened.
I kept speaking, ¡°Are you having nightmares these days?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You won¡¯t be saved, even if you save the world. The moment you save the world, the worlds you have forsaken wille to you. Despite saving one world, all the other worlds you abandoned will drag you to hell.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes shook. Perhaps it was something he was already dimly aware of.
¡°That¡¯s why, survive this regression. Shin Yoosung was destroyed after wandering for countless years. You will be more than that. The more you repeat the turns, the more out of control you will be. Ask yourself. How different are you now from the beginning?¡±
¡°That...¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression hardened. His eyes were shaking violently. The Yoo Jonghyuk from the beginning couldn¡¯t have done this.
¡°Don¡¯t imagine that you will get better if you throw away this round. Maybe this is the round where you will see the end of this world as a ¡®human.¡¯¡±
¡°...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk closed his mouth. He wanted to say something but the words didn¡¯te out. There was an intense conflict on his face.
Yes, Yoo Jonghyuk. Feel conflicted. What would happen to me if he regressed?
[The mental state of the character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is slightly restored.]
I could see a faint light of determination in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face. Every world was goddamn hard. It was the same for this world. Every time you restart, live with all your strength.
A cool wind blew and we looked down at the ruined city together.
¡°This scenario has a strong event propensity. The flow will return to the direction we know. The future you know will be avable again. Don¡¯t you still have many hidden pieces that only you know? If Seoul Dome is somehow liberated...¡±
At this moment, the door of the rooftop mmed open with a loud sound and people fell down. The first one who fell down was Gong Pildu and Lee Jihye and the children were on top of him.
¡°Waaah! Don¡¯t push!¡±
¡°Ah, I wonder what they¡¯re talking about. Ahjussi, why did you do that?¡±
¡°A man shouldn¡¯t interfere with a person¡¯s conversation.¡±
¡°A man is a rat...¡±
...I could roughly guess the situation.
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯s eyes are shining.]
¡°All of of you...¡± I spoke before Lee Jihye spoke more bullshit. ¡°Don¡¯t joke around today. I¡¯m not in the mood.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is sad.]
It didn¡¯t matter if the constetion was sad or not. The important one right now was Yoo Jonghyuk.
Uriel wasn¡¯t giving us coins now so I hoped she would go to Jung Heewon. Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°I have been making a n for this scenario.¡±
¡°A n? What is it?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk turned towards me. ¡°This scenario is one where the strongest incarnation must die. I have been thinking about it.¡±
I suddenly got goosebumps. Why was that bastard looking at me when he said this?
Lee Jihye spoke with slight excitement. ¡°Oh, we were also talking about that. How did you decide? Who is the strongest incarnation?¡±
¡°Of course it is me.¡±
I looked at the confident Yoo Jonghyuk and realized that my worries were a misunderstanding. Well, he was a prideful person...
No, wait a minute. The fact that this scenario ended when the strongest incarnation died and he thought it was himself...
¡°Do you mean to die?¡± I asked him.
¡°I will be able to stop this scenario if I die.¡±
I was a bit moved by his noble mindset. Damn, his regression depression suddenly seemed a bit cool. However, I couldn¡¯t let him actually die. ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too hasty? Is there any guarantee that you are the strongest? For example, me...¡±
The party members looked at me at the same time. Lee Jihye hit me on the shoulder andughed exaggeratedly. ¡°Hey, are you being serious?¡±
¡°Dokja hyung is kinda...¡± Lee Gilyoung looked at me with pity while Shin Yoosung was confused. Even Gong Pildu and Min Jiwon were the same.
¡°There is no need to ask.¡±
¡°...Isn¡¯t the Supreme King still stronger?¡±
¡°Wait, didn¡¯t Ahjussi say that he defeatedthe Salvation leader?¡±
Bullseye.
¡°Is the Salvation leader really that strong if Ahjussi could defeat him? I didn¡¯t see it but he must¡¯ve used a strange trick. No?¡±
In a sense, it was correct. My mood was somewhat strange as I added an excuse. ¡°...I was just using myself as an example. The Salvation leader might be stronger than Yoo Jonghyuk. In fact, I had a pretty hard time before.¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes widened with surprise. ¡°Master, is this real?¡¯
¡°...That guy doesn¡¯t fit with me.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words threw the party into confusion.
¡°Then... isn¡¯t the Salvation leader the strongest?¡±
¡°Oh my god, there is a person stronger than Master?¡±
¡°However, what is the criteria for the ranking? Combat power? Or is it the person who wins in a fight...¡±
I replied to Min Jiwon¡¯s question. ¡°It is possible they are using overallbat power. In the first ce, not everyone can fight each other. There could be a change after fighting.¡±
¡°That reminds me, what did the dokkaebi say? He is the strongest so he would know the most...¡±
We looked at Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, is there something different from usual? Did the dokkaebi say anything to you?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk formed a fist and slowly replied, ¡°...Well, I haven¡¯t heard anything.¡±
I looked around at the party members and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we can confirm anything.¡±
¡°Then what should we do?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s just think that this is a good thing. After all, none of us here want Yoo Jonghyuk to die. For now, let¡¯s make a reasonable judgment that Nirvana is the strongest and get rid of him.¡±
¡°If it turns out that the Supreme King is the strongest...¡±
¡°We will think about it then.¡±
Min Jiwon told me, ¡°The Salvation Church is in Gangbuk. It isn¡¯t easy to approach because the borders are heavily guarded and there is a huge difference in force. Even if we all go...¡±
¡°We won¡¯t go there. We¡¯ll make hime to us.¡±
¡°How? Will he respond? It would just be a loss for him...¡±
¡°You are thinking withmon sense.¡±
However, Nirvana wasn¡¯t a person withmon sense.
Chapter 142 - The Ultimate Sacrifice (2)
Chapter 142: Episode 28 ¨C The Ultimate Sacrifice (2)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
The monsters flocked from the outskirts of Seoul. Maybe there was a gate where they were created and the rating of the monsters would skyrocket in four hour intervals.
In other words, the time we had was eight hours at the most. I had to lure Nirvana in to make him confront Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°I think I can do it.¡±
I left the party members and called Bihyung through the dokkaebimunication. However, the voice that came back was from Youngki.
[I¡¯m sorry, Bihyung is a bit busy right now...]
That Bihyung bastard, he became sloppy as soon as he was going to be promoted? He was an ungrateful bastard. I had been trying to raise his performance but he didn¡¯t know how to repay favours.
-There are random boxes in new scenarios right?
[Yes. It came out.]
-I¡¯ll have 10 of them.
I thought it was good but Youngki surprisingly hesitated.
[The odds of the random boxes are terrible... will you be okay?]
-It will be fine.
I knew what the dokkaebi was worried about. Could a person like this survive?
[You have purchased 10 ¡®Main Scenario #8 Special Random Boxes!¡¯]
[You have spent 30,000 coins.]
-We will stop here.
[Yes. I wish you the blessing of the story.]
Youngki¡¯s voice disappeared and 10 shiny boxes appeared in the air. They were colourful boxes withrge question marks.
Lee Gilyoung asked me, ¡°Hyung, is that what we see in games? If you open it, you get a random good item...¡±
The little kids noticed the fastest.
¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±
[Random box].
A gambling item that had a low probability of giving SSS-grade weapons and SSS-grade skills. This was an item designed by dokkaebis to trick the blind constetions. Why did I buy the box?
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is a bit disappointed in you.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ says that the basis of longevity is integrity.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ advises you to be wary of luxury.]
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ wants you to donate if you have coins.]
Min Jiwon¡¯s face turned red at the Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯s message.
¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. My sponsor is a bit...¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine. In fact, this isn¡¯t a very expensive product. Let¡¯s do it together. I¡¯ll give you one to change your mood.¡±
¡°You will give it? Really?¡±
¡°Yes. You can keep any main items thate out of the box. I would be grateful if you just give me any auxiliary item thates out as a consumable.¡±
I originally nned to sell it for a few coins but the people here had some rtionship with me. It would help me if their power increased. Thus, it wasn¡¯t a business with any losses.
Lee Jihye was excited about being given something free and snatched a box first. ¡°Wow, since Ahjussi said so... I will make good use of it!¡±
Then Gong Pildu and Lee Gilyoung took a box.
¡°Hyung, what if I get a SSS-grade?¡±
¡°It is tough since the odds are 0.00001%.
¡°...Really?¡±
¡°It is business acumen. Let¡¯s just be fooled for today.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk scrutinized me and said, ¡°Kim Dokja. Do you think an item wille out that will help me deal with Nirvana?¡±
¡°Well, it is simr?¡±
¡°...It is a pathetic n.¡±
This jerk also took a box...
Finally, Shin Yoosung was thest one to take a box.
¡°I¡¯ll give you two.¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes widened with surprise. ¡°Really?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Shin Yoosung hesitated for a moment before taking the boxes from me. Somehow, the child¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t ordinary. I looked closely and there were tears in her eyes.
¡°Do I deserve something like this...¡±
The past of Shin Yoosung came to my mind. Maybe this was Shin Yoosung¡¯s first ¡®gift¡¯ since she was born.
There were many people with this type of convenient setting in Ways of Survival. The convenience of someone would be the real unhappiness of someone else.
I handed the box to Shin Yoosung who was wiping her eyes. ¡°Take this. You¡¯re my incarnation. That alone is enough to be deserving.¡±
I regretted not taking care of her earlier as I saw Shin Yoosung¡¯s face turn red with liking. I wasn¡¯t yet qualified to be a ¡®constetion¡¯ so I couldn¡¯t give Shin Yoosung a stigma.
Was it the right choice to take care of this child? Maybe this child would be unhappy because of me. For now, it was unknown. However, I would do my best to protect this child.
¡°Then let¡¯s try opening them. Think of it as a diversion.¡±
Everyone nodded and started opening the boxes.
[The ¡®Main Scenario #8 Special Random Box¡¯ has been used!]
[You have acquired two Ein Forest Essence.]
[One ¡®Fairly Usable Pair of Boots (E) have been acquired!]
[Other consumables have been acquired.]
...This was it. The only things that came out were E-grade items and consumables. The situation was the same for the other party members. Well, I expected it. In the first ce, the random box...
[Congrattions! Someone has broken the probability of 0.00001%!]
Grand celebration firecrackers appeared in the air. I turned and saw triumph on Shin Yoosung¡¯s face.
...Don¡¯t tell me? Really?
¡°A-Ahjussi?¡±
The small fruit in Shin Yoosung¡¯s scattered a bright light. I went closer and the identity of the item became clear. Oh my god, this was what she received?
...How was my incarnation so lucky?
The watching Yoo Jonghyuk was also a bit surprised. ¡°You got something good.¡±
The SSS-grade item, Ancient Beast¡¯s Fruit.
Among the SSS-grade items with a 0.00001% chance of appearing, the item with the worst probability was the Ancient Beast¡¯s Fruit. It was a consumable item but the usage was worth its rating of SSS.
¡°If you feed this fruit to a monster you can¡¯t tame, you will be able to tame it. Congrattions. Save it for the right time.¡±
There was no better item for Shin Yoosung who could use Taming. If this was used on a monster that could evolve beyond the 1st grade, Shin Yoosung might be able to grow beyond the 41st version. Shin Yoosung looked between me and the fruit with sparkling eyes.
¡°Ahjussi, this is great... but can it only be used on monsters?¡±
¡°Perhaps. Why?¡±
¡°...It¡¯s nothing.¡± Shin Yoosung blushed cutely as she watched me before avoiding my eyes.
Lee Gilyoung drooled and rushed over to her side. ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you give me that? I¡¯ll give you my Titano.¡±
¡°I hate insects.¡±
Lee Jihye watched like she was jealous. ¡°Ahjussi, why are you doing this? Do you really want to change our mood?¡±
¡°Of course not. Give me the consumables that came out from the box.¡±
I was aiming for the consumables that came out from the box since the beginning.
[Loudspeaker (Dome Channels) x 4 have been acquired!]
[Loudspeaker (General Channels) x 4 have been acquired!]
[Loudspeaker (Area Only) x 2 have been acquired!]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I know what you want to do.¡±
[Loudspeaker.]
They were useful consumables that could send messages to specific channels or entire areas depending on the options.
¡°However, just saying a few words to that guy...¡±
I told Yoo Jonghyuk, ¡°The important thing is what you say.¡±
I used a loudspeaker. Then let¡¯s get started. I started the story that would attract Nirvana.
***
At this time, Nirvana was in the temporary base of the church. Nirvana had his eyes shut while the statue of Avalokite?vara Bodhisattva looked down on him.
Don¡¯t hang onto the past or look to the future. The past had already disappeared and the future hadn¡¯te yet.
Nirvana memorized these phrases but the doctrine wasn¡¯t spread by voice. Sweat covered his forehead. Sparks bounced all around his body. After a while, his eyes turned white and a message came.
[You have seeded in learning a new skill!]
Nirvana opened his eyes. ¡°...It was unreasonable.¡±
His stigma ¡®Session¡¯ consumed probability when used. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t use Session unless he used the ¡®story¡¯ that had umted through his reincarnations to provide some usible probability.
¡®I¡¯ve lost too much story.¡¯
His past disappeared but Nirvana soon regained hisposure. There were some things that must be emptied in order to live in the present.
He struggled with the energy consumed as he headed into the depths of the church. He went down to the basement and after passing through a corridor, a gentle light appeared.
It was a room with an antique-style table and a double bed. It was a well-equipped room with a warm atmosphere.
¡°I¡¯ve kept you waiting. Then shall we begin today¡¯s session?¡±
There were two women sitting at a table in the room. They were the vanished King of Wanderers, Lee Sookyung, and Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes were wide as she stared into the air and Lee Sookyung asked,
¡°When will you release the skill on this child?¡±
[Thought Infection.]
Over a week had passed but Yoo Sangah was still resisting. Nirvanaughed.
¡°I¡¯m not releasing it. You have to solve it yourself.¡± It was interesting from Nirvana¡¯s standpoint. ¡°It is a foolish thing. She is resisting when she simply has to dere that she will live in the present.¡±
¡°The value of the past is different for those who live a short life.¡±
¡°It is because you live a short life that you should put more value in the present. You are blessed with death but you don¡¯t know the value of it.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t judge other people¡¯s present based on yourself. She is living in the ¡®present¡¯ enough. You are the one ignorant about the present because you reincarnate over and over.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t forget. I¡¯m only keeping you alive until your story is worthy.¡±
Lee Sookyung¡¯s face was rxed despite the threat. She was like Scheherazade in One Thousand and One Nights.
Nirvana slowly pulled out a chair and sat down. He demanded, ¡°Tell me the information I want to know.¡±
¡°What do you want to know?¡±
¡°The incarnation called Kim Dokja.¡±
Lee Sookyung¡¯s smile stiffened for the first time. ¡°I don¡¯t know that incarnation.¡±
¡°There is no use in pretending. I already know that he is your son. The ¡®neutral¡¯ guy told me.¡±
¡°...He and I parted when he was young. I have no idea about how he has been living.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll see when I look inside you.¡±
The bright wheel of life started to turn behind Nirvana. Inside the wheel of life, the thousand hands of Avalokite?vara started to stretch out.
The gigantic hand covered Lee Sookyung¡¯s head. Lee Sookyung red at the hand in a displeased manner.
Nirvana threatened, ¡°Open your memories or the woman next to you will die.¡±
¡°It is a childish threat.¡±
¡°You have been giving in to this childish threat. That is what a human is.¡±
Lee Sookyung stared at Yoo Sangah¡¯s nk eyes and sighed. ¡°...Do what you want.¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Origin of Principle and Secondary Causes Lv. 6¡¯ has been activated.]
Avalokite?vara¡¯s hand firmly dug into Lee Sookyung¡¯s head. Lee Sookyung¡¯s story flowed and started to entangle with Nirvana¡¯s story. There was a sense of being ¡®one.¡¯ Nirvana¡¯s senses trembled. He chewed, tasted, ate and enjoyed. He was a genuine epicurean of the Star Stream.
¡°It is really amazing. How does a human like you have filtered information of the future?¡±
Lee Sookyung desperately tried to protect the memories but the fragmentary future knowledge she obtained from Kim Dokja couldn¡¯t rebel against the flow of Origin of Principle and Secondary Causes and they were sucked into Nirvana.
¡°Interesting. This is the essence of Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You are a sad mother. You lied to your child. You deceived your child for your own dogmatism.¡±
Cold anger filled Lee Sookyung¡¯s face as she dered, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to win against that child.¡±
¡°...I admit that he is an interesting incarnation.¡±
He was one that forced Nirvana to use Session. However, he was only human. It was just up to here. Then a message rang in the air.
[ Applying for a duel with the Salvation Church¡¯s leader, Nirvana Moebius. ]
The surprised Nirvana looked up at the air. It was Kim Dokja using the loudspeaker.
Lee Sookyung spoke like she had been waiting. ¡°That child is strong and wise. He knows what he needs and what he can do best.¡±
[ The ce of the duel is Gwanghwamun at 2 p.m. today. The person you will be confronting is the Supreme King Yoo Jonghyuk. The two people closest to being the strongest incarnations will fight to defend Seoul Dome. If you are really living in the present, don¡¯t avoid this confrontation. ]
Using the ¡®present¡¯ as an excuse? It was a confrontation that couldn¡¯t be avoided if he was a real ¡®savior.¡¯ Furthermore, the clever use of the loudspeaker was amazing. If he avoided this confrontation, he would receive the chastisement of all the incarnations in Seoul Dome as well as the Salvation members. However, he would be a fool to go after knowing it was a trap. Nirvanaughed.
¡°The provocation is decent. Then what should I do? In any case, my goal isn¡¯t to clear the scenario. My purpose is great...¡±
[ Of course, your great n won¡¯t concent to this confrontation. However... ]
Nirvana stiffened at Kim Dokja¡¯s words.
[ If youe now, I will give you a chance to be one with Yoo Jonghyuk. ]
Nirvana was so astonished that he let go of Origin of Principle and Secondary Causes. He shivered in anger, wonder and an unknown sense of shame and bit his lips.
Lee Sookyung felt Nirvana¡¯s intense urge through the string that connected them. It was a desire tobine with one person for a bigger story.
Lee Sookyungughed at the desire. ¡°I told you that you are going to lose.¡±
***
[ Okay. ]
Nirvana¡¯s answer came quickly. The party members looked nk, as if they didn¡¯t know what to expect.
I stood up and shook off my dizziness.
¡°Dokja-ssi, how... no, are you okay?¡±
Min Jiwon looked anxiously at the ck bruise around my left eye. It was the trace left behind by Yoo Jonghyuk after I sold his name. I rubbed my eyes and asked, ¡°Has that jerk left already?¡±
I even fell unconscious for a while. Damn, that ignorantly powerful man.
¡°He left as soon as he heard the answer.¡±
¡°Then we will go as well.¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s slightly sour expression became excited. ¡°Dokja hyung, I¡¯m d we¡¯re fighting together this time.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
I couldn¡¯tugh. Nirvana would¡¯ve surely gained new skills and couldn¡¯t be challenged as easily as before. Of course, Yoo Jonghyuk would also defend himself so victory or defeat wouldn¡¯t be easy to predict. In fact, I wasn¡¯t interested in their fight.
The real problem was the loud message in my head.
[You are currently the strongest incarnation in Seoul.]
...Now, what should I do?
Chapter 143 - The Ultimate Sacrifice (3)
Chapter 143: Episode 28 ¨C The Ultimate Sacrifice (3)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Our party arrived near Gwanghwamun half an hour before the promised time. In the meantime, the same message appeared in my head.
[You are currently the strongest incarnation in Seoul.]
Damn, I wanted to say that I already knew. Frankly, I felt embarrassed every time I heard it. I couldn¡¯t guarantee victory against Yoo Jonghyuk even if I used all my power and I barely managed to beat Nirvana. Why was I the strongest?
Then a sentence from the 51st regression in Ways of Survival appeared.
¡¸ Strength and weakness in the Star Stream have nothing to do with the power or skill proficiency. The standards of strengthe from the ¡®story.¡¯ ¡¹
Then there were the words that Nirvana had said. ¡°Strength and weaknesses are ultimately determined by the story.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
In the distance, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon were approaching. It seemed their bond with each other was stronger after oveing the difficult situation together. Jung Heewon waved at me.
¡°I saw the promation of war. It was very beautiful.¡±
¡°How are you feeling?¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine. Hyunsung-ssi was a bit hurt...¡±
¡°I will be fine!¡±
¡°...He is just bluffing.¡±
At the end of Jung Heewon¡¯s words, Lee Hyunsung struck his chest to prove he wasn¡¯t bluffing. It was exaggerated but it was hard to see it as a bluff.
Lee Hyunsung had started to inherit the story of the Master of Steel. Perhaps Lee Hyunsung was one of the top five incarnations in Seoul Dome. He was strengthened by inheriting the story.
Lee Hyunsung was the perfect example of ¡®strength is a story.¡¯ It was the price of a story that determined ¡®strength¡¯ in this world.
Perhaps I was ranked as the ¡®strongest incarnations¡¯ because the stories I umted in this life were at an impossible level.
Of course, the stories of the regressor Yoo Jonghyuk and reincarnator Nirvana were also formidable but their story was of the past.
Thendscape of Gwanghwamun started to be seen in the distance. I checked the time. Three hours and 40 minutes had passed since the first wave. Once every four hours, the monsters woulde. The second wave would soon be upon us.
¡°The 5th grade monsters will soone. Will the other incarnations be okay?¡±
¡°It will be fine here.¡±
I looked around and the eyes of Jung Heewon and the party members moved with me. It was more crowded than it was 10 minutes ago and the number of people was growing.
¡°This...¡± Jung Heewon seemed to realize something. Shouts came from all over the ce. Everyone in Seoul was gathering at Gwanghwamun.
¡°Let¡¯s defeat the Salvation Church¡¯s leader!¡±
¡°We have to kill him to end this scenario!¡±
People armed with weapons were shouting. No one was talking about freedom or equality. It was because the humans of the present were too shabby to talk about such a grand concept. Instead, they gathered for survival.
¡°Follow the Supreme King!¡±
¡°Break the Salvation Church!¡±
Lee Hyunsung looked at the scene with aplicated gaze and said, ¡°Dokja-ssi knew this would happen.¡±
¡°I did expect it.¡±
No matter how many new incarnations came in or how popr the Salvation Church was, the majority of the Seoul poption were ¡®existing incarnations.¡¯ They just needed a focal point to go beyond factions.
Gong Pildu looked at the crowd and sighed. ¡°...South Korea is ruined. Dammit. Are thewmakers who were going to return mynd dead?¡±
¡°You are saying those words in a situation like this?¡±
Lee Jihye clicked her tongue and Gong Pildu rubbed his lips.
¡°...What about Yoo Sangah? I heard she was caught by the Salvation Church.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll go and get her. However, not right now.¡±
I couldn¡¯t be hasty. Even Nirvana wouldn¡¯t dare touch the terminal of the neb Olympus unless he was thinking about a war between nebe.
All of Gwanghwamun was bing heated up by the incarnations when a shining message appeared in the air.
+
[Hint 2]
The ninth strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome is ¡®Insect Boy Lee Gilyoung.¡¯
+
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s eyes shone when his name was called.
¡°Hyung, I¡¯m ninth!¡±
¡°...It is ridiculous. I¡¯m weaker than that kid?¡± Lee Jihye grumbled.
¡°Stop talking and get ready.¡±
The party members nodded simultaneously. The second hint was announced and the second wave would soon begin.
Roars were heard from the outskirts of Seoul and the cries of monsters started to be heard.
5th grade monsters that could be ssified as ¡®small disasters¡¯ started to emerge. In order words, it was a level that ordinary incarnations couldn¡¯t handle. Fortunately, all the incarnations were gathered near Gwanghwamun and it wasn¡¯t an impossible fight. The narrower the area to protect, the easier it was to save the incarnations.
¡°We have to settle this in four hours. After that, 4th grade monsters will start to emerge. It is the end once that happens.¡±
The parry members nodded. There was nothing scary about ¡®small disasters¡¯ but they didn¡¯t want to see the monsters of the upper rank. I asked Gong Pildu and Lee Hyunsung to lead the incarnations and form a defensework.
¡°Leave it to me.¡±
¡°Gwanghwamun will be mynd after this scenario is over.¡±
I smiled and replied, ¡°...Go ahead. Do what you want.¡±
Sadly, once this scenario was over, the ¡®Seoulnd¡¯ that Gong Pildu desired wouldn¡¯t exist.
I led the rest of the group to the centre of Gwanghwamun. In the centre of Gwanghwamun, there was arge doe that didn¡¯t originally exist.
It wasn¡¯t an original building. There was no stadium in Gwanghwamun. It was a space that the Salvation Church temporarily added. The interior of the dome was still opaque but when I looked closely, a doll as standing on top and giving a speech.
-All incarnations, who is our real enemy? Why are we now pointing our spears and swords towards each other?
Jung Heewon frowned at the voice.
¡°...It is the Neutral King.¡±
The Neutral King was using ¡®Voice Amplication¡¯ at the top of the dome like he was a dokkaebi.
-I naturally understand your feelings. Whether it is the Salvation members or other forces, we are all weak people. We are just victims of the scenario. In fact, you know. There is no point in fighting between us here! This is what the dokkaebi wants!
¡°Shut up! It was the Salvation Church who started fighting first!¡±
¡°Yes! Kill him!¡±
Jeon Ildoughed lightly.
-Everyone, don¡¯t you know that the monsters areing? Seoul will be destroyed if we fight.
¡°Then what are you going to do?¡±
-Everyone knows this is a scenario where we can live if the strongest incarnation sacrifices themselves.
The opaque exterior of the stadium became transparent and the interior started to show. There were two people standing on a stage with the gorgeous spotlight behind them.
-The two heroes who areing forward for the incarnations of Seoul Dome! I will introduce you to the strongest incarnation candidates!
The Salvation members on the opposite side of the dome pped loudly.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
¡°Nirvana! Nirvana!¡±
The incarnations seemed baffled by the sudden change of atmosphere.
¡°W-What is this?¡±
¡°Are they fighting already?¡±
I knew what they were thinking.
¡¸ What if we can clear the scenario like this? ¡¹
¡¸ Regardless of whether it is the Salvation leader or the Supreme King, isn¡¯t it good for us if both of them die in this fight? ¡¹
Every human was a coward. Nirvana knew when humans were the most cowardly. It was time for the ¡®unattainable future.¡¯ Some people had already died while others would fight back and find a way to live.
I approached the dome and hit the wall.
[The incarnation ¡®Jeon Ildo¡¯ is using Fair Duel Lv. 3.]
[All incarnations apart from those involved in the duel aren¡¯t allowed to enter the stage.]
...He used the stigma of Gwanghaegun. In this case, no one apart from Yoo Jonghyuk and Nirvana could physically get involved in the battle.
I spoke to Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye. ¡°Kill Jeon Ildo!¡±
The next moment, something burst from inside the stadium. Finally, the battle between Yoo Jonghyuk and Nirvana started.
There was a gigantic screen above the dome that was created by the dokkaebi.
[You are doing something interesting. I think it will be a fun fight so I¡¯m prepared to let everyone see it.]
On the screen, I could see Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s two swords and Nirvana¡¯s white magic power colliding.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Breaking the Sky Sword and Nirvana¡¯s Mand caused a storm in the space.
Dozens of exchanges were done in a short amount of time. It was a cautious and borate battle.
They used Transmission or Session to read the other person¡¯s skills and tried to gain an advantage. This was a confrontation between a regressor and a reincarnator.
It was Nirvana who moved first in earnest. Nirvana¡¯s mand rotated quickly, spinning his magic power as a threat that attacked Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body.
Yoo Jonghyuk jumped high into the sky, avoiding the white magic power.
At first nce, it seemed like an endless number. It was because the white magic power acted ording to his movements. Yoo Jonghyuk quickly spun his des to hit the mand¡¯s power but unfortunately missed two bundles.
Blood poured from his left shoulder and thigh. A loud sound emerged from the mouth of an incarnation. Jeon Ildo was making a fuss as he nervously fled from Jung Heewon.
-Ah, it will be like this?
However, Yoo Jonghyuk was calm. Yoo Jonghyuk jumped near the dome¡¯s ceiling and dived down while holding the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds. Blue magic power was nestled in the sword but Nirvana was already finishing his defense.
¡°Come on, Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
At this moment, the size of the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds suddenly changed. It was transformed into a giant sword and started to grow to the size of a tall building.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s arm holding the sword was the same. It was like the right arm of a giant god.
[Giant Body Transformation.]
The surprised Nirvana tried to leave the range of the de but it was already toote. The weight of the de that split the sky literally fell onto Nirvana.
There was a huge roar and the entire stage was filled with dust.
¡°Kuooh!¡±
Nirvana was hit hard andy in a deep pit made by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword. The incarnations eximed. Numerous arms had emerged from the mand.
The Thousand Hands of Avalokite?vara. The hands of the Bodhisattva were fighting against the giant sword. If it wasn¡¯t for the dome,the area would¡¯ve been destroyed by the collision. All the incarnation were overwhelmed by the sight.
¡¸ This is a showdown between the strongest in Seoul. ¡¹
The strongest... I somehow felt bitter. I swallowed the bitter taste and used Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
On the surface, it seemed like a simple confrontation of strength but in this moment, there was a flow of thoughts between Nirvana and Yoo Jonghyuk.
Nirvana thought, ¡¸ Did the level of Mental Barrier go up? The magic power wavelength is bing stronger. ¡¹
¡¸ Your skill level is lower than I thought. What did you gain from Session? ¡¹
¡¸ You act like your left shoulder is hurt but that is a trap. ¡¹
¡¸ Giant Body Transformation has a short duration. You should look at the whole of the match. ¡¹
¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.
It was a battlefield that only I could see. The two thoughts that didn¡¯t touch each other were depicting a battle that hadn¡¯t yet urred.
I felt pure admiration and appreciated the view.
How much time passed?
I reached the ¡®result¡¯ of this confrontation faster than anyone in the dome. I jumped and headed to the rooftop of a nearby building overlooking the dome. Then I opened my mouth.
¡°Han Sooyoung. I know you are watching.¡±
The space behind me split apart and Han Sooyoung appeared from the darkness. ¡°...How did you know?¡±
Han Sooyoung was wearing a bluebat suit that clung to her body. Perhaps it was a hidden piece from Peace Land.
¡°You couldn¡¯t stay away after hearing the loudspeaker.¡±
¡°Che.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ shows its teeth towards you.]
As expected, Han Sooyoung chose her sponsor. Han Sooyoung approached me and sat on the railing. ¡°It was fun. Why did you call me?¡±
¡°Why are you watching? Don¡¯t you want to clear the scenario?¡±
¡°Ah, I need to clearly know who the strongest is... wait. You know who it is?¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°Who? Is it Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°No.¡±
Han Sooyoung sighed with relief. ¡°I¡¯m d. If that bastard dies, the world will go back. Now this isn¡¯t difficult.
Han Sooyoung pulled out a dagger. ¡°The Salvation leader... are you going to kill him?¡±
I shook my head towards Han Sooyoung, who was going to descend. ¡°He isn¡¯t the strongest.¡±
¡°No? Then who? Who should I kill?¡±
I silently stared at Han Sooyoung. After a while, her eyes filled with disbelief. ¡°...Don¡¯t tell me?¡±
I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s decorate the finale of this scenario.¡±
Chapter 144 - The Ultimate Sacrifice (4)
Chapter 144: Episode 28 ¨C The Ultimate Sacrifice (4)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
[Geez, this could end quicker than I thought?]
The dokkaebi giggled as he saw the bloody battle between Yoo Jonghyuk and Nirvana.
[If not one half, I thought at least a third of the incarnations would die...]
[This story isn¡¯t interesting.]
In the air, three intermediate dokkaebis were looking down at the stadium. The incarnations outside the stadium froze at the appearance of the dokkaebis. Every time they appeared, something ridiculous happened.
[Is it worth giving a hints now?]
[It isn¡¯t a big deal. Let¡¯s release them a bit faster.]
The moment the dokkaebis spoke, the rankings of the incarnations started to appear on a board in the air.
+
The eighth strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome is ¡®Moonlight Girl Yoo Sangah.¡¯
The seventh strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome is ¡®Armed Fortress Master Gong Pildu.¡¯
The sixth strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome is ¡®Judge of Destruction Jung Heewon.¡¯
+
Three rankings were released in an instant and the reactions of people were almost explosive.
¡°Who is Yoo Sangah? Moonlight Girl?¡±
¡°Gong Pildu is seventh!¡±
Jung Heewon was also watching the electronic disy in the sky. ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m sixth?¡±
¡°I am tenth... che. Unni, would you like to have a match against me?¡± Lee Jihye asked as she trampled on Jeon Ildo, who was trapped on the ground.
Jung Heewon also stepped on him and replied, ¡°Hrmm, I¡¯m sorry but it¡¯s hard. My sponsor likes you.¡±
¡°What? Why?¡±
Instead of answering, Jung Heewon pointed her sword at Jeon Ildo. ¡°Excuse me, Jeon Ildo-ssi who can¡¯t even make it into the top 10?¡±
Jeon Ildo¡¯s whole body shivered at the sight of the de and he asked, ¡°...Jung Heewon, how did you get rid of Thought Infection?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t ask me questions. I¡¯ll kill you if you don¡¯t answer quickly.¡±
¡°If you kill me... you can¡¯t... get rid of the dome.¡±
These were thest full words he said. The atmosphere was somewhat tiring so Jung Heewon punched Jeon Ildo one more time before going to find Kim Dokja.
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
However, Kim Dokja wasn¡¯t present.
+
The fifth strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome is ¡®Pure Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung.¡¯
+
Lee Hyunsung and Gong Pildu fighting with the monsters outside the dome heard the message. Gong Pildu frowned and asked,
¡°...What is pure steel?¡±
¡°I-I don¡¯t know either.¡±
Lee Hyunsung used Great Mountain Smash on the 5th grade monsters. For him who could use Steel Transformation,the disaster level monsters were no longer an enemy.
However, the number of monsters was more than they thought and the front line was slowly being pushed back.
Lee Hyunsung protected the armed fortress while thinking.
¡®Dokja-ssi. Are things going well?¡¯
He hoped that Kim Dokja would answer but of course, Kim Dokja didn¡¯t respond.
+
The fourth strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome is ¡®ck mes Empress Han Sooyoung.¡¯
+
At the same time, Han Sooyoung wasughing as she saw the board.
¡°...I¡¯m really fourth?¡± Han Sooyoung asked as she looked down at Kim Dokja bleeding on the ground. He was stabbed so that he wouldn¡¯t die instantly, but the bleeding was severe and he was sure to die soon.
Han Sooyoung bent down and touched the cheek of the bleeding Kim Dokja. ¡°Kim Dokja. Are you really going to die like this? What if you are in third ce?¡±
Han Sooyoung looked down at Kim Dokja with an ufortable expression.
¡°You look so carefree now.¡±
Of course, Kim Dokja didn¡¯t answer. She was the one who stabbed him but once she did, she was really afraid that Kim Dokja would die. He didn¡¯t even have an avatar... no, perhaps?
¡°Why am I worried about him...¡± Han Sooyoungined before falling silent.
The lips of the unconscious Kim Dokja contorted with pain. She wanted to know what was going on but she didn¡¯t ask.
Kim Dokja was having a hard time. Like her, he was an ordinary person before the world was destroyed. Such a person had jumped onto a stage to decide the world¡¯s fate and was moving the main characters. Han Sooyoung had forgotten for a moment that Kim Dokja was also a normal human.
She stretched out a finger and touched Kim Dokja¡¯s mouth. Then her face became a strange mixture of a smile and a frown.
Han Sooyoung giggled. ¡°...It is really strange.¡±
At this moment, a huge shock wave urred in the dome. The battle between Yoo Jonghyuk and Nirvana wasing to an end.
[Haha, there are three people left to look forward to. I wonder who they are? Just wait! The rankings will soon be made public!]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is shutting off his heart.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is sweating and has lost hair.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ wipes his head.]
Yoo Jonghyuk listened to the iing messages and raised his sword again.
There was a gruesome sound as the Thousand Hands of Avalokite?vara were pierced and a mechanical sound came from deep muscles.
Yoo Jonghyuk felt his presence slowly copsing. It was the side effect of Giant Body Transformation. It was the cost of bearing the power that he couldn¡¯t afford.
The colossus had clearly warned him when he was given this power.
¡¸ Never use this skill until all your stats have reached three digits. ¡¹
However, the colossus expected him to receive this skill through Transmission. He knew Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t listen to his warning.
Yoo Jonghyuk had to walk the sura path, the impossible path, and he had to use every means he had to pass. The frustrating thing was that the end of the road was still invisible.
Yoo Jonghyuk squeezed out all the magic power in his body and aimed his sword. There was a huge st of blue magic power towards Nirvana.
¡¸ Splitting the Sky is an explosion.
Don¡¯t hide yourself. Expand, blossom, flood. Don¡¯t allow the heavens to be above you. ¡¹
It was the words of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, who taught him Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship.
In the middle and second half of the second regression, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint fought against the alliance of returnees and died alone. At that time, Yoo Jonghyuk saw a thick sky that he couldn¡¯t break. There was definitely such a sky in the world.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk¨D!¡±
However, Nirvana wasn¡¯t that sky. Nirvana was a strong reincarnator. He would be stronger in the future. He wasn¡¯t yet as strong as a heavenly demon or the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
¡®Thus, I can kill you.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk released all his magic power and crushed Nirvana¡¯s entire body. Nirvana¡¯s Thousand Hands of Avalokite?vara was broken to pieces. The flesh hit by the magic power was torn apart. This was the limit of a hastily inherited skill.
¡°Kuaaah!¡±
Nirvana¡¯s body smashed into the ground and a huge shock wave urred inside. Yoo Jonghyuk was sure of his victory.
This strike was sufficient. Nirvana might have a number of hidden cards but he couldn¡¯t reverse a blow like this.
¡®He became aware of Kim Dokja so he would¡¯ve inherited a close range skill.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk pulled up his remaining magic power and prepared the final blow. The moment he emerged from the pit to deal the final blow. A beep suddenly rang in his head.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Advanced Mental Barrier Lv. 3¡¯ has reached its limit.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Thought Vine Lv. 1¡¯ has eroded it.]
...What? It wasn¡¯t possible. Thought Vine was a counter-skill to Nirvana¡¯s Thought Infection and Eternal Prison. Why was it used on him?
¡®Don¡¯t tell me.¡¯
He gained sudden enlightenment. The present Nirvana was still weaker than the Nirvana of his past life. What if Nirvana didn¡¯t inherit a closebat skill?
Despite the variable called Kim Dokja, Nirvana¡¯s only goal was Yoo Jonghyuk from the beginning.
¡®Shit, it is 108 Worries.¡¯
[The exclusive skill ¡®Advanced Mental Barrier Lv. 3¡¯ has been destroyed.]
[108 evil spirits have started to gnaw at your mind.]
At this moment, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes turned ck and his five senses started to run wild. He should¡¯ve noticed something strange when his thoughts became unusually heavy. Nirvanaughed from inside the pit.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Only I can understand you!¡±
It was obvious that Nirvana had been enduring only for this moment. 108 giant beads shone behind Nirvana.
¡°Stop now and be one with me.¡±
Light rose and Yoo Jonghyuk felt fragments of agony piece his mind. He wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee his next regression if he fell to this skill.
¡®It is up to here.¡¯
He had to regress now. Yoo Jonghyuk exercised final control over his body and brought the Heaven Shaking Sword to his neck.
-Don¡¯t imagine that you will get better if you throw away this round.
Why did those words appear at this moment?
-Maybe this is the round where you will see the end of this world as a ¡®human.¡¯¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was in a terrible state of mind and had a thought for the first time.
¡®Kim Dokja...¡¯
Then his vision gradually dimmed.
-You jerk, you think quickly.
He was mistaken. A familiar voice was heard.
-Take a break.
Despite his reluctance, Yoo Jonghyuk felt relieved by the voice and easily closed his eyes.
***
I slowly opened my eyes and felt like I was overflowing with power.
The height of my field of view had changed and the feeling of thebat muscles made me feel good. An adequate amount of adrenaline was secreted. I was full of confidence that I could do anything.
[The 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view has been activated!]
Crazy... this was the ¡®real¡¯ 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view. This was how Yoo Jonghyuk usually felt. I could never be strong like this.
¡°...How did you get your mind back from 108 Worries?¡±
I could see Nirvana¡¯s figure in the distance. I nced outside the stadium.
The fact that I was attached to Yoo Jonghyuk meant that Han Sooyoung had done her job properly. If it was as scheduled, there were five minutes remaining until my breathingpletely stopped.
Nirvana¡¯s eyes were fierce as he aimed a skill at me again.
[The character ¡®Nirvana Moebius¡¯ has used 108 Worries Lv. 2!]
108 Worries. It was originally a skill to raise a person¡¯s enlightenment level by frightening their own spirit but when used on others, it would invoke terrible delirium. In particr, the effect was worse than Thought Infection or Eternal Prison for regressors like Yoo Jonghyuk.
Of course, this would only happen if I was Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The Fourth Wall haspletely neutralized the effect of 108 Worries!]
I¡¯m sorry but I wasn¡¯t the normal ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ now.
¡°This feeling is... who are you?¡±
As expected, the reincarnator noticed quickly. I rushed over and punched him in the mouth.
¡°Kuaaaak!¡±
Nirvana went flying with a scream. The body of a regressor was truly excellent. I had this much speed and destructive power without even using Electrification.
Nirvana¡¯s physical strength was exhausted and he couldn¡¯t resist as he flew through the air.
It was a very pleasant feeling.
However, Nirvana could still withstand it. It was natural. He would be used to pain and death. I once again hit him and said, ¡°You have been through death dozens of times so you don¡¯t know ¡®death¡¯. It¡¯s funny.¡±
Death was death and it only happened once. A human¡¯s ¡®present¡¯ was important because there was nothing after death. This was why Nirvana didn¡¯t know ¡®death¡¯ or the ¡®present.¡¯
¡°A person who can¡¯t live in the present preaches about the present. There is no contradiction.¡±
¡°How about me... keok!¡±
¡°I know. The reason why you want to be one with Yoo Jonghyuk, why you are spreading the Salvation Church and what you ultimately want to reach.¡±
I understood, which was why I had to stop him now. Nirvana hesitated. Still, he was a reincarnator and quickly regained hisposure.
Nirvana shouted, ¡°Foolish person! It is useless to do this. Even if you do this, Yoo Jonghyuk will die. No one can stop the destruction of the scenarios. Even if this life is ruined, the world will repeat. I will reincarnate and Yoo Jonghyuk will regress! We will end up as one!¡±
Yes, this was the mindset of a reincarnator. However...
¡°Do you really think so?¡±
At this moment, a message appeared on the message board. This was the right timing.
+
The third strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome is ¡®Supreme King Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯
+
Nirvana¡¯s expression became strange. ¡°The third? Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
I nodded and smiled. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk will never go to the next regression.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°No matter what, Yoo Jonghyuk will survive. It is either you or me.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t make meugh! I am the strongest incarnation, Nirvana Moebius. A trivial person like you...!¡±
+
The second strongest incarnation in Seoul Dome is ¡®Salvation Leader Nirvana.¡¯
+
...Damn. I didn¡¯t know the second ce would already be released. I looked up and saw the dokkaebis giggling like it was funny. Maybe they decided the game was settled. Nirvana¡¯s body started to tremble. ¡°...This is... ridiculous...¡±
¡°Nirvana, you said that you wanted to live in the present?¡±
¡°Perhaps... you...?¡±
Nirvana¡¯s body shook like he encountered a topic that could never be interpreted. I stared at Nirvana and opened my mouth.
It was a very low voice, like the whisper of a reaper. ¡°I will tell you about your ¡®death.¡¯¡±
Chapter 145 - The Ultimate Sacrifice (5)
Chapter 145: Episode 28 ¨C The Ultimate Sacrifice (5)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
The moment that the third and second rankings were announced in Seoul, the incarnations fell into a panic.
¡°Fuck! What is this?¡±
¡°Then who is the strongest? What are we going to do?¡±
The incarnations assumed that the strongest person was either Yoo Jonghyuk or Nirvana, and that both of them would die here. Now the situation had changed. The moment the first ranked person was obscured, the incarnations trying to clear the scenario shivered at the unexpected reversal.
To make matters worse, one of the 5th grade monsters pierced through the defenses. The miserable incarnations were torn apart by the beast¡¯s teeth.
¡°Aaaagh!¡±
The situation was bing worse. The 5th grade monsters weren¡¯t easy and the incarnations were less united than expected.
[* Current number of incarnations: 89,041.]
Thousands of incarnations died. Lee Hyunsung broke the head of a monster with Great Mountain Smash.
¡°Soldier ahjussi! What the hell is going on?¡± Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon rushed towards him.
They had also been responsible for defending against the monsters.
¡°If Nirvana isn¡¯t the strongest, isn¡¯t Dokja ahjussi wrong? What are we going to do now?¡±
The party¡¯s n was based on the assumption that ¡®Nirvana is the strongest incarnation.¡¯ Now the scenario wouldn¡¯t end even if they killed Nirvana. Lee Hyunsung stared nkly at the stadium.
¡°I think...¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s face paled as he had a thought.
***
¡°Kuaaaak!¡±
Nirvana screamed as his body flew through the air.
¡°You will tell me about death? Don¡¯t make meugh!¡± Despite being helplessly beaten, Nirvana remained steadfast. ¡°I won¡¯t die. No matter what you say, true death won¡¯te to me! If I could die that easily, I wouldn¡¯t have suffered like this!¡±
I was amazed that he could retain such emotions after living such a long life. Perhaps this was his purpose when preaching of salvation.
I grabbed his cor and told him, ¡°You actually want to die. Right?¡±
¡°...!¡±
¡°It is because you can¡¯t die that you areforted by the deaths of others.¡±
Every human ced value on their life because they only died once.
¡°That¡¯s why you preached to the Salvation Church. You watched them live a one-time life and also want to be absorbed into their lives. You want to share the emotions they feel.¡±
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Nirvana Moebius¡¯ has increased.]
I knew Nirvana. I didn¡¯t just know him because he was a character in the novel. Nirvana yearned for something he could never be. Nirvana resembled me.
¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense.¡±
Unexpectedly, Nirvana¡¯s voice was calm. It was when he was really angry that he made a voice like this.
¡°It is the same for humans who don¡¯t know death. Nothing exists after a rare death! Humans can die but they can¡¯t suffer from death in a true sense. It is something that can¡¯t be owned by anyone!¡±
¡°At least we can feel the fear of death. It makes human life possible. That is the biggest difference between you and an ordinary human.¡±
¡°You...!¡±
Nirvana¡¯s fist flew towards me but I easily caught it.
¡°That¡¯s why you want to be ¡®one¡¯ with Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°...?¡±
¡°You think you can erase your existence by bing one with Yoo Jonghyuk. Right?¡±
Nirvana¡¯s expressionpletely stiffened.
¡°Reincarnation is the stigma of the highest grade constetion. To erase it, you need the power of a higher constetion.¡±
Nirvana looked at me and gritted his teeth. ¡°...You are beyond my imagination.¡±
¡°I hear that often.¡±
¡°Then kill me. I¡¯m not afraid of death as you said.¡± Nirvana¡¯s eyes were burning with vengeance. ¡°Still, you better keep something in mind. I¡¯lle back again and again. I wille back to life a number of times, kill you and show you the worst pain. Just like I did to your mother.¡±
I was surprised. ¡°...Did you meet my mother?¡±
¡°She is a very good mother.¡±
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking!]
¡°It is fun to make her submit. You know, I like to corrupt a virtuous spirit.¡±
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking!]
¡°The scene where she struggled and begged for her life is still vivid in my eyes.¡±
There was such provocation in this world. I was hooked despite knowing it was a provocation. This was despite knowing my mother wouldn¡¯t have done that.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is steadily shaking.]
¡°Hahaha! You are caught!¡±
My vision shook and the world became ck.
[The character ¡®Nirvana Moebius¡¯ has used 108 Worries Lv. 2!]
My consciousness was sucked somewhere and I was thrown into a world other than the stadium. I heard familiar voices in the darkness.
¡¸ Master, run away! ¡¹
¡¸ Please, please save this world. ¡¹
¡¸ You can easily throw away this world. But I...! ¡¹
They were voices filled with resentment. I knew where this world was. It was the ce where the Fourth Wall was shaking. It was the inner part of Yoo Jonghyuk, who was infested with many worries.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! You finally allowed me in! Now... you will be one with me.¡±
Nirvana was standing in front of me. I smiled as I looked at him. Preparing a counterattack at thest minute, a reincarnator was truly a reincarnator.
I told him, ¡°It was a mistake for you to enter here.¡±
A mand pattern appeared under Nirvana¡¯s feet. The inner surface of the soul was less affected by probability. Here, Nirvana was able to use the power of the stories he umted.
Nirvana grew to the size of a giant in a sh. The pressure of the soul that umted countless stories was really great. Once again, it was natural for him to have built up such stories.
Hundreds of arms grew like wings from his back while his legs were half covered with the feathers of a bird and half covered with the scales of a snake. A wolf-like snout protruded and horns grew from his head.
It looked like he was concentrating all the reincarnations he had experienced.
[I am Nirvana Moebius.]
This was Nirvana ¡®himself.¡¯
[A reincarnator who leads the unfortunate people to Nirvana.]
He looked confident but Nirvana didn¡¯t know. I deliberately let myself by hit by his 108 Worries. I smiled and opened my mouth. ¡°Nirvana, do you know the principle of reincarnation?¡±
The space trembled ominously. I kept speaking.
¡°Your soul is bound to the mand¡¯s guardian. Once you die, you don¡¯t go to the Underworld. ording to the uniquews of the constetions, your soul is nestled in a body that was just born.¡±
[...What are you talking about?]
¡°You aren¡¯t immortal. Your body is born again but your soul isn¡¯t.¡±
[Nonsense!]
The hundreds of arms on Nirvana¡¯s back poured towards me. The Thousand Hands of Avalokite?vara poured out like a waterfall. If I was hit by that in reality, my body would burst and I would be dead. However, this ce was different.
Now I was Yoo Jonghyuk. In other words, this was also my ¡®inner self.¡¯ The Thousand Hands of Avalokite?vara melted away in front of my nose.
Nirvana looked baffled. I saw the numerous pages that surrounded me.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
There was the sound of pages turning and the pages started to flutter around. There were words written on the white pages. The countless words that I read formed a huge wall.
The astounded Nirvana tried to escape but it was already toote. Sparks formed as Nirvana¡¯s body hit the wall.
[What have you done?]
The Fourth Wall could even repel the constetions. I was curious. Maybe it was possible to use this to wipe out a ¡®reincarnator.¡¯
[Release this wall! This, this is...!]
The perplexed Nirvana looked at the wall. A blinding light emerged from the letters on the wall.
¡¸ If this world continues to be reborn, we can clear it. ¡¹
[This... don¡¯t tell me...!]
Nirvana stared at the pages that contained his truth.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk, I can take you to the end of this world. ¡¹
[H-How do you have this?]
I approached Nirvana and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to go until the end of this world.¡±
Every time letters appeared on the world, Nirvana¡¯s huge body started to disintegrate. Nirvana¡¯s body split into countless letters and started to be sucked into the Fourth Wall.
¡°You will die here.¡±
There was a strange emotion on Nirvana¡¯s face as he saw his soul disintegrating.
¡¸ Atst, the reincarnator Nirvana reached a ¡®single life¡¯ after hundreds of years of wandering. ¡¹
Nirvanaughed as he saw the sentence on the wall.
[Ha... haha, hahaha!]
¡¸ He greeted his first real ¡®death.¡¯ ¡¹
Nirvana¡¯s expression was jubnt.
¡¸ This is... dying. ¡¹
[I see. This is it.]
¡¸ At that moment, Nirvana realized what he had long been waiting for. ¡¹
It had been hundreds of years. He reached the end after countless incarnations. Nirvana closed his eyes at this long-awaited moment. Despite closing his eyes, Nirvana¡¯s inner thoughts were still written on the wall.
¡¸ Then why? This is what I¡¯ve been hoping for. ¡¹
Nirvana¡¯s entire body was covered with minor cracks. His feet, legs, thighs, chest... The broken pieces were being sucked into the Fourth Wall.
¡¸ Why am I feeling afraid? ¡¹
He felt the fear of death for the first time.
To die. There was no future. He couldn¡¯t think, move, talk or even feel his own existence.
¡¸ I don¡¯t exist. ¡¹
Nirvana¡¯s eyes shed open for a moment.
¡¸ Don¡¯t... I don¡¯t want to! ¡¹
¡¸ However, Nirvana¡¯s mouth was gone and he couldn¡¯t shout it. ¡¹
¡¸ His disappearing arms stretched helplessly towards me. ¡¹
¡¸ In the first ce, existence isn¡¯t beautiful. ¡¹
No one would hold a philosophical view when fated to die. All beings were helpless before death.
¡¸ No! Please! Stop! Don¡¯t kill me! ¡¹
¡¸ Yes, your mother¡¯s secret. I know it! I know the story that your mother never told you¨D¡¹
¡¸ Save me. Please. If you save me...! ¡¹
I looked at him. It was as if witnessing the end of a character in the novel.
¡¸ In hisst moments, Nirvana repeated the words he hated the most. ¡¹
¡¸ I don¡¯t want to die. ¡¹
Soon, Nirvana¡¯s soulpletely disappeared.
[The Fourth Wall has eaten the character ¡®Nirvana Moebius.¡¯]
This was the first message I heard. The wall reacted differently from when it killed the Theatre Dungeon¡¯s boss. I was frightened at first.
[The Fourth Wall is smiling with satisfaction.]
It was fine to kill Nirvana. However, once I thought about it, I didn¡¯t know exactly what the Fourth Wall was.
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you with greedy eyes.]
It wriggled like it was alive. The wall wanted a taste of me, like swallowing Nirvana wasn¡¯t enough. Something popped up on the wall.
¡¸ At this moment, Kim Dokja thought, ¡®Maybe someday, I will also be eaten by this wall.¡¯ ¡¹
[108 Worries has been disabled.]
My vision started to return to its original state. The wall, Nirvana, Yoo Jonghyuk. It was as if nothing had happened from the beginning.
...
I blinked and found I was back at the Gwanghwamun stadium. Nirvana was scattering in front of my eyes. After a long time wandering, he finally found rest.
The area was silent, as if cold water had been poured on it. I slowly moved Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s feet.
The dokkaebi started talking. [This... It is already the end of the scenario. Shall I now announce who the strongest incarnation is?]
I found it hard to move due to fatigue. The voice of the dokkaebi was heard above my head.
[The strongest incarnation, he is...]
At this moment, my consciousness blurred and I couldn¡¯t hear the voice anymore.
It seemed that my time had run out. I couldn¡¯t hear the final words as my consciousness disappeared.
[Excessive mental exhaustion has turned off Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage three.]
[1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view has been released.]
.
.
.
[You have died.]
***
Two dayster, my funeral began.
Chapter 146 - Constellation Banquet (1)
Chapter 146: Episode 30 ¨C Constetion Banquet (1)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Rain poured down on Gwanghwamun Square. The streets were near ruins thanks to the monsters. The copsed media logos were broken and trampled on. The King Sejong the Great and Yi Sunshin statues that were the symbols of Gwanghwamun werepletely destroyed.
¡°Ah...¡±
The civilization that Seoul boasted had copsed and the culture was lost. There was only one story left but none of the people in Gwanghwamun wanted this story.
Lee Jihye opened her mouth as she watched some of the Hwarang digging at the ground. ¡°...Is he really dead?¡±
Nobody answered her. The reasons for not responding were different. Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yoosung...
They had their own thoughts but none of them spoke. Perhaps their thoughts were wrong. Perhaps... they were afraid it was right.
¡°No... Really?¡±
Kim Dokja¡¯s body was discovered around an hour after the end of the eighth scenario.
¡°Ahjussi! Wake up! Is this a joke?¡±
The cause of death was excessive blood loss. At first, everyone was confused. Kim Dokja, who hadn¡¯t been seen throughout the entire situation, suddenly died.
Still, the party members waited without much panic. This situation had happened a few times. The first time they hunted the fire dragon and when facing the Disaster of Floods. Kim Dokja always survived death.
Thus, they waited this time. He would rise again as usual and give the party members his distinctive smile. He would tell some timid jokes.
However, Kim Dokja didn¡¯t rise again. One hour passed and then two. Finally, one day passed. It was the same when the second night arrived.
Kim Dokja didn¡¯t resurrect. His body was cold.
It was Min Jiwon who encouraged the members by making a coffin.
¡°...He was the strongest in Seoul.¡±
She started doing what no one else could do. She knew Kim Dokja but she could do it because her rtionship with Kim Dokja was light.
Min Jiwon spoke of Kim Dokja¡¯s sacrifice. She spread the story of the man who chose to die quietly while everyone was enthusiastically watching the battle between the strongest people.
Everyone called Kim Dokja by different nicknames. In fact, when the dokkaebi had named the strongest incarnation, people thought of different nicknames.
King of a Kingless World.
The lonely Messiah.
The Ugliest King...
The words were different but the direction they converged was all the same. The strongest person in Seoul Dome was Kim Dokja and Kim Dokja died for Seoul.
Seoul was saved by Kim Dokja. A savior died in a ce that no one knew.
Min Jiwon made a coffin for this Kim Dokja. People watched Kim Dokja¡¯s body beingid in the coffin and held back tears. Some people were confused by who he was while some people sighed after btedly hearing the story.
Meanwhile, Shin Yoosung was crying. ¡°Ahjussi...¡±
¡°Yoosung.¡± Jung Heewon pulled Shin Yoosung away from the coffin. Lee Hyunsung still had a confused expression while Lee Gilyoung¡¯s face was nk, as if he was fleeing reality.
¡°Dokja hyung isn¡¯t dead.¡±
Finally, Lee Jihye screamed, ¡°...Where did Master go?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Master can save Ahjussi! Where is Seolhwa unni?¡±
However, Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t here to hear the me. Eventually, Lee Jihye also started crying. ¡°Ahjussi...¡±
They had to admit it, even if they didn¡¯t want to. Kim Dokja was dead and he wouldn¡¯t resurrect again.
[The new main scenario will start soon.]
They now had to live in a world without Kim Dokja.
***
¡¸They now had to live in a world without Kim Dokja. ¡¹
If it was Ways of Survival then this sentence would¡¯ve been written.
¡°Well, don¡¯t mourn for me.¡±
I wanted to shout but my voice didn¡¯te out. It was because I was in a state where my vocal cords weren¡¯t formed. It wasforting to be able to observe the situation was a ¡®third party observer¡¯ whenever my mental power was restored.
It would be nice if I could use ¡®first person¡¯s viewpoint¡¯ but it wasn¡¯t working right now after being overloaded by Yoo Jonghyuk.
[Excessive immersion has restricted the use of ¡®first person viewpoint.¡¯]
The coffin was covered in dirt and some people shouted,
¡°The Ugliest King!¡±
Shit. Did the dokkaebis attach the nickname ¡®the Ugliest King¡¯ to me? It must be that bastard Bihyung.
I felt stranger when I saw Shin Yoosung crying and throwing flowers onto my grave. The party members were now convinced that I was dead. I watched as they attended my funeral. I was probably the only one like this.
¡°Haaaaaah!¡±
Lee Gilyoung was weeping and had a runny nose as he ran towards the coffin half covered in dirt. Lee Jihye was also the same.
¡°Ahjussiiiii¨D!¡±
She was normally a child who acted angrily towards me so I was touched. It would be a funny scene if I woke up in the coffin right now.
However, I couldn¡¯t do that. It was because I was currently in the so-called ¡®cooldown¡¯ time.
[The privilege of ¡®Eight Lives¡¯ has been activated.]
The resurrection itself was nothing to worry about. I had the attribute Eight Lives that I obtained from Peace Land after giving up King of No Killing. This attribute could be obtained only by drinking the soul and flesh of Yamata no Orochi, literally providing the person with eight lives.
[The first head of the snake has been sacrificed.]
[The power of this head is Wary Person.]
Different types of abilities slept in Yamata no Orochi¡¯s heads and after resurrection, I could get a blessing rted to the ability. This wasn¡¯t bad at all. The problem was that unlike King of No Killing, there was a waiting time with this privilege.
[72 hours of waiting time are required before the resurrection.]
[Time remaining: 24:07:12]
I still had one more day to go and it was time for the next scenario to start. I watched my funeral a bit more before changing my point of view. I couldn¡¯t resurrect yet so I felt sorry to watch it any longer.
[Changing the person observed with ¡®third person viewpoint.¡¯]
Then a new screen popped up. It was a basement with antique finishes. A man and woman were there.
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi?¡± The woman was naturally Yoo Sangah. Needless to say, it was Yoo Jonghyuk who released her from where she had been tied up. It was thest favour I asked before leaving his body.
Yoo Sangah asked, ¡°What happened to Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Kim Dokja is dead.¡±
Yoo Sangah looked like the world had copsed at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s blunt deration. I frowned slightly when I saw this expression. The 28 year old Kim Dokja¡¯s life wasn¡¯t that bad.
¡°However, he will live again.¡±
¡°...Live again? How?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. I just know he won¡¯t die like that.¡±
Well, Yoo Jonghyuk had seen me resurrecting in the past. He would surely believe that I would rise again eventually.
¡°...No, he must live.¡±
Then why was he clenching his fist so much? Yoo Jonghyuk was silent for a moment before speaking to Yoo Sangah, who was in shock.
¡°Where is Kim Dokja¡¯s family member?¡±
The remark surprised me. This bastard, why was he doing something I didn¡¯t ask him to do? Yoo Sangah¡¯s face changed at the world ¡®family member.¡¯ She seemed to have something urgent to say.
¡°His mother is...¡±
Unfortunately, at this moment, the screen was turned off and a message was heard.
[Your mental power is exhausted.]
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been turned off.]
This was the bad thing about a soul body. The recovery of exhausted mental power was slow. It was natural since there wasn¡¯t a physical body. A soul without a body was like a battery that lost one electrode. The longer the period without a body, the more exhausted the mind became. It was the reason why ghosts went crazy.
¡®Did Nirvana kill my mother?¡¯
I had to keep asking questions in order to keep from going crazy.
¡®It can¡¯t be.¡¯
This was my mother, not someone else. Nirvana also wasn¡¯t a character who easily killed or tortured others. Nirvana was a gentleman when acting as the Salvation leader.
However, there were thest words that Nirvana spoke. He said that my mother had a secret she kept from me. A secret that my mother was hiding from me? I couldn¡¯t get a grip of it at all, no matter how hard I thought.
...I didn¡¯t know. No, maybe I didn¡¯t want to know.
Then an indirect message was heard.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Abydos¡¯ is calling your soul.]
I hadn¡¯t heard any indirect messages for a while so I was a bit confused.
...Master of Abydos? I pondered over the contents of Ways of Survival. If I remembered correctly, Abydos was the capital of Ancient Egypt.
[The neb ¡®Papyrus¡¯ wants to offer you the ¡®story of resurrection.¡¯]
Oh, look at this? Papyrus was the neb for Egyptian mythology.
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is calling your soul.]
Eh? Metatron? As soon as I thought about it, the next message appeared.
[The neb ¡®Eden¡¯ wants to lead you down Messiah¡¯s Path.]
The story of resurrection, Messiah...?
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ wants to take you away from the lower constetions.]
[The neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ will set the stage for you.]
...What was this?
[The constetion ¡®Master of December 25th¡¯ is calling you.]
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ will present you with the ¡®holiday of resurrection¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Flower Blossom of Seocheon Flower Fields ¡® is calling your soul.] (An important ce in Korean mythology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igong_Bonpuri#Field_of_Seocheon_in_other_myths)
[The neb ¡®Tamna¡¯ wants you.]
From Indian mythology to Korean mythology? Many more indirect messages were pouring in. From huge nebs to small nebs, they all sent me love calls.
I could tell what these constetions were thinking. They were trying to cover me with their myths?
[Some constetions are facing each other.]
[Some constetions are giving warnings not to steal someone else¡¯s myths.]
Dionysus, Mitra, Hakgungi...
The constetions calling me were all involved in resurrection.
[The constetion are having a battle of nerves over your resurrection.]
In other words, these guys were trying to step into my narrative. All stories were enhanced through being circted. The more that humans told the story and passed them on, the stronger the influence of the stories.
What if one day, the person called ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ was resurrected after three days and shouted the following words,
¡°I am Kim Dokja! I received the blessing of Christ!¡±
It didn¡¯t matter if Christ was reced by Dionysus, Mitra or someone else. People would be amazed and a myth would be reproduced on the spot.
The amazed incarnations would spread the story and the power of the story would exceed imagination. As a result, the neb rted to the story would have more power to intervene in the probability.
In other words, the neb were in a frenzy because of this. I had the power to control the scenarios.
[The constetions of the Korean Penins are paying attention to your choice.]
Chapter 147 - Constellation Banquet (2)
Chapter 147: Episode 29 ¨C Constetion Banquet (2)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
ording to my choice, the fate of the nebe would be reversed on the Korean penins. At first nce, it looked like a situation where I was in an advantageous position but I wasn¡¯t thatfortable.
[The constetions are quarrelling over the legitimacy of the myths.]
I seemed to have the option of choosing but the problem was after the selection.
The nebe were sensitive about giarism when it came to the ¡®resurrection story¡¯ In particr, the confrontation between Eden and Vedas was severe. If I chose one side then the other side wouldpletely turn their back to me.
I was only a bud who hadn¡¯t be a constetion yet. If I refused all of them, they would feel resentment towards me...
[Many constetions want you to choose quickly.]
Damn. I was afraid of receiving criticism over the resurrection and of bing a public enemy among the constetions. What should I do...
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is mediating the conflict between the constetions.]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ emphasizes that it is the incarnation¡¯s choice.]
Persephone was on my side. By the way, why was she helping me?
[Some constetions are dissatisfied with the intervention of Queen of the Darkest Spring.]
[Some constetions are asking for a solution from Queen of the Darkest Spring.]
...
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ rmends that the incarnation ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ be invited to the constetion banquet.
...Banquet?
After a while...
[The neb ¡®Eden¡¯ agrees with the suggestion from Queen of the Darkest Spring.]
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ agrees with the suggestion from Queen of the Darkest Spring.]
...
[A number of constetions agree with the suggestion from Queen of the Darkest Spring.]
Regardless of my intention, I felt like my existence was being sold at a low price. I somehow felt empty and then the dokkaebi Youngki appeared in front of me.
[Pant, pant. Sir Dokja.]
Perhaps he came in a hurry. Youngki was covered in sweat.
[There is a ce you have to go.]
¡®...Where?¡¯
[Ah, I will help you get there. I¡¯ll prepare it right away!]
I had a rough idea of where I was going. Based on how nervous Youngki was, the pressure from the constetions must be considerable.
Eh? It felt like my body was copsing and being reborn. It wasn¡¯t resurrection. It was closer to the the soul forming a body. It was a state like a floating ghost but it was temporary.
[Umm. This is an important meeting...]
A shirt and suit covered the soul body that didn¡¯t have any genitalia. The texture of the cloth felt like it had been created for me.
[Stories are shining in the distant night sky.]
[The constetion banquet is currently being held.]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ has invited you to the constetion banquet.]
The constetion banquet.
Along with Sponsor Selection, it was an event arranged for the constetions of the Star Stream. I was invited to a banquet where only constetions were invited, despite not yet being a constetion.
I looked at the time remaining until I was resurrected.
[Time remaining: 23:54:12]
23 hours. It was enough time for a short visit. It was a bit fast but the ce I had to go was obvious.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±
It was finally time to visit the constetions.
***
[The person who invited you will soon send an envoy.]
¡°Understood.¡±
[I-I wish you a sessful debut!]
Youngki raised a fist with resolute eyes and soon disappeared from in front of me. I looked around and the area was covered with white clouds.
I realized that this was one of the tributaries of the ¡®cloud road.¡¯ Numerous dokkaebis moved along this road to get to other dimensions.
[You have temporarily left the main scenario area.]
[You must return to the scenario area within 24 hours, Earth time.
[If you don¡¯t return in time, you will be disposed of ording to the scenario rules.]
Disposal. The system was really frightening, just likest time when I went to the Underworld.
[The hidden scenario ¨C Constetion Banquet will begin!]
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C Constetion Banquet]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: ?
Clear conditions: Participate in the banquet and have a sessful debut.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Compensation: 100,000 coins, favour or dislike from some of the constetions.
Failure: ¨D
+
...At any rate, there are many scenarios hidden in the Star Stream. As long as I maintained my heart, I would get more coins than I thought.
I saw four horses flying in from a distance. The white horses were like a light source as they emitted a white light. They flew with ¡®golden wings¡¯ and behind them was a golden carriage.
There was the symbol of the sun engraved on the outside of the carriage. I recognized the carriage with one nce. Surely this wasn¡¯t the ¡®sun carriage?¡¯ Then the presence in the carriage...
[Hey, get in.]
I was amazed by the true voice that I heard. It showed that the presence in the carriage wasn¡¯t someone huge.
[Hey, it¡¯s okay. This is a symbolic realm so my true voice is weaker. Get in quickly. I won¡¯t eat you.]
I nervously got into the carriage. If this was really the sun carriage, the owner of this carriage would probably be the sun god Helios... eh?
¡°You are...?¡±
I looked at the upant of the carriage with wide eyes. To be precise, it wasn¡¯t an ¡®upant.¡¯ Only a wine ss filled with delicious red wine floated inside the carriage. I wondered about the situation and then the winess opened its mouth.
[Don¡¯t you recognize me?]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is disappointed in you.]
I asked in a startled manner, ¡°...Dionysus?¡±
There was a dazzling spark and the wine ss screamed.
[Hey, don¡¯t call my name so carelessly. I feel good because I¡¯m excited.]
¡°...Why do you look like this?¡±
[It is due to the probability. This is a good form to save on probability costs. You know, the great Star Stream is quite strict.]
In fact, from my point of view, it was better than his true building. No matter how much I had the Fourth Wall, there was no certainty that I would be in a good state if I saw the body of the constetion.
The carriage set off as soon as I sat down. I didn¡¯t know why Dionysus was driving Helios¡¯ sun carriage but he seemed to have a reason.
[Is this the first time you¡¯ve actually seen me? Nice to meet you, I am the God of Wine and Ecstasy. My name is famous in your country.]
¡°I¡¯m also pleased to meet you.¡±
We awkwardly greeted each other and sat in a corner of the carriage. Unlike his usual yfulness, Dionysus didn¡¯t say much.
Did he have a shy personality? It was unexpected. Well, not all stories were true.
The wine in the ss shook in a worrisome manner every time the carriage jolted. Would it fly in my direction? The liquid seemed to be a symbol of something and I wondered what it represented for Dionysus.
After a while of idle thoughts, Dionysus said, [Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I was chatting with a goddess I know for a second.]
¡°...It seems you are very busy?¡±
[It isn¡¯t like that. I should proactively manage the girls these days.]
I didn¡¯t know if it was a joke or not.
[By the way, you are calmer than I expected? I am still a famous constetion.]
¡°It isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve seen a constetion.¡±
[Ah, that reminds me. Was itst time when I sent you to the Underworld?]
¡°Yes, thank you for that.¡±
[What thanks? What did you do in the Underworld?]
¡°Huh?¡±
[I have never seen the queen act so kindly. Trying to protect one incarnation from the nebe... huh? Perhaps? What that it? You told that olddy...]
His voice was somewhat envious. Dionysus didn¡¯t seem to know that Ipleted Persephone¡¯s task.
¡°Nothing happened.¡±
[Hey hey, don¡¯t be shy. Isn¡¯t that auntie sexy? If I wasn¡¯t a gentleman on the outside...]
¡°Do you have to say it that way? Isn¡¯t the queen of the Underworld your mother?¡±
[Um? Haha. There is that theory.]
¡°Is it fake?¡±
[I didn¡¯t say that.]
¡°...¡±
[Why are you looking at me like that? Don¡¯t you know Olympus? This taboo is nothing.]
Come to think of it, Olympus was such a ce. A paradise of gods who thought with their lower half. Still, this was too nasty.
[Ah, yes. Speaking of which. Did you get my previous message? Stick to my side. I particrly want to give you the story of ¡®Bhus¡¯... why is your expression like that?]
¡°No need.¡±
I hurriedly shook my head. Dionysus was one of the 12 high ranking constetions of Olympus. But the story of Bhus....
[Aha, I get it. Look at this person. Are youparing it with the stories from Eden or Vedas?]
¡°No, that¡¯s not it...¡±
[Hey, it is because you don¡¯t know anything! Do you know what will happen if you receive the story of the resurrected Messiah? You will have to livepassionately your whole life! It is the same after you die. Yes? You will have to live like a priest God!]
Dionysus shouted loudly.
[Huh? Do you know how great the Bhus story is in contrast? Don¡¯t you know my goddesses?]
¡°The goddesses who ripped apart homosexuals?¡±
Dionysus jumped with surprise.
[Ah... Y-Yes! You can spend frenzied days and nights with them. I can give you an endless refill of wine! Have you heard of the Olympus orgies? Do you know Aphrodite? If you want, I will invite her...]
[The constetion ¡®Goddess of Love and Beauty¡¯ is looking at the ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy.¡¯]
[...Let¡¯s just pretend I didn¡¯t say that. What do you think?]
¡°It doesn¡¯t appeal to me.¡±
The Dionysus wine shook uneasily.
[...That reminds me, an angel of Eden says that you are interested in sodomy...]
¡°I think I know who spread it but ignore that girl. I want to know the real reason why you came to see me.¡±
[Um? What are you talking about? It is to get you to join our neb...]
¡°Is that really all it is?¡±
Dionysus was silent for a moment. The wine ss was still for a while before making a circle in the air.
[...You noticed quickly.]
¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot.¡±
[Do you want a drink? Drink some of my wine.]
¡°I don¡¯t really like drinking.¡±
[Well... okay. You¡¯re right. In fact, my purpose isn¡¯t to take you to Olympus.]
It was as I thought. He was a god, meaning nothing he said was sincere. It was strange that despite all the nebe paying attention to me, one of Olympus¡¯ 12 constetions came to pick up one incarnation. Yet Dionysus¡¯ next wordspletely broke my expectations.
[I¡¯ll tell you directly. I hope you don¡¯t join Olympus.]
¡°...Huh?¡±
[To be more precise...]
Then a terrible explosion urred. The sun carriage shook like it had been hit by something and the horses screamed. I turned back and saw wine pouring from Dionysus¡¯ ss.
[Ah fuck. I was so surprised I pissed!]
I was afraid to ask what his urine was. I carefully avoided the spilled wine.
[Damn, it looks like other nebe are looking for you.]
I looked out the curtain and saw creatures with terrifying presences flying all over the ce. They were still far away and I didn¡¯t know what nebe they belonged to, but it was clear they didn¡¯t like me.
[Fuck. I paid a lot to borrow this from Helios... this won¡¯t work. Get off here and run the rest of the way. It is just a short run along the cloud road.]
Here? Wasn¡¯t it air?
[I will stop them. Go quickly! If you enter the banquet hall, no nebe can touch you!]
The curtains opened at his words. I looked at the clouds below and gulped. I was a soul. This meant I wouldn¡¯t die if I fell.
Then Dionysus¡¯ voice was heard behind me. [Keep this in mind. Don¡¯t trust anyone.]
I leapt out of the carriage as Dionysusughed.
[See you again, Incarnation Kim Dokja.]
I jumped off the carriage onto the road. There was a huge sound behind me and then a brutal oppression pushed on my body. It was a tremendous force I had never felt before. At least part of the true essence had descended.
Sparks struck like a thunderstorm. I could tell without looking back. The confrontation between constetion and constetion had begun.
I rushed with all my strength along the cloud road. Debris flew over my head and I felt the ground cracking. I never looked back.
How much time had passed? Finally, a huge castle was seen and the noise behind me weakened. I had reached the entrance of the castle.
¡°I came to participate in the banquet.¡±
The gatekeeper looked down at me. He seemed to be a low-grade dokkaebi dispatched from the bureau. ¡°What? I didn¡¯t hear about an incarnationing here alone.¡±
Dammit, perhaps it was a mistake to get out of the sun carriage. Maybe that would¡¯ve been my free pass. At this moment, the inner castle door opened and an unexpected savior appeared.
[Let him in. He is part of my group.]
It wasn¡¯t Persephone. The constetion I had wanted to see for a long time was waiting for me.
Chapter 148 - Constellation Banquet (3)
Chapter 148: Episode 29 ¨C Constetion Banquet (3)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
He stood at the entrance of the banquet hall. If I was right, he was one of the high level constetions who supported me since the beginning of the scenarios.
¡¸There was a mischievous look on the face covered with white-gold hair. One of the most powerful authorities who was imprisoned in the smallest prison of the world. I was unable to breath as soon as I encountered the noble self and piercing eyes. ¡¹
This was the description from Ways of Survival. I watched in a spellbound manner. This was a top presence located at the top of Ways of Survival. I ignored the housekeeper and ran inside. ¡°The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven!¡±
However, theughing Great Sage the Equal of Heaven disappeared in front of my eyes. He was like smoke. It was as if he was telling me I wasn¡¯t qualified to meet him yet.
...A clone?
My hand fell in a dejected manner but the situation wasn¡¯t over. I suddenly called out the name of the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven, making the constetions on the first floor of the banquet hall pay attention to me.
[Who is that person?]
An incarnation called the nickname of a particr constetion. Most of the constetion didn¡¯t have great expressions. Gazes focused on me from all over the banquet hall.
[An incarnation?]
[What? Who is that incarnation?]
Countless gazes gathered, the atmosphere was heating up and I was so stiff that I couldn¡¯t move. My mind became nk and I couldn¡¯t tell who was looking at me.
I thought I could hold on after hearing the constetion¡¯s true voices. However, it was clearly the influence of Fourth Wall. Just their gazes made me like this.
Now I realized. I was the only existence in this banquet hall who wasn¡¯t a constetion. I finally stood before the constetions.
¡°Now now, please calm down. There was a mistake so I will be taking this friend for a bit.¡± I heard a familiar voice and somebody lifted my stiff body and moved it somewhere. As I left the banquet hall and entered the banquet, the hell was over and I barely managed to breathe.
¡°...Why would youe here alone?¡±
I turned and saw a familiar figure floating in the air. ¡°Bihyung?¡±
¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. The Queen of Night said she would send an envoy. Didn¡¯t theye with you? Why are you wandering around alone in this ce? Do you want to go to hell?¡±
¡°There were circumstances.¡±
¡°Hey, is that the problem now? This isn¡¯t the scenario area! If you make a mistake then it is the end! This ce...¡±
¡°It is a ce where there are people who can kill humans with their eyes like we are bugs.¡±
I know. I understood. That¡¯s why I came here.
Bihyung pouted like he wasn¡¯t satisfied and took me somewhere. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the waiting room. Rest there for a while. There is a screen in the waiting room that you can watch. Be sure to take a look. Do you understand?¡±
There must be something based on the way Bihyung was acting. Not long afterwards, we arrived at the waiting room. By the way, the sign in front of the waiting room was very strange.
¡°...Incarnation waiting room? There was something like this?
¡°Do you think you are the only incarnation? Of course, you are the only one who came here alone.¡±
The door opened and I saw an unexpected figure. He spoke first. ¡°...Kim Dokja?¡±
I looked at him with a nk expression and waved awkwardly. ¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
***
The constetion banquet was frequently mentioned in Ways of Survival.
It was the ce Yoo Jonghyuk usually came to whenever he used ¡®regression.¡¯ It was natural for Yoo Jonghyuk to be included on the invitation list. I didn¡¯t know who was invited this time but this person would try to form a rtionship with the narrative grade constetions...
The constetion banquet was a joint event with several countries. There was the Seoul Dome, Washington Dome, Moscow Dome and New Delhi Dome.
Perhaps the bureau had held a performance presentation to select the best performing domes. Once I saw the list of participating countries... it was simr to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s 24th regression. There were separate incarnations for each country in the waiting room.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked me, ¡°Why are you here?¡±
¡°Probably a simr reason to you.¡±
¡°When will you revive?¡±
¡°Maybe tomorrow.¡±
¡°The others are worried.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
I felt somewhat uneasy as I had a conversation with Yoo Jonghyuk. His fists were clenched tightly like he was angry. I suspected that he might have anger control issues these days.
I sat in the chair next to Yoo Jonghyuk and watched the scene ying on therge screen in front of me. There was an intermediate dokkaebi promotion ad ying on the screen.
-Thank you to all the constetions and dokkaebis who have given me the glory of the story...
It was an interview with the representative of the low-grade dokkaebis, Bihyung. That bastard, this was why he told me to watch.
-Half of the glory is actually due to an incarnation working hard in my channel. Maybe he is a friend that you know. I¡¯ll give half this joy to the incarnation!
I felt ufortable at the shameless words.
The surrounding incarnations were looking this way so I turned my attention away. Then Bihyung took out a golden egg and raised it up to the sky. I immediately recognized what it was.
-The other half will be given to this child who will be born!
It was the egg where the soul of Shin Yoosung was sleeping. Fortunately, it seemed to be growing well.
¡°Don¡¯t tell me, did you...?¡± Yoo Jonghyuk used Sage¡¯s Eyes as he looked between me and Bihyung¡¯s egg with a shocked expression.
I spoke an excuse. ¡°It was the only way.¡±
¡°Do you know what you did?¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°If you do this, Shin Yoosung...!¡±
I knew what Yoo Jonghyuk was worried about. The person who had been suffering from the ¡®story¡¯ for so long was now the subject producing the tragedy. I didn¡¯t have to say that Yoo Jonghyuk knew how painful this was.
I told him, ¡°If she is born as a dokkaebi, at least she will never die. The bureau is the safest ce until the Star Stream is destroyed.¡±
Of course, this wasn¡¯t the only reason. Still, I couldn¡¯t tell him all my reasons for making Shin Yoosung a dokkaebi. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes met mine. It felt like he would pull out his sword and cut me to pieces right here.
¡°Perhaps... are you Kim Dokja?¡± The voice that interrupted us caused the tense atmosphere to disappear. I turned and saw a beautiful mixed-race woman. She had wavy brown hair and gentle brown eyes. Her smile was especially beautiful.
¡°That¡¯s correct. Do you know me?¡±
¡°Oh... a little bit. I have heard stories.¡±
It was great. I couldn¡¯t believe this woman came to talk to me first.
¡°Nice to meet you, Selena Kim.¡±
¡°Do you know me?¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t you the representative of the United States? I¡¯ve heard it before.¡±
Of course, I didn¡¯t really hear it. I just knew her.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Character List¡¯ is activated!]
[Only randomly specified items will be disyed for the user¡¯s convenience.]
+
[Character List Summary]
Character: Selena Kim
Private Attribute: Animal Lover (Rare) King¡¯s Guardian (Hero)
Constetion Sponsor: Ender of Wars
+
Selena Kim from the Washington Dome.
She was a member of Anna Croft¡¯s Chtustra and one of the strongest 100 women in Ways of Survival. The King of No Killing was an attribute that originally belonged to this woman. Unfortunately, she had acquired another attribute because I took it first...
I asked, ¡°Anna Croft didn¡¯te?¡±
¡°...You know Anna?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve met her in a dream the other day.¡±
¡°She wanted toe. If she knew you wereing, she would¡¯vee.¡±
Of course, then the situation would be moreplicated. Why? It was due to this guy.
¡°Tell that girl to take good care of her neck.¡±
¡°...You are the same as Anna told me, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The reason Anna didn¡¯te here was due to Yoo Jonghyuk. In thest regression, Yoo Jonghyuk was betrayed by Anna Croft. Anna would¡¯ve seen what she did to Yoo Jonghyuk. Thus, it was natural that she didn¡¯te here.
¡°There is a very ugly person on the Korean side. Are you the representative of South Korea?¡± I looked back and saw that it was Russia¡¯s representative who spoke this time.
¡°Iris, that¡¯s rude. It is a bad habit to evaluate others based on appearance.¡±
¡°I said he is ugly because he is ugly. Honesty is a virtue in Moscow.¡±
White blond hair with pure white skin. The little girl had her hair up in twin ponytails.
I knew who hade from Moscow. However, I pretended not to know. This girl was one of the people I hated in Ways of Survival. I deliberately asked her, ¡°Who are you?¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t you know? You don¡¯t know me, Iris dimirovna Rebezova?¡±
¡°Should I know you?¡¯
Selena Kim intervened. ¡°Dokja-ssi, I will introduce you. This is Iris. She is a representative from Russia. In Russia, she is called the ¡®Full Body Red Square.¡¯
¡°Ahem, that is me.¡±
I nodded. I wanted to say something about the ostentatious nickname but I stopped because it would cause trouble.
Selena Kim continued speaking, ¡°Iris, this is Kim Dokja. He is from South Korea and his nickname... I-I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know Dokja-ssi¡¯s nickname...¡±
Then Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°This nickname is...¡±
I hurriedly interrupted. ¡°I don¡¯t have a nickname yet.¡±
A ridiculingugh emerged from Iris¡¯ mouth. ¡°A person came here without a nickname?¡±
I had one but it was disgusting.
¡°I don¡¯t know why you are qualified to be here but you better be good.¡±
As the Russia representative showed a fighting spirit, Yoo Jonghyuk moved forward. Perhaps she felt the huge strength of Yoo Jonghyuk. Iris took a half step back.
¡°Don¡¯t interfere. This is better me and that ugly guy.¡± Despite Iris¡¯ warning, Yoo Jonghyuk kept staring at her.
Well done. If you want to p someone then do it to Yoo Jonghyuk. In the end, Iris bit her lips and retreated. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what trivial upper grade constetion brought you here to take their story but... let¡¯s just leave it.¡±
...Take the story of a upper grade constetion? This girl was somewhat cute. That reminded me, there was something about the ¡®Story Session¡¯ at the constetion banquet. Perhaps this was what Iris was alluding to.
Knock knock.
The door of the waiting room open and a low-grade dokkaebi appeared. ¡°Incarnations. We will be holding the ¡®Story Session¡¯ soon. A ce has been temporarily set up on the first floor of the banquet hall. For reference, the first floor is only for the upper grade constetions.¡±
[Story Session.]
It wasn¡¯t only through Sponsor Selection that the constetions could influence the incarnations. Despite not being their sponsor, an incarnation could build up strength by inheriting the story of other constetions and showing examples of the story. By widely announcing the story, the constetions broadened their power. This was good for both incarnation and constetion.
We walked to the banquet hall one by one. The first one to enter was Selena Kim.
[Selena Kim! King¡¯s Guardian!]
I¡¯ve been watching your good performance!]
Unlike before, the reaction of the constetions were favourable. Maybe it was because they met their favourite incarnations. It was like meeting their favourite celebrity.
Then it was Iris¡¯ turn. She walked past the constetions and waved lightly like she was giving them fan service.
[Iris! The Red Square kid!]
[Hahaha! Cute.]
[Isn¡¯t it exactly the same as what I saw on the screen?]
She stood in her ce and stared at me. She seemed to be saying to me, ¡¸ Did you see? ¡¹
...So what? It was soon my turn.
I walked into the banquet hall and the pressure of the gazes poured towards me again. This time, I could endure it. Maybe because I had experienced it once before or because the gazes contained a different feeling.
However, the reaction of the constetions was strange. The heated atmosphere was quiet, as if cold water had been poured on it.
...Perhaps I wasn¡¯t popr? Iris seemed to beughing at me.
Then someone opened his mouth.
[...That person. He is Kim Dokja of the Korean Penins.]
[Kim Dokja? That Kim Dokja?]
The chatter started again. It was apletely different reaction from the previous incarnations.
[Kim Dokja! That guy is Kim Dokja.]
[Kim Dojega! Kim Dojega!]
[The King of a Kingless World!]
The voices of the constetions rose every time I took a step.
[He who opposes the enemy!]
It was like a wildfire spread throughout the hall as the voices continued.
[Hey, do you remember me? The Bald General of Justice!]
[Kim Dokja! I¡¯m King Heungmu the Great!]
I silently walked through the middle of the banquet hall.
[I saw Peace Land very well! Child, can you say something?]
[Hey! Wave your hand over here! I sponsored you 3,000 coins!]
[You came! Kim Dokja!]
[Isn¡¯t he better than what we watched?]
The whole banquet hall seemed to be a vast melting pot as the constetions forgot their dignity. Their souls seemed to be ripening so I was forced to raise my hand towards them and waved. Then chaos exploded among the constetions.
[Handsome Kim Dokja!]
Iris was looking this way with a dismayed expression. However, I didn¡¯t see her. I didn¡¯te here to y.
The scenario footage was covering the ceiling and walls. Incarnations were screaming and dying while the constetionsughed as they watched.
I saw this and once again realized what this ce was. It was where all human tragedies became dinner.
I looked up at the second floor of the banquet hall. Unlike the ridiculous first floor constetions, an ominous silence came from the constetions on the second floor. They were constetions who each shone with a fearsome presence.
They were the real enemies I had to fight.
Chapter 149 - Constellation Banquet (4)
Chapter 149: Episode 29 ¨C Constetion Banquet (4)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Note: Changed Chtustra to Zarathustra.
Yoo Jonghyuk was next and he enjoyed an unprecedented poprity. There was even some sound on the second floor when he came out. It felt like I heard the name ¡®Eden¡¯ so I didn¡¯t know how to feel.
[Yoo Jonghyuuuuk¨D!]
[The best Supreme King!]
[Come into our neb!]
There was a bit of time left until the Story Session. I sat down on the first floor and watched for a while. I had to be wary of all constetions, regardless of whether they were upper or narrative-grade.
I wasn¡¯t looking for reliable people. There was a reason Dionysus told me to trust no one. Thus, I wasn¡¯t looking for someone ¡®reliable¡¯ but someone I could ¡®use.¡¯
¡°I...¡± Iris approached me and opened her mouth.
I could predict what she was going to say. I warned her first before she opened her mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty if you want to survive.¡±
¡°Yes, yes?¡± Iris¡¯ nk face became astonished as she looked into the air.
[A few constetions are amazed by your judgment.]
[A few constetion have sponsored you 5,000 coins for the cider.]
There was a panel on the ceiling that zoomed in on Iris¡¯ face. Iris blushed and the watching constetions chuckled. Iris muttered,
¡°A-All that was filmed?¡±
It was naive to think the channel would be turned off after entering the world of the constetions. Rather, the constetion¡¯s eyes would¡¯ve shone from the moment we came here as they watched our reactions.
Especially those on the second floor. Maybe the reaction of the constetions had almost reached the peak when they saw the confrontation between Iris and I in the waiting room.
However, I didn¡¯t want to give them pleasure. As I said, I didn¡¯te here to y. At the very least, I didn¡¯t want to look silly. ¡°Do well next time, Kid.¡±
I patted Iris¡¯ shoulder and got up. Once I moved, the constetions on the first floor reacted.
[Kim Dokja! Come here!]
All the constetions on the first floor were in the form of ¡®symbols¡¯ rather than humanoid or biological forms. It was hard for the upper grade constetions to handle the probability consumption so they saved on the consumption cost by streamlining their bodies into the simple symbols.
At first nce, I couldn¡¯t see who was who. Then I saw a bamboo stick and straw and the golden crown of Si.
¡°Bald General of Justice. And the other... Lady of the Brocade Sleep?¡±
[Ohh! You remember me!]
[That¡¯s right. It has been a while.]
I found the constetions of the Korean Penins.
[I wanted to see you once but to think we would meet like this.]
The floating eye seemed to be the One-eyed Maitreya...
In addition, there was the symbolic body for the Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol, King Heungmu the Great. There was Gyebaek...
[Kim Dokja.]
I looked back at the voice and saw a 100 won coin floating. 100 won? Who was the 100 won?
[It is good to meet you.]
¡°W-Who...?¡±
[I¡¯m upset. You don¡¯t recognise me?]
Wait. Who was the person on the 100 won coin?
¡°Admiral?¡±
I asked in a startled manner. My patriotism might be close to zero but I couldn¡¯t help feeling emotional when I saw this person. The coin turned in the air, revealing the figure engraved on the front.
[It seems like you are using the stigma I gave you.]
¡°Thank you for that time.¡±
The Duke of Loyalty and Warfare, Yi Sunsin. The person who gave me the Song of the Sword was also invited to this banquet.
¡°By the way, why do you look like this?¡±
[...This appearance isn¡¯t ording to my will.]
I somehow understood what he meant. Speaking of which, the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare wasn¡¯t the only one in the form of currency. I looked at the green paper on one side of the first floor and asked,
¡°Then perhaps that person is...?¡±
Yi Sunsin nodded.
[He is the founder of ¡®Hangul.¡¯ Do you know the big golden statue in Gwanghwamun?]
I knew it. I couldn¡¯t not know it. Yi Sunsin continued speaking,
[The symbolism is ording to our most known symbols. Perhaps he is simr to me.]
I looked sadly towards the ¡®Founder of Hangul.¡¯ King Sejong was the 100 won note while Yi Sunsin was the 100 won coin. These great people were confined to currency and eventually these became their symbolic body.
Then a giggling sound came from the second floor. The constetions on the second floor all had ¡®humanoid¡¯ or at least living appearances.
Even the most famous people on the Korean Penins didn¡¯t get a humanoid form. It was hard to imagine how strong these constetions were. I was really lucky to have only hunted Yamata no Orochi¡¯s shadow.
At this moment, a constetion caught my eye. ¡°Who is that constetion?¡±
[Who? Oh, that person?]
I noticed a person sitting on thending between the first and second floors while drinking alcohol. He was armed with a long knife and maintained a humanoid figure instead of a symbol. No matter how I looked, he must be narrative-grade. Yet the passing narrative-grade constetions were staring at him with contempt.
Samyeongdang interrupted. [Among the supper-grade constetions of the Korean Penins, there is no one above that person.]
¡°He is upper-grade?¡±
[You might say that he is the strongest upper-grade. It isn¡¯t due to fame amongter generations but a position he gained from the stories he umted.]
Certainly, if he had enough room to maintain a humanoid body then he wouldn¡¯t be defeated by the narrative-grade constetions. As far as I knew, such a presence was only in China...
[Have you heard of Goryeo¡¯s First Sword?¡¯ I heard that it was revitalized recently.]
Goryeo¡¯s First Sword.
¡°Don¡¯t tell me...¡±
I realized that who he was. I wondered why I didn¡¯t recognize him instantly. If this constetion was the greatest person on the Korean Penins then he should¡¯ve been the first one toe to mind.
[Everyone leave!]
Then there was a disturbance on the stairs. Some constetions who came down from the second floor wereing this way. No one was able to face them.
Yi Sunsin sighed. [...Your poprity is great. They want to take you to the second floor.]
Yoo Jonghyuk was already being led up to the second floor by someone. On the other hand, Iris remained on the first floor and looked at me with envious eyes. Perhaps the story she came to inherit was only from a upper-grade constetion.
[Please take care.]
As soon as I nodded, the symbol of a constetion appeared. The symbol was in the form of a reaper. I recognized who they were with one nce.
[The queen is looking for you.]
They were the judges of the Underworld. That reminded me, they were narrative-grade. Although they borrowed Persephone¡¯s stories to maintain themselves...
I was heading up the stairs with them when someone on thending spat.
[...You are pathetic. Fawning on the guys from the second floor.]
The judges became furious at the Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯s words.
[Goryeo¡¯s First Sword, what are you saying?]
[Do you want to die?]
The Goryeo¡¯s First Sword rose from his seat at the judge¡¯s remarks.
[I am ready to die at any time. Shall we fight?]
The symbolic body of Goryeo¡¯s First Sword was bigger than I thought. No, maybe this feeling didn¡¯te from the size of the symbolic body. This was the size of the ¡®status¡¯ of the constetion.
[Don¡¯t be a fool. Lowlife parasites who are barely attached to the end of a narrative.]
The awe-inspiring aura caused the attention of the first and second floor constetions to focus here. The judges seemed a bit embarrassed but couldn¡¯t retreat easily because of their pride.
The eyes of Goryeo¡¯s First Sword shone. He seemed like he would take the lives of the three judges right away. He looked beyond them at the narrative-grade constetions acting like nobles on the second floor.
[Olympus. Eden. Vedas... I don¡¯t know why you came to such a small vige but it would be nice if you didn¡¯t leave your servants here.]
The atmosphere of the second floor became intense after his words. No matter how strong Goryeo¡¯s First Sword was, they couldn¡¯t endure the taunting of an upper-grade constetion. The moment that the banquet hall was going to be a fight among constetions...
[Stop¨D!]
A powerful true voice dominated the entire banquet hall and the atmosphere quickly sank.
[Judges, don¡¯t do unnecessary things. And Goryeo¡¯s First Sword, you shouldn¡¯t be too rude.]
At the cool tone, the judges started guiding me again while Goryeo¡¯s First Sword sat down with a disgruntled expression and started drinking.
I looked at the owner of the voice. As expected, it was the Queen of the Underworld.
Persephone¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t known but she was the wife of one of the three heads of Olympus for a reason. Perhaps among the narrative-grade constetions who came here today, Persephone was among the top.
[It¡¯s been a while. Kim Dokja.]
The Persephone I met still looked like Yoo Sangah. She was truly a spiteful aunty.
¡°How are you?¡±
[You did something useless in Tartarus.]
¡°Haha...¡±
I shrugged and looked at the constetions around me. It was harder to tell who the constetions were when they had a humanoid body instead of symbolic body. A symbol could evoke the name of a constetion...
I could also see the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven sitting on the second floor. The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven looked at me for a moment before turning his head away.
...Was his personality originally like this?
After a bit more time, the arrangement of the second floor became familiar and I seemed to figure out the camps.
Olympus was based around the central Persephone, Vedas was in the west and those who weren¡¯t in a neb or were in small nebes were to the north, including Great Sage the Equal of Heaven...
Finally, it was easy to recognize Eden in the south. It was due to the wings. An incredibly beautiful angel winked lightly at me. She was an angel dressed like a demon in the ckce dress...
Wait a second. Like a demon? That¡¯s right. Was she that angel?
I was suddenly curious. Maybe that constetion...
¡°Queen of the Underworld. I want to ask you something.¡±
[What is it?]
¡°Did the constetion called Secretive Plottere here?¡±
[...Secretive Plotter?]
Persephone¡¯s expression seemed strange for a moment. Then she shook her head.
[I don¡¯t know. More than that, the Story Session will soon begin. Have you made a decision? There are a few constetions who want to use your resurrection.]
¡°I¡¯m still thinking.¡±
Of course, there were a few methods I thought of. However... Persephone seemed to read my thoughts.
[Perhaps you want to reject everyone. It has been like this the entire time.]
Indeed, this was a favourite statement in my channel. In fact, I wanted to choose this method.
[However, this choice isn¡¯t right. It is because everyone will start a copyright dispute.]
¡°A copyright over a story?¡±
[They will im it was their own. It¡¯ll probably be quite painful.]
Damn, they wereplete thugs.
¡°Are you telling me to choose Olympus?¡±
Persephoneughed.
[I¡¯m not saying that. In fact, I hate those guys.]
As it said in Ways of Survival, Persephone had a rather hostile rtionship with Olympus. In fact, the Olympus participants at this banquet were only the ¡®third generation.¡¯ Despite this, the constetions of other nebe were reluctant to approach.
Maybe Persephone... to be precise, they were on guard against ¡®Hades.¡¯ Thus, I was unwittingly protected by the Underworld. It might be fortunate that the first narrative-grade constetion I met was Persephone.
¡°Then Queen-nim what do you think I should choose. Vedas? Or will it be Eden? Perhaps a different neb?¡±
Persephone shook her head.
[You will gain an enemy no matter who you choose. In addition, these enemies will be far stronger than any enemies you have ever met. As you can see, the ¡®resurrection story¡¯ forms the basis of the mythology of many nebe. epting one story sometimes means denying another.]
Persephone licked her lips like she had delicious steak in front of her. Maybe the queen was enjoying this situation. I felt a bit annoyed as I asked her, ¡°...Then what do you want to say?¡±
[I just wanted to share my thoughts. Think about it. Is it a problem of turning them into an enemy?]
It wasn¡¯t a problem of turning them into an enemy?
Finally, a dokkaebi went to the stage and opened his mouth.
-From now on, the Story Session will begin!
Chapter 150 - Constellation Banquet (5)
Chapter 150: Episode 29 ¨C Constetion Banquet (5)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
At the beginning of the Story Session, six small rooms were created at the end of the stage. The number of rooms was exactly equal to the number of incarnations participating in the Story Session.
-All incarnations, please move immediately to the Room of Secrets!
The system of the Story Session was simple. The incarnations wouldmunicate with the constetions through the Room of Secrets and hear all their conditions. Later, they would go up on the stage and announce the story they would receive.
There was a namete that said ¡®Incarnation Kim Dokja.¡¯ I said towards Yoo Jonghyuk, ¡°I¡¯ll see youter.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t respond and disappeared into his room. I entered the room and sat at a table, while the sounds from outside werepletely cut off. It felt like the space was distorted.
[The Room of Secrets.]
It was one of the most confidential ces in the Star Stream. The things that happened here couldn¡¯t be seen by even the dokkaebis of the channel.
[You have be the master of the Room of Secrets for one hour.]
[You have been given the administrative rights of the Room of Secrets.]
[The maximum time you can use the Room of Secrets is one hour.]
[Please make contact with as many constetions as possible in this time.]
I looked at the door with anticipation. Okay, who would be the first guest? Someone came through the door at this time. It was a floating yellow book with sacred scripture.
[Incarnation Kim Dokja. Select the Feast of Resurrection.]
...The first batter was Indian mythology.
***
[The constetion ¡®Founder of Humanity¡¯ is looking at you.]
The negotiator from Vedas was the constetion ¡®Manu¡¯, who had the modifier of Founder of Humanity.¡¯ I also knew Manu¡¯s story. Of course, it wasn¡¯t because I knew Indian myths but because of Ways of Survival.
¡¸ ording to the Indian epic, Manu was the survivor of the great flood. In exchange for saving a fish, he was able to escape to the top of the Mya Mountains in a ship prepared by the fish... ¡¹
...I recalled this story and knew why Manu hade to negotiate. Manu was a constetion who frequently argued over the copyright for the ¡®Ark¡¯s Master¡¯ narrative with the constetions from Eden. In other words, this Manu was a specialist in copyright disputes among the constetions of Vedas.
¡°...The Master of December 25th didn¡¯te directly?¡±
[Do you think he is that free? Answer simply. Will you ept the Feast of Resurrection?]
He wasing out with this attitude? In addition, the person in charge of the story, Mitra didn¡¯te.
[If you have ears, you will know that Vedas is one of the biggest neb. A myriad of myths are born in Vedas and many nebe giarize our myths. Especially those Eden guys...]
¡°That is a personal story. If I ept the Feast of Resurrection, what can Vedas give me?¡±
[The protection of the sun god will be with you.]
¡°What is the blessing of the sun god?¡±
[Do I have to exin everything to you? Insignificant mortal...!]
¡°I have one question.¡±
[What?]
¡°Calling me an insignificant mortal, don¡¯t you think it is an antiquated cliche? How long will the constetions who love to tell different stories despite humans with such cliches?¡±
Manu¡¯s eyes widened and he red at me.
[How dare you talk such nonsense...!]
¡°It is what I think.¡±
[You have used the administrative rights of the Room of Secrets.]
[The constetion ¡®Founder of Humanity¡¯ has been expelled from the room!]
At mymand, the Founder of Humanity was surrounded with a pale light and disappeared with a shout. He should¡¯ve done well when he had the chance.
I wouldn¡¯t be suppressed by force, even if the other person was a narrative-grade constetion. It might be different after the Story Session but now I was the one with the advantage.
¡°Next.¡± I just finished speaking when someone else opened the door. It was a wanderer with an old crown. Who was this?
[Incarnation Kim Dokja, join Olympus.]
These jerks, did they read an ¡®Incarnation Kim Dokja¡¯ manual or something?
[The constetion ¡®Poked Out His Eyes¡¯ isughing at you.]
....Poked Out His Eyes?
[It looks like you know me.]
¡°I heard your story when I was a university student.¡±
[Is that so? How unexpected. A small Oriental country...!]
¡®Poked Out His Eyes.¡¯ He was King Oedipus who was taught in liberal arts sses. A person hated by Sophocles.
¡°By the way, I¡¯ve already heard the proposal from the God of Wine and Ecstasy. You are here to tell me to join the Bhus sect?¡±
[Bhus? It seems that he has already approached.]
Something felt strange. Persephone attended the banquet for ¡®Olympus¡¯ while Dionysus told me not to believe anyone. Both of them didn¡¯t tell me to join Olympus. Yet King Oedipus opened this door from the very beginning.
[I¡¯m not here about Bhus. I didn¡¯t evene to exercise the copyright for the resurrection story.]
In other words, King Oedipus visited me for a reason that waspletely different from the other constetions.
...Maybe this might be the representative of the ¡®real¡¯ Olympus?
[The story that Olympus will present to you is Lightning Carnival.]
¡°Huh?¡±
I was shocked. Lightning Carnival was the story of Zeus, one of the three leaders. Oedipus saw my expression and smiled strangely.
[It looks like you also know this story. Yes, you are right. The story we are suggesting is different from the resurrection stories of other nebe.
¡°...Why are you offering me this?¡±
[It is because the three goddesses of fate have caught a glimpse of your fate.]
...My fate.
[Sooner orter, you will be eligible to inherit the Lightning Carnival. Of course, you could inherit my story and take the ¡®Blind Prophet¡¯ but... you are already rumoured to be a prophet and won¡¯t inherit my story.]
¡°Wait a minute. What do you mean? Why is my fate...¡±
[The decision is yours. However, you will definitely need Olympus. Well, until we meet again.]
Oedipus disappeared from the room. My heart was a bit disturbed. I didn¡¯t know what the ¡®fate¡¯ Oedipus mentioned was like but if the three goddesses of fate were involved, something simr to what they saw would happen in the future.
By the way, why was I suitable for inheriting the story of a Greek god? Their stories were inevitably...
[Hello?]
Something was about to sh through my head when a person entered my room. There was a fresh and sweet scent. A beautiful angel¡¯s face appeared in front of me. The female angel resembled a small demon.
It seemed to be Eden¡¯s turn.
¡°...I thought the Master of the Ark woulde but you came personally.¡±
[Are you upset that I came?]
My heart thumped after I heard the voice.
...Uriel was so cute.
¡°Nope, it is nice.¡±
[I wanted to see you! Kim Dokja.]
Uriel pulled me into a surprise embrace. Our arms touched and I could feel her skin through the thin silk she was wearing. A demon... this was a demon¡¯s touch. It was an open back dress, meaning there was nowhere to ce my hands. Uriel rubbed my face like I was a lovely doll and I sighed.
¡°I also... wanted to see you.¡±
[Yes yes!]
It was a bit embarrassing but I was d to meet her. Uriel was a constetion who had been with me since the beginning of the scenario.
¡°You are here to offer me the Messiah¡¯s Path?¡±
[...Ah, right! I came because of it!]
Uriel raised her head with surprise. It was an expression that showed she didn¡¯t remember why she came here. It seemed she was quite pleased to meet me.
[It must be because you are too handsome.]
¡°Your words are convincing.¡±
Uriel smiled and said. [Kim Dokja, will you ept Eden¡¯s story?]
¡°That... I need to think a bit.¡±
[Why? Our story is the best! It isn¡¯tparable to other ces!]
This was certainly true. The Messiah¡¯s Path was the best story in the resurrection system. There was one problem.
¡°I will lose something precious if I ept that story.¡±
[Eh? Ah. T-That¡¯s right. If you choose our story, you¡¯ll be an eunuch... That can¡¯t be.]
I expected to be persuaded but unexpectedly, Uriel shook with agitation. Was it such a big deal for Uriel that I would be en eunuch? Why?
[W-What to do? If I don¡¯t bring Kim Dokja to Metatron, he won¡¯t let me use the Inte for a month... but if he epts, Kim Dokja will be an eunuch... when that happens... oh, wait a minute. Perhaps if his position changes...?]
...What position?
[O-Okay! Kim Dokja! Don¡¯t worry too much about this problem. One way or another...!]
Uriel seemed to be filled with great determination on her own. I firmly shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡±
[Yes! It is okay if you are an eunuch...!]
¡°Next.¡±
***
After that, many constetions visited me. There were ces like Tamna and Guiok, as well as independent constetions.
In particr, the upper grade constetions of the Korean Penins gave me a lot of encouragement and didn¡¯t want me to establish a rtionship with a particr neb.
[You are the hope of our world.]
[Please don¡¯t bend your will.]
Their hearts were understanding. The upper grade constetions who had been suffering from the narrative-grade constetions were envious of me.
The negotiation time soon ended. The incarnations went up to the stage one by one. It was time to review the proposed stories and determine which ones they would inherit.
-Now, let¡¯s announce the result of the Story Session! First, Selena Kim from the United States!
The dokkaebi on the stage had the atmosphere of a home shopping host. It was natural. Through this banquet, the bureau would make a huge amount of coins.
-Selena Kim has decided to inherit the Indomitable Aegis¡¯ story given by the ¡®Last Conscience¡¯ constetion!
Selena Kim has chosen Olympus... ¡®Indomitable Aegis¡¯ was a story appropriate for her as the King¡¯s Guardian.
My brain became moreplicated as time passed. No matter what I chose, someone would be an enemy. If I chose no one, there would be even more enemies.
¡®Think carefully. The question is who exactly I should turn into an enemy.¡¯
Persephone said so. I faintly understood her meaning. Maybe Persephone¡¯s words were meant for all the resurrection stories.
I didn¡¯t have only one life and there were those who would want me to seed their story in the next resurrection.
There was still a problem. Eden and Vedas definitely wouldn¡¯t yield the ¡®first resurrection¡¯ and even if I inherited their story, there would surely be subordinate constraints on them.
It was unavoidable. From the very beginning, the rtionship between incarnation and constetion was unfair. Wait a minute, ¡®fairness¡¯...?
It was finally Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s turn to get on stage.
-The next person is the Supreme King of Seoul...
The audience gulped as Yoo Jonghyuk moved. In particr the eyes of the narrative-grade constetions were strange. They were those who wanted to gain Yoo Jonghyuk. On the other hand, there were those who showed fear...
At this moment, a thought urred. Then Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°I...¡±
Dionysus had told me not to trust anyone. However, that was only if the opponent was a constetion. I had at least one person in this ce who I could believe in.
I jumped up towards the stage. I grabbed the confused Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hand and raised it high into the sky.
¡°I have something to say to you.¡±
I said while looking at the audience. The constetions looked astonished. I was able to see Uriel¡¯s expression, who seemed on the verge of fainting. I quickly nced over the faces of the constetions.
The reason why the Story Session wasn¡¯t fair was because the session of a story was done in the form of one-sided ¡®sponsorship¡¯. The rtionship between constetion and incarnation was never equal.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is focused on your words!]
The strength of the narrative-grade constetions differed from the upper grade ones. Those who were in a nebe looked down on others.
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ is focused on your words!]
¡°We have decided not to inherit your stories.¡±
An enormous silence descended on the audience. Many eyeballs popped out as pressure poured towards Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me as I held his hand.
I grinned at him and told the constetions. ¡°We will ¡®buy¡¯ your stories.¡±
In order to make an unfair game fair, I had to first make the opponents equal.
¡°If you want to sell your stories to Yoo Jonghyuk and I, please make a deal with our neb.¡±
(TL: Mitra/Mithra/Mithras is a god with many different origins (Indo, Persian, Roman etc). The Vedic version, Mitra is part of the Vedas so I will be keeping that spelling from now on. It is also said that Mithras was born on December 25th, which is why he is the Master of December 25th in this story
Wiki Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitra).
Chapter 151 - Dark Castle (1)
Chapter 151: Episode 30 ¨C Dark Castle (1)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
In fact, I was most worried about Yoo Jonghyuk. He was more trustworthy than anyone else here but at the same time, I couldn¡¯t be sure of his position. If Yoo Jonghyuk shook off my hand then my actions would be useless.
Fortunately, Yoo Jonghyuk was calm. He might have a violent temper but this guy was amazingly good at controlling his anger and sent me a secret message.
-What are you doing?
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has activated Midday Tryst.]
...The item that I had previously bought btedly came to my mind. I didn¡¯t know that the Midday Tryst I registered at that time would still be valid. I deliberately spoke in a brazen manner.
-I will do this more than once or twice. You should get used to it.
-What?
-The conditions aren¡¯t bad enough for you. I know that you can¡¯t inherit the ¡®stories¡¯ of other constetions.
Yoo Jonghyuk flinched at my words.
-...I don¡¯t know how you know such things.
In fact, dering a ¡®neb¡¯ with me wasn¡¯t bad for Yoo Jonghyuk. In the progression of the original novel, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t inherit any stories here. It was due to the constraints on Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The regression constraints.]
He could turn back the clock after dying but he couldn¡¯t inherit the stories of other constetions.
[Incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk. Is Incarnation Kim Dokja correct? Are the two of you making a neb?]
The dokkaebi host watching the situation stepped in. Everyone looked at Yoo Jonghyuk while I nervously waited for his answer.
¡°Yes.¡±
I inwardly sighed with relief. The first hurdle was ovee. However, the real hurdles were from now on.
In theplete silence, someone on the second floorughed. The softugh was somewhat pleasant. I could feel Persephone¡¯s mood through thisughter.
¡¸ Kim Dokja, you did it after all. This is why I like you. ¡¹
Of course she liked me. Persephone¡¯s style fit this type of story. Thanks to herughter, the other constetions also started tough. Most of them were constetions on the second floor. Unfortunately, theirughter didn¡¯t contain the same meaning as Persephone.
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ is disappointed in you.]
[The neb ¡®Guiok¡¯ despises you.]
Uriel held a handkerchief to her mouth and frowned at the reactions of the constetions around her.
[What? Why are you like this? This is good!]
The constetions on the first floor watched silently. Their eyes contained a mixture of longing and worry. Maritime War God and Bald General of Justice also looked nervous. The one who was most interested was Goryeo¡¯s First Sword, who was looking this way.
Theughter died down and more direct contempt flew from the second floor.
[A person who hasn¡¯t climbed to the throne of a constetion wants to create a neb?]
[Dokkaebi, does this make sense?]
[Can any cat or dog open a neb?]
The dokkaebi seemed confused at all the questions that poured towards him.
[That... Incarnation Kim Dokja has clearly received recognition from the Star Stream.]
Along with these words, the stories I¡¯ve made were projected onto the ceiling screen.
[King of a Kingless World]
The first scene that appeared was when I destroyed the Absolute Throne by borrowing the power of the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. Strictly speaking, my narrative started from there. Fragments of the throne appeared on the screen.
Some constetions nodded like they were convinced and some constetions looked at each other with astonishment.
[He broke the throne of divinity!]
[...Did he really open with that story?]
There were probably some attendees who didn¡¯t know my information. I thought I was quite famous but I was stillcking. I suddenly looked around and saw the Russian child staring at me with nk eyes.
[He Who Opposes the Miracle]
The second story was when I took down the returnee Myung Ilsang who was a disaster.
[Some constetions are favourable towards you.]
Since the returnees were disliked by constetions then this was a suitable story to acquire the liking of the constetions. At this time, curious expressions appeared on the faces of the constetions.
[..What is this?]
It was due to the third story that appeared, where I beat up the intermediate dokkaebi Paul. I was a bit surprised when I saw the screen. I only wanted revenge for Shin Yoosung... was it included in my ¡®stories¡¯?
The dokkaebi Paul screamed and the embarrassed dokkaebi host quickly fast-forwarded. Then theints of the constetions were heard.
[Hey, what is that?]
[T-That. Haha, it seems to be the wrong data.]
However, unlike the dokkaebi¡¯s words, a story name appeared on the screen.
[One Who Showed Contempt for a Streamer]
Laughter was heard from thending of the stairs. It was Goryeo¡¯s First Sword who wasughing.
[This is crazy! Hahahaha!]
Then the fourth story appeared.
[One Who Hunted the King of Disasters]
It was when I hunted the shadow of the constetion Yamata no Orochi in Peace Land. The constetions¡¯ mouths dropped open when they saw Orochi killed with my Electrification.
[The shadow of a narrative-grade constetion...]
[He has already umted four legendary stories?]
Confusion spread among the constetions. The screen turned off and the dokkaebi continued speaking. [In any case, Incarnation Kim Dokja is now at the facing the throne of a constetion. If he gains his fifth story through this asion...]
Those who knew I was aiming to be a constetion weren¡¯t confused but the other constetions were startled.
[Bing a constetion before the 10th scenario is over?]
[He is a new constetion...]
I suddenly received a lot of heated gazes. Certainly, this was a formidable event even in Ways of Survival. There were only a few constetions or returnees who had gained the recognition of the Star Stream before the 10th scenario.
In the midst of the increasingly confused atmosphere, it was Manu of Vedas who opened his mouth.
[I will acknowledge Incarnation Kim Dokja. However, I can¡¯t acknowledge the neb. There are two problems.]
The constetions focused on Manu¡¯s voice.
[One, we don¡¯t know if Incarnation Kim Dokja has sufficient payment ability. Isn¡¯t it necessary to have the minimum of funds before establishing a neb?]
¡°The coins are sufficient.¡±
Turmoil urred again at my words.
Manu stared at me with suspicious eyes. [We will know once it is checked. The second problem is who will ¡®support¡¯ your neb.]
I gulped. It was finally the real challenge.
[The establishment of a neb needs to be supported by at least five constetions. Do you have the support of any constetion?]
¡°That...¡±
I couldn¡¯t easily answer and Manuughed.
[No, is there even a name for the neb in the first ce?]
I opened my mouth as I nced at Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°The name of our neb is... Kim Dokja¡¯s Company...¡±
¡°There isn¡¯t a name yet. In addition, we will gain the supporters now.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk casually interrupted me.
¡°Are there any constetions who want to support our neb?¡±
No one responded to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words. Manuughed.
[I knew it. It is a waste of time. Dokkaebi. Continue with the Story Session...]
At this time, someone raised their hand.
[The Olympus ¡®Underworld¡¯ will support your neb.]
[Queen!] The angry Manu growled at Persephone.
Persephone¡¯s aura rose sharply. [It is my decision. Are there anyints?]
[Urgh...]
No matter the strength of Vedas, the constetion Manu couldn¡¯t stand alone against Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. In the end, he turned towards the other constetions.
[Surely there won¡¯t be anyone else?]
[I will support it.]
The voice came from the second floor and the constetions were once again amazed. It was the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven.
[P-Prisoner of the Golden Headband?]
[Really? Are you serious?]
I towards towards him in gratitude. The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was picking at his ears while looking down here like it was troublesome.
[Eh I don¡¯t know... sorry! I also support it!] Uriel of Eden dered her support. [I will also give you the name for your neb! The neb name is Forbidden... oof oof!]
The ninth rank angels around her were bbergasted and covered her mouth. No matter her intentions, I was thankful. Now the rest of the constetions nced at each other.
The three constetions who dered their support were powerful enough not to worry about others. The rest were different. It was unusual for upper grade and narrative-grade constetions to challenge Manu just to help establish a new neb.
I looked to the side and saw that Yoo Jonghyuk had half given up. He messaged me:
-It is up to here.
...I would be blocked here but I didn¡¯t mind.
-It¡¯s okay. My objective was achieved.
-What?
-I wasn¡¯t expecting anything. The important thing was to buy some time.
From the beginning, I didn¡¯t intend to inherit the story of any constetion here. I thought of the original novel and the banquet¡¯s ending was fixed. At this time, something unusual happened.
[I, Goryeo¡¯s First Sword, will support your neb.]
Goryeo¡¯s First Sword dered support for us. Then the upper grade constetions stood up at once.
[Then I, Maritime War God...!]
[The Bald General of Justice won¡¯t stay still!]
Once the constetions on the first floor started to support us, the constetions on the second floor and the dokkaebi became greatly confused.
[W-Wait a minute! Such a random deration of support...!]
The next moment.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ will support your neb.]
...Huh? Secretive Plotter? Where the hell was he?
[You have won a Provisional Neb Creation ticket!]
...Don¡¯t tell me? At this moment, the banquet hall started to shake and the space distorted. I looked up at the sky. The banquet had finally ended. ¡®They¡¯ hade.
[...This aura is?]
[Everyone retreat!]
Even the constetions became nervous. The sky was greatly distorted and powerful sparks appeared. It was like the sky was splitting apart.
[The Great Hall.]
The unknown hall, which only appeared when a scenario was activated, suddenly appeared above the banquet hall. The startled Manu shouted,
[The gods of the other world! How did you daree here?]
The constetions roared and raised their own aura. Then a terrible voice came from the hall in the sky.
(Why... Weren¡¯t we invited?)
Persephone and Uriel instantly blocked my ears and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ears. It was to prevent the foreign true voice from intruding. They stood in front of us, lowering the pressure from the hall.
[I¡¯m sorry but the party is over. It¡¯s time to go back.]
[Then I¡¯ll see you next time!]
The moment Persephone and Uriel spoke, Yoo Jonghyuk and I were surrounded by a transparent circle. It was the space transformation using the power of the constetions. They wanted to save us from the terrible battle that would son take ce at the banquet hall.
By the way, the god of another world was a bit faster than expected. Wait...
[The gods of another world are looking at you!]
[The gods of another world are looking at you!]
At thest moment, I heard Uriel¡¯s scream.
[Kim Dokja!]
Then darkness covered my eyes.
***
[ Who are you? ]
[ Not recorded in the vehicle. ]
[ Don¡¯t tell me... ]
.
.
.
[¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö...]
.
.
.
[ The st story¡¯ is finally about to start... ]
***
¡°Hey, is it here?¡±
¡°It is okay? What if those guyse? It is said that the Maritime Admiral and Pure Steel oftene here!¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t this the hero¡¯s grave?¡±
A dark night. Several robbers were gathered around the tombstone erected in Gwanghwamun.
The leader of the robbers, Lee Dongpa frowned at the terrified people. ¡°Pathetic fools. What hero is he? Can a hero die so easily?¡±
It wasn¡¯t long ago that Lee Dongpa learnt about the existence of the hero. The strongest man who saved Seoul by sacrificing his life. Of course, Lee Dongpa didn¡¯t believe the rumours.
¡°Now, do it quickly! There is no time. Before those dark scume out!¡±
Many people were already participating in the ninth scenario, Dark Castle. However, not all people participated in the scenario, including Lee Dongpa. The main scenarios were just festivals for the smart guys like him.
¡°It is a hero¡¯s grave. Wouldn¡¯t there be one or two good things buried?¡±
¡°Search the body as well! He might¡¯ve hidden things on his body.¡±
¡°Shit, he is buried deep. Hey, pick it up!¡±
The robbers quickly dug at the ground. Approximately two hours passed.
¡°W-We reached it!¡±
Finally, their shovels hit a lid. Their hearts were pounding as they opened the lid. A man dressed in a white coat was sleeping in the coffin.
Lee Dongpaughed. ¡°A hero? Bah. He is a sleeping princess. He is ugly.¡±
¡°The coat is excellent. Strip it off him...¡±
Tak!
¡°Waaaaahhhhh!¡±
¡°W-What... kuaaack!¡±
The shocked Lee Dongpa fell down and started shaking. The hero, who had just been dead, was holding onto the shoulder of a robber. Then every being in Seoul heard the following message.
[Someone has acquired five stories.]
[A new constetion is born in Seoul¡¯s night sky!]
Chapter 152 - Dark Castle (2)
Chapter 152: Episode 30 ¨C Dark Castle (2)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
It had been five days since they entered the first floor of the Dark Castle. Lee Jihye ran down a corridor of the Dark Castle with the injured Lee Gilyoung on her back and Shin Yoosung.
[The 5th grade demon species, Dark Tracker is chasing you.]
¡°Jump!¡±
Lee Jihye avoided the scythe that appeared from the dark tracker and used Demon ying. Magic power scattered through the air as Lee Jihye took the children and ran with all her strength.
¡°Damn, Taming doesn¡¯t work on them?¡±
¡°...I can only tame monster species.¡±
¡°Damn!¡± Lee Jihye kept cursing as she ran.
There were roughly 10 demon species following her. The 5th grade demon species were stronger than other monster species. Her skills weren¡¯t enough and she couldn¡¯t use her stigma in this environment.
¡®I shouldn¡¯t havee in.¡¯
After Kim Dokja¡¯s death, the morale of Kim Dokja¡¯s party waspletely disturbed. They lost focus and started acting individually. To make matters worse, Yoo Jonghyuk mysteriously went missing while the ninth scenario, Dark Castle appeared.
The dokkaebi had told them when the scenario first started,
[This scenario... Um. Haha, maybe you¡¯ll fail.]
Lee Jihye¡¯s reaction had been disbelief. They were going to fail? The scenarios always seemed impossible but they always won. Thus, they could do well this time.
At least, that¡¯s what Lee Jihye had thought thought.
¡®Go right now. Smash all these scum!¡¯
She didn¡¯t know why she had been so hasty. Maybe it was because of guilt, rather than confidence. She felt guilt for someone¡¯s death and pushed herself to the limit to wipe out the monsters.
Maybe it wasn¡¯t just Lee Jihye. Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung and the other members felt a simr sense of urgency. Thus, they prematurely rushed to the scenario area to get rid of their insecurities.
After all, they were the strongest rankers in Seoul and the strongest incarnations. However, Lee Jihye soon realized that it was a mistake.
¡®Shit, this is ridiculous... ridiculous.¡¯
Lee Jihye¡¯s power didn¡¯t work in Dark Castle. The trajectory of Kendo, which reached level 7, rarely hit and the power of Demon ying only provoked the demons. Her sword had broken a long time ago.
¡°JIhye unni!¡±
Lee Jihye moved at Shin Yoosung¡¯s cry and she avoided a dark tracker¡¯s de. She picked up a weapon dropped by an incarnation and used Sword Training and Ghost Walk.
¡°Unni! Behind you!¡±
Dark liquid from the dark trackers scattered through the air. Lee Gilyoung¡¯s small insects came from somewhere and were hit by the liquid instead of Lee Jihye.
The insects hit by the ck liquid experienced bizarre cell deformation and exploded. Thanks to the time bought by the insects, Lee Jihye was able to deal a bit more damage to the dark trackers.
¡°Aaaaaaack!¡±
The armour around the neck of a dark tracker broke and it fled. However, there were still nine remaining. Besides, the dark trackers were just a joke. The really scary thing was the guy on the other side of the dark trackers.
[Demon Viscount Noslocke.]
He had a human body with a rhinoceros head. Lee Jihye¡¯s body shook every time he approached. She had never seen such a monster before.
In terms of individual strength, he wasn¡¯t as strong as the Flood of Disasters. If the Disaster of Floods had her power suppressed, the demons had no such thing.
Moreover, Lee Jihye¡¯s higher strength had be a poison to her. She knew the opponent¡¯s strength and this only raised her fear. Lee Jihye raised the de and bit her lips. Thus, here...
[On the first floor of the Dark Castle, the ¡®Ancient Magic Power Barrier¡¯ has been formed.]
¡°Unni, over there!¡±
A blue room was created at the end of the hallway. It was the only resting ce in this Dark Castle.
Lee Jihye and the children rushed to the room with all their might and barely escaped from the pursuit of the dark trackers. It was a small space that was less than two square metres but the three of them barely managed to fit in.
[You have entered the Ancient Magic Power Barrier. The special barrier will be activated for 30 minutes.]
If it wasn¡¯t for this safe zone being activated three times a day, Lee Jihye and the children might¡¯ve been killed already.
The dark trackers groaned as they touched the barrier and retreated. They tried to enter several times before giving up. However, that guy was different.
¡°Why isn¡¯t he leaving?¡±
The demon resembling a rhinoceros. The Demon Viscount Noslocke sat on the gorund a few metres away, as if it knew the principles of this barrier.
¡°...It is waiting.¡±
The demon¡¯s long tongue swept over his lips. Like a gourmet waiting for delicious food, he watched Lee Jihye and Shin Yoosung. Shin Yoosung shivered at those terrible eyes.
¡°Now what? There are no more monsters to summon.¡±
¡°There are still 30 minutes. Let me think.¡±
At the edge of the barrier, Lee Jihye was able to see the outside world through the windows of the castle. They couldn¡¯t leave through the window because of a special enchantment but they could see the outside anyway.
Demon species poured from the entrance of Dark Castle that Li Jihye and herpanions had opened.
More of them were lesser demons but they were too much for ordinary incarnations. The demons of Dark Castle devoured and infected the incarnations of Seoul.
Thanks to this, many of the demon species outside the fortress were people she originally knew.
Min Jiwon and the Hwarang. The members of Nirvana¡¯s Salvation Church. The people she knew were walking down the streets and tearing people apart. All of this was the result of her impatience. If she had been a bit more careful...
[Didn¡¯t I tell you? The difficulty of this scenario is on apletely different dimension.]
Lee Jihye heard the voice of the dokkaebi in the air and realized. It wasn¡¯t because she was strong that she could survive until now. It was because she was lucky.
¡®Damn! Damn! Foolish girl!¡¯ She med her own impatience toote. The people who entered without preparation scattered in the maze of darkness and she met these children. What happened to the other party members? She didn¡¯t know. Maybe they were all dead.
¡®If only Master was here. No... not Master...¡¯
¡°I wish Dokja hyung...¡± Lee Gilyoung¡¯s voice was heard from behind her and Lee Jihye frowned.
¡°Don¡¯t speak useless things, fool. You are hurt so go to sleep.¡±
Lee Gilyoung, who was hit in the back of the head, fell silent again but unfortunately, there was one other person.
¡°Ahjussi isn¡¯t dead. I don¡¯t know why but I feel that way.¡±
She didn¡¯t know why these children kept on bringing up a dead person.
¡°That person is in hell. Quickly forget that ugly face.¡±
Shin Yoosung showed an unexpected response to her harsh words. ¡°I really don¡¯t understand. Everyone says he is ugly but how is he ugly?¡±
The question was a bit embarrassing. In the meantime, she had pushed ¡®Kim Dokja is ugly¡¯ like a slogan (the constetions sometimes gave her coins) and she never really questioned why Kim Dokja was ugly.
¡°I mean, the shape of his eyes and nose... the whole harmony...¡±
The more she talked, the most confused Lee Jihye became. She couldn¡¯t understand where Kim Dokja was ugly. No, Kim Dokja¡¯s face didn¡¯te out clearly. It was as if it was obscured by something hazy...
Or like a face that hadn¡¯t been created yet...
Why? Why couldn¡¯t his face appear clearly?
Lee Jihye told Shin Yoosung, ¡°I-It just isn¡¯t to my taste.¡±
¡°...You cried so much at the funeral.¡±
¡°I was acting, you idiot. The constetions gave me a lot of coins at the time.¡±
[Some constetions ask Lee Jihye if it was really acting.]
Lee Jihye bit her lips.
¡°Unni is still a long way off. People aren¡¯t all about faces.¡±
¡°You really...¡± Lee Jihye watched Shin Yoosung for a moment and sighed. ¡°...I know that much.¡±
She spoke in a small voice. Just because she knew it didn¡¯t mean she could admit it. At least for Lee Jihye, who was still immature.
She owed a lot to Kim Dokja. She survived because of him. She knew. She knew it well but she didn¡¯t want to admit it. She wanted to repay her debt while still looking good.
In fact, he... was a pretty helpful person. Now that opportunity had vanished forever.
[There is one minute left for the duration of the Ancient Magic Power Barrier.]
Lee JIhye came to her senses as the darkness in front of the barrier shook. The demon¡¯s smile widened. Lee Jihye realized it was time.
¡°Yoosung. Can you pull Gilyoung up? Take him away at my signal.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Listen to me.¡±
It wasn¡¯t appropriate to sacrifice her life for a friend to live. Even so, she wanted to live like this. It was because of the teachings of the dead.
¡°Quickly! Run away and ask someone for help! Do it before I go to hell!¡±
¡°...Understood. Hang in there Unni.¡±
Perhaps there wouldn¡¯t be anyone else. Still, she had to say this. Otherwise the child wouldn¡¯t leave.
Lee Jihye rushed forward the moment the barrier disappeared. The surprised demon jumped but that was it. The demon species surrounding her aimed for her body. Blood flowed from her white thighs and arms.
If only there was ake nearby. No, if only she could get in touch with her sponsor whose link had been disconnected a few days ago.
¡°...I don¡¯t want to die.¡±
The trajectory of Kendo was gradually disturbed and she weakened. The demon¡¯s smile became bigger. There was a big hit to the back of her head and her vision shook for a moment.
Lee Jihye muttered to herself. ¡°I want to live...¡±
It seemed that something simr happened before. What had happened at the time?
At this moment, light appeared in front of her. The bodies of the dark trackers were split into two. It was as if the Messiah had descended and waves were splitting in two.
Lee Jihye watched in a spellbound manner.
The confused Demon Viscount Noslocke turned his head and a powerful electric current appeared around it. There was a man in the path of light created by the electric current.
Ah, ah...
Lee Jihye stuttered but she couldn¡¯t make a sound. He was the one whose face she couldn¡¯t remember. He was saying something but she couldn¡¯t hear it. The next moment, the fog covering his face disappeared.
The demon viscount roared angrily. For what? She didn¡¯t know. However, one thing was certain...
This time, the man¡¯s face was visible.
¡®...Ahjussi, is this your face?¡¯
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name is looking at you.]
Lee Jihye listened to the message and smiled as she fell forward.
Chapter 153 - Dark Castle (3)
Chapter 153: Episode 30 ¨C Dark Castle (3)
TL Note: I have said it once and I¡¯ll say it again. Schedule is 12 chapters a week.
I generally do 2 chapters a day (not always), there will be a day without chapters. Stop freaking out when there is no chapter
¡°...Were the words earlier referring to Ahjussi?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°A new constetion in Seoul h h h...¡±
¡°Ah... well. That¡¯s right.¡±
I smiled bitterly while staring at the demons around. I was surprised to see Lee Jihye¡¯s crisis but it seemed she had been acting too aggressively.
Demon Viscount Noslocke. This insidious guy who resembled a rhino was a demon who ripped apart and killed countless incarnations. I knocked down a noble-grade demon at once and realized how strong I had be.
Lee Jihye saw his copsed body and muttered. ¡°This guy was incredibly strong... How strong are you after bing a constetion?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t defeat him using my own strength. I borrowed the power of another story.¡±
¡°Another story?¡±
[Who...are...you...] I looked over at Noslocke who was still breathing.
¡°Wait a minute.¡±
I simple stepped down and destroyed Noslocke¡¯s head.
[You have defeated a noble of the Demon World!]
[10,000 coins have been acquired!]
[The item ¡®Advanced Demon¡¯s Proof¡¯ has been acquired.]
[The sub-species of the Demon World will be afraid of you.]
Originally, killing a demon servant would gain the attention of their ¡®demon king¡¯ but this scenario was different. All demons in the Dark Castle scenario were ones waiting for their new ¡®master.¡¯
[A few constetions are amazed by your overwhelming presence.]
[A considerable number of constetions are questioning your probability.]
Certainly, the probability was questionable. My strength was currently at a level that vited the bnce of the scenario. However, it wasn¡¯t because I was a constetion that I could easily get rid of Noslocke.
[The story ¡®Messiah¡¯s Path¡¯ is partially in effect.]
It was the ¡®absolute divinity¡¯ effect of Messiah¡¯s Path.
I borrowed the story which had a special effect on demons from Eden.
[The neb Eden is asking you to pay the ¡®story quotation.¡¯]
I drew a cross shape in the air and heard a message.
[The neb Eden is delighted with your narrative quotation.]
It was annoying to do this quotation every time but it was better than giarism. Furthermore, I didn¡¯t have to pay any other price for using it at this time. It was a special service that the Eden neb provided.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is pleased!]
This was all thanks to the cute Uriel. Fortunately, the ¡®banquet¡¯ was well resolved.
¡°Ahjussi... have you be religious?¡± Lee Jihyeughed while breathing roughly. Her right shoulder and abdomen had stab wounds. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Doesn¡¯t the 10th strongest person in Seoul look poor?¡±
¡°Now is your hardest time. Don¡¯t worry. You will be better in the future. Stay still. I¡¯m going to fix your dislocated bone now.
¡°Huh? Aaaaaaack!¡±
I thought I should use the Ein Forest Essence. However, I had no items remaining in my coat subspace. I had left it to Han Sooyoung before dying.
Just before dying in the eighth scenario, I made a small contract with Han Sooyoung and left my items with her. Then... there was only one way left.
¡°Dokkaebi Bag.¡±
As soon as I opened my mouth, I saw the screen window of the Dokkaebi Bag in front of me.
[Some constetions are questioning the use of your natural privileges.]
Until now, most constetions didn¡¯t know I enjoyed the benefits of the Dokkaebi Bag because Bihyung would turn on the advertising. Now there was no need to hide it because I was a constetion.
I immediately purchased the Ein Forest Essence and fed it to Lee Jihye.
¡°O-Oof!¡±
¡°Eat and sleep.¡±
¡°...Thank you Ahjussi.¡±
¡°Well... Thank you for crying for me at the funeral.¡±
¡°...I will faint now so don¡¯t talk to me.¡±
Lee Jihye fell asleep. I lifted up Lee Jihye and heard a familiar voice from behind me.
¡°Ahjussi...?¡±
I was filled with a warm sensation. I could tell the owner of the voice without looking back.
[Your incarnation is looking at you.]
I wouldn¡¯t have been able to run straight here if it wasn¡¯t for this feeling. I saw Shin Yoosung crying and thought that parents probably felt like this.
¡°Ahjussi!¡±
I grabbed Shin Yoosung and lightly embraced her. ¡°Was Ite?¡±
¡°You are one weekte...¡±
One week. Damn, I was resurrectedter than nned.
¡°Let¡¯s go. I have to find the items I entrusted to someone else.¡±
***
¡°...A week has passed. Why haven¡¯t youe yet?¡±
Han Sooyoungy on the floor of Dark Castle and murmured to herself.
It was crazy to act like this in the Dark Castle seething with demon servants. Fortunately, no demon servants came after hearing her voice. It was because someone had already swept away the nearby demon servants while moving upstairs.
Of course, it was all done by Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Damn protagonist jerk.¡±
Han Sooyoung gritted her teeth.
30 minutes ago, Han Sooyoung had confronted Yoo Jonghyuk here. Then she was disastrously defeated.
Her body ached and her head was dizzy. The demons species? They weren¡¯t the problem. The real demon was Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°You scammer. How could you use such a person... Kim Dokja.¡±
She couldn¡¯t understand it no matter how much she thought.
In the Seoul rankings, Yoo Jonghyuk was ranked third and Han Sooyoung was fourth. Then why was the difference sorge? The reason she didn¡¯t lose her life was because of herst-ditch words.
¡®Hey! These are Kim Dokja¡¯s items! Are you going to steal them?¡¯
¡®...Why did Kim Dokja leave his things to you?¡¯
¡®That... isn¡¯t it because I am the most trustworthy person?¡¯
¡®Then I will kill you and take them.¡¯
¡®Y-You want to kill me? What will Kim Dokja think?¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk thought about it for a while before finally letting her go.
¡®If you mention him in front of me again, I really will kill you.¡¯
Then he headed up to the second floor. Han Sooyoung was furious when she thought about it and screamed.
¡°That jerk... ahhhhhh! Abyssal ck me Dragon! Didn¡¯t you say you are the strongest constetion? Why can¡¯t I beat him?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is in deep thought.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ says that it isn¡¯t his fault.]
Han Sooyoung sighed. It was a scene where she would be misunderstood as having multiple personalities.
¡°This is a big deal. That jerk brought his little sister up... it is a development that Kim Dokja will clearly hate. The situation is like this but where is Kim Dokja?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is asking about what you mean.]
¡°You¡¯re a bastard. By the way, that jerk took all my ¡®proofs¡¯ and I will have to start from scratch...¡±
Han Sooyoung opened the scenario window.
+
[Main Scenario #9 ¨C Demon¡¯s Proof]
Category: Main
Difficulty level: A++
Clear Conditions: Hunt the demon species, collect nine Demon¡¯s Proof and ce them on the altar on the 2nd floor.
Time Limit: 23 days.
Compensation: 50,000 coins
Failure: ¨D
+
The demon servants were so powerful that the scenario was a bit tricky, but it was possible to clear if the incarnations cooperated. The major forces had already moved to the second floor.
She might be a ranker but she might be overtaken by the other rankers. The Dark Castlepensation was excellent, meaning the ranking would change if she dyed even a little bit.
¡®What should I do?¡¯
At this time, a group of people on the other side of the corridor caught her attention. Han Sooyoung thought this was better. She could take the proofs from these guys...
¡°Han Sooyoung-ssi!¡±
Han Sooyoung saw their faces and sighed.
¡°What the hell is this?¡± Someone cried out.
Han Sooyoung replied, ¡°...I was just fighting the demon servants and was hurt. Lee Hyunsung-ssi also entered the maze?¡±
¡°That¡¯s correct. Are you alright?¡±
He was the Genuine Steel Lee Hyunsung.
¡®Why did this guy appear here?¡¯
Kim Dokja¡¯spanion, Lee Hyunsung also came here. No matter how urgent the situation, she couldn¡¯t take away the proofs of the main characters... eh?
¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi! Don¡¯t go over!¡±
The shrill shout came from a beautiful face. The four people who appeared with Lee Hyunsung weren¡¯t anyone Han Sooyoung knew. The woman once again shouted, ¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi! Can¡¯t you hear my words? It might be a trap!¡±
¡°That¡¯s right! Back off! Come over here!¡±
¡°But...¡±
Lee Hyunsung was confused as he looked between Han Sooyoung and the women.
Han Sooyoung spoke to Lee Hyunsung. ¡°Has your party changed? Why are you building a harem all of a sudden?¡±
¡°I split up from the party in thebyrinth...¡±
Lee Hyunsung looked troubled and the other women rushed at him and pulled at his arms.
¡°Why are you listening to that person?¡±
¡°Those wounds don¡¯te from fighting with demon servants. That woman is suspicious!¡±
¡°That¡¯s right!¡±
¡°Hyunsung-ssi is too naive! You shouldn¡¯t trust anyone in this world!¡±
Lee Hyunsung was pulled back by the women with much difficulty.
Han Sooyoung triggered Detect Attributes. The next moment, a cruel smile appeared on Han Sooyoung¡¯s face as she saw the names in front of her eyes.
¡®...What am I seeing? It is them?¡¯
The way that people adapted to a destroyed world were different. There were women who believed in themselves like Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye, while other women took advantage of others. The even more interesting way...
¡°Lee Hyunsung, I didn¡¯t realize that you have an unusual taste?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know they¡¯re all men?¡±
[A constetions who likes to change sex is surprised!]
[The constetion in love with a woman is aghast!]
The women shouted in astonishment at Han Sooyoung¡¯s words.
¡°W-What are you talking about right now?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t frame us!¡±
It was impossible to think these people were men. However, Han Sooyoung knew them. They were a group of four who used Disguise and Forbidden Charm to kill strong rankers or the weak.
Han Sooyoung remembered the name of this group.
[Pink Kids].
They had the name of a girl group but they were all men in their 40s. She spoke to them.
¡°Hey Ahjussis, do you like disguising as young girls? Lee Hyunsung-ssi, if you stay with them, you will be tricked and killed.¡±
¡°What is this crazy bitch saying?¡¯¡±
¡°Hyunsung-ssi, let¡¯s go! She is a strange person!¡±
Sometimes it wasmon in Ways of Survival to dress up as the other gender. There were more viins in this world than Pink Kids. Thus, these men could be rehabilitated. ¡°Kim Dokja might¡¯ve said this...¡±
Han Sooyoung was different from Kim Dokja.
¡°I have to get rid of these disgusting things.¡±
At this rate, Lee Hyunsung would 100% be hit in the back of the head by Pink Kids. His death would have a severe impact on the scenarios. Arge number of clones started to surround Han Sooyoung¡¯s body.
Lee Hyunsung hastily came forward. ¡°W-What are you doing?¡±
She demanded, ¡°Get lost. I¡¯m going to kill them.¡±
¡°They aren¡¯t bad people!¡±
Lee Hyunsung didn¡¯t move out of the way. He didn¡¯t seem bewitched but he stood firmly in ce. If she thought about it, this was Lee Hyunsung. The Pink Kids watched Lee Hyunsung with touched eyes.
Han Sooyoung cried out in an irritated manner, ¡°I will kill you if you don¡¯t get out of the way.¡±
¡°Han Sooyoung-ssi. I¡¯m aware that you are strong but please calm yourself. I¡¯m also confident in my strength.¡±
¡°Then try it!¡±
The clones ran towards Lee Hyunsung while Han Sooyoung rushed towards the Pink Kids.
¡°Die perverts!¡±
¡°You can¡¯t do this!¡±
¡°Kyaaack! Help us Hyunsung-ssi!¡±
Lee Hyunsung triggered Steel Transformation and started to kill Han Sooyoung¡¯s clones with tremendous strength. Han Sooyoung couldn¡¯t help sweating at the enormous damage.
¡®He truly is the Steel Sword.¡¯
She noticed that the Pink Kids were nning to run away. At this rate, she would miss this. There was nothing good about leaving them alive when she had already made a hostile impression.
¡®I will do it.¡¯
She was forced to use a secret weapon. Han Sooyoung smiled bitterly at Lee Hyunsung. ¡°Do you want to see a good show?¡±
The next moment, Han Sooyoung¡¯s clones surrounding Lee Hyunsung took off their clothes. Her white skin was revealed. Lee Hyunsung blushed as he covered his eyes and copsed.
¡°Waaaaahhhhh! What is this?¡±
Han Sooyoung stepped on Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body and flew forward.
¡°It is a naked woman!¡±
Han Sooyoung flew through the air and aimed her dagger at the back of the Pink Kids running away.
¡°W-What are you...!
Kuaack!¡±
¡®Yoon Woochul. 41 years old. Operated a coin farm.¡¯
The other member of Pink Kids screamed as he saw his dyingpanion.
¡°Shit! We haven¡¯t done anything wrong!¡±
¡®Hwang Mingyu. 43 years old. Trafficking and... what was it?¡¯
Her dagger sliced over his neck. The Pink KIds¡¯ transformation was released, revealing hairy legs.
¡°S-Spare me! Spare me!¡±
¡®Bang Takho. 39 years old. The children in the third episode... anyway!¡±
In any instant, only one of the Pink Kids was left. Han Sooyoung frowned as she saw the middle-aged person trembling with fear.
¡®What did this person do?¡¯
Han Sooyoung wondered for a moment and was about to kill thest Pink Kids when magic power flew from somewhere and blocked her dagger.
Then a clear voice was heard. ¡°You made a mistake.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°You shouldn¡¯t kill this person. He is needed for my strategy.¡±
She turned her head and sighed with relief. Han Sooyoungughed. ¡°You arete, Kim Dokja.¡±
Chapter 154 - Dark Castle (4)
Chapter 154: Episode 30 ¨C Dark Castle (4)
Han Sooyoung heard my story and muttered in a dumbfounded manner. ¡°...Did you really be a constetion?¡±
A person who was an incarnation a few days ago suddenly appeared as a constetion. Certainly, it was strange. Han Sooyoung hadn¡¯t read anything about an incarnation being reborn as a constetion.
¡°Yes. I am a constetion.¡±
¡°Really, seriously?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes were filled with disbelief. ¡°...Is it that easy?¡±
I wanted to say it wasn¡¯t easy but Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t listen.
¡°Shit, will you now be watching us outside the scenario and sponsoring us?¡±
¡°Nothing like that. I became a constetion in the course of the scenario so I have to keep participating in the scenario.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the difference? I can¡¯t tell at all.¡±
In fact, I didn¡¯t feel it was real either. Borrowing stories, trading with other constetions and nebe, changing the attitude of the constetions towards me...
[Some constetions are jealous of your growth.]
[Some constetions oppose you having a modifier.]
[Some constetions show hostility towards you.]
In any case, the constetions also felt the ugliness of jealousy. Why were they so harsh towards a growing bud? Still, there was something I could do now.
[You stare at the other constetions.]
[Some constetions are staring at you with amazement!]
[Some constetions have spat out the coke they are drinking with surprise!]
[200 coins have been consumed to send an indirect message.]
...As expected, indirect messages cost coins. It was fun but I had to use it in moderation.
Han Sooyoung was staring at me with an open mouth. ¡°W-Was it you who just sent the message? The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name?¡±
That was what it looked like to Han Sooyoung.
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Is it because you haven¡¯t signed a sponsor contract until now?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°...Then is it already toote for me?¡±
¡°You could say that.¡±
Han Sooyoung frowned and looked up at the air.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ hesitantly reads her face.]
Han Sooyoung sighed and nced at me. ¡°Shit... I¡¯m envious. By the way, why don¡¯t you have a modifier?¡±
¡°That...¡±
Why didn¡¯t I have a modifier? The correct answer was that I didn¡¯t know.
[The Star Stream is looking for a modifier for your constetion.]
Perhaps it was because I haven¡¯t umted enough stories. A constetion without a modifier was simr to gaining a citizenship without having a home.
Han Sooyoung muttered, ¡°You are a vagabond.¡±
¡°...The fifth story isn¡¯t over yet. Maybe I will have a modifier by the time this story is finalized.¡±
[The fifth story ¡®Lone Messiah¡¯ is currently in progress.]
The fifth story was a story that greatly affected the ¡®status¡¯ of the constetion. The position of my constetion would depend on how this story was finalized.
...Maybe.
Then Han Sooyoung booed. ¡°Boo...Kim Dokja, why you suddenly look cool? Then can you beat Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk. I clenched my fist and opened it. Then there was a message I had never seen before..
[Beware of the ¡®probability storm¡¯ effect.]
[The Star Stream is currently evaluating your level.]
There was a prickly feeling at the tips of my fingers. This was a problem for constetions. Still, I would be fine as long as the ¡®evaluation¡¯ was in progress. The Star Stream didn¡¯t know the right level of constraints for me yet.
¡°I might be able to win against him now.¡±
¡°...Really?¡±
The point was the word ¡®now.¡¯ The protagonist was the protagonist for a reason. I could only match his growth by bing a constetion. The perks that Yoo Jonghyuk received were huge.
I ordered her, ¡°Quickly return what I gave you.¡±
¡°Che, I understand.¡±
[The incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has fulfilled the contract.]
I received all the coins and items I had left with Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung sighed. ¡°...It¡¯s too bad. I felt rich for a while.¡±
¡°I gave you 20,000 coins for the trouble.¡±
¡°I handed over 600,000 coins but only got 20,000 in return.¡±
¡°Then you can give back the 20,000 coins.¡±
Han Sooyoung scoffed and turned her back to me. I received my items and coins from Han Sooyoung.
[Possessed Coins: 684,353 C]
In the meantime, I had collected a lot of money. It wasn¡¯t strange since I made a steady ie and saved money. Now that I was a constetion, I no longer hesitated in using coins. The coins would exert their real strength from now on.
Then little by little... ah, wait. I forgot an important thing. ¡°Han Sooyoung, when will you release that? It is sexual harassment.¡±
¡°Eh? Ah, I forgot.¡±
Han Sooyoung smiled and I approached Lee Hyunsung who was sitting on the floor holding his head in his hands. Han Sooyoung¡¯s clones were still dancing naked around Lee Hyunsung.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ is shaking with fear.]
...
¡¸ The Steel Sword is weak to women. ¡¹
There was such a sentence in Ways of Survival but I hadn¡¯t thought it was so severe. Besides that...
¡°...It isn¡¯t real.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s clones looked naked but they didn¡¯t have the important parts. In other words, Lee Hyunsung had be like this because he saw mannequins.
Han Sooyoung noticed the meaning of my words andughed mischievously. ¡°Hrmm...what does that mean? You are sorry because you didn¡¯t get to see them?¡±
¡°I told you. I don¡¯t like a poor body like yours.
¡°...You haven¡¯t even seen it.¡±
¡°Do i need to see it?¡±
I approached Lee Hyunsung and patted him on the back. ¡°Hyunsung-ssi, are you okay?¡±
¡°D-Dokja-ssi.¡±
He looked stupid but he wasn¡¯t crazy. Lee Hyunsung looked at me like he had seen a ghost. ¡°Why is Dokja-ssi...you are... dead?¡±
I think he got a real trauma. I looked at Han Sooyoung with annoyance. It was aic-like situation but it would¡¯ve been a serious blow for the Steel Sword. If I didn¡¯t something wrong in this round, Lee Hyunsung might step on an unknown route...
For the moment, I had to rely on time for him to recover. Then another voice was heard from the side. ¡°Excuse me...¡±
¡°...?¡±
¡°Can I go?¡±
Thest member of Pink Kids entered my eyes. She had a pretty face and slender body. She had fine eyebrows and tender cheeks. Who would believe this person was an uncle in his 40s?
¡°What is your name?¡± I asked and a pretty voice answered.
¡°S-Seo Inna.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not his real name.¡±
Seo Inna hesitated before speaking his true name. ¡°...I am Kim Yongpal.¡±
Pink Kids, Kim Yongpal. I found the right person.
Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue. ¡°...Why are you keeping him alive. Aren¡¯t the Pink Kids scum?¡±
¡°Not yet. They ¡®will be¡¯ bad guys. If you read it correctly, you should know that the Pink Kids was originally a trio.¡±
¡°But there are four... eh?¡±
I exined, ¡°This uncle died before they became really active.¡±
¡°...Is that why I couldn¡¯t remember him?¡±
¡°Kim Yongpal is basically a pure person. Thus, he was the first to die in Pink Kids.¡±
Kim Yongpal interrupted. ¡°Excuse me, what are you talking about...?¡±
¡°Shut up.¡±
Han Sooyoung frowned at him. ¡°This is a pure person?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
I also couldn¡¯t believe it but it was a setting in Ways of Survival.
[A constetions who likes to change sex is nodding.]
[A constetion who likes to change sex ims there are no bad people among those who like to change sex.]
In fact, Kim Yongpal survived to this day without killing anyone, even in the first scenario.
I coulde up with the ¡®insect killing¡¯ method in the first scenario because there was a precedent where Kim Yongpal stepped on an ant by mistake and survived. Of course, Kim Yongpal didn¡¯t know why he had survived.
He was a person who ¡®fortunately¡¯ survived. This was Kim Yongpal of Pink Kids. No, I should call it Pink Kid now that hispanions were dead.
Han Sooyoung muttered like she didn¡¯t want to admit it. ¡°Damn...so what? In any case, you saved him because there is a use for him?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Then now what?¡±
¡°We have to break the scenario again.¡±
¡°Do you know that this scenario is?¡±
Of course I knew. I knew it very well.
¡°It is thest scenario before the liberation of Seoul Dome.¡±
The ninth scenario, Dark Castle. In this scenario, beings that had never appeared before emerged.
I watched Lee Hyunsung, who was still trembling with fear, the unconscious Lee Jihye and Shin Yoosung who was caring for the injured Lee Gilyoung.
Maybe my otherpanions were alive somewhere. There was Jung Heewon so they wouldn¡¯t be defeated so easily on the first floor.
¡°The first floor is just a joke. The real hell is the second floor.¡±
A special window in the castle showed the outsidendscape. Crowds were moving around Seoul. Unfortunately, in the absence of the ¡®greatest sacrifice¡¯ and the ensuing struggle, half of Seoul had be demon servants.
The incarnations of Seoul were shouting sorrowfully. Despair already covered Seoul but the ¡®story¡¯ was stillcking. The story was alwayscking.
The dokkaebis were seekingrger frustration. The constetions were yearning for more provocative story.
Han Sooyoung stared out the window and spoke. ¡°It is a cliche imagination. Regressors, returnees, reincarnators. Now there are demons?¡±
¡°A person who giarized is saying this...¡±
¡°Hey, I told you a couple of times...¡±
I was joking as usual when I suddenly became curious. ¡°Han Sooyoung.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°If you are the writer of Ways of Survival...¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t write that garbage.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s just assume.¡±
The grumpy Han Sooyoung bit her lips. ¡°...If I am the writer?¡±
¡°If you are the writer of Ways of Survival, why did you make this world?¡±
¡°How should I know?¡±
¡°You are also writer.¡±
¡°How can a first-rate writer like me know the thoughts of a third-rate writer?¡±
...I was an idiot for asking her. Han Sooyoung continued speaking. ¡°I should be the one asking you that.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
I met Han Sooyoung¡¯s deep eyes. I couldn¡¯t read Han Sooyoung even if I used Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. Still, I seemed to understand a bit. A person who read the story might have simr thoughts.
¡®You know the end of this world. Isn¡¯t that right?¡¯
Han Sooyoung was obviously asking this. As always, I didn¡¯t answer.
Han Sooyoung stared out the window like she knew she wouldn¡¯t receive an answer. Then she asked another question. ¡°...Why do the scenarios exist?¡±
I stared out the window.
The dark sky above the destroyed Seoul could be seen. Was it because I had be a constetion? The sky wasn¡¯t the same as before.
Countless constetions were embroidering the sky. The Star Stream was embracing the constetions. They were stars that could never be reached despite being so close.
Even with so many stars shining...
There was the distant abyss that couldn¡¯t be erased. I felt like I had discovered something.
What were the constetions always enduring? Why were they so obsessed with the story?
I shook off this distant emotion and opened my mouth. ¡°Perhaps the scenario...¡±
Chapter 155 - Dark Castle (5)
Chapter 155: Episode 30 ¨C Dark Castle (5)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
This was a question that had been countless beings in the Star Stream received over many years.
¡®Why the hell does the scenario exist?¡¯
The answers to this question were different. For example, the returnee Kyrgios Rodgraim said: Without it, the universe would be too lonely.
The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ replied to the same question: Are you asking me why ¡®food¡¯ exists?
The demon king Asmodeus¡¯ reply to the same question was as followed: It is a small destruction to prevent greater destruction.
The answers might be romantic or philosophical to people who heard it. However, ¡®romantic¡¯ and ¡®philosophical¡¯ were only luxuries for those who were full in the first ce.
Therefore, to the demon earl ¡®Tentacio¡¯ on the second floor of Dark Castle, the scenario meant the following:
¡°It is fucked up.¡±
This was his way of speaking, although technically, they weren¡¯t his own words. Anyone who entered this space would say this after 50 years. Of course, if they managed to survive 50 years.
¡°I¡¯m tired.¡±
The river running through the Abyss ins was a tributary of the Demon World¡¯s River, Phoenix. One might ask how there was such a huge ins on the second floor of Dark Castle but naturally Tentacio was different.
There were only two things he knew. First, he had to reach the top of the vast ins and second, he hadn¡¯t managed to do it in 194 years.
¡®Dammit, if it wasn¡¯t for that dokkaebi¡¯s offer at the time...¡¯
The memories from 194 years ago were still vivid.
-Do you want to be the 73rd demon king?
Demon king. It was the long-cherished dream of all demons.
-...Can I be the demon king?
He had asked.
He was a third-grade demon and still far from rising to that status. It was hard to climb up, no matter how many low-grade demons he ate. During that period, Tentacio was tempted by a being more demonic than a great demon.
-You arecking a ¡®story¡¯, not strength.
-What does that mean?
-You will find out if you participate in the scenario.
Thus, Tentacio was put into the Dark Castle scenario. He tore down many demons and ughtered the races that came up from the first floor of Dark Castle.
After 194 years, Tentacio had be one of the ten strongest demons on the ¡®Dark Castle second floor.¡¯
However, it was up to here.
¡®I can¡¯t go up to the third floor.¡¯
The Dark Castle¡¯s third floor. This was where the essence of a demon king was sleeping. In order to get there, he had to beat the strongest beings on the second floor.
However, raising strength and coins wasn¡¯t enough. The best beings on the second floor weren¡¯t the strongest simply because of strength. The thing Tentacio wascking...
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ wants to talk to you alone.]
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is curious about your setting.]
¡®Setting? Fucking bastards. I know what I¡¯m made of.¡¯
He didn¡¯t like constetions but it was pleasant to see a constetion wondering about him.
The constetion wondering about him meant new people wereing from the first floor of Dark Castle. It meant the enjoyable game would start from now on.
A group of men and women appeared. Tentacio smiled at the sight. ¡°Wee, you bugs. This is the second floor of Dark Castle.¡±
Tentacio enjoyed speaking the lines of an ambassador like it was a habit. As expected, some of the bugs came forward and asked him,
¡°What is this ce? Who are you? A guide?¡±
¡°...Are you perhaps a dokkaebi?¡±
Dokkaebi. They were existences that Tentacio hated the most. Still, he endured it and opened his mouth. There would be a time of sweet rewards after the patience.
¡°The second floor of Dark Castle is a world of survival of the fittest. Only those who have their strength acknowledged can move to the next floor. Isn¡¯t it a simple rule? Raise your hands if you need further exnations.¡±
¡°What does it mean to have your strength acknowledged? How do we...¡±
¡°By doing this.¡±
Tentacio¡¯s arm stretched out and the head of the speaking man literally exploded. The bugs had frightened expressions. This was Tentacio¡¯s favourite moment.
¡°W-What?¡±
¡°Shit! It is a trap!¡±
Tentacioughed and licked the blood that sttered from the man¡¯s neck.
¡°Protect the queen!¡±
All the incarnations rushed towards him but Tentacio didn¡¯t mind. A strong energy rose from his body.
The demon nobility went from duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron. The viscount and baron graders were fairlymon but the difference started from the earl grade.
Demons from the earl grade had a ¡®story.¡¯ A story, it only opened when specific situations urred.
[The story ¡®Bug ughter¡¯ has begun.]
¡°Kuaaaaak!¡±
Every time his hands moved, the humans died like bugs. This story was obtained by ughtering hundreds of thousands of yers in 194 years. It showed overwhelming power against those who were lower than him.
[The constetion ¡® Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is surprised.]
¡°Kuahahaha!¡±
The surrounding incarnations quickly became corpses or were wounded.
¡®It is too dull.¡¯
Some incarnations seemed useful but more of them were garbage. At most, they could be transformed into fifth-grade demons. Then Tentacio¡¯s gaze stopped on someone.
¡°Hoh, you will be fourth grade.¡±
Tentacio grabbed the neck of a woman and lifted her up. The hair of the woman scattered. A broken crown rolled around. She was the King of Beauty, Min Jiwon.
Tentacio opened his mouth. ¡°You must be the leader of these guys.¡±
He liked her strong gaze. This woman¡¯s story must be quite delicious.
¡°I will ask you two things. Where do youe from?¡±
¡°T-Telling you something like that...¡±
¡°I¡¯ve seen many bugs like you.¡±
Tentacio made a cruel smile and trampled on one of the Hwarang. Min Jiwon paled as she looked at the broken skull and brain matter.
¡°W-Wait a minute!¡±
Peeeok! Peeeok!
¡°Stop! Earth... we are from Earth!¡±
Tentacioughed. ¡°Earth?¡±
Tentacio remembered it as a full of rich stories.
¡®The demon kings. Earth is like a cradle for stories like that.¡¯
There were many prey in a ce abundant with stories. Tentacio licked his lips.
¡°Bug. Who has the most stories among you?¡±
¡°U-Uhh... stories? What is that...?¡±
As expected, she didn¡¯t understand him.
¡°Who is the strongest among you?¡±
Min Jiwon shook as Tentacio¡¯s yellow eyes gazed greedily at her.
***
¡°Ah, then what is the scenario?¡±
¡°...I just told you.¡±
¡°How can I understand those symbolic words?¡±
I moved with Han Sooyoung towards the altar for the second floor. We encountered a few demons on the way. Needless to say, our progress was smooth. It was because I used the ¡®status of a constetion¡¯ whenever I saw a demon.
[Kiiii...!]
The dark trackers who encountered my eyes screamed and trembled. I might not be a narrative or upper-grade level but once I became a constetion, my presence itself was different.
In other words, I could exercise considerable influence over those lower than me with just a nce or remark.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is disappointed in the too easy progress.]
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ says you need greater adversity.]
It was a sweet potato when difficult but boring when it was easy... I didn¡¯t know which one to cater to.
Shouldn¡¯t there be days like this sometimes? It was the first time a scenario was ¡®easy¡¯...
I was collecting the demon proofs one by one when a familiar voice was heard in the air.
[...Kim Dokja. Don¡¯t you look good? Did you open the Dokkaebi Bag alone?]
I could tell straight away who was speaking. I grunted and sent back a message.
-Who was the one who suddenly disappeared?
It was an intermediate dokkaebi.
[Who has a big head now? I couldn¡¯te because I was busy! In any case, it iste but congrattions. A new constetion emerged from my channel. It is very emotional.]
-Is the channel running well?
[Yes. I thought the ¡®incarnation seekers¡¯ would leave after you became a constetion but... it actually became better. Everyone hase to watch the castle scenario so it is hectic right now. We might have to expand the channel soon.]
...That much? Indeed, it was rare for an incarnation to be a constetion during the scenario.
[However, there are some who dislike you. You should be careful. Honestly, you are a constetion but your ¡®status¡¯ isn¡¯tpletely established.]
It was as Bihyung said. I was a constetion but my stigma hadn¡¯t woken up yet. In other words, I was currently more like a half-constetion.
[I heard you are stronger than Yoo Jonghyuk but honestly...]
-I¡¯m stronger.
[Oh... Kim Dokja. Isn¡¯t this different from your usual reaction? Do you feel a sense of rivalry?]
-I¡¯m a constetion. He is an incarnation. It is natural for me to be stronger.
[Hrmm... is it really like that?]
-What are you trying to say? Did youe for a fight?
[Ah, I think the child will be born soon. I need a story to feed her. You are her father and should y the role of a parent...]
-I understand. I¡¯ll get it for you.
[Brat, I like you because you understand quickly. Then I¡¯m asking you.]
It was almost time for the 41st regression Shin Yoosung to wake up. I looked back and saw the party members collecting demon proofs from the bodies of the demons.
¡°Does everyone have enough proofs?¡±
Shin Yoosung carefully raised her hand. ¡°I am stillcking... Gilyoung also...¡±
¡°...Ah, I can help.¡± She seemed like she would be annoyed but surprisingly, Han Sooyoung took good care of Shin Yoosung.
Lee Hyunsung was carrying Lee Gilyoung on his back and spoke to me. ¡°D-Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Can I ask you something?¡±
¡°...What is it?¡±
Lee Hyunsung had barely escaped from Han Sooyoung¡¯s nightmare and he still seemed unable to believe I had survived. Sometimes he would grab my arm or my head. Lee Hyunsung touched my head and then opened his mouth.
¡°In the past, I lost an empty cartridge in the army.¡±
¡°...That must be a big problem. Did you find it again?¡±
¡°I found it.¡±
¡°You must¡¯ve been in trouble. Why are you saying this...?¡±
¡°It was found out of the blue one monthter.¡± Despite my confused expression, Lee Hyunsung still looked serious. ¡°From then on, I kept the empty shell in my pocket.¡±
¡°...Isn¡¯t that a vition of military rule?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
I was amazed that he nodded so casually. I nodded curiously. ¡°I see. But why all of a sudden...¡±
¡°No, I was suddenly reminded of the past.¡±
I looked at him and didn¡¯t know why he was saying this. Surely he didn¡¯t mean to cut off my head and put it in his pocket... In any case, it meant he was d I was alive.
We soon reached the altar that would lead to the second floor. We had enough demon proofs and the only thing left was to ce it on the altar and wait. At this time, Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°Is that Ahjussiing with us?¡±
I turned and saw she was pointed to the Pink Kid Kim Yongpal.
I nodded and ordered, ¡°Kim Yongpal-ssi. Lead the way.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
Kim Yongpal freaked out while Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes narrowed.
¡°What is that Ahjussi for?¡±
¡°Have you forgotten? Thest gateway to the second floor...¡±
Those who collected the demon proofs on the first floor could only go up the next floor if they hunted the ¡®demon¡¯ summoned after cing the proofs on the altar. However, the demon summoned from the second floor was based on the level of the weakest person in the party.
Han Sooyoung nodded like she understood. ¡°Aha, that¡¯s why you¡¯re putting the weakest person in the lead?¡±
¡°Exactly.¡±
¡°...Kim Dokja is the best at being shameless.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t being shameless but strategic.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is amazed at your awkwardness.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ wants you to show the dignity of a constetion!]
...What was dignity of a constetion? I didn¡¯t make it through difficult scenarios by focusing on my dignity. I was a constetion but sometimes I needed to y it smart.
Han Sooyoung said, ¡°Then this gateway will be easily passed.¡±
¡°As long as nothing happens.¡±
¡°What can happen?¡±
¡°Sometimes a demon will be summoned regardless of our level.¡±
I ced the demon proofs on the altar as I said this.
[The Demon Proofs have been ced.]
[A demon appropriate to test you will be summoned!]
There was a blinding light from the altar and the demon started to be summoned.
A colourful spotlight shone. If my prediction was correct, someone on the level of Kim Yongpal woulde out. Maybe it was Demon Baron Viller, the weakest of the demon nobles on the second floor. I would be able to suppress him without even using the power of a constetion...
[The demon who wants you is on the second floor!]
...Eh?
[A demon unrted to your level will be summoned!]
Han Sooyoung stiffened as she heard the messages. ¡°Shit... what is this? Is this what you were talking about?¡±
[Demon Earl ¡®Tentacio¡¯ has descended!]
...Earl?
Majestic horns rose over the shoulders. The demon who appeared in the colourful spotlight was a powerful existence whom Viller couldn¡¯tpare to.
A cruel smile was on his face as he opened his mouth. ¡°...I see. Are you Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Chapter 156 - Dark Castle (6)
Chapter 156: Episode 30 ¨C Dark Castle (6)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
What was this situation all of a sudden?
The strongest beings on the second floor of Dark Castle, sometimes they would descend as a test. This had happened in Ways of Survival. However, a demon earl had never appeared in cases where Pink Kid Kim Yongpal was part of the group. Besides that, why was the demon looking for Yoo Jonghyuk after being summoned?
I didn¡¯t answer and the demon breathed in before looking at Lee Hyunsung. ¡°Are you Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°...I am Lee Hyunsung.¡±
¡°Then who is the person called Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
I opened my mouth. There was nothing good about stimting the demon earl here. ¡°Why do you want to find him? He isn¡¯t here so go back.¡±
The demon earl Tentacioughed at my words. ¡°A bug is talking back to me. It¡¯s strange. I heard that the person who is Seoul¡¯s strongest person is here?¡±
Seoul¡¯s strongest?
¡°Uh... that sounds like me.¡±
The party members all looked at me at the same time. Why were they looking at me like that? It was true.
Tentacio also stared at me. ¡°You said that you¡¯re not Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°The strongest in Seoul isn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk. It is me.¡±
What the hell was going on? Why was he looking for the strongest in Seoul?
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is sorry towards you.]
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is asking you to defeat this demon.]
...Lady of the Brocade Sleep? I wondered reflexively. Suddenly, I got a sense of what was going on.
[You are staring at the constetions of Si.]
[The constetions of Si are embarrassed.]
Yes, this was right. These bastards... they sold me to save their descendants?
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ shows what happened.]
The memory of Lady of the Brocade Sleep appeared in my head. The injured Min Jiwon stuttered as she opened her mouth.
-Seoul¡¯s strongest... is Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is giving you a pathetic look.]
The act of showing one¡¯s memories required paying some probability and a significant amount of coins. The fact that she showed me her memory without hesitation meant the situation was urgent.
Damn, then send him to Yoo Jonghyuk. Why send him to me? Was I easy? I sighed lightly and spoke towards the air. ¡°Then what will you do for me if I help?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ says she will pay coins.]
¡°How much? Will you give me 2,000 coins again?¡±
[The constetion ¡® Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is embarrassed.]
¡°Give me something else. Something helpful.¡±
[The constetions of Si have their pride damaged and are angry at ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep.¡¯]
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ says she will pay a story.]
A story?
[A new bounty scenario has arrived!]
+
[Bounty Scenario ¨C Fight Against the Demon]
Category: Sub
Difficulty level: A+
Clear Conditions: Defeat the demon earl ¡®Tentacio¡¯.
Time Limit: ¨D
Compensation: The trust of the constetions of Si, one history-grade story.
Failure: ¨D
+
A history-grade story. It was fairly decent.
In fact, I was already going to kill the demon earl without any conditions. The constetions of Si weren¡¯t as powerful as a neb but there was nothing bad about them owing me a debt. I had to defeat this demon anyway.
The demon earl was tired of waiting and growled out, ¡°Why are you speaking to yourself? Then you¡¯re not Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
A powerful airflow was released from Tentacio¡¯s body and Lee Hyunsung quickly stepped forward.
¡°Dokja-ssi, I¡¯ll take care of him.¡±
¡°Hyunsung-ssi, you can¡¯t do it alone...¡±
¡°I will never lose the empty cartridge again.¡±
Han Sooyoung whistled like it was interesting. Tentacio made aplicated expression and grinned. ¡°You don¡¯t know who your opponent is. I like trampling on people like you.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know who I am?¡±
The earth shook and Lee Hyunsung ran forward as he activated Steel Transformation. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulders became covered with steel as he struck Tentacio¡¯s shoulder horns. Lee Hyunsung had the courage to face the demon earl without backing off.
¡°You are someone who inherited a story?¡± Tentacio wondered.
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s Steel Transformation was a stigma obtained by inheriting a story from Master of Steel. With one exchange, the demon noticed the value of Lee Hyunsung. He was an earl and knew the value of a ¡®story.¡¯
¡°I¡¯ll eat it.¡±
Tentacio embraced Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body. Lee Hyunsung continuously struck him with fists but Tentacio wasn¡¯t fazed. Fangs emerged from the demon¡¯s mouth and he bit Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulder.
The strength of Steel Transformation was directly connected with Lee Hyunsung¡¯s will. Unless his will was broken, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s steel wouldn¡¯t be destroyed.
Of course, this was written in Ways of Survival. However, it was only Lee Hyunsung of the second half who fit such a wonderful description.
Cracks started to appear in Lee Hyunsung¡¯s hard steel. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s expression started to pale.
¡°...What the hell is this?¡± Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes shook as she watched Tentacio. ¡°Kim Dokja! What is that?¡±
I didn¡¯t think the Seoul rankings announced by the dokkaebi were wrong. Apart from me, Han Sooyoung was the only one who knew the exact level of the demon earl.
I replied. ¡°He is a 3rd grade demon.¡±
Demon species above the 3rd grade had their own story.
[The 3rd grade demon ¡®Tentacio¡¯ is telling the story of Bug ughter.
Bug ughter. It was a pretty useful narrative. It wasn¡¯t in the form of a stigma yet but its power exceeded the stigmas of incarnations since this was his own story.
As Tentacio¡¯s story started to be released, all the incarnations, including Lee Hyunsung and Han Sooyoung, stood in ce like hardened bugs. Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung who was still unconscious, twisted in pain while Kim Yongpal had already copsed while foaming at the mouth.
This was the real power of the ¡®story.¡¯ It was to swallow other beings into the ¡®story.¡¯ The frozen incarnations were waiting for their master¡¯smand.
¡°It is the time of ughter, Bugs.¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s steel shattered helplessly and Han Sooyoung¡¯s clones exploded. It was aplete wipe out. The story ¡®Bug ughter¡¯ showed overwhelming power against many weak people. The earls of the second floor were beyond measure.
I held Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulder as he was thrown back. Lee Hyunsung was released from the fear at my touch and he stuttered.
¡°D-Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Move back.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t possible. If I don¡¯t protect Dokja-ssi this time¨D¡±
¡°A cartridge doesn¡¯t disappear so easily. Watch me.¡± I patted Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulder and walked forward.
Tentacioughed like it was interesting. ¡°You can resist my story? You are someone with moderately strong mental power.
¡°Mental power isn¡¯t the problem.¡±
¡°Then what? Kneel, Bug.¡±
The pressure around us suddenly rose and people fell to their knees. Of course, I was fine. Tentacio was confused as he watched me walking casually. It was thanks to Fourth Wall. There was also a more fundamental difference.
¡°...Answer me. How can you move?¡±
¡°In order to get that story, you have to pick at least 100,000 people with weak stories and kill them. You¡¯re quite a nasty bastard.¡±
¡°What?¡±
This was the difference in ¡®status¡¯.
¡°Still, Bug ughter is a fairly usable story. At least, when the enemy is weaker than you.¡±
[You aren¡¯t interested in the ¡®Bug ughter¡¯ story.]
[The effect of ¡®Bug ughter¡¯ is negated by you.]
Tentacio¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°At least marquis grade... perhaps a demon king? No, that isn¡¯t likely... are you a returnee?¡± The peak of the demon species, the 72 demon kings were equivalent to narrative-grade constetions. ¡°But a returnee can¡¯t be on the first floor of Dark Castle...¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. Both are wrong.¡±
An existence with their ¡®status¡¯ revealed was constrained by probability.
[You are looking at the demon earl ¡®Tentacio¡¯.]
Tentacio turned pale. I didn¡¯t dy and rushed towards Tentacio while using White Pure Star Energy.
[de of Faith has been activated!]
[The special option of Unbroken Faith is activated.]
[The ether attribute is converted to ¡®divine.]
The new texture of Unbroken Faith was unfamiliar to me.
¡°Kuaack!¡± The demon screamed painfully as the ends of his horns were cut off. The second strike flew towards Tentacio before he could move.
It wasn¡¯t just that the earl¡¯s story wasn¡¯t effective on me. My movements itself were different from ordinary constetions. The demon gritted his teeth.
¡°A constetion? No way... this is impossible!¡±
I wondered if I should borrow Messiah¡¯s Path again but I didn¡¯t need to use the ¡®quotation¡¯ against Bug ughter. There was a limit to the number of ¡®quotations¡¯ and I also needed to check my abilities without a story.
First, I needed to adjust my stats. Let¡¯s see.
[Physique Lv. 62 -> Physique Lv. 90]
[Strength Lv. 60 -> Strength Lv. 90]
[Agility Lv. 60 -> Agility Lv. 90]
[Magic Power Lv. 62 -> Magic Power Lv. 90]
[All stats have increased significantly.
[A total of 116,400 coins have been consumed.]
It was huge spending but it was worth it.
[Your body is moving towards the limits of a human.]
[A formidable energy has filled your body!]
[All stats have reached the scenario limit!]
My heart beat faster as if I had received a caffeine transfusion. The adrenaline level in my body increased sharply and my body became as light as a feather.
My stats had an average level of 90. There was probably no one among the incarnations who had my stats. This was the only thing I could do as a constetion.
¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡±
I relentlessly swung my sword. Tentacio¡¯s body was torn by the de. Tentacio didn¡¯t fall easily despite my stats suddenly rising. He seemed to be strengthening his body using his remaining magic power. It was a wise choice because the story didn¡¯t work.
¡°Kuaaaaaaah!¡±
Tentacio let out a terrible scream. As the battle continued, one or two injuries appeared on my body. As expected, I couldn¡¯t fight him without any skills.
Then this would work.
[The special skill ¡®Miniaturization Lv. 3¡¯ is activated!]
[The effect of Miniaturization has decreased the size of your body.]
¡°What?¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ is activated!]
¡°I will choose the fifth bookmark, Kyrgios Rodgraim.¡±
[It is confirmed that your bodyposition is simr to the corresponding character.]
[The status of the character is higher than you.]
[The level of the skill is being forcibly adjusted.]
Normally the messages would end here. However, one more line popped up.
[Your status has risen and coordination with the person will increase.]
Chapter 157 - Tomb of the Scenario (1)
Chapter 157: Episode 31 ¨C Tomb of the Scenario (1)
The white storm energy caused my heart to pound and my body changed into an engine.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification¡¯ Lv. 11 (+1) has been activated.]
Due to the increase in my status, the skill level reached 11.
In essence, all skill levels were restricted to level 10. After that, people had to learn better skills or use ¡®transcendence¡¯ like the returnees. Yet this skill was level 11.
Now my Electrification had exceeded the limits of the system. It wasn¡¯t as hard to use Electrification as usual.
The returnee Kyrgios had a strengthparable to a powerful narrative-grade constetion. He was a strong figure whose depth couldn¡¯t be measured. Now I could get a glimpse of how much strength Kyrgios had. If Kyrgios had reached a realm that could never be reached, I got a glimpse of where he had gone.
Tentacio was terrified beyond his surprise. ¡°A constetion with a returnee¡¯s ability? What on earth are you?¡±
I wanted to say my name but then my grumpiness got to me. ¡°...What? I am Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Tentacio¡¯s body was torn in two by the explosive power of Electrification and the de of Faith.
The electric current around the sword blew off his arms and legs before his head rolled across the ground. He couldn¡¯t even scream. My level 90 magic power was instantly exhausted and fatigue pulled in. Still, my level was clear.
¡°Uh... Yoo Jonghyuk...¡± Shit, I was scared to death. The fallen head was talking. ¡°Incarnation... do you know... what it means... to be a constetion?¡±
What nonsense was he suddenly saying?
¡°You will regret... giving me... your name.¡±
¡°What?¡±
[Demon Earl Tentacio has used ¡®Death Scream.]
[Demon Earl Tentacio has spread the name ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ through Dark Castle.]
[The Dark Castle rankers will remember the name ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯.]
...I hadn¡¯t expected this.
[The Dark Castle rankers are baring their teeth towards the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯.
I felt a bit sorry. I really hadn¡¯t intended for this to happen. However, Yoo Jonghyuk should also suffer a bit.
[You have hunted ¡®Demon Earl Tentacio¡¯!]
[A 3rd grade demon has been killed for the fifth time and 30,000 coins have been acquired.]
Transparent strings started to appear around Tentacio¡¯s corpse. From the Dark Castle scenario onwards, we could kill those who had stories and take them away. I stretched out my hand and grabbed the string.
[The history-grade story ¡®Bug ughter¡¯ has been acquired.]
[Bug ughter].
This story would be enough to hatch the 41st regression Shin Yoosung.
...By the way, could I feed her the story of a demon? Would her mentality get worse if I fed it to her?
[You havepleted the bounty scenario!]
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ feels deep appreciation towards you.]
[You are now able to receive the protection of the Si constetions.]
The protection of the Si constetions. They might seem insignificant but they were also ¡®constetions¡¯. If I built up a rtionship with them, there would surely be a day when they could help me, just like the Absolute Throne situation.
[The history-grade story ¡®Si Allied Forces¡¯ has been received.]
...Si Allied Forces?
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ isughing heartily.]
Well, she said she would give me a history-grade story, not that it would be a good one. It didn¡¯t matter since I could feed it to Shin Yoosung.
My party members recovered their spirits and approached me.
¡°Shit, Kim Dokja is crazy...¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, how strong are you?¡±
I grinned at them. Lee Hyunsung looked down at his shoulders that had been bitten by Tentacio. ¡°...Are there many enemies like him on the second floor?¡±
¡°There are some but it is umon. This guy¡¯s ranking is probably...¡±
A message finally popped up in the air.
[50,000 coins have been acquired as a main scenario reward!]
[The main scenario content has been updated!]
[You have won a ce in Dark Castle.]
[You have hunted the 10th ce demon on the Dark Castle Rankings, Tentacio.]
[Ranking will be in proportion to the hunting contribution.]
¡°...10th ce. There are at least nine existences stronger than this guy. There are more simr guys.¡±
¡°Ah...¡± Lee Hyunsung¡¯s expression wasplicated. He was relieved that the demon earl was in the top 10 but at the same time, he was discouraged. ¡°Dokja-ssi is strong enough to fight these guys.¡±
¡°Hyunsung-ssi can do it if you follow your story. I also can¡¯t guarantee that I can hunt demons higher ranked than him.¡±
In my current state, I could deal with an earl-grade demon without opening a story. It wouldn¡¯t have been as easy if Bug ughter wasn¡¯t his story.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s pride also seemed hurt. ¡°Sheesh, pretending to be modest. Aren¡¯t you deceiving people?¡±
¡°You might¡¯ve done it if you had fought with all your power. Didn¡¯t the Abyssal ck me Dragon hand you a story?¡±
¡°I haven¡¯t seeded them yet because the contents of the story are crazy. Why didn¡¯t you warn me when I said I would choose him? Were you fucking with me?¡±
¡®The Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯s story was...¡¯
I couldn¡¯t remember well but considering the fact that the original contractor was Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon, Han Sooyoung¡¯s reaction was understandable. It would be a shameful story that would annihte the soul just by inheriting it.
[The Dark Castle Rankings in proportion to the hunting contribution will be announced!]
Finally, the rankings were determined. A ranking number was sent to the status window in front of all of us.
[The incarnation Kim Dokja¡¯s ranking in Dark Castle is 11th ce.]
11th ce. It wasn¡¯t bad. The rest of my party members had terrible expressions, as if they were receiving their CSAT scores. (TL: Korean university exams)
Han Sooyoung quickly ran to my side and nced at my ranking window.
¡°Hey, you are quite high...¡± Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression hardened when she saw the number ¡¯11.¡¯
There was a big difference in contribution. Han Sooyoung and the others were probably in the hundreds. She wondered, ¡°Will I be 11th ce if I kill you now?¡±
¡°Do you think you can win?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. In any case, I am better than that Ahjussi.¡±
Han Sooyoung pointed out he passed out Kim Yongpal.
[The incarnation Kim Yongpal¡¯s ranking in Dark Castle is number 101,123.]
The 102,123th ranked Kim Yongpal slept without knowing the world.
Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung, who had been unconscious since the beginning, received the ranks of 98,761 and 87,541 respectively. This was strange. Why was this ahjussi¡¯s rank lower than people who had been unconscious from the beginning.
¡°What about Lee Hyunsung-ssi?¡±
¡°636th ce.¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s voice was gloomy. I hesitated to speak words offort but Lee Hyunsung opened his mouth first. ¡°...It¡¯s fine. I received many reports like this during my school days. I¡¯m somehow more motivated.¡±
It seemed there was no need for me to worry. Lee Hyunsung was the type to be more devoted if he had a specific goal.
Shin Yoosung, who was standing beside me, shook when my eyes met hers. ¡°D-Don¡¯t look!¡±
She was like an elementary school student hiding a report card from her parents. I was a bit worried about this child.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what ranking you are right now. There will be many chances to rise up after going to the second floor. It depends on how hard Yoosung works.¡±
...Damn, I shouldn¡¯t say suchme things. Not everything would work out if you tried hard.
Still, Shin Yoosung seemed to sincerely ept my advice. ¡°...Can I be strong enough Ahjussi?¡±
¡°Of course. You¡¯re stronger than me.¡±
I spoke sincerely. In fact, Shin Yoosung had more potential than anyone else here.
[Your stigma is about to blossom.]
[Screening the story of your stigma.]
Shin Yoosung would grow explosively once she received a stigma. No, even without a stigma, Shin Yoosung was essential for the second floor of Dark Castle. It was a stage where the children could be active.
¡°However, I don¡¯t know why this ranking was suddenly given. If it merely for apetition... perhaps the person who reaches the top will receive a medal.¡±
It was Lee Hyunsung who spoke. His words weren¡¯t wrong. I¡¯m sure this was the purpose. There was an even more fundamental reason for the Dark Castle Rankings.
The moment I opened my mouth.
[The demon king ¡®Asmodeus¡¯ is interested in your presence.]
[The demon king ¡®Astaroth¡¯ is watching you.]
[The demon king ¡®Orobas¡¯ is hungry for your story.]
It wasn¡¯t just me. The other party members also received the message. The messages were much more disturbing than those sent by the constetions. The messages alone caused everyone to shake.
In particr, Han Sooyoung waspletely frightened since she previously received the curse of the demon king.
A demon king. Among them, a few had a ¡®status¡¯ that couldpare to the constetion. At the end of this scenario, we would fight a demon king.
***
¡°Kuaaaack!¡±
The de curved in a beautiful manner and cut off the head of a demon species.
¡®...He was one without a story.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk had climbed up to the second floor andunched his full-scale n to raise his ranking. As always, ns for the future were crammed in his head like training routines.
¡®In order to get to the third floor, I need to seek the four heavenly kings.¡¯
¡®The top rankers should be in the same section.¡¯
¡®One of the 10 Evils is on the second floor. It is better not to bump into him.¡¯
¡®If I keep collecting stories like this, perhaps in four days...¡¯
Then a message appeared in the air.
[Someone has spread your name with ¡®Death Scream.¡¯
[The Dark Castle rankers will remember your name.]
[The Dark Castle rankers are watching for you.]
[The Dark Castle rankers will aim for your story.]
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned at the message.
¡®My name was suddenly spoken?¡¯
It was strange.
¡®Death Scream is a demon curse. I haven¡¯t killed one yet who used that ability.¡¯
Yoo Mia¡¯s cheeks puffed up from beside him and she asked, ¡°What is it Oppa?¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk hesitated for a moment before adding, ¡°...It seems that guy is doing something bothersome again.¡±
¡°That guy?¡±
¡°There is such a person.¡±
Yoo Mia watched her brother, who had spoken in a cold voice. There was a nuance different from usual in his voice. It was a small change, like a grain of rice, but Yoo Mia was able to perceive the change. It was because Yoo Jonghyuk was her older brother.
¡°Are you referring to that ugly Ahjussi?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Oppa looks happy when talking about that Ahjussi.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was embarrassed when he saw his smiling sister and he replied sharply. ¡°You are mistaken.¡±
¡°Is that so?¡±
Yoo Miaughed at Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk scowled and wanted to say something to her.
The next moment, a bloody aura rose from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. Yoo Mia thought he was really angry but Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth first. ¡°Stop eavesdropping ande out. Otherwise I will kill you.¡±
One part of the air seemed rigid and a heavenly doll appeared from a crack in the air. It was a woman wearing a cloak.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. It wasn¡¯t on purpose.¡±
¡°Who are you?¡±
¡°It¡¯s me, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The cloak was removed, revealing a surprising figure. Yoo Jonghyuk knew this face. Not long ago, he had rescued her.
¡°...Yoo Sangah?¡±
It was Yoo Sangah, who was the incarnation of the neb Olympus.
Chapter 158 - - Tomb of the Scenario (2)
Chapter 158: Episode 31 ¨C Tomb of the Scenario (2)
He hadn¡¯t met Yoo Sangah in a week and she seemed more haggard than before. However, her eyes were more dazzling than usual.
¡°It seems you have inherited a pretty good story.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly pulled out the Heaven Shaking Sword. The second floor of Dark Castle was a suitable stage for taking away the stories of others. Yoo Sangah¡¯s story would be well worth it.
¡®This woman also wasn¡¯t there in my previous regressions.¡¯
He saved herst time because of circumstances but he couldn¡¯t leave an element of insecurity alone forever. One element in Kim Dokja was enough. Yoo Sangah raised her hands and stepped back. ¡°I didn¡¯te to fight.¡±
¡°Then why did youe?¡±
¡°I need your help.¡±
¡°I told you not to get involved with me anymore. I rescued you at that time to repay my debt to Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°It is rted to Kim Dokja-ssi.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s killing intent slightly subsided. ¡°What do you mean?¡±
The energy that was pressing down on her disappeared and Yoo Sangah opened her mouth. ¡°In this scenario, Dokja-ssi is going to die.¡±
Kim Dokja would die? Yoo Jonghyukughed. ¡°Kim Dokja is capable of resurrection. I thought I told you before but you must¡¯ve not heard it.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk could guess Kim Dokja¡¯s abilities to a certain extent. It wasn¡¯t an endless resurrection but Kim Dokja would be able to survive death a few more times. Thus, Kim Dokja¡¯s life wouldn¡¯t be threatened for the time being.
¡°He should¡¯ve resurrected by now¡ you haven¡¯t met him yet?¡±
This time, Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes shook. Still, she didn¡¯t give in and spoke again.
¡°It¡¯s not like that. If you leave it like this, Dokja-ssi will ¡®really¡¯ die.¡±
¡°¡How do you know?¡±
¡°I saw it.¡±
¡°You saw it?¡±
The next moment, a giant thread appeared behind Yoo Sangah. It wasn¡¯t a strand from Ariadne.
Looking closer, the thread wasn¡¯t made of yarn. It was made of very small strings. The strings were made of countless stories. Yoo Jonghyuk knew the identity of the thread in the air that flowed like the giant fabric of fate.
He knew but couldn¡¯t help feeling surprised. This was the symbol of the three goddesses of fate, the Moerae.
Yoo Jonghyuk thought about it. ¡°You stole a prophecy from a constetion?¡±
Yoo Sangah gently nodded.
The enraged Yoo Jonghyuk shouted, ¡°Do you know what you have done. Fate¡¡±
¡°I know! That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking for help, Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mind wasplicated. The Moerae¡¯s ¡®fate¡¯ wasn¡¯t simple a power to see the future. Rather, it was a prophecy that came from ¡®conclusions¡¯ through ¡®big data.¡¯
The most reasonable future was predicted through abination of countless stories. In this way, ¡®fate¡¯ wasn¡¯t absolute and seemed like it could change, but this never happened.
So far, the prophecies of Olympus had never been wrong. Even Zeus, the lord of Olympus, couldn¡¯t escape from his fate. It was because the moment a prophecy was made, the whole probability of Olympus was used to realize this fate.
¡°Please stop Kim Dokja-ssi. Otherwise¡¡± Yoo Sangah couldn¡¯t finish her words. The sparks around her body blocked her mouth.
However, Yoo Jonghyuk could clearly read the strings behind her.
¡¸ Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by the person he loves most. ¡¹
***
¡°Wow, the ins are huge!¡±
¡°Is this really the Dark Castle?¡±
Lee Hyunsung stared at the horizon with admiration. The vast expanse of ins and forest areas spread out in front of us. A river with an ominous aura flowed through the centre of the ins. This river was a tributary of the Phoenix River.
We finally arrived at the second floor of Dark Castle.
¡°That¡¯s right. This is the second floor. It is apletely different ce from the first floor.¡±
Unlike the first floor where a new scenario was in progress, the second floor had a scenario that had been going on for a very long time.
I could see the appearance of some incarnations in the distance. They were Seoul incarnations who newly entered this floor with us.
The incarnations didn¡¯t react when they saw us. Looking closely, they were receiving guidance from a dokkaebi.
[¡Congrattions to all the new incarnations who came to the second floor. The Abyss ins is an opportunity for you to do anything.]
It was a dokkaebi with a peculiar tone of voice whom I had never seen before. He had a visibly old appearance. He was a dokkaebi who seemed to have worked for the bureau for a very long time.
It was natural if he was in charge of the scenario for the Abyss ins. Demoted dokkaebis were assigned to this scenario.
I turned on my smartphone and found information on the second floor of Dark Castle in Ways of Survival.
¡¸ The Abyss ins. The dokkaebis call it the tomb of the scenario. ¡¹
¡The tomb of the scenario. The words caused me to feel refreshed. I had alreadye this far.
Han Sooyoung listened to the dokkaebi and opened her mouth. ¡°Another jerk. What opportunity? He will just adjust the difficulty once he bes angry.¡±
It wasn¡¯t just her. The other incarnations had be familiar with the dokkaebis and they looked at this one with distrust. This was the ninth scenario and there was no way they would make a fuss about an opportunity.
The dokkaebiughed as if he knew what they were thinking.
[Don¡¯t worry. There will be no interference from the dokkaebis in this scenario. Regardless of whether the story is interesting or boring, we won¡¯t touch it.
The incarnations murmured. to each other So far, the dokkaebis had never said anything like this. They always wanted a more stimting story. Why were they suddenly not interfering?
¡°What the hell are you nning?¡±
¡°What does this mean?¡±
[I know that you¡¯re all tired from the scenario. Still, I am telling you the truth.]
[The updated main scenario has arrived!]
+
[Main Scenario #9 ¨D ???]
Category: Main
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: ???
Time Limit: ¨D
Compensation: None
Failure: ¨D
+
All the conditions were private and there was no time limit or failure condition. The incarnations had never received such a scenario before and were greatly confused.
¡°What? Nothing is revealed?¡±
¡°Are you trying to fuck us with a shitty scenario again?¡±
The dokkaebiughed at the incarnation¡¯s violent reactions.
[So far, what have you been running for? For your family and friends? To be stronger? Or to reign over others? Each one of you have your own answer. In my opinion, it is all a lie. You came here because you ¡®followed¡¯ the scenario.]
The eyes of the incarnations were shaken as their recent life was dismissed.
The dokkaebi continued speaking. [However, future scenarios will be hard to ovee with such a mind. Passive beings can¡¯t survive in the Star Stream. Thus, this scenario won¡¯t ask for anything.]
A scenario that didn¡¯t require anything. The bodies of the incarnations trembled.
[There is no time limit or failure conditions. There is nothing to fail. You have to find the clear conditions yourself. Only beings who want to tell a story themselves will be able to move forward. Huhu, I wonder how many people will make such a choice? I pray that you won¡¯t fall asleep in this ¡®tomb.¡¯]
The dokkaebi disappeared with these words. The incarnations lost their sense of purpose and started making a fuss. It was a bizarre sight.
This was more peaceful than any scenario so far but the incarnations seemed somewhat uneasy. It was like people were happier when there was an impossible goal.
Lee Hyunsung asked, ¡°Dokja-ssi? What is this?¡±
Lee Hyunsung was terribly confused. He had been filled with motivation to raise his rankings, only for a scenario with no clear conditions to appear. He must be discouraged. On the other hand, I was a bit worried.
This scenario might be the most dangerous scenario for my party. The moment I was about to open my mouth, a voice was heard behind e.
¡°Uh¡ where is this ce?¡±
Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung had woken up.
***
Lee Jihye was in great despair after confirming that her ranking was number 98,761.
¡°I¡¯ve never received such a rank in the mock tests¡¡±
Of course, this was a lie. ording to Ways of Survival, Lee Jihye wasn¡¯t good at studying.
¡°¡Dokja hyung?¡± Lee Gilyoung jumped like a grasshopper as soon as he saw me. Then he curled up and pretended to be calm. ¡°I knew you were alive. I believed in Hyung until the end!¡±
Lee Jihye ridiculed him. ¡°Kid, what are you talking about? You cried so much with a runny nose.¡±
¡°Cried?¡± Lee Gilyoung argued that he never cried and that he naturally knew I was alive.
10 minutester, Lee Gilyoung couldn¡¯t control his emotions any longer. He let out a bit sob and rushed forward to hug my thighs.¡±
¡°¡A scenario without a scenario?¡± Lee Jihye heard the description from us and asked with a confused expression.
¡°How can we clear this?¡± Lee Hyunsung was worried.
¡°Is there something hidden? We will be able to clear the scenario if we find the hidden condition.¡±
¡°I guess? If we all work together¡¡±
I smiled bitterly as I watched Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung. Indeed, simplicity was helpful. However, not everyone was simple.
¡°Excuse me¡ do we really need to clear it?¡± It was Pink Kid Kim Yongpal who spoke.
Lee Jihye wondered, ¡°Who is this woman?¡±
¡°She¡¯s just a¡ woman who happened to apany us.¡±
I was toozy to exin. She wouldn¡¯t believe me if I said this person was an uncle in his 40s.
Meanwhile, Kim Yongpal was stuttering with half-closed eyes. ¡°J-Just, isn¡¯t it okay to stay like this? If we clear it¡¡±
¡°What nonsense are you suddenly saying?¡±
¡°¡D-Do you know what is at the end of the scenarios?¡±
Kim Yongpal prated the essence of an unexpected ce. I hadn¡¯t expected him to say such a line.
Lee Jihye was confused. ¡°What?¡±
¡°I-I don¡¯t know if it is bad or good for us to keep doing the scenarios¡ In the constantly urring scenarios, we are just the toys of the constetions. Even if we clear this scenario, we don¡¯t know what the next one will be like. W-We can die at any time.¡±
The expressions of the party members became disturbed by Kim Yongpal¡¯s words. It was because he was right.
No one knew how these scenarios would end. No one knew how and when they would die. Everyone ran up to this point because they would die if they didn¡¯t clear the scenarios.
However, this scenario had no time limit or failure condition.
Lee Jihye bit her lips. ¡°Then what? You will stay here? Where do you think this is? It is a dangerous ce where demons are wandering around¡!¡±
Before Lee Jihye finished talking,rge demon species started to gather on the ins. They were demons higher than 5th grade. Lee Jihyeughed like she expected it.
¡°Look, they¡¯re already here.¡±
¡°Everyone gather!¡±
The incarnations nearby gathered around our party. The ones approaching were the fourth grade demon species, devil bears. There was approximately 20 of them. We could ovee them if I used Electrification and my party members worked together.
Of course, the other incarnations didn¡¯t know my strength and felt despair.
¡°These monsters¡¡±
At this moment, a bright light shone from the other side of the devil bears. It was due to the white mes. The devil bears shrieked as they were burnt by the divine fire. How powerful was the ability to be able to ughter a 4th grade demon species? This stigma was¡
¡°Unni!¡± Lee Jihye shouted.
It was naturally Jung Heewon¡¯s Hell mes Ignition. Jung Heewon discovered us and made a startled expression. In particr, she was shocked by the sight of me.
I waved awkwardly at Jung Heewon who nodded hesitantly. There was some difort in her gaze.
¡What? Jung Heewon was riding a ck unicorn. How did she tame that monster? Other people riding ck unicorns came over with Jung Heewon and quickly defeated the devil bears. The incarnations called out Jung Heewon¡¯s name.
¡°Wow! The Judge of Destruction!¡±
Jung Heewon came closer and Lee Jihye ran towards her.
¡°Unni, you are really alive! Did youe here first?¡±
¡°Jihye, I¡¯m sorry. Let¡¯s talkter.¡±
Jung Heewon turned her back to Lee Jihye. Lee Jihye was grouchy and walked back to my side. Jung Heewon led the people in a natural manner, as if she was already ustomed to this.
¡°Everybody follow me! I will guide you to a safe ce!¡±
¡A safe ce? The difort inside me increased.
The incarnations were bewitched by Jung Heewon¡¯s overwhelming force and followed her. We also followed her. We spent approximately one hour crossing the ins. Then a high wall hidden in a forest was revealed.
It was a solid wall that no demon species could surpass. The incarnations were captivated by the sight when a voice came from somewhere.
[Wee. Was it difficult toe here? Thank you for the trouble. Now you are safe.]
The incarnations murmured. Jung Heewon was staring at me with aplicated gaze.
At this moment, I realized what happened. Dammit. I see. This ce was ¡®that guy¡¯s fortress¡¯.
A man appeared on top of the parapet. He gave off a powerful atmosphere that made it clear he was the owner of this ce.
The demon, who embraced the most peaceful despair in the world,ughed as he looked down at us.
[You no longer have toplete the scenarios.]
Chapter 159 - Tomb of the Scenario (3)
Chapter 159: Episode 31 ¨C Tomb of the Scenario (3)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
There was no need to keep performing the scenarios. Everyone gathered at the fortress were wary.
¡°What the hell does that mean?¡±
Some people listened to his words but most of them didn¡¯t.
(He must be a swindler.)
(...He should make sense. What? There is no need to keep performing the scenarios?)
(This is a trick for him to gobble up the rewards alone.)
These people were incarnations who survived up to the ninth scenario.
There were many scammers in Seoul, even if Geumho Station¡¯s Cheon Inho and Chungmuro¡¯s Gong Pildu were removed. The incarnations here were one of those scammers or those who came here after defeating them.
That¡¯s why none of them were easily caught by a honeyed tongue.
The man on the parapet opened his mouth like he had read their thoughts.
[You don¡¯t believe. It is understandable. Nine scenarios isn¡¯t long but it also isn¡¯t short. I can guess what you have gone through and the life you must¡¯ve lived toe here.]
The basics of a scammer was to pretend to understand the other person. There were already people fed up with this.
¡°Do you think I will be deceived by that?¡±
¡°What is your purpose? What do you want to say?¡±
The people who couldn¡¯t stand it started shouting. Then the manughed. It was such a beautifulugh that it was hard to think of him as a scammer.
[It is literally what I said. You no longer need to fight. You must¡¯ve heard the dokkaebi¡¯s exnation. This Dark Castle scenario has no time limit or failure conditions. If you¡¯re smart, you should already understand what this means.]
I looked to the side and saw that Kim Yongpal¡¯s eyes were shining.
[You can continue to live in this scenario area. You can eat, sleep in and do whatever you want. Respect the rights of your life and forget thepulsion to break the scenario... you can finish your life here, just like it was before the ¡®destruction¡¯ began.]
¡°The rights of our life? Don¡¯t talk bullshit!¡±
¡°How can we live in a ce where demons are roaming?¡±
¡°We have a ce to go back to!¡±
People shouted like they were refuting evil.
Then the man asked, [Go back? Where will you return to?]
¡°Of course, the ce where we lived...¡±
[Do you mean the perished?]
¡°It isn¡¯t destroyed! Not yet!¡±
[Everybody already knows. The moment the scenario begun, your is walking the path towards destruction. If you go back, you will only see ruins. Even if you break the scenario... thest thing you will see is destruction.]
¡°Who are you to say that? What do you know¨D¡±
[I know. The where I lived has long been destroyed by the scenario.]
The shaken crowd fell silent. This person lost his home a long time ago to the scenario. The man who stayed in Dark Castle for longer than anyone else was speaking to them now.
[That¡¯s why I can say with confidence that there is no safer ce in the Star Stream than here.]
For the first time, people¡¯s spirits weakened. Their eyes were still disbelieving but they were listening to his story.
Someone asked in a loud voice, ¡°Who are you?¡±
[My name is Reinheit von Djerba. I am someone who came to thisnd 800 years earlier than you... I am the owner of this fortress, Paradise.]
Then the door of the fortress opened. The expressions of the people changed as they saw the scenery inside. Reinheit saw their expressions and smiled.
[I once again wee you. Wee to Paradise.]
***
Paradise.
There were numerous references to it in Ways of Survival.
The tomb of the scenario. The nest of incarnations. Flowers blooming on the ins of despair... these were some of the descriptions for this ce.
In fact, most of them were true.
¡°This ce is...¡±
All the party members except for me were enchanted by the sights in front of them. Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yoosung and even Lee Hyunsung. In particr, Lee Hyunsung rubbed his eyes several times, as if the sight in front of him was unbelievable.
There were residential and market areas on both sides of the main street. Voices filled with unprecedented energy could be heard.
¡°Selling the legs of the demon bug! Have a taste! Recovers your fatigue!¡±
¡°Selling farm grown Sancho Berries! It is useful for recovering stamina!¡±
The merchants at the market were friendly and customers who paid for their goods were satisfied. People of various races and nationalities gathered but no one seemed to discriminate or threaten each other.
All the incarnations who entered the fortress were baffled by the suddenly bright atmosphere.
¡°What on earth...¡±
Until a moment ago, the words ¡®paradise¡¯ and ¡®peace¡¯ were just nonsense to them. Yet that nonsense was being presented in front of them.
¡°...Paradise?¡±
Some people were so surprised that they flopped to the ground. One of the hasty incarnations groaned while dropping a weapon.
A friendly hand was held out to him.
¡°Are you okay? All injured people,e here! The Paradise Clinic treats all the wounded for free!¡±
¡°We will teach you the medicinal techniques! Learn about the difference between ether and magic power! Anyone who wants to use sword energy can learn it! Anyone is wee!¡±
The people living in Paradise weren¡¯t stingy about sharing. They exchanged their knowledge and regarded helping someone as a virtue. There was even cross-speciesmunication.
A demon with horns on his head smiled and waved at us.
¡°Ah, a demon!¡±
Some surprised incarnations pulled out their weapons and the guards in the fortress quickly approached. ¡°Please put that away.¡±
¡°What are you talking about? He is a demon...!¡±
¡°Such hatred is prohibited here. He is also a resident of Paradise.¡±
¡°R-Resident?¡±
The perplexed incarnations hesitated and the demon who waved at them came over.
¡°I am a demon but I won¡¯t hurt you. The prejudice that all demons will eat humans makes me sad.¡±
The incarnations made bemused expressions at the words. Their eyes showed they couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on.
Simr scenes kept urring. Demons, humans and other species joined forces to build houses, went to the pub together or sat next to each other on outdoor terraces... They often sent weing gestures to this side.
The party members were distracted by the sights that were like a tourist advertisement.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ is shaken by the surrounding scenery.]
[The character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ is agitated by the surrounding atmosphere.]
Mypanions¡¯ hearts were conveyed in real time. This was the first peace they encountered after the scenario began. It wasn¡¯t strange that their minds would shake.
People who lived ordinary lives didn¡¯t change their essence just because they carried a knife.
Everything was the result of an outside force. Now for the first time, they could escape from that outside force. It was natural to be seduced.
We saw Jung Heewon¡¯s figure in the distance. Jung Heewon was talking to someone. It was a woman I had seen before.
¡°Thank you so much for that time. I can¡¯t say enough thanks...¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing! I¡¯m d that you¡¯re doing well.¡±
The young woman talking to Jung Heewon nced at me and her eyes widened. Her emotional state changed quickly.
Surprise, fear and... gratitude.
¡°Perhaps this person is...¡±
¡°Ah, Dokja-ssi...¡±
The woman eximed, ¡°You are the person from that time! I haven¡¯t forgotten your grace in saving my life.¡±
At first, I was a bit confused but I remembered when I saw the child holding the woman¡¯s hand.
¡°Are you from Geumho Station...?¡±
¡°Do you remember? Dayoung, you should say hello.¡±
¡°Hello...¡±
They were the mother and daughter who fought against the Cheoldoo Group at Geumho Station.
They didn¡¯t join our party but managed to survive until now. The mother and daughter were working at a farm here and gave us a beautiful basket. I tried to refuse but it was useless.
¡°We never could¡¯ve made it here if it wasn¡¯t for your help. Thanks to you, I could start over again. I really appreciate it.¡±
The mother and daughter had a new home and seemed to gain a new life.
I looked at the mother and daughter moving away and the memories of Geumho Station shed through my mind. The regret that I didn¡¯t save more people and the cowardly way Iforted myself by saying it was for the best.
The child in the distance suddenly turned and looked at me. A smile spread across the child¡¯s face.
A mild guilt flooded in. My hypocrisy was given an undeserved reward. Maybe Jung Heewon also felt like this.
Jung Heewon looked at the mother and daughter before saying to me, ¡°Congrattions on your resurrection. It took a bit longer this time.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t your response too ordinary? Jihye and Gilyoung started crying.¡±
¡°Should I do that?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡±
I looked around with a smile while a difficult expression appeared on Jung Heewon¡¯s face.
She hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth. ¡°...Dokja-ssi, can we talk for a minute?¡±
***
Jung Heewon hade here four days ago. She used the power of Hell mes Ignition to clear the first floor in the shortest time and quickly climbed to the second floor.
Then she reached Paradise. It was a ce where the shackles of the scenario could be removed.
Of course, Jung Heewo didn¡¯t believe the man¡¯s words. On the first day, she felt disbelief and on the second day, she doubted everything.
She was shaken on the third day and then I came on the fourth day. Jung Heewon said, ¡°I suddenly thought about what it meant to continue with the scenario.¡±
Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t brainwashed. In the first ce, Paradise itself was a sweet drug.
I smiled bitterly and asked her, ¡°Weren¡¯t you shaken too quickly?¡±
¡°...Maybe it has always been this way.¡±
Jung Heewon smiled bitterly.
¡°Let me go! I¡¯ll pay coins! I¡¯ll pay the value of what I stole! Let me go!¡±
As we walked down the street, scenes of prisoners being dragged away by the guards could be seen. Some of them were people who entered the fortress with me.
It seemed they couldn¡¯t abandon the old habit of taking other people¡¯s things. Jung Heewon looked at the man being dragged and said, ¡°This ce is better than Seoul.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Species don¡¯t discriminate against each other and they work hard together. There are houses for everyone to live and ces to work.¡±
She spoke like she was making excuses.
¡°We don¡¯t have to be betrayed by colleagues or worry about the monsters who appear at night.¡±
I watched Jung Heewon who was saying such words. The Judge of Destruction Jung Heewon.
She was a sword that I crafted myself in this world. Maybe Jung Heewon was the woman who killed the most people in my group. A person who had to kill everyone to protect my principle of ¡®non-killing.¡¯
¡°We don¡¯t have to live chasing the scenario. We don¡¯t need to have nightmares because we killed someone. There is also no more need to lose anyone.¡±
The hardest de was the easiest to break. It was the hardest so it was wielded the most. Thus, it was damaged the most and lost its sharpness the most. That¡¯s why it broke faster than other swords.
¡°This is a good ce.¡± My words caused Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes to shake. I stared into those eyes as I kept talking. ¡°I think this is a safe ce.¡±
It wasn¡¯t a lie.
¡°There is no safer ce in Dark Castle than here. No, maybe... it isn¡¯t easy to find a safer ce in all the scenarios.¡±
I didn¡¯t want to admit it but it was true. Paradise was truly such a ce.
¡°Dokja-ssi, perhaps...¡±
I hurried as if I knew what she would say. ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t stay here.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°This ce isn¡¯t the ¡®end¡¯.¡±
¡°...Dokja-ssi knows the future.¡±
In the past, I had a talk with Jung Heewon in the Theatre Dungeon. Jung Heewon had asked me about the future and I told her she didn¡¯t exist there. It was because she wasn¡¯t in the original novel. A character I didn¡¯t know the future of...
I told her, ¡°I need to continue with the scenario.¡±
Jung Heewon thought about my words. She looked at the people of Paradise. There were people smiling, talking and willing to live again. ¡°Dokja-ssi, what is the ¡®end¡¯ you are thinking about?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t tell you.¡±
¡°Then that end... is it better than this ce?¡±
I couldn¡¯t easily answer because it was a question from Jung Heewon, not anyone else.
¡°If you don¡¯t continue with the scenario, will everyone be unhappy?¡±
I wondered if the ending I wanted was a ce more beautiful than this Paradise? Could everyone be happy when that ending was reached?
We stared up at the sky without speaking. It felt like there was something precious there but I had forgotten what it was. As if she had woken up from a brief dream, Jung Heewon opened her mouth. ¡°The master of this ce is looking for Dokja-ssi.¡±
I nodded.
Chapter 160 - Tomb of the Scenario (4)
Chapter 160: Episode 31 ¨C Tomb of the Scenario (4)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Jung Heewon and I passed through the central shopping district of Paradise and arrived at a small hill.
The ce where the master resided was naturally gorgeous. It was the same with the castle in Peace Land. However, the lord of Paradise wasn¡¯t a normal existence.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has wide eyes.]
[The constetion ¡®Patron of the Young and the Travelers¡¯ reveals difort.]
As I moved closer to the hill, the constetions of Eden reacted violently.
Patron of the Young and the Travelers. Perhaps a new archangel was paying attention to me. Based on the faint pressure felt from the indirect message, it seemed to be a constetion that was at least on the level of Uriel.
It meant three angels in Eden was following me.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking forward to your rampage.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ wonders about your stigma.]
The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven and the ck dragon were the same. All three regr members of my channel gathered together. I felt pleased because the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven helped with the formation of my nebst time.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has snorted and let out snot.]
...It was hard to believe from the indirect messages that this was the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven. In fact, did he actually write the indirect messages? For example, there was the clone I saw.
Either way, if Secretive Plotter came then all four of the early people would be gathered...
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is watching the situation with interested eyes.
Scarily enough, thest one came as I was thinking about him.
Secretive Plotter. I wasn¡¯t able to confirm his face at the constetion banquet. It was clear that he was a narrative-grade constetion but no matter how I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t remember his modifier.
I suddenly had doubts. Was it possible this strong presence didn¡¯t appear in the original novel?
[Many constetions are paying attention to your actions.]
¡°We are here.¡± Jung Heewon spoke and I stopped at the road up to the hill. There was a white brick house on top of the hill.
A white house on the hill. I didn¡¯t know the intentions behind it but the taste was unique.
¡°I¡¯ll wait here. Call me if anything happens.¡±
I nodded but I already knew that Jung Heewon wouldn¡¯t run right away because I called her. In Paradise, there was no one who could win again the Paradise master.
I climbed up along the road and a shadow appeared near the brick house. A man with a beautiful appearance stood there, as if he had been carved into a sculpture.
¡°Oh, you¡¯re here.¡±
If I didn¡¯t have Fourth Wall, I would¡¯ve stopped breathing from his beauty. Yoo Jonghyuk was also handsome but this person¡¯s appearance couldn¡¯t be described. It was a demonic beauty.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but please wait a moment. These guys were shy around strangers.¡±
The man was watering the flowers on the hill. The flowers were blooming towards the air. Their petals were wide open, like they were trying to swallow the sky, but they were just small flowers.
I knew the name of the flower.
¡°The Perpetual Motion.¡±
It was was a collective term for things that worked forever without being supplied energy sources from outside, but here it was merely the name of a flower.
The man asked, ¡°Do you know this flower?¡±
¡°New flowers bloom almost every day.¡±
¡°You have great knowledge.¡±
It was naturally because I read Ways of Survival.
The flowers of Paradise, the Perpetual Motion. The flower, which only grew on this hill, bloomed at dawn and yielded fruit at night. The fruit fell before dawn and would be used as fertilizer to grow more flowers. Perpetual Motion was a flower that repeated forever.
The man said this flower was very lovely. ¡°I never get tired looking at them. Their vitality is truly amazing.¡±
¡°However, the name is wrong. If it was really perpetual motion, the flower should grow well without water.¡±
¡°It is such a beautiful flower but you can only saw the ws?¡±
The manughed and looked at me. ¡°I haven¡¯t introduced myself. I am...¡±
¡°The master of Paradise, Reinheit von Djerba.¡±
I knew him well. He was one of the most famous ¡¯10 Evils¡¯ in Ways of Survival. Reinheit smiled. ¡°Nice to meet you, Kim Dokja.¡±
As expected, he already knew who I was.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Character List¡¯ is activated!]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Character Summary List.]
+
[Character List Summary]
Character: Reinheit von Djerba.
Private Attribute: Demon Marquis (Legend), One Who Pursues an Impossible Dream (Hero).
Exclusive Skill: Demon¡¯s Eyes Lv. 10, Advanced Weapons Training, Advanced Mental Barrier Lv. 10...
Stigma: Master of Paradise Lv. 10.
Total Stats: Physique Lv. 99, Strength Lv. 99, Agility Lv. 99, Magic Power Lv. 99.
*2nd in the Dark Castle rankings.
+
It was truly great. His overall stats had exceeded the limits of the scenario and almost every skill had reached the maximum. Maybe Reinheit was the ¡®limit¡¯ of this scenario.
I stared at him and Reinheit pped.
¡°It is difficult when you are burning with too much hostility. The Perpetual Motion will be broken.¡±
I asked, ¡°Why did you call me?¡±
¡°I was wondering about the rumours. You have caused a loud buzz the moment you entered this scenario.¡±
Reinheit was different from the 10 Evils I had met so far. If Gong Pildu and Lee Seolhwa were growing into the 10 Evils, Reinheit was already nearpletion.
¡°A being like you entering the scenario is a threat to me.¡±
¡°The second ranked demon marquis is too humble.¡±
¡°...You know about that? Your preliminary investigation is thorough.¡±
His killing intent suddenly sprang out.
...Was he going to ambush me now?
I hesitated. I didn¡¯t think I could beat or kill him. It wouldn¡¯t be an easy fight. The oue couldn¡¯t be guaranteed. Yet the reason for my hesitation...
He said, ¡°In my world, Dark Castle was the 34th scenario.¡±
Perhaps it was because I saw his Paradise. Reinheit watched the scenery of the fortress below the hill.
¡°I remember the first time I came here 800 years ago. At the time, there was nothing on the ins. Only the rankings were given. The incarnations were busy hunting and killing each other, despite there being nothing in the scenario.¡±
I imagined them first falling on the ins. All beings in Dark Castle evolved into demons over time. The first ones to enter Dark Castle weren¡¯t demons from the beginning.
¡°They ascended to a higher species in order to be stronger. In a situation with no time limits or failure conditions, they focused only on getting a higher ranking. Endless war and ughter. It is the only thing that the incarnations could do when the story had disappeared.¡±
The disappearance of the scenario wasn¡¯t a happy thing. Whether it was a constetion or an incarnation, every being eventually needed a story.
However, Reinheit didn¡¯t agree with this. He was tired of being a toy in someone¡¯s scenario and no longer wanted to be a ve to the scenario.
¡°Thus, I created Paradise.¡± I knew Reinheit was sincere. ¡°The dokkaebis call this a ¡®tomb¡¯ but not me. I became a blood-stained demon after many years but I believe real life can only bloom after the scenario has disappeared.¡±
The words were filled with deep emotions. I might¡¯ve been caught if I hadn¡¯t read the original novel.
¡¸ The purest evil. ¡¹
That was what Yoo Jonghyuk called Reinheit.
¡°Constetion Kim Dokja. You want to go to the next scenario.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Stop. Such a thing doesn¡¯t exist.¡± As expected, this was what he wanted. ¡°I¡¯ve lived for 800 years and it isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve seen someone like you.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Numerous strong people have found hidden scenarios but none have cleared Dark Castle. Everyone bes desperate and frustrated by the void of this scenario.¡± Reinhart continued speaking, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be like them.¡±
¡°What do you want?¡±
¡°Constetion Kim Dokja. Please protect Paradise with me. I need your help.¡±
I stood silently by his side and touched the petals of the Perpetual Motion. Before the surprised Reinheit could stop me, the trembling flower quickly shriveled and the fruit fell. The fallen fruit suddenly became rotten and rolled down the hillside.
The guard passing by saw it but didn¡¯t pay much attention. It was because they had no intention of cutting out the rotten part of Paradise.
¡°U-Ugh... release me! It is wrong!¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t steal anything!¡±
The criminals of Paradise were being transported to the underground area below the hill. I knew where they were being dragged.
[Some constetions areughing unpleasantly.]
Just as permanent institutions didn¡¯t exist, Paradise wasn¡¯t free. They would probably be Paradise¡¯s fertilizer. It was just like the rotten fruit became the nt¡¯s fertilizers.
A small earthquake urred deep underground. It seemed to be the cry of a terrible monster.
I told him, ¡°Reinheit, there is no Paradise. A permanent institution can¡¯t exist.¡±
Reinheit didn¡¯t say anything. It looked like he was trying to test me. However, he would soon regret it.
¡°Give me the ¡®next¡¯ scenario.¡±
A look of panic appeared in Reinheit¡¯s eyes for the first time.
¡°I know that you found it 700 years ago. To be exact, you and a few strong people have found it.¡±
¡°How do you...¡±
¡°You have even challenged the scenario. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°However, you failed and survived by yourself. Then this Paradise was made.¡±
I didn¡¯t miss the trembling in his fingertips as he looked after the petals. He said he created this ce to help people find life.
It wasn¡¯t true. This was just a refuge for an impossible scenario.
¡°All the scenarios of the Star Stream exist for stimtion. There is no stimtion in Paradise. Everything is too peaceful.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t believe that the deal with the dokkaebi willst forever. The Star Stream will never allow this space to exist for a long time.
Reinheit was quiet for a while before slowly opening his mouth. ¡°...Constetion Kim Dokja. What else do you know?¡±
His tone had changed. A faint but scary energy was flowing from him. His attitude towards me had changed from this conversation.
It changed from a helper he was anticipating to an enemy more threatening than anyone else.
¡°All of it, even things you don¡¯t know.¡±
I saw a dark clouding from afar.
In such a situation, there was no chance of a clouding in. Thus, this rain cloud was definitely under the direction of the dokkaebis. They were sitting around and watching everything, even if they weren¡¯t interfering.
It was because this world was a scenario even without a scenario. I sighed lightly and prepared for the end of the tragedy.
¡°Reinheit. You will die and Paradise will fall.¡±
Chapter 161 - Tomb of the Scenario (5)
Chapter 161: Episode 31 ¨C Tomb of the Scenario (5)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
¡®I will die and Paradise will be destroyed?¡¯
After Kim Dokja left, Reinheit looked down the hill with a nk expression. He hadughed when he first heard the words. However, he had to stopughing when Kim Dokja¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change.
Reinheit was annoyed.
Kim Dokja might be a constetion but this was crossing the line. He wasn¡¯t the strongest in the Star Stream just because he was a constetion. It wasn¡¯t umon for the 72 demon kings to devour fledgling constetions in the Star Stream.
In addition, Kim Dokja was only a half constetion.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is warning you not to ignore the words of ¡®Kim Dokja.¡¯]
That¡¯s why Reinheit was surprised when the Abyssal ck me Dragon came out to defend Kim Dokja.
Who was the Abyssal ck me Dragon? He was the most famous of the absolute evil system that even the 72 demon kings didn¡¯t want to get tangled up in.
Reinheit looked at the scenery below the hill and naturally became nervous. Thus, he acted like he wasn¡¯t.
¡®Paradise won¡¯t perish.¡¯
Reinheit was old but still alive. He had been watching this ce alone for 700 years. Thus, this ce would be fine in the future. This scenario might be full of poisonous people but he wouldn¡¯t lose if he fought in Paradise.
¡®Rather, the dangerous thing...¡¯
Kim Dokja didn¡¯t yet know how terrible the stories that entered Dark Castle were.
The rotten fruit of Perpetual Motion fell off and Reinheit disappeared.
***
I didn¡¯t know what would happen if a battle took ce on the spot but fortunately, Reinheit didn¡¯t attack. It was obviously that Paradise would be turned upside down if we fought here.
Of course, I had no intention of fighting. Things would be smoother if I defeated Reinheit here but I would be badly damaged and the incarnations of Paradise would develop a grudge against me.
I couldn¡¯t let that happen. If Paradise copsed, it must be due to the anger of Paradise itself, not an external enemy. The incarnations would end up in the same predicament if I acted without revealing what was wrong.
¡°...Is it over?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Jung Heewon was waiting for me below the hill. She still had an unclear expression. Maybe she was struggling with her loyalty to me and thefort of Paradise.
I decided to relieve a bit of her worries. ¡°Heewon-ssi. Do you want to go shopping for a while?¡±
We walked along the street. Noise came from the bustling shopping district.
¡°...It has been a while since I¡¯ve walked like this.¡±
¡°Me too.¡±
As the awkward silence continued, Jung Heewon decided to speak first. ¡°Do you have any questions for me?¡±
¡°What do you want me to ask?¡±
I know what to she wanted me to ask. However, there were some things I didn¡¯t ask because I already knew the answer.
¡°Um... my favourite colour or favourite food,¡± Jung Heewon replied.
¡°Those are questions that wouldn¡¯t be asked even in blind dates.¡±
¡°...Has Dokja-ssi been on a blind date?¡±
I ignored the slight hit to my pride and asked, ¡°Are you disregarding me?¡±
¡°No... it just doesn¡¯t seem like Dokja-ssi¡¯s style. I feel like you would want a fateful meeting.¡±
I felt like I had unexpectedly been stung. In fact, I had never been on a blind date. Jung Heewon continued speaking. ¡°We have never talked about our past before. Aren¡¯t you curious?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°How did you live before and where did you go to school?¡±
I quietly listened to her.
¡°What was your phone number and where did you live? In addition...¡±
The scenery passed and Jung Heewon¡¯s voice gradually died down. As she was speaking, she would¡¯ve discovered it. Maybe it had been too long to tell such a story.
The area she lived would¡¯ve been destroyed and those who remembered her history... probably wouldn¡¯t be alive. These things happened to us in just a few months.
Jung Heewon was silent for a long time before wondering, ¡°Even if we go back... it won¡¯t be the same Seoul, right?¡±
¡°It won¡¯t.¡±
At the end of the 10th scenario, Seoul Dome would be broken and the incarnations liberated.
Still, this was just the beginning of another hell. It meant the scenarios that were limited to the capital city domes would expand to the whole world.
¡°Then... why do we have to continue with the scenario? None of the things we knew are still remaining. There is no going back.¡±
This was why she wanted to stay in Paradise. The woman from Geumho Station, Pink Kid Kim Yongpal... Paradise was the ce where lost people came.
Jung Heewon¡¯s head hung down. I opened my mouth while deliberately not staring at her face. ¡°Heewon-ssi is a good sword.¡±
Small breathing sounds could be heard.
¡°You are calmer in front of the fire than any of us. In particr, you are sensitive to the tyranny of the strong.¡±
I slowly started the ¡®story¡¯ that I knew.
Just because Jung Heewon didn¡¯t appear in the original novel didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t know her. It made me work harder to read her.
¡°You always fought at the head of the party and neverined about how difficult it was.
Jung Heewon listened to me with her mouth shut. I continued speaking, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell anyone when you were hurt and even if there was something suspicious, you chose to believe in that person.¡±
I thought of Jung Heewon. The Jung Heewon who trusted me despite my suspicious actions. The Jung Heewon who fought for me at Geumho Station.
¡°You might distrust humans more than anyone else but you are actually filled with affection. You are the first toe running when our party is in danger.¡±
Jung Heewon was the one who desperately searched for the party when the dokkaebi separated them. Jung Heewon always joked around but she was careful to make sure we wouldn¡¯t be offended by a little joke.
¡°...¡±
¡°If so, don¡¯t I know a bit about Jung Heewon-ssi?¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s head remained lowered as she spoke, ¡°I¡¯m not like that.¡±
¡°This is the Jung Heewon that I see.¡±
Jung Heewon carefully avoided my gaze.
¡°No one has ever told me that... Dokja-ssi would be good at blind dates. By the way, why are you saying this all of a sudden?¡±
Jung Heewon looked up at me and smiled faintly, as if nothing had happened. It wasn¡¯t a moment where she should smile.
¡°This is the Jung Heewon-ssi that I saw because you continued the scenario.¡± Jung Heewon¡¯s lips, which had been halfway open, stopped. ¡°That¡¯s why I believe you should continue the scenario.¡±
There was no ce for us to go back. There might not be a ce for us to stay. Still, at least the story was continuing. As long as the story continued, there were more things that we could barely see.
Jung Heewon carefully opened her mouth. ¡°...I don¡¯t understand because it is too hard. I told you before. I didn¡¯t do well in school...¡±
¡°I¡¯m not saying this in the hope that Heewon-ssi will act. Heewon-ssi should live ording to your own way.¡±
I opened the Exchange while talking.
[The item that youmissioned to be made has arrived.]
The timing was good. The item that I sent to be produced hade. It was made from the bone of the fire dragon, the heart of a demon and the nucleus of some monsters.
It was an item that only Jung Heewon could use. In the original novel, only the ¡®three original judges¡¯ were able to use the item. I paid 100,000 coins for it to be produced and received the item.
[You have given the ¡®Sword of Judgment¡¯ to Jung Heewon.]
The surprised Jung Heewon epted the sword.
¡°This...?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t we decide to go shopping together? This is my gift. Isn¡¯t your old sword broken?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t deserve this.¡±
I slowly shook my head.
¡°Nope, only Heewon-ssi is eligible for this sword.¡±
***
¡°Kim Dokja has a really bad personality. Are you actually going to leave like this?¡±
We moved away from Paradise. Han Sooyoung kept looking back as she spoke.
I replied without looking back. ¡°The things here are finished.¡±
¡°What is finished?¡±
If it went ording to the original novel, Paradise will probably be destroyed. The peace of the incarnations would be ruthlessly broken.
Should I stop it? I couldn¡¯t do that. This scenario would never end as long as Paradise existed.
¡°Paradise isn¡¯t for me to get involved in.¡±
¡°Ah, you are leaving it to the original flow of the novel... why can¡¯t you do it yourself?¡±
¡°Reinheit is too hard to catch right now and I will gain a bad story if I do beat him. He has too many supporters.¡±
Stories didn¡¯t only have ¡®good effects.¡¯ Some stories would cause your strength to drop.
Han Sooyoung knew this and bit her lips. ¡°Well, it is like this. Then what about the mental state of thepanions left behind?¡±
¡°They should get some rest.¡±
¡°What? Rest? Tell me honestly. Aren¡¯t you actually angry? You have done a good job but they fell for a demon they met for the first time. In particr, Jung Heewon...¡±
¡°...Jung Heewon deserves it. It has been hard for her so far.¡±
Han Sooyoung scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t make meugh. Don¡¯t you know what you have done? Paradise will soon perish. She received the sword and likes you without knowing anything.¡±
¡°She chose it herself so she should be responsible for herself.¡±
¡°You demon...¡±
Some wounds destroyed us but some made us stronger. It couldn¡¯t be helped, even if I was called a demon. This was my path. Han Sooyoung grumbled for a long time before suddenly saying. ¡°Hrmm... by the way, Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Why are you taking me?¡±
¡°You will help me.¡±
Han Sooyoung bit her lips and suddenly summoned her clones.
...Their faces seemed to resemble me. This reminded me that she could change the faces of her clones.
¡°What are you doing?¡±
¡°Training.¡±
It was more like a one-sided assault than training. Furthermore, she focused on hitting a ce that was extremely painful. Han Sooyoung beat me up for a long time before asking, ¡°What are you going to do now?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll set aside the scenario for three or four days and gather stories while searching for hidden pieces.¡±
Han Sooyoung smiled at the words ¡®hidden pieces.¡¯
¡°Why? Aren¡¯t you the type to be focused on the main scenario?¡±
¡°This time I will leave it to other people. It has been hard for me to do it alone up to now.¡±
When I thought about it, I tried too hard to do it alone. That jerk Yoo Jonghyuk seemed to be working hard but he wasn¡¯t helpful at important moments. It would¡¯ve ended at the Disaster of Floods or Peace Land if I hadn¡¯t helped. As I was working hard on the scenarios, he went around finding hidden pieces.
Thus, it was time for him to work properly. I smiled and said, ¡°We will now pretend to be the regressor.¡±
Chapter 162 - Kim Dokja’s Love (1)
Chapter 162: Episode 32 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Love (1)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Four days passed since Kim Dokja left. The fortress still remained and no signs of destruction were visible.
The sky of Paradise was more peaceful than ever and it was evennguid. Lee Gilyoung looked at the sky and spoke in a dark voice. ¡°We have been abandoned.¡±
¡°The little boy is starting again.¡±
¡°Dokja hyung threw us away.¡± Lee Gilyoung was in a depressed state and had been repeating these words for two days.
Lee Jihye frowned from where she was sharpening her de nearby. ¡°Why are you making such a fuss?¡±
Lee Gilyoung replied, ¡°Do you know when a protagonist will leave his colleagues behind?¡±
¡°...When?¡±
¡°When a colleague will interfere.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°We are now judged as useless!¡±
¡°...How is Ahjussi a protagonist? Honestly, Master is more suitable to be the protagonist. In addition, this isn¡¯t a novel.¡± Lee JIhye grunted but her expression wasn¡¯t bright either.
In the past four days, the group was calm. It was a drug-like peace. It was so peaceful that they felt calm. Nobody threatened them and there was nothing in the world to worry about.
They trained their skills from time to time and recalled the advice Kim Dokja had left for them.
¡¸Gilyoung iscking skills persistence. If you have coins left, try to ce them in ¡®patience¡¯ or ¡®indomitable persistence¡¯. You can use the exchange or ask your sponsor to help you. ¡¹
¡¸ Jihye, you are too biased towards agility. If you have surplus coins, invest in strength and magic power. Your battle style will change depending on where you invest. ¡¹
¡¸ Yoosung, focus on raising ¡®Taming¡¯ and Advanced Diverse Communication¡¯ to the maximum level. If you need other skills rted to taming, tell me at any time. ¡¹
Was it due to Lee Gilyoung¡¯s words? The uneasy Lee Jihye poked Shin Yoosung sitting next to her. ¡°Hey, little beast.¡±
Shin Yoosung, who had been training Advanced Diverse Communication due to Kim Dokja¡¯s advice, suddenly woke up.
¡°...What is it?¡±
They might be in the same party but Shin Yoosung didn¡¯t like Lee Jihye, who was rude to Kim Dokja. Lee Jihye was embarrassed by the look in Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t look at me that way. I have to ask you something.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Do you know what Dokja ahjussi is going?¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes widened at the unexpected question.
Lee Jihye continued, ¡°You are his incarnation so I was wondering if you knew something. Originally, incarnations get information on the sponsor whenever the sponsor and incarnation¡¯s synchronization increases.¡±
In fact, Lee Jihye also shared Yi Sunsin¡¯s memories whenever she used the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s stigma. In the end, the core of the story was the stigma. It was inevitable to know the story of the constetion every time the power was used.
Shin Yoosung desperately tried to choose her words before barely opening her mouth. ¡°Ahjussi... he is a lonely person.¡±
¡°Hey, anyone could say that.¡±
¡°He also likes reading books...¡±
¡°Books?¡±
¡°Yes. Countless pages appear whenever I think of Ahjussi. I¡¯m not sure what it is... I can¡¯t see the page contents.¡± Shin Yoosung hesitated and lowered her head. ¡°I still don¡¯t know that much. I haven¡¯t received a stigma yet.¡±
¡°...I didn¡¯t ask to discourage you.¡±
Lee Jihye patted Shin Yoosung¡¯s shoulder and once again realized reality. Only one person left but the whole atmosphere of the party changed. As a member, they had to survive well.
¡®If it wasn¡¯t for Ahjussi, everything would already be over...¡¯
She looked around and noticed that everyone was uneasy. The two children who depended on KIm Dokja, the soldier who only knew the manual, the female swordsman who was unable to properly cope with her power...
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ criticizes the patriotism of the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye.¡¯]
Lee Jihye scoffed and blocked her ears, shouting ¡®abababa¡¯ to tune it out.
¡®By the way, the soldier is going it again.¡¯
Lee Hyunsung was staring nkly at something. Lee Jihye knew what he was looking at andughed. It might not be a bad thing to temporarily rx.
¡°Hey Kid.¡± Lee Jihye watched Lee Hyunsung approaching something and suddenly opened her mouth. ¡°Do you want me to show you something fun?¡±
***
For the past four days, Jung Heewon had nightmares. The monsters were overwhelming and the dream of Paradise was destroyed.
Once she woke up, Kim Dokja¡¯s Sword of Judgment was crying.
Several times, Reinheit hade to her and asked her to be the chief of the fortress¡¯ security.
However, Jung Heewon refused the request. The reason was because the Sword of Judgment only cried out when there was ¡®evil¡¯ nearby.
Jung Heewon sat on a low te roof and looked at the scenery of Paradise. There was nothing that could be seen as ¡®evil¡¯ in the city.
¡°Heewon-ssi, do you have any worries?¡± When did hee? The bright-faced Lee Hyunsung was standing beside her.
¡°Ah, just... It is so peaceful that I have a lot of thoughts.¡±
¡°Me too.¡±
The two people were silent for a moment. An awkward atmosphere flowed. A strange current had flowed between them ever since Lee Hyunsung saved Jung Heewon, who had gone berserk thanks to Nirvana. However, neither of them knew exactly what this current was.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ dislikes the actions of the incarnation ¡®Lee Hyunsung.¡¯]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is warning ¡®Master of Steel¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ says this isn¡¯t a matter to get involved in.]
She suddenly looked down and saw Lee Jihye and the children hiding.
¡®...What are those guys doing over there?¡¯
Jung Heewon was about to call out to them when Lee Hyunsung opened his mouth first. ¡°I think there is a reason for this peace.¡±
¡°You seem to believe that Dokja-ssi didn¡¯t just leave us here.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi is such a person. It is our job to find out the reason.¡±
She thought usingmon sense but couldn¡¯t figure it out. It was rted to why Dokja-ssi left them here in Paradise but she couldn¡¯t see what the problem was.
At this moment, noise from a group of people below the roof disturbed her.
¡°Return the scenario!¡±
¡°We want to go to the next floor!¡±
Jung Heewon frowned. They were people who felt discontent towards the peaceful Paradise. They were the protesters of Paradise. They didn¡¯t have a representative catchphrase but they intermittently appeared in Paradise.
Jung Heewon couldn¡¯t understand it. Why did they want to go back to the scenario? She opened her mouth. ¡°I think I should go down. A fight might start.¡±
¡°I understand.¡±
By the time Jung Heewon descended, bloodshed was already happening. However, it wasn¡¯t from a ¡®fight.¡¯ It was a one-sided assault. The guards were beating up the protesters.
Jung Heewon was upset by the excessive force and stopped a guard. ¡°Wait a minute! Calm down and back off! This is too much!¡±
¡°I am performing official business. Don¡¯t interrupt.¡±
The chief guard removed Jung Heewon¡¯s hand and gathered the fallen protesters. The protesters were ced into small wagons and seemed to be transported somewhere.
¡°Catch all those who ran away. I will take all these people.¡±
¡°What about that woman?¡±
The guard captain looked at Jung Heewon and shook his head. ¡°Leave it alone. This is an order from the lord.¡±
Not long afterwards, some protesters who ran away were caught. There was an unexpected figure among them.
¡°I-I¡¯m not a protester! I was just passing by identally! Dayoung! Dayoung!¡±
They were the family from Geumho Station. Jung Heewon shouted, ¡°Wait a minute! That person isn¡¯t a protester!¡±
Then the guard said, ¡°You are a protester. You panicked and ran away when we chased you. If there is no sin, why did you run away?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
The guard captain nodded and started to give instructions again.
Jung Heewon shouted, ¡°No, it is natural to be scared and run when you are suddenly changed!¡±
¡°It will be revealedter. There is no time so transport them!¡±
¡°I said to wait!¡±
¡°...Despite the lord¡¯smand, I will arrest you if you interfere one more time.¡±
Funnily enough, Jung Heewon stopped at the word ¡®arrest.¡¯ She didn¡¯t know why. Was it because she had been thrown into the wild for so long and suddenly returned to society?
The woman judged she couldn¡¯t stop the situation and shouted, ¡°T-The child didn¡¯t do anything wrong! Please release the child!¡±
The guard captain briefly paused at the woman¡¯s scream. He thought for a moment before ordering, ¡°...Leave the child alone.¡±
The guards nodded and only took away the woman. The child watched her mother going further away and started to cry.
¡°Uh, Mother...¡±
¡°Dayoung, listen up. Mother will be back soon. Understood? Just wait there! I will...¡±
Her mother¡¯s voice go further away. As Jung Heewon btedly tried to chase them, some of the watching merchants stepped in.
¡°Youngdy, don¡¯t bother. It is useless. This is thew of Paradise.¡±
¡°Where are they going?¡±
¡°They are going to Paradise¡¯s dungeon.¡±
¡°Dungeon?¡±
¡°ess is prohibited for everyone except the guards. No one has ever returned from there. Tsk tsk... she is pitiful but she should¡¯ve lived well.¡±
The merchants showed a lukewarm reaction and scattered.
Jung Heewon stood nkly for a moment before approaching the crying child. She wondered what to do and hesitantly grasped the crying child¡¯s hand. Something popped in her head the moment she felt the warm texture.
...This was Paradise?
¡°I think I know what to do.¡±
She looked back and saw Lee Jihye and the others. All of them had expressions like they had found their own ¡®scenario.¡¯
Lee Hyunsung said, ¡°I think it will be a big deal but I don¡¯t know if we will be okay.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi believed in us. Maybe he is doing something bigger. He is always like that.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m sure Hyung is fighting monsters alone with a serious face.¡±
Kim Dokja wouldn¡¯t leave without a reason.
It might be to protect people from the threat or to break the scenario... No matter the reason, Kim Dokja would be desperately risking his life at the moment.
Finally, Jung Heewon opened her mouth. ¡°Let¡¯s try it together this time.¡±
They couldn¡¯t rely on Kim Dokja every time.
Kim Dokja would obviously be performing a hellish scenario in a ce that wasn¡¯t visible.
***
¡°Hey! Kim Dokja, this is honey. You really didn¡¯t live like this before?¡±
On the vast ins, a sports car with a loud engine was moving.
¡°...Yes.¡±
In the past three days, we had captured three hidden scenarios on the Abyss ins. The strategy itself wasn¡¯t difficult. It was because unlike what I had done so far, all the future information I knew waspletely urate.
¡°This guy¡¯s weakness came out in the 34th regression. If we press the three small dots on his back...¡±
¡°His attack range is dangerous but he will reveal a gap after using a ranged attack...¡±
¡°The weakness of the boss is the anus...¡±
It was morefortable because I was with Han Sooyoung.
¡°Okay, it is the anus.¡±
I didn¡¯t have to exin why I knew the information and Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t doubt what I told her.
As a result, we got two star relics. One was a SSS-grade star relic that was only useful as a star relic on these ins.
[SSS-ss Ferrarigini].
This car was a SSS-ss item created by the Mass Production Maker.
The SSS-ss Magic Turret installed on the front and rear were useful for destroying arge number of enemies, as well as moving as fast as Way of the Wind without using magic power.
Thanks to it, we can enjoy the feeling of driving through the ins. What should I say? It was a top-grade regressor course?
I once again felt resentful towards Yoo Jonghyuk. He had been enjoying this type of thing while I broke the scenario.
Han Sooyoung was even more excited than me. She stood up on the passenger seat and raised her arms, shouting, ¡°I will never be a pushover! I will only live selfishly for myself!¡±
I wanted to tackle that faithful regressor mindset of ¡®You live only for yourself.¡¯
[Many constetions are pleased with incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯s exciting remarks.]
[Many constetions agree with her behaviour.]
[20,000 coins have been acquired.]
The monsters that came running exploded from Ferrarigini¡¯s magic bullet. Han Sooyoung was pleased at collecting coins and shouted towards the sky. ¡°Kim Dokja! Say something as well! When will you feel like this again?¡±
I hesitated for a moment. I was somewhat embarrassed but I agreed with Han Sooyoung¡¯s words.
If I thought about it, my life had never gone well. I had always suffered from overtime. Forget a Ferrari. I used public transport because I had no money to buy a used car.
Thus... I felt it as well. I hesitated before shouting in a timid voice. ¡°I-I am the protagonist!¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ covers her eyes with embarrassment.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ considers moving channels.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is taken with your chuuni words.]
Shit... why couldn¡¯t I feel it?
By the way... things must¡¯ve happened in Paradise by now. This was the flow in the original novel and the party members would probably do well. Things had been working out recently. If this continued, the scenario would be cleared in a sh...
[A huge fate is hoping for your death.]
...What?
Chapter 163 - Kim Dokja’s Love (2)
Chapter 163: Episode 32 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Love (2)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
I thought I heard wrong and dug at my ears. However, the message didn¡¯t change.
[A huge fate is hoping for your death.]
What the? I pressed hard against the brakes as my mind became troubled. Han Sooyoung screamed from the sudden stop. ¡°What is it? I was in the middle of feeling good!¡±
¡°Please be quiet.¡±
I once again listened. This time a voice appeared as well as the message.
[A huge fate is hoping for your death.]
This was the third time. I gulped. Dammit. Was there an incident where a ¡®fate message¡¯ appeared three times in the original novel?
I thought about it. It was... the 71st regression Yoo Jonghyuk. At that time, Yoo Jonghyuk had been named due to Yama, king of hell.
Shit, what was going to happen?
Han Sooyoung scowled and asked again, ¡°Why? What¡¯s going on?¡±
¡°Someone has read my fate.¡±
¡°...Fate?¡±
Fate. It was as scary as the ¡®probability¡¯ in Ways of Survival.
Strictly speaking, this was a force using ¡®probability¡¯ in the broader sense. However, there was a reason it was called something different. It was because ¡®fate¡¯ was the power of the constetions, who exercised their umted probability.
¡°Uh, wait a minute. It seems to be a story that I vaguely know...¡±
¡°Perhaps there was a quick mention in the beginning of the novel.¡±
¡°Fate... is it simr to Future Sight?¡±
¡°It is simr but different.¡±
In fact, it was very different. Reading fate wasn¡¯t as simple as reading ¡®information of the future.¡¯ Rather, it was even more dangerous.
¡°If Future Sight is a glimpse of a predictable future, fate was a power that forced a predictable future.¡±
I didn¡¯t know if Han Sooyoung understood so I added an exnation.
¡°For example, let¡¯s say I step on the elerator for five seconds. Then when I look using Future Sight, won¡¯t I be driving?¡±
¡°...Well, I guess.¡±
¡°However, if I know information about the future, I might not step on the elerator.¡±
¡°That is possible.¡±
¡°Fate is different. If someone reads the fate that ¡®Kim Dokja will step on the elerator for five seconds¡¯, this fate is forced unless it is withdrawn or realized. To put it simply...¡±
¡°You must step on the elerator.¡±
I nodded and Han Sooyoung spoke like it was strange. ¡°By the way, isn¡¯t it a bit weird?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t fit the probability. ording to you, ¡®fate¡¯ is a force that interferes with the scenario but who can force it?¡±
¡°Who...¡±
In principle, the dokkaebis couldn¡¯t interfere with the scenario. Thus, there was only one being who could interfere. Han Sooyoung immediately knew the answer. ¡°Even if it is a constetion, alone...¡±
¡°It is a problem because they aren¡¯t alone.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Only the big nebe can read fate.¡±
Then a big explosion urred in front of us. Something was approaching at a formidable pace. It was on a different dimension from the monsters we had met before.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s face paled. ¡°...Kim Dokja, what exactly is the fate message that you received?¡±
¡°I will die.¡±
¡°Dammit, you should¡¯ve told me that first! Why does something always...¡±
Han Sooyoung spat out and was about to leave the car. A presence appeared in front of them. I reflexively drew Unbroken Faith but the man opened his mouth first.
¡°Kim Dokja. I have something to tell you.¡±
It was my first time seeing him but I was ustomed to the energy from his body. I instinctively felt that he wasn¡¯t an enemy.
¡°You are...¡±
The moment I smelt the scent of fragrant well and felt the overexcited air, I discovered who this person was.
¡°...Did youe to say I will die?¡± I asked.
The incarnation of Dionysus, who smelt of alcohol, smiled at me with white eyes.
¡°Ah, you already know?¡±
I had a good impression of Dionysus. He fought for me on the way to the banquet location. Still, that was a different story from the current situation. I opened my mouth and spoke in a wary voice.
¡°Are you the ones who read my fate?¡±
¡°Yes. Olympus read your fate. But if you¡¯re asking if I¡¯m one of them, I¡¯m not.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
Dionysius¡¯ incarnation just smiled. A thought crossed my mind the moment I saw the smile.
¡°Surely Olympus isn¡¯t splitting apart?¡±
¡°You are truly smart.¡±
...Already? This development was faster than the original. The breaking apart of Olympus was scheduled but it should¡¯ve happened after at least 10 scenarios.
¡°It isn¡¯t just Olympus. Many constetions are aiming at you. They are very strong and mighty existences.¡±
I had expected it. Otherwise my ¡®fate¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be so overbearing.
¡°Why are they aiming for me?¡±
¡°Those strong people are afraid of your influence.¡±
¡°I¡¯m just a fledgling constetion.¡±
¡°That¡¯s how it should be. However, the scenario started on Earth is very special. Some constetions believe this is the scenario we have long been waiting for. Ahh, don¡¯t make that expression. I¡¯m not saying this so you can understand.¡±
I wanted to say that my face always looked like this but Dionysus continued. ¡°In any case, just know that this scenario is very important to us. Then you showed up in the scenario.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what it is but I¡¯m disturbing things.¡±
¡°Yes. You are bound to be an obstacle. You will be less influenced by probability than other constetions. You have overwhelming growth and strengthpared to other incarnations. That¡¯s why some nebe believe you should either be absorbed or removed.¡±
I briefly looked at Dionysus. ¡°Why are you telling me this information?¡±
This was the thing i was most curious about. Why was Dionysus showing kindness towards me?
¡°It is because I like your story.¡± Dionysusughed heartily and added. ¡°Some constetions and I believe that you can reach ¡ö¡ö.¡±
***
Jung Heewon and the group spent the day investigating the dungeon of Paradise. There was no way to invade with arge number of people at once so the party decided to scatter and find a method. The method Jung Heewon chose was straightforward.
¡®I will mix in.¡¯
In the afternoon, new criminals appeared. Uriel gave her the Recluse¡¯s Cloak and she chased after the guards while the dungeon was open. The guards and arrested criminals went through the underground door without feeling her presence.
The prison was much deeper than she thought and the darkness was beyond her imagination.
¡®Where are we going down to?¡¯
It was a depth she couldn¡¯t understand. Why did it need to be so deep, even if it was a prison? It would be inconvenient to move...
She was feeling doubts when the guards¡¯ footsteps came to a halt. Strangely, all of them looked tense.
¡°All of you, move over there! We will withdraw immediately!¡±
The guards were afraid, as if this was a ce they shouldn¡¯t enter. It was the same for the scary guard captain. Then a thick iron door opened and once it was opened, an entrance filled with metal bars could be seen. There were severalyers of steel bars. It was a prison with excessive defenses designed to lock humans in.
¡°Everybody go in!¡±
The guards drove the prisoners inside and quickly rushed away.
¡°Aaack!¡±
¡°Help me!¡±
Jung Heewon mixed in with the prisoners and recoiled at the sight. Why were these people thrown here? What was going on here?
¡°U-Uhh... where is this ce?¡±
The prisoners looked around. There was a faint light but it was extremely dark. Jung Heewon would¡¯ve also been lost in the darkness if it wasn¡¯t for her Night Vision skill.
¡®This is a prison?¡¯
She looked around and didn¡¯t feel it was a prison at all. The surroundingndscape was closer to a natural cave and there was no method to distinguish between prisoners. No, there were no other prisoners trapped in the first ce.
¡®How does food distribution happen? What the hell is this?¡¯
It was a ¡®dungeon¡¯ system that couldn¡¯t be understood at all. The prisoners she came in with were also disconcerted.
¡°What are we supposed to do here?¡±
¡°Excuse me! Is anybody there?¡±
The scared prisoners shouted but there was no reply. Instead, faint sounds were heard in the darkness.
Jung Heewon slowly pulled out the Sword of Judgment. The moment she stepped in here, the crying of her sword became more violent.
¡®This...¡¯
An eerie sensation reached her back and Jung Heewon shouted, ¡°Everyone, run away!¡±
However, it was already toote. Monsters rushed from the darkness and pounced on the people.
¡°Uwaaaack!¡±
¡°Save me! Kuaack!¡±
Leopard-like creatures were randomly biting people¡¯s arms and legs. People¡¯s limbs were torn apart like they were toys and blood sttered.
She originally only nned to rescue the woman from Geumho Station but things changed. The almost level 10 Demon ying skill was activated and a red aura wrapped around her body.
Her Kendo drew a perfect line in the air. The leopard¡¯s body was split apart in a neat line. The agitated leopards kept following her but she cleaned up the monsters.
Jung Heewon¡¯s power reached its peak in a ce where demons were swarming.
¡°I-I don¡¯t know who you are but thank you...¡± The people in the darkness found her presence and thanked her. However, Jung Heewon couldn¡¯t afford to ept the thanks. She had seen the faces of the leopards.
¡®What the hell is this?¡¯
The leopards had the faces of humans. Jung Heewon reflexively ran through the darkness.
All her senses had be cold with fear.
She ran and soon arrived at a cavern that was huge beyond her capacity to measure. To be precise, it wasn¡¯t a cavern. There were countless monsters in it. This was like the boundary of the Demon World.
There were 5th grade, 4th grade and even 3rd grade species. There were also monsters she didn¡¯t know the rating of.
¡°This is Paradise...¡±
She couldn¡¯t find the woman from Geumho Station. Of course, Jung Heewon wouldn¡¯t be able to find the woman. She had already been eaten or...
Kuaaah!
She would be one of these monsters. The monsters felt her lifeforce and were excited. Most of them were mixed breeds between demons and other monster species. Some looked like insect kings while others were the outside species... although this was just from the external appearance.
Prisoners were approaching behind her.
¡°Don¡¯te!¡±
Before her cry reached them, the ground started to shake and the monster¡¯s feast began. The monsters ran out of the cavern like ants. Jung Heewon bit her lips and used her hell mes again.
¡®I shouldn¡¯t havee in alone.¡¯
No, what could the others do if they came with her? Could Lee Hyunsung and the children fight against these distant enemies? Rather, it was good that she came alone.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
The prisoners were eaten as prey while Jung Heewon wielded the Sword of Judgment and used Hell mes Ignition. The burning heat of the archangel¡¯s mes caused the frightened demons to step back and be more cautious.
She didn¡¯t know how long this confrontation could continue. Some monsters watched the movement of the mes and dared to jump forward.
¡°Oh, you are an archangel¡¯s incarnation.¡±
At this voice, the monsters who weren¡¯t afraid of the mes withdrew with weak groans.
She turned around and see Reinheit. He asked, ¡°Are you ready to be the chief of the guards?¡±
¡°...Can you say that after seeing me?¡±
Jung Heewon told him, ¡°You are a liar. Paradise? Get away from the horror of the scenario? Can you say that to me after making this ce?¡±
She pointed the Sword of Judgment at Reinheit. Kim Dokja was right. There was no such thing as paradise in this world. They... were bound to continue the scenario.
Reinhart said, ¡°If you want to kill me, you can.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t need your permission.¡±
She would naturally do so. She would borrow the power of her sponsor and end this terrible nightmare.
[Judgment Time is activated!]
[The constetions of the absolute good system are struggling with your request.]
Chapter 164 - Kim Dokja’s Love (3)
Chapter 164: Episode 32 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Love (3)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Jung Heewon was surprised.
...Struggling? Anyone could see that Reinheit was evil. He deceived countless and produced monsters in this underground area. How could he not be evil?
[The constetions of the absolute good system entrust the judgment to incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯.]
Reinheit opened his mouth. ¡°If you kill me, Paradise will end.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s hell mes decreased at these words. There was a faint smile on Reinheit¡¯s face.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi, I didn¡¯t expect you to be here.¡±
¡°What...¡±
¡°You should¡¯ve known. Paradise isn¡¯t perfect. It is natural for a beautiful ce to have a shadow.¡±
Jung Heewon didn¡¯t respond. Ignorance was a deception. Of course, she had thought about it. This ce must be hiding some awful truth. She just didn¡¯t think it would be this...
¡°Why are you mass producing monsters? Are you going to conquer Dark Castle?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not doing anything. They are just the nutrients of Paradise.¡±
A huge tree trunk could be seen in the centre of the cavern. Branches stretched out like tentacles towards the monsters in the vicinity.
Jung Heewon realized where the tree trunk was heading. The small flower that bloomed on the hill, the Perpetual Motion.
Jung Heewon¡¯s legs were shaking without her knowing. Surely this tree...
¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? Weren¡¯t you curious about why the many demon species on Dark Castle don¡¯t invade this ce?¡±
She thought it was strange. It wasn¡¯t enough to describe Paradise as a blessed fortress.
¡°Why are there so many demons in Dark Castle?¡±
Rapidly moving branches grabbed the humans one by one. The prisoners screamed but there was no room for resistance. The rapidly moving branches tied around the prisoners¡¯ bodies and three them into a hole in the trunk.
A terrible noise was heard and then there was a scream like a soul was being castrated.
After a while, buds blossomed on the tree trunk. Jung Heewon sensed what would be born from the bud and shook. In less than a few minutes, a giant monsters was born from the bud. It was the human who had just been swallowed by the tree.
The Perpetual Motion was a tree that made demons.
Jung Heewon kept trembling. ¡°H-How can you do this?¡±
Why couldn¡¯t she find any demon species near Paradise? Paradoxically, it was because Paradise itself was the source of the demon species.
¡°The demons produced here are released every month on certain days. There is a limit to the capacity of the prison.¡± Reinheit smiled as he spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me with those eyes. Being a demon isn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°They can have eternal life and are stronger than humans. In addition...¡±
The tree emitted a bright light and started to supply nutrients to the earth of Paradise.
¡°Their sin is used to sustain the lives of other beings. In other words, they are martyrs.¡±
It was the source that provided vitality for crops to grow on the barrennd of Dark Castle. This was the role of the Perpetual Motion. Jung Heewon understood everything and felt desperate.
[The constetions of the absolute good system are demanding you make a choice.]
If she killed Reinheit, the underground prison would copse. The Perpetual Motion would die and the system of Paradise would be destroyed. People would lose thend and their food. Then they would be torn apart by the monsters.
¡°Why... why...¡± Knowing this, Jung Heewon couldn¡¯t kill Reinheit. She had no confidence in condemning the source of the tragedy when she would cause a bigger tragedy.
¡°Somebody has to do it.¡± Reinheit¡¯s face was sad. ¡°Life continues for the losers of the scenario. Someone has to create a ce for them.¡±
¡°If you really care for them, you should help keep the scenario going! Don¡¯t make a ce like this. Lead the people and try to clear the scenarios!¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know. The enemy in the following scenario isn¡¯t someone we can win against.¡±
Jung Heewon was surprised at his gloomy expression. The 2nd ranked demon marquis of Dark Castle. Who could cause him to feel such fear?
¡°...What do you know?¡±
¡°That isn¡¯t important. Even if you clear the following scenario... the ¡®next¡¯ one is always ready. More losers will be made.¡±
¡°We can clear all of them! It is a scenario. Won¡¯t it end one day? Practice your skills and build your story...!¡±
¡°Do you think we can clear all the scenarios one day?¡±
Jung Heewon closed her mouth. The end of all the scenarios. Her colleague Kim Dokja wanted to reach that ce.
Reinheit continued speaking, ¡°Do you believe peace wille at that time?¡±
Jung Heewon cried out with all her heart. ¡°Yes. I believe.¡±
¡°Why do you think so? Is there a single person who has reached the end of the scenario?¡±
¡°There are the constetions!¡±
¡°The constetions?¡±
¡°They exist outside of the scenarios. In other words, there is a way to escape from this scenario.¡±
The constetions who treated the incarnations like toys. The existences of such ¡®absolute¡¯ beings actually gave hope. Someday they would be able to reach that ce. They could get away from this hellish scenario.
¡°Ha. Haha, hahaha...¡± Reinheitughed. ¡°I see. The constetions. I understand your mind. I had thought so as well.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°Why do you think that constetions cleared all the scenarios? Did Kim Dokja say so?¡±
Kim Dokja never said this. An ominous feeling entered her heart.
¡°They certainly are outside the scenario. However, they are just ¡®outside¡¯ the scenario.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°They are all doing scenarios like us. 76 times, 84 times. The size and number of scenarios vary but they are like us.¡±
She had never thought of this before. Jung Heewon asked in a trembling voice, ¡°T-Then...?¡±
¡°The constetions are just powerhouses beyond the standards, born in the middle of the scenario. They are neither gods or absolute beings.¡±
Reinheit spoke as if dering an absolute proposition.
¡°Let me tell you once again. No one has ever reached the ¡®end¡¯ of the scenarios.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°This world is eternal hell.¡±
Jung Heewon copsed to the ground. Even the constetions couldn¡¯t do it. Even the mighty beings couldn¡¯t reach that ce.
Kim Dokja wanted to go to such a ce.
¡°Something like this... what do you want to do? Kim Dokja, you...¡±
Reinheit kept speaking. ¡°That¡¯s why I made Paradise.¡±
Jung Heewon stared nkly up at Reinheit.
¡°If this continues, Paradise will someday copse. The number of humans is decreasing and the number of demons is constantly increasing. The nutrients to sustain thisnd are running out.¡±
At the end of despair and desperation, he created the Paradise of Despair.
¡°I need a noble human to sustain this tree. There are many souls who entered this quarter. Kim Dokja is one of them.¡±
Jung Heewon realized what he was talking about. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m needed?¡±
¡°That¡¯s correct. You are chosen by an archangel and willst at least 10 years. A constetion like Kim Dokja will be able to maintain the vitality of Paradise for more than 200 years.¡±
¡°Do you think I will just listen to you?¡±
¡°You will listen. It is because you are the incarnation of an archangel.¡±
If she sacrificed herself, she would be able to protect Paradise.
¡°If you help, there will be no need to punish people for minor offences for a while. You can save thousands, tens of thousands of lives.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s shoulders trembled. She could save tens of thousands of people with her life. If she didn¡¯t die, tens of thousands of people would die.
She saw a monster reminiscent of a fish squirming on the ground. The face resembled the woman from Geumho Station. The monster stared at Jung Heewon with a hungry expression and roared.
¡°I...¡±
It was an abandoned life anyway. Her parents, friends and the people who remembered her were all dead. The end of the scenario was impossible. Living any further was useless.
¡°I...¡±
[The constetions of the absolute good system are looking at you.]
Jung Heewon made a decision. ¡°I understand. Then I...¡±
If she died to save tens of thousands of people, it was the right thing, the righteous thing.
Reinheit¡¯s expression seemed to soften. At thest moment, something caught her.
¡®Then what is my life?¡¯
It was probably empty.
¡®I... what the hell is this?¡¯
It was the foolishst attachment to life. She already knew the answer.
-Heewon-ssi is a good sword.
-You are calmer in front of the fire than any of us. In particr, you are sensitive to the tyranny of the strong.
-You always fought at the head of the party and neverined about how difficult it was.
It was because someone told her the answer already.
-This is the Jung Heewon-ssi that I saw because you continued the scenario.
Maybe Kim Dokja knew the reality of the scenarios from the beginning. Even so, he didn¡¯t give up.
-That¡¯s why I believe you should continue the scenario.
Jung Heewon stood up.
¡°I can¡¯t die here.¡±
Thus, she decided to be selfish. She decided to live, even if many people died from her choice. She had to live with it.
¡°No, you will die.¡±
However, sometimes their life and will were irrelevant.
¡°Then you will be the nutrients of Paradise.¡±
There were a number of demons who couldn¡¯t be dealt with even using Hell mes Ignition. Jung Heewon¡¯s expression tensed and she opened up all her magic power. She couldn¡¯t die. She would never die.
At this moment, there was an explosion and people appeared.
¡°Heewon-ssi!¡±
¡°Ah, Unni went alone again!¡±
It was the people who sustained her life. Still, Reinheit didn¡¯t panic. He smiled like it was good.
¡°I¡¯m able to get a lot of nutrients.¡±
This person was the second strongest in Dark Castle. He wasn¡¯t afraid of a group without Kim Dokja.
¡°Everybody stand back!¡±
Lee Hyunsung stepped forward and protected hispanions. He was much stronger than before but the situation was bad. Maybe someone would die in this fight. It would be lucky if all of them didn¡¯t die.
How good would it be if Kim Dokja was here? She tried to avoid depending on Kim Dokja but Jung Heewon couldn¡¯t help having this thought.
¡°This is your end.¡± Reinheit dered and raised his hand.
Then the entire ceiling copsed. It was like bombs had poured down in session. The ether storm ripped through the branches of the Perpetual Motion and the shattered ceiling fell towards Reinheit and the monsters.
The crushed monsters let out terrible screams. Somebody¡¯s voice was heard among this chaos.
¡°You hid in a deep and dirty ce.¡±
There was a man and the shadow of a woman chasing him. Yoo Jonghyuk faced the people looking at him with wonder and confusion and asked, ¡°...By the way, where is Kim Dokja?¡±
Chapter 165 - Kim Dokja’s Love (4)
Chapter 165: Episode 32 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Love (4)
Can people stop posting spoilers in thements? I¡¯ve been receivingints.
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
¡°Master!¡± Lee Jihye shouted when she discovered Yoo Jonghyuk. However, Yoo Jonghyuk asked again without caring about her at all.
¡°Where is Kim Dokja?¡±
¡°...Why are you looking for Dokja ahjussi?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was about to answer when Yoo Sangah carried Yoo Mia and descended from the ceiling like a beautiful woman. The party members called out her name. Rather than responding to their greetings, Yoo Sangah hastily said, ¡°Dokja-ssi is in danger.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Do you know where Dokja-ssi is now?¡±
Just like Yoo Jonghyuk, Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes search the people nervously. She couldn¡¯t see Kim Dokja at all. Lee Hyunsung quickly replied, ¡°Dokja-ssi left four days ago.¡±
¡°What do you mean by Dokja-ssi is in danger?¡± Jung Heewon asked again. Unfortunately, there was no time to exin.
Lee Jihye added in a frustrated manner. ¡°Didn¡¯t youe because you knew something was wrong? We are the ones in danger, not Dokja ahjussi.¡±
Yoo Sangah had no idea of the situation and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s leave this ce and I¡¯ll exin.¡±
Due to the turmoil, many monsters were pouring out of the connected caves. Lee Jihye spoke in a creeped out manner.
¡°Damn, if Gong Pildu ahjussi was here...¡±
Certainly, the situation would be a lot different if Gong Pildu was here. Gong Pildu¡¯s stigma Armed Fortress was useful againstrge numbers and was suitable for ughtering many monsters.
However, they already split from Gong Pildu on the first floor of Dark Castle and it was unclear where he was.
Yoo Jonghyuk was the party¡¯s solefort. Simply in terms of force, he was much stronger than Gong Pildu or Kim Dokja. He had enough strength to crack apart a mountain with his fist.
Yoo Jonghyuk blew away the iing monsters with Hundred Steps Godly Fists and said, ¡°It is disadvantageous if we fight here. Let¡¯s go out via the ceiling.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk sought the fastest method of escape and opened a path in the monsters. His ability to open a path without a significant consumption of magic power was close to a human tank. No, a real tank wouldn¡¯t be so powerful. Yoo Sangah asked, ¡°Can we escape?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll make some steps so jump out yourself.¡±
At these words, Yoo Jonghyuk flew into the air.
It was the Air Steps that only the strongest returnees in the Murim World Could use. He built a tower with the corpses of monsters for the party members to step on. Then he went through the ceiling and punched something to create a tform.
He normally wouldn¡¯t have done this for the party. However, Yoo Jonghyuk in this regression was different. Yoo Jonghyuk himself didn¡¯t know what had made him change. Then he heard a voice in his ears.
[It is a very unexpected situation. You are ¡®Incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk?¡¯]
It was Reinheit¡¯s voice. Lee Jihye was amazed as she was running towards the ceiling. ¡°What, he isn¡¯t dead?¡±
It was natural.
The second-ranked being in Dark Castle wouldn¡¯t die from a few stones. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t reply to Reinheit, instead waiting for the rest of them at the top of the stairs he had made. Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah climbed up first, followed by Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung.
The moment Shin Yoosung was about to pass by, Yoo Jonghyuk grabbed her shoulder. ¡°You shouldn¡¯te with us.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
Before Shin Yoosung could reply, Yoo Jonghyuk pushed the child down from the ceiling. The monsters opened their mouths as they waited for Shin Yoosung. Lee Gilyoung shouted, ¡°Yoosung! What...? What are you doing?¡±
The angry Lee Gilyoung swung his fists at Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk lightly grabbed Lee Gilyoung¡¯s fist and said, ¡°You should go too.¡±
After a moment, Lee Gilyoung screamed and fell down along with Shin Yoosung.
***
After Dionysus¡¯ incarnation left, Han Sooyoung asked me with a serious expression, ¡°...What the hell was thatst thing he said?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know? It was filtered for you as well?¡±
I didn¡¯t hear it. However, I could vaguely guess what he meant. It was probably rted to the ¡®end¡¯ of all scenarios. Then it was natural to be filtered.
I was challenging the 10th scenario and just became a scenario. I couldn¡¯t get all information at will.
Han Sooyoung stared at me with a grumpy expression and made a small sigh. ¡°...By the way, what are you going to do about your fate? It must be really dangerous if the constetions of Olympus are directlying to warn you.¡±
¡°It looks like it.¡±
¡°Is there no way topletely stop the fate?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯tpletely inevitable. If the execution of fate was absolutely impossible, the fate would be withdrawn. Fate always followed ¡®probability.¡¯
In the opposite sense, fate could never be escaped if there was even the slightest chance of it happening. Han Sooyoung thought about something and wondered,
¡°There isn¡¯t any specific information? It only mentions your death?¡±
¡°That...¡±
In fact, Dionysus risked losing a huge amount of probability by telling me the prophecy.
¡¸ Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by your most loved ones. ¡¹
To be honest, it was a confusing story for me.
The person I loved most... They were going to kill me?
I hesitated before telling the contents of the prophecy and Han Sooyoung opened her mouth. As if she didn¡¯t know what to say, her face paled and then reddened.
¡°The person you love most?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°...Do you have such a person?¡±
I felt bad but somehow, I also wanted to ask this. I tried to recall the faces of every person. There was some affection but there was no one I ¡®loved.¡¯ Indeed, ¡®love¡¯ was the word that was furthest from my life.
¡°To be honest, I would say there isn¡¯t one.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s face became redder at my words. ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t the fate be withdrawn?¡±
¡°At first nce, you might think so...¡±
¡°Or are you going to fall in love with someone now? Are you the type to fall in love at first sight?¡±
¡°That has never happened and it isn¡¯t likely.¡±
The fate message was strong enough to be repeated three times. I was confused. Had I fallen in love with someone?
Han Sooyoung looked at myplicated expression and opened her mouth. ¡°Or there is another possibility.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Originally, fate isn¡¯t something that should be interpreted literally. Don¡¯t you know Greek mythology? Originally, prophecies aren¡¯t immediately known. It is full of metaphors and symbols.¡±
Han Sooyoung cocked her head.
¡°Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by the person he loves most... what symbolism or analogies are present in this sentence?¡±
¡°Do you mean the sentence might have a surprisingly different meaning?¡±
¡°Hrmm...¡±
Han Sooyoung was an author so she might be surprisingly helpful in interpreting this aspect. Han Sooyoung started to take out usible hypotheses.
¡°I think there are three possible things.¡±
¡°What is it? Tell me.¡±
¡°First. There might be a reason why ¡®incarnation¡¯ was mentioned first.¡±
¡°...Incarnation?¡±
It was a point I had inadvertently overlooked.
¡°Aren¡¯t you a constetion now? Then as an incarnation, you have already died. No?¡±
It was a usible hypothesis. However, if this hypothesis was correct, I would¡¯ve seen the message about fate being realized the moment I became a constetion. In other words, there was no reason for the fate messages to repeat.
Han Sooyoung seemed to think something wascking as well and came up with a second hypothesis. ¡°Second, it is possible that the words ¡®person he loves most¡¯ itself is a metaphor.¡±
¡°What else is considered a ¡®person¡¯ in the Star Stream?¡±
¡°Um... It might be the personification of something.¡±
I tried to think about it but couldn¡¯t find a usible interpretation for this part.
By the way, I looked at Han Sooyoung and wondered if she was a good person. I was very grateful for her thinking about all these possibilities for me.
I watched Han Sooyoung. Hershes seemed unusually long because of the lingering twilight. It turned out that this person was quite pretty. In fact, Han Sooyoung was a bit young but her looks weren¡¯t bad.
...Wait a minute. What was I thinking right now? I had to be careful. Maybe I would be hit by Han Sooyoung if I did something wrong. Honestly, this person would stab me without any hesitation. In fact, she had already stabbed me once.
Han Sooyoung spoke again. ¡°Thest thing we need to think about is ¡®die.¡¯ Perhaps this death isn¡¯t literally death.¡±
¡°Then?¡±
¡°When do you think people die?¡±
¡°That... I suppose when their life is over. Their heart stops and they are no longer breathing.¡±
Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue like she was disappointed in my answer. ¡°Well, there is a reason why you kept reading a novel like Ways of Survival...¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t start a useless argument. So what do you mean?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you read manhwa? Usually you should say something like this. When a person dies? It is when they are forgotten by people!¡±
¡°Those are manhwa. Then are you saying I will be forgotten?¡±
¡°It is just an example, you idiot. In the Star Stream, a constetion dies when they are forgotten. You can think of simr possibilities.¡±
In fact, it didn¡¯t sound impossible. The Star Stream was a huge story and beings with no rtionship in the story were naturally wiped out.
I wondered, ¡°Why will people forget me? Is it group amnesia?¡±
¡°They might not mean to forget.¡± Han Sooyoung¡¯s face suddenly seemed lonely.
Speaking of which, I didn¡¯t know Han Sooyoung¡¯s life. Apart from the fact that she wrote a novel giarizing Ways of Survival, I knew nothing about Han Sooyoung.
...Even now, the part about giarism was uncertain. In the past, Han Sooyoung said she didn¡¯t giarize and Lie Detection said she was telling the truth.
I asked after a moment, ¡°Then what do you mean?¡±
Han Sooyoung seemed to be picking her words as she opened her mouth with a dark expression. ¡°Kim Dokja, dead people can¡¯t remember anything.¡±
I realized what Han Sooyoung was talking about. We reflexively looked towards Paradise.
...Perhaps?
Han Sooyoung spoke first. ¡°Should we go back?¡±
¡°...It is toote if we go now. It has already been four days. It is impossible to get there in time.¡±
¡°Then?¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay. By now, the strongest reinforcements should¡¯ve arrived.¡±
¡°The strongest reinforcements?¡±
¡°That guy should be sent...¡±
At this moment, a message appeared in the air.
[Someone in Dark Castle has achieved the first transcendence in the scenario!]
It was as I expected. I thought he would¡¯ve reached that position by now.
I thought about Yoo Jonghyuk, who should be causing a disaster in the distance. ¡°Now the main character should pay for his meal.¡±
Chapter 166 - Kim Dokja’s Love (5)
Chapter 166: Episode 32 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Love (5)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Han Sooyoung bit her lips besides me. ¡°When did you be so close to him? That psychopath...¡±
¡°We aren¡¯t close.¡±
¡°You had a very trusting expression when you said those words?¡±
¡°You are mistaken. I trust the dokkaebis more than I do him.¡±
If I believed in Yoo Jonghyuk, it was in his experience, not his personality. This was a guy with three times the experience and he learnt various types of information from the 41st round Shin Yoosung.
Furthermore, Paradise was originally his main responsibility. He took care of it well in the second regression so he should do better this time. Just...
¡°...I¡¯m a bit worried.¡±
I couldn¡¯t bepletely relieved because I didn¡¯t trust his personality. I had made various preparations for the party members to attack Paradise but I couldn¡¯t be perfect.
I was a reader, not a reader, and Yoo Jonghyuk was a regressor sunfish. I hope he felt a lot better since hisst psychotic break...
Han Sooyoung spoke with an understanding expression. ¡°Well... if you¡¯re worried then you can go and watch. You have a skill to watch it in real time anyway.¡±
¡°...You are aware of it?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t know until now.¡±
Well, Han Sooyoung had watched me take over Yoo Jonghyukst time. I struggled for a moment before telling her, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go. Please wait.¡±
¡°How much are you going to give me?¡±
¡°Why do you want coins every time? You should give a bit of free service for once.¡±
¡°...Then do it quickly. I can¡¯t deal with some enemies alone.
¡°If something happens then just wake me up.¡±
I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ stage 3 has been activated!]
Soon after stage 3 was activated, the voices of the people thinking about me started to be heard.
I set aside a few voices and chose the one with the widest scenery.
***
The shaking began from the centre of Paradise. The street stalls were overturned by an intense shock wave that shook the entire ground.
¡°Aaack, what is this?¡±
¡°A monster?¡±
Everyone looked around but they couldn¡¯t figure out the situation. Maybe it was because they enjoyed peace for too long. Their cerebral cortex, which had always assumed the worst, were now brainwashed to only imagine the safest future.
¡°The guards will resolve it. Don¡¯t worry.¡±
¡°Hang in there!¡±
In the centre of the explosion, Yoo Jonghyuk saw the incarnations of Paradise. There were faces he knew and faces he didn¡¯t know.
In the first regression, Yoo Jonghyuk had been betrayed for trying to save them and in the second regression, Yoo Jonghyuk destroyed this ce with his own hands.
Finally, the third regression...
Some people held onto Yoo Jonghyuk and asked him questions as he walked from the st.
¡°What? What the hell is happening?¡±
The people who had just been selling fruit or harvesting crops stared at him with frightened expressions. Yoo Jonghyuk also faced them. It was definitely a story, even if it wasn¡¯t a scenario.
Yoo Jonghyuk knew the reason. When he saw Paradise for the first time, he agreed with Reinheit¡¯s intention and protected this ce.
¡°H-Help me! Please!¡±
Of course, it was all in vain. Paradise was no different from the scenario. Just as the scenarios kept exploiting the incarnations, Paradise was a ce supported by incarnations turned into fertilizer.
There was one thing Yoo Jonghyuk realized after destroying the ce several times. Giant stories always ate small stories. The onlyws involved stories and this was the providence of Star Stream.
Yoo Jonghyuk told the people. ¡°Paradise will soon cease to exist.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Find something that you can protect yourself. Then defend it.¡±
The monsters started running out from the passage that Yoo Jonghyuk and the party members created.
The incarnations shrieked as they watched the giant wsing from underground. Some guards btedly ran to protect the incarnations but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop all the monsters.
¡°W-Why are they here?¡±
¡°The lord! Where it the lord?¡±
Many guards fell down from one strike of the monsters. The guard captain just barely managed to escape in time.
Yoo Jonghyuk cut off the limbs of the iing monsters and looked around. Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung were evacuating people from various ces.
Yoo Jonghyuk muttered, ¡°It is amazing that you survived up to this point.¡±
They might die for people who didn¡¯t even know their names. It was the influence of Kim Dokja. It was a miracle they could make it here with such a heart.
¡°No, I was able toe to this ce because of those people.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned after hearing Yoo Sangah¡¯s words. ¡°I wasted time because of you.¡±
¡°I heard that Dokja-ssi was here when I contacted Olympus.¡±
¡°The information is either wrong or someone is manipting the information.¡±
Or perhaps Kim Dokja somehow manipted the information. Either way, it wasn¡¯t a favourable situation for Yoo Jonghyuk.
Originally, the strategy to clear Paradise shouldn¡¯t be done in this way. In fact, the current Paradise was the more unsuitable ce to attack.
The branches of Perpetual Motion came up from the ground and soared to the sky.
This was the ¡®story¡¯ of Demon Marquis Reinheit. It was the body of Paradise, the Perpetual Motion nt that was sustained by souls.
Some monsters climbed on the branches and were released above ground. The monsters, who had been starving for a long time underground, discovered their prey and roared as they scattered all over the ce. There was the 5th grade Dark Tracker, the 4th grade Lubel Tiger and even unknown 3rd grade species.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
In the midst of this terrible carnival, the incarnations found the lord. They believed he was the salvation who could save them from this tragedy.
¡°Lord!¡±
Then the nt moved. The vines stretched out like tentacles. The tip of the sharp vines pierced the monsters to protect the people of Paradise.
The incarnations cheered. They knew there was only one powerful being in Paradise.
¡°This is the lord!¡±
¡°Lord!¡±
[Please rest assured.]
The incarnations¡¯ hearts were caught as they listened to Reinheit¡¯s voice.
¡®Our Paradise won¡¯t fall so easily.¡¯
Everyone believed this. At least, until the guard captain discovered something in the smoke.
¡°Lord...?¡±
A familiar face was growing from a bud at the end of a branch.
¡°Uwaaaack!¡±
The frightened guard captain copsed on the ground.
¡°M-Monster! Monster!¡±
The guard captain, who had long vowed allegiance, lost hisposure when he saw Reinheit was one with the nt. The appearance of the demon¡¯s true body was terrible.
[Ah, Haidel?]
The guard captain confirmed the lord¡¯s true appearance and shook with fear. The power that Reinheit radiated was terrible. It was thanks to Reinheit¡¯s legendary story, Paradise of Despair.
[It finished well. I needed food to recover.]
The flying vines started to swallow the people of Paradise, including the guards. The vines pierced the incarnations and sucked their small stories. The inhabitants either became mummies or were turned into demons.
¡°Stop!¡±
The hell mes burned several branches. However, there was no end to them. Jung Heewon shouted, ¡°I thought this was the ce you had to protect! What are you doing?¡±
[That was until you guys showed up.]
Reinheitughed. His upper body emerged from the highest branch and he looked at thendscape of Paradise.
[Paradise is already over.]
The incarnations shook with fear in front of the gigantic Perpetual Motion. The residents who were in awe of the lord just a moment ago could no longer be found.
[This is why the presence of small stories is unavoidable. You have lived on a small tree all your life and didn¡¯t know it was actually a forest.]
One by one, the incarnations realized the identity of the world they lived in. No, maybe they already knew the truth but were ignoring it.
[Thus, I will restart everything.]
Like an umbre, the branches shot up and started to cover all of Paradise. It was as if it wanted to absorb all of Paradise. Jung Heewon stared at the scale and waspletely lost.
How could they hurt that? Could humans fight and win against that?
Then a huge explosion urred from one side of the branches. Along with the roar, the branches covering the sky were broken. It was like a huge hole in the roof of Paradise.
[Truly great. You are...]
There was sincere admiration in Reinheit¡¯s voice. There was a man with a huge presence under the damaged roof. Needless to say, it was Yoo Jonghyuk.
[...You have gone beyond a human.]
Surpassing humans. The words that sounded like rhetoric had apletely different meaning to beings like Reinheit.
[You reached such a level in only the ninth scenario? Kim Dokja was great but you... you are the real monster.]
A mighty presence was filling Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. Yoo Jonghyuk, whose eyes were closed, had exceeded his limits by mobilizing all his capabilities.
¡®The Rock King¡¯s Gloves increases strength by two levels.¡¯
¡®The Gukryong¡¯s Skin increases strength be one level.¡¯
¡®The Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds increases strength by four levels.¡¯
¡®The skill buff increases strength by three levels.¡¯
Once strength broke through level 100, a tremendous energy filled Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s whole body. He remembered the words of his teacher, Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
-The first course of transcendence is to go beyond the limits of the body.
Most incarnations thought there was a limit to bing strong through their efforts alone. That¡¯s why they tried to get better sponsors and show off to the stronger constetions.
However, the universe wasrge and some people disagreed with such cowardice.
There were those who didn¡¯t get a good sponsor or a sponsor at all. There were those who dream of bing ¡®one¡¯ with their own efforts, not the assistance of an absolute existence.
-The second course is to train all skills to the limit. The skills that existed in the world were ¡®stigmas¡¯ left behind by someone. Train all those skills to the limit. As if climbing adder, try and explore the limits of the system.
The constetions devoured stories and strengthened their influence, constantly tempering their existence into a ¡®story.¡¯
-The final course is to kick away thedder. Forget everything you have umted so far. Forget the level, forget the skills and forget the story. After all, the system that many beings choose is the ¡®universal¡¯ one. The important thing is that you find your own ¡®story.¡¯
Training, training and training. Going beyond the limits of the skill with extreme story and be a story. This was the peak of mortality that could bepared to constetions.
Those who had talent and worked hard were able to achieve transcending the limits of their species. In honor of their noble endeavors, the Star Stream called them transcendent, despite not being constetions.
-These are the minimum conditions to enter the seat of transcendence.
Yoo Jonghyuk had already achieved transcendence in thest regression. He had already reached it once so it wasn¡¯t difficult to climb up again. Only physical conditions and time were needed.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s golden aura was formed around the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds. Despite obviously using a skill, the message about the skill usage didn¡¯t pop up.
It was because this power wasn¡¯t using the ¡®system.¡¯ It was a power built up by Yoo Jonghyuk alone.
¡°Reinheit, I beat you in thest round.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk aimed two swords towards the Perpetual Motion that had be a huge forest.
¡°This time I will kill you.¡±
Chapter 167 - Kim Dokja’s Love (6)
Chapter 167: Episode 32 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Love (6)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
The air burst like a fighter jet had passed by. The ces hit by the golden energy cracked apart. The monsters caught in the crack were torn apart without even being able to scream. The golden light blew away 4th and 5th grade species.
Breaking the Sky Sword. This was the road of the sword that broke the sky.
Even the 3rd grade monsters, which could easily destroy the area in 10 minutes, screamed because they couldn¡¯t resist this sword.
How long had Yoo Jonghyuk practiced this sword? 10 years? 20 years? If hebined the training in the time dark dimension, it would be well over 100 years. Thanks to all these years, Yoo Jonghyuk was able to reach the peak of humanity.
¡®My physical limits is still low but I can barely do it.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk controlled his overloaded body and constantly swung his sword. This transcendent power couldn¡¯tst long, no matter how strong he was. His level was also far less than his teacher, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
Nevertheless, his attacks were far beyond the general ¡®skills¡¯ category. The monsters exploded like firecrackers and Reinheit was amazed.
[The rumours of transcendence aren¡¯t false. But how can a human who isn¡¯t a returnee...?]
Reinheit didn¡¯t finish his words. The ce where he had just been located was torn apart from the ether des of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Heaven Shaking Sword.
It was a truly formidable destructive power. This was the power of the Splitting the Sky energy.
¡°Be careful! People are getting caught up in it!¡± Yoo Sangah shouted at Yoo Jonghyuk but he ignored her.
In the first ce, he was good at destroying things, not saving things.
¡°This is the master of a legendary-grade story. It isn¡¯t easy to defeat him. In Paradise, his strength is equivalent to a 2nd grade monster.
In fact, Reinheit¡¯s Perpetual Motion showed no signs of receding despite the damage. Rather, the branches were angry and absorbed more of the humans around them.
¡°Aaaaack!¡±
The rate at which the Perpetual Motion grew was faster than the rate at which humans were rescued. In addition, there was still a high number of monsters.
Yoo Sangah opened her mouth as she used Hermes Walking Method and Theseus¡¯ Resolution to kill the surrounding beasts. ¡°It doesn¡¯t end. Where have they been hiding these monsters?¡±
¡°The monsters are the exports of Paradise.¡±
¡°Exports?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at the air for a short moment. The dokkaebis who said they wouldn¡¯t interfere were gathering, as if it was a fun sight.
[Huh... this is difficult.]
[It looks like a new farm is needed.]
Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t immediately understand what they meant. In the midst of the surging beasts, she could see monsters that were familiar from previous scenarios.
9th grade ground rats, 8th grade grolls...
¡°The monsters used in the scenario. Have you ever wondered where they came from?¡± Yoo Jonghyuk asked her.
¡°They came from another world...¡±
¡°There is a limit using that method. The dokkaebis are busy and don¡¯t have time for inefficient work.¡±
Yoo Sangah stared nkly at Yoo Sangah, the dokkaebis and the monsters of Paradise. She was frozen and it was Jung Heewon, using Hell mes Ignition by her side, who reacted first.
¡°Saying this now...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk nodded. ¡°Paradise is the source of the monsters of Star Stream. To be precise, it is one of them.¡±
In Jung Heewon¡¯s mind, some things that hadn¡¯t been understood finally fit together. The second floor of Dark Castle. The reason why the dokkaebis, who were involved in everything, didn¡¯t interfere for the first time. If she thought about it, there was a reason for everything.
[Dokkaebis! A new Paradise can be created!]
In the distance, the upper half of the restored Reinheit grew on the Perpetual Motion again.
[There might be a fairly low volume for a while but the restoration will soon bepleted! Please don¡¯t cancel the contract!]
The despair and desperation inside him was something that couldn¡¯t be shared. This was a world that sacrificed the incarnations to protect the incarnations.
Reinheit was devoted to his beliefs, even if those beliefs made him a monster. The incarnations btedly discovered the dokkaebis floating in the air and shouted.
¡°Dokkaebi! Dokkaebi!¡±
¡°Uhh, has the scenario started?¡±
¡°Why? Why do this? We didn¡¯t anything wrong!¡±
The dokkaebis justughed.
[Why? You did nothing wrong.]
[This wasn¡¯t what we intended.] Hahahat!]
Jung Heewon bit her lips at the sight. She didn¡¯t want to see anymore.
¡°Is there no way?¡±
Of course, there was a way. If he used Giant Body Transformation and then transcendence, he would be able to press Reinheit with his strength.
¡®However, the consumption is too big. All of Paradise will fly away.¡¯
The regressor Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t favour such inefficient fighting.
¡°If we want to kill him, we have to get rid of the roots of the Perpetual Motion.¡±
The core power source of the Perpetual Motiony in the roots.
If the roots were removed, he could overpower the Perpetual Motion. The problem was the monster in the ¡®roots.¡¯ It was a mighty monster that even Reinheit couldn¡¯t control.
¡®Even if I had the sixth ranked demon, Sephirots...¡¯
If he had Sephirots as a colleague as he nned then it would¡¯ve been much easier to hit Paradise. However, Sephirots was already dead when he went to pick Sephirots up.
¡®There is a person hunting rankers as fast as me.¡¯
The first one he thought of was Kim Dokja, but there was no guarantee that it was Kim Dokja. There were too many variables in this regression.
¡°We can¡¯t enter underground. What should we do?¡±
¡°There is no need to enter. I¡¯ve already entrusted it to someone.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes instantly widened. ¡°You, don¡¯t tell me...!¡±
She noticed exactly who wasn¡¯t present right now. However, Yoo Jonghyuk spoke before she could. ¡°Kim Dokja didn¡¯t leave all of you behind for no reason.¡±
Perhaps he was able to think of it because he was a regressor. He was always one-sidedly read by Kim Dokja but this time he was about to read Kim Dokja¡¯s thoughts.
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name is smiling.]
Yoo Jonghyuk sensed the gaze and his expression distorted.
***
In the midst of the swarming monsters, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoungy curled up against each other. The concentration of monsters was so high that the children¡¯s small bodies couldn¡¯t be found.
In a moment of crisis, they helpfully tamed some 8th grade monsters, the giant wasps. The wasps danced around Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung, distracting the beasts¡¯ eyes. However, there was a limit to the wasp¡¯s dance.
The two children¡¯s eyes met.
¡®What should we do?¡¯
¡®I don¡¯t know.¡¯
Beast Master Shin Yoosung and Insect Master Lee Gilyoung. The two of them were currently the most powerful tamers in Seoul.
However, even they couldn¡¯t tame all these monsters. Their brains would explode and they would die. In fact, the limit they were capable of with Taming was a 4th grade species. The 3rd grade species was also possible if they overdid it, but only for a moment.
¡®...Am I going to die like this?¡¯
The more powerful monsters trampled on the surrounding monsters and the ecology of the whole area gradually calmed down.
The devil wolves and dark splinters bared their fangs and sniffed around. The frightened wasps danced harder but discovery was only a matter of time.
There was also another threat besides the monsters. The branches of the Perpetual Motion moved through the monsters and rushed towards the children.
Lee Gilyoung embraced Shin Yoosung and it seemed like the branches were going to pierce the two children.
At this moment, the branches stopped due to a powerful energy that was fired from somewhere. The branches seemed panicked and finally turned away from the children. Shin Yoosung turned in the direction of the energy that stopped the branches.
¡®What is that?¡¯
There was a monster who saw through the wasps¡¯ dance and was staring this way.
At first, Shin Yoosung didn¡¯t think ¡®it¡¯ was a monster. It was too big to fathom as a living creature. Its body upied exactly one third of this cavern. Yellow eyes blinked in the darkness and all the hairs on Shin Yoosung¡¯s body rose.
This wasn¡¯t a ¡®monster.¡¯ She couldn¡¯t think of it using this term. It was an existence that overwhelmed all monsters.
All the noise in the area quieted down. Everything was bowing in awe before the monster. The being with such a ridiculous presence was looking this way with interested eyes.
¡®Who are you?¡¯
It seemed to be asking. Shin Yoosung wasn¡¯t willing to answer the question. Looking back, Lee Gilyoung was in a simr state to her.
Shin Yoosung raised her courage first. ¡°...Hey.¡±
Lee Gilyoung shook his head with fright. ¡°It is impossible. We can¡¯t do it.¡±
Those who raised Diverse Communication to the limit could understand each other¡¯s intentions without saying anything.
¡°In any case, we will die if this continues.¡±
Shin Yoosung carefully got up and staggered towards the monster. The monsters around her were snarling wildly but the child didn¡¯t care. At this moment, Shin Yoosung realized her usefulness.
¡®This is why Ahjussi left me here.¡¯
Only she could do this.
¡°Damn.¡± Lee Gilyoung cursed and followed behind her.
As soon as they approached, the presence of the huge monster became much stronger than before. Shin Yoosung felt like her skin was being peeled off in front of this monster¡¯s gaze.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Advanced Diverse Communication Lv. 5¡¯ has been activated!]
The transparent aura shot towards the monster in an instant. Diverse Communication. It was a skill made to understand different species.
The moment that the aura touched the monster, Shin Yoosung felt an overwhelming flood of memories.
¡®Ah, ahh...¡¯
The terrible memories of the monster flowed into her head. An existence who fell to the bottom of this miserable Paradise and grew up eating other monsters. Eat, eat, despair and scream. A monster who walked through a hell that couldn¡¯t be described using humannguage.
The blood vessels couldn¡¯t cope with the excessive blood flow and burst. Blood flowed from Shin Yoosung¡¯s nose and mouth. She shed tears of blood.
Lee Gilyoung tried to control Shin Yoosung but the situation was already getting out of control.
In the end, Lee Gilyoung also triggered Diverse Communication.
The two children, who had always been fighting, joined hands at this moment. Lee Gilyoung¡¯s power was added and the channel of understanding widened.
However, it was still an arduous opponent. Soon, blood poured from Lee Gilyoung¡¯s nose.
¡°U... Uwaaaack!¡±
Shin Yoosung understood the suffering of the strange beast and wanted to give up everything for the first time. There was the sound of a vessel being broken as Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung¡¯s spirits copsed little by little.
It was the cost of trying to tame an ego they couldn¡¯t cope with, an opponent they couldn¡¯t touch.
At this moment, Shin Yoosung felt eyes on her back. It was as if someone was looking at her. A being that wasn¡¯t pushed at all by the monster¡¯s presence was watching her.
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name is looking at you.]
Chapter 168 - Kim Dokja’s Love (7)
Chapter 168: Episode 32 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Love (7)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name. Shin Yoosung was well aware of who it was referring to.
¡®Ahjussi.¡¯
It was only a gaze but in fact, many people died because there wasn¡¯t a ¡®gaze¡¯ at an important moment.
In that sense, Shin Yoosung was lucky.
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name is nodding.]
Shin Yoosung received the attention of only one person in the world and stepped forward.
She could do it. Her legs were numb and her lips couldn¡¯t move, but she was convinced.
One step, another step.
The child¡¯s small hands soon reached the outer shell of the monster. There was a very small wound on the outer shell. The startled monster¡¯s eyes shone. Shin Yoosung stared straight at the monster rather than avoid the monster¡¯s eyes.
¡°Look straight at me.¡±
Looking closer, it wasn¡¯t just one wound. Numerous scars were covering the outer shell of the monster¡¯s entire body.
The monster let out a small cry. Perhaps no one had seen its wounds before. The cuts were created a long time ago. These wounds were the very existence of this monster. Due to these wounds, the monster became stronger but it also became lonely.
Shin Yoosung¡¯s face distorted as if she vividly felt the pain. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be a monster just because you are hurt.¡±
Shin Yoosung slowly touched the monster¡¯s injuries. However, they were wounds that couldn¡¯t be healed no matter how long passed.
That didn¡¯t mean she would give up. There would be a miracle. Just like Kim Dokja saved the 41st round Shin Yoosung. Even those who couldn¡¯t be healed could be saved.
Shin Yoosung saw the roots of the Perpetual Motion that pushed down on the monster. Perhaps this monster had been tied up in this ce for a lifetime.
Shin Yoosung pulled out a golden fruit.
[Ancient Beast¡¯s Fruit].
It was the SSS-grade item that emerged from the random box Kim Dokja had given to her one day. It was a consumable item that could be used to tame an upper-grade monster that couldn¡¯t be tamed.
She slowly bowed to the monster and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡±
***
It felt like Paradise was experiencing an earthquake and Reinheit shouted in a baffled manner.
[Keuk, kuheok, w-what is this...!]
The Perpetual Motion suddenly copsed. Little by little, the nt¡¯s branches and leaves were wilting. The supplied energy was drifting to a distant ce.
By the time Reinheit realized something was wrong, the branches in the air were already breaking.
[Kuheeeeok! H-How? How can...!]
Reinheit started vomiting. Sap poured out like it was blood.
Something was eating at the base of the Perpetual Motion. As the eerie teeth prated the sharp roots, Reinheit screamed like his body was being torn apart. The being tied to the roots of Paradise for a long time was now destroying the roots.
The Perpetual Motion lost power and started to copse.
[N-No. No...!]
Something huge exploded from under the ground. It didn¡¯t have a rating because it had never been revealed to the world.
It had a huge dragon¡¯s body, a demon¡¯s wings and the eyes of an insect. It was the ultimate monster that evolved from the interbreeding of demon species, insect kings and other monster species.
Everything in Paradise saw this miracle and Yoo Jonghyuk was one of them. ¡°...Chimera dragon.¡±
This was the real monster of Paradise. The power was close to the 2nd grade but its potential was beyond the 1st grade. Despite starting from the bottom, it could threaten even a dragon, the strongest monster species. Yet the bleeding Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were riding on its back.
Jung Heewon eximed with joy. ¡°Yoosung! Gilyoung!¡±
The two children had done it after all.
The chimera dragon roared and all the monsters in Paradise withdrew at once. There were those who escaped back underground, those who were frightened unconscious on the spot and those who escaped beyond the walls.
In the midst of this mess, Reinheit staggered away from the Perpetual Motion and ran away.
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t miss this opening. The Breaking the Sky Sword moved and Reinheit wasn¡¯t able to escape the sword.
¡°Uh...Uhhh... kuheook...¡±
ck blood poured from his mouth. No matter how powerful a demon he was, he couldn¡¯t survive his heart being pierced. Reinheit slowly copsed and Yoo Jonghyuk and the party members approached him.
The dying master of Paradise said, ¡°Ha, haha... all of that... in the end, it is nothing but a small y for those bigshots...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk stared down at the bleeding and muttering Reinheit.
Reinheit stared at the Perpetual Motion disappearing in the sky and his breathing became rough. ¡°You might not believe it but I... I just wanted to create a good world.¡±
Some people who heard this yelled at him. They were all people who had been protected by Paradise. Some called him a hypocrite while other shouted that they should immediately kill Reinheit.
Now that they knew the secret of Paradise, they no longer protected Reinheit. However, none of them moved. It was because Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t allow it.
Tears flowed from Reinheit¡¯s eyes. ¡°I, I really...¡±
¡°I know.¡±
Reinheit slowly closed his eyes at the short answer.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke once again. ¡°Everybody knows.¡±
Of course they knew. Reinheit burst outughing when he saw the life that he lived was so easily seen. ¡°Strange. Why... do I feel like you actually understand...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk stared down at Reinheit. It wasn¡¯t in this round of regression but Yoo Jonghyuk had also sympathized with Reinheit¡¯s will. The memories of raising Paradise together and then destroying Paradise weer still clear.
As if to reciprocate the feelings, Reinheit spoke in a pained voice. ¡°You... will go to the next floor?¡±
The next floor. This was the location of thest scenario of Dark Castle.
¡°You... won¡¯t find what you are looking for. This castle, it is just the constetions¡¯ yground. So be careful. The next floor...¡±
At this moment, Reinheit¡¯s body exploded. Yoo Jonghyuk stared silently into the air where the dokkaebis were smiling.
[Nah uh, that is prohibited.]
[Right, right. This isn¡¯t fun.]
Then the messages of the constetions came like they had been waiting.
[Many constetions admire the performance of the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
[The constetions of the absolute good system agree with the judgment of ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯.]
[Some constetions express regret over the copse of Paradise.]
...
[Many constetions have sponsored 150,000 coins!]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. The eyes of joy or sorrow weren¡¯t revealed.
[You have defeated the Demon Marquis Reinheit!]
[150,000 coins have been acquired.]
[The legendary-grade story ¡®Paradise of Despair¡¯ has been acquired.]
[Your Dark Castle ranking has been adjusted!]
[A new main scenario has appeared.]
[Main Scenario #10 ¨D ¡¯73rd Demon King¡¯ is temporarily opened.]
Everything was so perfectly solved that he couldn¡¯t do better. It didn¡¯t follow his n but he raised his Dark Castle ranking, collected coins and got a clue about the next scenario.
Nevertheless... Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t know what theseplicated emotions were. He looked down at his hands and started brooding.
¡°Our saviour!¡±
¡°You are the saviour!¡±
He looked back at the shouts and saw people rushing towards him. They treated him as a Messiah as people knelt before him and cried. They were grateful to him for destroying Paradise.
¡°Thank you! Thank you very much!¡±
¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, we...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk heard these words and looked back down at his bloody hands. Then he realized the identity of these emotions.
Originally, he had no intention of saving these people. The people of Paradise weren¡¯t important to him at all. If Reinheit saw them as a sacrifice for Paradise, Yoo Jonghyuk considered them a sacrifice to clear the scenario.
¡°Thank you.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk listened to the voices and thought about it. Since when did this happen? From the second regression? No, perhaps the precursor had already been there.
His goal was to finish all the scenarios and save the world. Under this tremendous conviction, he kept running forward. On this lonely and slow run, he was worn down bit by bit.
There was no meaning in saving the world if everyone was dead. Yet he stood by and watched people die. It was as if he took the sacrifices for granted.
After seeing Reinheit¡¯s death, Yoo Jonghyuk started to rethink his goal for the first time.
¡°Can I ask for your name?¡± Someone asked for his name.
Being famous in the Star Stream was directly rted to the strength of the story. By answering with his own name, he would be able to gain new achievements. Yoo Jonghyuk was well aware of this.
Yoo Jonghyuk thought for a moment before slowly opening his mouth. ¡°My name is Kim Dokja.¡±
***
¡°My name is Kim Dokja.¡±
As I was observing using ¡®third person¡¯s viewpoint¡¯, I heard Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words and felt a chill.
[A new achievement has been added to your fifth story.]
[The inhabitants of Paradise will remember the ¡®Liberator of Paradise Kim Dokja¡¯.]
[The ¡®Lone Messiah¡¯ story has be even richer.]
This situation didn¡¯t make sense. I panicked when I saw that the people of Paradise would remember the name ¡®Kim Dokja.¡¯
No, why was my name listed all of a sudden?
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is shedding tears at this trueradeship.]
Uriel, who had been quiet for a while, started jumping with excitement. I would¡¯ve scolded her previously but after the banquet, harsh words couldn¡¯t emerge.
However, that Yoo Jonghyuk bastard... he was really mysterious. That egoist couldn¡¯t hand his achievements to other people. Did he want to make friends with me now?
It wasn¡¯t possible.
That reminded me, all the party members except for myself and Han Sooyoung were gathered in one ce. No, Gong Pilduwasn¡¯t present... damn, where did that guy go?
¡°By the way, why are you looking for Dokja ahjussi?¡±
The people who were excited about the chimera dragon tamed by Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung started talking about me.
¡°That...¡±
The faces of the party members changed after hearing Yoo Sangah¡¯s exnation.
I wasn¡¯t too surprised. Yoo Sangah must¡¯ve stolen the prophecy from the Moerae. Perhaps like Dionysus, she was struggling to save me.
¡°Ahjussi will die?¡±
¡°By the person he loves most?¡±
¡¸ Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by the person he loves most. ¡¹
The party members had extremely confused expressions. Jung Heewon looked puzzled, Shin Yoosung was concerned and Lee Hyunsung was struggling with something. Lee Jihye was the first one to open her mouth. ¡°Ahjussi will just revive again after dying. Isn¡¯t it fine?¡±
Yoo Sangah replied to Lee Jihye¡¯s question. ¡°It is a good thing but I don¡¯t know how many times he can resurrect...¡±
¡°It is a prophecy of Olympus and it isn¡¯t that easy to avoid.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s words caused the party members to look serious again. They were this worried about me.
Jung Heewon asked, ¡°Then who is the person Dokja-ssi loves most? Don¡¯t we need to know this first?¡±
Chapter 169 - Kim Dokja’s Love (8)
Chapter 169: Episode 32 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Love (8)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Everyone made expressions of bted realization. They understood that they hadn¡¯t thought of the fundamental problem. At this moment, Lee Jihye opened her mouth again. ¡°That...¡±
Lee Jihye raised her hand. I felt somewhat uneasy.
By the way...
¡°Yes, Jihye? Do you know something?¡±
¡°No, you don¡¯t think it is me...?¡±
What bullshit was this girl saying? Lee Jihye¡¯sment seemed to rx the party members.
Jung Heewon asked, ¡°What? Did Dokja-ssi do something? That man, towards a minor...¡¯
¡°No, that¡¯s not it...¡±
¡°Then?¡±
¡°I just thought about it usingmon sense. I am a high school girl. Then he should like me...¡±
The party members ignored Lee Jihye and continued the discussion. It was Jung Heewon who gave her opinion first. ¡°My guess is that Dokja-ssi¡¯s most loved person is Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°Huh?¡± Yoo Sangah was startled. She was so surprised that I was hurt. ¡°Why me...?¡±
¡°It should be like this. In fact, Yoo Sangah-ssi¡¯s beauty... well, I don¡¯t need to mention it.¡±
The members nodded and Yoo Sangah¡¯s face turned red.
Jung Heewon kept speaking. ¡°You are running around everywhere to save Dokja-ssi... I honestly think it would be strange if Dokja-ssi doesn¡¯t like Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
Certainly, there was no one who wouldn¡¯t like Yoo Sangah. She was pretty, kind, had a good personality...
There was no denying it.
¡°Huh? Just... I¡¯m just a work colleague and received help from Dokja-ssi...¡±
Yoo Sangah acted like it was difficult situation before she suddenly hit back at Jung Heewon. ¡°I actually thought it was Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°Uh...yes? Me?¡±
¡°Yes, I think that Dokja-ssi iikes Heewon-ssi.¡±
Jung Heewon was surprised by the unexpected counterattack and her eyes widened. Lee Hyunsung also jumped with shock. It was an interesting hypothesis for me as well.
¡°This... Dokja-ssi is really kind to Heewon-ssi. He gave you equipment and... Heewon-ssi seemed to smile very well when talking to Dokja-ssi...¡±
Certainly, there seemed to be such a thing. It was very easy for me to converse with Jung Heewon. It was in the sense that she was a ¡®character¡¯ I found and raised.
The confused Jung Heewon shook her hands with a flushed face. ¡°Huh? No, wait a minute. That...¡±
The party members started to gossip again. It didn¡¯t feel good. Lee Jihye stood alone and muttered ¡®Kim Dokja is trash.¡¯
No, I didn¡¯t do anything wrong...
This time, it was Lee Gilyoung who interrupted. ¡°I don¡¯t think ¡®love¡¯ necessarily means love between a man and woman!¡±
¡°Maybe... then what do you think Gilyoung?¡±
¡°Dokja hyung likes me.¡±
¡°Why do you say that?¡±
¡°That...¡±
Lee Gilyoung agonized over the question before starting to cry. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t find a reason why I would love him. Then Lee Hyunsung spoke. ¡°Hum hum. Perhaps it is radeship...¡±
People simultaneously stared at Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk, who was standing with his arms crossed, frowned. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±
Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon were whispering to each other.
¡°...Ah, perhaps.¡±
¡°Right? Isn¡¯t this right?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is nodding violently!]
At this time, the quietly listening Shin Yoosung raised her hand. ¡°Excuse me...¡±
The party members tacitly realized something. Among them, the one who might know my mind best was my incarnation Shin Yoosung.
¡°Y-Yes! Yoosung! Speak!¡±
¡°Do you know anything?¡±
Shin Yoosung slowly shook her head. The expressions of the party members were disappointed. However, Shin Yoosung¡¯s words weren¡¯t over yet.
¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask Ahjussi?¡±
¡°What? Dokja-ssi? How?¡±
I suddenly felt cold. Shin Yoosung was looking exactly where I was watching them. As always, my ominous feeling was correct.
My lovely incarnation smiled and pointed at me. ¡°Ahjussi is listening to our conversation after all.¡±
...Damn.
***
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name is wrong.]
¡°Again.¡±
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name is wrong.]
¡°One more time.¡±
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name says he was really wrong.]
After repeatedly apologizing, the party members¨Despecially Jung Heewon and Yoo Sangah, barely forgave me.
Jung Heewon said, ¡°Then... who is the person Dokja-ssi loves most?¡±
I was about to answer when Lee Hyunsung spoke up. ¡°Come to think of it, it might be no one here.¡±
¡°Ah, that reminds me, Dokja-ssi left with that woman. The name... Han Sooyoung?¡± Jung Heewon also added.
Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression hardened at Han Sooyoung¡¯s words. ¡°Are you with that woman right now?¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression was greatly disappointed because she didn¡¯t like Han Sooyoung.
...I needed to speak before things got worse. I took a deep breath and sent an indirect message.
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name says he doesn¡¯t love anyone.]
An unknown atmosphere covered the party members. Some were disappointed while some were excited. No, why were they so interested in the love life of others?
Jung Heewon said, ¡°You have to say it precisely. There is no one ¡®right now.¡¯ ording to fate, Dokja-ssi will surely love someone.¡±
Well... she wasn¡¯t wrong. Jung Heewon continued speaking. ¡°Then I will change the question. What type of style does Dokja-ssi like? Is it close to one of us?¡±
No, why should I tell them?
¡°I know you are wondering why you should answer but it is important to us. If Dokja-ssi likes one of us, we might be able to stop that fate.¡±
...It was slightly convincing. Fate was very powerful but as I said, it wasn¡¯t inevitable. If I knew who I loved, I might be able to go against fate.
I felt sorry that the party members were so worried about my death. However...
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name isn¡¯t sure.]
In the end, Jung Heewon was irritated. ¡°Oh, why are you so frustrating?¡±
¡°Ahjussi, it¡¯s fine to tell us! Is it the time to be polite?¡±
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name says there is no such thing.]
Damn, I had to use a lot of coins to send the indirect messages.
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name doesn¡¯t know his heart.]
¡°Dokja-ssi really...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is interested in the new story.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ wonders about your choice.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is ncing this way.]
[Many constetions are choking on sweet potatoes are your frustrating answer.]
Even the constetions were listening to our conversation.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is telling you not to deceive yourself on your heart.]
[Some constetions dere there is no one apart from the incarnation ¡®Yoo Sangah.¡¯]
[Some constetions support the incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung.¡¯]
[Some constetions who love true friends support the incarnation ¡®Lee Hyunsung.¡¯]
...This was an utter mess.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has a good idea.]
The next moment, an item popped out of thin air.
+
[Item Information]
Name: Affection Reader
Rating: SS
Description: An item that lets you know what the other person thinks about you. After pressing the button and thinking about the name and appearance of the other person, the affection number will automatically appear in the air.
+
I became distracted the moment I saw this item. The Affection Reader was a luxurious item that could only be purchased by tinum members of the Dokkaebi Bag.
No, using 100,000 coins for this unhealthy entertainment? Was she crazy?
¡°As expected from an archangel! This is big!¡± Jung Heewon shouted.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says to try and use it.]
¡°Then who will go first?¡±
¡°It is Heewon unni¡¯s sponsor so let her try first.¡±
¡°Uh, um. Shall I?¡±
Jung Heewon became slightly nervous once it was time to use it. I was also tense. Why was I so nervous when I was finally getting to know my heart?
...It felt like I was naked. I felt really strange as I saw everyone focus on the Affection Reader. After a while...
There was a beeping sound and the message slowly appeared.
[The affection score of the constetion ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ towards the incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is 54 points.]
The nervous Jung Heewon was disappointed when she saw the score. ¡°54 points? Is that high?¡±
¡°I want to try next!¡± Lee Jihye took away the reader and cried out yfully as she pressed the button. ¡°Let me know Kim Dokja¡¯s heart!¡±
[The affection score of the constetion ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ towards the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ is 6 points.]
¡°...¡±
Lee Jihye was in a daze as the other members used the reader. Then it was Lee Gilyoung, Lee Hyunsung and Shin Yoosung. Their scores were 49 points, 50 pints and 56 points respectively. In the corner, Lee Jihye was muttering, ¡°Kim Dokja is trash.¡± On the other hand, Shin Yoosung was excited.
Finally, only Yoo Sangah and Yoo Jonghyuk were left.
¡°J-Jonghyuk-ssi first...¡±
¡°I have no intention of joking around.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk went to search the monster corpses in the distance and all eyes naturally turned to Yoo Sangah.
Yoo Sangah took the reader. Then just before she used it...
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ presents a special item to incarnation ¡®Yoo Sangah.¡¯]
Clothes fell out of the air and the clothing of Yoo Sangah changed. It was into a ck Chinese dress with a ck garter belt.
Yoo Sangah stuttered at the sudden change. ¡°T-T-This is...¡±
I felt desperate at the sight of Yoo Sangah and inwardly cursed. That damn granny of Olympus.
Jung Heewon, who didn¡¯t know anything, nodded. ¡°Ah, it is a constetion event?¡±
¡°Sangah noona,e forward.¡±
Yoo Sangah pressed the button.
[The affection score of the constetion ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ towards the incarnation ¡®Yoo Sangah¡¯ is 481 points.]
¡°4-481 points? Isn¡¯t that crazy? Doesn¡¯t this confirm it?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi¡¯s favourite person is really...¡±
Yoo Sangah was stuttering with a red face when Lee Jihye felt something strange and opened her mouth. ¡°No wait... Sangah unni. Can you lend me those clothes?¡±
¡°Uh, yes.¡±
Lee Jihye entered a nearby building to change clothes before pressing the button of the reader.
[The affection score of the constetion ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ towards the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ is 481 points.]
Everyone was speechless.
I couldn¡¯t say anything through my shame. Lee Jihye shouted ridicule towards the air, Jung Heewon grabbed her belly and shook as sheughed and Yoo Sangah muttered with nk eyes,
¡°It isn¡¯t a person he loves most...¡±
Lee Gilyoung and Lee Hyunsung were shaking their heads. Shit, this was why I didn¡¯t want to do this...
Shin Yoosung was shivering as she watched me. I wanted to apologize when I saw my incarnation¡¯s reaction, but Shin Yoosung shouted first.
¡°A-Ahjussi!¡±
Yes, sorry Yoosung. I...
¡°Ahjussi! What¡¯s wrong? Ajusshi!¡±
The pale Shin Yoosung stretched out a hand towards the air. There was something strange.
...Eh? Shin Yoosung¡¯s voice became distance and my vision swirled as I became dizzy.
Wait. This was perhaps...
The next moment, my consciousness was cut off along with the message.
[You have died.]
Chapter 170 - Reading Again (1)
Chapter 170: Episode 33 ¨C Reading Again (1)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
I remembered the moment I read a novel for the first time.
The texture of the soft paper touching my fingertips. The ck letters blooming on a white field. The texture of the page I folded with my hands.
¡¸ It isn¡¯t important to read the letters. The important thing is where the letters lead you. ¡¹
My mother, who loved books, used to say this. At least for me, it wasn¡¯t just a saying.
The gaps in the ck print. My own little snow gardeny in between the letters. This space, which was too small for someone to go into, was a perfect ce for a child who liked to hide. Every time a pleasant sound was heard, the letters stacked up like snow.
In it, I became a hero. I had adventures, loved and dreamt. Thus, I read, read and read again.
I remembered the first time I was about to finish a book. It was like being deprived of the world.
The protagonist and supporting characters walked off with the sentence ¡®They lived happily ever after¡¯ and I was left alone at the end of the story. In my vanity and sense of betrayal, my young self struggled because I couldn¡¯t stand the loneliness.
¡¸This... is the end? ¡¹
Perhaps it was simr to learning about death. For the first time, I realized that something was finite.
My mother said, ¡¸This is the end. ¡¹
¡¸There isn¡¯t anything thates next? ¡¹
¡¸There is no ¡®next.¡¯ ¡¹
My mother was cold as she told me a brutal truth.
¡¸ However, just because it is the end doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ve seen the whole story. ¡¹
Then she gave me wise advice.
¡¸ Yes? ¡¹
¡¸ Read it again. ¡¹
Reread the finished story. As a child, I didn¡¯t know what this meant.
¡¸ Why read a story I already know? ¡¹
¡¸ If you read it again, it will definitely be a different story. ¡¹
¡¸...I don¡¯t want to. ¡¹
I was stubborn because I was afraid of feeling the deprivation again. Then my mother said, ¡¸ Do you want to read it together? ¡¹
Thus, I learnt to read again.
At first, I only saw the main character¡¯s position. The second reading showed the position of the supporting character and the third reading showed the position of the enemy.
The story changed every time I read it. The story was over but it wasn¡¯t over. The story wouldn¡¯t end unless the reader gave up on the story.
I still thought about it often. What if my mother had said something else at that time?
All fiction was fake and it would just be a loss of my life if I read it.
Would I then have a lot of friends? What if I didn¡¯t study hard, wasn¡¯t bullied and didn¡¯t run away from the reality given to me?
Sparks appeared in the air and the flowing memories were broken.
¡¸ Kim Dokja. You look rxed. ¡¹
I turned my head and saw someone standing in the darkness. It was a presence that could easily pierce other people¡¯s dreams. Apart from a mighty god, the only possible people who could do this were prophets. However, the person here wasn¡¯t Anna Croft.
¡¸ Is ¡®fate¡¯ bearable? ¡¹
I knew this face. It was a crowned wanderer dressed in old clothes. That reminded me, there was a prophet among the constetions.
¡®Poked Out His Eyes.¡¯
It was King Oedipus of Olympus, who I met at the banquet. King Oedipus said to me.
¡¸ Your fate is approaching. ¡¹
¡®Fate? Hasn¡¯t it already been realized? Aren¡¯t I dead as you nned?¡¯
¡¸ This isn¡¯t a fate that can be avoided with a shameful story. You have to decide which side you will stand on soon. I believe you will make the right choice. ¡¹
¡®I¡¯m not on anyone¡¯s side.¡¯
King Oedipusughed.
¡¸ You will definitelye to Olympus. It is because no incarnation fits the story of Olympus as much as you. ¡¹
¡®What are you talking about...¡¯
Before I could finish speaking, my memories came back.
¡¸ Dokja. ¡¹
Shit. I remembered this. It was a bloody living room. My mother was holding a knife and standing in front of a dead man.
¡¸ From now on, I will read all of this again. ¡¹
My mother smiled towards me and said.
¡¸Thus, you have to remember well. Understood? ¡¹
A nightmare wasing towards me. I heard screaming. King Oedipus¡¯s voice was heard, as if he wasughing at all the memories.
¡¸ Seed the Lightning Carnival. Otherwise you will die ¡®forever¡¯ in the following scenarios. ¡¹
***
[The attribute ¡®Eight Lives¡¯ has been activated.]
[Your body will be resurrected.]
My breath burst out of me like amniotic fluid.
[The second head of the snake has been sacrificed.]
[The power of the head is ¡®intelligence.¡¯]
My cold skin turned warm again and my stretched muscles gained strength. This was the fourth death I had experienced.
Once against the fire dragon, once against the Disaster of Floods and once when dealing with Nirvana. At this point, I should think about whether Yoo Jonghyuk was the sunfish or if I was the sunfish.
¡°...Uh, where is this ce?¡±
I looked around but I couldn¡¯t tell where I was. I only saw a white cloud-like ground and an open sky.
...Was this Dark Castle?
[The bonus effect has sped up the actions of your brain.]
Due to the resurrection bonus, my judgment of the situation became clearer and faster. I decided to look at it again from the beginning.
First, there was the biggest question.
¡®Why did I die?¡¯
I had been using third person¡¯s viewpoint to watch Paradise and left my body with Han Sooyoung. Suddenly, my consciousness blurred and the death message emerged.
There was only one conclusion. Someone killed me while I was asleep. Who was it? Han Sooyoung?
[A new achievement has been added to your fifth story.]
[People will know you as the ¡®Messiah Who Bears Shame.]
I died at a strange time so a weird achievement was added to my story.
...I didn¡¯t think it was actually shameful.
The prophecy was ¡®Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by the person he loves most¡¯. Then to kill me, they must be someone I loved.
¡°Hey Kim Dokja! You survived?¡± In the distance, Han Sooyoung was walking this way.
¡°What on earth happened?¡±
¡°An ambush.¡± Han Sooyoung grumbled as she looked at the cloud field. It was a ce where nothing could be seen except for floating clouds. It was an overly peaceful scene to be called an ambush.
¡°As soon as you fell asleep, some people appeared who were after you. I tried to stop them but it didn¡¯t work. You ended up with a fatal wound and I carried you away while crying. Suddenly, I appeared in this ce.¡±
The story flowed as naturally as the clouds but it was unbelievable.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 2¡¯ is activated!]
[You have confirmed that the statement is true.]
¡°...Did you see the faces of those who attacked?¡±
¡°Everybody was wearing an mask and I couldn¡¯t see properly. I saw a few people using Detect Attributes but I didn¡¯t know them.¡±
The three day journey had made Han Sooyoung considerably stronger. Now Han Sooyoung would be 20th in the Dark Castle rankings. Yet the people broke through her to kill me, then brought us here. I couldn¡¯te up with a usible group, no matter how hard I thought.
¡°You didn¡¯t find out anything else?¡±
¡°By the way, aren¡¯t you really rxed? Who was the one suffering for three days...¡±
¡°Three days?¡±
¡°You have been dead for three days. Didn¡¯t you know?¡±
That reminded me, Eight Lives had a bit of a wait time. Three days... damn. What happened to the other party members? Surely they hadn¡¯t already passed onto the next scenario? If so, all my ns would go wrong.
Han Sooyoung sighed. ¡°No matter how far I go, there are only clouds. I have already given up.¡±
¡°...Is that why you released your clones?¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s clones were training in various parts of the cloud field. Han Sooyoung training in Hidden Weapons Technique, Han Sooyoung training her footwork... each Han Sooyoung was devoted to one skill.
¡°It is my own training. I didn¡¯t want to waste time waiting for you and once I take back my clones, my skill proficiency increases quickly.¡±
Somehow, I discovered the secret behind how Han Sooyoung could be so strong in such a short time.
¡°What? Are you a ¡ö?¡±
¡°I¡¯m a ¡ö?¡± Damn... it is filtering something like this. Well, I have an idea of what you wanted to say.¡±
In any case, she didn¡¯t seem like just a giarist writer anymore. I was suddenly curious. The original description in Ways of Survival didn¡¯t describe the Avatar skill in detail. It wouldn¡¯t be bad to learn a bit more about this skill.
¡°Are there no constraints on the skill? You can make infinite number of clones as long as you have the magic power?¡±
¡°That would be a scam. Of course there are restrictions. Every time I use the skill, I share some of my memories with the avatar.¡±
¡°...Some of your memories? Then what about after the avatar dies?¡±
¡°Then I will lose the memories.¡±
I felt a bit surprised when Han Sooyoung responded casually. Wasn¡¯t it a skill that could give her Alzheimer¡¯s if she made a mistake?
Han Sooyoung read my thoughts and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I usually use unnecessary memories. In addition, the memories wille back if I recover the clones. Sometimes... it is a problem because some go out of control.¡±
¡°Out of control?¡±
¡°The first time I tried creating a clone using Avatar... I gave away too many of my memories and it went out of control.¡±
¡°...Is that possible? Then did you lose those memories?¡±
Han Sooyoung shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But now I use small memories so it¡¯s fine.¡±
¡°You just think that you¡¯re fine.¡±
¡°Shut up.¡±
A clone ended up having important memories due to a mistake. I shivered as I thought about another Han Sooyoung that might still be moving around somewhere in Seoul.
One be one, the clones turned into smoke and returned to Han Sooyoung. It was probably to recover the umted skills proficiency.
Han Sooyoung suddenly eximed, ¡°Ah! There was something I didn¡¯t say. I just remembered. A constetion came looking for me when you died.¡±
Why give such an important memory to her clone?
¡°I forgot the name but the constetion belonged to a neb. Vedas or... Tamna?¡±
These names were dangerous. Regardless of how I felt, Han Sooyoung muttered in a rxed manner,
¡°I heard some ambiguous words. Make the right choice...¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you remember it properly?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry. If I recall all my avatars then I can remember... oh, it was a strange Goryeo warrior.¡±
¡°Goryeo warrior?¡±
¡°He left without saying anything. He stared at your dead body for a moment and left straight away.¡±
If it was a Goryeo warrior, it was probably Cheok Jungyeong. There were also Olympus, Vedas and Tamna. The big nebe were moving so it seemed like something was going to happen.
At this moment, something crossed my mind. ¡°Wait, a constetion appeared directly? It wasn¡¯t an avatar?¡±
¡°Yes. It was a symbol. Why?¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t you know the problem with this?¡±
¡°Eh?¡±
¡°No matter how symbolic, a constetion can¡¯t appear in the scenario area without consuming a lot of probability.¡±
The constetions feared probability the most and wouldn¡¯t descend as a symbol.
I slowly looked around. ¡°...I think I know where this ce is.¡±
This ce was a ward but it wasn¡¯t a normal ward. It was a ward where constetions could appear in symbolic form.
Han Sooyoung btedly noticed something. ¡°...The Mechanical Gateway Array Method.¡±
The Mechanical Gateway Array Method It was a technique used by constetions who mastered the principles of the five elements, four heavenly divisions and three cmities.
By the way, it was hard to see people use this technique. Zhuge Liang of China could use it freely. Yet this was the Korean Penins. Then...
¡°Won¡¯t youe out?¡± I spoke to the air.
With the exception of Zhuge Liang, there was one other constetion who could use it freely. It was also a constetion I had already met.
¡°...It seems it is impossible to deceive you with the shape of a constetion.¡±
A voice was heard as clouds gathered in the air and formed the image of a person. It was a woman in her 30s wearing a prison uniform.
¡°Haven¡¯t we met before?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t a very good reunion.¡±
[The constetion ¡®First Spiritualist of Joseon¡¯ is giggling at you.]
First Spiritualist of Joseon, Jeon Woochi¡¯s incarnation.
She was the first ¡®limb¡¯ of the King of Wanderers.
¡°The king is waiting for you.¡±
Somehow, I knew who had killed me. This situation appeared to be the worst. Either way, I had no other choice.
I nodded and said. ¡°Guide me.¡±
Chapter 171 - Reading Again (2)
Chapter 171: Episode 33 ¨C Reading Again (2)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
¡°That jerk Kim Dokja... he forgot about me again.¡±
There was a small fortress standing on the empty ins. In fact, it was the size of a small house rather than a fortress. However, the armed weapons meant it wasn¡¯tckingpared to a fortress.
Needless to say, it was Gong Pildu¡¯s Armed Fortress.
Dudududu!
Gong Pildu fired shells at the monsters approaching the fortress. For several weeks after entering Dark Castle, Gong Pildu had been living in a hellish monster zone. There was an endless stream of monsters. If it wasn¡¯t for the coins that Kim Dokja had previously provided him, he might¡¯ve run out of magic power and died already.
[The constetion ¡®Defense Master¡¯ is excited about the defense game.]
The situation wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this if it wasn¡¯t for the perverted sponsor.
¡°Shiiiiit!¡±
His Dark Castle ranking had risen sharply due to all the monsters he killed. The problem was that his mental strength and magic power had reached their limits.
¡°It is up to here...¡±
Gong Pildu had a disheartened expression as he watched the Armed Fortress being broken down by the ws of the monster.
At this time, something golden flew in the distance. It was a powerful ether storm that broke apart the whole field. He wondered if it was Kim Dokja but the person was unexpected.
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
A huge dragon was flying through the storm. On top of it, there were two people Gong Pildu knew. Strength went out of Gong Pildu¡¯s body and the fortress copsed. Yoo Jonghyuk ran like the sh and caught the falling Gong Pildu.
¡®I overused the power of transcendence. For the time being, I must preserve my strength.¡¯ Yoo Jonghyuk thought as he nced at his right arm.
The hand that was holding the sword was swollen and red. It wasn¡¯t the power of his sponsor but transcendence was also affected by the probability.
The situation would improve as the restrictions were gradually lifted. However, the probability allowed in the ninth scenario wasn¡¯t enough for him to take full advantage of transcendence.
¡®I have recovered Gong Pildu. Lee Seolhwa is steadily raising her ranking in the western field...¡¯
His n was progressing steadily. The situation was smoother than any previous scenarios.
¡®Now the only thing left is Kim Dokja.¡¯ Yoo Jonghyuk thought as he looked towards the western ins. ¡®The fate of Star Stream isn¡¯t thatx. What are you going to do, Kim Dokja?¡¯
***
¡°Don¡¯t worry. There is a way out.¡±
¡°...That woman isn¡¯t the only problem. There are many tough people. Moreover, how are you going to deal with the Mechanical Gateway Array Method?¡±
¡°There isn¡¯t a way to break the Mechanical Gateway Array Method.¡±
Han Sooyoung and I were walking through the Mechanical Gateway Array Method while following the incarnation of Jeon Woochi, Cho Youngran. I saw that she was floating, not walking, and thought she definitely fit the incarnation of Jeon Woochi.
Jeon Woochi. Along with Hong Gildong, he was one with the power to enter the peak of the Korean constetions...
Han Sooyoung noticed her and spoke again. ¡°By the way, wasn¡¯t the King of Wanderers killed by the reincarnator?¡±
¡°She isn¡¯t someone who will die so easily.¡±
¡°Come to think of it, you said that you know the King of Wanderers. Tell me precisely. What is your rtionship?¡±
A light sigh emerged at the question. ¡°It is the mostplicated rtionship in the world.¡±
¡°I feel disgusted. An old girlfriend?¡±
¡°My mother.¡±
¡°What? Really? Uh... I¡¯m sorry.¡± Han Sooyoung stuttered in an unusually embarrassed manner.
As if hearing our conversation, Cho Youngran looked back with a stiff expression. ¡°Follow exactly where I am stepping. If you step on another ce, you will get lost.¡±
I thought it would be like this. All Mechanical Gateway Array Methods were the same. If you didn¡¯t go through the proper path, you would get lost. I asked a slightly disgruntled tone, ¡°Can¡¯t you just turn it off?¡±
¡°It is difficult. I don¡¯t know what you will do.¡±
¡°How funny. You killed me and now you¡¯re afraid of me.¡±
¡°I know you are capable of resurrection.¡±
¡°Does that let you kill me willy-nilly?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry for that. In addition, I wasn¡¯t moving to kill you. I attacked the woman and she used you as a shield.¡±
...What? I turned around and saw Han Sooyoung whistling. I watched Han Sooyoung smiling and thought about hitting her head. I would question her about itter. I might have eight lives but... wait, it was six lives now.
I nced back towards Cho Youngran and asked, ¡°Why are you helping my mother?¡±
Cho Youngran paused at my sudden question. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know why someone like you is following an incarnation. The First Spiritualist of Joseon can be a king right now.¡±
¡°...How do you know my sponsor?¡±
¡°It is obviously a Korean constetion who can use the Mechanical Gateway Array Method.¡±
Jeon Woochi wasn¡¯t a narrative-grade constetion but he had many advantages in the early scenarios because the consumption of probability when using his power was small.
Moreover, ording to the progress of the scenario, the fame and stories that could be built up were overwhelmingpared to other constetions of the same rating.
It was the reason why Yoo Jonghyuk tried to recruit Jeon Woochi as a colleague in the early scenarios.
Cho Youngran replied, ¡°I¡¯m not suitable to be a king.¡±
¡°Did my mother grab your weakness or something?¡±
Cho Youngran was going to say something, only to close her mouth again.
I said to her, ¡°Tell me honestly. I can help you.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You are being deceived by that person.¡±
Jeon Woochi would be a great power if I could get his incarnation on my side. Of course, I didn¡¯t expect much.
¡°She saved my daughter.¡±
It was as expected.
¡°I see. Saving the life of your child... of course, you would be loyal after something like that.¡±
Cho Youngran¡¯s eyebrows twitched at my words. ¡°Is that a sarcastic tone?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. I think ¡®saving that life¡¯ is intentional.¡±
¡°...Intentional?¡±
¡°My mother, isn¡¯t there something strange about her?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°She is overly adaptive to the world or knows a lot of information that shouldn¡¯t be known at this point.¡±
Han Sooyoung looked at me with a confused expression because she didn¡¯t know what I was trying to do. Cho Youngran wondered, ¡°...What do you want to say?¡±
¡°What do I want to say? My mother knew what constetion you would get.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Maybe she saved your daughter for the purpose of trying to use you. She is such a person.¡±
Cho Youngran... I didn¡¯t remember precisely but it seemed a woman with this name had once been Jeon Woochi¡¯s incarnation.
A character who lost her daughter and became Jeon Woochi¡¯s incarnation decided to get revenge on the world.
I didn¡¯t know when I told my mother the story, but if she heard it from me and remembered the information, it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to think my mother would use it.
However, unexpected words emerged from Cho Youngran¡¯s mouth. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken about her.¡±
¡°Mistaken?¡±
Cho Youngran gazed at me in a strange way. It was filled with unpleasant sympathy and was the type of gaze I hated.
¡°Sookyung-ssi isn¡¯t as bad as you think.¡±
Was it because repulsion was surging inside me? I replied bluntly, ¡°Nobody knows her better than me.¡±
¡°Originally, it is the child who doesn¡¯t know anything about their parents. In any case, we¡¯ve arrived.¡±
I suddenly saw something that was like a front door. Cho Youngran spoke towards Han Sooyoung.
¡°Girl, you can¡¯t enter. Wait with me.¡±
¡°Che, your mother seems very shy. Be safe.¡±
I nodded and brought my hand to the front door. Behind this door was probably the strongest enemy in the current scenario.
Cho Youngran told me, ¡°There is a bell.¡±
Ding dong.
Somehow, the quaint ringtone stimted familiar memories. It was a ringtone I seemed to have heard a long time ago. Then my mother¡¯s voice was heard from inside the door. ¡°Come in.¡±
The door opened and the familiar entrance of a house appeared. A few pairs of shoes were ced neatly together. Some of them were small enough to belong to children. My sense of deja vu was even worse. The interior of the house was familiar. It wasn¡¯t too shy or old-fashioned, but the small decorations showed it was a person with some sense of style.
I entered the living room and saw a familiar room. There were the forgotten wall clock and the television. I knew the texture of the sofa without needing to sit on it. The location of the table was also familiar.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking.]
Really... this was a terrible hobby.
My mother was sitting on the sofa of the living room, dressed in elegant clothes. She asked me, ¡°It took a long time. How does it feel to be home after a long time?¡±
¡°I would rather remain dead.¡±
¡°I¡¯m d that you are healthy.¡±
¡°Thanks to someone, I just died and came back to life.¡±
Maybe my mother chose this ce to seize the initiative. The dialogue from now on would be a battleground to determine the oue of the next two scenarios.
¡°I heard Nirvana killed you. How are you alive?¡±
¡°I wouldn¡¯t be fooled by such a person. Have you forgotten? I also have a lot of information about the future.¡±
I had expected it. Still, my mother managed to deceive Nirvana. I had no idea what this person was capable of. Perhaps the most threatening thing to me at present wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk or the constetions, but this woman.
¡°You were alive yet you didn¡¯te to my funeral.¡±
¡°Why would I go to a funeral when I was the unfortunate one left behind.¡±
¡°You thought it wasn¡¯t enough and had your people kill me once more.¡±
¡°I killed you once more because you are an irresponsible son. Do you need a funeral this time as well? I saw that you have many good colleagues. They didn¡¯t know you were going to rise again and cried...¡±
The person saying this was my mother. I took a deep breath. I could never be careless when talking to my mother. From now on, it would be the real thing. ¡°Why did you kill me?¡±
My motherughed and replied. ¡°Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by the person he loves most.¡±
¡°...How do you know that?¡±
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi told me. She asked me to save you.¡± Yoo Sangah must¡¯ve visited my mother. ¡°By the way, you came with another girl this time. Have your tastes changed? Honestly, I like Yoo Sangah more.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t pay attention to unnecessary things. I don¡¯t understand you the more you talk. Why did you kill me when you were asked to save me?¡±
¡°The prophecy came true thanks to me. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
My mind becameplicated. No, she was saying...
My mother continued, ¡°It said it in the prophecy. The ¡®person you love most.¡¯ Thus, I killed you.¡±
It was ridiculous that the person I hated more than anyone else would say this.
Even so, the moment I heard it, I was disturbed by a feeling I couldn¡¯t express well. I definitely hated my mother. My life was a mess because my mother ruined it. Yet... my mood wasplicated.
¡°I see. You killed me because you thought you are the one I love most? Is this fate?¡±
¡°Doesn¡¯t it often appear in your favourite novel?¡±
¡°If so, you havepletely failed.¡±
Obviously, fate told me that I would be killed by the person I loved most. If so, myst death should¡¯ve made my fatee true.
¡°I am still receiving the fate message.¡±
It was true. A little while ago, the infernal message entered my ears.
[A huge fate is hoping for your definite death.]
A modified was even added. It was a ¡®definite death.¡¯
The words of King Oedipus in my dreams were correct. I couldn¡¯t escape this fate with the story ¡®Eight Lives.¡¯
¡°At the very least, you aren¡¯t the person I love most.¡±
Chapter 172 - Reading Again (3)
Chapter 172: Episode 33 ¨C Reading Again (3)
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
My mother was silent for a moment. The silence cheered me up a bit. The fact that my mother expected me to love her and the idea that I could hurt her feelings excited me.
However, my mother spoke in a tone that sounded like she had expected it. ¡°Hrmm, I see.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I still wanted to try it. It could¡¯ve ended your fate. In any case, you still have a lot of lives left.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t speak like you are doing this for me.¡±
¡°I love you.¡±
I got goosebumps. Why was she suddenly saying this? ¡°What does this mean?¡±
¡°I am your mother.¡±
I looked at my smiling mother and one corner of my heart ached. Did she really believe that such words were eptable? A decade¡¯s worth of suffering alone couldn¡¯t be denied because of these words.
I red at my mother.
Mother, love...
I didn¡¯t use Lie Detection on her. Sometimes there were such words in the world. Even if it was true, it was painful enough to be called false.
I sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s toote.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°Then why...¡±
¡°I just wanted to say it once. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever told you before.¡±
We fell silent and didn¡¯t say anything for a while. Only the second hand of the wall clock told me that time was passing by. It was like a page with nothing on it. Like a writer squeezing out my first sentence, I barely managed to open my mouth. ¡°...How was your life in prison?¡±
¡°You often came to see me. Is there a need...¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t tell me anything.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything? I went to see you so many times...¡±
I didn¡¯t hate my mother from the beginning.
Even when my mother killed my father.
Even when she went to jail.
Even when my rtives rushed to take our assets and I was treated like a leftover product.
I didn¡¯t hate or me my mother.
¡°How can a person be so shameless?¡± The reason why I hated my mother was simple. ¡°Why did you remain silent? And why... did you write such a story?¡±
Someone might say this: You became rich. Isn¡¯t it good that she sold the book? I didn¡¯t know if the royalties from my mother helped my life. My rtives always treated me like I wasn¡¯t a person.
¡°I had a really hard time. Whenever I went to school, walked on the streets or met someone, it seemed like everyone was talking about me. It was the same when I moved schools. Every time, I was the son of a murderer.¡±
Those who had never experienced it would never know. The world was tenacious. The reporters stood in front of my house and it felt like all eyes in the world were chasing me.
¡°Maybe, just maybe, I could¡¯ve endured it.¡±
It might¡¯ve been okay if my mother had said something to me. If she told me to endure it, I could¡¯ve. If only my mother had told me she was on my side, even if she sold our story for money.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking violently.]
[The stigma ¡®Self-rationalization Lv. 2¡¯ has been activated!]
I looked at my mother. I hadn¡¯t misunderstood. My mother sold our lives to earn money.
Then my mother opened her mouth. ¡°I wanted to know.¡±
¡°Know what?¡±
¡°The truth.¡±
¡°...What is the truth? Mother, didn¡¯t you kill Father?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know the story.¡±
¡°I know it very well. Since separating from you, I looked over my memories again and again.¡±
In other words, I read it again. I became absorbed in the characters of the novel because of my mother.
-Dokja. -From now on, I will read all of this again.
-Your father, he did something wrong and died.
-This was self-defense. Understood?
I read it again hundreds, thousands and even tens of thousands of times. No, I reyed it so many times that I couldn¡¯t even tell it was true anymore.
¡°It was enough for my father to die. He was a gambling addict and violent towards his family. Our family would¡¯ve been in danger if he remained.¡±
The mother watched me and nodded. ¡°Yes, I remember it well. So why are you angry?¡±
I tried to ask my mother several times.
Why didn¡¯t you run away with me? Why did you leave the child alone? Why didn¡¯t youe see me after you were released?
The questions piled up inside me and I got the answer on my own.
[The Fourth Wall¡¯s shaking has subsided.]
This was a fear created by the answer. It was an answer that I tried to erase. I was afraid that once the answer was given, I wouldn¡¯t be able to ept it.
In the meantime, my mother had been repeatedly opening and closing her mouth before finally being able to speak. ¡°...It is toote to say anything.¡±
Yes, I knew.
[Many constetions have sponsored you 5,000 coins for your family history.]
This was sufficient for the damn drama.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is thirsty from your sweet potato.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ suggests that you think again.]
[The constetion ¡®Poked Out His Eyes¡¯ is smiling in an insidious manner.]
This role didn¡¯t suit me in the first ce.
¡°Why do you keep changing the original novel?¡± My mother changed the topic. ¡°If you let it flow like the original and let people die, the scenarios wouldn¡¯t have been so difficult.¡±
¡°I have to change it. Mother, you know that Yoo Jonghyuk can¡¯t reach the ending in the third regression.¡±
[Many constetions are frustrated by the filtering.]
The story about the original novel was filtered by the constetions.
¡°The ending?¡±
¡°Yes. The ending.¡±
¡°...You are struggling just for that? You¡¯re not crazy.¡±
¡°The ending of this story is important to me. It was this world that kept me alive while you were gone.¡± It was thanks to the novel that I could survive thest few years without my mother and father. ¡°You can never understand.¡±
¡º Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. ¡»
I didn¡¯t know what the author intended with this title. However, this title was reality to me, not a metaphor. It was because for me, this had be a ¡®ruined world¡¯ a long time ago.
I read this novel on a daily basis and survived. Thus, I couldn¡¯t give up on this story.
My mother refuted, ¡°This isn¡¯t a novel. There is no ending like ¡®Everyone lived happily ever after¡¯ in reality.¡±
¡°I will see it through to the end. In addition, when did I say I wanted that ending?¡±
¡°Stop. This world is crazy. It isn¡¯t something you can achieve because you know the future. Don¡¯t you already know this? The next scenarios¨D¡±
¡°Stop.¡± It was pointless to keep arguing with my mother. ¡°Just tell me what you want. Why did you call me here?¡±
¡°Stay here.¡±
Yes, I thought she would say this. It was just like my mother.
¡°Why would I do such a thing?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t lose my son again. I will somehow do the following scenarios.¡±
¡°Save it.¡±
I raised my energy.
¡°Be honest. You think I will be a hindrance. I don¡¯t know what your purpose is but I won¡¯t ask you anything.¡±
For the first time, an unfamiliar emotion crossed my mother¡¯s face. She looked sad. Sad? What qualifications did she have to feel like this?
¡°...Who do you really resemble?¡± A wave of magic power rose in my mother¡¯s body as she spoke. ¡°I dislike this method but it can¡¯t be helped.
[Some constetions like this fighting in a family.]
[Some constetion¡¯s who value filial piety dislike this situation.]
The furniture of the house was swept away by the magical storm, causing Han Sooyoung to notice and run inside.
¡°Kim Dokja!¡±
The incarnation of Jeon Woochi, Cho Youngran was also behind Han Sooyoung. The living room quickly changed into a confrontational situation. Cho Youngran was preparing a trick while my mother gazed at me with serene eyes. Jeon Woochi¡¯s techniques were tricky but I could somehow defend against them.
The problem was my mother¡¯s side. I didn¡¯t yet know who my mother¡¯s sponsor was. This was just before my mother¡¯s ability was revealed.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ is activated!]
¡°Selecting the fourth bookmark, ¡®Lycaon Isparang.¡¯¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 10 (+1) is activated!]
Way of the Wind reached its limit and the whole room was caught in a magical storm. I condensed the winds and destroyed the entire living room.
Then I escaped from the house with Han Sooyoung. As dark smoke covered my field of view, I told Han Sooyoung. ¡°I will finish this right away so get ready.¡±
¡°Understood.¡± Han Sooyoung started to generate a powerful ¡®ck fire¡¯ in her hand.
I immediately changed the bookmark. ¡°I will choose the fifth bookmark, Kyrgios Rodgraim.¡±
Thebo of Miniaturization and Electrification followed after Way of the Wind. The fastest and most efficient way to overpower my mother was to use the greatest skill I had.
However, the moment I was about to use the skill, dozens of people appeared through the smoke. They surrounded me and spoke in fervent voices. ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood everything. Please. You have to stay here.¡±
They were my mother¡¯s subordinates. Dozens of women wearing prison uniforms looked at me with sympathetic expressions. Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°What is this?¡±
The surprised Han Sooyoung poured the ck mes towards them but they were scattered in all directions by Jeon Woochi¡¯s defense. Cho Youngran shouted, ¡°Kim Dokja! Stop! Sookyung is doing this for you!¡±
It was my mother who blocked their mouths. She raised a finger to her mouth, telling them not to say anything. Then a grand aura started to emerge from my mother¡¯s body.
Sparks formed due to the excessive use of probability. It was a more intense synchronization than anything I had seen before. My mother was obviously overdoing it.
[The sponsor of incarnation ¡®Lee Sookyung¡¯ has revealed her modifier.]
[The constetion ¡®Founder¡¯s Mother¡¯ feels deep sadness towards you.]
The Founder¡¯s Mother? Oh my god. Don¡¯t tell me?
[The constetion ¡®Founder¡¯s Mother¡¯ says that your strength is a threat to the Korean Penins scenario.]
[The constetion ¡®Founder¡¯s Mother¡¯ says that she won¡¯t take your life if you don¡¯t rebel.]
I hastily used Miniaturization and Electrification at the same time.
[The energy of the oldnd has sealed your skills.]
My vision became dim, as if I had entered a dark cave. Power was extinguished from my body and I became an ordinary human. The helplessness of a small animal captivated me.
[The energy of the oldnd seals your ¡®value.¡¯]
I knew this stigma. There was only one ¡®story¡¯ regarding sealing on the Korean Penins.
¡°...I never thought you could use this.¡±
Yes... it was strange I hadn¡¯t thought about it This was the Korean Penins. Yet there was one neb that hadn¡¯t contacted me yet. I should¡¯ve made contact with them first but I hadn¡¯t got close to them at this point.
¡°I told you, I love you.¡± My mother smiled while waving a bronze bell in my hand.
The Founder¡¯s Mother. One of the highest ranking constetions of Hongik and one of the most well-known stories on thisnd.
My mother¡¯s sponsor was Ungnyeo, mother of Dangun Wangeom.
(TL: Legendary founder and god-king of Gojoseon, first kingdom of Korea. He was said to be the ¡®grandson of heaven¡¯ and ¡®son of a bear.¡¯
See the end of the chapter for more information on the bear woman).
I sighed and said. ¡°...Okay. I surrender.¡±
¡°What? Hey! Kim Dokja!¡±
¡°Just wait here. You can¡¯t win anyway.¡±
A sense of exhaustion filled my body. Now I was no different from an ordinary person.
¡°...Putting aside your sponsor, how did you get the Eight Beaded Bell?¡± (See link for an image:
https://namu.wiki/w/%ED%8C%94%EC%A3%BC%EB%A0%B9)
I stared at the bronze bell in my mother¡¯s hand. The Eight Beaded Bell was one of the three ¡®heavenly seals¡¯ of Dangun¡¯s myth. It was one of the greatest relics of the Korean Penins and had the ability to seal the ¡®story¡¯ of another person.
No matter how I thought about it, there was no way to get this star relic through normal methods at this point. My mother must¡¯ve paid a price to get it.
¡°I will let you go once it is time. Just stay here for now.¡± Finally, my mother and the wanderers disappeared.
Han Sooyoung and I were trapped in the Mechanical Gateway Array Method. I was able to guess where my mother had gone.
Maybe she went to see Yoo Jonghyuk. I didn¡¯t want to imagine the catastrophe that would happen if they met.
¡°Shit, what now? How are we going to get out of here?¡±
Han Sooyoung asked as she tried to break the Mechanical Gateway Array Method. My skills as a constetion were sealed so it was impossible to destroy straight away.
Well, this was with my own power. I thought it over. ¡°There is one way.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°There is a presence that can break the Mechanical Gateway Array Method.¡±
¡°What? Who?¡±
If I called him, the seal would somehow be broken. Originally, it was a constetion I didn¡¯t dare call but now it was unknown.
I pulled out Ganpyeongui. I saved it for an important time and now it was the only thing I could believe in.
[The special option of the ¡®Ganpyeongui¡¯, Echo of the Stars has been activated.]
[Echo of the Stars allows you to ask for help from an upper-grade constetion.]
¡°I will call the constetions.¡±
[In the flow of the stars, the upper-grade constetions hear your voice.]
I called out the modifier of the constetion.
[The status of this constetion is too high.]
[Five points on the Sky Disc are required for this constetion. Will you ept this?]
There were only five points left because I had used the rest on calling the Big Dipper and the Nation¡¯s Independence Activist.
Now this constetion required all the remaining star points on the Ganpyeongui.
It was necessary because this being¡¯s strength already surpassed the upper-grade rank.
[The operation of the stars has begun.]
In the darkness of the deep night sky, a solitary star was shining. I dered towards him. ¡°Goryeo¡¯s First Sword, I need your strength.¡±
[1] Ungnyeo: Korean for bear woman and was a bear who became a woman. In the myths, a tiger and a bear lived together and prayed in a cave to the divine king Hwanung to be a human. Hwanung gave them 20 cloves of garlic and a bundle of mugwort, ordering them to eat only this sacred food and remain out of the sunlight for 100 days. The tiger left out of hunger but the bear remained and became a woman after 21 days. Ungnyeo kept making offering to Hwanung but herck of a husband made her depressed. She prayed to be blessed with a child. Hwanung heard her prayers and took her as a wife.
Wiki links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ungnyeo)
Chapter 173 - Reading Again (4)
Chapter 173: Episode 33 ¨C Reading Again (4)
Early chapters because I will be busy the next two days with Chinese New Year.
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Sparks wrapped around my body as I felt the signs of a probability storm. This was a big burden for a single constetion not of the narrative-grade to bear.
I thought the records of how Cheok Jungyeong faced an army alone were exaggerated. However, rather than an exaggeration, the stories had been reduced.
In fact, Cheok Jungyeong had be much stronger than what was written in Earth¡¯s records after bing a constetion. In other words, there were sword masters who would be nervous just hearing about this constetion.
Still, I had to endure it. If I couldn¡¯t withstand the spirit of Cheok Jungyeong, I couldn¡¯t break the 100 Days Seal.
[Your ¡®status¡¯ is currently sealed.]
[Your main skills are currently sealed.]
[Time remaining: 100 days]
The 100 Days Seal, which could be carried out by the three highest beings of the constetion ¡®Hongik¡¯, was the highest-grade seal that sealed up the target¡¯s abilities.
[Eat garlic and mugwort and endure for 100 days.]
Of course, this seal wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. If I could eat garlic and mugwort for 100 days, I could receive Hwanin¡¯s blessing and wake up the potential of my body.
However, now I didn¡¯t have enough time. Han Sooyoung watched the garlic and mugwort pouring from the sky and asked, ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t it almost done?¡±
¡°The power is so strong that it is hard to control. Just wait.¡±
I took a deep breath and controlled my magic power. Cheok Jungyeong lent me strength in response to my call but didn¡¯t say anything in his true voice. He just handed me some of his strength, as if saying ¡®try it if you are confident.¡¯
As a result, I had been controlling the story that had been running wild for 30 minutes. It seemed like my whole body would burst.
I watched the grumbling Han Sooyoung and suddenly became annoyed. ¡°This is all because of you. This wouldn¡¯t have happened if you didn¡¯t use me as a shield.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡±
¡°Do you expect me to believe that? Based on what you have always done...¡±
It seemed like manyints had piled up and I couldn¡¯t help nagging. How many minutes had passed?
Han Sooyoung slowly got fed up and shouted, ¡°Ah, I apologize! Yes, I used you as a shield. What do you want me to do?¡±
I wanted to say she was brazen-faced but then a presence suddenly intervened.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ interrupts with a cough.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ says that Han Sooyoung never used you as a shield.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ says your death is your responsibility.]
Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°Hey, you shut up and stay still! Saying unnecessary...!¡±
¡°What does he mean?¡±
¡°It is nonsense. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ ims that Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t protect your heart to protect your ck fire dragon.]
...My ck fire dragon?
¡°That¡¯s why I...¡± Han Sooyoung hesitated before starting to talk. ¡°I mean, Jeon Woochi¡¯s attack... flew to that ce.¡±
¡°...Hah.¡±
I was so dumbfounded that I forgot the important situation and sighed. Han Sooyoung hesitated as she stared into my eyes and bit her lips. ¡°That... you would be a bit unhappy if you lost that function so... I shifted the direction.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why it hit my heart?¡±
¡°...Well, there is such a story.¡±
It was an absurd story. Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t wait to see how I epted it and added swiftly.
¡°I-I didn¡¯t have any strange thoughts. Don¡¯t be mistaken. The ck me Dragon bastard was shouting that I should protect the whale...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking at his constetion with embarrassment and agitation.]
I sighed lightly and said, ¡°...I don¡¯t care about that. Just protect my heart well next time.¡±
Han Sooyoung made a surprised look at my words and nodded. An awkward atmosphere briefly flowed.
Han Sooyoung seriously considered something and opened her mouth. ¡°By the way Kim Dokja, I have a question...¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Why does he call it the ck me dragon?¡±
***
¡®That guy... he was very small when he was a child.¡¯
Lee Sookyung was immersed in her memories as she gazed at the dark and deste ins of Dark Castle.
How much time did it take to get here?
There were no easy scenarios and all ns were half-distorted or broken. How many times had she experienced the crisis of death due to insufficient information?
¡®It was especially dangerous when I met Nirvana.¡¯
The reincarnator. Lee Sookyung never thought that such a being could exist in the world. Well, it was abnormal for a novel to be reality in the first ce.
She turned around and saw Cho Youngran, the incarnation of Jeon Woochi.
¡°Your Majesty.¡±
¡°Stop it with that title.¡±
¡°...Sookyung-ssi.¡±
Cho Youngran had aplicated gaze.
¡®It is no wonder,¡¯ Lee Sookyung thought.
Cho Youngran was the only wanderer who knew all her circumstances. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to fight him. If you were honest about why you wrote the book...¡±
¡°Being honest is harder than fighting. Especially when it is between a parent and child.¡±
In fact, she had the conversation with Kim Dokja because of Cho Youngran¡¯s suggestion.
Cho Youngran kept pressing. ¡°Now is the age where he can ept the truth. He isn¡¯t the 10 year old boy you knew.¡±
¡°For me, he is just a child. It doesn¡¯t matter if he is 30 or 40 years old.¡±
¡°...It is the pride of a parent.¡±
Pride...
That¡¯s right, it was pride. Lee Sookyung lowered her eyes. ¡°At first, I tried to show courage. I tried to tell the truth.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°However, after I looked into his eyes... it felt like an excuse for me to enter his life.¡±
Reality was different from a novel. A wounded person might be saved but a wounded person. wouldn¡¯t heal that easily.
¡°I don¡¯t know if that child really needs the truth. Maybe it was what I needed. I didn¡¯t want to stay as a bad mother...¡±
She became crooked herself to protect Kim Dokja. She became like this as a result of her own love.
¡¸ Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by the person he loves most. ¡¹
Lee Sookyung recalled the moment when she first heard of her child¡¯s fate from Yoo Sangah. The fate of Olympus would surely be realized.
¡°...The child will understand you one day.¡±
In order to find out how to save her son, Lee Sookyung gave three days and three nights to the Founder¡¯s Mother.
Three SSS-grade items were offered as a tribute to Hongik and she also gave 20 years of her life. In return, she was able to steal a line of fate that Olympus had hidden.
¡¸If he doesn¡¯t go to the next scenario, Incarnation Kim Dokja can live. ¡¹
Lee Sookyung smiled. ¡°Have all the troops gathered?¡±
¡°Yes. They are all assembled.¡±
On the edge of the ins, the group of wanderers she led were gathered. They were all here because they believed in her. Lee Sookyung opened the main scenario window.
+
[Main Scenario #9 ¨C 73rd Demon King]
Category: Main
Difficulty level: SS
Clear Conditions: You are eligible to participate in thest scenario of Dark Castle. Gather four rankers to go up to the third floor of Dark Castle and enter the final scenario.
Time Limit: 30 days
Compensation: 100,000 coin
Failure: ¨D Death
* Your current Dark Castle ranking is 2nd ce.
* Only incarnations within the top 10 of the rankings can challenge the final scenario with you.
+
Lee Sookyung nced at Cho Youngran. She currently had two of the top 10 rankers. They were Cho Youngran and Lee Boksoon. In order toplete the scenario and challenge the final floor of Dark Castle, two more rankers were needed.
Cho Youngran said, ¡°They areing.¡±
An army was pushing from the other side of the Abyss ins. They came from Paradise. She saw a familiar face at the head of the army.
Lee Sookyung greeted one of the people in the opposing force. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. It¡¯s been a while.¡±
¡°Ah! Really, I¡¯m really d... you are alive! Dokja-ssi...¡±
¡°We can talk about itter.¡±
Lee Sookyung looked at the party across from her.
¡®From left to right, it is Lee Hyunsung, Shin Yoosung, Jung Heewon, Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung.¡¯
She heard about Lee Hyunsung, Shin Yoosung and Lee Jihye from Kim Dokja but she had never heard of Lee Gilyoung and Jung Heewon. Perhaps they were new people her son had recruited, regardless of the original novel.
¡®It would¡¯ve been a lot easier if there were only original characters. Stupid fool.¡¯
As a child, Kim Dokja did many unpredictable things. Therefore, Lee Sookyung had believed that her child would be an artist.
¡°The King of Wanderers.¡±
The voice came from the person she had been waiting for. It was a person she heard a lot about from her son while she was in prison. She never imagined she would see him in person.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Supreme King Yoo Jonghyuk. The protagonist of this story opened his mouth. ¡°Why did you want to see me here?¡±
¡°I have decided to end this scenario.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk nced next to Lee Sookyung and asked, ¡°Are you also collecting the four heavenly kings?¡±
¡°Four heavenly kings?¡±
¡°You need four rankers to go to the next scenario. Don¡¯t you know?¡±
¡°Ah... yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m collecting them. I guess they are called the four heavenly kings. I can¡¯t keep up with the trendy words of children these days.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyebrows twitched at Lee Sookyung¡¯s words. ¡°You have a twisted mind.¡±
¡°You are a shrewd child.¡±
The eyes of the two people met and waves of energy bounced wildly. Just by exchanging looks, Lee Sookyung could get a vague glimpse of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s power.
It was transcendent. He had to be at this level to be the protagonist of the story.
Lee Sookyung took a short breath and opened her mouth. ¡°I want to hold hands with you. Let¡¯s gather the remaining rankers together.¡±
¡°...Rankers?¡±
¡°Yes. Isn¡¯t your goal to save this world? You need the most powerful lineup of incarnations as possible if you want to clear the next scenario. I can help you. My sponsor is Founder¡¯s Mother.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes slightly tensed up at the words ¡®Founder¡¯s Mother.¡¯ However, it was just for a moment. The words that came out from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mouth werepletely unexpected. ¡°Where is Kim Dokja?¡±
¡°...Why are you looking for him?¡±
¡°I heard you took him.¡±
¡°So why?¡±
Lee Sookyung had a strange feeling at his dismissive attitude towards her suggestion. It was a disturbing feeling that only a mother with a child could detect.
She wondered, ¡°Surely you aren¡¯t going to include that child in your four heavenly kings?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not obliged to answer that.¡±
¡°Your personality is exactly the same as what he said.¡±
¡°...Kim Dokja told you my story?¡±
¡°He did. He told me a lot.¡±
She stared into Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes and Lee Sookyung¡¯s suspicions increased.
Lee Sookyung asked, ¡°I heard that you handed the Paradise achievement to my son. Why did you do that?¡±
¡°He can save the world if he grows stronger.¡±
¡°Aha, you are going to use him for ¡®that¡¯?¡±
Lee Sookyung deliberately emphasized a word. It was a rxed tone, as if she already knew it.
Then Yoo Jonghyuk replied, ¡°Kim Dokja is necessary for this world. I need him.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°He will be mypanion and he will see the end of the scenario.¡±
Lee Sookyung¡¯s expression slowly hardened. Companion? The voice of her young son appeared in her mind.
-That jerk, he is aplete psychopath.
-He knows nothing but how to use people. -He will do whatever it takes to reach his goal.
¡°This is strange. The Yoo Jonghyuk I heard about will never talk like you.¡±
¡°Does your family like to talk as if they know someone well?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk pulled out his sword. It was a hard attitude that showed no more dialogue was needed.
¡°Give me Kim Dokja. Then I will spare you.¡±
Lee Sookyung stared into Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s zing eyes and recalled her son¡¯s voice. Despite his manyints, her son always looked somewhat excited.
-But the story won¡¯t continue without him. Ways of Survival is such a novel.
At this moment, enlightenment filled Lee Sookyung¡¯s head.
¡¸ Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by the person he loves most. ¡¹
Lee Sookyung realized the true meaning of this fate. She knew who would kill her beloved son. Maybe it was an insight Lee Sookyung was able to reach because she was used to these types of metaphors and symbolism.
¡°I see.¡± Lee Sookyung realized everything andughed.
This wasn¡¯t her original n. Still, the prophecy meant that the n had to be modified here.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t let you see my son.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°A mother¡¯s responsibility is to control her child if he mixes in with bad people.¡± Lee Sookyung¡¯s eyes were cold as she took out the Eight Beaded Bell. ¡°I have to send my son back to reality.¡±
Chapter 174 - Reading Again (5)
Chapter 174: Episode 33 ¨C Reading Again (5)
At this time, Bihyung was at the Seoul Administrative Branch of the bureau.
It would soon be time for the Seoul Dome liberation scenario. All dokkaebis in the dome were busy trying to finish the scenario.
Bihyung walked through the halls of the bureau and saw newly hired low-grade dokkaebis moving along with the instructor.
Newly born dokkaebis. They received basic education at the branch¡¯s education centre, were assigned their own channels and were reborn as streamers.
¡°Don¡¯t hesitate to intervene if the interest of the constetions fall. You can¡¯t directly intervene in a given main scenario so use sub-scenarios to aggravate the conflicts between people or create a dangerous situation.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t create situations where the constetions are annoyed by character conflicts. A good person is a good person, a bad person is a bad person. Make sure the dichotomy is clear. This way, the constetions can easily determine the objects of their anger.¡±
¡°Always induce the incarnation to be in the middle of the event. However, keep an eye on the main incarnation and make the event move around the incarnation. It also shouldn¡¯t give off an artificial feeling.¡±
The instructors spoke these words and the low-grade dokkaebis were busy taking notes.
At one time, Bihyung had been one of them. He learnt how to proceed with the scenario and was taught how to smile and talk. It couldn¡¯t be too strange or too cliche. Be a streamer who wasn¡¯t disturbed by the scenario progression.
¡°Are you remembering the old days?¡±
Bihyung turned and saw the advanced dokkaebi Baram, the chief of the Seoul branch. Bihyung was nervous and his expression changed.
Baram stroked his beard and stared at the low-grade dokkaebis. ¡°It is a terrible sight. Every time it sounds refreshing to the constetions, but this is something learnt from the dokkaebis¡¯ formal education.¡±
¡°It is somewhat inappropriate for an advanced dokkaebi to say this.¡±
¡®It is you who made the guidelines.¡¯ Bihyung swallowed down these words.
Baramughed bitterly. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. These scenarios sell well.¡±
¡°There might be exceptions.¡±
¡°There should be. However, that ¡®exception¡¯ is possible because the ordinary scenarios are openly reviled.¡±
Some low-grade dokkaebis were gathered in front of the screens and watching the scenarios going on in Seoul Dome. On the screen, the stories of the incarnations belonging to the biggest channel in Seoul Dome were flowing. Bihyung¡¯s face became a bit hot.
-Then I will be forced to kill you.
-Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi! No!
Yoo Jonghyuk and Lee Sookyung were confronting each other on the second floor of Dark Castle.
-Damn, why isn¡¯t ¡ö¡ö and ¡ö¡ö¡öing out?
-It wille out. I just don¡¯t know when.
On the other side, Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung were discussing an unknown story in the Mechanical Gateway Array Method.
Bihyung was immersed in his thoughts. ¡®I warned him not to say information that would be filtered, dammit.¡¯
The advanced dokkaebi Baram opened his mouth. ¡°Your channel is popr these days. Talk of your channel is everywhere in the Seoul branch. In particr, that incarnation...¡±
¡°I also receive a lot of curses.¡±
¡°That¡¯s good enough. In any case, it is raising curiosity. Do you know that you are the number one dokkaebi respected by the low-grade dokkaebis these days?¡±
¡°I want to know why you called me here.¡±
It wasnguage that could seem somewhat rude but Bihyung had no other way. There would be a difficult situation if he didn¡¯t go back to his channel right now. Baram was silent and Bihyung once again spoke.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but it is entering the final phase of the ninth scenario. I have to go back to my channel...¡±
¡°That¡¯s why I called you.¡±
Bihyung saw Baram¡¯s serious expression and realized something had gone wrong.
There was a loud noise from the screen and the full-fledged battle began. The incarnations with strong sponsors were fighting, raising synchronization in a reckless manner. Signs of a probability storm appeared all over the ce.
If such strong signs continued, the outer gods would gain the right to intervene. If so, Kim Dokja¡¯s safety couldn¡¯t be guaranteed. (TL: I will be changing gods from another world to outer gods from now on, to match certain aspects that appear inter chapters)
The anxious Bihyung tried to leave this ce when Baram spoke in a cold voice. ¡°The constetions don¡¯t want your intervention.¡±
Currently, Bihyung¡¯s channel was the most influential one in Seoul Dome. The fact that Bihyung was clearly being kept in the Seoul branch made something obvious. ¡°Since when has the Seoul branch been watching the constetions?¡±
¡°I¡¯m always watching. I don¡¯t just look at the education of the low-grade dokkaebis.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t this what it looks like on the surface? The main scenario policy...!¡±
¡°Arge number of nebe haveints about this scenario.¡±
Arge number of nebe. Bihyung knew who they were right away.
Olympus.
Vedas.
Papyrus.
...
The nebe with influence in the Star Stream were interfering with the progress of this scenario.
Why? In fact, Bihyung knew why.
¡°It is because of that incarnation.¡±
Kim Dokja didn¡¯t know anything and was still struggling against the Mechanical Gateway Array Method with Han Sooyoung.
¡°At most, he is one incarnation. He can¡¯t influence the entire scenario,¡± Bihyung refuted.
¡°Only one incarnation... do you really think so?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°No, he isn¡¯t an incarnation anymore.¡±
Before the 10th scenario arrived, an incarnation with no sponsor became a constetion. This was impossible considering the difficulty of the scenario.
¡°He will be a monster. Have you forgotten about the Goryeo¡¯s First Sword incident? It is difficult to see such a non-standard existence again.¡±
Goryeo¡¯s First Sword, Cheok Jungyeong.
The strongest on the Korean penins and among the upper-grade constetions caused an incident.
Bihyung also knew about what happened at the time.
A person who incited many grudges because his natural talent didn¡¯t fit the bnce of the scenario. A great deal of probability was consumed to ¡®exclude¡¯ him from the scenario, only for him to return as a ¡®constetion.¡¯
¡°Goryeo¡¯s First Sword is a special case. Kim Dokja became a constetion faster than him but Kim Dokja¡¯s potential itself isn¡¯t high. If it is potential, the incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk has already reached transcendence...¡±
¡°I know. That isn¡¯t too serious. In fact, Yoo Jonghyuk is the one who is simr to Goryeo¡¯s First Sword. That¡¯s why Kim Dokja is more dangerous.¡±
The frustrated Bihyung shouted, ¡°I can understand some of theints of the constetions. Kim Dokja didn¡¯t enter under them so they are annoyed.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°However, isn¡¯t this a situation where they have already taken action? Have there ever been any cases where ¡®fate¡¯ is used before the 10th scenario?¡±
¡°You are defending the incarnation.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t defending! I¡¯m talking about unfair treatment in the scenario!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think you are in a position to say that.¡±
Bihyung was surprised but pretended to be calm. The advanced dokkaebi Baram smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t call you here to catch your transgressions.¡±
It sounded like a threat where he intended to catch Bihyung¡¯s transgressions. Bihyung asked, ¡°Then why...¡±
¡°If you¡¯re smart then you would know. Haven¡¯t you ever thought it was strange? Why are the constetions already using the excessive action that is ¡®fate¡¯?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°In most cases, they can peek at the future through their dealings with prophets who can use Future Sight, without using fate. If they anticipate how the target will behave, they can change the future with a moderate amount of probability. Yet they didn¡¯t do that this time. Why?¡±
It was something Bihyung had never thought about before. The power to force fate also ced a heavy burden on the nebe. There were many powerful incarnations apart from Kim Dokja. Why force fate over Kim Dokja?
¡°Don¡¯t tell me...?¡±
If the nebe called for fate, it meant they had no choice but to use fate. In other words...
The senior dokkaebi Baram nodded. ¡°It means that no one in the Star Stream can see the future of Constetion Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°...How can that be?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know either. One thing is for sure, many constetions are afraid that Kim Dokja will reach ¡ö¡ö. Hmm, it is still being filtered. So... it is all for the ¡®end¡¯.¡±
Baram¡¯s gaze was fixed on the screen.
¡°You need to do this. Once it is over, I will rmend you to be an advanced dokkaebi.¡±
It required a screening process to be an advanced dokkaebi. Bihyung already guessed what Baram would do.
Bihyung watched the screen and unknowingly hugged the egg.
***
¡°Hey, do a good job.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
Perhaps it was due to the former ck me dragon incident but the atmosphere with Han Sooyoung had be a bit subtle.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s constant trying to start an argument was probably because she was aware of this awkwardness.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is smiling with satisfaction.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ hates this atmosphere.]
It took much longer than I thought to digest the power of Cheok Jungyeong. Four hours had already passed. I was sweating just controlling the power of his story.
My mother had probably met Yoo Jonghyuk by now.
Han Sooyoung was sitting on the floor eating mugwort. Then she said, ¡°By the way, I don¡¯t think your mother is a bad person.¡±
¡°...Did your mind be strange after eating some grass?¡±
¡°Well, the two of you seem to have a bad rtionship. I don¡¯t intend to meddle with someone¡¯s family affairs... in any case, she is taking care of her child.¡±
¡°How is this taking care?¡±
¡°There are many parents in the world who have no interest in their children.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s voice took on a darker tone. I sighed and replied to her, ¡°My mother spoke to me about you. She thought I was dating you.¡±
Han Sooyoungughed. ¡°Your mother has an eye for females.¡±
¡°By the way, she thinks that Yoo Sangah-ssi is better than you.¡±
¡°...So when are you going to kill that aunty?¡±
Weughed. Once again, I realized how certain Han Sooyoung was. She was more like a character than anybody else these days.
Han Sooyoung stoppedughing. ¡°We sound like characters.¡±
It was as if she read my mind. My heart started pounding. Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t know it but one day, she would be a ¡®character.¡¯ It was just like Lee Sungkook and Jung Minseob.
I liked both characters and non-characters, so I didn¡¯t know if it was a good or a bad thing. Just... I felt unsure when I thought about that time. Why didn¡¯t I want this person to be a character?
¡°Eh? Something has changed?¡±
I looked down at my right hand after hearing Han Sooyoung¡¯s words. The power of the story borrowed from Cheok Jungyeong was finally stabilizing. I nodded.
¡°Be prepared. We are escaping.¡±
I controlled my strength and pulled out Unbroken Faith. The moment I borrowed Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s story, the trajectory of his life passed through my head like a panorama.
¡¸ Cutting 1,000 people with one sword. ¡¹
¡¸ Cutting a great mountain with one sword. ¡¹
¡¸Separating the sea with three swords. ¡¹
It was Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s Three Sword Style. It was the name given to a person who never swung a sword more than three times towards a target.
[The status you can¡¯t afford has fallen onto your right arm.]
100 Days Seal started to instantly crack. It was the splendor of Cheok Jungyeong.
The imperfect seal made with just the Eight Beaded Bell could never restrain Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s power.
A real 100 Days Seal would only take effect after gathering all three heavenly treasures.
[The explosive flow of the story has distorted the space of the Mechanical Gateway Array Method.]
[The explosive flow of the story has broken the 100 Days Seal.]
I poured the White Pure Star Energy into the air.
One Sword, One Sword Cuts Thousands.
Like a meteor shower, the sword cut through the air and the space split apart. The Mechanical Gateway Array Method and the seal. Everything was pointless before this overwhelming destruction.
It was the sword technique of a genius training in the sword for tens of thousands of years. The most ideal cut for destruction.
I couldn¡¯t see the true power but I felt a sense of freedom that was just like when I reached 100 strength not long ago.
This was the power of the stars.
The illusionary space copsed and reality started emerging. It was apletely crazy sword technique.
I felt just as greedy as when I got Kyrgios¡¯ Electrification. How good would it be if I could make this mine? Unfortunately, Bookmark only applied to ¡®characters.¡¯
[Due to your status increase, the Bookmark skill will be updated.]
[A new feature has been enabled.]
...Eh?
[Your understanding of the constetion ¡®Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯ has increased by a very slight amount.]
Chapter 175 - Reading Again (6)
Chapter 175: Episode 33 ¨C Reading Again (6)
...What? I was surprised to see the message. So far, my understanding of constetions had never increased.
I opened Bookmark but Cheok Jungyeong wasn¡¯t added to the list of avable people. It might be due to the ¡®very slight¡¯ increase. Perhaps it was a 1% increase.
Still, I was full of expectations. If my understanding continued to rise, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to imitate the skills of the constetions one day?
¡°...What is this?¡±
I turned at Han Sooyoung¡¯s voice. The white sky, the precursor of a storm, looking down at me with a disturbing aura. It was a white night.
There were intermittent rumbling sounds and the entire field shook like there was an earthquake. The aftermath of the two warlords colliding scattered all over the ins. However, they didn¡¯t kill each other.
[Everyone... kneel... down!]
A constetion¡¯s true voice. I wondered how much probability was consumed to speak these words. Many incarnations who couldn¡¯t bear it were struggling in pain.
Those who had the protection of their sponsors or those with strong mental powers didn¡¯t give in. Han Sooyoung was one of them.
¡°What? What is going on?¡± Han Sooyoung shouted in a frustrated manner.
I watched the field with her. In fact, I thought this might happen but not to this extent.
¡°...This is an utter mess. Do they intend to all die together?¡±
It wasn¡¯t just one or two incarnations who raised their synchronization rate to the limit.
The probability allowed by Dark Castle was exhausted to the limit. Sparks appeared like firecrackers all over the battlefield.
-Kim Dokja, listen to me. if you do this, you will die.
I heard Bihyung¡¯s voiceing from someone as I looked at the ruined battlefield.
-There is only one way to escape from ¡®fate.¡¯ Find the force that will protect you. Otherwise...!
There was a sound and Bihyung¡¯s voice was cut off. Someone was blocking Bihyung.
At the same time, hundreds of eyes focused on me. They were upper-grade and some narrative-grade constetions who maximized their synchronization with their incarnations.
I felt the scorching air and gulped. Then Cheok Jungyeong spoke for the first time. [You must be scared.]
¡°Nope. Rather, it is fun.¡±
I was serious.
[Many constetions are looking at you!]
[Some constetions are chanting your name!]
[2,000 coins have been earned as a bonus.]
Cheok Jungyeong spoke again, [The wall of fate is high.]
¡°It¡¯s just a high wall. I will break it if I have to.¡±
The person who I loved. Thus, the person who would kill me. I didn¡¯t know who they were. Just as I didn¡¯t know my own fate, they didn¡¯t know me either.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
I ran through the battlefield. This time I didn¡¯t hide my power.
¡°I will choose the fifth bookmark, Kyrgios Rodgraim.¡±
The moment that Bookmark was activated, I triggered Miniaturization and Electrification.
[The technique of a returnee. How interesting.]
I was able to sweep through the battlefield with the power of Cheok Jungyeong.
However, I shouldn¡¯t overdo it. My right arm had almost turned into a rag after using one sword from the Three Sword Style.
I ran through the battlefield while sprinkling the high-grade physique recovery potion that I had bought from the Dokkaebi Bag.
¡°Out of the way!¡±
A white trail was left whenever I passed. This was the power of the returnee Kyrgios. The power of the being who exceeded level 10 and gained the power of a constetion left white blue trails as it passed through the battlefield.
¡°Aaaaack! What the?¡±
Like a tsunami being split in two, the incarnations fighting each other screamed and scattered.
¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re fighting for but stop.¡±
It was good to raise the ranking to resolve the ninth scenario but it wasn¡¯t good to consume each other in this way.
¡°T-The Ugliest King!¡±
¡°I heard he was dead!¡±
There were incarnations who remembered me.
¡°If you know who I am, do you have a grasp of the situation?¡±
Some incarnations put down their weapons while others fell back. There were those looking at me with shining eyes.
[Many incarnations are paying homage to you.]
¡°Thank you for the eighth scenario. The rumour about your resurrection was real.¡±
There were those who remembered how I sacrificed myself when I was the ¡®strongest sacrifice.¡¯
They lightly nodded and willingly withdrew.
[Your resurrection story is widespread.]
[A new achievement ¡®Mediating Messiah¡¯ has been added to your fifth story.]
I think they were the forces who came from Paradise. Yoo Jonghyuk and the party members were probably also included.
Then the other side?
¡°Huhu. We meet again, young man. How did you get out of that array?¡±
As expected, they were the wanderers. I asked Lee Boksoon, ¡°Why are you fighting?¡±
¡°Why? It is because of you.¡±
Lee Boksoon. She was the grandmother who had Harbin¡¯s sniper as a sponsor.
¡°You shouldn¡¯t go to the next scenario.
¡°...Is that what my mother said?¡±
Lee Boksoon rushed towards me without answering.
The skill Old Strength suddenly increased the grandmother¡¯s muscle strength, allowing her to push through the surrounding incarnations like a train, arriving by my side in an instant.
[Under the banner of the constetion ¡®Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯, all stats will increase by 10 for 30 minutes.]
[All of your stats have temporarily transcended human limits.]
I couldn¡¯t say that I respected the elderly but some degree of politeness was required. Still, this time was an exception.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but I won¡¯t let you go this time, Grandmother.¡±
The ¡®Harbin Sniper¡¯ was a sponsor that only showed a strong response to certain constetions.
In other words, the current attack power was based on the power of the stories built up by Lee Boksoon.
If so, I wouldn¡¯t be pushed.
Once all stats exceeded 100 in the Electrification state, an enormous power emerged from my body.
Lee Boksoon was hit by my fist and flew away.
¡°Stop Kim Dokja!¡±
The forces of the wanderers surpassed my expectations. It was unbelievable that they had been defeated by Nirvana¡¯s Salvation Church with such arge force.
By the way, there were some strange things among the wanderers. They were contaminated humans who had been transformed into a demonic person.
Unfortunately, I knew this story. Han Sooyoung saw it and muttered. ¡°Dammit, someone got the story of the third ce ranker.¡±
Third on the Dark Castle rankings, ¡®King of the Dead¡¯ Davidtz.
It seemed there was a person among the wanderers who had killed Davidtz. King of the Dead was a story that was as powerful as Paradise of Despair. King of the Dead was a skill used to turn the dead into undead to fight.
¡°Get ready to run, Kim Dokja! Break through here!¡±
Han Sooyoung created 10 or more avatars and untied the bandage around his right hand. ck ether focused in their hands and ck mes swept over the battlefield.
I ran along the path Han Sooyoung made. I overcame the group of demonic person and shook off the wanderers.
Then I saw Cho Youngran using King of the Dead. As expected, this woman had the story.
The First Spiritualist of Joseon, she had the Mechanical Gateway Array Method and King of the Dead.
My mother had a truly versatile subordinate. She was taking a magic power potion and looked surprised to see me. ¡°Kim Dokja? How did you... You were caught in the Eight Beaded Bell¡¯s seal!¡±
¡°I was a bit troubled.¡±
Cho Youngran gathered her magic power. Maybe this person was currently third on the Dark Castle rankings. ¡°Stop and back off. I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t...¡±
There was a sign she was using the Mechanical Gateway Array Method again and I raised the energy I had kept hidden. Then Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s strength was released.
[The constetion ¡®First Spiritualist of Joseon¡¯ is greatly confused.]
The Mechanical Gateway Array Method was broken and blood flowed from Cho Youngran¡¯s mouth. Sparks flew behind her and a voice was heard.
[T-This aura...! Why are you here?]
In the end, Jeon Woochi spoke in his true voice. Then Cheok Jungyeong replied, [Get lost.]
[B-But you aren¡¯t his sponsor...!]
[I won¡¯t tell you twice.]
[Kuek...]
Jeon Woochi was crushed by the strong difference in status and quickly disappeared.
Cho Youngran was unable to cope with the aftermath of the probability consumption and staggered. She could no longer maintain King of the Dead and the bnce of the battlefield started to copse.
¡°N-No. You can¡¯t, Kim Dokja!¡±
I ignored Cho Youngran and ran. I wasn¡¯t afraid of any attacks pouring towards me because of Cheok Jungyeong. The difference in status was huge.
After five minutes, the centre of the battlefield was revealed. It was the ce where the most powerful sparks were present.
On the field where white night, the people I knew were pointing weapons at each other.
Han Sooyoung ran up behind me and opened her mouth. ¡°...Your mother is a monster.¡±
I wasn¡¯t too surprised. My mother would surely be at this level. The information that I knew...
My mother was fighting on an equal footing with Yoo Jonghyuk and my other colleagues.
An incarnation who could fight evenly against a transcendent didn¡¯t exist. Behind my mother¡¯s back was the shadow of a giant bear.
[Poor descendants... I don¡¯t want to fight...]
I had seen Yamata no Orochi descend in the same form on Peace Land. It was the descent of the shadow of Founder¡¯s Mother.
Han Sooyoung shook her head as the nightmare of Peace Land came to life. ¡°How... wouldn¡¯t the probability becking?¡±
¡°It is due to the Eight Beaded Bell.¡±
One of the three heavenly treasures shone in my mother¡¯s hand. Theck of probability was reced by a powerful relic.
¡°If you don¡¯t want to fight then why do you keep hitting us! Uwaahh!¡±
The shadow of the giant bear swept through the field, causing Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung to be thrown out. They couldn¡¯t stand properly against the destructive power. It was obviously a terrible situation.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Yoo Sangah recognized me first. Then the other party members approached me. Jung Heewon shouted first. ¡°Dokja-ssi, talk to your mother!¡±
¡°Hyung, is that person really your mother? Yoosung...¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, what is this situation?¡±
The words poured out all at once and I couldn¡¯t answer. Finally, Yoo Jonghyuk approached me. ¡°I guess your mother doesn¡¯t like me.¡±
Chapter 176 - Reading Again (7)
Chapter 176: Episode 33 ¨C Reading Again (7)
I nodded and opened my mouth. ¡°Still, don¡¯t kill her.¡±
¡°...We must beat her. That woman has no intention of cooperating.¡±
I nced at my blood-soaked mother. I didn¡¯t know if it was her blood or the blood of others.
However, she was obviously at her limits. She had somehow been fighting with a reasonable probability but her physical strength must¡¯ve bottomed out. It was an inevitable result.
She was alone and this ce had Yoo Jonghyuk.
Yoo Jonghyuk had be transcendent and was on apletely different dimensionpared to Peace Land. No matter how great the story, it was impossible with just a shadow.
It wouldn¡¯t be easy to ovee a transcendent unless one part of the body descended, but my mother didn¡¯t have enough probability remaining.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is gulping.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is paying attention to your choice.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is observing your atrocious acts.]
I left my party members and headed towards my mother. ¡°Stop trying.¡±
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking faintly.]
¡°Why are you stopping me?¡±
My mother¡¯s face didn¡¯t look good, despite it being barely visible through the shadow of the constetion. Only her eyes and mouth were barely revealed. It was a distance that could be crossed, but I could never reach her. It was the same in prison and even now. This had be our distance.
She told me, ¡°If I talk... you won¡¯t listen...¡±
This person, why was she going so far? Why did she keep doing this despite her bloody body?
Mypanions were watching me. Their eyes were asking me to make the right choice. I sighed and opened my mouth. ¡°Just once. I will listen just once, so tell me.¡±
I was surprised by the words that came out of my mouth.
¡°Tell me the story properly.¡±
I didn¡¯t know I could say this. I squeezed out these words even though I didn¡¯t know if I was sincere or not.
My mother¡¯s eyes shook.
¡°How long can you stay like this? Don¡¯t keep it to yourself and tell me. Why are you blocking me? Mother, why did youe all the way here? Anything, saying anything is fine!¡±
¡°If I say it...¡±
I saw the eyes that seemed like they would cry and realized all the stories so far had been connected.
I was her child, so I knew. The reason my mother blocked me was rted to why my mother wrote the essay.
I would be hurt. I would break. My previous life might be ruined.
¡°Tell me.¡± I had long thought about it. Perhaps it was the story I had already predicted.
There were so many hints from the constetions that it would be odd if I didn¡¯t know. Nevertheless, I wanted to hear the story directly from my mother¡¯s mouth.
It mightpletely change my life but I had to listen, even if the wall shook again. It was because it was my story. Some stories couldn¡¯t be understood if I missed a page.
Soon, my mother¡¯s lips opened. However, in this damn scenario, it wasn¡¯t a story just involving mother and son.
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ is looking at your fate.]
[The neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ is looking at your fate.]
[The neb ¡®Papyrus¡¯ is looking at your fate.]
A new drama wasn¡¯t allowed for us.
The nebe¡¯s messages popped up and intense sparks filled the air. My mother grabbed her head with both hands and started to scream.
I yelled and ran towards her. The moment my outstretched hand was about to reach my mother, the shadow of Founder¡¯s Mother caught me.
[Constetion Kim Dokja. You... can¡¯t pass here.]
There was a crack on the Eight Beaded Bell and ck, muddy waves overflowed. There was a fierce sound like the sky was being ripped apart, and a vortex appeared in the sky. A portal was opening at the centre of the vortex.
[The Great Hall.]
The excessive probability had summoned a being who would destroy everything.
¡°Everyone, don¡¯t look at it! Close your eyes!¡±
I shouted the moment I discovered the tentaclesing from the Hall. I didn¡¯t know about Yoo Jonghyuk, who was a transcendent, but ordinary incarnations would copse just from seeing such an existence.
¡°...An outer god¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression hardened. We were convinced when we saw the tentaclesing from the Great Hall.
This was an outer god. A god who was called due to the sacrifice of Founder¡¯s Mother.
Thunder fell from the crack in the sky while the distorted time and space screamed painfully.
It was simr but different to when that guy was summoned on Peace Land. The one being summoned now was the true body of an outer god
Based on this scale, at least one-third of the true body would be summoned. The true body of a god. The shadow couldn¡¯t even bepared to it.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! If we don¡¯t stop it now¨D¡±
¡°It is toote. It isn¡¯t a level I can stop.¡±
My body was trembling just looking at the sky. I could see it with the status of a constetion.
[The Fourth Wall is strongly activated!]
My trembling subsided a bit by Fourth Wall but the fear didn¡¯t change. The existence beyond that Great Hall was something that couldn¡¯t be beaten even if the present Yoo Jonghyuk and Ibined strength.
In the midst of this helplessness, I realized something. Now it wasn¡¯t a fight for incarnations.
¡°Kuaaaaah!¡±
Some of the incarnations with upper-grade constetions shed blood and died the moment they saw this existence. Yoo Jonghyuk and I protected the party members and retreated. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes were bing darker. I spoke in resistance,
¡°Don¡¯t worry. The constetions won¡¯t stay quiet once this type of guy descends.¡±
It was shown at the constetion banquet that the constetions and the outer gods didn¡¯t have a good rtionship. In a situation where the god descended, no other constetions would intervene.
The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven, Uriel and the slightly reliable ck me dragon...
However, the constetions showed no response to the true body of the god passing through.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke through gritted teeth. ¡°...I don¡¯t know how they can be ignorant.¡±
It was a confusing situation for me as well. This was the descent of an outer god. Why wasn¡¯t anyoneing to help us?
[Some constetions are astonished by theing of the outer god!]
[Many constetions areining about the tyranny of some nebe.
...What?
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is showing hostility to the neb Papyrus.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is baring his fangs to the neb ¡®Vedas¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡® Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ resents the atrocious acts of the neb Olympus!]
Now I realized. I see. This damn situation.
[All constetion on the Korean Penins are wondering which neb you will choose.]
This was all happening because of me. The messages popped up in turn.
[A number of nebe want you to inherit their stories.]
[If you inherit a story, your existence will be forcibly bound to the neb.]
.
.
[The neb Olympus wants you to inherit Lightning Carnival.]
[The neb Olympus wants you to inherit Thunder Guide.]
[The neb Papyrus wants you to inherit ¡®Master of the Typhoon Wolf.¡¯]
.
.
[The nebe are offering you a final choice.]
[All the constetions on the Korean Penins are watching your choice.]
Iughed. This was why I didn¡¯t like the constetions.
Lightning Carnival.
Thunder Guide.
Master of the Typhoon Wolf.
They were all stories of constetions with histories of killing their own rtives.
At the same time, each neb had a powerful story. Perhaps if I seeded their stories, I would be able to repel the outer god. Then my mother would die here.
Yoo Jonghyuk was watching me. His eyes asked what I was going to do. I said to him, ¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk. Do you remember the neb we made? Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.¡±
It wasn¡¯t simply to save my mother. Everything would end if I belonged to a neb.
There was no way I could ovee the unfair contract with them and I would never be able to reach the end of the story.
¡°...You still want to use that name.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk frowned as he moved close to me and pulled out a sword. ¡°I will choose the name of the neb.¡±
I smiled at the thought that Yoo Jonghyuk was joking. The energy of transcendence could be felt by my side. It was strangely relieving despite the presence of a person who had long surpassed my scale.
It might be because I felt like we were standing on the same horizon for the first time since the scenario began.
I dered towards the stars in the night sky. ¡°I won¡¯t bow to your fate.¡±
I pointed my sword towards those silent gazes.
¡°I will decide my story.¡±
Then I heard aughe from somewhere. Along with theughing sound, I heard a whisper from the universe that seemed to be mocking these insignificant worms.
-Unfortunate constetion.
-You who killed your father with your own hands.
-You who will destroy your mother.
-You who will see the downfall of your precious things.
I stared at the outer god. If he finished his descent, the second floor of Dark Castle would bepletely erased.
It was a different situation from Peace Land. There was no ce to go if a crisis happened here. However...
Inside me was a constetion who was as weary of the word ¡®fate¡¯ as I was.
[A few hundred years have passed and things haven¡¯t changed. Damn son of a bitch.]
Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s presence inside me started to be released. I didn¡¯t know if it was possible for Cheok Jungyeong to cope with the god from another world. Still, I had no choice but to believe in him.
Cheok Jungyeong shouted towards Founder¡¯s Mother, who was half eaten by the god from another world.
[Founder¡¯s Mother! Why did you make a deal with the outer god?]
It was a deep and resonant voice filled with anger.
[Since when did Hongik be so cheap?]
Surprisingly, the Founder¡¯s Mother replied.
[I didn¡¯t make a deal... with the outer god.]
[Then what is this situation?]
[I¡¯m sorry. There was no... other way. To protect the... scenarios of the Korean penins. This incarnation... should be here. That man shouldn¡¯t return to the Korean Penins. Otherwise, the other nebe...]
[Did you make a deal with the nebe?] Cheok Jungyeong eximed. [Are you still so obsessed with that littlend that you are now betraying your descendants?]
[You don¡¯t know. You...]
[What the hell is this? Where is the creation god? Why is he invisible when something like this is happening?]
[The creation god...]
However, the words of Founder¡¯s Mother didn¡¯t finish. The next moment, I felt Cheok Jungyeong looking towards the sky.
[Don¡¯t tell me...?]
The night sky sent an indirect message before answering.
[The nebe deres that anyone who helps Goryeo¡¯s First Sword will be regarded as their enemy in the future.]
Then like magic, the indirect messages in the night sky became calm.
I heard the voices of the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven and Uriel, but they seemed unable to intervene due to their own interests or special reasons.
Cheok Jungyeong gazed at the night sky through my eyes. I could feel the explosive emotions mixed in the silence. Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s rage and sadness. His grief... And... his decision.
[You can feel proud.]
Cheok Jungyeong spoke to me.
[Those who are at the highest point in this damn world are afraid of you.]
¡°...What is pride worth when I am going to die?¡±
[You won¡¯t die.]
They were just words, but they were words spoken by a constetion.
As if putting a buoy against fate, all the stories built by Cheok Jungyeong were rooted in my existence.
[I won¡¯t let you die.]
Chapter 177 - Reading Again (8)
Chapter 177: Episode 33 ¨C Reading Again (8)
Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s story filled my whole body, while the stories of Cheok Jungyeong scattered through the Star Stream started to gather. It was a good story that improved the status of existence just by reading.
[The story ¡®Dragon¡¯s Blood¡¯ has be known.]
[The story ¡®Wiping Out An Army With One Sword¡¯ has be known.]
[The story ¡®Battlefield ughterer¡¯ has be known.]
...
¡¸ He was a strong man from birth. He was born with a dragon¡¯s bloodline. ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Cheok Jungyeong! Cheok Jungyeong has appeared!¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°He cut 36 enemies alone.¡± ¡¹
From the time of Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s birth until now. He didn¡¯t know about the ¡®scenario¡¯ but he heard stories that were part of the ¡®scenario.¡¯
[The story ¡®Exiled from the Scenario¡¯ has be known.]
¡¸ ¡°He is too strong. Exile him from this scenario. Use every means possible to send him to another world.¡± ¡¹
I watched the passing history and felt anger, sadness, joy and frustration, just like Cheok Jungyeong. After the bout of emotional feelings, Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s face and solid body were seen. I had never seen Cheok Jungyeong before but I seemed to know him better than anyone else.
This story was Cheok Jungyeong.
¡°Why are you going so far to help me?¡±
[Who knows? Why?]
Five constetions on the Ganpyeongui were consumed in exchange for summoning Cheok Jungyeong.
However, the thing he was doing for me now far surpassed five constetions. No constetion would disclose the base of his story to an incarnation. In addition, Cheok Jungyeong wasn¡¯t my sponsor.
[I was like you.]
One of Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s stories flowed into my head.
[The story ¡®One Who Fights Against Fate¡¯ has be known.]
¡¸ ¡°ce Fate on him. This person has to die.¡± ¡¹
The words of the constetion struck me. I knew that Cheok Jungyeong had been wronged. I didn¡¯t know he was affected by fate, just like me. A long time ago, Cheok Jungyeong experienced the same thing due to the constetions.
I saw the rising notification windows.
[The story ¡®One Who Fights Against Fate¡¯ has begun!]
Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s story was my story. Cheok Jungyeongughed.
[It isn¡¯t the same size as your fate. There was only one neb who did this damn thing to me.]
Cheok Jungyeong spoke as he watched the world through my eyes.
[At that time, I survived with the help of Hongik. However, I still often think about it. I shouldn¡¯t have received the help of any nebe.]
Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s spirit emerged from my chest.
[That¡¯s why I want to help you.]
He raised the sword in my hand and took a specific posture. The outer god, who had almost swallowed the Founder¡¯s Mother, roared.
Cheok Jungyeong also pulled out all his aura. The Unbroken Faith in my hand was crying violently.
[A good sword.]
The sword shook as if in response to the remark. My magic power was reduced, like there was a bottomless pit, while particles of pure ether gathered in my sword.
An ether de that was over 10 metres in length was formed. I shook from the formidable power and tried not to lose focus.
[I will borrow it for a while.]
My body waspletely possessed by Cheok Jungyeong and I started to run with Unbroken Faith in my hands.
It was an overload that I couldn¡¯t cope with, despite my overall stats being over level 100. The bones in my body creaked and the group exploded, forming a huge crater.
I was confident that I could cut anything with this power.
However, I was engulfed in a sense of despair as soon as I leapt into the void and confirmed the enemy. It was an emotion I felt while living in the ¡®human¡¯ world.
Could I kill such a huge thing?
The outer god beyond the Great Hall exceeded imagination just from the size. The diameter of the body alone was at least one kilometre. Each of the 12 legs attached to the body had a diametre of several dozens of metres.
Still, not even one-fifth of it had passed through yet. If all of this guy appeared, who the hell could kill it?
Cheok Jungyeong read my despair andughed.
[I am Cheok Jungyeong.]
It felt like the world was listening. Or it was a deration to the entire Star Stream.
[The strongest military leader on the Korean Penins.]
Then the sword moved. There was a moment when I didn¡¯t know what I was doing, despite being the one to do the action. It was the swordsmanship of Cheok Jungyeong.
Two Swords Style, Two Sword Mountain Chop.
Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s sword moved. It wasn¡¯t a sword for cutting humans. It wasn¡¯t a sword for cutting monsters. It was a sword to cut nature.
The de that was over 10 metres moved twice in session. This was a giant cracking sound.
It looked more like darkness was flowing than blood and looking closer, the darkness seemed like printed letters.
I recognized it as the story of the outer god. In a way, the outer god was the same type of existence as the constetions.
Along with a scream, the god¡¯s tentacles were separated from the torso and fell to the ground. It was like a huge building was falling.
The astonished incarnations evacuated in all directions while I was surprised in another sense.
A human could cut something like this. I felt awe for a being who was born a human but went beyond humans.
However, a terrible pain came after the amazement.
¡°H-Heok... kuooooh.¡±
I started groaning from the terrible pain. A violent storm was battering my body. I shivered like a person electrocuted by hundreds of thousands of volts.
The bones in the hand that swung the sword were destroyed and my mind shrivelled like a crushed bug. Strong power came with great responsibility and in this world, the name of this responsibility was ¡®probability.¡¯ Still, I wasn¡¯t ready to take responsibility yet.
[The constetion ¡®Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯ is looking at you.]
Cheok Jungyeong was sharing the probability but I was still too weak to handle his strength. Cheok Jungyeong sighed.
[Weaker than I thought! I thought you could afford this much because you are a constetion...]
I wanted to say that he had too much brute strength but my words didn¡¯t emerge.
¡°Cough! Pant! Pant! Pant!¡±
Instead of throwing up food, I threw up electricity. I sat on the ground and breathed out for a few minutes before I barely managed to escape the probability storm.
I looked up and saw the scene made by Cheok Jungyeong.
The sword that cut mountains.
Cheok Jungyeong had turned two of the twelve tentacles into rags from the one attack. In other words, he cut two mountains.
However, there were 10 mountains and the torso remaining. Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s voice was dark.
[...It is insufficient. It might be possible if I could use more three swords.]
¡°There are more than three swords?¡±
[I haven¡¯t used it yet but in your situation, I doubt I can even use three swords.]
I gritted my teeth. The summoning speed of the outer god was elerating. Even if the scale of probability had been almost adjusted, the summoning continued and it seemed furious from the blow.
¡°Is there any way to negotiate with that guy?¡±
[Negotiate? How will you negotiate with it?]
¡°It is also a god...¡±
Cheok Jungyeong noticed my intentions and interrupted me.
[If you are trying to save your mother, give up. It is a situation where the shadow of Founder¡¯s Mother is eaten. Your mother¡¯s soul would already be scattered.]
¡°It hasn¡¯t happened yet. The outer god doesn¡¯t eat its prey that way.¡±
[It sounds like you are aware of the outer gods.]
Cheok Jungyeong didn¡¯t know. I really did know the outer god. I once again looked at its appearance.
The two giant tentacles and body were covered in a thick fog, making it not visible.
The body, that was reminiscent to a giant canal, provoked cosmic awe just seeing it. There was no doubt. The Yoo Jonghyuk of the 136th regression fought against this very god.
In fact, while I was sitting down and trying to breathe, Yoo Jonghyuk was fighting against another tentacle.
By using the power of transcendence along with Giant Body Transformation, Yoo Jonghyuk looked like a half-god who had descended. The power of Breaking the Sky Sword moved over a tentacle and it shook painfully.
Using his own strength, Yoo Jonghyuk damaged the outer god.
The level was still insignificantpared to Cheok Jungyeong but Cheok Jungyeong spoke in an admiring voice.
[This reminds me of me in my prime. With this type of talent, he might be able to catch up with me after a long time...]
Yoo Jonghyuk avoided the moving tentacles and cut off one-third of a tentacle. However, there was a limit to the blow he could deal. Yoo Jonghyuk stepped back and gasped.
¡°Kim Dokja, this guy is the ¡®Eater of Dreams.¡¯ I met him in the second regression. Once eaten by him, you will live in his space for the rest of your life and have your stories extracted. You must never enter his mouth.¡±
It was information I already knew but I nodded anyway. As Yoo Jonghyuk and I was recuperating, the summoning of the god kept elerating.
Now almost one-third of his body was summoned.
The summoned tentacles started to riot and thendscape hundreds of metres around them werepletely devastated. Some incarnations screamed as they were hit by the tentacles.
The Eater of Dreams wasn¡¯t a ¡®great old one¡¯ but it was still a cosmic god. The stories from Earth couldn¡¯t deal with it unless they joined forces. Cheok Jungyeong spoke in a dark voice.
[...If he fully descends, it isn¡¯t possible even with my strength. We have to attack now.]
However, the situation wasn¡¯t advantageous to us at all. Sparks flew as soon as Cheok Jungyeong pulled up his story again, crushing my heart.
[This damn probability doesn¡¯t help at all.]
This was all the probability I could use, despite the outer god being summoned.
The meaning of this was simple. Someone had assigned the amount of probability that could be used to us. It was stupid to ask who was behind this.
I bit my lips and blood flowed down. ¡°We still need to do it. Use the Three Sword Style!¡±
[Your presence might disappear if I use it.]
¡°This is the only chance. Yoo Jonghyuk. Join forces with me this time.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk nodded.
I once again started running with Unbroken Faith in my hand. The sparks of probability flew with every step that I took.
Would it be possible? I didn¡¯t know. This time I might really be crushed by the probability storm. Still, I had to do it. I had always done it and it would be the same again.
¡°Kuheeeok...¡±
Before I could even run 10 steps, the probability grabbed onto my ankle again. This time, the recoil was greater.
As expected, it was impossible alone. I needed someone¡¯s help but who could help me now?
It was different from the time with the Absolute Throne. The constetions who tried to help me now would be enemies with the huge nebe.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at you.]
The amount of sparks around me were gradually decreasing.
The Duke of Loyalty and Warfare, Yi Sunsin.
He led the upper-grade constetions of the Korean Penins and contributed to my probability.
Cheok Jungyeong was slightly touched.
[Duke of Loyalty and Warfare. There was a story that you are more likely to be a narrative-grade than me.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is nodding lightly.]
[Well, okay. The stories added... are there any more? Are there no more constetions courageous enough to confront this god?]
The sky was silent.
Apart from the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare, no one else took on my probability. Then Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s angry roar emerged.
[Baldy! Come quickly and help! Aren¡¯t you a someone who fights for justice?]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ bows his head.]
[Fucking one-eyed jerk, what are you doing?]
[The constetion ¡®One-Eyed Maitreya¡¯ is tightly holding his eyepatch.]
Cheok Jungyeong shouted towards the world, without worrying about his probability being wasted and his status being damaged.
[All of you are hiding even in this situation? Aren¡¯t you constetions? General? Maitreya? King? You don¡¯t deserve to be called this!]
[The constetions of the Korean Penins are silent at the words of Goryeo¡¯s First Sword.]
Yet there still weren¡¯t any constetions who moved. At this moment, a figure staggered in the distance.
The woman breathed roughly as she reached out to this side. It was Min Jiwon. Fortunately, she was alive.
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is looking at you.]
Then a message was heard.
[The constetions of Si are bearing your probability together.]
The constetions of Si were helping me. It was a modest level of help but they were still constetions.
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ feels resentment towards Lady of the Brocade Sleep.]
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is exhausted from the excessive probability and has fallen into a deep sleep.]
A constetion closing their eyes meant they had suffered significant damage to their existence.
Even so, the will of Lady of the Brocade Sleep seemed to have affected the other constetions of the Korean Penins.
I felt a prickling sensation as eyes started to gather on me.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ says he doesn¡¯t care and is looking at you.]
It started with Samyeongdang.
[The constetion ¡®One-Eyed Maitreya¡¯ is looking at you with half an eye.]
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is swearing as he looks at you.]
[The constetion ¡®First Spiritualist of Joseon¡¯ sighs and looks at you.]
The sparks covering me dwindled in an instant. It was finally turning into a likely probability.
[The neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ deres that Maritime War God is an enemy.]
[The neb ¡®Papyrus¡¯ is furious at the constetions of the Korean Penins.]
...
Thanks to me, the whole Korean Penins was covered with war clouds.
Cheok Jungyeongughed. [This is why I curse thisnd but I can¡¯t leave. Fighting to the death with a few people...]
[The minimum of preparations is reached.]
Finally, Cheok Jungyeong prepared his Three Sword Style.
TL Note: I suddenly received notice of a sudden work conference I have to go to as a substitute on the weekend. I¡¯m heading interstate tomorrow so the rest of this week¡¯s chapters will be posted by the end of today.
I¡¯ll see you Monday.
Chapter 178 - Reading Again (9)
Chapter 178: Episode 33 ¨C Reading Again (9)
I held onto Unbroken Faith. My muscles expanded from the powerful stories. It was like a dragon¡¯s blood was flowing through my heart.
[Move while the force is building up. We have to make a gap.]
Yoo Jonghyuk came forward first.
¡°I will buy as much time as possible.¡±
The movements of the tentacles were more active than before and the ground was almost in ruins. We tried to move this guy as far away from the party members as possible.
¡°Haaaaap!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk raised his magic power and moved forward. Meanwhile, I moved behind the Eater of Dreams. It was to find a ce where I could hurt the main body as much as possible without hitting the tentacles. The body was at least one kilometre in diametre so it was a hard job to find the weak spot.
In the meantime, Cheok Jungyeong built up his strength. The one sword and two swords were powerful enough but they couldn¡¯t bepared to the huge force building in my right arm.
It was doubtful if this was really the power of an upper-grade constetion.
[...Damn, this is the limit for this body. This much is possible with the support of the probability.]
Cheok Jungyeong grumbled as the umtion of power almost finished.
[Don¡¯t be too ted. I don¡¯t know if I can cut all the tentacles and hurt the body with this much strength.]
¡°I guess. The opponent is an outer god after all. Do you have a n?¡± I asked with a bit of expectation. He spoke so confidently that I thought Cheok Jungyeong had a countermeasure.
Cheok Jungyeong thought for a moment before replying, [I will hit him with the Three Sword Style and hope he is tired enough to go back.]
¡°...Didn¡¯t you say you would protect me?¡±
[I will protect you. I promised in my name.]
¡°The strongest person on the Korean Penins is relying on luck in this situation?¡±
I flinched at the magic power that exploded from Unbroken Faith. Was he angry? However, Cheok Jungyeong calmed down.
[I know the ¡®Demon of the Horizon.¡¯]
The Demon of the Horizon. I heard this name and nced at Yoo Jonghyuk, who was still fighting.
He didn¡¯t seem able to listen in on our conversation. Cheok Jungyeong continued speaking.
[I will ask him to send you to another world. There is no time limit on the ninth scenario. If you flee there, you will be able to live for a while. Of course, you will have to take care of things after that.]
¡°What type of demon has that power?¡±
[Rather than a demon... he is closer to a god. You don¡¯t need to know the details. You would be better off praying not to meet him.]
I didn¡¯t know the rtionship between Cheok Jungyeong and the Demon of the Horizon...
I pretended differently but I knew that name. It was because the Demon of the Horizon was the existence who sent Shin Yoosung of the 41st regression here and who supplied the ¡®disasters¡¯ to the dokkaebis.
I wasn¡¯t sure how Cheok Jungyeong knew the Demon of the Horizon but perhaps he was the one who helped when Cheok Jungyeong was exiled from the scenario.
¡°Can other people escape this way?¡±
[Such arge amount of probability isn¡¯t allowed. The dokkaebis also won¡¯t allow it.]
¡°But once this happens... all the people left here will die.¡±
If I ran away, the people here would be swallowed up by the Eater of Dreams and have their stories swallowed. Cheok Jungyeong clicked his tongue.
[That isn¡¯t any of my business. Don¡¯t worry about the others. Take care of your own life. Life is about being alone anyway.]
As expected of Cheok Jungyeong. His life philosophy was very pessimistic due to his life of betrayal.
[A gap! Run!]
I used Electrification and flew forward with all my speed at Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s sudden shout.
I passed through two or three tentacles but there were still five or six blocking the way. It was dangerous to get closer. There was the ce where I should stop.
¡°Goryeo¡¯s First Sword. I have an idea.¡±
[An idea? What is it? Concentrate instead of speaking nonsense!]
¡°To be honest, it is impossible to kill him with the Three Sword Style. You should already know it.¡±
The ground that the tentacles touched subsided. It would be instant death if I was touched, no matter Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s defense.
However, Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s pressure would kill me before the tentacles. I shouted as Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s power pressed down on me. ¡°I¡¯m not saying this to provoke you. Just think about it realistically!¡±
Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s pressure decreased at my words.
[...So? Do you have a way to beat that guy?]
¡°I do. If you help, perhaps I can kill the outer god.¡±
Cheok Jungyeongughed in a dumbfounded manner.
[Kill the outer god? Do you know what you¡¯re saying right now? This is an outer god. It would be hard even for those damn Olympus and Vedas guys.]
¡°There is no way I would say this if it was another god. However, the Eater of Dreams... it might be possible.¡±
[...I am listening. What is the method?]
¡°Hurt his body and throw me into it.¡±
Cheok Jungyeong was confused and at a loss for words. The giant tentacles wereing once again.
[If you do that, you will die. You won¡¯t survive being eaten by him. Didn¡¯t you hear the words of that good-looking guy before? Once you are eaten by him¨D]
¡°I will survive.¡±
I was convinced as I listened to him.
I was certain that I could survive being eaten by this outer god. No constetion, let alone a mortal, could feel this conviction. Cheok Jungyeong trembled as if he was incensed and opened his mouth.
[...Is there something you can do?]
¡°I can¡¯t say it is 100%.¡±
I might be able to get help from the Demon of the Horizon through Cheok Jungyeong. Yet there would be nothing left for me if I survived alone. Escape was a denial of everything I had built up so far.
Thus, I chose this approach.
[Kuhuk...]
The silent Cheok Jungyeong suddenly gave a hugeugh. It was augh that seemed to fill the ins.
[I lived long enough to see the day. The day when a man like you believes he can fight against that god.]
Finally, the upper body of the Eater of Dreams started to be summoned.
The first eye that watched the world was revealed. As soon as the gaze of the Eater of Dreams touched on the ground, the sensation filled me with more trepidation than I had ever felt.
If I fought this thing, I would die. No matter what I did, I couldn¡¯t win against it. Cheok Jungyeong sighed.
[Stupid constetion.]
¡°Yes.¡±
[I like you. So don¡¯t die.]
I nodded and ran. The mountain of tentacles soared into the sky. I used Electrification and there was a blue-white trail everywhere I passed.
[Come, outer god!]
Cheok Jungyeong gripped the sword in my hand. All of Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s stories were gathered and the Three Sword Style was expressed.
[I, Cheok Jungyeong, will cut you!}
The ether de increased.
The de that was 10 metres long increased to 20 metres. The de that was 20 metres long increased to 30 metres.
The power that transcended my magic power and my story was falling down here.
Three Sword Style, Three Sword Ocean Chop.
I knew it the moment I drew the sword. This...
In my head, I saw Cheok Jungyeong standing in front of the sea. Cheok Jungyeong watched the sea from dawn to dusk.
All the years of watching the sea, looking at the distant horizon until he saw the ¡®target.¡¯
It was one line that distorted the bnce of time and space. The waves split apart and the waters had the illusion of splitting.
This was a sword made to cut the sea.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ admires the power of Goryeo¡¯s First Sword!]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ admires the power of the pure human constetion!]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ shows great interest in Goryeo¡¯s First Sword!]
The air exploded and all sound was swallowed. I swung my sword despite feeling like my body was going through a blender.
One sword, two swords, three swords. After wielding three swords, the fuse of my consciousness waspletely broken.
Really, just wait a moment.
[....Up!]
Then Cheok Jungyeong called out to me.
[Wake up! Stupid constetion!]
I barely managed to open my eyes and saw a few strands of tentacles floating in the air. However, the tentacles were no longer what I remembered. Seven of the twelve tentacles had been cut apart and fell to the ground.
Cheok Jungyeong was an upper-grade constetion. He cut half of the tentacles with his own strength. Nevertheless, Cheok Jungyeong spoke like he was angry.
[...I couldn¡¯t cause a deep wound because ofcking strength. I couldn¡¯t cut him with the sword that cuts the sea.]
¡°No, this is enough. It is enough for sess.¡±
Cheok Jungyeong was sessful. Beyond the tentacles, there was a huge horizontal scar on the main body. The Three Sword Style had cut off the tentacles and wounded the main body.
It was a small woundpared to the size of the guy but it was wide enough for me to enter. A pained cry burst out from the Eater of Dreams.
I had to run over there. I had to do it right now. Before his wound healed, I must enter the wound. This was the way to end this scenario.
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ is ridiculing your adversity.]
Dammit, I wanted to deal a blow to those damn nebe. By the way...
[The neb ¡®Papyrus¡¯ is toasting your scenario.]
My legs didn¡¯t move. No matter how much strength I used, my legs wouldn¡¯t budge. No, I couldn¡¯t even feel my strength.
What...
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is looking at you with sad eyes.]
I looked down and realized the state I was in. I couldn¡¯t see anything below my knees.
My lower legs had disappeared like it had been cut by something. Blood constantly flowed from the cut sections. It was probably the world of the tentacles while I was using the Three Sword Style.
Dammit. I was almost there yet a situation like this urred.
In the meantime, the duration of Electrification ended. Little by little, the injury on the god was healing. It wasn¡¯t a distance I couldn¡¯t cross in the state where I lost my lower legs.
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
I turned my head and saw the bloody Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk staggered to me, grabbed me by the cor and lifted me onto his shoulders.
He looked at the wound on the god and asked, ¡°I have to throw you over there?¡±
¡°...Can you do it?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. He just showed it with his actions. Yoo Jonghyuk jumped onto what seemed like stairs in the air.
He stepped on the tentacles while using Air Steps. I could hear a slight creaking sound from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. His body was already at the limit. Even so, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t give up.
He climbed and climbed again. Soon afterwards, the distant wind soaked my cheeks.
Yoo Jonghyuk stopped his magic power and paused. I looked up and the wound on the god was right in front of me.
Despite theck of time, Yoo Jonghyuk hesitated. He hesitated while holding tightly to my cor. ¡°...We don¡¯t have to hold another funeral, right?¡±
I smiled because of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s question. ¡°Even if I die, I will rise again.¡±
¡°That isn¡¯t what I mean.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression was serious. A high wind blew between me and Yoo Jonghyuk.
I looked at him for a moment before asking, ¡°Do you remember the second scenario?¡±
The subway of Oksu Station. It was where Yoo Jonghyuk first appeared after smashing everything. He was a cold-blooded regressor who would use whatever means necessary for the results.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s calm eyes shook at my words.
Who would¡¯ve known at the time? Me and this guy, we would actually end up aspanions. I hadn¡¯t wanted to admit it but now I had to. The things that hadn¡¯t seemed possible became reality. I was actually going through the scenarios with him.
That¡¯s why I could now say it. Just like I did when I first met him on Han River Bridge. This was the way that suited us best.
¡°Release your hand and get lost, you damn son of a bitch.¡±
Chapter 179 - Unable to be Eaten (1)
Chapter 179: Episode 34 ¨C Unable to be Eaten (1)
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression slowly changed as he held me by the neck. Previously, I would already be falling through the air.
Now everything was the opposite. I flew through the air instead of falling. Yoo Jonghyuk had thrown me as hard as he could.
Yoo Jonghyuk was watching me. His expression showed he was certain that I wouldn¡¯t die. I didn¡¯t hear his voice but I could tell what he was saying.
¡®Feed him one blow, Kim Dokja.¡¯
The moment I was about to answer, the tentacles blocked my gaze.
The attack of the tentacles missed me by a hair¡¯s breadth and Inded on the Eater of Dreams body. I used the strength remaining in my arms to grab the body and move towards the wound.
This guy was a life-threatening presence just through touch. If I was still an incarnation, I might¡¯ve already passed out or died. If he finished his descent... it was scary to think about what might happen.
I threw my body into the wound.
[...I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t go with you.]
Power drained from my body and I felt Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s strength scattering. I didn¡¯t panic because I had already expected it.
Soon afterwards, the wound connected to the outsidepletely closed.
I floated in the air, like a person floating in the universe. The inside of the Eater of Dreams was as dark as the sky. It was a space with no blood or flesh. It was natural since the outer god wasn¡¯t a living thing.
Dung... dung... dung...
I heard the sound of drumsing from somewhere. Then there was a whispering. Someone gazed at me. It wasn¡¯t hard to breathe despite there being no air. Perhaps the moment I entered this space, my very existence was transformed.
Then after a while, all sounds disappeared. The screams of the incarnations and the messages of the constetions were gone.
Instead, there were unknown characters and images. This was the stomach of the Eater of Dreams. It was a ce where all the stories he had eaten were gathered.
¡¸¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö...¡¹
¡¸ #%&^#$^ ¡¹
There were some stories I could recognize. Perhaps they were from Founder¡¯s Mother.
¡¸ It is my fault. The foolish history was too long... ¡¹
¡¸ I have to protect thisnd from the nebe. However, now there is no one in Hongik. Where have all the gods of creation gone? ¡¹
¡¸ Hwanung... I want to see Hwanung. ¡¹
Then a story with a small light came up to me and shouted,
¡¸ What are you doing? Why are you here? Run away...! ¡¹
The light flickered. Thank you but there was nowhere for me to run away to.
The ¡®outer gods¡¯ were existences rooted in the distant outer universe. Half of his body was connected to the second floor of Dark Castle while the inside of his body was directly connected to the outer universe.
Thus, his stomach was like outer space to me. It was a world of sheer emptiness, only filled with the desire to eat.
The Eater of Dreams wanted me.
The scattered letters gathered together and started to form a shape. In this empty space, eyes and a mouth were created. In fact, I wasn¡¯t sure if they were eyes or a mouth, but I had to think of it in these terms since I was a human.
He seemed to be saying something but his voice wasn¡¯t heard properly. After a while, the letters shivered and started to transform into words that I could understand.
[ The smell of an interesting story... ]
The moment that two eyes looked at me, I gulped without knowing it. This was the presence of a god who caused fear in even the narrative-grade constetions.
[ The presence of an inferior scenario... how... do you hear me? ]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is extremely active!]
The Fourth Wall became more active than it had ever been so far. I felt like a wall was growing on my skin.
It meant this enemy was dangerous.
He wasn¡¯t even a ¡®great old ones¡¯. I couldn¡¯t imagine what the gods such as ¡®The Fear of Sarnath¡¯, ¡®Horror from the Hills¡¯ or ¡®Master of R¡¯lyeh¡¯ would be like.
I took a deep breath and slowly opened my mouth. ¡°Eater of Dreams. You are a great god of another world.¡±
[ Ohh... ]
The letters of Eater of Dreams twitched like he was surprised by my words. In this guy¡¯s eyes, I wasn¡¯t even a bug. I was a strange toy he could erase at any time.
Strong sparks urred around me and the letters started to revolve. There was something that wanted to prate inside me. However, as soon as it reached my side, it was bounced off.
The letters of Eater of Dreams spoke in a subdued manner.
[ What... are you? Are you under a special protection? ]
This guy had attempted to mentally invade me. Then he had been bounced off by the Fourth Wall.
I would¡¯ve been destroyed if I didn¡¯t have this skill. I controlled my heart and looked at the Eater of Dreams.
As I said before, the Yoo Jonghyuk of the 136th regression was eaten by him. However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t die. In other words, my current basis was his 136th attempt.
I slowly opened my mouth so that I wouldn¡¯t be caught by his boundaries.
¡°I came to tell you a story.¡±
[ Story! I like stories. ]
The outer god reacted immediately. The monstrous greed caused him to be fuzzy.
¡°Among all the stories you have eaten, there are those belonging to Lee Sookyung. Please send her back.¡±
The face looked puzzled.
[ This... isn¡¯t a story? ]
¡°I will tell you a story in exchange.¡±
[ What story will you tell me? ]
I pointed to myself without speaking. It was obvious what I meant. I was making a bet with my existence at stake. The big eyelids slowly blinked.
[ Small constetion... ]
¡°Yes.¡±
[ Do you intend to make a deal with me? ]
The moment I was going to open my mouth, shapes appeared in the air. It was an image made up of the stories that Eater of Dreams had devoured.
[ The bear doesn¡¯t talk to the fish. ]
The image shown was a giant bear, reminiscent of Founder¡¯s Mother. The bear looked around with foolish eyes and caught the fish flowing through the empty universe.
The Eater of Dreams looked at the bear and said, [ Human, I don¡¯t negotiate with bugs... ]
I hadn¡¯t been properly recognized yet. A half-constetion couldn¡¯t deal with a cosmic deity. It was a natural story.
However, I shook my head.
¡°If bugs talk like humans, think like humans and act like humans, they can¡¯t be called bugs anymore.¡±
I red at the two huge, ck eyes.
[ You... aren¡¯t qualified to make a deal with me. I can take away everything you have at any time. ]
¡°Then why are you talking to a bug instead of taking it away?¡±
[¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.]
The bear eating the fish looked at me. The bear raised its paws in a threatening manner, as if it was going to hit me right away. I stared at the bear and said,
¡°The bear knows how to eat fish but it doesn¡¯t know how to eat them deliciously.¡±
The bear¡¯s paw hesitated.
¡°The feet are damaged by the scales, the ws are dirty after taking out the guts of the fish and it just fills its anger.¡±
[¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.]
¡°Just as I¡¯m not a bug, you¡¯re not a bear. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
The letters in the space jumbled together and the Eater of Dream¡¯s face became bizarre. Usually, I would be terrified but I had read the original novel.
I started grinning. This situation was too pleasant for me to bear.
¡°All the stories will be damaged if you forcibly take them. If you trample on me right now, you won¡¯t get a ¡®perfect¡¯ story. I will tell you a story that you can eat in its best condition. You¡¯ll always be able to eat it.¡±
Dung... dung... dung!
Once again, I heard a drumming sound. It was like a giant beast¡¯s pulse. The tempo of the sound became increasingly faster.
Dung! Dung! Dung! Dung!
I had read the original work and knew the identity of this drumming sound.
[ I want to eat you. ]
This sound was the Eater of Dream¡¯s hunger. I gulped and raised both hands. ¡°If you keep your promise, I will give you a lot.¡±
The letters turned into smoke and started to form a shape. After a while, it took on the appearance of my mother.
[ Is this what you want? ]
I nodded.
[ This story has some interesting corners. I saved it because it smelt more delicious than the shell of the constetion I ate along with it. I want to eat you very badly but I can¡¯t afford to give you this story. ]
¡°Are you a beast who can¡¯t control your hunger?¡±
[ Is there anyone who would be offended by the insults of bugs? ]
...Fucking bastard.
I didn¡¯t know what rank he was among gourmets but he was low among the outer gods. The letters formed a brutal smile.
[ The conversation with you ends here. I will eat all of you. ]
The image of the bear who caught the fish flew towards me baring sharp teeth like a piranha. There was no ce to run away. My legs couldn¡¯t move and in any case, I was in his stomach.
¡°Shit, fine. If you want to eat then eat as much as you like.¡± Instead, I spread open my arms and greeted him. ¡°Be sure to eat all of it.¡±
Hundreds of fish started to eat at my body.
They bit at my arms, my legs, my back and my face. I felt a terrible pain but no blood came out. Instead, it was letters. The stories and histories I had built up started to leak out after I was bitten by his teeth.
[ Ohhhhh....! T-This is? ]
The god shrieked with joy at the heavenly delicacies. My consciousness was blurred and there was a pounding in my head. Nevertheless, I held on. I had to hold on until he ate the part I was thinking about.
[ Ohh... oh? ]
The next moment, something poured out of me like a waterfall. He had touched something.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has reacted to the vibrations hitting the wall.]
The moment I was waiting for had finallye. The letters poured into his stomach, creating a torrent. It was an enormous amount of stories.
[ You, what the hell are you...? ]
The baffled Eater of Dreams cried out to me but I didn¡¯t have the strength to answer.
I was hard to keep my sanity with all the stories pouring out. I looked at the sentences passing in front of my eyes.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk looked at the mouth of Eater of Dreams and spoke. ¡¹
It was the contents of Ways of Survival.
¡¸ ¡°Yes, if you want to eat me, eat as much as you can.¡± ¡¹
It was the 136th regression Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk was eaten by the Eater of Dreams and had been in the same situation as me.
[ This, what the hell is this...! ]
Yoo Jonghyuk of Ways of Survival replied on my behalf.
¡¸ ¡°You will know. You will experience what it is like to have lived 136 times. You will know all the loneliness, sorrow, anger and hatred towards this damn world that I felt during this awful time.¡± ¡¹
[ K-Kuaaah...! ]
¡¸ ¡°You think of humans as worse than bugs. If so, feel it from now on. ¡¹
[ Wait, wait a minute...! ]
¡¸ ¡°The pain that bugs suffer. Feel the history of the bug that you can¡¯t handle. If you have the confidence to eat me, then eat and eat as much as you can!¡± ¡¹
The stories pouring all filled the stomach of the Eater of Dreams with continuous explosions. The Eater of Dreams ate Ways of Survival and struggled with the pain.
Somewhere in his stomach, cracks started to appear. Ways of Survival spoke as ifughing at the confused Eater of Dreams.
¡¸ It was the moment when the Eater of Dreams, who was born in space and lived for 8,000 years, realized it. ¡¹
[ Kuooooooh....! ]
It was the scene where Yoo Jonghyuk first killed a ¡®god.¡¯ I had read it over and over again, almost memorizing it. I paraphrased the following sentence on behalf of Ways of Survival.
¡°In this world, there is a story that should never be eaten.¡±
Chapter 180 - Unable to be Eaten (2)
Chapter 180: Episode 34 ¨C Unable to be Eaten (2)
In the original novel, the Eater of Dreams swallowed Yoo Jonghyuk, struggled against the terrible life that Yoo Jonghyuk suffered and eventually disappeared. It was a disaster caused by overeating. However, this was the story in Ways of Survival.
It wasn¡¯t the 136th regression that he would eat this time.
[ Kuooooooh....! ]
The third regression, the fourth regression, the fifth regression...
¡¸ ¡°Do you know what will happen if humans live for thousands of years?¡± ¡¹
The 36th regression, the 47th regression, the 69th regression...
¡¸ ¡°Have you ever thought about the pain of an endlessly repeating life?¡± ¡¹
The 141st regression, the 143rd regression, the 148th regression...
¡¸ ¡°This is human suffering. You damn tentacles bastard.¡± ¡¹
There was a feast of memories that never ended. Cracks started to spread through the engorged space. After eating what shouldn¡¯t be eaten, the crazy Eater of Dreams started to riot.
However, he had no ce to go because this was his stomach. No one could escape from themselves.
[ Kuooooooh! ]
The flood of words wasrger than what he could handle.
The stories that weren¡¯t absorbed flew away and the flood of stories swept over the outer universe like waves. The wreckage of the damaged stomach scattered.
The Fourth Wall is slowly opening its eyes.]
[The Fourth Wall is searching for something to eat.]
The startled Eater of Dreams stared at me.
[The Fourth Wallughs at the Eater of Dreams.]
Now the rtionship between predator and prey had changed.
[Kuaaaaah...]
The Fourth Wall, which was made up of many letters, started to swallow the stories of the Eater of Dreams.
It was purely hungry eating, without caring about gourmet food. The countless fish and other symbols of the Eater of Dreams tried to flee, but it couldn¡¯t escape from the persistent wall.
The stories that he had eaten for 8,000 years were crushed to powder and sucked into the wall. The patterns on the wall emitted a bright light.
The voice of the unauthorized guy who read the story was shocked.
[¡ö¡ö...?]
More than half his thoughts had been consumed and they appeared on the wall.
¡¸ Surely this isn¡¯t ¡ö¡ö....? ¡¹
[ Ohhhh... ]
¡¸The great old ones! Where are all of you? ¡¹
At thest moment, he tried to abandon everything and run, but the Fourth Wall was one step faster. The wall exposed its terrible teeth and swallowed the contents of the stomach.
[ Ohhh... great old... ohhhh. ]
There was a dazzling light and the open mouth of the wall finally closed.
[The Fourth Wall has finished eating.]
[You have defeated an outer god!]
.
.
.
[The Star Stream has failed to find a suitable name for your achievement.]
[An unknown achievement will be added to your fifth story.]
[Your status, which was about to be confirmed, will be re-evaluated.]
The fragments of the Eater of Dreams scattered and I remained in the void of the outer universe with a few stories.
The space didn¡¯t copse even though the Eater of Dreams was dead. I still hadn¡¯t returned to my original world.
[The gods of the outer universe are greatly confused after hearing of the death of Eater of Dreams.]
[The outer gods are trying to figure out what happened in his scenario.]
[Some ¡®great old beings¡¯ are watching you.¡¯]
A feeling of nausea rose inside me. Perhaps it was because my spirit had been eaten but I felt weakened.
¡°Heok, heok... kueeek!¡±
It was a horrible experience. Yoo Jonghyuk had done this in the 136th regression.
¡°Kueeeek!¡±
After vomiting a few times, I searched through the fragments of the story for my mother.
Fortunately, the image formed by Eater of Dreams was preserved. She stood there with closed eyes.
Was she still alive? I didn¡¯t know. I tested my mother¡¯s pulse and shook her shoulders. ¡°Please wake up.¡±
First, I had to take my mother out of here. I looked around.
...Why wasn¡¯t this space broken?
In the 136th regression, there was the scene where Yoo Jonghyuk killed the Eater of Dreams, this space copsed and he returned to the original world. The outer universe was operated with the power of the outer god. Once the outer god died, it should be broken. This time, the outer god died but his space was still maintained. Why?
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you.]
...Don¡¯t tell me?
[The Fourth Wall shakes her head with regret.]
[The Fourth Wall is still hungry.]
It ate so many stories yet it was still hungry?
[The Fourth Wall has started to suck the remaining remnants.]
It was as if a vacuum cleaner was turned on as the Fourth Wall opened its mouth and started to suck in the rest of the surroundings.
The remaining stories, the dust and...
¡°Wait! Wait!¡±
Even my mother who was in my arms. I flew towards the wall.
¡°Hey! Don¡¯t eat that!¡±
Before I could reach the wall, my mother was sucked into it. The mouth devoured my mother¡¯s head, arms and torso.
¡°Shit! I told you not to eat that!¡±
[The Fourth Wall isughing with satisfaction.]
[The Fourth Wall is licking its lips as it looks at you.]
I had to ask something. There was something I hadn¡¯t heard yet. Yet this damn wall had swallowed my mother.
What happened after being swallowed by the wall? I didn¡¯t know. One thing was for certain, none of the beings eaten by the wall had returned.
The Theatre Dungeon¡¯s master, the reincarnator Nirvana and even the Eater of Dreams...
Was there any possibility of my mother surviving when even an outer god couldn¡¯t survive?
¡°Spit her out!¡±
I started punching the Fourth Wall. The wall licked its lips towards me but showed no signs of eating me. The surface of the wall faintly shook at my punch.
Punch and punch again. I knew it was foolish but I didn¡¯t stop. I couldn¡¯t stop. How much did I hit the wall? Then a message appeared on the wall.
¡¸ First, I remember when I gave that child a name. ¡¹
I stared nkly at the sentence. I realized what it meant after a short time.
¡¸ He wanted to use Dok (alone) and I wanted Dok (reader). Maybe it was from here that he and I became different. ¡¹
I groaned and hit the wall. I never wanted to hear the story this way.
¡¸ I wanted him to be a reader rather than a lonely person. As long as they read something, humans won¡¯t be lonely. I probably wanted to believe this. ¡¹
As soon as my punches stopped, countless sentences appeared on the wall. I couldn¡¯t believe how many sentences there were in a person¡¯s lifetime.
¡¸ ¡°I should stay at home? Huh? Why should I live like this? How long do I have to live while supporting you and that child!¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Sookyung, you have to endure it. Think of Dokja. The man will only do it for a moment.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Mother, I think you should pay attention to Dokja.¡± ¡¹
I cursed and started beating on the wall again. There were some things I remembered but some things I didn¡¯t. Still, the feelings of those days were vivid.
¡¸ It was hard. At the time, I was so tired that I couldn¡¯t think of anything else. When I thought about it, it was just as hard for my child. ¡¹
My mother had suffered in those days. Violence against a woman, a mother and a person, it should never be done.
¡¸ ¡°Dokja. Get in here. Understood? Don¡¯te out until Mother says you can.¡± ¡¹
The merciless words continuously appeared and I once again suffered my childhood from another point of view.
It sounded like apletely strange story, despite it being something I had experienced personally.
This was what happened. It was so painful. It was miserable. By the way, why had I forgotten all of this? Did I just want to forget?
Meanwhile, the wall continued to speak.
¡¸ I should¡¯ve left him. No matter what other people said, I should¡¯ve taken that child and gone to a distant ce. ¡¹
She should¡¯ve left in the end.
¡¸ Why didn¡¯t I? ¡¹
It was a record filled with remorse and regret. This was my mother, who was ¡®silent¡¯ in reality. Now she was opening her mouth when it was a novel.
¡¸ It happenedte in the evening. ¡¹
Finally, the story began.
¡¸ ¡°Bring more alcohol!¡± ¡¹
My father¡¯s voice shouted to bring more alcohol. He pushed my mother and hit her stomach. My father was threatening.
¡¸ ¡°Y-You! Put down the knife and let¡¯s talk!¡± ¡¹
Slowly, the memories wereing back. The little boy hiding in the room stuck out his head. That¡¯s right. At that time, my father was holding a knife and acting threatening.
¡¸ ¡°Dokja! I told you to stay in your room!¡± ¡¹
My mother shouted and ran towards me. My drunk father swung the knife threateningly.
¡¸ You will die and I will die as well. Eh? Should we all die? Aren¡¯t we fucked up living together like this? Huh? Then let¡¯s die together! ¡¹
My mother threw her body forward. There was a sound and my father¡¯s body copsed. A knife dropped to the ground. Alcohol flowed from a rolling wine bottle. I knew the next scene. My mother would pick up the fallen knife and stab my father. Then she would tell me, ¡®From now on, I will read all of this again.¡¯
¡¸ ¡°U... Uwaaaack!¡± ¡¹
By the way...
¡¸ ¡°Dokja. No! Put down that thing!¡± ¡¹
What was this?
¡¸ ¡°Dokja!¡± ¡¹
I picked up the knife and was trembling as I stared at my father. My small face was covered in tears. My fatherughed mockingly and swung his fist. Instead of hitting my mother, my father slipped on the bottle. Then...
Blood emerged from his mouth.
¡¸ If I immediately called for help, he might¡¯ve been able to live. ¡¹
I felt clogged up.
¡¸I was the only one who could save him and I chose not to. ¡¹
This ident changed our lives.
¡¸The words I told the child weren¡¯t a lie. I was the one who killed him. ¡¹
My mother took away the knife from the child who lost his mind. Then after a few deep breaths, she quietly woke me up.
¡¸ ¡°Dokja. From now on, I will read all of this again. ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Your father did something wrong and died. This was self-defense. Understood? ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°No matter what, you must not forget that you are the victim.¡± ¡¹
My mother¡¯s voice permeated my ears.
¡¸ Perhaps many things were decided at that time. ¡¹
The mother searched for cases rting to murder and manipted the evidence. She ruled out anything that could involve me. This ended up making the idental death seem like a premeditated crime.
¡¸ Someone has to live as a murderer. Someone else has to live as the son of a murderer. ¡¹
Now I remembered.
¡°...It was because of this?¡±
I ced my hands on the wall and bowed my head for a while.
...In fact, I knew. I thought it might be this and it was the only reason that would make me understand my mother¡¯s behaviour.
The reason why she suddenly wrote the essay was to make me the son of a murderer, not a murderer.
¡¸ I often think about it. ¡¹
¡¸ Maybe it was all an excuse. ¡¹
¡¸ There could¡¯ve been a better way. ¡¹
¡¸ No matter what, I shouldn¡¯t have left the child alone. ¡¹
¡¸ As a mother, I shouldn¡¯t have acted that way. ¡¹
...
¡¸ In the end, I¡¯m just a mother who ran away. ¡¹
This was thest sentence. I waited just in case, hitting the wall a few times. However, no more sentences appeared.
It shouldn¡¯t be like this. In this way, I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear the end of this ridiculous story.
¡°Spit her out! Spit her out!¡±
I started to frantically hit the wall.
¡°Fuck!¡±
The Fourth Wall licked my fists. The blood, memories and stories on my fist were sucked into the Fourth Wall. I didn¡¯t cry.
¡¸ Kim Dokja was crying. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall said.
¡¸ Kim Dokja quietly clenched his fists. ¡¹
Bang!
¡¸ He hit the wall. ¡¹
Bang!
¡¸ He hit it again. ¡¹
¡°Fuck!¡±
¡¸ Kim Dokja got goosebumps. Everything was bing a story. All his actions and words in the scenarios were bing sentences on the wall. ¡¹
¡°Shut up!¡±
¡¸ Kim Dokja wanted to know. What should he do? How could he break this wall? Was this the price for reading Ways of Survival? He read it and his reality became a novel. Then a noise like a page tearing was heard. ¡¹
Jiiiiiik!
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought... (Hey)... what is this? ¡¹
I finally saw unnatural words on the wall. It was like graffiti left behind by someone who read the novel.
¡¸ Kim Dokja was amazed... (Stay upright)... Who was talking to him? ...(This is your skill)... Who was it? ...(You shouldn¡¯t be eaten by your skill)... What... (You idiot, quickly take off your hands!) ¡¹
I saw that the wall was swallowing my fist.
¡¸...(Turn the skill off, Kim Dokja)... ¡¹
Enlightenment ran through my head. I didn¡¯t know who I was talking to. I didn¡¯t know if it was possible or not.
However, it was clear what I had to do. ¡°I will turn off the Fourth Wall.¡±
An electric current flowed through the wall as it shook violently. For the first time, I felt something around me fading.
The wall was copsing.
The next moment, a message was heard.
[The system error due to unknown causes is temporarily fixed.]
.
.
[Your Attributes Window has been restored.]
[Do you want to check the Attributes Window now?]
Chapter 181 - Unable to be Eaten (3)
Chapter 181: Episode 34 ¨C Unable to be Eaten (3)
I could see the Attributes Window? I finally understood a few things that didn¡¯t make sense.
The reason I hadn¡¯t been able to see my Attributes Window was due to Fourth Wall. The Fourth Wall protected me from other beings but at the same time, it was a skill that isted me from myself.
[Checking the Attributes Window.]
[The system configuration is unstable. Some skill names and levels are limited.]
Then for the first time, I saw my Attributes Window.
+
[Personal Information]
Name: Kim Dokja
Age: 28 years old
Constetion Support: None
Modifier: The Ugliest King (Tentative)
Private Attribute: Eight Lives (Hero), Scenario...
+
Before the Attributes Window was fully revealed, the screen crashed and sudden messages emerged.
[Some constetions are approaching your mental barrier.]
At this moment, I wanted to say oops. Maybe the constetions had been looking for this opportunity¡ªfor the day that my information was revealed to the world.
[The constetions of the neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ are approaching you.]
[The constetions of the neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ are approaching you.]
[The constetions of the neb ¡®Papyrus¡¯ are approaching you.]
The constetions who sought to improve my existence started to forcibly open my mind. At this moment.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is reactivated independently of your will!]
+
Exclusive Skills: Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint Lv. ?, Bookmark Lv. ?, Character List Lv. ?, Fourth Wall Lv. ?, ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö Lv. ?, ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö...
.
.
Overall Evaluation: ...¡ö¡ö you ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö...?
+
A lot of the information was hidden by ¡®¡ö¡¯.
As numerous bricks piled up, strong sparks that concealed my information appeared.
[The constetion ¡®Founder of Humanity¡¯ is groaning.]
[The constetion ¡®Poked Out His Eyes¡¯ is covering his eyes and stepping back.]
[The constetion ¡®Scorpion Goddess¡¯ steps back while protecting her tail.]
.
.
[Some of the constetions approaching you are struck and have retreated!]
The countless letters rotated reliably.
The fierce sparks of the Fourth Wall were protecting me from the constetions. The guy who was fighting me a while ago was now emitting a fierce aura towards the constetions.
[The Fourth Wall is baring its teeth towards the Star Stream.]
I stared at the Fourth Wall. Thest thing I heard was a message from a well-known constetion.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is smiling at you.]
The message was distinctively different from the other constetions.
...Surely he didn¡¯t see my information in such a short period of time? Even if he did see it, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to check everything. I couldn¡¯t confirm all the information despite opening the Attributes Window.
The sparks calmed down and the wall turned towards me again.
[The Fourth Wall is angry with you.]
I stared at the wall.
For a long time, I thought this wall was the boundary between the novel and reality. The wall allowed me to adapt to the new world and show unusual judgment in terrible situations.
However, once I asked about the actual identity of the ¡®wall¡¯, I couldn¡¯te to a conclusion. The only thing I could be certain of was that this wall had protected me for a long time.
There were a few crises but I overcame them due to the presence of this wall. It was thanks to this wall that I could arrive here.
I brought my hands towards the letters making up the wall.
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
[The Fourth Wall is shaking.]
The strange texture of the letters wrapped around my fingers. The Fourth Wall felt like this.
The letters of the wall clung to my hands like doctor fish (red garra). They seemed to be licking and biting me. It was a feeling that couldn¡¯t be clearly shared. There was no analogy for it. The Fourth Wall was like a wet puppy, an abandoned child, a teenager who didn¡¯t listen etc.
The Fourth Wall... The Fourth Wall was like me.
Then a sentence appeared on the wall.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja is an i diot. ¡¹
The sentence seemed to have been written by a child just learning Hangul. It wasn¡¯t a story rted to me or the world. It was the words of the Fourth Wall.
I smiled at the wall.
¡¸...$#^#$^#$%@#$... ¡¹
The Fourth Wall wrote unrecognized characters, as if it was confused for a moment. Then after a while, it wrote a sentence again.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought, ¡®The Fourth Wall is an existence with its own will as well.¡¯ ¡¹
...It was starting again.
¡¸ Then were the words written in brackets from the Fourth Wall? However, the Fourth Wall¡¯s tone is too staticpared to that... then who wrote those words? If this really is a wall, there is something else in the wall... ¡¹
¡°Stop reading other people¡¯s thoughts.¡±
[The Fourth Wall is turning its head away.]
[The Fourth Wall is telling you not to forcibly turn it off again.]
I kept talking while touching the Fourth Wall. ¡°I know. Instead, I have a request.¡±
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you.]
I took a brief breath before saying, ¡°Give me back my mother.¡±
The wall shook briefly, as if to judge if my words were true or not.
Then a sentence appeared on the wall.
¡¸ Kim Dokja hates his mother. ¡¹
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡¸Kim Dokja knows what happened with his mother. He knows what his mother has been through, the life she lived and what she was hiding. Just because he knows doesn¡¯t mean he understands everything. ¡¹
¡°...Yes.¡±
¡¸Because of this, Kim Dokja still hates his mother. This is what human emotions are like. There is no magic that will heal all wounds just because someone else has a deep wound as well. ¡¹
¡°You have great insight. I agree.¡±
¡¸ Thus, Kim Dokja can¡¯t understand it himself. Why is he trying to save his mother? ¡¹
¡°I can¡¯t exin.¡±
¡¸¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤ ¡¹
¡°Not everything can be expressed in sentences.¡±
I quietly looked at the wall and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have much energy left. Please help me. I¡¯m asking you.¡±
The Fourth Wall was silent for a long time before disying the following sentence,
¡¸ Kim Dokja... ¡¹
Could an existence who already entered the walle out again? I didn¡¯t know if it was possible or not. Still, I had to try.
Then the wall started to move. Something was vomited out from the wall.
There were numerous letters. The letters gathered to be words and the words came together to be sentences. The sentences gathered into paragraphs and the paragraphs gathered again to be a story.
The story soon formed a person.
I embraced my mother who was lying in the letters. Then I told the Fourth Wall, ¡°Thank you.¡±
The Fourth Wall shook and started to disperse.
¡¸ Sl, ee, py. ¡¹
Little by little, the surrounding space was broken.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is snapping at the ¡®great old ones¡¯ spying on you.]
The darkness of the outer universe was clearing away.
Time and space were broken and the surrounding scenery changed to the second floor of Dark Castle.
Then the subsequent messages appeared.
[Your Dark Castle ranking has changed.]
[Your current Dark Castle ranking is 2nd ce.]
.
.
[You have met the hidden goal of the main scenario.]
[You are eligible to participate in thest scenario of Dark Castle.]
***
Two days had passed since the battle on the ins. All mortals lost their fighting spirit in the face of a god.
The forces of the wanderers and the forces of Paradise. In a sense, the powerful despair brought peace to all of them.
Themanders of the wanderers and themanders of Paradise settled the dead and cleared up the situation. The unnecessary disturbance disappeared and the second floor of Dark Castle was slowly gaining stability. The rankers were slowly selected to go up to the next floor and people agreed to entrust them with the future of Dark Castle.
Most rankers were gathered in front of a small coffin.
¡°It is his job to die all the time.¡±
Kim Dokja died as soon as he came back from defeating the outer gods.
He fought against such a mighty being that hispanions thought it was natural. Jung Heewon said, ¡°Will he be alive again tomorrow? Last time it also took three days.¡±
The group had adjusted to Kim Dokja dying and weren¡¯t as shocked. Yoo Sangah bit her lips and wondered,
¡°...By the way, did we need to put him in a coffin?¡±
¡°Even the dead should be put in a bed...¡± Jung Heewon made an excuse.
The party members stared at Kim Dokja¡¯s coffin with different meanings. Lee Hyunsung was watching with a reverent gaze, Shin Yoosung looked guilty and Yoo Sangah was confused. Then...
¡°By the way, Master. I thought you would go to find hidden pieces...¡± At Lee Jihye¡¯s words, the party members all looked from the coffin towards a certain ce.
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned at the gazes and replied, ¡°Now the only hidden pieces in Dark Castle are worthless.¡±
¡°Then the reason why you came here...¡±
¡°I need Kim Dokja to move to the next floor.¡±
¡°Hrmm... aren¡¯t the two of you very close these days? A few days ago, I saw...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s impression became grim and the cowardly Lee Jihye closed her mouth.
Jung Heewon tapped Lee Jihye and rebuked her. ¡°Stop teasing Jonghyuk-ssi. Don¡¯t disturb the two of them.¡±
¡°...Oh, fine.¡±
¡°In addition, you know the reason why he came here without asking. It is the same for everyone.¡±
At these words, the faces of the party members became solemn. They looked down at Kim Dokja¡¯s coffin.
Jung Heewon opened her mouth again. ¡°He isn¡¯t afraid of death because he will live again.¡±
Just because he had multiple lives didn¡¯t mean he should keep sacrificing them for others. Shin Yoosung touched the surface of the coffin.
¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Dokja ahjussi, we would¡¯ve died by now.¡±
No one doubted it. Lee Hyunsung, Jung Heewon, Lee Gilyoung and Lee Jihye as well. All of them had been saved by Kim Dokja.
Lee Jihye sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not saying this to be cheesy but... if I had two lives, I would probably give one to Ahjussi.¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t receive it because you only have 6 points in affection.¡±
¡°This kid... in any case, aren¡¯t we all the same when ites to the garter belt?¡±
The group smiled as they watched Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung shing. It was an unbelievable sight when people were crying with frustration at the bloody battlefield two days ago. Yoo Jonghyuk watched them from a distance.
Kim Dokja appeared and his ns changed a lot. The easy scenarios became difficult and the simple stories becameplicated. Those who were supposed to die survived.
Yoo Jonghyuk looked down at his hands. Perhaps among those who were supposed to die, Yoo Jonghyuk himself would be included.
Yoo Jonghyuk thought it was very strange. Thisndscape could be made be a person who wasn¡¯t a regressor. This regression might be better than any other round of life that he had lived. It was terriblyplicated in his mind.
¡°By the way, isn¡¯t that fate over now? Dokja ahjussi died.¡± Lee Jihye asked and somepanions replied.
¡°Ah. That¡¯s right. That reminds me...¡±
¡°Since he was destined to die because of a loved one, isn¡¯t the fate fulfilled? He died because of his mother...¡±
¡°Yes. Why didn¡¯t I think of his mother?¡±
The voices were boisterous. Yoo Sangah watched Yoo Jonghyuk standing in the distance with aplicated face. Yoo Jonghyuk also had a thought as he faced the eyes.
¡®The fate isn¡¯t over.¡¯
There was the variable called Cheok Jungyeong but the nebe weren¡¯t that simple.
The nebe knew about Kim Dokja¡¯s resurrection. Thus, the fate could never end this way. In addition, the nebe were angry with Kim Dokja and were likely to maliciously engage in realizing the fate.
Above all, the big hurdle that was the next scenario would soon arrive.
Thus, Yoo Jonghyuk needed to choose.
He silently stared up at the sky. It was like he was looking for something there. After a while, his gaze was returned.
[The constetion ¡®???¡¯ is looking at his incarnation.]
The constetion ¡®???¡¯. It was the third regression but Yoo Jonghyuk still didn¡¯t know who his sponsor was. It was the source of the regression and the one who made Yoo Jonghyuk suffer a terrible tragedy.
Yoo Jonghyuk took a breath and opened his mouth. ¡®Sponsor. I have to ask you something.¡¯
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Chapter 182 - The 73rd Demon King (1)
Chapter 182: Episode 35 ¨C The 73rd Demon King (1)
[You have died.]
The aftereffect was death. It was the shock from my stories being eaten by the Eater of Dreams. It was quickly restored with the ability of the Fourth Wall but it was difficult for it to be as perfect before it was broken.
¡®The head...¡¯
I was in a half-awake state for three days. My consciousness only appeared and disappeared. Every time my consciousness returned, I reflected on what had happened so far.
¡®After this scenario, the flow of the story will return.¡¯
During the course of the first nine scenarios, I undermined the flow of the original novel. It ranged from saving a few people torgely changing scenarios.
Of course, changing the scenarios didn¡¯t mean that the original elements would be useless. Yoo Jonghyuk had experienced over a hundred life cycles. Even if the scenarios changed, there was still plenty of information I could use.
Nevertheless, in order to take advantage of therge currents, there should be parts that flowed ording to the existing scenario.
Fortunately, the Seoul Dome Scenario was a closed scenario.
There was the national convention in the middle and there were a few butterfly effects to worry about, but the flow of the Star Stream is still what I remembered.
Moreover, some of the characters had grown beyond what I thought., I had enough power to drive the flow in the future.
I observed the characters one by one using the third person perspective. The first one I checked was Jung Heewon, the Judge of Destruction.
¡°It isn¡¯t easy to control yet. My sponsor said that once I can use this perfectly, I could deal with that tentacle monster... I don¡¯t know when that can happen.¡± Jung Heewon muttered as she emitted white mes.
She had little weight in the original and was the most powerful character I chose.
She had the Judge of Destruction attribute from Ways of Survival and gained Uriel¡¯s Hell mes Ignition. If this continued, it wasn¡¯t strange for her to be one of the top 100 strongest people in Ways of Survival or even the top 10.
Lee Hyunsung, who was sparring with Jung Heewon, opened his mouth. ¡°It is getting better little by little, Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°I think Hyunsung-ssi has also improved a lot. Now you can cover your whole body with steel.¡±
Jung Heewon spoke without knowing anything but she wasn¡¯t wrong. Before the end of the Seoul Dome scenario, Lee Hyunsung started to inherit Steel Transformation. However, Lee Hyunsung wasn¡¯t satisfied with his aplishment.
¡°I am working hard but... there is still a long way to go to help Dokja-ssi.¡±
There were people who did better when they were told to keep up the good work and that they were going a good job. This was the case with Lee Hyunsung.
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name has sponsored 100 coins to Incarnation Lee Hyunsung.]
¡°D-Dokja-ssi?¡± The perplexed Lee Hyunsung stuttered with wide eyes.
Jung Heewon clicked her tongue. ¡°Wow, he truly is watching. He has the temperament of a stalker but... isn¡¯t 100 coins too stingy?¡±
I turned my gaze towards the two children practicing Taming. The children keptmanding the mighty dragon. Shin Yoosung felt my gaze and smiled towards the air.
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name is smiling gently.]
In Ways of Survival, the rtionship between constetion and incarnation was often simr to a parent and child. I never had a child but I knew what it felt like when seeing Shin Yoosung.
It was a bond that was more solid than blood. It was really tiny and fragile yet so precious that I didn¡¯t know what to do...
Of course, not every father in the world was a good father and not all constetions had the same mind. It wasmon for incarnations to be stabbed in the back by their sponsors.
The second grade evolutionary species, the Chimera Dragon let out a deep cry.
It still wasn¡¯tpletely obeying but since it joined, the power of the party had shot up. It was currently a second grade species but if it reached first grade or transcendence, the dragon would be a monster that even constetions were afraid of.
Lee Jihye looked at the chimera dragon and sighed enviously. ¡°Damn, I should¡¯ve chosen a good sponsor. I thought that the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare was good...¡±
In any case, the ones who didn¡¯t work hard were those whoined the most.
A person who didn¡¯t know how excellent the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare was... once I got back, I should teach her a lesson.
I looked around at all the characters and sighed lightly as I organized my thoughts.
¡®This is good enough for the next scenario.¡¯
Lee Jihye and Gong Pildu¡¯s growth was a bit disappointing but the situation wasn¡¯t bad. There was even Yoo Sangah present. Once we escaped from Seoul Dome, progressing through the subsequent scenarios would be quite easy.
¡°Master! Do you have any strong skills that don¡¯t require a sponsor? Teach me!¡±
¡°It is impossible for you now.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk had ovee the regression depression to a certain extent. If they continued to follow Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s route, I didn¡¯t have to worry about the survival of the characters.
Rather, the problem was on my side.
[A huge fate is hoping for your death.]
I looked at the fate message that still hadn¡¯t disappeared. I had hoped the fate might be fulfilled after experiencing death because of my mother. Naturally, that didn¡¯t happen.
Maybe the person who would kill me wasn¡¯t the significant problem. The important thing was that I couldn¡¯t avoid this fate with ¡®resurrection.¡¯
¡®Damn nebe bastards...¡¯
In the end, the reason this happened was because I changed the scenarios too much. I also received excessive attention after bing a constetion. This way, the problem would constantly appear, even if I postponed it through resurrection.
¡®There shouldn¡¯t be another situation like this.¡¯
It was true just looking at the Eater of Dreams. An outer god descended and the party was nearly destroyed.
It didn¡¯t matter since I could resurrect, but the other party members couldn¡¯t. None of the party members could die. In particr, everything would be in vain if Yoo Jonghyuk died.
In the first ce, all of this wouldn¡¯t have happened if it wasn¡¯t for me.
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ is waiting for your resurrection.]
[The neb ¡®Papyrus¡¯ is waiting for your resurrection.]
[The neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ is waiting for your resurrection.]
The nebe were still waiting for a chance. I had attracted their attention and was too weak to stand up against them. How could I protect my party members and shake off the nebe...
¡®Indeed, that is the only way.¡¯
Then a system message emerged.
[All the conditions for resurrection have been met!]
[The attribute ¡®Eight Lives¡¯ has been activated!]
Now it was time to go back.
[Your body will be resurrected.]
***
There was the sound of a breath being taken.
The hardest moment to adapt to was the first breath after the resurrection. I woke up but darkness filled my surroundings. Maybe it was because my party members put me in a coffin.
Damn, I didn¡¯t know why they put a person who would survive inside a coffin. Were they acting sarcastic?
[The privilege of ¡®Eight Lives¡¯ has been activated.]
[The third head of the snake has been sacrificed.]
[The power of the head is ¡®fighting spirit.¡¯]
Once again, I received a privilege effect. The benefits of Eight Lives were less effective than other high-level privileges but it was better than nothing.
The legs that had been lost in the process of dying were restored to their original state. Now the only thing left was to kick off the coffin lid.
¡°Ohh! The rumor is real!¡±
¡°He really resurrected!¡±
As soon as I pushed off the lid of the coffin, the people gathered in the area cheered. Maybe rumours of my resurrection had spread because a variety of incarnations were gathered and watching me.
[Your resurrection has increased your fame among the incarnations.]
[Your status is rising modestly.]
Finally, Jung Heewon used Hell mes Ignition to greet me. She used the skill in a way that would make the constetions of Eden enraged.
¡°Congrattions on your resurrection.¡±
¡°...Please don¡¯t put me in a coffin next time.¡±
¡°Just wait. I¡¯ll bring the others.¡±
Jung Heewon left and the indirect messages of the constetions poured into my ears.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ rejoices in your resurrection.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is congratting you on your return.]
[The constetion ¡®Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯ is praising your courage.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is grumbling and putting his hands in his pockets.]
[Many constetions greatly admire your achievements.]
[90,000 coins have been sponsored.]
90,000 coins...
Perhaps it was because they weren¡¯t able to help me the day before yesterday. It was a bit disappointing but I understood. Rather, it would be more disappointing if they helped me confront the other nebe.
[The evaluation of your achievement has beenpleted.]
[You have earned the ¡®semi-myth¡¯ rated story.]
[The story ¡®One Who Killed an Outer God¡¯ has been acquired!]
.
.
.
[Due to the achievement of the story, some outer gods show hostility towards you.]
[Due to the achievement of the story, some outer gods are curious about you.]
[Due to the achievement of the story, some great old ones are watching you.]
[Your modifier will soon be announced.]
A semi-myth level story...
It was a bit disappointing that I didn¡¯t receive a myth rated story but it was still satisfactory.
I would¡¯ve received a myth rating if I fought a great old one. However, if I actually encountered a great old one, I would¡¯ve vanished before I could even have a conversation.
[You have achieved a new story during the evaluation.
[The acquisition of a story beyond the existing stories means your status will be re-evaluated.]
[The status will be published in the following scenarios.]
[Your fifth story is in progress.]
It would be good to start as an upper-grade but at this rate, I might be a considerable level among the upper-grades.
It would be announced in the following scenarios. The timing was okay.
The long-awaited tenth main scenario, the 73rd Demon King. This scenario was thest scenario to be carried out in Seoul Dome and the participants were extremely limited.
Only the first and second ce in the Dark Castle rankings could challenge the scenario. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t challenge it alone. They could team up with four rankers.
[Your current Dark Castle ranking is 2nd ce.]
I could take four people with me. However, it would be difficult to deal with the enemy that would appear on the next floor with them alone.
In other words, I had to get the help of the first ranked person toplete the Dark Castle scenario.
Then who was first ce?
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
As soon as I thought this, a voice was heard behind me. I started smiling.
...Indeed, he was first.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, are you now ranked first?¡±
¡°Are you talking about the Dark Castle rankings?¡± Yoo Jonghyuk nodded and instantly replied. ¡°I am first. The situation is different from the Seoul rankings.¡±
This jerk, he was upset that he wasn¡¯t first previously. In any case, he was a stingy guy.
I inwardly grumbled while opening my mouth. ¡°I need your help. You know how you can take people to the next scenario? If you and I take them...¡±
I could see my party members running in the distance.
In particr, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were fighting each other to be in the lead. I didn¡¯t know why they were doing this since there wasn¡¯t a prize for being first.
I talked for a while but Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. I felt something strange and saw Yoo Jonghyuk staring at me with serious eyes.
¡°Kim Dokja, what is your purpose?¡±
¡°Purpose? What is my purpose?¡±
¡°If your final goal to reach the end of all the scenarios?¡±
I hesitated for a moment before answering. ¡°Well, I guess so.¡±
¡°Can you promise not to give up on that goal, no matter what?¡±
...What was with this guy all of a sudden? I wanted to turn it into a joke but I couldn¡¯t help feeling serious when watched Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Of course I won¡¯t give up. By the way, why are you asking?¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked away from me towards the party members. His left eyebrow was twitching. I saw the eyebrow wriggling like a caterpir and sensed something in my heart.
¡°Hey, you...¡±
I knew because I had read to the end of Ways of Survival. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s left eyebrow only twitched when he made a serious decision. Once this guy made a serious decision, there was always a high probability of death and regressing.
I wanted to use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint on this bastard but the party members had already arrived. Before I could speak, Yoo Jonghyuk took the lead first.
¡°I will announce the participants for the tenth scenario.¡±
Trantor: Rainbow Turtle
Chapter 183 - The 73rd Demon King (2)
Chapter 183: Episode 35 ¨C The 73rd Demon King (2)
The bacsh to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s one-sided notification was enormous.
¡°Why are you deciding so arbitrarily?¡± Jung Heewon shouted first after Yoo Jonghyuk gave his notification and disappeared. ¡°We will depart in three days! Until then, increase your rankings! If he says that and goes away, should we just roll over and listen?¡±
¡°He should¡¯ve said that when he was talking to me.¡±
¡°...Does Dokja-ssi want that?¡±
¡°Nope.¡±
Jung Heewon was still very spirited.
I said, ¡°Even so, there is a higher probability of surviving if you do as Yoo Jonghyuk says.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi, whose side are you on?¡±
¡°That...¡± I nced at Yoo Jonghyuk in the distance, shrugged and smiled. ¡°First of all, it¡¯s nice to see all of you. This is the third resurrection.¡±
The people who were frozen by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words smiled awkwardly. Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung stuck to my legs while Lee Hyunsung nodded with a slightly gloomy expression.
¡°Congrattions on your resurrection. It has already been a few times but I¡¯m getting used to it.¡±
¡°It would be sad if you get used to it. First of all, let¡¯s get organized.¡±
These were the words that Yoo Jonghyuk one-sidedly gave:
-There are two teams. My team and Kim Dokja¡¯s team. Four people will be arranged for each team.
-My team will consist of Lee Hyunsung, Gong Pildu, Lee Jihye and Lee Seolhwa. It is the four of them.
-Kim Dokja¡¯s team will be Jung Heewon, Shin Yoosung, Lee Gilyoung and Yoo Sangah. It is another four.
In the end, the configuration was simr to the main party up to now. It meant thepanions I had participated in the scenarios so far would challenge the tenth scenario. Perhaps he was being considerate of me or it might be morefortable for him. Thetter was more likely when thinking about Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s personality.
Everyone involved didn¡¯t have any bigints about the lineup itself but Lee Hyunsung was slightly sullen. ¡°I want to be on Dokja-ssi¡¯s team...¡±
¡°The teams don¡¯t matter since we are all going together.¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
I patted Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulder and turned towards the rest of the party members. The first one to catch my eye was Yoo Sangah. So many things happened that it felt strange to meet her eyes.
After a moment, Jung Heewon poked my side. ¡°What is it? Do you want her to wear a Chinese dress and garter belt?¡±
¡°...Are you still talking about that?¡±
¡°It was very shocking. We named it the ¡®Kim Dokja Garter Belt Incident.¡¯ By the way, I won¡¯t wear that even if I die.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want you to wear it.¡±
Then Lee Jihye raised her hand. ¡°I¡¯m willing to put on a good performance! SSS-grade!¡±
¡°Stop ying around.¡±
¡°I can wear that if it is had a good performance.¡±
¡°Hyunsung-ssi, why...¡±
¡°Soldiers don¡¯t care about the equipment.¡±
I wanted to say that he was using his military spirit in the wrong way when I heard a message from Uriel.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says that the constetion who made the garter belt was a man.]
Was this a joke? Dammit. Furthermore, a constetion?
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ smiles and says that she will invite him once.]
Come to think of it, this situation was due to Persephone. I would have to argue with her if I ever went back to the Underworld.
¡°At this point... what is everyone¡¯s ranking? For reference, you all know that you have to be within the top 10 to proceed?¡±
The party members replied in turn. The first was Jung Heewon. ¡°I am 4th. I got the ranking from the grandmother Lee Boksoon.
¡°Hyung, Shin Yoosung and I are 8th and 9th. Ah, I¡¯m higher than Shin Yoosung!¡±
¡°I am 5th. Gong Pildu-ssi has gone to raise his rankings. There is also Han Sooyoung-ssi.¡±
I forgot about Han Sooyoung. Yoo Sangah asked like she had read my thoughts. ¡°Han Sooyoung wasn¡¯t on the list. Are you going to leave her behind?¡±
¡°Nope, I will take her. Han Sooyoung is quite helpful.¡±
¡°...I see.¡± Yoo Sangah smiled weakly once she heard about Han Sooyoung.
The other party members still didn¡¯t know she was the First Apostle. Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t like lying so she was in a bad mood every time Han Sooyoung was mentioned. I didn¡¯t know when there would be a chance to tell the story.
Jung Heewon listened on the side and opened her mouth. ¡°A total of 10 people can go up. How will you take Han Sooyoung-ssi?¡±
¡°In principle, only 10 people can go. However, there is a hidden piece. Among the items avable in Dark Castle, there is one called the ¡®Six-man Card.¡¯ This way, non-team members can participate in the next scenario.¡±
¡°...It is a hidden piece. Is there anything else you want to tell us? I think we need to know what the next scenario is about. You and Yoo Jonghyuk are always whispering together.¡±
¡°Whispering together? That expression is a bit ufortable.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has a runny nose.]
Jung Heewon smiled at me. ¡°Then please tell me. Kim Dokja-ssi, show me that you are different from Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi.¡±
I looked around and saw the party members watching me like they were grandchildren waiting for their grandmother¡¯s fairy tale.
If I was a streamer, I would tell a usible story about a ¡®mighty person who lived once upon a time¡¯. However, I was Kim Dokja, not Kim Jakga. (TL: Jakga = writer)
¡°Have you ever heard of an existence called a demon king?¡±
Demon King. The party members nced at each other at the unexpected words.
¡°What... the king of demons? Is there such a thing?¡±
¡°I know! Ites out all the time in anime!¡±
I nodded at Lee Gilyoung¡¯s words. ¡°It is roughly simr.
It was a bit different in the setting of Ways of Survival but the main point was exined.
¡°The tenth scenario is one where we fight against the demon king.¡±
Lee Hyunsung nodded. ¡°Dokkaebis, returnees, tentacled monsters... certainly, now it is time for a demon king toe out.¡±
The listening Lee Jihye asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t a demon king too strong? The demon marquis was already high... how strong will a demon king be inparison?¡±
I thought for a moment before answering, ¡°A constetion-grade.¡±
There was a saying in Ways of Survival about the demon kings. They were constetions who hadn¡¯t ascended. Literally, the demon kings were constetions attached to the world.
Lee Jihye paled. ¡°Then how will we kill it? Or are you and Master going to kill it?¡±
¡°No, this time we will all kill it.¡±
¡°...Can we do it?¡±
¡°We can if we all fight together. It was pure luck that Yoo Jonghyuk and I defeated the outer god. Such a thing won¡¯t ur twice.¡±
¡°Still...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. It is true that a demon king is as strong as a constetion but the one upstairs isn¡¯t that strong.¡±
¡°Then?¡±
I hesitated for a second. I didn¡¯t want to tell them too much information at once. The information wasn¡¯t just about the demon kings but also the constetions of the Star Stream.
I thought about it before deciding to tell them through the group chat. [I will tell you.]
Then a voice was heard from the air, as if he knew my worries.
[Everyone, it has been a long time. You don¡¯t know how frustrated I¡¯ve been when I wasn¡¯t able to tell to you... Haha, are you ready for the scenario?]
It was Bihyung.
***
In the original Star Stream, only 72 people were recognized as ¡®demon kings.¡¯ They had modifiers like the constetion and governed different kingdoms in the Demon World. It might not be equivalent to a neb but there were still those who lead ¡®forces.¡¯
Theyughed at the constetion who clung to the glory of a constetion and remained on thend that even the dokkaebis abandoned.
Was that why? The constetions hated the demon kings as much as the outer gods and this Dark Castle scenario was made considering the tendencies of such constetions.
They watched the incarnations fight and kill the demon king. In short, it was a scenario made to be refreshing to the constetions.
¡°Ah, please! I¡¯m not going!¡±
After three days, I found Han Sooyoung hiding in the periphery of Dark Castle. I wouldn¡¯t have found her if I hadn¡¯t purchased the Rope of Restraint and Search for Life items from the Dokkaebi Bag.
Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°I won¡¯t fight! I¡¯ll just wait here and go out when you clear the scenario!¡±
¡°You have to go.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to fight the demon king!¡±
¡°The 73rd demon king is a pushover. Don¡¯t you already know that?¡±
As I mentioned earlier, only 72 people were recognized as a demon king in the Star Stream. However, the title of this scenario was the 73rd Demon King. In other words, the guy on the above floor wasn¡¯t a ¡®formal king.¡¯
¡°He is still a demon king but he isn¡¯t as strong as the narrative-grade constetions I¡¯ve met so far. It is worth fighting.¡±
¡°The difficulty might¡¯ve changed. Hasn¡¯t it changed once or twice already?¡±
¡°The dokkaebis can¡¯t change the main scenario difficulty. That is the jurisdiction of the Star Stream.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you think the dokkaebis are dangerous? Have you already forgotten what happened three days ago?¡± It wasn¡¯t unusual for Han Sooyoung to think like this. She was a person who knew the development of the original novel. ¡°If we continue with the scenarios, the whole group will soon be wiped out. You know that the nebe are aiming at you.¡±
¡°...I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯m well prepared.¡±
¡°Prepared? No, how are you prepared? Do you know what will happen in the next scenario?¡±
We arrived at the camp and I pointed to the party members without speaking. They were training in a formation. They assumed there was a virtual enemy and practiced skills linkage inbination with changing the formation.
¡°Gilyoung and Yoosung, go back! Yoo Sangah-ssi, go forward and take care of it!¡±
¡°Understood!¡±
The calm and coordinate attacks couldn¡¯t bepared with the past. The party members¡¯ damage ovepped and they attacked based on the enemy¡¯s attack radius. Han Sooyoung opened her mouth as she closely watched the scene.
¡°Is that... the demon king¡¯s pattern analysis?¡±
I nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±
¡°How much?¡±
¡°Almost everything.¡±
It wasn¡¯t impossible.
I had Ways of Survival and the database piled up by Yoo Jonghyuk who fought the 73rd demon king. Furthermore, Yoo Jonghyuk had fought the 73rd demon king in the second round. Practical experience and theoretical knowledgebined forces, so it wasn¡¯t impossible to clear the next scenario.
Han Sooyoung made a sad expression and sighed. ¡°...You are a really crazy person.¡±
Chapter 184 - The 73rd Demon King (3)
Chapter 184: Episode 35 ¨C The 73rd Demon King (3)
¡°Don¡¯t you think the next scenario will still be tough?¡± Han Sooyoung asked me.
¡°...¡±
The 73rd demon king was strong but there would be no problems if we were thoroughly prepared. Maybe this was the easiest of all the scenarios I had done so far.
Shortly afterwards, the people training gathered near me.
¡°Have you finished raising your rankings?¡±
It was Jung Heewon who answered my question. ¡°We are all in the top 10. In fact, Jihye and Pildu-ssi were close but they automatically upgraded this morning.¡±
¡°Automatically?¡±
There was only one reason for such an upgrade. It was when a top ranker was killed.
Han Sooyoung already had an ominous expression. ¡°A top 10 ranker suddenly died? Something is strange... Hey, I¡¯m really not going...¡±
¡°You came, Kim Dokja. Are you also going to take that woman?¡±
Han Sooyoung hid behind me at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sudden appearance. She was still scared of Yoo Jonghyuk. I nodded as Yoo Jonghyuk stared at Han Sooyoung and pulled out the Six-man Card.
[The incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used the Six-man Card.]
[The incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has be a special participant of the scenario.]
[The incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has joined incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s team.]
Han Sooyoung was astonished by the rising messages. ¡°W-What is this? Hey! Why am I on his team?¡±
¡°Now, let¡¯s get ready to leave.¡±
At my words, the party members moved into their teams.
The first to gather was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s team. They were Lee Hyunsung, Lee Seolhwa, Lee Jihye and Gong Pildu. In addition, there was theining Han Sooyoung.
The unusual mixture of old characters from the novel and new characters gave me a wonderful feeling. It was a luxury that only a reader of Ways of Survival could enjoy.
My team followed suit. Jung Heewon, Yoo Sangah, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung. There was a free atmospherepared to the military discipline of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s team.
I looked at the members one by one.
¡°...Why are you looking at us like that?¡±
¡°Just... It is a new feeling...¡±
I smiled at Jung Heewon¡¯s scolding. I felt pained and sad at the people who followed me well all the way here. I felt like my heart had grown since I talked with the Fourth Wall.
It might be because I was more prepared for this scenario. I was now afraid to lose them.
¡°Oh, shouldn¡¯t we be a group of six as well?¡±
The team members followed my gaze. There was a line of dolls a few steps away.
¡°Don¡¯t stay over there ande here.¡±
We had obtained two Six-man Cards. Han Sooyoung went to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s team and my team also needed a sixth person. To be exact, it was a sixth woman.
¡°...Sookyung-ssi also wanted to go with you.¡±
¡°It is more helpful for you to go with me.¡±
Jeon Woochi¡¯s incarnation, Cho Youngran looked at me withplicated eyes. I asked my mother to include her as a member of the team. Jeon Woochi¡¯s stigma was quite useful for emergency situations.
¡°Did you talk to Sookyung-ssi?¡±
I replied, ¡°A little bit.¡±
Due to the aftereffects of escaping from the Fourth Wall, my mother wasn¡¯t in a position to participate in the next scenario.
Thanks to the Fourth Wall, I discovered different things about my mother. It wasn¡¯t just about the past she was hiding. It was also what she experienced after participating in the scenario.
Unlike me, who knew the whole story, my mother had a desperate struggle. She paid an unreasonable price to constetions many times, was captured on purpose to steal the memories of the reincarnator Nirvana and even contracted with the nebe to keep me safe.
Despite knowing all of this, I couldn¡¯t find anything to say to my mother. Perhaps because it wasn¡¯t yet time.
Once the scenarios were finished safely, perhaps then we could share the real story. My mother probably knew it as well because she didn¡¯t say much this time. She just stared at me for a long time before saying:
-I believe in your choice.
I didn¡¯t know why but I felt strange when I heard this. Perhaps my mother read something from me, just like I read her through the Fourth Wall.
¡°Depart.¡±
We started to move. The target was the altar located in the centre of the Abyss ins. Just like the first floor of Dark Castle, we could move to the next floor using the altar.
We started the boring walk and Jung Heewon opened her mouth. ¡°It bothers me that the nebe are so quiet.¡±
In fact, I hadn¡¯t heard the nebe¡¯s messages since two days ago. I didn¡¯t know if they were hiding something or perhaps they had consumed too much probability. I nced at Yoo Sangah and asked, ¡°Have you been in contact with Olympus?¡±
¡°...Not since three days ago.¡±
As I heardst time, the constetions of Olympus were currently split. The outsiders of Olympus, like Dionysus and Persephone, were the ones who approached Yoo Sangah. Perhaps three days ago, there was a struggle inside Olympus.
My expression was uneasy and Yoo Sangah spoke in a concerned voice. ¡°Dokja-ssi, are you okay?¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine. What about Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
¡°...I am trying to be okay.¡±
I nced at Yoo Sangah. She was such a good person that I would feel sorry if I kept watching her. She learnt about my fate first and I heard that she ran around in order to save me.
It wasn¡¯t strange for Yoo Sangah. She was the first person toe forward if something was wrong. In the first scenario, she stood up first to save the grandmother. Yoo Sangah would act exactly the same if someone else was in my position.
¡°Can we win? We¡¯ve managed so far but this time...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± I tried to reassure Yoo Sangah. ¡°I won¡¯t die. You know.¡±
Yoo Sangah was the first to see my fate and she must know that it hadn¡¯t disappeared.
I was wondering what else I could say to reassure her when I heard Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±
There was a gigantic building reminiscent of the ancient Parthenon. The party members noticeably stiffened and I called people one by one.
¡°Gilyoung. Yoosung. Do it as we practiced earlier. Don¡¯t call the chimera dragon until I give the signal. Do you understand?¡±
The role of these children was the most important thing before the attack on the demon king. The chimera dragon tamed by the children would y a key role in this attack.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, please protect Jung Heewon-ssi from being hurt. This time, the main damage dealer will be Jung Heewon. Are you familiar with how to fight?¡±
¡°I remember.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked this way when he finished preparing and I pulled the team members over to him. A waist-height alter soon appeared. Yoo Jonghyuk and I ced our hands on the palm marks on the altar at the same time.
[The scenario challengers have been confirmed.]
[Scenario Challenger: 1st in Dark Castle, Yoo Jonghyuk.]
[Scenario Challenger: 2nd in Dark Castle, Kim Dokja.]
[Total Number of People Admitted: 12 people]
[Are you sure you want to enter the scenario?]
We all nodded at the same time. There were dazzling rays of light and our bodies were transferred to the next floor. The ce we were transferred to was a cramped passage.
[You have entered the new main scenario area.]
[Main Scenario #10 ¨D ¡¯73rd Demon King¡¯ has started!]
As expected, it was the same development as the original novel. Once we followed this passage, we would reach the hall where the 73rd demon king was waiting.
¡°Prepare the formations.¡±
We moved carefully along the passage. The difficulty depended on how much damage was inflicted with the first surprise attack. If we could get as close as possible and deal arge amount of damage, we might be able to finish it without using all the formations we practiced.
However, as I moved along the passage, a worrisome feeling filled my mind.
...Why was it so quiet? Shouldn¡¯t I feel the demon king¡¯s aura at this point?
Then a system message emerged.
[An error has urred in the scenario.]
¡°Hyung, this is...?¡±
The surprised Lee Gilyoung reflexively opened his mouth and I ced my finger against his lips. The party members lowered their voices.
¡°Dokja-ssi, this is different from the story...¡±
¡°T-There are dead people here...!¡±
The one who spoke was Lee Hyunsung, who had been searching in the front. We moved as stealthily as possible and gathered near Lee Hyunsung.
Surprisingly, there were bodies that looked like they just died. Yoo Jonghyuk touched them and powerful sparks popped out. ¡°It is evidence of a probability storm.¡±
I didn¡¯t know what they had done but if the sparks were still here after their deaths, their sponsors must¡¯ve done something huge. The incarnations had used a lot of force and the sponsors behind them must¡¯ve suffered a huge blow.
Who the hell had done this?
Then Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°The incarnations of Vedas and Papyrus.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve met them wandering around Dark Castle. They were in contact with me.¡±
¡°...How did those guyse here? A terminal of the nebe would have sufficient rankings but they wouldn¡¯t have the right to participate in the scenario.¡±
¡°It looks like there was another Six-man Card.¡±
One question was resolved. The sudden rise in Lee Jihye and Gong Pildu¡¯s ranking was because of the rankers killed here.
I had an ominous hunch. Were the nebe quiet because they used up all their probability here? It meant...?
We reflexively looked at each other and Yoo Jonghyuk started running towards the hall, forgetting the formation. If I was right, now wasn¡¯t the time to worry about the formations.
The moment we arrived in the hall, we witnessed a shocking sight.
[Constetions, what the hell are you doing?]
Dozens of dokkaebis floated in the air in the centre of the hall.
[It is difficult if you do such arbitrary things. Aren¡¯t you looking down on the Star Stream? Using Deus X Machina in this ce?]
The words weren¡¯t directed towards us but we were obviously meant to here. Bihyung looked awkward as he met my gaze.
This jerk, what the hell...
[I know you are worried about the incarnations but the scenario won¡¯t be over just because you interfere. Some of you have received a blow that nearly destroyed you. Why the hell did you do this? Just look at the probability. All the lower constetions have copsed...]
There was a strange smile on the face of the representative dokkaebi. He smiled like he knew this would happen from the beginning.
Wait a minute. What did that bastard just say?
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
I looked in the direction that Yoo Jonghyuk was pointing. The centre of the hall. There was a broken throne that should¡¯ve originally contained the 73rd demon king. In addition, the fearsome demon king that we should¡¯ve met...
[The 73rd demon king is dead.]
He was lying dead on the ground, his chest torn apart.
¡°W-What is this? He¡¯s dead?¡±
After Han Sooyoung¡¯s words, the other members btedly opened their mouths.
¡°The demon king is already dead?¡±
¡°Then what will happen to the scenario?¡±
¡°...Maybe it has already ended?¡±
My head was tooplicated that I couldn¡¯t hear the voices of the people. The unqualified incarnations challenged the scenario, received the probability storm and killed the demon king with the support of the nebe.
At first, the scenario seemed to be resolved. However, the main scenarios of the Star Stream weren¡¯t so simple.
[The Star Stream has corrected the bnce of this scenario.]
The scenarios where transcendent existences excessively intervened were forcibly corrected by the Star Stream.
There was a strong sense of deja vu in my head.
It wasn¡¯t the 73rd Demon King scenario but a simr thing happened in Ways of Survival. The scenario was ruined by the rioting of constetions and the Star Stream restored the main scenario.
Then what would happen?
[The Star Stream has corrected the broken probability.]
I looked at the dead demon king.
The Star Stream liked the natural flow of stories and it couldn¡¯t revive dead existences. A time reversal or resurrection would undermine the probability of the scenario even more.
[The main scenario contents have been updated!]
The 73rd demon king was dead. However, a 73rd demon king was still needed. It was because we had to hunt him in order to proceed with the scenario.
The Star Stream was originally set to fix these contradictions. There was a shining precious jade in the spot where the demon king had died.
I reflexively muttered, ¡°Hey, this...¡±
By the way, I couldn¡¯t feel any signs around me. There was an eerie feeling creeping down my spine.
Time seemed to flow very slowly. I looked around and Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t there.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
By the time I moved, Yoo Jonghyuk had already reached the jade. His expression as he looked at me was something I had never seen before. Yoo Jonghyuk was looking at me with eyes that had never been present in Ways of Survival.
¡°Kim Dokja. Be sure to keep your promise.¡±
Then the system messages rose.
[The candidate for the ¡¯73rd Demon King has been found.]
[The new ¡¯73rd Demon King¡¯ is elected.]
Chapter 185 - The 73rd Demon King (4)
Chapter 185: Episode 35 ¨C The 73rd Demon King (4)
¡°Hey! What nonsense are you saying?¡± I shouted while hurriedly running towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
Aura started to emerge from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body as he held the piece of jade.
[The selected person is evolving into a demon king!]
The person who was selected by the jade would be the 73rd demon king.
-Can you promise not to give up on that goal, no matter what?
A few days ago, Yoo Jonghyuk had asked me a meaningful question about my goal. Was my goal to reach the end of the scenarios...
Don¡¯t tell me...? No, it was impossible. I almost had a fit as I screamed, ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk you son of a bitch!¡±
Then the sound of steel wire moving through the air was heard. Dozens of wires poured down towards Yoo Jonghyuk, one of them snatching the jade that was in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hand.
[The session of the demon king is cancelled.]
A bewildered expression appeared on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
I looked back and saw dozens of threads stretching out from Yoo Sangah¡¯s hand. As everyone was frozen, only she kept her mind. She tied up the demon king¡¯s jade with Binding Thread and it flew to this side. Yoo Jonghyuk let out a huge burst of killing intent.
¡°Don¡¯t interrupt!¡±
As soon as an intense wave of magic power was about to cover Yoo Sangah, I triggered Bookmark and Way of the Wind and blocked the magic power. It wasn¡¯t easy to block, even with Way of the Wind at the maximum level.
This was the power of Yoo Jonghyuk, who had be a transcendent. I shouted through clenched teeth.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi! Hold it well! Never use it!¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
My party members were wondering what the hell was going on.
Han Sooyoung created dozens of clones and shouted, ¡°I knew this would happen! Kim Dokja, I told you! Yoo Jonghyuk is someone who only thinks about himself to the end!¡±
Han Sooyoung kept shouting while I was unable to grasp the situation properly.
¡°Kim Dokja! We must stop him! This jerk is obviously going to be the demon king, kill all of us and clear the scenario alone...!¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s clone blocked Yoo Jonghyuk and exploded instantly. Han Sooyoung¡¯s main body was trapped against the wall of the hallway.
The other party members rushed in front of me.
¡°Master! What¡¯s wrong with you? Kyaaack!¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi!¡±
Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon as well. They couldn¡¯t cope with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s blow and fell.
Now Yoo Jonghyuk was serious. He wasmitted to defeating all those who interfered with his purpose.
I stepped past the party members while telling them, ¡°You can¡¯t deal with him!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes red at me. ¡°Get out of the way Kim Dokja. I will be the demon king.¡±
¡°What nonsense is this? Why all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Shouldn¡¯t you know as well? There is only one way to clear this scenario.¡±
I nced at the scenario window floating in the air.
+
[Main Scenario #10 ¨C 73rd Demon King]
Category: Main
Difficulty level: SS+
Clear Conditions: You can choose one of two ways. Take possession of the throne and be the 73rd demon king, or kill the newly born 73rd demon king. The scenario can only be cleared by choosing one of these two methods and there is no other way to proceed.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Compensation: 200,000 coins,???
Failure: Death and expulsion from the scenario.
+
This scenario was simr to the ¡®sacrifice¡¯ scenario. One person had to die for everyone or one person would live while everyone else died.
I bit my lips and asked, ¡°Are you going to sacrifice yourself?¡±
¡°Hunt me and go to the next scenario.¡±
¡°Why are you doing something like this all of a sudden?¡±
¡°This is the right thing to do.¡±
There was no doubt that he thought this was the right answer. Yoo Jonghyuk spoke with his unique nuances. ¡°I am used to the pain. Simrly, I am familiar with death. Don¡¯t you already know this?¡±
He was certain that I knew all about him. However, Yoo Jonghyuk was wrong. I didn¡¯t know Yoo Jonghyuk. The Yoo Jonghyuk I knew would never do this.
It seemed like there was room to talk so I decided to calm down this damn sunfish.
¡°I know what you are saying but you don¡¯t have to sacrifice yourself. You are a regressor but you don¡¯t have multiple lives. I have resurrection on my side. That¡¯s why you¡¯re not the one suitable to be the demon king.¡±
¡°Resurrection. It is a good ability. However, do you think it will work in this scenario? If you have seen the scenario failure, can you be certain that resurrection will save you?¡±
I had forgotten for a moment. Certainly, Yoo Jonghyuk was right. This scenario didn¡¯t just end with ¡®death.¡¯ This jerk... had he calcted it and moved?
¡°Get out of the way Kim Dokja.¡±
My Unbroken Faith cried out while his Heaven Shaking Sword pointed at me. In this stubborn confrontational state, I desperately thought about it. How could I persuade this person?
No matter how much I squeezed my head, I couldn¡¯te up with a method. If this continued, this jerk would be the demon king and take the damn regression route.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ stage 2 has been activated!]
I started to soak up his thoughts like a sponge.
¡¸ The cost of failing this scenario is expulsion from the scenario. ¡¹
¡¸ There is no one who can survive being expelled from the scenario. Then Kim Dokja¡¯s resurrection ability is meaningless. ¡¹
¡¸ Perhaps this is the death that his fate is pointing to. ¡¹
¡¸ If Kim Dokja bes the demon king, he will die here. ¡¹
My heart was heavy as I received the waterfall of thoughts.
¡¸ Thus, it is me who should sacrifice themselves here. ¡¹
This guy was really going to sacrifice himself. The arrogant and aloof Yoo Jonghyuk. It was for the sake of others, not himself.
Suddenly, unknown emotions rose inside me. ¡°Then you? What about you? If you die here, what about your damn goal?!¡±
¡°You will do it for me.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk watched ourpanions behind me. ¡°The one who can save the world... it might be you, not me.¡±
Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye, Shin Yoosung, Lee Seolhwa...
There was deep regret in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes as he gazed at every single person. I seemed to know what he was thinking.
¡¸ There have never been so many people who made it to here. And maybe it won¡¯t happen again in the future. ¡¹
This was the Yoo Jonghyuk who had experienced several lives and received advance information from the 41st regression.
There were no cases like this regression. This fact caused Yoo Jonghyuk to shake.
My mind worked quickly. How could I persuade him...
¡°Get out of the way. There isn¡¯t much time left.¡±
He used Giant Body Transformation and started to swell up dramatically. He had either grown stronger in three days or the party members were frozen by the energy he was emitting. Yoo Sangah was terrified and Yoo Jonghyuk approached her step by step.
I eventually activated the de of Faith. ¡°Stop! Stop it you son of a bitch!¡±
The white ether sword collided with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Splitting the Sky. Of course, it was my side that suffered one-sided damage. I had to use at least Electrification to deal with this guy.
...I couldn¡¯t let him take the path of regression. The moment I was about to activate Bookmark, Yoo Jonghyuk asked me,
¡°Are you concerned about what will happen to this world after I go back?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°You must be afraid. The moment I disappear, this world will disappear. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
I was so surprised that I was lost for words. How the hell did he know this? I started to wonder if he was the one with Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint instead of me.
Then I forgot even this thought.
¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about. I already asked my sponsor.¡±
...What?
¡°This world won¡¯t disappear if I regress. This world won¡¯t end or be upset if I die.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk easily suppressed Yoo Sangah and reached for the precious jade. As if it wanted him, demonic energy stretched out from the jade and tangled around Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fingers.
¡°Continue to live, Kim Dokja.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk looked at me with the face of a stranger. ¡°Now you have to save this world.¡±
***
Thunder struck the sky on the second floor of Dark Castle. It was a sinister thunder, as if suggesting the copse of Dark Castle.
Lee Sookyung gazed at the sky as she moved with the wanderers. Her son was probably beyond this sky.
¡°Hulhul, you look very worried these days.¡±
It was Lee Boksoon who spoke. She handed her Dark Castle rankign to Jung Heewon and chose to stay here. Lee Sookyung nced at Lee Boksoon for a while before replying, ¡°I guess I¡¯m not familiar with being a mother.¡±
¡°Do people get used to it? You will never get used to it in your life. Me too...¡±
¡°You aren¡¯t going to bring up the story of raising six siblings again are you?¡±
¡°Hulhul, you knew?¡±
Lee Boksoon chuckled. There were no wanderers who didn¡¯t know the story of the six siblings raised by Lee Boksoon.
Lee Boksoon patted Lee Sookyung¡¯s shoulder and spoke in a friendly voice. ¡°He will surelye back alive. Don¡¯t worry too much.¡±
¡°I wish but... fate says differently.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t think that fate can be ovee? To me...¡±
In the end, Lee Boksoon retold the story of how she raised her six siblings through all types of hardships. Lee Sookyug smiled bitterly. No one would¡¯ve suffered if fate was so easily ovee.
¡¸If he doesn¡¯t go to the next scenario, Incarnation Kim Dokja can live. ¡¹
Lee Sookyung sacrificed 20 years of her life and read this sentence from ¡®fate¡¯.
Kim Dokja could live if he didn¡¯t go to the next scenario. In other words, Kim Dokja would surely die when he went to the next scenario.
¡®...Dokja.¡¯
However, Lee Sookyung didn¡¯t give up even when all indicators pointed to the death of her son. She couldn¡¯t let go.
There was the sound of falling sound and Lee Sookyung looked down at her fingertips. Her body was still crumbling because her recovery was slow and iplete. It was all due to the aftereffects of entering the Fourth Wall.
Lee Sookyung remembered the moment she was eaten by the Fourth Wall. It was a terrible experience, as if her being itself was breaking down into morpheme units.
Perhaps she died at that time. Like a broken story, she was sucked into the wall and experienced something no human ever had before.
She was shocked that there was such a ¡®wall¡¯ inside her son. She also shuddered at the fact that someone was living inside the wall.
¡®...What the hell is it?¡¯
There, Lee Sookyung confronted the presence inside the wall. Her existence was crushed and recreated so there weren¡¯t many urate memories left.
The exact structure of the interior of the wall... she didn¡¯t remember. Still, there was one thing she remembered. It was the answer to a question.
¡¸ What is the way for my son to survive? How can he get rid of that damn fate? ¡¹
Lee Sookyung asked this even when her existence was fading away. The being inside the wallughed like it was having fun.
¡¸ There is only one way to escape from fate. ¡¹
There was a strange smile, as if this whole situation was a joke.
¡¸ Kim Dokja already knows how to do it. ¡¹
Chapter 186 - The 73rd Demon King (5)
Chapter 186: Episode 35 ¨C The 73rd Demon King (5)
-Stop! Stop it you son of a bitch!
At this time, the main scenario was flowing through the holographic panel at the Seoul branch of the bureau. Some dokkaebis sighed as they watched the storm of magic power on the screen.
The dokkaebis instinctively knew it. The scene that would unfold from now on would be the best story since the Seoul Dome scenario began.
Bihyung watched the scene and was one of them.
-Yoo Jonghyuk! This damn ¡ö¡ö¡ö bastard...! Please!
-Everyone stop him! Block Yoo Jonghyuk!
Some dokkaebis expressed dissatisfaction with the filtering. However, Bihyung was different. Despite the mix of filtering, Bihyung was now able to understand their words to a certain extent.
Some words could be read, even if they weren¡¯tpletely written. The same was probably true for the constetions who had been watching the channel all along.
Otherwise, the following messages wouldn¡¯te out.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is despairing at the tragic situation.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is tearing out his hair in lumps.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking disturbed.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is silently watching the situation.]
.
.
[Some constetions resent the atrocities of the neb!]
[Many constetions arepletely immersed in the unpredictable developments.]
Bihyung couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the screen.
Yoo Jonghyuk who wanted to be the demon king and Kim Dokja who wanted to stop him...
Bihyung saw this and was reminded of the days when he was a novice dokkaebi.
It was a time when he was doing all sorts of events in the Star Stream. All the stories were lovely and he couldn¡¯t bear the curiosity of the next story.
The feelings of those days when he was immersed in the incarnations of his channel were pure and unforgettable...
Bihyung struggled to ignore the emotions wriggling inside him.
¡®That is just a story.¡¯
No matter how tragic or sad, a story was just a story. The story of Kim Dokja and Yoo Jonghyuk was just one of the countless stories repeated in the Star Stream.
Most of the stories had already been seen and he had long forgotten the excitement. All he knew was how to give an exaggerated and stimting directing.
Then why? Bihyung desperately held the egg in his arms.
¡®Shit! Kim Dokja! Do something. As always, fool everyone with an unexpected development!¡¯
Kim Dokja would find a new method, just like he always did. The dokkaebi had such expectations.
¡°It is really tragic. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± The head of the Seoul branch, Baram stood beside him.
Bihyung looked at him and answered, ¡°...It is a very tragic situation for a half constetion.¡±
The nebe would suffer greatly from this intervention. Using Deus X Machina on this scale wouldn¡¯t stop at simply sacrificing lower constetions.
Each constetion shared the probability through the neb and this incident caused tremendous loss to the probability. If a war between nebe was to take ce in this situation, the loss caused by Kim Dokja would be a decisive blow.
Baram replied after a moment, ¡°I think it is worth it if Kim Dokja dies. As I said, they are very sensitive to issues rted to the ¡®end of everything.¡¯ They think that the likelihood of Kim Dokja is very high.¡±
¡°...Then the situation is unfortunate.¡±
¡°Hrmm? Why?¡±
¡°Kim Dokja won¡¯t die.¡± Bihyung continued without understanding why he was making such a boast. ¡°As long as he bes the demon king, Yoo Jonghyuk won¡¯t kill Kim Dokja.¡±
Bihyung looked back at the screen.
Perhaps the n was the nebe was to kill Kim Dokja by making Yoo Jonghyuk the demon king. However, it was the arrogance of the nebe who didn¡¯t fully understand Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s personality.
-Don¡¯t interrupt!
Bihyung watched Yoo Jonghyuk through the screen and swallowed down the boiling sensation.
In the end, Yoo Jonghyuk would die here but Kim Dokja would live. Thus, Kim Dokja would once again escape the constetion¡¯s fate.
If he survived and survived, someday...
Baramughed, ¡°You don¡¯t know ¡®fate¡¯ yet.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°Do you think the nebe wouldn¡¯t have known this? Do you believe that they wouldn¡¯t have analyzed Kim Dokja¡¯s personality, even if they can¡¯t read his future? Then you are underestimating the weight of destiny.¡±
¡°What...¡±
Bihyung was interrupted by the bright sh that came from the screen.
[The Star Stream is announcing the status of the constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name.]
The magnificent light covered the entire holographic panel and even advanced dokkaebis like Baram were impressed.
¡°Look. Fate is about to be realized.¡±
***
¡°Dokja-ssi! What are you doing? Wake up!¡±
I watched Yoo Jonghyuk being tinged with demonic energy and was in a dazed state.
-Are you concerned about what will happen to this world after I go back?
-You must be afraid. The moment I disappear, this world will disappear. Isn¡¯t that right?
It was like thousands of insects had entered my eyes as my senses were disturbed.
¡°Kyaaaaak!¡± The party members screamed.
There was an explosion in the surrounding area.
-This world won¡¯t disappear if I regress. This world won¡¯t end or be upset if I die.
The words spoken by Yoo Jonghyuk encroached on my head.
¡®This world won¡¯t disappear, even if Yoo Jonghyuk goes back.¡¯
I didn¡¯t understand it. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sponsor. The existence that never responded to anything in Ways of Survival... actually replied to Yoo Jonghyuk?
Why? Under these circumstances?
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
I didn¡¯t know.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ is activated!]
[The 5th bookmark, Kyrgios Rodgraim is selected!]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Miniaturization Lv. 3¡¯ is activated!]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification¡¯ Lv. 11 (+1) has been activated.]
My body size was reduced in an instant and the blue-white trail moved towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Kim Dokja!¡± Yoo Jonghyuk growled out.
The blue-white energy hit Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s de and a terrible collision sound was heard.
Thebination of Electrification and White Pure Star Energy met the power of Giant Body Transformation and Splitting the Sky.
I had a thought as I watched the ether storm explode.
If Yoo Jonghyuk was right, I would no longer have to worry about him regressing. Even if he returned, I could guarantee that this world remained and keep living in it.
¡°Kim Dokja, think about it. The opportunities won¡¯t oftene.¡±
The muscles of my body creaked from the excessive force collision. Yoo Jonghyuk also poured out all of his power.
I felt the texture of the de in my hand and realized. My pain was alleviated by Fourth Wall while Yoo Jonghyuk would be taking all of it without a wall.
¡°No, it¡¯s difficult.¡±
Was it okay just because he could regress? Would he sacrifice himself to end this scenario?
I told him, ¡°There is no such development in the ending that I want.¡±
¡°Are you still failing to understand? I must be the demon king...!¡±
¡°I will be the demon king.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk bullshit! If you do that, you will surely die. After being banished from the scenario, resurrection is useless!¡±
Perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t understand my words. There was a huge wall between us that couldn¡¯t be filled.
However, it was due to this wall that I could see this guy again and again. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s remorse, his despair and his dreams. An indomitable will that didn¡¯t give up.
I grew up reading all of this.
¡°Think about it. Who would watch a story without the protagonist?¡±
There were numerous memories in my head. I overcame all the tragedies in my life with a single story. It was the story of a person who never gave up, no matter what. That story made me. I could survive to reach here.
¡°I will pay off the debt.¡±
¡°...Debt? What do you mean?¡±
¡°You saved me once. Now I¡¯m going to save you.¡±
¡°What nonsense is this...?¡±
I listened to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice while using all the techniques I had saved. It was a technique that would exhaust my physical endurance, even if it was just for a moment. It was the first time I tried it directly but it was probably theoretically possible.
¡°Turn off Miniaturization.¡±
At the same time, my body that was covered in the brilliance of Electrification started to return to its original size.
[Your current body configuration is different from that of the character.]
[At present, you can¡¯t use Electrification with your bodyposition.]
[The powerful skill penalty will encroach on your body!]
Electrification was a technique that could only be used by a ¡®small person.¡¯ However, if I released Miniaturization while using Electrification, I could still use the power of Electrification with my original body. My body wandered through a deadly situation but once Miniaturization was turned off, the power of Electrification was amplified.
¡°Kim Dokja...!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes widened with astonishment as the power of Electrification filled the area. The dazzling blue-white ether swept the hall and Yoo Jonghyuk was thrown back into the wall as he coughed up arge amount of blood.
A few steps away, I saw Lee Gilyoung picking up the jade that Yoo Jonghyuk had dropped. ¡°Gilyoung. Give that to me.¡±
Lee Gilyoung hesitantly withdrew from me. ¡°I don¡¯t want to. I heard it all. If Hyung gets this...¡±
As Lee Gilyoung hesitated, Han Sooyoung shouted at him. ¡°Stupid! Get away from Kim Dokja!¡±
It was toote. I instantly narrowed the distance and snatched the jade from Lee Gilyoung¡¯s hand.
¡°I¡¯m sorry Gilyoung.¡±
At the same time, a surge from Electrification emerged and the people around me were thrown back.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Bookmark¡¯ has been forcibly terminated.]
My body was overloaded and blood gushed from me. I grasped the jade tightly as my consciousness blurred. Then demonic energy flowed from the jade and wrapped around my whole body.
[The constetions of the Vedas neb are smiling with satisfaction.]
Yes, this was what they wanted.
[You have met the qualifications to be the 73rd demon king.]
[The precious jade is amazed by your potential.]
[A new main scenario has been acquired!]
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
The system messages blocked the voices of my party members, which was vaguely heard.
[If you choose the way of the demon king, you must destroy all existences on the third level of Dark Castle.]
[If you fail the scenario, you will be banished forever from this scenario.]
Banishment from the scenario. It didn¡¯t have the same meaning as ¡®death.¡¯ It was to be kicked forever from the flow controlled by the Star Stream.
I would die in that empty void that couldn¡¯t be reached by the eyes of the dokkaebis and constetions.
There was no one in the Star Stream who could endure that void. No constetions could exist without the scenario.
Now I knew for sure. This was what those damn nebe were hoping for. I knew very well what that damn fate was pointing to.
¡°I am the demon king.¡±
[The precious jade has chosen a new candidate to be the 73rd demon king.]
[The new ¡¯73rd Demon King¡¯ is elected.]
A mighty demonic energy filled my whole body.
[You have got a new story!]
[You have inherited the power of the ¡®demon king.]
My damaged body received the enormous demonic energy and recovered its strength in an instant. No, it was more than recovering. It was a huge energy I had never felt before. I was reborn as somethingpletely different.
[The Star Stream will announce your status.]
[Your status is narrative-grade.]
.
.
[Your ¡®stigma¡¯ has opened!]
[A strong demonic energy is polluting your constetion.]
[You have be a corrupted constetion!]
A corrupted constetion. It was the Star Stream¡¯s name for the demon kings.
[Many constetions are greatly shocked by your choice.]
[The constetions of the absolute good system are showing fierce hostility towards you.]
The dark demonic energy slowly lifted and I could see the party members looking at me with devastated expressions. The people who knelt down were trembling like they couldn¡¯t believe it.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s desperate face could also be seen in the distance.
[The Main Scenario #10 ¨D ¡¯73rd Demon King¡¯ has started!]
I looked at them and opened my mouth in a grand manner. ¡°Everybody wake up.¡±
Everything in thest three days had been for this moment.
¡°Remember how to deal with a demon king.¡±
The nebe probably thought it was going as they nned. Finally, as fate decreed, Kim Dokja would die here.
However, they would never know. Just as they ced the scenario of fate here... I had been preparing for three days to escape from this damn fate.
Faint sunlight was leaking in from the gap in the broken ceiling. Iughed as I gazed at the sunlight that seemed dazzling.
¡°Now let¡¯s start thest scenario.¡±
Today was the day that ¡®Incarnation Kim Dokja¡¯ would die.
Chapter 187 - The 73rd Demon King (6)
Chapter 187: Episode 35 ¨C The 73rd Demon King (6)
The party members were still watching me with confused expressions. The expressions showed they didn¡¯t know what the hell was going on. Yoo Jonghyuk was still coughing up blood against the wall.
I looked at them for a moment before ncing at the wall of the hall. My appearance was reflected on the polished stone wall.
ck wings sprouted from my shoulders and small horns rose from my head. Traces of demonic energy were imprinted on my skin like a stigma. My body was three or four timesrger than usual and the muscles of my whole body were greatly expanded.
¡°T-This is ridiculous!¡± Why is Dokja-ssi the demon king...?¡±
¡°What the hell is this? What should we do?¡±
Yoo Sangah and Lee Jihye shouted.
Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yoosung... even Cho Youngran and Gong Pildu. Everyone was looking at me with shocked expressions.
I watched them and opened my mouth. ¡°From now on, you will have to hunt me.¡±
[The first phase of the ¡¯73rd demon king¡¯ will begin.]
[The attack time limit is 30 minutes.]
¡°There is no time. Quickly start.¡±
A formidable energy was flowing through my body. Even if I was passively hit, I couldn¡¯t help wondering if the party members would be able to decrease my health in the given time.
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung looked at me desperately and cried out. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight Dokja-ssi!¡±
¡°I can¡¯t follow yourmand!¡±
I could understand their feelings. I would also hesitate if I was in the same situation as them. I deliberatelyughed at them.
¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so serious. Have you forgotten who I am? I am Kim Dokja. I won¡¯t die even when killed.¡±
The innocent Lee Hyunsung was shaken by my words. ¡°...Will youe back to life against this time?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°But I heard...!¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk was deliberately trying to provoke me.¡±
I didn¡¯t use the Incite skill but conflicted emotions were appearing on the people¡¯s faces. Maybe their trust in me and the burden of attacking me were shing inside them.
¡°Believe me. This is the most ideal way.¡±
The party members would eventually have to attack me. It was because there was no other way. If they didn¡¯t kill me, everyone here would die.
Han Sooyoung was staring at me with scary eyes. I sent a signal to her before she could open her mouth.
¡®Han Sooyoung.¡¯
Han Sooyoung paled as she read my lips.
¡®You are the only one. You have to take charge.¡¯
I knew it and Han Sooyoung did as well. The party members were stronger than other incarnations but they weren¡¯t decisive in this situation. On the other hand, Han Sooyoung was faster and more realistic when judging the situation than anyone else here.
¡°...You are always like this, Kim Dokja.¡± Han Sooyoung told me through gritted teeth. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an emotionless monster?¡±
Han Sooyoung nced between me and then the party members. Everyone¡¯s eyes were focused on her. It was as if everything would be decided by her words.
Han Sooyoung breathed heavily before opening her mouth. ¡°Everybody, wake up. Do you want everyone here to go to hell?¡±
I smiled. Yes, she was doing well.
¡°We have to kill Kim Dokja.¡±
This was Han Sooyoung.
¡°I don¡¯t want to! I don¡¯t want to! Hyung!¡±
Han Sooyoung grabbed Lee Gilyoung as he ran towards me.
¡°Stupid kid. Listen well.¡±
Lee Gilyoung gasped and struggled. Han Sooyoung snarled as she grabbed Lee Gilyoung¡¯s cor.
¡°Don¡¯t whine. Do you want to die instead of Kim Dokja?¡±
¡°A-Ahhh...¡±
¡°The rest of you are the same. You aren¡¯t willing to sacrifice yourself so don¡¯t be a hypocrite. Instead of dying, say thank you and swing your weapons!¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s clones, which had grown by dozens, simultaneously opened their mouths.
¡°I don¡¯t know if Kim Dokja wille back or not. We will die if we don¡¯t kill him in the next 30 minutes. That is the only thing I need to know.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s clones rushed towards me with red eyes. I mouthed towards her, ¡®Thank you.¡¯
Han Sooyoung bit her lips until it bled and swung her dagger towards me. The rain of attacks didn¡¯t deal much damage to my body but this was only the beginning.
Yoo Sangah received my gaze and slowly stood up. ¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
It was hard to know what she had decided as unknown feelings were in her eyes. I nodded in response while being hit by Han Sooyoung.
¡°I think Dokja-ssi isn¡¯t a person who will hurt others without thinking. Do you have a n? Did you deliberately direct this scenario?¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Really?¡± Yoo Sangah was crying. ¡°...Should I believe you again? As usual...¡±
I knew this would happen. I was d to hear it. Yoo Sangah roughly wiped at her tears. She raised her dagger and participated in the battle.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°...I thought you were going to sit back hesitantly and whine.¡±
¡°Please be quiet.¡±
Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah¡¯s daggers ced small wounds on my shoulders and back. However, they were stillcking strength.
The remaining time was 25 minutes. It was a tight amount of time if they wanted to use the formation.
I looked at Lee Hyunsung. ¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi. Will you let the party members die?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you say you would never lose the empty cartridge again?¡±
¡°D-Dokja-ssi...¡±
¡°This isn¡¯t just one cartridge.¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s eyes were shaking like the sea that met the wind.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is deeply immersed.]
Time passed before Lee Hyunsung shouted at the sky. He used Steel Transformation and rushed towards me. The hard body bumped into me and there was a strong shock.
My vision shook slightly. Lee Hyunsung used Great Mountain Smash but he seemed on the defensive rather than attacking me. When would I see the sight of a bearish man weeping again?
Next was the sound of magic turrets being fired. Iughed when I heard the sound and turned towards that side.
Indeed, this was why I couldn¡¯t hate him. Gong Pildu was frowning as hard as he could as he activated the turrets of Armed Fortress. Of course, I wasn¡¯t just getting hit.
[The probability of the scenario is dominating your body.]
Regardless of my will, my body would act as the demon king. Of course, the attacks were in perfect patterns so the party members could easily cope.
¡°Everybody, stay awake. Now it is the second phase.¡±
The second phase of the 73rd demon king was starting. In order to thwart it, special support was needed.
¡°Cho Youngran-ssi.¡±
Cho Youngran received my gaze and invoked the power of the Mechanical Gateway Array Method.
As if air was being drained through a venttor, the demonic energy I was emitting disappeared into the hole she created. Herplexion was rapidly bing white as she dealt with the energy of the demon king.
Blood spilt from her lips as Cho Youngran told me, ¡°Sookyung-ssi will be sad.¡±
¡°She already knows.¡±
My demonic energy dwindled and the party members attacked me again. However, they stillcked damage. I paid attention to those who weren¡¯t participating yet. Lee Jihye bit her lips and finally pulled out her sword. ¡°Ahjussi, don¡¯t take revengeter.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t.¡±
Lee Jihye smiled weakly at my words.
¡°...In any case, my attacks are weak and won¡¯t hurt. My constetion is only upper-grade.¡±
¡°The Duke of Loyalty and Warfare is not that weak. Jihye will soon discover it.¡±
Lee Jihye used Song of the Sword and aimed for my weakness. The attacks ovepped and a tingling sensation started to appear on my skin. The threat was enough. Now I needed people who could deal the finishing blow.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi.¡±
As if she had been waiting, Jung Heewon slowly pulled out her sword. ¡°In the old days... do you remember what you asked me?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°You asked me to be yourpanion.¡±
I remembered. In the Theatre Dungeon, I asked Jung Heewon to be my reliablepanion.
¡°Now Dokja-ssi is asking yourpanion to do something like this.¡±
I was speechless.
¡°...Whatpanions?¡± Jung Heewon raised her sword and ran towards me. ¡°What type ofpanion has to kill anotherpanion to live?¡±
Jung Heewon triggered Demon ying and started to attack my body. However, the sword just made a rough sound.
I told her, ¡°It is because you are a trustworthypanion that I am putting my life in your hands.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Heewon-ssi, you have to do it properly. Think that I wille back to life again and stab me as hard as possible.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi really...¡±
Jung Heewon raised her sword towards me. The power of Hell mes Ignition appeared around Jung Heewon¡¯s body.
Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes were red as she started to concentrate her strength. Her real strength was when the power of Judge of Destruction was added to Hell mes Ignition.
Kim Dokja became a demon king and was a suitable target for that power.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has activated Judgment Time!]
[Many of the constetions of the absolute good system agree to trigger the skill.]
[There is only one constetion who is strongly opposed to the activation of the skill.]
[The skill activation has been cancelled.]
The confused Jung Heewon stared at me and I gazed into the air. It was obvious who had opposed the activation of Judgment Time.
¡°Demon-like Judge of Fire.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is covering her eyes with a pained expression.]
¡°...Uriel.¡±
Sparks filled the air in response to my call.
¡°Please agree to the activation of Judgment Time.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is shaking her head violently!]
¡°If you don¡¯t do this, your incarnation will die.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says that if she does this, you will die.]
How good would it be if all the constetions were like her? It was regrettable that I had to hurt Uriel.
¡°Uriel, you know. This is just a story.¡± I spoke like a dokkaebi. ¡°You must¡¯ve seen many people die in the meantime.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ feels despair.]
The messages alone portrayed it clearly. I remembered the small and beautiful Uriel I saw at the banquet.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is weeping and repeatedly shaking her head.]
The little face that kept crying and shaking. She was an angel that didn¡¯t match the modifier of ¡®demon.¡¯
¡°Do what you need to do. Only then will this story bepleted.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking down at you.]
After a moment, I heard the message I had been waiting for.
[All constetions of the absolute good system are in favour of Judgment Time.]
Finally, a bloody aura rose from Jung Heewon¡¯s body. ¡°...Shit, I really hate the name of this skill.¡±
The aura of Judgment Timebined with the power of Hell mes Ignition and created a tremendous wave of magic power. It had the power to destroy all the evil in the world.
The Judge of Destruction shed at the demon king¡¯s chest with her sword of fire.
Chapter 188 - The 73rd Demon King (7)
Chapter 188: Episode 35 ¨C The 73rd Demon King (7)
I was hit by the pouring mes and pain started to spread through my entire body.
...It hurt. It really hurt. My skin cracked from the high temperature and my eyeballs felt ripe.
Jung Heewon endured her tears and kept attacking me. The mes that destroyed evil burned away at my wounds and all my flesh.
I probably would¡¯ve fainted from the pain if it wasn¡¯t for Fourth Wall. Even so, my body didn¡¯t break.
The shocked Jung Heewon asked, ¡°What is going on with your body?¡±
¡°...The damage is probably too insufficient.¡±
The rate of my stamina consumption was elerated but it wasn¡¯t enough to kill me in the remaining time. I didn¡¯t expect that even Jung Heewon wouldn¡¯t be sufficient.
Honestly, I was at a loss for words. Maybe it was because I was judged to be ¡®narrative-grade.¡¯
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ is rejoicing in your pain.]
[The remaining attack time is 10 minutes.]
[The constetions of the neb ¡®Papyrus¡¯ are making a toast.]
This was just the beginning. A huge shock wave spread through the hall and my body started to grow again.
[The third phase of the ¡¯73rd Demon King¡¯ is starting.]
[Your body has be harder.]
We had now reached the third phase. I shouted without feeling panic, ¡°Everybody, stay awake! Do you remember?¡±
The party members nodded and skillfully changed the formation. However, I could see that Cho Youngran¡¯s Mechanical Gateway Array Method had slightly copsed from my explosive increase in magic power.
In the end, Cho Youngran coughed up blood and sat down. The timing of this was faster than expected. Demonic energy started to fill the whole hall and the party members became weaker as they received debuffs.
Now I had to borrow a hand that I hadn¡¯t wanted to borrow.
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name is looking at his incarnation.]
Shin Yoosung trembled after receiving my message and shook her head. My incarnation Shin Yoosung had felt my determination long ago.
¡®Ahjussi, I can¡¯t do it. Please.¡¯
I stared at Shin Yoosung.
This was the rtionship between a constetion and incarnation. Rather than speaking one hundred words, I conveyed my indescribable and deep emotions just by looking at them. Shin Yoosung finally burst out crying as the violent emotions were one-sidedly passed on.
¡®I understand.¡¯
The pain and bitterness in the small child¡¯s heart resonated and as a constetion, I could hear it more than anyone.
Shin Yoosung held the other child¡¯s hand and stood up. ¡°Gilyoung. Let¡¯s go. We have to do it.¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s eyes shone yellow. The characteristics of Beast Master were started to manifest. There was a great trembling in the hall and I soon heard a tearing sound. A giant beast¡¯s snout appeared in the gap.
The chimera dragon. The giant monster that wouldter be a destruction species pped its giant wings as it was summoned to the hall. However, the chimera dragon hesitated instead of attacking when it saw me.
[The 2nd grade monster species, the ¡®Chimera Dragon¡¯ has refused its master¡¯smand.]
[The 2nd grade monster species, the ¡®Chimera Dragon¡¯ feels terrified of the 73rd demon king.]
Blood poured from Shin Yoosung¡¯s nose. She couldn¡¯t control the 2nd grade monster alone yet. I watched Lee Gilyoung and said, ¡°Gilyoung. Think of this as a game.¡±
Lee Gilyoung looked up at me. I stared at the child¡¯s eyes and remembered the words I had once spoken as we walked through the darkness.
It was a conversation that urred when we wandered together through the darkness of Geumho Station. The moments that passed like nothing became precious memories that returned.
¡°Even if I die, I wille back. I promise.¡±
These stories became the power to kill me.
¡°...Aaaaaah!¡± Lee Gilyoung howled and used Taming.
[The remaining attack time is 9 minutes.]
The chimera dragon was controlled by the two children¡¯s Taming and started to cry out in pain.
The chimera dragon sucked in all the air around it. The chimera dragon sucked in even my magic and started to open its huge snout towards me.
It was a dark magic power. A huge sphere of light was created between the ferocious fangs. It was a weapon that only a dragon, the peak of monsters, could use.
The Breath. I was hit by the Breath and my body was torn apart again. It was a shock that caused the mind to break down.
Despite this shock, my body was still alive. The party members were shocked by my miserable appearance but they shouldn¡¯t stop.
I straightened my ripped lips and said, ¡°Con... tinue.¡±
If they didn¡¯t do it now, there wouldn¡¯t be another chance.
[A few constetions have noticed your sacrifice.]
[Many constetions are amazed by your will.]
The chimera dragon was exhausted by the use of Breath and its huge bodyy on the ground. Fortunately, the chimera dragon sucked in most of the worst of my rampaging magic power but the attack power of the party members were decreasing.
¡°Damn, I¡¯m out of magic power!¡±
[The remaining capture time is 5 minutes.]
My preparations for dealing with the 73rd demon king were up to here. So from now on... I should leave it to someone else.
¡°Kim Dokja.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk had risen from the stone wall and was watching me.
I saw that Lee Seolhwa was exhausted by his side. She had probably poured all her magic power into healing him. I saw many emotions cross his eyes as he identified me as the demon king.
¡°Don¡¯t make such an expression. You can¡¯t change what has already happened. Don¡¯t you already know?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk wiped his bloody lips and murmured, ¡°It should¡¯ve been me who died here.¡±
Fortunately, Yoo Jonghyuk was Yoo Jonghyuk. He already epted that he would have to kill me.
Yoo Jonghyuk rushed towards me with the Heaven Shaking Sword. Every hit made me feel that my physical strength had been reduced. He didn¡¯t say anything but his despair was conveyed every time the de cut me.
[The remaining capture time is 4 minutes.]
For us, we weren¡¯t even allowed time to feel that despair.
¡°Let¡¯s end it now Yoo Jonghyuk. Bring ¡®that¡¯ out.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t y around. I know you didn¡¯t use it on purpose.¡±
¡°...If I use this, you can¡¯t be resurrected.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why you are going to use it. It would be difficult if I came back again as a demon king.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°What if the scenario ends up being ruined? You should stop thinking about it.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk red at me without speaking.
¡¸ Do you have an idea? ¡¹
I justughed at his question. Yoo Jonghyuk hesitated before eventually pulling out a sword.
The Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds. Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi. It was a sword obtained from Yamata no Orochi in Peace Land.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke in a somber voice, ¡°I hoped the moment where I had to use this would nevere.¡±
¡°Me too. However, now is the time.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ feels despair.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is sighing deeply.]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is holding her breath.]
The power acquired by a story will eventually copse because of a story. My attribute of Eight Lives was derived from the power of Yamata no Orochi. This power was bound to be vulnerable to the weapon of death that killed Yamata no Orochi. Perhaps I would lose all my remaining lives if I was cut by this sword.
Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°...To be honest, there is no certainty in this. The duration of Giant Body Transformation is over and I¡¯m not confident in my current attack power.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±
I could see Shin Yoosung furiously shaking her head towards me.
[The constetion who doesn¡¯t yet have a name has given his incarnation a ¡®stigma¡¯.]
There was a dazzling light and my stigma nestled inside Shin Yoosung.
[The stigma ¡®Sacrifice¡¯s Will Lv. 1¡¯ has been activated!]
The stigma caused a brilliant glow to emerge from Shin Yoosung¡¯s body.
[The master of the stigma risks his life for others.]
[The attack power of the party is greatly increased in proportion to the desperation of their lives.]
The exhausted eyes of my party members started to be energetic again.
Sacrifice¡¯s Will. It was a stigma that didn¡¯t really suit me. One thing was for certain. My death was now confirmed.
¡°Thank you for everything.¡±
[The remaining capture time is 3 minutes.]
The party members were running.
Lee Hyunsung, Jung Heewon, Shin Yoosung, Lee Gilyoung, Yoo Sangah, Gong Pildu, Lee Jihye...
They cried, screamed or were filled with deep anger. Everyone wasing towards me. My vision gradually diminished and all the characters became thendscape. I saw them andughed.
¡¸ Incarnation Kim Dokja will be killed by the person he loves most. ¡¹
I had forgotten. All prophecies couldn¡¯t be interpreted literally. In this Star Stream, people were stories.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at you.]
As the gazes of countless stars in the sky poured towards me, a story was running towards me.
¡°Ahhhhhh!¡±
Parents, friends and lovers were all stories.
[The remaining capture time is 2 minutes.]
This wasn¡¯t the Ways of Survival I knew but¡ªIt was a story more wonderful than Ways of Survival.
[A constetion of a small is looking at you.]
[All the constetions on the Korean Penins are looking at you.]
It was my story. Iughed as Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword pierced my heart.
[Your fate has been realized.]
My body slowly sank down and Yoo Jonghyuk held onto me. ¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°It was a really great story. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk stared down at me silently. I couldn¡¯t find any words and just watched. It was as if I had always been meant to do this.
[The effect of the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds has destroyed all remaining extra lives.]
[You can no longer resurrect.]
I finally looked up at the sky. The clusters of nebe were in the centre of the night sky. Vedas, Olympus, Papyrus...
I would never forget what they had done.
Then the sky blinked.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ doesn¡¯t wish for your death.]
The stars shone brightly as if in response to my will.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ doesn¡¯t wish for your death.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ doesn¡¯t wish for your death.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ doesn¡¯t wish for your death.]
I looked at the sky andughed. Due to these guys, I hated the constetions but I couldn¡¯t hate the story.
¡°Let¡¯s meet again, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The power of the demon king disappeared and at the same time, strength drained from me.
[The main scenario has ended.]
[Seoul Dome has been freed.]
A small ck hole appeared in the air behind me. My body was slowly being sucked into it. My legs, my torso, my arms...they turned into powder and were slowly being sucked in.
¡°Kim Dokja! No! Kim Dokja!¡±
At thest moment, he tightly held me by the neck. However, it was already toote.
My vision turned ck and I was sucked into an empty void. The eyes of the constetions watching me started to disappear one by one. I was leaving the area of the channel.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ doesn¡¯t wish for your death!]
In the distant night sky, one star desperately blinked at me.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ doesn¡¯t wish for your death!]
Yes, you can stop now. Uriel.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯...]
Thank you.
The stars in the night sky went out one by one and Incarnation Kim Dokja¡¯s story finally ended.
[The constetions of the absolute good system have withdrawn the mark of ¡®evil¡¯ from you.]
[Your incarnation body haspletely been destroyed.]
[You have failed the scenario.]
[You have been expelled from the scenario.]
[The Star Stream will announce your modifier.]
In the faraway darkness, the Star Stream was quietly whispering to me.
[Your modifier is the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯.]
Chapter 189 - Story Horizon (1)
Chapter 189: Episode 36 ¨C Story Horizon (1)
On this day, everyone in Seoul Dome was immersed in a dazzling light.
[Someone has cleared the tenth main scenario.]
[Congrattions. You have passed the tenth scenario.]
Those who were hiding in corners of Seoul Dome to avoid the demonic people and those who barely survived on the first and second floors of Dark Castle.
All the incarnations who somehow survived the threat of the scenario received the same message.
[You have aplished the ¡®Liberator of Seoul Dome¡¯ achievement.]
Liberator. People didn¡¯t understand it at first but their bodies were convinced before their minds. Their limbs cramped, their pupils expanded and their lips trembled.
[You can escape Seoul Dome.]
Their long wish had finally be reality. The people on the first and second floors of Dark Castle were summoned out into the city.
Then everyone saw the same sight.
The Dark Castle copsed with a loud sound. The terrible nightmare gripping all of Seoul copsed like a sand castle. The broken chunks soon turned into powder. People were filled with unknown emotions as they watched the scene.
¡°It is finished,¡± someone said.
¡°I can go out... I can live now...¡±
¡°The hell is over!¡±
Some people felt it was the end of the tragedy.
Compensation poured from the air. People had jubnt expressions on their faces. Another tragedy might begin but for now, they were enjoying the immediate feeling of liberation. However, not everyone shared that sentiment.
¡°...What happened to Dokja ahjussi?¡±
Kim Dokja¡¯s group escaped from Dark Castle. Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye, Gong Pildu, Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yoosung, Han Sooyoung... All of them were gathered in one ce. They were those who survived because of Kim Dokja or those who owed Kim Dokja.
¡°Anyone, does anyone know? Please say something! Master! How is Dokja ahjussi?¡±
The party members relied on their intuition to find someone who could exin the situation. However, the only person who could answer was silent. Yoo Jonghyuk was staring at the copsed Dark Castle with his mouth shut.
Dark Castle copsed, like history disappearing. Kim Dokja was in there. He died there.
Yoo Jonghyuk stared while confirming the fact over and over again.
Kim Dokja was dead. How could such a thing happen? Yoo Jonghyuk was unfamiliar with not knowing.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi! Please say something! Please!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk stared nkly at Lee Hyunsung who was shaking him. The first regression and second regression... he had never seen Lee Hyunsung make this face.
Yoo Jonghyuk rarely remembered the expressions that his party members made when they lost someone really precious. It was because he was always the one making such expressions. He was the only one who survived until the end of this tragedy and despair.
By the way, this life was different. There were still many people by his side. He was suffering through someone¡¯s death with them.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi!¡±
¡°Master!¡±
Everyone was staring at him. They wanted him to say that it wasn¡¯t toote. Still, Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t give an answer to these faces.
¡°I also don¡¯t know.¡±
He destroyed theirst remaining hope. Sadly, this was the role left to Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to Kim Dokja.¡±
In fact, he could tell them more. Banishment from the scenario. He could share the information he knew. Or maybe he could testify to the feeble hopes he might have.
However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t do this. He knew that talking about it would just be telling the party members,
¡®Kim Dokja is dead. You can¡¯t do anything for Kim Dokja.¡¯
Some people said more by not speaking. A few people epted Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s silence while others rejected it. Nevertheless, everyone understood the silence.
¡°Dokja hyung said so! He isn¡¯t dead! He will live again! Then why...!¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi! Please tell me how to save Dokja-ssi!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk shook his head at Lee Gilyoung and Lee Hyunsung¡¯s cries. If there was a way to save Kim Dokja, he would¡¯ve already done it. There was nothing he could do. It wasn¡¯t just him, it was everyone.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ feels a great emptiness.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is lying down.]
[The constetion ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil¡¯ has broken his pen.]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is looking at the abyss.]
.
.
[The constetions on the Korean Penins are mourning the death of one constetion.]
[The constetions on the Korean Penins remember someone¡¯s name.]
Yoo Jonghyuk had never seen so many constetions talking about a single constetion. The arrogant constetions were expressing emotions other than frustration or pleasure.
They became aware of new feelings. The night sky was shining with more colour than any of his previous regressions.
Sadness, great despair, sorrow... The night sky, made up of many constetions, was shining sadly.
Maybe Kim Dokja was hope for them as well. It was hope to show a different story. Something that could make a difference in the Star Stream.
¡®There aren¡¯t many ways.¡¯
Looking at the dazzling star in the sky, Regressor Yoo Jonghyuk had a thought.
¡®If I regress now...¡¯
The ability to restart his life was like the button of a nuclear missile that could be pressed at any time. Yoo Jonghyuk was able to go back in time after dying and make better choices with the information he had of the future.
If he returned now then Kim Dokja might revive again. However...
-Yoo Jonghyuk, wake up. Don¡¯t think things will improve if you repeat them a few times.
What if Yoo Jonghyuk went back and there was no Kim Dokja? Or what if Kim Dokja didn¡¯t act like this again?
Yoo Jonghyuk was afraid of something for the first time.
The Kim Dokja of this life might only appear in this life. Shin Yoosung of the 41st regression never talked about Kim Dokja and he never met Kim Dokja in his past few lives. Even if he went back to the past, the Kim Dokja of this life might not return.
-Thus, live this round properly.
The choice that had always been possible was now irreversible. He met Kim Dokja in his third regression and they becamepanions. Then he lost Kim Dokja.
-Don¡¯t imagine that you will get better if you throw away this round. Maybe this is the round where you will see the end of this world as a ¡®human.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk got up from his spot and bit his lips. Only these words remained. Just as everything in the Star Stream was a story, Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t help acknowledging that Kim Dokja¡¯s words were part of himself.
[Huh, why aren¡¯t you moving? Didn¡¯t you receive the system message?]
The dokkaebi dispatched from the bureau looked down at them from the air.
[Aha, I see. Everybody is mourning ¡®his¡¯ death.]
The party members resented his ridiculing tone but not everyone was the same. Jung Heewon barely maintained her calm and asked,
¡°...How is Dokja-ssi?¡±
[He has been expelled from the scenario.]
¡°Can I ask what that means? Is he dead or alive?¡±
[I also don¡¯t know. However, it isn¡¯t possible to survive being expelled from the scenario, whether it is an incarnation or constetion. That is all I know.]
Even a constetion couldn¡¯t survive. The party members stiffened at the words and their expressions became colder than before. Lee Jihye retorted.
¡°Isn¡¯t there a way? A way to save...!¡±
[There is nothing you can do. Honestly, it¡¯s amazing that you still have this type of mindset. I will give you one piece of advice. Don¡¯t think about unnecessary things and focus on the scenario in front of you. You haven¡¯t escaped from Seoul Dome yet.]
The dokkaebi sneered and flicked his fingers. Then messages once again poured from the air.
[The escape scenario has been given.]
[Seoul Dome will be closed soon! You have half a day to escape from Seoul Dome.]
[The escape path is automatically provided.]
[You will die if you don¡¯t escape from the dome within the time limit.]
¡°Dammit...¡±
The party members looked at each other but there were no solutions on their faces. In any case, there was nothing they could choose.
¡°...Let¡¯s move.¡±
They started to move along the specified path. They ran, swam or crossed railings as they constantly headed towards the outskirts of Seoul. Finally, the route markers ended and they faced a group of people.
¡°These people...¡±
All the remaining incarnations of Seoul Dome were gathered there. There were approximately 1,000 people.
Some faces were familiar. Min Jiwon waved her hand towards this side and there was also the reclusive Han Donghoon. They were all saved by Kim Dokja.
Yoo Jonghyuk and the party members lightly nodded at the people they recognized.
¡°...Here.¡±
The party members stopped at the same time and stared up at the inner wall of the dome. It was a huge cage that had been trapping them so far. Now they had a chance to escape from this prison. Everyone was excited but nobody took a step outside.
They were like a canary that couldn¡¯t easily fly out of the wide open cage.
Instead, the people were looking around for something. One by one, the gazes gathered. All eyes soon gathered on one person.
It was Han Sooyoung who opened her mouth first. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk faced Han Sooyoung. She didn¡¯t say anything but Yoo Jonghyuk read her eyes.
¡®Don¡¯t waste the opportunity that Kim Dokja gave you.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk blinked slowly and stepped forward. Numerous people were waiting for him.
It was to celebrate the moment they were finally freed. Yoo Jonghyuk was troubled as he gazed at the group focused on him.
Yoo Jonghyuk had been in this position several times in his past lives. He was sometimes eloquent and sometimes a charismatic leader. It wasn¡¯t hard to find the words to give to the crowd.
Then why? He didn¡¯t want to say such things this time. Instead, he said, ¡°...I won¡¯t give up on this life.¡±
Perhaps there was no one here who would understand his words. In the midst of the terrible loneliness that came from this face, Yoo Jonghyuk dered.
¡°So don¡¯t give up either.¡±
He didn¡¯t know if it had been delivered or not. Yoo Jonghyuk turned away from the crowd and slowly walked to the inner wall of the dome. Then...
Bang!
Just one.
Bang!
Then two.
His angry fists struck the wall. Large cracks spread through the inner wall of the dome, centred on the point that was in contact with his fists.
It was a wall that couldn¡¯t be ovee after the scenario started. The wall copsed slightly and a gap that was the size of a human was made. It was andscape that always existed but couldn¡¯t be ovee.
Yoo Jonghyuk took the first step into thatndscape.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
He stepped towards a scenario without Kim Dokja.
***
¡¸ In the darkness, the lone Kim Dokja finally woke up. ¡¹
Chapter 190 - Story Horizon (2)
Chapter 190: Episode 36 ¨C Story Horizon (2)
¡°...Uh.¡±
¡¸ The bones of the body seemed to be crushed and the skin was stiff, like a dead animal¡¯s skin. ¡¹
I listened to the Fourth Wall¡¯s words as I slowly woke up. The obnoxious voice of the Fourth Wall was now wee.
¡¸ I am alive. Kim Dokja thought this. ¡¹
I heard Fourth Wall so the n seemed to be a sess. In fact, I couldn¡¯t really say it was a sess.
It was natural. The ¡®fate¡¯ they gave me was the death of ¡®Incarnation Kim Dokja¡¯. It was natural that the ¡®constetion¡¯ Kim Dokja wouldn¡¯t die.
If I was going to disappear so easily, I wouldn¡¯t have built up my stories and be a constetion. The problem was that I lost my body and survived as a ¡®constetion¡¯...
¡°...Where am I?¡±
The surrounding area was filled with ruined buildings and roads. It was a familiar scene.
¡°This...?¡±
Not long after I spoke, I realized the situation I was in. I looked up at the air. The night sky had always been filled with the light of countless constetions. Now there was nothing there.
I was surprised by the deep words I was speaking to myself. I watched the night sky andughed nkly. ¡°Haha...¡±
Usually, numerous indirect messages from the constetions should¡¯ve appeared.
For example, the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven who liked it when I talked to myself or the Abyssal ck me Dragon... there was also the Demon-like Judge of Fire who liked me for some reason. It was normal for someone to answer but no one answered my monologue.
There wasn¡¯t the Bald General of Justice polishing his head, the One-Eyed Maitreya who would throw his eyepatch if he was bored or the shameless Lady of the Brocade Sleep.
The messages of the constetions disappeared and only aughably terrible loneliness was left behind.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I¡¯m really alone. ¡¹
[You are currently expelled from the scenario.]
I slowly looked around the surroundings. Despite being expelled from the scenario, living beings would go to the nearest ¡®outside the scenario¡¯ area.
[You are currently in an area outside the scenario.]
The outside the scenario area that I was currently standing in was a very familiar ce to me.
¡¸ Seoul. ¡¹
This ce was Seoul¡¯s Gwanghwamun square. It was the ce where War of the Kings took ce and I crushed the Absolute Throne.
The fact that Seoul had be an area outside the scenario...
The party members... thankfully, they escaped unharmed.
I looked at the ce where the former Seoul Dome was located and felt overwhelmed. The ce that used to be covered with a translucent membrane was now covered by a thick barrier.
Now the ¡®Seoul¡¯ scenario waspletely over. The party members were moving onto new scenarios without me and making new stories. From there, they would continue to live.
...Maybe this was how it turned out.
¡¸ Kim Dokja was d but also somewhat lonely. ¡¹
I thought about the party members for a moment before slowly turning around.
¡¸The lonely Kim Dokja had something to do. For that reason, he chose a miserable death. ¡¹
***
¡¸ While walking on the streets of Seoul, Kim Dokja was immersed in his memories. Whenever he went, he saw where he performed the scenarios with his party members. Kim Dokja once again realized that he had be part of Ways of Survival. He was obviously living this story. ¡¹
¡°...This is very touching but shouldn¡¯t you stop now? How long are you going to keep muttering?¡±
¡¸ Kim Dokja was irritated by the poor Fourth Wall. ¡¹
At first, it felt good to have someone beside me. However, I didn¡¯t feel happy about having everything I did exined.
¡¸ How much time has passed? Kim Dokja wanted to ask but no one could answer. ¡¹
¡°Dammit. You can answer me.¡±
I scolded him before deciding to look at my condition.
[Many of your stories have been damaged.]
[Your current body ispletely copsed.]
I had survived by using my status as a constetion but I hadpletely lost my physical body. In other words, my current existence wasn¡¯t ¡®flesh¡¯ but a mass of iplete stories.
[Your current body is in a very dangerous condition.]
[Methods to preserve your body can¡¯t be found.]
It was an uneasy state where I couldpletely copse if anyone touched me. This wasn¡¯t living.
I decided to try everything I could.
[Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint isn¡¯t avable in this area.]
...As expected, it didn¡¯t work.
[You can¡¯tmunicate with your incarnation.]
This also didn¡¯t work. I was expecting it but I was really weird because it didn¡¯t work out. It felt like I was living alone in an area where nomunication was possible.
Of course, my actual situation was worse than that.
[You can¡¯t use the channel system.]
Since I was banished from the scenario, I naturally couldn¡¯t ess the channel and my contract with Bihyung was cancelled. I stared at the sky without stars and felt empty freedom.
...Now I was really alone. Once I realized this fact, a chill started to creep in.
¡¸ Nobody sees me and I can¡¯t see anyone either. ¡¹
No, I wasn¡¯tpletely alone.
¡¸ In the midst of this, Kim Dokja suddenly realized. He felt a sense of existence through someone¡¯s eyes. ¡¹
¡°I¡¯m not thinking such philosophical things, Idiot. Rather, how long are you going to keep this up?¡±
¡¸ The stupid Kim Dokja doesn¡¯t know. Why the great Fourth Wall is doing this hard work. ¡¹
...What?
¡°Why can¡¯t you just exin? What the hell are you? You are a skill right?¡±
¡¸ The stupid Kim Dokja is talking to the air. ¡¹
It was a real jerk.
¡¸ Stupid Kim Dokja... ¡¹
¡°Can¡¯t you stop? Do you want me to turn the skill off?¡±
Then a sound was heard in the air.
¡¸ The Fourth Wall asks, ¡®Th en should I qui t?¡¯ ¡¹
I was a bit surprised. This brat, it could express itself more clearly now? Come to think of it,st time...
¡°Yes, stop. I don¡¯t want to be bothered right now.¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is silent.]
The next moment, I regretted my choice. I felt the air around me freezing. It suddenly prated deeply into my bones. I felt the air in my lungs clogging up.
¡°Cough...?¡±
At this moment, something btedly came to my mind. It was the reason why Vedas and Olympus sent me to the outside the scenario area.
It was due to this exact situation. It was a plot to kill ¡®Incarnation Kim Dokja¡¯ and deal with ¡®Constetion Kim Dokja.¡¯
¡°K-Kuoooock...¡±
I tried to scream but there was no sound. I could breathe but I couldn¡¯t breathe. It felt as if someone had squeezed my lungs and my breath was blocked. My head turned nk and my thoughts were erased one by one.
The Star Stream was a world of stories. There were no exceptions, whether it was for incarnations or constetions. Every being existed through a ¡®story.¡¯
[The speed of the damage to your stories has increased!]
[Your existence has started to vanish.]
In a ce with no ¡®stories¡¯, nothing could exist. Even me.
¡®Damn, save me!¡¯
I shouted while fearing that I would disappear. I could finally see why the Fourth Wall had such a big mouth. It kept speaking in order to save me. In a ce where there were no stories, it kept me alive...
It kept telling me ¡®stories.¡¯
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated.]
¡¸ The Fourth Wall says, ¡°Je...rk.¡± ¡¹
I managed to start breathing again.
¡°Pant, pant...¡±
I knew that being banished from the scenario was terrible but I hadn¡¯t expected it to be this much.
Indeed, even Cheok Jungyeong couldn¡¯t survive outside the scenario without the help of a neb... damn, I thought too shallowly about the situation.
I thought I could move onto the first target area somehow if I gave up a few stories...
It would¡¯ve been hard for me to live if it hadn¡¯t been for the Fourth Wall.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I should never turn off the Fourth Wall again. ¡¹
I couldn¡¯t refute the words in my miserable mood.
¡°...By the way, how long can you keep it up?¡±
¡¸ The Fourth Wall says, ¡°No t lon g.¡± ¡¹
Intense sparks appeared as the Fourth Wall spoke. Indeed, it would be strange that the Fourth Wall could cope alone with something that required the probability of a neb.
I didn¡¯t have much time. If I couldn¡¯t finish my task in a timely manner, I would die here.
At this moment, a noise was heard from somewhere. It was reminiscent of a vacuum cleaner...
¡¸ Kim Dokja knows what this is. ¡¹
¡°Yes, I know. The scenario cleaners.¡±
The appearance of a cleaner meant a major ¡®clean-up¡¯ of the scenario area had begun.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: Since the cleaning has begun, the Great Demon of the Horizon will soon reveal itself. The hyenas who wander through the ruins of the scenario can¡¯t afford to miss out on these delicious ruins. ¡¹
It was amazing to read. However, before I met them, I had to find something first.
¡¸ Kim Dokja picked up his pace. ¡¹
I staggered and gradually sped up. Things reminiscent of small clouds were wandering around the streets. They were the scenario cleaners.
They were ones to watch out for but I ran without worrying. In any case, the cleaners were low and their recognition range was narrow. If I carefully avoided them, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to reach the target point without being noticed.
I headed south of Gwanghwamun. Euljiro 3-ga, Chungmuro, Dongdae-gu, Yaksu, Geumho Station...
Like a salmon, I passed by the ces I had been. Finally, I arrived at Oksu Station.
There, I faced the broken Dongho Bridge. I watched the broken bridge and memories passed through my head. This was the ce where Yoo Jonghyuk dropped me into the mouth of an ichthyosaur.
I didn¡¯t know if he was doing well right now. Well, he had Han Sooyoung to help him.
...I had to hope.
I leapt lightly across the broken bridge. In the past, it was a bridge that could only be crossed using Deus X Machina. Now a single leap was enough.
It was a moment that showed how much had changed from the beginning of the scenario.
However, I still had a long way to go. The things I had to cross were waiting for me at a distant much greater than the gap of this broken bridge.
Finally, I reached a half broken subway. This was the start of all the scenarios. I looked at the appearance of the subway before entering and looking through the ruins.
How long did I look? I finally found what I was looking for. It was an item box that was shining white. There was a short message left on the item box.
-Kim Dokja, can I trust you? It was left as you requested. Thank you for being an incarnation of my channel.
It was very obvious who wrote the message.
-Please, be alive.
Of course. I wouldn¡¯t die. I opened the item box. The box contained 300,000 coins and the items I asked to be purchased.
[A new attribute has been acquired.]
[The item ¡®Dokkaebi Egg¡¯ has been acquired.]
[The item ¡®Unbroken Faith¡¯ has been acquired.]
...
I grabbed all the items and left the subway. That guy wasing in the nick of time. I sat on the bridge and waited.
Soon, that guy woulde.
As I thought this, someone appeared on the horizon where the story ended. He was an old man with a giant lump on one cheek. He walked towards this side with a strange expression. It was like he knew I was here.
¡°Are you the Demon King of Salvation?¡±
I looked at him for a moment before turning my gaze towards the light of dawn outside the dome.
I thought of the nebe that would be waiting for me beyond that light. Maybe they would think I was dead by now.
Olympus, Vedas, Papyrus...
I remembered every one of them. All the constetions whoughed at the stories of the incarnations and finally made their own entertainment.
Just wait a little bit.
¡¸ I will pull all of you down from that fucking heaven. ¡¹
Chapter 191 - Story Horizon (3)
Chapter 191: Episode 36 ¨C Story Horizon (3)
This sentence appeared in Ways of Survival.
¡¸ The great demons who live in the ¡®horizon of the story.¡¯ They aren¡¯t demon kings or demon species, they are great demons. They are those who hate the dokkaebis as much as they seek and crave stories. ¡¹
Yes, this sentence.
¡¸ If you are expelled from the scenario, there is only one thing to look forward to. It is to hope for mercy from the Great Demon of the Horizon. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall made it clear for me and I had nothing to say. I looked at the Great Demon of the Horizon.
He gave off a very old impression. At first nce, I feel like a vagrant but it wasn¡¯t hard to recognize them. It was because every Great Demon of the Horizon had a big lump on their cheek. Due to that, some people called them the ¡®wenny man¡¯. (TL: wen=growth/swelling on the skin).
Light sparks appeared in the air and the wenny man stepped back.
¡°...It is unusual. I can¡¯t see your information with the Great Demon¡¯s Eyes.¡±
There was a yellow glow in the eyes of the wenny man. It was an attempt to dig up my personal information.
Great Demon¡¯s Eyes. Anna Croft had the same eyes as the wenny man. It was natural. I¡¯m sure that he was the one who gave Anna the information on the Great Demon¡¯s Eyes.
The Great Demons of the Horizon were iparable dangerouspared to Bihyung. I would be eaten if I underestimated him even a little bit.
I deliberately dyed before opening my mouth. ¡°My information can¡¯t be read by the prophet. Isn¡¯t your informationwork a bit slow?¡±
The wenny man frowned like his ego was hurt. ¡°...Did you know I wasing?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°How?¡±
¡°You probably came to grab this.¡±
I pulled out the dokkaebi egg. The wenny man¡¯s eyes shook. He knew what this egg contained.
¡°The soul is mine.¡± At the same time, the great demon¡¯s lump started to swell ominously. ¡°I sent this soul here from another parallel dimension. I have ownership of the soul.¡±
He took one step closer while I stepped back.
¡°What are you talking about?¡±
¡°...The soul should¡¯ve returned to me from the Underworld. You intercepted it. I hope you return the soul before it is toote.¡±
¡°Return? What was this bullshit? Is there a method to handle lost items in the Star Stream?¡±
The wenny man still stayed in the distance as he stared at the egg with deep greed in his eyes.
I looked down at the egg. The presence in this egg was the Shin Yoosung from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s 41st regression.
In a sense, the Great Demon of the Horizon was right. The person who turned Shin Yoosung into a disaster and sent her to this dimension was the wenny man in front of him.
The wrinkles on the wenny man¡¯s face increased. ¡°If you want to y with words...¡±
¡°Let me ask her directly. This kid has her own free will.¡±
I didn¡¯t hesitate to tap on the surface of the egg and ask, ¡°Yoosung, he is your master. What do you think?¡±
The egg shook steadily. ¡°Hrmm, I see. It is a no?¡±
¡°...Hey.¡±
I ignored the wenny man and asked the egg again. ¡°Then who are you?¡±
The egg shook even more. I nodded as if I understood.
¡°Yes, a soul can¡¯t belong to anyone. Just like no one can be the master of the story.¡±
No one could be the master of the story. A sharp look crossed the face of the wenny man who heard this. The Great Demon¡¯s Eyes were spinning. He smiled like he found it interesting.
¡°How funny, Demon King of Salvation. Do you intend to negotiate with me now?¡±
I was caught. I smiled and replied, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°...Okay. Your behaviour so far has been interesting. However, if you want to negotiate, give me the egg first.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know what a negotiation is? This is a problem. I need this kid.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know the value of that egg.¡±
¡°No, I know.¡±
The egg was glued tightly to my hand, like it didn¡¯t want to leave. I lightly patted the egg.
¡°Beings born from this egg can make a channel.¡±
¡°...Do you know what that means?¡±
¡°It means I can broadcast outside the authority of the bureau.¡±
The wenny man faintly shook at my words. His confused fingers were heading for his beard.
I added, ¡°In other words, this egg has the power to make countless stories. Isn¡¯t that why you want this egg?¡±
The wenny man was extremely surprised and he was silent for a moment. It felt as if he was trying to search my heart. However, he couldn¡¯t find see inside me when even the Great Demon¡¯s Eyes couldn¡¯t see anything.
¡°...Are you going to rebel against the Star Stream?¡±
¡°Rebel? Who knows? Does the bureau manage all of the Star Stream?¡±
¡°Sometimes a part is the same as the whole.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think that is true but... okay. If it is an answer you want...¡±
The eyes of the wenny man were turning like a camera lens. I knew what he wanted so I pointed to the night sky and deliberately spoke like a revolutionary.
¡°I will destroy the world of the fucking dokkaebis.¡±
The face of the wenny man distorted. I knew what this creepy expression meant. This was his ¡®smile.¡¯
¡°I like it.¡±
It was simple to gain the favour of the wenny man. I just had to me the dokkaebis.
***
The most widely known story about the Great Demons of the Horizon, or the ¡®wenny man¡¯ was probably the story about the ¡®old man with a wen.¡¯
It was a story we all heard at least once in our childhood.
A good-hearted wenny man got rid of his growth thanks to the dokkaebis while a bad-hearted wenny man got on more lump of growth because of the dokkaebis. (TL: Korean folk tale. You can watch the following video if interested. It is in Korean but you can get the gist of the story.
https://.youtube/watch?v=wzvYueaBHBU)
I looked at the lump on the wenny man and asked, ¡°Then are you on the good side or the bad side?¡±
¡°Humans always wonder about it. There is no guarantee I will take your side just because I am good.¡±
¡°Well, you have a lump so you are naturally bad.¡±
¡°That folk tale has spread across the world. Stories handed down aren¡¯t always urate.¡±
¡°It is bing increasingly clear that you are bad.¡±
The wenny man shook like he was having a seizure. ording to Ways of Survival, the ¡®lump¡¯ acted as a warehouse for storing stories. Countless tales inside that lump were waiting to find a new owner.
The wenny man looked at his system window that shook like a pendulum and told me, ¡°You asked for two things.¡±
I nodded.
¡°One is to go back to the scenario. The other is to acquire a new ¡®incarnation body.¡¯
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
The ¡®wenny man¡¯ acted in ces the dokkaebis¡¯ channels couldn¡¯t reach and yed a role simr to the Star Stream¡¯s ck market trader.
They got rewards for sending the exiles back to the scenario and they also saved unique items that the channel couldn¡¯t obtain. Of course, the price was very expensive.
¡°I can help you with both.¡±
¡°Okay, then help me.¡±
¡°Give me the egg in return.¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Then I can¡¯t help.¡±
Damn, it was back to the start. It seemed that they were firmly attached to the dokkaebi egg. I decided to firmly hammer in the nail.
¡°I told you, I can¡¯t give you the egg. You can¡¯t use it even if you take it. The kid will only listen to me.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t tell me... the egg grew by eating your story?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Mixing a dokkaebi with your stories, you are a filthy person.¡±
¡°Shut up. I¡¯ll give you something else.¡±
¡°What can you give me?¡±
¡°A story. Isn¡¯t it something you want in the first ce?¡±
Only the ¡®stories¡¯ were valuable in the Star Stream. Therefore, the wenny man received ¡®stories.¡¯
¡°...You are very confident. What type of story can you give me?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll show you.¡±
I opened the list of my stories.
+
[List of Stories]
King of a Kingless World.
Person who Opposes the Miracle.
One Who Showed Contempt for a Streamer.
One Who Hunted the King of Disasters.
One Who Killed an Outer God.
Demon King of Salvation.
...
Si Allied Forces.
Bug ughter.
+
I never thought I would¡¯ve collected so many stories. Of course, there were only six that were legendary grade and above, but it was a start.
Perhaps I was the only one who had collected this number of stories by the 10th scenario.
In fact, the wenny man showed a hint of admiration. ¡°I knew you were great but this is... really amazing.¡±
He didn¡¯t hesitate to admire every story, like a guest in a luxury store. In particr, his eyes were filled with a deep ¡®greed¡¯ when he saw the legendary stories. The colour of the lump was red, seeming to show his excitement.
¡°It won¡¯t be hard to rece the egg.¡±
¡°Of course.¡±
¡°Do I have to pick only one?¡±
¡°For now.¡±
Of course, it depended on the value of the story. There were some I had no intention of trading all of them. That was equivalent to giving away everything that made me a constetion.
Then the wenny man picked a story without hesitating. ¡°Then I will pick One Who Killed an Outer God.¡±
¡°...Do you have no conscience?¡± It is the only semi-myth that I have.¡±
The value of a semi-myth grade story couldn¡¯t be converted into coins. No matter how important the deal with the Great Demon of the Horizon, I couldn¡¯t give him the semi-myth grade story.
Moreover, One Who Killed an Outer God would be useful when meeting another outer god.
The wenny man smacked his lips like he knew he had made an excessive demand. ¡°Then this one isn¡¯t bad either. I will choose King of a Kingless World.¡±
I shook my head. ¡°It is my birth story. I can¡¯t give it to you.¡±
¡°I see. Then Demon King of Salvation...¡±
¡°You want to give me to give you what made me a full constetion? My status will be demoted.¡±
¡°...It is unfortunate. Then how about Person who Opposes the Miracle?¡±
¡°There is a ce I have to use thatter. I¡¯m sorry.¡±
The dumbfounded wenny man stared at me with frustration. ¡°Then what story are you going to give me?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll give you this. Si Allied Forces.¡±
It was a history-grade story that I got from helping Lady of the Brocade Sleep and the Si constetions. The wenny man¡¯s face wrinkled. ¡°Giving me that isn¡¯t worth anything.¡±
...Wasn¡¯t this too much? The Lady of the Brocade Sleep would shed tears if she heard this. It was a great story where Si joined hands with the Tang Dynasty to hit at the Han ethnic group.
¡°Then how about Bug ughter?¡±
¡°It is better than before but it is still amon story.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll give you both of them. If necessary, the other history-grade stories as well...¡±
¡°Can I take it that you have no intention of trading with me?¡±
Damn, he wasn¡¯t an idiot like Bihyung. Bihyung was the one who changed thepensation rate from 10% to 0%.
I continued to hesitate and the wenny man smiled vaguely. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you are still holding onto your existence but do you have enough time left?¡±
I could feel that my body temperature had dropped more than before. The interval between the Fourth Wall¡¯s words was gradually increasing.
[Your body is copsing.]
I hadn¡¯t gained as much as I could from the wenny man and my existence was in a fairly precarious situation. This copse would elerate unless I returned to a scenario right away or at least received a new body.
¡¸ The stupid Kim Dokja thought: Damn, what story should I give him? ¡¹
...I was feeling frustrated so don¡¯t bother me at this time.
¡¸ At that moment, a story caught Kim Dokja¡¯s eyes. ¡¹
What caught my eyes... eh? I momentarily hesitated. Come to think of it, there was this story.
¡°Then how about this?¡±
Chapter 192 - Story Horizon (4)
Chapter 192: Episode 36 ¨C Story Horizon (4)
It was a legendary story but at the same time, there was no special function. Nevertheless, the existence of the story itself was enough to attract the attention of the wenny man.
¡°This story...?¡±
¡°How about it? Do you like it?¡±
The wenny man stared at the story with eyes full of disbelief. His eyes trembled as if such a story wasn¡¯t possible. The long fingertips touched the window and the contents of the story started to y.
Peok! Peok! Peeeok!
The intermediate dokkaebi Paul was being pounded by my fists. Every time the face of the dokkaebi was battered, an expression of shock crossed the wenny man¡¯s face.
The story ¡®One Who Showed Contempt for a Streamer.¡¯
Even if this story was given, I had five stories above the legendary level and my status wouldn¡¯t be jeopardized. Naturally, it was a story that the wenny man was bound to love. They were those who like to swear at the dokkaebi and was bound to like stories beating the dokkaebi up.
¡°Kuk, kukuk... kuhahahat!¡±
The wenny man soon let out a burst ofughter. I waited until he had fully enjoyed it.
¡°Good, I¡¯ll take this. It is a very pleasant story.¡±
¡°Then do we have a deal?¡±
¡°It is stillcking. The story you gave is rare but it has almost no functional value.
...I figured this woulde out. I quickly added, ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you Si Allied Forces as well.¡±
¡°...It is still insufficient. If you want to continue the transaction, you have to change the contents of the deal.¡±
¡°Change it? How?¡±
¡°As I said earlier, you asked for two things. One is to return to the scenario and the other is to get a new ¡®incarnation body.¡¯¡±
I thought for a moment before asking, ¡°Is this story enough to only cover one of them?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. To be exact, I can only help you get an incarnation body.¡±
Gaining an incarnation body. This was naturally important. However...
¡°Why can¡¯t you return me to the scenario? Can¡¯t you originally help with this much?¡±
¡°You talk like you know something.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard some things.¡±
Rather, I had read about it. Cheok Jungyeong was excluded from the scenario and I remembered what the neb Hongik paid.
The wenny man stared into my eyes and said, ¡°Hmm... normally this price would be enough but the current situation is a bit special.¡±
¡°Special?¡±
¡°The bureau and nebe are nervous due to everything you have done.¡±
I somehow understood what he was talking about. The wenny man kept speaking. ¡°Returning an exile to the scenario is a lot more expensive than you think. It is one of the most intensive consumption of probability in the entire Star Stream. Still, as you know, I have a close rtionship with the ¡®eyes¡¯ of the probability.
¡°In a situation like this where many eyes are watching, you will have to pay too much probability.¡±
¡°Yes. Furthermore, I don¡¯t know the reason but the branch manager of the bureau, Baram hase out and all existing transaction windows are blocked. At present, the straight route of return to the scenario is almostpletely blocked. I can¡¯t afford it, even if you pay a bigger price.¡±
I couldn¡¯t go straight back to Earth...
The situation wasn¡¯t as smooth as I thought. The wenny man looked at me and asked, ¡°Do you just want an incarnation body? This is a legendary story so I can give you a decent body. There are a number of healthy incarnation bodies that I have recovered from the Murim side.¡±
Incarnation bodies from Murim. It was an enticing proposition. However, I shook my head. No matter how good the body, it would be futile if I couldn¡¯t return to the scenario.
A new incarnation body could stop the copse for a while but if I didn¡¯t return to the scenario, the copse would still persist.
The wenny man was making such a suggestion because he knew this. Once my new incarnation body was broken down from the exile penalty, he would try to take my other stories with a new deal.
I decided to push harder. ¡°I have to go back to the scenario. By any means. It is more important than getting an incarnation body.¡±
¡°Hrmm... it is difficult.¡±
¡°Earth isn¡¯t possible then is it okay to go to other scenarios?¡±
This was how Cheok Jungyeong escaped from the Korean Penins scenario. There was no reason I couldn¡¯t do it.
However, the wenny man shook his head. ¡°There are a few ces to search but it isn¡¯t good. Moving to an escape scenario requires a greater probability.¡±
¡°...Is it really like this? Are you being greedy?¡±
I deliberately waved the story window through the air. The sight of the intermediate dokkaebi Paul being punched shook slightly.
¡°It is a rarer story than you think. What type of incarnation would strike a dokkaebi in a world controlled by them?¡±
¡°Hmm...¡±
¡°Imagine if you put this in your lump and boast about it to your friends.¡±
The wenny man agonized over it for a long time. He thought and thought about it.
[Your existence is at stake.]
[Acquire a new incarnation body or return to the scenario.]
[Your existence will soon copse.]
Finally, the wenny man opened his mouth. ¡°There is one ce that you can go.¡±
¡°Where?¡±
At this moment, an eerie light appeared around the wenny man¡¯s mouth.
¡°The Demon World.¡±
His tone sounded as if he was saying something terrible. The wenny man saw my expression andughed.
¡°You don¡¯t have to be so scared. The Demon World is also a ce where people live. Besides, there is enough demonic energy in your body that it won¡¯t be noticeable if you go there.¡±
¡°There are different areas of the Demon World. Where are you going to send me?¡±
¡°The 73rd Demon Realm. It is a ce without a ruler. It is also a ce where the losers of the scenario have gathered since a long time ago.¡±
The 73rd Demon Realm. If I remembered correctly, it was one of the scenario areas that ovepped with the Earth scenario. I nodded.
¡°Well... it isn¡¯t bad.¡±
¡°Instead, I won¡¯t be able to supply you with an incarnation body if I send you there.¡±
¡°However, I will return to the scenario?¡±
Entering the scenario area didn¡¯t mean I could return to the scenario. It was because I had already finished the scenario. In other words, I had to get help to enter the scenario.
Then the wenny man shook his head. ¡°It is too unreasonable. I can only send you to the 73rd Demon Realm.¡±
¡°What nonsense is this?¡±
¡°I will give you some information instead. You will need a lot of luck and effort but if you use this information, you will be able to get an incarnation body and return to the scenario.¡±
¡°It looks like a losing deal for me.¡±
¡°Still, it is all I can offer.¡±
I pretended to think for a moment before slowly nodding. Now I had no other option.
¡°Okay, I will ept that deal.¡±
I had decided so there was no need to waste any more time. I immediately pulled out the story and gave it to him.
[You have paid the story ¡®One Who Showed Contempt for a Streamer¡¯.]
The wenny man nodded. ¡°The price has been received.¡±
The wenny man swallowed the story that he had received from me. Then his lump shone blue. He smiled with satisfaction and took a deep breath.
It was as if he was sucking all the air around him. I looked closer and realized he wasn¡¯t just swallowing air.
The time and space around him was being sucked inside. The lump swelled by several times before there was a loud roar. Along with the roar, a space poured out of the wenny man¡¯s mouth.
The space that came pouring out created a long, elliptical passage. Beyond this passage, thendscape of a different world was shining.
¡°Quickly enter. It has a very short duration, unlike a portal.¡±
I jumped into the passage without hesitation.
[You have been transferred to a new time and space.]
It felt like he was jumping through the universe. Stars passed like countless meteor showers.
I was flying through the night sky of the Star Stream. Numerous scenario areas that had be fragments of the story flew around me.
[The Star Stream has noticed your presence.]
For a moment, there was a gaze on me.
[The Star Stream has epted your presence.]
Then the gaze disappeared. A small current seized my body but that was all. Perhaps the necessary probability was paid by the wenny man. After a short space journey, I felt the gravity of a powerful story pulling at me.
[You have reached an area adjacent to the scenario!]
I rolled across a dust covered ground with a groan. The impact affected my body as the areas touching the ground started to crack little by little.
[Your existence is copsing.]
[Your stories are damaged.]
[You need a new incarnation body!]
Damn. I hurriedly got up from the ground but the hell had already begun.
¡°Kuheook...¡±
Letters started to flow from the cracks in my body. The most dangerous area was my heart.
[Your birth story is leaking out.]
If I didn¡¯t seal the wounds and save my body, all my stories would copse and I would die.
I hurriedly looked around.
That guy said he would send me to a ce where I could save my body. There must be something here that could make up the incarnation body.
The moment I looked around, my expression hardened.
¡°This ce...?¡±
There was a huge pile of garbage around me. Then as if he had been waiting, I heard the voice of the wenny man.
-Perhaps by now, you have arrived in the 73rd Demon Realm and you are facing the horizon of the scenario.
The horizon of the scenario. I knew this name. It was a ce where the wastes excluded from the scenario, like me, were forcibly thrown by the scenario cleaners.
I shouted as I looked at the debris rolling around. ¡°No, wait a minute! This is a dumpster!¡±
-You will be able to obtain an incarnation body that can be used from there. Of course, you have to find usefulponents. Well, I don¡¯t know if you can get them.
¡°Dammit...
The wenny man wasn¡¯t nning a fair deal with me from the beginning. If I was to die, he woulde here and retrieve my stories.
-I hope you can find something good from the horizon.
I hesitantly sat down. Letters kept falling from my heart. If this continued, I would die in less than 5 minutes.
¡¸ After a moment, Kim Dokja¡¯s expression started to change. ¡¹
I slowly looked around. It was for certain. I couldn¡¯t feel the eyes of the wenny man at all.
¡¸ The confused eyes became calm and the mouth, that was open like a fool, slowly closed. Soon, Kim Dokja restored his clothes and muttered. ¡¹
¡°It¡¯s hard.¡±
¡¸Kim Dok ja¡¯s act ing is wro ng. ¡¹
¡°...Did you notice?¡±
I slowly looked down. It was pretty annoying but I had to act to avoid the wenny man¡¯s doubts.
¡¸ His purpose was toe here in the first ce. If he wants to get what he wants while hiding as much as possible, he has to act this much. ¡¹
I listened to the Fourth Wall as I searched the surrounding area.
¡°...I think I came to the right ce.¡±
As the Fourth Wall said, I nned toe here from the beginning. It was why I put on a death show in front of the constetions.
I climbed the garbage pile and started to look around.
¡°Kuek, it hurts...¡±
However, it wasn¡¯t easy to maintain my sanity due to the piercing pain in my heart.
[Your birth story is copsing.]
Everything else was clearly acting but this pain wasn¡¯t false. I desperately held onto my consciousness while thinking of sentences from Ways of Survival.
¡¸ It was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s 111th regression. Yoo Jonghyuk was expelled from the scenario and reached a ce where he could build up his power. ¡¹
¡¸ The 73rd Demon Realm, the horizon of the scenario. ¡¹
¡¸ At the dumpster, Yoo Jonghyuk got his new ¡®body.¡¯ ¡¹
Nevertheless, no matter how hard I looked, I couldn¡¯t find a story that could be the materials for a new body.
In the first ce, the horizon of the scenario was a ce where broken stories converged. There was no way I could find a usable body in this ce. At least, through a normal method.
¡°Activate an attribute effect.¡±
[The effect of the Lamarck Kirin attribute has been activated.]
Lamarck Kirin was an evolutionary attribute that I purchased for 300,000 coins. It was an attribute left behind in Bihyung¡¯s item box. Finally, the time hade for the consumption of coins to be worth it.
[The privilege ¡®Evolution Factor Search¡¯ has begun!]
[Searching for story fragments that you can absorb!]
I slowly closed and opened my eyes as different things started to be noticeable around the garbage dump.
[Story fragments have been detected!]
The fragments were shining with a white light. At least for me, this ce wasn¡¯t a ¡®dumpster.¡¯
¡¸ The right arm of the poor sword master who was stabbed in the back by a colleague. ¡¹
¡¸ The terribly damaged frontal lobe of a grand wizard. ¡¹
¡¸ The heart of a young gold dragon who was torn to death by an outer god. ¡¹
ording to the setting of Ways of Survival, the privilege of Lamarck Kirin was to construct the body by absorbing broken stories.
¡°...Then I am starting.¡±
I slowly reached out towards a red heart fragment.
Chapter 193 - Episode 36 - Story Horizon (4)
Chapter 193: Episode 36 ¨C Story Horizon (4)
The texture of the dull quilt touched skin.
Jung Heewon didn¡¯t know how long it had been since she enjoyed a luxury like this. Everything was peaceful. She didn¡¯t need to be afraid of being attacked by monsters in the night or watch out for humans trying to steal her items.
However, Jung Heewon was well aware that this peace wouldn¡¯tst long.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi! Please open the door!¡±
¡°I¡¯m asking you for an interview!¡±
For a week, reporters had been mouring in front of the house. She could glimpse shes of light through the curtains. In front of the ruthless gazes of the cameras, Jung Heewon felt a strong sense of deja vu.
¡°...It isn¡¯t just the constetions who are voyeurs.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is chuckling.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ agrees with your thoughts.]
Jung Heewon felt a new sense of emotion at all the gazes on her. Before the scenario began, the forms were different but there were simr things.
The voyeuristic gazes and the struggle for survival. In this sense, the scenario might be around before the ¡®scenario¡¯ even started. Nobody knew it was a ¡®scenario.¡¯
Through the window, she saw the broken city area and the blocked Seoul Dome. It had already been a week since they left Seoul Dome but Jung Heewon couldn¡¯t believe she was out of the dome.
¡°Heewon unni! Did you just wake up?¡±
¡°Ah yes, Jihye.¡±
Jung Heewon smiled helplessly as Lee Jihye burst through the door.
It had been one week after the escape from Seoul Dome. Many things had happened in the meantime.
Jung Heewon and the group were assisted with homes by the provisional government in the Gyeonggi area and were invited to the institute to answer a few questions. They were obvious questions.
What happened inside Seoul Dome?
Were the rumours on the Inte true?
How many people were like them and what ideas did they have?
What were the constetions and the scenario?
At first, Jung Heewon faithfully answered the questions as the representative. Then over time, the whole thing became annoying.
She wondered what was the point in doing this?
The South Korean government had already disappeared. The provisional government, made up of some lucky parliament and city council members, had no idea what had happened. They still firmly believed that the ¡®state¡¯ system would be meaningful in the face of future scenarios. For those who were still stuck to old beliefs despite the new era, Jung Heewon had something to say to them.
-Take off your suits and your ties first.
-Huh?
-They aren¡¯t good outfits to run away in.
Jung Heewon nced at Lee Jihye. In any case, the party members were the only ones she could believe in.
¡°What about Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
¡°She is in a room with the kids.¡±
The problem was that the party members weren¡¯t well.
Lee Jihye spoke in a dark voice,
¡°...The loss of Dokja ahjussi is a big blow.¡±
Honestly, things were uncertain when he was with them but once he was missing, everyone was lost. This was Kim Dokja to the party members. Everyone¡¯s purpose was survival but it was Kim Dokja who decided the path of survival. It was natural for the party members to lose their direction and scatter.
¡°I wish I had the manual that Soldier ahjussi mentioned.¡±
¡°Have you heard from Hyunsung-ssi yet?¡±
¡°...He was called to the army on the first day and there is still no news.¡±
Lee Hyunsung was originally a soldier and it was natural for him to be called by the army. Lee Jihye whined.
¡°He is really foolish... I wouldn¡¯t have gone. What use is the army in this world?¡±
Jung Heewon agreed with Lee Jihye¡¯s words but she didn¡¯t want to scold Lee Hyunsung. Everyone had different ways of dealing with loss. The children stayed in the room while Lee Hyunsung returned to the army.
If it was just that...
[The following scenario will start in three days.]
Jung Heewon gulped as she saw the message floating in the air. Three dayster, hell would begin again.
The moreplicated problem was that the scenarios in the future were likely to bepletely different from what they had already been through.
[You can now respond to the call of the sponsors and receive the personal trials they have set.]
[Personal trials are treated as hidden scenarios and can be reced the main scenario if it oveps with certain main scenarios.]
[Scenario substitution is avable only until the 25th main scenario begins.]
They passed the tenth scenario and opened the ¡®personal trials.¡¯ Jung Heewon didn¡¯t have a sense of what they were yet.
Lee Jihye spoke in aforting manner. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. Master said it isn¡¯t a big deal for the moment.¡±
¡°How about Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know where he went after Kim Dokja¡¯s song. He is unlike the real Master...¡±
Certainly, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s reaction to Kim Dokja¡¯s death was puzzling.
Yoo Jonghyuk stayed in his room like a broken person for a while before suddenly disappearing, saying he would be back in three days.
¡°Han Sooyoung-ssi?¡±
¡°She went to talk to the government officials this morning. She said it is time to reap the seeds that were sown...¡±
¡°The government? What can she expect from them?¡±
Then something btedly came to her mind.
-If something happens to me, unconditionally follow Han Sooyoung.
They were words that Kim Dokja once left with her. Why did they have to move with Han Sooyoung? However, there must be a reasonable exnation since Kim Dokja said this.
Jung Heewon got up and the surprised Lee Jihye asked, ¡°Are you going out?¡±
¡°Yes. I can¡¯t continue staying inside here. We should also get ready.¡±
¡°Then I¡¯ll go with you.¡±
Both of them didn¡¯t have a hesitant nature once they decided on something. Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon headed straight out of the house. They opened the front door and the shutter sound poured towards them.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi! I¡¯m a reporter from Georyo Ilbo! Only one word. Please!¡±
They weren¡¯t the only survivors.
Nearly 1,000 people came back from Seoul Dome. Some of them contacting the living and spoke about the terrible few months they lived.
The reporters continued to find the party members despite umting enough stories. The reason was simple. Among the 1,000 survivors, Jung Heewon and the others were celebrities who were at the centre of the scenario.
¡°Jung Heewon-ssi! What happened inside there?¡±
¡°I heard it was helpful that you learnt kendo. Is that true?¡±
¡°There is a rumour that you were a candidate for the national team...¡±
Jung Heewon looked at the reporters pushing their microphones towards her. The government had told her not to tell the media what happened. She had been saving her words so far because she didn¡¯t find it easy to talk.
Then... why? Today, Jung Heewon felt like saying something.
¡°You are curious about what happened inside there?¡±
Jung Heewon let go of Lee Jihye¡¯s hand and looked at the banner waving outside.
[Yangcheon-gu¡¯s Hero! Celebrating the safe return of Judge of Destruction Jung Heewon!]
...Hero? Her?
Yangcheon-gu had long since disappeared. Nevertheless, this banner was hung and Jung Heewon couldn¡¯t withstand it anymore.
¡°I¡¯m not the hero you think I am. I wasn¡¯t a candidate for the national team and I didn¡¯t do well in kendo.¡±
Jung Heewon spoke into the microphone like she was talking to the whole world.
¡°Before the destruction came, I was just a bartender working at a cheap bar.¡±
Her words caused a stir among the reporters. Nobody could believe it. Someone scoffed and someone else looked a bit jealous.
In front of these gazes, Jung Heewon felt strangely free. She wasn¡¯t the old ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ anymore. Jung Heewon realized it with all these eyes on her.
The reporters kept asking her questions.
How could a bartender be one of thest survivors?
How could she survive and how did she be the Judge of Destruction?
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is looking at you with sad eyes.]
[The constetion ¡®One-Eyed Maitreya¡¯ is reminded of someone by your words.]
The indirect messages of the constetions came from all over the ce. Jung Heewon opened her mouth without understanding her feelings.
¡°Do you know Kim Dokja?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is nodding.]
[The constetion ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil¡¯ remembers the name.]
[The constetion ¡®Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol¡¯ remembers him.]
The voices of the reporters followed after the constetion.
¡°Kim Dokja?¡±
¡°Who is that?¡±
¡°I seem to have heard it before.¡±
Jung Heewon thought it was funny. They didn¡¯t know. Of course, they could never know.
Jung Heewon lightly breathed in and said, ¡°Thest survivors didn¡¯t survive with our own strength.¡±
She suddenly felt like crying as she spoke. The reporters didn¡¯t know anything and kept asking questions.
¡°What are you saying?¡±
¡°The name ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ isn¡¯t on the list of survivors?¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t Kim Dokja-ssie back with you?¡±
¡°Where is that person now?¡±
Where was he? Jung Heewon didn¡¯t know. However, if she had one wish...
¡°That person...¡± Jung Heewon stared at the Seoul Dome. ¡°He¡¯ll be back. Definitely.¡±
***
¡¸ At this time, Kim Dokja opened his eyes in the Demon World. ¡¹
¡°Heeeeeeok!¡±
I screamed as I vomited and opened my eyes. The sound of my heartbeat was unfamiliar.
A golden aura appeared around my heart and rough magic power was emitted. It might be broken but it was still the heart of a dragon hatchling. The strong magic power of the transnted material was enough to stun me.
If I could use this properly, I wouldn¡¯t becking magic power inbat for a while.
[The attribute ¡®Lamarck Kirin¡¯ has allowed you to absorb the power of the broken story.]
In fact, absorbing a broken story was a dangerous idea. It would¡¯ve been impossible for me without Lamarck Kirin.
¡¸ Lamarck Kirin isn¡¯t acknowledged among the other evolutionary attributes because it is less effective. However, it has the fewest side-effects and doesn¡¯t absorb the weakness of the story. ¡¹
If I had obtained Darwin¡¯s Demon, another evolutionary attribute, I would¡¯ve been killed the moment I ate the gold dragon¡¯s story.
This absorption effect was good because my safety was guaranteed. I didn¡¯t have multiple lives anymore.
[The story fragment ¡®Broken Heart of a Young Gold Dragon¡¯ has been acquired.]
The original name of this story fragment was ¡® heart of a young gold dragon who was torn to death by an outer god¡¯ However, I didn¡¯t absorb the ¡®torn to death by an outer god¡¯ part.
This was the advantage of Lamarck Kirin. The absorption rate of the story was low but the weakness wasn¡¯t absorbed.
[Your new body is being constructed.]
[The creation of a new body will dy the copse of your existence.]
[This effect is temporary and it is rmended to quickly return to the scenario.]
Magic power flowed from my new beating heart and I could breathe a bit. At the very least, the tragedy of losing my birth story wouldn¡¯t happen anymore.
The reconstruction of my body would start from now on.
I started to eat ¡®right arm of the poor sword master who was stabbed in the back by a colleague.¡¯ Rather than tearing off flesh, it was closer to peeping at a story that broke as soon as it was seen.
[The story fragment ¡®Right Arm of the Poor Sword Master¡¯ has been acquired.]
I didn¡¯t know if it was just my imagination but I felt that I could use the sword a bit better.
[The attribute ¡®Lamarck Kirin¡¯ has reached its saturation limit.]
[Drop the saturation level to absorb new story fragments.]
I felt better after eating two story fragments and sat down on a pile of garbage.
¡°...It is a bit cold.¡±
It was less painful than before but the cold continued to prickle at my skin.
The durability of my body had increased but the ¡®exile penalty¡¯ hadn¡¯t disappeared. I felt a big emptiness and loneliness from the loss of the story. I seemed to know why people wanted to hear, see or read something over and over.
Then a slight warmth started to flow through my body.
[Someone is talking about you.]
...Talking about me?
[Your story is being created on Earth.
I could see what happened. Someone was talking about me on Earth.
Who was it? It couldn¡¯t be Yoo Jonghyuk. Lee Hyunsung? Jung Heewon? Or Shin Yoosung?
...I didn¡¯t know. Still, it was funny. Someone was telling my story. Someone still remembered...
[The new story ¡®Kim Dojega¡¯s Legend¡¯ has been created on Peace Land.]
...I hoped they would at least get my name right. I looked up at the night sky where the stars were invisible.
This was the horizon of the story. I couldn¡¯t see the stars and the stars couldn¡¯t see me. Thus, the arrogant stars wouldn¡¯t know.
In a ce they couldn¡¯t see, the story that was going to destroy them had just begun.
Chapter 194 - Episode 37 - Landscape of the Demon World (1)
Chapter 194: Episode 37 ¨C Landscape of the Demon World (1)
¡°The Fourth Wall said, Whe re is thi s ce?¡±
¡¸ Don¡¯t co py m e. ¡¹
I was walking through the horizon of the story. To be exact, I had already been walking for four days. Anyone who walked through the endless piles of trash would feel like talking to the wall.
I muttered towards the fragments of the story. ¡°Kim Dokja thought. I¡¯m going to pick that up.¡±
Since there was a considerable amount of space left in the Infinite Dimension Space Coat, I stored all the stories I picked up in it. Then the Fourth Wall replied,
¡¸ I di ot. ¡¹
It wasforting to not be speaking to myself. I didn¡¯t know the identity of the Fourth Wall but it clearly wasn¡¯t an enemy. Rather, it was the one saving me from the exile penalty...
¡¸ Sl, ee, py. ¡¹
¡°Hold on a bit more. You should say something to make it easier.¡±
It was hard to survive the exile penalty even after gaining a body and there still seemed to be no end to the piles of trash. Maybe this pain would continue until I returned to the scenario.
[Some absorbed stories are causing a configuration conflict.]
Lamarck Kirin might be an evolutionary attribute with rtively few side effects but the story bnce was causing my incarnation body to creak. It wasn¡¯t serious yet but if I fought or did unnecessary actions, my body might copse again.
...Well, nothing was easily solved. This was why I didn¡¯t rush despite wanting revenge on the nebe.
[The scenario area is getting closer.]
The first thing I had to do was enter the scenario of the Demon World. The wenny man threw me to this ce but I knew how to get the scenario here.
I already had a rough n. The route I was currently following was exactly the same as Yoo Jonghyuk of the 111th regression. Therefore, the n shouldn¡¯t go wrong unless there were unusual variables in the middle.
...Speaking of which, there was a lot of work in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s 111th regression.
It was around the time that the author of Ways of Survival fell into a slump for a while.
It was just after passing the 1000th chapter and I remembered leaving ament with advice on various things. I didn¡¯t know if it was because of myment but a new person suddenly appeared and the story changed...
Suddenly, the Dokkaebi Egg in my arm wriggled. I absorbed some of the story fragments and stroked the egg.
¡°Yes yes, you are cute.¡±
I felt the soul I saved awakening to a new life. It was very strange. The egg would probably hatch in one month. At that time, my n would be in full swing.
By the way, once this kid hatched, she couldn¡¯t be called Shin Yoosung... what should I name her?
¡¸ At this time, Kim Dokja heard a sound in his ears. ¡¹
I crouched behind a garbage pile and held my breath.
It wasn¡¯t just one or two that I felt. There were at least dozens of maybe hundreds of individuals. I peeked out to check the situation. I saw actions that didn¡¯t feel alive at all. Beings simr to humans were searching the piles of stories. Their identity was clear.
They were the Removal ves. They took orders from the rules of the Demon Realms, collecting the story fragments from the surrounding horizon to be used as fuel. They had very little intelligence and wouldn¡¯t attack unless threatened first.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: The fact that the removal ves are moving means there is an ¡®industrialplex¡¯ nearby. ¡¹
The industrialplexes were like cities in the Demon World. They were factories that created energy by grinding broken fragments of stories and a residential area would surround the factory.
If I remembered correctly, the closest industrialplex would be the Syswitz Industrial Complex.
¡°Move faster! We are running out of fuel today!¡±
I was surprised and hid behind the garbage pile again. A demon with small wings and a single horn was pping his wings and giving orders.
It was a supervisor of the industrialplex. The fact that he came here meant the scale of the ¡®gathering¡¯ was quiterge.
Then a removal ve approached the pile of trash that I was hiding behind. I faced it without any attempts at avoidance.
¡°Grrrr...?¡±
The removal ve that stared at me with dumb eyes had the appearance of a chimpanzee, not a human. Perhaps its was destroyed and it was one of the species abducted here.
They were those who lost their scenarios and relied on other beings to live. I saw the stigma ¡®6424¡¯ on his arm.
[The effect of the ¡®Demon King Candidate¡¯ has been activated.]
Demon King Candidate. It was an attribute I got from the 73rd Demon King scenario.
Then I started to hear words that were hard to understand.
-I, want, to, stop.
What?
-Kill, me.
The desire to be free filled its eyes as if this existence itself was simple. I gazed into the pathetic eyes for a moment and sighed deeply.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I guess there is only one way. ¡¹
***
After a while, I stood with the other removal ves at the entrance of the industrialplex. The items, including the space coat, were hidden deep inside the pile of stories I was carrying.
In other words, I was naked now. It was inevitable since I had to look like a removal ve as much as possible. In case of an emergency, I stitched the stigma ¡®6424¡¯ of the guy who died on my left arm.
¡°Next!¡±
My n was simple. I would enter the industrialplex by mixing in with removal ves. It was because the screening of the removal ves wasn¡¯t as strict as other travelers.
¡°What, today¡¯s yield is zero?¡±
However, the supervisor was more of an obstacle than I thought. I gulped as I saw the supervisor explode right in front of me.
¡°Hey, you over there. Take this brat. Put him in the fuel tank.¡±
The supervisor threw the removal ve like he was handling a machine part.
The supervisor was Demon Baron Chechefen. He was a lower grade than the nobles I met in Dark Castle. Those in Dark Castle might have more stories but a baron was a baron. He was a guy I could kill without much strain.
¡°Next! 6424!¡±
The problem was what would happen after I killed him. The masters of the industrialplexes were the top ¡®dukes¡¯ of the Demon World. A duke was more likely to notice when the supervisor of an industrialplex was killed.
Needless to say, it was dangerous to deal with the top nobles of the Demon World with my current incarnation body.
I could use the Demon King attribute candidate but I didn¡¯t want to attract attention from the beginning.
In any case, I couldn¡¯t help feeling nervous for a variety of reasons as I held out my collection basket. If things became twisted here, my future ns would be considerably harder.
¡°W-What? You have brought a lot!¡±
Fortunately, the supervisor¡¯s face flushed red after seeing all the stories I brought. I wondered if he would find the items I hid in the pile of fragments but I didn¡¯t think he was such a meticulous person. The supervisor pped his wings and shouted,
¡°Everybody, take a leaf from his book! Huh? Don¡¯t you know that the recent yield isn¡¯t good? At this rate, all of you will be fuel!¡±
The supervisor¡¯s bluff caused fear to fill the eyes of the removal ves. No matter how much they lost, the fear of dying remained.
¡°Well done 6424! Come in!¡±
[You have entered a scenario area.]
***
I escaped from the supervisor¡¯s eyes and left the group of removal ves.
I searched through the pile and wore the items one by one. I stored what I needed and discarded the rest.
I walked along the street and soon afterwards, arge square appeared.
Humans were wandering around. There were also elves, ajins and sometimes demons.
It was right to call the Demon World a ce where people lived. Not only did humanse from different dimensions, but a multitude of species also lived here.
There were merchants selling various things and people bargaining to buy them. A simr vige to Paradise appeared. It was a ce where people lived and stories gathered.
I suddenly recalled a sentence from Ways of Survival.
¡¸A city surrounded by a huge wall.
The low te roofs created an unbnced skyline.
Sometimes vehicles with steam engines were seen passing through the street.
It was a city with a mixture of civilizations at various levels.
Most constetions didn¡¯t watch this ce but it was also home to life. It was a ce where everyone was living together with their own scenarios.
This was the industrialplex. ¡¹
Sure enough, it was just as depicted. I might say these words when witnessing the Demon World¡¯s industrialplex for the first time.
The name ¡®Demon World¡¯ made this peaceful scene inconceivable. However, this ce wasn¡¯t much different from ¡®Earth¡¯ where humans gathered.
To the people who thought such things, I wanted to tell them a sentence from Ways of Survival.
¡¸ If you think about it in reverse, it might mean that the human world is just as terrible. ¡¹
Yes, these words. I was reminded of the contents of Ways of Survival and immersed in deep emotions.
The 73rd Demon Realm¡¯s Syswitz Industrial Complex. Here I had to meet a character who would fight with me against the nebe. Of course, they didn¡¯t know they were going to do this...
[Some absorbed stories are causing a configuration conflict.]
...I might need to move more quickly than I thought. To make matters worse, the exhausted Fourth Wall could no longer hold on.
¡¸ Sleep y. ¡¹
Eh? Hey, wait a minute?
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has temporarily entered a silent state.]
Dammit, at this time? Suddenly, the cold permeated my body and sparks started to appear.
The exile penalty made my body unstable and some people around me noticed my presence.
¡°An e-exile!¡±
People scurried away from me like I was infectious. I quickly moved off the main streets. Time was running out.
¡º Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. ¡»
In this ce, I had to find the story¡¯s second ¡®protagonist.¡¯
Chapter 195 - Landscape of the Demon World (2)
Chapter 195: Episode 37 ¨C Landscape of the Demon World (2)
¡°Uwah! An exile!¡±
¡°What, how did he get in?¡±
The incarnations who saw me yelled.
I ran through the crowds and hid myself in the shadows of the city. Due to the exile penalty, pieces of the story fell from my body like blood. The area around my right arm and heart was stabilized from the absorption of new story fragments but the rest was different.
The incarnations probably saw this and realized I was an exile.
¡°Where are you going? Shouldn¡¯t we report it?¡±
¡°Well... he will die soon. Let¡¯s just go.¡±
It wasn¡¯t strange. This wasn¡¯t the first time they had seen an exile. They were afraid of exiles because they didn¡¯t know what the exiles would do.
I leaned against an alley wall and the people looking at me quickly dispersed. The magic lotive that appeared also yed a role in calming the situation.
The incarnations found the lotives covered with ominous ck paint and withdrew in dismay.
¡°Back off! A noble ising!¡±
A lotive was running through the centre of the industrialplex. I didn¡¯t know for certain but it seemed to be a guest from another industrialplex. Maybe a high-ranking noble of the Demon World was on board. A person as strong as Reinheit of Paradise might be riding on that lotive.
I didn¡¯t know what was going on but it was rushing towards the factory for some reason. The lotive elerated without caring there were incarnations crossing the road. The frightenedmoners started grumbling.
¡°It looks like Gilobat¡¯s lotive. Hasn¡¯t it been seen often?¡±
¡°How would I know? It is the work of the noble scum.¡±
¡°We need to know this time. There is a story that the 73rd Demon Realm is being integrated.¡±
It was a fairly interesting story so I focused my hearing on the drifting words.
¡°The Demon Realm is being integrated? Those dukes are moving their heavy asses?¡±
¡°Yes, Melledon and Bercan are moving. Won¡¯t Syswitz be really nervous?¡±
At the mention of the duke who governed the 73rd Demon Realm, the other incarnations also intervened in the conversation.
¡°Hah! That rumour was real? But... we haven¡¯t had a demon king ruling this realm for thousands of years?¡±
¡°Then this time, the demon king will emerge from our turf?¡±
Questions poured out and the incarnation who first brought it up spoke in an embarrassed manner.
¡°I don¡¯t know for sure. Rumour has it that a message from an oracle is passing among the demon kings. The emergence of a new demon king...¡±
¡°The dukes seem to think they will be the one.¡±
I saw a simr conversation in Ways of Survival. It was time for this type of rumour to emerge. I hade at a great timing.
Demon king...
I looked at the lotive moving away. The industrialplexes also had ranks. The ¡®nobles¡¯ were those who dominated the industrialplexes.
The ¡®citizens¡¯ were the incarnations at varying levels. The citizens who lost their stories and fell were the ¡®removal ves.¡¯
Now there were only these three sses but the story waspletely different once a demon king came.
Demon king. A ruler who governed a demon realm, a person with absolute power in one world. There was no way for the species here to disobey the demon king.
In the demon realms, the demon kings had the same powerful status as a narrative-grade constetion. Perhaps the dukes of the 73rd Demon Realm were trying to keep the emergence of such a demon king in check.
Once a demon king emerged, it was only a matter of time before the current power system copsed.
However, a demon king must be created. It was why I came to the Demon World.
-The second piece of information. Look for the Etika Clock Store.¡¯
A new message arrived and I raised my head to look at the sky. In the darkness, the faint energy of the wenny man could be heard. Fortunately, the wenny man wasn¡¯tckingmon sense.
There was a saying among the dokkaebis that ¡®they learned morality from a wenny man¡¯ but this was because the dokkaebis hated the wenny men...
-There you will be able to obtain what you want.
I nodded lightly and the wenny man disappeared again.
The Etika Clock Store. It seemed the wenny man was aware of the method to get the scenario of the Demon World.
In fact, there was information on the clock store in Ways of Survival. Even so, I asked for information from the wenny man in order to not attract unnecessary attention. It was necessary to move in ordance to probability.
I looked down at my left arm that was about to break. I couldn¡¯t get the scenario right away just because I was going to the clock store.
Instead, there was a way to alleviate the exile penalty. The Etika Clock Store was a ce that existed for that purpose from the beginning.
I moved without dying.
It wasn¡¯t here. Not this alley.
I pulled up my cor so that the broken story wasn¡¯t visible and ran through the alleys of the industrialplex.
However, I couldn¡¯t find the clock store. It was natural. There was no such thing as a clock in the Demon World. Such things were only meaningful to beings with lives as short as humans.
It would¡¯ve been easier to find if I could read Ways of Survival. There was no way to read the text file because there was no smartphone. If I knew this, I would¡¯ve asked Bihyung to prepare a smartphone for me in advance...
In the end, should I take the risk and ask someone for the location of the Etika Clock Store?
Suddenly, someone hit me in the shoulder. ¡°What the hell is wrong with your eyes?¡±
¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry...¡±
¡°So what if you¡¯re sorry? Damn, I dropped the parts because of you! Shit!¡±
The person was roughly 15 years old. A beautiful young man was ring at me with cold eyes while carrying mechanical parts.
¡°Uh... well, I¡¯m sorry.¡±
I was wondering if it was necessary to curse but the boy spoke faster than me.
¡°If you¡¯re sorry then quickly pick them up!¡±
I was overwhelmed by the fierce words that poured from the handsome lips and picked up the fallen parts. It felt like the old ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ had suddenly emerged.
I guessed I picked up the parts too quickly, causing the boy tough. ¡°Damn, I¡¯ll let you off this once. Be careful next time.¡±
The boy took the parts, nced at me with distinctive eyes and rushed forward again. Then why? I saw his face and felt like I had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer. It wasn¡¯t because I was scolded by someone younger than me.
That guy...
Like every fantasy novel, there were pretty and handsome characters in Ways of Survival.
Among the pretty and handsome characters, there were those who were described as ¡®equivalent to Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯ Kyrgios Rodgraim who I met in Peace Land was such a case.
By the way, this world contained people who were more beautiful than Kyrgios. In such cases, what expression should be used?
¡¸The boy was so beautiful that Yoo Jonghyuk had to hit his cheeks twice. ¡¹
In addition, this description was only attached to three people in Ways of Survival.
¡°I found you.¡±
***
There was a huge road and the entire shelf of the store was broken. Damn, this was already the third time. It was also a shelf with work on it.
Aileen, the watchmaker of Etika, suppressed a curse and asked with a calm smile. ¡°What are you doing?¡±
¡°What am I doing? Shouldn¡¯t you already know after experiencing it three times?¡±
¡°No, that¡¯s what I want to say. What do you want from a clock store owner?¡±
Aileen was nervous as she confronted the two demons in front of her.
Demon Baron Melen. Demon Earl Silocke. The two demons were famous nobles in the Syswitz Industrial Complex. One of the demonsughed as he stretched out elongated arms.
¡°Keuk!¡± Aileen groaned as she was hit in the jaw.
The demon earl Silockeughed as he carefully examined the wound left on Aileen¡¯s white skin.
¡°You¡¯re definitely not an ordinary watchmaker. However, you¡¯re not great enough for the duke to visit three times. This isn¡¯t three humble visits to a thatched cottage. Do you know what a ¡®lying down dragon¡¯ is?¡± (TL: famous episode in Romance of the Three Kingdoms where Liu Bei recruited Zhuge Liang by visiting him three times)
¡°....I didn¡¯t know who that is but didn¡¯t I make it for youst time? This time I can¡¯t help you.¡±
The air inside the clock store started to freeze. It was the power of a demon noble. Aileen trembled as her face turned pale with fright.
¡°What is this Aileen? Is this a personal loan?¡±
Someone was standing in front of the clock store. Silocke saw the young man standing at the door and frowned. ¡°You are the foul-mouthed guy of the clock store. Do you want to be executed?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll take care of him.¡± Demon Baron Melen grabbed the boy¡¯s neck and lifted him up.
The beautiful boy looked down at Melen, who told him. ¡°I feel it every time Ie but you are really pretty.¡±
¡°I feel it every time I see you but you are really disgusting.¡±
Melen¡¯s left hand hit the boy¡¯s belly. There was the sound of something bursting but the boy¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t change at all. Melen stared into those eyes andughed. ¡°This is enough to be the duke¡¯s concubine.¡±
¡°What is the hourly pay? If it isn¡¯t sufficient then I won¡¯t go...¡±
Once again, there was the sound of something being hit. Aileen¡¯s expression hardened as she looked at the boy¡¯s bloody mouth.
¡°Let¡¯s take him hostage.¡± Then the demon removed his hands like he had been joking. ¡°Huhu, who would do such a thing? We are gentlemen.¡±
The young man fell to the ground and groaned.
¡°So the offer will be rejected? Can I tell the duke?¡±
¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry but...¡±
Surprisingly, the atmosphere smoothed out and Aileen sighed deeply. She hadn¡¯t wanted to do this task. If she epted the job, she would be sacrificing thousands of citizens.
Then Silocke nodded like he understood. ¡°Then I will receive the taxes that you are behind on. The duke asked me to do this.¡±
¡°Tax? Until now, I have been tax-exempt...¡±
¡°It was until now but not anymore.¡±
As expected, there was no way she could just walk away. Aileen bit her lip until it cracked as she asked, ¡°...How much?¡±
¡°50,000 coins.¡±
50,000 coins.
It was a huge amount of Aileen. It might be different in other scenario areas but coins were one of the most valuable currencies in the Syswitz Industrial Complex.
¡°There are almost no constetions here! Such a huge amount of money...¡±
¡°I will take this little boy if you don¡¯t pay. If he bes a concubine then you can get 50,000 coins.¡±
The threatened boy was unconcerned and whistled at the threat. ¡°Wow! 50,000 coins! Aileen, don¡¯t pay the tax and get the money.¡±
¡°...I will make that cheeky mouth scream soon.¡±
¡°Really? Shit, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±
Despite the young boy¡¯s words, Aileen¡¯s expression was filled with despair. She had a long rtionship with this boy and knew that no matter his dirty words on the surface, deep inside he was thinking differently. An ultimatum emerged from the mouth of the demon earl.
¡°Aileen Makerfield. ept the duke¡¯s proposal. For reference, this is thest offer.¡±
Aileen was the chairman of the citizens. She could get to this position because of her strong heart. Aileen hesitated before opening her mouth.
¡°I...¡±
Rattle.
Then someone entered the clock store.
***
¡°What?¡±
The first thing that greeted me wasn¡¯t the owner of the clock store. I saw the demon nobles who were ufortable with the uninvited visitors. I had roughly heard the situation outside and knew what was going on.
The beautiful young man was lying on the ground with eyes full of hatred.
I replied while staring closely at the beautiful boy instead of the demons. ¡°A customer...¡±
My answer was polite but the demon¡¯ expressions turned fierce.
¡°Is it a citizen? I don¡¯t know where you came from but leave. We¡¯re collecting taxes now.¡±
¡°Taxes... making a lot of money and paying higher taxes. Why is it suddenly making a low amount of money and paying higher taxes?¡±
¡°What?¡±
I passed by the demon nobles and approached the shopkeeper.
¡°Hey! Wait!¡±
The bewildered demon nobles stretched out their arms to grab me but they didn¡¯t reach. The demon nobles made expressions of surprise as I lightly shook them off. Instead of dealing with them, I nced at the clocks on the broken shelf. I carefully picked up one of them.
¡°There are many good things.¡±
Aileen seemed to sense something and approached me. ¡°...There are always good things. A good owner rarely appears.¡±
I couldn¡¯t help smiling. This was really the tone of Ways of Survival.
The Lindberg¡¯s magic engineer, Aileen Makerfield. I nced at the nervous Aileen.
Inside her, the needle must be ticking. Would the suspicious customer who suddenly appeared be the rope of hope or the person who dropped her into hell?
I decided to relieve some of her worries. ¡°I would like to order something special. Can you make one for me?¡±
Aileen¡¯s eyes grew bigger at my words. There was only one type of customer who woulde here for a ¡®special¡¯ thing.
Aileen saw the demon nobles and asked carefully, ¡°...What is themission fee?¡±
I smiled at her before staring at the demon nobles who were staring at me.
¡°50,000 coins.¡±
Chapter 196 - Landscape of the Demon World (3)
Chapter 196: Episode 37 ¨C Landscape of the Demon World (3)
¡°Wait a minute, you are...!¡±
The eyes of the beautiful young man grew wider as he recognized me. Before the young man could open his mouth again, the quick-witted Aileen hurriedly epted my coins.
¡°50,000 coins. Okay.¡±
¡°I-Is it really 50,000 coins...?¡±
The astonished boy¡¯s mouth dropped open as he nced between Aileen and me.
50,000 coins weren¡¯t that big in terms of the scenarios but it was a substantial amount in the Demon World.
It was an area that the constetions hardly ever visited due to the demon kings. Of course, by my standards, 50,000 coins was petty cash.
[The ¡®Kim Dojega¡¯s Legend 1st Part¡¯ has beenpleted on Peace Land.]
[The pioneers of the area are preaching faith in you.]
[15,000 coins have been acquired.]
I even received coins in real time. This was the good thing about being a constetion. Even without the sponsorship, I made money just by being famous.
The stiffened demon nobles btedly reacted. ¡°Who are you?¡±
I looked at their information.
Demon Earl Silocke and Demon Baron Melen. They were moderately well-known collectors in the Syswitz Industrial Complex.
¡°I understand, Customer.¡±
Usually, I would bow politely but courtesy was just counterproductive to these guys. They were hyenas who liked to eat those who showed weakness or fear.
¡°You, now...!¡± The demon baron, Melen raised his energy at my tone.
¡°Let it go Melen.¡± Silocke watched the situation and dissuaded Melen. The earl looked like he was eating with an unwee guest.
[The character ¡®Demon Earl Silocke¡¯ is looking at you with curiosity.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Demon Earl Silocke¡¯ has increased.]
I didn¡¯t miss this opportunity to use a skill.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
Then I started to hear Silocke¡¯s thoughts.
¡¸ This guy can easily pay 50,000 coins. ¡¹
¡¸ A citizen can never pay this amount. Besides, look at that rxation. 50,000 coins is obviously a pittance for him. ¡¹
¡¸ Who is this? This is the first time I¡¯ve seen him in the area. Wait a minute, that demonic energy... ¡¹
¡¸ Don¡¯t tell me...? ¡¹
It was going as I thought. No, it was better. In any case, the Syswitz Industrial Complex was bursting with stories about the new demon king. If so, it wouldn¡¯t be bad to leak misleading information to them.
I spoke in a voice full of bravado. ¡°You must¡¯ve already guessed.¡±
I spoke in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s tone and Silocke¡¯splexion changed. He nodded as if his thoughts were correct and then spoke politely to me.
¡°Noble demon, I am btedly greeting you. Do you happen to be visiting from the Gilobat Industrial Complex?¡±
¡°It looks like your ears are working properly.¡±
¡°However, you didn¡¯t give any notice that you were visiting this area...¡±
¡°Do I have to tell my route to someone like you?¡±
¡°That... I¡¯m sorry.¡±
He was convinced by my short answer.
¡¸The right to move without prior notice. He must be at least marquis-grade. ¡¹
¡¸ There is nothing good about getting entangled with the Gilobat Industrial Complex. ¡¹
After the brilliant misunderstanding, Silocke bowed to me and elbowed Melen. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
¡°Huh? But...¡±
¡°We only needed to get it.¡±
Melen btedly nodded at his superior¡¯s sober judgment. Melen took 50,000 coins from Aileen and warned in a fierce voice.
¡°This time you got lucky. Don¡¯t expect it to happen next time, Aileen.¡±
The two demon nobles left the watch store. Maybe Silocke would report this to his boss immediately. It didn¡¯t matter. I couldn¡¯t think up to there.
The clock store was filled with energy once the storm passed. It was the beautiful boy who broke the atmosphere. ¡°...Isn¡¯t this considerably big? Who the hell are you?¡±
He looked up at me with sparkling eyes and I smiled quietly.
¡°What is yourmission?¡± Aileen btedly came to her senses and asked me. ¡°That... by the way, are you a noble?¡±
The demons had misunderstood but there was no way Aileen should misunderstand.
I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not a demon noble.¡±
¡°Then...?¡±
I quietly took off my coat as an answer. Sparks appeared and the broken story fragments fell down. Shock appeared on Aileen¡¯s face as she checked my body.
¡°...An exile? Then the special request...!¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
Aileen¡¯s face was white because she could guess the scale of my story with one nce.
¡°I-I¡¯ve never had a story of this magnitude.¡±
¡°Only you can do it. You are the ¡®story expert¡¯ of the Syswitz Industrial Complex.¡±
Aileen¡¯s expression shook at the words ¡®story expert.¡¯ As my consciousness started to copse, I grabbed her shoulders and added,
¡°Fix me, Aileen Makerfield.¡±
***
My consciousness flickered while I sensed Irene and several strangers. There were a few voices following me.
¡°How can an incarnation have a story of this magnitude...?¡±
¡°Who is he?¡±
¡°...There are a mixture of stories that don¡¯t fit the norm. Oh my god. Isn¡¯t this a legendary story?¡±
¡°Is this really an incarnation? I don¡¯t think this is the status of an incarnation.¡±
¡°He ate these dangerous fragments and are still alive...¡±
I wouldn¡¯t have suffered so much if the level of Lamarck Kirin was higher. If the absorption rate was high, it would be possible to neutralize the effect of mixing story fragments.
However, that wasn¡¯t my current situation. Like the human immune response, different stories were attacking each other to defend themselves.
¡°We need to stabilize this as soon as possible...¡±
Aileen¡¯s voice was tense.
Aileen Makerfield. ording to Ways of Survival, she was a magic engineer on the Lindberg. She studied for a long time and learnt that the essence of this world was the ¡®story.¡¯
She didn¡¯t achieve transcendent but she was one of the few incarnations with the attribute of Story Expert.
My consciousness flickered a few more times. Then strength gradually started to return to my body. The chills caused by the exile penalty were reduced and the pain of my body alleviated.
The Right Arm of the Poor Sword Master and Broken Heart of a Young Gold Dragon didn¡¯t collide with the other stories and safely permeated my body.
Indeed, it was a good choice to visit Aileen.
I finished checking my body and slowly opened my eyes. There was the beautiful ace of a young boy in front of me.
I felt it before but he really was pretty. It was better to express his appearance as a girl than a boy.
¡°Wah!¡± The surprised young man suddenly screamed.
I tried to slowly raise my body but I couldn¡¯t move. Looking closer, my body was tied to the operating table. It seemed to be a technique to suppress the power of the story...
I looked around and found that there was only the boy. Perhaps he was a bit relieved to know I was tied up and the boy opened his mouth. ¡°Hey, what are you?¡±
No, this situation was better. I needed some time along with these guys anyway. I told him, ¡°What do you think? You like quizzes.¡±
¡°...Who said that?¡±
¡°In any case, make a guess.¡±
Intrigue filled the eyes of the young boy. As expected, it was a good catch. The young man thought about it before asking me, ¡°Are you a returnee?¡±
¡°Returnee? Why do you think that?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense for amon citizen of the Demon World to have such arge amount of money.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay. Continue.¡±
¡°You said that you¡¯re not a demon and I don¡¯t think you are a normal incarnation. You also have many rare stories. You seem to be somewhat strong. Then there is only one answer.¡±
¡°Hrmm...¡±
¡°How is it? Is my reasoning correct?¡±
I looked at his brightly shining eyes and somehow wanted to make fun of him. ¡°Your reasoning is right but you need one premise.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the premise?¡±
¡°The premise is that all returnees are strong.¡±
The beautiful young man¡¯s expression became strange at my words.
¡°What do you mean by that? Don¡¯t you know what a returnee is? They are those who returned to theirs after gaining a powerful strength from another dimension or. How can those people be weak?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. You haven¡¯t met all returnees in the world, right?¡±
¡°That...¡±
¡°For example, some returnees might not want to return because they hate their.¡±
The expression of the young boy hardened.
¡°You are frustrated because you moved to a different dimension several times but didn¡¯t get much power.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You got a new body but you don¡¯t have any talent.¡±
¡°...Wait.¡±
¡°You became frustrated by yourck of talent and decided to sit still in one ce and live an ordinary life.¡±
¡°...Who are you really?¡±
I grinned and opened my mouth. ¡°Hayoung. Are you happy with your life in the Demon World?¡±
¡°What?¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Character List¡¯ is activated!]
+
[Character Information]
Name: Jang Hayoung (An Makerfield)
Age: 23 years old (15 years old)
Constetion Support: None
Private Attribute: Dimensional Mover (Hero), Estranged from Birthce (Rare), Master of the Wall (Myth)
Exclusive Skills: Unidentified Wall Lv. 1, Spiteful Tongue Lv. 3, Grumbling Lv. 5, Laziness Lv. 3, Sloth Lv. 3, Lethargy Lv. 4...
+
Grumbling, Laziness, Sloth, Lethargy...
Who would see this guy¡¯s information and think he was the second protagonist of Ways of Survival? If Yoo Jonghyuk saw this, his pride would be hurt by the fact that his name was on the same list.
¡°H-How are you...?!¡±
However, Jang Hayoung wasn¡¯t originally like this. He tried and tried again, but the results weren¡¯t good. A huge ¡®wall¡¯ was always obstructing him. The results didn¡¯t match the process.
¡°Oh, you don¡¯t use your real name here. Should I call you An?¡±
¡°How do you know my real name?¡± The surprised Jang Hayoung backed up towards the wall.
I looked at him and recalled old memories.
-Author-nim. I think it is better to create a new character...
If I hadn¡¯t left thement at that time...
Would Jang Hayoung exist in today¡¯s world?
-In addition, it should preferably be a pretty girl...
Maybe this was why I felt responsible for this guy. I didn¡¯t know if the author created this character because of me. However...
-The setting, hrmm. Since Jonghyuk is a regressor, it is enough if the new character is a dimensional mover.
At the very least, if I hadn¡¯t left thisment, the second protagonist wouldn¡¯t have to keep moving dimensions.
¡°You¡¯re not without talent. You just don¡¯t know your talent.¡±
¡°What? W-What does that mean?¡±
I was just opening my mouth again when the door burst open.
¡°Is that An? What¡¯s the fuss?¡±
¡°A-Aileen!¡±
Aileen saw Jang Hayoung¡¯s face and nced at me. ¡°What are you? What did you do to him?¡±
I shrugged without saying anything. Some people could be seen behind Aileen. Maybe there were members of the Syswitz Civil Council. They were thest conscience against the duke¡¯s ambitions. I liked such people.
I could deal with Jang Hayoungter. I needed to take care of this side first. ¡°Duke Syswitz...¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°He is ambitious. He refused a high-ranking position in another demon realm and came to this remote area.¡±
The members of the civil council nced at each other at my words.
I stared at Aileen and said, ¡°Maybe Duke Syswitz asked you to make him giant soldiers. Is that right?¡±
¡°Eh?¡±
¡°That guy, he got a taste when he went on a tour of the Demon World. That¡¯s why he is making such an unreasonable request. He doesn¡¯t know his subjects.¡±
¡°H-How do you...!¡±
The members of the civil council were greatly confused by the information I knew. The surprised Aileen seemed to be stiffening. I didn¡¯t miss this chance.
¡°You have refused him three times and next time he will take you by force. Are you ready?¡±
The faces of Aileen and the citizens darkened at my words. It was certain. They were powerful on their owns but they couldn¡¯tpare to a duke of the Demon World.
I enjoyed the silence before saying with a grin. ¡°If you listen to my conditions, I will stop the duke for you.¡±
It was puzzling for them. The exile who suddenly appeared not only knew this information but also offered a ridiculous proposal.
It was Aileen who struggled to shut her mouth. ¡°You... who the hell are you?¡±
Yes, it started from here.
I wish I could say that I was ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ but that wasn¡¯t possible yet. If I revealed my name here, the constetions on Earth would know I was still alive.
Then... let¡¯s go back to the original work. I recalled the 111th regression in the novel and dered in a voice as evil as possible.
¡°My name is Yoo Jonghyuk. I am here to be the ¡®demon king¡¯ of the 73rd Demon Realm.¡±
***
[Your notoriety is spreading in the 73rd Demon Realm.]
Yoo Jonghyuk stared up at the sky the moment he heard the message.
¡°...What?¡±
Of course, the sky didn¡¯t answer. Then Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression changed strangely.
Yoo Jonghyuk thought about something for a moment before staring at the sky with disbelief, muttering, ¡°Kim Dokja?¡±
Chapter 197 - Landscape of the Demon World (4)
Chapter 197: Episode 37 ¨C Landscape of the Demon World (4)
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯sment on bing the 73rd demon king was a line from Ways of Survival.
I watched the reactions of the council members with a bit of excitement.
¡°That, I mean...¡±
It was strange. In Ways of Survival, everyone had clearly gone, ¡°Ohhh!¡± Everyone didn¡¯t show the dramatic reaction I expected. Then I heard a voice.
¡¸ The demon king of the 73rd Demon Realm! There was a man who spoke such words. Irene and the other members of the civil council were in great shock. ¡¹
That brat, when did it wake up? It said it was sleepy and then went away...
¡¸ On the other hand, Kim Dokja felt somewhat stronger. ¡¹
...Eh?
¡¸ It was a habit he had since his school days. In important moments of his life or in moments when his self-esteem fell, Kim Dokja would say, ¡°I am Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±¡¹
I had a bitter taste in my mouth as I endured the harassment of the Fourth Wall, who exposed my ck history, Damn, I couldn¡¯t do anything to this brat.
¡°The council members should leave for a moment. I have to talk to him for a while.¡±
Aileen thought about something before making a decision. Jang Hayoung and the members of the civil council disappeared out the door. Aileen dragged a chair over to my operating table.
I asked her, ¡°Can you release this first? I¡¯m not in a state where I can talk.¡±
However, Aileen didn¡¯t release my straps. It meant she didn¡¯t trust me yet.
¡°You said you would be the demon king.¡±
¡°Yes.¡± I nodded once.
¡°Do you know what that means?¡±
¡°It literally means to be king of the 73rd Demon Realm.¡±
¡°And?¡±
¡°It means I will receive excessive attention from the other 72 demon kings.¡±
In fact, I was a bit nervous. I didn¡¯t have a very favourable rtionship with the demon kings yet.
Aileen looked at my face and sighed. ¡°I took a peek at your stories while treating you... I don¡¯t know what the hell are you are thinking.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡±
¡°...Duke Syswitz is strong. Maybe even stronger than you think.¡±
Aileen¡¯s tone was calm, unlike her previous confused appearance. Indeed, there was a reason she survived for so long in the Demon World.
¡°It is natural. He is a duke.¡±
The dukes were the more powerful existences after the demon kings in the Demon World.
They were located at the top of the Demon World. Some of them had the power approaching the highest level of the upper-grade constetions and they certainly weren¡¯t shallow opponents. Aileen¡¯s evaluation was fair.
¡°I understand your confidence. I¡¯ve already confirmed that you have amazing stories.
She had repaired my stories and had a certain estimate of my strength. Time was short so she couldn¡¯t identify all the stories I had hidden. She probably saw a few legendary stories at most. This meeting might be because she saw some possibilities in my stories.
Aileen continued calmly, ¡°First, I need to know that you are a trustworthy person.¡±
¡°I will make an Oath of Existence.¡±
¡°The things we talk about here can¡¯t leak out.¡±
We made an Oath of Existence with our hands facing each other. It was an oath made on their souls. The person who broke this oat would die from their soul burning up. I had previously made this oath with Yoo Jonghyuk.
I opened my mouth, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to talk about my identity.¡±
¡°I¡¯m aware of that. Don¡¯t worry. All council members who participated in the repair share the oath.¡±
Aileen let out a small sigh and then opened her mouth like she was whispering. ¡°Our civil council has been waiting for an opportunity to destroy the Factory.¡±
The Factory was the core of the industrialplex and the backbone of its power. Trying to destroy this ce was an obvious goal.
I had read it in Ways of Survival but I decided to ask. There was no way to read Ways of Survival immediately so it was important to get the information directly.
Aileen asked, ¡°Are you going to drive out the nobles?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°You are a returnee. Why bother interfering with the ecology of the Demon World?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a returnee.¡±
In a sense, there was no word more urate.
¡°I see.¡±
Not all returneepleted the dimensional movement scenario and returned to their hometown. Some returnees failed the scenario and some hated their homes. Those who gave up returning to their homes had to make a new home. No matter how terrible a ce was, they chose to live there.
¡°There have been several attempts to kill the duke,¡± Aileen told him.
¡°It looks like they failed if he is still alive.¡±
¡°...It wasn¡¯t a bad n. Until they all failed. Some of them were masters from the First Murim and others were the strongest people on their.¡±
¡°How did you get those people?¡±
¡°It was a simr situation to you. They failed or were expelled from their home scenario.¡±
It was a fact I already knew. This was the reason why Aileen treated the ¡®exiles.¡¯ It was a means of collecting stronger citizens to fight against the ruler of the Syswitz Industrial Complex. She used the attribute Story Expert in this form.
Aileen shook her head with a slightly weary expression. ¡°Most of them couldn¡¯t even make it through the escorts, let alone reach the duke.¡±
¡°Are there many escorts?¡±
¡°In the Factory, there are hundreds of barons and lower ranked nobles. There are 10 earls and two marquis.¡±
The many escorts were a problem.
A lower-grade noble was still more powerful than average incarnations. In addition, all those earl level or above could operate the power of the story. The biggest problem was that the duke would be stronger than the sum of all the escorts. I replied like it was inconsequential.
¡°It is worth a try.¡±
¡°The other exiles said that as well.¡±
¡°I¡¯m stronger than they are.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk would say this and I was currently Yoo Jonghyuk. However, Aileen didn¡¯t know who Yoo Jonghyuk was.
¡°If you were really strong, you wouldn¡¯t have failed the scenario.¡±
There was no way to refute it right now. The situation was tooplicated to exin right now. Even so, Aileen still had some expectations towards me. ¡°First of all, I¡¯d like you to prove your skills.¡±
¡°Something like this?¡±
I released the straps on me like I had been waiting. The straps broke with a loud sound. Aileen seemed surprised but didn¡¯t panic. ¡°...The other exiles did that as well. I have to make sure you can deal with the nobles.¡±
¡°What do you want?¡±
¡°A suitable opponent has visited Syswitz.¡±
¡°You are talking about the envoy from the Gilobat Industrial Complex?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Iughed. ¡°I can see what you are thinking.¡±
Aileen nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but this is the only way.¡±
The 73rd Demon Realm was currently in a confused state due to the rumours of the demon king. The meeting between the Syswitz Industrial Complex and Gilobat Industrial Complex was designed to calm the chaos.
¡°The most dangerous enemy is always the closest ally.¡±
If I could take advantage of the opportunity to ruin the alliance, it was possible to divide the Syswitz Industrial Complex.
Aileen was looking at the long-term and didn¡¯t want to miss this chance. Even if it failed, there wouldn¡¯t be significant damage.
However, I didn¡¯t intend to be exploited. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal first.¡±
¡°Okay. What are your conditions?¡±
¡°Please repair my body every time I ask. Of course, it is for free.¡±
I had to constantly consume story fragments until my physical body became stronger. I didn¡¯t know when a collision between stories would ur. For the time being, I needed Aileen¡¯s help.
¡°That is nothing if you seed. That¡¯s all?¡±
¡°There is one more thing.¡± In fact, this was the main point. ¡°Give me a ¡®scenario.¡¯¡±
¡°...Scenario?¡±
This was the reason why I visited the Syswitz Industrial Complex in the first ce.
¡°I need your revolutionary scenario.¡±
***
The Demon World was an area that wasn¡¯t popr with constetions since ancient times.
It was due to the bad rtionship between the constetions and demon kings. In the first ce, most incarnations who entered the Demon World were ¡®losers.¡¯
I left the operating room and the first ce I saw was the pub where the citizens gathered.
¡°Shit, this alcohol tastes sour.¡±
The sighs of the citizens came from all over the ce. It waste in the evening.
The workers and incarnations who came back from working all day at the Factory gathered over drinks. Their faces were distorted from the bitter aftertaste. The alcohol of the Demon World was more bitter than Earth. I remembered reading about it in Ways of Survival.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: Who among them is the revolutionary? ¡¹
In the Demon World, the scenarios still progressed. The Star Stream didn¡¯t neglect the story of any area. In particr, one of the main scenarios here, the ¡®Revolutionary Scenario¡¯ was a scenario that the dukes of the Demon World were also watching.
-I don¡¯t know how you know about that scenario but it is hard for me to help you right away. I don¡¯t know who the ¡®revolutionary¡¯ are. Without the identity of the revolutionary, it isn¡¯t possible to transfer the scenario.
-Do you have no information at all?
-Even if I receive information, the revolutionary will change every month. Honestly, who would confess to being a revolutionary? It is unknown who is a spy...
These were Aileen¡¯s words. Still, if my prediction was correct, the revolutionary was definitely among them.
¡¸ The Revolutionary scenario is the main scenario of the Demon World. The scenario number is different every time but those who wee the scenario event are fixed. They are the ruling sses of the Demon World. ¡¹
I felt fortunate to have the Fourth Wall at this time. I might not have the Ways of Survival txt but it would remind me of my memories.
-The citizens here remember what happened to thest person who dered himself a revolutionary. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t poke around people. Everyone will be nervous.
Aileen told me this but I couldn¡¯t wait. My body was repaired and I could hold out against the exile penalty, but this was only for a few days.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I have to get the Revolutionary scenario so I can go back to the original scenario. ¡¹
At this moment, a strange voice entered my ears.
¡°Excuse me, this is the first time I¡¯m seeing your face.¡±
Chapter 198 - Landscape of the Demon World (5)
Chapter 198: Episode 37 ¨C Landscape of the Demon World (5)
I turned around and saw the owner of the pub staring at me with curious eyes. I replied as naturally as possible. ¡°I just entered yesterday.¡±
¡°It is good to see you. Life in the industrialplex is hard but our hearts are good. I don¡¯t know where you¡¯re from but this isn¡¯t a bad ce to settle down. Care for a drink?¡±
¡°No, I don¡¯t like to drink.¡±
¡°Huhu, going to this ce when you don¡¯t know how to drink. You are an unfortunate friend.¡±
I heard this and was reminded of when I first joined Mino Soft.¡± Han Myungoh said something simr when I first told him I couldn¡¯t drink alcohol at the restaurant.
Come to think of it, where was Han Myungoh now? He received the curse of Demon King Asmodeus and there was no way to confirm his life or death...
I somehow felt down as I remembered those tiring days.
¡°I don¡¯t like drinking but I like the appetizers served with alcohol. Do you mind if I order side dishes?¡±
¡°Of course. We have deep fried demon¡¯s ws, fried demon tripe and...¡±
I smiled. ¡°Stop making fun of me.¡±
¡°Haha, busted.¡±
¡°Give me the best you have. How much?¡±
¡°Five coins only.¡±
It was an insanely low price. It was a price that the small constetion of Peace Land could afford. I thought for a bit before asking, ¡°If I pay double, can you make it doubly delicious?¡±
¡°Hahah, I can make it triply delicious.¡±
I handed over 50 coins without speaking and the owner¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°...10 times is a bit tough but I¡¯ll try.¡±
Unlike what he said, the owner seemed to be a skillful chef because a pleasant smell wasing from him. My expectations were slightly inted as I anticipated appeasing my hunger. I couldn¡¯t help it when thinking it was time to eat real food.
I ignored my stomach for a moment and sighed. I had been working so hard that it wouldn¡¯t be hard to have a rest.
¡°How great. Is that the ce called Earth?¡±
A bunch of incarnations were looking at the screen hanging from the top of the pub.
It was a video recording from a dokkaebi¡¯s channel. It was a familiar scene and then a familiar voice started to flow out.
-Ahjussi!
It was a scene from the Seoul Dome scenario. It was a record of the tenth scenario, the 73rd Demon King. I heard Shin Yoosung¡¯s voiceing from the screen and a corner of my heart was pained.
I raised the cor of my coat so it half covered my face and watched the video.
¡°The scenario impact is awesome. Isn¡¯t it as rumoured?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you think it is the most popr scenario areately?¡±
¡°The incarnations in that neighbourhood must be very prosperous!¡±
Almost all the mass media in the Demon World were under the control of the wenny people.
The wenny people couldn¡¯t open channels directly like the dokkaebi so they couldn¡¯t earn ie through donations. Instead, they stole the recording material and distributed them all over the world.
¡°Shit, I don¡¯t think the degree of difficulty is that high. I can also do that much!¡±
¡°Stop speaking nonsense. If you were there, you couldn¡¯t even make it to the fifth scenario.¡±
¡°Uhuh, no?¡±
They watched the screen and the 73rd Demon King scenario started to gradually change.
-Uriel, you know. This is just a story.
It felt really strange to see my lines flowing from the screen.
-You must¡¯ve seen many people die in the meantime.
It was the moment when Uriel was very sad...
I looked around and saw that some incarnations were in tears.
Anger, despair or sighs.
¡°Shit, it¡¯s so sad...¡±
...It was a strange feeling. It wasn¡¯t their scenario but they sympathized with the stories I had experienced. Their faces looked like they receivedfort.
Maybe it wasn¡¯t just the constetions who needed stories. The stories were necessary for everyone.
¡°...Will we be able to do that if we return to our home scenario?¡±
¡°Rampert, do you want to go back?¡±
¡°If I can go but I can¡¯t.¡±
¡°Kulkul, just ask the wenny man. He will send you at any time.¡±
¡°...Is that a joke? I don¡¯t want to be a disaster for my home.¡±
Disaster. At this point, the air inside the pub became tense. However, it was only for a moment. Everyone was reluctant to talk about this topic and quickly changed it.
¡°Here it is. Side dishes that are 10 times more delicious.¡±
I smiled slightly and epted the side dishes. It was simple fried chips and noodles. I could tell they were tasty dishes without tasting them due to the savoury smell.
I grabbed the tes and looked around. I could see a small head focused on the screen, just like everyone else. He didn¡¯t know I was near and was close to tears.
I clicked my tongue and sat down beside him. ¡°Why, do you miss it?¡±
¡°Hiik!¡± His surprised appearance was very cute. He was exactly as I imagined. I pressed on Jang Hayoung¡¯s shoulder as he tried to slip away.
¡°Don¡¯t be so wary. I just want to eat together.¡±
Jang Hayoung stared at me doubtfully and obediently sat back down. He judged that I couldn¡¯t hurt him because there were many incarnations around. Jang Hayoung hesitated before opening his mouth first.
¡°Is your talk with Aileen over?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°What did you talk about?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡±
¡°...By the way, is that special cuisine?¡±
¡°Eat if you want.¡±
Jang Hayoung moved his fork like he had been waiting. The noddles disappeared into Jang Hayoung¡¯s mouth. Come to think of it, this guy had the Shameless skill.
¡°Well, it is worth eating.¡±
Jang Hayoung ate more than half my head in a sh.
¡°...By the way, are you from Earth?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
My face never appeared properly on the screen. It was as if someone deliberately touched the screen. My face distorted like it was hit.
That jerk Bihyung, why did he edit my face like that? In any case, it seemed that Jang Hayoung didn¡¯t recognize me.
¡°...How was it?¡±
¡°It was awful.¡±
Jang Hayoung nodded, understanding everything with these words alone. A tragic investigation wasn¡¯t necessary for those who had experienced the scenario.
¡°Are you on the screen right now?¡±
¡°I wille out.¡±
¡°Where?¡±
¡°I¡¯ming now.¡±
The screen zoomed in on the handsome face of Yoo Jonghyuk. Fortunately, my coat was dirty enough to look simr to his ck coat. He might really believe it if I insisted moderately...
However, Jang Hayoung¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t very good.
¡°There is no resemnce...¡±
¡°That is me.¡±
¡°No. You are like dough made by anyone while a god was carving him for a thousand days...¡±
¡°I am an exile. The stories on my face have crumbled.¡±
¡°No matter how many stories you lose... your lie should make sense.¡±
...Damn. I felt bad but I still needed to achieve my purpose. Yes, I¡¯m not him. Still, doesn¡¯t he look cool?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°He also fights unbelievably well.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll let you meet him when we go to Earth. I¡¯m very familiar with him.¡±
My words caused Jang Hayoung¡¯s eyes to shake. Perhaps Jang Hayoung would have no choice but to cross over. In Ways of Survival, Jang Hayoung was a person who admired Yoo Jonghyuk. If I persuaded this guy in advance and encouraged his will to return...
¡°Why would I want to meet him?¡±
¡°Eh? No, just...¡±
¡°Rather, I¡¯m more interested in that.¡±
¡°Who?¡±
¡°Over there.¡±
On the screen, I saw a figure surrounded by dark demonic energy. A man was staring at hispanions with sad eyes. His face wasn¡¯tpletely visible but I was well aware of who it was. It was me.
I stared at Jang Hayoung¡¯s sparkling eyes and wondered what this was all about.
¡°You can¡¯t even see his face?¡±
¡°Why does that matter?¡±
I was feeling confused when shouts suddenly came from various parts of the pub.
¡°Waaahhhh!¡±
¡°No! Open your eyes, Demon King of Salvation!¡±
¡°Damn! My tears won¡¯t stop!¡±
[Your reputation is strengthened in the 73rd Demon Realm.]
[1,500 coins have been acquired.]
No, I was this popr? I suddenly regretted doing the Yoo Jonghyuk cosy. Now I couldn¡¯t say that person was actually me.
-Let¡¯s meet again, Yoo Jonghyuk.
Finally, the scenario reached the end and people started to cry. Some people were so moved that they couldn¡¯t get out of these feelings.
Jang Hayoung muttered with an ecstatic expression, ¡°Ah, too bad he already has a girlfriend.¡±
My heart sank. ¡°What? Who?¡±
¡°The Demon King of Salvation. Do you happen to know him?¡±
¡°I know him but...¡± I frowned as I looked into Jang Hayoung¡¯s beautiful eyes. Clear eyes and white cheeks. A beautiful cream-coloured face. However...
¡°Aren¡¯t you a man?¡±
If I remembered correctly, Jang Hayoung was a man. The damn writer of Ways of Survival epted all myments and changed just one thing. It was this guy¡¯s gender.
Jang Hayoung raised his eyebrows and frowned. ¡°Earth is the only ce that judges by the cover.¡±
I was about to respond when the pub owner suddenly turned off the lights. Then he dered to the whole pub in a very low voice, ¡°Night ising.¡±
At these words, a deep silence spread through the pub. It was a silent that was much more sensitive and sharper than when the word ¡®disaster¡¯ emerged. Jang Hayoung faced me and brought a finger to his lips.
¡°Shhh.¡±
Looking closer, it wasn¡¯t only this pub. Other pubs and stores on the street had closed their doors and turned off the lights. Suddenly, all sounds disappeared.
It was as if all of the industrialplex was submerged deep in the ocean. In the streets where every person had disappeared, the dreary sound of flutes was heard. Some citizens blocked their ears in order to avoid hearing it.
At this moment, I was reminded of something.
¡¸ There is a special ¡®Night¡¯ in the Demon World. ¡¹
I listened to the Fourth Wall and recalled the setting of Ways of Survival.
¡¸ All citizens of the industrialplex are afraid of the nobles. It isn¡¯t simply because the nobles are strong. It is due to this ¡®Night¡¯ thates one every three days. ¡¹
¡°Please just pass by. Please...¡±
Someone muttered. How long had it been? I could hear the window freezing as something passed through the street.
Every citizen held their breaths and pretended they were invisible. There were those who lowered themselves and stared down at the table. The shadow of a giant scythe passed over the frozen window.
¡¸ At Night, the executioner appears in the industrialplex. ¡¹
¡¸ If the citizens have the revolutionary, the nobles have the executioner. ¡¹
They were the source of the citizens¡¯ fear and the inability to resist the nobles, as well as the reason why the dukes could maintain their position in the industrialplex.
It was due to the existence of the Executioner. The moment the door of the pub opened, people tightly closed their eyes. A scratchy voice came from the deep darkness.
[Who is the revo lu tion ary?]
The appearance reminded me of a reaper and it was twice the size of an adult male. I couldn¡¯t see his face because of the ck cape but I could sense his power from the eerier aura that flowed from him.
[The target is under the protection of the current scenario.]
[The target is currently invincible.]
No existence could resist the Execution during the Night of the industrialplex.
The owner who gave me food and who those who watched the scenario were looking down at the floor with tired expressions.
Today the Executioner chose this pub as his ce of execution. In this ce, someone would surely die.
[Who is the revo lu tion ary?]
Every time the executioner¡¯s scythe mmed into the ground, people curled up. It was like a y. I stared carefully and the surprised Jang Hayoung pulled at my cor.
¡°Don¡¯t make eye contact.¡±
At the small sound, the Executioner looked this way.
¡°Shit...¡±
To be exact, it was at the cursing Jang Hayoung. Jang Hayoung started to shake as he stared at the approaching Executioner. His intuition told him that he was facing his death.
I touched thepletely frightened Jang Hayoung¡¯s head and stood up slowly. Jang Hayoung¡¯s mouth dropped open with surprise and the Executioner stared at me with ominous eyes.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: What would Yoo Jonghyuk do? ¡¹
If he was here, he would¡¯ve never exposed himself. Yoo Jonghyuk would¡¯ve hid himself until he found a situation where he could benefit the most.
He would¡¯vepleted all types of investigations in order to participate in the industrialplex¡¯s scenario and figured out who the revolutionary was.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: That¡¯s why he regressed hundreds of times. ¡¹
The Executioner aimed his scythe at me and spoke in a creepy voice.
[Who are you?]
The moment that everyone in the pub focused on me, I opened my mouth and spoke in a voice they could all hear.
¡°I am a revolutionary.¡±
Chapter 199 - Fake Revolutionary (1)
Chapter 199: Episode 38 ¨C Fake Revolutionary (1)
[Someone has made a ¡®Revolutionary Deration¡¯.]
Among the many scenarios in the Demon World, the status of the Revolutionary scenario wasrge. The only existence that could threaten the dukes sitting at the highest points of the industrialplex.
A revolutionary. This existence was the hope and legend of the citizens. At the same time, it was also despair.
That¡¯s why the moment I spoke, countless people around me held their breaths. Their faces wondered if they had heard correctly.
¡°Why are you so startled? Weren¡¯t you looking for the revolutionary?¡±
My shameless words caused the confusion on people¡¯s faces to be consternation. At the same time, there was a message that only I could hear.
[You aren¡¯t a ¡®revolutionary.¡¯]
It was an obvious message. Right now, I was an exile who was outside the scenario. I couldn¡¯t be the ¡®revolutionary¡¯, who was the backbone of the main scenario of the Demon World, when I didn¡¯t even have a scenario in the first ce. It was originally supposed to be like this.
[Your deration has affected the main scenario of the Syswitz Industrial Complex.]
As you know, the most important thing in the Star Stream was the ¡®probability.¡¯
[A re volu tion ary?]
The thick chains covering the scythe were revealed. The executioner took one step forward and I couldn¡¯t help feeling nervous.
Honestly, I currently had no way of killing the executioner. Nevertheless, I didn¡¯t back down. I had to do it here.
¡°Yes, I am a revolutionary.¡±
[Why did you re veal your self?]
¡°If I stay back, someone else will die.¡±
Jang Hayoung and the other citizens were staring at me with wide open mouths. I waited nervously as I watched the iing executioner.
...It was time for the effect to appear.
[Many citizens admire your courage.]
That¡¯s it.
[Your noble courage affects the development of the scenario.]
[You have caused a big influence on the scenario.]
[The scenario will temporarily assign you a status.]
[You have be a ¡®self-proimed revolutionary.]
[If an existing revolutionary dies, you will be given the position.]
This was a stepping stone for me to enter the scenario.
[The hidden scenario ¡®Self-Proimed Revolutionary¡¯ has been acquired!]
It was the first time that a scenario acquisition message was so wee. It might be a hidden scenario and not a main scenario, but it was sufficient for the moment.
The hidden scenario of the 73rd Demon Realm. It was a secret I wouldn¡¯t have known if it wasn¡¯t for Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s countless failures.
¡°You! Wait! Are you really a revolutionary?¡±
¡°Hey!¡±
The people were unable to control their fear and cried out. However, the timing wasn¡¯t good. Finally, the executioner started to move. ck smoke emerged from the executioner¡¯s mouth and wound itself around my body.
[The Syswitz Executioner has ced a mark of death on you.]
[You have been identified as the scapegoat of the Night.]
People saw the mark appear around me and shouted, ¡°Get out of the way!¡±
¡°Waaaaahhhhh!¡±
The fragments of the broken table scattered in the air and the scythe of the executioner cut the space in front of it. I dodged the scythe by a hair¡¯s breadth. It would¡¯ve been difficult to avoid if my body wasn¡¯t repaired but now the story was different.
[The exile penalty is slightly alleviated.]
There was a warmth in every breath that I let out. There was a mild aura around my body and the chill was gone.
I dodged a series of moves from the executioner. Indeed, the difference between having a scenario and not having a scenario was great. It might be a hidden scenario but the presence of a story changed the liveliness of my existence.
[Revo lution ary?]
The executioner was a bit surprised by my movements and his momentum changed.
[The space has temporarily been closed.]
[You can¡¯t escape from the pub.]
I smiled bitterly. This was why numerous powerful people couldn¡¯t resist the executioner. There was no way to escape from the executioner in the industrialplex.
Was that all?
¡°Dodge you idiot!¡± As Jang Hayoung shouted, energy was fired from the executioner¡¯s scythe.
¡¸ No citizen of the industrialplex can resist the Executioner. ¡¹
[The execution will take ce.]
His special skill Execution ignored the defense of the opponent and death a fatal blow. No matter how strong the citizens, they could never endure one blow from the executioner¡¯s scythe.
The executioner¡¯s scythe was just about to cut through my body. In my hand, de of Faith cried out violently.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m not a citizen.¡±
Magic power emerged from the heart of the gold dragon and the White Pure Star Energy wrapped around my fingertips.
¡°I told you. I am a revolutionary.¡±
Well, I was still a ¡®self-proimed¡¯ one. The dazzling white-blue energy collided with the executioner¡¯s scythe and tremendous sparks urred. In the midst of these gorgeous effects, a message was heard.
[You aren¡¯t a main scenario participant.]
[You aren¡¯t a citizen.]
[You are an exile.]
[You are affected by the ¡®Execution¡¯ effect of the scenario.]
As expected, I knew it.
[The effect of ¡®Execution¡¯ is neutralized.]
The moment I blocked the blow from the scythe, the surrounding incarnations shouted, ¡°H-He blocked a blow from the executioner!¡±
¡°Is he really a revolutionary?¡±
Those who didn¡¯t know my identity were watching the situation with eyes full of distrust.
[Your scenario contribution has increased.]
The executioner misunderstood me and energy burst from his body.
[In so lent...!]
I talked as if to provoke him. ¡°Don¡¯t y around. I know you are only strong at Night.¡±
[What?]
¡°Once this Night is over, you will surely die.¡± I spoke while twisted Unbroken Faith in my hand. ¡°I will surely kill you.¡±
The scythe flooded towards me dozens of times. The executioner wasn¡¯t weak just because Execution didn¡¯t work. It would just take him a longer time to dispose of me.
Thus, it was too early to say that the situation was better.
¡°I can¡¯t protect everyone so leave here!¡±
Everyone other than me could escape this ce because they didn¡¯t receive the effect of the ¡®mark.¡¯ Among those running out of the pub, I saw Jang Hayoung turning to look back at me.
I quickly nced at him before using Bookmark.
¡°Selecting the fourth bookmark, ¡®Lycaon Isparang.¡¯¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 10 (+1) is activated!]
It would be easier to win if I used the fifth bookmark, Kyrgios, but winning this fight wasn¡¯t my goal in the first ce. No, I couldn¡¯t win.
[The target isn¡¯t affected by your attack.]
[No one can kill the Executioner until the Night is over.]
My de shed at his cor but this was the only message I received in return. His execution didn¡¯t affect me but my attacks couldn¡¯t hurt him while it was Night.
I had to change the n. The surrounding pub area was ruined and the power of the wind started to surge. The dozens of scythe shadows flying through the air became stuck as the wind blew.
On the other hand, my movements became more active. The bnce of speed was breaking. His movements were always slower than me and I was always one step faster than him.
This was the essence of Way of the Wind that had reached its limit. It was a force that controlled all eleration in the space.
¡°You are slow like a slug?¡±
[Ku a a a ah.]
The scythe of the angry executioner started to randomly move through the air. Normally I wouldn¡¯t be hit by such attacks.
However, the goddess of luck from Olympusughed at me and one scythe identally entered the range.
¡°Ick!¡±
The moment the unexpected blow was about to strike me in the side, my right arm suddenly twisted into a strange shape and I blocked it.
[The talent of the sword master that sits in your right arm is shining!]
I was surprised as well. I didn¡¯t think the fragments of the story worked in this way.
[The user of the iplete story has made your body¡¯s status unstable.]
[Your stories might be at risk if you continue fighting excessively.]
I bit my lips. The coldness was once againing back. I had acquired a hidden scenario but I couldn¡¯t use excessive force to deal with the executioner.
I shouldn¡¯t continue fighting against it. I had to buy time while avoiding it as much as possible. At least until this damn Night was over.
[You will di e.]
I didn¡¯t respond and kept using Way of the Wind. It would¡¯ve been nice if Yoo Jonghyuk was here. If I had the help of a transcendent then I could easily endure this long Night.
However, no one was here.
Judge of Destruction Jung Heewon.
Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung.
Maritime Admiral Lee Jihye.
My lovely kids, Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung.
Han Sooyoung... well, she wouldn¡¯t have helped if she was here.
Here, I was alone. I believed in the information I knew and the stories I had built up. Myself as well.
There were screams from the nervous people as the executioner¡¯s movements started to be slightly dull. I started mocking him. ¡°What, are you tired?¡±
I knew an invincible person like this would never feel exhaustion. It was more annoyance than exhaustion. My words were actually to hide my condition.
[Bookmark¡¯s duration is about to expire.]
The time that I could use Way of the Wind was 30 minutes at most. In the first ce, Bookmark wasn¡¯t a skill that couldst a long time.
By the way, the executioner wasughing. There was a creepy sound effect and dozens of executioners appeared. The most terrible thing about the Night was that there wasn¡¯t one executioner. All executioners in the Syswitz Industrial Complex gathered in this small pub and stared at me.
[Your mis take.]
He deliberately consumed time while collecting his colleagues. It was to definitely kill me during this Night.
I watched the movements of the executioners surrounding me and modified my posture.
This was unavoidable. It was impossible to run away from them even if I used Way of the Wind.
¡°No, you are the one who made a mistake.¡±
However, 30 minutes was enough to achieve my goal. I watched the iing scythes and opened my arms.
Numerous scythes broke through the air towards my body. Some incarnations closed their eyes and sighed bitterly. This soon turned to cries of surprise.
The scythes that should¡¯ve surely pierced me and torn me apart. The scythes stopped in the air.
[Wh at?]
The confused executioners looked at the weapons in the air with stupid eyes. I suddenly recalled a sentence from Ways of Survival.
¡¸ There are two ways to withstand Night in the industrialplex. ¡¹
¡¸ One is to run away from the executioners until the end of the Night. ¡¹
¡¸ And the other one... ¡¹
¡°Have you forgotten? There isn¡¯t only the evolutionary and executioner in this scenario.¡±
This was followed by a message in my ears.
[Someone is using their vitality to protect you.]
¡¸The second way to survive the Night is with the help of the Guardian. ¡¹
As expected. I thought this would lead to the hidden ¡®guardian¡¯ing out. Aileen said that even the council members didn¡¯t know who the revolutionary was.
This meant that other incarnations didn¡¯t know the identity of the revolutionary. In other words, they couldn¡¯t protect the revolutionary when they didn¡¯t know the revolutionary.
Yet what if I dered myself the revolutionary?
[The guardian was sessful and the mark of death has been released!]
The executioner could only use the mark of death once in one night. The mark had been released so today¡¯s execution was over.
The executioner spoke in a bloodthirsty voice. [...Your luck is go od.]
¡°You better be careful. Next time we meet, it will be daytime.¡±
The executioners gritted their teeth and scattered one by one. The dreary sound of the flutes disappeared and the darkness went out like a tide.
Outside the pub, the incarnations were staring inside with passionate eyes. The arrogant Jang Hayoung was ncing this way with shocked eyes. I wondered if I should say something before eventually shrugging and waving my hand.
¡°N-New revolutionary! A new revolutionary has appeared!¡±
Along with the citizens¡¯ shouts, the short Night was finally over. I looked at the citizens and had a thought.
One of them would be a ¡®guardian.¡¯ The future scenarios must be performed with the guardian.
I looked up at the sky and it was still dark. I sometimes saw a few stars but they were so dim I couldn¡¯t see them properly.
Uriel, the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven...
It would¡¯ve been nice if those guys were watching but unfortunately, there was no message. Still, I should be satisfied with today.
[No one died tonight.]
Chapter 200 - Fake Revolutionary (2)
Chapter 200: Episode 38 ¨C Fake Revolutionary (2)
Duke Syswitz¡¯ office. The demon earl Silocke was standing in front of it with an anxious heart. It was because the earl ¡®Han¡¯ was guarding the office like a gatekeeper.
¡®Han.¡¯
No one knew what his real name was. Everyone just called him Han. He was an ¡®earl¡¯ like Silocke but he was a very unusual fellow. It was because he was in touch with Asmodeus, a demon king of 32 demon realms. Maybe Duke Syswitz kept him around because he was aware of this fact.
Silocke felt inwardly strained and finally opened his mouth. ¡°I have something to say to the duke.¡±
¡°Tell me. I will let him know.¡±
¡°It is difficult.¡±
¡°The duke is currently in an emergency meeting with the Gilobat envoy.¡±
¡°When will it finish?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
Silocke clicked his tongue. If he told this guy, Han would clearly take all the credit. Thus, Silocke replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. It isn¡¯t urgent so I will wait.¡±
Han¡¯s eyebrows twitched at the words. Silocke liked seeing this expression.
¡®Son of a bitch, keep wondering.¡¯
The information that Silocke reported was simple.
-A civilian presumed to be a marquis of Gilobat has appeared in public.
Of course, it wasn¡¯t bad to say this but the more he thought about it, the stranger things seemed. Silocke thought for a moment before staring closely at the duke¡¯s office.
¡°Is a marquis from Gilobat inside there?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°He must¡¯vee straight here without going anywhere else.¡±
¡°That is the case.¡±
Silocke felt delighted at the reply.
¡®Indeed, my guess is correct.¡¯
He didn¡¯t know for certain but there shouldn¡¯t be two marquis in the Gilobat delegation. A marquis grade should be the leader of the delegation. It was very likely that the citizen he met wasn¡¯t a marquis of Gilobat and was pretending to be a demon noble.
This alone was worth reporting. It might not be big but it would help with his performance review.
Han saw the hesitating Silocke and opened his mouth. ¡°Since you are wandering around, you must also be wondering who the next demon king will be.¡±
¡°Ah, well... That¡¯s right.¡±
It was a misunderstanding but it wasn¡¯t a bad idea to ask about this misunderstanding.
¡°Is it because of the rumours of the demon king emerging that the Gilobat delegation came to visit?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t tell you more but it is simr.¡±
¡°The story of the demon king, it is a bit funny... don¡¯t you think so?¡±
The source of the rumours was unknown yet these rumours shook the entire 73rd Demon Realm.
Silocke inwardly found this situationughable.
Syswitz.
Gilobat.
Melledon.
Bercan.
For the past few hundred years, the 73rd Demon Realm had been properly bnced by these four dukes. The peace that had been maintained for hundreds of years was now shaking because of a rumour. It was a story without any realism.
However, Han didn¡¯t agree with Silocke¡¯s words. ¡°The signs of the ¡®demon king¡¯ are already appearing.¡±
¡°What? How do you know that?¡±
¡°I heard that Vedas has joined hands with the Melledon Industrial Complex.¡±
¡°Vedas?¡±
It was a name that Silocke was familiar with. No, it would be strange if he didn¡¯t know it. It was one of the names that must be known in order to safely live in the Star Stream.
Thus, Silocke couldn¡¯t help feeling astonished. ¡°...The nebe are moving directly?¡±
¡°To be precise, one of the narrative-grade constetions from Vedas has been in contact with Melledon.¡±
The constetions and demon kings¡¯ enmity was famous in the Star Stream. Now the constetions were interfering with the affairs of the 73rd Demon Realm. The scale wasn¡¯t big but things would spiral out of control if it was really a neb.
¡°The nebe are interested. Does this mean the demon king will really appear...?¡±
Silocke muttered with a slightly dazed expression. This was a demon king. Silocke had been living in the Demon Realm for a long time and it didn¡¯t really sink in.
However, at least one thing was known.
¡°...This is why the duke is so busy.¡±
¡°He is currently the closest person to bing the demon king.¡±
It was clear that one of the demon nobles would be the demon king. Look at the cases of the other 72 demon kings. It was extremely rare for a non-demonic existence to ascend to the throne.
Then there was a light warning sound from the Factory and a message came up.
[A new main scenario has opened!]
[The 24th ¡®Revolutionary Game¡¯ has begun.]
Silocke was startled by the sudden message but he pretended to be calm when he saw Han¡¯s surprised expression. Han asked first,
¡°What is this message about?¡±
¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know since you¡¯re new here. This sometimes happens. It is the main scenario here. The Revolutionary Game.¡±
¡°The Revolutionary Game?¡±
¡°He was probably caught by the executioner while hiding. He is an unlucky person.¡±
The Revolutionary Game starting meant that the hidden ¡®revolutionary¡¯ had appeared. However, there couldn¡¯t be a revolutionary in this industrialplex. Everyone clearly remembered what happened when thest revolutionary appeared 30 years ago.
Silocke smiled and added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it isn¡¯t a big deal. Wait a bit and the executioner will take his neck. It will be a fun spectacle.¡±
Still no matter how long he waited, the message announcing the end of the game wasn¡¯t heard. He was just thinking that something was strong with a low grade noble appeared.
Silocke immediately recognized who he was. It was because he was one of the hidden executioners. He rushed towards the office and Silocke asked first. ¡°What is going on?¡±
¡°Someone has dered that they are a revolutionary!¡±
Silocke knew it was a stupid question but he couldn¡¯t help wondering, ¡°What? Who?¡±
¡°It is a new revolutionary!¡±
¡°Then what is his name?¡±
The low grade noble stuttered out a name. It was a name Silocke didn¡¯t know. Unexpected, the bored looking Han opened his mouth. ¡°Wait, what did you just say?¡±
¡°Yes, it was definitely Yoo Jonghyuk...¡±
¡°He called himself Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Silocke hurriedly asked. ¡°Do you know him?¡±
¡°I know.¡±
Han¡¯s expression shone brightly but it was a somewhat warped smile. Even the demon Silocke felt creeped out. Han asked, ¡°Where did he show up?¡±
***
Night ended and I was called back to Aileen.
To be exact, I was almost dragged back.
The streets were almostpletely turned upside down because of my deration.
-A new revolutionary has appeared!
The streets were loud with these words. If Aileen hadn¡¯t popped up and dragged me away, I would still be sandwiched between the citizens. As Aileen was unable to control her emotions, I checked the information of the hidden scenario with a nonchnt mind.
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C Fake Revolutionary]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty level: SS
Clear Conditions: You have be a self-proimed revolutionary by impersonating a revolutionary. Kill a real revolutionary within the given time and take their position. Otherwise, it will be a terrible ending.
Time Limit: 30 days
Compensation: 150,000 coins, entering a new main scenario.
Failure: Death
+
I roughly knew how to get the main scenario. In any case, I had to find the real revolutionary...
I nced at Aileen and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s get started.¡±
¡°...Are you crazy?¡± Aileen asked with an absurd expression, ¡°Do you know what you are doing?¡±
¡°A revolution.¡±
¡°What revolution without a revolutionary? You¡¯re a fake!¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°There is no way... don¡¯t tell me...?¡±
She had a cute expression on her face. I shrugged lightly and Aileen¡¯s face filled with despair. ¡°Of course not! What the hell are you doing? Now it is all over!¡±
I shamelessly replied, ¡°This is what you wanted. A revolution and the death of the duke.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t want it this way! This is a scam!¡±
¡°How is a real revolution a scam? I will make it real.¡±
¡°A revolution isn¡¯t such a joke!¡±
¡°I agree with you. I didn¡¯t dere that I am a revolutionary lightly. I agree that this industrialplex should be liberated.¡±
¡°The fact that you can say it so easily is proof that your will is light.¡±
Aileen¡¯s voice contained deep rage. ¡°Do you intend to do the revolution alone?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I have seen many revolutions in this industrialplex. How many revolutions have failed and how much blood has been shed? And...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t regard past failures as scriptures. There will be no change if you don¡¯t do anything.¡±
¡°It is a scenario you can¡¯t do in the first ce!¡±
I understood Aileen¡¯s feelings. In fact, the revolutionary scenario was a famous one in the industrialplex. The only rebellion protocol allowed by the scenario. Even so, the citizens of the industrialplex abandoned this game a long time ago.
It was because there was no chance of winning. Thanks to this, the scenario lost its value as a scenario.
Aileen continued, ¡°This is why I¡¯ve been relying on exiles. The duke can never be killed using existing scenarios! There is no way to win against the damn executioners, let alone the duke!¡±
¡°The scenario is made to be broken. There is a way to clear it if we look carefully.¡±
¡°People are going to die because of you.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t let that happen.¡±
¡°Then you¡¯ll be the first to die.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t die. I didn¡¯t die before.¡±
¡°This...!¡± Aileen bit her lips. ¡°That was just luck. Do you think the guardian will protect you again?¡±
¡°Well, I think they will protect me.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know but the guardian will exhaust their vitality after using their protection. Every time they use it, they lose vitality and will eventually die. No one will protect you two or three times!¡±
¡°The first time is the most important.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Aileen, you know this ce better than me but you don¡¯t understand the people here.¡±
Aileen was about to say something only to tightly close her lips for the first time. Perhaps Aileen had also felt something.
The hidden guardian had appeared and protected me, a revolutionary. It was probably a sight that Aileen hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. It was really a long time.
Aileen licked her lips for a long time before speaking in a small voice. ¡°Do you really think it is possible?¡±
¡°It is possible. Haven¡¯t you seen enough of my skills?¡±
It would be possible. I would make the impossible possible. Aileen replied with a sigh, ¡°You aren¡¯t a real revolutionary.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why I need your help.¡±
Aileen¡¯s expression shook at my words.
¡°Let¡¯s make a revolution without a revolutionary.¡±
Aileen made a decision and replied, ¡°...You have to collect the positions. This is a game that you can¡¯t win alone.¡±
¡°I guess so.¡±
¡°A guardian is the minimum condition for survival. You also need a ¡®fighter¡¯ to deal with the executioner and a ¡®spy¡¯ to find the hidden executioners.¡±
¡°Collect them one by one. Those positions won¡¯t be as far away as you think.¡±
I didn¡¯t fret. The revolutionary deration was already ringing so those in charge of their positions would realize it one by one. They would have to figure out what side to take in this damn game.
¡°I think one position has already been collected.¡±
As soon as I spoke, the door of the meeting room opened with a bang. Jang Hayoung was looking this way with wide eyes.
¡°That, Aileen...¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Someone is asking to enter...¡±
¡°I¡¯m busy right now! Send them away.¡±
¡°That, it is a bit...¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°...A person iming to be the guardian hase.¡±
The surprised Aileen rose from her seat. Then behind Jang Hayoung, a middle-aged man with a study build appeared.
¡°You... are you really the revolutionary?¡±
Surprisingly, it was a face I already knew.
Chapter 201 - Fake Revolutionary (3)
Chapter 201: Episode 38 ¨C Fake Revolutionary (3)
The door opened and a middle-aged man appeared. His hair was white and he wore a dirty apron. The faint scar on his cheek was the only sign of ¡®strength¡¯ that could be found on the man¡¯s face.
He didn¡¯t seem like a person who would be a ¡®guardian.¡¯ Aileen looked incredulously at the man and hesitantly sat back down. ¡°You are a guardian?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°...Really?¡±
¡°I was worried you would react like this.¡±
Aileen nced at me after hearing the middle-aged man¡¯s words. I smiled at AIleen. ¡°I told you. They will be around us.¡±
¡°However, to be this close...¡±
The guardian was the pub owner who previously made the side dishes for me. Of course, I guessed from the beginning that he was the guardian. He was very simr to the guardian who appeared in Ways of Survival.
I also knew that he would save me. If I didn¡¯t know this, I wouldn¡¯t have dered myself a revolutionary.
Aileen asked, ¡°Why did you keep quiet until now? If you are really the guardian, you¡¯ve had many chances to save people.¡±
¡°I had to save my points. You know that a guardian can only save people a total of five times.¡±
¡°I know, but if you didn¡¯t use all five times...¡±
¡°If I had saved someone else...¡± The pub owner nced at me before continuing. ¡°The revolutionary would be dead.¡±
¡°You sound certain that the revolutionary would appear.¡±
¡°I have always been waiting. Not everyone gave up like you.¡±
¡°...Are you saying that to me?¡±
The atmosphere seemed to be heating up and Jang Hayoung quickly interrupted.
¡°Now now Aileen, Pub Owner. Let¡¯s stop fighting and think about things going forward. Isn¡¯t it good for us if the guardian shows up?¡±
I admired his skillful method of changing the topic. Jang Hayoung was one of the most extraordinary people in Ways of Survival. He was a foul-mouthed person who desired to stay here but he was originally an excellent mediator who understood the hearts of people better than anyone else.
Jang Hayoung coughed and tapped on the shoulder of the pub owner. ¡°At any rate, I am surprised. I thought you were only good at cooking. Honestly, couldn¡¯t you have given us a clue?¡±
¡°A good chef often has many secrets. Speaking of the revolutionary, how did you like my cooking earlier?¡±
¡°Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t get a chance to eat it. Someone else ate all of it.¡±
Jang Hayoung stared at me with wide eyes and the pub owner chuckled. Aileen poured cold water on the atmosphere that had barely improved.
¡°You guys areughing like you¡¯re already colleagues. Don¡¯t you know? The game has already begun.¡±
If Jang Hayoung was an excellent mediator, Aileen was an experienced schemer. She might not be in the ¡®lying down dragon¡¯ grade but she pointed out something that a revolutionary should be suspicious about.
¡°I know.¡±
In fact, her advice was pointed to a verse of the Revolutionary Game that appeared in Ways of Survival.
¡¸It is important to gather the same side. But the most important thing is finding out the identity of the enemy. ¡¹
It wasn¡¯t easy to distinguish between who was an enemy and who was a friend. Most revolutionaries failed and self-destructed because they couldn¡¯t break through this point.
The pub owner received my gaze and smiled bitterly. ¡°Do you perhaps doubt me? Do you think I am a snitch for the duke?¡±
Iughed without saying a word. I already knew that the pub owner was a guardian. Thus, this gesture was for the people other than me.
¡°Shall we start with the introductions first?¡±
¡°I am Mark. How about you?¡±
¡°I am Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk? Hrmm. It sounds like a name I¡¯ve heard before...¡±
It was because the Earth scenarios were spreading. Therefore, there might be a person who remembered the name ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ in the Demon World.
I could use this hand if necessary. There were also a few story fragments that I had obtained...
¡°Well, let¡¯s go to the point. I¡¯m not the duke¡¯s snitch. It is hard to believe but I¡¯m being honest.¡±
¡°No, I believe you.¡±
¡°You believe me?
¡°Yes. You are really the guardian.¡±
Mark stared at me like I was a fool. ¡°...I don¡¯t know what happened but I guess I passed the test?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. Congrattions on entering the Revolutionary Army.¡±
The aghast Aileen shouted at the sudden conclusion. ¡°No, wait a minute!¡±
¡°This person came right after I made the revolutionary deration. The duke¡¯s snitch wouldn¡¯t have responded this quickly. The least Revolutionary Scenario was 30 years ago.¡±
Aileen paused at my quick rification before she continued, ¡°It isn¡¯t wrong but I don¡¯t think this is enough evidence.
¡°I do. I am sure that this person is the guardian.¡±
¡°How?¡±
¡°Just as I am sure that you are an engineer of Lindberg.¡±
¡°How could you...¡±
¡°I also know that An over there is really Jang Hayoung and that he is from Earth.¡±
¡°Hey! M privacy...!¡±
Aileen¡¯s expression changed once she saw Jang Hayoung¡¯s reaction. ¡°You... can you see the attribute information?¡±
¡°As much as necessary.¡±
In fact, I had already checked Mark¡¯s attribute information. Aileen didn¡¯t understand but she was finally convinced. ¡°You have an unusual skill. Until now, there wasn¡¯t a skill that could give a glimpse of the position information.¡±
¡°My skill is special.¡±
¡°...I¡¯m d you have such a skill. Still, the situation is very hopeless.¡±
¡°It should be very hopeful.¡±
Aileen sighed with half-hearted resignation and said, ¡°With this, the Fake Revolutionary Army is formed.¡±
¡°...Fake Revolutionary Army? What does that mean?¡±
That reminded me, my situation was a bitplicated. I should first give an exnation. The people here were those I needed to take to the end of this scenario.
I took some time to persuasively exin that I wasn¡¯t a real revolutionary but a person who could make the revolution a sess.
¡°Whaaaat?!¡±
¡°...You¡¯re not a revolutionary?¡±
Two people screamed before my words were over. Thinking back, I never got a good evaluation every time I announced a project at thepany. Mark, who exhausted his points because of me,pletely lost his soul.
¡°Crazy. A fake revolutionary, a poor guardian, the chairman of the Civil Council and a frivolous little boy... is this a joke?¡±
¡°Frivolous little boy? Hey, you are talking too much Mark!¡±
¡°Stop fighting. The situation is like this so we should worry about what we will do next.¡±
¡°Mr. Fake Revolutionary, do you have a n?¡±
¡°I have a few things to prepare.¡±
I briefly exined my n to the group. The haggard-looking people became more serious as I talked. By the end of the story, Mark who joined the Fake Revolutionary Army opened his mouth. ¡°Certainly, those are the measures we need now.¡±
¡°Are you going to participate?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have a choice. What will you do first?¡±
¡°I have to change my face.¡±
I pulled out the story fragment ¡®Face of A Casanova Who Died from Sexual Rtions.¡¯ Mark seemed puzzled. ¡°Face? That wasn¡¯t in the n...¡±
¡°The most important things in the world aren¡¯t included in a n.¡±
¡°Why your face?¡±
¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be handsome to be a revolutionary? Let¡¯s see a few hands.¡±
***
At the same time, Earl Silocke and Han were walking down the streets. Silocke walked through the streets and nced at Han. ¡°Hey Han.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Silocke wasn¡¯t satisfied with this answer but the other person was in contact with ¡®Asmodeus.¡¯ Since Han was willingly joining him, bing closer wasn¡¯t bad.
¡°...I think you originally weren¡¯t a demon. Can I ask where you came from?¡±
Surprisingly, Han gave an answer. ¡°A ce called Earth.¡±
¡°Earth! Ah, I¡¯ve heard that name before.¡±
¡°I guess. The is famous these days.¡±
¡°Since you got Asmodeus¡¯ attention, you must have considerable skill?¡±
¡°Considerable skill?¡±
Silocke was a bit amazed by the pride that emerged on Han¡¯s face. Was he making this face because he was such a great person?
¡°What were you originally? A sword master? Or a great magician?¡±
¡°It is simr.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°I was the department head of argepany.¡±
¡°Argepany? What is that?¡±
¡°Hmm... you don¡¯t know it?¡± Han thought for a moment. ¡°If I had to give an exnation, it is a group simr to a neb.¡±
¡°...A neb!¡±
¡°I am just giving an analogy.¡±
¡°Then you were a ¡®constetion¡¯?¡±
¡°No, but it is a simr analogy.¡±
¡°Then... you are amazing.¡±
Silocke didn¡¯t understand the words pany¡¯ or ¡®department head¡¯ but he was forced to feel surprised at Han¡¯s exnation. It felt like he slightly understood how Han made contact with Asmodeus.
¡°...What is that?¡±
At the gateway between the nobles section and the civilians¡¯ section, a huge barricade was being built. It was obviously an iron gate. Silocke shouted in an annoying voice,
¡°Hey, what are you doing right now?¡±
A citizen working on the barricade replied, ¡°Ah, a noble.¡±
¡°I asked what you are doing!¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you tell just by looking? We are blocking the way.¡±
Silocke was a bit startled by the shameless voice. ¡°Who made you do this?¡±
¡°This is the chairman¡¯s orders. For the moment, nobles can¡¯t enter among the citizens.¡±
¡°What bullshit. What right.... get rid of those barricades now! Otherwise I will immediately throw the two of you into the dump.¡±
The citizens flinched and retreated at his ferocious growl. Then another voice was heard from behind the citizens.
¡°If you are confident then try it.¡±
The citizen who spoke was different from the other citizens. The unknown citizen released a powerful force from his body.
Silocke became tense and retreated. Most citizens were weaker than nobles. However, that didn¡¯t apply to all citizens.
There were the mysterious dimensional movers and some of them were as strong as the demon nobles.
¡°You are doing this just because there is a revolutionary? Do you think we can¡¯t kill him?¡±
The reason why the citizens never stood up against the nobles was due to fear of the execution at Night. However, things started changing fromst night.
¡°You didn¡¯t kill him yesterday.¡±
The citizens muttered as they gazed at each other. Silocke was furious but he couldn¡¯t cross the barricade. He was alone and had no way to deal with so many citizens. At this time, Han asked, ¡°Are those guys holding a strike?¡±
¡°Strike?¡±
¡°They are talking about doing what they¡¯re not supposed to do.¡±
Silocke understood what Han was saying and nodded. ¡°...It is a simr situation.¡±
¡°I see. Leave it to me. I am a professional at dealing with this.¡± A different type of wickedness emerged on Han¡¯s face. ¡°This happens when the workers don¡¯t know who they are going against. For starters, you have to imnt some fear.¡±
***
Aileen helped me with the story fragment that I absorbed through Lamarck Kirin.
However, the molding of the face wasn¡¯t as easy as I thought. The Face of A Casanova Who Died from Sexual Rtions didn¡¯t rest safely on my face until it was evening.
I looked in the mirror and smiled with satisfaction.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: It isn¡¯t better than Yoo Jonghyuk but isn¡¯t this decent? ¡¹
Then Aileen finished the procedure and muttered, ¡°It seems a bit better. Well, I don¡¯t know. Why is the impression so fuzzy...?¡±
...I guess it was fine. My nose was slightly higher and my cheeks more taut...
The anxious Aileen asked me, ¡°By the way, is it okay to be this carefree? Soon it will be the second Night. The Executioner wille again.¡±
¡°It will be fine tonight.¡±
¡°The guardian can¡¯t protect you indefinitely. Don¡¯t you know?¡±
¡°I know.¡±
I would prefer not to use the guardian¡¯s points if possible but now there was no other way. I had to ovee the second Night with the Guardian¡¯s help. The third Night was when I could try a new method.
¡°Surely Mark won¡¯t be the target right? A guardian can¡¯t protect their own life...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. No one other than us knows that he is the guardian.¡±
The duke would still be caught off guard. He didn¡¯t think the revolution would seed. We had to use this chance well.
¡°Aileen! Night ising!¡±
Jang Hayoung yelled from outside and I went out with Aileen. I had to be the target to avoid unnecessary disturbances.
¡°The revolutionary!¡±
People remembered my outfit and cheered. I felt a bit sad that no one realized I had changed my face.
[The second Night has arrived.]
I looked around the street. Mark was hiding somewhere in advance and preparing to protect me.
[You are currently under the protection of the guardian.]
The creepy flute sounds were heard and the executioners appeared one by one. They emerged as expected.
[Who is the revo lu tion ary?]
¡°It is me. You can¡¯t kill me yet you gathered here anyway.¡±
The executioners looked at each other.
[You are the re vo lu tion ary.]
Then they said, [B u t.]
At this moment, I felt suspicious. Wait, this...
It wasn¡¯t possible. They already thought of this strategy?
[The one who wi ll di e.]
The executioners aimed their scythes at different targets.
[Not the re volu tio nary.]
One of the nearby executioner¡¯s scythe aimed for Jang Hayoung¡¯s neck.
Chapter 202 - Fake Revolutionary (4)
Chapter 202: Episode 38 ¨C Fake Revolutionary (4)
¡°Avoid it!¡± The executioner¡¯s scythe moved along with Aileen¡¯s call.
¡¸ At this moment, his thoughts elerated and the world looked like slow motion. ¡¹
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: What the hell is this? ¡¹
I gritted my teeth and rushed towards Jang Hayoung.
There might be a difference between the 111th regression and the current regression but there was no such development in the original second Night. The executioners didn¡¯t receive any orders from the duke and should¡¯ve wasted their second Night after being unable to kill me.
[Kill every one.]
Now the actions of the executioners were like those who had been ying this game for a long time. It was clear that someone had given them orders.
I pushed Jang Hayoung away while releasing de of Belief and receiving the executioner¡¯s scythe.
[Thebat shock has made your story configuration iplete.]
The situation wasn¡¯t very good. I couldn¡¯t fight now.
[The story fragment ¡®Face of A Casanova Who Died from Sexual Rtions¡¯ has been slightly damaged.]
Damn, my face! Fortunately, the executioner had no intention of fighting with me and immediately switched targets. I barely managed to sigh but quickly realized that this wasn¡¯t a good thing.
[Ke ep the re vo lu tio nary a live.]
¡°Aaaaack!¡±
Citizens shrieked as they were cut by the executioners¡¯ scythes. No one was dead yet but half a dozen people were already bleeding.
¡°R-Revolutionary!¡±
I bit my lips.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: Was there a schemer he didn¡¯t know about? Or was the duke already acting? The stories of Ways of Survival flowed quickly through Kim Dokja¡¯s head. ¡¹
¡°Everyone gather this way! I can¡¯t protect you if you scatter!¡±
¡¸ Kim Dokja judged. The duke hadn¡¯t moved. It wouldn¡¯t have ended like this if the duke moved. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall was right. The industrialplex would already be ruined if the duke had moved.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
The damage to the people didn¡¯t reduce. The injuries from the executioners¡¯ scythes continued all over the ce. There were over 10 wounded in an instant.
The good news was that the enemies couldn¡¯t kill many citizens. The game¡¯s rules stated that each executioner could only kill one citizen per day.
At least, for three days.
Aileen shouted, ¡°Everyone fight against them! They can¡¯t use Execution without the mark!¡±
Some citizens armed themselves with weapons at Aileen¡¯s words but the situation didn¡¯t easily improve. In the first ce, only a few citizens could follow the movements of the executioners. Even then, they didn¡¯tst long.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
The fact that the people didn¡¯t know when the executioners would use the ¡®mark¡¯ added to their fear. They could always use the mark and some citizens would surely die. Furthermore, the guardian was protecting me and couldn¡¯t protect them.
¡°R-Run!¡±
In the end, the ranks copsed and the citizens started to scatter.
¡°No! Don¡¯t go!¡±
Aileen urgently shouted but the frightened citizens couldn¡¯t hear anything. The injured citizens groaned and seemed to be cursing towards empty air.
¡¸ Kim Dokja was quietly furious. ¡¹
I didn¡¯t know who did this but...
¡°S-Save me...¡±
A wounded civilian crawled towards me. There were many people without good details. Some of them would die by the end of this Night if they were unlucky. The same went for those who fled.
This Night would be remembered as more terrible than any other Night in the industrialplex.
¡¸ If the damage gets bigger then it will go ording to their intentions. ¡¹
The citizens would no longer be willing to help the revolution. They would once again follow the orders of the duke and Aileen¡¯s Civil Council would be isted. I couldn¡¯t allow this to happen.
Thus, I had to y a different hand. The moment I took a short breath to call out to Aileen.
¡°This way! Kill me!¡± Someone hiding behind a building started shouting. It was Mark. ¡°Over here! I am the guardian!¡±
Jang Hayoung realized what was going on and shouted, ¡°Damn! Pub Owner, what are you doing?¡±
It was a hasty judgment. It was a valid but bad judgment.
¡°I am the guardian! Kill me!¡±
As Aileen and Jang Hayoung nced at me, I was already running towards Mark. At almost the same time, the executioners were also running.
[Guar di an.]
Mark¡¯s provocation worked well. The scattered executioners gathered in an instant.
[Kill the guar di an.]
I used Bookmark and Way of the Wind to quickly rush towards Mark. Mark¡¯s pale face was nearing.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Character List¡¯ is activated!]
+
[Character List]
Character: Mark Javier
Private Attribute: Dimensional Mover (Hero), Retired S-Grade Mercenary (Rare), First ss Chef (Rare)
Constetion Sponsor: None
Exclusive Skills: Cooking Lv. 9, Ingredients Processing Lv. 8, Old Justice Lv. 4, Sword Dance Lv. 9, (Private Skill) Lv. 1...
* This incarnation has a special role in the scenario.
* Some of the skills will be private due to the scenario penalty.
+
In fact, unlike what I told Aileen, I couldn¡¯t know the exact ¡®position¡¯ of a person using Character List. However, I could see that someone had a special position and an unknown skill.
¡°It was a fleeting dream...¡±
The Dimensional Mover from the Gainz, Mark Javier. He retired as a mercenary and be a chef aftering to the Demon World. Every character in the scenario had their own reasons.
Mark smiled at me as the scythes flew towards him. ¡°I hope you seed, Revolutionary.¡±
I didn¡¯t know much about his life. He was a supporting role among countless people who died in Ways of Survival.
[The Syswitz Executioner has ced a mark of death on ¡®Mark Javier¡¯.]
[¡®Mark Javier¡¯ have been identified as the scapegoat of the Night.]
Ways of Survival had a huge 3,149 chapters. Some people probably thought this story was too long. They thought it was a long and boring story.
¡¸ But for Kim Dokja, 3,149 chapters was short. ¡¹
I always thought this. I wished that Ways of Survival was longer. I had read so many chapters but I was still curious about Ways of Survival.
¡°Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t die.¡±
Thus, I would read a part I hadn¡¯t read from now on.
¡°Vicky! If I die...!¡± Mark shouted with a bit of embarrassment.
¡°Why are you so anxious to die? No one will die. At least, not in my story.¡±
I blocked the scythes of the executioners and used a skill.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ is activated!]
[The proficiency of Bookmark has increased and a new slot has been enabled.]
¡°I will ce Knight of Revolution Mark Javier in the sixth slot.¡±
[The character ¡®Mark Javier¡¯ has been registered in the sixth slot.]
[The number six bookmark is activated.]
[(Private skill Lv. 1)is enabled.]
The scythe of an executioner headed to the neck of Mark, who had closed his eyes.
[You have temporarily acquired the position of ¡®Guardian¡¯!]
However, my side was a bit faster.
[Someone has used their vitality to protect ¡®Mark Javier.¡¯]
The executioner¡¯s scythe stopped one inch from Mark¡¯s neck. The scythe stopped like it was caught in a. Mark knew the meaning of this and his eyes widened.
[The guardian was sessful and the mark of death has been released!]
Of course, Mark wasn¡¯t the only one to feel amazed.
[Is th ere ano ther guar di an?]
It was a voice filled with disbelief. The executioners scattered into the darkness one by one. The executioners couldn¡¯t kill anyone, unlike their purpose. I wasn¡¯t satisfied but it was still okay.
I sighed lightly and looked around where the survivors were staring at me. In particr, Jang Hayoung and Aileen were staring with shock. Judging from their expressions, it would be a long night.
[No one died tonight.]
***
As expected, Jang Hayoung and Mark didn¡¯t leave me alone.
¡°What are you really?¡±
¡°What is your position? Are you actually a guardian?¡±
I would¡¯ve suffered even more if Aileen wasn¡¯t taking care of the citizens. I shook my head and sighed.
¡°I told you. I am a fake revolutionary.¡± Thus, I can be a fake guardian.¡±
¡°Exin it now...!¡±
¡°Just let it go. I will expose too much if I tell you more details. Don¡¯t you know how dangerous it is to disclose your information in a situation like this?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Let¡¯s say I tell you the information. If you are kidnapped and reveal my information to the duke, how do you think this revolution will end?¡±
In fact, this was an excuse that Yoo Jonghyuk frequently used when he found exining was annoying. Now I was Yoo Jonghyuk so I didn¡¯t mind saying it.
¡°I am just Yoo Jonghyuk. Remember that.¡±
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: He feels like he is actually bing Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
Shut up.
¡¸I miss Kim Dok ja who speaks with hono rifics. ¡¹
As I was ying with the Fourth Wall, the two men watched m with tired eyes and shook their heads.
¡°...You are a really difficult person.¡±
A message was probably entering Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ears on Earth by now. Perhaps it was this message?
[Your story is being created in the 73rd Demon Realm.]
If he was smart, he would notice what was going on. However, it didn¡¯t matter. The atmosphere calmed down and I brought up the main subject.
¡°Let¡¯s talk about work. There is something that broke my expectations. There is a guy attacking using the rules of the game.¡±
¡°...I heard that Duke Syswitz isn¡¯t a schemer. Do you think the duke has moved directly?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think so. I think it is someone else.¡±
¡°Still, tonight went well. Isn¡¯t it more favourable to us if there are two people who can use the power of a guardian?¡±
¡°Not necessarily. Those guys won¡¯t use the ¡®mark¡¯ tomorrow.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°If it is hard to kill me then they will try to hurt as many people as possible.¡±
¡°Ah...!¡±
If the mark wasn¡¯t used, the Night wouldn¡¯t end until the sun rose.
¡°Many people were already hurt tonight. We didn¡¯t win. We lost.¡±
Today people learnt to fear the executioners again. Once tomorrow came, people¡¯s attitudes would be clear. People would be afraid of the duke again and be afraid of the revolution. The enemies wouldn¡¯t miss this gap.
Mark¡¯s expression became darker and he opened his mouth. ¡°...Then what do we do now?¡±
¡°We don¡¯t need to do anything. Maybe someone else will move first.¡±
I had seen numerous Revolutionary Games in Ways of Survival. If things were like this then the next development was certain.
¡°The second ¡®position¡¯ will appear.¡±
¡°The second?¡±
¡°Yes. A position other than revolutionary, guardian and executioner.¡±
I just said this when someone knocked on the door. It was Aileen. ¡°...Revolutionary, someone hase to find you.¡±
I saw her strangely tense face and knew that the movements of the enemy had already begun.
¡°He says he is a spy.¡±
Chapter 203 - Fake Revolutionary (5)
Chapter 203: Episode 38 ¨C Fake Revolutionary (5)
TL Note: Sorry, I live a few hours away from my family for work. Today I drove back to visit them for a few days and forgot myptop charger. I can still trante on my phone but can¡¯t upload chapters. I will release the rest of this week¡¯s chapters today. Then expect a few days of no chapters before there is a mass release thus/fri depending on how tired I am from the drive.
Spy...
I once read a phrase about the ¡®spies¡¯ in Ways of Survival.
¡¸ All positions in the Revolutionary Game belong to either the ¡®Revolutionary¡¯ or the ¡®Dictator.¡¯ There is only one position that isn¡¯t fixed and that is the ¡®Spy¡¯. ¡¹
The most dangerous and most cowardly position in this Revolutionary Game. Therefore, Ways of Survival described the spy as followed:
¡¸ The team that gets the spy can win the game. ¡¹
In the Revolutionary Game where information was a top priority, the status of the Spy was great.
It was because the spy could check the position information of the desired person. There was a limit of 10 people a day but this alone was enough for the spy to shake the entire board.
Right now, a person iming to be the spy was in front of me. ¡°Are you Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
The appearance of the man didn¡¯t go well with the Demon World. He gave off an ambiguous feeling. No, to be precise... what was it? Why did I get deja vu from this face? I didn¡¯t recall a simr appearance in Ways of Survival.
I replied to the man, ¡°That¡¯s right. I am Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
By the way, the man¡¯s reaction was subtly strange.
¡°...Hrmm.¡± Is that so?¡±
At this moment, I realized something. ¡°By the way, you know my name.¡±
Usually he should be asking if I was really the revolutionary. Yet he first confirmed that my name was ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯
The man shrugged. ¡°Haha, it is a famous name.¡±
Unlike his words, the man was stubbornly staring at my appearance. It was as if he was contrasting it with something he knew. I became certain.
¡¸ This person knows Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
I quickly recalled Ways of Survival but I couldn¡¯t make a guess. In the first ce, Yoo Jonghyuk was a regressor and this was officially before he entered the Demon World.
There wasn¡¯t anyone here who should know Yoo Jonghyuk well. If he was good at observing, he might¡¯ve seen Yoo Jonghyuk by watching the Earth scenario but... it was unlikely.
Due to my poor reaction, Jang Hayoung, Aileen and Mark were nervously ncing between me and the man. Maybe they instinctively felt something.
I decided to find out the identity of my opponent. ¡°What is your name?¡±
¡°I am Aurelius.¡±
¡°...Aurelius?¡±
I hesitated for a moment. I remembered hearing this name somewhere. It wasn¡¯t Ways of Survival but somewhere else.
¡°It is an unusual name.¡±
¡°So they tell me.¡±
¡°Then you are a spy?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 3¡¯ is activated!]
[During the Revolutionary scenario, you can¡¯t use the Lie Detection skill.]
...As expected, this skill didn¡¯t work. I had guessed it.
There was a scene where Yoo Jonghyuk of the 111th regression had been frustrated after learning that this skill didn¡¯t work. I tried it just in case but it was as I figured.
Well, if Lie Detection could be freely used then the difficulty of this scenario would be very easy. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t only have Lie Detection.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Character List¡¯ is activated!]
Of course, I couldn¡¯t discern the exact position of the opponent after using Character List. Nevertheless, I could at least figure out if he had a special position or not.
[The person¡¯s information can¡¯t be essed through Character List.]
[This person isn¡¯t registered on the Character List.]
...What? I was confused for a moment.
[The information on the corresponding person is being updated.]
[This person¡¯s information will be added in the next update.]
It wasn¡¯t the first time I heard this message but it was unexpected. The man didn¡¯t know my situation and asked,
¡°Huh? What¡¯s wrong?¡±
A person who couldn¡¯t be read using Character List. It meant this man was a person who didn¡¯t contribute to the original Ways of Survival novel. In other words, the man was a variable I created.
But how was it possible? This was the Demon World, not Earth...
I was hesitating when Mark asked, ¡°Did youe here to join our side?¡±
¡°Maybe, maybe not.¡±
¡°What does that mean?¡±
¡°I came to save you. It is obvious that the revolution will be destroyed at this rate.¡±
¡°...You areing to sprinkle the ashes even though the meal hasn¡¯t been cookied yet?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t a joke. Public opinion regarding you isn¡¯t good. I don¡¯t know if you have seen outside.¡±
Certainly, the outside had been noisy for a while. I heard a knocking on the door of the office. We nced at each other before heading straight outside. Loud voices were heard as soon as I went outside.
¡°Revolutionary!¡±
Countless gazes focused on me after someone shouted. It was a crowd of nearly 100 people. Some of them shouted towards me in exaggerated voices.
¡°It is because of you! If it wasn¡¯t for you!¡±
¡°My wife was hurt!¡±
Someone even threw stones. To be honest, I was a bit surprised. There was some damage but it wasn¡¯t enough for them toe out to such an extreme degree.
The voices continued, ¡°It was better when the Night came once every three days!¡±
Before the Revolutionary scenario was invoked, Night only came once every three days. Now Night was invoked two days in a row. It was natural for people¡¯s fears to be heightened.
Jang Hayoung shouted towards these people. ¡°You crazy... what are you crazy fuckers talking about? Are you so pathetic? It is okay for one person to die every three days?¡±
Some people heard this and stepped back. Jang Hayoung continued to shout.
¡°If you want to live that way then leave the industrialplex!¡±
¡°W-What does a little boy like you know? Do you have any idea of what it is like outside?¡±
The voices were frightened. Everyone here was well aware of it.
¡¸ Civilians belong to the scenario of the industrialplex. If they leave here, they will be given an exile penalty for leaving the scenario area. ¡¹
The exile penalty. There was no one in the Demon World who didn¡¯t know what it was.
Thus, people would rather turn the roulette of death once every three days. Now that the revolutionary emerged, the interval of the roulette had decreased from three days to one day.
¡°D-Do we have to experience Night every day from now on?¡±
¡°What are you going to do? What are you going to do in the future?¡±
The voices were filled with panic.
Aileen and the other council members tried to restrain them but the crowd¡¯s actions became fiercer. I turned my head and saw Aurelius staring at me with a despicable smile.
¡°Do you now understand what¡¯s going on?¡±
A revolutionary who didn¡¯t have the support of the citizens was bound to be defeated.
I smiled bitterly. ¡°You are on the duke¡¯s side.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t important. The important thing is your choice.¡±
¡°So what do you want?¡±
¡°Surrender to the duke. Everyone else can live except for you. In any case, your revolution is going to fail.¡±
¡°I will be the sacrifice?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not saying that. I¡¯ll help you find a way to live.¡±
¡°How?¡±
¡°If you are really Yoo Jonghyuk, I will protect you.¡±
¡°Doesn¡¯t the duke want to kill me?¡±
¡°My backer is far beyond Duke Syswitz.¡±
An existence that Duke Syswitz couldn¡¯t bepared to. I was quite intrigued by the suggestion. If I wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk then I might¡¯ve thought about it for a moment.
¡°Of course, I will refuse.¡±
¡°I see. You will regret it.¡±
The next moment, Aurelius disappeared. In the midst of the crowd, someone shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s give him to the duke!¡±
¡°The duke said he will end the scenario if we hand him in!¡±
¡°Then the Night won¡¯te!¡±
The voices that came out spread like wildfire. It was very interesting. In fact, I had seen a simr sight before. Maybe it was during the Mino Softbour negotiations.
¡°Everything is over when the next Nightes! We have to catch the revolutionary before that!¡±
The crowd was moving with overwhelming agitation. The people were so terrified that it led to a bacsh against me.
¡°S-Somebody grab him...!¡±
I stared at them for a moment before stepping towards the crowd. The crowd was confused as I walked forward without any fear. My surroundings split apart like Moses¡¯ wave because the people tried to avoid contact with me.
¡°Are you that afraid of the executioner?¡±
I spoke as I pulled out Unbroken Faith. Then the de of Faith vibrated and a white light burst from it. My voice filled with magic power poured cold water on the crowd. A few people in the crowd were surprised by the wave of magic power and fell on their asses, which others backed away. I spoke towards them in a serene voice,
¡°Everybody has forgotten that this isn¡¯t the Night.¡±
I raised the sword towards the air. The magical wave of White Pure Star Energy poured from the heart of the gold dragon and filled the dark sky with a white light. My actions frightened people and they eximed, ¡°W-What...!¡±
¡°He wants to kill people!¡±
¡°Aaaaack! The revolutionary is killing civilians!¡±
The surprised people screamed and Aileen¡¯s shouts could be heard. However, I ignored all sounds and ran to the centre of the crowd. Then I swung myself towards someone in the crowd without hesitation.
¡°First one.¡±
He was one of the men who had been inciting the crowd. The man was pierced in the heart and couldn¡¯t even scream. He just watched me with wide eyes as he died.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
The sensation of murder was gnawing at my hand. Obviously, I was affected by the move to kill someone. It was due to the habit that formed from trying to keep the King of No Killing attribute.
However, today I didn¡¯t hesitate a single bit. It was as if I really had be Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°The second one.¡±
The de moved through the air and blood scattered. A second man¡¯s head flew away. Blood sshed, wetting my clothes while the fearful expressions of the people around me could be seen.
I moved my sword and stabbed thest man in the back.
¡°Thest one.¡±
I killed three people in an instant and looked around. There were constant screams as the grieving civilians watched me. It wasn¡¯t just the citizens.
Aileen, Jang Hayoung and Mark were the same. They didn¡¯t understand what was going on and panic filled their faces.
The revolutionary killed ordinary civilians. Nothing I said would be a convincing exnation. Nevertheless, this was something I never needed to exin.
[A change in the Revolutionary scenario has urred!]
Everyone looked up as the message was suddenly heard. It was followed by subsequent messages.
[An executioner has been killed by someone.]
[An executioner has been killed by someone.]
[An executioner has been killed by someone.]
.
.
.
[Current number of executioners remaining: 7.]
People¡¯s expressions changed at the messages.
A total of three people died. The number of dead executioners was also three.
The people watching me with trembling eyes now screamed and retreated from the dead bodies. It was as if they were looking at something terrible.
¡°U-Uwaaaack!¡±
¡°E-Executioner? They were hiding here?¡±
¡°Aaron was an executioner! Oh my god!¡±
Executioners hid among the civilians. In the midst of this colossal betrayal, the crowd gradually realized.
The executioners had died. The executioners they thought to be invincible had died like a normal man.
It was a story they had never experienced before. In front of this story, people were being inspired in unexpected ways.
One man rose first and drew a sword. His eyes were zing with anger. ¡°S-Son of a bitch! Kill those sons of a bitches!¡±
Those who had just been threatening me started to trample on the corpses. The seething heat of the crowd was several times their previous emotions. They had all lost something to the executioner. This was an act of miserable revenge but it was the best they could do.
I leisurely strolled through the crowd. Then I grabbed the neck of a man.
¡°Kuaack!¡±
¡°You still have the great skill to incite others.¡± The man who tried to escape struggled in my hands. ¡°How are you unscathed, Department Head Han Myungoh?¡±
Chapter 204 - Unidentified Wall (1)
Chapter 204: Episode 39 ¨C Unidentified Wall (1)
I left Aileen, Mark and Jang Hayoung to clean up outside and dragged the unconscious Han Myungoh back to the office.
To be honest, it was a revtion. I never thought Han Myungoh would still be alive.
Department Head Han Myungoh. Before we reached the third scenario, he was cursed by Demon King Asmodeus after killing the dark keeper. I thought he had died before I entered Chungmuro and hadn¡¯t expected to meet him in the Demon World.
I ced Han Myungoh on a chair in the meeting room. I used a story suppressor that I had borrowed from Aileen.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: The department head has aged a lot. ¡¹
There were many small wrinkles on Han Myungoh¡¯s face. Moreover, his whole skin was ckened. Putting aside the wrinkles, the skin discolouration was a sign of a species variation. The longer I looked, the more I could see the old face. Still, many human traces were missing and it was hard to know without looking closely.
Yoo Sangah. Lee Gilyoung. My mother and Song Minwoo... They were the people I couldn¡¯t confirm using Character List.
All of them were people who were involved with me before the scenario or at the start of the scenario. Han Myungoh was also one of them. They survived in this world because of me. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t read their information with Character List.
¡°I know you¡¯re awake so get up.¡±
¡°Uhh... you...¡±
Han Myungoh... I asked the spy, no, the self-styled Aurelius. ¡°Aurelius. Did you pick the name personally?¡±
¡°...!¡±
Han Myungoh opened his eyes and I was filled with a vague feeling of certainty. Aurelius. This was the decisive clue that convinced me this person was Han Myungoh.
¡¸ A web novel? Hey Kim Dokja-ssi. How much time do you have to read this shit? ¡¹
During my days at Mino Soft, I had heard these words after I was caught reading a web novel.
¡¸ If you are going to read a book then you should read something like this. Read a good book if you want to build up your specs. ¡¹
Han Myungoh was holding the book called ¡®Meditations¡¯, written by Marcus Aurelius. The first few pages of the book werepletely discoloured...
¡°You usually carried the Meditations book that you can¡¯t read. Your bluffing still remains.¡±
¡°W-Who the hell are you?¡±
Han Myungoh didn¡¯t recognize me at all. It was because I changed my face ahead of time. If I hadn¡¯t done that, I might be the one to fall into the trap.
I smirked and asked, ¡°Who do you think?¡±
At this moment, something shed through Han Myungoh¡¯s eyes.
¡°D-Don¡¯t tell me...!¡±
As expected, Han Myungoh was Han Myungoh. Even the parachute department head needed to do some work to survive. I quietly brought a finger to Han Myungoh¡¯s lips that were opening.
¡°Shhh.¡±
¡°Oof. Oof. Ooof!¡±
¡°If you say anything then you will die here. Think to yourself. Do you understand?¡±
I was worried about another transcendental existence listening. There were no dokkaebi channels here. However, theck of a channel didn¡¯t mean there was no way for other beings to peep.
[The Fourth Wall says that the demon king ¡®Demon of Rage and Lust¡¯ is looking at stupid Kim Dokja.]
...Better than expected. It could tell me something like this?
¡¸ A hem. ¡¹
Demon of Rage and Lust...
Like constetions, the demon kings had their own modifiers. After all, they were fallen constetions. Of course, there were those who didn¡¯t use the modifiers as resistance against the constetions...
If I remembered correctly, ¡®Demon of Rage and Lust¡¯ was the nickname for Demon King Asmodeus. Han Myungoh seemed to be his subordinate. It was a high-level position where his vision was shared.
¡°Shouldn¡¯t you pay coins if you want to keep peeking?¡±
Han Myungoh¡¯s eyes widened again when he saw me speaking towards the air. He noticed who I was talking to.
Small sparks appeared in the air. If this continued, Asmodeus was likely to gain my information. One day I would reveal my story but now wasn¡¯t the time.
I thought for a moment before pulling a sword out of my coat¡¯s subspace. It was the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
It had been a really long time since I used it to destroy the Absolute Throne. It was a sword that could temporarily evolve to a star relic if the power of the Big Dipper was borrowed.
It was a sword that could break through the constetion¡¯s affinity with the star relic. Originally, I required the help of the Big Dipper to manifest that strength. Now that I was a constetion, I could use the power of this sword without their help.
[The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword has responded to your story!]
¡°If you aren¡¯t going to pay then get lost.¡±
I swung the sword over Han Myungoh¡¯s head. The message appeared as I swing the sword and strong sparks appeared in the air.
[The connection between the Demon King ¡®Asmodeus¡¯ and his household member is temporarily disconnected.]
Han Myungohwas now shocked beyond surprise. He never thought I would have the power to break off his link with the demon king. I warned Han Myungoh.
¡°Here, my name is Yoo Jonghyuk.¡± Nod if you understand.¡±
Han Myungoh stared at me with aplicated gaze and barely nodded after thinking about it. He made the correct judgment because he knew that his life was precious. I released his mouth and Han Myungoh gasped as he looked up at me.
¡°H-How the hell... I heard you were definitely dead...¡±
¡°I¡¯m not dead. Thus, I¡¯m alive.¡±
The terrified Han Myungoh asked, ¡°W-What are you going to do with me?¡±
¡°We¡¯ll see. I¡¯m thinking.¡±
¡°H-Help me! The years we spent together aren¡¯t short!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have any good memories of those years.¡±
¡°I-I am a spy. I can help your revolution! I can see other people¡¯s positions!¡±
It seemed to be true that Han Myungoh was a spy. Indeed, the spy didn¡¯t emerge in the 111th regression. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if a surprising person appeared as the spy.
¡°I don¡¯t need a spy. I found the executioners without you.¡±
Han Myungoh¡¯s eyes once again shook at my words. Then Han Myungoh spoke the question he had been curious about. ¡°That reminds me... how did you find the executioners?¡±
I roughly knew what was going on but I decided to be fooled for a bit. ¡°I didn¡¯t know they were executioners...¡±
¡°What? Then how...¡±
My words were true. The descriptions of some executioners appeared in Ways of Survival but it was written in passing and I didn¡¯t remember them. It would also be hard to recognize just based on the description.
I didn¡¯t kill them because I knew they were executioners. I just used a skill to figure out that they had a special position.
¡¸ That information was enough for Kim Dokja. ¡¹
Han Myungoh didn¡¯t know anything and eximed, ¡°The people you killed could¡¯ve been innocent or have important positions! Y-Yes! For example, a fighter or...!¡±
¡°Stop talking about useless things. If you are trying to drag out the time because you think other nobles wille to rescue you... they won¡¯te.¡±
¡°Ha, haha. What do you mean?¡±
¡°It is only the executioners that the citizens are afraid of. Without them, the nobles can¡¯t easily invade the civilians¡¯ area.¡±
Now that he realized that things were wrong, Han Myungoh¡¯s struggles became worse. He stared at me with red eyes and yelled,
¡°If you kill me, you will receive the demon king¡¯s wrath!¡±
My previous self would¡¯ve been afraid.
¡°Do I look like I¡¯m afraid of the demon king?¡±
I raised my constetion status. It was to such a slight extent that the dukes of the industrialplexes and the demon kings of other demon realms wouldn¡¯t notice. No matter how light, I was a constetion and it was sufficient to kill Han Myungoh.
Han Myungoh trembled before finally giving up. ¡°...What do you want?¡±
It was the question I had been waiting for. In any case, Han Myungoh was someone who had made contact with the demons here. It would be wiser to use him as much as possible.
¡°Make an Oath of Existence. Do you know what it is?¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
¡°Do it if you want to live. Or you can go out and be beaten to death by themon people.¡±
Han Myungoh sighed. ¡°What do you want me to swear?¡±
¡°You won¡¯t interfere in the revolution. You won¡¯t lie. You will truthfully answer any questions I ask and cooperate with me wholeheartedly.¡±
¡°...For how long?¡±
¡°One year.¡±
¡°Shit...¡±
It was better to have a deadline when making such a violent oath. If I forced a permanent oath then the object of the oath might go crazy. If they were given hope that the oath would one day end, the other person would agree to the oath more easily.
¡°...I understand. I will make the oath.¡± Sparks sprung from Han Myungoh¡¯s heart and the oath waspleted.
Now there was a question I wanted to ask Han Myungoh. ¡°Department Head Han Myungoh. How are you still alive?¡±
Han Myungoh started telling his story. The hardships he suffered after separating from us at Chungmuro and how hard it was for him...
He tried to make himself look as poor as possible and I interrupted in the middle.
¡°Tell me the important things.¡±
¡°W-What do you mean?¡±
¡°At that time, you obviously received the demon king¡¯s curse. How did you be a subordinate of the demon king? Asmodeus isn¡¯t that simple an existence.¡±
The 72nd demon king, Asmodeus. No matter how long Han Myungoh¡¯s tongue, he didn¡¯t have the ability to bewitch the demon king.
In addition, Han Myungoh didn¡¯t have a unique story. The demon kings were just as jaded and bored as the constetions. The story of a department head of a bigpany wouldn¡¯t be sufficient to even talk to the demon king.
Han Myungoh licked his lips for a long time and his expression distorted in a miserable manner. I was about to rush him when Han Myungoh opened his mouth. ¡°...I gave birth.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Kuock... I, I...
I thought I heard wrong. I was about to ask again when Han Myungoh burst out crying. ¡°I gave birth to a child!¡±
Chapter 205 - Unidentified Wall (2)
Chapter 205: Episode 39 ¨C Unidentified Wall (2)
Unfortunately, Han Myungoh¡¯s words didn¡¯t continue. Han Myungoh was knocked unconscious because he received a penalty from disclosing some of the details of his contract with Asmodeus.
I felt a bit sad because it was broken off at the exciting part.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: In any case, the demon kings and constetions have started to show interest in this world. ¡¹
Thend of abandoned scenarios, the Demon World. This world, which had long been shunned by the constetions, was starting to receive attention again.
-Humans can¡¯t beat them! Compared to them, we are just insignificant bugs!
Han Myungoh had said this several times. He had been in the Demon World for several months so he was well aware of the strength of the senior nobles and demon kings.
This despair was understandable. In fact, even the early-mid Yoo Jonghyuk had struggled in the Demon World. Of course, that was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s story. I was different.
My stomach started growling because I had stayed awake all night. I headed to the pub and asked Mark to cook some simple dishes. Jang Hayoung was sitting absentmindedly at a table. I quietly approached him and sat down.
¡°Hiik!¡±
¡°You say that every time.¡±
Jang Hayoung stared at me with an ugly expression and screamed, ¡°What is it? What? What other issue are youing to create?¡±
¡°Why are you so grouchy?¡±
¡°...Never mind.¡±
¡°Why? What happened?¡±
Jang Hayoung couldn¡¯t easily answer my question and stared at the te in front of him. I knew that I couldn¡¯t urge him and just waited.
Mark nced between Jang Hayoung and I. It was unknown what he was thinking but he suddenly winked. After a while, Jang Hayoung opened his mouth.
¡°Why did you let me join the Revolutionary Army?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a guardian or revolutionary. I¡¯m not the chairman of the Civil Council like Aileen.¡±
[The character ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has used Lethargy Lv. 4.]
[The character ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has used Self-Loathing Lv. 10.]
Damn, it was starting. I had forgotten for a while. If Yoo Jonghyuk suffered from the ¡®regression depression¡¯ then this person suffered from a thorough ¡®self-loathing.¡¯
I didn¡¯t think there were any main characters of Ways of Survival who were sane.
The small shoulders quivered. I would feel better if I hit him on the shoulder but it would be hard for him to feelforted.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has increased.]
Jang Hayoung stared out the window. He seemed to be looking at Aileen who was cleaning up the previous incident. Jang Hayoung spoke again, ¡°...Night wille again. Will you still be able to protect the people?¡±
¡°Maybe not,¡± I answered honestly. ¡°I don¡¯t know all the executioners. It is impossible to catch all of them before tomorrow¡¯s Night.¡±
There were seven executioners who hadn¡¯t been caught.
If those seven people made up their minds and started attacking people, tomorrow night would be a bloody festival. I added before Jang Hayoung could fall into despair.
¡°There is no other way to stop it. We must find the fighter.¡±
The fighter. It was the only position that could deal with an executioner during the Night. If I could find that position, it wouldn¡¯t be unreasonable to restore the atmosphere.
However, Mark interrupted from where he was cooking. ¡°...I¡¯m sorry but there probably won¡¯t be a fighter.¡±
¡°What? Mark, how do you know this?¡±
¡°There is no one from the old generation to pass on the skills of a ¡®fighter¡¯.¡±
Unlike other positions, a fighter could only receive the position through ¡®session.¡¯ Mark kept speaking. ¡°After the fighter died protecting the former revolutionary, there was no sessor.¡±
I already knew this information. In fact, there was no fighter in this industrialplex. In the original novel, Yoo Jonghyuk had been very confused by this. I bit into the sandwich that Mark gave me.
¡°If there isn¡¯t a sessor then we have to create one. Inherit the position from another fighter.¡±
¡°As far as I know, there are no fighters left in the 73rd Demon Realm.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not going to find them in the Demon World.¡±
¡°What?¡±
I nced at Jang Hayoung. Now was the time. I spoke to the nk-looking Jang Hayoung. ¡°Hey, talk to the wall.¡±
¡°W-What does that mean?¡±
¡°You have a ¡®wall.¡¯ Every time you try to learn something, that wall blocks you.¡±
¡°H-How do you know about the wall?¡± The startled Jang Hayoung stared at me.
¡°There are ways for me to know,¡± I smirked and replied.
Other people might not know it but Jang Hayoung had a ¡®wall.¡¯ To be precise, it was a wall called the Unidentified Wall. This wall had been blocking Jang Hayoung¡¯s growth so far.
¡°Isn¡¯t it because of the wall that you never learnt any skills? That¡¯s why you¡¯re like this. Lethargic, self-loathing...¡±
¡°W-What?¡±
¡°I know you think it is a wall of talent. However, it isn¡¯t a wall of talent. It has a different purpose.¡±
¡°No, how do you...!¡±
¡°In any case, quickly talk to it. You canmunicate with that wall.¡±
Jang Hayoung¡¯s face turned red after hearing that he could talk to the wall. I wanted to tell him not to worry. After all, I was in the same boat in regards to talking to a wall. Jang Hayoung hesitated before slowing opening his mouth.
¡°T-That...¡±
¡°Quickly.¡±
A moment passed before Jang Hayoung triggered the skill.
[The character ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has used Unidentified Wall Lv. 1!]
Jang Hayoung¡¯s pupils were white. It wasn¡¯t visible to me but perhaps in Jang Hayoung¡¯s vision, he would be surrounded by a white wall.
A pure white wall with nothing written on it. It wasn¡¯t strange for Jang Hayoung to get a mental illness if he was blocked by such a wall every time he tried to learn a skill.
Jang Hayoung carefully opened his mouth. ¡°Excuse me... Wall-nim?¡±
Surprisingly, I also heard a message the moment Jang Hayoung spoke.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ is giving off a wrinkled impression.]
I didn¡¯t know why. Maybe it was because I had a simr ¡®wall.¡¯ Either way, it was good.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ is looking at its master.]
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ says: You aren¡¯t qualified yet.]
As expected, it was just as petnt as the original novel. I was prepared.
¡°Hey, don¡¯t do that and give your permission. If you don¡¯t help, your kid will die.¡±
Jang Hayoung was surprised by my sudden words and stared at me. The next moment, the Unidentified Wall spoke.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ says: Who are you?]
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ says: How can you hear my voice?]
¡°It isn¡¯t important who I am. Just give your permission. If it is level one, can¡¯t he use the minimum of features? Why are you blocking him?¡±
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ is frowning.]
It was angry at my words and sparks appeared around Jang Hayoung. The probability was putting pressure on me, a constetion. Myth rated attributes were truly different.
...This wouldn¡¯t be as easy as I expected. I stepped back from Jang Hayoung.
The sparks that suddenly appeared in the air surprised Mark and the other pub customers. Once I had them evacuated, I opened my mouth again. ¡°Are you going to keep acting like this? It isn¡¯t good for you. Won¡¯t you have to find a new host if he dies?¡±
The sparks of probability once again appeared. It was a measure of Jang Hayoung¡¯s strong potential that he could create such a force with the power of a single skill despite not being a constetion. Thus, I needed to awaken Jang Hayoung here.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ says: You are impudent.]
The sparks that burst from Jang Hayoung¡¯s body became increasingly intense. I was a bit baffled because I didn¡¯t know the reaction would be to this extent. It happened the moment I thought a small probability storm would ur here.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
The sparks around me calmed down at once. To be exact, arger spark seemed to have swallowed the surroundings sparks.
[The Fourth Wall greets the Unidentified Wall.]
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ is surprised.]
I was also shocked. The ¡®walls¡¯ could converse with each other?
[The Fourth Wall greets the Unidentified Wall with pleasure.]
Jang Hayoung¡¯s face was turning reddish-white. He was clearly seeing this scene.
The Fourth Wall opened its mouth. ¡¸ Fri end. ¡¹
[The Unidentified Wall is starting to shake.]
I didn¡¯t know about themunication between the walls but just by saying hello, the air around Jang Hayoung started to distort into a mysterious form.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ says: You, what are you...?]
The air around me shook faintly. The Fourth Wall was moving in a form different from usual.
I couldn¡¯t express it well. One thing was clear. It seemed to be angry.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ isining about the pain!]
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ isining about the pain!]
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ isining about the pain!]
There were brilliant sparks as Jang Hayoung grabbed his head and screamed. How much time passed? There was a heavy feeling and the Unidentified Wall sent a message.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ says: W-Who are you?]
***
Honestly, I had no idea why Jang Hayoung had such a wall.
Ways of Survival didn¡¯t exin exactly what the Unidentified Wall was. I thought it would mention it in the ending but... of course, this didn¡¯t mean it was impossible to predict the identity of this wall.
The existence of this wall was presumably rted to Jang Hayoung¡¯s job before he moved dimensions.
¡°This is the first time I have seen...¡±
Jang Hayoung was staring into the air with a very perplexed expression.
[The Unidentified Wall has recognized its master as the incarnation ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯.]
It was aplicated procedure but with the help of the Fourth Wall, Jang Hayoung seeded in being acknowledged by the Unidentified Wall. Then a new window popped up in front of Jang Hayoung for the very first time.
[Enter the modifier or name of the presence you want to send a message to.]
Thanks to the Fourth Wall, I also saw the message. Jang Hayoung stared at me. ¡°...W-What is this? What should I enter?¡±
In fact, it was because of this ability that I had to bring Jang Hayoung with me. I had to borrow the wall¡¯s strength through Jang Hayoung so that I could have the power to fight against those fucking nebe.
¡°Please enter the names I will tell you.¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
I called out several names. They were all names of characters who had fought with fighters in the Demon World in the original novel of Ways of Survival. Then another window popped up.
[Please enter a message to send.]
¡°What should I write?¡±
¡°I want to be a ¡®fighter¡¯. Please help.¡±
¡°...Will it work?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. Just try it first.¡±
Jang Hayoung sent the message. Then we waited. One minute, two minutes. Three minutes... 10 minutes.
Jang Hayoung asked, ¡°Did I do it properly?¡±
¡°...I guess it failed.¡±
The damn Star Stream had no consideration for newbies. I asked for help so earnestly but no one sent a reply. We sent a few more messages.
[I¡¯m looking for someone who will make me a ¡®fighter.¡¯]
[I need the skill of the ¡®fighter.¡¯]
[Please help.]
No matter how many times he sent the message, there was no reply. Maybe they thought it was a spam message and didn¡¯t answer... damn.
I had no talent for writing so I didn¡¯t know what message I should send to get a reply. It would¡¯ve been nice of Han Sooyoung was here. She would¡¯vee up with a good idea.
Jang Hayoung frowned and thought about something for a while. Then he opened his mouth. ¡°...I need to get a reply? Can I write what I want?¡±
¡°Have you thought of something?¡±
Jang Hayoung lightly nodded and typed his message.
[I am a 15 year old schoolgirl.]
¡°Hey, wait¨D¡±
Before I could stop him, Jang Hayoung pressed the Send Message button.
[The message was sent to random constetions because no recipient was entered.]
The message wasn¡¯t even sent to a particr person. I shouted in a frustrated manner. ¡°You are dealing with constetions! Do you think that would work?¡±
¡°...Just watch.¡±
What the hell did this guy eat...
The next moment.
[A reply has arrived!]
We stared at each other with bemused expressions and confirmed the reply. To my surprise, the constetion who replied was someone I knew.
[Sender¨DAbyssal ck me Dragon]
Chapter 206 - Unidentified Wall (3)
Chapter 206: Episode 39 ¨C Unidentified Wall (3)
Jang Hayoung started talking in earnest with the Abyssal ck me Dragon andughed with pleasure. I watched Jang Hayoung and slightly scolded him,
¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±
¡°It¡¯s just funny to talk to this kid.¡±
Jang Hayoung was a strange guy who treated a high ranking constetion as a friend but the even more ridiculous thing was that the Abyssal ck me Dragon had sent a reply.
This jerk only cared about Han Sooyoung so why was he responding to the wrong message?
Then as if to defend the ck dragon, Jang Hayoung shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think he is a bad guy like you think.¡±
¡°What nonsense is this? Did you fall for him?¡±
¡°He is more gentle when speaking than you think.¡±
¡°Gentle? A bastard who replied to a 15 year old schoolgirl is gentle?¡±
I wondered if I should exin the nasty context when Jang Hayoung replied, ¡°He replied because I am 15 years old.¡±
¡°What? He replied because you are 15 years old? What aplete trash.¡±
I knew that the Abyssal ck me Dragon was cruel and tasteless but I didn¡¯t know he had such preferences. I was suddenly a bit worried for Han Sooyoung.
¡°Why are you so agitated? He is just happy to have a friend. He says he is 15 years old.¡±
¡°What bullshit! I don¡¯t know how old he is but is there a 15 year old constetion?¡±
At this moment, a setting suddenly rose in my mind.
¡¸The constetions living in the eternal Star Stream are ustomed to confining themselves in certain frameworks to protect their sense of self. A representative example is age. They tend to transfer themselves to a specific age and think they are that age. ¡¹
...Don¡¯t tell me? Even so, wasn¡¯t 15 years old too much? Really?
Then a scream was heard from inside the meeting room. It was Han Myungoh. I turned and spoke to the startled Jang Hayoung.
¡°I have to go talk to him. I¡¯ll be back in a minute.¡±
¡°I know. What should I ask?¡±
¡°Just let him go. In any case, he isn¡¯t a warrior. I¡¯d rather you talk to someone else. Don¡¯t you have the list I gave you earlier? Try them again.¡±
Jang Hayoung nodded. I was uneasy after seeing his excited expression but I thought it would be okay. This was originally his ability.
The awakening of the Unidentified Wall was a bit faster than the original novel but this was the best for now. The industrialplex¡¯s revolution was impossible without the help of the wall.
I opened the door to the meeting room. Han Myungoh had just woken up and was covered in sweat.
¡°Why did I faint?¡±
I quietly closed the door of the meeting room and replied, ¡°You fainted after remembering the pain of childbirth.¡±
Sweat was flowing down Han Myungoh¡¯s face like he had a nightmare.
¡°That¡¯s it?¡±
¡°Asmodeus probably cursed you as well.¡±
¡°That son of a bitch...¡±
Han Myungoh expressed his hatred for the demon king more directly than before. It was originally a dangerous thing but now he had left Asmodeus¡¯ sight thanks to the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
I pulled out the chair again and sat back down.
¡°Listen again. What child did you give birth to and why did you receive Asmodeus¡¯ favour?¡±
¡°...I first have to exin why I had a child.¡±
¡°I have a rough idea. Is it due to the dark keeper that we fought before?¡±
Right before we split apart, Han Myungoh had been affected by the parasitic tentacles of the dark keeper. Usually, such a thing didn¡¯t necessarily mean the conception of a demon species but it happened directly with Han Myungoh
¡°That isn¡¯t the case. It isn¡¯t because of the dark keeper that I had the child.¡±
¡°Then...¡±
¡°It is because of the curse.¡±
Asmodeus¡¯ curse dealt the final blow to Han Myungoh who was infected by the dark keeper. Asmodeus¡¯ curse consumed probability to realize the ¡®most terrible thing¡¯ that the target thought of. In other words...
¡°I understand. By the way, is that possible? A man¡¯s body giving birth...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t ask about that part.¡±
I lightly nodded. It was the minimum courtesy for the elder who had an unbelievable experience. We were silent for a moment. It suddenly felt weird that I was talking to Han Myungoh like this.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: It is a strange feeling. ¡¹
Before the destruction came, Han Myungoh was a person who made life hard for ¡®office worker¡¯ Kim Dokja. He was one of the top-ranked bosses to be avoided. Certainly, there were days like that. It was a time when I felt bitter over the 3,000 convenience store bento and when I had to count every bit of my monthly sry.
Now those days were gone. Kim Dokja and Han Myungoh were no longer an office worker and department head. Instead, they were talking about a ¡®demon king.¡¯
¡°Kim Dok... no, Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi. Do you know what it¡¯s like to be a father?¡±
I was a bit baffled by Han Myungoh¡¯s sudden words. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°I learnt.¡±
In fact, it was hard to say if Han Myungoh should be called a mother or a father but I decided to move on because this wasn¡¯t the important thing. Han Myungoh had a serious expression.
¡°It was painful.¡±
The words sounded much more painful than any of Han Myungoh¡¯s previous statements.
¡°I was also happy.¡±
I looked at Han Myungoh with surprise. At this moment, I realized the identity of my strange feeling. Maybe I didn¡¯t want to admit it. Everybody changed. Whether they were good or evil, a child or an adult.
¡°She is a very pretty daughter.¡±
¡°I would love to see her once. Is she in the Demon World?¡±
¡°Now she isn¡¯t with me.¡± His expression darkened and I got a hunch.
¡°Then...?¡±
¡°It is a long story. Will you help?¡±
¡°Tell me first. I would like to hear your story.¡±
Han Myungoh hadn¡¯te directly into the household of the demon king. In a ce that I didn¡¯t know, Han Myungoh¡¯s story had continued. He took his daughter and broke through the scenario alone.
Capture the g.
The war of kings.
The five disasters.
I couldn¡¯t believe such a story had happened in ces I couldn¡¯t see. I couldn¡¯t believe that Han Myungoh could show such devotion to someone. On the other hand, I had to admit it.
I was no longer the old Kim Dokja. The man in front of me wasn¡¯t the old Han Myungoh. I didn¡¯t know if the birth of his child was the trigger. The only thing that was clear was that Han Myungoh had changed.
¡°It was tough.¡±
¡°Yes, it was hard. I almost died many times. At the end, I fell into a crisis I couldn¡¯t escape from.¡±
He was finally driven to the brink at a time when the Dark Castle scenario hadn¡¯t officially started yet. Han Myungoh was surrounded by demons and demon nobles and realized he could no longer defend his child.
Then he prayed for the first time in his life. He prayed for someone to protect his child. If this child lived, he would do anything. To his surprise, a presence answered his prayers.
-A beautiful child.
¡°It was Asmodeus.¡±
¡°...Did the demon king steal your child?¡±
I felt bad because of the terrible things I imagined. Asmodeus was the Demon King of Rage and Lust. It was obvious what would happen if a child entered his hands. However, Han Myungoh¡¯s expression was calm.
¡°She is safe. After all, she is a child born from Asmodeus¡¯ curse. And... the demon king isn¡¯t in a situation where he can touch my daughter.¡±
¡°What does that mean?¡±
¡°The demon king has made my daughter his ¡®incarnation body¡¯.¡±
I seemed to know what happened.
It might be a whim but the demon king Asmodeus made Han Myungoh¡¯s child one of his incarnation bodies. As one of the child¡¯s parents, Han Myungoh was given a demon noble title.
¡°...That¡¯s how I became a demon.¡±
After hearing this, I felt that Han Myungoh¡¯s life was very difficult. His life might be considered sessfully because he got a title but it might be considered a failure because his child was taken...
Han Myungoh¡¯s eyes were sombre as he opened his mouth again.
¡°I want to save my daughter.¡±
For a moment, I thought I heard wrong. What did he want?
¡°I won¡¯t speak long words. Help me. I won¡¯t forget your grace if you help me this once.¡±
What was this situation all of a sudden?
He filmed a life theatre all by himself and now he wanted me to help him?
¡°You¡¯ve been watching me for a long time and should know well. I am a human who is a coward. However, this is something I can¡¯t concede on.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Last night was out of my expectations. I was scared but I actually didn¡¯t hurt anyone. The executioners were excited by the appearance of the guardian and did what they wanted.¡±
Han Myungoh swore the Oath of Existence and couldn¡¯t lie to me. Then this wasn¡¯t a lie. I decided to respond rationally. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I have no ns to fight Asmodeus.¡±
This would beplicated if one of the 72 demon kings were lost. It would attract foreign forces when the revolution hadn¡¯t even begun yet.
Han Myungoh¡¯s next reaction was surprising. ¡°You don¡¯t have to fight Asmodeus. You just have to continue doing what you are doing. Start a revolution and kill the duke. I will help you.¡±
¡°...Aren¡¯t you on the duke¡¯s side?¡±
¡°Originally that was the case. Now that things have be like this, I think it will be okay to help you.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°Asmodeus didn¡¯t want me to help the duke. He had a suggestion for me. If I made the story he wanted, he would return my daughter. That¡¯s why I attached myself to Duke Syswitz.¡±
This part wasn¡¯t in the original novel. It was no wonder. From the beginning, Han Myungoh wasn¡¯t present in the novel.
I struggled for a moment before asking, ¡°What story does the demon king want?¡±
¡°The king of the 73rd Demon Realm.¡±
Han Myungoh slowly raised his head and stared at me. Han Myungoh¡¯s eyes were exactly the same as the interviewer on the day I joined Mino Soft.
¡°The demon king... he told me to make the ¡¯73rd Demon King¡¯ with my own hands.¡±
***
Yoo Jonghyuk was starting at the night sky with indifferent eyes.
The sky with different constetions from Earth was visible. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body leaning against the Heaven Shaking Sword looked thinner than usual as he counted the stars. His body was covered with blood and his face was wounded. There was a second grade monster that had just been defeated lying in front of him.
¡°...The 15th scenario is finished.¡±
Lugratia.
Yoo Jonghyuk came here through a ¡®personal scenario¡¯ from one of the constetions of this world.
Originally, he would¡¯ve proceeded with Earth¡¯s scenarios. However, he had strong colleagues this regression and decided to leave the scenarios to them. The situation was growing faster than his previous regression. It was right for him to stockpile his power when he could. This current power wouldn¡¯t be enough if he entered the scenarios in the 20s.
¡®I need to be stronger.¡¯
That¡¯s why Yoo Jonghyuk reced the main scenario with ¡®personal scenarios¡¯ since the 11th main scenario. He also picked the hardest personal scenarios with the most rewards. Sometimes he even challenged personal scenarios that were too reckless for him.
Fight, fight and fight again.
As always, he trained and overworked his body and spirit. He thought it would fill a bit of the sense of loss that he couldn¡¯t understand. Strangely, the more he fought, the greater the emptiness became.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at you sadly.]
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned and red at the sky.
Demon-like Judge of Fire. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t know why this constetion came so often recently. It was a constetion he had little contact with in the past.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is asking why you aren¡¯t looking for Kim Dokja.]
¡°Kim Dokja is dead.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is shaking her head while holding back tears.]
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t understand why a constetion was dwelling so much on the death of a single incarnation.
The thing he didn¡¯t understand was the next message.
[Your notoriety is spreading in the 73rd Demon Realm.]
¡®Again?¡¯
The message was unforgettable.
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t know why his notoriety was rising in a distant ce like the 73rd Demon Realm. At first, he thought Kim Dokja was alive and impersonating him. However, even if Kim Dokja was alive, there was no reason for him to do this...
¡®...Wait. Perhaps Kim Dokja is alive and in danger?
Maybe Kim Dokja was alive. Maybe he lived alone in the horizon of the story without any scenarios and beyond that damn fate.
Thus, he survived. Maybe he was asking for help. That guy, who always moved ahead by himself, was in danger and asking for help for the first time.
There was no way to ask for help in the absence of a channel so...
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression becameplicated as he stared up at the sky.
¡®The 73rd Demon Realm...¡¯
Chapter 207 - Unidentified Wall (4)
Chapter 207: Episode 39 ¨C Unidentified Wall (4)
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I don¡¯t know if people are doing well. ¡¹
I wondered if I could see the story of Earth again on the screen but there was nothing to be seen. It wasn¡¯t easy for the wenny people to easily steal the videos of the dokkaebis.
Night was fast approaching. I hadn¡¯t sleep well for a few days but the condition of my body wasn¡¯t bad because Aileen had repaired my stories.
¡°I have temporarily fixed it but you need to be careful with outside activities. Don¡¯t you know? You are still outside the main scenario.¡±
¡°You sound like a doctor.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t speak like a clock maker because I¡¯m not dealing with clocks now.¡±
Aileen watched me before standing up with their repair equipment. Many things had happened in the past two days but she didn¡¯t seem dissatisfied with the current situation.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: If I hadn¡¯te, Aileen would¡¯ve kept being a clock maker. ¡¹
In many regressions when Yoo Jonghyuk hadn¡¯te to the Demon World, Aileen would¡¯ve actually survived. She quietly made clocks that told the time of her home and reflected alone on the disappearance of her. Sometimes she would struggle with Jang Hayoung or go out to eat dishes made by Mark... maybe it was a happier life for Aileen.
¡°Do you know? The number of people who had been looking for clocks has increased in thest few days.¡±
Aileen looked at me with an unknown gaze. I hesitated for a moment before asking, ¡°Did their clocks break as a group?¡±
¡°Originally, people of the industrialplex don¡¯t use clocks.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°It is because there is no use in knowing something like time.¡±
I remembered something I read in Ways of Survival. Someone had referred to the Demon World as the ¡®city that lost time.¡¯
¡°Then what about the hours of the Night?¡±
¡°Can they change their fate if they know when Nightes?¡±
A fear that was too old became aw. It had happened for so many years that Night in the industrialplex had be a natural thing.
Once every three days, someone would die and their story would be used as fertilizer in the factory.
No matter what life they lived, the stories they contained or the tomorrow they would live. Then the rest of the people would live for another three days.
¡°However, there was a Night where no one died. It is because of you.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°People have started to fear the Night again. It isn¡¯t a natural thing and can be resolved. They think they perhaps they can live tomorrow. This is what they are thinking.¡±
My eyes suddenly fell to the watch around Aileen¡¯s wrist. There were three hours left until Night arrived...
I listened to the ticking second hand as Aileen remained silent. Perhaps some people in the industrialplex were watching clocks like we were now.
Perhaps tonight would be harder and more intense thanst night. Then why? I listened to the sound of the second hand moving and felt a bitforted. I wasn¡¯t the one who should beforted.
¡°Thank you.¡±
¡°...I¡¯m not saying this to praise you. It just doesn¡¯t look good if the revolutionary is depressed.¡±
Aileen turned away. Iughed at Aileen and quickly added. ¡°Ah, wait a minute.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°Speaking of clocks, can you make something else?¡±
¡°Something else?¡±
¡°It is called... a smartphone.¡±
¡°What is that? Is it magic technology?¡±
I was wondering how to exin it and gave an overview of the feature of the smartphone. Then Aileen spoke like she knew, ¡°Do you mean something like amunication device? It shows a small panel?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°However, there isn¡¯t a dokkaebi channel here somunication isn¡¯t possible...¡±
Considering past experiences, it didn¡¯t matter ifmunication was possible. My phone synced automatically so the text file would be created.
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Can you make it today?¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid it will take at least three days... I will try my best.¡±
¡°I know. Then do your best.¡±
I left Aileen¡¯s workshop and headed towards the pub. The people who found me on the streets stared with strange eyes. Some greeted me after making eye contact and others lightly gathered both hands together. As Aileen said, I could see something that looked like watches on their wrists.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk felt lonely as he saw these watches. They got their time back but he still wasn¡¯t
living in this time. Yoo Jonghyuk suddenly thought. If so, where do I live in those countless hours? ¡¹
It was the monologue of Yoo Jonghyuk, who once saved the Demon World. It was also one of my favourite scenes from Ways of Survival.
I suddenly seemed to understand a bit of his mind. To the regressor Yoo Jonghyuk, the time in these worlds didn¡¯t belong to him. In a life that could go back over and over again, the present time was meaningless.
Once this was over, I would ask Aileen to make me a watch. If he had something like this, he might be more attached to this world. Maybe the regression depression would get better...
I knew that this world wouldn¡¯t disappear when he went back in time but without him, it would be difficult to clear the remaining scenarios.
¡°Ahahahahat, this is really funny.¡±
I opened the pub door and saw theughing Jang Hayoung. From this distance, he looked like a junior high school student.
¡°What are you doing?¡±
This time, he didn¡¯t make the ¡®hiik¡¯ sound. Instead, Jang Hayoung avoided my eyes like a child caught by his parents doing something bad.
¡°I-I was doing what you asked me to do!¡±
¡°Did a fighter reply?¡±
¡°That...¡± Jang Hayoung licked his lips for a while before eventually confessing the truth.
¡°...None of the fighters replied?¡±
¡°R-Really? No one gave me a response!¡±
¡°What did you say?¡±
¡°I am a 15 year old schoolgirl...¡±
My forehead vein bulged. ¡°Hey! They didn¡¯t reply because you sent that message!¡±
¡°But it worked before...¡±
¡°Do you think they are all like the ck me dragon? How many messages did you send?¡±
¡°A total of 300...¡±
Maybe they thought it was a spam message and blocked it. Damn.
¡°It¡¯s a big deal. I only know the fighters on that list.¡±
Jang Hayoung realized that he was in trouble and paled. ¡°Then what now?¡±
This was why I needed Ways of Survival. If I had the text file would¡¯ve allowed me to re-read things and search for more information about the fighters.
¡°Let¡¯s find out if there are any other fighters. For now...¡±
I was reminded of a few modifiers for the constetions. Was there someone among the constetions who could help us?
¡°Write a message to Prisoner of the Golden Headband.¡±
¡°...Isn¡¯t he a powerful constetion?¡±
I didn¡¯t know if he had any skills rted to a fighter. However, now was the time to grab onto any piece of straw.
Jang Hayoung typed a message and we waited. One minute, two minutes... five minutes.
Jang Hayoung shook his head. ¡°There is no reply.¡±
¡°Write this.¡± I dictated the contents of the message again.
Then Jang Hayoung was amazed. ¡°Can I use something like this?¡±
¡°You just have to get his attention once.¡±
The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was azy guy. It must be to this degree to get a reply. Less than 10 seconds after Jang Hayoung sent this message, the following notification popped up.
[A reply has arrived!]
¡°A-A reply is here!¡±
¡°Is that right?¡±
For reference, the message I sent was as followed:
[Regrow your hair.]
Every time I did something, he would pull out his hair in the indirect message. Thus, I figured that he had hair loss. I asked, ¡°What did he say?¡±
¡°If we meet, he will kill me.¡±
¡°What else?¡±
¡°He asked who I am. Should I say Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t answer.¡±
It would be fun to say Yoo Jonghyuk but it would only make the matter bigger. I rubbed my temples. The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven ate the wrong bait so we had to find another way.
¡°Demon-like Judge of Fire... I don¡¯t think it is good to call her. Secretive Plotter... I still don¡¯t know his identity...¡±
It had be troublesome.
¡°Queen of the Darkest Spring and God of Wine and Ecstasy are from Olympus...¡±
If I revealed that I was alive, some of them would help. The problem was that if I rified my identity, the nebe would notice my survival.
¡°It is difficult.¡±
It was the first challenge I encountered after entering the Demon World. There wasn¡¯t much time left until Night arrived.
If Jang Hayoung didn¡¯t be a fighter then all the ns I set up for tonight would be wasted. At this time, Jang Hayoung wondered, ¡°Can the ck dragon help?¡±
I paused for a moment as I thought about the identity of the ¡®ck dragon.¡¯ ¡°...You¡¯re still talking to him?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Forget that guy. He probably has nothing.¡±
¡°No, he was a fighter in the Demon World for a while.¡±
...The Abyssal ck me Dragon was once a fighter? That story never came out in Ways of Survival.
Come to think of it, details of the Abyssal ck me Dragon were never described in earnest so it wasn¡¯t an impossible story...
¡°However, he didn¡¯t like the rules of the scenario and killed them all.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°The duke, the revolutionary and the executioners, he killed them all?¡±
Something suddenly came up. Perhaps it was when the 64th Demon Realm was integrated? There was one such madman in the history of the Demon World. That person was the Abyssal ck me Dragon?
¡°Ask him if he can pass on the fighter¡¯s skills to you.¡±
The Abyssal ck me Dragon was a constetion of the evil system and sending a message to him wouldn¡¯t be too obvious. It would be best if we could get help from him.
Jang Hayoung entered something and then he suddenly lit up. ¡°It isn¡¯t a problem to give it to me
since he isn¡¯t using it anyway.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
...It was an unexpected help. The problem could be solved in a way I hadn¡¯t thought of?
In fact, neither the ck dragon or Kim Namwoon were good guys. I had to carefully read the parts where they appeared once I got the text file back.
By the way, Jang Hayoung¡¯s words weren¡¯t over. ¡°However, he has one condition?¡±
That¡¯s right. That jerk couldn¡¯t give it away so easily.
¡°In any case, any transaction through the wall requires a payment. What is his condition?¡±
¡°He has a problem recently.¡±
¡°A problem?¡±
¡°He isn¡¯t getting along very well with his incarnation...¡±
¡°His incarnation?¡±
¡°His incarnation keeps ignoring him.¡±
If it was the incarnation of the Abyssal ck me Dragon...
¡°She is in a crisis right now but she isn¡¯t listening to his words...¡±
...A crisis? I quickly ordered Jang Hayoung. ¡°Tell him to exin the story in detail.¡±
Chapter 208 - Unidentified Wall (5)
Chapter 208: Episode 39 ¨C Unidentified Wall (5)
There was the sound of a de prating the heart and thest man fell.
¡°K-Kuock... d-dog...¡±
He tried to squeeze out a curse but the man¡¯s mouth was crushed by the woman¡¯s foot. He was thest man.
Han Sooyoung looked around the office that had be a bloodbath. ¡°...I barely killed them all. At any rate, the adaptation of the Korean people is dirty and fast.¡±
This was the home of ¡®Law of the Jungle¡¯, an incarnation club of Gyeonggi Province. As soon as the scenario started, they chose a useful sponsor and turned themselves into a criminal group. They were those who refused the control of the government. If she didn¡¯t kill them now, they would be a cancer of the Korean Penins. ording to the original novel, they were bound to be such people.
¡°Damn Kim Dokja.¡± She started cursing but didn¡¯t feel any better. Thus, Han Sooyoung added one more thing. ¡°Bastard Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
She thought of the two people who went their own separate ways and Han Sooyoung felt like an abandoned food processor.
¡°Dammit. Kim Dokja has a reason but what¡¯s wrong with Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
The moment that Yoo Jonghyuk left Seoul Dome, he continued to do things that weren¡¯t in the original third regression. He stayed alone in a room, talked to himself and then threw the Korean Penins scenarios away for the personal scenarios...
Thanks to this, cleaning up the remnants were left entirely to Han Sooyoung.
¡°What is he thinking... Shit...¡±
In any case, she was currently thest person who read Ways of Survival. Kim Dokja and Yoo Jonghyuk weren¡¯t present, leaving her the only one responsible for the Korean Penins.
She sighed and quietly left the scene of ughter. ¡°Ah, what a surprise. What are you doing here?¡±
There was a woman waiting for her at the office doorway. The woman wore abat uniform that clung to her body and her hair flowed around her in a cool manner. As if conscious of the body that was revealed, she wore a wide coat on her shoulders. It was a refreshing but very beautiful face.
Well, this was what the media stated.
Han Sooyoung wondered, ¡°I thought you were busy with TV these days. Isn¡¯t this the case?¡±
Han Sooyoung stared at Yoo Sangah with a slightly unfriendly look. Yoo Sangah moved away from the wall she was leaning on and looked down at Han Sooyoung. There was a slight difference in their heights.
There was a moment of confrontation before Yoo Sangah opened her mouth with a brief sigh. ¡°...How long are you going to act this way?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°You can¡¯t kill all of them just becausew and order is gone.¡±
Han Sooyoung was toozy to exin and just waved her hands. Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t know. What type of people belonged to Law of the Jungle? In addition, she didn¡¯t know what they would do.
She didn¡¯t know which was why she could argue with such childish justice.
¡°They are the ones who will do something wrong in the future.¡±
¡°However, you didn¡¯t give them a chance.¡±
¡°It has already been determined. You don¡¯t know anything.¡± Han Sooyoung replied while passing by Yoo Sangah.
She couldn¡¯t share the future. The information that many people knew would be less valuable and would change the future. Kim Dokja would¡¯ve probably done the same thing. So...
¡°Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.¡±
Han Sooyoung instantly stopped walking at Yoo Sangah¡¯s words.
¡°Isn¡¯t that the book the prophets call the Revtion?¡±
¡°...You must¡¯ve heard something funny.¡±
¡°Did you read it?¡±
Han Sooyoung bit her lips before opening her mouth. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡±
¡°The constetions seem to have no idea about this book.¡±
The story had slowly spread so it wasn¡¯t strange. Some of the readers were outside Seoul Dome and there were also the rumours that the prophets had leaked. Yoo Sangah also knew that she was the First Apostle.
¡°Did Kim Dokja read it?¡± That¡¯s how he knows the information of the future.¡±
¡°Who knows?¡±
It was an ufortable topic. Han Sooyoung pulled out a dagger. The information about Ways of Survival was filtered but she didn¡¯t know how long it would continue. Thus, she had to reduce the number of mouths...
¡°Why did he do that?¡±
Han Sooyoung turned her head at the sudden sad tone.
¡°Why did Dokja-ssi make such a choice even though he knows the future?¡±
Han Sooyoung looked at Yoo Sangah¡¯s face and seemed to know why she came. Han Sooyoung stared quietly at Yoo Sangah¡¯s face. She had been an ordinary office worker before the scenarios started.
¡®She was in the samepany as Kim Dokja.¡¯
Why? Han Sooyoung suddenly felt hot. ¡°Everybody talks about Kim Dokja everywhere I go. They don¡¯t know anything about Kim Dokja.¡±
Han Sooyoung took short breaths as a terrible voice flowed out. Without knowing why she was so angry, Han Sooyoung cried out. ¡°He is a selfish bastard. He only thinks about himself from beginning to end.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°The person who fooled people to the end, lied and disappeared as a hypocrite, what do you know about him? You don¡¯t even know if he is dead or alive.¡±
A fleeting scene ran through her head. It was Kim Dokja¡¯s eyes looking at her in the tenth scenario. It was that damn expression that made her pull out her knife first.
¡°No, he can¡¯t be dead. I¡¯m sure he is alive and living well in another story.¡±
¡°Do you really think so?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know Kim Dokja.¡±
There was a deep sense of self-deprecation in her cold tone. Nobody knew Kim Dokja, including Han Sooyoung herself. Yet Yoo Sangah¡¯s answer was different. ¡°No, I know.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°A person doesn¡¯t change so suddenly.¡± Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice was calm. ¡°The scenarios started and for a while, Dokja-ssi was like a different person. A man who could calm down in front of life-threatening situations and kill unknown beasts without hesitation. He was different from the Kim Dokja I knew.¡±
¡°You probably didn¡¯t know Kim Dokja very well.¡±
¡°Even so, Dokja-ssi is still Dokja-ssi.¡±
Han Sooyoung closed her mouth.
¡°A person who likes reading books rather than building up his specs. His presentation abilities aren¡¯t good but he will listen to someone else¡¯s presentation...¡±
That Kim Dokja was different from the one Han Sooyoung knew. The person who knew Kim Dokja was talking.
¡°Thus, he was obviously lonely.¡±
Somewhere in front of her, Kim Dokja seemed to be making a face. In a world with no one... Kim Dokja might be looking at the sky alone in a world that no one knew.
¡°Han Sooyoung-ssi. I have to go and rescue Dokja-ssi.¡±
Han Sooyoung saw her determination and felt somehow defeated.
¡®You are a lucky person, Kim Dokja. People are worrying about you.¡¯
Han Sooyoung was about to open her mouth when a message was heard in the air.
[A new main scenario has started!]
¡°Son of a bitch.¡±
The Great Hall was opening in the air. The cries of monsters were heard from somewhere. The surprised Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung stood back to back. A giant monster was swooping down through the Great Hall. Then the dokkaebi¡¯s voice was heard.
[The wave pattern is obvious and very slow, but I put it in because people seem to be too free these days!]
Yoo Sangah frowned at the sudden emergence of a situation and frowned. ¡°...Was this the original content?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t remember everything.¡±
This was why she didn¡¯t want to do it alone. She knew the future but the information she knew was about flimsy things. Kim Dokja knew many rounds and Yoo Jonghyuk who made it through the rounds might be able to make a breakthrough but not Han Sooyoung.
The giant serpent flew through the dark clouds andnded on the ground. Every time the long tail swept over the ground, the high-rise buildings copsed.
This was a third grade strange dragon species, the Kragagon. It was the name of the monster who descended as a disaster in the 12th scenario.
¡®How do we beat that?¡¯
Han Sooyoung tried hard to recall the contents of the original novel but no matter how she thought about it, a strategy didn¡¯t pop up. Then the only way left was a full-scale battle. Fortunately, there was Yoo Sangah right next to her. They weren¡¯t colleagues but it was better than nothing.
[The stigma ¡®ck mes Lv. 6¡¯ has been activated!]
She focused her magic power on her dagger while activating the skills of the weapon.
[The third grade strange dragon species ¡®Kragagon¡¯ has defended against the attack using ¡®Fire Resistance.¡¯]
[The third grade strange dragon species ¡®Kragagon¡¯ has defended against the attack using ¡®Shadow Resistance.¡¯
¡°Ahh, you are no help against a damn lizard!¡±
The enemy had fire and dark resistance so Han Sooyoung¡¯s skills didn¡¯t affect it at all. The attacks just seemed to tickle and annoy the strange dragon.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is gloomy.]
She looked around and Yoo Sangah¡¯s situation didn¡¯t seem much better. Han Sooyoung thought to herself, If only she had inherited the story of the Abyssal ck me Dragon...
¡®Dammit, how do I inherit that damn story?¡¯
Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression darkened as she looked at the group of iing strange dragons. If that jerk Kim Dokja was here, he could¡¯ve told her what to do.
It was at this moment.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ tell you that if you want, he can you tell their weakness.]
¡°...You know their weakness?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is nodding.]
¡°Don¡¯t make a fool of yourself. You don¡¯t know much about the scenarios.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is jumping around wildly.]
Han Sooyoung listened to the ck dragon¡¯s childish message and inwardly sighed. ¡®That brat Kim Dokja, he must¡¯veughed at me when I chose the ck dragon?¡¯
The Abyssal ck me Dragon was clearly a powerful constetion. However, his intelligence was much lowerpared to other constetions. Why? This guy was too strong since his birth and didn¡¯t need much strategy to attack the scenarios. It was cool to hear but it wasn¡¯t good from the position of his incarnation.
However, this time something was different.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ says that the kragagon¡¯s weakness is the silver scale on top of its head.]
¡°Really? Last time you told me the wrong thing.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ ims on his ck me dragon that this is real.]
¡°You said thatst time as well.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ ims this story was told by a reliable source.]
¡°Reliable source?¡±
Since there was no other method, Han Sooyoung decided to follow the words of the ck me dragon. Han Sooyoung jumped onto the strange dragon¡¯s tail and used footwork to run up. She crossed the streamlined body. She really saw a silver scale near the crown of his head.
¡°Haaap!¡±
The dagger dug into the scale and the kragagon copsed with a terrible scream. The breath of the giant monster stopped in an instant. Han Sooyoung was stunned and muttered, ¡°...Really? Aren¡¯t you quite useful?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is puffing up his chest with a triumphant expression.]
Yoo Sangah flew through the air and said,
¡°Do you know its weakness?¡±
¡°No, not me... in any case, the silver scale is its weakness. That¡¯s all you have to attack.¡±
Thanks to the information given by the ck dragon, the two of them safely suppressed the kragagons.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ admires your performance.]
Han Sooyoung received the messages of the constetions and slightly frowned. Usually it would be a pleasant situation but today something was wrong. She always felt like this when she was teased by Kim Dokja. At this moment, something ran through her head.
¡°Hey, ck me dragon.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is surprised and looks at his incarnation.]
¡°...Tell me honestly. Who did you hear this from?¡±
***
[The third Night has arrived.]
I listened to the message and recalled what happened a while ago. He really did as I told him. Just like Kim Namwoon, perhaps the Abyssal ck me Dragon wasn¡¯t as bad as I knew. Either way, he was Han Sooyoung¡¯s sponsor.
Thus, it was okay to tell him this.
¡®I am safe, don¡¯t worry.¡¯ Tell this to the person who asked.
¡°Revolutionary!¡±
I had to endure this. Endure it now so I could smile and meet them again. I quietly moved through the Night.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
Screams came from everyone. It wound the sound that signalled the executioners appearing.
It was bloody from the beginning. Maybe it would be a terrible Night that couldn¡¯t bepared to the other two days. I killed three executioner so tonight they woulde full force.
Nevertheless, I wasn¡¯t afraid. Starting from tonight, I would start the counterattack.
¡°Jang Hayoung.¡±
Jang Hayoung walked forward at my words. He was very tense but it wasn¡¯t the same expression as before. Jang Hayoung asked, ¡°Can I do well?¡±
¡°No one can do it better than you.¡±
¡°...Do you really think so? I only learnt the skill two hours ago.¡±
¡°Two hours is enough.¡±
I spoke with confidence. It wasn¡¯t just to reassure Jang Hayoung.
¡¸ ¡°Who is the most perfect incarnation?¡± ¡¹
One day, the flippantmentators of the Star Stream discussed this topic.
¡¸ ¡°The strongest incarnation in a one on one fight is definitely Yoo Jonghyuk. There is no one who can fight as well as him.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°No one can beat Anna Croft when ites to information.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°How about Lee Hyunsung? He is the best tanker.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°It is Ranveer Khan in major wars.¡± ¡¹
Jang Hayoung¡¯s name wasn¡¯t mentioned at all. He was inferior to Yoo Jonghyuk in a one on one fight. He had less information than Anna Croft. His defense wasn¡¯t better than Lee Hyunsung. He wasn¡¯t as effective as Ranveer Khan in a major war. However...
¡¸ ¡°The most perfect incarnation is someone who must do well in everything.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Then it has been decided.¡± ¡¹
He had more defense than Yoo Jonghyuk. He was better in a one on one fight than Anna Croft. He was better in arge war than Lee Hyunsung. He was an outstanding presence was more information than Ranveer Khan.
[The character ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has used Fighter Transformation Lv. 9.]
¡¸ ¡°Jang Hayoung is the most perfect incarnation.¡± ¡¹
Jang Hayoung¡¯s body moved in a burning curve and painted the sky red. He wasn¡¯t exceptional in one area but he had the most attributes and skills of everyone in Ways of Survival.
The moment he acquired a skill, he had the ability to reach the highest level of the skill sooner than anyone else.
The master of the Unidentified Wall, the ¡®King of Transcendents¡¯ Jang Hayoung. The second part of Ways of Survival began with this guy.
Chapter 209 - Unidentified Wall (6)
Chapter 209: Episode 39 ¨C Unidentified Wall (6)
[The character ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has awakened as a ¡®Fighter!¡¯]
Just as a guardian had the skill ¡®Guard¡¯, a fighter had the skill ¡®Fighter Transformation.¡¯ It was a skill that melted all of their fears and turned it into force. Thanks to this skill, a person who had been exploited for a long time could gain a more powerful force. In that sense, Jang Hayoung was a good candidate to be a fighter even without the Unidentified Wall.
¡°Haaaaaap!¡±
The problem was that he was too excited. A sky shattering sound was heard. The fighter was a position capable of exerting as much power as possible against an executioner. Perhaps Jang Hayoung was currently feeling like a constetion.
¡°Don¡¯t mess around you idiot!¡± I btedly raised my voice but Jang Hayoung had already gone out of my reach.
This was the problem with Jang Hayoung. In fact, I wasn¡¯t afraid of Jang Hayoung¡¯s talent. I was afraid of him running wild as a result of his talent.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: Jang Hayoung isn¡¯t without talent. Rather, he has too much talent. ¡¹
The only all-rounder in Ways of Survival, Jang Hayoung. Jang Hayoung¡¯s Unidentified Wall guaranteed a formidable growth only through skills obtained from the wall¡¯s transactions.
Of course, it was impossible to reach the grounds of transcendence but Jang Hayoung could raise his skill level faster than anyone else. It was a talent that could go beyond other people¡¯s training in just a few hours. Such talent would inevitably make the owner of the talent dangerous.
[Wh at are yo u...]
I barely managed to catch up with Jang Hayoung where he was already engaged with an executioner. The sparks of a fighter wrapped around Jang Hayoung and protected him from the executioner¡¯s scythe.
[The ¡®mark¡¯ isn¡¯t avable for this position.]
Perhaps the executioner would be receiving such a message now.
[Th is... are yo u per haps...?]
However, enlightenment was toote. Jang Hayoung overcame the executioner¡¯s scythe and grabbed its neck with a skillful move.
[Ke ok...!]
It wasn¡¯t possible for a fighter to show this muchbat power. At most, they were usually one level of power beyond the executioner.
Now Jang Hayoung waspletely overwhelming the executioner. It was only possible because it was Jang Hayoung.
The caught executioner struggled like a ferocious rat but it couldn¡¯t endure Jang Hayoung¡¯s slowly tightening grip. The was the sound of bones breaking and the executioner¡¯s body dangled down.
Then the hem of the executioner¡¯s clothes started scattering. It was an absurd end for the existences who had dominated the industrialplex¡¯s Night for decades.
[An executioner has been killed by a fighter.]
[Current number of executioners remaining: 6]
The citizens injured by the executioners were looking this way. Jang Hayoung¡¯s fire lit up the Night. It was like a glowing sun. However, Jang Hayoung wasn¡¯t the sun and it was currently Night.
¡°A-An executioner has died! An executioner has died!¡±
¡°No way! It is currently Night!¡±
¡°A fighter has appeared!¡±
After the end of the executioner, the people hiding in the houses stretched out their heads. They were people who had been living for a long time in the shadow of the Night.
[The citizens are influenced by the heat of the revolution.]
They wereing out of their houses one by one. They stared at Jang Hayoung like he was the leader.
[The character ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has stiffened because of Fighter Transformation.]
...This jerk thought he was a revolutionary. I lightly pped Jang Hayoung¡¯s back.
¡°Uh...!¡±
Jang Hayoung¡¯s red-tinged eyes slowly recovered. Jang Hayoung was btedly aware of the pain and red at me as he held the back of his head. ¡°That hurts! Why did you hit me so hard?¡±
¡°Steady your mind. You will be in trouble if you act like an idiot.¡±
¡¸ ¡°It should be the crowd that is heated up. If the person who leads is swept away by the heat, the revolution won¡¯t be able to tolerate the fire and will go out before it burns properly.¡± ¡¹
These were Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words in the 111th regression. It was a shameful line for me to spit out so I kept it to myself.
Jang Hayoung looked at me disapprovingly and pouted. ¡°It hurts more than the executioner.¡±
¡°Then I hit you properly.¡±
Jang Hayoung¡¯s current strength was limited to the scenario and it was only wen dealing with the executioners. It was dangerous to be taken in by such power.
Aileen shouted in the distance. ¡°There are two in the west! One to the south! The rest are in the north!¡±
It was clear what these numbers meant.
¡°Let¡¯s move.¡±
Jang Hayoung nodded and we ran through the Night. I looked at Jang Hayoung, who was going ahead again, and heard a message in my mind.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is looking at ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ with a desire to eat.¡±
¡°No way. Don¡¯t even think about it.¡±
Just like against Nirvana and the outer god, the Fourth Wall coveted Jang Hayoung¡¯s story. It probably wasn¡¯t just Jang Hayoung but the Unidentified Wall as well.
[The Fourth Wall is sorry.]
¡°I thought you wanted to make friends with that wall. You shouldn¡¯t eat your friend.¡±
¡¸ Kim Dokja who wanted to be friends with the Fourth Wall said. ¡¹
It was a real brat.
¡°Waaaaahhhhh!¡±
There were screams from the rushing crowd.
¡°A fighter has appeared! Hang in there!¡±
They screamed while wielding weapons towards the executioners. The fires of magic power popped up in various ces around the industrialplex.
People were fighting back. They were fighting against opponents they couldn¡¯t face. I could believe it if one of them was a revolutionary.
[An executioner has been killed by a fighter.]
[Current number of executioners remaining: 5]
Jang Hayoung knocked down another executioner. Now there were only five remaining. Once all the executioners died, the duke would no longer be able to hide. From then on, the real revolution would start.
¡°Kill everybody!¡±
¡°Wahhhh!¡±
As the citizens¡¯ gained courage, the executioners gradually slowed down. No one apart from the fighter could harm an executioner during the Night. Nevertheless, the important thing was atmosphere.
[Fool ish...]
An executioner who swung its scythe was attacked by Jang Hayoung. Two executioners had already died so this one didn¡¯t face Jang Hayoung head on. The executioner fled like it was frightened.
The citizens watched the executioner running away and shouted, ¡°They¡¯re going away!¡±
Jang Hayoung stepped on the low roofs of the industrialplex and chased after the executioner.
Everything was flowing smoothly. At this rate, the Night would pass safely. The duke would be forced to recall the Night in order to reduce the damage to the executioners.
¡¸ Even so, Kim Dokja was vignt to the end. ¡¹
There were countless ¡®revolutionaries¡¯ who died in the history of the Demon World. Until the Night was gone, the revolutionary should be vignt until the end. Even if I was a fake revolutionary.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: The spy Han Myungoh was caught by me and three executioners died during the day. ¡¹
The bnce of power was copsing and the atmosphere of the industrialplex was rapidly changing. Under these circumstances, the duke couldn¡¯t send the Night again without a n.
At least, not the Duke Syswitz I knew...
Sure enough. I felt something flying towards my neck and reflexively leaned back. Four scythes passed over my head and hit the roofs. My head would be gone if I had been one second slower.
...They had been hiding. Apart from the executioner that Jang Hayoung was chasing, the four other executioners all aimed for me. It couldn¡¯tpare to the first day. I used Bookmark to trigger Way of the Wind but it wasn¡¯t enough to avoid all the flying attacks.
¡°The guardian!¡±
[Someone is using their vitality to protect you.]
The hiding Mark used ¡®Guard¡¯ on me. Now Mark had two points remaining. The executioners didn¡¯t leave despite the effect of Guard being applied to me.
¡¸ The stupid Kim Dokja started thinking. ¡¹
It felt like they were dragging out the time. I noticed the duke¡¯s n.
¡¸ The duke knew a fighter would appear. ¡¹
...Jang Hayoung was in danger. I condensed the wind using Way of the Wind and made a powerful explosion behind me. I shot forward like aet and the perplexed executioners shouted after me,
[St op!]
I borrowed the power of Guard and Wave to break through the wall of executioners. Jang Hayoung had gone chasing after one executioner. Presumably, there would also be a¨D
¡°Aaack!¡±
There was a sharp scream and I saw Jang Hayoung flying back while bleeding. Dammit, this was why I hit him. I controlled the wind and caught the falling body. ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡±
¡°Heook, keok...¡±
He was coughing up blood. It wasn¡¯t a fatal injury but it would be hard for him to continue fighting. I wanted to know who made the Night¡¯s fighter like this but then I saw an oversized executioner walking towards this side.
[Revo lution ary?]
It was impossible. An executioner could never win against a fighter at Night. Yet this one...
The cor of the executioner slowly scattered and the face of a demon was exposed. Now I realized what happened. Jang Hayoung wasn¡¯t hit with the power of an executioner. The power of this story was iparable to the demon baron and earl I first saw when I came here.
I watched him carefully and asked, ¡°You used your head and used a technique other than ¡®Execution.¡¯ You aren¡¯t a duke so you must be a marquis. Am I correct?¡±
¡°I asked first. Are you the revolutionary?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. I am the revolutionary.¡±
¡°A cheeky voice.¡± The demon¡¯s thick eyebrows wriggled and he spoke in a somewhatnguid voice. ¡°I am Marquis Osteon.¡±
Demon Marquis Osteon. Along with Duke Syswitz, he was one of the two marquises leading this industrialplex.
¡°I think there is one more.¡±
¡°...You have keen eyes.¡± Among demon emerged from the darkness. This one didn¡¯t seem to have the power of an executioner.
¡°You are also a marquis?¡±
It wasn¡¯t the demon who answered the question.
¡°M-Marquis Cuarteto!¡±
Marquis Cuarteto stood under the moonlight as the citizens screamed.
Osteon and Cuarteto. The two marquises leading the Syswitz Industrial Complex appeared at the same time, causing the citizens to bepletely frightened.
¡°Ahhh...¡±
Duke Syswitz liked things to be certain. He didn¡¯t know the identity of the enemy so he sent out both marquises.
¡°You created such a nuisance during this precious time. You are a big guy.¡±
Their expressions showed it was annoying to take care of a nuisance. It was understandable since they had been in control of the industrialplex for hundreds of years.
After already deciding I was dead, the two marquises stared at the other citizens. The surrounding pressure soared and the citizens were forced to kneel. The incarnations trembled and held their breaths.
The marquises spoke towards them. ¡°This is the price you will receive.¡±
[The story ¡®Ruler¡¯s Command¡¯ is activated.]
The edge of thenguage created by the marquises threatened the citizens. Nothing had happened yet but the words themselves started to dominate the imagination of the citizens.
¡°You will lose everything valuable.¡±
They imagined losing their precious families.
¡°You will lose the peaceful Nights.¡±
They were deprived of all the nights of peace.
¡°You will pay the price for disturbing this industrialplex.¡±
They paid a price that they could never afford.
¡°This is the meaning of revolution.¡±
The sentences fell like a final verdict. The citizens were mired in them and stared up at the marquises with frightened eyes. The marquisesughed like this situation was satisfactory.
¡°Look! Your hopes are crumbling.¡±
They decided to use this as an opportunity to consolidate the ruling system.
Bihyung should see this nonsense. The two marquises turned towards me while directing their ¡®status¡¯ towards me. Ordinary citizens would be terrified right now.
However, while all citizens were kneeling on the ground, I alone stood upright. The perplexed marquises stared at me and shouted again, ¡°Look! Look at how he copses!¡±
The marquises attempted to use their ¡®status¡¯ to pressure me several times. The veins bulged as if they were exerting all their might to reveal their presence.
¡°Copsing...! Cops...! Um? No, this.....?¡±
I slowly approached them.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought. ¡¹
Only a fighter could deal with an executioner at Night. The enemies decided to utilize their force instead of using the ¡®positions of the scenario. Thus, it was necessary to respond to them.
¡¸ It can¡¯t be avoided this time. ¡¹
If I opened this power, my incarnation body would shake a lot. However, it was inevitable to deal with a marquis. I needed to use the minimum of strength. I had to get rid of them with optimal efficiency.
¡°You...?¡±
I knew what they wanted to ask and preempted them. ¡°Who am I?¡±
A marquis-grade noble was strong. Still, no matter how strong they were, it was just a measurement of the ¡®incarnations.¡¯ They were those who didn¡¯t even match the upper-grade constetions.
I slowly closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt somewhat ufortable. I had never done this since bing a constetion.
[The constetion ¡®status¡¯ is released.]
The ¡®status¡¯, which couldn¡¯t bepared to the previous one, crushed the time and space in the area.
Chapter 210 - Hatching (1)
Chapter 210: Episode 40 ¨C Hatching (1)
It was the first time I felt like this in my life. I felt so enormous that I focused on this feeling and forgot to say that I was Yoo Jonghyuk. It felt like dozens of metres of time and space were kneeling before me. This was what the constetions felt.
[Your incarnation body isn¡¯t suitable for expressing your status.]
I had adjusted the level but there was still a huge burden on my body. It wasn¡¯t even a proper release of my status in the first ce.
[Your status is disagreeing with your incarnation body and will be temporarily adjusted.]
[Your current status is ¡®upper-grade.¡¯]
A narrative-grade status wasn¡¯t something my incarnation body could afford. Even the upper-grade constetions couldn¡¯t keep their dignity in the form of a symbol, let alone a ragged incarnation body. However, this was enough.
¡°Kuk, keok, keook...!¡±
The incarnations were letting out pained sounds. I saw this and quickly confined it to the radius of the marquises. The half-kneeling marquises had expressions like they lost their souls.
[Someone in the Demon World has detected your presence.]
[Someone in the Demon World has detected your presence.]
[Someone in the Demon World has detected your presence.]
It was just a short moment yet I already received three messages. They were probably the demon kings of the Demon World.
It didn¡¯t matter. I was going to let them know eventually. In addition, they couldn¡¯t tell who I was at this level.
[Your incarnation body can¡¯t afford your status!]
The stories making up my back started falling away. Fortunately, it was in a blind spot and the marquises hadn¡¯t noticed yet.
¡°T-This aura...¡±
¡°A constetion!¡±
Marquis Osteon btedly regained his spirit and screamed. Cuarteto next to him was on the verge of retreating back. It was a spectacr sight but I couldn¡¯t waste time.
[Your incarnation body has started to copse!]
I didn¡¯t have a lot of fighting powerpared to my ¡®status.¡¯ Thus, I had to end it the moment the opponents died.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ is activated!]
Then why? Sparks appeared in the air and the skill was forcibly terminated.
[Your incarnation body is too unstable to use that skill.]
...Son of a bitch. Was I too hasty?
[You have used a strength that doesn¡¯t meet the probability!]
[The exile penalty is elerated.]
I had engaged inbat recently and expected this to happen. However, the copse of my body was much faster than expected. It seemed that the burden of extracting a constetion¡¯s status was considerable.
The marquises started to adapt and pushed themselves against my pressure. They seemed to have one legendary story or many history-grade stories. I guessed they were on the level of Reinheit of Paradise.
¡°Even if you are a constetion, you can¡¯t kill me in the scenario!¡±
In addition, they were smart. Marquis Osteon once again transformed into an executioner and aimed a scythe at me. It was a situation where the only fighter, Jang Hayoung couldn¡¯t move. Now I had no way to kill this guy. The situation started flowing in an even worse direction.
¡°An exile?¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t tell me?¡±
The story fragments falling from my body increased and the marquises finally noticed. I wasn¡¯t able to use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint due to the skills restriction but I seemed to know what they were thinking.
¡¸ If I could get that guy¡¯s story... ¡¹
The hyenas hunting the injured predator started to carefully surround me.
¡°Call for reinforcements! We can destroy him if we drag out the time.¡±
There was a whistle and executioners approached from every direction. I also felt unusual movements from the nobles on the Factory side.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought. ¡¹
To kill a marquis, I must use at least Electrification.
¡¸ But I can¡¯t use the skill. ¡¹
If I wasted more time, my body and the citizens would be at risk.
¡¸ I have to kill them using a method other than skills. ¡¹
How?
¡¸ There was only one way. ¡¹
The moment I made a decision, Marquis Osteon approaching me let out a terrible scream. ¡°Kuaaack!¡±
Marquis Osteon¡¯s arm rolled along the ground. He was currently an executioner and shouldn¡¯t be hurt by normal attacks. It meant...
¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so careless.¡±
Jang Hayoung stood behind him andughed like a viin. It was an incredible recovery when considering what happened earlier.
[The character ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has used the skill ¡®Immortal Body Lv. 7¡¯.]
...Immortal Body? Wasn¡¯t this a healing skill from the Murim World? Jang Hayoung felt my gaze and muttered like he was giving an excuse. ¡°One of the people I chatted to was from Murim...¡±
I watched the ashamed Jang Hayoung and sighed. He didn¡¯t talk with just the ck dragon. By the way, Immortal Body was part of the Breaking the Sky Sword style...
¡°Hit them all! Kill the fighter first!¡±
Marquis Osteon removed the status of executioner and shouted at the surprised reinforcements. The remaining four executioners and the nobles who arrived started to surround us. I counted three earls and give barons. There was Baron Melen who I saw on my first day here.
¡°There! Save the revolutionary!¡±
The citizens ran to save us but the numbers were stillcking. Jang Hayoung turned pale as he watched the nobles who were taking out weapons.
¡°What should I do? I can¡¯t kill them.¡±
A fighter was strong against the executioner but vulnerable to all other positions. In the end, I had to deal with the rest.
¡°Deal only with the executioners.¡±
I blocked the nobles aiming for Jang Hayoung. Countless spears headed towards me but I didn¡¯t avoid them.
[You are currently under the protection of the scenario.]
I couldn¡¯t die under the protection of Guard. I could handle them one by one without overdoing it. As if reading my thoughts, a message appeared in the air.
[The ¡®ruler¡¯ has forcibly recalled the Night.]
The ruler. It was a position that referred to the duke, the master of this industrialplex.
[No one has died tonight.]
Night was over but the fight was still continuing. No, it was starting from now on.
[The power of the scenario that is protecting you has disappeared.]
¡°His protection has been released! Kill him!¡±
¡°He is a guy with amazing stories!¡±
The nobles rushed at me with anticipating and I smiled bitterly. ¡°You slightly used your head but this was a mistake.¡±
Night disappeared and the strength of the executioner couldn¡¯t be used. In addition, the marquises who were the core leadership of the industrialplex were here. I had been waiting for a long time.
¡°Open the story.¡±
My body was unstable and I couldn¡¯t use skills. This didn¡¯t mean I had no way to fight.
[The history-grade story ¡®Bug ughter¡¯ has been activated.]
It was impossible to open a story above legendary grade in my present state. However, I didn¡¯t need a legendary story to deal with these guys. This was a story that used the ¡®status¡¯ at the highest level. It was a story that the demon noble called Tentacio had once used in Dark Castle.
I slowly blinked and felt the nobles in front of me bing smaller. The story Bug ughter was gained in exchange for killing tens of thousands of bugs. It was a terrible and vulnerable story when encountering a strong person but it was different when dealing with a weak person.
[You have absolute power over all beings with a lower status than you.]
[This story is only avable to existences with a certain level of ¡®status.¡¯]
A menacing air emerged from my body and theplexions of the approaching nobles turned blue.
¡°T-This is ridiculous...!¡±
It was already toote to feel regret. There was no need to use a sword. The muscles of my body instantly swelled and I started to beat the nobles with my fists.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
It was literally a ¡®ughter.¡¯
[You have acquired a history-grade story.]
[You have acquired a history-grade story.]
The stories of the nobles entered my hands one by one.
[Your incarnation body is rapidly copsing!]
I quickly opened a hole in the bodies of the barons and then pulled off the heads of the earls. The situation suddenly reversed and the remaining nobles started to run away.
¡°Run away! He isn¡¯t someone you can deal with! Quickly¨D!¡±
I missed some people but I didn¡¯t miss the important ones.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
Cuarteto and Osteon struggled as I grabbed them by the neck. I didn¡¯t hesitate to hit their heads together and them pierced both heads with a hand.
¡°Kuheeeeok...¡±
The situation would¡¯ve been different if it was a full-blown resistance. However, the marquises had been defeated by my ¡®status¡¯ and couldn¡¯t resist.
[You have obtained many new stories!]
[You have killed the Demon Marquis ¡®Cuarteto¡¯.]
[You have killed the Demon Marquis ¡®Osteon¡¯.]
[A new achievement has been acquired!]
[Your notoriety is spreading in the 73rd Demon Realm due to the killing of the marquises!]
[The high-ranking nobles of the Demon World will fear you.]
[50,000 coins have been acquired aspensation for the achievement.]
It was a small amount ofpensation but it was better than nothing. I looked around and saw Jang Hayoung and the citizens organizing the remaining situation. The surviving executioners and nobles were retreating towards the Factory.
[Your incarnation body is reaching its limit.]
[The story ¡®Bug ughter¡¯ has been forcibly terminated.]
My vision momentarily shook and I became dizzy. I shouted towards the people fleeing towards the Factory. ¡°Baron Gt, Baron Sarabos and Earl Mokba!¡±
They were the names of the surviving executioners. It was the names of the executioners I got from Han Myungoh in advance. Now Jang Hayoung and I didn¡¯t have the energy to chase or engage with them.
Thus, I called out their names. It was a type of warning. I knew all their identities. I knew who they were and their positions. Therefore, they could die at any time.
The executioners trembled as they were threatened for the first time in their lives. I shouted towards them, ¡°Tell this to the duke.¡±
The light of dawn started shining like a lot of time had passed. In the dim and pervasive shadows, I slowly concluded my words.
¡°Learn to fear the day.¡±
I was going to copse at any moment but I didn¡¯t lose consciousness until the remnants of the nobles disappeared into the Factory.
Someone muttered, ¡°R-Revolution...¡±
People started to call out for a revolution. I listened to these voices and recalled my favourite sentence from the ¡®revolutionary¡¯ arc.
¡¸ In the light of dawn, the stopped time of the industrialplex started flowing again. ¡¹
The anger and screams of those who had been sleeping for a long time in the Night. They were asleep for a long time and now feelings they didn¡¯t know existed were waking up.
¡°Revolutionary! Revolutionary!¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
[Your influence has transcended the influence of the real revolutionary.]
[The acquisition conditions have been satisfied and a new story is created.]
[The new story ¡®Silver Screen Revolutionary¡¯ has begun!]
Bihyung and the constetions should¡¯ve seen this sight. It was a waste. I would¡¯ve received a lot of coins. Then the message arrived like it had been waiting.
[The ¡®Dokkaebi Egg¡¯ has responded to your story.]
[The ¡®Dokkaebi Egg¡¯ has started to record your story.]
The vibrations of the egg became stronger and I heard another message.
[The egg¡¯s hatching is imminent.]
I knew that the time hade when I had the sound of cracking. Indeed, there was no need for other dokkaebis at this stage. It was because a dokkaebi had been present in this stage from the beginning.
[A temporary channel will be created in the Demon World.]
The Demon World¡¯s scenario would start from now on.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has entered the temporary channel.]
Chapter 211 - Hatching (2)
Chapter 211: Episode 40 ¨C Hatching (2)
I suddenly let out a breath. It felt like somebody had taped up my mouth and then ripped it off.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at the Syswitz Industrial Complex.]
My field of view widened and I saw things that couldn¡¯t be seen by incarnations. The industrialplex seemed like a giant circr dome from up high. A circr city centred around the Factory. All incarnations within the city were looking at the sky.
¡°T-This...!¡±
¡°A channel! A channel is open!¡±
Perhaps they received the message that a temporary channel had opened.
¡°A dokkaebi hase! Our Demon Realm is finally receiving attention!¡±
Their faces looked thrilled. It was natural. This was a ce where people excluded from the scenario gathered. The incarnations, who once hated the constetions and coins, entered the Demon World and became the ones who missed them more than anything.
¡°Hey! Are you okay? Did you hear the message just now?¡±
I barely managed to stand up with the support of Jang Hayoung.
[Entry into the temporary channel has temporarily dyed the copse of your incarnation body.]
I sighed with relief. A channel was an important device that formed the core of a story. My stories started recovering just by entering the channel. Of course, the exile penalty wasn¡¯tpletely removed but... I could earn some time with this.
[Enter the main scenario to prevent the breakdown of your stories.]
I had to kill the real revolutionary in order to enter the main scenario. I touched my broken arms and legs as a test. Fortunately, the core stories still seemed safe. The broken parts could be somehow repaired.
[Your current incarnation body is severely damaged.]
[You need more stories to repair it.]
The list wasn¡¯t confirmed yet but many stories were taken from the nobles. Most of them were history-grade with a few legendary grades mixed in. In any case, I had to move fast before the temporary channel closed.
I asked Aileen who was approaching from the distance. ¡°The injured people?¡±
¡°...There are more than I thought.¡±
Aileen¡¯s expression was dark. At first nce, dozens of people were lying down on the ground. Considering that many of them were critically injured, it would be hard for a lot of them to survive today.
¡°Dokkaebi Bag.¡±
A familiar holographic window appeared in the air. It had been so frustrating when it was missing.
This was the feeling of a rich person who couldn¡¯t spend money. I briefly checked if any useful items had been received and then spent 3,000 coins to buy arge amount of Ein Forest Essence.
¡°Give this to the people.¡±
¡°T-This... how did you get this?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t ask me anything more.¡±
The startled Aileen received the essences with wide eyes. It was natural to be surprised. It was because the Ein Forest Essence was something that could only be obtained through the Dokkaebi Bag. It wasn¡¯t avable in the Demon World where there wasn¡¯t a channel.
[The duration of the temporary channel is very short.]
I pulled the Dokkaebi Egg out of my bag. The surface of the egg had fine gold cracks.
Signs of hatching. A temporary channel was a type of fetal movement for a dokkaebi. It was like breathing exercises.
I lightly stroked the egg and a small vibration was felt inside the shell.
[The ¡®Dokkaebi Egg¡¯ will soon hatch!]
[Consume a healthy story.]
I quickly pulled out a few story fragments and gave them to the egg. The egg shivered and made some noises.
[The Dokkaebi Egg is satisfied.]
[The Dokkaebi Egg wants the warmth of parents.]
It was really fussy. Come to think of it, Bihyung had said something.
-I¡¯m telling you just in case the egg hatches. Before the hatching, you have to carry the egg in your arms.
-What? Why?
-I don¡¯t know for sure. But that is how healthy dokkaebis are born. Thus, I did it.
I thought it was strange that the dokkaebis believed in such a superstition but there were reasons for superstitions in this world. It was because this was a world where all stories came true.
I looked towards the Factory in the distance. Since the two marquises had died, the Syswitz Industrial Complex had now turnedpletely towards the path of revolution. I broke both limbs and gave a good warning at the end, so the Factory side wouldn¡¯t act rashly. I couldn¡¯t face them in my current state so this situation wouldst for a few days.
¡°Aileen. Close off the council¡¯s residence from now on.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°The nobles won¡¯t move for a while. Thus, we should take a break and get ready.¡±
I looked down at the egg, which was shaking more and more. From now on, the duke wasn¡¯t the only problem. Once the channel opened, the real monsters would appear.
I needed to prepare some things before then.
***
Thanks to the help of the others, I set up a room in the council¡¯s residence with the proper temperature and humidity. Aileen checked my body¡¯s condition and sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t move today. Your body is in bad shape.¡±
¡°Understood.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t speak carelessly. You really almost died. This is the first time I¡¯ve used five history-grade stories for the repair...¡±
I wasn¡¯t happy with the cost to my body. I could barely survive by using good stories. Still, it was better than dying.
¡°I still have the legendary stories so it¡¯s fine.¡±
I confirmed the legendary stories I had acquired from killing the marquises.
[The legendary story ¡®God of the Dice¡¯ has been acquired.]
The legendary story, God of the Dice. ording to Ways of Survival, the story was roughly like this:
¡¸ One of the stories held by the King of Gambling. The owner of this story said he was about to freely choose the scale of the first dice roll. ¡¹
Sometimes it was unknown why certain stories were considered legendary grade. It might be a legendary grade but how could itpare to my ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯...
Aileen had an astounded expression on her face as she opened her mouth. ¡°Are you going to use a legendary grade story as a fragment to repair your body? Don¡¯t you know how much it is worth?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°No, how the hell have you survived so far? Even with the protection of the story...¡±
The protection of the story... It was a greeting often used by the dokkaebi.
¡°Stop nagging. In any case, I can¡¯t move today because of this child.¡±
I touched the egg in my arms. All future ns could be implemented if this child hatched well. Jang Hayoung stared carefully at my arms and asked, ¡°What is that?¡±
¡°An egg.¡±
¡°Egg? What egg?¡±
¡°A dokkaebi egg.¡±
Jang Hayoung and the other group members had wide eyes at my words.
¡°What? Really?¡±
I nodded and looked down at the egg. Every time the egg shook, the temporary channel was opened and closed.
[Number of constetions who have entered the channel: 1 person.]
It was currently a lonely number but it wouldn¡¯t be long before the channel was full. I would surely make it happen.
¡°Wait! This is a real dokkaebi egg? It¡¯s not a joke?¡±
¡°Do I look like I¡¯m joking?¡±
¡°...The channel is open because of this egg?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Unlike the stunned Jang Hayoung, Aileen was making a serious expression. ¡°Wait a minute, if this is really a dokkaebi...¡±
¡°I just want to give the Demon World a chance. You can¡¯t remain as ves of the industrialplexes forever.¡±
Aileen bit her lips at my words. In fact, she also knew. I pointed out something she was thinking in her heart.
¡°Are you afraid the next scenario will be worse?¡±
A scenario was always waiting after the current scenario. The scenario might be better than this or the worst one they had ever experienced. Aileen spoke like she didn¡¯t want to admit it. ¡°A world without it is the best.¡±
¡°You need to think if an uncertain life is truly worse.¡±
¡°I¡¯m very thankful for your revolution. But you...!¡± Aileen stared into my eyes and paused. I didn¡¯t know what she saw or felt in this brief encounter. ¡°...What are you doing this for?¡±
She ended up asking.
¡°Some people want to see the ending of the story.¡± I replied as always.
¡°That... do you intend to reach the end of the scenario?¡±
¡°It is simr.¡±
Then Aileen muttered, ¡°A Seeker of the End...¡±
¡°...?¡±
¡°I heard a story from the constetions of my home. There are constetions seeing the ¡®end¡¯ of the stories.¡±
Seeker of the End. That reminded me, there were those guys in the Star Stream. It wasn¡¯t yet time to move in earnest but the story was already circting on Aileen¡¯s home. Aileen fell deep into thought while Jang Hayoung opened his mouth. ¡°If that is a dokkaebi, won¡¯t it be like the ones we know eventually?¡±
¡°I won¡¯t let that happen. Not all dokkaebis be the same streamers.¡±
¡°Indeed, it is the same with people. How did you obtain the egg? I never heard anything about this from the wenny people.¡±
¡°That...¡±
I hesitated as I wondered how to exin it. Suddenly, Han Myungoh looked between the egg and I with strange eyes. ¡°It must¡¯ve been hard. Childbirth is a painful thing.¡±
¡°...I think you are misunderstanding something. I didn¡¯t give birth to it.¡±
¡°I understand.¡±
It seemed that an ufortable consensus was formed. I wanted to exin that I never received the demon king¡¯s curse. Then the cracks in the egg became stronger and a dim light started leaking out.
[The egg¡¯s hatching is imminent.]
The moment I had been waiting for finally came.
[The Star Stream is watching the birth of a new streamer.]
I looked down at the creature that emerged along with Han Myungoh, Jang Hayoung, Mark and Aileen. There was something wonderful about the birth of life. A small back could be seen through the breaking shell. Jang Hayoung made a helpless expression as he stared at the back covered with white fur.
¡°...I really hate the dokkaebi. I feel it once again.¡±
However, this birth wasn¡¯t blessed. The newborn dokkaebi cried with a wrinkled face. It was as if just being here was painful. I recalled one paragraph about the Dokkaebi King spoken of in Ways of Survival.
¡¸ ¡°Listen. They are born with fate and are inevitably poor people who have to live while loving the story.¡± ¡¹
The newborn dokkaebi kept crying. She was born in this world and as long as there were stories in this world, she had to love it.
Yes, I made you like this. Thus, me me.
[The baby dokkaebi is looking at you.]
[The baby dokkaebi recognizes you as a parent.]
[The soul of the baby dokkaebi ismunicating with you.]
Then I heard a voice.
-I¡¯ve been waiting for a long time Ahjussi.
Chapter 212 - - Hatching (3)
Chapter 212: Episode 40 ¨C Hatching (3)
The flow of time and space was bing abnormal. Jang Hayoung¡¯s lips moved very slowly while the voices were badly fragmented and didn¡¯t sound normal. It was like the whole world was in slow motion.
¡¸ Kim Dokja realized. This is the time of the dokkaebis. ¡¹
In order to manage and judge arge number of channels at the same time, the dokkaebis¡¯ cognition rate was significantly faster than other creatures.
I looked up at the air. A sphere of white light floated over a baby dokkaebi with fluffy fur. It was a sphere I had seen before. It was the soul of Shin Yoosung.
¡®It has been a while, Yoosung.¡¯
A translucent light appeared inside the sphere and the silhouette of a person could be seen. The existence who wanted to save the world and who used to have faith in Yoo Jonghyuk. The Shin Yoosung of the 41st regression was right in front of me.
[You have earned an incredible achievement!]
[You are the first human to hatch a dokkaebi egg.]
[You have acquired a new story!]
[The story ¡®Father of a Dokkaebi¡¯ has been acquired.]
Shin Yoosung read my expression and spoke.
-Don¡¯t apologize. I chose this.
¡®Still, I¡¯m sorry.¡¯
-Ahjussi is incredible. Captain of the 41st regression wasn¡¯t like you.
¡®It isn¡¯t easy. I have a lot of work to do.¡¯
-Don¡¯t you need my help?
I nodded and Shin Yoosung smiled brightly.
-Can I do it well?
¡®You can do it well. I will help you.¡¯
Only a person who reached the bottom of the scenario knew the weight of the scenario. This was why I believed in the 41st round Shin Yoosung. Of course, this wasn¡¯t why Shin Yoosung had to believe in me.
-Captain of the 41st regression was unsessful.
Shin Yoosung¡¯s voice was shaking slightly.
-There will be more horrible things going forward.
¡®I guess.¡¯
-Ahjussi can¡¯t imagine the things that are waiting.
¡®I will go with you.¡¯
Shin Yoosung was silent for a moment. She seemed to be discern the meaning of my words and was measuring the depth of thest years. Either way, it would be painful for her. Soon, Shin Yoosung opened her mouth.
-I won¡¯t be able to remember Ahjussi right after I¡¯m born.
¡®I know.¡¯
-Don¡¯t make too much of a fool of yourself.
¡®I¡¯ll try.¡¯
Her smile was brilliant. In the silence that was like calm music, Shin Yoosung continued to speak.
-I have few good memories of the scenario.
She sounded indifferent but it was sincere because of the indifference. I listened to her and recalled the story of Ways of Survival. I thought of the stories of ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ that I knew. It couldn¡¯t be fully exined even with one hundred or one thousand sentences...
-Still, if I ever have something to say...
I didn¡¯t know if I had time to worry about this. I might¡¯ve read Ways of Survival and could read her thoughts with Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint but I didn¡¯t understand the pain that the 41st round Shin Yoosung had endured.
-This time, I will talk to Ahjussi.
Thus, I could only reply to her in one way.
¡®Thank you.¡¯
I bit my lips to try and conceal my heart. A bright string of light rose and the flow of time gradually returned to its original state.
[The first channel of the 73rd Demon Realm has opened.]
[Channel name: #BI-90594]
The fragmented sounds returned and I could hear Jang Hayoung¡¯s voice. ¡°What will you name the child?¡±
...This was what he said. I had been very worried because of the name.
The baby dokkaebi was looking at me. I stared into her eyes and spoke quietly.
[Channel Manager: Biyoo.]
Did she know it was her name? The baby dokkaebi reached out to me. I grabbed the small and fluffy hand and it felt like the baby dokkaebi smiled at me.
Shin Yoosung was crying. She often cried after escaping from Seoul Dome. It happened when she fell asleep after a hard day or when she opened the Attributes Window and gazed at her ¡®constetion support.¡¯ Shin Yoosung¡¯s tears flowed out unknowingly.
It was always Lee Gilyoung who spoke to Shin Yoosung during this time. ¡°Hey. Why are you crying again? Dokja hyung likes mature people.¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s red and swollen eyes shed at the words. ¡°Get lost!¡±
¡°Hyung will be back soon. Didn¡¯t you see? He left while saying, ¡®We will meet again, Lee Gilyoung.¡¯¡±
¡°He never said that?¡±
¡°He told me! Surely you heard it?¡¯
Lee Gilyoung saw Lee Jihye standing in the back and his eyes narrowed.
¡°What are you smiling at?¡±
¡°Something cute.¡±
Shin Yoosung, Lee Gilyoung and Lee Jihye were on the way to the ce they promised to meet after getting rid of the monsters that appeared as disasters in the 12th scenario. The ce where they promised to meet the other party members was Seongnam City. Since they decided to meet again here, the other party members would soon gather.
As Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung bickered, Shin Yoosung opened her Attributes Window.
[The link to your sponsor has been disconnected.]
This was the message that appeared that kept appearing in Shin Yoosung¡¯s Attributes Window shortly after leaving Seoul Dome. Lee Gilyoung didn¡¯t like Shin Yoosung¡¯s somber face and spoke again, ¡°Hey, look at this coin.¡±
¡°...What is it?¡±
¡°If I throw the coins and it is heads, Dokja hyung is alive.¡±
Lee Gilyoung pulled out a 100 won coin and Shin Yoosung pouted. ¡°You have done this before.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s try it again.¡±
¡°...Do what you like. Ahjussi won¡¯t suddenly appear in front of you.¡±
Flipping a coin. It was the action done whenever Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung became uneasy.
¡°How many times has Dokja hyung died so far?¡±
¡°...41 times.¡±
¡°How many times did he live?¡±
¡°59 times.¡±
If a heads emerged, Kim Dokja woulde back to live. If a tails emerged, Kim Dokja was dead.
Lee Jihye heard this story and asked, ¡°Are you sure you want Ahjussi to really be alive?¡±
Lee Gilyoung threw the coin in the air. At almost the same time, three pairs of eyes followed the coin. The skeptical Lee Jihye also focused on watching the coin. There was a clink as the coin fell to the ground and moved twirled. Three people stared breathlessly at the coin.
Heads, tails, heads, tails. Then...
¡°Heads! Look, what did I say?¡±
Lee Gilyoung¡¯s confident voice was heard as the coin stopped on the heads which contained a portrait of Admiral Yi Sunsin. Even Lee Jihye felt slightly better after seeing the result. However, Lee Jihye knew this result wasn¡¯t due to ¡®chance.¡¯
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ has consumed some probability.]
Lee Jihye smiled bitterly. Her sponsor had been losing power recently and it was because he wasted his probability on this. Nevertheless, she couldn¡¯t say anything.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at the children with sad eyes.]
People needed hope and perhaps the constetions were the same. Suddenly, Lee Jihye wanted to be mischievous. She picked up the coin that had fallen and opened her mouth. ¡°Since Ahjussi is alive, let¡¯s try something else.¡±
¡°Huh? What is it?¡±
Lee Gilyoung spoke half-heartedly like he was displeased with her intervention. Lee Jihye ignored him and kept speaking.
¡°Does Dokja ahjussi like you better? Or does he like Yoosung more?¡±
¡°Of course it is me!¡± Lee Gilyoung shouted.
¡°What? Have you forgotten the garter belt incident? My liking was higher.¡±
¡°Hey! That...¡±
Then a shrill voice was heard from behind them. ¡°A 15 year old schoolgirl!¡±
The owner of the voice wasn¡¯t Shin Yoosung, Lee Jihye or Lee Gilyoung. They saw two girls approaching in the distance. They were Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah who came back from fighting monsters in Gwacheon.
Lee Jihye recognized the owner of the voice.
¡°A 15 year old schoolgirl. He said that to the ck me dragon and took a skill!¡±
As they were going to reach Lee Jihye and the children, another woman appeared from the Suwon direction. She was a slender woman with a long sword hanging from her waist.
¡°What are you talking about?¡±
It was Judge of Destruction Jung Heewon, who had been in charge of Suwon.
¡°Heewon unni!¡± Lee Jihye rushed towards Jung Heewon with delight. However, Jung Heewon¡¯s state wasn¡¯t good. Her armour was severely damaged and her thights and forearms were covered with cuts. It was unthinkable when considering Jung Heewon¡¯s strength. The monster species weren¡¯t that strong.
¡°Are you okay? Did a different monster appear?¡±
¡°That isn¡¯t it. There were some problems with my stigma.¡±
¡°Stigma?¡± Jung Heewon was about to exin only to lightly shake her head. Instead, she looked towards Han Sooyoung. ¡°Han Sooyoung-ssi, please keep talking. What were you saying?¡±
Maybe it was because of Jung Heewon¡¯s intense interest but Han Sooyoung instantly started to talk about what happened. Lee Jihye listened to the story and wondered,
¡°I¡¯m not sure what you are saying... who is the 15 year old schoolgirl?¡±
People¡¯s gazes focused on Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung spoke brief gibberish before dering in a slightly excited voice.
¡°Kim Dokja, he is alive.¡±
¡°How did youe to that conclusion? Why...¡±
Anyone who heard Han Sooyoung¡¯s reasoning would think it was nonsense. At this moment, Jung Heewon interrupted. ¡°I don¡¯t know the connection between Kim Dokja and the 15 year old schoolgirl but... it doesn¡¯t seem very likely.¡±
Lee Jihye asked with an absurd expression. ¡°Unni, you understood what she said just now? Did you learn a new skill?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t likely. However, I do think Dokja-ssi is alive.¡±
The party members gulped at Jung Heewon¡¯s words. Kim Dokja, was he really alive? Jung Heewon took a pained breath and started speaking. ¡°I suddenly can¡¯t use my stigma.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
What did this mean? What did Jung Heewon¡¯s inability to use her stigma have to do with Kim Dokja surviving? Jung Heewon immediately replied to their question. ¡°My sponsor has suddenly disappeared.¡±
¡°Your sponsor?¡±
Jung Heewon nodded and looked at her Attributes Window.
[The link to your sponsor has been disconnected.]
It was the first time she had seen this. Thanks to this, she was unable to borrow the power of her sponsor for the moment. However, that wasn¡¯t the only message.
-I found Kim Dokja.
At this time, a person arrived in the 73rd Demon Realm.
[You have arrived in the 16th personal scenario area!]
[This scenario has a time limit!]
[Be sure to return to the main scenario within the given time!]
The moment he stepped through the portal, a bleak horizon of stories and mountains of garbage story fragments unfolded. Yoo Jonghyuk frowned at the sight and asked, ¡°...Is this really the right ce?¡±
Then a small angel doll sitting on his shoulder nodded.
¡°Do you have to answer through this toy?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says it can¡¯t be helped because there are no channels here.]
Chapter 213 - Hatching (4)
Chapter 213: Episode 40 ¨C Hatching (4)
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s wrinkles deepened as he stared at the symbolic figure shaped like a doll. ¡°...How are you sending an indirect message without a channel?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says it is possible if the symbolic body is in contact with the incarnation.]
Uriel¡¯s symbolic body was the doll on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s shoulder. Yoo Jonghyuk gently poked the symbolic figure with a finger.
¡°Is it okay to do this?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says it will be okay as long as it isn¡¯t caught by a dokkaebi.]
¡°No, I¡¯m not talking about the dokkaebi.¡±
Uriel initially didn¡¯t understand what he was saying. Yoo Jonghyuk pointed to the side of the doll.
The doll cocked her head and then covered her mouth with both eyes.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is deeply moved by the heart of the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says it is a bit painful.]
There were weak sparks around Uriel¡¯s symbolic body. It was because the Demon World was a taboo for her, an archangel. The Demon World was the domain of the demon kings. Uriel was taking an unnatural risk and forced to bear the brunt of her probability being exhausted. Uriel moved to clinging to his arms and Yoo Jonghyuk asked her, ¡°Why are you going so far to look for Kim Dokja?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is asking if it isn¡¯t the same for you.]
¡°There seems to be a misunderstanding. I...¡±
In fact, the Demon World was originally a ce where he would¡¯ve nevere. The difficulty here was iparable to other scenarios of the same rank. It wasforting that this was the 73rd Demon Realm. There were no demon kings and the ruler would be a duke at most. This much was worth a try. Above all, he was much stronger than he was at the same point in his previous regressions.
¡°I just don¡¯t like people impersonating me. It doesn¡¯t matter if it is Kim Dokja or not.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ isughing.]
¡°There are also many usable items in the Demon World...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ isughing loudly.]
¡°Do it one more time and I will rip apart your body.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk turned his head and gazed at the wide horizon. Perhaps that bastard was somewhere in this deste world. In this silent world, Yoo Jonghyuk finally started moving.
The Syswitz Industrial Complex.
The atmosphere of the duke¡¯s office was much more unusual than usual as Earl Silocke sweated while reporting.
¡°...Therefore, we n to control ess into and out of the industrialplex while the revolution is ongoing.¡±
Silocke¡¯s heart sank several times as the face of the Gilobat envoy distorted in front of him. This
person might be Gilobat¡¯s envoy but he wasn¡¯t the one in charge of the delegation.
Explosive Ombros. He was a marquis of the Gilobat Industrial Complex and the most prominent candidate to be the next duke of the 73rd Demon Realm. Silocke gasped for breath as he saw the fire glowing in Ombros¡¯ eyes. He might¡¯ve fled if it hadn¡¯t been for Duke Syswitz standing at the window and looking outside leisurely.
¡°...That¡¯s why I am asking the Gilobat envoys to stay here for a while.¡±
¡°Have you finished speaking?¡±
¡°Y-Yep! T-Then I will go...¡±
Silocke hurriedly opened the office door and ran away. Meanwhile, Ombros took a few deep breaths to control his temper. It was an annoying situation but he couldn¡¯t act as usual. It was because the strongest existence in the 73rd Demon World, Syswitz was behind him.
Duke Syswitz stared out the window for a while before smiling. ¡°That¡¯s what happened.¡±
¡°...What am I supposed to do?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry but you can¡¯t leave. Please stay in the Syswitz Industrial Complex for the time being.¡±
In the end, Ombros exploded. ¡°...Don¡¯t you know these words can cause diplomatic issues?¡±
¡°You¡¯re too sensitive. It is just a protection measure for the envoys of the alliance.¡±
¡°Is it because of the revolutionary?¡±
¡°Seven executioners and two marquises have died. It has been a long time since this happened.¡±
Thest phase of the Revolutionary Scenario would start when all executioners in theplex died. Strictly speaking, Duke Syswitz was in a crisis right now. Unlike his words, there was no sense of crisis in Duke Syswitz¡¯ expression. Ombros didn¡¯t like this contradiction andined, ¡°A revolutionary appearing at this time... you must want to save face, Duke Syswitz.¡±
¡°Really? I think it is fun. It has been 30 years since a revolutionary emerged in Syswitz. Sometimes this event is needed.¡±
¡°You are speaking like the constetions.¡±
¡°Why not? The story isn¡¯t only rted to the constetions.¡±
Ombros would¡¯ve scoffed if a normal incarnation had said this. However, Duke Syswitz was qualified to say such things. He wasn¡¯tparable to the ¡®upper-grade constetion¡¯s but Syswitz was a monster who had ruled the 73rd Demon Realm for 400 years.
¡°It is good to have as many stories as possible before the beginning of the demon kingpetition.
The more powerful the revolutionary that appeared, the better it is for me.¡±
He never even thought about being hit by the revolution.
¡°Why are you so confident that you can stop the revolution?¡± Ombros asked.
¡°Why do you think?¡±
Ombros¡¯ eyes sank at the question. Maybe it was an obvious story. Syswitz had lost two marquises in this incident.
¡°I hope you won¡¯t betray Gilobat.¡±
¡°Haha, who said that?¡±
¡°I¡¯m telling you this personally.¡±
¡°I will also give you a piece of advice. Do you think that Duke Gilobat can be the demon king?¡±
Ombros was a bit upset by the words. Syswitz didn¡¯t give him time to think.
¡°Or do you think Melledon and Bercan can be the new demon king?¡±
¡°...I can¡¯t answer this question.¡±
¡°No, you can answer it. It is because everyone knows who is the strongest of the four dukes in the 73rd Demon Realm.¡±
Ombros gulped. This calm deration could sound so scary. Once again, the oldest duke of the 73rd Demon Realm couldn¡¯t be ignored.
¡°It won¡¯t be easy. Melledon has joined hands with Vedas.¡±
¡°He isn¡¯t the only one who can borrow the power of the constetions.¡±
¡°These words...¡±
Duke Syswitz stared at the sky outside the window instead of answering.
¡°The dokkaebis wille soon. Then what will happen next?¡±
Now the night sky waspletely dark. However, soon there would be many stars in the night sky. Then the other demon kings would show up as a response to the emergence of the constetions.
Marquis Ombros felt a heart-shaking sensation.
Finally, the 73rd Demon Realm would be a battleground for a proper scenario.
¡°...Is there a channel liaison yet?¡±
¡°I put in a request to the bureau.¡±
At this moment, Ombros realized why Syswitz didn¡¯t look for support. Once the dokkaebis appeared and the full-fledged scenarios began, the constetions would gather towards the bigger events. Suddenly, some thoughts ran through his head.
¡°It wouldn¡¯t be bad for there to be a small entertainment before the full-fledged Demon Kingpetition begins. The constetions love ughter.¡±
¡°Is that why you are leaving the revolution alone?¡±
Syswitz stared at the smoke with a strange smile. Ombros sighed bitterly. ¡°...You were born evil.¡±
Every conflict in this world was amodity. Now Syswitz was selling the lives of the many civilians in the industrialplex to seek the attention of the constetions.
¡°Thank you for thepliment.¡±
Ombros shook his head like he was tired. If he nned this production then Duke Syswitz would surely be preparing for a greater blow. It wasn¡¯t difficult to predict what would happen in the industrialplex.
¡°I can see movement in the Factory.¡±
The most powerful story weapon possessed by the dukes, the Factory. Duke Syswitz nodded. ¡°I have already prepared it so you will see sooner orter.¡±
Anticipation filled Ombros¡¯ eyes. The most powerful person in the 73rd Demon Realm. It wasn¡¯t amon opportunity to see him in action. Then...
[The #BI-90594 channel has been created in the ¡®Syswitz Industrial Complex¡¯ area.]
Ombros heard the message and stood up with amazement.
¡°Did you call the dokkaebis already?¡±
Once he saw the expression on Duke Syswitz¡¯ face, Ombros realized this wasn¡¯t part of the n.
The door of the office opened and somebody ran in.
¡°Duke!¡± I¡¯m sorry but I have an urgent report¡ª¡±
It was Earl Silocke who previously fled from this ce. Syswitz quickly managed his facial expression and replied, ¡°Tell me.¡±
His report was probably rted to the emergence of the new channel. However, unexpected words emerged from Silocke¡¯s mouth.
¡°The Factory isn¡¯t operating hard enough.¡±
Duke Syswitz made an embarrassed expression.
¡°...What does that mean? Didn¡¯t I tell you to replenish it?¡±
¡°T-That... it looks like all the civilians who came to work have stolen the story fragments.¡±
Ombros noticed how things were progressing and said, ¡°It seems this revolutionary is using his head. Perhaps the dokkaebis moved first because of him...¡±
¡°That is impossible. The negotiations with the bureau haven¡¯t ended yet.¡±
Duke Syswitz frowned at the unexpected situation and immediately gave instructions. ¡°Send the supervisors and ves to the horizon. Have them collect more story fragments.¡±
¡°I have already sent them. By the way...¡±
Duke Syswitz hadn¡¯t realized that the report wasn¡¯t over. Earl Silocke¡¯s shoulders hunched over like he was afraid of how the duke would react.
¡°Just... I lost contact with the supervisor who went out to collect the story fragments.¡±
The horizon near the Syswitz Industrial Complex. Jang Hayoung kicked the body of the dead supervisor and said, ¡°It seems that the duke has been preparing for quite a while. Ordering a collection of this scale...¡±
It was an extrarge collection with thousands of ves mobilized. The situation was resolved but it would¡¯ve been dangerous if we had been a bitter. It was impossible tounch a full-scale war against the Factory when my incarnation body wasn¡¯t yet intact. Things would¡¯ve be worst if these story fragments entered the Factory.
¡°You are good.¡± I nced at Han Myungoh beside me.
He knew the duke would move in this way. If Han Myungoh hadn¡¯t been the spy, I wouldn¡¯t have guessed the exact timing to put the n into action. Han Myungoh was ted by my praise andughed.
¡°Hum, who am I? Aren¡¯t I the ¡®Brain of Mino Soft?¡±
¡°You can use that as a modifier if you ever be a constetion.¡±
I smiled at Han Myungoh. At first, I didn¡¯t like being on the same side as this person. Now I thought it wasn¡¯t a bad choice.
¡°Bring the ves over here! I will start repairing those who are still sane first.¡±
Now that I had decided to wage war properly, I could feel something different from Aileen and the citizens. I watched them and controlled my heart. The baby dokkaebi who looked like cotton candy sat on my shoulder and cried out. ¡°Baat!¡±
Her memories hadn¡¯t been recovered but every dokkaebi had the instincts of a streamer. They filled in the scenarios where there should be a story.
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
[The Sub Scenario¨D¡¯Liberate the ves¡¯ has started!]
¡°Thank you.¡±
I lightly stroked her head and Biyoo shouted, ¡°Daat!¡±
It might not be possible for me to enter the main scenario but I could receive a sub scenario whenever there was an opportunity. It might be a temporary measure but if I kept building up sub scenarios, I would be able to recover enough to face the duke.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: There is nothing urgent. Time is still on my side. I now need to thoroughly prepare to safely pass the Demon World¡¯s scenario. ¡¹
I sincerely thought this. At least, until I heard an unexpected message.
[A new constetion has entered the #BI-90594 channel.]
Chapter 214 - Hatching (5)
Chapter 214: Episode 40 ¨C Hatching (5)
...A new constetion? Already? It was earlier than the expected timing. I thought there would only be subscriptions after a few more incidents...
[A constetion is looking at the incarnations without revealing their modifier.]
It didn¡¯t seem to be a constetion I had already met. I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping it would be Secretive Plotter or Abyssal ck me Dragon.
¡°D-Did you hear the message just now?¡±
¡°What message?¡±
¡°I heard an indirect message!¡±
I didn¡¯t know if it was rich or not but the new constetion was sprinkling indirect messages from the beginning. Biyoo shouted from her position on my body. Maybe Biyoo was receiving many coins right now. It was natural to be amazed. Now she knew how to make coins as a dokkaebi.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I hope they are a good person. ¡¹
The inclination of the initial subscribers would determine the nature of the channel. The stimulus and difficulty of the scenario would be determined if the initial constetions were ¡®incarnation seekers¡¯ or ¡®fun seekers.¡¯
After all, every detail that the dokkaebis couldn¡¯t determine were made in response to the desires of the subscribers.
In fact, this was what I was most worried about. The 41st regression Shin Yoosung had already suffered countless injuries from the dokkaebis. In order to continue the scenario in the future, Biyoo must constantly face the desires of the constetions.
¡°Baat?¡±
I ced my hand on Biyoo¡¯s head.
[A constetion who hasn¡¯t revealed their modifier is revealing their modifier.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ disapproves of the incarnations here.]
I frowned at the message.
...This was a bad start. I remembered hearing about the Nouveau Richer Snake Boss in Ways of Survival.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is bored with the development of the scenario.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is dissatisfied with the naive development of the dokkaebi.]
Nouveau Richer Snake Boss. His hobby was to enter the channels containing weak constetions, sh coins around and ruin the scenario.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ wants stimtion.]
I remembered Ways of Survival talking about how many channels had decreased subscribers or werepletely destroyed due to him. He was only mentioned in passing but now I had to face him directly.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ doesn¡¯t want the survival of the ¡®removal ves.¡¯]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ says everyone should cooperate to kill the enemies!]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ deres that he will donate coins to anyone who kills a removal ve.]
The citizens started to look around at the messages. Some people looked confused at what this meant and others looked hesitant. Some people were panic-stricken as bad memories popped up.
However, some of them were secretly taking out their weapons. Jang Hayoung noticed it and screamed, ¡°Wait! What are you doing right now?¡±
He was one stepte. Once they saw one person taking out a weapon, the actions of the citizens became faster. One, two, three. The number of weapons increased.
¡°Hey, are you serious? This isn¡¯t it!¡± Mark seized a citizen who was approaching a removal ve. ¡°Just because they are removal ves doesn¡¯t mean they are lost. Some still have their minds!¡±
¡°Most of them were those who sold their souls to their duke!¡±
¡°Not all of them are like that! Don¡¯t you know?¡±
¡°Aren¡¯t they dead anyway? This is great!¡±
The citizens were blinded be coins and drew their des.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is excited about the intensified conflict.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ deres that he will donate 3,000 coins to the
incarnation who kills the most removal ves.]
3,000 coins. It was a luxurious sum in the industrialplex where coins were precious.
¡°L-Let¡¯s just kill them. We have to live...!¡±
¡°Right! Chairman, just kill everyone and go back!¡±
The bnce of voices was leaning sharply. The number of citizens who took out weapons increased. Mark once again shouted to stop their greed. ¡°They were once citizens! If you act this way, how are you different from the nobles?¡±
¡°Get out of the way! If we don¡¯t act right now¨D¡±
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is enjoying the dispute between citizens.]
The moment Mark was pushed to his ass by the struggle, another message followed.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ deres that he will donate 300 coins to an incarnation who kills a citizen.]
The citizens were momentarily stunned. They nced at each other and hurriedly moved away from each other.
¡°Uh...¡±
¡°W-Wait a minute!¡±
I thought I knew what they were thinking.
¡¸ Yes, the scenario was originally like this. ¡¹
One day, the citizens of this ce had performed the ¡®first scenario.¡¯ Pointing des at each other and killing to survive.
¡°U-Uhh...¡±
The citizens nced at each other while holding weapons. A constetion spoke a few words and the bonds of the citizens gathered in the name of ¡®revolution¡¯ were gradually dimming.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is delighted with the reaction from the incarnations.]
My hatred of the constetions, which I had forgotten for a while, revived again. Once upon a time, I might¡¯ve been like these citizens. I would¡¯ve yed along with what the constetions for one or two coins, adapted to the story of the constetions and be disillusioned, saying ¡®this is unavoidable.¡¯
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought. ¡¹
It was unavoidable...
¡¸ There is nothing unavoidable. ¡¹
I took a step back andpletely crushed the floor. I used this force to jump into the crowd of citizens. Then I grabbed the neck of the citizen who had strongly pushed Mark.
¡°K-Keeok!¡±
¡°300 coins per body.¡±
¡°Kuoock... R-Revolutionary?¡±
¡°300 coins. Don¡¯t you think that is too cheap?¡±
The citizen I was holding struggled but I tightened my grip instead of releasing my hand. Soon after, the pale citizen dropped his weapon and the surrounding citizens screamed. Once the citizen was about to suffocate, Iid him down roughly on the ground. Their terrified eyes watched me.
¡°300 coins per person... how much would it be if I kill everyone here?¡±
¡°U-Uhh...¡±
¡°If you kill the removal ves, he will give 3,000 coins. So altogether, it is 13,000 coins... indeed, it is hard to ignore.¡±
13,000 coins. Most of the citizens here had never seen such an amount.
¡°...But don¡¯t you know? You can¡¯t change anything with 13,000 coins. At best, it will be a few vague skills and some equipment.¡±
The citizens¡¯ eyes started shaking. Those who had never used the Dokkaebi Bag wouldn¡¯t know. 13,000 coins were just a petty amount of cash for the high-ranking constetions. What could they do in this world with that much money?
I looked down at the citizen on the ground. ¡°Then what are you going to do next?¡±
¡°Y-Yes?¡±
¡°What will you do with the 13,000 coins after killing everyone?¡±
Emotions slowly crossed the faces of the citizens. Fear, fear and...
¡°I, I...¡±
The citizens murmured in voices that sounded like they had fallen into an abyss.
¡°N-Nothing...¡±
I watched the bewildered faces of the citizens. In fact, I knew. They didn¡¯t do this with a clear purpose. Perhaps the citizens themselves didn¡¯t understand why they were trying to gather coins. They just had thepulsion to survive and collect more coins than other incarnations. The scenarios made the incarnations ves to the story.
In this heavy silence, the citizens realized what they had been nning to do and burst out crying. ¡°R-Revolutionary. I...¡±
I got up, ignoring their eyes. Then I spoke casually, ¡°Since a channel has opened, more constetions wille in the future.¡±
The eyes of the citizens staring at me were shaking with a different light.
¡°Don¡¯t sell your stories for just one or two coins. If you want to sell them, do it for the right value.¡±
I didn¡¯t know how much of my words had beenmunicated to the people. I wasn¡¯t good at talking. Even so, this was all I could do.
The people around me bit their lips with sad faces. Then they looked like they had decided to do something. The citizens dropped their heads and started to put away their weapons. None of them opened their mouths but their expressions alone were an answer.
However, not all of them epted my words.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is staring at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ feels a strong rage towards you.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ has requested a bounty scenario.]
A bounty scenario. Yes, there was something like that. It was a damn scenario that was invoked at the request of the constetions.
¡°...Revolutionary?¡±
The surprised citizens nced at me with fearful faces. The target was obvious if a bounty scenario was triggered now. At this time, Biyoo rose from my head and floated in the air.
[Baat.]
Other dokkaebis would¡¯ve willingly epted the bounty scenario but Biyoo couldn¡¯t do that. Biyoo¡¯s body swelled up as if to refuse the request.
[...Baat?]
Then faint sparks flowed over Biyoo¡¯s small body.
[B-Baat. Baaaat...!]
At this moment, I realized what would happen.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ has requested a bounty scenario.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ has requested a bounty scenario.]
Biyoo was now struggling with her instincts.
¡¸ Unlikemon misunderstandings, the dokkaebis don¡¯t deliberately produce stimting scenes. ¡¹
It was out of instinct to meet the demands of a constetion subscribed to a channel.
¡¸ The more innate the streamer, the more powerful these instincts are. It is an instinct to create a scenario that more beings desire. All dokkaebi live with such instincts. ¡¹
Biyoo was still a baby and it was more difficult for her to ovee such instincts. I reached out and lightly grabbed Biyoo. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±
¡°There isn¡¯t only ¡®one¡¯ subscriber to this channel.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ doesn¡¯t agree with the invocation of the bounty scenario.]
The sparks scattered instantly at my fingertips.
[The bounty scenario request has been denied.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is astonished.]
I raised my head towards the air. ¡°Snake Boss. The story that you want isn¡¯t here.¡±
I gazed at the faint constetions shining in the night sky and dered in a nonchnt voice. ¡°I¡¯m busy so get lost.¡±
Chapter 215 - Real Revolutionary (1)
Chapter 215: Episode 41 ¨C Real Revolutionary (1)
At this moment, I thought it was a bit of an overkill. I meant to say something simr but I didn¡¯t mean to provoke him so much. Maybe I was too ustomed to giving cider to individual constetions. It wasughable. I wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk and I didn¡¯t have anyone giving me coins now.
¡°Didn¡¯t you hear it? The Demon King of Salvation!¡± Jang Hayoung ran to my side and eximed. ¡°Look at the constetion who joined out channel! A person from Earth!¡±
I was about to tell him that I was the Demon King of Salvation when I remembered something that he said previously.
-Ah, he already has a girlfriend.
...I shouldn¡¯t.
Instead, I looked up at the sky where the light was shining.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ has jumped exceedingly high.]
This jerk must be pissed off but he couldn¡¯t go on a rampage. A low-ranking constetion like the Nouveau Richer Snake Boss didn¡¯t have the guts or enough probability to make trouble in the Demon World.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is furious that a mere incarnation has destroyed him!]
...What incarnation? Who killed this guy in the original novel? It couldn¡¯t be Yoo Jonghyuk...
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is indignant that a constetion he has never heard of is opposing his will!]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is looking around for the Demon King of Salvation.]
This guy didn¡¯t know that I was the Demon King of Salvation. Well, it didn¡¯t matter. As long as he cared about the Demon King of Salvation, half of my purpose was achieved.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I must gather constetions to this channel. This way, I can gain the upper hand in the ¡®Demon King Selection¡¯ which would follow after the Revolutionary Scenario. ¡¹
For this to happen, I needed word to spread about this channel. Even so, it was dangerous to blindly recruit constetions. If too many powerful people entered from the beginning, Biyoo would find it hard to handle and it could be troublesome for me.
At this moment, Nouveau Richer Snake Boss was bing upset in the channel.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ starts to question the nearby constetions about the Demon King of Salvation.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is surprised to hear the rumours about the Demon King of Salvation.]
He was a low-grade guy among the top people of this world.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ ims to have seen the Demon King of Salvation.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is appealing against the usations of the constetions pouring towards him.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ ims to have really seen the Demon King of Salvation.]
Therefore, the narrative-grade constetions didn¡¯t believe his words. In other words, the story only reached the arrogant lower-grade constetions. It meant the Nouveau Richer Snake Boss was a perfect fit for collecting such constetions.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is gathering his gang.]
It was as I expected.
[New constetions have entered the #BI-90594 channel.]
If Secretive Plotter was in the same channel, he would¡¯ve clearly sent me a message of admiration at my ploy. It felt a bit nostalgic.
[The newly entered constetions are revealing their modifiers.]
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯ is looking for the fingernails of fallen incarnations.]
[The constetion ¡®Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes¡¯ is curious about the channel¡¯s incarnations.]
Since there was a series of animal modifiers, he really had called his friends. Nail-Eating Rat and Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes... they were modifiers that I knew were unknown even without looking at Ways of Survival. These bad guys were also constetions.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is warning the Demon King of Salvation.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ deres that this channel has been taken over by the Twelve Zodiacs neb.]
...What was this? I had seen the Twelve Zodiacs in passing in Ways of Survival. They were a neb but they weren¡¯t very cohesive. In addition, the majority of members were low-grade constetions. There wouldn¡¯t be a problem even if they became hostile to me.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: First, the number of subscribers has increased. Next would be to sort them. ¡¹
Therger the channel, the more loaches that obscured the water. Now that I wasn¡¯t free to use my status, I needed a constetion to take charge of quality control. It needed to be a constetion with a strong power but was moderately decent. They should be capable of crushing other constetions... where could I find such a person?
In fact, I already had the answer.
¡°Jang Hayoung, what are you doing?¡±
Jang Hayoung, who was typing something into the air, nced at me with surprise.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ is surprised.]
It seemed he was doing something simr. My eyes narrowed as I said, ¡°You will die if you tell the other constetions about the Demon King of Salvation.¡±
¡°I just wanted to boast that I heard the message...¡±
¡°Then you will be punished. The Demon King of Salvation is a very, very scary man.¡±
Jang Hayoung jumped and nced up at the sky. He thought that the Demon King of Salvation might be looking at him from somewhere. Fortunately, there were no indications of unusual movements in the channel. Jang Hayoung hadn¡¯t spread his nonsense yet. Jang Hayoung noticed my nce and asked, ¡°You know the Demon King of Salvation?¡±
¡°A little bit.¡±
¡°Are you friends?¡±
I didn¡¯t know if we were friends on not...
¡°It is enough that he gave me a message to tell you.¡±
¡°...What is it?¡±
¡°He is looking at you.¡±
I thought saying this would be better. In any case, I had to take advantage of his power from now on.
***
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is looking for a ce to relieve his anger.]
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯ is curious about you.]
The indirect messages appeared in the air one after another. Duke Syswitz listened to the messages for a while before opening his mouth with a frown.
¡°Gather all the nobles at Night.¡±
¡°Huh? But... U-Understood!¡±
The subordinate quickly escaped from the office and Duke Syswitz ced a new cigar and ced it in his mouth. He looked slightly nervous due to the indirect messages of the constetions.
¡®I don¡¯t know who opened the channel. However, I can¡¯t let that opportunity go.¡¯
It wasn¡¯t a formal channel. However, he could still take advantage of the channel to start thepetition in the most advantageous position in the Demon World.
¡®The other dukes haven¡¯t yet obtained a channel for broadcast.¡¯
The modifiers of ¡®snake¡¯ and ¡®rat¡¯ seemed wrong but they were still constetions. He didn¡¯t know the details but this situation was a great opportunity for him to be a demon king.
Marquis Ombros watched the situation and asked, ¡°Are you nning to face the revolutionary in a situation where the Factory isn¡¯t operating?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Once all the remaining executioners are dead, the revolutionary will gain the power to kill you.¡±
A ruler who lost all his subjects would be vulnerable to a revolution. That was the nned evolution of this scenario. However, Duke Syswitz didn¡¯t blink at all. ¡°Of course not. If the person who showed up now is the real revolutionary.¡±
¡°What...¡±
¡°By the way, have you decided which side you will be on?¡±
¡°Huh?¡± Ombros looked surprised. ¡°I¡¯m a marquis of Gilobat...¡±
Duke Syswitz smiled and Ombros realized the meaning of ¡®side.¡¯ ¡°Are you?¡±
Ombros¡¯ back was soaked with sweat while there was a very short conflict in his head. The duke who obtained the first ¡®channel¡¯ would be overwhelming advantageous in the selectionpetition. Many constetions would soon flock to this channel. In addition, Duke Syswitz had the most powerful story in the 73rd Demon World....
Ombros¡¯ worries didn¡¯tst long. ¡°I greet the new demon king of the Demon World.¡±
The demon made a decision. Duke Syswitz nodded as Ombros slowly knelt down.
***
I entrusted the removal ves to Aileen and Mark before asking Biyoo to disrupt the broadcast channel for a while. It was to prepare for any possible problems. I didn¡¯t want the animal friends to hear what happened from now on.
¡°Jang Hayoung, how many people are you talking to now?¡±
Jang Hayoung looked me in the eye and replied. ¡°Three people?¡±
¡°One is the ck me dragon. Who are the remaining two?¡±
¡°Um... Actually, it might be five.¡±
¡°Five people?¡±
¡°To be precise, it is nine but...¡±
¡°...Nine people?¡±
¡°If I add those who took longer to reply, there is 15 altogether...?¡±
There were several distinctive features of the Unidentified Wall. One of them was the chat function that Jang Hayoung opened not long ago. It was the ability to send messages to anyone with a modifier in the Star Stream.
However, having this ability didn¡¯t mean everyone could use it like Jang Hayoung. ¡°You talked to 15 people in this short amount of time?¡±
¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t that hard?¡±
It was hard for me to talk to even one person. He was a really great multi-tasker. In short, 15 constetions and transcendents were talking to this guy. Those people with strong pride...
I wondered how it was possible but this was Jang Hayoung¡¯s true power. It was because of this power that Jang Hayoung was able to build a force of transcendents.
Jang Hayoung watched my face and asked, ¡°By the way, why are you asking?¡±
I hesitated for a moment. This choice was very important. If I made a bad choice, my hard-earned channel could be ruined in an instant. I thought for a moment before slowly opening my mouth. ¡°I¡¯d like to call somebody.¡±
¡°Huh? Who?¡±
I hesitated to reply. I wasn¡¯t sure if my choice was correct or not.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: The one I will call now is beyond my control. ¡¹
It was really hard to get here. A damn scenario was a scenario but the ones who really bothered me were the constetions. Those who wanted the bounty scenario were easy. When I thought about it, I came to the Demon World because of my fate.
Even now, I couldn¡¯t sleep when thinking of that time. After all these efforts, I came to this distant stage and opened a new channel. Now should I call one of them to this ce...?
Chapter 216 - Real Revolutionary (2)
Chapter 216: Episode 41 ¨C Real Revolutionary (2)
¡°...What aren¡¯t you saying?¡±
Obviously, there were good constetions in this world. They were the constetions I read about in Ways of Survival. After Ways of Survival being a reality, there were some constetions that I reevaluated. Still, it didn¡¯t change that their essence was a ¡®constetion.¡¯
I didn¡¯t know what my expression was like but Jang Hayoung had worried eyes. ¡°...Is something wrong?¡±
¡°No, nothing like that.¡±
¡°Then why are you worrying?¡±
I was somehow hesitant to speak and shook my head lightly. Jang Hayoung stared straight at me and stated, ¡°I would like to hear it.¡±
There was something familiar about this and I couldn¡¯t help smiling. I closely examined Jang Hayoung¡¯s face. A sharp nose on pure white skin. Clear and deep eyes below eyebrows that were drawn in a soft line...
A faint guilt filled my heart.
¡¸ He is a kid who likes stories. ¡¹
¡¸ Because Yoo Jonghyuk is a good person, this person should taste the bitterness of reality... ¡¹
¡¸ Jonghyuk doesn¡¯t listen to people. The other person should be a good listener. ¡¹
The result of all thements I made was now in front of me. He had eyes to see the world, a nose to breath and ears to hear the story. Perhaps it was because of guilt but I spoke my first words unknowingly. ¡°There are people who think bad things.¡±
¡°People?¡±
I nodded and continued, ¡°They are overall bad people. They bully or gossip about others and evenmit some terrible things.¡±
Jang Hayoung listened to the story and asked me, ¡°Do you hate the people you are talking about?¡±
¡°...I thought so but I don¡¯t know.¡±
I didn¡¯t know if I was serious or not.
¡°Some people were better than I thought and some people acted differently than what I knew.¡±
The countless words of Ways of Survival that I read in the past flowed through my mind.
¡°What is real about them? What is reality and what is fake? I don¡¯t know very well.¡±
Jang Hayoung silently listened despite my vague wording. How much time passed? Jang Hayoung thought about something. ¡°It¡¯s hard to understand what exactly is troubling you... so you want to know more about these people?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°They seem like bad people but there might be some good people. Well, isn¡¯t that your expectations? No?¡±
Why did it sound so romantic? There was a bacsh but when I thought about it, this might be the problem. Jang Hayoung nodded and said, ¡°Every now and then, too, you have to talk. Talk to the people.¡±
¡°It would be useless to talk.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Just...¡±
I couldn¡¯t exin it well. It was a helpless feeling that couldn¡¯t be described. However, it was when a person became most helpless that they were the most truthful.
¡°I think there is a huge wall.¡±
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you.]
¡°You and I are talking like this but we¡¯re not reallymunicating. There is no such thing asmunication in this world.¡±
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ is looking at the Fourth Wall.]
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: Maybe reality or the novel is all the same. ¡¹
¡¸ I¡¯ve read it for so long and I still don¡¯t know. ¡¹
¡¸ Maybe I will never know. ¡¹
I felt like I was mistaken and that the moment I spoke these words, everything would change. This optical illusion was broken by Jang Hayoung¡¯s words.¡±I might be different from others but of course, there is no such thing.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Everyone has a wall andmunication is impossible... that¡¯s obvious.¡±
I couldn¡¯t believe the friendly Jang Hayoung thought so. It was a bit surprising. Then Jang Hayoung continued, ¡°However, we still have to talk. Even if there is a huge wall, there is a person behind that wall.¡±
¡°...What can we say when there is a wall?¡±
¡°Write on the wall.¡±
My mouth dropped openat the brazen words.
¡°If you shit or pee, you will leave something on the wall. That way, the other party will recognize it.¡±
¡°Why would you do such a thing? The other person is beyond the wall anyway...¡±
¡°Still, you should leave a mark.¡± Does that make sense?¡± ¡°There is no apparent meaning.¡±
¡°Then?¡±
¡°It is just important that you left it.¡±
¡°The other party won¡¯t know so why?¡±
¡°At least the wall has changed.¡± I was speechless for a moment. Jang Hayoung spoke in a resolute voice. ¡°Then one day, someone might read it.¡±
I stared at Jang Hayoung. Jang Hayoung, who was born into this world because of my greed, lived a life unrted to me. Maybe he became a better person than I thought. Iughed with some bitterness. ¡°I have one question.¡±
¡°...Huh?¡±
¡°Did you talk to the constetions in this way?¡±
¡°Ah, that...¡±
Judging by his hesitation, I must be correct. I had a bit of understanding of the minds of the constetions. They were the heaviest but at the same time, loneliest beings in the universe. They were writers as well as those who watched the stories. Jang Hayoung would¡¯ve listened to them as he did to me.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is looking at the cheeky incarnation!]
Jang Hayoung looked up at the air at the same time. Thanks to Biyoo¡¯s interference, the Nouveau Richer Snake Boss couldn¡¯t find my location for a while. Of course, this didn¡¯tst long.
Jang Hayoung asked in an uneasy voice. ¡°...Is that bastard thinking of staying here?¡±
¡°Perhaps.¡±
He had been embarrassed and was probably determined to ruin the channel. I thought for a moment before finally making a decision.
Jang Hayoung was right. Even if there was a wall, I had to write something on this wall. This was despite the fact that it might change what was originally written...
I didn¡¯t want to be a person who only read.
¡°Jang Hayoung, can you contact this person?¡±
Once I thought about it, I had been acting as a reader the whole time. In order to see the ending that I wanted, I had to create a new story. In fact, I had already warped reality. I just didn¡¯t know yet who would read it.
¡°Who?¡±
I didn¡¯t know if the constetions wouldply with my suggestions. Now that I opened a channel... if that person helped, the Revolutionary scenario would end without any problems.
Then a message appeared in the air.
[The fifth Night has arrived.]
Sinister flute sounds were heard. I looked around the industrialplex. In the raging fire, people were screaming. My expression hardened and I spoke towards the scattered Aileen and Mark.
¡°Gather all the citizens.¡±
***
The duke was driven into a corner. It was obvious after the Fourth Night was over. The Factory¡¯s operating power had been cut off by the kidnapped ves. Thus, the duke couldn¡¯te out for the moment.
However, the duke led the nobles and emerged on this Night.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: What is he intending? ¡¹
My mind was a bitplicated due to the variable of a new constetion intervening. In addition, the constetion I called hadn¡¯te yet.
¡¸ It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s think positively. This might be an opportunity. ¡¹
Yes, I didn¡¯t need to have a weak mind. I was now a constetion. I had done well so far and there wouldn¡¯t be a problem.
¡°Jang Hayoung! Take care of the executioners! Absolutely don¡¯t get involved with the other nobles!¡±
¡°I know!¡±
I ran through the streets using Way of the Wind and reached the ce where the biggest fire was burning. How long had I been running? I soon saw a demon standing on the spire of a broken building.
¡°Are you the revolutionary?¡±
It was a long-haired demon engulfed in red mes. My face was tingling from the heat that emerged from his whole body. It was a stinging heat wave. I looked at the yellow mes and knew what this power was. There was only one person who used this type of story in the 73rd Demon Realm.
¡°Marquis Omboros.¡±
He was the most powerful noble in the 73rd Demon Realm after the dukes. He was someone I would¡¯ve hesitated to bump into before I became a constetion. However, Omboros¡¯ expression was weird.
¡°I am Ombros, not Omboros.¡±
Ah, I got his name wrong. I might be Kim Dokja but even I couldn¡¯t memorize the name of extras. Omboros kept muttering like his pride was hurt. ¡°You aren¡¯t fleeing despite knowing me. I thought you were someone with good knowledge but you¡¯re just someone with good luck.¡±
¡°You would be the lucky one if I ran away. Omboros.¡±
¡°I told you it is Ombros!¡±
Instead of answering, I raised the magic power in my body. Last time, I had fought using the status of a constetion. This time, the opponent was great and it wouldn¡¯t work against Omboros. Thus, this was an all-out battle.
[The 5th bookmark, Kyrgios Rodgraim is selected!]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Miniaturization Lv. 3¡¯ is activated!]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification¡¯ Lv. 11 (+1) has been activated.]
A yellow heat wave burst out from Omboros¡¯ fist. It was the emergence of Brilliant Explosion, a skill of his story. He had the most impressive explosion stigma in the 73rd Demon Realm. The power was strong but it wasn¡¯t difficult to avoid. The explosion range wasrge so it was considered a long-range attack.
¡°You rat...!¡±
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯ hates the words of Demon Ombros.]
Omboros felt it was difficult to deal with the smaller me with a simple explosion and he changed his operation. The heat from his hands rapidly contracted and changed into a small ball.
¡°Die!¡±
The condensed heat was more intense around his hands. He thought he would push me in strength after reducing the range...
It was a good n but he met the wrong opponent. I wasn¡¯t an ordinary incarnation. I watched the fierce iing explosion and stretched out my fist without hesitation. The centre of the explosion was deeply pierced by the blow containing my magic power.
My ears momentarily buzzed and the fragments caught in the explosion scattered in the air. The mes in the area were swept away and went out. Only a blue-white lightning was scattered everywhere. I heard a sound and my vision blinked white.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is astonished at your strength.]
Omboros couldn¡¯t be seen in the ce that the blue-white lightning swept through. Maybe he flew away or he might¡¯ve died.
¡°Oh my god...¡±
The industrialplex was brutally destroyed. Some of the citizens confirmed my strength and were kneeling. At this point, I didn¡¯t know how I was in a fight. If I returned to the scenario properly, could I win one on one with a few constetions?
[Your incarnation body can¡¯t handle the level of force used.]
[A significant portion of your incarnation body has been damaged!]
...Damn, it was starting again. Still, it was fine. It would be over before my body was in tatters.
¡°Waaaaahhhhh!¡±
Were they inspired by this situation? The citizens in the surrounding area started shouting.
¡°Revolutionary! Revolutionary!¡±
[New constetions have entered the #BI-90594 channel.]
The number of constetions kept increasing. It was a different feeling from Bihyung¡¯s channel. Well, maybe because I thought of this as ¡®my channel.¡¯ I went to the forefront of the battlefield and cut at the approaching nobles.
¡°Waaaaahhhhh!¡±
The duke himself brought about his end bying out without the Factory. The wave of angry citizens gradually pushed the nobles.
How long had it been? Finally, we arrived at the gate of the Factory.
¡°The revolution is around the corner! Just a bit more...!¡± Someone cried out.
However, the next moment, an earthquake urred from deep in the ground. The confused citizens screamed and sat on the ground. Something seemed to stand up in front of me. A huge building, which had been sleeping like an old beast, was raising its body. There was an engine sound reminiscent of a steam engine. Soot filled the night sky and loud sounds tore at the eardrums.
My heart suddenly sank.
...The Factory was operating? How?
Nevertheless, I couldn¡¯t afford to think about it. A giant fist struck my defenseless self. A few buildings were smashed and the steel frames shattered. I momentarily lost consciousness beforeing back.
[Your incarnation body is seriously damaged!]
[Enter the main scenario now to prevent the breakdown of your stories!]
Blood poured from my body and the stories making up my body were shaken. Damn, my mind was in such aplicated state that I was caught off guard. Making such a mistake...
Nevertheless, I couldn¡¯t understand no matter how hard I thought. How was the Factory operating?
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is pleased at the sight.]
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯ is enjoying your trials.]
[A few constetions hope that you will suffer more pain.]
Dammit. I opened the channel but none of these guys were on my side. The moment I gritted my teeth and raised my body, a familiar name was heard.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is holding his hair while closely scrutinizing you.]
Chapter 217 - Real Revolutionary (3)
Chapter 217: Episode 41 ¨C Real Revolutionary (3)
...Really?
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking closely at your face.]
Did the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven reallye?
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is narrowing his eyes at your attire.]
I felt a strange sense of stability from the gaze. It was a strange feeling to feel at ease from someone watching me.
¡°Prisoner of the Golden Headband.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at you.]
The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven had yet to notice. He wasn¡¯t certain if I was Kim Dokja or not. Maybe it was due to the story covering my face. I thought for a moment before deciding to give him confidence. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s me.¡±
Silence filled the air. It was a tight silence like someone was taking a breath. After a while...
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is shocked by your identity!]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is asking how you are alive.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is wondering why you are here.]
The message that flew only at me seemed like it was covering the sky.
¡¸ The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven. He isn¡¯t part of the absolute good or absolute evil system. He is of the neutral system. He is yful but also indifferent. He doesn¡¯t easily connect with other constetions due to his temperament... ¡¹
This was the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven that I knew from Ways of Survival. One of the strongest constetions in Ways of Survival, who fought against numerous constetions and built up a ridiculous myth grade story. Even so, he died a lonely person without any deeps bonds to the end.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯...]
I listened to the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven¡¯s messages while slowly closing my eyes. It was important to trust the information I knew. However¡ª
¡°The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven.¡±
¡°...I¡¯m d to see you again.¡±
The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was silent for quite a long time. We might both be constetions but he had a presence I couldn¡¯t catch. Even so, at this moment, I felt like the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was right in front of me.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has sweet lips for a long time.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is repeatedly grabbing and releasing his hair.]
The next moment, something fell from the sky. I unintentionally caught it.
...It was the hair of the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven. I couldn¡¯t helpughing. Perhaps this was how the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven showed his trust in someone.
[Your understanding of the constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has slightly increased.]
I spoke towards the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven. ¡°The fact that I¡¯m here is a secret. Do you understand?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is nodding.]
The constetion was better than I thought and he would keep my secret well. ¡°By the way, how did youe here...?¡±
Before I could finish speaking, one wall of a copsed building tilted and someone appeared. It was Jang Hayoung who appeared with dirt falling from him. Fortunately, the fighter was still unharmed.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Are you okay?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is making a strange expression.]
That reminded me, I was still selling Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s name. It was time to tell my real name to Jang Hayoung...
I asked about the outside situation. ¡°How is it outside?¡±
¡°...It isn¡¯t good.¡±
I thought I knew what was going on. The industrialplex was shaking like there was an earthquake. Screams of the citizens came from all over the ce and Jang Hayoung¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°The duke is turning the industrialplex into a ruin while looking for you.¡±
It would be strange if this ce wasn¡¯t turned into a wastnd. Once the duke started the Factory, there was no way to stop it. However, it was impossible for me to retreat now.
¡°How are the executioners?¡±
¡°There is only one left. He is good at running...¡±
The blood of the demons on Jang Hayoung¡¯s cheeks covered up the aura of a fighter. It was a remarkable achievement considering the short time.
¡°Take care of the remaining one. Then the duke...¡±
As I spoke, sparks appeared around my face. My knees instantly lost strength.
¡°Hey! You...¡± The amazed Jang Hayoung ran over and grabbed my shoulder. My skin started cracking apart.
[Your broken story is copsing.]
[The exile penalty will resume.]
[The durability of your incarnation body is at a dangerous level!]
...This damn incarnation body wasn¡¯t easy. The nickname of ¡®sunfish¡¯ might fit me more than Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Biyoo.¡±
[Baat!]
I called out and Biyoo¡¯s fingers moved through the air. Then a scenario message popped up.
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
+
[Sub Scenario ¨C Story Repair]
Category: Sub
Difficulty level: D
Clear Conditions: Restore the durability of your incarnation body to a certain level.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: None
Failure: ¨D
+
It was a scenario I had requested from Biyoo in advance. Originally, it would be impossible to use the sub scenarios for personal gains. A formal channel of the bureau would¡¯ve never allowed it.
[The sub scenario has alleviated the exile penalty.]
Thanks to Biyoo¡¯s scenario, the anguish of my incarnation body was reduced.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is interested in the way you use the scenario.]
[800 coins have been sponsored.]
Normally I would¡¯ve received a barrage of criticism from other constetions but in this case, there wasn¡¯t a fuss because there was nopensation. In any case, now I was an exile and had to constantly receive scenarios. I had to stick to this until I entered the main scenario.
[The acquisition of a sub scenario has dyed the copse of your incarnation body.]
I barely managed a sigh and met the worried eyes of Biyoo. I deliberately smiled.
-I¡¯m fine so don¡¯t worry.
Biyoo moved her head and disappeared again. She had to manage the scenario throughout the industrialplex so Biyoo would be feeling hectic right now.
The sparks around my body fell silent and Jang Hayoung asked, ¡°...Are you really okay?¡±
¡°I can hold on. Where is Aileen?¡±
¡°She is with Mark. They are evacuating the citizens.¡±
It was a wise choice. It was too unreasonable for the citizens to fight back as long as the Factory was in operation. If I didn¡¯t know the real revolutionary was hiding somewhere...
I moved and could see the atmosphere covered with fine dust. There were the bodies of the fallen nobles and the citizens.
¡°...Is it going to end like this?¡± Jang Hayoung looked at the shadow of the Factory in the distance and bit his lips. The transformed Factory looked like a giant. It was an old giant spewing smoke from a chimney on its head. The giant¡¯s hand pulled out something from a nearby building.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
The dying noble struggled as he was caught by the hands of the Factory. Looking closer, it was the marquis I fought before.
¡°Duke! Duuuuuke!¡± He shouted painfully before being crushed in the Factory¡¯s fuel engine.
There was the sound of teeth grinding. Heavy mes emerged from the power nt side of the Factory as if it was satisfied. Now I was able to determine how the duke operated the Factory. Jang Hayoung spoke in a weak voice. ¡°Using his own men as a source of power... how can he do that?¡±
¡°It means he doesn¡¯t care about the industrialplex anymore.
¡°...Why? Isn¡¯t this his industrialplex?¡±
I activated Lamarck Kirin instead of replying. It was to temporarily restore my body by using story fragments.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: This guy is determined to be the ¡®demon king.¡¯ ¡¹
Arge voice burst out from the head of the Factory and challenged the sky.
[Look constetions! This is what you want!]
It was the appearance of a duke fully absorbed in the story he was making. How old was he and how many years had he lived?
All beings might just be children in front of the story. The duke¡¯s words caused more constetions to enter Biyoo¡¯s channel.
[Very few constetions are curious about Duke Syswitz¡¯ actions.]
Maybe this was what I looked like. I was reminded of something.
¡¸ ¡°It is easy to attract the attention of the constetions. However, creating a good scenario is difficult.¡± ¡¹
It was something the Dokkaebi King in Ways of Survival had once said. I thought this saying was correct. Then I had a thought.
What was a good scenario? No, did it even exist?
¡°If we leave...!¡±
¡°Just wait a bit.¡±
I stopped Jang Hayoung and looked up at the Factory. The Factory and the ¡®story weapons¡¯ produced an unusual force that couldn¡¯t be tolerated by the existing probability. In other words, it was perfect for a self-destructive scenario.
As expected, sparks burst from the joints of the randomly operating Factory. I exined to Jang Hayoung. ¡°Maybe his ¡®persuasion energy¡¯ iscking. It won¡¯tst long if he only has a few nobles.¡±
The factory¡¯s persuasion energy that was its fuel was made of countless story fragments. The story weapons consumed the persuasion energy and temporarily overcame the probability. It was easy to say that the Factory was simr to my current incarnation body.
Soon it would be caught up in a probability storm...
However, unlike what I thought, the movements of the Factory didn¡¯t be dull.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is looking at Syswitz with pleased eyes.]
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯is delighted with Syswitz¡¯ destruction.]
[A few constetions are willing to pay for the probability.]
...Damn, it was like this. There were those who paid the probability.
[Where is the revolutionary hiding?]
Once again, there was a huge earthquake and the citizens screamed in an awful manner. I leaned against the building for a moment before slowly walking forward.
Jang Hayoung hurriedly grabbed my arm. ¡°You will die if you go now! Can¡¯t you see that?¡±
I measured the durability of my incarnation body.
¡¸ Do I have enough power to get rid of this enemy? ¡¹
I didn¡¯t know.
¡¸ Can I kill it if I use Electrification and Way of the Wind?¡¹
I still didn¡¯t know. ¡°Jang Hayoung, kill thest executioner. I¡¯ll somehow take care of the rest.¡±
Jang Hayoung stuttered at my words. ¡°W-Why are you going so far? You can run away! You aren¡¯t a real revolutionary!¡±
¡°I hate this damn story.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°It¡¯s so obvious.¡±
I ran towards the Factory. The streets were mostly deserted. Most citizens were trapped inside their houses and holding their breaths. I looked at the scene and remembered Yoo Jonghyuk of the 111th regression.
¡¸ The industrialplex¡¯sst Night arrived and the revolutionary didn¡¯t appear. ¡¹
...Yes, this was expected.
¡¸ However, I wished for a different story. ¡¹
Suddenly, a citizen bleeding against a wall reached out towards me.
¡°Re, volutionary...¡±
What revolution? What was all this about? Why did so many people have to die? Why did this scenario exist?
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is staring at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯ is yelling towards you.]
[The constetion ¡®Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes¡¯ wants your destruction.]
The constetions sent messages towards me. Biyoo struggled as she was forced to send the messages towards me. I waved my hand to indicate that it was fine. Honestly, I wasn¡¯t fine before but now I was good.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at you.]
At the very least, one person was on my side.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ wants you to smash that damn scrap heap.]
I flew into the air.
Chapter 218 - Real Revolutionary (4)
Chapter 218: Episode 41 ¨C Real Revolutionary (4)
The pistons of the cylinders installed on the Factory moved wildly while the grinder roared. The story fragments that weren¡¯t digested popped out from the surface like screws. It was evidence that this Factory wasn¡¯t a finished product.
The duke slightly frowned as he saw the unstable exterior of the smoking Factory. ¡®It isn¡¯t at a bad level yet.¡¯
The Factory. Everyone in the Demon World had a simr story, even if they were a grand duke. Of course, the power of each Factory varied but Syswitz¡¯ Factory was unique.
¡®It was worthwhile going to the Underworld.¡¯
A body height of 40 metres. The Factory that resembled a giant was based off the Giant Soldier of the Underworld. It was a weapon that he barely managed to get a look at by bribing one of the judges of the Underworld. Of course, the duke¡¯s Factory was only a clone with an inferior outputpared to the giant soldier.
¡®I can¡¯t be satisfied with this degree...¡¯
The Factory let out a harsh sound as if to express the duke¡¯s disappointment. The des of the grinder struck the ground. Dust filled the area as dozens of civilian buildings copsed. Just like a child breaking a hand-crafted toy, the duke relentlessly broke them.
[Very few constetions are delighted at the exciting destruction!]
[Some constetions are pointing to the fleeing citizens!]
It was a long story. The history of the Syswitz Industrial Complex had umted over countless years. Even so, there was no hesitation in the duke¡¯s behaviour.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
The duke picked up the stories that were blown out of the grinder and thought. ¡®It is an offering to proceed with a bigger story.¡¯
400 years. A time when a dynasty was born and copsed. During that time, Syswitz was the dictator here.
He once loved everything in this industrialplex. He was sometimes a wise ruler and sometimes a tyrant. He tried to elevate the happiness of the citizens through a gentle reign and he ughtered them through oppression and tyranny. He was happy, sad or sometimes interested.
Then one day, the duke had only one emotion left. ¡®I¡¯m tired.¡¯
After going on a field trip to Olympus and the Underworld, his thoughts became even stronger.
¡®Why should I be eating these stories?¡¯
He never forgot thevish dinner that was served at the dining table of the queen of the Underworld.
A sword master of another world, a great sage, a 9th circle great magician...
Syswitz ate the finely cooked story pieces and was truly amazed. Oh my god, this taste. He had a soulless expression as he enjoyed the tastes that burst in his mouth.
-I see that you¡¯re pretty good at eating.
Syswitz came to his senses and noticed that Persephone never touched the food in front of her. Persephone stared at the stories that were ravenously scattered on his te like they were terrible food. Syswitz couldn¡¯t forget the disgrace he felt at that moment.
¡®I will go to the next scenario.¡¯
Bigger stories. Bigger stimuli. Then he would gain a bigger power.
¡®I will be a demon king. I will live by eating huge stories that are far superior to those fucking guys.¡¯
For that dream, it meant nothing to discard this trivial industrialplex.
[...What revolution?]
His voice trembled and the whole industrialplex shook.
[Look, there is no such thing as a revolution! It is just the roley of the scenario!]
It was a tone that mocked all citizens.
[A y that has been repeated over and over for 400 years. You are fighting for such a foolish thing!]
Syswitz shouted despite also being part of the scenario. He felt like he could move onto the next stage.
¡®I can do it.¡¯
It seemed sessful to some extent. Duke Syswitz felt a sense of liberation as numerous constetion focused their gazes on him. A peripheral pleasure obtained from denying oneself. Syswitz felt like he was the centre of the whole world for the first time. By the way...
¡°Do you really think so?¡± Someone cried out.
***
Of course, it was me.
¡¸ You... ¡¹
...Damn. The problem was that I heard his inner thoughts too well.
[The character ¡®Demon Duke Syswitz¡¯ is overwhelmed by his delusions.]
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ stage 2 has been strongly activated!]
The thoughts of the duke randomly poured in. It was like looking at his naked self. To a certain extent, even those who didn¡¯t use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint could feel it.
[The constetion Nail-Eating Rat¡¯s hands and feel are curling up from the duke¡¯s words and deeds.]
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ says he is okay because he doesn¡¯t have hands or feet.]
These guys were evenughing. The duke didn¡¯t know the situation and smiled at me. [Fake revolutionary.]
¡°Who is fake?¡±
I activated Bookmark and Way of the Wind before running forward. A giant blow narrowly passed by me. A crater urred in the ce where the grinder passed like a bomb had gone off.
...This level was enough to hit an upper-grade constetion? It was a power that I couldn¡¯t endure in this damn incarnation body. This was the power of a story weapon. It made non-constetions a match for constetions.
Furthermore, Duke Syswitz might not be a constetion but he was d demon had history-grade storiesparable to upper-grade constetions.
The bombs from the grinder swept through the industrialplex. Citizens ran out crying as they lost their homes. They were people who lost their hometowns and came to the Demon World, struggling to make a life here. The citizens who lost their jobs were staring at me with soot-covered faces.
I looked at the citizens and had a thought. I also disliked the scenarios. But... dammit.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I hate to admit it. ¡¹
I seemed to understand why this scenario existed. I split through the air using Way of the Wind. I instantly arrived at the head of the Factory and once again used Electrification.
[The durability of your incarnation body is at a dangerous level!]
I fainted earlier and used up the duration of Bookmark in vain. I only had 20 minutes left. A blue-white whirl of lightning emerged from my right hand and rushed towards the Factory. The exterior of the Factory shook slightly.
[Kuek...?]
As expected, Icked hitting power. My current incarnation body could only exert a quarter of the original firepower.
[Better than expected...]
Moreover, the sustainability wasn¡¯t long. Nevertheless, I had to fight. I had to defeat this guy with my own hands.
[The constetion ¡®status¡¯ is released.]
[Your incarnation body is several damaged and only a fraction of the energy is released.]
It was a short time but for a moment, the Factory temporarily stopped working. I didn¡¯t miss this gap and focused magic power on both fists.
[This aura? You, don¡¯t tell me...!]
[The Gold Dragon¡¯s Broken Heart is activated!]
Whenever the amount of magic power sharply decreased, the gold dragon¡¯s heart recharged my magic power. In the ensuing battle, the Factory¡¯s hard shell started to be peeled off. Screws popped out and story pieces flowed from the gap.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: It would¡¯ve been a good fight if my body was fine. ¡¹
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is watching you anxiously.]
I stood firmly and hit the upper part of the Factory with a fist containing all the power of Electrification. If I knew that I would have such a hard fight, I would¡¯ve learnt more diligently from Kyrgios. Well, I guess I didn¡¯t have talent.
[The durability of your incarnation body is reaching its limit.]
[If you don¡¯t stopbat immediately, the copse of your body will resume.]
My breathing was bing worse and my fists were slowing down. The Factory was still in good condition.
The duke spoke with delight. [Thanks to you, thest scenario of the industrialplex will be very sweet.]
I knew I couldn¡¯t win. First of all, I wasn¡¯t fighting for the sake of winning.
¡¸ Kim Dokja looked down at the citizens of the industrialplex. ¡¹
People were watching me. Some people¡¯s mouths were wide open while others had their two hands joined together. I could also see Aileen and Mark. Each person was different but they all had simr expressions.
¡¸ Revolutionary and fighting. ¡¹
It was enough to think this.
¡¸ There is a revolution. ¡¹
It didn¡¯t matter if it was real or fake. It had once been written that the things people believed in had power. Just like a story became reality.
[Your influence on the story will be more pronounced.]
The next moment, the Factory¡¯s huge arm took my attack. My body was thrown back by the shock wave.
[Your fighting ability is good but you can¡¯t win. You are fake.]
I raised my body from the broken floor. ¡°As you said, I¡¯m not a revolutionary. However, there is a revolution.¡±
[Such a thing doesn¡¯t exist.]
¡°Why do you think that? Is it because you were a ¡®revolutionary¡¯ at first?¡±
[...!]
¡°In the end, even if a revolution urs, the endless cycle of governance will repeat?¡±
I could understand Duke Syswitz¡¯ feelings. I was well aware of the tragedy of the ¡®Revolutionary Scenario.¡¯ What made a revolutionary a revolutionary?
¡°It is you who failed, not everyone else.¡±
There were terrible scenarios. There were tragic scenarios. However¡ª
¡°There are no meaningless scenarios.¡±
No matter how rubbish a scenario, people ended up living that scenario. They were happy or sad. They struggled against the impossible. Someone died while someone else saved another person.
This was the scenario of Ways of Survival that I knew. That¡¯s why I was able to keep reading Ways of Survival.
My body became harder and harder to move. If I had followed the original novel, I wouldn¡¯t have suffered like this.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk had a thought. If he doesn¡¯t know who the revolutionary is, he can kill them all until the revolutionary emerges. ¡¹
In the end, the Yoo Jonghyuk of the 111th regression made the worse choice. However, I didn¡¯t want to do this. That¡¯s why I kept fighting.
The duke once again struck and in the end, my back was grazed. Towards the me without strength, the giant hands of the Factory came again and again.
[Your story is quite tempting. I¡¯m going to eat you.]
He was a person who had gone to the Underworld and tasted excellent stories. It was natural for him to be thrilled when looking at me. As soon as the giant hand was about to grab me, someone rushed towards me with all their power and rolled holding me.
A familiar woman stood in the ce where dust rose. ¡°What are you doing?¡±
The chairman of the Civil Council, Aileen. I stood up on the wall with a frown. ¡°Get out of the way.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve done enough.¡± Aileen didn¡¯t move. I saw her determined expression and a corner of my heart froze. Wait a minute, surely the revolutionary...
[Hahaha! Where are you hiding? Self-proimed revolutionary!]
Aileen turned back after hearing the duke¡¯s voice. I realized what she was going to do and hurriedly chased her. Just as she stood in front of the duke, someone shouted, ¡°The revolutionary is here!¡±
It was the first time I had seen this person. He shouted while pointing at himself.
[Someone has made a ¡®revolutionary deration¡¯!]
He could¡¯ve been a member of the Civil Council or a hidden citizen. I didn¡¯t know the revolutionary¡¯s name or face. They were just a passing extra not mentioned in Ways of Survival.
[What...?]
¡°No, I am the revolutionary!¡± This time it was a woman¡¯s voice. I didn¡¯t know these faces. The woman trembled as she shouted but nevertheless, she stood firmly upright. This was the start as voices burst from everywhere.
[Someone has made a ¡®revolutionary deration¡¯!]
[Someone has made a ¡®revolutionary deration¡¯!]
Aileen and Mark were the same. It wasn¡¯t just the citizens. Many of the incarnations hiding in the house also cried out. They held weapons while shouting in an irresistible manner.
¡°I am the revolutionary! Kill me!¡±
The features of the citizens holding weapons were extremely desperate. Numerous citizens armed with weapons advanced towards the Factory like a wave. I was so excited that I stumbled.
¡¸ It was a sight that didn¡¯t appear in the Ways of Survival that Yoo Jonghyuk lived. ¡¹
It was a pity. I wanted to show the 111th round Yoo Jonghyuk this sight. If he saw this, he definitely would¡¯ve made a different choice.
At this moment.
¡°I am the revolutionary Yoo Jonghyuk!¡± Someone shouted.
¡°I am Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
¡°No, I am!¡±
...What? No, wait a minute.
¡°I am Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
What the hell were they thinking? Now people were shouting a name instead of ¡®revolutionary.¡¯ There were countless Yoo Jonghyuks in the industrialplex.
[Someone has made a ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk deration¡¯!]
No... wait.
[The Star Stream¡¯s achievement system is confused.]
***
At the same time.
A man dressed in a ck coat with a small doll on his shoulder arrived at an industrialplex. The man looked at the industrialplex and muttered. ¡°...Is this Kim Dokja¡¯s location?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is nodding with a faint blush.]
Chapter 219 - Real Revolutionary (5)
Chapter 219: Episode 41 ¨C Real Revolutionary (5)
Yoo Jonghyuk entered the industrialplex by using Covert Maneuver and Stealth Shroud.
[You have entered the new main scenario area.]
The Demon World¡¯s industrialplex. He had visited the Demon World in the second regression but it was the first time he came in this period of time.
He slowly looked around and saw the citizens wandering the area. Their faces showed that they abandoned the scenario and felt despair at the world.
It was one of the reasons why Yoo Jonghyuk rarely formed bonds. He didn¡¯t want to share that despair. This was the most poisonous emotion for a regressor.
¡®It is quieter than I thought. I thought it would be a mess thanks to Kim Dokja.¡¯
He looked around and there wasn¡¯t anyone who seemed to be Kim Dokja. He would be easily seen with his unusual behaviour...
Yoo Jonghyuk wondered if he was really alive.
¡°...How annoying. It is too big.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is hoping you won¡¯t make any unnecessary sacrifices.]
He turned his head to see the Uriel doll puffing up her cheeks. Yoo Jonghyuk gave a small sigh and focused his eyesight as he looked around. He came here with the symbolic body of an archangel so his actions were limited.
¡®I can grab a citizen and ask...¡¯
As he focused his senses, he felt dark energy hiding among the citizens. It was a characteristic of demons. If it was a demon then the archangel couldn¡¯t say anything.
¡®They must have a lot of information.¡¯
Of course, a demon was strong. However, Yoo Jonghyuk was a transcendent. He rose to this realm without borrowing the power of his sponsor. There were few presences that could threaten Yoo Jonghyuk unless they were equal to a constetion.
¡®That is a good one.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk moved through the shadows like flowing water and quickly spotted his desired target. Yoo Jonghyuk activated a skill before the startled demon earl could scream.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Sound Wave Blocking Lv. 10.¡¯ is activated!]
The demon earl¡¯s neck was grabbed. Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°If you answer my questions carefully from now on, I will spare you.¡±
Of course, he didn¡¯t mean to spare the demon but he still said so. It was because he knew from experience that this was more effective.
The confused demon earl shouted, ¡°W-Who are you...!¡±
¡°Kueeok! S-Such a thing...¡±
A brutal assault was poured towards the demon earl and his body became ragged in an instant. The demon earl coughed up ck blood and spat out all types of curses. Then he changed his tune in less than five minutes.
¡°A-Ask! Ask anything you want!¡±
Then Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°Kim Dokja...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was talking when he suddenly remembered something. ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ obviously wouldn¡¯t mention his own name here. Yoo Jonghyuk changed the question.
¡°Where is Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
***
[Someone has made a ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk deration¡¯!]
[Someone has made a ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk deration¡¯!]
Numerous citizens shouted the name ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯ It seemed as if the entire industrialplex had be ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯ As I came to my senses, I noticed the countless ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ advancing towards the Factory.
¡°I am Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
¡°I am the real Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
Of course, I moved between them and raised a hand.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Wow...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk should¡¯ve seen this sight...
I wondered what he would look like if he was here.
[The name of ¡®Revolutionary Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is being widely spread in the 73rd Demon World.]
The Star Stream was a world of stories. So many citizens here were calling out Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s name so he must¡¯ve acquired a considerable degree of stories. I didn¡¯t know what these jerks were doing but he got to eat well...
Then a strange message was heard.
[Your reputation is rising.]
Huh?
[The reputation of ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ is rapidly increasing in the 73rd Demon Realm.]
The messages continued to be heard.
...What was this situation? I never said my name?
[T-These damn guys...!]
On the other hand, Duke Syswitz was baffled by the surging tide of people.
[Thest executioner has died.]
[Duke Syswitz¡¯s ¡®ruler¡¯ effect is disabled.]
Then Jang Hayoung finallypleted his mission.
[All executioners in the industrialplex have died.]
[Everyone in the industrialplex has gained the ¡®execution right¡¯ for the ruler.]
[From now on, the ¡®Night of Revolution¡¯ will begin!}
Night of Revolution. The citizens were excited as they heard this message for their first time in their lives. The ¡®execution rights¡¯ for the duke. They had the power to directly punish the ruler.
¡°Wahhhh! Goooooo!¡±
Just like waves hitting hard reefs, the citizens flocked towards the Factory. The citizens were bloody and countless citizens were trampled on by the Factory, but this caused the citizens¡¯ will to burn even higher.
¡°Smash it!¡±
The citizens were thinking that they just needed to smash this big pile of metal. They just needed to get beyond this iron barrier and they could tear apart the duke.
¡¸ However, the citizens didn¡¯t know. This was actually the greatest hurdle of this revolution. ¡¹
The giant grinder started to spin and the citizens were sliced apart in the blink of an eye.
¡°Uwaaaack!¡±
¡°Back off!¡±
In the Revolutionary Scenario, the Night of Revolution was the time when the duke was the weakest. It was because every citizen in the industrial zone gained the power to kill the duke. Nevertheless, there were conditions. The duke needed toe out of the Factory.
¡°Shit! It is too hard!¡±
The shall of the Factory didn¡¯t break down no matter how it was smashed. The dukeughed.
[Foolish things.]
At one time, he was also a revolutionary. Thus, he never thought about this day. Night of Revolution was the most dangerous time for a duke. Still, the duke was absolutely safe as long as he didn¡¯t leave the Factory.
[There is nothing that can destroy this Factory.]
Thus, the duke made his Factory in the hardest form in the world. It was built on the basis of the Giant Soldier in the Underworld. It was impossible for this fearsome story weapon to be broken with the power of the citizens.
The duke showed no mercy in his movements. Every time the grinder moved, the citizens¡¯ bodies were torn to pieces. Indirect messages poured down from the sky like rain.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is drunk from the battlefield of blood.]
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯ is excited about the human ughter.]
The coin messages poured as the ranks of the citizens were broken.
¡°Aaaaack!¡±
The revolution was crumbling before the solid outer wall that couldn¡¯t be broken.
¡°Aileen. Is everything ready?¡±
¡°The temporary measures are over. But the battle...¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine. I just need to move once.¡±
I responded roughly and stood up. This was probably the limit of what I was capable of with the story repair.
[Where are you hiding? Recite that smug revolutionary deration again!]
I listened to the duke¡¯s voice and went forward. I held firmly to Unbroken Faith and walked step by step. Sparks appeared around the outer shell of the Factory thanks to excessive probability consumption. The Factory was obviously a force outside the scenario. It was the constetions supporting this unfair scenario.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: If the duke is crushing the people with a power from outside the scenario, I can do the same thing.¡¹
¡°Biyoo.¡±
The hiding Biyoo emerged with a ¡°Baat.¡±
¡°Extend the bandwidth of the channel to the Underworld.¡±
It might be difficult for the present Biyoo but if I didn¡¯t do this, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use this method.
¡°Can you do it?¡±
Biyoo seemed tired but nodded.
[Baat.]
This was really thest resort. I remembered the memories of my second trip to the Underworld.
-This is the key to making a giant soldier. Understood?
-Oho, it was like this... hey, I really appreciate it!
-Well, if you really appreciate it, ce my name in the maker column.
I hadn¡¯t used it until now because this story weapon consumed a huge amount of probability. A weapon that would cause a probability storm simply by summoning it. Therefore, this weapon was limited by probability unless it was a scenario of Gigantomachia. It was impossible for me to summon it, even if I have the strongest sword.
¡°Prisoner of the Golden Headband.¡±
The story was a bit different if I wasn¡¯t alone.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at you.]
¡°Please help me.¡±
Of course, it was only a summoning even with the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven¡¯s help. Even so, I could win just by summoning it.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ says it is against the fairness of the scenario.]
¡°I want to change this scenario.¡±
I stopped talking and nced at the Factory where sparks were flying. They might¡¯ve received a buff due to the execution rights but the citizens weren¡¯t able toy one hand on the duke. If this continued, the poption of the industrialplex would be wiped up in the next few minutes.
¡°Besides, hasn¡¯t it stopped being fair a long time ago?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is annoyed.]
Damn, I thought we were a bit closer. Originally, the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was the type that didn¡¯t get easily involved in such matters. Maybe it was a miracle that he was even listening to me.
¡°Are you really going to leave these guys alone? They are the ones who hijacked the probability first.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is rejoicing in the mess.]
¡°There are no dokkaebis here to deter them.¡±
The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was silent. Thinking about it, he didn¡¯t lend me probability even during the King of a Kingless World story. In the end, Imitted a taboo.
¡°Did you receive a strange message a while ago?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is asking about what you mean.]
¡°I don¡¯t know the details but it is about the missing hair¨D¡±
A thunderous aura was felt from the sky. It was the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven¡¯s anger.
I shouted in reply to the anger. ¡°That¡¯s right. They are the ones who sent it.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Richer Snake Boss¡¯ is staring at you with astonishment.]
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯ is biting his nails at the unexpected situation.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is furious.]
At this moment, the hair of the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven that I left in my pocket floated into the air. I replied with a sigh, ¡°...I will use it well.¡±
I grasped the hair and felt the power of a condensed story. There was inherent energy in the hair. It was hard for me to measure the strength of the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven. The first thing that mattered here...
I hesitated for a moment before watching the sky and chanting the ¡®starting words.¡¯
¡°...Now, the sword designed to cut a sleeping giant.¡±
The moment I started chanting the first words, the colour of the sky began to change. The clouds showed signs of abnormality and a new, ominous aura filled the night sky.
[The constetions of the Demon World have noticed your presence!]
Yes, I was caught. It would be strange if I wasn¡¯t noticed but it couldn¡¯t be helped. I hoped that Persephone and Hades would take care of me.
¡°Now, descend here.¡±
The discoloured sky started to split in half. In the gap, two huge eyes were staring at me.
[The Giant Soldier Pluto has responded to your call.]
The sparks of a formidable probability shook my body. I jerked like an electric eel and red blood flowed from my eyes. I wanted to scream but it was a pain that didn¡¯t even allow me to scream.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is sharing your probability.]
My already tattered body wasn¡¯t immediately destroyed because the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was bearing some of the price.
[The demon kings of the Demon World are stunned by the surprise probability storm!]
[A few constetions are surprised by the abnormalities in the scenario!]
There was another huge shadow covering the sky. Some citizens noticed and stared at the sky. Then their eyes slowly widened.
¡°D-Disaster...¡±
The duke discovered itte and also looked up. A ck gas emerged from the gap in the cracked sky. The shell boasted an eerie luster like a ck dragon¡¯s scales. The duke saw its appearance and eximed with shock.
[T-This... h-how...!]
Shock filled his face.
[I heard it was iplete!]
It was iplete at one time. To be exact, it was until I visited the Underworld.
¡¸ The secret weapon of the Underworld King, Giant Soldier Pluto. ¡¹
Finally, a huge armoured weapon with a height of 30 metres fell from the sky.
Chapter 220 - Real Revolutionary (6)
Chapter 220: Episode 41 ¨C Real Revolutionary (6)
The body of the giant soldier appeared with a loud roar. In the original novel, it was the weapon of the Underworld King but in the second half, Yoo Jonghyuk started using it in earnest. The ultimate weapon that struck the giant in the myths was summoned in front of me by the probability I shared with the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven.
Blood flowed as I looked up at Pluto with a messy and shaky vision.
[Your incarnation body has reached its limit!]
[Your incarnation body has reached its limit!]
Shut up. I had to maintain consciousness. At least, until I gave amand to him.
[What? Where is this?]
Then I heard a voice. It was obviously a voice I had once heard before. This guy used his ¡®soul¡¯ as thest ingredient. I called the guy¡¯s name. ¡°Kim Namwoon.¡±
Then Pluto¡¯s thick body looked this way.
[...Subway grasshopper?]
¡°...That¡¯s right.¡±
Kim Namwoonughed as if he realized everything.
[Hahaha! What, did you really use those starting words?]
The starting words to summon the giant soldier were given to me by Kim Namwoon.
-Understood? I will use these starting words so remember them well. If you call it properly, I might be able to help you once.
I didn¡¯t know if he would really use those words as the starting word. However, his personality didn¡¯t change just because he died.
¡°You entered it directly.¡±
[Hahaha, of course! I like this feeling!]
Originally, all souls nted in the giant soldier were overseen by the main system. Now Kim Namwoon nted his own soul in the software of the giant soldier.
[Okay, it is a special service. Take a look Ahjussi. I¡¯ll give you a good show.]
¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t have the strength to do so...¡±
[What? Why is that?]
I lifted my finger without any strength and pointed somewhere. Pluto¡¯s gaze followed my finger and its mouth moved curiously. I opened my mouth, ¡°Finish it.¡±
The probability allowed me to summon the giant soldier for less than a minute. There was probably only 30 seconds left.
The fear-stricken Duke was moving the Factory this way. [T-This is impossible! Why, why is the real giant soldier...!]
The fiercely rotating grinder struck Pluto¡¯s outer shell.
[What is this crappy toy?]
The grinder that the duke was proud of was torn down with a simple swing of its hand.
It was a light hand gesture like tearing a piece of paper.
[Did you call me to destroy something like this? It is really too much.]
...There were 25 seconds until the summoning was cancelled.
[How annoying.]
Pluto was moving steadily despite theints.
20 seconds. It smashed the arms of the Factory with an outstretched fist.
15 seconds. The hand swordpletely paralyzed the operations of the Factory.
10 seconds. A simple kick smashed the main power unit of the Factory.
The fearsome Factory that ate a tremendous amount of stories sank down. It was impossible to know if the duke inside the Factory was dead or alive. Pluto¡¯s body turned towards me.
[Is it over now? Haha, then what now?]
¡°...¡±
[Ahjussi. Now you are stuck with me...]
Then a tremendous probability storm swept over Pluto. Kim Namwoon¡¯s voice was buried by a roaring sound that seemed to rip apart time and space. The body of Giant Soldier Pluto started to disappear into powder like it was vaporized. The probability was exhausted and it was forced to return.
...One second.
[Damn. Underworld, I...]
That damn jerk. I¡¯m not going back there, you idiot.
[The summoning of ¡®Giant Soldier Pluto¡¯ has been released.]
The giant soldier disappeared but people still couldn¡¯t react. The majority of citizens were stunned from shock and those who managed to open their eyes were already crazy. It was natural. The incarnations here had witnessed the greatest god of death in this world.
I turned my head and looked at the wreckage of the Factory. The outer shell that wasn¡¯t damaged by my Electrification was now a mess, like it had been hit by a fierce beast. There were no movements from the Factory since its joints were broken and the power part was destroyed. It had been destroyed by the giant soldier in less than 30 seconds.
I slowly climbed up the Factory and found the person sitting in the cockpit. The lid of the cockpit was cracked open and the demon sitting there was bloody.
¡°Cough, cough!¡±
It was Duke Syswitz. The duke looked up at me with eyes full of disbelief. ¡°Y-You. What are you...¡±
The Factory was the duke¡¯s main story. The story was ruined and the duke absolutely wasn¡¯t safe anymore. I aimed Unbroken Faith at the guy. The duke opened his mouth, ¡°From the wenny people... I heard about you.¡±
The duke foresaw his end and started chattering. ¡°Unfortunate constetion, you will never survive if you kill me... Because you¨D¡±
I stabbed his heart without hesitation. There was no energy left so I fell from the Factory along with his body. There was terrible pain and I gasped as I looked up at the sky. Aileen came running to support me.
¡°...The duke?¡±
¡°He is dead.¡±
Then the system messages came up.
[Demon Duke Syswitz has been defeated.]
[200,000 coins have been acquired.]
I weaklyughed. However, it wasn¡¯t yet time to rx.
[You have defeated the ¡®ruler¡¯ of the industrialplex.]
[You aren¡¯t a ¡®revolutionary.¡¯]
[The normal scenario route wasn¡¯t followed and the ¡®ruler¡¯ inheritance has been cancelled.]
[The inheritance is automatically transferred to the most prestigious person in the current scenario.]
[The current ¡®hidden scenario¡¯ is in progress.]
[Kill the ¡®real revolutionary¡¯ to enter the main scenario.]
...It was as expected. Killing the duke didn¡¯t allow me to enter the scenario. I sold the name of Yoo Jonghyuk so maybe Yoo Jonghyuk was given the inheritance rights to the industrialplex.
¡°...What is my status?¡±
Aileen bit her lips as she repaired my story. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll fix it.¡±
¡°...How much time do I have left?¡±
Aileen didn¡¯t answer.
¡°Tell me quickly.¡±
¡°10 minutes. No... 5 minutes.¡±
My five senses were bing paralyzed. My lips didn¡¯t listen to my instructions and the sensation at end of my hand gradually faded. I couldn¡¯t hear the system messages anymore. Perhaps my body was broken enough that it could no longer be repaired. I didn¡¯t know why I was suffering like this despiteing to the Demon World.
Aileen¡¯s voice quivered. ¡°You said you are looking for a revolutionary...¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°I have to kill the revolutionary to enter the main scenario.¡±
There was no reason to hide it so I answered honestly. Then Aileen stared at me. ¡°I see...¡±
Aileen seemed like she made up her mind.
¡°You can live. Because I...¡±
¡°The revolutionary was in the ranks earlier. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
I cut off Aileen¡¯s struggling words. ¡°You wanted to hide and also wanted to run away.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Still, you came out and fought hard.¡±
Aileen watched me for a moment before turning her head. I could tell what expression she was making without looking.
¡°Don¡¯t cry. I¡¯m not going to die.¡± Iughed without strength.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: If I kill the revolutionary here, the stories I¡¯ve umted will be meaningless. ¡¹
There would be a method even if I didn¡¯t be the ¡®revolutionary.¡¯ It had always been this way so far. ¡°Aileen. Didn¡¯t you ask something before? The thing I asked you to make...¡±
Aileen pulled something out. It was a rectangrmunication device equipped with a panel. It was the smartphone I asked her to produce.
¡°Turn it on please...¡±
The panel turned on and a message automatically appeared.
[You have acquired a new device. Synchronization has started.]
The synchronization finished and as expected, a file was created on the desktop. My eyes were still blurred and I couldn¡¯t see properly, but it was obviously the text of Ways of Survival.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I am a ¡®reader.¡¯ All the answers are here. ¡¹
I somehow opened my eyes and looked at the text. However, my vision was blurred and I couldn¡¯t see. I had to find a way to break through this situation by reading Ways of Survival but funnily enough, I couldn¡¯t read it.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought for the first time. ¡¹
...Dammit.
¡¸ This is the end. ¡¹
Atst, even Aileen¡¯s face was blurred.
[The hidden scenario ¡®Self-Proimed Revolutionary¡¯ has been cleared.]
It was an auditory hallucination.
[You have be a revolutionary.]
I definitely thought it was a hallucination.
[Congrattions. You have officially entered the main scenario.]
[The exile penalty has ended.]
[Your incarnation body has automatically started to recover.]
[Your copsing stories are recovering.]
It was impossible. My five senses were returning and my faded vision started to reappear. I looked around with wide eyes. Aileen was safe. Jang Hayoung and Mark were the same. None of them were dead. Then why...?
This wasn¡¯t the end.
[The name ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ is being widely spread in the 73rd Demon World.]
[All the demons in the Gilobat Complex are afraid of your name.]
[The citizens of the Gilobat Industrial Complex have joined your revolution.]
I thought I heard wrongly for a moment.
...The Gilobat Industrial Complex? This... it wasn¡¯t the Syswitz Industrial Complex?
[A group of people who consider ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ a hero have appeared in the Gilobat Industrial Complex.]
The Gilobat Industrial Complex was quite a distance from the Syswitz Industrial Complex. There was no way my name would resonate there. I listened to the explosive messages and thought about some faint possibilities. Even so, the possibilities were too dim.
[Someone has killed the ¡®ruler¡¯ of the Gilobat Industrial Complex!]
[You are currently the most prestigious person in the Gilobat Industrial Complex.]
[Due to the scenario possibility, you have be the owner of the Gilobat Industrial Complex.]
This was impossible. It was something that couldn¡¯t happen.
¡°Haha...¡±
There was a flusteredugh as relief spread from deep inside my heart. I wonder why. I nced at Aileen¡¯s wrist watch at this moment.
The clock wasn¡¯t going backwards. The time was advancing steadily without rewinding. The needle
could go back but time wouldn¡¯t return.
¡°...He came.¡± I was so happy that I wanted to call out his name.
¡°Huh? What are you saying?¡±
I smiled and said, ¡°The real Yoo Jonghyuk came.¡±
I couldn¡¯t see or hear it but I could feel it. That person was definitely in this world. The guy who ughtered a strong demon with the Heaven Shaking Sword had arrived from beyond the horizon. I was lost in these wild feelings and forgot about my smartphone.
¡¸ Perhaps Kim Dokja should¡¯ve checked the smartphone first. ¡¹
I heard the Fourth Wall¡¯s words and reflexively picked up the fallen phone. As usual, the title of the text file appeared on the screen. Then I realized something and a corner of my heart was frightened. Something had been altered. To be exact, there were strange words attached to the title of the txt file.
-Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (1st Revision).txt
Chapter 221 - Asmodeus (1)
Chapter 221: Episode 42 ¨C Asmodeus (1)
A sleeper car was rolling around. The citizens of the council, including Aileen, were busy moving me somewhere. I could feel the fragments of my stories constantly entering, like patient in critical condition.
Putting aside the urgent situation, my mind was gradually bing calm. I decided to sort out the situation.
[Currently, you have the inheritance rights to the Gilobat Industrial Complex.]
How did I be a revolutionary and gain the inheritance rights of the Gilobat Industrial Complex?
The answer was simple.
¡¸ ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ killed the ruler of the Gilobat Industrial Complex. ¡¹
At first nce, it seemed like a circr argument but this wasn¡¯t the case. It was because ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ wasn¡¯t my body. In other words, it was easy for someone to impersonate me, build up a reputation there and finally kill the ruler.
[The Star Stream is correcting the scenario error.]
[A new story rted to you is scheduled.]
What crazy person could do such a thing? There obviously couldn¡¯t be two such crazy guys.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: Yoo Jonghyuk is now in the Gilobat Industrial Complex. ¡¹
At first, I purely felt gratitude. Ah! Yoo Jonghyuk was a decent person! That jerk hit the industrialplex to save me! I felt thrilled for a while without thinking much.
Then once I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t believe it. That Yoo Jonghyuk entered the Gilobat Industrial Complex to save me? In the first ce, it was strange that Yoo Jonghyuk knew about my crisis. How could a guy who wasn¡¯t a constetion or have ess to a channel know about my crisis?
Thus, Yoo Jonghyuk was likely to do the opposite ofing to my rescue. He noticed that I impersonated him and came to the Demon World to pick me up. In the meantime, something went wrong and he headed to the Gilobat Industrial Complex first where he went through an unnecessary dispute and overturned the industrialplex. I couldn¡¯t even fathom how much rage it felt to do that.
¡°You¡¯re being healed. Don¡¯t shake your body.¡± Aileen, who was working on my story in the treatment room, pushed up her sses and scolded me.
I replied in a dispirited manner. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it is instinct. How is my state?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense in your current physical condition.¡± Aileen sighed but her expression didn¡¯t look bad. ¡°I can only see it as a miracle. You are slowly recovering. The damage to your stories is so big it will be hard to move around but... I think you will be fine.
Maybe it was because I entered the main scenario again but my sense of breathing had changed.
Those who didn¡¯t know what it felt like to be an exile and return to the scenario wouldn¡¯t understand.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: This is the ¡®story.¡¯ ¡¹
It felt like a cozy and huge world was embracing me. Funnily enough, it felt like I was now living properly. It was frightening to think about who designed these ¡®senses.¡¯
¡°Kuek...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t move!¡±
Aileen¡¯s sharp voice was heard along with the strong pangs.
[Your current story configuration is iplete.]
I had entered the scenario and was in the recovery phase but things were still serious. It was a miracle that I survived long enough to kill Duke Syswitz. It was a reckless battle. It was uncharacteristic of me and I didn¡¯t know why I acted like that.
[Some constetions are asking about you.]
Moreover, I summoned the story weapon so my future stories would be veryplicated. I opened the message log that I had been putting off.
[Many constetions in the channel are greatly impressed by your performance!]
[3,000 coins have been sponsored.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is nodding at your confidence.]
[4,000 coins have been sponsored.]
There was some sponsorship. Somehow I wasn¡¯t impressed.
[The 20th main scenario has ended.]
[The main scenario ¡® Demon World Revolution¡¯ has been cleared.]
[The excessive main scenario skip is dying thepensation.]
[The collection of stories due to clearing the main scenario is pending.]
There were some problems but the scenario messages came up correctly.
[Some constetions are wondering about your identity.]
[Some constetions would like to invite you to their neb!]
[Someone is eyeing your story!]
The familiar shenanigans had also begun. It was understandable why they were running around like this.
¡¸ The story weapon Pluto. ¡¹
Even the narrative-grade constetions coveted the giant soldier. The giant soldier was a rare weapon that could only be seen in the huge stories of Gigantomachia. It was a weapon that could trample on the legendary story, the Factory like it was a toy. There was no way the constetions wouldn¡¯t covet such a weapon.
By the way, ¡®he¡¯ hadn¡¯te yet...
[The constetion ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯ is watching you.]
...He came, shit.
[The constetion ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯ is watching you.]
Father of the Rich Night. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t take any action apart from looking at me. It was normal for him to be angry because I used his story weapon... No, Hades looking at me might be a terrible thing in itself. He was the king of the Underworld.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
[The Fourth Wall isughing.]
Dammit, I disliked this mean fellow.
Of course, I was narrative-grade and could touch Hades¡¯ toes but the problem was my current condition. The bandages wrapped around my body represented my present situation.
The incarnation body was the phenotype of my status. The phenotype was ruined so the status of the constetion inevitably shrunk. It was the first time I had been injured like this...
It was hard to lift one arm but the smartphone in my hand wasforting. I was grinning and Aileen frowned as she bandaged me. ¡°...I told you not to look at that for too long.¡±
¡°My mother always said this.¡±
¡°You need to maintain absolute stability.¡±
¡°For me, looking at this is absolutely stable.¡±
I deliberately didn¡¯t exin. It would probably be filtered even if exined.
¡°What about the Syswitz Industrial Complex? No, now we should call it the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±
The duke died and the industrialplex was on its way to stability. There was a lot of talk about the removal ves and the treatment of the nobles who were prisoners but Aileen was doing well.
Aileen looked at me for a moment and asked, ¡°In fact, you aren¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
It was a question I had anticipated and I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m not him.¡±
¡°However, the owner of this industrialplex is now Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Certainly, it was true. In fact, there was a mention in my messages.
[The current owner of the industrialplex is Duke Yoo Jonghyuk.]
Duke Yoo Jonghyuk... That jerk should be thanking me. I nced at Aileen and told her, ¡°The duke will soone.¡±
Aileen¡¯s expression filled with a strange tension. ¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk is a demon?¡±
¡°He isn¡¯t a demon although sometimes he feels like a demon.¡± I was worried about how to exin and finally decided to say, ¡°In this round, Yoo Jonghyuk is a good guy.¡±
Aileen didn¡¯t understand what I meant. I shook my head. ¡°I have a favour to ask. Can you call Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh to me? I have something to say to them.¡±
¡°...I understand.¡±
I had passed one crisis but it was literally only ¡®one.¡¯ The ¡®Revolutionary¡¯ scenario was over but the following scenarios were iparablyrger in scale.
[some demon kings are interested in your actions.]
If I wasn¡¯t cautious, I would be eaten. Thus, from now on, I had to prepare step by step. As soon as Aileen disappeared, I opened the file on the panel screen without hesitation.
-Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (1st Revision).txt
It was the long-awaited Ways of Survival. My heart was already beating quickly. What did first revision mean? In addition, why did the writer give this to me?
However, the file didn¡¯t immediately appear. It might be due to the smart made by Aileen. The performance was enough to make me miss my old smartphone. The file barely opened after a considerable amount of time passed.
¡°...The phone isn¡¯t slow. It is the file that is too big.¡±
Indeed, this was around the time it would take to load on an unoptimized PC. I felt a bit sick at the huge amount of text.
Damn, how did I read this?
In order to see where the story was modified, I had to read it again from the beginning andpare it to my memories. I started reading the first ten pages.
...There didn¡¯t seem to be much change? It started with the subway and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s actions...
This was a revision so why was this jerk still like this? Then a sentence that didn¡¯t exist in the original Ways of Survival appeared for the first time.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk thought, ¡®If it was him, I wouldn¡¯t have thought of this.¡¯ ¡¹
I stopped as I felt cold.
¡¸ ¡®If he had been here, I would¡¯ve judged things a bit differently...¡¯ ¡¹
I subconsciously scrolled back to the first page. The performance of the smartphone caused the text to be mixed up but I couldn¡¯t afford to worry about it. An eerie feeling filled my heart. I was missing something.
...The first scene was the same? No. It was apletely different beginning. I scrolled to the first page of the first chapter of Ways of Survival and stared with a stunned expression.
¡°...It isn¡¯t the third regression.¡±
The first revision of Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. I read the first sentence of the novel again.
¡¸ Thus, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fourth life began. ¡¹
The first revision started from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fourth regression.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk had a thought. ¡¹
¡¸ In this round, that guy doesn¡¯t exist. ¡¹
Chapter 222 - Asmodeus (2)
Chapter 222: Episode 42 ¨C Asmodeus (2)
In this round, that guy doesn¡¯t exist...
As soon as I read this sentence, an electric current flowed from my head to my toes.
...Perhaps, no, it couldn¡¯t be. Of course not. There were many people who could be called ¡®that guy¡¯ by Yoo Jonghyuk. In the previous regressions, there were a few ¡®guys¡¯ that Yoo Jonghyuk met...
Then I remembered Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts that often appeared and my mind becameplicated.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk had a thought. ¡¹
¡¸ ¡®Don¡¯t think it will improve by repeating the regressions.¡¯ ¡¹
¡¸¡¯There is only my birthday in this life.¡¯ ¡¹
¡¸ ¡®I don¡¯t know if I can do it. Still, I won¡¯t give up.¡¯ ¡¹
Shit, by all appearances, these were my words. I quickly scrolled through the pages towards other scenes. The words ¡®that guy¡¯ often appeared. He never wrote the name ¡®Kim Dokja but it was clearly me.
Of course, I couldn¡¯t be sure 100% because I didn¡¯t remember everything I said. Even so, I couldn¡¯t imagine anyone else saying these words to Yoo Jonghyuk. If someone else had spoken such cheeky things, Yoo Jonghyuk would¡¯ve cut off their heads.
¡°...I¡¯m having a psychotic break.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is wondering about your words.]
I ignored the message from the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven and slowly took a deep breath. I needed to organize my thoughts. There was still time. Unexpectedly, the Fourth Wall helped me.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: In short, this is the current situation. ¡¹
Yes, tell me.
¡¸ One, the first revision of Ways of Survival had arrived. ¡¹
¡¸ Two, the revision started from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fourth regression. ¡¹
¡¸ Three, a person presumed to be ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ appeared in the recollections of the fourth regression Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
It was a very straightforward organization. These three facts were proof of only one thing.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk failed the third regression. ¡¹
I couldn¡¯t think of anything else, no matter how I looked at it. If Yoo Jonghyuk and I reached the end of this world, he wouldn¡¯t have moved onto the fourth regression.
This was the most logical reasoning. The third round that I intervened in was a failure. The time after the failure was newly recorded in the revision of Ways of Survival.
I wondered how it was possible but this was a world where many impossible things had already happened. I let out a brief sigh and searched Ways of Survival again.
One question was resolved but many more opened. Through the Fourth Wall, I tried to sort out the questions that came up one by one.
¡¸ Why don¡¯t I exist in the fourth round of Yoo Jonghyuk? ¡¹
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t get an answer. It might be because I wasn¡¯t a character or it might be due to other problems. In any case, it was obvious that ¡®I¡¯ no longer existed from the fourth regression onwards. There was a second problem I had to focus on.
¡¸ If the first revision is a depiction of future events, could there be a second revision depending on my actions? ¡¹
Nothing was certain. Maybe this first revision couldn¡¯t be ruled out as a ¡®definite future.¡¯ Still, I was certain that it wasn¡¯t a high probability. If this was a ¡®definite future¡¯, the author wouldn¡¯t have sent it to me.
I didn¡¯t know why but the author was giving me an opportunity through this ¡®revision.¡¯ If I kept going along this path, the third regression would end in failure. Then in the fourth regression, Yoo Jonghyuk would repeat things alone.
The author was sending a warning. Of course, the author might have a terrible stench but... in any case, I decided not to consider it because there was no answer.
¡°The first step is to read all of this again... my head will hurt.¡±
I pressed a hand against my temple and kept reading Ways of Survival. Some ces were the same while some were changed. Anyway, I felt numerous emotions as I read the story.
¡®That jerk Yoo Jonghyuk, he is still like this despite everything I told him.¡±
I was thinking about it.
¡®Eh? Look at this. Hasn¡¯t it changed a bit?¡±
I thought about it. Also...
¡®Yes, this part was very interesting. I liked this part.¡¯
¡®Fuck, there is too much exnation...¡¯
¡®...No, the sentences seem a bit better? Did the author grow?¡¯
Stuck in these thoughts, I returned to the reader¡¯s identity and fell into Ways of Survival again. He was still a sunfish but the interesting thing was that my intervention reduced Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s minor mistakes. The most notable part was that he caught the ¡®ichthyosaur¡¯ like me at the beginning of the fourth round.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk thought, ¡®That guy got a hidden scenario here.¡¯ ¡¹
He also didn¡¯t die from the Theatre Dungeon in the 8th and 11th regressions.
¡¸ ¡°...I lived because of that guy. Well, I still would¡¯ve somehow survived.¡¯ ¡¹
I was almost moved to tears when I read this part. If I had a ce to show off then I would¡¯ve boasted.
¡®Everyone, take a look. That damn sunfish has grown.¡¯
Of course, I was the only reader of Ways of Survival so there was nowhere to boast. My quick scrolling suddenly stopped as I thought of a question. Wait a minute, this guy was doing better than I thought? Then what happened next? Yoo Jonghyuk who was affected by me... would he reach the ¡®proper¡¯ ending of this world?
¡°What are you doing? I heard from Aileen that you are dying.¡±
¡°Kim... Jonghyuk-ssi. Is your body okay?¡±
The door opened and Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh entered. I had forgotten that I told Aileen to call the two of them.
¡°Eh, is that a smartphone?¡± Jang Hayoung saw the device I was holding and ran over in a sh.
I lightly changed the hand holding the phone and answered, ¡°No, go away.¡±
¡°Can you receive messages? A call? The Inte?¡±
¡°Do you have a jaw?¡±
Jang Hayoung made a sullen expression at my cold reply. ¡°Then why did you call us here?¡±
¡°Are you still keeping in contact with the constetions I told you about?¡±
¡°Ahh, them?¡± Jang Hayoung shrugged and replied, ¡°They aren¡¯t interested.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
The future scenarios would be difficult to ovee with my strength alone. Until now, the opponents were disasters that descended through the scenarios or individual constetions. Those who would disturb me in the future were bigger. For example, those damn Vedas guys who fucked me over with ¡®fate.¡¯
If I wanted to fight them, I needed to know the trends of the constetions and transcendents with simr ideas.
¡°Everybody seems busy doing their own thing. Most of them didn¡¯t even answer.¡±
...It was still too early. It was muchter in the story that Jang Hayoung became the ¡®King of Transcendents.¡¯ Therefore, the constetions who were by Jang Hayoung¡¯s side in the original novel might be different at this point in time. Moreover, the ¡®original¡¯ had already changed.
I sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can go out.¡±
¡°...What? You were the one who called me.¡± Jang Hayoung grumbled and left the room, leaving only Han Myungoh behind.
Han Myungoh opened his mouth first. ¡°You know, it is strange. I knew you from the days in thepany but...¡±
¡°That¡¯s enough. Do you know why I called you.¡±
¡°Ahem.¡± Han Myungoh seemed to know the reason. ¡°...In fact, I can¡¯t contact him.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t your connection to the household restored?¡±
¡°It recovered. However, there is no response from the demon king.¡±
Not long ago, I broke Han Myungoh¡¯s connection to Demon King Asmodeus using the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. Still, it was only a temporary thing. I thought it was time for contact with Asmodeus to be re-established. Yet there wasn¡¯t any contact from him yet.
¡°Isn¡¯t there anything he wants to ask?¡±
¡°Perhaps he no longer believes me. Or...¡± At this moment, Han Myungoh¡¯s expression changed. ¡°I-I am connected!¡±
I was nervous for a moment. Demon King Asmodeus. A powerful presence among the 72 demon kings would now speak to me through Han Myungoh¡¯s eyes and mouth. By the way, Han Myungoh¡¯s expression was a bit strange.
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Something is wrong.¡±
¡°What happened?¡±
¡°H-He came directly!¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°The demon king came directly!¡±
One side of my heart cooled. The demon king came directly. The meaning of these words was simple. Demon King Asmodeus directly visited the scenario area with his own body.
I asked while constantly receiving the channel messages from Biyoo. ¡°Is he near here?¡±
¡°I-I think he has already found you...¡±
Already found me? No matter how much I raised my senses, I couldn¡¯t feel the demon king at all. If the demon king really came near here, not only would the constetions of the channel be turned upside down, the enormous pressure should¡¯ve caused a group of incarnations to bleed to death. By the way...
¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me...?¡±
If I thought about it, I did everything under the name of ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯ The beings who didn¡¯t enter the channel or know exactly what was going on were likely to guess my position through the Star Stream. ording to the Star Stream, my current position was...
¡°Shit.¡±
¡°W-Why all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Head Director Han, do you know the way to the Gilobat Industrial Complex?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was in danger.
***
¡°Kim Dokja!¡±
¡°Hooray Kim Dokja!¡±
¡°The independence of the industrialplex!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk listened to the shoutsing from all over the Gilobat Industrial Complex and had aplicated expression.
¡®I didn¡¯t mean to do this.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned as he stared at Duke Gilobat who died in his hands. Sparks were flying around Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body due to the excessive opening of his transcendent power. He didn¡¯t need to open it at this point.
¡®It was too early to open the first stage of transcendence.¡¯
However, it was impossible to handle his work in the Demon World in a short amount of time without opening the power. It was a power that was deliberately hidden from the constetions but he was caught by one of them. Yoo Jonghyuk watched the Uriel doll sitting on his shoulder.
¡®I don¡¯t think this person has any ideas.¡¯
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is satisfied with your achievement.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is touched by yourradeship.]
¡°...The duke gives a lot of coins. Thus I killed him.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ isughing.]
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer and looked at the panel screen in the duke¡¯s office. There were low-quality scenes that seemed to be taped by the wenny people.
-Yoo Jonghyuk!
-I am Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
It was an absurd scene. Hundreds of people shouted that they were ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯ The most disturbing thing was the huge guy yelling it in the centre.
-Yoo Jonghyuk! Yoo Jonghyuk! Wah!
Yoo Jonghyuk watched the scene with a frown before turning his head.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is turning red.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is urging you to go and meet Kim Dokja.]
Yoo Jonghyuk shook his head. ¡°...I¡¯ve confirmed that he is alive. Cancel your personal scenario and send me back to the original world.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is surprised.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says the personal scenario hasn¡¯t ended yet.]
[The contents of the personal scenario of the constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is to meet Kim Dokja...]
¡°Do you really think I will ept that personal scenario?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is greatly shocked.]
The shoulders of the Uriel doll trembled and she had an expression that she wouldn¡¯t make even if Eden was destroyed. Yoo Jonghyuk watched for a while before sighing.
¡°Is this okay?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is raising her head with a sullen expression.]
¡°I have be a duke of the Demon World with this. But you are an archangel. I¡¯m asking if there is a problem with this.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is greatly embarrassed.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says she hasn¡¯t thought about it.]
¡°...Shit.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk spoke all types of curses as he wondered how he could act in the future with the archangel.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is warning you!]
A tremendous darkness started gathering around him. Yoo Jonghyuk instinctively drew the Heaven Shaking Sword at the formidable aura. However, the opponent was someone he couldn¡¯t win against just be drawing a sword.
A dark abyss gathered into an essence. The deepest darkness of the Demon World was manifested before his eyes. Yoo Jonghyuk knew this darkness very well.
¡°Run away. I can¡¯t protect your symbolic body.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says it isn¡¯t possible.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯...]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s shoulders were shaking slightly. The Uriel doll had never seen such a sigh before and grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s shoulder with a panicked expression. It wasn¡¯t easy to calm down the trembling. As if he didn¡¯t want to acknowledge the fear, Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth with a nasty expression.
¡°...I was once killed by this guy.¡±
The next moment, the body of darkness revealed itself with a tremendous aura that burst the bodies of the incarnations in the area.
[You are in a ce like this, Demon King of Salvation.]
Chapter 223 - Asmodeus (3)
Chapter 223: Episode 42 ¨C Asmodeus (3)
I told her to take me to the Gilobat Industrial Complex and Aileen replied,
¡°No matter how fast you are, it will take at least two days to reach the Gilobat Industrial Complex. Perhaps if there is help from a transcendental existence...¡±
¡°The delegation must be a transportation vehicle. Is it unreasonable?¡±
¡°I said two days assuming that you use it.¡±
Two days... even two hours was too long for me. No matter how I got there, I had to arrive within an hour or I would find Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s torn body. I was thinking hard, ¡°The help of a transcendent presence...¡±
The first one toe to mind was ¡®Hermes.¡¯ If I had this constetion¡¯s help, I could cover a distance that took two days within a few minutes. The problem was that he belonged to Olympus.
¡°...Going to hell is going to hell. I can¡¯t borrow his hands.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
I waved my hand at the startled Aileen. ¡°I¡¯m just talking to myself.¡±
Of course, I was purposely talking to myself. The reason¡ª
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is wondering what is going on.]
[The constetion who likes to change sex is wondering what happened.]
[Some constetions are curious about the information you have hidden.]
It was in order to induce this response. I deliberately ignored their messages and spoke towards Aileen. ¡°Is there another way? A warp portal or something like that...¡±
¡°This is the 73rd Demon Realm. It is also the outskirts of the 73rd Demon World. We don¡¯t have such advanced transportation devices.¡±
¡°...I see.¡±
¡°What the hell is going on?¡±
¡°Someone is about to die.¡±
¡°Who?¡±
¡°It is the master of this industrialplex.¡±
As expected, my message log exploded.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is asking what you mean.]
[The constetion who likes to change sex is listening to your story.]
...The explosion was still small but it couldn¡¯t be helped since there weren¡¯t many constetions in the channel. By the way, when did the person who liked to change sexe here?
¡°Prisoner of the Golden Headband. Can you help me?¡±
I spoke directly to the constetion and the people in the treatment room were astonished. I
decided to be more brazen.
¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to borrow your Nimbus Cloud.¡±
It was one of the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven¡¯s star relics, the Nimbus Cloud. If I could borrow it, I could reach the Gilobat Industrial Complex in the shortest time. The problem was whether the tricky the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven would lend me his star relic. He had already wasted probability once because of me...
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is asking why you need the ¡®Nimbus Cloud.¡¯]
I struggled for a moment before opening my mouth. I had to speak well here. ¡°I pretended to be Yoo Jonghyuk. Then Yoo Jonghyuk impersonated me... it caused a scenario error and there is a problem...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is annoyed.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ hatesplicated things.]
I decided to summarize the situation ording to the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven¡¯s patience. ¡°Due to this, Yoo Jonghyuk is going to die.¡±
I wanted to know if he would help but the response from the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was unexpected.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is pulling out a handful of his hair from the stress.]
¡°Wait a minute.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is leaving to find a hairb.]
¡°Excuse me?¡±
There was no response from the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven who disappeared.
[A constetions who likes to change sex is enjoying the situation.]
[100 coins have been sponsored.]
I was looking up at the air when Aileen asked me, ¡°I don¡¯t know who he is but the new owner of this industrialplex is in a crisis?¡±
¡°...That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°He is going to meet a demon king.¡±
¡°A demon king isn¡¯t necessarily an evil existence. If you are lucky, you can survive.¡±
¡°I guess but...¡±
The problem was the demon king was ¡®Asmodeus.¡¯ In the novel, Asmodeus was one of the greatest adversaries whenever Yoo Jonghyuk regressed. Yoo Jonghyuk had already died against Asmodeus in the past. Could Yoo Jonghyuk be safe from him? No good images popped up no matter how hard I thought.
Han Myungoh looked at me nervously and opened his mouth. ¡°Now what are you going to do?¡±
It was a big problem. Even if I managed to get there in time, there was no guarantee I could ovee Asmodeus by joining forces with Yoo Jonghyuk. However¡ª
¡°I won¡¯t know without trying.¡±
¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t know you were so passionate. In thepany, you never...¡±
¡°If I don¡¯t work hard, I will die. It is different from not bing a full-time employee if I didn¡¯t work hard.¡±
¡°...Ahem.¡±
The situation was bad but I decided to think as positively as possible. There was something I didn¡¯t know. Perhaps things would turn out well even if I didn¡¯t go there. A miracle could happen that caused Yoo Jonghyuk to experience a great awakening or Asmodeus might suddenly be a good guy.
...Damn, that was impossible. I opened the revised Ways of Survival on my smartphone again. I couldn¡¯te up with something so I had to read this to find the answer.
¡°What is this all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Shhh, be quiet. This is what I do best.¡±
I quickly scrolled through the contents of Ways of Survival. Then one sentence in the 12th regression caught my eyes.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk thought there were many reasons for his failure in the third round. This was the most important reason.¡¹
My heart suddenly sank. No, hurry up and think about it. The moment I read the next sentence, my mind became nk and I almost went crazy.
¡¸ ¡®At that time, we shouldn¡¯t have pretended to support the Demon King Asmodeus.¡¯¡¹
***
There was a little girl with dark eyes. She had a small body and appeared to be around eight or nine years old. The chubby cheeks and vivid expressions were reminiscent of a child actor. There wasn¡¯t any apparent threat on the surface.
¡®...His taste is the same.¡¯
However, Yoo Jonghyuk knew very well that the gigantic presence in that body wasn¡¯t the main character of a children¡¯s drama. This girl was the peak of the 72 existences scattered across the Demon Realm and the owner of the ¡¯32nd Demon Realm¡¯, someone even narrative-grade constetions were reluctant to face. Demon King of Rage and Lust, Asmodeus.
Asmodeus smiled with the girl¡¯s face.
[Oh, there is no need to be so tense. I just came to talk.]
The utterance of his true voice brought pain to the incarnations in the area. All incarnations in the industrialplex were probably bleeding. In front of this fearsome pressure, Yoo Jonghyuk held his breath and raised all his magic power.
The feeling of pressure wrapped around his skin gradually decreased. This presence was so strong that even the transcendent Yoo Jonghyuk found it hard to bear. As expected, the status of a demon king itself was different. Whether or not he knew Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s heart, Asmodeus approached Yin with gentle footsteps.
[Interesting. Thest time we met was when I saw you through my subordinate¡¯s eyes at the Syswitz Industrial Complex...]
The steps were obviously light but in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes, they were the heaviest things in the world. The grip on the Heaven Shaking Sword be stronger and the veins of his neck bulged.
[You moved to Gilobat and defeated the duke in such a short time... your skills are great, Demon King of Salvation.]
Demon King of Salvation... It was obvious who this was referring to.
¡®Damn Kim Dokja.¡¯
Everything happened in the wrong ce. In a short time, Yoo Jonghyuk had dozens of thoughts.
¡®This guy is in an iplete incarnation body. Can I win?¡¯
¡®No, it is impossible.¡¯
¡®It might be an incarnation body but this is the Demon World.¡¯
¡®Then can I run away?¡¯
¡®It is too unreasonable.¡¯
¡®There is no way to get rid of the demon king, who has the mind and heart of an incarnation.¡¯
Originally, the demon kings couldn¡¯t exist in this scenario. Based on the visible sparks, a huge amount of probability was being consumed in real time. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t escape from somehow who showed up with this determination.
¡®There is only one way that will possibly work.¡¯
¡®Buy time to waste his probability.¡¯
He might be a demon king but he couldn¡¯t take over the body of an incarnation in the scenario for long. He would be forced to return as long as Yoo Jonghyuk could buy some time. The problem was that it shouldn¡¯t be a ¡®fight.¡¯ In the end, Yoo Jonghyuk had to bend his pride a bit.
¡°Yes, I am the Demon King of Salvation. Who are you?¡±
[...It is a bit strange? Were you originally this handsome? The face I sawst time...]
¡°You came here because you have something to say. Then tell me.¡±
[Huhu, yes. But before we talk, there is something that is bothering me.]
¡°What?¡±
Asmodeus¡¯s small fingers snapped. Formidable sparks appeared and a little doll with half of one arm torn appeared in the air.
[As expected.]
Yoo Jonghyuk bit his lips. He was dealing with a demon king. It was a mistake to think that the Recluse¡¯s Cloak wouldn¡¯t be noticed.
[Why is the symbolic body of an archangel here?]
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
[Is that so? Is this true?]
Intense sparks shed and Uriel made a pained expression.
[I can tell who you are based on this symbolic body.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at Asmodeus.]
[Archangel Uriel. Is your brother Raphael well? I want you to tell him that I haven¡¯t forgotten the debt.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is roaring with anger!]
[Of course, you can only tell him if you return safely.]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression darkened. This was the Demon World. No matter how strong Uriel was, she couldn¡¯t expose the demon king¡¯s incarnation body with a symbolic body. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t hesitate to raise his energy.
¡°Stop.¡±
It would be difficult if he lost Uriel¡¯s symbolic body here. He would be lost from the scenario if he lost Uriel here. Asmodeus looked impressed by the pressure of the boiling magic powering from Yoo Jonghyuk.
[Hrmm? This energy... it is tough. But...]
The next moment, Asmodeus was in front of Yoo Jonghyuk.
[A mere mortal is imitating a star.]
The small arm stretched out and grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s jaw.
¡°Kuek...!¡±
[Indeed, you aren¡¯t the Demon King of Salvation. Isn¡¯t that right?]
Yoo Jonghyuk hurriedly swung the Heaven Shaking Sword. Surprisingly, it was easily caught by Asmodeus¡¯ hand.
[If I¡¯d known you could make such a pretty face, I wouldn¡¯t have let you go in the beginning.]
Then the Heaven Shaking Sword was broken in half.
[You are afraid of me. Cute child.]
¡°Kuoock...¡±
[If you resist so much, I will lose the desire to talk to you.]
Dark shadows flocked behind Asmodeus. The darkness gathered in the air and formed a monster with huge horns.
[I want to trample on you.]
Blood started to flow from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s nose. The mighty story was weighing down on his transcendence. In front of the vast presence, Yoo Jonghyuk quietly prepared to open ¡®transcendence stage 1.¡¯
There were no odds but Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t give up. If he could just create a gap for one moment, he might have enough time to return to the Earth scenario. As Yoo Jonghyuk was thinking this, he allowed one attack and felt the shock of his entire body being broken.
His left arm and right leg were broken and even the magic power in his stomach was lost. By the time he came to his senses, he was crumpled on the ground. Asmodeus raised this Yoo Jonghyuk and touched Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s forehead softly.
[I can¡¯t believe it. A mere human has such sublime despair.]
¡°Dog... bas...tard.¡±
[Persephone said that ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ must be the best story. Huhu.]
Asmodeus licked his lips. Yoo Jonghyuk stared at Asmodeus before closing his eyes.
¡®I¡¯m sorry Kim Dokja.¡¯
There was no other way. He was forced to look towards the next regression. He closed his eyes and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s clock prepared to go back. The second hand, the minute hand, the hour hand. The moment that the giant hands were going to move in the opposite direction¡ª
¡¸ That¡¯s why you should¡¯ve thought about me earlier. ¡¹
All of a sudden, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s clock stopped.
***
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ stage 3 has been activated!]
Huge sparks appeared around Yoo Jonghyuk and the startled Asmodeus moved back. Something blinked inside Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes while something else woke up. Of course, it was me.
[You...]
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at the ¡®Demon King of Rage and Lust¡¯.]
I stared at Asmodeus with bright eyes. Then I said, [Don¡¯t touch my incarnation, Asmodeus.]
Chapter 224 - Asmodeus (4)
Chapter 224: Episode 42 ¨C Asmodeus (4)
¡°What the hell is this guy thinking...?¡±
Aileen pulled out the catheter and muttered as he watched Kim Dokja lying down. Fragments of the story were trickling from the bandages.
-For now, this is the only way. I hadn¡¯t wanted to use it.
Aileen hurriedly raised her courage, swept up the fragments and took the pulse of the other arm. Kim Dokja¡¯s face was pale and no warmth could be felt.
¡°Bring more story packs! Quickly!¡±
The people watching ran out of the treatment room at Aileen¡¯s cry. Aileen watched the face of the dying Kim Dokja and recalled hisst words.
-Just let me die for an hour or so.
-Ah, of course, it isn¡¯t really dying. It is just on the verge of dying.
-I really will go to see Kim Namwoon if I die at this time.
-I will trust you. Understood?
Beep¨D beep¨D
The story stability levels on the patient stability monitor were dropping sharply. Aileen watched Kim Dokja sleeping with an unknown expression and inserted a new story into his veins.
***
Fortunately, the third stage of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint was connected properly. Aileen had done her work properly. By the way...
Asmodeus¡¯ energy was zing in front of me. I was in a state of tension, unlike my previous deration. The opponent was ¡®Asmodeus.¡¯ I felt a bit of regret for using words that were too impressive at the beginning but now it was toote for regret. Asmodeus finally opened his mouth.
[Demon King of Salvation?]
I nodded with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s head. I felt Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s soul struggling in one corner of the ego but I forced him to fall asleep. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t pop out at this time.
[I am the Demon King of Salvation.]
The use of my true voice consumed an excessive amount of probability but I pretended to be calm. I deliberately used my true voice in order to not be pushed back by his momentum. The bonus was that maintaining my true voice made me look strong. Asmodeus nced at me with surprise and asked again.
[...He is really your incarnation?]
[That¡¯s right.]
The unconscious Yoo Jonghyuk would be furious if he knew this but I didn¡¯t think and said it anyway. There was no better answer in the current situation. At least, that¡¯s what I thought.
[I didn¡¯t hear that you have such an incarnation.]
[Your informationwork seems to be slower than I thought. This person is my incarnation.]
Asmodeus had definitelye here to ¡®talk¡¯ with me. The credibility of his words couldn¡¯t be determined but this was the only way for Yoo Jonghyuk to survive. If he really came to ¡®talk¡¯, he wouldn¡¯t do anything unnecessary like touching my incarnation.
[Hrmm...]
Asmodeus didn¡¯t seem to ept my words as his energy gradually became strong. I desperately recalled the information about Asmodeus that I knew.
¡¸ An indulgent madman. ¡¹
¡¸ A member of the gourmet association. ¡¹
¡¸ He has a slight acquaintance with the Underworld of Olympus. ¡¹
¡¸ The owner of crooked libido. ¡¹
There were a few things that could be of some help but there was nothing I could use right now. Either way, it would be best to solve this confrontation as smoothly as possible. I raised my senses as much as possible and searched the vicinity for anything that could help me. The only thing that stood out was the small stuffed doll attached to my shoulders.
...What is this? That jerk Yoo Jonghyuk actually collected such things? Then the doll suddenly looked at me.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is so moved she has a nosebleed.]
...Wait. Surely this doll...
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is rubbing her cheek against you.]
The doll softly touched Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s cheek and I felt it through Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. I was panicked. Why was Uriel here?
Asmodeus opened his mouth. [I guess the rumours are true if you¡¯re not shrinking back before my ¡®status.¡¯ You became ¡®narrative-grade¡¯ in the tenth scenario... I can¡¯t believe it is true.]
[I don¡¯t know. It might be more than rumours.]
I pulled the Uriel doll and quickly hid her in my arms. The atmosphere was strange but it would be difficult if Uriel did something. Asmodeus licked his lips.
[Huhu, the story about your tongue seems true. It is to my taste. By the way... how are you alive? I heard from the constetions that you died.]
[I have good luck.]
[...You also like having secrets.]
[I hate people who keep trying to pry secrets from me.]
[Is this person your new incarnation? I heard that children are your taste.]
[What bullshit is that?]
[Then my hard work preparing this wasn¡¯t worthwhile.]
Asmodeus smiled at me in a charming manner while looking down at his child¡¯s incarnation body. He had the appearance of a pretty child. If Han Myungoh was right, this child must be Han Myungoh¡¯s daughter. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t resemble Han Myungoh at all.
[There seems to be some misunderstanding... many false rumours have spread.]
The rumours spread about me taking Shin Yoosung as my incarnation. He understood what I was saying and Asmodeus smiled at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face.
[Indeed, I can bend my taste if it is this beautiful body.]
At this point, it was clear that a normal conversation was impossible. I spoke roughly. ¡°Stop talking with your true voice. There won¡¯t be any incarnations left around me.¡±
[Why?]
¡°This is now my industrialplex. I want you to stop killing my citizens.¡±
Officially, Gilobat died because of ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ and this became my industrialplex.
[You are the new owner of the industrialplex.]
In fact, these messages were actually rising. Of course, I actually needed a good excuse to stop using my true voice. Asmodeus spoke with a small smile, ¡°Hrmm, yes. I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Asmodeus did it half-heartedly but he was polite when he had a purpose. At least, until his purpose was met.
¡°Then why did youe for me?¡±
¡°It sounds like you already know. Right?¡±
¡°...How should I know? I¡¯m not a prophet.¡±
¡°I know you have a simr power to the prophet of Asgard.¡±
He was probably talking about Anna Croft. I didn¡¯t know how much of my story had spread and twisted. Whatever the rumours, it was clear that now was the time toy the foundation on this side.
¡°Maybe it is because of the ¡®Demon King Selection.¡¯¡±
Asmodeus grinned at the answer. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess. It was because shortly after the industrialplex had fallen, the following message was heard.
[You are currently a ¡®Demon King Candidate¡¯ of the 73rd Demon Realm.]
[A new scenario is currently pending.]
¡°Are you aiming for a new throne?¡±
¡°Huh? I already have the 32nd Demon Realm. It is pointless to gain one with a lower rank.¡±
¡°Then what?¡±
¡°I want to help you be a new demon king.¡±
As expected, he said it. Han Myungoh had told me something simr.
-The demon king... he told me to make the ¡¯73rd Demon King¡¯ with my own hands.
I thought for a moment before shaking my head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t need help. I currently have no desire to participate in thepetition.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think you have the veto rights? You have to participate in the selection as soon as you be a duke.¡±
¡°I can survive with my own strength.¡±
¡°Well, you might¡¯ve been lucky until now. Will it continue in the future?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Do you think Duke Melledon and Bercan have the same thoughts as you?¡±
It was known that nebe were already attached to them. They were also nebe hostile towards me. Asmodeusughed. ¡°You need my help. You will die if you refuse.
It was unknown who would kill me but he seemed certain I would die. Fucking bastard. Did hee all this way only to grab my ankle?
[A small number of constetions are watching your choice.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is watching your choice.]
[The constetion who likes to change sex is watching your choice.]
I moved to this location and asked Biyoo to expand the channel. Thus, the constetions were watching my choice. Most constetions felt reluctant towards demon kings. My future story would be determined depending on the choice I made here.
I took a calm breath and asked, ¡°Is your purpose the giant story?¡±
Something stirred in Asmodeus¡¯ eyes at my words.
¡°...I¡¯m surprised that you already know about such a thing.¡±
¡°It is the only reason why guys like you would cut off their nose in the blink of an eye.¡±
I smiled bitterly.
A giant story. If the stories I had umted so far were in the category of general stories, there was a new field in the Star Stream called giant stories. For example, things like Olympus¡¯ Gigantomachia and Asgard¡¯s Ragnarok.
By building a small stake in a giant story, the constetions could gain enormous power and probability. If they upied arge stake then they would be a huge power. This was why the constetions rushed with fiery eyes every time the apocalypse scenario urred.
The Demon World¡¯s ¡®Demon King Selection¡¯ was one such giant story. It wasn¡¯tparable to Gigantomachia but it wasrgepared to general stories.
Asmodeus nodded. ¡°You are correct. I need the shares of a giant story.¡±
Asmodeus was already a demon king and belonged to a higher level scenario, so he couldn¡¯t participate in the selection. However, he could help me in exchange for a ¡®stake¡¯ in the story.
Originally I would¡¯ve refused the proposal. The giant story that could be umted through the Demon King Selection would be the key foundation for my future fight against the nebe. If I gave a share in it to the wrong person, it was likely I wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain anything.
However, Yoo Jonghyuk of the 12th regression had mumbled.
¡¸ ¡®At that time, we shouldn¡¯t have pretended to support the Demon King Asmodeus.¡¯¡¹
I wanted to grab the cor of the 12th regression Yoo Jonghyuk and ask what he meant, but the person now was only in the third regression.
In the end, I had to make a choice. Should I grab the hand of the demon king or not?
I slowly opened my mouth.
Chapter 225 - Asmodeus (5)
Chapter 225: Episode 42 ¨C Asmodeus (5)
¡°How funny. I¡¯m not even a ¡®demon king¡¯ yet. How can I give away the stakes in a giant story I don¡¯t have?¡±
¡°You can do it if I help.¡± Asmodeus had an arrogant confidence on his face. It was an expression that made bing a ¡®demon king¡¯ simple. I watched his face and followed up with,
¡°...Okay, I will give away a stake if I be a demon king.¡±
At this moment, the stars in the sky were shing.
[A few constetions are greatly disappointed in your judgment.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at you with troubled eyes.]
[The constetion who likes to change sex wants to change your sex.]
The constetions showed a strong reaction as I expected. However, I couldn¡¯t help it for now. Unless I knew how to not lost against Asmodeus, I couldn¡¯t do anything that would antagonize him.
Asmodeusughed like he was satisfied with my answer. ¡°Good thinking. How much will you give away?¡±
¡°30%.¡±
Light disappointment shed across Asmodeus¡¯ face. ¡°It is too little.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too greedy?¡±
¡°50% and write the contract here.¡±
What a shameless swindler. If I gave away half of a giant story, I wouldn¡¯t be able to draw on its strength without Asmodeus¡¯ permission. I firmly shook my head. ¡°I can¡¯t sign that agreement.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
The pebbles started to float into the air. This was tant intimidation but I wouldn¡¯t havee here if I would be caught by such intimidation. I stared up at the sky and kept speaking, ¡°I won¡¯t give a stake to just you.¡±
A deep silence instantly fell at my words. Asmodeus¡¯ face was nk and he didn¡¯t understand what I meant. The stars all around me were holding their breaths and demanding rification.
¡°30% of the giant story will be released aspetitive shares.¡±
¡°...Competitive shares?¡±
¡°It means whoever helps me can gain part of those shares. The extent that they obtained will depend entirely on their contribution to the story.¡±
The gazes staring at me from the sky started to change on by one.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is making a interested expression.]
[A few constetions are greedy after hearing your words!]
¡®Competitive shares¡¯ was thest card I could offer. If I had to take a beast with me while moving forward, it would be better to expand the choice of beasts. Asmodeus noticed my intentions and his expression hardened. ¡°...I was deceived.¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t lie.¡±
The pebbles floating in the air rushed towards me, to be precise, towards Yoo Jonghyuk. It was a strong attack that couldn¡¯t be easily blocked. It might¡¯ve been hard for me in the past but not now.
It was because now I wasn¡¯t alone. The stones flying through the air were caught by invisible hands.
[A few constetions are staring at the Demon King of Fury and Lust.]
It was a situation where I dered apetitive share in a giant story. The constetions aiming for those shares wouldn¡¯t just watch Asmodeus¡¯ actions. Asmodeus gritted his teeth. However, even Asmodeus didn¡¯t want to waste probability in this ce against arge number of constetions. In addition, there was a formidable constetion present.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is staring at the Demon King of Fury and Lust.]
Asmodeus stared at the air for a while before taking back his strength. The stones lost their support and instantly fell to the ground.
[The Demon King of Lust and Fury is disappointed in you.]
Asmodeus spoke with a terrifying expression, ¡°You have made a mistake. You are not the one who will be demon king. You just threw away an important opportunity.¡±
It was a tone that suggested he could give the opportunity to someone else at any time. Certainly, things would beplicated if Asmodeus joined hands with someone else. Nevertheless, I didn¡¯t back down. ¡°Well, I think you are the one throwing away the opportunity, not me.¡±
I thought about why Asmodeus must¡¯ve chosen me. Common sense said it was more advantageous for Asmodeus to be attacked to Bercan or Melledon rather than me. I was a human and a constetion while Melledon and Bercan were demons.
Yet Asmodeus extended his hand towards me first. There was apelling reason for Asmodeus to choose me. In fact, Asmodeus¡¯ expression seemed a bit strained at my refusal. ¡°...It is really unpleasant. Don¡¯t you know that I am a demon king?¡±
A great demon was making this type of expression. It was an extremely rare scene from the perspective of Ways of Survival. I slowly shook my head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you are a demon king or constetion. I just want my story to be the best story.¡±
¡°The best story?¡±
¡°You should know what I mean since you belong to the Gourmet Association.¡±
Asmodeus¡¯ expression changed at the words I deliberately mentioned. It was a face that was both bewildered and delighted. Asmodeus gazed at me with an expression that was hard for humans to describe and opened his mouth a few dozen secondster.
[...A candidate will test the cooking skills of a demon king...?]
I held my breath at the formidable killing intent aimed at me. It was like the whole time and space of the area was in the demon king¡¯s grasp. The confused constetions squeezed out light but the darkness around them was so dense that their power couldn¡¯t reach.
This was the real power of a demon king. If Asmodeus truly used all his power here, I was convinced that Yoo Jonghyuk and I would¡¯ve vanished regardless of the Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯s presence. He was revealing this power now as a type of proof and warning.
[The Demon King ¡®Asmodeus¡¯ reveals a subtle liking towards you.]
It was a warning that he could kill me at any time. Asmodeusughed from inside the darkness.
[I like it. I will leave for today.]
Fortunately, the situation seemed to be wrapped up. I didn¡¯t pretend to support Asmodeus and he didn¡¯t one-sidedly lose his shares of the story. There was plenty of room to change things...
[However, I should clean up the garbage before I go.]
Asmodeus moved his fingers and an explosive sound was heard from my chest. It was the sound of a doll popping. There was a throbbing pain around my heart but Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body didn¡¯t receive any apparent damage. Asmodeus¡¯ body scattered into ashes as he left thesest words.
[I can¡¯t see that thing wandering around in front of me.]
I gazed at the disappearing Asmodeus before hurriedly touching my chest. ¡°...Uriel?¡±
I pulled out that Uriel doll that was already tattered. Not long afterwards, I felt something being disconnected from the doll. I saw the messages rising in front of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes.
[The connection with the constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has been temporarily disconnected.]
[The personal scenario has been automatically terminated.]
I was able to see how Yoo Jonghyuk came here. I didn¡¯t know why but Uriel gave him a personal scenario to go to the Demon World. Yoo Jonghyuk received that scenario and came here. The problem was the scenario had just been forcibly terminated.
Sparks started appearing around my skin. I instantly realized what would happen.
¡°Uriel! Wake up!¡± I desperately shook the doll but there was no reaction from Uriel. The symbolic body was excessively broken and the connection with the body was forcibly terminated.
¡°Shit.¡±
Cracks were spreading over Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hard body.
[You have left the main scenario.]
I hurriedly looked around. This couldn¡¯t continue. At this rate, Yoo Jonghyuk would surely die.
[The exile penalty has begun.]
It was different from me. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t have the Fourth Wall. There wasn¡¯t anyone to protect him after bing an exile.
¡°Hey! Anybody is good!¡±
I hurriedly shouted towards the sky. However, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body was destroyed and my voice didn¡¯t emerge. The cracks that started in the legs spread to the neck and paralyzed the vocal cords.
It was a penalty that prevented me from asking the constetions in the night sky for help. The whole universe was intensely hoping for Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s death, as if it was going to take away his stories and kill him.
...Was it up to here? I couldn¡¯t let it. Everything was over if Yoo Jonghyuk died here.
In less than one second, the pages of Ways of Survival passed through my head. The letters on countless pages flew towards me and I reached out to them. Yes, this was the only way. I didn¡¯t have it but Yoo Jonghyuk was different. I was forced to ask him for help.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sponsor.]
I wanted to use my true voice but now I had no strength. I was forced to hope that my story would reach that existence.
[The sponsor of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is looking at you.]
A huge presence was looking at me. It was somewhat familiar but also unfamiliar. Before I could open my mouth, a darkness came over me.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ stage 3 has been forcibly released.]
***
A space covered with darkness. I had this experience once before. When was it? It happened when I exited from the constetion banquet.
[ ¡ö¡ö... ]
[ How to change... ]
[ ...No. ]
Dammit, what the hell did this mean¨D
***
¡°Heok!¡± I shot up and gasp like I was going to vomit. My heart was beating like crazy and there was a cracking sound from my neck. My eyes were full of tears.
I was alive. To be precise, Aileen saved me. However, I felt more desperate than relieved. I shouted in a thick voice towards the outside of the treatment room.
¡°Aileen!¡±
Aileen, who had been waiting outside, rushed over at my call. She was pale when she saw me pulling out the catheter. I shook off her hands and shouted, ¡°Quickly get me up. I have to go to the Gilobat Industrial Complex.¡±
¡°What are you talking about? A person who just woke up¨D¡±
¡°There is no time, quickly!¡±
Dozens of thoughts crossed my head. Let¡¯s ask the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven for help. If not, let¡¯s call Hermes. I hated it but I might be able to get a favour using the shares of the story. I just had to get to Gilobat right away. It wasn¡¯t toote yet. Go right now¨D
¡°There is no way for a person who has been unconscious for one week! You will have to rest for at least one week to stabilize your body!¡±
¡°...What?¡±
It felt like my heart stopped beating. I thought it was an auditory hallucination. The world that I read was copsing. The letters that lost their ce were pushing at me.
¡°...How much time has passed?¡±
¡°A week. You have been unconscious for a week.¡±
I looked nkly at the floor before picking up the smartphone that Irene created. I turned on the panel and checked the file.
-Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (1st Revision).txt
The title of the text was unchanged. The second revision didn¡¯te and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s lines were the same.
There was a moment of despair as I realized that nothing had changed. Really? Yoo Jonghyuk really died?
Chapter 226 - Asmodeus (6)
Chapter 226: Episode 42 ¨C Asmodeus (6)
My hands were trembling but I took a deep breath and regained myposure. No. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t be dead. Above all, the message that caught my attention was evidence.
[You are currently waiting for the next main scenario.]
Based onmon sense, Yoo Jonghyuk shouldn¡¯t be given the exile penalty. It was because Yoo Jonghyuk would¡¯ve entered a new scenario like me.
There might be variations for individual scenarios but he became a duke as soon as I became a duke. It meant that like me, Yoo Jonghyuk was a ¡®demon king candidate.¡¯
[There is currently a dy in thepensation due to an error in the Star Stream system.]
However, there was this one message. It was very rare to acquire a story or achievement through ¡®impersonation¡¯ in the Star Stream. This time, Yoo Jonghyuk and I impersonated each other and made achievements in each other¡¯s name.
What if the main scenario of the Star Stream was twisted because of this? I entered the main scenario safely but what if Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t enter? Was that why the exile penalty began?
¡°Are you okay?¡±
¡°...Do you have a ss of water?¡±
Aileen stared at me with disbelieving eyes for a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t pull out the catheter again while I¡¯m gone.¡±
Aileen left the room and I calmly reexamined the situation. I had to beposed. It wasn¡¯t clear whether Yoo Jonghyuk had died or not. It was likely that he had been killed by the start of the exile penalty just prior to the release of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint, but absolute certainty was a taboo in the Star Stream. I needed to first confirm Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s life or death properly.
¡°Biyoo.¡±
Biyoo had expanded the channel to the Gilobat side. If Biyoo helped, I might be able to see the area using the eyes of a constetion.
¡°Biyoo. Do you hear me?¡±
Did something happen? There was no response from Biyoo. I couldn¡¯t even hear the messages from other constetions. I felt uneasy for a moment. What happened to Biyoo while I was away?
...Huh? I listened quietly and could hear Biyoo breathing near me. Biyoo¡¯s transparent body was lying on my chest, fast asleep.
I sighed with relief. I would¡¯ve been devastated if something happened to Biyoo.
¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡± I stroked Biyoo¡¯s head. ording to Ways of Survival, a dokkaebi must sleep for at least half a day when it was just born. I was sleeping so it wasn¡¯t strange for Biyoo to have fallen asleep.
It was a situation where Biyoo had exhausted her strength due to overworking.
I decided to use the second method.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
Then my temples started throbbing.
[The skill is cancelled due to umted damage.]
...Damn, this didn¡¯t work either. It seemed that I suffered a huge blow when my link with Yoo Jonghyuk was severed.
In the end, I picked up the smartphone again. It was the first time I felt so helpless. I didn¡¯t know if Yoo Jonghyuk was dead or not and the only thing I could do was read the novel.
No, don¡¯t think like this. Kim Dokja, please wake up. You¡¯ve survived so far thanks to this novel.
I bit my lips and opened Ways of Survival again. Everything came from this story. Thus, the answer would be in the story.
[The attribute effect has increased ¡®speed reading¡¯!]
I read the book with wide eyes, not missing a single word or sentence.
¡¸ ¡®At that time, we shouldn¡¯t have pretended to support the Demon King Asmodeus.¡¯¡¹
It was hard to see it as Yoo Jonghyuk and I pretending to support Asmodeus this time. I might¡¯ve deceived him but in the end, there was a nuance that he would still cooperate with us. I couldn¡¯t be sure that Yoo Jonghyuk was dead with this sentence alone.
The 13th round.
The 134h round.
...
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s regressions continued. It took longer than before but his spirit was gradually worn down by the continuous regressions.
¡¸ ¡®It is hard.¡¯ ¡¹
The 18th round.
¡¸ ¡®I want to quit now.¡¯ ¡¹
The 21st round.
¡¸ ¡®Dammit, dammit, dammit!¡¯ ¡¹
...
I read about Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s despair and also felt my heart burning. As time went by, Yoo Jonghyuk returned to his original pessimistic form. A regressor who survived every regression using the principles of only thinking about himself.
¡¸ ¡®I can¡¯t change anything.¡¯ ¡¹
He went back, went back and went back again. In the second half of the novel, there was no big difference with the Ways of Survival that I read before. Apart from the first half that I influenced, Yoo Jonghyuk made simr mistakes and regained simr tendencies.
¡¸ ¡®Damn, a few more times...¡¯ ¡¹
I spent several months with Yoo Jonghyuk but I was only able to have this much influence on the novel. I wanted to reach out to the frustrated Yoo Jonghyuk but Yoo Jonghyuk was in a ce I couldn¡¯t reach. The 25th, 26th, 27th rounds... Yoo Jonghyuk constantly repeated the regressions and I had to stop reading.
It was painful to read. The original Ways of Survival was a story like this. How did I read all 3,149 chapters?
Due to my irregr breathing, Biyoo attached to my chest was moving ufortably.
I remembered the page number before scrolling down to the bottom. It might be burdensome to follow this story right now but there was something I had to check first.
Did Yoo Jonghyuk reach the proper ending in the first revision? Did the author write the epilogue?
The screen hitched badly while I was scrolling due to the poor performance of the smartphone. How long did I scroll down? I finally reached the spot where the original ending should be. However, I only found a huge void.
¡¸ Current being edited. ?? ¡¹
There was a one line message. I was swept away by two different emotions.
¡°...Haha.¡±
The emoticon that followed the word ¡®edited¡¯ angered me but some of the possibilities that came from the message made me excited. This story could still be changed. There was a way even if Yoo Jonghyuk was dead. Somehow I had to bring him back to this regression.
I scrolled through with a determined feeling. Then the sentences that were written in the section before the ending caught my attention.
¡¸ Before the end of the scenario, Yoo Jonghyuk recalled countless memories of his death. ¡¹
¡¸ ¡®In the third round, I almost died the first time I met Asmodeus.¡¯ ¡¹
I had too many thoughts.
...Eh? Wait. This was currently the third round...
There was a knock on the door and I raised my head to see Mark. He saw that I was awake and waved. ¡°R-Revolutionary! You woke up? It is fortunate.¡±
¡°What is going on?¡±
¡°Nothing. I just wanted to let you know that someone came to see you.¡±
I was busy and wanted to tell him toe backter when Mark continued speaking. ¡°The owner of the industrialplex is looking for you.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°The owner of the industrialplex hase to visit you.¡±
What did he mean? Wasn¡¯t I the owner of the industrialplex?
¡°Get out of the way.¡±
The next moment, someone pushed past Mark and entered the room. It was a presence that changed the atmosphere just by standing there.
I stared nkly at the man with my mouth gaping open. Yoo Jonghyuk, who I thought was dead, was standing in front of me.
***
It took me a bit more time toe to my senses. Aileen, who came back, nced at us and disappeared after arranging the table while the nkly standing Mark also avoided this ce. Once the surroundings became quiet, I opened my mouth first. ¡°When did youe here?¡±
¡°Two days ago.¡±
I was ashamed of myself for freaking out in thest 10 minutes. The man I had been worried about was walking around the same industrialplex while I had all sorts of delusions about his death.
¡°...How did you survive? It was a situation where you couldn¡¯t survive.¡±
¡°I received a bit of help.¡±
¡°From who? Was it your sponsor?¡±
¡°That guy has never helped me once.¡±
I asked for his help but I didn¡¯t think he would actually help. From the beginning to the end of Ways of Survival, all he did was make Yoo Jonghyuk regress. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s wounds had healed and he looked quite healthy.
¡°A constetion helped me.¡±
¡°A constetion? Who?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need to know the details.¡±
¡°What did you give in exchange? None of them would help for nothing.¡±
¡°I just received a slight penalty.¡±
¡°Penalty?¡±
¡°Until the Demon World scenario is over, I will disappear for 10 minutes a day.¡±
¡°Disappear? What does this mean?¡±
¡°Something like that. In any case, I have now entered the main scenario and the scenario error has been resolved. There is no need to worry about it.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression while speaking seemed like he had solved something. It was somewhat troubling. I had fallen asleep for a week and Yoo Jonghyuk survived with the help of someone unrted to me. Then he came here to finish be the ruler of the industrialplex.
¡°...¡±
Perhaps it was because it was rare to talk to Yoo Jonghyuk like this. An awkward silence filled the treatment room. Yoo Jonghyuk stared nkly down at the table while drinking tea.
I wanted to ask why he came here. I wanted to ask what he would do in the future. However,pletely different words emerged from my mouth.
¡°The others... are they doing well?¡±
In fact, Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t know. He was a person who only filled his head with the scenarios. Such a person wouldn¡¯t care about what other people were doing. I deliberately wanted to nag at him. Please don¡¯t live your life alone. If he lived like that, he could never reach the end of the scenario. I meant to give this speech. By the way...
¡°Lee Hyunsung went to the army.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk started talking. ¡°Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye are training new incarnations. They are strengthening their power in preparing for the future disaster scenarios.¡±
¡°...Eh?¡±
¡°Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung are in contact with government officials.¡±
¡°The two of them are together?¡±
It was the first time I saw Yoo Jonghyuk saying so many words. Maybe this was why I fell into his story.
¡°Gong Pildu is buyingnd in Seongnam to build a huge castle. He seems to really think he is a king.¡±
¡°Haha, that ahjussi is really...¡±
¡°The two children are doing well. They seem to throw a coin every time they are bored.¡±
I was fascinated as Yoo Jonghyuk continued to speak in a blunt voice. Some stories were easy to understand while others took a bit more time. Nevertheless, they were all stories of someone I knew. The people I liked were living stories in a ce where I didn¡¯t exist.
As I listened, I felt somewhat sweet, sad and nostalgic. ¡°Everybody is busy living.¡±
I felt a strange loneliness at the end of the story. I see. Everyone was living well.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking.]
I realized that I was an ¡®outsider¡¯ of this story.
¡¸ The 25th regression Yoo Jonghyuk said, ¡®I can¡¯t change anything.¡¯ ¡¹
Without me, people were still continuing the scenarios. Just like Yoo Jonghyuk repeated the regressions. The 4th, 5th, 6th rounds... it led to an endless story where I could be easily forgotten. Meanwhile, people would move towards the ending. It was natural. It might be natural but I felt pained at the reminder.
I bit my lips and tried to say something. I¡¯m d. The words didn¡¯t emerge from my mouth. Then I heard Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice. ¡°In addition, everyone is telling your story.¡±
I slowly raised my head at the words. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face was still expressionless. ¡°They say it a lot. Your story.¡±
I smiled slightly while covering my eyes with both hands. I didn¡¯t appear so on the surface but I wanted to say that I was smiling. In the small darkness created with both hands, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice was heard again as he drank tea.
¡°Let¡¯s go back to Earth, Kim Dokja.¡±
Chapter 227 - Episode 43 - Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (1)
Chapter 227: Episode 43 ¨C Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (1)
TL: I¡¯ve changed upper-grade constetions to great-grade.
After thepletion of the senior-grade dokkaebi test, Bihyung was somehowzy. All he had to do was manage the ¡®Korean Penins scenario¡¯ that was left to him by the former Seoul branch manager, Baram. Sometimes, all he had to do was lie down and watch the scenarios he made.
-Heewon-ssi! It¡¯s this way!
-Damn, I missed one. One person is going to the north!
On the screen, one of the scenarios on the Korean Penins called ¡®Catching the Mole¡¯ was in full swing. It was a scenario where they had to catch all the ¡®bomb moles¡¯ that escaped within a certain
time.
A terrible explosion would ur if one was missed but the constetions on the Korean Penins didn¡¯t seem distressed.
-Titano found it. I¡¯ll take care of it with Yoosung.
The incarnations showed perfect organization and teamwork. It was different from some countries where a quarter of thend was blown away from simr scenarios. Of course, this scenario wouldn¡¯t be approved if it had such extreme difficulty.
¡°Damn, why is it like this...¡±
Bihyung grumbled as he bit his fingers. In fact, he could increase the difficulty of this scenario much higher. It could blow up half the Korean Penins and lead the incarnations to a terrible disaster. However, he didn¡¯t do so.
¡®I should¡¯ve saved Kim Dokja at that time... if I raise the difficulty here, they will surely die.¡¯
It was toote to regret it now. No matter how many preparations were made, it was impossible to live outside the scenario.
[The constetions of the Korean Penins are supporting ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Party.¡¯]
[The constetions of the Korean Penins have sponsored 2,000 coins.]
The reason why Bihyung¡¯s channel was maintained was due to the subscribers Kim Dokja left behind. The constetions were steadily supporting the scenario, regardless of whether they were interesting or not. However, the channel didn¡¯t only have such constetions.
[Many constetions are bored with the progress of the scenario.]
[Some constetions have left the channel.]
Kim Dokja had disappeared and Yoo Jonghyuk left the Korean Penins scenario. Thus, the number of constetions abandoning the channel grew every day. In other words, Bihyung was slowly dying.
¡®I need to make changes. But how?¡¯
Of course, he knew how. If he raised the difficulties of the scenarios like before and tricked the constetions, the subscribers would increase again. Nevertheless, Bihyung no longer wanted to lead the scenario that way.
¡®Maybe I¡¯ve changed as well.¡¯
He had changed from his old self who only pursued unconditionally stimting scenarios and didn¡¯t care much about the life and death of the incarnations. Bihyung wanted to tell a different story. He wanted to forget the ¡®cider¡¯ that the bureau mentioned and see different scenarios. Just like the scenarios made by the first generation dokkaebis, something that would be remembered for a long time by the dokkaebis...
-Bihyung.
Bihyung heard something through the dokkaebimunication and reflexively rose.
-You look good. Have you been well?
The face that emerged on the panel was Baram, former Seoul branch manager who left the Seoul Dome after bing a ¡®great dokkaebi candidate.¡¯ The astounded Bihyung quickly acted politely.
After leaving the Seoul branch, Baram entered the senior administrative bureau. It was a ce where the wisest dokkaebis around the world gathered.
Baram on the panel seemed more impressive than he did before.
-I contacted you because I have a few messages.
¡°A few...?¡± Bihyung was a bit nervous. It was because he never received good news when Baram spoke in such a meaningful manner.
-There are signs of a giant story.
¡°...Isn¡¯t there still a lot of time left until Gigantomachia or Ragnarok?¡±
-It isn¡¯t those stories. The giant story is being set up in the Demon World.
Bihyung¡¯s expression changed at the words ¡®Demon World.¡¯
¡°Is it the Demon King Selection?¡±
Bihyung watched Baram nodding and gulped. Unlike the giant stories that appeared on a regr basis, the Demon King Selection was a very rare scenario. Bihyung had never seen the Demon King Scenario in person.
¡®Thest selection tournament was already 800 years ago.¡¯
Just imagining the giant story caused his heart to shake with excitement. Baram read Bihyung¡¯s heart andughed.
-Are you looking forward to it?
¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it but I also feel regret. Who is the dokkaebi responsible for it?¡±
The Demon World had been the domain of the wenny people since ancient times. It was a barren scenario area where channels almost never opened. This was the Demon World. Then the broadcast of the Demon King Selection...
-This time is different. The bureau has decided to dispatch dokkaebis to the Demon World.
¡°Huh? That...¡±
The dokkaebis didn¡¯t interfere in the work of the wenny people and the wenny people didn¡¯t interfere in the work of the dokkaebis. This was the ¡®Promise of the Horizon.¡¯ Now Baram¡¯s words were directly contradicting the covenant.
-I was originally nning to open a channel after signing a new agreement with the wenny people but it has be moreplicated. They broke the promise first.
¡°They broke the promise?¡±
-An illegal channel has urred in the Demon World.
¡°...Huh?¡±
It was something that couldn¡¯t happen ording tomon sense. There were no dokkaebis in the Demon World. Then how was a channel opened?
-I¡¯m not sure about the exact details. That¡¯s why the bureau is in an uproar right now.
¡°If the wenny people stole a channel, can¡¯t you close it from here?¡±
The operating rights of the channel were limited to the dokkaebi. Even if the wenny people stole a channel using a strange trick, the bureau could easily handle it by closing one or two channels.
-The problem isn¡¯t the wenny people.
¡°It isn¡¯t the wenny people? Then who opened the channel?¡±
-It seems there is a dokkaebi in the Demon World.
¡°...Dokkaebi?¡±
Wait... perhaps? No, no. It wasn¡¯t possible. Baram kept speaking.
-In any case, that is why I¡¯ve dispatched dokkaebi from the bureau to the Demon World.
¡°I see. By the way, why are you telling me this?¡±
-You are on the list to be sent.
¡°I¡¯m in charge of the Korean Penins.¡±
-Other dokkaebis will take care of the Korean Penins for a while. Take a few intermediate dokkaebis and go to the Demon World.
Bihyung was silent for a moment. Leave the hottest Earth scenario and go to the Demon World? This was the same as a demotion.
-Aren¡¯t there a few incidents on the Korean Penins anyway? Don¡¯t feel too sorry. Your dream of going higher can be achieved if you do this properly.
¡°...You told me a simr storyst time. Why me?¡±
-I don¡¯t know the exact reason but the elders pointed to you directly.
There is no refusing if they have decided. Bihyung¡¯s expression became depressed. He had to go to that dangerous area?
-I know what you are thinking but don¡¯t be too depressed. It isn¡¯t a demotion. Rather, I have one more piece of information that you might like to hear.
Bihyung raised his head without any expectations while Baram spoke in a strange voice.
-The Demon King of Salvation has appeared in the Demon World.
***
We were silent for a long time. 30 minutes passed after Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words before I finally opened my mouth. In these 30 minutes, I saw Aileen enter and leave the room once.
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk, did you bring the Uriel doll?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk silently pulled out the doll at my question. I carefully examined the doll. The arms and legs were all torn apart. It might be a symbolic body but Uriel¡¯s real body would¡¯ve been impacted by such a blow. An archangel with such pride was suffering like this in the Demon World.
¡°...I can¡¯t go back now.¡±
¡°I see.¡±
He answered as if he already knew. I turned my head and saw that Yoo Jonghyuk was also watching the Uriel doll. We didn¡¯t speak but we could clearly tell what the other person was thinking.
¡°Are you going to take part in the Demon King Selection?¡±
¡°...That¡¯s right.¡±
The Demon King Selection. It was a scenario I had to go through to confront the constetions in the future.
¡°I¡¯m sorry for the party members but I have to get a giant story here.¡± I spoke while carefully attaching Uriel¡¯s torn arm. ¡°This way, I can prepare for the future destruction scenarios.¡±
My choices would be limited if I returned to Earth. I could get opportunities here and build up my power so it wasn¡¯t efficient to go back now. The scenario difficulty had already be more terrible than the original novel. I would only lose time from my work if I returned to Earth.
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me for a moment. ¡°It isn¡¯t a bad idea.¡±
His tone showed he understood many things. Perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk understood my heart more than anyone else. It was because he lost his precious things when he was weak.
I asked, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±
¡°I¡±m going to stay in the Demon World for a while. There is a personal scenario here so I can¡¯t leave right away.¡±
Hoh, I see.
¡°Really? If you don¡¯t mind, why don¡¯t you help me out?¡±
¡°I am helping myself, not you.¡±
I looked up at Yoo Jonghyuk because I wanted to know what he meant. It was clearly the same expressionless face as before but something felt different. ¡°...Are you also nning to participate in the Demon King Selection?¡±
¡°It is natural.¡±
My mind becameplicated. This jerk, he was thinking about taking part in the Demon King Selection...?
¡°Wait! You told me to go back to Earth...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk ignored me and got up to go to the window. The faint light of the sunset cast a dark shade on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face. ording to Ways of Survival, Yoo Jonghyuk pretended to have a cool face when he was caught.
This bastard, he wanted to send me back to Earth and be the demon king. The shameless back looked like it wanted to flee.
Then Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°They¡¯reing.¡±
A cold surged from outside the window as Aileen and Mark ran through the door of the treatment room. I was able to know what was going on without listening to them. It was because Biyoo had woken up and was staring at me nervously.
[The constetion ¡®Founder of Humanity¡¯ is looking at the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex.]
[The constetion ¡®The Last Pharaoh¡¯ is looking at the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex.]
[The constetions of certain nebe are looking at the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex.]
More than a dozen stars twinkled in the sky and one of them let out an intense burst of light and sparks. After a while, a huge shape started to appear at the entrance of the industrialplex.
It was the direct descent of an incarnation body. It was a giant mummy with a golden crown on its head. The height surpassed the walls and the incarnations in the industrialplex started screaming.
If I remembered correctly, this constetion belonged to Papyrus. In addition, Papyrus had joined hands with Bercan.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke in a terrible tone, ¡°...I guess they havee to protest.¡±
There was no need to ask what the protest was about. It was already the prelude to the Demon King Selection.
Chapter 228 - Episode 43 - Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (2)
Chapter 228: Episode 43 ¨C Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (2)
[Who is... the industrialplex¡¯s... new master?]
The colossal voice was heard and Yoo Jonghyuk and I simultaneously looked out the window. Judging by the noisy streets, the use of a true voice was quite tough. Yoo Jonghyuk muttered in a small voice, ¡°A constetion of Papyrus.¡±
¡°If it is the Last Pharaoh, it is probably that woman?¡±
A giant mummy with an old, golden crown. Everything was covered with bandages apart from the high nose. It was just like what I read in Ways of Survival. It was clear that the body belonged to Cleopatra, thest pharaoh of Egypt.
[Who... is... Yoo Jonghyuk?]
Once again, the true voice rang out through the industrialplex. It was certainly great but neither of us were discouraged. Cleopatra was a great-grade constetion at most. Yoo Jonghyuk and I were no longer nervous regarding great constetions.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk. Can you win?¡±
It was an opponent I couldn¡¯t afford to go against while I currently had story packs hanging from my body. Yoo Jonghyuk shook his head. ¡°It is impossible right now. It will soon be time.¡±
¡°Are you talking about the penalty? The one where you disappear for 10 minutes a day?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. I epted it as agreement and looked at Cleopatra. ¡°Then that person...¡±
¡°She won¡¯t do anything.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°The Demon King Selection hasn¡¯t started yet.¡±
Naturally, the incarnation bodies of the constetions who weren¡¯t part of the scenario were constrained by probability. As long as the giant story hadn¡¯t opened yet, they couldn¡¯t act freely. Even so...
¡°Hey, have you already forgotten about Asmodeus?¡±
¡°Not everyone can act like Asmodeus.¡±
I knew that much. It was because the demon kings had much fewer restrictions than the constetions in the Demon World. The problem was the constetions could consume extra probability to ovee these constraints.
¡°Isn¡¯t Cleopatra a member of Papyrus? If she borrows the probability of the neb...¡±
¡°Kim Dokja. You have already forgotten what they have done.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Before Yoo Jonghyuk could answer, I heard Cleopatra¡¯s voice in the air.
[Tell the... new ruler of the industrialplex. He will surely die... if he participates in the Demon King Selection.]
Cleopatra¡¯s body started to disappear with these words. Like a massive sand castle copsing, the body returned to dust.
[Keep this in mind... Papyrus will never... warn you twice.]
Then why are you leaving so gently? It was strange. Usually, she would leave after killing hundreds of incarnations.
Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth like I was pathetic. ¡°Have you forgotten? They forced fate on you.¡±
¡°Ah.¡±
That reminded me, there was such a thing. Papyrus, Vedas and Olympus used a massive amount of probability to force my fate on me. It was the reason why Cleopatra easily disappeared. They nowcked probability.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke in his distinctive somber voice, ¡°We¡¯ve bought some time before the Demon King Selection.¡±
I nodded. At least for now, the constetions wouldn¡¯t attack this side. I checked the message logs.
[The ¡®Demon King Selection¡¯ is currently being prepared.]
[Remaining Preparation Time: 28 days, 17 hours and 12 minutes.]
If my prediction was correct, the Demon King Selection would consume the 21st to 24th scenarios. It was a giant story so it was natural to eat the scenarios. I measured the time remaining and said,
¡°The two of us alone isn¡¯t enough.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
Once the Demon King Selection started, the constetions would start to flock here. A great-grade constetion might becking in strength but they were still much stronger than normal incarnations. Moreover, once many of them started to appear, it would be difficult for only Yoo Jonghyuk and I to deal with them.
¡°Do you have an idea?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk shook his head. There was a way to bring colleagues from Earth but Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon stillcked the ability to fight against transcendents or constetions. They needed time to be stronger by alternating between personal scenarios and main scenarios. A full-scale power management would be possible when they entered thetter scenarios. I needed to find colleagues I could use right away.
¡°Have you gathered any colleagues here?¡±
¡°Ah, there is...¡±
Speaking of which, where was Jang Hayoung? I twisted my sore body and looked around. ¡°I told him to search for group members. It is time for some results...¡±
¡°Be prepared. I¡¯ll be leaving in a second.¡±
Before I could ask where he was going, Yoo Jonghyuk disappeared from my view.
***
I worked out my n and left the treatment room after sorting out my bandages. Aileen said I should rest for two more weeks but my physical condition wasn¡¯t that bad, perhaps because I was rxed.
[The attribute ¡®Lamarck Kirin¡¯ has increased the recovery effect.]
...Ah, it was due to the effect of the attribute. The rmed Aileen rushed over as I stepped outside and stretched. I interrupted her before she could open her mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Rather, can you heal this?¡±
Aileen received the Uriel doll and cocked her head. ¡°...What is this?¡±
¡°A constetion¡¯s symbolic body.¡±
Aileen made the mistake of dropping the doll to the ground. She hurriedly picked up the doll again and asked me, ¡°...Will I be punished for dropping it?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, she is a good constetion. Please firmly repair it.¡±
The constetion was nice. The words were strange to say but I was talking to Uriel, not other constetions.
I said I would go for a short stroll and emerged onto the streets of the industrialplex. The streets of the industrialplex were bathed in a dim light and seemed different from before.
A few people recognized me and nodded lightly. I could see a vigour that I never saw before on their faces. Perhaps this was the expression of those who decided to live.
¡°Hey Yoo Jonghyuk! Did you wake up?¡±
I turned around and saw someone running over here. Jang Hayoung walked up to me and gave me a clumsy headlock. I tried to pull Jang Hayoung off me. ¡°My name isn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°Oh, now you want to reveal your real name?¡±
¡°...You know?¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯m not the only one using a pseudonym.¡±
I stared at Jang Hayoung for a while before speaking in a meaningful manner. ¡°My name is Kim Dokja.¡±
I spoke nice words but Jang Hayoung had a dazed expression. ¡°It is a strange name. I seem to have heard it before...¡±
¡°...It¡¯s fine. What were you doing?¡±
¡°Oh, I was chatting to a few people and got a tip about this area.¡±
¡°A tip?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know because you have been sleeping? Interesting things have happened in the industrialplex in the meantime.¡±
I heard from Jang Hayoung about what happened in the past week. Of course, the most interesting thing was about Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°He rejected the ruling rights?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. He said he would be the duke but he wouldn¡¯t rule here. Thus, everyone was in an uproar.¡±
The situation was clear. Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk was practicing his motto of ¡®dominate but don¡¯t rule.¡¯ That¡¯s what he said. The idea was good. However, the situation was bad.
¡°The order of the industrialplex must be out of control. If the situation isn¡¯t organized, that deration would just create a security problem.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why the citizens are excited right now.¡±
A powerful dictator had the power to control people¡¯s desires. Since a dictator gave up his power,
the piled up desires of the citizens would burst out at once.
¡¸ ¡°Do you think the darkness of the industrialplex will disappear if I die?¡± ¡¹
These were the words of Duke Syswitz in Ways of Survival. I once again thought he was right. The industrialplex wouldn¡¯t suddenly change just because the ruler changed. Rather, the oppressive dictatorship had vanished and the people¡¯s hidden desires would be even more exposed.
¡°Hey, give me that fragment!¡±
¡°I-I don¡¯t want to. I picked it up.¡±
Voices burst out like they had been waiting and Jang Hayoung and I simultaneously turned our heads. Arge number of people were lynching an incarnation in an alley. The situation was obvious. They were fighting over a story fragment that came from the Factory. I was about to move when
Jang Hayoung restrained me. ¡°Wait. Just watch.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°I told you, there was a tip.¡±
¡°What is the tip?¡±
¡°The ¡®Punisher¡¯ will show up here.¡±
¡°Punisher?¡±
I had never heard of such a position. There was no such position in the Revolutionary scenario or Ways of Survival. Jang Hayoung noticed my doubts and added. ¡°It¡¯s a nickname created by the citizens. A great beauty appeared a few days ago and has been maintaining the peace...¡±
At this moment, a man¡¯s shout was heard from inside the alley.
¡°Kill him and steal it!¡±
The men pulled out their weapons and it seemed to be a full-fledged lynching. I would rather move first instead of waiting for the punisher. The moment I moved my hand to the sword at my waist, a slender shadow appeared in the alley.
¡°Stop.¡±
A woman with a ck cape covering her body was standing on the wall. I wasn¡¯t sure about her equipment because of the cape but her face was very clear. It was a face that seemed to be on a different dimension from the world around it. I watched the woman¡¯s waist-long hair pping in the wind and moved slowly in great shock.
...Was there such a figure in Ways of Survival? All of a sudden, the meaning of every praise word became clear.
Deep sultry eyes were set beneath neat eyebrows. All the standards that determined beauty in the world were copsed at the same time. It was a face that couldn¡¯t be described using the modifiers of a constetion. To my chagrin, there was only one way to express this face.
¡¸ There was no doubt it was a beauty that would p Yoo Jonghyuk on the cheeks three times. ¡¹ (Tl: In other words, put Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s beauty to shame by three times)
There wasn¡¯t such an expression in Ways of Survival. In Ways of Survival, Jang Hayoung was at most described as ¡®two ps on the cheeks.¡¯ I was stunned with shock while the person who would p Yoo Jonghyuk twice whispered, ¡°She came. That person is the punisher.¡±
The men were overwhelmed by the woman¡¯s beauty and btedly woke up. Their lips moved and I knew what would emerge. Before their mouths could open, something moved. Then something fell. It was a little bitter that a man screamed. ¡°U-Uwaaaack!¡±
The man who had his arm cut off screamed terrible while the other people identified the situation and started fleeing. They noticed it was an enemy that couldn¡¯t deal with. Even the rescued man was terrified and ran out of the alley. In an instant, only the man¡¯s fallen arm and the woman remained in the alley.
Jang Hayoung watched the woman silently holding the sword and let out a burst of admiration. ¡°Look, isn¡¯t she really amazing? You told me to look for some useful people. I tried to talk to her yesterday but she just disappeared¨D¡±
The swordsmanship was brutal but moved along a fixed course. The amazing thing was the speed of the swordsmanship. I murmured, ¡°An incarnation can¡¯t have that level of swordsmanship.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Jang Hayoung might¡¯ve missed it but I definitely noticed. At this point in time, this speed was only possible for transcendents. My heart thumped loudly.
I didn¡¯t know the identity of this woman but if I could make her my colleague, she would surely be a great power in the Demon King Selection. The moment the woman in the ck cape turned around, I jumped into the alley without hesitation. ¡°Hey!¡±
I was nning to use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint to get information while talking to her. It would be easier to persuade her if I could see her Attributes Window. Then if I was lucky¨D
¡°Kuek...¡±
Before I could approach the woman and use the skill, I had to stop in ce. The woman¡¯s eyes were looking at me. I trembled from the terrible emotions that were transmitted to me. Tremendous resentment and anger shot towards me. I was struck dumb by the sheer waterfall of emotions.
...What was this girl? Did I know her?
...Rather, why did she hate me so much?
Chapter 229 - Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (3)
Chapter 229: Episode 43 ¨C Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (3)
I resisted the waves of anger and resentment and shouted towards the punisher, ¡°Wait! Just wait!¡±
Then the messages of the constetions entered my head.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is astonished.]
[A few constetions are worried over your judgment.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is having an intense allergic reaction to your gaze.¡¯]
Huh? What? All of a sudden...
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has entered the channel.]
...Ah, Uriel!
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is surprised!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is surprised!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is surprised!]
It wasn¡¯t strange for Uriel to enter the channel since it had been a week since the Asmodeus incident. The problem was the messages from the subsequent constetions.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is asking about what is happening.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ says he doesn¡¯t know much.]
[The constetion who likes to change sex is giggling.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is heading towards the neb ¡®Asgard.¡¯]
The sudden outpouring of messages from the constetions woke me up. What was this situation? Why were they pointing in my face...
The punisher quickly disappeared from the alley while I was confused by the messages of the constetions.
¡°Ah, wait!¡± It was a pity. This was a chance to get a good colleague.
Jang Hayoung btedly chased after me and asked, ¡°How is it? Isn¡¯t she beautiful?¡±
¡°When did she appear?¡±
¡°Three or four days ago. The rumour that she is a beauty as well as having incredibly ability quickly spread. She is also elusive.¡±
¡°Will shee tomorrow?¡±
I hadn¡¯t been able to figure out her swordsmanship but she would definitely be a great help in the Demon King Selection. By the way, where did this persone from? She wasn¡¯t in the original Ways of Survival...
¡°Shees every day so she will probablye tomorrow. Were you fascinated by her?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡±
¡°I¡¯m joking, I¡¯m joking. I know. You don¡¯t like girls.¡±
¡°...Who said that?¡±
Where did such a rumour...
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at you.]
...I think I knew where the rumour came from.
¡°It has been a while, Uriel.¡±
***
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is raising her nose with an ¡®ahem.¡¯]
I listened to Uriel¡¯s indirect messages while heading to the treatment room with Uriel.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is praising herself.]
Most of Uriel¡¯s stories were about how she convinced Yoo Jonghyuk to go to the Demon World. As expected, it was Uriel who persuaded Yoo Jonghyuk to save me. It was as I thought. He wouldn¡¯te here on his own to save me.
¡°Your symbolic body is currently being repaired. You¡¯ll be able to enter it again when it¡¯s done.¡±
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯s is touched to tears.]
¡°By the way, what personal scenario did you give Yoo Jonghyuk? It would be dangerous for an archangel to release a personal scenario in the Demon World.¡±
In fact, it was dangerous for a high-level constetion like Uriel toe to the Demon World.
The neb Eden had a truce with the 72 demon kings of the Demon World. Perhaps Uriel was conscious of this face and manifested herself as a symbolic body instead of an incarnation body. Uriel wouldn¡¯t have been so helpless against Asmodeus if it wasn¡¯t for this.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is making a sullen expression.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says it doesn¡¯t matter anymore.]
Once the link between Yoo Jonghyuk and Uriel was cut off, Uriel¡¯s personal scenario had been forcibly erased. Yoo Jonghyuk said that he received another personal scenario.
I was listening to Uriel¡¯s story when Jang Hayoung interrupted. ¡°How did you be so familiar with the constetions?¡±
¡°I am also a constetion.¡±
¡°...What? Are you joking?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡±
Jang Hayoung had aplicated expression on his face. ¡°A constetion... the beings in the sky? The same as the mummy who appeared in the morning?¡±
¡°That is usually the case.
¡°That¡¯s why there is a modifier. A constetion lives in the context of that modifier...¡±
Come to think of it, there was that setting. The nature of the constetions was inside the context of the modifier. I had be corrupted as soon as I became a constetion so I couldn¡¯t see the context...
¡°That¡¯s right. Those constetions.¡±
¡°What is your modifier...¡±
Jang Hayoung was conscious of my status as a constetion and became cautious. I couldn¡¯t help smiling. This bastard would probably be surprised to know who I am.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is alert towards the incarnation ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is warning incarnation ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ not to be too friendly!]
¡°Uh...!¡± Jang Hayoung was intimidated by Uriel and quickly moved away from me.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is making an angelic smile.]
Why did the angel say this to him? I entered the treatment room and was able to see Yoo Jonghyuk leisurely sitting at the table while drinking tea. ¡°You¡¯rete.¡±
¡°What? You are already here?¡±
I didn¡¯t know where he went but Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s boots were covered with dirt. The tea had also been changed. Was there herbal tea here? Thinking about it, this guy¡¯s taste was very delicate.
Yoo Jonghyuk nced at Jang Hayoung behind me. ¡°Is he the one you mentioned?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I answered and Jang Hayoung stepped forward.
¡°...This is the new duke? Hello, I¡¯m An.¡±
¡°You¡¯re a rude jerk.¡± (TL: This is because Jang Hayoung spoke without any honorifics).
¡°Sorry, I¡¯m actually a bitch.¡± (TL: I know some people were confused by this. Jang Hayoung is a male since Kim Dokja said the author took all his suggestions about the character, apart from gender. Kim Dokja suggested that the character be a beautiful woman but the author made him a beautiful man.
Thenter Jang Hayoung replies with ¡®Earth is the only ce that judges by the cover¡¯ when asked if he is a man. Thus, it is likely that Jang Hayoung has the body of a man but the mind of a female, which is why he replies like this to Yoo Jonghyuk).
Their gazes shed in the air. I felt the atmosphere be awkward and quickly interrupted. ¡°Is this the first time you¡¯ve seen each other? Yoo Jonghyuk, didn¡¯t youe here a few days ago?¡±
¡°There was no time for greetings. Then your new colleague is someone who doesn¡¯t know if he is a man or a woman?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°I hate weak guys.¡±
¡°...I¡¯m not weak?¡± Jang Hayoung puffed up his chest but he didn¡¯t enter Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes. He might have the Unidentified Wall but his power was still insufficientpared to the transcendent Yoo Jonghyuk. They were both main characters but Yoo Jonghyuk was the first one.
Yoo Jonghyuk quietly lowered his teacup and spoke in a cold voice. ¡°He isn¡¯t worth waiting for. Surely this jerk isn¡¯t the only one?¡±
I quickly responded instead of the offended Jang Hayoung. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s one more. I haven¡¯t talked to the person yet but I¡¯ve found a decent colleague.¡±
¡°Who is it?¡±
¡°She is called the punisher. She appeared a little while ago and I think she will be quite helpful.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression becameplicated at my words. ¡°That person is impossible.¡±
¡°What? Why?¡±
¡°I tried to get her but failed.¡±
¡°What did you say to her? Were you mean? Something like: I will kill you if you don¡¯t be my colleague¨D¡±
I fell silent at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s furious expression. Yoo Jonghyuk must have a good reason if he was saying this. I didn¡¯t know but perhaps he had a previous love or hate rtionship with her. Who was that woman to have such a rtionship with Yoo Jonghyuk? She wasn¡¯t in the original... no, the original had changed a bit and there might be a new story. I should look for it soon.
¡°Then there is only one way left...¡±
Jang Hayoung received my gaze and replied with a sulky expression. ¡°Why, what is it?¡±
¡°Did you do what I asked correctly?¡±
¡°I did.¡±
¡°What about the transcendent I told you about?¡±
¡°I got a response. Come and look.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk raised an eyebrow as he listened to the conversation between Jang Hayoung and I. ¡°Transcendent? What are you talking about?¡±
¡°Ah, this person canmunicate with beings of other scenarios. Isn¡¯t he quite useful?¡±
It was a scheme to appeal Jang Hayoung¡¯s ability to him but Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression was still sour. ¡°So?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t limited to colleagues or incarnations. If we recruit constetions or transcendents¨D¡±
¡°The constetions aren¡¯t possible. I can¡¯t trust them.¡±
¡°Then you are okay with transcendents?¡±
¡°Have you thought of someone?¡±
I nodded. ¡°I will go to First Murim.¡±
¡°...The First Murim?¡±
¡°It is a ce where transcendents are the most abundant.¡±
¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking but there is no guarantee that they are all superior to the constetions. There are many big evils and big demons present.¡±
¡°I know but aren¡¯t there others?¡±
¡°Do you think they will all help you just because they have a touch of a chivalrous spirit? I don¡¯t remember seeing a decent human among those in Murim.¡±
I felt a deep resentment in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice. Well, it wasn¡¯t unreasonable since he already experienced the First Murim in thest regression. However¡ª
¡°Well, at least one person might help.¡±
I watched Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s distorted expression and spoke in a joyful manner. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask for help from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.¡±
Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. One of the most powerful transcendents in all of Ways of Survival. She wasn¡¯t at the top at this point in time but her skills were enough. It was because the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was none other than Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s master.
¡°Why that person?¡±
¡°She is an unconventional existence that isn¡¯t tied to righteousness or unrighteousness. Also, isn¡¯t it natural to pick your master?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression was worse than when the story of the punisher came out. The sight of the disconcerted Yoo Jonghyuk... it was really unusual. Yoo Jonghyuk was pale and his forehead was sweaty. ¡°Absolutely not.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°If I say no then you can¡¯t. That person can absolutely never...¡±
Of course, I read Ways of Survival and knew why Yoo Jonghyuk was acting like this. It couldn¡¯t be helped. This time I had to move ording to my n. ¡°No, we have to go. I¡¯ve already obtained the ticket.¡±
Biyoo floated in the air and made a sound.
[Baat!]
A new scenario message followed.
[A new sub-scenario has arrived!]
The First Murim was a scenario area where people frequently came and went so I was able to purchase portal tickets from the Dokkaebi Bag, although it required 50,000 coins. However, the advantage was that I coulde and go at will.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, think carefully. It might not necessarily by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. There are quite a few useful things you can obtain there.¡±
The First Murim was a ce where a variety of warriors from the 20th to the 40th scenarios gather. If we went there at this point in time, there would certainly be a lot of information and hidden pieces avable.
Yoo Jonghyuk was troubled for a long time before asking, ¡°When are you going?¡±
I smiled and replied, ¡°Right now.¡±
Chapter 230 - Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (4)
Chapter 230: Episode 43 ¨C Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (4)
The preparations were soon over. I entrusted the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex to Aileen and the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex to Mark and some council members.
...Rather, it felt strange hearing the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex. Was there really an industrialplex with that name in the Demon World? I thought the people would be unhappy.
¡°Damn, I¡¯m just a pub owner. Is it possible to leave that to me?¡±
¡°It is just like running the pub. It is only until Ie back. I have transferred some of the rights so you should be able to handle security.¡±
Mark had an unconvinced expression despite my words. ¡°Still, wouldn¡¯t it be good for you to show your face? The people of the industrialplex will be quite confused.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have time to go there right now.¡±
¡°If a new revolutionary appears...¡±
¡°The whole area has passed onto the next scenario. A revolutionary won¡¯t appear for a while.¡±
Mark seemed convinced by my words. It was slightly uneasy but it would be enough to leave the industrialplex to Mark for a while. It was Mark who was the greatest help to the damaged industrialplex in the original novel. Kim Dokja was already in a panic due to the devastation caused by Yoo Jonghyuk so people like Mark were needed.
Mark led the council members towards the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex. Han Myungoh watched their backs and suddenly opened his mouth, ¡°Then we should depart.¡±
¡°We?¡±
I looked back at Han Myungoh with a frown.
...When did this person pack his bags?
¡°I won¡¯t stay here alone.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I also have a good eye when ites to martial arts. I read many martial arts novels when I was young.¡±
In fact, I knew why Han Myungoh wanted to follow. To be precise, it was Han Myungoh¡¯s boss, not Han Myungoh.
[The Demon King of Lust and Fury is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at Demon King Asmodeus.]
I felt sorry for Uriel but I couldn¡¯t help right now. It was best to maintain a good rtionship with Asmodeus for now, as I didn¡¯t know about the development of the third regression in the revised version. There was also something more worrisome than Uriel and Asmodeus.
¡°There are too many dregs.¡±
¡°Do youin about the world?¡±
Jang Hayoung and Yoo Jonghyuk were ring at each other. I sighed. My purpose was meeting the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint which meant Yoo Jonghyuk had toe along. Jang Hayoung was also necessary as a liaison. Above all, this journey would be a great help to Jang Hayoung¡¯s growth.
¡°Then let¡¯s depart.¡± I sent a signal and Biyoo opened a portal in the air with a ¡®baat¡¯ sound. There was a whirling sound and a portal was created. It wasn¡¯t the size of the Great Hall but it was enough for the four of us to go across.
Yoo Jonghyuk hurriedly ended as soon as the portal appeared. Jang Hayoung watched Yoo Jonghyuk disappearing and spoke in a tense voice, ¡°...I¡¯ve never left the Demon World before.¡±
After the first dimensional movement, Jang Hayoung always lived in the Demon World. I wanted to give words of encouragement but Han Myungoh unexpectedly opened his mouth first.
¡°Believe in me. I¡¯ve read more than 300 volumes of martial arts novels. You just have to follow me.¡±
I smiled at Han Myungoh¡¯s words.
...Over 300 martial arts novels. I didn¡¯t know it if would be simr to the First Murim.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
The three of us plunged into the portal at the same time. My vision darkened and thendscape of the universe unfolded before me. I crossed the universe as a ray of light. It was the Star Stream gxy where countless stories were spoken. A few stars stared at me passing by and once I came to my senses, I was touching the rough ground.
¡°Wow, I¡¯m dizzy...¡±
Jang Hayoung was retching to the side while Han Myungoh looked like he had climbed a mountain.
I didn¡¯t see where Yoo Jonghyuk had disappeared to.
...He probably didn¡¯t want to meet the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
¡°Ohh, this ce...¡± The overexcited Han Myungoh urged us forward with a childlike expression. I probably looked like this at the beginning of Ways of Survival.
[You have arrived at the Blue Dragon Castle.]
The portal in the sky closed with this message and I started examining the area.
¡¸ The Blue Dragon Castle is one of the four great fortresses of the First Murim. ¡¹
ording to the description in Ways of Survival, this was one of thergest castles in the First Murim. Based on the size of the square, the city must be enormous. It was a sprawling city centred around the big pce.
The markets and lively streets were selling various things. There were Murim people sitting in front of small andrge houses. No one showed apparent hostility but I could guess how powerful they
were.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is making an interested expression.]
[Some constetions are nostalgic at the sight of the First Murim.]
The First Murim was a ce were countless strong people were born and raised. Perhaps some of the constetions had passed through this ce. Jang Hayoung nced around the surroundings like he was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and opened his mouth. ¡°...It is a Chinese style? Is it originally like this?¡¯
¡°The ¡®martial arts¡¯ background is originally like this.¡±
Despite saying it was the Chinese style, the rednterns were Japanese-style while some Southeast Asian architecture was mixed in. Of course, there were things unique to China. For example, the Chinese dress...
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at you.]
I walked while pretending I didn¡¯t hear it. The fortress was so wide that I couldn¡¯t get a feel for the size. However, if I read it correctly, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint shouldn¡¯t be in this area.
First... we should go towards the market. We came all the way here and I wanted to try the dishes of the First Murim. The best things to eat were dumplings and chicken broth. These two dishes were the food that Yoo Jonghyuk ate the most in the First Murim.
He often described the scene of him eating dumplings with hot chicken broth. At night, I would hold my hungry stomach and go to the convenience store to buy a 1,000 won steamed bun.
¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t see anyone training in martial arts.¡±
¡°They won¡¯t carelessly show off martial arts. You won¡¯t know if you had read 300 volumes of martial arts novels.¡±
¡°Then are you an expert at the Murim World? Is there some type of rtionship?¡±
¡°Yes, of course.¡±
¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±
I stared at Han Myungoh with pitying eyes. This man seemed to think that this ¡®Murim¡¯ was the ¡®Murim¡¯ he knew. Not long afterwards, Han Myungoh¡¯s expectations started to slowly crumble.
¡°...Something is strange.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
Han Myungoh looked closely at a passing incarnation like he had seen something that shouldn¡¯t be seen. ¡°Why are the Murim people wearing jeans?¡±
¡°Why can¡¯t they wear jeans?¡±
¡°No, there can¡¯t be jeans in China during this time period...¡±
¡°They are probably tourists like us.¡±
It wasn¡¯t just jeans. Most people wore earphones orrge headphones while there are also incarnations using smartphone-like devices. There were those who pursued the so-called Murim fashion but approximately half of them didn¡¯t fit the world like us.
Han Myungoh felt despair as his romance was destroyed in front of him and I briefly sighed. ¡°I know what you were imagining but this is what Murim is like these days.¡±
¡°I-Is that so?¡±
¡°Of course. The cities are all like this now.¡±
¡°This wasn¡¯t the Murim that I wanted...¡±
¡°In fact, everything in the world is disappointing.¡±
Han Myungoh didn¡¯t give up despite my words. He learnt an interpretation skill and talked to a street vendor. His way of speaking matched the Murim World. ¡°Excuse me, where do I go to find a martial arts hall?¡±
The merchant who was dozing off against the pile of goods on a shabby stand stared at Han Myungoh with wide eyes. ¡°Um? I guess you just came here.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Why do you want a martial arts hall? Do you want to learn martial arts?¡±
¡°Since I came to Murim, shouldn¡¯t I learn the sword?¡±
¡°Kuhaha, indeed. That¡¯s right. Your words are correct.¡±
Han Myungoh¡¯s mouth curved upwards at the reply.
[The character ¡®Chu Gukmyung¡¯ has triggered ¡®Bargaining Lv. 4.¡¯]
It was really bad quality from the start. ¡°However, you seem to be misunderstanding something. These days, we don¡¯t learn martial arts from martial arts halls.¡±
¡°Huh? What does that mean?¡±
¡°Haha, the sweaty traditional martial arts teaching methods are used only in the 100th rural Murim World. No one learns martial arts like that these days. You seem to be from a dark world so I will give you special information. You¡¯re lucky.¡±
Han Myungoh was confused. ¡°Then how do you learn martial arts these days?¡±
¡°We use this.¡±
The merchant brushed off the dust umted on the goods. The box that the merchant held contained something that was simr to a small mp3.
[Heaven and Earth Ice Spirit Sword Unopened Set]
[-A recording engraved with information directly from the brain of the martial artist, the Ice Flower Goddess!
-Repeated learning is the best! If you keep studying it from childhood, you will gain enlightenment!
-Six month installments are possible! At 500 coins per month, anyone can be a master!]
¡°...What is this?¡±
¡°It is a fad among young people these days. It is rumoured that anyone can be a master if they use this 1,000 times.¡±
¡°Is that true... really?¡±
¡°Of course it is true. I lived in Murim for over 10 years. Would I lie? Do you see the young people walking around with earphones?¡±
¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen them. Don¡¯t tell me?¡±
The merchant nodded significantly at Han Myungoh¡¯s question. ¡°Everyone is currently listening to it. The youngsters are busy reading these days.¡±
¡°Huh... I see. That¡¯s what it was. I¡¯m behind the times.¡±
¡°Huhu, this is a limited edition because it was directly recorded by the Ice Flower Goddess. Do you know the Ice Flower Goddess? She is the public girlfriend of Murim. Here, I¡¯ll let you have a listen. It is very effective even when you aren¡¯t sleeping.¡±
Han Myungoh stuck the earphones in his ears while Jang Hayoung rummaged through the merchant¡¯s goods.
[Phantom Flyer Home Training 6 Months Set]
[-You can be a master if you follow it 10,000 times!]
[Follow the South Pce Sword King¡¯s study!]
[-Use the safest and fastest way to reach the peak by listening to the online lectures of the top teacher of the South Pce!]
-The 24 hours question and answer board is in operation. There is no need to worry about coins. Feel free to contact us anytime!
Come to think of it, these recordings were at the peak poprity during this time. They were known to stimte the unconscious learning of martial arts so they sat at home, listened to lectures and practiced itfortably...
The merchant stared at Jang Hayoung who was recklessly rummaging through the goods. ¡°Hey there, young miss or mister... in any case. Don¡¯t mess it up if you aren¡¯t buying. They are expensive.¡±
¡°Can we really be a master with something like this?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you see the reviews here? They are all products certified by professional agencies.¡±
I remembered the first time I read about the listening devices in Ways of Survival. The views of the Murim people were also shown.
-Baek Youngshin (12 years old, male): I listened to it because of a friend. It was very good. I have been first in my private academy since the third month.
-Tangmiyo (32 years old, female): Honestly, I listened for three weeks and thought it took too long... From the sixth week, I started to hear the martial arts that I didn¡¯t know!!!
-Hwa Wang Bangun (24 years old, male): After hearing this, my performance in the scenarios became better. What about the scenario difficulty?? I¡¯m not afraid of the dokkaebis anymore!!!
They were clearly false advertisements but it was a temptation for any incarnation who actually visited the First Murim for the first time. They were incarnations who hade through tough scenarios.
However, it wasn¡¯t easy to learn martial arts techniques profound enough to reduce the difficulty level of the scenario with a few coins.
Han Myungohined that he didn¡¯t like this Murim, changed his mind. ¡°Would you like to listen to it once? It feels like the martial arts enters really easily¨D¡±
¡°Huhu Mister, you are in good shape. It is known as the lightheaded phenomenon and usually urs after three weeks.¡±
¡°Ah, is that so? Then how much in a lump sum¡ª ¡±
I was about to stop him when a terrible voice was heard from behind me.
¡°If people can be experts using such a thing, the First Murim would¡¯ve never been destroyed.¡±
Chapter 231 - Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (5)
Chapter 231: Episode 43 ¨C Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (5)
The merchant frowned as he looked towards the voice in the back. As expected, Yoo Jonghyuk was standing there. My expression changed as I warned him, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go around talking like that.¡±
The destruction of the First Murim that Yoo Jonghyuk mentioned was a scenario that hadn¡¯t happened yet. In the original novel, the tragedy would ur in a few more years. Of course, Yoo Jonghyuk witnessed this in thest regression and the future became the ¡®past¡¯ for him.
¡°Don¡¯t waste unnecessary time. You know that people can¡¯t be stronger with that trash.¡±
¡°I was just letting the group take a look.¡±
¡°We aren¡¯t here to be tourists. Have you forgotten?¡±
As he spoke, I managed to see something in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hand. It was a paper wrapped with a hot and sweet smelling from it.
...Dumpling? Yoo Jonghyuk ate the dumpling with an unapologetic face and continued talking, ¡°There are three hidden pieces that can be found in the First Murim at this time. The Annihtion Emperor¡¯s martial arts book, the ck Demon Spirit¡¯s ck Demon Sword and the Blood Demon School¡¯s Demon Spirit Bead.¡±
The merchant cut in after Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words.
¡°Hahaha! The Annihtion Emperor¡¯s martial arts book and the ck Demon Spirit¡¯s ck Demon Sword? The Blood Demon School¡¯s Demon Spirit Bead? There is still someone searching for such things...!¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Wake up! They are literally legends! Theypletely disappeared during the old days of Murim!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t bat an eyelid despite the merchant¡¯sughter. It was because Yoo Jonghyuk knew they really existed. He even knew how to obtain a few of them. He shamelessly mentioned it in front of other people because he knew they wouldn¡¯t believe him anyway.
I replied to his words, ¡°The Blood Demon School¡¯s Demon Spirit Bead has a low utility even if obtained. You might be able to absorb it but if I or the other party members eat it incorrectly, qigong deviation is likely to ur.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk made the expression that I wanted. On the other hand, the merchant¡¯s expression was embarrassed as he heard us calmly discussing legends. I continued talking, ¡°The Annihtion Emperor¡¯s martial arts book is very difficult to obtain. You can get it but you can¡¯t stay there for long.¡±
¡°I see.¡±
¡°Finally, the ck Demon Spirit¡¯s ck Demon Sword... maybe you are trying to obtain it because your sword is broken but have you forgotten that there is a weapon that is easier to obtain with a simr performance?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯splexion changed at my words. He noticed what I was trying to say. ¡°...Do you really intend to go there?¡±
¡°Yes. This time, the power of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint is essential.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not going.¡±
¡°Do what you want. However, can you guide me to the school?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk made a grim expression and the merchant interjected again. ¡°Are you going to find the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Hah...¡± The merchant watched us with a slightly weary expression. Then he shook his head and withdrew his products. ¡°That¡¯s it. Give that to me. I won¡¯t sell them to you.¡±
Han Myungoh, who was listening earnestly to the Ice Flower Goddess, was embarrassed as the earphones were suddenly pulled out. The merchant smiled at Han Myungoh. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that there are still friends who want to stick to the old ways. It isn¡¯t too bad to feel the change of the times in person. Good luck with your hard work.¡±
The merchant spoke unknown words and dragged his stall to another ce to solicit customers. I stared at the merchant¡¯s back for a moment. Han Myungoh asked, ¡°...What the hell does that mean?¡±
¡°Department Head, you said that you like Murim novels?¡±
¡°Huh? Well, that¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Then it¡¯ll be great. The person we are visiting now is the only one in ¡®Murim¡¯ who adheres to the old training methods.¡±
I said this while chasing after Yoo Jonghyuk walking ahead of me. Was it because he came to the First Murim after a long time? Yoo Jonghyuk had a nostalgic look on his face as he looked at the surroundings with distant eyes.
The streets gradually grew quiet. The buzzing of the marketces died away and there was the faint smell of animal feces.
How long did we walk? Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s footsteps finally stopped. It was in front of a shabby residence that couldn¡¯t bepared to those on the busy streets. There was a small hut in the centre of the grounds. I read the small namete set up in front of the hut.
[Breaking the Sky Sword School.]
-Recruiting disciples at all times.
This was where the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint lived.
¡°It is up to here for me.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk spoke these words and climbed up a cherry tree nearby.
He really didn¡¯t want to meet the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
Han Myungoh spoke in a suspicious tone, ¡°Something so shabby...¡±
¡°Originally Murim masters stay in shabby ces,¡± I replied.
Jang Hayoung asked with an expectant expression, ¡°Is there someone here who gave me the martial arts technique?¡±
Come to think of it, Jang Hayoung had received the Breaking the Sky Sword¡¯s Immortal Body through the wall. Someone had taught it to him but I didn¡¯t know how it was possible. Even Yoo Jonghyuk had struggled to learn it...
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, are you here?¡± I knocked on the door. ¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint! I need your help!¡±
There was no answer from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to my loud shouts. However, I couldn¡¯t go back just because there was no answer. I shouted brazenly and opened the door. ¡°I will take this as signal to enter!¡±
There was a creak as the door opened and revealed the interior. The interior of the residence was better than I thought. There weren¡¯t any signs of a person living there. Instead, an unexpected existence was waiting for us.
Jang Hayoung cried out happily, ¡°Aw, there is a dog?¡±
A dog was lying on the floor and staring at us. It was a medium-sized dog dressed in a dark blue uniform with its tongue stretched out.
Han Myungoh nervously stuck to my side. ¡°Is that the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint?¡±
¡°No.¡±
I gazed at the panting dog and recalled the contents from Ways of Survival.
¡¸ ck coloured fur with reddish brown eyes. The watchdogy down in a manner that was as elegant as a person. ¡¹
There was no doubt.
¡°This dog is a disciple of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.¡±
¡°...Disciple?¡±
¡°If I remember correctly, he is called the Breaking the Sky Master.¡±
Han Myungoh asked with an absurd expression. ¡°No, why is a dog a disciple?¡±
¡°It happens when people are worse than dogs. In the first ce, the idea that people are better than dogs is a human ideal.¡±
I read the curious air around the dog.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
Old folktales gathered and became stories. Fragments of folktales in the area became an original story told to me.
[The story ¡®Dog who Grows Up at a Vige School for 3 Years can Recite Poetry¡¯ in in effect.]
For example, what if a dog apanied the strongest person in Murim for a long time? What if the dog started to follow the master¡¯s actions one day? He followed and copied for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years... and finally, 100 years passed.
Jang Hayoung murmured with astonishment. ¡°W-What is this...?!¡±
The dog stood up on two legs and looked at us like he was a human. He had strange eyes that couldn¡¯t be read at all. I couldn¡¯t sense any hostility from him but it was difficult to see him as benevolent. Han Myungoh frowned at the strange sight. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a wee greeting. I will deal with him.¡±
¡°...Department Head?¡±
¡°I¡¯m also a demon earl. Don¡¯t look down on me.¡±
An earl-grade demon certainly wasn¡¯t weak. An earl should at least have a decent story.
¡°Haaap!¡±
Han Myungoh ran forward and confidently revealed his story. I wasn¡¯t sure about the exact identity of the story but he had picked up a few history-grade stories and were using them. He was still a member of Asmodeus¡¯ household so if I checked Han Myungoh¡¯s skills...
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
Before I could finish the thought, Han Myungoh¡¯s body flew through the air with a loud sound.
[The character ¡®Breaking the Sky Master¡¯ has used Hundred Steps Godly Fists Lv. 10!]
[The character ¡®Breaking the Sky Master¡¯ has used Red Phoenix Shunpo Lv. 10!]
...Oh my god. The dog blew Han Myungoh out of the house and rushed towards Jang Hayoung. I reflexively pushed Jang Hayoung and activated Bookmark.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 10 (+1) is activated!]
The momentary wind sensation made the dog¡¯s movements look dull. I pulled Jang Hayoung and moved along the path created by the wind, avoiding the dog¡¯s paw. There was a fearsome power in the dog¡¯s paws as sparks urred. Who could believe that a lowly looking dog was using the power of the Breaking the Sky?
¡°Wait a minute! We have no intention of fighting!¡±
Then the dog picked up a piece of paper that was rolling around.
-Recruiting disciples at all times.
I finally realized what was happening.
¡°...Shit. It is the disciples¡¯ recruitment period.¡±
If I remembered correctly, there were quite a few people yearning for the old Murim who visited the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Most of them weren¡¯t even able to enroll because of this dog.
¡¸ ¡°I won¡¯t ept any person as a disciple if they aren¡¯t as good as a dog.¡± ¡¹
In other words, the dog... the Breaking the Sky Master was the checkpoint to enter the Breaking the Sky Sword School.
The dog was stimted by my movements and growled. Faint sparks appeared around the dog.
The startled Jang Hayoung asked, ¡°W-What is this? Is that really a dog?¡±
I was also surprised. Based on the way the sparks were turning yellow, there was no doubt. This was ¡®transcendence stage one.¡¯ I never thought the Breaking the Sky Master would be this strong, dammit.
I could deal with him if I revealed my power but my body hadn¡¯t recovered yet. I also couldn¡¯t excessively use my stories to deal with the dog. In the end, there was only one method.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Help me just once!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was quiet. This jerk wasn¡¯t responding?
¡°I¡¯ll help you find the Blood Demon School¡¯s Demon Spirit Bead if you deal with this guy!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk still didn¡¯t respond. Then the dog moved. It was so fast that I couldn¡¯t avoid it using Way of the Wind. It happened when I was going to invoke Electrification. Yoo Jonghyuk appeared in front of me and used the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds to block the dog¡¯s paws.
¡°The Demon Spirit Bead is still insufficient. Add the ck Demon Spirit¡¯s ck Demon Sword as well.¡±
Shit. this stingy person.
¡°...I understand. Just take care of the dog.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk lightly shook his sword to shake off the dog and took a kendo position with an arrogant expression. Yellow sparks started to flow around Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. As expected, Yoo Jonghyuk also passed transcendence stage one. Originally, it shouldn¡¯t be possible for him at this point in time.
The Breaking the Sky Master was tense when the same power appeared. The confrontation between man and dog was filled with unbelievable tension.
A formidable magic power started to encroach on the surroundings. In the original work, Yoo Jonghyuk had alsopeted with the Breaking the Sky Master.
¡¸ The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint has two disciples. ¡¹
It was the first time he came to the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to learn swordsmanship.
¡¸ One is Breaking the Sky Master, the dog raised by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. ¡¹
He probably lost at that time.
¡¸ The second is Supreme King Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
Now it would be different.
Chapter 232 - Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (6)
Chapter 232: Episode 43 ¨C Breaking the Sky Sword Saint (6)
The Breaking the Sky Master was strong. It sounded ridiculous but there were probably no dogs in the Star Stream stronger than the Breaking the Sky Master. Of course, there were few people stronger than the Breaking the Sky Master.
Yoo Jonghyuk and the Breaking the Sky Master collided. The sparks from transcendence stage one hit each other and thendscape started to distort.
The path that transcendents walked caused interference. They were existences who reached transcendence by walking on only one path. Thus, battles between transcendents was always a continuation of denying each other.
Your path is wrong, my path is right.
Through such denials, the transcendents became stronger, harder and broken at the end. As the presence of the transcendents dominated the area, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts flowed into my mind.
¡¸ It¡¯s been a while, Sahyung. ¡¹ (TL: Senior male apprentice)
Anyone who heard it wouldugh. He was calling a dog, not a human, Sahyung. However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯tugh.
The expression that faded away hit at his heart. The memories that had been suppressed because he didn¡¯t have time to dwell on the past were released. Yoo Jonghyuk encountered the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and learnt martial arts with the Breaking the Sky Master in his second round.
¡¸ In this ce, Yoo Jonghyuk learnt a bit about human feelings. ¡¹
Here, Yoo Jonghyuk learnt, trained and lived with his non-human master and non-human fellow apprentice. If there was a bit of warmth left inside Yoo Jonghyuk right now, it was probably from the First Murim training. Likewise, the First Murim was probably the cause that deprived him of the warmth of humanity.
¡¸ ...I didn¡¯t want to see you again. ¡¹
The strongest dog Breaking the Sky Master and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint died fighting against the returnees alliance.
Yoo Jonghyuk moved. The paws of the dog collided with the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds. The footsteps of the Red Phoenix Shunpo that reached another state of prity tangled together. The sparks in the air became more intense as the number of encounters between the dog¡¯s front paws and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword shot up. Not long afterwards, the energy started to decline little by little.
As expected, a main character was a main character.
The story of the dog that grew up following the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint couldn¡¯t stand against the story of a man who lived to prevent the destruction of the world. The time of Yoo Jonghyuk, who lived a lonely life looking only at the scenarios, was found in every swing of the sword.
¡¸ I won¡¯t look. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s time didn¡¯t contain any mourning because he would have to suffer through the same time again anyway.
Fight, fight again and keep moving forward. It was the best mourning possible for this guy¡¯s past.
The Breaking the Sky Master was unable to tolerate the weight of the sword and moaned. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s offensive became faster. The swordsmanship became more persistent and he dug into the weak points in a ruthless manner.
Jang Hayoung was nkly gaping from beside me. ¡°...Wow, this is real.¡±
It was probably the first time he had seen this type of battle. It was a great battle but it was too early to feel admiration. This was just passing entertainment when considering the fights ahead.
In the end, the Breaking the Sky Master was pushed back in the power struggle and whined. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t miss this opening. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sessive strikes overpowered the Breaking the Sky Master¡¯s paws and he narrowed the gap. Rough breathing emerged from the dog¡¯s mouth. Then Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s final blow pierced the Breaking the Sky Master¡¯s waist.
...To be precise, it was about to pierce it.
An eerie sensation suddenly went down my spine. Someone was standing behind me.
...When did this existence stand behind me?
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is surprised.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is curious.]
[A a few constetions are wary of the energy they can feel.]
¡°The sky is noisy today. What spectacle can I see?¡± The owner of the voice stood there in a leisurely manner, like she had been drinking.
Her body was much bigger than Yoo Jonghyuk. The tall woman who was around three metres tall passed by me and gave off a colossal pressure. It was so obvious that no one had to ask.
The presence in front of me caused my heart to throb. She was one of the strongest transcendents in Ways of Survival, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
An ether storm moved through the air and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds froze.
¡°Are you beating a dumb dog like this? You are a man without any principles.¡±
The Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds was trembling. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s two fingers held Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword like it was a toy.
Bark bark!
The Breaking the Sky Mastery on the floor and stretched out his tongue again.
On the other hand, Yoo Jonghyuk had thrown away the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds and activated Red Phoenix Shunpo to leave the ce. It was the fastest I had ever seen Yoo Jonghyuk move. An interested smile appeared as the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint watched Yoo Jonghyuk running away.
¡°You are a quick guy. I should grab himst... let¡¯s see.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s nonchnt gaze moved over our party. The moment I met her eyes, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint appeared in front of me. Her speed was enough to make me sweat. I couldn¡¯t be faster even if I used Electrification.
¡°First of all, there is one guy whose appearance is unclear.¡±
She just grabbed my chin but my vision shook. I staggered while the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was already holding the chin of Jang Hayoung beside me.
¡°Kuek...?¡±
¡°Oh, this is my type? You pass.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s movements left only afterimages. This must be the Movement Transposition I had only heard about. Suddenly, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was poking the fallen Han Myungoh in the face with a branch.
¡°...You look like a monster species. Will I get something if I kill you?¡±
¡°...W-What?!¡±
¡°For the moment, you have the death sentence.¡±
Han Myungoh from unconscious after being struck by the branch and the figure of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint disappeared into the forest. There was the sound of condensed air bursting and a great explosion in the distance. After a while, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint came back with a big gust of wind.
¡°Phew, he was pretty fast. First, his face is qualified...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk had bruises all over his face and was caught in the grasp of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body was damaged but he was still using the Red Phoenix Shunpo in such a situation. Nevertheless, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s feet only hit empty air. It was because the Breaking the Sky Sword¡¯s huge hand was carrying Yoo Jonghyuk on her back.
***
I knew why Yoo Jonghyuk was reluctant to meet the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Thinking about it withmon sense, there were many dangers when encountering the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint at this point.
Yoo Jonghyuk had learned how to use the sword from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint in the second round. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint of the third round didn¡¯t know Yoo Jonghyuk at all.
¡°...How do you know my techniques?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he red at me with eyes that contained great resentment.
¡¸ Kim Dokja! Do something! Quickly! ¡¹
For reference, the 18th regression Yoo Jonghyuk was killed by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
It was the end of the guy who used to say he surpassed his teacher by bing a transcendent early.
I decided to cut to the chase. ¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, we are gathering transcendents to fight against the nebe.¡±
¡°...Hrmm, is that so?¡±
¡°I need your help.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stared at me like I was an unusual toy. Then she rummaged around and pulled out a huge smoking pipe. Tobo smoke rose. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stared at me before suddenly blowing the smoke towards me.
¡°You are mistaken about something. I¡¯m not a volunteer. Get lost if you haven¡¯te to be my disciple.¡±
The fine particles of smoke contained the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s mysterious magic power.
The smoke surrounded me. There was no doubt that it would strike at me the moment I spoke nonsense. Of course, I had to speak nonsense.
¡°Do you really need disciples?¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°In fact, you¡¯re not expecting too much.¡±
The tobo smoke surged like a wave. I continued to speak like I was provoking her. ¡°Maybe you will be thest master of the Breaking the Sky Sword School. It is because Murim will soon be destroyed.¡±
At this point, curiosity filled the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s eyes. She frowned as she looked between me and Yoo Jonghyuk held in her arms.
¡°It is an interesting story.¡±
¡°Do you want to hear it?¡±
¡°It is interesting but I¡¯ll hear it a bitter. First, I need to look at this guy in my hands.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword ced Yoo Jonghyuk on her shoulder and walked into the house while hitting his butt with the smoking pipe. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s bloody cry echoed in my head.
¡¸ Kim Dokja!! ¡¹
¡°Shingun, treat these people as friends.¡± (TL: Thest two characters of Breaking the Sky Master is pronounced as Shingun.)
Bark bark!
The tobo smoke quickly filled the area around the hut as the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint disappeared into it with Yoo Jonghyuk. It was a type of disappearance spell that surrounded the hut. I would only be lost in the smoke if I chased after them.
Jang Hayoung seemed anxious. ¡°I-Is it okay to leave him? Will he die?¡±
¡°He will be okay... probably.¡±
It was regrettable that the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint didn¡¯t listen to my story first but it wasn¡¯t the worst situation. It wouldn¡¯t be bad to give the two of them time. I hoped she would tease Yoo Jonghyuk properly.
¡°Shall we sit back and rx?¡±
Jang Hayoung and Iy down after helping Han Myungoh. Then something touched my legs.
I turned around and saw the Breaking the Sky Master holding a bowl of dumplings.
...I think this was what Yoo Jonghyuk bought. Great, I happened to be hungry. The Breaking the Sky Master looked up at me with glib eyes and barked.
Bark bark!
¡¸ Eat. ¡¹
It was polite enough to impress me. I picked up a dumpling in a slightly embarrassed manner and the drooling Breaking the Sky Master¡¯s head followed the dumpling. He was a really patient dog.
¡°Do you want to eat one?¡± I asked as I split one dumpling in half.
Bark bark!
¡¸ You are a good person. ¡¹
The Breaking the Sky Master smiled and sat down beside me. He stretched out his feet like a human and blew on the dumpling. I spoke towards the dog, ¡°This ce is very quiet.¡±
Bark bark!
¡¸ It has been a long time since a disciple came. ¡¹
A few steps away, Jang Hayoung was looking at me like I was a madman. I smiled at him and ced a finger to my lips as a sign to keep quiet. The Breaking the Sky Master once again barked.
Bark bark!
¡¸ It wasn¡¯t like this in the old days. ¡¹
The Breaking the Sky Master licked the dumpling skin with a foolish expression while looking outside the fence. I followed his gaze and saw the scenery beyond the broken fence.
It was the path we had walked. My eyes could only see spider webs and dust but the Breaking the Sky Master who spent 100 years here probably saw a differentndscape. I could roughly guess thendscape.
Bark bark!
¡¸ There were many martial arts halls. ¡¹
Bark bark!
¡¸ There were many disciples. ¡¹
This was originally a ¡®martial arts hall¡¯ street. It was a street where young people filled with chivalry practiced martial arts. They were passionate and able to devote themselves for years or decades to be masters.
¡¸ They sweated, tried hard and were rewarded. ¡¹
However, now there was nobody here. I didn¡¯t need to ask why. The countless sights I saw here showed me the reason for the decline of this street. It was lonely.
¡¸ Now nobody wants to learn martial arts using the old ways. ¡¹
¡°Indeed.¡±
I knew why this was happening in Murim but it was a natural consequence. Those who were once teenagers in Murim fell to the constetions using the system and those who practiced martial arts for decades were defeated by the incarnations who gave coins and learnt skills in only five minutes.
¡¸ That¡¯s why I¡¯m happy you came. ¡¹
...It seemed to be a misunderstanding since I didn¡¯t intend to learn any martial arts here. I told him so. ¡°Um... The old ways aren¡¯t always great. It is good if people can easily be stronger.¡±
¡¸ What do you mean?! An easy thing is unconditionally bad! Everything that the dokkaebis and constetions brought are bad! ¡¹
Perhaps a dog who learnt martial arts for 100 years would develop the watchdog philosophy
¡°I know you don¡¯t like the dokkaebis and constetions but the old ways aren¡¯t always right. The old Murim wasn¡¯t very fair either.¡±
¡¸ In the old days, people could be a master if they put in effort! ¡¹
I justughed. ¡°Do you really think so?¡±
I knew what the Breaking the Sky Master wanted to say. I also knew that it had some value. However, I couldn¡¯t agree with this idea. If I left it like this, the Breaking the Sky Master and Breaking the Sky Sword Saint would be buried in the flow of the era and meet the ending of the original novel. I didn¡¯t want to let it happen in the third round.
At this moment, the expression of the Breaking the Sky Master changed. I thought he was angry at me but it wasn¡¯t something that good. It was due to a dangerous aura felt outside the grounds. Someone wasing this way.
[ Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Give up your techniques.]
The gate opened and a few dokkaebis appeared. I thought it was approximately the time for them to appear but they were already here. The Breaking the Sky Master raised his magic power and barked.
The dokkaebis told him, [The nearby martial arts halls have already sold all their techniques! How long will you defend your old martial arts? I told you that you will miss the timing if you keep being stubborn. How long will we keep offering to buy it for an expensive price...]
By the way, the appearance of one dokkaebi was very familiar. The eyes of the dokkaebi shook greatly when he saw me.
[You...?]
Chapter 233 - Swindler (1)
Chapter 233: Episode 44 ¨C Swindler (1)
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s master, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was very patient. It was the same 100 years ago and even 200 years ago. That¡¯s how she was able to make a group of sword techniques. As other martial artists sold their skills and left Murim, she stayed here alone and broke through transcendent heights.
¡°So who the hell are you?¡±
Her big finger poked Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s cheek as he hung in the air. It was just a finger but it was the finger of a transcendent. Thus, there was no way it couldn¡¯t hurt. Nevertheless, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t react.
¡¸ ¡°The teacher and disciple. The two of you are the same.¡± ¡¹
They were the words spoken by a Murim teenage expert, the Heavenly Demon. Perhaps the Heavenly Demon saw them urately.
¡°You aren¡¯t saying a word. You will be spanked if you don¡¯t talk.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint raised therge smoking pipe. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s butt couldn¡¯t endure the pressure and he couldn¡¯t help letting out a pathetic sound.
¡®Damn Kim Dokja. I will surely kill you.¡¯
p! p! p!
The sounds were like jokes but the power contained in the pipe wasn¡¯t a joke. Before long, blood trickled from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mouth. Then the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s eyebrows formed a strange curve. ¡°You are a man of character.¡±
She was a bit impressed. ¡°I will ask you again. Where did you steal and learn the power of the Breaking the Sky Sword School?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I will spare your life if you tell me honestly.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly raised his head at these words.
The Breaking the Sky Sword School was originally a non-humanistic organization. (TL: An organization that doesn¡¯t pass down techniques to people with personality problems, i.e.don¡¯t value talent over virtue) As an outsider, Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t have learnt it.
Now the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint said she would spare him. Her meaning was clear. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was currently trying to take Yoo Jonghyuk as a disciple.
¡®Teacher.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk understood his teacher¡¯s mind better than anyone. It was hard to find a proper disciple in the declining Murim. Then a transcendent person who learnt her martial arts suddenly showed up. It was natural to be interested.
¡®But...¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk bit his lip. Maybe it wasn¡¯t bad to move ording to Kim Dokja¡¯s intentions. He knew the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint better than anyone. If he took the chance and told her the story, he would surely find himself in the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s good graces. However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t want to do that.
¡°Hrmm, it is a fiery gaze.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Do you desire me?¡±
Talking such bullshit in the middle of this situation, it was certainly his teacher. Yoo Jonghyuk kept biting his lip.
¡®You will die if you meet me here.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk remembered his teacher¡¯sst appearance. A transcendent wounded alone after years of hard work. No matter what, her stubbornness refused to be broken.
-Dumb disciple. They are existences that you can deal with.
His teacher fought alone against the returnees alliance after being turned down by the strongest in Murim, the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon.
-Live, Jonghyuk.
At the time, Yoo Jonghyuk hadn¡¯t fought with her because he was weak. He was too weak.
¡°...Your eyes are sad.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk trembled at the sudden words. The clear eyes of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint faced Yoo Jonghyuk. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was a mixture of a human and giant god. Thus, she had one of the abilities of the Neanderthals.
¡°Lonely, arrogant, deeply wounded.¡±
She had the Mirror Eyes that could read the emotions of others. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was staring at Yoo Jonghyuk with these eyes.
¡°Who are you?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk harshly bit his lips like he was digging up his agony. He shouldn¡¯t say it. Never, he absolutely couldn¡¯t say it...
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at you.]
Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at the message.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says it will be okay.]
...It would be okay?
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says this round will be different.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is telling you to trust your teacher.]
This round would be different. He wouldn¡¯t have believed it if it was spoken by someone else. Then why? He wanted to believe what this person was saying.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯...]
¡°This fly... shut up.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint flicked her fingers at the air and all the sound in the area disappearedpletely. All outside sound was cut off with magic power. It was possible for a transcendent at the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s level. Kim Dokja¡¯s voice wouldn¡¯t be heard for a while as long as the dokkaebis didn¡¯t adjust the channel frequency. From now on, it would be left to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s own judgment.
¡°...My name is Yoo Jonghyuk.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk took a small breath before releasing it. ¡°I was your disciple.¡±
¡°Hrmm... what does that mean? I have never seen you before. I naturally have no memories of taking you as a disciple.¡±
¡°It is literally what I said. I learnt the techniques from...¡±
The moment Yoo Jonghyuk was about to speak, sparks flew around his body.
[The story ¡®Disciple of Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯ is activated.]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s lips twisted as the ending of his words were forcefully changed to a honorific.
¡°...Teacher.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression distorted. He recalled the conversation he had with the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint in thest round.
-You said that you are a regressor. If so, we might meet again someday.
-I won¡¯t be your disciple next time.
-This angry fellow. You should say sweet words... and why aren¡¯t you adding honorifics? Do you want to caught in your next life?
Perhaps this story remained because of his previous conversation with the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[You have to use honorifics for the incarnation ¡®Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.¡¯]
It was funny. He hadn¡¯t been formal with the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint at the time yet this story remained with him.
-At that time, be my disciple again.
His heart throbbed as old memories poured out like a waterfall and knocked on his heart. He couldn¡¯t hear the indirect messages but he felt Kim Dokja looking this way.
¡®Companion.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk had long forgotten what it felt like to believe in someone. He slowly blinked before opening his mouth. ¡°Aren¡¯t you wondering about who I am?¡±
¡°Of course, I am terribly curious.¡±
¡°Then I will open my mental barrier. Take a peek. It is possible with your Mirror Eyes.¡±
¡°...Hrmm. You know about the Mirror Eyes?¡±
¡°Just five minutes. I can¡¯t give you any more time than that.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s eyes were tinged with suspicion. ¡°Are you nning to use a strange trick?¡±
¡°You can subdue me even if I used a trick.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s eyebrows raised at the provocative tone. ¡°Okay.¡±
It wasn¡¯t just the constetions who loved stories. There weren¡¯t many chances to peek at another transcendental existence. This transcendent suddenly appeared in Murim and used the same techniques as her. There was no way she wasn¡¯t curious.
¡°I will look at you.¡±
Soon after, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s Mirror Eyes shone. Yoo Jonghyuk felt like his hair was being pulled out.
A memory transfer through the Mirror Eyes was dangerous for Yoo Jonghyuk and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Nevertheless, Yoo Jonghyuk wasmitted. Perhaps the spirit of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint would be broken. She might not believe what she saw. She could deny everything and erased Yoo Jonghyuk. However, if this gamble seeded, he might be able to change the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
A dozen minutes passed until the clear energy of the Mirror Eyes in the area disappeared. The light of the Mirror Eyes was turned off but the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint didn¡¯t talk. She just stared at the floor with a lowered head. Had she gone crazy? Or...
There was an unknown emotion in the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s eyes as she raised her head. It was the first time he had seen this expression in the third round.
A moment passed before Yoo Jonghyuk realized the meaning of the expression.
¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t be my disciple again...¡±
***
Yoo Jonghyuk and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint talked for a long time.
¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡±
¡°...Stop with the flimsyforting. It doesn¡¯t match you.¡±
¡°Okay. You are unmistakable my disciple.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint of the second round regression had died and would never return again. The current Breaking the Sky Sword Saint wasn¡¯t the same as the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint of the second round. Even so, the two people spoke like they weren¡¯t conscious of this fact.
¡°...I got revenge. The Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon, I beat them both in the 35th scenario.¡±
¡°Yes. I saw. I¡¯m not satisfied since you found it hard to win.¡±
¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t have died.¡±
It wasn¡¯t a normal conversation between a teacher and student but there was a gentle smile on the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯ve changed a lot, Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°Nothing has changed.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint flicked her finger at the answer. Then a portion of the barrier around the hut distorted and a panel reminiscent of arge telescope lens popped up. On the small panel, the outside scenery was shining.
¡°Is it due to that child that you came to see me?¡±
It was Kim Dokja talking to the dog while eating dumplings. Yoo Jonghyuk watched the scene and opened his mouth.
¡°Is he your new friend?¡±
¡°There is no such thing as friend. This person is just...¡±
¡°He is already brave enough to think about fighting against the nebe.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Do you think he can do it?¡±
As the first friend of her blunt disciple, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint looked closely at Kim Dokja¡¯s face. Then the barrier shook and a loud voice was heard.
[ Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Give up your techniques.]
The surprised Yoo Jonghyuk rose from his seat.
¡°...The dokkaebis.¡± The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint spoke like she was tired of this. ¡°The techniques buyers came again.¡±
¡°...It is faster than nned. How long has it been?¡±
¡°A while. I¡¯m the only one left around here.¡±
Martial arts were valuable in Murim. It was because they were all types of stories made up of history. The deeper the origin, the greater the value. The dokkaebis were well aware of this and coveted the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s techniques.
Yoo Jonghyuk pulled out the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds and opened his mouth. ¡°Kim Dokja and I will handle it.¡±
¡°The opponents are dokkaebis. You can¡¯t do anything.¡±
¡°It is possible for Kim Dokja.¡±
Instead of answering his teacher¡¯s question, Yoo Jonghyuk watched the dokkaebis on the panel. One of the dokkaebis looked familiar.
¡®It is that guy from Seoul Dome.¡¯
Kim Dokja probably wouldn¡¯t let him go. Then Kim Dokja¡¯s voice came from the screen.
-I didn¡¯t know you were still alive. Didn¡¯t you go to be punished?
As expected, Kim Dokja¡¯s characteristic ¡®messing around with people¡¯ had started. Kim Dokja scratched his chin and spoke to the dokkaebis like it was interesting.
-Hmm, yes. Did youe to buy the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s techniques?
Yoo Jonghyuk shrugged at his teacher. Kim Dokja would¡¯ve sorted it even without Yoo Jonghyuking out. He didn¡¯t know what Kim Dokja was trying to do but Kim Dokja was going to do another weird trick to deal a proper blow to the dokkaebis.
The next moment, Kim Dokja said something strange with an unexpected smile.
-Okay, I¡¯ll sell it, the techniques of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
Chapter 234 - Swindler (2)
Chapter 234: Episode 44 ¨C Swindler (2)
[You... perhaps at that time...]
I saw the trembling expression of the dokkaebis and remembered some bad memories. Biyoo floating beside me was also frowning. It was natural for her to be furious. This was a dokkaebi behind the tragedy of the 41st Shin Yoosung ¡®disaster.¡¯ His name... was it Paul?
I thought he would go to purgatory and be severely punished...
The bureau¡¯s punishment was like hitting cotton. What type of punishment was joining the Murim Redevelopment Team?
¡°You¡¯ve lost a lot of weight in your face while I haven¡¯t seen you?¡±
[Uhh, kuooooh....!]
¡°You were an intermediate dokkaebi back then. Now you are... lesser-grade?¡±
[You! You...!]
I saw his agitation and felt like asking for the ¡®solo meeting rights¡¯ to beat him up again. The story of this guy being beaten up, was the wenny person reading it well?
[Stop and back off, Paul.]
Another dokkaebi moved forward on behalf of Paul who was unable to speak.
[Are you Kim Dokja?]
I looked closer and this dokkaebi was also familiar. I had heard this voice somewhere before. Eh? Wait... this guy?
¡°Uh, was that you? The person working under Bihyung... The name...¡±
[Youngki. Indeed! You are Kim Dokja!]
The dokkaebi happily greeted me. I dimly remembered. He was the dokkaebi responsible for the sub-channels under Bihyung.
[I heard rumours that you were alive. I didn¡¯t expect to see you at a ce like this...!]
¡°Is Bihyung doing well?¡±
[He was visibly gloomy after you disappeared.]
I felt a little sorry that Bihyung had be depressed. That guy Bihyung must¡¯ve liked me. ¡°Haven¡¯t you cleaned up well? You previously didn¡¯t even know how to update the scenario.¡±
[Ahahat. That is a shameful story. I am now an intermediate dokkaebi.]
He was an intermediate dokkaebi. This guy was part of the Korean Penins scenario so Bihyung must¡¯ve received a high-speed promotion. It felt like a lot of time had passed but it had been less than one year.
[By the way, Dokja. What do you mean by selling the skills?]
Youngki watched me with calm eyes. No matter what, a dokkaebi was a dokkaebi. I couldn¡¯t take it easy.
¡°I meant it literally. I will persuade the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to sell you the skills.¡±
[How will Dokja...]
¡°I have my ways. What skills do you need? The Red Phoenix Shunpo? Or the Hundred Steps Godly Fists?¡±
[We already have the Hundred Steps Godly Fists. What we need is...]
¡°The Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship?¡±
Youngki nodded at my words. It was as I thought. The Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship. It was the name given to the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s Breaking the Sky. One of the top-ranked skills in the First Murim that anyone would covet was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Breaking the Sky Swordmanship.
I felt the Breaking the Sky Master growling by my side and quickly agreed. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll sell it. No, I won¡¯t sell it. I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Master looked up at me with absurd eyes. Youngki was astonished.
[R-Really?]
¡°Instead, do me two favours in exchange. The first one, ce the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship as the prize for the scenario you will soon open.¡±
[Huh?]
I smiled at Youngki¡¯s stupid expression. Did he think I would just give him the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship?
¡°Aren¡¯t you going to open the ¡®Martial Arts Competition¡¯ scenario soon? The ck Demon Sword is included in it.¡±
[H-How do you know...!]
¡°Why are you so startled? You always do this. It is a regr scenario for Murim. A precious sword of Murim will appear and a huge crowd of people will fight for it.¡±
[That is true but... how do you know about the ck Demon Sword?]
How did I know? The Martial Arts Competition was an event scenario that Yoo Jonghyuk repeatedly participated in when he came to First Murim. I didn¡¯t know how many times I made ament telling the author to skip thepetition.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how I know. In any case, add the Breaking the Sky Swordmanship as a prize. Give it as the first ce prize.¡±
Youngki¡¯s eyes rolled quickly. It was probably a great suggestion for him. There were a limited number of things that the dokkaebis could do with the techniques bought from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. They could secure additional subscriptions by adding it to arge scenario or sell it at a high price through the Dokkaebi Bag. Youngki was currently figuring out which one would be more profitable.
[Okay. I have nothing to lose if I do this. It will be saving on the cost of buying the technique. Only...]
¡°Only?¡±
[You said two favours. What is the second one?]
Iughed softly at the prudence. He had be pretty clever since reaching intermediate level. ¡°The second condition is simple. I want everyone here to participate in the Martial Arts Competition scenario.¡±
[Everyone here...?]
Youngki¡¯s eyes narrowed. He finally figured out my ploy.
[It is an interesting suggestion but... it is difficult.]
¡°Why?¡±
[I don¡¯t know about the other incarnations but it can¡¯t be the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.]
I thought he would say this. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was likely to win if she participated in the martial artspetition. The participants of the martial artspetition would naturally be reduced and the dokkaebis would suffer losses. I acted like I was yielding a big thing. ¡°Then everyone apart from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.¡±
[Then it¡¯s fine. The martial artspetition is in two weeks. Until then, please prepare the skills of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.]
I responded to the waiting Youngki. ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t forget to properly invite us to the scenario.¡±
[Of course. Then I¡¯ll see you again soon.]
¡°Give my regards to Bihyung.¡±
[Haha, understood.]
Maybe he was d that things went well. Youngkiughed joyfully as he disappeared. The dokkaebis that followed him also started to leave. Paul was staring at me the whole time and I red as hard as I could.
After a while, the dokkaebis disappeared and Jang Hayoung standing next to me grabbed my cor. ¡°Hey, what the hell did you do just now? Sell the techniques? Enter the martial artspetition? What the hell...¡±
Woof woof! Woof woof woof!
¡¸ We won¡¯t sell our techniques! What the hell are you thinking? ¡¹
The dazed Breaking the Sky Master responded toote. It was the expected reaction. In fact, this much was what I guessed.
¡°Kim Dokja!¡±
...It was as expected. Yoo Jonghyuk caused a huge cloud of dust as he ran over and grabbed my neck. He shook me like a man betrayed. I pped like a paper doll without strength and said, ¡°Let me speak.¡±
¡°Shut up! What the hell are you thinking? Selling the techniques...!¡±
¡°Please calm down. I did it because of you.¡±
¡°...What?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you know what we just got?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hands stopped for the first time at my words. Then a message came to my ears.
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
[The sub scenario ¡®Martial Arts Competition¡¯ has begun.]
Yoo Jonghyuk read the details of the scenario that just arrived and was silent for a moment. ¡°...The ck Demon Sword?¡±
¡°Yes. You said you wanted it.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°If you look closely, there is also the Demon Spirit Bead. It is the third ce prize but I don¡¯t remember well...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes were greatly shaken as he watched me. He suddenly released me. This jerk, you didn¡¯t need to be so moved.
In any case, he seemed to be persuaded. The problem was the other side. I turned and saw the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint standing with a stiff expression.
¡¸ An existence born with the power of a giant god. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s existence is no different from a god. ¡¹
There was nothing wrong with the description from Ways of Survival. She felt overwhelmingly threatening just standing there.
I smiled and waved my hand. ¡°Did the conversation between teacher and student end well?¡±
¡°...You aren¡¯t sane.¡±
¡°Listen to my story before saying anything.¡±
¡°I have no time to mix words with a person like you.¡±
The heavy fog around us was thickening. I quickly added, ¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, it isn¡¯t possible to maintain the old ways forever.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s thick eyebrows were fiercely curved.
¡°Is it so important to keep the non-humanistic principle? What if you lose everything you have because of it?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at me like I was mentally ill. ¡°Kim Dokja! Don¡¯t say anything else!¡±
Of course, I kept talking.
¡°In the first ce, your real strength isn¡¯t the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship, right? You¡¯ve abandoned it for a long time after reaching transcendence. Why don¡¯t you sell it for something?¡±
The ground around me started vibrating. Eventually, Yoo Jonghyuk ced me behind him as protection and raised the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds.
It felt as if the gravity of the whole area was strengthened. It felt like a giant mountain was pressing on my shoulders. Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh couldn¡¯t even scream as they sank into the ground. The group would be wiped out if this continued.
¡°Teacher, wait...!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk cried out but the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint didn¡¯t stop.
...Was she going to do this? She was really stubborn.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has triggered the status of a constetion.]
Sparks appeared around me and the surrounding gravitational pressure was temporarily relieved. I smiled at the startled Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. I might have an incarnation body but I was still a narrative-grade constetion. ¡°I haven¡¯t sold it yet so don¡¯t be too harsh.¡±
¡°You were hiding.¡±
¡°In any case, you can regain the martial arts technique if you win thepetition. Won¡¯t you win thepetition?¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint looked calmer and the pressure she gave off subsided. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem for her to overpower me if she used her real strength but she seemed to take me as Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s colleague. She told me, ¡°I can¡¯t participate in thepetition.¡±
¡°It would be no fun if an adult ys with kids.¡±
¡°The children of Murim are much stronger than you think.¡±
¡°I¡¯m aware. However, your disciple is strong.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint understood what I meant and I patted Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s shoulder as he stood next to me. ¡°There will be Jonghyuk in thepetition.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk turned and stared at me with wide eyes. I didn¡¯t know why he was surprised. Did he think he wouldn¡¯t participate?
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s eyebrows wriggled again. ¡°He¡¯s still weak.¡±
¡°You can make him stronger. He is your disciple anyway.¡±
¡°I never said I would ept him as a disciple...¡±
At this point, Yoo Jonghyuk stared at the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint with wide eyes. In any case, the teacher and student were both not honest.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
Well, I knew that not being honest was their virtual.
¡¸ It is too early for him. ¡¹
¡¸ Jonghyuk will die if he goes to thepetition. ¡¹
¡¸ He isn¡¯t at a level topete with those teenage masters. ¡¹
I couldn¡¯t fully hear the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s thoughts because of my low understanding level. Even so, it wasn¡¯t hard to know what she was thinking. In the end, I had to do this for the teacher and student.
¡°If you ept Yoo Jonghyuk as a disciple, I will let you meet your n.¡±
¡°...What does that mean?¡±
¡°Exactly what I said. You haven¡¯t found your n yet, correct?¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword looked at me with a strange expression. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you know this but my n has been wiped out. There are no giant gods left.¡±
¡°No, there are still some left.¡±
¡°What...¡±
I looked up and spoke,¡±Master of the Underworld, are you still watching?¡±
Hades was now in my channel. I owed him forst time so it was time to give a greeting. However, it wasn¡¯t Hades who responded to my call.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is looking at you with a strange smile.]
¡°...It has been a while, Persephone.¡±
Damn. This queen was hard to deal with. When did she enter? I was about to open my mouth when I heard more messages.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ says she has heard the story.]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ will listen to your request.]
As expected, Persephone was quick when it came to good stories. The problem was that this queen never did anything without an ulterior motive.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ says there is a condition.]
...As expected.
¡°...Please say it.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is inviting you to the feast of constetions.]
Feast of constetions? It was strange. Was now the time for a constetion banquet to be held? Persephone¡¯s message followed as an answer to my question.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is inviting you to the Gourmet Association.]
Chapter 235 - Swindler (3)
Chapter 235: Episode 44 ¨C Swindler (3)
From the next day onwards, Yoo Jonghyuk was absorbed in training with the Breaking the Sky Sword
Saint.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint kept maintaining a serious expression from the moment she heard her n could be found. Yoo Jonghyuk knew her heart but devoted himself to meditation instead offorting his teacher.
¡®Originally, I was going to meet the ancient giant gods in person but...¡¯
In any case, it wouldn¡¯t be bad to leave it to Kim Dokja. Yoo Jonghyuk would¡¯ve had to pass through 40 scenarios in order to meet an ancient giant god if he followed his original n.
¡®That guy, I didn¡¯t think he would have such a rtionship with the Underworld.¡¯
Kim Dokja really had unknown corners. How the hell did he seed in charming all those constetions...
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ isughing.]
Just look at this archangel. The Demon-like Judge of Fire wasn¡¯t such a constetion during the second round. She was a strict and lofty archangel full of justice. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t understand why such an existence was so ruined this time.
¡°Are you really thinking about participating in thepetition?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk nodded silently at the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s question.
¡°You might die. Thepetition scenarios are never easy.¡±
¡°I am much stronger than I was at this point of time in thest round.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t at a level to deal with the teenage masters.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was well aware of the teenage masters of Murim. One of them was the Ice Flower Goddess whose techniques were sold by the previous merchant who weed visitors. There was also a teenage master from the South Pce, a distant rtive of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. They would appear when the martial artspetition opened.
In addition, the martial artspetition was amodity so he had to consider the incarnations of famous constetions participating.
[Some constetions are looking forward to the martial artspetition.]
[Some constetions are tired of the martial artspetition.]
Fortunately, the stronger constetions were tired of these scenarios. As a scenario that repeated every year in Murim, there weren¡¯t many constetions paying much attention to the martial artspetition.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint read Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s heart and opened her mouth. ¡°You have to open transcendence stage two.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve opened it before so it won¡¯t be difficult.¡±
¡°It is different from breaking through stage one.¡±
¡°I will do it somehow. I¡¯ve already reached stage three in thest round.¡±
¡°...Stage three?¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s eyes shook. The third stage of transcendence wasn¡¯t a step that could be reached with talent alone. It took an enormous amount of ¡®time¡¯ to pass through the third stage. On the other hand, Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t have experienced such arge amount of time in thest round...
Yoo Jonghyuk understood his teacher¡¯s question and replied, ¡°I used a time fault in the Dark Dimension.¡±
A time fault in the Dark Dimension. It was often called the ¡®cemetery of Murim.¡¯ There were two types of Murim people who went to that ce. In that prison of enormous time, there were those who hit the wall of talent and became crazy or those who went beyond the wall. Yoo Jonghyuk was thetter.
¡°...I can¡¯t imagine how hard your training was. How many years were you inside there?¡±
¡°Around 100 years.¡±
¡°Stage three in 100 years... no wonder why you are so arrogant.¡±
100 years. It was a long time for ordinary humans but it wasn¡¯t the same for transcendents.
There were many people who lived for 200 or 300 years in this world who couldn¡¯t reach transcendence no matter how much they built up their martial arts. It was a wall that couldn¡¯t be ovee by improving the physical body with all types of spiritual medicine. There was a thick wall in transcendence yet Yoo Jonghyuk crossed that wall three times in 100 years.
¡°I will shorten it if I enter the time fault again.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a crazy idea! Using a time fault will numb the soul. Haven¡¯t you seen the martial artists who went mad in the time fault? Don¡¯t you know that there is a fine line between insanity and transcendence?¡±
¡°...In thest round, I couldn¡¯t surpass you even after entering the time fault.¡±
¡°Of course! 100 years is too early to catch up with me!¡± The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint struggled for a moment before saying, ¡°In any case... you have reached the third stage, it is better to teach you than an ignorant person.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t very bright despite his teacher¡¯s praise. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint felt something fishy and questioned him. Yoo Jonghyuk eventually told her the story.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint heard the story and asked as if it was absurd, ¡°Your spiritual awakening was while you were exhausted?¡±
¡°Well, I don¡¯t remember exactly.¡±
In the end, he didn¡¯t know who he broke through into stage three. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t good. ¡°Are you confident you can trust your unconscious mind and break through to stage three again? That sounds like the pseudo-cult followers of the Ice Flower Goddess.
¡°That¡¯s why I need you. Please teach me your techniques again.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Using the same method as before is difficult. It takes too long.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was stunned by her disciple¡¯s shameless words. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should help. You¡¯ve crossed the wall of transcendence so you know that transcendence is never done in one way. All transcendents have to find their own way to transcend.¡±
¡°You can still help. Isn¡¯t there the 10,000 Streams will Gather Together School.¡± (TL: the idiom that all things will eventually return to the same point)
¡°It means we will have to find one of the many branches. There is no such enlightenment in the world. Just as there is no such story.¡±
¡°Still, if there are 10,000 branches, can¡¯t we catch one of them? I¡¯ve already found one in the past.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk said this and thought he was somehow talking like Kim Dokja. He didn¡¯t originally talk this way. Maybe he was influenced while they were together. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint sighed at her silent disciple. ¡°Were you originally so talkative? It won¡¯t be easy. You should¡¯ve seen from the previous round that the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship wasn¡¯t originally for men.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk also knew it. That¡¯s why it was very difficult to learn the skills of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint in the past. However, this time was different.
¡°The problem of gender can be resolved to some extent.¡±
¡°What does that mean?¡±
[The constetion who likes to change sex is snorting.]
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned at the indirect message. Complex emotions and enormous anger rose every time he thought about it but he had to take advantage of everything he could.
¡°It is time to wrap this up.¡±
After a while, the astonished Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s mouth dropped open. Yoo Jonghyuk took out his sword with a nk expression.
¡°You can never tell that guy out there.¡±
***
[In the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex, there are people who doubt your achievements.]
[The story about the ¡®Swindler Kim Dokja¡¯ is spreading in the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex.]
I woke up from my nap due to a message in the air. Based on the message, it seemed that a bad rumour was circting in the industrialplex while I was away. It was natural since the industrialplex had changed rulers but the new ruler never showed his face.
By the way, Swindler Kim Dokja... Why did it feel like people who didn¡¯t know my face knew me better?
¡°Kim Dokja. What are you doing?¡±
Someone kicked me and I got up with a groan. I saw Yoo Jonghyuk whose upper body was bare and covered in sweat. It was probably from the hard training under the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
¡°...I was just thinking for a moment.¡±
¡°You¡¯re beingzy.¡±
¡°I have to bezy now. I¡¯m a patient.¡±
It was an excuse but it was true. I had yet to fully recover from the exile penalty. The recovery was also dyed due to what happened with the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. I was increasing the proficiency of Lamarck Kirin and steadily ingesting story fragments, so recovery wouldn¡¯t be toote.
I looked at the people training hard in the front yard of the ce. ¡°How about those guys?¡±
The sweating Jang Hayoung was sparring against Han Myungoh. The Breaking the Sky Master was supervising and pointing out any mistakes.
¡°That girl has a fair amount of talent. Her strange attribute means she is learning it very quickly.¡±
¡°That isn¡¯t a girl. He¡¯s a man.¡±
¡°Sometimes I don¡¯t know where your eyes are.¡±
What an idiot. He was a man, right? It was like this in the original novel. I was about to speak when Yoo Jonghyuk wondered, ¡°Rather, what is happening with the constetions?¡±
¡°...I¡¯m thinking.¡±
It had already been a week since I received Persephone¡¯s message.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is inviting you to the Gourmet Association.]
[In one week, the Gourmet Association Festival will be held at Oro Castle.]
[Please decide if you will depart by tonight.]
An invitation to the Gourmet Association. I expected it to happen someday but it was earlier than expected.
The Gourmet Association. It was a gathering of constetions who loved gourmet food. At first nce, it was like the ¡®constetion banquet¡¯ but reality waspletely different.
If the constetion banquet was official, the Gourmet Association Festival was unofficial and the intensity of the events that happened was also different.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is worried about you.]
Above all, there was no Uriel in the Gourmet Association.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is wondering about your choice.]
There was no the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven, no Secretive Plotter. Was there... the Abyssal ck me Dragon? I couldn¡¯t remember it well.
In any case, the atmosphere of the ce wasn¡¯t as favourable to me as the ¡®constetions banquet.¡¯ There was nothing more dangerous in the Star Stream then going to a gathering of unstable constetions.
Yoo Jonghyuk read my expression and asked, ¡°Are you frightened?¡±
¡°No way.¡±
I wouldn¡¯t havee all the way here if I didn¡¯t participate in the Gourmet Association for that reason. I silently watched Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh sparring. Han Myungoh was hit continuously hit and let out a scream. Yoo Jonghyuk watched along with me and stated. ¡°It¡¯s because of this ce.¡±
¡°...That¡¯s right.¡±
ording to Persephone¡¯s message, the Gourmet Association Festival was exactly one weekter. As it happened, the date was exactly the same as the martial artspetition.
It meant I wouldn¡¯t be in the First Murim on the day the martial artspetition scenario urred. If something happened...
¡°Go ande back, Kim Dokja.¡±
Chapter 236 - - Swindler (4)
Chapter 236: Episode 44 ¨C Swindler (4)
I reflexively raised my head at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s decisive words. ¡°...Is it okay?¡±
¡°The scenario we are facing right now isn¡¯t the Demon King Selection but the Martial Arts Competition.¡±
I had been thinking this but once I heard Yoo Jonghyuk say it, I felt a strange sense of relief and pride. ¡°You... have really be a person. At the very least, I won¡¯t die for the time being.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk ignored my words and continued, ¡°The only thing that can be obtained from thepetition is the ck Demon Sword. Getting the ck Demon Sword doesn¡¯t mean we can win the Demon King Selection.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was right. Winning the Murimpetition didn¡¯t mean we could win the Demon King Selection.
¡°That¡¯s why you have to go to the Gourmet Association. We need colleagues for our neb. You might be able to gain allies if you go to the Gourmet Association.¡±
I understood what he was saying. Go to the Gourmet Association ande back with some usable constetions. There was one worrisome point.
¡°...Our neb?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you say you would make onest time?¡±
¡°Kim Dokja¡¯s Company?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll quit right away if it is really named that.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk turned his head away with a frown. I felt pleasantly surprised.
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is wiping her tears with a handkerchief.]
It was something that was unthinkable when he first grabbed me by the neck. Yoo Jonghyuk and I really became colleagues. In any case, it was funny that I was hesitating when Yoo Jonghyuk told me this.
I stood up and dered, ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡±
***
That night, I was greeted by a Gourmet Association Guide who flew through the portal. The guide drove a small carriage with a ck horse, while dressed in a western cowboy costume. He seemed to be one of the subordinates of the owner of Oro Castle.
The guide descended from the carriage and bowed politely to me.
[Are you the Demon King of Salvation?]
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
[Take the carriage. The journey is quite long and you can rest.]
The guide didn¡¯t show any particr surprise or responses towards me. Was it because he was a guide of the Gourmet Association that he wasn¡¯t surprised by ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯? The guide got on the carriage and turned to ask me.
[I will pick up some passengers along the way. Do you mind?]
¡°Uh, that¡¯s okay.¡±
Some passengers... who? I missed the opportunity to ask as the guide immediately started the carriage.
The interior of the carriage was spacious andfortable. There was no shaking at all and it was like I wasn¡¯t moving. It was great. I could read Ways of Survival on the journey.
I read Ways of Survival during these few hours. Maybe it wasn¡¯t a few hours but a few days. It was difficult to measure the time because I didn¡¯t know how fast the carriage was moving.
¡¸...Thus, the 15th regression Yoo Jonghyuk thought as he died, ¡®I wasn¡¯t lucky.¡¯ ¡¹
¡¸ ...At the end of the 19th round, Yoo Jonghyuk thought, ¡®Next time.¡¯ ¡¹
¡¸ ...Yoo Jonghyuk finished his 25th life and murmured, ¡°It really will be next time.¡± ¡¹
...I had to cancel calling him a person. This jerk, he was still a sunfish in the first revision. It was the same whether I helped him or not.
I didn¡¯t forget to find the information I needed on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s death. There weren¡¯t many details about the Gourmet Association. Yoo Jonghyuk visited the Gourmet Association in theter stages but it was to kill them, not get along with them. Those sections were mostly filled with ¡°Kuaaaack!¡±
¡¸ The Flying Fox said, ¡°Constetions are all bad. However, the Gourmet Association are the worst among them.¡± ¡¹
It was also impossible to find any favourable contents about them. The more I read, the more I was uncertain that going to the Gourmet Association was the right thing to do. Anyway, I continued reading Ways of Survival.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk was thinking, ¡°It would¡¯ve been nice if he hade with me.¡¯ ¡¹
If there was a difference in taste between the original and the revision, it was the moment these words came out. They were traces of when I intervened in the original work. I paid particr attention whenever these lines appeared. It was because there were only a few scenes where the ¡®third regression¡¯ was mentioned.
¡¸ ¡®You must do this. He said this is the right way.¡¯ ¡¹
...The right way? What did this mean?
[It is time to eat. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ve prepared something simple.]
¡°Thank you.¡±
The carriage stopped and the guide provided me with a meal. It was a type of in-flight meal. It resembled high-quality ham and smelled very fragrant. Of course, it wasn¡¯t really ham.
[The Last diator of Selegedon.]
It was a story meal typical of the Gourmet Association. It seemed to be a pretty strong story based on the concentration that I could feel...
I touched the soft ham with a fork that the guide gave me. At this moment, some of the story contents flowed into my head.
-S-Spare me. Please spare me...!
A city that crumbled in a horrible manner due to the turmoil of the constetions. The appearance of incarnations bursting under huge pressure. The dying diator who lost all dignity...
The bodies of torn incarnations pouring into the mouths of wickedly smiling constetions. Thest scene of the world that had already disappeared. The screams and despair of the incarnations gathered together at the end of my nose.
I looked down at the ham and quietly put down the fork.
[...The food doesn¡¯t suit your taste?]
¡°I¡¯m not hungry right now.¡± I answered with a calm smile.
[I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t ount for your taste as a constetion. New food...]
¡°No, I¡¯ll eat what I brought.¡±
The guide took away the tes in a regretful manner and sat back down on the driver¡¯s seat. Once he waspletely gone, I barely rxed my expression. It felt like I was going to vomit.
A sentence I had just read in Ways of Survival passed through my head.
¡¸ ¡°it is a nightmare for the incarnations.¡± ¡¹
Once again, I realized where I was going and who I was dealing with. I foolishly acted like I was going on a pic.
I touched some of the stories that were in my pocket. Compared to the stories they ate, the stories abandoned in the ¡®Story Horizon¡¯ were almost colourless and odourless. They were the in stories of ordinary incarnations living and dying in a normal way, just like trash. There was a reason why the Gourmet Association abandoned them.
I absorbed the story fragments using Lamarck Kirin and quietly closed my eyes. Somehow, I felt like I was going to have a nightmare.
***
The trip continued for a few days and I used the interlude to look at some of the things I hadn¡¯t maintained.
[Coins Possessed: 1,252,353 C.]
First, I checked the coins that I hadn¡¯t paid attention totely. It was a really huge amount of money.
1.2 million was enough to buy the Great Demon¡¯s Eyes. However, Anna Croft had already obtained it. I had a better skill so I didn¡¯t need it. But...
I wondered how to use the remaining coins. It wasn¡¯t bad to increase my overall stats but the efficiency of the stats started to fall once the average exceeded 100. From then on, investing in skills was much better than investing in stats.
Of course, there were times when the umted overall stats were overwhelming. Once I convinced the Fourth Wall, I should properly check my Attributes Window.
[A new passenger is going to enter. It is okay?]
I was so immersed in my thoughts that I wasn¡¯t aware the carriage stopped. ¡°Yes, I¡±m fine.¡±
The left door of the carriage opened at my reply. I was a bit nervous as I looked at the people who were going to join me through the cracks in the door. The possibility of it being a constetion was high.
¡°Ah! I¡¯ve been waiting a long time. Why are you sote?¡±
[I¡¯m sorry. The road was a bit rougher than I thought...]
A voice that was somewhat familiar entered my ears. It was a high female voice mixed with a Russian ent.
I could see three people through the cracks in the door.
[There is someone who has already boarded. I hope you have a pleasant journey.]
Whether it was lucky or unlucky, I didn¡¯t feel any constetions. In other words, they were all incarnations with stories.
A woman with a gentle smile boarded the carriage first. ¡°Excuse me.
The woman who greeted me politely had brown hair that fluttered in the wind. The moment the woman raised her head, I reflexively asked, ¡°Selena Kim?¡±
Selena Kim. She was one of the American representatives at the constetion banquet. Perhaps it was due to my changed face but the woman was confused for a while before eximing,
¡°Ah, you...?¡±
¡°Do you remember who I am?¡±
¡°Of course! Kim Dokja! It¡¯s been a while! Were you invited?¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s what happened.¡±
I shook hands with Selena and studied the rest of the group. The person who followed with a girl with twin ponytails.
¡°What are you... eh?¡±
As expected, I had seen this person before. It was the Russian girl I met at the constetion banquet.
Her name... what was it? I remember her having the nickname of Red something.
I ignored the girl and checked the remaining person. At this moment, I got goose bumps.
¡°This is the first time we¡¯ve actually met.¡±
There was an immeasurable depth in the calm and rxed voice. I knew this person well. One of the strongest incarnations in Ways of Survival along with Yoo Jonghyuk. I had even met this person before.
¡°I saw you in a dream one day. I don¡¯t remember since it was too long ago. At that time, you said we would meet...¡±
I remembered. In the Green Zone scenario, I saw her after eating the Specter¡¯s Stone. I told her, ¡°I remember.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll formally greet you. It is nice to meet you, Kim Dokja. No... Demon King of Salvation.¡±
She smiled while a yellow demon eye flew above her blond hair. It was a very beautiful smile but I couldn¡¯t ept it. It was because I knew better than anyone the disturbing thoughts behind the smile. ¡°I am Anna Croft.¡±
Asgard¡¯s prophet. The head of the Zarathustra, Anna Croft was here.
Chapter 237 - Gourmet Association (1)
Chapter 237: Episode 45 ¨C Gourmet Association (1)
Anna Croft was silent on the way to Oro Castle. She sometimes smiled strangely when our eyes met but she didn¡¯t speak first.
I wished I could read her thoughts but my understanding of Anna Croft was so low that I couldn¡¯t activate the second stage of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
I didn¡¯t like Anna Croft in the original novel. I couldn¡¯t count the number of times she killed or backstabbed Yoo Jonghyuk with the fingers on both hands.
The atmosphere in the carriage was awkward because both Anna Croft and I weren¡¯t speaking. Selena Kim was sweating.
¡°...Thus, we came together. The incarnations of Asgard were invited.¡±
Selena Kim¡¯s good nature meant she couldn¡¯t stand this type of atmosphere and she kept saying things that weren¡¯t asked for. In any case, it was good for me to hear a lot of information.
¡°I see. Are you part of Asgard?¡±
¡°Yes. It was Anna¡¯s arrangement.¡±
¡°You picked a good neb.¡±
¡°Ahaha, I was just lucky. Thanks to it, I can enjoy this great luxury. The other incarnations weren¡¯t invited...¡±
Selena Kim looked slightly excited. Well, the invitation to the Gourmet Association had a different meaning from the constetion banquet. If the constetion banquet was a gathering for the entire nobility, the Gourmet Association was simr to a gathering of the upper nobility.
Still, it wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. I wondered if Selena Kim could continue thinking like this once she arrived.
¡°Iris, why aren¡¯t you saying anything? You said you wanted to meet Dokja-ssi again.¡±
¡°§Ó§Ý§Ú§ß! (I mean!) Since when did I say that?¡± (TL: That¡¯s what google gave me. If anyone is Russian and knows the actual trantion then pleasement.)
¡°This child... haven¡¯t you been talking about Kim Dokja since thest banquet? You haven¡¯t seen each other for a while so say something.¡±
Iris¡¯ face turned red at Selena Kim¡¯s teasing. Iris noticed my gaze and carefully opened her mouth. ¡°You are the Demon King of Salvation... right?¡±
I had doubts that this person was the cheeky kid from back then but I decided to be polite. ¡°Correct.¡±
¡°...Is it ufortable for you to be with us?¡±
¡°Why would I feel ufortable?¡±
¡°We are just incarnations. The Demon King of Salvation is...¡±
Selena Kim¡¯s expression was also changing. I had forgotten for a moment but I was different from them. The gap between incarnation and constetion was like the gap between heaven and earth.
Other constetions would¡¯ve said, ¡°These little bugs finally realize who they are talking to.¡± Of course, I wasn¡¯t like that.
¡°It¡¯s fine. I was once an incarnation.¡±
Selena Kim seemed to sigh with relief at my words. Iris gained some courage and opened her mouth again. ¡°Then... can I ask one question?¡±
¡°Please ask.¡±
¡°Do you have an incarnation you signed a Sponsor Contract with?¡±
¡°Why are you asking?¡±
¡°Uh, that...¡±
Selena gave a hint for the hesitating Iris. ¡°Iris. Do you have a sponsor yet?¡±
¡°I-I¡¯m just asking! It is out of curiosity!¡±
The twin ponytails moved as Iris twisted her head while Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung on Earth came to my mind. Those guys, please stay well...
I spoke with a nostalgic heart. ¡°I have an incarnation on the Korean Penins.¡±
Iris¡¯ expression changed at my words. ¡°Ah, perhaps that little kid...¡±
I nodded. It seemed the rumour of Shin Yoosung had spread everywhere. The constetions had already told their incarnations.
Then Anna Croft opened her mouth. ¡°Have you ever thought about changing your incarnation?¡±
Selena Kim and Iris stared at Anna Croft with surprise. Anna Croft continued speaking, ¡°There are many good incarnations in the Asgard neb. There are many talented friends. Iris is one of them.¡±
It was an unexpected proposal. Why was Anna Croft suddenly making this offer? Maybe Asgard was talking about me. Well, I hadn¡¯t formally made a neb yet.
¡°Are you telling me to join the Asgard neb?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t necessarily the same thing. There are many good incarnations in Asgard. I¡¯m just saying that it isn¡¯t bad to ept one of them. Can¡¯t you withdraw the Sponsor Contract at any point?¡±
The disappointed Iris once again stared at me with sparkling eyes. I replied with an emotionless face. ¡°I have no intention of cancelling my Sponsor Contract.¡±
¡°Do you like that girl? Is she called Shin Yoosung?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer and Iris¡¯ face filled with deep disappointment. My understanding of her might be very low but the change in emotions was easily caught.
By the way, Anna Croft made a strange remark. ¡°For example, if an incarnation suddenly dies...¡±
There was an unknown smile on Anna Croft¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t look so surprised. It is just an example. It is a possibility. An unexpected ident or a sudden disaster can cause the death of an incarnation... It is amon thing. If that happens, don¡¯t you think you¡¯ll change your incarnation?¡±
¡°An unexpected ident?¡±
¡°Yes, an unexpected ident. An ident that happened identally.¡±
I stared at Anna Croft. Shin Yoosung¡¯s death... I never thought about it.
¡°That won¡¯t happen as long as I live.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know. It is unclear how and when Fate will work.¡±
...Fate? The atmosphere momentarily shook. The surrounding air filled with an ominous aura and the entire carriage trembled. Iris and Selena Kim¡¯s expressions stiffened. They had goosebumps on their arms as they watched me with a frightened expression.
I hadn¡¯t wanted to do this. I didn¡¯t want to scare them by seeming like a viin. However, Anna Croft crossed a line she shouldn¡¯t have crossed.
[If something like that happens.]
Sparks of probability appeared as I used my true voice.
[The neb ¡®Asgard¡¯ is concerned.]
[The constetions of the ¡®Asgard¡¯ neb are warning you!]
I heard the indirect messages of the Asgard constetions enter my ears. Nevertheless, I didn¡¯t stop.
[If that happens, I will destroy all the worlds that caused that Fate.]
The impact of the shock caused the windows of the carriage to burst at the same time. The startled driver looked back this way. There was even vague astonishment on Anna Croft¡¯s normally calm face. Perhaps she wasn¡¯t aware of exactly how much ¡®status¡¯ I had.
Shortly afterwards, the carriage stopped and the voice of the guide was heard.
[We have arrived at Oro Castle.]
I smiled at the three people who were still stiff. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
***
We got down from the carriage and was guided into Oro Castle.
Oro Castle. The castle was one of the main homes of the Gourmet Association scattered all over the world and was owned directly by a member of the Gourmet Association. Perhaps it was... I remember that it was one of the 72 demon kings. Was it ¡®Immeasurable Austerity?
[They have been granted permission to enter.]
[I¡¯ve confirmed it. Come in.]
The interior of the castle had more of a modern than medieval style. It was reminiscent of a luxurious hotel lobby. The forms of the intermediate symbolic bodies could be seen scattered around.
[Some constetions are paying attention to your presence.]
We were guided to a waiting room in the corner of the first floor lobby. Perhaps some people hadn¡¯t arrived yet. The three incarnations of Asgard and I were the only ones present.
[Please wait in the waiting room. There are still more incarnations arriving... ah, the Demon King of Salvation is a constetion. I will arrange a separate waiting room for you.]
¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll just be here.¡±
The guide stared at me like I was strange but soon disappeared. Frankly, it was morefortable here. I needed some time to prepare my mind.
There were panels hung on the wall of the waiting room. They yed sub scenarios currently going on all over the dimensions...
¡°Excuse me, earlier...¡± It was Selena Kim who spoke. She might be hesitant because of what happened in the carriage but there was nothing wrong with the setting of Ways of Survival.
I smiled softly and replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I was a bit too much.¡±
Selena Kim¡¯s expression slightly softened. ¡°No, we were too rude. I¡¯m sorry, Demon King of Salvation.¡±
Her words were much more formal than before. I didn¡¯t mean to refuse the apology but something felt bad. Selena Kim did nothing wrong. She was one of the few people I liked in Ways of Survival. The one I hated was the shameless person standing in the corner and watching this scene.
Then the door of the waiting room opened and another guide appeared.
[Incarnations of Asgard, please follow me.]
The constetions of Asgard were probably looking for them. Selena Kim and Iris nodded to me before leaving.
On the other hand, Anna Croft watched me without leaving the room. ¡°You have too many constetions as enemies.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t something for you to worry about.¡±
Anna Croft slightly frowned at my assertion. She didn¡¯t seem daunted despite what happened before. She was a mere incarnation but she had contracted with an entire neb. Perhaps the top-ranked Asgardians were protecting her from my ¡®status.¡¯
¡°Asrades moving towards the same goal, I am seriously advising you. You might not like it but it is time to cooperate with other constetions.¡±
The same goal...
¡°Well, I don¡¯t know your goal so I can¡¯t answer it.¡±
¡°Protecting this world. Aren¡¯t you fighting for this as well?¡±
Instead of answering the question, I nced at the panel on the wall of the waiting room. There were images of incarnations torn apart by disasters and constetions. I didn¡¯t answer and Anna Croft brushed by my side.
At this moment, I opened my mouth. ¡°I have to see if this world is worth protecting or not.¡±
Anna Croft¡¯s expression hardened at my words. She looked between the anxious guide and me before giving a short sigh. ¡°...I hope we have a chance to talkter.¡±
She disappeared and only I remained in the waiting room. Once left alone, I quietly organized my thoughts.
I recalled the Gourmet Association constetions mentioned in Ways of Survival and thought of the constetions that could be persuaded. I didn¡¯t forget their characteristics or their modifiers.
I was fortunate at the constetion banquet but there was no guarantee it would happen again.
If the Gourmet Association was expressed as a social circle, this would be my full-fledged debut.
Depending on the impression I made here and what I talked about, the direction of the following scenarios would change.
At this moment, the door of the waiting room opened.
I thought it was a guide but this time, an unexpected presence was waiting for me. The moment I was about to say something, the other person spoke first.
[It¡¯s been a while, Kim Dokja. I¡¯ve been waiting for a long time.]
I heard the bright tone of the True Voice and realized what the other person was. Really, the queen of the Underworld was too mischievous.
I sighed and asked, ¡°...Why the hell do you look like that?¡±
Chapter 238 - Gourmet Association (2)
Chapter 238: Episode 45 ¨C Gourmet Association (2)
Persephoneughed softly.
[Why? Don¡¯t you like it? The neighbouring archangel told me that this is your taste.]
¡°It is an absolute misunderstanding.¡±
[Hrmm...]
Persephone¡¯s voice sounded regretful. For reference, Persephone was currently in the form of Yoo Jonghyuk. It was just fortunate that she wasn¡¯t wearing a Chinese dress.
[Then how about this?]
¡°Wait...!¡± Before I could finish, Persephone¡¯s appearance changed once again. I thought she would turn into Yoo Sangah in a Chinese dress but this time it was unexpected. ¡°No, this...¡±
Persephone smiled and I flushed, despite knowing the other person was Persephone. Persephone was in the form of the ¡®punisher¡¯ that I had seen a while ago.
[I noticed that you couldn¡¯t take your eyes off her at the time. Is it like this?]
The white skin was revealed through the side of the dress and I reflexively closed my eyes while shouting, ¡°...Stop teasing!¡±
[Huhu, it is really funny.]
Persephoneughed like a child before once again transforming. This time, it was the appearance of Yoo Sangah. She had a tidy office look instead of the Chinese dress and garter belt. I saw this appearance from the days of Mino Soft and feltplicated. Yoo Sangah always spoke to me in this attire.
Yoo Sangah-ssi, please be well. I was a bit worried that she was with Han Sooyoung... still, it was Yoo Sangah so I believed she would be okay.
Persephone kept smiling.
[Follow me. I came to pick you up.]
I nodded and followed behind Persephone. I walked out of the waiting room and felt a bit nervous at some of the gazes of the constetions. I walked with Persephone and saw the constetions. I felt like I was her young servant for some reason.
Soon after, Persephone and I reached a huge elevator in the middle of the lobby. Maybe the Gourmet Association Festival would be held on the top floor of this castle.
The door of the elevator that resembled a huge crystal ball was opened and Persephone and I boarded. My body felt a bit heavier and the darkness of the Dark Dimension spread outside the transparent crystal wall. Beyond the horizon of the dimension, the magnificent world of the Star Stream was revealed.
[You are looking forward to it.]
¡°Rather than looking forward to it, I am a bit nervous.¡±
Persephoneughed as if she understood my heart.
[I¡¯m d you are alive. Last time you were an incarnation and now you are a constetion.]
¡°I¡¯m still a newbie. I¡¯m not sure it is okay for me toe here.¡±
I meant to be humble by Persephone¡¯s expression hardened at my words.
[What do you think my position is in the Gourmet Association? Is it hard to take in a new member?]
¡°That¡¯s not what I meant...¡±
[I¡¯m just joking.]
¡°Please stop making fun of me.¡±
[Think of it as investing in advance since I don¡¯t know how promising a constetion you will be in the future. It is something you will have to suffer one day.]
I felt it before but I didn¡¯t know why this queen was so good to me. The only thing she asked for in exchange for taking the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to Tartarus was to participate in this Gourmet Association Festival.
Maybe she knew. In fact, the condition of attending the Gourmet Association was beneficial for me, not her. She made a full-fledged debut for me as a constetion.
Persephone¡¯s obsidian eyes were sparkling.
[How much is your status now? It can¡¯t be narrative-grade.]
Perhaps the other constetions didn¡¯t know that I was narrative-grade. I thought for a moment before replying, ¡°I will be on the second floor at the next constetion banquet.¡±
Persephone¡¯s eyes widened at my eyes. She guessed I would be great-grade at most. It was quite pleasurable to see the queen of the Underworld look so embarrassed. However, there was also deep concern mixed in her eyes.
[There will be constetions who feel jealous of you.]
¡°...¡±
[Some constetions will try to draw you to their side.]
¡°I¡¯m expecting it.¡±
I was prepared. The constetions I would meet in the future wouldn¡¯t be easy. They might be jealous of me or trying to pull me to their side. Either way, it was dangerous.
[However, most of the constetions will be indifferent to you.]
¡°...Huh?¡±
[Until now, you haven¡¯t been able to feel it because you¡¯ve gone to ces where the influence of the Korean Penins scenario is great... Don¡¯t forget, this is the Gourmet Association.]
The Gourmet Association. This was a grand gathering of high-ranking constetions in the Star Stream.
Suddenly, Persephone¡¯sughter seemed scary.
[I won¡¯t act as a nanny like I did at the constetion banquet. This time, I want to see you act with your own strength.]
The door of the elevator opened with a ding and Persephone disappeared into the banquet hall. Left alone, I hesitated before getting out of the elevator.
[Some constetions show curiosity towards you.]
Some constetion nced at me when I got off but the interest soon disappeared. It was rather fortunate. It would be hard to move if excessive interest was poured towards me.
Just as on the first floor lobby, there were no constetions who existed as symbolic bodies. Everyone was a humanoid or living being of this world. There wasn¡¯t a single constetion here conscious about using probability.
Some of the constetions that upied the banquet hall looked like those I read about in Ways of Survival. The first one to stand out was the man in a Viking outfit that upied the centre of the banquet hall. It would be stranger if I didn¡¯t recognize him with the giant hammer on his back.
[The best of the first generation stories is naturally the ¡®Dragon Eating the Hammer.¡¯]
The constetion of the neb Asgard, Thursday¡¯s Thunder was speaking in an excited voice. Then a woman replied from the other side.
[What do you mean? The best is obviously the ¡®Children of Dawn.¡¯ The rating is also the highest.]
She was a goddess wearing a white dress embroidered with stars. If I remembered correctly, she was a constetion of the Guardian Tree neb, the ¡®Dawn Star Goddess.¡¯
It seemed there was a controversy over which story was the best. Fighting over which story was the best, it was exactly the same as what I read in Ways of Survival. It was clear what this ce was like after seeing the high-ranking constetions that were hard to see on the Korean Penins. Even the powerful ¡®Persephone¡¯ was just a normal constetion in the Gourmet Association.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is cheering for you.]
Luckily, the solefort was that the ¡®channel was still functioning. Yes, I couldn¡¯t be discouraged in a ce like this.
I quietly approached one of the central groups in the Gourmet Association and talked to one of the surrounding constetions.
¡°Ex...¡±
However, no one looked at me. It was as if I didn¡¯t exist to the constetion here. I gathered my courage and tapped on the shoulder of the constetion besides me.
¡°Excuse me.¡±
This time, there was a reaction. The constetion looked at me before brushing past my shoulder and walking to the centre of the hall.
¡¸ Kim Dokja knew this feeling very well. ¡¹
I felt like I was alone in this world. Suddenly, the voices of the many constetions felt distant. They were clearly in the same ce but they were elsewhere. I understood what Persephone meant by ¡®indifference.¡¯ The Gourmet Association was building their own barrier to prevent new people like me from entering.
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire is looking at you with sad eyes.]
...But I couldn¡¯t give up. I had to somehow create a crack.
I broadened my vision and looked around the periphery of the Gourmet Association. In addition to the constetions chatting in the centre of the banquet hall, there were also people standing alone. They were also members of the Gourmet Association and would certainly be powerful.
The edge of the banquet hall contained numerous panels like those seen in the waiting room. They were videos of scenarios taking ce all over the world. I looked closer and saw the moment I became the Demon King of Salvation disyed on a small screen in the corner.
However, no constetions were watching it. The Korean Penins scenario that I went through was just one passing story. The panel next to it was showing a real-time broadcast of the Korean Penins. It seemed to be Bihyung¡¯s channel.
On the screen, a good-looking girl with a bob was speaking nonsense.
-That jerk Kim Dokja, I¡¯m sure he is feeling delighted right now.
I couldn¡¯t help smiling at the familiar voice. Han Sooyoung wouldn¡¯t be able to talk this crap if she knew where I was right now.
-Hey, are you doing well picking up the Abyss Stones? You have to gather it well. You will be d when you need to use itter.
-...Did Dokja-ssi really give this order?
-Of course!
I felt great longing as I saw Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah on the screen. I thought I would be more depressed if I kept watching and turned to another panel.
The screen contained amon ¡®mass-produced story.¡¯ The story was called ¡®Legend of the Legendary Return from Another World.¡¯ It had a third-rate smell just from the title and the contents were obviously about a returnee who saved the world and was happy Still, it was worth watching. It somehow resembled Ways of Survival... the protagonist¡¯s speech was simr to Yoo Jonghyuk. I watched the story and a message emerged.
[Do you want to enter a star rating?]
Oh, it was a system that gave stars to every story. I ced my hand carefully to the ¡®star point¡¯ box next to it. At this moment, someone¡¯s voice was heard.
[This is my favourite story.]
I looked back and saw an old man standing there. I responded lightly, ¡°It¡¯s an interesting story.¡±
[Huhu, is that right? This friend has good taste.]
In fact, it was a story that didn¡¯t fit the Gourmet Association that I knew. The Gourmet Association didn¡¯t like these mass-produced stories. The constetions of the Gourmet Association were sick and tired of it once concepts such as ¡®ninth circle¡¯ and ¡®sword master¡¯ came out. This Legend of the Legendary Return from Another World had both of them.
¡°Are you the contributor of this story?¡±
[That¡¯s right. Keke. I show it every year. I just wanted to know one more person to know the story. It is a really nice and fun story but I don¡¯t know how to say it.]
¡°That feeling, I understand it.¡±
Somehow, I was d. I also posted about Ways of Survival on everymunity site I went to while reading it. Most people just swore at me but... in any case, this old man was simr to me.
The old man sighed and added, [These guys just scoff if I rmend it. The younger ones already have high eyes... they are busy with the first generation stories.]
It was a really unexpected remark. Certainly, there was an uptight part to the Gourmet Association. The higher their position in the Star Stream, the stronger the tendency.
At this time, the mutters of passing constetions were heard.
[The steady person is here again.]
[Tsk tsk, he has no idea about a good story because of his age...]
...Steady person? It seemed to be a nickname for the old man by my side. I recalled that there was a constetion with a simr nickname in Ways of Survival...
[Get this thing off! It isn¡¯t a story and should fuck off!]
At this moment, the star rating attached to the Legend of the Legendary Return from Another World changed.
¡ï 1.3/5 -> ¡ï 1.1/5
The rating became lower. It was obvious who was doing it.
[T-These guys!]
It was the so-called ¡®star point terror.¡¯ The old man screamed at the disappearing constetions. I thought I understood the old man¡¯s feelings and brought a hand to the star point section.
¡°I don¡¯t think the story is terrible enough to get this score.¡±
There was a beep and the star point increased. The old man turned his head towards me at the sound.
¡°In fact, I¡¯m not sure why there is a score on the stories. Every story has value. It is a story that is interesting to some people and salvation for others.¡±
The old man was startled by my words. He licked his lips a few times before murmuring with admiration.
[You aren¡¯t like young constetions these days... you have a great sense of value...]
¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±
Everyone would think like me if they endured a story like Ways of Survival. The old man¡¯s mood rxed and he smiled at me.
[You seem to be goodpany. What¡¯s your modifier? I didn¡¯t have a chance to ask.]
Was this going to be a good story? I smiled and dered, [I am the Demon King of Salvation.]
Chapter 239 - Gourmet Association (3)
Chapter 239: Episode 45 ¨C Gourmet Association (3)
The expression of the old man changed at my words.
[...Demon King of Salvation...?]
It was difficult to read the exact emotions due to the old man¡¯s intricately folded wrinkles. The old man was first surprised, then angry and finally looked admiring. To be exact, every emotion was contained in one expression.
[That¡¯s right. You are... huhu, I see.]
The old man seemed to know me. I didn¡¯t expect anyone in the Gourmet Association other than Persephone to know about me... yet he had a surprising awareness?
¡°Can I ask for your modifier?¡±
The old man gave an unknown smile instead of answering my question.
[Do you like the coat I made?]
¡°...Huh?¡±
[The coat you are wearing.]
I reflexively looked down at my white coat.
[Infinite Dimension Space Coat]
It was a coat I was awarded with after defeating Myung Ilsang. The name of the constetion who made this coat was...
¡°...Mass Production Maker?¡±
The old manughed at my surprised tone.
[I am called that.]
He pointed his thumb at himself and I was slightly discouraged. The Mass Production Maker. He was mentioned in the list of constetions who had the greatest influence on the Star Stream scenario.
It was difficult to describe hisbat ability as being of the highest level but he was an existence with a close connection with many nebe and the bureau. To make matters worse, I killed Myung Ilsang who was the incarnation of the Mass Production Maker in the fifth scenario.
[Huhu, you don¡¯t have to look like that. I won¡¯t eat you.]
The Mass Production Maker seemed to have noticed what I was trying to say.
[I know what you¡¯re thinking. Don¡¯t be rmed. It ismon in the Star Stream. He wasn¡¯t the type of person I was interested in anyway.]
¡°...¡±
[He had no guts, had a weak will and always searched for the easy way.]
I felt aplex amount of emotions. There was relief that the Mass Production Maker didn¡¯t care much about it and disillusioned that even a constetion like the Mass Production Maker thought of incarnations as tools...
I pretended to be calm. ¡°Thank you.¡±
[Don¡¯t thank me for that. No matter how lousy, he was still my incarnation... by the way, I saw the story you made.]
¡°My story?¡±
[Yes, you are great at leading the scenario in unexpected directions and creating a mess. Thanks to you, I haven¡¯t been bored for a while. I gave you five stars.]
I didn¡¯t know if it was praise or mockery but I thanked him.
[This is your first time here. Who introduced you?]
¡°The queen of the Underworld.¡±
The eyes of the Mass Production Maker shone.
[That old hag... huhu, doing this thing through all means. Bringing a new entrant like you at a time like this...]
I seemed to know what he meant but I deliberately trembled. ¡°What is happening in the Gourmet Association?¡±
[They are always doing things. Rather, did that old hag abandon her new entrant to see what you could do? Tsk tsk... in any case, she is an Olympian. Come on. I¡¯ll give you a brief introduction.]
Unexpectedly, things were going well. I followed behind the Mass Production Maker and looked around. I shouldn¡¯t forget my purpose foring here just because there were many spectacr attractions. I came to recruit constetions to help in the Demon King Salvation.
Let¡¯s see. The first thing was to talk to the constetions...
[You know who that drunkard over there is, right? He is Thor. The vigorous and stern woman over there is Vakarine...]
I felt a thrill every time the Mass Production Maker called out the name of a constetion. The real names of the constetions had the power to attract their attention. The problem was they might like it or be angry. I sometimes called out the names of constetions like Persephone but not like this...
[They don¡¯t like me very much so I can¡¯t introduce you to them. They scared just by me approaching.]
In fact, Thursday¡¯s Thunder and Morning Star Goddess seemed to be avoiding the Mass Production Maker. I roughly knew the cause.
[Tsk tsk, they don¡¯t know what good stories are...]
In any case, I felt that the reaction of the constetions was noticeably different just by moving with the Mass Production Maker. It was also easy to enter the centre of the banquet hall, which was difficult to get into before. However, now everyone would run away before I could even speak...
Ah, I remembered that Asmodeus was a member of the Gourmet Association... where is he?
[It looks like the main event is going to begin.]
The Mass Production Maker smiled alone and grabbed my sleeve. I sat at a nearby table and the guide immediately gave me food.
[Eyes of the Ninth Circle Great Sage Merbatos.]
I took a quick look at the food before putting down my fork. Several of the surrounding constetionsughed at me. They seemed to be despising that fact that I barely touched the food and couldn¡¯t eat it. The Mass Production Maker just ignored the gazes and chewed on the eyeballs.
[This has a good taste. Look, that friend is today¡¯s host.]
A light lit up the stage and the host appeared. The face was familiar. It was the constetion who pushed past me earlier. It was a youngdy dressed in a gorgeous gothe dress with a cute face.
[Gourmet Association members, hello~ I am today¡¯s host, Euphrosyne!]
I heard the name and knew who she was. The goddess of joy and celebration, Euphrosyne. She was a constetion belonging to the Olympus constetion.
Along with the apuse, some constetions lost their dignity and screamed.
[Ohhh, Euph-ssi! Over here!]
To be precise, it was the Mass Production Maker next to me.
Suddenly, a memory from Ways of Survival came to mind. In the original novel, there was a time when Euphrosyne emerged as the host of the Gourmet Association Festival. At the time, Yoo Jonghyuk...
[Thank you for attending while you¡¯re so busy! Thank you for the owner of Oro Castle, Immeasurable Austerity for lending us this ce!]
Maybe he killed her.
[There are two main events today. Before that, I would like to introduce a special guest. Maybe you¡¯ve heard of these constetions? Today¡¯s guest is from a that is emerging as a hot spot recently!]
I had an ominous feeling as firecrackers burst in one corner of the stage.
[Please p for Anna Croft, a prophet from Earth!]
The noisy constetions fell silent simultaneously. I saw Anna Croft climbing the stairs to the main stage.
...I see. I seemed to know why Anna Croft came to the Gourmet Association at this time. She truly was a woman I couldn¡¯t like.
Anna Croft looked at the audience with her uniquely calm gaze and greeted her with a bright smile.
¡°It is nice to meet you, constetions of the Gourmet Association. I am Anna Croft, an incarnation of the neb Asgard.¡±
She looked dignified but the constetions were already frowning from the moment she opened her mouth.
[The Gourmet Association has really fallen. I can¡¯t believe the food is talking on the stage.]
[The Star Stream is degenerating these days.]
This was the Gourmet Association. It was a banquet of carefully selected ¡®stories¡¯ for the gourmet constetions. It was a natural story but the ¡®fresh incarnations¡¯ were the main ingredients of the
story.
Anna Croft came to this ce knowing it. ¡°I might becking but I am the host of the first event.¡±
That¡¯s why this woman was scary.
[I don¡¯t know what food you have prepared.]
[Take it out now!]
The atmosphere heated up and it was Euphrosyne who tried to quickly intervene.
[Now, everyone. Don¡¯t be too excited... isn¡¯t it okay to listen to the words of the prey? Shouldn¡¯t you have some patience with your food?]
Euphrosyne smiled in a cheerful manner and the agitated constetions paused for a moment. The clever Anna Croft didn¡¯t miss this gap.
¡°In recent years, the Star Stream is flooded with obvious stories.¡±
The provocative beginning caused the constetions to focus on her. Anna Croft continued speaking. ¡°The returnees, reincarnators, sword masters, 9th circle magicians... even the same prophets. It all starts from being stronger than others...¡±
There was a faint smile on Anna Croft¡¯s face.
¡°It is the reality of today¡¯s Star Stream, which is flooded with stories that are created for the sake of fleeting fun.¡±
The constetions looked impressed. It was as if they were amazed that their food was telling a story. However, Anna Croft¡¯s story was just beginning.
¡°it wasn¡¯t like this before. At the very least, the trend was different during the first generation stories.¡±
As if possessed, the constetions waited for Anna Croft¡¯s next words.
¡°In those days, the constetions loved stories. It was because the stories were worthy. The dokkaebis gave a theme and the constetions explored the form and aesthetics of it. At that time, the stories definitely reached the realm of ¡®art¡¯.¡±
...Art. She was a truly scary woman. I could say this from the position of an incarnation. The constetions looked nostalgic at Anna Croft¡¯s words. Persephone could be seen among them. All of them were constetions who survived those days.
[Interesting. Then you have a story that can satisfy our appetite?]
The person speaking was a demon king leaning against a corner of the hall. Anna Croft wasn¡¯t panicked by the provocation and smiled.
¡°That¡¯s right. I am going to give you back the lost ¡®first generation¡¯ stories.¡±
The constetion¡¯s expressions changed. Everyone doubted their ears.
¡°You don¡¯t like sword masters or 9th circle magicians. You like stories with a theme of blood, sweat, tears and effort. I came here today to present you with such a story.¡±
The constetions reacted in different ways to Anna Croft¡¯s words. Some shouted about how an incarnation was making a fool of them while others were interested in what she was saying. There were also constetions who responded skeptically, just like the Mass Production Maker by my side.
[...She is telling a stupid story. The current Gourmet Association won¡¯t find such stories interesting. Isn¡¯t that right?]
¡°I agree.¡±
There were certainly some great stories among the first generation but times had changed. The constetions who already experienced stimting stories wouldn¡¯t be touched by stories that mimicked the first generation.
Still...Anna Croft couldn¡¯t be unaware of this. She was the mostpetent incarnation in all of Ways of Survival.
I recalled the parts of Ways of Survival that were about her. In the original novel, Anna Croft never held such an event at the Gourmet Association Festival. However, there must be something simr to this.
At this moment, someone grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Demon King of Salvation!¡±
Chapter 240 - Gourmet Association (4)
Chapter 240: Episode 45 ¨C Gourmet Association (4)
I looked back and saw a woman with a familiar face. ¡°Selena Kim?¡±
¡°Please, please save Iris!¡± The hand holding my shoulder was trembling. The kind and calm Selena Kim was making this expression? ¡°If this continues, Iris will die...!¡±
At this moment, scenes of Ways of Survival crossed my mind.
¡¸ ¡°Anna, why did you do this... it didn¡¯t have to be this way!¡±
¡°It is a necessary thing.¡±
¡°No, it isn¡¯t. This... the incarnations don¡¯t know anything! How can you do this?¡±
¡°This is also to save humanity. Don¡¯t forget Selena. We were thrown into a herd of predators that can eat us at any time.¡± ¡¹
It didn¡¯t happen in this round. However, the original version had already been revised. In other words, it wasn¡¯t unusual for the work of another round to ur in this round. Moreover, the story of the third regression was deleted in the first revision.
¡°Selena Kim. Please tell me exactly precisely. What happened?¡±
Before Selena Kim could speak, the voices of the angry constetions around me were heard.
[How dare an incarnation...!]
Fearsome gazes were pouring towards me and Selena Kim. Selena Kim stiffened like a stone statue and turned pale. The Mass Production Maker raised his status in order to protect me and sparks of probability appeared around Selena Kim.
This ¡®central hall¡¯ was only for constetions. For a moment, I had forgotten this was the Gourmet Association.
Selena Kim shut her mouth like a frightened goldfish and was dragged away by a guide. Selena Kim was unable to rebel and stared at the stage with resentful eyes.
I didn¡¯t know if the story that Selena Kim was about to tell me was the same as Ways of Survival. Only one thing was certain. The reason why Selena Kim came to me was involved with why Anna Croft was on the stage.
As I looked at the stage with troubled eyes, Anna Croft continued to talk with nk eyes. ¡°The story I¡¯m going to tell you is the Bracelet Expedition.¡±
The constetions made a fuss.
[...The Bracelet Expedition?]
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
[Are you going to parody the first generation story, Bracelet Evil Blight?]
Bracelet Evil Blight. It was mentioned in the original Ways of Survival and was a story that was more of a ssic than the Dragon Eating the Hammer or Children of the Dawn Star. It was older than the first generation and was closer to the zero generation.
The Bracelet Expedition was a typical expedition story where a group of 15 people went to burn a bracelet that was the source of a disaster.
The Mass Production Maker heard her words and muttered, [Huh... she wants to reproduce that boring story?]
However, Anna Croft continued speaking without being concerned about the reaction of the constetions. ¡°I will introduce the Bracelet Expedition that will lead this story.¡±
Anna Croft pped and arge panel appeared behind her. It was a huge panel that covered the entire wall on one side of the hall. The panel showed a vast forest where 15 incarnations were gathered.
-...Where the hell is this ce?
-Are you sure Anna is right?
-Everyone, wake up. If we y well, we can get the highest rank sponsors.
I seemed to know what they were talking about. Looking closer, the frightened Iris was among them. That¡¯s right. This was why Selena Kim...
A system message soon emerged like it had already been approved by the dokkaebis.
[The sub scenario ¨D Bracelet Expedition has begun.]
[This scenario can acquire new stories depending on the sess or failure.]
+
* A total of 15 incarnations will participate in the scenario.
* All incarnations must arrive at the volcano in the centre of the hunting ground through cooperation.
* The expedition owns the Absolute Bracelet and the scenario is onlypleted by throwing the bracelet into the volcanova and destroying it.
* Any incarnations whoplete the scenario can make a wish to the Gourmet Association.
+
The contents were just like the novel I knew. In the first ce, the story of the Bracelet Evil Blight was a homage to the novel...
The scenario message continued.
+
* There are arge number of evil spirits in the hunting ground. The scenario will fail if the expedition is destroyed by the evil spirits.
* If the Absolute Bracelet isn¡¯t destroyed in the time limit, the scenario will fail.
+
[Hoh... you have prepared this scenario. Interesting.]
Some of the constetions responded favourably. I considered it a poorly designed scenario but there was a vour in it that the constetions could find. It was the rey of an old story. Anna Croft¡¯s aim was to ignite the memories of the constetions of the Gourmet Association.
However, it was barely enough to satisfy the constetions of the Gourmet Association.
[...Still, something iscking. What do you want us to do? Don¡¯t tell me it is just to watch this boring game.]
¡°As you can see from the panel, there are incarnations waiting for your choice.¡±
[Are we supposed to be their ¡®sponsors?¡¯]
¡°Of course, you can make that choice but it won¡¯t be much fun.¡±
[That means...?]
¡°The constetions can directly participate in this scenario and taste the freshest incarnations.¡±
Along with Anna Croft, additional scenario messages were printed.
+
* A total of 15 evil spirits will appear in the scenario.
* All constetions in the Gourmet Association can apply for the ¡®evil spirit¡¯ role on a firste, first served basis.
+
I was appalled the moment I heard the scenario message. Anna Croft was aiming at this from the beginning. It was a scenario that brought out the scent of the first generation while solving the desires of the constetions.
The constetions became heated up. There was a sense of excitement different from the previous bustle. Even the Mass Production Maker showed an interested expression.
One of the constetions asked. [What do you get from this scenario?]
¡°Nothing. I just hope that all of you will enjoy it.¡±
The shameless smile shook me. There was no way she didn¡¯t want anything. She was just trying to raise her position by saying this.
[The constetions of the Gourmet Association are showing favourability towards incarnation ¡®Anna Croft.¡¯]
Anna Croft¡¯s plot surpassed the cruelty of the constetions. She didn¡¯t care about what she sacrificed for her own purposes. She had stabbed Yoo Jonghyuk in the back more than 10 times.
¡°Then I¡¯ll start the scenario in one minute. Constetions who want to apply, please sign in the selection window.¡±
At Anna Croft¡¯s words, a selection window appeared in front of my eyes.
[Would you like to participate in this scenario?]
[Current number of applicants: 2/15]
At the ce where a story was being made, there was an opportunity to devour the subjects of the story. The number of applicants was rapidly rising.
[Current number of applicants: 5/15]
I was once again reminded of why I came here. I had to make allies for the Demon King Selection. In order to do this, it was better to participate in the scenario. I would be able to be closer to them by sharing stories with other constetions.
[Hahaha, I will eat the artwork.]
[It isn¡¯t expected?]
It might be time to admit it. I had be the ¡®constetion¡¯ I hated.
[Current number of applicants: 9/15]
Then I heard a ¡®baat¡¯ sound in my ears and a small panel popped up. It was Biyoo¡¯s screen that only I could see.
-I will start the 857thpetition!
It showed Yoo Jonghyuk attending the martial artspetition. Perhaps he had be much stronger in the meantime because Yoo Jonghyuk was continuously beating his opponents with the least movements possible. I stared at his calm movements and thought as usual:
What would Yoo Jonghyuk do? At this moment, I seemed to meet Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes. Of course, Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t know that I was watching. Even so, Yoo Jonghyuk seemed to talk to me.
¡¸ ¡°No matter how many times I return, my choice is the same.¡± ¡¹
No, maybe he already told me. In fact, I saw him make the same choice many times.
¡¸ ¡°I will kill all of you, not leaving a single one.¡± ¡¹
So far, I had always made a different choice from Yoo Jonghyuk. I wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk. Amidst the strong bacsh, I always walked on a different path.
Persephone was watching me from afar. She was waiting for something interesting to happen. The constetion who lived for a long time knew where the really interesting stories would start. Thus, she understood what I was going to do from now on.
[Current number of applicants: 14/15]
I raised my hand towards the selection window.
***
Iris dimirovna Rebezova was born in Moscow. She grew up listening to stories of revolution. Her favourite revolutionaries were Che Guevara and the early Karl Marx.
However, the world she was born in wasn¡¯t the era of revolution. It was a world dominated by desire and capital and determined by the owners of the capital. Iris realized from a young age that there was no ¡®revolution¡¯ in this era.
This was until the dokkaebis showed up.
-Haha, this is an interesting ce. A world in which nt fibers are king.
Iris saw the copse of many nations and realized that the revolution she had been waiting for had begun. The world, which had been a ce of the haves and have-nots, once again melted back into turbulent currents.
The revolution could happen. The world could be changed. The young Iris was convinced of this, at least until today.
¡°Aaaack!¡±
¡°Help me! Please!¡±
The upper body of an incarnation waspletely separated.
[It is very fresh meat.]
The incarnations were torn apart by big teeth. The evil spirits wiped the stories flowing from their lips and chuckled.
[I¡¯m disappointed. Is this the story you wanted me to eat?]
[Hasty friend. Please wait. The scenario has just begun.]
[How am I supposed to wait? This is a parody story...]
¡°A-Ahh... ahhh...¡±
Her frightenedpanions urinated before the colossal ¡®status.¡¯ It was the first time she thought that the word ¡®revolution¡¯ was so empty.
She couldn¡¯t resist. No one could stand up to such things.
¡°Iris! Run away! Run!¡±
Iris had the cries of her colleagues and ran. The twin ponytails she was proud of were messed up by blood and sweat but she didn¡¯t care. At the same time, she had the screams of her colleagues scattered through the woods.
The footsteps of the evil spirits wereing closer. It was obvious what would happen to her.
Run away? Damn, where could she escape to? In this small stage, where could she flee? A vast array of trees surrounded her. No matter where she ran, she couldn¡¯t leave this stage.
Iris cursed something that wasn¡¯t ¡®capital¡¯ for the first time. She cursed the constetions. She cursed the Star Stream. She cursed this story.
Nevertheless, she still begged. Please, someone, change this story. Even a very small salvation was okay, please. Please.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at you.]
To her surprise, salvation faced her.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ wants to establish a ¡®Sponsor Contract¡¯ with you.]
Chapter 241 - Gourmet Association (5)
Chapter 241: Episode 45 ¨C Gourmet Association (5)
Iris was confused.
Originally, she was supposed to sign a contract with a constetion of Asgard. It was a lesser-grade constetion that wasn¡¯t well-known and Iris didn¡¯t like the contract. That¡¯s why she participated in the Bracelet Expedition hosted by Anna Croft. Anna said that if Iris showed a great performance here, Anna could change her intended sponsor.
Now in this unexpected ce, a chance came to Iris.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ wants to establish a ¡®Sponsor Contract¡¯ with you.]
Thinking about it, there was no way constetions could only contract with one incarnation. Some constetions had two or three depending on their capacity. Of course, the power of the constetion was divided so the incarnations received weakened stigmas.
Even so, Iris wasn¡¯t in a position to regret something like this. ¡°I ept!¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ states that this contract is only for a limited time.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ states that this contract is valid until the end of the Bracelet Expedition.]
Temporary contract...
¡®Yes, now isn¡¯t the time to be greedy.¡¯
Iris bit her lips and nodded. By the way, the words of the constetion weren¡¯t finished.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says there is a condition.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ wants the ¡®wish¡¯ to be transferred to him after the scenario ispleted.]
Iris¡¯ mind wasplicated.
...It was a temporary contract and he wanted the wish? A strange regret passed over her but she wasn¡¯t in a position to pass up this chance. The Demon King of Salvation¡¯s condition was based onpleting the scenario. It meant he would keep her alive, no matter what happened.
¡°I¡¯ll definitely give it to you.¡±
At the same time, a holographic contract descended in the air. Iris ran over and signed the hologram.
[The Sponsor Contract has beenpleted.]
Power flowed into her body and she felt that someone was supporting her. She felt confident that she could do anything. However, Iris¡¯ confidence quickly disappeared at the cries from behind her.
[The incarnation hunting has begun.]
There were screams as incarnations were torn apart by evil spirits.
***
[Current number of expedition members remaining: 6 people]
In the original novel, this game was called ¡®Hunting and Chasting¡¯. This wasn¡¯t a Gourmet Association event, it was an event hosted by Anna Croft. In this round, Anna Croft decided to skip the process and start from the Gourmet Association.
I continued to mutter towards the air and the Mass Production Maker asked me, [Hoh, you participated?]
¡°...Did you participate?¡±
[Huhu, I¡¯m too old to run to scenarios like that. And... it doesn¡¯t suit my tastes.]
In fact, not all members of the Gourmet Association were enthusiastic about this scenario. On one side, there were the constetions who disliked Anna Croft. On another side, there were the constetions who disliked the event itself.
[Hmm. I don¡¯t see your modifier on the list of evil spirits...]
There were 15 constetions who participated in the scenario. However, the number of constetions who chose the role of the evil spirit was only 14. I nodded and the eyes of the Mass Production Maker slowly widened.
[Indeed, there was a reason the old hag Persephone brought you here. But is it okay? You are here for the first time...]
I replied with a smile. ¡°The more brilliant my debut, the better.¡±
Then the system message arrived like it had been waiting.
[The story ¡®Gourmet Association Heretic¡¯ has been acquired.]
Maybe Anna Croft would be listening to messages simr to mine.
¡¸ There is always a story in a ce where many constetions gather. ¡¹
This was the first principle of generating a story. The level of the story was determined bybining the risk to the story subject and the form of the story. Anna Croft was currently an ¡®incarnation¡¯ and she was walking a tightrope. If her scenario was sessfullypleted, it might be a legendary story such as ¡®Follower of the First Generation¡¯ or ¡®Story Maniptor.¡¯
I closed my eyes and saw what was happening with Iris.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at his incarnation.]
I felt sorry when I saw her shaking shoulders but I didn¡¯t have any good memories for this child. I wasn¡¯t good enough to show kindness to her. That¡¯s why this was just a gesture for ¡®trading.¡¯
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says to stay calm.]
Iris gulped and replied.
-I don¡¯t know if I can do it.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says there is no hopeless scenario.]
All scenarios had holes to escape out of. The hole was small and tiny so it was highly difficult to clear on the first try. This meant there was a chance to clear it after trying a few times and I was a person who knew more about this world than anyone else.
The sound of the evil spirits moving could be heard in the distance. Iris¡¯ physique was at the limit and the only stigma I could pass on was Sacrifice¡¯s Will. Dammit, that stigma wouldn¡¯t help in the current situation. However, stigmas weren¡¯t the only things that constetions could give.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is giving his incarnation the ¡®Assassination King¡¯s Cloak.]
Iris was surprised to see the gift that emerged in the air. It was an item I bought for 150,000 coins from the Dokkaebi Bag. It had a usage limit of 30 minutes a day andcked the ability to deceive the constetions, but the current situation was different.
[...Here?]
The constetions emerged from the grass as if they were waiting. The constetions that became evil spirits looked different. There were a giant horned demon and a spirit with a bull¡¯s head holding a small scythe. The only thing they had inmon was that they had no feet and were shrouded in a ck cloak.
[Hmm, strange. It was definitely around here.]
[Did you see it properly?]
Iris disappeared and the constetions who were evil spirits couldn¡¯t discover her traces at all. The constetions who yed the role of evil spirits were under strong restrictions. The constetions in the role of the evil spirit could only one-tenth of their current ¡®status.¡¯
For the constetions, a game wasn¡¯t fun if it was too easy. Just as there were no humans who would rejoice in stepping on 15 bugs. They didn¡¯t hesitate to impose constraints on themselves for entertainment. This was the constetions of the Gourmet Association.
[It seems she must¡¯ve done something. Let her run a bit more. The scenario should be stacked up to taste better.]
[...Huhu, I¡¯m looking forward to it.]
The constetions searching the grass soon gave up and Iris received a system message.
[The expedition member Iris dimirovna Rebezova has survived an evil spirit once.]
[The story ¡®Bracelet Expedition¡¯ has umted.]
This scenario was made up of ssic stories. The longer Iris stayed in the scenario, the more the energy of the ssic story would permeate her.
-I-I lived!
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says you were lucky this time.]
If these guys were high-ranking constetions, it would¡¯ve been impossible to hide from them using the Assassination King¡¯s Cloak.
However, just like Persephone and the Mass Production Maker, the really high-ranking Gourmet Association constetions wouldn¡¯t run like dogs towards this scenario. It was also interesting to watch other constetions vent their desires in this event. In other words, they were the real audience I should aim for.
-Thank you for the gift.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says it is a loan.]
-...Yes.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is sympathetic to your incarnation.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ reproaches your harshness.]
The scenario would start from now on.
***
As the number of expedition members continued to decrease, Iris moved towards the volcano while avoiding the eyes of the constetions. She also had the good luck of collecting the bracelet from the expedition members that died along the way.
[Current number of expedition members remaining: 2 people]
It was natural since I was participating in the scenario while reading Ways of Survival in real-time. It was because Ways of Survival contained a very detailed ount of the Bracelet Evil Blight, the prototype of this scenario.
I analyzed the terrain using the scenario map and moved Iris along the most efficient path towards the volcano.
[Haha, this is a fun story. Wasn¡¯t there a lot of delicious food? I¡¯m drooling...]
The other constetions seemed to notice that someone was involved on the ¡®expedition¡¯ side. Nevertheless, none of them were panicked.
[The expedition member ¡®Merves Lutier¡¯ has died!]
Shortly afterwards, Iris was alone.
[...It smells delicious.]
The scattered evil spirits were gathering near the volcano. They knew that thest expedition member had toe to the volcano. Now the time of the Assassination King¡¯s Cloak was almost up. I gave a signal to Iris.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says to do it now.]
Iris started running towards the volcano. I stared at the back of the running girl. All the constetions of the Gourmet Association were watching the little girl running with all her might.
Perhaps, everyone knew. This girl, she had no choice but to die here.
¡°Ah...¡±
She was 100 steps away from the volcano when the privilege of the Assassination King¡¯s Cloak finally ended. The 10 evil spirits wandering around instantly gathered.
[I will eat first!]
Iris watched the iing evil spirits and backed away with terror. Herst desperate gaze was towards the sky.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is asking to lend him your incarnation body.]
Iris gasped as her mouth opened.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says it isn¡¯t an ¡®advent.¡¯]
If I manifested in the form of an ¡®advent¡¯, I would also be constrained by the scenario. Thus, I wouldn¡¯t do it as an ¡®advent¡¯ this time.
I had a skill that was more efficient and consumed less probability. I deliberately pulled out a few stories that made up my incarnation body in order to deal myself a serious blow.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been activated!]
[The 1st person supporting role viewpoint has been activated.]
[Your understanding of ¡®Iris dimirovna Rebezova¡¯ has increased!]
I opened my eyes to Iris¡¯ point of view. Maybe my body in the Gourmet Association was currently sleeping. Thus, I had to end this game in the shortest amount of time.
[Some constetions have noticed your presence!]
At the same time, there was an outpouring of true voices towards me.
[There was someone helping her. Who are you?]
[Hoh, is it an advent?]
[This windfall...!]
Iris received the umted stories and her body shone golden. Iughed bitterly as I looked down at myself.
One way for a neer in the Gourmet Association was to grow step by step. However, if I dragged it on like that, I might not be able to reach the end of the story after 3,000 chapters.
[Did that Anna girl n something? The person I just killed was a sword master.]
One constetion walking in the distance spoke as he threw the incarnation in his hands. Perhaps he was thest expedition member to die.
[You look like a new recruit. It is best for you to leave this ce. Or else your body will suffer a great blow.]
The head of the dead expedition member rolled towards me. It was the head of the incarnation who fled to the end but eventually didn¡¯t survive. I carefully picked up the head and one of the constetions sneered.
[Do you pity him? Huhu... this guy doesn¡¯t know art.]
¡°Why should their lives be your art?¡± I stroked his head and the memories of the dead incarnation flowed in. The memories soon became a story that dwelt at my fingertips.
[A fragment of the story ¡®Grudge of a Brutally Murdered Sword Master¡¯ has been acquired.]
The constetions drew back with a frown.
[...You like dirty stories.]
¡°Dirty? You gave it to me.¡±
Why did this person easily be a sword master? It was simple. He originally received it from a constetion.
¡°The story is boring. The scenario is too slow. It is the power that all of you gave them.¡±
The things that were received gathered. Someone became a sword master. Someone became a great magician. Then the sword master and great magician became the sin. They all became the prey of these beings.
[What are you trying to do? Stop eating!]
A hot-tempered constetion raised the power of the evil spirit. Originally, Iris couldn¡¯t defeat them. The expedition could never win against the evil spirits. However¡ª
The evil spirit screamed and retreated from the burning sword.
[Kuaaaack!]
In my hand was the sword I had purchased along with the Assassination King¡¯s Cloak.
+
[Item Information]
Name: Eoren¡¯s Sword ¨C Replica
Rating: SS+ (Specific scenarios only)
Description: A sword energized by a first generation story. Only female incarnations can use it and it can generate a force that resists evil spirits for 10 minutes.
+
It was a sword that cost 200,000 coins. It was also a sword that was useless apart from in this scenario. Normally it was an item I would never buy.
[...A first generation sword?]
[Hey, don¡¯t be scared! It¡¯s just a replica version!]
In fact, I was really worried about it.
[Many constetions are astonished by your actions!]
I had wondered if it was worth taking this risk for this scenario. I measured what I could get from it.
[Some members of the Gourmet Association are showing a strong hostility to you!]
Some things should be calcted and some shouldn¡¯t. Then I made a choice.
¡°You knew I woulde to the volcano.¡± I decided not to calcte things. ¡°Then did you know? I also knew you would be gathering here.¡±
No matter what penalties were received or if the opponents were constetions. I couldn¡¯t afford to pay attention to it.
Nevertheless, I smiled like always. ¡°Let¡¯s start the real hunting.¡±
Chapter 242 - Gourmet Association (6)
Chapter 242: Episode 45 ¨C Gourmet Association (6)
There were 10 constetions gathered here. I didn¡¯t know where the remaining four were but maybe they were scattered somewhere in the scenario area.
[If you don¡¯t yield...]
[I¡¯ll eat you too.]
The true voices of the constetions flowed from the mouths of the evil spirits. I didn¡¯t hesitate and infused magic power into the sword.
[The exclusive skill ¡®White Pure Star Energy Lv. 8¡ä has been activated.]
It was Iris¡¯ magic power instead of mine. Still, Iris was an incarnation who came all this way and her potential was considerable. The white energy was added to Eoren¡¯s Sword and the aura around it became more abundant.
Eoren¡¯s Sword was a weapon that could deal a powerful blow to evil spirits for 10 minutes. However, a powerful weapon didn¡¯t necessarily mean I would dominate this ce.
A constetion saw my sword andughed.
[Hahah, slow down! Small constetion. Please entertain these old people!]
[What old people? I haven¡¯t lived 500 years yet. There are those older than us.]
Was it because this was the first time I was attached to a young girl¡¯s body? My sword could only draw a clumsy trajectory through the air.
The constetions might not be able to use all their power but a constetion was a constetion. They ranged from great-grade to lesser-grade.
The constetions who gathered to be evil spirits released their status. Iris¡¯ movements started to stiffen as the 10 constetions released their energy. Her body thrashed like she was caught in an invisible spider web. The spiders who trapped her were approaching.
I looked at Iris¡¯ body that was trembling regardless of my will and bit my lips. It was always like this but this time would be different.
[Don¡¯t look down on me. I am also a constetion.]
So far, I had never properly released my status. I had been fighting my way through the Demon World scenario in a sick state. However, I had been steadily recovering my stories while riding on the Gourmet Association¡¯s carriage. Thus, I might not be at a 100% state but I could use a ¡®status¡¯ that was almost equal to it.
[The constetion ¡®status¡¯ is released.]
Some of my stories started responding to the situation.
[The history-grade story ¡®Gourmet Association Heretic¡¯ is rebelling against the surrounding oppression!]
[The legendary grade story¡¯Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is responded to incarnation Iris¡¯ situation!]
The surrounding ground was split apart with a loud sound and the nearby forest shook. The constetions were astonished by the flood of sparks in the area.
In this scenario, the descended constetions could only use 10% of their power. On the other hand, I used ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ instead of ¡®advent¡¯ and was able to release my original status.
[How can a neer have this much status?]
[...Is this really the ¡®advent¡¯ state?]
The constetions didn¡¯t know this fact and were almost terrified. They were mistaking the current status as 10% of my original strength. It was the reason I was pushing myself in such an unreasonable manner.
[Either die or get lost. Choose one or the other.]
I had to get them right not before they stopped being fooled.
[C-Cheeky bastard...!]
[...The Star Stream is really wide. Where did a guy like this pop up from?]
Some of the constetions shrank back from the pressure I gave off while others were burning with enthusiasm.
[Kuhahahat! The best dish. Today¡¯s Gourmet Association Festival is the best!]
The constetions emitted terrible shrieks and the arms of the evil spirits stretched towards this side. I hurriedly stepped back and swung my sword but couldn¡¯t cut off the iing arms. Iris¡¯ voice was heard in my head.
¡®S-Sorry! I¡¯m a terrible swordsman...!¡¯
Shit. This was why my movements were like this. Blood sshed as Iris was wounded. Did they realize something from my movements? The momentum of the constetions was changing.
[...Something is strange?]
The constetions spread out and carried out sporadic attacks using the bodies of the evil spirits. I tried to defend by swinging the sword but it wasn¡¯t easy since Iris¡¯ swordsmanship skill level was too low.
The result was quite different from when I was in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. Once again, I realized how great Yoo Jonghyuk was.
[Indeed. only that guy¡¯s status is high. Get rid of him!]
[There is no need to worry about the sword. Hahaha, today we will eat!]
The worst situation that I wanted to somehow avoid was unfolding. The attacks of the evil spirits flew from everywhere. There was a small scythe that grazed my legs. A boomerang turned around and aimed at my back. A long spear pierced through a gap and struck my side. In less than a minute, Iris¡¯ body was covered with wounds and bruises.
My physical strength was rapidly dropping. I hurriedly opened Bookmark and Way of the Wind but it felt awkward in Iris¡¯ body. Eventually, my footsteps became twisted up and I was disoriented. The constetions aimed for this short gap and stretched out their arms towards me.
¡°Kuek...¡±
Iris was caught by the neck and hung helplessly in the air.
[You have bad luck, neer.]
The constetions acted like it was over as they opened their mouths.
[It is eating time.]
Grotesque fangs grew and digestive juices dripped from their mouths. Since they could customize the appearance of the evil spirits, it was really the worst taste.
I opened my mouth without hesitation. ¡°I will activate the fifth bookmark.¡±
In fact, I didn¡¯t want to use this skill here. I wasn¡¯t sure if Iris¡¯ body could endure it, nor did I want to consume an excessive amount of probability. Nevertheless, there was no other way.
[The fifth bookmark is activated.]
The moment that Bookmark was activated, an unexpected message arrived.
[The skill is not suitable for this person.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Miniaturization¡¯ is cancelled.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification¡¯ is cancelled.]
The power of Bookmark disappeared with the sound of sparks. Sometimes a skill wasn¡¯tpatible with the chemistry of the body. But why did it have to happen now? I never expected this.
[Is this yourst hurrah? Yes, give it a try.]
Along with the ridiculing voice, a long tongue slipped out from the mouth of the evil spirit and started to strangle Iris¡¯ throat. My prayers were blocked and I turned blue. I could feel Iris¡¯ consciousness blurring. The connection with Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint was weakening.
[The attribute effect has elerated your thinking ability.]
Dozens of thoughts crossed my mind during this crisis until something was caught in the.
...I didn¡¯t know if it was possible. My understanding of the character was still low. Still, I could try it.
¡°I will release Knight of Revolution Mark Javier from the sixth slot.¡±
I released my ¡®status¡¯ as much as possible and instantly escaped from the capture of the constetion. Then I continued speaking. ¡°I will ce the South Pce Management¡¯s Breaking the Sky Sword Saint in that spot.¡±
[The number six bookmark is activated.]
An immense presence permeated me. I felt all the things I¡¯ve read, felt and experience be one and nestle in my body.
[Your understanding of this person is insufficient!]
It felt like the first time I loaded Kyrgios Rodgraim.
[W-What...?!]
[...What power is this?]
Astonishment filled the eyes of the Gourmet Association constetions.
[The level of the character is too high to fully reproduce the skill level.]
[The level of the character is too high so only a part of the skill is activated.]
[The duration of the bookmark is reduced due to a low understanding of the character.]
The original Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship was a skill that could only be used by women.
Yoo Jonghyuk overcame it with effort but it was unreasonable for me.
[Your current body configuration is simr to the physical makeup of the character in question.]
To be exact, it would¡¯ve been impossible with my original body.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship¡¯ Lv. 10 (+1) has been activated.]
Thunder fell from the sky and nestled in Eoren¡¯s Sword. I released the maximum amount of power possible at the optimum time. Everything was over before the constetions even noticed the situation.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Breaking the Sky Thunder Sword¡¯ Lv. 10 (+1) has been activated.]
The blue thunder that could overturn the earth flew from the sky and struck everything in the area. The words of Ways of Survival passed through my head.
¡¸ The Murim don¡¯t consider the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint as one of the 10 Grand Masters. ¡¹(TL: Changed teenage masters to 10 Grand Masters).
The bodies of the evil spirits scattered into ashes without even screaming.
¡¸ The Murim people think of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint as a type of disaster. ¡¹
Born as a small human and facing the constetions after hard work. This was the strength of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, a disaster of Murim.
[The skill has exceeded the talent of the incarnation body.]
I felt something twisting as blood flowed. The result was obvious. It was a force that Iris and I couldn¡¯t use because we weren¡¯t transcendents. The sky blinked like a power failure had urred.
The dazzling thunderbolts disappeared and there were no evil spirits left in the surroundings.
[The constetion ¡®Brash Swamp Predator¡¯ has been eliminated from the scenario.]
[The constetion ¡®Tranquil Ind Gourmet¡¯ has been eliminated from the scenario.]
[The constetion ¡®Forgotten Lord of Envy¡¯ has been eliminated from the scenario.]
...
[A total of 10 constetions have been eliminated from the scenario.]
[You have earned an unbelievable achievement!]
[A series of impossible feats have been aplished in a row!]
I was barely breathing as I looked up at the sky.
[The Star Stream is paying attention to your achievements.]
[A new story for you is being prepared.]
The constetion¡¯s status might¡¯ve been extremely limited but they still massacred the incarnations. Thus, there was no way I wouldn¡¯t get a story.
Blood emerged from my mouth while pouring simultaneously from my ears and nose. Blood poured out from many holes and I almost became used to the taste. Fortunately, the probability allowed by the Gourmet Association meant I could still endure.
I stered Iris¡¯ broken body with fragments of the story. The shock from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s technique had already caused Iris¡¯ consciousness to disappear.
[The constetions of the Gourmet Association are astonished by the contents of the scenario.]
[Some constetions of the Gourmet Association have be hostile to you.]
I knew I would be hated. However, there was always something to gain from losing something.
[Some constetions of the Gourmet Association are very curious about your story.]
[Some constetions of the Gourmet Association feel favourable towards you.]
I stumbled away with Iris¡¯ body and headed towards the volcano. Iris would survive once this scenario waspleted. In order toplete the scenario, I had to throw the bracelet into the volcanova.
There wasn¡¯t much distance remaining. 40 steps, 30 steps, 20 steps...
My face became hot as I neared theva. The cliff that I could throw the bracelet was clear when I felt someone¡¯s presence. I expected them to appear now. There were still four evil spirits that I hadn¡¯t finished off.
[Demon King of Salvation, you are doing something really interesting.]
The familiar voice entered my ears as I tightly gripped Eoren¡¯s Sword. I looked back and a familiar looking girl stood there. She was an evil spirit but her basic appearance hadn¡¯t changed at all.
I opened my mouth. ¡°Asmodeus.¡±
Asmodeus was ecstatic, as if feeling pleasure that his name was called.
[...Ah, let me call you again.]
The person who damaged Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body and was the main culprit behind the third round failing.
I felt Asmodeus¡¯ status slowly approaching. This was the power of only 10%. As expected, one of the 72 demon kings was on a different dimension.
I took a step back and vigntly watched my surroundings. It was still a difficult situation. Even if I removed this guy, there were still three more evil spirits remaining. My chances of winning were gone if they came. So before that...
[Don¡¯t be so vignt. There are no other constetions.]
Three small heads were hanging from the small hands of the smiling Asmodeus. The ck cloak billowed around the severed heads. They weren¡¯t the heads of incarnations.
A chill rose very slowly from the tip of my toes. In this brief moment, I understood why Asmodeus was described as a madman in Ways of Survival. There was a cold smile on Asmodeus¡¯ face that was smeared with the blood of constetions.
[I devoured all of them.]
Chapter 243 - Gourmet Association (7)
Chapter 243: Episode 45 ¨C Gourmet Association (7)
He ate all of them...
There was no guilt on Asmodeus¡¯ smiling face as he spoke such words.
[Several members of the Gourmet Association are strongly condemning Asmodeus.]
[A small minority of the Gourmet Association are delighting in Asmodeus¡¯ brutality.]
The members of the Gourmet Association were worn out by the years and they varied in tendencies and taste. At first nce, the ¡®first generation¡¯ stories seemed the best but there were some constetions like the Mass Production Maker who preferred SSS-grade stories while others liked unexpected developments like now.
[Huhu, the body of a constetion has a different physical quality. It isn¡¯t real but...]
This was why demon kings like Asmodeus were epted in the Gourmet Association. Constetions, transcendents or demon kings, the Gourmet Association was a ce where stubborn children were more concentrated than any other group, but they respected all types of gourmet delights.
I gulped as Asmodeus stepped into puddles of blood and slowly approached.
[The special effect of Eoren¡¯s Sword will end.]
I might¡¯ve used the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s techniques but it worked properly thanks to Eoren¡¯s Sword. Without the sword, there would be no way to deal with the evil spirits.
After half a dozen steps, Asmodeus licked his lips as he stared at me.
I stated, [...You didn¡¯te here to eat me.]
[Hmm, how can you be sure?]
[You can¡¯t get the giant story if you kill me.]
Asmodeus made a promise to me regarding the Demon King Advancement. Thus, he couldn¡¯t kill me here.
[I promised a 30% stake. Why are you in this ce?]
[There is no certainty that I will receive 30%.]
[Do you not have the confidence topete with the other constetions?]
Asmodeus¡¯ expression hardened at my provocative words.
[Now you are provoking me?]
Asmodeus had a threatening air but I didn¡¯t feel nervous.
[If you are really a demon king, don¡¯t be a pushover. Compete properly to obtain your share.]
In the first ce, it was apparent that Asmodeus had appeared here to ¡®help me.¡¯ He might be
Asmodeus but the act of attacking fellow members of the Gourmet Association couldn¡¯t help being burdensome. Even so, he acted in such a manner while pretending to be a ¡®maniac.¡¯
Asmodeus¡¯plexion paled as he shouted, [Demon King of Salvation... You seem to be mistaken about something. I can eat you right now¡ª]
[Don¡¯t repeat the same words and get the fuck out.]
Asmodeus¡¯ eyes widened. I continued without stopping.
[If you really want to eat me, kill me right now.]
The past me would¡¯ve thought I was crazy if he saw this. This was Asmodeus, not someone else. Nevertheless, there was a reason I acted like this.
The ¡®status¡¯ of Asmodeus burned towards me. I got goosebumps from the formidable force but believed in the ¡®story¡¯ that I read more than my senses.
¡¸ At that time, we should¡¯ve treated Asmodeus differently. ¡¹
The revised version of Ways of Survival. I had found such a sentence in the 49th Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s record.
¡¸ Asmodeus loves beings who don¡¯tpromise. ¡¹
¡¸ The more he faces such a being, the greater the desire to beat them. ¡¹
I didn¡¯t know how Yoo Jonghyuk gained such insight but if he was right, all of Asmodeus¡¯ actions were understandable.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Asmodeus¡¯ has increased.]
Then a phenomenon urred.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Asmodeus¡¯ has increased.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Asmodeus¡¯ has increased.]
The explosive indirect messages urred as I started to understand the inner surface of a demon king for the first time.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]
¡¸ I want to eat. ¡¹
¡¸ No. ¡¹
¡¸ I want to eat. ¡¹
¡¸ No. ¡¹
¡¸ Ahhhh... ¡¹
A tremendous amount of thoughts rushed into my ears. It was appalling that so much greed could exist in one being.
[It is really amazing...]
Asmodeus moved like the wind as he held a handful of Iris¡¯ hair and took a slight breath.
[Haaaah... good. Yes, this is enough for today.]
¡°...¡±
[Still, keep this in mind, Demon King of Salvation. Next time won¡¯t be the same as today...]
I didn¡¯t listen to Asmodeus¡¯ words and ran towards the volcano. I couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity that I had barely gained. Theva could be seen right in front of me. Way of the Wind caused the bracelet at my fingertips to fall down the cliff. The bracelet melted with a clear sound.
[The sub scenario has ended.]
[You have obtained 150,000 coins aspensation.]
[Your awareness in the ¡°Gourmet Association¡¯ has greatly increased!]
[You have acquired a new story!]
I poured the Ein Forest Essence into the mouth of thepletely exhausted Iris. Her physical condition was a mess but recovery would be fast due to not consuming much probability.
[The 1st person supporting role viewpoint has been released.]
There was the feeling of my environment being crushed and I returned to the banquet hall of the Gourmet Association. My senses returned and the first thing I heard was the voice of an old man.
[Young man, I enjoyed it.]
I realized I had returned when I saw the Mass Production Makerughing heartily. I looked at him for a moment before slightly bowing my head.
¡°...It is all thanks to you.¡±
[Hrmm, what are you talking about?]
¡°It is this.¡±
My hand was holding the 200,000 coins of garbage that Iris used just now, Eoren¡¯s Sword. For reference, the grip of the sword had the following message engraved:
¨Dmade by Mass Production Maker.
The Mass Production Makerughed. [It was just business. Who knew that sword would be sold today?]
¡°It was a rmended product in the Dokkaebi Bag.¡±
[Huhu, how can a constetion know about the work of dokkaebis?¡±
I didn¡¯t know if this was the consideration of the Mass Production Maker or not. One thing was for certain. This sword had saved the lives of Iris and I.
[By the way, things have be a bit difficult.]
I looked around. The atmosphere around me was tense.
[Who is the Demon King of Salvation?]
The constetions were running wild as they looked for me with fiery anger. Among them was the constetions who had lost their bodies and returned from the scenario.
[The constetion ¡®Brash Swamp Predator¡¯ reveals hostility towards you.]
[The constetion ¡®Tranquil Ind Gourmet¡¯ is ring at you.]
Euphrosyne was standing dumbfounded on the stage while Anna Croft was pale. Now some of the constetions were watching me while wondering what I was going to do. The sub scenario was over but for them, this situation was an extension of the game. Of course, I wouldn¡¯t betray their expectations.
[You have gained the ¡®wish ticket¡¯ ording to the contract with the incarnation ¡®Iris.]
[You can make one wish within the category allowed by the Gourmet Association.]
It was within the category allowed by the Gourmet Association...
The meaning of this was obvious. I naturally couldn¡¯t wish for the constetions to be killed.
[This is beyond the probability allowed by the wish.]
I couldn¡¯t wish for all the constetions to be on my side or to be their master. It was naturally a wish that wasn¡¯t possible.
[This is beyond the probability allowed by the wish.]
In other words, this ¡®wish¡¯ was a type of diplomatic card. I had to identify the possible and impossible areas and find the best wish for me.
[Some members of the Gourmet Association are showing a strong hostility to you!]
[Many constetions are looking forward to your choice.]
Even the constetions in my channel were tense.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking forward to your choice.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is wriggling her fingers in a trance.]
In front of all these eyes, I slowly opened my mouth.
[I wish that the Gourmet Association will show me courtesy.]
***
For a moment, a tremendous silence filled the hall. I didn¡¯t panic and looked around in the silence.
[The probability of the Gourmet Association is activated!]
[Your wish has been received.]
Sparks filled the hall of the Gourmet Association. No, looking closer, they were thunderbolts, not sparks. Then a loud voice was heard.
[Kuhahahat! A really fun guy!]
Thursday¡¯s Thunder was holding a ss of beer whileughing.
[A story that was boring became worthwhile to see a bit. Why are youining about and persecuting this small constetion?]
Some of the constetions rebelled strongly against his words.
[But the rules...!]
[The scenario is just a scenario. In addition, that scenario has ended. That¡¯s all that my hammer and I know.]
Thor¡¯s hammer made a deafening sound like it wouldn¡¯t ept any arguments. Thor of the Asgard neb had one of the most powerful stories in this ce. No one here wanted to resist his hammer.
[It is unpleasant to agree with this rough thunder¡¯s words but this time, I feel the same.]
The person who spoke was the Morning Star Goddess. Star powder fell from her finely twisted hair as she moved.
[The scenario should end in the scenario. If you want to fight, fight in the scenario. I don¡¯t want to see the Gourmet Association bing uglier.]
The two top-ranking constetions present stood up so the other constetions couldn¡¯t help
wavering. Moreover, the ¡®wish ticket¡¯ had already been activated.
Some of the constetions were still ring at me but they showed no signs of hurting me. The atmosphere calmed down and the eyes of the Morning Star Goddess turned to me.
[Still, I would like to ask one thing.]
It was an unexpected question and I reflexively looked at her.
[Demon King of Salvation. Why are you showing us such a scenario?]
The eyes of the goddess seemed to contain a gxy. Now they show like she had found a new star.
[In my eyes, you seem to have something to say. However, my eyes are dark and I can¡¯t figure out the scenario you showed me. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to hear it from your mouth.]
She didn¡¯t say that the scenario I showed was crude and this was probably due to her innate humility. I could see Persephone smiling at me from beside the Morning Star Goddess.
...I told you to do things yourself and this is the only way I can help you.
All the constetions of the Gourmet Association were looking at me. It was the situation I had been wanting since I came here. What should I say to gain favour with them? It would be stupid to think they would help me if I just brought up the Demon King Selection story.
¡¸ At that moment, Kim Dokja thought for the first time about what he really wanted to say. ¡¹
It was too far away and not yet visible. However, for at least one person who walked on the path, it was clear. He failed thousands of times while feeling frustrated and desperate.
There was someone who tried to take this road before me. I recalled the man who walked on the road that no one else walked on andughed. Then I very naturally came up with some words.
[I...]
No, perhaps this was the only thing I had to say.
TL Note: Small change tost chapter: I will ce the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint Namgung Minyoung in that spot.¡±
Chapter 244 - New Story (1)
Chapter 244: Episode 46 ¨C New Story (1)
[I will create a ¡®new story¡¯ that never existed before.]
The constetions shut their mouths at my words. It wasn¡¯t just because they were shocked. Rather, they didn¡¯t understand what I was saying.
The first one to speak was a constetion drinking beside Thor. [What do you mean by a new story?]
ording to Ways of Survival, the Dokkaebi King left these words a long time ago:
¡¸ There are no new stories in the Star Stream. All stories are just based on old stories. ¡¹
This old saying was the humility of the dokkaebis and was a phrase that needed to be ovee.
I hesitated to answer and a hot-tempered constetion came out first.
[Is there a sword master in the story?]
Sword master... I nodded at the unexpected question.
[There is.]
Some constetions sighed at my response while others had shining eyes. Then another constetion asked. [Is there a great magician?]
[Maybe one will appear.]
[A reincarnator?]
[Yes.]
[An SSS-grade hunter? For reference, I like friends who are rewarded for a reasonable effort.]
[It is a possibility. I don¡¯t dislike this who try hard.]
[A returnee will naturallye out?]
The various questions continued for a while, as if it was fun. In the process, there were those who smiled and those who shook their heads. No matter their expression, they were all imagining a story.
It was a story that hadn¡¯t been created yet. However, it was a story that might exist. Was it because it had been a long time since the Gourmet Association jumped into such ¡®imagination?¡¯ For a while, there was a gentle atmosphere in the hall that didn¡¯t fit the Gourmet Association.
However, the atmosphere didn¡¯t stay like this.
[I don¡¯t understand. Aren¡¯t there many of these stories already?]
The one who poured cold water on it was the Morning Star Goddess.
[Sword masters, great magicians reincarnators, returnees... what is new about this story? I don¡¯t know how such a product can be considered as ¡®new¡¯.]
I thought for a moment before replying, [It isn¡¯t just new materials that make up a new story. Aren¡¯t the first generation stories that the Gourmet Association likes also made up of ordinary materials?]
[Are youparing the first generation of art with your story?]
[I don¡¯t mean topare it. In the first ce, I¡¯m not trying to make art.]
Some constetions looked disappointed at my words. The Morning Star goddessughed like it was ridiculous.
[You are speaking vulgar words. Yes, good. Then what is new about your story?]
The atmosphere of the constetions was changing again. As expected, I couldn¡¯t throw a few things around casually. I faced them and dered in my true voice,
[In the story I¡¯m creating, there will be an end to all scenarios.]
The end of all the scenarios. The atmosphere instantly froze.
[H-How dare you...]
Some people muttered while other constetions became pale. There was a bacsh that didn¡¯t ur even when I mentioned the first generation. Perhaps it was because I broke their taboo.
I felt the gazes pouring towards me and closed my eyes. This wouldn¡¯t dramatically change the situation. However, my story would remain deep in the mind of the constetions. It was enough for now.
[...Crazy bastard.]
By the way, it seemed that the impression I gave them was too deep. The voice filled with hostility continued.
[I knew that there were all types of crazy people in the Gourmet Association but this time it is quite good. Are you in your right mind to say such words?]
It was a green doll with a dragon¡¯s head. It was the Brash Swamp Predator. A constetion who was active in the previous scenario. His smile was full of ridicule as he continued,
[Then what do you want us to help you with? Let¡¯s go together to the end of the scenario, is that what you want to say?]
[That¡¯s right. I came here to find constetions who will reach the end of the scenario with me.]
My calm deration caused the countenance of the constetions to change. Some of them had already joined a neb. Thus, my words would sound like a provocation.
[Neb? What is the name of the neb?]
[There is no name yet. I haven¡¯t formally established it.]
[Hmm... how many founding members are there?]
[Two.]
The scorn of the constetions increased. I felt a bit upset but I put up with it
In any case, this was considered ¡®courtesy¡¯ in the Gourmet Association. I didn¡¯t think any of them would just ept it.
The Morning Star Goddess asked, [One is you and the other person? Is it a constetion?]
[It isn¡¯t a constetion...]
I hesitated to reveal Yoo Jonghyuk. The Brash Swamp Predator wondered, [Perhaps it is that guy?]
Images were ying from a panel on the screen. It was ying the finals of the martial artspetition in First Murim.
-It is finally the confrontation you are waiting for!
The camera focused on a man as the moderator spoke.
-The disciple of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, Supreme King Yoo Jonghyuk!
As expected, Yoo Jonghyuk had safely reached the finals. Then the opponent...?
-One of the Murim¡¯s 10 Grand Masters, the Ice Flower Goddess, Zhuge Lingling!
A splendid spotlight shone on Zhuge Lingling, who was dressed in a light t-shirt and jeans.
The Ice Flower Goddess wasn¡¯t an easy opponent. She was one of the transcendent existences that represented Murim. Originally, Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t have been able topete with her. It depended on how much progress he made in the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship in the meantime...
[Cough...]
My mind became wide awake the moment someone made a sound. I looked around. Then I gradually became angry.
...Dammit. Someone had uploaded this video. I stared at Anna Croft who was standing in a corner of the stage. However, based on her expression, it didn¡¯t seem to be her. If so, the video...
[Huhu... a feast of mortals...]
The Brash Swamp Predatorughed.
[Gosh, this is really losing steam. An existence that just reached the narrative level and a trivial mortal is discussing the ¡®end of the story¡¯?]
Several constetionsughed like they had been waiting. It was augh that denied all the words I had spoken. Maybe I expected it to be like this. It might¡¯ve been wrong to expect anything from the constetions in the first ce.
[Hahahat, what is the modifier of this constetion? Was it Demon King of Bragging?]
[Queen of the Underworld! You brought a very delightful friend!]
On the screen, Yoo Jonghyuk was confronting the Ice Flower Goddess. The Brash Swamp Predator chuckled like he thought it was cute.
[This scenario seems tough for him, let alone the end of the scenarios.]
I quietly clenched my fists. I knew the path Yoo Jonghyuk would walk and the achievement he would make in the future. I knew very well that the hard-working guy would one day kill every member of this damn Gourmet Association.
Yet in the eyes of the constetions present here, the current Yoo Jonghyuk was just a trivial mortal.
[This worked out well. I am bored because the scenario is over. Do you want to make a bet? Who will win between the two bugs?]
[Oh, good, good!]
A number of constetions agreed with the proposal of the Brash Swamp Predator. Then a system message appeared.
[A new sub-scenario has arrived!]
[The sub scenario ¨D Gourmet Association Betting has begun.]
Numerous selection windows emerged in front of the constetions.
[I¡¯ll bet 50,000 coins on that female.]
The moment the Brash Swamp Predator cried out, the other constetionsughed and bet a few coins. Then the Brash Swamp Predator nced at me.
[Neer. You should also bet.]
[I already did it.]
[Who did you bet on?]
[100,000 coins to Yoo Jonghyuk.]
The fact that I bet twice as much as him caused the Brash Swamp Predator¡¯s eyes to widen.
[Cheeky fellow. You will regret it.]
He seemed to know how this bet would turn out. In the distance, Anna Croft was watching me with serene eyes. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s struggle was entering the mid-stages on the screen.
[Hoh, he is fairly decent? Should I make him my incarnation?]
Yoo Jonghyuk seemed to be pushed at first but his momentum was slowly bing stronger. Some of the constetions admired the unexpected flow of events. Then they shut up as soon as the Brash Swamp Predator red at them.
As expected from Yoo Jonghyuk. His encounter with the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was much earlier than nned and his Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship had reached higher than the original level.
Inside the stadium, the Breaking the Sky energy exploded and the Ice Flower Goddess coughed up blood as she rolled through the dust. The situation hadpletely tilted to one side. The story flowed to an unexpected ce and the expression of the Brash Swamp Predator changed.
[...Hmm, it isn¡¯t fun like this.]
The moment I had an ominous feeling, sparks appeared around several members of the Gourmet Association, including the Brash Swamp Predator. I quickly realized what they were doing. Their sparks spread to the screen showing the martial artspetition. To be exact, it was to the Ice Flower Goddess.
-Aaaaack!
The Ice Flower Goddess screamed and this was followed by the host¡¯s words.
-W-What is this?
Yoo Jonghyuk also seemed surprised. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression stiffened as the Ice Flower Goddess mutated into a monster. I stared at the Brash Swamp Predator and spoke in a cold voice, [Didn¡¯t you say this was a bet?]
The Brash Swamp Predatorughed.
[I didn¡¯t say there could be no interference.]
Thanks to the probability supplied by many constetions, the body of the Ice Flower Goddess was covered in green scales.
Both Yoo Jonghyuk and I knew what it meant. It was a constetion¡¯s ¡®advent.¡¯ It was the same in Peace Land and Dark Castle. At the time, Yoo Jonghyuk and I fought together but not anymore.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint has been activated!]
[You can¡¯t connect with the current target.]
...Damn jerk, what was he doing at a time like this? It was impossible to use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint because Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t thinking about me at all.
On the screen, the Ice Flower Goddess who was half a green dragon roared.
The Brash Swamp Predator. The ancient being who was born on the ¡®Selegedon¡¯ was a constetion who just reached the narrative-grade like me. However, the number of stories he umted was far beyond me so our abilities were on a different level.
With one breath, the monster half-destroyed the venue of the martial artspetition. Maybe he signed a Sponsor Contract with the Ice Flower Goddess for a short period of time. The low rate of synchronization meant not a lot of his strength was expressed. Still, it would be nothing to end thepetition since it was strengthened with such a degree of probability.
It would be hard to deal with a narrative-grade constetion who had umted such stories, even if it was Yoo Jonghyuk.
[You look uneasy. Don¡¯t you believe in your colleague?]
I looked around and saw Persephone smiling as usual.
I didn¡¯t believe in him? It was a natural story. I couldn¡¯t believe in that sunfish who often died...
[I believe in him.]
Even so, I answered it like this. Persephone¡¯s eyes shed at my natural answer.
[In the first ce, I came here because I believed in him.]
I stared at Yoo Jonghyuk on the screen. It didn¡¯t matter how many times he was defeated, broken or felt despair. He was a person who didn¡¯t give up until the end. If I couldn¡¯t believe in him, who could I believe in the first ce? Even if this round failed...
This guy would surely see the ending of this world eventually.
I slowly closed my eyes before opening them again.
[I¡¯ll raise my bet. I¡¯ll make it one million coins.]
Chapter 245 - New Story (2)
Chapter 245: Episode 46 ¨C New Story (2)
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has ced one million coins on the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
The system message resonated in the hall and the attention of the constetions focused on me. I bet my money on a fight that was obviously disadvantageous. My actions intrigued some of the constetions.
[The constetion ¡®Thursday¡¯s Thunder¡¯ is showing favourability to you.]
[The constetion ¡®Morning Star Goddess¡¯ is showing favourability to you.]
However, only a few constetions showed such a response. Most of the constetions were swept away by the heat of the gambling.
[Hahahat! You are crazy! If so, I¡¯ll bet 500,000 coins!]
The Brash Swamp Predator, who bet on the Ice Flower Goddess from the beginning, opened his mouth first. Then the watching constetions started to join one by one.
[The constetion ¡®Tranquil Ind Gourmet¡¯ has ced 20,000 coins on the constetion ¡®Zhuge Lingling¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of the White Castle¡¯ has ced 30,000 coins on the constetion ¡®Zhuge Lingling¡¯.]
...
The messages were pouring out. Most of them were messages giving coins to the Ice Flower Goddess, Zhuge Lingling. I was the only one who was on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s side.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ has ced 300,000 coins on the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
...Huh?
I reflexively nced at Persephone who was giving a mysterious smile. I asked in a slightly worried tone, [...Will it be okay?]
[Um? Why are you asking if it will be okay?]
I was the one who had nothing to reply. Maybe it was nothing for Persephone to bet 300,000 coins. By the way, there was a meddlesome man beside me.
[Hum, old hag. Doesn¡¯t Hades nag you when you spend money like this?]
[I¡¯m not a grandmother so the Mass Production Maker should mind your words.]
[An old woman at your age should eat moderately...]
[Watch your mouth unless you want to be stuck in Tartarus... wait, did you bet as well?]
The Mass Production Makerughed at Persephone¡¯s question.
[The constetion ¡®Mass Production Maker¡¯ has ced 150,000 coins on the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
The Mass Production Maker looked at me and said, [I didn¡¯t bet a lot because I didn¡¯t receive that much gold from this month¡¯s Dokkaebi Bag settlement.]
In fact, he bet the exact price of Eoren¡¯s Sword that I bought. Maybe there would be no ie apart from themission fee.
In any case, I was grateful to them. Thanks to this, more excited constetions were betting coins.
[The constetion ¡®Goddess of Joy and Celebration¡¯ has ced 50,000 coins on the constetion ¡®Zhuge Lingling¡¯.]
The coins ced on the bets snowballed and soon surpassed six million coins. Now the constetions of the Gourmet Association couldn¡¯t help shifting their gaze to one ce.
[Die! Kill him quickly!]
[I¡¯ll kill you if I lose my coins!]
They were no different from the human spectators in the arena... I felt strangely excited despite experiencing these ¡®stories.¡¯ The Mass Production Makerughed as if he read my heart.
[I¡¯ve gone through these ¡®stories¡¯ so I¡¯m hungrier for these stories.]
[...Maybe not.]
[Whether it is a constetion or human, they are all just children in front of the story. By the way, is there a chance of winning?]
[Do you feel uneasy?]
[No, it isn¡¯t like that...]
[If there isn¡¯t a chance to win, I¡¯ll have to make it.]
To be precise, I had to make it a high multiplier. If Yoo Jonghyuk died, this round would be ruined. If the situation was like this, it was better to do it properly.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
We couldn¡¯t lose.
[You can¡¯t connect with the current target.]
Shit, Yoo Jonghyuk... I was still getting this message. However, it wasn¡¯t the only method.
¡°Biyoo.¡±
[Baat.]
As I waited, Biyoo moved her hand and a personal panel popped up in front of me. The screen soon unfolded.
The Brash Swamp Predator cried out strangely and let out a terrible poisonous fog.
-Uwaaaack!
Everyone touched by the smoke screamed as they oxidized. Judging from the Brash Swamp Predator¡¯s state, he was using roughly one-third of his status. One-third was enough to ruin the venue. The surrounding constetions were also supporting his use of probability.
The grounds of the venue were split apart by the monster¡¯s feet. It was a terrible destructive power. However, it wasn¡¯t as strongpared to Peace Land or Dark Castle. At those times, the outer gods had descended.
Still, there was no guarantee that this situation was better than Peace Land or Dark Castle. In Peace Land, there was the Paradox Baekchung, Kyrgios. In Dark Castle, there was Goryeo¡¯s First Sword.
...Then who was present now?
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk.]
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned at my message. ¡°...Kim Dokja. Is your work finished?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says it is still in progress.]
¡°Still?¡±
At this moment, a shadow of suspicion filled Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes. Yoo Jonghyuk stared at the Brash Swamp Predator and asked, ¡°Perhaps... did this guy appear because of you?¡±
The bastard noticed quickly.
¡°...Kim Dokja?¡± He was filled with tremendous anger.
I reached out as an apology.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has sponsored 100 coins to the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
¡°I don¡¯t need it!¡±
Then the Brash Swamp Predator moved. He was an ancient lizard that governed all the swamps on his. The embodiment of his head was suddenly rising from the back of the Ice Flower Goddess who had be a lizard.
There was a terrible scream as the incarnation was deprived of her body. The lizard screamed and rushed forward, swinging a huge tail towards Yoo Jonghyuk. The tail of the lizard smashed through Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Strong Self-Defense and he was hit hard.
¡°Kuk...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t seem to have reached the second stage of transcendence yet. Well, it would be impossible for even Yoo Jonghyuk to reach the second stage of transcendence in just two weeks.
It could be called a devil¡¯s talent that he could drive the first stage Ice Flower Goddess to such a state.
Then there wasn¡¯t much time.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is making a request.]
Yoo Jonghyuk had experienced Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint several times and should I what I was asking for. By the way, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s reaction was unexpected. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says if this continues, everyone will die.]
¡°I won¡¯t die.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says it isn¡¯t the time to be stubborn.]
I wasn¡¯t convinced I could knock down that monster even if I used Electrification in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. There might be a way to use the Fourth Wall likest time but it was only possible for constetions who used mental skills.
Yoo Jonghyuk used swift footwork to attack and the Brash Swamp Predator once again prepared his poison. Based on the number of sparks around his mouth, this was a really devastating attack.
I urged Yoo Jonghyuk but Yoo Jonghyuk was adamant. ¡°Go and do what you have to do, Kim Dokja.¡±
I panicked at the unexpected action. No, why was this bastard so stubborn today? I hurriedly looked around. Since it was like this, I had to borrow another hand, even if the martial artspetition was ruined.
In this ce, there was only one person strong enough to help us. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, Namgung Minyoung. She was a powerhouse who wouldn¡¯t be pushed by Kyrgios or Cheok Jungyeong. Thus, she could deal with this monster alone. Soon afterwards, I found the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint sitting in the audience while eating dumplings.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is asking for help.]
Despite my message, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint just kept chewing the dumplings. She sometimes fed dumplings to the Breaking the Sky Master lying next to her. In the seats below them, Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh were sitting beside each other while also eating dumplings.
...What were these humans doing? Then I once again sent a message.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯...]
At this moment, Yoo Jonghyuk spoke. ¡°...Shin Yoosung. Are you listening?¡±
Biyoo appeared along with these words.
[...Baat?]
¡°Turn off Kim Dokja¡¯s screen.¡±
Biyoo nced at Yoo Jonghyuk like it was difficult. I didn¡¯t know how much of Shin Yoosung¡¯s memories survived but when I thought about it, these two people had a veryplex rtionship.
Nevertheless, this was a story from before her rebirth. Now it was different. There was no reason for Biyoo to listen to Yoo Jonghyuk when she was my dokkaebi. Yet Biyoo sitting on my shoulders suddenly looked at me with a sorry expression.
[Baat, baaat...]
¡°...Biyoo?¡±
[Baaat.... Ku...kuooh...]
There was absurd acting and Biyoo pretended to fall asleep. At the same time, my personal panel turned off and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s appearance disappeared.
[You have been disconnected.]
¡°No, what is this...!¡±
I didn¡¯t know what was happening. Why did Biyoo act like this all of a sudden? There was no mention of this situation in the revised Ways of Survival?
-Waaahhhhhhhh!
There was a sudden scream and I turned my attention to the panel installed on the stage.
[That...?]
The surprised constetions started moving towards the panel. Persephone and the Mass Production Maker were also approaching the panel. The screen waspletely obscured by the more than 100 constetions gathered in front of it.
[No, wait a minute! Let me look!]
I tried to enter any gaps but the cluster of constetions was too hard. All I could hear was the sound of thunder from the screen. Still, it was clear from the sound alone.
It was the Breaking the Sky Thunder Sword. It was the real thunder sword, unlike what I had stolen. It seemed to be a devastating hit as the Brash Swamp Predator let out a huge scream.
The answer was obvious even without looking. Fortunately, there was the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
I let out a sigh of relief. Yoo Jonghyuk was unharmed because the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint had acted. Thanks to this, the martial artspetition would be cancelled but it was better than Yoo Jonghyuk dying.
Then someone suddenly shouted,
-Oh, the disciple of the Breaking the Sky Sword!
-Breaking the Sky Sword Beauty!
...Breaking the Sky Sword Beauty?
[We shouldn¡¯t disparage an incarnation¡¯s martial arts.]
[H-How is this... wasn¡¯t it only the power of transcendence...?]
[Hahahat, it is an interesting ability. Is it something that Asgardian person did?]
[It isn¡¯t to my taste.]
The true voices in the halls were bing heated up for an unknown reason.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is astonished.]
[The constetion who likes to change sex is struggling with pleasure.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is shedding resentful tears.]
The channel and the banquet hall. I was dizzy from the indirect messagesing from everywhere.
[My coins! No! My coins...!]
[Uwaaaaaah!]
No, what the hell was going on? I held my breath and used my ¡®status¡¯ to move through the constetions. I barely reached the front of the panel and another tremendous lightning attack came from the screen. The entire screen turned white from the powerful lightning.
The light slowly faded and once it disappeared, ck ashes were scattered like snow. In front of my eyes, one man was standing still. It was the appearance of Yoo Jonghyuk who had raised his sword with an arrogant expression.
Under his feet while a giant lizard charred by lightning. Yoo Jonghyuk stepped off the lizard¡¯s body and walked to one corner of the venue, pulling out something ck that had been plugged in.
-There is no second ce in thispetition.
It was the ck Demon Sword.
-Thus, this is mine.
Then the host¡¯s voice rang out.
-The winner of the Martial Arts Competition has been decided!
I didn¡¯t know how such a thing was possible. I rubbed my eyes and nced again. The situation was still the same. It wasn¡¯t the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint but... Yoo Jonghyuk?
-The winner is the Breaking the Sky Sword Beauty, Yoo Jonghyuk!
No, what the hell was the Breaking the Sky Sword Beauty...? My questions didn¡¯tst for long. It was due to the overwhelming system messages that entered my ears.
[The sub scenario ¨D Gourmet Association Betting has beenpleted.]
[You have won the bet.]
[You have acquired a new story!]
[The story ¡®Miracle Gambler¡¯ has been acquired.]
Then there was the sound of coins falling.
[The sub scenariopensation has been acquired.]
I reflexively checked my number of coins. The numbers slowly creaked up, as if it was too hard to handle.
[Coins Possessed: 1,986,725 C]
...
[Coins Possessed: 2,790,876 C]
...
[Coins Possessed: 3,890,875 C]
The coins that the constetions bet were being stacked up like snow on my bnce.
Chapter 246 - New Story (3)
Chapter 246: Episode 46 ¨C New Story (3)
[Coins Possessed: 5,490,875 C]
The endlessly climbing coins finally stopped at the peak. I doubted my eyes several times as I stared at this unbelievable number.
[...Young man, how much did you earn?]
I looked around and saw the Mass Production Maker¡¯s nk expression. The old man must¡¯ve made a great profit since he bet 150,000 coins earlier. The dividend must be at least five times...
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ envies you.]
[The constetion ¡®Loan Shark Aiming for the Heart¡¯ is craving your coins!]
Even the always stern looking Persephone was smiling. For reference, the queen of the Underworld bet 300,000 coins.
...The Underworld must¡¯ve gained a lot?
[Nonsense! This is ridiculous!]
Most of the constetions were filled with great despair apart from the three of us. I just needed to see their expressions to know how much coins they had lost. The constetions who bet a small amount to relieve their boredom looked sad but those who bet over 100,000 coins...
[Uwaaah!]
They were filled with anger. There were some constetions on the verge of bankruptcy. For example, that guy.
[The constetion ¡®Brash Swamp Predator¡¯ is revealing enormous hostility towards you.]
[Grab that guy!]
The constetions who lost their coins, including the Brash Swamp Predator¡¯ were approaching me. He lost his reason along with the coins and was prepared to throw himself into Han River.
The constetions who noticed withdrew from my side. However, there was one constetion who didn¡¯t back down. It was the queen of the Underworld, Persephone.
[Everybody back off. How long are you going to act so ugly?]
Her ¡®status¡¯ was reminiscent of the cold night air and the approaching constetions faltered. However, some constetions were so agitated that they couldn¡¯t be cooled by the night breeze.
[Queen of the Underworld! Did you win some coins just now?]
[Get out of here! It has nothing to do with you!]
The atmosphere became heated and some of the watching high-ranking constetions intervened.
[Maintain your courtesy.]
It was the Morning Star Goddess who was familiar with Persephone. Nevertheless, the Brash Swamp Predator had already lost his senses and didn¡¯t hesitate.
[...Courtesy? Fuck courtesy...!]
As soon as the Brash Swamp Predator released his status, the other constetions also raised their status. Powerful sparks filled the air as a notice of the imminent conflict.
[The wish ticket used by the constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is in effect.]
Suddenly, intense sparks filled the hall and the movements of the agitated constetions stopped. A portal opened on the white ceiling while everyone hesitated. Beyond the portal was a sinister aura. It wasn¡¯t an outer god but it was clearly something immense.
Who was this? This was obviously above the highest ranked constetions...
The atmosphere tore apart and a strange creature appeared through the portal. The mysterious aura around his body was unmatched but he was neither a god or constetion. The man was dressed in a magician¡¯s costume with an old-fashioned cane.
[...A dokkaebi?]
It was a dokkaebi.
[It has been a while, constetions.]
The hall fell silent with a single sentence, like cold water had been poured on it. It was an overbearing silence. The enraged constetions who had just been screaming were holding their breaths.
[The rules of the Star Stream binds all constetions of the Gourmet Association.]
All the constetions present were constricted by the probability. It was absolutely impossible for an ordinary dokkaebi, even if they had the channel operating rights.
[U-Uhhh...]
The Brash Swamp Predator, who didn¡¯t falter despite the threats from high ranking constetions, was taking a step back with a white face. I had seen a description of this dokkaebi in the original novel.
¡¸ Most incarnations think there are only four ranks of dokkaebis. The lesser-grade, intermediate grade, semi-advanced and senior dokkaebis. However, there are dokkaebis above them. ¡¹
¡¸ The dokkaebis of the Star Stream, those with up to twelve coloured horns are the ¡®first seat.¡¯¡¹
This dokkaebi had seven red hornsing from his head. The Star Stream called them ¡®great dokkaebis.¡¯
[Sorry but the party will end here.]
***
As I read Ways of Survival, I had a question about the rtionship between the constetions and dokkaebis.
The dokkaebis might have special powers but a high-ranking constetion could kill one or two dokkaebis. Yet even the strong constetions didn¡¯t touch the dokkaebis. No matter how annoying the scenario, they never tried to kill the dokkaebis.
...Why? The reason was right in front of me. A single hand gesture trapped all of the Gourmet Association in a of probability.
I had never seen such dense sparks before. This was the power of the ¡®story.¡¯ Perhaps it was a story borrowed from the most powerful beings in the world. Whether it was narrative-grade or great-grade, they clearly couldn¡¯t escape from the storm of sparks without being destroyed.
The high-grade constetions such as Thursday¡¯s Thunder or Morning Star Goddess didn¡¯tin and only showed unpleasant expressions. It was Persephone who opened her mouth first. [Great Dokkaebi Halong. It¡¯s been a while.]
The great dokkaebi slowly looked around.
[It is the ebb and flow. Queen of the Underworld.]
[Is the Story King well?]
[The king is safe.]
Due to the opponent, Persephone¡¯s expression was in a state of tension that I had never seen before.
[Why did youe here? In addition, leading dokkaebis of the executive branch...]
The dokkaebis of the executive department whom I had once seen were standing in a line behind the great dokkaebis. The fearsome pressure they emitted was no less than the Gourmet Association constetions. It was natural.
The dokkaebis of the executive branch were once constetions. Instead of replying immediately to Persephone¡¯s words, the great dokkaebi swept over the constetions.
[We are here to pick up the constetions who borrowed coins.]
[...Coins?]
Several constetions groaned and started to run away. The Mass Production Maker muttered with understanding.
[They are really foolish...]
It seemed that some constetions had borrowed coins from the dokkaebis to make their bets. Funnily enough, one of them was the Brash Swamp Predator.
[Uhh.... move, move out of the way!]
He rushed to a sparkling wall and tried to rip apart the of probability.
[Kuaaaack!]
The great dokkaebi¡¯s was powerful. The moment he reached the of sparks, the Brash Swamp Predator screamed. The dokkaebis of the executive branch bound his incarnation body.
[R-Release me!]
I stared at the rows of constetions and thought about why the dokkaebis appeared here. I didn¡¯t know the exact reason but I wondered if it was because the probability was influenced by my wish. In this world, the dokkaebis were the most sensitive to probability.
In a sh, the dokkaebis arrested all the people who owed debts and started to transport them across the portal. It was a swift move like there was nothing to see.
The great dokkaebi didn¡¯t say goodbye. He stared as if warning the constetions before turning to leave.
The moment before the portal was about to close, the great dokkaebi nced at me. Beyond his cool eyes, someone was talking to me.
¡¸ Don¡¯t be too loud, baby. The ¡®king¡¯ is watching you. ¡¹
***
The great dokkaebi left and the Gourmet Association ended its meeting. It was natural for the party to end. It was time for the respective constetions to go back.
I took advantage of the chaos in the banquet hall to slip out of the castle. A significant number of constetions were dragged away by the bureau but there were still some hostile to me. Thus, I needed to get out of here before there was trouble.
However, I stood at the entrance of Oro Castle and encountered a difficulty I hadn¡¯t thought of.
...How did I get back?
There was no guide or carriage. If I dyed here, I might be caught by other constetions...
At this time, there was an engine sound and something appeared around the corner of the castle. It
was a luxury sports car with a streamlined body. It was a car reminiscent of the SSS-ss Ferrarigini.
Wait, the person who made that car...
The sports car stopped in front of me with a loud sound. The window rolled doll and an elderly man wearing sunsses appeared.
[Get on, young man.]
It was the Mass Production Maker.
***
The moment the rear doors opened, the central body of the car behind longer and changed into the form of a limousine. I felt pure admiration at the sight as I got into the back seat.
How many people could ride in this? Was he selling this car? Now I had money...
The body was made from solid protective material that adhered not just to the outside but the inside as well. I drank ice tea from the refrigerator in the limousine and looked around the vehicle.
The Mass Production Maker was in the driver¡¯s seat while Persephone was in the passenger¡¯s seat. Persephone had beenmunicating with someone since earlier. Perhaps it was rted to the great dokkaebi who appeared.
¡°Mass Production Maker, thank you for your consideration. Still, I have a question.¡±
[Hmm, what is it?]
¡°...Why is this woman with you?¡±
I red at Anna Croft who was sitting next to me. The Mass Production Maker smiled sweetly. [Huhu, I promised to give her a ride. Don¡¯t fight too much.]
It was a very unpleasant situation but I couldn¡¯tin. I sighed and examined mypanions. There were three Asgardians along with myself in the back seat.
There was the exhausted Iris and stunned Selena Kim. Anna Croft looked at their condition before suddenly speaking to me. ¡°...Iris would¡¯ve lived even if you didn¡¯t help.¡±
¡°I know. Perhaps Thursday¡¯s Thunder would¡¯ve saved her. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±
Anna Croft bit her lips at my words. Anna Croft was a more brutal woman than anyone else but she didn¡¯t lose those who were her ¡®own.¡¯ In face, Anna Croft¡¯s colleagues didn¡¯t die in the simr event that she held in the original novel.
Rather, they awakened through the scenario. It was the other people who died.
¡°It was Iris¡¯ chance to get a good sponsor and you ruined everything. The future I saw wasn¡¯t like this...¡±
¡°She wouldn¡¯t have wanted to get a sponsor in that way.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know who the constetion was.¡±
[Tsk tsk. I told you to get along but I guess it isn¡¯t possible.]
The form of the limousine changed and my seat showed strange movements. My vision blurred and I was sitting in the passenger¡¯s seat where Persephone had been. The Mass Production Maker had changed my position with Persephone.
Maybe he didn¡¯t want to hear fighting or perhaps there was a sound barrier between the front and back seats.
The Mass Production Maker told me, [You¡¯re on bad terms with incarnations as well as constetions. Don¡¯t make too many enemies.]
¡°I don¡¯t want to make enemies either.¡±
In fact, I came here to seek ¡®colleagues¡¯ rather than enemies. As a result, it turned out like this...
The Mass Production Maker took out an electronic cigarette and spoke, [I felt anger in your story. There is a strong rage against this world and the constetions.]
I tried to say something but fell silent.
[I know that you saw many things that shouldn¡¯t be seen today.]
¡°Not at all.¡¯
The Mass Production Makerughed. I somehow felt awkward and took out my smartphone. The darkness was like a screen in the front of the car. The Mass Production Maker gazed silently at the darkness and there was a slight sadness.
[Still, don¡¯t hate them so much.]
It took some time for me to understand his words.
[They just couldn¡¯t stand the loneliness. Whether it is a garbage or a noble constetion... they all acted like that because they like the story.]
I was confused because I didn¡¯t know the Mass Production Maker would say such words. A strange feeling of betrayal filled my chest. ¡°This doesn¡¯t mean they can trample on the lives of incarnations.¡±
If they liked the story, they could do their own scenarios. Instead of ruining the scenario of others, they could move on to the next scenario. Turning to another scenario and selling their minds was just avoiding reality.
I tried to say this. At that moment, the smartphone turned on and Ways of Survival came into view. Thest sentence I had been reading was on the screen.
I stared nkly at the sentences and the Mass Production Maker asked, [You are always looking at that. Are you going to write something on an empty notebook?]
I couldn¡¯t find a way to answer the question, but I soon smiled weakly and replied, ¡°...I just feel steady when I look at this.¡±
In the distance, the darkness of the Dark Dimension could be seen. A light emerged from an empty window.
Finally, it was time to go back.
Chapter 247 - - Demon King Selection (1)
Chapter 247: Episode 47 ¨C Demon King Selection (1)
It had been a week since I went to the Gourmet Association. During this week, I was very busy. There were only four days left until the Demon King Selection. Until then, I had toplete all of my preparations.
Apart from the ck Demon Sword in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hands, there were some usable hidden pieces in Murim. I opened the first revision of Ways of Survival in order to find the sub scenarios that would let me get the hidden pieces. During this time, I read the revised text and reviewed the important parts but there were still many missing pieces.
¡°You¡¯re busy as soon as youe here. I¡¯ve barely seen your face.¡± Jang Hayoung, who was wearingrge sleeveless clothes that didn¡¯t fit him, followed after me for 30 minutes.
I stared at him with a frown and asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be training?¡±
Jang Hayoung stretched out his lips and replied, ¡°...Haven¡¯t I been working hard?¡±
¡°What is hard? You were eating dumplings.¡±
¡°Can¡¯t I do closed door training while eating dumplings?¡±
I wondered why he was bothering me when something came to mind. ¡°Oh, I heard you finished third in thepetition? It is a big deal.¡±
Jang Hayoung shrugged and pretended to look elsewhere. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a big deal.¡±
However, the curve of his mouth showed that he felt pretty great. I knew why he was chasing after me like this... dishonest guy.
¡°Did you get it? The Demon Spirit Bead?¡±
¡°Yes.
¡°Give it to me.¡±
¡°Why?¡± Jang Hayoung stepped back with a suspicious look.
I sighed and told him, ¡°I¡¯m not going to take it away. You can¡¯t eat it like this anyway.¡±
Based on his dark expression, he had already heard about it from Yoo Jonghyuk. I¡¯m sure he told the story while picking out the ck Demon Sword.
¡¸ If you eat it, you will experience a qi deviation and all the blood vessels in your body will explode, killing you. There is only one person here who can safely absorb the Demon Spirit Bead. ¡¹
...I thought this and understood why Jang Hayoung was acting like this. ¡°You don¡¯t have to give it to me if you don¡¯t want to. You are the one who earned it yourself.¡±
It couldn¡¯t be helped if Jang Hayoung didn¡¯t believe me since not enough trust had been built up yet. At this moment, Jang Hayoung extended a small hand. ¡°...It isn¡¯t like that. In the first ce, I wouldn¡¯t have gained this if it wasn¡¯t for you.¡±
A small pill fell into my hand with a thud. This was one of the three major drugs of First Murim, the Demon Spirit Bead. I spoke with a smile, ¡°Wait and see.¡±
It was a drug that a terrible person from the Blood Demon School made in the past by refining the blood of 1,000 people. It was a cursed pill that could gain the best power out of the Conception Vessel but turned the person who took it crazy due to the curse of the souls. (TL: Meridians are awork of vessels/channels in the body where Qi flowed. There are Eight Extraordinary Meridians and one of them is the Conception Vessel. Wiki link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meridian_%28Chinese_medicine%29#Eight_extraordinary_meridians)
In the original novel, Yoo Jonghyuk always found it delicious but Jang Hayoung would surely die if he took it.
¡°Let¡¯s see...¡±
However, as with any scenario, it wasn¡¯t impossible to use a cursed item. In fact, I clearly remembered a scene from Ways of Survival where the Flying Fox absorbed this tribtion.
¡¸ All I need is three Great Return Pills. After all, everything is about bnce and harmony. If demonic energy is a problem, we can supply it regrly. ¡¹
The curse could be avoided if three Great Return Pills were ground together with the Demon Spirit Bead.
It was easier said than done. The problem was how to get the Demon Spirit Bead, one of the top three drugs, along with three Great Return Pills. However, this wasn¡¯t a big problem for me.
¡°Biyoo.¡±
I called Biyoo and opened the Dokkaebi Bag. The Great Return Pill was already on the ¡®Rmended Goods List.¡¯ The dokkaebis¡¯ big data was scary.
+
[Rmended Products List]
* Great Return Pill¨D200,000 C
Stock: 5
+
200,000 coins. I normally would¡¯ve been distressed by the price but not anymore. I deliberately switched the screen to public and purchased the goods.
[600,000 coins have been consumed.]
[You have purchased three Great Return Pills.]
Then channel messages kept appearing.
[Some constetions envy your overspending.]
[A few constetions are curious about the performance of the Great Return Pill.]
[Some constetions say they will sponsor 500 coins if you tell them the performance of the Great Return Pill.]
¡°6-600,000 coins?!¡± The passing Han Myungoh shook while holding a bowl of dog food. He was probably preparing a meal for the Breaking the Sky Master. ¡°That... I heard you were rich.¡±
¡°Things turned out well. Please take this and grind it together.¡±
¡°W-What is this? Is it a panacea?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be curious. If you eat it wrong, you will be cursed by a demon king.¡±
Han Myungoh paled after hearing about the demon king¡¯s curse and acted quickly after taking the pills from me. The four pills were turned into a fine powder. I held out the bowl towards Jang Hayoung who told me, ¡°I can¡¯t eat powder.¡±
¡°Endure it this time. Block your nose and swallow it with water.¡±
¡°By the way... can I really eat this?¡±
¡°it won¡¯t be much help to Yoo Jonghyuk or I if we eat it. You¡¯re different.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk already had enough of a magic power system in ce even if he didn¡¯t eat the Demon Spirit Bead. Meanwhile, I had the Broken Heart of a Young Gold Dragon. However, Jang Hayoung was suffering from ack of magic power.
Jang Hayoung kept hesitating so I told him, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to eat it, give it to me. Anyhow, you have no courage.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll eat it!¡± Jang Hayoung poured the powdered medicine into his mouth and swallowed the bitter taste with water. The moment Jang Hayoung put down the bowl, the Breaking the Sky Master who had been waiting for the opportunity rushed over and eagerly licked the bowl.
Jang Hayoung looked at his condition and cocked his head with a slight smile. ¡°...I don¡¯t feel anything special?¡±
¡°The efficacy should appear by tomorrow. It will take time for the pills to mix with the body¡¯s energy.¡±
Jang Hayoung nodded like he understood. Then Han Myungoh stepped in again from where he was listening. ¡°Look, Dokja-ssi.¡±
I nced back and something I expected had showed up.
¡°This car... it is from the Gourmet Association?¡±
The car he mentioned was the X-grade Ferrarigini left in one corner of the yard. I stared at the sleek ck body that could even cross the fault lines of the Dark Dimension and the words of the Mass Production Maker suddenly came to mind.
-Don¡¯t make too many enemies.
He was definitely a different type from the constetions I knew. I would¡¯ve had a better memory of him if he had given me this car for free.
¡°Is the Gourmet Association a charitable organization? I bought it with a lease.¡±
¡°Lease? H-How much...¡±
¡°It is 50,000 coins a month.¡±
¡°5-50,000 coins? How many coins did you earn?¡±
¡°Roughly 4.8 million coins.¡±
Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh¡¯s mouths dropped open as they heard ¡®4.8 million coins.¡¯
Jang Hayoung asked, ¡°Excuse me... do you have an incarnation?¡±
¡°Why? Do you want to be my incarnation?¡±
I smiled at him and Jang Hayoung shouted, ¡°I was just wondering! In addition, I¡¯ve already decided on a constetion.¡±
¡°Constetion? Who?¡±
I asked with slight nervousness. I didn¡¯t want Jang Hayoung as an incarnation but things would beplicated if Jang Hayoung picked the wrong constetion. Then Jang Hayoung unexpectedly replied, ¡°The Demon King of Salvation.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°I want to be his incarnation.¡±
I wanted to make a joke when I saw Jang Hayoung¡¯s intense eyes. Then I thought about it and realized that he still hadn¡¯t heard my modifier. In the original, he was a person with great senses...
No, there was no reason for him to think I was the Demon King of Salvation in the first ce. I suddenly wanted to tease this person. ¡°Will he ept you? Have you contacted him?¡±
¡°Not yet...¡±
I saw Jang Hayoung¡¯s blushing face and realized he really didn¡¯t know who I was. It was aplicated feeling.
Then the watching Han Myungoh interrupted. ¡°You still don¡¯t know his modifier?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know it. Should I know?¡±
Before I could stop him, Han Myungoh pointed at me. ¡°That friend is the Demon King of Salvation.¡±
***
For the next two days, Jang Hayoung avoided me. The usuallyzy person suddenly never emerged from his training. Thus, I was stressed because I was left alone with Yoo Jonghyuk in the training field.
¡°You must¡¯ve done something useless again, Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°...It¡¯s nothing.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk scratched the ground with the ck Demon Sword and left. It was an action that appeared when he was in a good mood... this jerk, he seemed excited about his new sword. In the training field, the sound of Jang Hayoung punching a pile was heard repeatedly. It sounded simr to when I kicked my futon every night.
¡°You didn¡¯t seem like a constetion but you have their habit of peeking.¡±
I turned around and saw a super tall woman. I was about to open my mouth when the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint spoke, ¡°If you don¡¯t add ¡®nim¡¯, I will hit your arse.¡±
¡°...Breaking the Sky Sword Saint-nim.¡±
I couldn¡¯t be like Yoo Jonghyuk just because of a single syble. ¡°Have you gone to Tartarus?¡±
¡°Not yet. However, I got an appointment with the ¡®Queen of the Underworld¡¯ thanks to you.¡±
¡°I¡¯m d.¡±
Perhaps it was due to the anticipation that she would meet her kin but a mild shadow passed over the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s face. The harvest of this journey was that I obtained her.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was one of the strongest transcendents in Ways of Survival. Her presence alone might we might be able to somehow get through the Demon King Selection.
I opened my mouth, ¡°I have a question. Can I ask it?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll allow it.¡±
¡°Why did you teach Jang Hayoung your martial arts?¡±
¡°That person has talent. It is possible to achieve a new type of transcendence if I polish him well.¡±
I knew what she meant. Perhaps the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint felt the ¡®wall¡¯ that was inside Jang Hayoung. However, that shouldn¡¯t be the reason.
¡°You know that he is a man.¡±
Originally, the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship was only for women. Yoo Jonghyuk might be the exception but this school had never epted many disciples.
¡°You¡¯re still young. There isn¡¯t only one interpretation of a story.¡±
The words were cryptic. Maybe the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint noticed that Jang Hayoung was a woman in his previous life. Then the story of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint began. ¡°I remember a man I knew before.¡±
¡°A man?¡±
¡°Yes, a man.¡±
At this moment, I fully understood the meaning of ¡®there isn¡¯t only one interpretation of a story¡¯ spoken by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. The word she chose was confusing because it could be a man or her man, i.e. a lover... no, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint shouldn¡¯t have a lover.
¡°He was very handsome.¡±
In the original novel, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint never mentioned a man so I felt something strange.
¡°You aren¡¯t trying to say that... Jang Hayoung is like your former lover, right?¡±
I was joking but unexpectedly, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint answered seriously. ¡°His handsome looks are a resemnce.¡±
At this point, I wondered if she epted Yoo Jonghyuk just because he was handsome. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint didn¡¯t care about my disappointment and continued, ¡°He was very handsome but a poor person because of his small size.¡±
¡°...Small?¡±
I was thinking about her ex-boyfriend when something shed through my mind, causing me to feel astonishment. A person who had a connection with the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint in Ways of Survival. In addition, ¡®small¡¯ was the most appropriate word for him.
No, wait a minute. I thought their rtionship wasn¡¯t good...
At this moment, a loud sound was heard from outside. An unimaginable aura dominated the area of the Blue Dragon Castle, including this estate. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and I ran outside at the same time and Yoo Jonghyuk looked my way.
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
In the sky, a vortex was appearing. It was a vortex I knew very well. It was a cursed outlet that only opened when a ¡®disaster¡¯ appeared in the scenario.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke in a low tone, ¡°...The Great Hall.¡±
The ¡®disaster scenarios¡¯ were originally only seen in the early scenario areas. There was no ¡®disaster¡¯ in the First Murim. There were no disasters in scenario areas that had passed the 20th scenario.
In such an area, there was only one really why the ¡®hall¡¯ would open.
¡°...Run away.¡±
The ¡®Great Disaster¡¯ scenario of the First Murim was going to begin.
Chapter 248 - Demon King Selection (2)
Chapter 248: Episode 47 ¨C Demon King Selection (2)
There were two types of ¡®disaster scenarios¡¯ in the Star Stream. The first was the apocalypse scenarios named after the relevant nebe and had be a type of myth, such as Ragnarok and Gigantomachia.
The second was a destruction scenario that urred irregrly. This was the case with the Great Hall before my eyes.
¡°It isn¡¯t a constetion.¡± The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stared up at the raging sky that had be dark.
If it didn¡¯t have the aura of a constetion, there was only one answer. ¡°An outer god.¡±
Now I had be a constetion. I could feel the power of the outer god casting shadows from the hall. It was one I had encountered a few times. However, the feeling I felt now was different in dimension. The blind wasn¡¯t too blinded when looking at the sun. For the first time, I hated that I had be a constetion.
Yoo Jonghyuk muttered, ¡°...Why is the destruction scenario beginning now?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk had gone through the first and second rounds and knew the future of the First Murim.
In the original novel, the First Murim was destroyed by an outer god.
However, it was still too early. In the original novel, it happened in a few years. Now something pulled that timeline forward. What was it? What the hell went wrong...
...Wait, perhaps? Yoo Jonghyuk had simr thoughts and asked me, ¡°...Is my idea correct?¡±
¡°It seems to be the case.¡± I replied nervously.
The ¡®destruction scenario¡¯ was a scenario that tested the possibilities of the incarnations. If the umted probability value was never filled up, the ¡®disaster¡¯ would never begin. In this Blue Dragon Castle, there was only one thing that recently triggered probability.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint opened her mouth. ¡°It was the martial artspetition.¡±
The martial artspetition. The probability that the Brash Swamp Predator and other constetions used eventually triggered the disaster.
[A few constetions who dislike you are enjoying the situation.]
Damn bastards.
¡°Kim Dokja. What the hell did you do there?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t know exactly what happened at the Gourmet Association and was angry at me. I had no excuses. There was no way to reverse a scenario that had already begun.
[In a few moments, the destruction scenario will begin!]
[The ¡®Outer God¡¯ is preparing to attack!]
[All non-participants in the scenario should quickly leave the scenario area!]
The messages were heard from the sky and a disturbance began in the Blue Dragon Castle.
¡°Crazy! What is this?¡±
¡°Hurry and flee!¡±
Unlike other scenarios, the ¡®Great Destruction¡¯ scenario had the option of participating. Incarnations like us were quickly leaving the area. Even the merchants selling the files containing the martial arts and the martial artists of Blue Dragon Castle... Their expressions changed the moment the Great Hall appeared in the sky. The concept of ¡®skilled¡¯ and ¡®unskilled¡¯ was meaningless in front of this existence.
¡°What happened...¡±
Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh btedly ran out into the yard.
¡°We have to get out of here. Prepare quickly.¡±
¡°Heok...¡± Jang Hayoung gulped as he pointed to the sky.
Many tentacles were extending from the Great Hall. It was undoubtedly the outer god I encountered on Peace Land and in Dark Castle.
[I wi ll ex plore this sto ry of li ving things.]
I was overwhelmed by the terrible presence that permeated the sybles. The colossal greed caused the escaping people to copse and piss themselves.
¡°U-Uwaaaaah!¡±
It was huge chaos that disrupted the spirit just from the true voice. Of course, it was unreasonable to confront such a person, no matter how strong Yoo Jonghyuk was. Even a weak outer god had the power to trample on constetions. It was hard to expect a chance using the Fourth Wall like I did with the Eater of Dreams.
[There are 30 minutes until the start of the destruction scenario.]
We had to run away from here. Maybe that was the better choice.
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.¡±
I gazed at the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and she was looking back at me. It was an unfathomable expression.
¡¸ To the Breaking the Sky Sword Namgung Minyoung, the First Murim was home. ¡¹
All I knew were the sentences written in Ways of Survival. ording to those sentences, there was no reason for the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to defend this ce.
¡¸ Of course, not everyone likes their ¡®home.¡¯ ¡¹
To her, the First Murim was just the breeding ground of a corrupt world. It was a world that lost recognition andpassion.
¡¸ ¡°Murim was already destroyed long before the First Murim was destroyed. ¡¹
So far, there was no reason for the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to stay here. The First Murim would perish. To be exact, it had to perish.
¡°Teacher.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice pushed for us to leave.
Then why didn¡¯t the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint move? She stood like a mountain as she silently stared at the street across from her. The city was chaotic from rioting and desertion. Then I saw a group of people approaching. They were those who were looking at transcendence or had seen transcendence.
I sensed the youthful aura around their bodies and noticed who they were.
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, it¡¯s been a while.¡±
The heads of the powerful ns of Blue Dragon Castle hade to visit the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
***
It wasn¡¯t hard to guess why they came here. The outer god hade to Murim and the destruction was scheduled.
There were two types of reactions before Murim was destroyed. Run away or fight.
Those who didn¡¯t have much to lose would flee but the incarnations who had been here for a long time were different. They built up forces, gathered wealth and created stories. They were those who reached the peak in power of one area.
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. We need your help.¡±
From left to right, they were the Zhuge Family, Murong Family, the Sichuan Tangmen School, the Hwangbo Family and the Namgung Family.
The heads of the five main forces of the First Murim had gathered, which was probably a rare event throughout all of Murim. Behind them were the chiefs of the big schools.
¡°I beg you, lend Murim your strength.¡±
Namgung Minyoung clenched her fists and replied. ¡°You need my strength...¡±
Some of the heads of the distinguished families recoiled at the cold voice. The quickest one to react was the head of the Zhuge family. ¡°Please help us. I¡¯m asking you.¡±
I understood why they came out like this. The Ice Flower Goddess, who was the best martial artist of this area, was defeated by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s disciple. There was also an overwhelming gap in skill.
Perhaps the impact of the martial artspetition rmed the countless masters who had been running along the easy path. Yoo Jonghyuk showed the power to defeat even a descended constetion.
The old masters felt nostalgic at the old path of transcendence while the adventurers who came to visit were reminded of those who had reached the peak.
¡°Master¡¯s ancestor, please help your descendants.¡±
In the end, the one who spoke was a member of the Namgung Family, which was the same family as the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint Namgung Minyoung.
It was a middle-aged man with a fierce face. Perhaps this was Namgung Jincheon, one of the 10 Grand Elders. It might be only half but the blood of his family also flowed through the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. For that reason, the eyes of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint were shaken.
I wasn¡¯t able to watch any more and went forward. ¡°How funny. Weren¡¯t you the ones who previously abandoned the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint?¡±
Normally, I would¡¯ve acted on their shared feelings. I would¡¯ve devised a way to take them together with me to the Demon King Selection. However, now the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was more urgent.
¡°Sadly, you forget everything you did when the constetions and dokkaebis first visited here.¡±
¡°What... who are you?¡±
Some of the family chiefs changed their expressions after realizing the true meaning of my words. Maybe they also remembered. Why did the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, who ruled at the top of Murim, open a martial arts hall in a fallen area?
Yoo Jonghyuk knew the circumstances and bit his lips at my words. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint Namgung Minyoung¡¯s expression distorted and her heroic spirit stopped.
I couldn¡¯t me her for being swept away. She didn¡¯t pursue honour or vain lust. Thus, she was used by the Murim people and eventually abandoned here. As the symbol of the fallen Murim, the distinguished families left her in this ce and built their own castles.
¡°The Namgung Family¡¯s master, it is the same for you. Master¡¯s ancestor... you have never called the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint that before, right?¡±
¡°T-That...¡±
¡°If you had any thoughts, you wouldn¡¯t havee here. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re brave or stupid. Don¡¯t you know why the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint split apart from your Namgung Family?¡±
A child born between a giant god and a human. I knew better than anyone the trials that the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint experienced as she grew up, perhaps even more than Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ How is a female...! ¡¹
¡¸ It is the cursed blood of the giant gods. ¡¹
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint made a questionable face. She must be wondering why I knew these things. Usually, it would be a dangerous remark but now her question was beneficial for me. The Breaking the Sky Sword would follow me in order to resolve this question.
¡°What do you know...?!¡±
¡°Shut up! Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, who is this person?¡±
The agitated family heads approached to threaten me and Yoo Jonghyuk raised the ck Demon Sword. It was a good thing. If there was a conflict here, we could get out of here peacefully.
Before the furious Yoo Jonghyuk could deal a blow, the Zhuge Family¡¯s head suddenly fell to the ground. ¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, I am reflecting on the mistakes of those days. I understand that we can¡¯t undo our actions.¡±
...Damn, there were still smart guys in this world. The other family heads were baffled by the Zhuge head¡¯s actions. The head of the Zhuge Family was begging to the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint with a desperate countenance. It was as if he was praying to the god of Murim. ¡°If you don¡¯t help, the First Murim will be destroyed...!¡±
He could ask for a god¡¯spassion at any time but he was a disciple ready to abandon his faith at any time.
Then the god of Murim responded, ¡°At one time, small trees came together to form a forest.¡±
The head of the Zhuge Family looked up at the Breaking the Sky Sword after hearing the unexpected words.
¡°Now that the small trees are uprooted and only a fewrge trees that have upied thend have covered the sky with their branches.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint looked at the Blue Dragon Castle with a nk expression. The spires of the distinguished family¡¯s homes rose higher than the walls. It was as if they were looking down on the residents on behalf of the heavens. Then I understood the words of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
¡°The leaves and branches are plentiful but now there are only a few trees left. What do you think? Can this still be called a forest?¡±
Murim had died a long time ago. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint had dered it just now. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
The god of Murim turned her back and betrayed this world. It seemed easier to resolve than I expected. I was satisfied and followed after the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Yoo Jonghyuk was watching me while Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh packed quickly as they ate dumplings.
At this moment, a strange message was heard.
[Your actions have had a profound impact on the direction of ¡ö¡ö.]
...What?
[The ¡®second revision¡¯ update will begin.]
TL Note: Expect two more chapterster tonight. In addition, I generally have difficulty with Murim/martial arts trantions so I might often go back and change things when I read further chapters with more context. However, I will always leave a note. Thanks
/p>
Chapter 249 - Demon King Selection (3)
Chapter 249: Episode 47 ¨C Demon King Selection (3)
The second revision update. The message appeared at an unexpected time and made me think for a moment.
Another revision meant the future would keep changing due to my actions. In other words, after receiving the first revision, I contributed to the creation of a new future.
My heart throbbed at the thought. Did I seed in the third round? Would it once again start from the fourth round? Did Yoo Jonghyuk reach the end in the story I changed?
...The author, why did he keep sending me these things?
[The ¡®second revision¡¯ update is in progress.]
I couldn¡¯t be sure of anything since the file hadn¡¯t updated yet. Things might¡¯ve gotten better or worse. The thing I had to think about right now wasn¡¯t the direction of the new revision but the immediate development.
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint! Are you going to flee now? You are going to abandon the world you have been living in!¡±
As I was briefly distracted by Ways of Survival, the masters rose in unison. The most serious change urred in the Zhuge head who had been the first to kneel. ¡°...Run away? You are saying this to me?¡±
¡°What are you doing right now if it isn¡¯t running away?!¡±
¡°How funny, child.¡±
There was a deep mockery in the voice. The Murim people responded to the voice and raised their aura. Every one of them were first-ss masters in First Murim. The magic power of the family headsbined and a threatening earthquake spread through the area.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stepped towards the family heads who were raising their pressure.
¡°Kuheeok!¡±
It was an incredible sight. The shock waves that spread from around the advancing Breaking the Sky Sword Saint precisely offset the seismic waves emitted from the other side, causing internal injuries to all the masters with a magic power that was several times the opponent.
Everything was done with a simple footstep. This was the power of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint who was called a disaster. The fallen masters coughed up blood and stared resentfully at the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
¡°B-Breaking the Sky Sword Saint!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t throw us away! Please!¡±
They believed that this type of power would surely prevent the ¡®destruction.¡¯ In the pale countenances, there was the shadow of hope rather than despair. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stared down at them nkly while the Great Hall in the sky became bigger and bigger. Now I couldn¡¯t dy any longer.
¡°Biyoo.¡±
Biyoo appeared out of thin air and started to open a portal. The problem was the location of the portal. No matter how much I looked, there were no portals around us. The first one to speak was Jang Hayoung, who confirmed the location of the portal using Hundred Lanes that he learnt through the Unidentified Wall.
¡°...I think the portal opened that way. Do we have to run to the square?¡±
Jang Hayoung was pointing to the square that we first arrived at when we came to the Blue Dragon Castle. I urged Biyoo.
¡°Biyoo. Can¡¯t you move the portal to this ce?¡±
[Baang.]
Biyoo shook her head with a grim expression. Independent dokkaebis might be constrained in strength. Or perhaps it was because Biyoo was still a young dokkaebi. In the end, we have to move back to where we first passed through the portal.
The Breaking the Sky Master barked. I turned back and saw the Breaking the Sky Master was pushing his head out from the passenger seat of the X-grade Ferrarigini.
¡°Get on, quickly!¡±
Han Myungoh called out to us from the driver¡¯s seat. We quickly boarded the vehicle.
¡°Depart.¡±
The magic power engine of the X-grade Ferrarigini roared. The masters chased after us using their techniques but no matter how high their level, they couldn¡¯t catch up to the work made by the Mass Production Maker.
[There are 10 minutes remaining until the start of the ¡®destruction¡¯ scenario.]
I could see thendscape of the First Murim outside my window. The sky was red. Things like meteorite debris were falling from the Great Hall. A market exploded from the shockwave and mes spread. The giant spires built by the distinguished families were paying the price for challenging the sky.
¡°Aaaaaaack!¡±
Buildings copsed and the ground shook. Some people were covered by the copsed buildings. There were people crying over dying people and others shouting that they should flee. I could see little children who abandoned everything and sat down on the spot.
I was watching the fall of a world like I was turning pages.
One day, Asmodeus had stated,
¡¸ ¡°The scenario is a small destruction to prevent a greater destruction.¡± ¡¹
How many more had to suffer destruction in order to end this story? I turned my head and saw that the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Yoo Jonghyuk were watching the same scene as me.
¡°Flee quickly!¡±
¡°But...!¡±
The voices of several young people came from the window. The men and women injured by the debris were looking around for help. Han Myungoh stepped on the brakes and Jang Hayoung opened his mouth. ¡°...Can¡¯t we give them a ride?¡±
I thought he would say this. I shook my head. ¡°No.¡±
Han Myungoh stepped on the elerator and we started moving again. Jang Hayoung spoke in a voice filled with faint resentment.
¡°...There¡¯s plenty of room in here.¡±
¡°We are ¡®separate¡¯ from this scenario so we can leave. Those people are different.¡±
¡°However, this master was born here and can leave with us.¡±
¡°She is a bit special.¡±
I nced at the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was an existence with the blood of a ¡®giant god.¡¯ She wasn¡¯t born in the Murim scenario and could receive other scenarios if she left this ce. Outside the window, I could see male and female martial artists.
¡°The people here will die anyway.¡±
Those who were born here and only received scenarios here couldn¡¯t escape from the First Murim.
Even if they managed to leave here, they would instantly die due to the ¡®exile penalty.¡¯ There was helplessness in Jang Hayoung¡¯s expression.
¡°Then...¡±
I knew Jang Hayoung¡¯s feelings. I have lived with these emotions for a long time. In front of any crisis in the world, the only thing we can do was turn over the pages of the world.
[There are 8 minutes until the start of the destruction scenario.]
[Your story of destruction is descending.]
The darkened sky was shing. In the meantime, the number of tentacles that emerged through the Great Hall had exceeded four. Jang Hayoung shook as he gazed at the growing hall and Yoo Jonghyuk was immersed. The hairs on my skin were standing up.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: I can¡¯tpete with that. ¡¹
Who did I have to fight against? What strength did I need to obtain in the future? I once again realized it.
Maybe this was one of the giant stories. It was a story that I couldn¡¯t afford yet. This ¡®story¡¯, which descended to end a world, waspletely different from every story I had ever used.
[ There is no pl ace to run, po or ves of the sce na rio. ]
The windows of the Blue Dragon Castle were destroyed by the resounding true voice.
[ Des truc tion will fo llow you. ]
Even the body of the Mass Production Maker¡¯s car couldn¡¯t ovee the shock of the true voice and shook.
[There are 5 minutes until the start of the destruction scenario.]
¡°The portal!¡±
Fortunately, we arrived at the portal in time. Now we just had to escape.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
I got the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and made my debut in the Gourmet Association. I also built up many coins. The finish was tough but I had no solution at this time. The First Murim was a world that would someday be destroyed and now I had no way of stopping that destruction.
At this moment, the Breaking the Sky Sword got out of the car.
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint?¡±
Her expression was still unreadable. Still, I knew her thoughts without needing to read her expression.
[All residents of Murim should gather immediately in the square.]
Her divinity echoed through this world like a lion¡¯s roar. It was extremely powerful and was reminiscent of a constetion¡¯s true voice. The fleeing martial artists instantly looked this way after hearing her voice.
¡°B-Breaking the Sky Sword Saint!¡±
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint!¡±
For a moment, the Murim people had mixed feelings of joy. I got off the car and shouted, ¡°Wait a minute!¡±
I was confused. Why did the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint make this choice? Was it because of something I did?
Several thoughts passed through my head. Perhaps the second revision being updated was because the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint died in this ce?
[The ¡®second revision¡¯ update is in progress.]
I gritted my teeth. The second revision still hadn¡¯t arrived.
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint! We must go together!¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint would die if she remained here. Then the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint replied, ¡°Young constetion, one tree doesn¡¯t make up a forest.¡±
Amidst the sinister feeling, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint directed her words to me. ¡°Then how many trees need to gather to be a forest?¡±
Of course, I never thought about such a thing. Instead, all I saw were the tiny trees being broken by the falling meteorites. The very small trees had been covered by such big trees that it was unknown they even existed. The trees were shouting towards the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. ¡°S-Save me. Please save me!¡±
I had forgotten. What type of person was the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint?
¡¸ Her heroic spirit is so high that she sometimes makes other people¡¯s definition of justice shabby. ¡¹
Every transcendent had something they couldn¡¯t concede and this was it for the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. However, understanding her justice didn¡¯t mean I condoned her actions. Just as a few trees couldn¡¯t be called a forest, one tree couldn¡¯t block andslide.
¡°Have you forgotten your promise? Didn¡¯t you say you would help me if I let you meet your people?¡±
¡°I remember and I¡¯ll keep it.¡± The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint replied as she stared up at the sky. Since theplete ¡®great destruction¡¯ hadn¡¯t begun yet, the ¡®oldest ones¡¯ wouldn¡¯t appear. Still, it was certain that beyond this sky was an ancient god. At the very least, it was simr to the Eater of Dreams caught by me and Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°I will go to you after stopping them here.¡±
...Could the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint beat an existence that didn¡¯t fall to Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s Three Swords Style?
¡°Teacher!¡± Then Yoo Jonghyuk came forward.
However, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was stubborn. ¡°Leave. The lesson for this time is over.¡±
¡°I need you.¡± The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s eyes were faintly shaken at the honest words. ¡°It is very fascinating. If only it wasn¡¯t for this type of situation.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t break the 46th scenario alone. You must...¡±
From these words, I realized what the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint meant to Yoo Jonghyuk. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint faintly smiled at Yoo Jonghyuk. It was as if her disciple was special.
The giant hands of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint covered Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s head like a lid. ¡°You¡¯re not alone.¡±
The eyes of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stayed on me for a very short time. She continued speaking. ¡°I will stop the destruction of this ce.¡±
Just as Yoo Jonghyuk knew the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint knew Yoo Jonghyuk. Thus, she knew the words to send Yoo Jonghyuk away. ¡°I will stop the destruction of this world.¡±
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint...!¡±
¡°Stop it and go.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t move. The many emotions pouring out of his heart were conveyed to me.
[There is 1 minute until the start of the destruction scenario.]
In the end, I pulled at Yoo Jonghyuk. I didn¡¯t want to leave this way but if I didn¡¯t make this choice, the third round would end here.
¡°...We must go, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The person who stiffened like a stone statue didn¡¯t move and Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh eventually came out. Yoo Jonghyuk was dragged into the car and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stared at me. ¡°Please look after my disciple.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Master barked from the car. Yoo Jonghyuk was staring this way with apletely distraught expression.
¡°You too, leave.¡±
The person who always looked down on people was now looking up at a ce higher than herself. Then the sky gazed down at her.
[In te res ting crea tion... who a re y ou?]
The foreign god was asking for the name of a god. In a situation where the constetions would be stunned, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint opened her mouth without retreating.
[I am the god of Murim.]
As if she heard her disciple leaving, the lonely tree that guarded the forest for a long time spoke towards the sky.
[I am the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.]
Chapter 250 - Demon King Selection (4)
Chapter 250: Episode 47 ¨C Demon King Selection (4)
The ground and the sky rattled like cogs. Something gigantic was descending from the sky and there was a person blocking it. The magic power and giant story caused a burst of brilliant sparks as they collided.
[There are 40 seconds until the start of the destruction scenario.]
The opponent was an outer god. Little by little, the ceiling of the sky wasing closer. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint didn¡¯t back down despite the pressure weighing down on the entire castle. No, she couldn¡¯t back down. She never backed down from her beliefs. This was the banner of a transcendent who only walked a single story.
¡°Fight it!¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint revived the despairing Murim people.
[Many constetions are interested in the development of this scenario.]
[Some constetion are paying attention to the transcendent ¡®Namgung Minyoung.]
The stars were gathering in the night sky. Like piranhas smelling blood, the constetions illuminated the sky with a red light. The dokkaebis also appeared like they had been waiting.
[Constetions, it is time for the destruction toe!]
Some of the constetions were watching the world¡¯s demise with a somber expression while others were watching with excitement. Every person¡¯s feelings were different but the downfall of one world was nothing more than entertainment for them.
...Just like me. At this moment, many emotions muddled my head. Maybe these emotions had been piled up since the Gourmet Association. If I threw away Murim here, would I be any different from them?
¡°Breaking the Sky Sword Saint! I...!¡±
I pulled up my status and a change urred in the constetions.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking forward to your choice.]
[Many constetions are paying attention to your presence!]
The attention moved from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to me.
[ Yo u...? ]
If I caught the eye of the outer god, I wouldn¡¯t be able to escape this ce. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint knew this and stopped me. ¡°This isn¡¯t your battlefield.¡±
It was as if this page wasn¡¯t allowed for me.
¡°Leave this world to the people here.¡±
I didn¡¯t know what Murim was for the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. It was a ce that worshipped her a god while also bringing her down. Nevertheless, at this moment, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint decided to defend Murim.
[The stories of the 29th scenario area, the First Murim is piling up.]
Then Murim responded to the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[The 29th scenario area has found its guardian.]
[The First Murim is looking at ¡®Breaking the Sky Sword Saint Namgung Minyoung.¡¯]
[The possibility of a giant ¡®story¡¯ is germinating.]
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint blinked with surprise. Perhaps it was the first time she had heard this message. If someone wanted to destroy the world, the world would respond to the destruction.
¡¸ In this world, everything that has built up history has a will. ¡¹
It was and that was made of the blood, flesh, sweat and effort of the Murim people. The stories carved onto thend were flocking to the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Grandeur could be felt from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint as Murim nestled in her body.
The possibility of a giant story. It hadn¡¯t blossomed yet and I didn¡¯t know when it would be germinated...
Still, it as the possibility of a giant story.
[ Ka ka ka ka ka ka ka. ]
A bizarre sound that resembledughter poured from the sky. Finally, five tentacles descended from the sky.
No matter how great the possibility of a giant story, it was impossible to stop the outer god with just the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. The outer gods were beings who had lived a long time and faced such giant stories. She knew no more time could be wasted and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint shouted, ¡°Go now!¡±
Then my body was pushed into the car.
[The portal is activated.]
Yoo Jonghyuk btedly regained his mind and tried to get out of the car, but the X-grade Ferrarigini had already started.
It only took one moment. As we passed through the portal, the Breaking the Sky Master was silent. The scenery of Murim slowly moved away and everything was covered in darkness. The survivors never said anything for a long time.
***
[You have arrived in the 73rd Demon Realm.]
[There are three days remaining until the Demon King Selection.]
Maybe it was because too many things happened in a row. The party had no words after returning. The car turned off and only a stillness remained.
¡°I¡¯ll smoke a cigarette for a while.¡±
Han Myungoh left while Jang Hayoung ced his head against his knees. The Breaking the Sky Master whined while Yoo Jonghyuk... damn. I breathed calmly while thinking about what I gained from this journey.
Everything I had done was for the uing Demon King Selection. I went to Murim to recruit the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint as a colleague and went to the Gourmet Association in the process.
I couldn¡¯t bring the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint back with me. I couldn¡¯t persuade the constetions of the Gourmet Association. The only ie was that Yoo Jonghyuk and Jang Hayoung became stronger, there was a transcendent dog and...
[Coins Possessed: 4,890,875 C]
...
[The second revision update has beenpleted.]
Despite the message, I didn¡¯t dare to look at my smartphone. Nevertheless, I had to look, even if I felt disgusted by the contents I would see.
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
I looked up and saw Yoo Jonghyuk staring at me. I couldn¡¯t bear to read the anger in his heart. I had nothing to say even if Yoo Jonghyuk tried to kill me here.
¡°What do we do now?¡± It was a voice that contained no special feelings. I felt a subtle fear and triggered Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. Then I immediately regretted it.
¡¸... ¡¹
¡¸... ¡¹
¡¸... ¡¹
My chest was stuffy from the suffocating emotions. They were emotions that couldn¡¯t be described in words. The sorrow was too deep that it couldn¡¯t benguage.
Yoo Jonghyuk was already a madman. Maybe he had been like this for a long time. This event would wear him down even more. The emotions that didn¡¯t burst would move onto the next turn and it would lead to his death. It would wear at him and iste him.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint of the third round would be forgotten. I opened my trembling lips. I needed to say something.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was surely alive. She woulde back alive. However, I couldn¡¯t say it. I wasn¡¯t tls123.
¡°We have to try.¡± That was all I could say. ¡°Struggle, fight and turn things upside down.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me quietly before leaving the car. I could see it without asking. Maybe he was going to do his own preparations.
This was Yoo Jonghyuk. He didn¡¯t give up on his goal even if he gave up his life. Despite the mighty despair, he challenged it again and again, oveing that despair. Thus, he lived and would live like that.
Eventually, he would be unhappy. Once Yoo Jonghyuk, only one sentence that I read from his heart was left with me.
¡¸ I¡¯m not like you. ¡¹
I brooded over this sentence as I turned on my smartphone. I knew what Yoo Jonghyuk was talking about.
-Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (2nd Revision).txt
The death of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint would be recorded. The sess of this round would be written down. Maybe the changed ¡®ending¡¯ would be written.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking faintly.]
My trembling fingers touched the screen several times. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words once again emerged.
¡¸ I¡¯m not like you. ¡¹
I didn¡¯t know what that bastard knew about me. I had watched Yoo Jonghyuk for over 10 years while Yoo Jonghyuk hadn¡¯t even known me for a year. That jerk, what did he know about me...?
I turned off the screen. It didn¡¯t matter what was written. In any case, the story I wanted to create wouldn¡¯t be in it.
¡°Jang Hayoung. I want to save Murim.¡±
Jang Hayoung wiped his eyes while raising his head. I stared at him and slowly opened my mouth. I didn¡¯t know if this would work or not. Still, it was better than doing nothing.
***
There were various beings in the detention centre of the Executive Branch. It was mainly filled with imprisoned constetions and transcendents caught by the ¡®probability conformity assessment.¡¯
However, it was rare for a member of the Executive Branch toe directly, even if probability was
vited. Those who used too much probability would be hit by a storm and it was easy to avoid attention.
Even so, the Executive Branch had to step in for this man¡¯s situation. The dokkaebi ¡®Youngki¡¯ sighed as he gazed at the map trapped in the probability.
¡°Look here.¡±
Then the little person looked at Youngki. Youngki gazed at the handsome face and said, ¡°You should now return to your original scenario area. Isn¡¯t your home in danger?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Thanks to you, yourary system is unable to proceed with the scenario.¡±
The small manughed. ¡°Once I leave, you will send the ¡®disaster¡¯ to Peace Land again.¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t I already say that won¡¯t happen?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t believe in your words.¡±
Youngki flinched and stepped back at the growling voice. This was why transcendents were tricky. The constetions could quickly understand once spoken to but the transcendents were stubborn mortal and sometimes made absurd messes like this.
The man continued to speak. ¡°There is someone I¡¯m waiting for. I¡¯ll stay here until he returns to my home.¡±
¡°Waiting for? Who is it?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll leave on my own once hees.¡±
Youngki was about to open his mouth again when the prison door opened and a new prisoner appeared.
[Grrr... fucking dokkaebis!]
The prison shook from the fierce true voice. Youngki and the small man turned towards the voice at the same time.
At the entrance, a constetion who had been bounded by the Executive Branch dokkaebis was walking in. It was a constetion with the appearance of a lizard.
[That bastard scammed me! He was the one who stole my coins. Why did you grab me instead of him?]
¡°If you can¡¯t find a way to repay your debt, we will be forced to take away a story.¡±
Youngki had a rough idea of the situation. Sometimes these things happened. The constetion came here because he couldn¡¯t repay the ridiculous loan interest.
Youngki was clicking his tongue while the constetion continued yelling. The dokkaebis were familiar with such turmoil but one person wasn¡¯t.
¡°Shut up.¡±
The Brash Swamp Predator turned at the cold voice.
[Who are you? Little man...!]
At this moment, a tremendous airflow swirled around the ¡®little man.¡¯ His body seemed to rise in the air and blue lightning wrapped around his body.
[What... kuk...?]
The Brash Swamp Predator let out a confused sound. The power of a mortal pressed down on his ¡®status.¡¯ It was something he had never experienced before.
The ¡¯ of the prison let out a pained scream. A strength beyond the probability assigned to this ce was rising from the small man. The shocked Youngki and the other dokkaebis increased the output of the but the situation didn¡¯t change.
The man¡¯s body became smaller and he ¡®popped¡¯ through the. The huge storm shot towards the Brash Swamp Predator. The whole building shook and dust rose.
[Uh... uhh...]
The Brash Swamp Predatory on the floor. Five dokkaebis had bravely rushed forward and barely managed to deflect the trajectory of the blue-white fist. The terrible traces left by the fist remained on the wall. Rather than ming the master of the fist, the dokkaebis quickly delivered a report.
¡°Congrattions Brash Swamp Predator. You are free.¡±
[Huh? What?]
¡°I just received an order to release you. Someone has paid your debt.¡±
[What? Who...?]
The Brash Swamp Predator forget what just happened at the news. The moment the dokkaebi mentioned a name, Kyrgios¡¯ body stopped while the Brash Swamp Predator wondered,
[...That guy paid my debt?]
At this moment, the blue-white lightning of Electrification shot towards the dokkaebi. Kyrgios picked up the dokkaebi by the cor and asked, ¡°What did you say just now?¡±
¡°N-No, what...?¡±
¡°The name you just said. Where is he now?¡±
Before the dokkaebi could answer, a message flew into Kyrgios¡¯ ears. Kyrgios stared nkly at the air for a moment before walking past the dokkaebis towards the entrance.
Youngki urgently eximed. ¡°Wait a minute! I can¡¯t let you go! If you go back to your home¡ª¡±
¡°I won¡¯t go home.¡± The Paradox Baekchung, Kyrgios Rodgraim spoke with a smile filled with anger. ¡°I will go to my disciple.¡±
Chapter 251 - Demon King Selection (5)
Chapter 251: Episode 47 ¨C Demon King Selection (5)
We soon arrived at the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex (formerly Syswitz).
Along the way, Yoo Jonghyuk spoke no words and acted simrly once arriving at the industrialplex. The moment the X-grade Ferrarigini turned off, Yoo Jonghyuk got off the car and told me, ¡°From now on, I will act separately.¡±
¡°...Will youe for the selection?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk briefly nodded before moving his feet and disappearing from view. He seemed to know where he was going and what he was going to do. The one certain thing was that everything in his vision would be broken.
¡°...You aren¡¯t going to stop him?¡±
I nodded at Jang Hayoung¡¯s question. After all, I made a n on the premise that Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t listen to me. Yoo Jonghyuk just needed to live safely until the Demon King Selection.
The important thing was what I needed to do now. I ignored the minor procedures and headed straight to Aileen¡¯s council room.
¡°It has been a while.¡±
I hadn¡¯t met Aileen for some time and she looked haggard from the busy industrialplex.
Eileen pushed up her sses and submitted a report. ¡°Since the duke left, I have been struggling with the other industrialplexes... the party members handle it well.¡±
¡°Party members?¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s party. You don¡¯t know it? Every morning, there are people walking around saying ¡®I am Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯ It was founded just before you left... you must not have seen it.¡±
Was it them? Damn. I sometimes thought I could still hear the shouts from that day.
Aileen shook her head and continued. ¡°In recent days, a group of followers of the ¡®Punisher¡¯ was created.¡±
¡°Was her identity revealed?¡±
¡°Not yet. She was suddenly gone soon after the duke left.¡±
¡°Gone?¡±
A strange feeling entered my heart. Perhaps? I had a thought but it wasn¡¯t possible. It was
impossible for such a thing toe true, no matter how I thought about it.
Aileen let out a small sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I keep reporting to you. The owner of this industrialplex is Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. In any case...¡±
¡°...The duke should now go to his industrialplex.¡±
This wasn¡¯t my industrialplex. Since I had returned to the Demon World, I had to go check the current status of the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex (formerly Gilobat). I left it to Mark but I didn¡¯t know what would¡¯ve happened.
I stared at thendscape of the industrialplex through the window. Many things had happened sinceing here. I got up from my seat and Irene rose with me.
¡°D-Duke-nim.¡±
I looked back and Aileen¡¯s expression was strange. It seemed cold, sad and disappointed. Even so, her voice was calm when she opened her mouth. I had studied Aileen in Ways of Survival and knew whenever she made this voice.
Aileen rummaged for a moment and then held out a small box. ¡°This is what you asked for before.¡±
The box contained a small watch. It was a small pocket watch designed with very fine circuits. I held it and felt a slight vibration from the watch. As I sensed the slow but surely moving time, many things passed through my mind.
The story horizon, the revolutionary game... All the memories that had gone retreated to an out of reach ce were ticking away.
I stared at the watch for a while. I nced at Aileen again and she was looking at me with both wrists ovepping each other.
I seemed to know what would happen from now on.
¡°Duke Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
It was a motion that crossed both wrists. This was a greeting from the home where Aileen lived, Lindberg. Crossing two veins and conveying the vibrations to the other side. As if the second hand of the clock was moving, Aileen¡¯s pulse was conveyed to me.
¡°This industrialplex won¡¯t forget you.¡±
***
After leaving the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex, I headed straight to the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex. Originally it should¡¯ve taken a week but the engine of the X-grade Ferrarigini meant it only took two hours.
I sat in the passenger seat and looked at the scenery passing by while thinking about Aileen¡¯s words.
-There was on dokkaebi, one from the sinister family with a lump and several constetions.
It was a list of those who came to visit while I was away. The dokkaebi was probably from the bureau and the sinister family with a lump was probably a wenny person. I couldn¡¯t guess the constetions because they didn¡¯t leave their modifiers.
-Be careful, there are many strong people in the Demon World watching you.
There was no need to tell me. I just needed to look at the channel.
[Many constetions are paying attention to your actions.]
[Your modifier is spreading among the constetions of the absolute evil system.]
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire is watching you with anxious eyes.]
There were no three days until the Demon King Selection. I looked to the back seat where Jang Hayoung and the Breaking the Sky Master were hugging each other while sleeping. The Breaking the Sky Master and Jang Hayoung must be tired.
In particr, Jang Hayoung was forced to operate the Unidentified Wall because of me. Still, their presence meant I could think of something to try.
I nced at the driver¡¯s seat and asked, ¡°Department Head Han Myungoh.¡±
¡°Hmm?¡± Han Myungoh nced at me with a puzzled expression from where he was experimenting with the function of the X-grade Ferrarigini. I didn¡¯t know if he was conscious of my gaze but Han Myungoh cleared his throat. ¡°Hum hum, life isn¡¯t easy?¡±
...Honestly, the timing was strange. Han Myungoh saw my confusion and quickly added.
¡°I felt it while living... life is supposed to be like this. There are times when nothing can be done and times when things don¡¯t work out.¡±
It was an obvious statement but Han Myungoh¡¯s expression contained a certain amount of affection. Come to think of it, Han Myungoh had really experienced many things. In a sense, he might¡¯ve had a harder time than me.
I thought about it and suddenly wanted to ask Han Myungoh something. ¡°Can I ask you something?¡±
¡°Ask me anything.¡±
Perhaps the man who gave birth to a child in this world could make a reliable expression. I repeatedly turned the smartphone on and off as I thought about what to say.
Han Myungoh seemed to ept my actions and opened his mouth. ¡°Kung... it was painful.¡±
¡°What are you saying?¡±
¡°I thought that¡¯s what you wanted to ask. It is a pain that¡¯s hard for any man or woman to endure.¡±
I was shocked once I understood what Han Myungoh was talking about. No, I didn¡¯t want to ask him about that...
Still, I was curious. ¡°Where did ite from?¡±
¡°I gave birth in my heart.¡±
¡°Was it painful?¡±
Han Myungoh pulled out a cigarette and suddenly made a serious expression. ¡°At first, I was going to kill you.¡±
The bitter cigarette smoke flew out the window.
¡°It was shameful and humiliating. I was dumbfounded and wondered why I was in a situation like this.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I tried the methods that appeared in dramas. For example, things like eating a lot of soy sauce. It wasn¡¯t easy to find because of the situation.¡±
There was no sense of reality as I heard this story from Han Myungoh. It would¡¯ve been an unimaginable hardship for me.
¡°I was scared. What if I gave birth to a monster? What if my child ate me? One day, suddenly tearing out of my belly and killing me...¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I was alone for countless nights, ran away and avoided monsters while feeling worried. What should I do about this child? Should I kill it, let it live, kill birth to it or...¡±
I didn¡¯t use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint but the numerous scenarios where Han Myungoh ran away passed through my head. Han Myungoh spoke with an expression I had never seen before.
¡°Even so, do you know? Funnily, months passed as I thought about it. Then while struggling, I survived.¡±
Han Myungoh was able to survive the grandiose scenarios for one reason.
¡°I realized it at that time. Ah, perhaps this child saved me. Thus, I decided. Whether I live or die, let¡¯s give birth to the child.¡±
He suddenly threw the cigarette out the window. Han Myungoh pulled out a new cigarette. In that short time, Han Myungoh looked distant beforeing back.
I knew Han Myungoh well. He was one of the people who would surely enter the list of 10 worst people I knew. Nevertheless, at this moment, Han Myungoh felt like a decent person.
¡°She was an infinitely beautiful baby. She wasn¡¯t human but she was incredibly pretty.¡±
¡°...I¡¯ve seen her.¡±
She was pretty, which was why Asmodeus used her as his incarnation body. I was just thinking this when the smile on Han Myungoh¡¯s face disappeared. The story didn¡¯t end well but I could see what Han Myungoh wanted to say.
After a while, Han Myungoh kept speaking. ¡°Thus, Dokja-ssi should try it.¡±
¡°...I should try giving birth?¡±
¡°No, I¡¯m worried about Dokja-ssi.¡±
I felt a momentary prick. My confused face reflected on the smartphone screen.
¡°I don¡¯t know what Dokja-ssi is thinking. To be honest, I didn¡¯t like the original Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±
¡°Yet I can feel that Dokja-ssi is strange recently.¡±
I closed my mouth.
¡°I know that things don¡¯t work out well. Not everything will flow as you wish. Even so, don¡¯t dwell on it too much and let your heart lead you.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°It is Dokja-ssi who survived whatever happened. If you don¡¯t do it right, you¡¯ll regret itter.¡±
Really, I had lived for a long time and see the world. I never expected there woulde a day when I empathized with this guy.
The LCD screen of the smartphone turned on and the file of Ways of Survival was shown.
-Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (2nd Revision).txt
I didn¡¯t have Han Myungoh¡¯s experiences. I never had a child, nor did I n to have one. Nevertheless, I strangely knew a bit of Han Myungoh¡¯s feelings.
To read or not read the second revision. This was the only thing upying my thoughts for thest few hours.
I was scared that I would be affected by reading the novel. It was painful to confirm the results of my work. I was afraid that my ¡®future¡¯ might be fixed.
However, it wasughable from the beginning. Han Myungoh¡¯s words...
Yes, this story wasn¡¯t properly born yet. I opened the file of Ways of Survival without hesitation. Then I started reading as I always did.
The second revision of Ways of Survival started from the fourth round.
¡¸ It was just like what happened at that time. In the third round, Teacher would¡¯ve died there if it wasn¡¯t for him. ¡¹
Some statements relieved me.
¡¸ Nevertheless, I couldn¡¯t change it. ¡¹
Some of the descriptions still hadn¡¯t changed.
¡¸ That guy isn¡¯t in this round. ¡¹
I still wasn¡¯t present in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fourth regression.
¡¸ I failed the third round. ¡¹
I didn¡¯t panic because I had already expected it. I didn¡¯t know why the author sent me something like this. It might be to frighten me or to use me for the ending that he wanted. I didn¡¯t even know if it was the writer who originally sent this.
I slowly closed my eyes, took a deep breath and opened it. Then I thought at the Fourth Wall.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought. ¡¹
It was as if I was writing a sentence in a novel.
¡¸ I don¡¯t know what he wants in the end. However, no matter the result, I will only make the ending that I want. ¡¹
I wrote the sentence and stared at the air for a while. Understandably, there was no return answer. Instead, it was the Fourth Wall that reacted.
[The Fourth Wall is wriggling happily.]
I suddenly looked out and saw the industrialplex in the distance. It was the first time I was visiting the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex. By the way, Han Myungoh suddenly reduced the speed.
¡°What happened?¡±
¡°...The scenario is progressing.¡±
Scenario? No way... The Demon King Selection hadn¡¯t started yet?
[Do you want to enter the hidden scenario area?]
Han Myungoh cautiously approached the industrialplex. The entrance of the industrialplex was bare without a single guard.
I opened the window and could hear words being shouted from inside the industrialplex.
¡°I¡¯m Kim Dokja!¡±
¡°No, I am!¡±
¡°I¡¯m Kim Dokja! Me!¡±
Han Myungoh and I nced at each other at the same time.
¡°What is this...?¡±
A system message followed.
[Hidden scenario ¨D the Kim Dokja Game is in progress.]
Something strange had happened in my industrialplex while I was away.
Chapter 252 - Demon King Selection (6)
Chapter 252: Episode 47 ¨C Demon King Selection (6)
[You have entered the hidden scenario area.]
[Would you like to participate in the hidden scenario ¨D the Kim Dokja Game?]
Han Myungoh stared at me and muttered in a dumbfounded manner. ¡°...What is going on?¡±
I stared at Biyoo.
[Baat, baaat...]
Biyoo repeatedly shook her head. It wasn¡¯t Biyoo who did this.
Most hidden scenarios were activated ording to the will of the Star Stream, just like the main scenario. Then why at this time? A subsequent system message gave a hint.
[The owner of the industrialplex is currently absent.]
[An emergency promotion scenario is activated.]
It seemed that I had been away for too long. ¡°I think the Star Stream has determined that I have no intending of inheriting the duke¡¯s position.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t it okay now that you¡¯re here?¡±
¡°That would be good.¡±
The scenario remained unchanged after I entered the industrialplex. Maybe the Star Stream scenario was twisted by the impersonation act that Yoo Jonghyuk and Imitted. At the time, there was a message that an error urred.
¡°...What is the Kim Dokja Game? It is a free participation scenario?¡±
Jang Hayoung opened his eyes in the back seat and stretched.
[We are currently electing the ¡®real Kim Dokja¡¯ of the industrialplex.]
At this rate, my name was going to be stolen. I turned towards Han Myungoh and asked, ¡°Will you participate?¡±
¡°Why would I do that?¡±
¡°What about you, Jang Hayoung?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to be Kim Dokja.¡± HIs expression quickly changed and he seemed to be sulking. ¡°...I don¡¯t know the Demon King of Salvation.¡±
In order to avoid reality, he had decided to separate me from the Demon King of Salvation. Thest one I looked at was the Breaking the Sky Master.
Woof woof!
I nodded. ¡°Then only I will join.¡±
¡°Is it okay? You don¡¯t know what is going on...¡±
¡°No matter what happens, I have to go. This is my industrialplex.¡±
Immediately after joining the scenario, a message window emerged.
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C Kim Dokja Proof of Identity]
Category: Main
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: Prove to the constetions of the ¡®Kim Dokja Industrial Complex¡¯ channel that you are Kim Dokja.
Time Limit: 3 hours.
Reward: Be the duke of the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex and 200,000 coins.
Failure: ???
* All aspiring ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ in the scenario will have the same appearance until the scenario ends.
* During the time limit, the aspiring ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ who receives the most points from the constetions will inherit the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex.
+
...It was the first time I had seen such a scenario. This scenario naturally wasn¡¯t in the original.
[A new aspiring ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ has entered.]
[There are three hours left in the scenario.]
[You must be acknowledged as ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ by most of the constetions.]
[You are the 1131st aspiring Kim Dokja.]
The scenario started and I was summoned to the outskirts of the za in the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex. There was already a struggle to prove they were Kim Dokja.
[Haha, everyone! Do you want to be recognized by the constetions? Show us that you are the real Kim Dokja!]
I heard the voice of a dokkaebi. While I was away, the bureau had sessfully advanced into the Demon World. It would be a hindrance to the wenny people... in any case, they gathered like ghosts whenever there was a story.
[Baaat!]
Biyoo became determined and started to expand the channel.
[Multiple constetions have entered the channel.]
I looked around slowly at the other aspiring ¡®Kim Dokja.¡¯
¡°I am Kim Dokja! Look!¡±
¡°I¡¯m Kim Dokja!¡±
The aspiring Kim Dokjas had mosaics on their faces as they shouted. Perhaps I looked like this to the other constetions.
...Damn, something felt strange. Most of the aspiring Kim Dokjas were just repeating my name and not showing any unusual gestures. They were those who were blinded by the duke¡¯s position and participated.
However, not all of them were the same.
¡°I am the prophet Kim Dokja!¡±
¡°I am the Demon King of Salvation!¡±
[Some constetions are interested.]
[Candidate 986 has gained 10 points.]
I stopped for a moment as I saw some candidates screaming ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ in a usible costume.
¡°I am the King of a Kingless World!¡±
[A few constetions are interested in this candidate.]
[Candidate 986 has gained 20 points.]
...Wasn¡¯t he quite good? I entered the centre of the industrialplex and more and more people started saying usible things. Some Kim Dokjas could be seen duelling. I wanted to know why this area was so bloody when I heard a message from a familiar constetion.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is arguing that Kim Dokja is a brave person.]
...I was wondering why the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was so quiet. He was already in the middle of this situation. There was the sound of a de cutting through the air and the aspiring Kim Dokja copsed.
¡°Kuaaack!¡±
A sharp magic power cut at the waist of another aspiring Kim Dokja. Some candidates fled and the winning Kim Dokja shouted,
¡°This is proof that I am Kim Dokja.¡±
A de made of blue magic power was in his hand. I was honestly a bit surprised.
[A great number of constetions are interested in this candidate!]
[Candidate 312 has gained 100 points.]
Candidate 312 wasn¡¯t using the White Pure Star Energy but it was simr in appearance. Candidate 312 nced at me before starting to wipe out other candidates again. It was only a fleeting moment but the moment I met his eyes, Aileen¡¯s words went through my head.
-Since the duke left, I have been struggling with the other industrialplexes... the party members handle it well.
I had a rough idea of how things turned out like this. Some of the aspiring Kim Dokjas here were from other industrialplexes. In other words, there were those who received sponsored information about me and posed as Kim Dokja.
My mind was a bitplicated. If I was defeated in this game, the wrong Kim Dokja would enter the Demon King Selection.
[A few constetions are interested in you.]
[A few constetions are demanding that you prove you are Kim Dokja.]
How could I prove my identity? I had no resident registration or identification card to prove myself.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says the true Kim Dokja lovesradeship.]
...Uriel? I was about to shout at her when a candidate in the centre of the square knelt down and started crying. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Yoo Jonghyuuuuk! Wake up! Please wake up!¡±
Kim Dokja screamed as he held the imaginary Yoo Jonghyuk in his arms. I couldn¡¯t helpughing. I didn¡¯t do such a thing. Uriel couldn¡¯t be fooled by such acting...
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is shedding tears.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is begging you to show her again next time.]
[Candidate 32 has gained 300 points.]
...I couldn¡¯t believe it. I shook my head and passed Candidate 32, only to hear an unexpected statement.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ ims that the real Kim Dokja is a chuuni.]
Abyssal ck me Dragon? When did hee...
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ ims that the real Kim Dokja surely knows the true middle-school second-year syndrome.]
A true chuuni? I think I knew what happened... surprisingly, at the same time, there was a candidate who started shouting,
¡°Uhhhh, Yoo Sangah-ssi. Do you know? Kukuk. I am a reader. I have the life of a reader.¡±
My thoughts became incrediblyplicated. It was a story before the scenario appeared. How did he know... no, wait, I never said it that way.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is satisfied.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ has given Candidate 97 300 points.]
I felt dested and my lips were trembling. At this rate, I would lose my name to these ridiculous people.
I should think calmly. In order to show that I was Kim Dokja, I needed to remind them of the events shared by only me and the constetions.
¡°Get your hand off me and get lost, you damn jerk!¡±
[Candidate 32 has gained 200 points!]
Something only the constetions and I knew...
¡°I like to smile like this!¡±
[Candidate 97 has gained 250 points!]
The constetions and I...
¡°My favourite thing is a Chinese dress and garter belt!¡±
[Candidate 312 has gained 400 points!]
Damn, what the hell was happening? I organized myplicated thoughts and decided to use an easy method. I would directly inform them that I was Kim Dokja thought the Demon King of Salvation¡¯s indirect message.
[During the course of the scenario, the constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ can¡¯t speak.]
...Son of a bitch.
[There is one hour left in the scenario.]
There wasn¡¯t much time left now. I quietly held Unbroken Faith in my hand. There was a limit to the number of aspiring Kim Dokjas. If I killed all the aspiring Kim Dokjas, thest candidate would be the true Kim Dokja.
However, I didn¡¯t want to use this method. They were currently blinded by power but most of them were citizens of my industrialplex...
I sighed and shook my head as I gripped and released the hilt of my weapon repeatedly.
¡¸ These actions aren¡¯t like you. ¡¹
To my chagrin, Yoo Jonghyuk was right. Kim Dokja would never solve things this way. I thought about it. How do I prove my identity? No, what did it mean to prove I was ¡®me¡¯ in the first ce?
At this time, there was a sudden change.
¡°This is Electrification, the ultimate technique taught by the Paradox Baekchong...!¡±
Candidate 312 was shouted while holding a lightning sword. I was about to point out it was Paradox Baekchung, not Baekchong when lightning struck from the sky.
¡°Uwaaaack!¡±
The blue-white lightning hit the candidate¡¯s de and tore his body apart. Some candidates screamed and retreated while some constetions liked it and randomly gave points. At the crucible of the confusion, I looked up at the sky. Something small was falling from the sky.
...I thought it was time for him toe but I didn¡¯t expect it to be this fast. The small dot that gave off huge pressurended in the square of the industrialplex with a deafening roar.
A blue-white light flooded the square. A small man stood in the centre of the lightning and emitted a huge presence. Sparks flew as a voice was heard from the dust.
[Where is my disciple?]
After a while, the appearance of the voice¡¯s owner was revealed.
[Many constetions are astonished.]
The small man didn¡¯t care if the constetions were astonished or not. There were some constetions who realized the identity of the man.
¡°This small body...¡±
¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me?¡±
They nced at each other and then fell down in front of the man.
¡°M-Me!¡±
¡°I am Kim Dokja! Teacher...!¡±
Numerous Kim Dokjas fell down in front of the small man. I looked at them and clicked my tongue. It was good that they were quick-witted. However, it would be better if their bodies could move faster.
¡°Aaaack!¡±
¡°Kuaaaack!¡±
The Kim Dokjas were attacked by the blue-white lightning and turned to ashes. I looked at the teacher kind enough to personallye to pick up his disciple and realized something.
...I see. In the first ce, ¡®I¡¯ wasn¡¯t something that could be proven.
[Your unique story will be yed.]
[The story ¡®Returnee¡¯s Disciple¡¯ has begun.]
It was because ¡®I¡¯ was made up of things that didn¡¯t only belong to me. Amidst the fleeing Kim Dokja, there was one person who knew the real Kim Dokja.
[Where is my real disciple?]
If I came forward, I would be ripped apart like the other fakes. Then I heard a familiar voice.
¡°Damn, what is this? Are they all Kim Dokjas?¡± I looked back and saw Jang Hayoung grumbling.
I spoke to Jang Hayoung. ¡°Jang Hayoung.¡±
He looked over with surprise after hearing his name and flinched back with surprise. ¡°...Kim Dokja?¡±
I nodded and asked, ¡°Did you learn the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship?¡±
¡°...Of course I learnt it. Why?¡±
I smiled and spread open my arms. ¡°Use it on me now.¡±
Chapter 253 - Demon King Selection (7)
Chapter 253: Episode 47 ¨C Demon King Selection (7)
Kyrgios had epted three disciples so far. One was after his first transcendence and another was 50 yearster. Then he didn¡¯t ept any disciples for a while.
It was because all his previous disciples had died. One was to the sessor of the Heavenly Demon School. The other was to the Blood Demon School.
It was the events triggered by these two deaths that made the ¡®Paradox Baekchung¡¯ Kyrgios Rodgraim be famous. Enraged by his disciples¡¯ deaths, Kyrgios struck the homes of the Heavenly Demon School and the Blood Demon School. It wasn¡¯t known exactly what happened in Murim at that time. One thing was for certain...
Half of the 100,000 Great Mountain Ranges became a bare mountain. The Blood Demon School withdrew its forces from the First Murim.
100 yearster, Kyrgios once again epted a disciple. Kyrgios asked the disciple whom he met after much trouble.
[...What is this about?]
¡°This poor disciple is greeting you.¡±
Kyrgios looked at his disciple with a bitter expression. This was thest disciple he received with his heart.
[I asked you. Why is it like this?]
This disciple wasn¡¯t talented and didn¡¯t have any spots to like. The moment they met, he acted familiar and like they knew each other for a long time. He was ¡®friendly¡¯ to the Paradox Baekchung. The paradox was so bizarre that Kyrgios wanted to learn a bit about him.
¡°I¡¯ve been to the First Murim.¡±
Kyrgios red at his disciple who was covered in blood. He was a person full of mischief on Peace Land. The reason Kyrgios didn¡¯t punish him for the sin of stealing the technique and fleeing was because he saved Kyrgio¡¯s.
Thus, Kyrgios waited. Someday, his disciple would reflect on himself and show up again. Yet his disciple appeared like this...
Kyrgios¡¯ eyes narrowed as he spoke. [There are traces of the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship from your wounds.]
¡°...¡±
[Did you encounter the disciple of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint? Or was it the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint?]
The disciple didn¡¯t answer. Kyrgios¡¯ force became stronger.
[Answer me.]
The entire industrialplex wriggled like a trampled bug. The presence spread and all the Kim Dokjas in the industrialplex kneeled from the pain. It was just a wave of magic power but it was like he showed off his ¡®status. This was the presence of the Paradox Baekchung. The only one who didn¡¯t kneel was his disciple.
¡°I didn¡¯t want you to see me like this.¡±
[What does that mean?]
¡°I have defiled the name of Baekchung.¡±
[...]
¡°Please kill me.¡±
Kyrgios¡¯ eyebrows wriggled at the words. It was because he remembered the message he received beforeing here.
-Please kill me.
Kyrgios small teeth made a sound as they grinded together.
[It is true that I came to punish you. But...]
His disciple was beaten up in a distant ce. Moreover, it was a situation where his disciple told him to kill him because his disciple couldn¡¯t ovee the disgrace.
In such a situation, what type of teacher could punish his student? There would certainly be such a teacher but at the very least, Kyrgios wasn¡¯t like that.
[...Why are you so keen to be killed?]
¡°...¡±
[Foolish guy.]
Kyrgios turned his back to his disciple. He didn¡¯t know what happened to his prideful disciple but he would find out if he went to Murim.
[Did you say it was the First Murim?]
His disciple didn¡¯t answer but Kyrgios was already moving.
[That world will know that there is a ¡®paradox¡¯ above the ¡®breaking the sky.¡¯]
***
Kyrgios left and the war clouds over the industrialplex disappeared like they had been washed away. In the ces where Kyrgios passed, the aspiring Kim Dokjas were lying down.
¡°U-Uhh... uwaaah!¡±
I saw those who wanted to be me and felt veryplicated. Jang Hayoung asked, ¡°...Was it too much?¡±
It wasn¡¯t a question for the aspiring Kim Dokjas. I stared at the portal that Kyrgios disappeared through and said, ¡°That¡¯s the only way to move him.¡±
Kyrgios had already lost two disciples to Murim. In order to send him to the First Murim, I was forced to make a cowardly excuse.
¡°What if he kills the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I responded while cing a story fragment on the wounds caused by Jang Hayoung.
It seemed that Kyrgios was going to get revenge for me but it remained to be seen how things would turn out. A transcendent of Kyrgios¡¯ level would notice the trouble urring in the First Murim.
[You have triggered a new sub scenario.]
Perhaps by now, Kyrgios would¡¯ve gained a sub scenario to intervene in the First Murim. Kyrgios was also unhappy with the outer gods. Once he found out the situation, he would be forced to help the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
¡°You should be more worried about us.¡±
¡°What? Why?¡±
¡°Originally, Kyrgios shouldn¡¯t appear here.¡±
Despite the countless crises I had experienced, I didn¡¯t call Kyrgios thought Jang Hayoung. I originally intended to call him during the Demon King Selection.
However, I used that card to save the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. I didn¡¯t know if it was the wrong choice but at least it was an honourable choice.
I looked up at the night sky.
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire is watching you with anxious eyes.]
Some stars were worried about me.
[Some constetions are smiling at you.]
Some stars were taking my crisis as an opportunity. I smiled bitterly towards those stars. ¡°If you¡¯ve seen enough, can you make a decision now?¡±
I took a deep breath and dered towards the sky. ¡°I¡¯m the real Kim Dokja.¡±
The conversation with Kyrgios was open to the public and no further proof was needed. The stars in the night sky shone at the same time.
[The constetion Demon-like Judge of Fire admits that you are the real Kim Dokja.]
[The constetion Prisoner of the Golden Headband admits that you are the real Kim Dokja.]
[The constetion Queen of the Darkest Spring admits that you are the real Kim Dokja.]
.
.
[A very small number of constetions disagree with the results.]
Those who wanted something else disagreed but this was a majority vote.
[Many constetions recognize you as the real Kim Dokja.]
[You have been recognized as the real Kim Dokja.]
[The hidden scenario has beenpleted!]
[200,000 coins have been acquired as a scenario reward.]
The faces of the aspiring Kim Dokjas started to change one by one. The mosaic scattered and their real faces were exposed to the sky. For the first time, the citizens confirmed the true owner of the industrialplex and cried out with amazement. ¡°Kim Dokja! The real Kim Dokja!¡±
¡°T-The master of this industrialplex is back...!¡±
More messages popped up.
[You have formally inherited the former Gilobat Industrial Complex.]
[The former Gilobat Industrial Complex has been officially dered as the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex.]
[Your notoriety is spreading in the Demon World!]
[Your fame is strengthening your current stories.]
A bright light surrounded my body and my stories were further strengthened.
[You are the ¡®duke¡¯ of the industrialplex.]
Soon, a lonely fight would begin.
***
After the situation settled down, the first ce I headed to was Mark¡¯s office in the heart of the industrialplex.
¡°...I¡¯m ashamed.¡±
¡°No, you did well.¡±
Riots urred due to the Kim Dokja Game and Mark and other officials were detained. I patted Mark on the shoulder andforted him. ¡°You did your best.¡±
No one, including Mark, would¡¯ve been able to stop the Kim Dokja Game. In the first ce, it was an event that urred because I went away. It was thanks to Mark that the industrialplex was maintained to this extent. In fact, Mark was a mercenary leader on his home and possessed a very high level Crowd Control skill.
I listened to Mark¡¯s report on the surrounding trends.
¡°There is news of waring from everywhere.¡±
A group of people exiting the industrialplex could be seen from the office window. Some of them were people who just participated in the scenario and others weren¡¯t.
¡°A war can¡¯t be done alone. Don¡¯t you know?¡±
¡°It is foolish to hold onto those who have no will to fight.¡±
Most of them would die from the penalty of ¡®leaving the scenario area.¡¯ Even so, they decided to move. It meant the situation was desperate.
[The poption of the industrialplex is decreasing and the power of the Factory is reduced.]
The story weapon, the Factory was maintained through the work of the citizens. It was natural for the power to go down once thebour force shrank. However, I spoke like it wasn¡¯t a big deal. ¡°We can¡¯t see the oue with just the power of the industrialplex. The main focus of the enemy isn¡¯t the industrialplex anyway.¡±
I had to deal with Melledon and Bercan. Melledon had joined hands with Vedas while Bercan was working with Papyrus.
It shouldn¡¯t be a direct alliance with the nebe based on the scale of the alliance. They had probably just contracted with some constetions of the nebe.
Nevertheless, it was a power that couldn¡¯t be ignored. It was still unknown but in the Demon King Selection, perhaps I would have to fight at least 10 constetions.
¡°Is there a n?¡±
To be honest, the odds weren¡¯t very high. I had just be a constetion and it would be suicidal to fight them, even with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s help.
¡°I have a way.¡±
I couldn¡¯t say it now. There were too many eyes watching.
[Many constetions are admiring your ambition!]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is wondering what that means.]
[2,000 coins have been sponsored.]
In fact, there were a few things that I had thought about. It would¡¯ve been impossible before but now it was possible. Before I could use these methods, there was something I had to check first.
[The Fourth Wall is wriggling.]
It read my mind and responded. I slowly blinked as I thought, ¡®I need your help.¡¯
It would know what I wanted to say without me needing to open my mouth.
¡®Let me see my Attributes Window.¡¯
Until now, I have somehow fought without properly knowing my information.
Until now.
[The Fourth Wall is shaking nervously.]
It would be difficult to do so from now on. It would be hard to know the enemy without knowing myself. I already knew a bit about the enemy so I had to know about ¡®myself.¡¯
Chapter 254 - Demon King Selection (8)
Chapter 254: Episode 47 ¨C Demon King Selection (8)
[The Fourth Wall is showing its teeth in a threatening manner.]
Fierce sparks filled the air. I quickly ordered Mark to leave the office. I wouldn¡¯t be able to figure out what was happening if he was present.
¡®Wait a minute, listen to me.¡¯
I thought about what I could do to appease this damn wall. ¡®You love stories. Once this is over, I¡¯ll feed you many things that you want to eat.
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you with a frown.]
The growling pressured seemed to calm down a bit. It didn¡¯t seem to have any effect.
¡®I have something I need to check. I could die if I don¡¯t know it. Is that what you want?¡¯
The Fourth Wall was silent. Fortunately, this guy didn¡¯t want me to die at the moment. The Fourth Wall was silent for a long time before speaking.
¡¸ The Fourth Wall says, Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
¡°Yes.¡±
¡¸ It wi ll be dan ge rous with out me. ¡¹
I thought I knew what it was talking about. One of the Fourth Wall¡¯s functions included protecting me from the eyes of the constetions. Thus, it was worried about the constetions harming me once it was turned off.
¡®I know. However, this time I have to look.¡¯
In front of my firm will, the Fourth Wall was silent for a moment before opening its mouth.
¡¸10 se conds on ly. ¡¹
10 seconds. Yes, it was a bit tight but it was fine.
¡¸ All chan nels must be block ed. ¡¹
I nodded.
-Biyoo. y an ad on the channel.
The moment the order was sent via the dokkaebimunication, the screen turned off.
[Many constetions are confused by the sudden advertisement.]
Okay, this was enough. However, the Fourth Wall wasn¡¯t satisfied.
¡¸ The Fourth Wall says, Not e nough yet. ¡¹
¡®Not enough? What?¡¯
The Fourth Wall didn¡¯t answer. I looked up and Biyoo was blinking innocently.
[...Baat?]
Biyoo was clearly blocking the channel properly. It wasn¡¯t enough yet...
At this moment, the previous scenario came to mind.
Hidden Scenario ¨C Kim Dokja Proof of Identity. In this industrialplex, there was a dokkaebi carrying out the scenario. I stared out the window at the ruins of the scenario.
The Star Stream created the hidden scenarios but it was the dokkaebis that guided the direction of the scenario.
[Many constetions are protesting the unstable channel conditions.]
In retrospect, ¡®Kim Dokja Proof of Identity¡¯ was a rather unusual scenario. It was a scenario that precisely knew the demands of the constetions and even contained information about ¡®me¡¯ before the first scenario...
No matter how I thought about it, there was only one person who would do this. I sighed and slowly opened my mouth. ¡°Bihyung, won¡¯t youe out?¡±
***
¡°Ahjumma! Where are you? I came!¡±
A charitable medical relief station in Seongnam. This shelter, established with the government¡¯s help, was one of the civilian relief organizations that cared for the casualties of the scenario invasions.
Han Sooyoung shouted while kicking a fallen patient in her way. ¡°Kim Dokja¡¯s mother! Kim Dokja¡¯s mother, raise your hand!¡±
The patient who had been lying down quickly moved away due to the kick. Yoo Sangah hurriedly approached and took care of the patient.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. Are you okay? ...Hey, Han Sooyoung-ssi!¡±
Han Sooyoung was disgusted by Yoo Sangah¡¯s sharp voice. ¡°Ahhh, go away if you¡¯re going to nag me.¡±
¡°You are too much. These people are patients!¡±
¡°I¡¯m a patient too.¡±
As the frowning Yoo Sangah finally became angry, the door of the relief centre opened and new patients appeared. They were incarnations wounded by the monsters present in this world. They were people therge wards couldn¡¯t handle and were forced toe to this relief station. Han Sooyoung saw a familiar woman as she looked around.
¡°Lee Seolhwa is also here.¡±
Righteous Lee Seolhwa. She was a colleague of Yoo Jonghyuk who was taking care of the patients here.
Han Sooyoung sighed deeply. ¡°It is a real mess... Do you know? She was originally destined to be a very bad woman.¡±
¡°How do you know that?¡±
¡°I just know. Why can¡¯t I know what Kim Dokja also knows?¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes narrowed when Han Sooyoung mentioned Kim Dokja. Han Sooyoung nced at Yoo Sangah and said, ¡°Kim Dokja has changed too many things. He saved those who were meant to die and killed those who were meant to live...¡±
¡°...Is this about the prophecy?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know it anyway. I just want to say that I would¡¯ve never done what Kim Dokja did.¡±
Han Sooyoung pulled out a piece of dark chocte and ate it. The bitter taste of the chocte spread in her mouth and the bitterness seemed to affect Han Sooyoung.
¡°The future was ruined by him. The story should flow the way it was meant to. If it was me...¡±
¡°If it was you, Kim Dokja and you would be no different from a ¡®character.¡¯¡±
It wasn¡¯t Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice. Han Sooyoung smiled and turned towards the person.
¡°You look healthy, Sooyoung.¡±
Kim Dokja¡¯s mother, Lee Sookyung was behind them.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m healthy or not.¡±
¡°My Dokja seems to like unhealthy children.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t care what Kim Dokja likes!¡±
Lee Sookyungughed at Han Sooyoung¡¯s reaction before turning her head. ¡°It has been a while, Yoo Sangah-ssi. What¡¯s going on here?¡±
Before Yoo Sangah could reply, Han Sooyoung interrupted again. ¡°Use Good or Bad Luck, Disaster or Happiness Fortune.¡±
Good or Bad Luck, Disaster or Happiness Fortune. It was one of the stigmas Lee Sookyung received from her sponsor, Founder¡¯s Mother.
¡°Good or Bad Luck, Disaster or Happiness Fortune... you always seem confident. Why are you suddenly trying to lean on something like this?¡±
¡°I wish I could solve everything with confidence.¡±
¡°You have lost your information. Is that right?¡±
Han Sooyoung and Lee Sookyung were different from Kim Dokja. Han Sooyoung only read the ¡®early¡¯ parts of the original novel while Lee Sookyung only knew the information she had heard from Kim Dokja. In the end, both of them had uncertain future information.
Lee Sookyung smiled lightly and asked, ¡°Why did youe to me? Sangah can do something simr with Olympus¡¯ power.¡±
¡°Are you joking? Did you forget what Olympus did to Kim Dokja?¡±
The two of them bickered while Yoo Sangah muttered with an embarrassed expression.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t help you right now...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I know the situation with Olympus isplicated. Isn¡¯t it in the midst of an internal feud right now?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
Yoo Sangah bowed her head with an unconvinced expression while Han Sooyoung said, ¡°Just leave it alone. They¡¯ve had so much sex that their lifespan is being cut. Faster than¨D¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes widened at the unexpected words. Lee Sookyung looked at them andughed.
¡°Okay, youngdies. What information do you want to know? For reference, I can¡¯t see the concrete future with Good or Bad Luck, Disaster or Happiness Fortune. I can only point the way.¡±
Han Sooyoung nodded as if she already knew. ¡°I want to know about Kim Dokja¡¯s current situation.¡±
¡°Hrmm...¡±
Lee Sookyung looked at Han Sooyoung with a subtle gaze and Han Sooyoung quickly added. ¡°It is because the Korean Penins could be destroyed depending on how things are going over there. I am hearing strange stories from the constetions these days... why are youughing?¡±
¡°You¡¯re just cute.¡±
Han Sooyoungined. ¡°Quickly do it.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been looking at it for a long time.¡±
¡°Yes? ...Then what is it?¡±
Lee Sookyung smiled. ¡°Well, it can be either. A week ago, it was in the middle and three days ago it was inauspicious...¡±
¡°What? Inauspicious?¡±
¡°Yesterday it was lucky...¡±
¡°Then what is it now?¡±
Lee Sookyung pulled out a bronze mirror without speaking. It was a fragment of the Heavenly Mirror, one of the three divine treasures. ¡°See for yourself.¡±
There was an unusual nuance in her voice that caused Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah to simultaneously put their heads together. Then faint letters appeared on the bronze mirror.
¨DGreat Misfortune.
For a moment, Han Sooyoung doubted if she read the hanja properly. (Hanja=Chinese characters)
¡°Is this real?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. If you¡¯re curious, you can ask the Hongik neb.¡± She said this but Lee Sookyung didn¡¯t look veryfortable either. Then the surface of the mirror shook and the writing changed.
¡°Ah...? The word ¡®help¡¯ appeared?¡± Yoo Sangah eximed and the other two nced at the mirror.
Help. It was an obvious meaning and there was no need to interpret it. Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah faced each other at the same time.
Lee Sookyung sighed lightly and asked them, ¡°Then who will go?¡±
***
[ ...Kim Dokja is truly Kim Dokja. How did you know?]
Bihyung appeared out of thin air. His fur was shiny and he was now wearing good quality cloth materials. The dokkaebi used to only wear tiger underwear but that was an old story now.
¡°What about the Korean Penins channel?¡±
[I was demoted. Can¡¯t you tell?]
¡°It looks like you¡¯re not doing well without me?¡±
[You¡¯ll know if youe back.]
Bihyung didn¡¯t use honorifics as before. Perhaps it was proof that the rtionship between us had changed. In fact, my contract with him had ended with my death.
Bihyung stared at me for a while and I gazed back.
[Have you been well?]
¡°It is as you can see.¡±
[Yes, I¡¯ve heard many stories about you.]
I lightly nodded.
[Do you want toe back to my channel again? I will treat you well.]
Perhaps Bihyung¡¯s words were sincere. It was a more dangerous proposal because it was genuine.
¡°Well...¡±
I didn¡¯t hate Bihyung now. However, I wasn¡¯t naive enough to join hands with Bihyung. Bihyung was a dokkaebi with strings to the bureau and the bureau was one of the most dangerous groups in the world.
[Indeed, you were originally such a person.]
Bihyung¡¯s expression was changing. It was natural for the dokkaebis to be aloof to those who left their channels. The idea that Bihyung could be an enemy wasn¡¯t impossible. Even so, the time hade sooner than I thought.
[Then what about this? Build a joint channel with me. It is fine since this is the Demon World.]
For a moment, I thought I heard wrong. ¡°...Are you serious?¡±
[Think about it once.]
In fact, it wasn¡¯t a bad suggestion. If I built a joint channel with Biyoo, it would allow Biyoo to learn and grow quickly. ¡°I understand. More than that, now...¡±
At this moment, I heard Bihyung through the dokkaebimunication.
-Do you want me to turn the channel off?
I nodded. As expected, Bihyung only pretended to be stupid.
-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to do but I wish you well. I have a few things to do so... let¡¯s resolve the rest at ater time.
I didn¡¯t understand why Bihyung was so favourable towards me. In any case, I was fortunate. Bihyung changed the settings and then a message from the constetions was heard.
[All constetions in the channel are dissatisfied with the channel¡¯s connection!]
I immediately looked at the Fourth Wall.
¡¸ The Fourth Wall says, Do not look for too lo ng. ¡¹
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has been released.]
I felt the curtain surrounding my world disappearing. I didn¡¯t miss this time and turned on the Attributes Window.
[Checking the Attributes Window.]
A vast amount of information entered my mind.
+
[Character Information]
Name: Kim Dokja
Age: 28 years old
Constetion Support: None
Modifier: Demon King of Salvation (Narrative)
Private Attribute: Lamarck Kirin (Legend), Demon World Duke (Legend), Scenario Interpreter (???), ¡ö¡ö Apostle (???)...
..
..
+
I could now see my attributes that I couldn¡¯t confirm properlyst time. To be honest, it was surprising. I thought my attribute would be ¡®reader¡¯...
Scenario Interpreter? Besides, what was ¡ö¡ö Apostle? Why wasn¡¯t the attribute rating shown?
[You have checked your Attributes Window for the first time.]
[The effect of the ¡®Scenario Interpreter¡¯ is activated!]
In any case, I kept checking the information. The part I watched most carefully was the ¡®Exclusive Skills.¡¯
+
Exclusive Skills: Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint Lv. ?, Bookmark Lv. ?, Character List Lv. ?, Fourth Wall Lv. ?, Reading Comprehension Lv. ?, ....
+
One of the skills originally hidden with a ¡ö could be seen.
Reading Comprehension. At first nce, it seemed like the ability to read and understand something but I didn¡¯t think it was that simple. Most of the skills I¡¯ve acquired so far were like that.
I raised my hand to the Attributes Window without thinking. Then there was the sound of sparks appearing and the Attributes Window started breaking apart.
...Was it already 10 seconds? I thought so at first but the problem wasn¡¯t that simple.
A faint ringing was heard in my ears and my head suddenly throbbed. The finger touching the Attributes Window was numb and the world became dizzy. I felt like vomiting. Beyond the insurmountable wall, something was calling me.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
The situation wasn¡¯t improved despite the Fourth Wall activating. The surroundingndscapes started to mix together. It was a scene where things that shouldn¡¯t go together were merged. In the midst of this terrible mood, I felt a strange sense of unity. It felt like something I had been wanting for a long time.
Then I heard a strange message.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ has increased.]
What...? The moment my consciousness flickered, someone spoke to me.
¡¸ (So, I told you not to look for too long). ¡¹
Chapter 255 - Entrance as a Character (1)
Chapter 255: Episode 45 ¨C Entrance as a Character (1)
A burning pain was felt from my cheeks several times.
¡°Kim Dokja! Hey! What is this?¡±
My vision blinked and my consciousness slowly rose to the surface.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
¡°Uh...¡±
My voice didn¡¯t sound like me. It was only a moment but it felt like I had be a different existence and came back. A terrible sensation remained in my entire body. The shoulders being touched by Jang Hayoung¡¯s fingers trembled.
¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±
I couldn¡¯t clearly remember what had happened. I asked the Fourth Wall to check the Attributes Window and then I heard a voice...
I rubbed my temples and asked, ¡°...How did I faint?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know! I came running because of a sudden lightning bolt!¡±
¡°Lightning?¡±
¡°Do you know the sparks that appear when you break the probability? That...¡±
¡°Did it strike like lightning?¡±
Jang Hayoung nodded. ¡°It was the first time I had seen something so big.¡±
My coat and other clothing were charred ck. I couldn¡¯t believe that the coat with the automatic restoration function was damaged like this... The ceiling of the office looked like it had been hit by a meteorite.
¡°Are you okay?¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine. Of course, I¡¯m fine...¡±
Rather, I felt lighter. It was impossible. My body was burnt like this but my spirit was clear. The power of my stories felt fuller.
[The effect of the exclusive skill ¡®Reading Comprehension¡¯ has increased understanding.]
I saw the message and a previous memory emerged. That¡¯s right. I had obviously seen such a message.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ has increased.]
The message marked me as a character. It was something that never happened before. Cool energy filled a corner of my chest.
I had seen the presence of ¡®characters¡¯ many times.¡¯ They were those who came from outside the original novel but was eventually assimted with the original. They were mostly those who stopped reading the novel.
I urgently summoned the Attributes Window. ¡®Attributes Window.¡¯
However, the Attributes Window didn¡¯t easily open. The reason was obvious.
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you.]
I started sweating.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja look ed for 15 se conds. ¡¹
¡®I¡¯m sorry, really.¡¯
Who knew who much time had passed? In fact, 10 or 15 seconds to look at the Attributes Window was a tight time frame.
¡¸ I wi ll no t see you for the mo ment. ¡¹
¡®Wait, let me ask you something.¡¯ I grabbed the Fourth Wall before it was about to disappear. ¡®What the hell is behind that wall?¡¯
It was a vague memory but I definitely saw something before I fainted. I looked a bit closer and it seemed I had been talking to someone. There were clearly a few shadows.
¡¸ ...Sleep y. ¡¹
Then the Fourth Wall fell asleep. The function was still working but the consciousness had turned off. Shit.
[You have acquired a new story!]
[The story ¡®Looked into the Abyss¡¯ has been acquired.]
[This story doesn¡¯t have a rating.]
I stared at the messages in the air with nk eyes.
Looked into the Abyss. I knew the existence of this story from the original novel. I couldn¡¯t prevent the goosebumps.
Unrestrained questions flooded my head. Why did I get this story here? What was the rtionship between that story and being called a character? Was I now a character or was I still a reader? I... Was I still able to change the future?
¡°Kim Dokja?¡± Jang Hayoung was staring at me with emotional eyes.
How much better would it be if my situation was as clear as his eyes? If I could read myself like I read these eyes...
At this moment, there was a sh in my head.
¡¸ What if I use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint on myself? ¡¹
I never thought of it before. There was clearly something lurking inside me that I didn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t know if it was something the author left behind or if it naturally permeated me during the process of the world changing. The obvious thing was I needed to figure out what it was.
However, I hesitated to use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
...Could I figure it out using this? In the first ce, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint was a skill that read the thoughts and movements of the target...
[...Kim Dokja? Are you okay?]
I barely escaped from the mire of thoughts thanks to the dokkaebi floating in front of me. ¡°Bihyung?¡±
I stared at Bihyung with a stupid expression. Didn¡¯t he say he was leaving earlier? Bihyung started stammering.
[Ah... after the sudden storm...]
He said he was busy but he must¡¯ve been observing in the vicinity. In any case, he was a sneaky fellow. I couldn¡¯t trust him.
[D-Don¡¯t get me wrong. I forgot to tell you that I came back.]
As I spoke to the dokkaebi with calm eyes, Jang Hayoung looked over here with the frightened eyes of a rabbit. I patted his shoulder with a gentle gesture and asked Bihyung. ¡°What aren¡¯t you saying?¡±
[As you know, the Demon King Selection will be a very big event.]
It was already expected. The story of what happened at the Gourmet Association must be spreading between the constetions. Some of those present would certainly participate in the Demon King Selection.
[It isn¡¯t just getting bigger, there is also a fight over the broadcasting rights. You might¡¯ve expected it but I¡¯m not the only one dispatched to the Demon World.]
¡°Then?¡±
[You know the dokkaebi on the other side.]
I knew the dokkaebi?
[It is a guy with a huge grudge against you.]
There were two of them. However, one was in Murim so there was only one more left. ¡°...Is it Dokgak?¡±
[Yes.]
Dokgak. The dokkaebi, who was in charge of the Japanese channel, had been humiliated by me and Bihyung.
I was lucky at the time but now it was different. Among the dokkaebis mentioned in Ways of Survival, Dokgak was a person with outstanding talent regarding channel management. If he was chosen as one of the dokkaebis to lead this ¡®Demon King Selection¡¯, the future schedule would never flow smoothly.
[In any case, be careful. The channel management is good so... wait a minute. What about your dokkaebi?]
¡°Dokkaebi?¡±
Come to think of it, I felt very lonely. Through the cracked ceiling, the constetions shining in the sky could be seen. It was strange. I might¡¯ve ordered the blocking of the channel but I should be hearing theirints. Yet I didn¡¯t hear any messages.
¡°Biyoo?¡± I called out a name with an uneasy heart.
Biyoo didn¡¯t appear. At first, I thought she was sleeping again. However, minutes passed and there was no Biyoo. An ominous premonition struck me.
...Don¡¯t tell me?
¡°Biyoo!¡±
Biyoo had disappeared.
***
[A new constetion has entered the #BI-90594 channel.]
.
.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is greatly moved by your return.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is weing you with a smile.]
[Many constetions are weing your return!]
I entered Bihyung¡¯s channel and familiar names greeted me. I couldn¡¯t rejoice at all despite the baptism of cheers.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is asking the whereabouts of the dokkaebi ¡®Biyoo.¡¯]
Some of the constetions answered immediately.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is wiping his head like it is difficult.]
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is coughing and cing his thumb and index finger together.]
[Some constetions say they are willing to answer if you give them coins.]
...It turned out that the constetions of the Korean Penins had little money. I rummaged for coins in my pocket while Jang Hayoung opened his mouth. ¡°Perhaps she was caught in the storm?¡±
Biyoo wasn¡¯t from the bureau and didn¡¯t have a mighty story to protect herself from a great storm. I couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that she was swept away by the storm. However¡ª
¡°It can¡¯t be. There were no signs.¡±
If that happened, terrible debris could be seen. However, there were no traces of Biyoo. It felt as if someone hadpletely ripped away Biyoo¡¯s existence. Who was it? Who took Biyoo...?
Bihyung looked up from where he was biting his nails. Our eyes met and we realized that we had the same idea. Biyoo was the only dokkaebi with an independent channel.
[Fuck, it¡¯s those guys.]
¡°The wenny people.¡±
The sentences of the original novel flowed into my head.
¡¸ The only scenario area that isn¡¯t under the jurisdiction of the dokkaebis. It is the Demon World. ¡¹
As written in Ways of Survival, the Demon World was essentially the area of the wenny people. In such a zone, they confirmed there was a dokkaebi who wasn¡¯t a member of the bureau.
-The soul is mine.
The first time we met, he had coveted the Dokkaebi Egg. The value of an independent channel was sorge that it couldn¡¯t be calcted at present.
A giant story event was currently taking ce in the Demon World. There was no way the wenny people would miss something happening in their sphere of influence. They had definitely stolen the channel for the Demon King Selection.
The wenny people were inherently resistant to probability. Thus, they would¡¯ve been able to take Biyoo when I was unconscious and there was a storm around me. Dammit... why at this point?
[Leave it to me. I¡¯ll find them.]
I could see anger in Bihyung¡¯s eyes.
[The dokkaebis¡¯ honor is at stake. She might not be a member of the bureau but I can¡¯t see this.]
¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡±
Bihyung shook his head.
[It isn¡¯t long until the Demon King Selection. In the meantime, aren¡¯t there certain things you should be doing?]
That¡¯s right. The remaining time was really short. If I misused this time to find Biyoo, I might be defeated at the start of thepetition.
¡°...Why are you doing this?¡±
[You belong to my channel now.]
Bihyung avoided my gaze while replying.
[I¡¯m just moving for my channel. You have to win. That way, the constetions will like you and my channel will be bigger.]
Then Bihyung disappeared into thin air.
Jang Hayoung asked, ¡°...Is it okay to believe in him?¡±
There was nothing as stupid as a question about believing a dokkaebi. Putting aside my belief in Bihyung, there was no race as mysterious as the dokkaebis in all of the Star Stream.
I sighed briefly. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t good right now and Jang Hayoung wasn¡¯t strong enough to pursue Bihyung.
A presence that could help me was in the night sky but the problem was that I was now in Bihyung¡¯s channel. In other words, all messages I sent through the channel would be inevitably read by Bihyung.
If so... there was only one way. ¡°Jang Hayoung, call the wall.¡±
***
There were quick footsteps in the darkness.
[Baat, baaaat!]
Biyoo burst out crying as she was trapped in a cage.
[Baaat! Baat...!]
An elderly man with a small lump on his left cheek was running along a dark road. There was an excitement in his urgent steps. The old man was in a very good mood.
[The age of the dokkaebis will now end.]
The old man was excited at the thought of showing off his achievement to the other wenny people. He couldn¡¯t describe how envious he was when a fellow colleague recently came up to him bragging about gaining the ¡®story of beating up a dokkaebi.¡¯ Now he brought not a story about beating a dokkaebi but a dokkaebi itself. The old man patted Biyoo¡¯s cage like it was adorable.
[My child, you will be the first ¡®wenny person¡¯ with a channel.]
This was the long wish of the wenny people. It was to take back the dominance of the story from the dokkaebis.
[¡ö¡ö¡¯s streamer. From the hell of this terrible scenario, I will free the ves...]
The lump on the old man¡¯s left cheek swelled greatly. The lump wriggled excitedly as it touched the cage containing Biyoo. Biyoo stared at the lump with terrified eyes and urgently looked around. She searched for help but unfortunately, there was no person to rescue Biyoo present.
[Hey.]
To be precise, it wasn¡¯t a ¡®person.¡¯
[Won¡¯t you put that lump away?]
Chapter 256 - Entrance as a Character (2)
Chapter 256: Episode 45 ¨C Entrance as a Character (2)
The moment the wenny man turned around, three spears made of yellow sparks struck in front of him. The wenny man frowned and stepped back. It was an attack containing the power of a great story.
[A senior dokkaebi.]
A silhouette floated beyond the yellow trajectory that filled the air. It was a baby-sized dokkaebi in neat clothing. It was Bihyung.
[Leave that baby behind and get lost if you know what¡¯s good for you.]
Red fangs shed from the mouth of the growling Bihyung. The dokkaebis of the Star Stream didn¡¯t easily be angry. The constetions in the channels didn¡¯t like the dokkaebis to express their emotions. However, there were times when a dokkaebi became truly angry. It was during those times that the canines would be shone.
[Why are youing out for a dokkaebi who isn¡¯t a member of the bureau?]
[A dokkaebi is a dokkaebi.]
[How funny.]
[...I gave birth to this child. I might not want to raise her but shouldn¡¯t I act as a parent?]
The wenny manughed at the words.
[Parent? A parent!]
It was a greatugh and the lump on his cheek shook.
[Since when did a dokkaebi have such human aspects? If there was such a thing, you should¡¯ve given it to my ancestors.]
[Sorry, I wasn¡¯t even born at the time.]
[Then who willpensate for our suffering?]
One of the wenny man¡¯s eyes concealed by the fog was revealed. It was a Great Demon¡¯s Eye. The yellow iris started spinning and emitting a fierce pressure.
[Who willpensate us for the pain of having our ¡®Story Bag¡¯ taken away?]
[What is this bullshit? I know that story but we gave back the Story Bag. It was even double¨D]
The situation got worse and Bihyung¡¯s expression started stiffening. He didn¡¯t expect for the wenny man to try to fight against him. Bihyung might¡¯ve made a big appearance but this was the first time he was fighting a wenny person.
¡ªNo matter what happens, avoid fighting a wenny person as much as possible.
It was advice left behind by the previous generation dokkaebis. Bihyung was a fairly old dokkaebi of the Seoul branch but he knew little about the rtionship between a dokkaebi and wenny person.
The only thing certain was that the two races had been antagonistic since the days before the concept of the ¡®channel¡¯ was established.
The wenny man said, [It looks like you don¡¯t know anything. You didn¡¯t return the wenny people¡¯s possessions.]
Bihyung was annoyed. [I don¡¯t know about that. Just give me that child quickly! If not¨D]
[There are many types of evils in the world.]
There was an eerie chill in the wenny man¡¯s voice. Before Bihyung could even scream, the wenny person continued. It was like the sentence of an old song.
[The ¡®first evil¡¯ is an evil that makes someone unhappy.]
The wenny man¡¯s lump was gradually getting bigger. A warning was ringing in Bihyung¡¯s head.
[The ¡®second evil¡¯ is evil that enjoys misery.]
Along with the lyrics, something was released from the wenny man¡¯s lump. It was something that absolutely shouldn¡¯t be released.
[The most ¡®repugnant evil¡¯ is the evil that reveals its misery to others.]
Bihyung moved without hesitation.
[The authority of a giant story is being used.]
Bihyung became a senior dokkaebi and gained the rights to a giant story. The wenny person wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the power that could manipte the Star Stream. By the way, the wenny man wasughing. [Didn¡¯t the previous generation tell you? Never use that power in front of a wenny person.]
The story flowing out of the lump started to trap the story around Bihyung¡¯s body. Thenguage of the system was entirely ck. It was as if someone had covered the world in ck paint.
[The operation of the giant story ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö...]
Bihyung was startled. This type of maniption was only avable to the great dokkaebis above the highest-ranking dokkaebis. How did this wenny man have this power...?
[Perhaps... thenguage of another world?]
[Stupid dokkaebi. Your mistake wasing here alone.]
Something was crawling out of the wenny person¡¯s lump. A monstrous creature was sending its tentacles through the torn lump.
[ K-Kuoh, kuooooh. ]
The quick tentacles instantly grasped Bihyung¡¯s small body.
[The story ¡®Song of the Wenny Person¡¯ is in effect.]
Bihyung realized toote the moment the story touched him. Why did the previous generation dokkaebis avoid the wenny people?
[Due to the racial characteristic, the resistance to the ¡®wenny people¡¯ has plummeted.]
[The hatred of the wenny people makes your mind weak.]
[The wenny people¡¯s grudge has sharply reduced your fighting power.]
A feeling of helplessness filled Bihyung and he felt like an incarnation. Countless gazes pouring from the air struck his body like arrows.
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is astonished by the power of the wenny people.]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is frowning at the source of the wenny people¡¯s power.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is forming fists.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is greatly angry!]
The wenny manughed. [We can¡¯t apply this power to other races. However, it is different for a dokkaebi.]
The force of the tentacles slowly squeezed tighter and suffocated Bihyung. He could feel the deep grudge of the wenny people through the tentacles.
It was a story that showed a near-invincible force against the dokkaebis as long as certain conditions were satisfied. He was apalled by the wenny people¡¯s story, which had been filled with the hatred of a race since its birth.
[You will die in view of your favourite constetions.] I will get a very good story today.]
The story flowed and squeezed Bihyung like he was a fruit. He btedly contacted the bureau but Bihyung would be juice before they came. It happened the moment his consciousness was going to disappear under the tightening tentacles.
The tentacles wrapped around Bihyung exploded. The surprised wenny man retreated and Bihyung¡¯s small body fell to the ground. It was a tall man who caught Bihyung.
¡°What a stupid dokkaebi to confront a wenny person.¡±
Bihyung turned his head at the cold voice. Bloody boots. A long ck coat pping in the wind. The trapped Biyoo shouted ¡°Baaat,¡± while the constetions in the sky sent indirect messages.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is screaming and cheering!]
Bihyung saw the ck weapon in his hands and realized the identity of the man.
[Y-You...?]
He got goosebumps the moment he locked eyes with the man. It wasn¡¯t because of the man¡¯s skill Sage¡¯s Eyes, which was designed by the oldest man in all dimensions, nor was it because of the fierceness around his body. Bihyung had met countless incarnations.
However, only one incarnation had the eyes of this man. He seemed to be measuring how to kill Bihyung. The moment Bihyung started struggling, the man threw Bihyung¡¯s body back.
¡°Stay back.¡±
Bihyung fell with a loud sound and rolled across the ground. The man gripped the sword in his right hand without hesitation. The ck Demon Sword started crying and a solid story of transcendence started surrounding the man.
The cut-off tentacles wriggled on the ground. The wenny man stared nkly at the scene and Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°You are the great demon of the horizon.¡±
[That¡¯s right. It has been a while. Puppet of the oldest dream.]
¡°...It is the first time I¡¯m seeing you.¡±
[Hahaha! You will never know! You will never know even when going through 1,000 deaths and living 1,000 lives again. Because you are...!]
Yoo Jonghyuk had no intention of listening to the wenny man¡¯s bullshit and his sword cut through the space.
The wenny man saw the de passing right in front of his nose and shouted, [Wouldn¡¯t it be good if we both backed away at this point? You have nothing to do with this situation¡ª]
¡°Give me Shin Yoosung.¡±
[What?]
He followed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s gaze towards the cage where Biyoo was trapped. The wenny man finally realized how the situation had gone wrong. [Are you aiming for the dokkaebi? Bah! It is no use for a human to have a channel¡ª]
¡°I don¡¯t need a channel.¡±
Biyoo¡¯s eyes shook from inside the cage. The fallen BIhyung stood up and listened nkly. The atmosphere of transcendence surrounded Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s de.
The wenny manughed. [I¡¯m dumbfounded. Don¡¯t you know the value of this dokkaebi? It is unreasonable for you in this round. It is useless even with the person called Kim Dokja! No matter how many variables, the flow of the Star Stream...]
The sparks of transcendence appeared and a waterfall of magic power poured from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck Demon Sword. The arm of the wenny man flew through the air.
Magic power flowed out from the de in the form of the Breaking the Sky energy and the wenny man shouted, [S-Stop! You don¡¯t know because your cumtive deeds are still low. In other parallel dimensions...!]
The excessive leakage of information caused sparks of probability to ssh around the wenny man. He swallowed his words and yelled again.
[In any case, you¡¯re making a mistake now! Never make me your enemy¨D]
¡°I made a promise with my colleagues. I¡¯ll get revenge for her.¡±
Biyoo in the cage was shaking. She might¡¯ve lost her memory and many parts of her past life had disappeared but Biyoo¡¯s body was trembling.
¡°You¡¯ll die here.¡±
The Shin Yoosung of the 41st round didn¡¯t have her memories. If so, who was the revenge for? Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t know. He just swung his sword. Just like revenge for the first round waspleted in the second round and revenge for the second round waspleted in the third round.
He tore at the tentaclesing from the lump and then ced a huge sword against one of the wenny man¡¯s arms. The next moment, Yoo Jonghyuk was standing behind the wenny man. The energy of Breaking the Sky flooded the entire space.
[W-Wait a minute! Stop¨D]
The wenny person¡¯s lump flew through the air. The next moment, the wenny man¡¯s body was engulfed in the darkness that emerged from the lump.
[A curse, I will curse you. The ¡®I¡¯ of all dimensions will never forgive you...!]
The wenny man was struck in the mouth by the ck Demon Sword. There was a terrible scream and the darkness that escaped from the lumppletely swallowed the wenny person.
The darkness stared at Yoo Jonghyuk for a moment before itpletely disappeared. Then aplete stillness came. Yoo Jonghyuk stood still for a while from the excessive use of transcendence. Countless system messages entered his ears.
[You have acquired a new legendary story!]
[You have aplished an achievement that never existed before.]
[The story ¡®One Who Killed a Wenny Person¡¯ has been acquired!]
[All the wenny people in the Demon World have be hostile to you!]
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly walked towards the cage and carefully pulled out Biyoo. Biyoo cried out loudly. Her little hand touched Yoo Jonghyuk several times. Yoo Jonghyuk stared down at Biyoo for a while before he ced her in his pocket and started moving.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has wet eyes.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is wiping his head with a towel.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is so impressed that he is writing a poem.]
The light of countless constetions was shining towards him but none of them could reach Yoo Jonghyuk. No matter how many years they had lived, they couldn¡¯t understand the regressor who suffered the destruction of the world twice. The next moment, Yoo Jonghyuk heard a message.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at you.]
It was a star that never appeared in thest two rounds. Then why? Yoo Jonghyuk felt like the star had been there for a long time.
Yoo Jonghyuk dered, ¡°Get lost, Kim Dokja.¡±
Then one of the stars in the sky really went out.
¡°...Kim Dokja?¡±
There was no answer from Kim Dokja.
Chapter 257 - Entrance as a Character (3)
Chapter 257: Episode 45 ¨C Entrance as a Character (3)
¡°Things have been roughly sorted out.¡±
I sighed with relief as I looked at Yoo Jonghyuk through the screen of the channel. I was anxious about the bureau arriving but fortunately, Yoo Jonghyuk was faster. It was a good choice to convey a message to Uriel through Jang Hayoung.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is smiling brightly.]
It was Uriel who took Yoo Jonghyuk to that ce. Yoo Jonghyuk was angry with me over the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint incident so I decided that Uriel¡¯s words would have more influence on Yoo Jonghyuk.
Jang Hayoung watched Bihyung on the screen and muttered, ¡°It is the first time I¡¯ve seen a dokkaebi so helpless.¡±
¡°The racial stories are intertwined. In order to deal with a wenny person, a great dokkaebi or at least four dokkaebis must appear.¡±
¡°...You know it very well? Aileen said that everything about the dokkaebis and wenny people was covered in a veil.¡±
¡°This is basic information among the constetions.¡±
Jang Hayoung stared at me with strangely respectful eyes after hearing my words. Of course, not all constetions knew this information. The screen showed a short close-up of Biyoo and Yoo Jonghyuk holding her.
¡¸ I will get revenge for you. ¡¹
¡¸ Goodbye, Captain. ¡¹
¡¸ Good job. ¡¹
¡¸ I¡¯ll leave it to you. ¡¹
¡¸ Rest. ¡¹
The sentences that only I could see were passing through my head. Now these words had gone to the ce they were meant to. I didn¡¯t know much about it but one thing was certain.
At least now they understood each other without words. The things I couldn¡¯t read had definitely touched them. I didn¡¯t know why but I felt lonely thinking about it.
¡°...Kim Dokja?¡± Jang Hayoung was staring at me.
I scratched my head and quickly opened my mouth. ¡°In any case, Yoo Jonghyuk will do it somehow. This side must be ready...¡±
...Shit. Already? Jang Hayoung and I looked out the window of the office at the same time. Clouds of sand were gathering beyond the walls of the industrialplex. There was amotion among the citizens. I could see Mark and the otherwmakers calming them down.
[Oh, there are some hot-tempered constetions. There are still 48 hours until the Demon King Selection.]
The familiar voice of a dokkaebi was heard in the air. High above the industrialplex, Dokgak stared at me andughed.
[I was originally thinking the beginning should be more boring...]
He was obviously smiling but his eyes were full of resentment against me. No matter how much he disliked me, he couldn¡¯t start his own game within the Demon King Selection story.
[This time, it isn¡¯t bad to start early.]
...What?
[A new sub scenario has been acquired!]
[The Sub Scenario¨D¡¯Skirmish¡¯ has started!]
I saw the emerging window and noticed how things were progressing. A sub scenario. In the absence of Biyoo and Bihyung, this jerk...
+
[Sub Scenario ¨C Skirmish]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: Protect the ¡®Story Core¡¯ of the industrialplex for a limited amount of time. Or steal it.
Time Limit: 48 hours.
Compensation: Attacking side¨D qualification for the Demon King Selection
Defending side¨D200,000 coins, ???
Failure: ¨D
+
I frowned. It might be a sub scenario but opening a scenario in this way was clearly out of the ordinary.
[Some constetions are dissatisfied with the unfair process of Dokgak!]
[Some constetions are requesting a ¡®probability conformity screening!]
Fortunately, I wasn¡¯t the only one to think so.
[Ahh, I knew some of you would think so. Certainly, there is some unfairness. The number of defenders and attackers aren¡¯t equal.]
Dokgak was sneering at me. It was a smile that told me I could handle such a scenario. It was an obvious provocation.
[Thus, I have slightly adjusted the difficulty level. As far as this sub scenario is concerned, the individual constetions of the attackers and defenders will have equal levels.]
The moment Dokgak spoke, a faint aura surrounded my incarnation bodies.
[The stats of everyone participating in the scenario is fixed.]
I slowly clenched my fists before opening them. The attacking constetions would¡¯ve received the same penalty. I couldn¡¯t see whether my stats had fallen or increased.
[Some constetions are still protesting that this scenario is against the probability!]
Dokgak had a troubled expression.
[Ahh, don¡¯t say that. This is really... you have all be weak. Have you already forgotten that scenarios are fun because they¡¯re difficult?]
The channel became a terrible mess with indirect messages supporting and opposing it. In the meantime, Dokgak pushed ahead with the scenario.
[You are currently the owner of the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex.]
[You are ying the role of ¡®defender¡¯ in the Skirmish.]
[You must protect the Story Core from the attacking constetions.]
I smiled bitterly as I faced Dokgak. Yes, this was what he came up with.
¡°Kim Dokja, how...¡±
Rather than answering Jang Hayoung, I opened the wide and yelled towards the citizens.
[All citizens. This is the first time I am personally greeting you.]
My true voice resonated through the industrialplex. I once again breathed in and shouted, [Please calm down and concentrate on my words.]
The voice of the duke was heard for the first time and all the citizens looked at me. Voices came from all over the ce. ¡°It is Kim Dokja!¡±
¡°That person is the duke!¡±
Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t match their expectations.
[I can¡¯t protect you.]
Perhaps there had never been such a duke in the Demon World. In addition, I hoped there wouldn¡¯t be any more in the future.
[So don¡¯t die here like dogs and find your own way to live. I will personally rmend the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex!]
I could see the mouths of the citizens dropping open at my absurd deration. Even Mark looked up in a bewildered manner from where he was calming the citizens. Still, it couldn¡¯t be helped. This was the only way to save them. There should be no unnecessary sacrifices in this scenario.
[Do you want to free the citizens of your industrialplex?]
¡°Free them.¡±
[All citizens of the industrialplex are freed from your influence.]
[The citizens of the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex have received the ¡®Escape Scenario.¡¯]
[The citizens of the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex can now choose an industrialplex.]
[You have acquired a new legendary story!]
[The story ¡®Liberator of the Industrial Complex¡¯ has been acquired.]
Messages poured out and I left a final message.
[Everyone, please leave. I will stop them until everyone leaves.]
Bihyung might¡¯ve argued against this if he was here but now he was lying in a distant ce.
[The citizens of the industrialplex are giving a standing ovation for your noble sacrifice.]
Thanks but I wasn¡¯t nning a noble sacrifice. I focused on the energying from beyond the barrier of the industrialplex. There were four huge energy sources. At least four constetions were approaching.
¡°Jang Hayoung. Take Han Myungoh and the Breaking the Sky Master. Flee and don¡¯t look back.
Never think about fighting them.¡±
¡°What? I don¡¯t want to!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t care if you want to! Go directly to Yoo Jonghyuk. Quickly!¡±
There were ¡®four¡¯ing now but there would be more behind them. They weren¡¯t something a transcendent dog, a human whose gender was ambiguous and a middle-aged man who had been pregnant could face.
¡°I am one of them anyway.¡±
I immediately ran downstairs and pulled out the Story Core of the Factory.
[The Factory has stopped running.]
The important thing was to protect this Story Core. I didn¡¯t have to stay in the industrialplex to defend it. I opened Bookmark and used Way of the Wind to climb onto the wall of the industrialplex.
[Is this what you want?]
The four approaching constetions listened to me.
[If you want it then you¡¯ll have to take it away.]
***
The fearsome constetions followed behind me. The reason I could flee was because we had equal stats.
They were four and I was one. I didn¡¯t have much of a chance, regardless of whether the constetions were high or low ranking.
I ran over barriers using Way of the Wind. The constetions confirmed I was holding the Story Core and started to chase me. If they took me down here, they could qualify to participate in the Demon King Selection. It wasn¡¯t strange for them to go on a rampage like this.
Dokgakughed at me. [Hahaha, it is very easy to run away! Constetions, do you really want to stay on Bihyung¡¯s channel to watch such a person?]
This son of a bitch... I wouldn¡¯t have suffered from this sub scenario if Bihyung hadn¡¯t been distracted. However, I couldn¡¯t do anything because Bihyung wasn¡¯t here.
¡°Requesting a rise in membership level of the Dokkaebi Bag.¡±
I had already be a ¡®tinum¡¯ level which was an increase by two levels. Still, tinum wasn¡¯t the highest rating.
[The dokkaebi in charge is currently absent.]
[The status update will be automatically executed due to the dokkaebi¡¯s absence.]
[500,000 coins have been consumed.]
[Congrattions! You have be a diamond member of the Dokkaebi Bag!]
[Due to the increase in membership level, the items list of the Dokkaebi Bag will be updated.]
The diamond members could purchase VIP exclusive items. If my memories were correct, the ¡®items¡¯ would¡¯ve been released by now.
[You can see the list of exclusive VIP items.]
If Bihyung was here, he would¡¯ve hidden this list even if he died. It was because Bihyung¡¯s ck history was among the items on this list.
+
* Random Story Box (ver 1.3) ¨D 20,000 C
* Story Fusion Box (ver 1.3) ¨D 200,000 C
+
...It was as expected. These crazy coin items were being sold. Fortunately, the updated version was the one I was looking for.
¡¸ ¡°Shit, what are the odds... why didn¡¯t they publish the odds?¡± ¡¹
In the 71st round, Kim Namwoon bought this wrong thing and was ruined.
[You have purchased ten Random Story Boxes.]
[You have purchased one Story Fusion Boxes.]
[400,000 coins have been consumed.]
The Random Story Box was one of the few gambling items that consumed coins to get ¡®stories.¡¯ Due to the description that the best quasi-myth grade story could be obtained, the incarnations and constetions ran towards this item once it was released on the market.
Of course, it went without saying that they all became bankrupt. The result was natural. The probability of getting a history-grade story from the Random Box was less than 0.001% and the odds of a quasi-myth story wasn¡¯t even 0.00001%. Then what about the remaining 99,99%?
¡¸ ¡°Crazy! 50 history-grade stories? There is even the lowest-grade? Is this a joke?¡± ¡¹
I grabbed a falling box and opened it with my mouth.
[Do you want to use the Random Story Box?]
I knew there was little chance of a good storying out of this box. Then why did I want this box?The story I wanted wasn¡¯t a good story.
.
.
[The story ¡®Head Shoulder Knee Feet¡¯ has been acquired.]
[The story ¡®Don¡¯t Cut My Hair¡¯ has been acquired.]
[The story ¡®Nose Pendant Hanging from the Nose¡¯.]
[The story ¡®Earring Hanging from the Ears¡¯.]
.
.
Indeed, it was as I saw in Ways of Survival. In the 1.3 version of the Story Box, there was a more than 80% chance of stories regarding the ¡®body¡¯ing out. The mostmon of them was the Nose Pendant Hanging from the Nose and Earring Hanging from the Ears.
From behind me, a serpent¡¯s fangs grazed my sides and thighs. It was an attack containing the power of a story. I gritted my teeth and activated Way of the Wind to the extreme, hiding behind the ruins of a building. I needed a bit more time.
[Wh...ere... are... you...!]
I ignored the ugly true voice and confirmed the stories I had just acquired.
+
[History-grade Story: Nose Pendant Hanging from the Nose]
Description: If you ce anything on your nose, it will trigger an effect that makes it look like an essory. The item doesn¡¯t matter.
+
[History-grade Story: Earring Hanging from the Ears]
Description: It anything is hung on your ears, an effect that makes it look like an earring will be activated. It is a story made inbination with Nose Pendant Hanging from the Nose.
+
Needless to say, these stories weren¡¯t helpful when it came to breaking through the current situation. However, it was different with the next item.
+
[Item Information]
Name: Story Fusion Box ver 1.3
Rating: ¨D
Description: It can fuse together different types of stories. There is a very low probability of randomly creating a higher-grade story.
+
An item that had a very low probability of generating a high-level story when mixing certainbinations of stories. Originally, this item wasn¡¯t very useful. The same stories being put together produced different results every time and the odds of getting a good story were ridiculously low.
Nevertheless, ording to the characters¡¯ remarks, there was a bug in the 1.3 version of the fusion box.
¡¸ ¡°The sale of the box was discontinued because of this. Shit, I should¡¯ve tried it before Anna Croft¨D¡± ¡¹
There was a bug with the 1.3 version fo the Story Fusion Box. It was that when mixing certain stories, the first person who did it must receive a ¡®certain story.¡¯
The two stories were poured into the box without hesitation and there was a bright sh of light. A message entered my ears along with the throbbing pain.
[The legendary story ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯ has been acquired.]
Chapter 258 - Entrance as a Character (4)
Chapter 258: Episode 45 ¨C Entrance as a Character (4)
One day, there was a constetion who left such a remark.
¡¸ ¡°Every story has a w. This means that all stories can bepleted.¡± ¡¹
The legendary story ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯. This story was made by the narrative-grade constetion who left behind that remark.
[The story ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯ is searching for the target of the distortion.]
I got up and moved away from the ruined building. I could see three constetions chasing me through the dust clouds. It was originally four but I didn¡¯t know where thest one went.
[Kuaaaah...]
[Gi ve me the sto ry co re.]
I was surrounded by the incarnation bodies. There was one giant snake that reminded me of Orochi and one giant field mouse. Thest one was a fiery dog resembling a Cerberus. The Mass Production Maker had told me something during my visit to the Gourmet Association.
-Not all constetions have a noble character.
Some of the constetions would build up stories like me to be constetions while others would lend themselves to the ¡®authority¡¯ of other constetions. In some cases, they might not have umted excellent stories but they were lucky enough to fall into an advantageous area and be a constetion.
¡°What if I don¡¯t want to give it to you?¡±
It was the case with the guys in front of me.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Riche Snake Boss¡¯ is staring at you.]
They were those who received the patronage of constetions or ¡®fortunately¡¯ became constetions by eating other beginner constetions or incarnations.
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯ is coveting your nails.]
[The constetion ¡®Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes¡¯ is looking at the surrounding constetions.]
I knew I would eventually bump into them from the moment they appeared in front of me.
[Many constetions are looking forward to your battle!]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking forward to your performance!]
I could feel the hot gaze of the stars. They would be curious. I hadn¡¯t fought properly since bing a narrative-grade constetion. Dokgak spoke from the air.
[Haha, you are still stupid... are you really going to fight?]
I listened to Dokgak¡¯s words and gritted my teeth. The three constetions in front of me had exactly the same level ofbat power as me. It was due to Dokgak¡¯s penalty. A penalty where everyone in the scenario had the samebat power.
I used Way of the Wind to avoid the poisonous liquid that poured out of the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss¡¯ mouth. At almost the same time, the Nail-Eating Rat swiped his nails towards me. The moment I rolled around on the ground, the surroundings were filled with the mes of the Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes.
I moved around the mes and pulled out my newest thing. This was a fight that couldn¡¯t be won if we faced each other with our incarnation bodies. This was if it was only the force of the incarnation body.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
They might be animals but they were still great-grade constetions. Originally, I couldn¡¯t look at them with this skill.
[The effect of ¡®Looked into the Abyss¡¯ has increased the effect of all your skills.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Character List¡¯ is amplified!]
This time was different.
[You will be able to view constetions who are lower rated than you.]
.
.
[You can now read the constetion information of ¡®Nouveau Riche Snake Boss.¡¯]
[You can now read the constetion information of ¡®Nail-Eating Rat.¡¯]
[You can now read the constetion information of ¡®Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes.¡¯]
I looked at the characteristics of these guys. Of course, it didn¡¯t make sense to simply identify the stats or attributes information whenbat power was set at a certain point.
[The effect of Character List will randomly output a list of the constetion¡¯s stories.]
A list of their stories quickly crossed my eyes.
[Snake Eating Other Snakes.]
[Rat Turning Into a Person.]
[Loyalty Towards the Master.]
[Predator of the Weak.]
...
In the meantime, countless attacks were focused on me. The fist of the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss grazed past my shoulders, my body flew through the air from an attack by the Nail-Eating Rat and my skin was burnt by the mes of the Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes.
[Your reading speed has increased due to the attribute effect.]
I didn¡¯t back down and kept reading their list of stories. They were constetions and had an excellent number of stories. Some were legendary while most were history-grade.
[Rat Who Stole the Words of the Night.]
[Fear of Rodents]
[Mine is Mine, Yours is Mine Too.]
[Towards ndas.]
...
How long had it been? My legs were paralyzed and the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss wound around my body. My vision was literally reversed as my body was captured by him.
Gi ve me the Sto ry Co re.]
The strong grip on my body made by bones feel twisted. It was a mighty power that the Infinite Dimension Space Coat couldn¡¯t bear. Story fragments fell down from my body like crumbs.
[The constetions who love cruel stories are excited.]
[Some of the constetions want to see your body torn apart.]
The eyes of the snake changed at the indirect messages of the constetions. Having the name of ¡®constetion¡¯ didn¡¯t mean all of them were on the same level.
They were more like incarnations. They were watched by other constetions and received coins from them.
¡°I have one question... Why do you want to live like this?¡±
The Nail-Eating Rat raised his head with a sound.
[Kuooooh...?]
I smiled bitterly. Well, I couldn¡¯t afford to think about such things. I had to survive these guys.
¡°I feel sorry for you. Right? Usually a constetion should have a ¡®king¡¯s story¡¯...¡±
[The story ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯ is paying attention to your words.]
Whether it was a snake, a rat, a dog or a human... Those who steadily built up their stories would have a story of a ¡®king¡¯ at the very least. However, these guys have no such stories.
¡°...You have always fought against beings weaker than yourself and don¡¯t have such stories.¡±
[Wh at non sense...!]
The next moment, a bright light rose from my body.
[The story ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯ has found a story to distort.]
The story, Distorting Things as One Pleases. This story didn¡¯t have the power to improve mybat power.
[The story ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯ is starting the story distortion.]
Instead, it could wake up the potential of stories that hadn¡¯t yet found their true power. The direction didn¡¯t matter.
[The story ¡®King of a World without a King¡¯ has been distorted!]
[The story ¡®King of a World without a King¡¯ is starting the story.]
I felt the power of the story seething deep inside my body. The muscles in both arms swelled up. I gripped the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss that was wrapped around my body. The snake screamed in my hands.
¡¸ The world without a king is now here. ¡¹
A huge magic power escaped and the story started to speak for itself. The reason I checked the constetions¡¯ list of stories was simple. It was to use this power.
¡¸ He was born rejecting all thrones in his ck world. ¡¹
A brilliant light rose from the sword in my hands. The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. It was the sword used to destroy the Absolute Throne and the weapon used in the story King of a Kingless World. The weapon responded to my story and regained its original shape.
¡¸ Reign over all beings who aren¡¯t kings. ¡¹
[W-Wait! This strength...!]
The fact that ourbat power was the same didn¡¯t mean the ¡®status¡¯ of the stories is the same.
Even if the density and number of stories were low, I was also a constetion. Dokgak should¡¯ve properly recognized this fact.
[Some constetions are admiring your story application!]
[The constetions of the Big Dipper are paying attention to you.]
Dokgak was bewildered and he frantically tried to manipte the scenario. However, now it was toote to change the sub scenario. He had already exhausted a lot of probability because of the excessive sub scenario.
[The constetion ¡®Nail-Eating Rat¡¯ is preparing to turn its tail and run.]
The rat realized the unusual signs and turned around first. However, I wouldn¡¯t miss a single one.
¡°Stop.¡±
[The effect of the story ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯ is activated.]
[In front of your majesty, all beings who failed to qualify as kings must bow.]
[Kuaaaah!]
[Eeeek!]
There were powerful sparks and the bodies of the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss and Nail-Eating Rat became stiff. The Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes was already on the ground from the moment he saw my story.
[Grrrr. D... don¡¯t co me.]
As I approached, the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss wriggled on the ground. Only those who had the story of a ¡®king¡¯ could resist this story.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is pleased.]
[The Demon King of Lust and Fury is looking at you.]
As the king of the monkeys and king of the 32 Demon Realm watched over me, the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword moved.
[Kuaaaaaack!]
One blow. Two blows. I struck the head of the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss a few times. The scales of the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss weren¡¯t easily destroyed. The flesh of the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss was cut by the White Pure Star Energy and his blood sshed, turning the surroundingnd red. The Nouveau Riche Snake Boss let out several pained screams before falling quiet.
[The constetions of the absolute good system are frowning at your cruelty.]
I pulled the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword out of the head of the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss.
[The demon king, ¡®Silver ws Owl¡¯ is rejoicing in your execution.]
[2,000 coins have been sponsored.]
The constetions didn¡¯t know what was really cruel.
¡°You should¡¯ve been prepared if you coveted my position.¡±
This was a warning to the constetions. It was a warning that they shouldn¡¯t interfere with the giant story. I watched the sky and waved the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
[You have killed the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss¡¯s incarnation body.]
[You have acquired some of the stories of the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss.]
It was the power of the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword that could cut off the connection between constetion and incarnation body.
[The constetion ¡®Nouveau Riche Snake Boss¡¯ has fallen into a deep sleep with a scream.]
Perhaps the Nouveau Riche Snake Boss would never return to an incarnation body. Then I looked at the Nail-Eating Rat. Soon after, the Nail-Eating Rat received the same fate.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is delighting in your madness.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at you with sad eyes.]
I brushed the blood of my cheeks and looked at thest remaining constetion. The Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes was trembling uncontrobly while his head drooped down. The mes that covered his body had already disappeared.
The only thing that remained on the dog¡¯s body were the ck burn stains from protecting its master. I recalled his list of stories. This dog was different from the other two in the Twelve Zodiacs.
[The constetion ¡®Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes¡¯ is pledging allegiance to you.]
I looked at the panting dog and hesitated for a moment. Certain constetions would be disappointed if I didn¡¯t kill the dog here. However... Other constetions aiming for me were running in the distance.
[The story ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯ hase to an end.]
I had used an excessive amount of magic power and needed to recover. I put away my sword and climbed onto the dog.
¡°Let¡¯s go to the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex.¡±
As if waiting, the dog started taking strong steps. The scenery passed quickly and I looked up at the sky.
The stars in the night sky seemed to be flowing to different ces. Some chose to watch and others chose to take part. Everyone started to draw the trail of the story ording to their respective desires.
The real Demon King Selection would soon begin.
Chapter 259 - The Best at Something (1)
Chapter 259: Episode 49 ¨C The Best at Something (1)
The Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes ran while carrying me for two days and nights. The constetions relentlessly chasing me were a frequent threat but every time, the Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes literally threw his body to protect me.
[The story ¡®Faithfully Devoting One¡¯s Life¡¯ has been repeated.]
How far did we run? Finally, the brightness of a new day could be seen.
[The sub scenario ¨D Skirmish has ended.]
[You have kept the Story Core safe during the time limit.]
The constetions chasing after us stopped one by one in distant ces and all types of indirect messages flew through the air.
[Some constetions who failed to chase you are disappointed.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is yawning and asking if it is all over.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is rejoicing with sleepy eyes!]
[The constetion ¡®Dragon Lying Down¡¯ is nodding at you ploy.]
[Some constetions are pointing fingers at your cowardice.]
It didn¡¯t matter if they pointed fingers or not. The most important thing was to survive. Dokgak stared down at me with disapproving eyes and sent mepensation.
[You have obtained 200,000 coins aspensation.]
[You have obtained two Anvil Stones for Equipment Transcendence as a reward.]
I thought it was around the time for items to enhance equipment to be released. SSS-grade items from the early scenarios were almost like scraps in the mid-tote scenario areas. However, using the transcendence anvil stones allowed you to stop the equipment from losing its quality.
The ie wasn¡¯t just that.
[The story ¡®One Who Went Against the Twelve Zodiacs¡¯ has been acquired.]
It might be history-grade but the more stories I had, the better. In the end, these little stories gathered together to form theplete ¡®status.¡¯ In particr, the stories obtained would be useful in future fights thanks to Distorting Things as One Pleases.
[The constetions chasing you are returning.]
No long after the constetions hid themselves, the exterior of the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex emerged. Citizens who received the escape scenario were lining up to enter the industrialplex. Fortunately, Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh had done well.
I spoke to the Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes. ¡°You can leave now. You don¡¯t have to be loyal to me.¡±
He didn¡¯t want to follow me wholeheartedly anyway. Thus, it was better to part ways at this point. However, after I turned away, he kept chasing me.
Pant, pant, pant.
I spoke with a frown. ¡°What? You aren¡¯t going?¡±
Yip...
Moisture filled the big dog¡¯s eyes.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking pitifully at the ¡®Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes.¡¯]
The real name of the Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes was the Dog of Osu. (TL: Old Korean folktale about a loyal dog who sacrificed himself to save his owner¡¯s life.) In order to save his master from dying of fire, the dog wet his body and used it to extinguish the fire. Unfortunately, even this name wasn¡¯t his actual name.
¡°...Are you going to follow me?¡±
Yiiip!
I hesitated for a moment. Come to think of it, things would be hard for this dog even if he split from me.
[Some of the constetions are looking at the Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes.]
In this world, there were just as many constetions aiming for other constetions as there were constetions aiming at incarnations. If he countered those who had the modifiers of ¡®Dog Hunter¡¯ or ¡®Melberg¡¯s Dog Fancier¡¯ then he would be stolen or killed. So far, he had been safe because of the Twelve Zodiacs.
¡°Then let¡¯s go together.¡±
Pant pant pant!
¡°However, make your size a bit smaller. It will be a disturbance if you are too big.¡±
Yiiip!
The Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes reduced the size of his body. He became the size of a golden retriever.
¡°Kim Dokja!¡± Jang Hayoung discovered me and waved in the distance. ¡°Hey! Are you okay? What is that dog?¡±
¡°I picked him up. What about the others?¡±
¡°They are busy guiding the people.¡±
The Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes licked Jang Hayoung¡¯s hand. Jang Hayoung asked, ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡±
I wanted to tell the truth but decided to say it roughly. ¡°Osu.¡±
[You have given a name to the Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes.]
[The Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes is greatly impressed.]
[The loyalty of the Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes has greatly increased!]
...If I had known, I would¡¯ve given him a better name. Jang Hayoung carefully examined Osu¡¯s body and was delighted.
¡°This is great. Sajeo will like you.¡±
I was about to ask who ¡®Sajeo¡¯ was when I realized.
¡°...Are you talking about the Breaking the Sky Master? Was she a female?¡±
¡°Did you forget that only women can learn the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship?¡±
Come to think of it... The Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship was like that. There were too many exceptions. For example, the guy in front of me...
¡°...Why are you looking at me like that?¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I shook my head to get rid of my thoughts. The important issue right now wasn¡¯t Jang Hayoung¡¯s gender identity. Because...
[The beginning of the Demon King Selection is imminent!]
The Demon King Selection was starting now.
¡°...It came.¡±
Jang Hayoung looked up nervously at my words. The entire 73rd Demon Realm was shaking. Unfamiliar coloured stars appeared in the sky one by one. In order to watch the big event where the giant story was urring, the constetions arrived from various parts of the Star Stream.
[Multiple constetions are entering the channel!]
[Many demon kings are entering the channel!]
I could feel the mood just be looking at the beings entering the channel.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is staring at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Mass Production Maker¡¯ is waving at you.]
The constetions I had met also appeared in the high skies.
I tried to rx as I looked up at them in the sky. I had finallye to this ce. There were still many scenarios remaining and they were far away. Nevertheless, it wasn¡¯t a long way off now. At the very least, I came to a ce where these lofty constetions were located in this mountain range.
[The 25th main scenario has arrived!]
[Excessive skipping of the main scenario has damaged party of your status.]
I didn¡¯t carry out the scenarios in the 20s. I started to 25th scenario straight away so it was unavoidable that there would be a loss in probability.
[The Main Scenario ¨D ¡®Demon King Selection¡¯ has started!]
+
[Main Scenario #25 ¨C Demon King Selection]
Category: Main
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: Team up with ¡®helpers¡¯ to win the ¡®mythical battlefield.¡¯
Time Limit: ¨D
Compensation: Official session of the demon king position, ???.
Failure: Death
* You can recruit ¡®helpers¡¯ for this scenario.
* There will be additional exnations from the dokkaebis as the scenario progresses.
+
It was a scenario where ¡®death¡¯ was marked as the failure result. I would die here if I lost. It wasn¡¯t unfamiliar to me since it happened often.
[This scenario is held on a dedicated stage.]
[The total number of participants in this scenario is four.]
[The main participants can recruit ¡®helpers¡¯ if it is mutually agreed upon.]
[You are a main participant in this scenario.]
I felt something great from the north and west.
[The constetions belonging to the ¡®Melledon Industrial Complex¡¯ are showing hostility towards you.]
[The constetions belonging to the ¡®Bercan Industrial Complex¡¯ are showing hostility towards you.]
As the constetions in the sky shed, the voice of the dokkaebi was heard.
[You have been waiting a long time, constetions.]
They were Dokgak and Bihyung.
[Finally, the Demon King Selection that you have been waiting for has begun!]
Along with Bihyung¡¯s words, arge hologram of a ¡®stage¡¯ appeared on the screen in the air.
[First, thank you to the Mass Production Maker for making the game stage for this scenario!]
There was exaggerated apuse as the map created by the Mass Production Maker appeared on the hologram.
[The game ¡®Mythical Battlefield¡¯ is loaded!]
The map was a vast forest area with huge cliffs at the edges. The forest zone contained patterns of the ¡®industrialplex¡¯ in the east, west, north and south, which probably signified the starting points of each industrialplex.
[As you might have expected, this ¡®selection¡¯ isn¡¯t simply a hit and run fight. It will be held in the form of a ¡®teampetition¡¯, with each team being an industrialplex.]
Some of the constetions were surprised by the dokkaebis¡¯ words and sent indirect messages. Of course, I wasn¡¯t surprised. I knew it well through the original novel.
[The rules of the game are simple. All participants can make a team of seven people, including themselves.]
[Every team member is given a different position and will y a role in the scenario through that position.]
It was simr to the so-called AOS games that were once popr on Earth. One tanker, two close range damage dealers, two long range damage dealers and one supporter. Finally, one all-rounder.
T
his was the game¨D the Mythical Battlefield where seven people teamed up to fight.
[The constetion ¡®Mass Production Maker¡¯ is smiling.]
As a matter of fact, this game was made of elements that had been stolen from somewhere...
The dokkaebi¡¯s words continued. [There are two ways to win the game. One is to annihte the participants of other teams apart from your own. The second way is to take away the ¡®sentence¡¯ of the other team. Well, there will be more details once you join the game... rather, there is one more important announcement.]
Bihyung nced at me after long words.
[A total of four teams were originally scheduled to participate in this selectionpetition but one of the industrialplexes almost copsed before the game started.]
I felt uneasy for a moment. Bihyung continued. [To consider the fairness of the game, we have decided to tie twoparatively unfavourable industrialplexes together into one team.]
Then I heard a message in the air.
[You are currently a participant of the Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja Industrial Complex.]
It was an unexpected situation. I had been worried about Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s team so now I was able to reduce my troubles. Perhaps it was Bihyung¡¯s doing.
In any case, why was it the Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja Industrial Complex? Based on the order of the hangul flowchart, shouldn¡¯t the name of the industrialplex be Kim Dokja ¨C Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex? In any case...
¡°Jang Hayoung, where is Yoo Jonghyuk now?¡± I looked around for Yoo Jonghyuk but I couldn¡¯t find any traces of him.
Jang Hayoung¡¯s eyes were wide as he asked back, ¡°What are you talking about? Didn¡¯t you meet him?¡±
¡°...Meet him?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t he go looking for you?¡±
¡°What?¡±
I had a bad feeling. I hurriedly used Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
[You can¡¯t connect with the current target.]
Dammit. I was wondering how to find this son of a bitch when something shed on my mind. Fortunately, it was now midday.
[You have used the Midday Tryst.]
The Midday Tryst. It was a one-on-one chat item that I linked to this guy in the past. I didn¡¯t know if it was in range but this was the only thing I could believe in right now.
[There are 39 unread messages.]
By the way, I had dozens of messages from him. I hurriedly opened the window. The first message started as followed:
Kim Dokja, I saved Biyoo / Sender: Yoo Jonghyuk, 47 hours and 39 minutes ago.
The messages continued toe over the next few days.
But why did you suddenly disappear? /Sender: Yoo Jonghyuk, 46 hours and 54 minutes ago.
I have no time for your childish antics. /Sender: Yoo Jonghyuk, 46 hours and 39 minutes ago.
I will kill you if you don¡¯t show up again. /Sender: Yoo Jonghyuk, 45 hours and 18 minutes ago.
It isn¡¯t a joke. /Sender: Yoo Jonghyuk, 44 hours and 39 minutes ago.
...
Kim Dokja. /Sender: Yoo Jonghyuk, 41 hours and 38 minutes ago.
After that, the dozens of messages continued. Thest message was:
I will go. /Sender: Yoo Jonghyuk, 23 hours and 14 minutes ago.
No, where did this bastard n to go? I was dumbfounded and quickly sent a message.
¨DYou idiot,e back quickly! I am currently in the industrialplex!
However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. There were no signs that he read it. Instead, I received a scenario message that was like a death sentence.
[Please recruit your helpers within 10 minutes.]
[You can recruit six helpers.]
There were two dogs, one gender ambiguous human and a person trembling with fear that I would point to him... he had postpartum depression... dammit. I urgently needed to fill up the seven people, regardless of power.
I sighed and opened my mouth. ¡°...I will choose the helpers.¡±
The two dogs, Jang Hayoung and Han Myungoh were included but I still needed two more. Even if one spot was left for Yoo Jonghyuk, one more person had to be recruited separately. I looked up at the sky.
[Every constetion in the channel is listening to you.]
Now it was time to test mywork.
Chapter 260 - The Best at Something (2)
Chapter 260: Episode 49 ¨C The Best at Something (2)
The moment I opened my mouth towards the constetions,the frightened Han Myungoh raised his hands. ¡°D-Don¡¯t include me! Honestly, I don¡¯t think I will be any help.¡±
He was frightened. All participants and helpers would be at least a great-grade constetion. It was a power that Head Manager Han of Mino Soft didn¡¯t have.
I touched Han Myungoh¡¯s shoulder and told him, ¡°Please fill in the number of people. It isn¡¯t a real death even if you die in there. Just close your eyes and y the game.¡±
The Mythical Battlefield had a total of three chances. If I lost this round, I could make up for it in the next round and the round after that.
¡°B-But it will be painful!¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Then I don¡¯t want to! I won¡¯t...!¡±
¡°Thank you, Department Head-nim.¡±
[You have gained ¡®Demon Earl Han Myungoh¡¯ as a helper.]
[Number of helpers spots left: 5 people.]
It would be nice if I could get a better pinch-hitter but there were no suitable talents. I could choose Mark or Aileen but they were honestly inferior to Han Myungoh, who was a demon earl.
¡°I will naturally participate.¡± Jang Hayoung bumped his fists like he had been waiting.
[You have gained ¡®Dimensional Mover Jang Hayoung¡¯ as a helper.]
[Number of helpers spots left: 4 people.]
How much was Jang Hayoung¡¯sbat power now? I heard he came third in the martial artspetition but... I couldn¡¯t feel it because I wasn¡¯t present. The Jang Hayoung of any round hadn¡¯t seeded the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship during this period.
I turned my head towards another Breaking the Sky Sword Saint disciple. ¡°Breaking the Sky Master.¡±
Woof!
The answer was simple.
[You have gained ¡®Knowledgeable Dog Breaking the Sky Master¡¯ as a helper.]
[Number of helpers spots left: 3 people.]
The transcendent dog Breaking the Sky Master could definitelypete with the great-grade constetions. This dog would obviously be a big help in this fight. By the way, the expression of the Breaking the Sky Master wasn¡¯t good.
Grrrr! Woof!
The Breaking the Sky Master¡¯s blustery gaze was directed towards a dog. I knew what he meant.
¡°That¡¯s right. He is a new colleague.¡±
Woof woof woof!
¡°It can¡¯t be helped even if you don¡¯t like it.¡±
Osu, who had been watching quietly, started sniffing the butt of the Breaking the Sky Master. Then the Breaking the Sky Master had mes in her eyes as she kicked his forehead.
Yiiiip!
He wasn¡¯t reliable but I had to add him as a colleague. He was better than Han Myungoh because he was a great-grade constetion.
[You have gained ¡®Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes¡¯ as a helper.]
[Number of helpers spots left: 2 people.]
One of the remaining two spots was for Yoo Jonghyuk.
[You have registered ¡®Supreme King Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ as a helper.]
[The character is currently not nearby.]
[Once the person epts the offer, they will be automatically summoned to the battlefield.]
[There are five minutes remaining.]
Now I had one spot left.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at the constetions.]
I could feel the eyes of the constetions on me. Let¡¯s get a volunteer.
¡°Is there anyone who can be a helper?¡±
To be honest, I thought there was no way there would be no applicants. The constetions in the channel were those who had been following my story all the way here. If there was more than one volunteer, I might be able to rece Han Myungoh. By the way...
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is making an unknown smile.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ wipes his head hard.]
[The constetion ¡®Mass Production Maker¡¯ isining of back pain.]
...Shit.
[Many constetions are turning their heads away from your eyes.]
I red at the sky with disapproving eyes. This stage might not be deserving of Persephone or the Mass Production Maker but there were the great-grade constetions...
I sighed and turned towards Jang Hayoung. ¡°Jang Hayoung, did you contact the constetions I mentioned?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
In order to prepare for this day, I asked Jang Hayoung to get in touch with some constetions.
¡°What about Maritime War God?¡±
¡°He said he will think about it.¡±
I frowned. How long was he going to think about it? No matter how much he was worried about the probability... Was he afraid of going against other nebe?
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is wiping his head with a towel.]
Originally, my n was to bring Breaking the Sky Sword Namgung Minyoung and Paradox Baekchung Kyrgios Rodgraim. However, these two people were now in Murim.
¡°Goryeo¡¯s First Sword?¡±
¡°There was no answer.¡± At this point, I felt a bit betrayed.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ has a traffic expression as he wrapped the towel he wiped his forehead with around his head.]
It couldn¡¯t be helped. If this happened, I had to choose the second best thing.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is nodding and looking at you.]
¡°Asmodeus. Didn¡¯t you say you would help me?¡±
A sinister ck star in the corner of the sky wriggled at my words.
[The Demon King of Lust and Fury is looking at you.]
[The Demon King of Lust and Fury says he will help from the third round.]
...From the third round?
[The Demon King of Lust and Fury wants to test if you deserve his help.]
I bit my lip. This damn demon king was now measuring me... I wondered if I could make it to the third round. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t see any names of demon kings among the helpers on the other side.
[In the Melledon, the constetion ¡®Founder of Humanity¡¯ has been designated as a helper.]
[In the Bercan, the constetion ¡®The Last Pharaoh¡¯ has been designated as a helper.]
[In the Melledon, the constetion ¡®Poked Out His Eyes¡¯ has been designated as a helper.]
[In the Melledon, the constetion ¡®General of Banara¡¯ has been designated as a helper.]
There were the modifiers of some fearsome constetions, even if they weren¡¯t demon kings. I could even see some narrative-grade constetions. The desire of the constetions to tear, chew and taste this scenario could be felt on my skin. It was a situation where I had to grasp at any straws.
¡°Uriel.¡±
[The neb Eden is troubled by your suggestion.]
[The demon kings of the Demon World are paying close attention to the movements of the nebe ¡®Eden.¡¯]
...I forgot that this was the Demon World. The image of Uriel and the writings of the Scribe of Heaven appeared in front of my eyes. As long as the agreement between the two groups persisted, Uriel wouldn¡¯t be able to participate in the game. In the end, I reached out for another straw.
¡°The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven.¡±
However, the reaction of the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is scoffing at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is clicking his tongue at the constetions of the other industrialplexes.]
He seemed to think that this stage didn¡¯t fit his pride as the Monkey King. It would hurt his self-esteem to lower himself to this scenario.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is chuckling towards you.]
Jang Hayoung asked like he had heard the message. ¡°What about the fire dragon?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Why? He¡¯s better than I thought.¡±
I knew the Abyssal ck me Dragon wasn¡¯t a bad guy but his power was too risky to borrow. Crucially, there was a separate ce where the Abyssal ck me Dragon was needed. I eventually sighed. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. The only remaining constetion is...¡±
¡°Who...?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is holding his bamboo stick like he has been waiting.]
¡°Jang Hayoung, send a message to Secretive Plotter.¡±
[Some constetions are surprised by your choice!]
The constetion Secretive Plotter. Of the four main constetions in my channel, he was the only one whose identity I didn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t know why he hadn¡¯t showed up in my channel when the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven and the ck dragon had appeared.
[A small number of constetions are afraid of your choice.]
[Some constetions are trying to dissuade you from your choice!]
The reactions of the constetions were understandable. I wasn¡¯t sure about the identity of the Secretive Plotter but it was highly likely he was an outer god. He also had enough influence to knock away the great old ones. Perhaps the other constetions were deeply conscious of this fact.
Jang Hayoung typed something in the air before calling out to me, ¡°Kim Dokja. Did you say it properly?¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Look at this.¡± Jang Hayoung showed me the screen he had entered. The following message was on the screen:
[This modifier doesn¡¯t exist in the Star Stream.]
I was stunned and asked Jang Hayoung, ¡°Did you enter it correctly?¡±
¡°Do you think I¡¯m a fool?¡±
Jang Hayoung once again entered ¡®Secretive Plotter.¡¯
[This modifier doesn¡¯t exist in the Star Stream.]
Secretive Plotter... this modifier didn¡¯t exist?
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is making an interested expression.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is curious.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of the Skywalk¡¯ is turning on thework.]
[A number of constetions are searching for Secretive Plotter.]
I didn¡¯t think it would be like this and was momentarily paralyzed.
[There is one minute remaining.]
In fact, there were cases where constetions had multiple modifiers. However, was that the current situation? A modifier had disappeared?
¡°What now?¡±
Jang Hayoung stared at me with nervous eyes. The remaining time was less than 30 seconds.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is screaming and standing up!]
I looked up at the sky. It was hard to ignore him anymore.
¡°...Samyeongdang, please help.¡±
The moment I spoke, lightning shed in the sky.
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is using probability to summon an incarnation body!]
I stared at the incarnation body that was being formed in the dazzling light and thought about it. It might be better to have a trustworthy allypared to a strong but uncontroble constetion. At the very least, Samyeongdang was one of the constetions who supported me when I first got the rights to open a neb.
The summoning ceremony ended but the light still hadn¡¯t disappeared. A closer look showed a sh of light from the head of Samyeongdang. I used my hand to form a curtain as a voice was heard.
[It¡¯s been a while, Kim Dokja.]
I was impressed by the true voice that contained a formidable history. Dogs and cats could be constetions if they were lucky. This didn¡¯t mean they were constetions.
¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Samyeongdang.¡±
The three metres tall monk. He held arge bamboo stick that was like a giant tree. The great-grade constetion ¡®Samyeongdang¡¯ finally revealed his true self.
[You have gained ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ as a helper.]
[You have all your helpers!]
.
.
[All participants havepleted recruiting their helper.]
[The game ¡®Mythical Battlefield¡¯ has appeared in the Demon World!]
Chapter 261 - The Best at Something (3)
Chapter 261: Episode 49 ¨C The Best at Something (3)
The moment I heard the system message, the surroundingndscape started to change.
The Mythical Battlefield. The feature of this Mythical Battlefield was to virtually borrow the stage of a giant story.
[You have entered the Armageddon battlefield. The game will start after three minutes.]
On one side of the sky, a stairway of heaven opened while the other side was a door of hell. If this was real, the archangels of Eden would¡¯ve flocked to the staircase while the demon kings of the Demon World would¡¯vee out of the gate of hell.
Fortunately, there was no such thing. This was a ¡®hypothetical stage.¡¯
The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ is frowning at the familiar stage.]
[The Demon King of Lust and Fury is showing hostility to ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel.¡¯]
[Many constetions and demon kings are confronting each other.]
...I really hoped it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal.
¡°It is eerie...¡±
Jang Hayoung held his shoulders while looking up at the sky. I heard an eerie sound in the background. I looked at the huge shield that surrounded us. The shield would protect us until the game started.
¡°Stay alert. Please check your selected position.¡±
The party members regained theirposure at my words.
¡°Who¡¯s the tanker?¡±
[I am.]
The tanker was Samyeongdang, the close range damage dealers were me and the Breaking the Sky Master and the long range damage dealers were Jang Hayoung and Osu. Han Myungoh was the supporter. Finally, the all-rounder was...
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°He might¡¯ve fallen somewhere else.¡±
The Mythical Battlefield depended on where you were summoned from.
[The helper ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has responded to the summons.]
This message appeared so Yoo Jonghyuk should be somewhere on the battlefield.
Jang Hayoung asked, ¡°Is this game on a battlefield of time and space? I¡¯ve seen it. If the enemy¡¯s stronghold is destroyed...¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. Still, it is a bit different.¡±
Usually, an AOS game ended when you captured the enemy¡¯s main base. This game was different.
¡°We have to capture the ¡®sentence¡¯, not the base.¡±
¡°Sentence?¡±
I pointed to the object that was in Han Myungoh¡¯s hand. It was a small monument shining with brilliant colours.
¡°W-What is this?¡±
¡°We have to protect that.¡±
The monument literally contained a small sentence.
¡º Messengers of Heaven, Gatekeeper of Hell. ¡»
Han Myungoh was terrified and tried to hand over the monument to me. I pushed it with the palm of my hand and stated, ¡°Department Head-nim should hold it. It is important to guard it well.¡±
¡°I-It is because it is important that Dokja-ssi should...!¡±
¡°Department Head-nim should hold it because it is important. The sentence is usually held by the main participant. The enemies are expecting that.¡±
¡°I-I won¡¯t do it! I have never yed such a game!¡±
Han Myungoh was dull in games despite being the department head of a gamepany. Come to think of it, Yoo Sangah yed games well. Yoo Sangah carried her team alone and reached the finals of the in-house gamepetition.
...However, the person present now was Han Myungoh, not Yoo Sangah.
¡°In any case, there are two ways to win this game. One is to steal the enemy team¡¯s sentence. The other is to kill all of the enemy team¡¯s participants.¡±
¡°It will be easier to steal the sentence.¡±
¡°Yes, that is usually the case.¡±
¡°Good! Leave it to me!¡± Jang Hayoung cried out in a highly motivated manner.
However, this wasn¡¯t a solo game. ¡°I know you are motivated but stop your personal y. From now on, we will make a n...¡±
Bark bark!
Woof woof!
...I had forgotten two of mypanions. The Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes was sniffing around the periphery while the Breaking the Sky Master was lying down like she wasn¡¯t interested. I turned my head toward myst hope.
¡°Samyeongdang.¡±
He seemed to be listening to advice from other constetions so he was the only one I could expect anything from.
[I don¡¯t understand because you are using difficult words. Uhhh... game... what is this?]
Samyeongdang had an incredibly annoyed expression.
[Some of the constetions of the Korean Penins are frustrated with the Bald General of Justice.]
I never considered that he was an elder. Samyeongdang didn¡¯t know the modern game terminology.
[In any case, I just have to kill all of them?]
¡°Yes, it is simr...¡±
[If that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll be the winner! I am your helper!]
Samyeongdang started to run while wielding his bamboo stick.
[The game has started!]
Then the stage¡¯s shield was finally lifted.
[The stats of the yers will be automatically adjusted based on the difficulty of the game.]
[In the first round, all participants can only use 10% of their original stats.]
[This penalty will be reduced as the number of rounds increases.]
Then in our ¡®stairway to heaven¡¯ side, small angels resembling fairies started to fly.
[The team¡¯s support group is created!]
[The low-grade angels are helping you!]
The surprised Osu barked at the angels.
¡°Hey! Don¡¯t bite them. They¡¯re on our side. Samyeongdang, wait! Let¡¯s go together!¡±
It was a rollercoaster from the start. Samyeongdang was in the front line and the Breaking the Sky Master and Osu started sprinting after him. Jang Hayoung and I chased them while Han Myungoh was timid at the back of the party.
¡°Department Head-nim, stay in the back as much as possible. Don¡¯te forward.¡±
¡°...I will do my best!¡±
Han Myungoh was excellent at running away and would find a way no matter what.
¡°Ah, the map changed?¡±
We left our main area and a vast ins area unfolded in front of us. Both sides of the ins had a valley and forest respectively. If I remembered correctly, there was the Apocalypse Imoogi on the valley side and the Fallen Seraphim on the forest side. In addition, there were quite a number of monsters that gave a buff effect if they were caught early in the map...
¡°Wait a minute! Samyeongdang! Don¡¯t go too fast!¡±
[Believe in me! I¡¯m strong in a war!]
Samyeongdang let out a brilliant true voice and reached into the air.
[Fallen spirits of the Korean Penins! Give me the power to win!]
Who would give strength to Samyeongdang? Surprisingly, messages were heard.
[The constetion ¡®Lady of the Brocade Sleep¡¯ is supporting the constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯!]
[The constetion ¡®Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol¡¯ is cheering on the constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯!]
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ has sponsored 100 coins to the constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯!]
It was literally a simple cheer.
[Ohhhhhh!]
Soon after, the enemy appeared in front of him. Every constetion in an incarnation body was holding a weapon.
[General of Vanara.]
[Poked Out His Eyes.]
[Thunder Eating Bird.]
There was a monstrous monkey dressed in armour with golden feathers. In addition, King Oedipus whom I once met... the constetions were encountered seemed to be from the Melledon Industrial Complex.
It was a party where narrative-grade constetions were mixed. However, there was still a chance of winning because they had less insight into the game.
[Come on, you barbarians!]
Samyeongdang discovered the enemies and made a sudden attack. His voice was so loud that I felt some expectations for a moment.
Yes, I didn¡¯t know until I saw him fight. On the battlefield where only 10% of stats could be used, I didn¡¯t know the strength of Samyeongdang. I couldn¡¯t belittle a great-grade constetion. There were strong people like Cheok Jungyeong among them.
[This Guardian God of Victory will break down this battle formation!]
Samyeongdang swept the bamboo stick. The confused constetions screamed and an explosion swept through the battlefield. Flesh scattered everywhere. A weapon was broken. Blood scattered from a wound.
[The first death has urred!]
Samyeongdang fought well. I looked around at the party members and cried out, ¡°Everyone, run away!¡±
[The helper ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ was defeated by the helper ¡®General of Vanara.]
[The industrialplex ¡®Melledon¡¯ team has earned one point.]
***
¡°Shit, what was with that monk? Believe in him?¡±
Han Myungoh was the fastest when it came to running away. I thought it would be like this but Samyeongdang wasn¡¯t just trolling.
[Samyeongdang¡¯s soul is roaming the battlefield.]
[Ohhhhh!]
The dead soul of Samyeongdang wandered around the battlefield and attacked the constetionsing after us. It was thanks to this that we found a chance to run away. However, the enemy¡¯s pursuit was fast.
The first one chasing us was a huge bird covering the sky. It was the Thunder Eating Bird. If I remembered correctly, the bird¡¯s real name was Garuda. He was the mount of Vishnu, one of the three lords of Vedas. His beak changed trajectory in the air and turned towards me.
[The constetion ¡®Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes¡¯ is throwing his body to protect you!]
At this moment, Osu ran forward. He struck Garuda¡¯s big body from the side.
Grrrr!
Fortunately, Osu clung onto the feathers of Garuda. mes rose as Osu barked at us to run away.
Bark bark! Bark! Yiiiip!
It was a situation where Osu was clinging to a constetion. It was toote to save him.
[The helper ¡®Dog Who Threw Himself into the mes¡¯ has died!]
...Dammit. The situation was getting worse. The Breaking the Sky Master was nowhere to be seen. The people left were Jang Hayoung, Han Myungoh and I.
¡°I-I¡¯m sorry!¡±
Then Han Myungoh suddenlymitted an abrupt act. Han Myungoh cut off one of his legs.
[The character ¡®Han Myungoh¡¯ has activated ¡®One-Legged Swift Runner Lv. 10¡¯.]
...Oh, Han Myungoh had that damn stigma. Han Myungoh started running like an ostrich. Yes, it was all over if Han Myungoh so it was better for him to run away. By the way, that skill had already reached level 10.
¡°Kim Dokja. Now what...?¡±
I blocked Jang Hayoung and immediately jumped into the surrounding grass.
[You have concealed yourself in the nearby terrain.]
[The effect of the ¡®bush¡¯ means the enemies can¡¯t detect you.]
Grrrrrrr...
I looked up at Garuda and whispered to Jang Hayoung.
-We can¡¯t fight against them with our current power. We have to aim to win by default due to the other yers dropping out. It was important to buy time.
-...Do you n to consume time?
-For now.
There was something I believed in. It was strange since I thought I was going to win with just this member. Somehow, I had to drag out the time a bit more. At least, until he came.
[The Demon King of Salvation! Where are you?]
The true voice echoed in front of the bush.
[It has been a while since our ill-fated rtionship. Fleeing fate and living in a ce like this... the blind prophet couldn¡¯t read it.]
The humble but arrogant way of speaking made me instantly aware of his identity. After a while, the presence of King Oedipus, the blind and shrewd king appeared in the forest. I knew he had participated in this selection. However, I didn¡¯t expect to encounter him so quickly.
[You know that hiding is useless. This blind prophet already knows where you are.]
The moment Jang Hayoung¡¯s shoulders flinched, I ced a finger to his mouth.
-Don¡¯t worry. He can¡¯t read my future with his ability.
Thus, it was a clear trap. The moment we revealed ourselves, all the nearby constetions would run.
[It isn¡¯t toote now. Olympus is still open to you.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says to go away and not speak bullshit.]
[...How funny.]
King Oedipusughed but his expression waspletely stiff.
[I¡¯ll see if you can keep staying still.]
The surrounding constetions started to sweep through the bushes. Their attacks were devastating as they used all types of explosions, acid and fire to damage the nearby bushes. The acidic liquid melted my feet and burned my neck and wrists. However, I held Jang Hayoung¡¯s wrists tightly and didn¡¯t move.
A little bit more. Just a bit more.
The bombardment swept through the area. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t seem to have found us. They started gradually moving away from us.
...Just a bit more. I listened to the sound and estimated their distance. 10 steps, 20 steps, 30 steps... Suddenly, all the explosions disappeared.
¡°Run.¡±
Jang Hayoung and I ran out of the bush. We didn¡¯t see any constetions. At this moment, a scream was heard out of nowhere. It was a long and terrible scream. In the distant sky, a bird was falling down with a giant sword through its neck.
[The helper ¡®Thunder Eating Bird¡¯ has been killed!]
...He came.
Chapter 262 - The Best at Something (4)
Chapter 262: Episode 49 ¨C The Best at Something (4)
¡°...What?¡± The surprised Jang Hayoung¡¯s eyes widened.
¡°This is why I wanted to buy time.¡±
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has killed the helper ¡®Thunder Eating Bird¡¯!]
[The ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯ industrialplex has won one point.]
Yoo Jonghyuk falling through the air and the bewildered constetions could be seen.
[The constetion ¡®Poked Out His Eyes¡¯ is crying out with surprise!]
[The constetion ¡®General of Vanara¡¯ is showing hostility towards Yoo Jonghyuk!]
[Many constetions are amazed by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s movements.]
Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t panicked at all despite the attacks. His movements seemed like he had grasped all the terrain features of this ce. By the time the furious King Oedipus swung his staff, Yoo Jonghyuk had already disappeared.
[Where did you go?]
[Find him! He is near here!]
The constetions moved and searched around but they couldn¡¯t find where Yoo Jonghyuk had disappeared to. I hid behind a tree with Jang Hayoung and watched the scene.
One of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s attributes was ¡®Pro Gamer.¡¯ This guy received an overwhelming advantage and adaptability in all games. This game was still in the early stages and stats were limited.
Before the constetions were ustomed to the game, this ¡®first round¡¯ was a better stage for us than anyone else. The opponents might be constetions but it wasn¡¯t easy for them to face off against the current Yoo Jonghyuk.
[There he is!]
The General of Vanara let out a wind de from his mouth towards a bush and shouted. There was a loud noise and the surrounding terrain was cut. However, this time, Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t present. The confused General of Vanara retreated and a sh of light emerged from the dirt on the ground. It was toote to avoid it.
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has killed the helper ¡®General of Vanara!]
Yes, Yoo Jonghyuk should catch at least two.
[The ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯ industrialplex has won two points.]
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has started to blow blood onto the battlefield!]
Jang Hayoung pointed towards Yoo Jonghyuk and shivered. ¡°What is this? A monster?¡±
¡°It is simr. He is the best pro gamer in South Korea.¡±
I was talking about the setting of Ways of Survival. In the distance, the General of Vanara¡¯s body was split in half and he disappeared. The rules of the game were applied so he wouldn¡¯t really die, but the mental damage was significant.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is pleased.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has sponsored 20,000 coins to the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯.]
The true name of the General of Vanara was Hanuman, a monkey hero of Indian mythology. Due to the characteristic of both being monkeys, the two constetions didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with each other. I guess it was true.
[Shit, chase him!]
Yoo Jonghyuk killed two people and hid in the rocky gorge this time. Then one more enemy appeared.
[The constetion ¡®Founder of Humanity¡¯ wants to show an example to his arrogant descendant.]
The constetion who was close to a primitive man. The Founder of Humanity, Manu. I forgot that he was on the side fo the Melledon Industrial Complex.
¡°Maybe we should help.¡±
Manu of Vedas was a narrative-level constetion. He might be low in level among the narrative-grade constetions but it was absolutely disadvantageous for Yoo Jonghyuk.
Yoo Jonghyuk had already consumed a lot of mobility and magic power killing two constetions. He might have the attribute of Pro Gamer but it was too much for him from now on...
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has activated the ¡®Sentinel Golem¡¯s Blessing!¡¯]
Yoo Jonghyuk stood on a rocky hignd area and aimed a giant bow.
[The star relic ¡®Robin Hood¡¯s Strongbow¡¯ has maximized the user¡¯s uracy!]
This bastard, when did he get this? It was something that could only be obtained from the 15th scenario area, Lugratia. Intangible arrows flew towards the body of King Oedipus.
[Keok...!]
Of course, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s advantage wasn¡¯t only swordsmanship. This guy could use all types of weapons with the Weapons Mastery skill.
[You! You¡¯re not a closer range damage dealer?]
In addition, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s position was ¡®all-rounder.¡¯
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ will receive the positionpensation effect.]
While this game was in progress, Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t be penalized for using any types of weapons.
[I will kill you! This thing, this thing...!]
King Oedipus screamed as holes were drilled into his body.
¡°We should go help!¡±
¡°Wait a minute.¡±
Making clumsy movements in the current circumstances would only hinder Yoo Jonghyuk.
Immediately afterunching Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s operation flowed into my head like a movie trailer.
Jang Hayoung frowned at my flippant smile and asked, ¡°...What is it?¡±
¡°That bastard is scarier than I thought.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t waste a single second when he came here. The evidence was the Sentinel Golem¡¯s Blessing that was embedded in his body.
[The Sentinel Golem¡¯s Blessing has started to umte!]
The sentinel golem inhabited the outskirts of the gorge and gave a ¡®fainting¡¯ buff effect. However, this buff had one condition. The person had to seed in 20 attacks before the ¡®fainting¡¯ effect was produced. Now there were approximately 10 metres between Yoo Jonghyuk and King Oedipus.
[This thing, this thing...!]
King Oedipus jumped and tried to aim for Yoo Jonghyuk. King Oedipus¡¯ body hardened from the ankle and he copsed like a stone statue.
[The helper ¡®Poked Out His Eyes¡¯ has fainted.]
The duration of the fainting was three seconds. These three seconds were enough time for Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has killed the helper ¡®Poked Out His Eyes¡¯!]
[The name of the participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is widely circted on the battlefield!]
[The ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯ industrialplex has won three points.]
Three... I honestly admired him. The appearance of the dying King Oedipus was unrealistic. It was hard to believe he was the constetion who threatened me at the constetion banquet.
[Impertinent fellow!]
However, the fight hadn¡¯t ended yet. Before Yoo Jonghyuk could sigh, the excited Founder of Humanity rushed forward. Yoo Jonghyuk was nowcking physical strength and magic power.
The Primitive Spear belonging to the Founder of Humanity dug into a gap that Yoo Jonghyuk revealed. It looked simr to a stone tool but the power it contained was enormous.
On the other hand, Yoo Jonghyuk was also tough. He twisted his back with a flexible motion and at nearly the same time, he swung his weapon. The spear collided with the sword and a sharp sound was heard. The distinctive yellow aura that was only for transcendents was wrapped around Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck Demon Sword. It opposed the blue ¡®status¡¯ woven around the Primitive Spear wielded by Manu.
[These martial arts! They were skills left behind by worms. It still seems useful.]
It was a situation where participants could only use 10% of their power. Manu seemed unable to urately determine the amount of force he could control. There were dozens of exchanges in a sh and Manuughed like he was having fun.
[You are pretty good human. I have seen countless transcendents but none as strong as you.]
¡°You haven¡¯t seen my master.¡±
A power simr to martial arts emerged from Manu¡¯s spear. Manu had mastered almost every type of talent that a human could gain. Originally, the present Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat Manu. Still, the bnce of power was even because Manu hadn¡¯t fought such a long battle for a long time.
[How interesting! I haven¡¯tpeted with more than 10 blows since bing a constetion!]
The forcible equilibrium bnce maintained this confrontation. I grabbed Jang Hayoung who was about to pop out.
¡°That jerk will die if this continues!¡±
The same thing would happen even if we popped out. I wanted to use Electrification to run out and cut off Manu¡¯s neck.
However, I had to endure it for now. If it turned out like I thought, Yoo Jonghyuk would soon wee an opportunity. All I needed was time. Just time.
¡°Jang Hayoung, send a message through the wall.¡±
¡°What? To who?¡±
¡°The Founder of Humanity.¡±
¡°Huh? The guy currently fighting with Yoo Jonghyuk? Ah...!¡±
The clever Jang Hayoung realized what I was nning. Jang Hayoung turned on the Unidentified Wall and wrote a message. Soon after, Manu¡¯s baffled voice rang out.
[What? These messages...!]
I didn¡¯t need to ask to know the situation that Manu was facing now. Perhaps countless messages sent by the ¡¯15 year old schoolgirl¡¯ were popping up like pop-up windows in his field of view.
[These ridiculous tactics!]
Manu hesitated and a white light started to emerge from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. I had seen this bright light before. It happened when Jung Heewon evolved to the Judge of Destruction. Then when Lee Hyunsung learnt Great Mountain Smash...
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has reached the moment of attribute evolution!]
[The attribute ¡®Pro Gamer¡¯ of the character Yoo Jonghyuk has evolved!]
Attribute evolution. Finally, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s second attribute hade to full bloom. Manu rushed forward and wielded his spear. At the same time, the dazzling light burst from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body.
I watched the fascinating scene and recalled what Lee Jihye said in thetter half of Ways of Survival.
¡¸ ¡°Master has countless attributes. Hmm...the best is naturally Regressor. Other than that, Master of the Panacea and Enemy of Gods and Demons are excellent... huh? Which one is the most envious attribute? Ahaha, it is naturally...¡± ¡¹
Manu¡¯s spearsmanship swept over Yoo Jonghyuk in vain.
¡¸ ¡°The Ruler of Amusement. It is that.¡± ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly opened his eyes as he made the same expression I had constantly read about.
¡¸ At that moment, Yoo Jonghyuk seemed to understand everything about this game. ¡¹
Perhaps in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes, all of Manu¡¯s attacks looked like abination of 0s and 1s.
It was the legendary attribute, Ruler of Amusement. As long as this stage was a ¡®game¡¯, Yoo Jonghyuk was closer to a deity than any other constetion in the world.
Chapter 263 - The Best at Something (5)
Chapter 263: Episode 49 ¨C The Best at Something (5)
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s attribute evolved and the game flowed smoothly like water.
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has killed the helper ¡®Founder of Humanity¡¯!]
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has won the ¡®Living Legend¡¯ title!]
The constetions hadn¡¯t yet adapted to the game and weren¡¯t able to follow Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s movements. The constetions were inferior to Yoo Jonghyuk in terms of utilizing game items, understanding the terrain and the extra buffs.
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has started to write a new myth on this Mythical Battlefield!]
[The participant ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is raising his name in the rankings of the Mythical Battlefield!]
Victory or defeat was decided in an instant.
[The time limit for the first game is over!]
[The winning team will be determined based on the pointed obtained during the time limit!]
[The winning team of the first game is the ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja Industrial Complex.¡¯]
We got a total of six points. In addition, the sentence we took away from the opposing team meant we had two sentences.
¡º The flower of the story blooms in the cruel Demon Territory. ¡»
Jang Hayoung stared at the sentence we had obtained several times before looking up nkly. ¡°...We really won?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
I also didn¡¯t feel it was real. No matter the situation, we obtained the first victory against the mighty constetion... it wasn¡¯t a level to be ted by the fact that things went ¡®as nned.¡¯
[The Demon King of Lust and Fury is looking at you with interest.]
[Many constetions are cheering for the Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja Industrial Complex!]
[You have obtained 100,000 coins each as a reward for the first game!]
I was able to see Yoo Jonghyuk approaching from a distance. I wanted to say something nice but Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth first. ¡°The messages were sent by this person.¡±
Before I could ask what he was talking about, Biyoo popped out of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s arms.
[Baaat!]
Biyoo seemed invigorated as she swung the Uriel doll like it was a toy.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ insists that she didn¡¯t do anything!]
Biyoo threw the doll into the air and entered my arms. I stroked her head a few days before asking Yoo Jonghyuk, who had grabbed the doll.
¡°Where the hell did you go?¡±
¡°I went to the vicinity of Melledon.¡±
¡°Why there...?¡±
¡°There was an item I had to obtain.¡±
¡°Item? What is it?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need to know.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression was somewhat dissatisfied as he stared at me. ¡°In addition... I thought it would be helpful to start at an unexpected position for the selection.¡±
¡°It was a good judgment.¡±
In the first round, the spawn location different depending on where you were when the game started. Yoo Jonghyuk hadn¡¯t departed from the same ce as us and was able to farm items using apletely different route. This made it easier for him to aim at the enemies.
[Hahaha, something amazing happened. However, the game isn¡¯t over until it ends!]
I heard Bihyung¡¯s voice from the air. His expression seemed somewhat excited because we won.
[5 minutester, the second game will start!]
It wasn¡¯t the time to be drunk on victory. This game had a total of three rounds. I looked over at my weary party members. The bodies of the dead Samyeongdang and Osu were revived again.
¡°Now we just need to win one more time. The game is over if we win two rounds first. So everyone, just try a bit harder...¡±
I tried to cheer them up but the condition of my party members wasn¡¯t good.
¡°Samyeongdang, why do you look like that?¡±
Samyeongdang had turned into a wooden gong and was making a rattling sound.
[That... I spent too much of my probability.]
In this game, death didn¡¯t mean the disappearance of the incarnation body. However, the thing that remained unchanged was the number of resources consumed.
¡°Osu?¡±
Yiiip!
Just like Samyeongdang, Osu died in thest game and he was now almost as small as a guinea pig. It seemed they had overconsumed their probability and energy in thest game. The constetions of the same rank had significant differences in level due to the quantity and quality of their umted stories.
It was Han Myungoh who opened his mouth. ¡°I-I can¡¯t do it anymore.¡±
Han Myungoh had run away safely until the end of the first game. He was like a lizard as his cut off leg slowly grew. Nevertheless, his face had aged 10 years during this short period.
¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯ve worked hard.¡±
No matter how much their power was suppressed, the opponents were still constetions. He had faced the status of a constetion for more than an hour and any normal incarnation would copse.
The small constion was that the Breaking the Sky Master was unharmed.
Woof woof!
In the first game, the Breaking the Sky Master helped Yoo Jonghyuk hunt one of the constetions. Me, Yoo Jonghyuk, Jang Hayoung and the Breaking the Sky Master. Now there were only the four of us in the team. Understandably, four wasn¡¯t enough to win the game.
Then Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°I will try to call additional power.¡±
¡°Do you have any constetions?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know if reinforcements wille in time. I¡¯ll just put them on the list for now.¡±
I had no idea of who he would call. Did Yoo Jonghyuk have any connections during this period?
Yoo Jonghyuk continued talking, ¡°We have to change our n in the second round. Our positions as well.¡±
¡°Why? Can¡¯t we do it like thest round?¡±
At Jang Hayoung¡¯s question, Yoo Jonghyuk nced at me and silently shook his head. I ended up answering instead. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s attribute is powerful but it isn¡¯t invincible.¡±
¡°...It seems almost invincible.¡±
¡°It was because the constetions didn¡¯t know much about this game.¡±
From the second round, the penalty on stats would be slightly released. The constetions who had looked down on us would start to collect attributes and skills rted to the game and would narrow the gap using an enormous amount of coins. Yoo Jonghyuk might have Ruler of Amusement but there was a limit to him alone.
I pondered for a moment before dering to the party members. ¡°I have an idea.¡±
***
¡°We have decided to cooperate with the Bercan Industrial Complex.¡±
[...Are you telling me to join forces with Papyrus?]
¡°It isn¡¯t the time to cover hot water with cold water.¡±
A deep sigh emerged from Duke Melledon who resembled a rhinoceros. All the constetions on the battlefield had been destroyed by a single incarnation. They were caught off guard and hit in the back or had a sword piercing their feet. There were even constetions who fought against him one on one and were defeated.
¡°We can¡¯t let them win this time. You should know this.¡±
[Don¡¯t worry. I was careless in thest round but this time will be different.]
Founder of Humanity, Manu gritted his teeth as he raised the Primitive Spear.
[I have learnt enough about this game.]
In fact, messages had beening from the air for a long time.
[The constetion ¡®Founder of Humanity¡¯ has purchased the ¡®Special Game Talent¡¯ skill!]
[The constetion ¡®Thunder Eating Bird¡¯ has purchased the ¡®One Week Game Master¡¯ item!]
The dokkaebis were grinning widely at the suddenly buying binge.
[Oh my, constetions! Going to this extent...]
The constetions didn¡¯t like this expression on the dokkaebis but the more important thing was their pride, which had been crushed by the incarnation.
[Let¡¯s go.]
The game started and the constetions moved in unison. The influence of the attributes and items was great. They used the terrain to cover their actions and were fully aware of how their stigmas and skills were applied to this game.
The all-rounder of the team was the iprehensible incarnation. If they killed him, the game would end.
[Over there.]
The Thunder Eating Bird glide and created strong winds. Amidst the wind-swept bushes, the owner of the sword was revealed. It was Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Now!¡±
The moment that Duke Melledon gave the signal, four constetions rushed at once.
[It will be different from before!]
The Founder of Humanity swung his spear, followed by a ray from King Oedipus. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t avoid the attack and blood flowed from his forearm. The shadow of General of Vanara split up and pursued the gap revealed by Yoo Jonghyuk. A sharp rod brushed past Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s side. There was the sound of flesh being hit.
Now the power of the constetions was limited to 30%. That damage that Yoo Jonghyuk received was different from before. However, Yoo Jonghyuk held up well despite the constetions¡¯ onught.
[...What? Why isn¡¯t he dead?]
Duke Melledon felt it was strange and used a skill to figure out Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s physical state. Surprisingly, Yoo Jonghyuk still had more than 70% of his health remaining.
¡°T-This guy¡¯s health is a bit strange. Don¡¯t tell me...!¡±
Then the screams of the constetions were heard from the rear.
***
The enemies probably believed that Yoo Jonghyuk was an all-rounder.
¡°Breaking the Sky Master!¡±
The Breaking the Sky Master flew forward at my signal. Like a spear of light dividing the space, the Breaking the Sky Master prated the torso of the Thunder Eating Bird who was aiming at Yoo Jonghyuk. The battered bird fell down and the Breaking the Sky Master tore at the bird¡¯s torso with her fangs.
As soon as our position was exposed, the nearby constetions started to run this way. There were a total of three constetions rushing over. The long distance damage dealer Jang Hayoung received an agility penalty so there was no chance of winning when it was closebat. Even so, the situation was different this time.
¡°Kim Dokja, buy me 10 seconds.¡±
¡°Understood.¡±
Jang Hayoung took a stance, his left hand forward while his right fist was pulled back to his shoulder as he started gathering strength.
[Jang Hayoung has used the points earned to unseal a specific skill.]
[The helper ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ is preparing the ultimate.]
In this game, stigmas and skills over a certain power level were treated as ¡®ultimate.¡¯ In addition, the ultimate could only be released with points obtained in the game. Jang Hayoung used the points we had just earned as an assistant.
[The helper ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has activated Breaking the Sky Force Punch Lv. 10!]
There was the sound of a cannon bursting and a mighty wind was created as Jang Hayoung¡¯s fist tore through the space. The wind crushed the ray of lighting from King Oedipus and blew away two of the running constetions.
Breaking the Sky Force Punch. I had seen it in Ways of Survival. It was a technique made out of boredom by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint who pursued the path of the sword.
...I didn¡¯t know she could make such a powerful technique when bored.
[The helper ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has killed the helper ¡®Thunder Eating Bird¡¯!]
[The helper ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has neutralized the helper ¡®General of Vanara¡¯!]
I thought it would be a sess just defeating one constetion. Yet one constetion died and one suffered a fatal wound.
¡°Didn¡¯t I say that I was a hard worker?¡±
Jang Hayoungughed despite obviously overdoing it. Even Jang Hayoung would find it hard to achieve such rapid growth. Maybe he made a deal with the Unidentified Wall.
[Kill him!]
The enraged constetions ran in a messy manner. Jang Hayoung also ran towards them.
¡°Kim Dokja! Go! Do it ording to the n!¡±
If I tried to save Jang Hayoung here, the time would be dyed. This time, it was me who had the ¡®sentence.¡¯ Shortly after I ran towards the gorge, a scream was heard from behind me.
[The helper ¡®Breaking the Sky Master¡¯ has been killed!]
[The helper ¡®Jang Hayoung¡¯ has been killed!]
...Shit. Fortunately, Yoo Jonghyuk was still in good shape. Whether he was a tanker or all-rounder, Yoo Jonghyuk was Yoo Jonghyuk.
I went down to the bottom of the canyon and dark fog started to pour into the vicinity. I had calcted this. If the fog had begun, the ¡®monster¡¯ would soon appear here.
Then a constetion was felt from above the rocky terrain.
[You are quick, Demon King of Salvation.]
It was an unexpected move. Melledon¡¯s side should be tied up with Yoo Jonghyuk. How did they already reach here? The moment I saw the shadow on the canyon rocks, I realized what happened.
There was the shadow of a giant mummy and a goddess with a pointed scorpion tail. They were constetions of the Bercan who hadn¡¯t been seen in thest game.
¡®The Last Pharaoh¡¯ Cleopatra and the ¡®Scorpion Goddess¡¯ Serket...
Surprisingly, King Oedipus of the Melledon camp could also be seen. I smiled bitterly. ¡°...I see. You have decided to join forces?¡±
Serket¡¯s tail swelled up and fired a stinger towards me. I was about to avoid the attack when old bandages released by the Last Pharaoh wrapped around my ankles. Close range damage dealers were vulnerable to long range damage dealers. My movements were limited so it was obvious that I would die like this.
King Oedipus seemed ready to finish things. I reflexively curled up. A powerful storm swept over my body.
I could hear theughter of the constetions. It was augh that was convinced of my death from this blow.
[You have converted the points won in thest game!]
[You have unlocked a certain skill with the points!]
I slowly raised my body in the dust. Theughter disappeared from the constetions¡¯ faces as they saw me.
[The constetion ¡®Poked Out His Eyes¡¯ is astonished!]
[The constetion ¡®Scorpion Goddess¡¯ has wide eyes!]
The white fur wrapped around me protected me without a single scratch.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ has been activated!]
It had been a long time since I used the third bookmark. I had been hesitant to use this bookmark for quite some time. I didn¡¯t think it was polite to my dokkaebi.
[Your understanding of this person is very high and the skill abilities are strengthened!]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity Lv. 10 (+1)¡¯ has been activated.]
I felt the warm of Biyoo curled up in my arms. The third bookmark, Beast Master Shin Yoosung. I looked up at the constetions on the canyon with the white fur wrapped around me.
[The participant ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ will receive the positionpensation effect.]
I didn¡¯t have the same attack power as Yoo Jonghyuk. Nor could I learn things quickly like Jang Hayoung. However, I had something better than them.
¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m the all-rounder in this game.¡±
The Demon King Selection would end in the second round.
Chapter 264 - Dokja’s Story (1)
Chapter 264: Episode 50 ¨C Dokja¡¯s Story (1)
¡°The fourth bookmark.¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 11 (+1) is activated!]
I avoided the flying sting of the Scorpion Goddess. If the strength of her body hadn¡¯t been suppressed, the poison would¡¯ve vaporized the whole area. However, it was fine since I had Way of the Wind.
I stepped on the melted gorge and release the White Pure Star Energy. My sword cut the bandages of the Last Pharaoh. The moment my sword hit the bandages, there was the sound of a drum beat. King Oedipus didn¡¯t miss this gap and flew forward.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity Lv. 10 (+1)¡¯ has been activated.]
Normally, this was an impossible fight. Originally, only one bookmark could be used at a time.
[The effect of ¡®Looked into the Abyss¡¯ has improved all your skills!]
[Currently, two bookmarks are being used at the same time.]
[The duration of Bookmark is reduced by half.]
All my skills had improved since thest time I checked my Attributes Window.
¡°The fifth bookmark!¡±
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification¡¯ Lv. 12 (+2) has been activated.]
I became smaller through Miniaturization. Then I turned into a point of light and prated the torso of the Last Pharaoh. The Last Pharaoh suffered a fatal wound and copsed to the ground with a scream.
I was fighting with the history I had built up. The things I read. The times I had lived. Everything that I had. How many more shes of light were seen and how much blood was spilled?
King Oedipus opened his mouth and spoke in a slightly weary tone. [Great, Demon King of Salvation.]
¡°...¡±
[Honestly, I didn¡¯t think you would be this strong.]
Nevertheless, there wasn¡¯t a look of defeat on his face. Shadows flocked to the top of the gorge. They were the other constetions belonging to Melledon and Bercan.
Duke Bercan.
Mysterious Bird of the Nile.
Supreme God of Light.
...
The number of constetions that appeared was close to 10. They looked down here from the high cliff of the gorge. I was stifled by the presence of the constetions but I didn¡¯t back down.
¡°Are you just going to watch from there?¡±
Rather, I raised the ¡®status¡¯ that was sleeping inside me. I was also a constetion. I didn¡¯t lose to them in terms of ¡®status.¡¯ Some of the constetions were crushed by the status I released and stumbled back. However, it wasn¡¯t everyone.
[You¡¯re an interesting child.]
All of a sudden, some of the constetions on top of the canyon bowed and retreated. Someone was approaching from among the constetions.
His long, golden hair waved every time he took a step and his four arms drew a beautiful rainbow. The third eye on his forehead looked down here like the suning out.
[Mitra was trying to get his own holiday off so I was wondering what type of person you were.]
His blinding appearance made his modifier obvious.
¡®The Supreme God of Light.¡¯
I even knew his true name. ¡°Surya.¡±
Dazzling sparks appeared when I mentioned his real name. It was a sight that attested to the status of the name.
[Kid, do you know my name?]
¡°I know.¡±
The neb Vedas had eight great Lokap. They were the guardians of the eight cardinal directions, including north, south, east and west.
¡°Surya of the southwest.¡±
Surya was one of the eight Lokap.
[The constetion ¡®Mass Production Maker¡¯ is frowning.]
[The constetion ¡®Goddess of Love and Beauty¡¯ is using the ¡®Supreme God of Light¡¯!]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is pointing out that this behaviour doesn¡¯t fit the status of the Supreme God of Light!]
He was a powerful being equal to the 12 gods of Olympus. This presence was staring at me.
[If so, you know that you can¡¯t win this game.]
The status of over 1,000 years emerged from his body and I suppressed the desire to step back. He wasn¡¯t a constetion I could fight against. Lokap Surya was different from King Oedipus and Cleopatra, who were humans that became constetions.
[Come to Vedas. You will die even if you win this game.]
¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
[You don¡¯t know the world that will appear after the giant story. Do you think you can stand against that power alone? It isn¡¯t a story that only one star can afford.]
I knew what he was saying. Perhaps the world that Surya saw was different from the world that I saw. Just by obtaining a single ¡®giant story¡¯, the level of the world that the constetion could perceive was entirely different.
¡°Nope, I can afford it. I¡¯m not alone.¡±
[The possibility of a new story is germinated!]
The 73rd Demon Realm wriggled as if in response to my words. Surya felt the vibrations and said,[You aren¡¯t alone... how funny. Who is with you now?]
¡°A person who is more familiar with the cause and effectw than anyone else is saying this... it is truly ridiculous.¡±
A powerful storm started to flow from Surya¡¯s incarnation body. The constetions around him turned pale. Still, he couldn¡¯t exercise all his power in this game, no matter his status. Sparks burst out in a dazzling manner.
In this game, Melledon had won two points. These two points might be able to free one of Surya¡¯s stigmas. I couldn¡¯t let that happen. As I moved, the constetions blocked my way.
A fist containing the power of Electrification struck the face of the constetions. The Broken Heart of a Young Gold Dragon repeatedly pumped and created a massive amount of magic power.
I didn¡¯t hesitate to release this strength. A little more, just a bit more. I had to draw my magic power to the limits.
The constetions couldn¡¯t cope with the power of Electrification and fell down while bleeding. It was a transcendent power that could even destroy constetions. The white lightning burnt the bodies of the constetions.
[The participant ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has killed the helper ¡®Scorpion Goddess¡¯!]
[The participant ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has killed the helper ¡®The Last Pharaoh¡¯!]
The broken heart of the gold dragon couldn¡¯t afford the magic power and the energy in my body suddenly fell sharply. I gritted my teeth and moved. I dealt a blow to Duke Bercan and immediately turned my back to him, striking a blow to the Mysterious Bird of the Nile.
[You are overly affected by the character!]
[The excessive use of Bookmark can leave a permanent injury on your soul!]
Meanwhile, the Supreme God of Light wasn¡¯t perplexed at all as he saw me moving closer.
[I have watched you for a long time. You always borrow the power of other beings.]
The Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity wrapped around my body while I prepared to deal a blow with Electrification.
[From the first scenario to the present, you have never fought with your own power. Do you really
think you can build up your own story?]
[The history that you¡¯ve learnt is just history that came from stealing.]
It felt like I was facing hard steel. The Supreme God of Light used only one of his four arms to block the blow from Electrification.
[It isn¡¯t yours.]
The third eye of the god shone as brightly as the sun. At that moment, I realized what stigma Surya had released.
[The constetion ¡®Supreme God of Light¡¯ is invoking the ¡®Third Eye.¡¯]
My vision distorted and all the light around me disappeared. In the darkness, I felt the edge of this space gradually crumbling.
[There is no ¡®you¡¯ in your story.]
Everything around me was already Surya¡¯s space.
[You will die alone.]
The Third Eye had the power to control time and space. It was the power of Surya¡¯s Third Eye. I was confused because I didn¡¯t think Surya would use this power so quickly.
How could I get out of here? It wasn¡¯t possible to use Electrification and Way of the Wind.
[The legendary story ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯ has activated!]
I didn¡¯t know what to read. King of a Kingless World wasn¡¯t suitable. Person who Opposes the Miracle was also ambiguous. The same was true for One Who Hunted the King of Disasters.
The space was now reduced to one square metre. What should I do?
[The story ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯ is screaming.]
My back was tingling when I heard a sound. It sounded familiar, as if someone was eating a story.
¡¸ De li cious food. ¡¹
I looked back and a small mouth was stuck to my back, eating my story.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja is a fo ol. ¡¹
It was the Fourth Wall. This bastard wasn¡¯t going to help me? The torn apart ¡®Distorting Things as One Pleases¡¯ was now nearly useless and was entering its stomach.
I forgot the urgency and shouted at the absurd situation. By the way, the thing that came out of my mouth wasn¡¯t a yell.
¡¸ The Fourth Wall said, ¡°Ku waa aaah!¡± ¡¹
An explosive burst of sound poured into the surrounding space. The space trembled like it was a living creature and a gigantic crack formed.
[The stigma ¡®The Third Eye¡¯ is shuddering.]
I realized what was going on. The Third Eye was a mental ability that controlled time and space by manipting cognition. The Fourth Wall was the strongest skill I had in regards to a mental barrier.
[The constetion ¡®Supreme God of Light¡¯ is astonished!]
The darkness copsed like ss breaking. Once the light returned, the first thing I saw was tearsing from the eye on the forehead of the Supreme God of Light.
[You... what are you?]
The astonished true voice resonated and the other constetions hurriedly rushed towards me.
[You dare.. die!]
My magic power was at the bottom. I didn¡¯t have enough power to open Bookmark again. Nevertheless, it wasn¡¯t necessary anymore. It had been 20 minutes since the game started.
[The fog of the gorge is thickening.]
There was a groan from somewhere in the gorge and the movements of the constetions stopped. The nervous constetions looked at the top of the gorge and a dark shadow fell towards this side.
I nervously slid down a rocky wall. It had been a long time since I saw something like this. The length was five kilometers. The body with a circumference of over 10 metres was falling towards the ground along with the copsed upper part of the gorge. The constetions let out warning signals but therge ones were crushed under the scales of the giant monster.
[The helper ¡®Mysterious Bird of the Nile¡¯ has been killed by the ¡®Apocalypse Imoogi.¡¯]
The monster burst like a bug and coiled up in the gorge, crying towards the air. The Apocalypse Imoogi. It was the name of the monster I had been waiting for.
[Damn! Don¡¯t back down!]
The constetions were overwhelmed by the sudden disaster and started attacking with their stigmas. The one who killed the monster could get a powerful team buff.
However, there was no way I could knock it down. ording to Ways of Survival, the Red Dragon of the Apocalypse who appeared in Armageddon had the fearsome power to blow up a third of the stars in the sky with a single tail.
[Kuaaack!]
Of course, this imoogi wasn¡¯t at the level of the Red Dragon of the Apocalypse but there were no constetions who could deal with this monster at the beginning of the game.
[Kueeeeok!]
The constetions screamed as they were torn apart by the teeth of the imoogi while those struck by the tail were blown away. The unstoppable system messages were signalling the devastation of the gorge.
In a moment, seven participants and helpers died in the gorge. The surviving constetions escaped from the gorge using the sacrifice of other constetions.
Surya¡¯s cold voice echoed through the gorge. [You have a wicked trick up your sleeve. However, you won¡¯t be able to make it.]
The Apocalypse Imoogi struck the constetions and was now looking at me. A red sphere gathered at its mouth in order to dissolve thest insect. The red mes of the apocalypse. It was the fire of judgment that could melt everything on the ground.
The n was okay. Melledon and Bercan suffered deadly damage and the disadvantage of the game was now bnced to an almost equal level.
...I would¡¯ve liked to have a bit more strength left. My death here meant we would be deprived of our sentences. I felt regret and emptiness. If we went to the third game... was there a chance for us to win?
My eyes slowly closed as dark red mes headed towards my head. The waves of heat enveloped my body and there was the sizzling sound of rocks melting. Still, I didn¡¯t die no matter how much time passed.
[A new helper has been summoned to the game!]
I opened my eyes and saw someone in front of me. He wore a neatmando uniform. The soldier with the special forces mark on his shoulder was blocking the mes with a huge shield.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is looking at you.]
He had endured even the hottest Hell mes Ignition.
¡°A captain of South Korea¡¯s special operationsmand...¡±
I watched the trembling man swallowing and sighed. ¡®How¡¯ or ¡®why.¡¯ I wanted to ask but didn¡¯t say anything. Numerous voices were pouring towards me through Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint and all my words were pointless.
Afterwards, a giant ¡®chimera dragon¡¯ was seen falling from the sky.
[A new helper has been summoned to the game!]
I saw the little girl sitting on the head of the dragon and funnily enough, felt a bit tearful.
¡°Ahjussi!¡±
The helpers that Yoo Jonghyuk called finally reached the battlefield.
Chapter 265 - Episode 50 - Dokja’s Story (2)
Chapter 265: Episode 50 ¨C Dokja¡¯s Story (2)
There were a total of three ¡®reinforcements¡¯ that Yoo Jonghyuk invited. Beast Master Shin Yoosung, Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung and...
¡°Hyunsung-ssi! Please take Dokja-ssi out of here!¡±
Ariadne¡¯s web shot through the air and ced me on Lee Hyunsung¡¯s back. A woman in a cat suit was running through the sky with the Hermes Walking Method. It was the incarnation of Olympus, Yoo Sangah.
¡°Yoosung, fire the breath from a long distance! Continue until Hyunsung-ssi leaves!¡±
The chimera dragon roared and fired a breath. The Apocalypse Imoogi screamed like it was quite painful.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ has given a great probability to his incarnation.]
[The constetion ¡®Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth¡¯ is supporting her incarnation.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of the Skywalk¡¯ is supporting his incarnation.]
The constetions supporting Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah seemed to be struggling. Thanks to Yoo Sangah¡¯smands, I was forcibly carried on Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulder.
¡°...Lee Hyunsung-ssi.¡±
¡°Stay still, Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have to do this. I can move now.¡±
Lee Hyunsung didn¡¯t loosen his hard arms at my words. The only thing he did was silently climb the gorge. Once the top of the gorge could be seen, Lee Hyunsung opened his mouth. ¡°Dokja-ssi, have you ever thrown a grenade?¡±
¡°...Grenade?¡±
¡°To use a grenade, you have to go through three steps. Remove the safety clip, remove the safety pin and throw it.
¡°I know because I¡¯ve thrown it in the training camp.¡±
¡°Then you know how important the safety pin is for a grenade.¡±
I realized what Lee Hyunsung was trying to say.
¡°I lost the safety pin.¡±
¡°...Wasn¡¯t it the bullet shellst time?¡±
¡°I thought that I shouldn¡¯t lose it again.¡± Lee Hyunsung turned his head and looked back at me. ¡°Once the safety pin is inserted, it must be done well.¡±
Soon after, we reached the top of the gorge. At the bottom, Yoo Sangah and Shin Yoosung were riding the chimera dragon out of the gorge. I saw Shin Yoosung¡¯s brightly smiling face and my heart feltplicated.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi.¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
I knew what Lee Hyunsung wanted to say. He had been a soldier all his life so this was the only way he could express it.
¡°Thank you foring.¡±
I heard a sniffling sound but pretended not to know anything. After a while, something rolled like an acorn and crashed into my leg.
¡°Ahjussi!¡±
She hugged my tattered leg like it was precious.
¡°It¡¯s been a while, Yoosung.¡±
Shin Yoosung nodded vigorously when her face against my coat. I patted Shin Yoosung¡¯s back while Yoo Sangah approached. ¡°It has been a long time, Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Yes. Have you been well?¡±
Well, it was a stupid question. Since the scenario started, no one could be well.
¡°You are the same, Dokja-ssi.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s smile wasn¡¯t false. Before the destruction of the world and after the destruction, Yoo Sangah was the only one whoughed at my jokes.
¡°The others...¡±
¡°Only we came. Heewon-ssi and the kids wanted toe as well but...¡±
¡°I tossed the coin with Lee Gilyoung and won!¡±
Shin Yoosung interrupted with augh. I see. My life was decided by throwing a coin. I stroked Shin Yoosung¡¯s head and said, ¡°Thank you Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡°I was just thinking about going. There was a bad sign from Dokja-ssi¡¯s Good or Bad Luck, Disaster or Happiness Fortune.
¡°Good or Bad Luck, Disaster or Happiness Fortune?¡±
I knew this skill. There was only one constetion on the Korean Penins who had it.
¡°Yes, it showed ¡®great misfortune¡¯. Sooyoung and I were wondering about who should go when Yoo Jonghyuk contacted us...¡±
I roughly understood what was going on. I didn¡¯t think Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah would throw a coin so... Yoo Sangah probably came because Han Sooyoung had a problem. Han Sooyoung seemed to be doing well with the job I entrusted to her.
¡°Sooyoung-ssi also wanted toe.¡±
¡°Ah... yes. Indeed.¡±
It was a lie. She disliked me.
Then there was a rumbling sound from a bush. I was so excited to meet mypanions again that I forgot the game wasn¡¯t over. I rushed through the forest area with the group and asked, ¡°Are you aware of the situation?¡±
Yoo Sangah nodded. ¡°I heard the story from Bihyung.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk might be ying in the tanker position with Ruler of Amusement but by now, his health would¡¯ve almost reached the bottom.
The second game would be decided here.
The chimera dragon let out a burst of wind and the nearby trees copsed. The battlefield where the constetions was fighting was clearly revealed.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk nced this way from where he was surrounded by constetions.
¡¸ You¡¯rete. ¡¹
He was still arrogant but the blood flowing from his body made him seem like he was dying.
[You! He has a sentence!]
Perhaps there was a special skill to determine this as one constetion screamed.
Apart from our team, the number of participants remaining was six. Our side had only five people, including the new reinforcements. In addition, Yoo Jonghyuk was in a state where he almost couldn¡¯t fight anymore.
[Go!]
As the all-outbat began, the constetions set up a formation centred around the Founder of Humanity and General of Vanara. The first one to run towards them was Steel Sword Lee Hyunsung.
¡°I! Won¡¯t! Lost! It! Again!¡±
Lee Hyunsung flew forward and started to fight with the narrative-grade constetion, Manu.
Manu frowned like he was displeased to exchange blows with an incarnation. His powerful ¡®status¡¯ burned at Manu¡¯s fingertips and the steel shell was slightly softened, but Lee Hyunsung didn¡¯t back down.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is looking at the ¡®Founder of Humanity.¡¯]
The Founder of Humanity was narrative-grade but so was the Master of Steel. I looked at the thorns of Steel Transformation rising around Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body and I could only guess how harsh the personal scenarios that hepleted were. It wasn¡¯t a position that more than 10 incarnations could reach. The current Lee Hyunsung showed an overwhelming growth potential than the Lee Hyunsung of any other rounds.
Yoo Sangah watched the scene and also ran forward. ¡°I¡¯ll take Olympus.¡±
[This girl, are you crazy?]
King Oedipus discovered Yoo Sangah. The two of them both belonged to Olympus. However, based on what I heard from Dionysus, Olympus was currently in the middle of a civil war.
[Master of the Skywalk! You¡¯re making the wrong choice right now!]
I didn¡¯t know the exact situation but it was obvious that a group led by Dionysus and Hermes was trying to be independent from the existing Olympus.
Yoo Sangah started fighting with King Oedipus while Shin Yoosung moved the chimera dragon.
The condensed breath covered the battlefield. The constetions who couldn¡¯t avoid it screamed.
[There are 10 minutes remaining.]
The second round was reaching its end. At this moment, the points of each team were almost equal. The constetions were desperate. Several constetions headed towards the chimera dragon and the dragon and Shin Yoosung were in a crisis.
The dragon wasn¡¯t able to use its force because it consumed quite a lot of power when dealing with the Apocalypse Imoogi.
[A hatchling! It is only big!]
It would be our side that was disadvantageous if this round ended in a draw. The game would flow into the third game and if we didn¡¯t win, we would have to deal with the constetions on a stage where the penalty had disappeared.
Yoo Jonghyuk knew this fact and pointed to Duke Bercan. ¡°Kill the duke. He has the sentence.¡±
I nodded.
¡°I will create a path.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk squeezed out his magic power and used Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship.
[They are aiming for the sentence!]
Yoo Jonghyuk shed and shed again to create a road. He used hisst force to draw a huge semicircle on the ground and the constetions rushed at him.
¡¸ I¡¯ll leave it to you, Kim Dokja. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk was pierced in the heart by Manu¡¯s spear.
[The helper ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has been killed!]
He stood upright even at the moment of death. The constetions turned to me after Yoo Jonghyuk disappeared. The Primitive Spear and a ray of light headed my way. However, the bombardment didn¡¯t reach me.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Lee Hyunsung activated Steel Transformation to block the attacks of the constetions. The hot heat and shock would be terribly painful but Lee Hyunsung seemed more energetic. Duke Bercan could be seen in the distance.
[There are five minutes remaining.]
¡°Hyunsung-ssi, throw me.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t possible. Doing that again...!¡±
¡°You have to throw the grenade after pulling out the safety pin.¡± I stared into Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shaky eyes. ¡°Even if I die here, I won¡¯t really die.¡±
The real death was losing this Demon King Selection. Lee Hyunsung watched for a while before closing and opening his eyes. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s eyes returned to that of a soldier. ¡°I won¡¯t believe your lie again!¡±
¡°No, now isn¡¯t the time to be stubborn¡ª¡±
¡°If you die, we will die together!¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is greatly pleased.]
¡°I must do this.¡±
Then Lee Hyunsung started running with me on his back. Manu was hit by the rushing Lee Hyunsung and rolled on the floor like a bowling pin.
[Keeok! Cheeky incarnation...!]
No one was able to stop the berserk Lee Hyunsung. At least, it looked like that.
[Proud child. As I said earlier, it is barely ¡®history.¡¯]
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s movements were stopped by a powerful ¡®status.¡¯ The Supreme God of Light Surya had recovered his strength and was blocking the way. His Third Eyes might not work properly but he was still a Lokap of Vedas. He had the power to stop us.
His four arms moved and the entire ground shook as the running Lee Hyunsung was pushed back. He tried running again but the same thing repeated.
[The ce where you are standing now is a ce for humans. A human who keeps repeating the same mistakes.]
I triggered Electrification from Lee Hyunsung¡¯s back. My fists stretched out and struck Surya¡¯s torso.
Even so, Surya didn¡¯t budge. The transparent shield created by the four arms smothered all my attacks.
[Only this much? Are you really trying to see the end of the scenario?]
It was the power to deny all the history I had umted. Electrification and the White Pure Star Energy didn¡¯t work.
[The times have changed. Only this much history...]
There was such a gap despite only 30% of his power being avable. What would happen if 100% of the power was opened?
Then a new voice was heard. ¡°Don¡¯t ignore Ahjussi!¡±
Shin Yoosung shouted from the head of the chimera dragon. The breath poured out at Shin Yoosung¡¯s signal. Surya swung his arms and scattered the breath.
Lee Hyunsung leapt through this gap. His Steel Transformation body collided with Surya. Surya, who had been unmoved by countless attacks, shook for the first time.
¡°Uwaaaaaah!¡± Lee Hyunsung swung his fists towards Surya like a madman. Lee Hyunsung didn¡¯t stop despite the Steel Transformation around his fists cracking, blood sshing and bones breaking.
[The 73rd Demon Realm is responding to the will of you and your helpers.]
[A new story about you is being made.]
The human¡¯s will to challenge a god was causing cracks in the defensive wall. A little break. It was a very small crack that human history created.
¡°Hyunsung-ssi.¡±
Lee Hyunsung and I didn¡¯t miss this gap. As if throwing a grenade, Lee Hyunsung threw my body that had be small through Miniaturization. I broke through the barrier created by Surya¡¯s arms and rushed to Duke Bercan. Duke Bercan turned his head with surprise while I activated and my side pierced his neck.
[The participant ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has killed the participant ¡®Duke Bercan¡¯!]
...I did it. Along with the triumphant victory, countless system messages flowed into my head. Before I could read the messages, a power squeezed at me. At thest moment, I saw Surya¡¯s face.
[You have died.]
Chapter 266 - Episode 50 - Dokja’s Story (3)
Chapter 266: Episode 50 ¨C Dokja¡¯s Story (3)
My vision ckened beforeing back. It felt like my consciousness had experienced a power outage. I blinked nkly but only the dark ceiling was visible.
...What happened? I took deep breaths and moved my heavy head as I started thinking.
I was participating in the second round of the Demon King Selection. I killed Duke Bercan and at almost the same time, I was killed by Surya. Then the system messages poured out.
Did I win the second round? Or... did I lose? I thought about it but I wasn¡¯t sure.
[You have taken away the enemy¡¯s sentence and won the game!]
I seemed to have heard this message.
[Your sentence was taken away and you have lost the game!]
I also seemed to have heard this message. Maybe it was both. Then which one was first? For now, I had no way of knowing.
[You have died.]
The only thing I was sure about was this message. I died in the game and awakened in this ce.
¡°Ugh...¡±
I slowly rose from my seat and the ce where I was lying was seen more clearly. Numerousmps were set up between niches, illuminating the vast darkness. It was an unfamiliar ce I had never visited before.
There was a sign stating [000~100] in the ce where I stood andrge bookshelves around the sign. There was the smell of books. It was reminiscent of a university library.
...Library? Why was I here? I pulled out a book on the closest shelf and turned a page.
¡¸ After Lee Seolhwa¡¯s death, Yoo Jonghyuk thought he should die many times. He could never win against them with talent and skills alone. The end of the scenario wasn¡¯t visible and the power of the constetions was unbelievably strong. Revenge for Lee Jihye and Lee Seolhwa couldn¡¯t be achieved. Yoo Jonghyuk thought in the midst of his despair. ¡¹
The sentences in the familiar style were lined up and I read the sentences as if they were being sucked in.
¡¸ ¡®What if I have a sponsor?¡¯¡¹
It was a scene that didn¡¯t appear in detail in Ways of Survival. Even so, I knew this scene. It was because the scene was defeated dozens or hundreds of times in my imagination.
¡¸ [The constetion ¡®???¡¯ wants you to be his incarnation.¡¯ ¡¹
This was the first time Yoo Jonghyuk received his sponsor. Yoo Jonghyuk in the 0th regression repeatedly trained to his limit without a sponsor but had to kneel in front of the incarnation.
¡¸ A new attribute, Regressor will blossom! ¡¹
It was the story of when Yoo Jonghyuk first became a ¡®regressor.¡¯ I reflexively closed the book and looked at the title.
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 56th record of the 0th round.]
I suddenly had an idea of what this ce was. As my eyes became ustomed to the darkness, the surroundings looked better. This was the library where all the records of Ways of Survival were gathered.
I muttered in a slightly weary manner. ¡°...It seems to be more than 3,149.¡±
Ways of Survival was long but not to this extent. This huge space was filled with books. I wasn¡¯t sure if I could read half the books even if I devoted my whole life to it.
Then I got a headache. The curled memories were breaking out like a eggshell cracking. This ce that had just seemed unfamiliar now felt familiar. Themps in the niches and the shelves of books.
I slowly got goosebumps and an intense feeling struck my head. I had alreadye to this ce once. When was it? When...
¡¸ Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
The voice echoed through the library. I knew this tone. ¡°...The Fourth Wall?¡±
Then the entire library shook faintly.
¡¸ Yo ur so ul was in dan ger. ¡¹
¡°Danger?¡±
¡¸ I call ed you...¡¹
The Fourth Wall called me here. It wasn¡¯t difficult to figure out what he meant. ¡°Perhaps, are you also in here?¡±
¡¸ Co rrect. ¡¹
¡°How do I get out of here? Where is the exit?¡±
¡¸... ¡¹
¡°...Hey?¡±
I called out a few more times but the Fourth Wall didn¡¯t answer. He was a guy who slept when sleepy so he might¡¯ve fallen asleep again this time. I had to find a way out myself.
[You can¡¯t use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint in this location.]
[You can¡¯t use Bookmark in this location.]
All my avable skills were blocked. I couldn¡¯t see the end of the library no matter how far I walked. I couldn¡¯t see the exit as I looked to the north, south, east and west. I became convinced that I couldn¡¯t escape and felt a drug-likefort.
¡°...Heaven.¡±
Everywhere I looked was Ways of Survival. It was a world full of Ways of Survival. I might¡¯ve been happy if I came here before the scenario started. It was a story that would never end no matter how much I read. I wouldn¡¯t go hungry because I was just a soul.
...There was no way for me to go out so I should read more books. I didn¡¯t know. There could be a way in the book.
I pulled the books out of the shelves, stacked them next to each other and started reading them. I looked for a while and once again realized that Ways of Survival was Ways of Survival.
¡°...There are too many exnations.¡±
The surroundings were quiet so the speed at which I read the book was faster than usual. However, I didn¡¯t read it roughly. Like a gourmet long starved of meat, I cut every sentence into pieces and relished them.
¡°That jerk, he was cute at this time.¡±
¡°...Damn, I should¡¯ve killed him a bit more in the beginning.¡±
Some of the stories were already known and some weren¡¯t.
¡°This information was forgotten...¡±
¡°What? There was something like this?¡±
There was no one in this ce and I naturally spoke to myself. I wasn¡¯t conscious about any listeners. Thus, I read a few more books. There was a sense of pride in my heart and warmth rose.
Suddenly, I felt weak. Why didn¡¯t I just give up and stay here? It wouldn¡¯t be too bad if I never woke up from here. There was no scenario here to kill me.
I didn¡¯t need to see the constetions. After reading a number of books, I ran past some bookshelves, reading those in the middle.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk sometimes thought this. ¡¹
¡¸ ¡®If I hadn¡¯t met that guy on the bridge, what would¡¯ve happened? Or if I had killed him there... what would¡¯ve happened to my remaining life?¡¯ ¡¹
I saw the familiar phrases and reflexively looked at the title of the book.
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 12th record of the 3rd round.]
...As expected, it was the third round. I opened a few more books Some of them were written about me.
¡¸ ¡®Damn Kim Dokja.¡¯ ¡¹
Some books contained:
¡¸ ¡°Kim Dokja, wake up! Kim Dokja!¡± ¡¹
Some good words were written. In some books, nothing was written.
¡¸¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡¹
The sentences were filtered and couldn¡¯t be read. Some of the episodes had nk pages. It was as if the story hadn¡¯t been recorded yet.
All books were organized in ordance to the order of the rounds. It was as if someone had arranged it so I could find it easily when needed. But who...
I just had this thought when I saw something on the other side of the bookshelf. I reflexively put the book back and looked. It was a very short moment but there seemed to be the shadow of a person.
¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±
The sound of footsteps started heading further away. I started chasing the sound. I almost stumbled over a few books on the floor but persistently followed the shadow. The signs of the bookshelves changed quickly.
From [000~100] to [100~200]. Then it was [200~300].
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 373rd record of the 24th round.]
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 473rd record of the 31st round.]
Countless books passed by quickly.
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 573rd record of the 27th round.]
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 681st record of the 12th round.]
...
I was a bit breathless and still couldn¡¯t see the end of the books. It was obviously a soul body but I was breathless. I kept running. This was an opportunity. If I missed this person here, I wouldn¡¯t be
able to catch it again.
How far did I go? I was getting a bit closer.
¡°Wait!¡±
The moment I shouted, the floor in front of me suddenly disappeared. My body failed to ovee inertia and fell forward. I might¡¯ve fallen down if I hadn¡¯t reflexively grabbed the bookshelf next to me.
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 1863rd record of the 22nd round.]
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 1863rd record of the 23rd round.]
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 1863rd record of the 26th round.]
...
Books poured towards me head. It hurt as much as Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fists. I barely dug myself out of the pile of books and the shadow I was pursuing had already disappeared.
¡°Shit...¡±
Instead, there was a cliff in front of my eyes. I couldn¡¯t see the bottom.
¡°Ah...¡±
I stared down the cliff like I was possessed. This was the end of the library. It was the end of all the stories. I stared at it and felt the urge to throw myself in. I felt like I could know something I had long wondered about. If I could go inside there...
The moment my body tilted towards the bottom of the cliff, someone tightly grabbed my shoulders.
¡¸(You will die if you fall. It is really ¡®beyond¡¯ the wall.) ¡¹
***
p! p! p! p!
¡°Wake up.¡±
p! p! p! p!
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi, stop it! Dokja-ssi¡¯s face is swollen!¡±
¡°What the hell is happening?¡±
¡°He is still breathing. I think there was a shock to the soul...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned at Yoo Sangah¡¯s words and stood up. The swollen Kim Dokja was lying on the ground. The bear-like Lee Hyunsung was holding onto him and crying out madly.
¡°Dokja-ssi... wake up. Please...¡±
The moment the second round waspleted, the Mythical Battlefield suddenly disintegrated. All participants and helpers of the Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja Industrial Complex were left in front of the wastes of the industrialplex.
Yoo Sangah stared at the people standing in the same camp. Two dogs and one pretty boy. Also, Han Myungoh...
¡°You were alive, Department Head-nim.¡±
¡°Y-Yoo Sangah-ssi...¡± Han Myungoh started sweating and retreated.
Yoo Sangah stared at Jang Hayoung. ¡°You... are you on our side?¡±
¡°Ah, I...¡±
Jang Hayoung met Yoo Sangah¡¯s eyes and stuttered in a confused manner. He didn¡¯t know how to introduce himself. Then Jang Hayoung caught sight of Shin Yoosung. ¡°Ah, weren¡¯t you in that video...?¡±
¡°...You know me?¡±
Jang Hayoung recalled the scenes of the 73rd Demon King scenario thanks to Shin Yoosung and figured out who they were. ¡°I¡¯m a real fan! Wow, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m meeting the incarnations of Earth...¡±
Jang Hayoung¡¯s eyes were glowing as he shook Yoo Sangah¡¯s hand. Yoo Sangah smiled lightly and stared into the air.
¡°By the way... did we win or lose?¡±
Only one unknown system message was floating in the air.
[We are currently determining the winning team of the second round.]
Jang Hayoung said, ¡°I think Kim Dokja killed him first. Then shouldn¡¯t we win?¡±
¡°But our sentence was stolen...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk shook his head. ¡°Kim Dokja was faster.¡±
The words filled with strong conviction caused Jang Hayoung and Yoo Sangah to brighten. It was likely to be true if Yoo Jonghyuk said so.
Then a cloud of dust appeared on the other side of the wilderness. It was a scene filled with a powerful ¡®status.¡¯ There were no need to ask about the identity of the iing beings.
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at the sky and his expression hardened.
[We are currently determining the winning team of the second round.]
It was still the only sentence floating in the sky. It had been the same for 30 minutes.
¡°Be prepared.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Something is wrong.¡±
In the main scenario, the fast-paced bureau would never spend 30 minutes to determine the winner.
In other words, this situation was intended by someone. Someone didn¡¯t want the scenario to end this way.
The present 73rd Demon Realm was filled with an enormous amount of probability due to the Mythical Battlefield.
Yoo Jonghyuk pulled out his ck Demon Sword and dered, ¡°This time it isn¡¯t a game.¡±
The terrible roar of the Thunder Eating Bird filled the sky. The constetions who no longer received penalties from the game wereing over here.
Chapter 267 - Dokja’s Story (4)
Chapter 267: Episode 50 ¨C Dokja¡¯s Story (4)
A strong hand grabbed my shoulders. I reflexively turned my body and punched out. There was a thud and my fist was caught in a big hand.
¡¸ (Oh, did youe to fight?) ¡¹
The darkness was lifted and a white face was revealed.
¡¸ (I saved you once before. You must¡¯ve already forgotten.) ¡¹
It was a face I knew. Even... it was someone I killed.
¡°Why are you here?¡±
¡¸ (...Are you really asking because you don¡¯t know?) ¡¹
It was an ambiguous face where it wasn¡¯t clear if the person was male or female. It gave me a feeling of iprehensibility. This presence shouldn¡¯t be here.
¡°Nirvana Moebius.¡±
A long time ago, he was eaten by the Fourth Wall.
***
What happened to the beings who were eaten by the Fourth Wall? I had this question from the first moment the Fourth Wall ate something.
¡¸ (It is as you can see. This is what happened.) ¡¹
Nirvanaughed. We hadn¡¯t met for a while but Nirvana was just the same as our first meeting. If there was one difference, the letters making up Ways of Survival was hanging on his body like a shackle.
¡°You¡¯ve been alive here the whole time?¡±
¡¸ (It¡¯s hard to say this is living.) ¡¹
Looking closer, Nirvana¡¯s voice didn¡¯t flow out of his mouth. I couldn¡¯t even say it was a voice. Nirvana stared up at the air.
¡¸(I¡¯m living thanks to that damn parasitic wall.) ¡¹
At this moment, the warning of the Fourth Wall echoed.
¡¸ Nir va na talk ing too much. ¡¹
Nirvanaughed. His eyes were bitter but there was a strange uplifting sensation from him. I followed Nirvana¡¯s gaze and looked around the library. There were numerous types of letterforms that made up a world. In this ce, everything was Ways of Survival.
¡°Now you know everything you¡¯ve ever wanted.¡±
¡¸ (There is no entity that knows everything. Just like you.) ¡¹
Nirvana really seemed like a mysterious sage. I felt strange. For the first time, a character learnt the secrets of this world.
¡°How do you feel? Now you know that you are a character in a novel.¡±
Nirvana¡¯s expression changed at my provocation.
¡¸ (A novel... is that what you really think?) ¡¹
Nirvana looked at me with pitying eyes and his lips shook several times. However, no sound emerged. I was frustrated. ¡°What is it? Finish it to the end.¡±
Nirvana smiled quietly.
¡¸ (I like your story.) ¡¹
I was embarrassed by the unexpected words.
¡¸ (To be precise, I like the story you have changed. The sentences that feel your will, the context that contains things you don¡¯t say...) ¡¹
¡°...What are you saying now?¡±
I stepped back in an awkward manner. I looked at his bastard and remembered his words before his death.
¡¸(It isn¡¯t just me. All the beings here love your story.) ¡¹
¡°Who else is in this ce?¡±
The air started shaking and a few dark shards fell from the ceiling. The vibrations were like something giant was burrowing this way. Nirvana picked up the fragments and frowned.
¡¸ (There is no time so you better move quickly. It isn¡¯t good to talk too much here. Something terrible will happen.) ¡¹
Nirvana started walking before I could ask anything. I followed Nirvana while looking back at the cliff I had almost fallen off. The vibrations in the library were spreading from the cliff. ¡°Wait, where are you going?¡±
¡¸ (There is someone who wants to meet you the most.) ¡¹
¡°What? Who?¡±
¡¸ (It is the existence who organized the shelves from 000.) ¡¹
...Organized the shelves?
¡¸ (We aren¡¯t just here to y. If we don¡¯t clean up properly, you won¡¯t remember it.) ¡¹
¡°...Wait, what does that mean?¡±
¡¸ (You don¡¯t need to understand.) ¡¹
I turned and saw new bookshelves appearing. The library was really spacious. Ways of Survival increased the number of rounds that were skipped in the second half. Perhaps this library had arranged all those omissions. A signpost saying [000~100] appeared in front of me.
¡¸ (It¡¯s here. Then have a good conversation.) ¡¹
I turned the corner and saw a familiar creature. It was the ¡®minimum¡¯ sizepared to what I saw in the past but it was definitely the existence I knew.
12 tentacles were being used to pick up books on the floor. There was a squid-like body controlling those tentacles. There was something like horn-rimmed spectacles ced on a small hole that was presumed to be the eye.
¡°...You were here.¡±
The squid looked this way. The 12 tentacles nodded simultaneously.
¡¸ (The poor truthseeker came.) ¡¹
It was the Eater of Dreams. In Dark Castle, I defeated it with the help of Cheok Jungyeong and the Fourth Wall. He was swallowed up by the Fourth Wall and ended up in this space.
¡°Did you want to see me?¡±
¡¸ (I want to help you.) ¡¹
Something that was presumed to be the squid¡¯s mouth looked pleased. I didn¡¯t know how to respond to this different species gesture.
¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying all of a sudden. I need some time to figure out the situation...¡±
¡¸ (There isn¡¯t much time.) ¡¹
¡°Why are you trying to help me?¡±
¡¸ (With your help, I have reached the truth of the universe. Noble beings will pay back their debts.) ¡¹
Noble beings. In fact, it wasn¡¯t strange for the Eater of Dreams to call itself that. This squid was strong enough to chew up the constetions making a fuss outside. ¡°Then I have one thing to ask.¡±
¡¸ (Go ahead.) ¡¹
¡°Who created this library?¡±
At this moment, huge sparks popped up and my body crashed into a bookshelf. 12 tentacles stretched out at the same time, holding my body to the bookcase. He looked at the falling books and the Eater of Dreams pushed up his sses.
¡¸ (It does not constitute a question. Ask another question.) ¡¹
I bit my lips and thought about it. It was meaningless to ask a question rted to Ways of Survival right now. It was possible to read the second revision and there was a way toe back to this space and read the rted questions.
In other words, I had to ask a question that wasn¡¯t recorded in Ways of Survival. It was also a question that the ¡®outer god¡¯ had to answer. Finding the question wasn¡¯t difficult.
¡°Who is Secretive Plotter?¡±
Strong sparks once again sprung up. I was worried that my body would be thrown back again but fortunately, the sparks were weaker this time.
¡¸(Are you curious about the great plotter?) ¡¹
The tentacles moved very slowly.
¡¸(He is one of the oldest beings in this universe...) ¡¹
I was hearing information about Secretive Plotter for the first time.
¡¸(The most solitary being in the universe, the one who fights against the oldest dream.) ¡¹
¡°How do I know if you are just saying this? Let me know the right modifier¨D¡±
¡¸ (A modifier is meaningless for him. However, he will help you if you want.) ¡¹
¡°Help? How...¡±
¡¸(Make an Otherworld Covenant with him.) ¡¹
The Otherworld Covenant. I knew what it was. In the fifth scenario, the Absolute Throne that I destroyed was a type of covenant. However, there was never a good end to a covenant in Ways of Survival.
¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡±
A few tentacles nodded like they were heads.
¡¸ (I thought so. You hate higher level beings.) ¡¹
¡°I won¡¯t be able to create the story I want if I borrow your strength.¡±
¡¸ (You are now someone who can¡¯t be controlled.) ¡¹
I felt strange. I didn¡¯t think an ¡®outer god¡¯ would say this.
¡¸ (You need to think again about your anger. In order to reach the end, it is necessary to properly consider the things you can use.) ¡¹
Dudududu!
¡¸( This world is heading towards ¡ö¡ö. It hasn¡¯t been written yet but it has already been written. The great plotter can help you. So that you can find the right way...) ¡¹
¡°I believe in the stories I have umted.¡±
Dudududu!
The gap in vibrations was gradually shortening. The Eater of Dreams spoke like he was resigned to my stubborn will.
¡¸ (...Unfortunately, there is no more time. Remember that the great plotter is always waiting for you.) ¡¹
One of the tentacles wound around me. Meanwhile, the other tentacles moved quickly and started looking for something on the shelves. The book he found was:
[Yoo Jonghyuk, 38rd record of the 3rd round.]
The pages turned quickly. I realized what was going to happen and hurriedly opened my mouth.
¡°Wait a minute. I still have something to ask!¡±
¡¸(Goodbye, ¡ö¡ö¡¯s Apostle. If the probability allows it, we will meet again.) ¡¹
The pages of the book opened and sentences appeared on the nk pages in real time.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk had a thought. ¡¹
¡¸ Wake up quickly, Kim Dokja. ¡¹
¡¸ Otherwise everyone will die. ¡¹
...Dammit, this was why I was forced to leave. The next moment, I was sucked into the context of the sentences.
***
The battlefield was a ruin. Yoo Jonghyuk wiped his bloody lips while looking at the bodies of the incarnations on the ground and the approaching constetions.
Thebination of the transcendent dog Breaking the Sky Master and the constetion Osu was amazing. They didn¡¯t mind their broken bodies and were biting at the rushing great-grade constetions.
Thanks to this, Cleopatra in the front was a mess while King Oedipus had nasty bite wounds all over his body.
It was reasonably okay when dealing with great-grade constetions.
[Disgusting! You dare to call yourselves constetions when you can¡¯t even deal with such bugs?]
However, the narrative-grade constetions watching from the rear came out and the situationpletely reversed.
Shin Yoosung¡¯s chimera dragon and the Thunder Eating Bird crashed down. Lee Hyunsung had his Steel Transformation shattered by the General of Vanara¡¯s fist and he was rolling on the ground. Yoo Sangah was somehow managing to fight despite coughing up blood several times, but this seemed to be her limit.
Osu was stabbed by the Founder of Humanity¡¯s Primitive Spear and staggered to the ground. Osu¡¯s incarnation body was stabbed and the Breaking the Sky Master also staggered.
They opened the limits allowed by the probability of the 25th scenario. It wasn¡¯t 100% power but the powerful ¡®status¡¯ that the parties present brought out filled the entire Demon World with dazzling white sparks.
This was the strength of the beings called constetions. They were beings who came from the highest ce in this world.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked, ¡°Why are you doing this?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Supreme God of Light¡¯ isughing quietly.]
¡°It looks like you don¡¯t have to have the history of being defeated by bugs.¡±
Surya¡¯s cheeks subtly twitched at these words. The opening of the Lokap¡¯s status caused the expressions of the constetions to change. The opening of an excessive force caused sparks to appear around Surya¡¯s body. However, Surya looked confident like he could afford it.
[Kuwaaaaaang!]
He released his ¡®status¡¯ and dealt one blow. However, the whole area became a terrible mess. The nearby structures were turned to ashes and the fleeing incarnations were destroyed. People copsed while blood emerged from all orifices.
[Some constetions are dissatisfied with the progression of the scenario!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is greatly angry!]
[The demon king ¡®Overlord of the Great Demon Castle¡¯ is pleased.]
[The demon king ¡®Maker of Discord¡¯ is excited!]
[Many constetions are excited about the great battle!]
Lee Hyunsung was defending in front and blood poured from his ears and mouth. Yoo Jonghyuk grabbed Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulder.
¡°Back off, Lee Hyunsung. This is an opponent you can¡¯t go against.¡±
Lee Hyunsung reflexively tried to say something but even that seemed hard. Yoo Jonghyuk left the faltering Lee Hyunsung behind him and walked forward while wiping the blood off the ck Demon Sword.
It was a desperate situation. His Sage¡¯s Eyes was analyzing the battlefield in real time. The number of constetions visible at the moment was almost 20. Some of the great-grade constetions were eliminated from the field but it wasn¡¯t a number he could win against.
¡¸ Young disciple, no. You will die if you open that power! ¡¹
The Breaking the Sky Master instinctively realized what Yoo Jonghyuk was going to do. However, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s will was stubborn.
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly raised his power and huge sparks appeared. He knew he wasn¡¯t their opponent. However, it was always like this.
-Once you reach transcendence stage three, you can gain the power to destroy constetions.
The words left behind by his teacher were the onlyfort that Yoo Jonghyuk now believed in. This time, he was using a shortcut to raise his power. This didn¡¯t mean the power was a lie because he used a shortcut.
A dazzling aura burst from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. Soft hair poured down like a waterfall while hisrge size became a smaller and sleeker body. He took the form that allowed him to practice the ultimate Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship. Yoo Sangah stared at the scene from behind and couldn¡¯t help opening her mouth. ¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly turned back, his long hair cut off by the ck Demon Sword. The ines of the face had changed but it was clearly Yoo Jonghyuk. No, it was even more than before. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s gaze stayed on Kim Dokja¡¯s face for a moment.
¡°Take him away.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk turned his head and wiped the de of the ck Demon Sword. The constetions who wereughing at him were approaching.
King Oedipus opened his mouth. [Foolish transcendent. This is the cost of going against the constetions. You will die here.]
Yoo Jonghyuk replied while still wiping his de. ¡°I guess so. However, some of you will die too.¡±
[Haha, it is useless! The extinction of an incarnation body...]
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t listen. Instead, he was reminded of Kim Dokja¡¯s words.
¡®Don¡¯t give up on this life.¡¯
¡°Then in the next life, half of you will die.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s voice rang out quietly through the battlefield. Yoo Jonghyuk raised his head along with the ck Demon Sword. The footsteps of the constetions stopped for the first time. The power of transcendence was threatening the surroundings.
¡°In the next life, all of you will die.¡±
The ck Demon Sword¡¯s cry seemed to touch the sky. The expressions of the constetions stiffened as Yoo Jonghyuk concluded his words.
¡°You will die forever.¡±
TL Note: Work went longer than expected today. Second chapter will eithere in a few hours or there will be three chapters tomorrow. In addition, made a small change to thest chapter, by swapping around the numbers of the Yoo Jonghyuk records.
Chapter 268 - Dokja’s Story (5)
Chapter 268: Episode 50 ¨C Dokja¡¯s Story (5)
[Arrogant transcendent, what bullshit...!]
At the beginning of the showdown, Yoo Jonghyuk moved.
The scorn of the constetions and the overwhelming disadvantage in power weren¡¯t important to the present Yoo Jonghyuk. From the moment he entered the third round, he had been focused on only killing the enemies in front of him.
An aura spread from Yoo Jonghyuk and some of the great-grade constetions in front murmured to themselves. However, most of the constetions still looked down on Yoo Jonghyuk.
No matter how transcendent, he was just a human. The constetions had no reason to lose in a situation where they had an overwhelming advantage in numbers.
This became thest thought of the General of Vanara.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Giant Body Transformation Lv. 6 is activated!]
Giant Body Transformation was used and Yoo Jonghyuk narrowed the distance to the constetions in an instant. Yoo Jonghyuk shot forward like a meteor.
By the time the General of Vanara realized the sword and hurriedly raised his huge double-edged sword, his head was already cut by the ck Demon Sword and flying through the air.
[You dare...!]
The General of Vanara¡¯s eyes widened and he spoke in his true voice, even with his cut neck.
Yoo Jonghyuk cut the flying head in half using the ck Demon Sword.
It was a ridiculous end.
The excessively concentrated magic power was melting Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s blood. It was the result of invoking transcendence stage three to the limit. The maximum time he could stay in this state was 10 minutes. In these 10 minutes, Yoo Jonghyuk had to defeat everyone.
¡°Next.¡±
The death of the General of Vanara was a great shock to the constetions. The constetions didn¡¯t disappear with the death of their incarnation bodies.
However, there was no one who wanted to lose their incarnation body in vain. A fatal death permanently damaged the constetions. All the constetions became stiff.
Yoo Jonghyuk utilized this short gap to attempt a second attack. The ck Demon Sword left a dark trajectory as it moved and cut off the wings of a giant bird. The Thunder Eating Bird let out a loud cry. Then the constetions started to move.
[You!]
The Founder of Humanity¡¯s Primitive Spear aimed at Yoo Jonghyuk. It was a blow that would¡¯ve turned any normal incarnation to powder.
However, Yoo Jonghyuk received this blow. The impact ruptured his right forearm muscle and the force pushed at his entire body. Blood poured from his mouth but Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t lose focus.
[Excessive concentration has expanded the category of the attributes!]
[The exclusive attribute ¡®Ruler of Amusement¡¯ is activated!]
His concentration awakened the power of the character. All the iing constetions became data and flowed into Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mind. At this moment, the world was a game to Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk avoided the attacks of the constetions with restrained movements and fought back using magic power.
[Kuaaack!]
The Founder of Humanity screamed as his fingers were cut by the ck Demon Sword.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck Demon Sword let out a deafening roar as it dug into the gap.
Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship.
Destruction skill.
Breaking the Sky Meteor.
The sword rose from the ground to the heavens, stabbing the sky like a thunderbolt. The branches of the sword energy hide in the dark clouds and created thunder. The thunder poured from the night sky and struck the constetions like meteorites.
Dozens of thunderbolts fell from the sky and the incarnation bodies of the constetions were pierced. It was a blow containing the power of transcendence stage three.
[Kuaaah!]
Yoo Jonghyuk watched the constetions struggling with the pain and felt himself dying. The experiences of the third round went through his mind.
It was a short round. Even so, many things happened.
[The story ¡®One who Inherited the Name of the King¡¯ is crying out.]
As if responding to his feelings, the stories starting speaking. It was as if every story had its own will. Most of them weren¡¯t stories he had umted alone.
[The story ¡®Person who Opposes the Miracle¡¯ has begun.]
A story about returnees.
[The story ¡®Paradise of Despair¡¯ has begun.]
A story earned by preserving the abandoned paradise.
[The story ¡®One who Fought Against an Outer God¡¯ has begun.]
The story where he confronted the outer god.
[The story ¡®Ruler of the Industrial Complex¡¯ has begun.]
It was a story that he would¡¯ve normally never achieved. It was a story that was unrted to the current situation but it was a story rted to someone else. It was a story that could never be achieved alone.
The stories started talking at the same time. It was as if they didn¡¯t want to finish the story here. Along with the bitter pain, blood poured from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s chest. He didn¡¯t even know how he obtained these wounds.
There were a few fallen incarnation bodies on the ground. The Supreme God of Light Surya saw it and spoke.
[Amazing. You already can¡¯t be called a human anymore, child.]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s stories emitted a bright light like he was rebelling against the true voice.
[The story ¡®One Who Hunted the King of Disasters¡¯ is roaring.]
Yoo Jonghyuk was a transcendent. The stories were the unique parts making up the constetions. Just having stories didn¡¯t mean a person could be equal to the stars in the night sky. Even so, the current light pouring from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body was brighter than any constetion in the ce.
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at the stories flowing from his body. Some were known and some were unfamiliar. There was a story that couldn¡¯t be obtained again.
[The story ¡®Life and Death Colleagues¡¯ wants to continue.]
He couldn¡¯t help ncing at Yoo Sangah and the other party members. He also saw Kim Dokja on Lee Hyunsung¡¯s back.
Yoo Jonghyuk gripped the ck Demon Sword that was slipping from his hands.
...He couldn¡¯t die. He couldn¡¯t die in a ce like this. He used thest of his strength to point the trembling sword at Surya. Suryaughed as if the sight was interesting.
[However, it is only a human story.]
Surya released a bright light as he used the stories he umted over thousands of years. It was a status that couldn¡¯t be resisted. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s short history was shaking in front of those formidable years.
[Foolish humans who don¡¯t know that a god¡¯s power is so high.]
The sunlight that melted everything poured towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
***
The scene of the industrialplex being destroyed by the constetions. Incarnations died without being able to rebel. Some people who felt desperate at the sudden disaster appeared up close on the screen. The most horrifying thing was that a man who was covered in injuries and lost one arm was still fighting.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is furious!]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is sorry for the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is pointing a finger to the cowardly constetions!]
[Many constetions areining about the constetions on the battlefield!]
There were countless indirect messages from the constetions and the dokkaebi of the bureau were listening to them. Among them was Bihyung, the dokkaebi in charge of the Demon King Selection.
[What the hell do you mean by this?]
He was rarely angry or agitated but now he had the same mind as the constetions in his channel.
[The second game is the victory of the Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja Industrial Complex! There was a time difference but there is nothing to worry about. Then why not announce the winner?!]
Shortly after the second game, Bihyung contacted the bureau¡¯s approval team directly. However, the only answer he got in return was ¡®it is being prepared.¡¯
In the end, thest connection Bihyung had was Baram, the next great dokkaebi candidate. There was a crackling sound and Baram¡¯s face appeared on the screen.
[This is the decision of the bureau.]
The decision of the bureau. They were magic words.
¡®This is the bureau¡¯s decision.¡¯
¡®This is the bureau¡¯s decision.¡¯
[Baram. This is the main scenario.]
There were some things that even the bureau couldn¡¯t touch.
[Since when did the bureau interfere with the development of the main scenario? It is also a scenario where a giant story is involved... Baram, don¡¯t you know what will happen if you do this?]
Baram didn¡¯t answer.
[Please tell me. Who the hell did this? Is it one of your superiors?]
Bihyung nced at Dokgak on the screen. It was clear that Dokgak was associated with this situation. However, this wasn¡¯t something that could be done by one or two senior dokkaebis. The silent Baram opened his mouth.
[...Are you doubting the ¡®great dokkaebis¡¯ right now?]
[Is there any other streamer who can do this beside them?]
[Bihyung, please wake up. Why would they do this?]
[I don¡¯t know. Perhaps some bribes were received.]
Baram frowned.
[The great dokkaebis aren¡¯t bound by such private understandings.]
[Then why is this happening? Baram, you must know something!]
[Bihyung.]
Bihyung instantly flinched. Baram¡¯s voice was furious. Bihyung thought there would be a strict scolding but unexpectedly, Baram just rxed. It was as if he understood Bihyung. Baram on the screen was also watching the scenes of the Demon King Selection. Baram¡¯s lips slowly opened.
[Yes, maybe one of the great dokkaebis created this ¡®dy¡¯, as you said.]
[Then...]
[However, even a great dokkaebi can only do it up to there. It is impossible for a great dokkaebi to endure the storm that will be created from intervening in a scenario of this magnitude.]
[...So who did it?]
At this moment, there was a loud noise and the ceiling of the bureau shook. It sounded like a huge dragon passing by. It was the sound of ¡®probability¡¯ moving.
Bihyung¡¯s expression hardened.
[Don¡¯t tell me... something so ridiculous...]
[Do you understand now?]
The existence that could move this probability. There was only one such existence in the Star Stream. He didn¡¯t even know if it should be called an ¡®existence.¡¯
Baram drove in the wedge. [The will of the Star Stream wanted this.]
[This is ridiculous!]
[There is no other way to exin it.]
Bihyung¡¯s words were taken away and he stared nkly at the screen. Kim Dokja¡¯s party was shown on the screen.
Originally, they should be excited about winning. Now they looked terrible as theyy on the ground.
It was a confrontation with constetions supported by the neb. It was a ridiculous fight from the beginning but the party fought well. They yed a game against powerful constetions and finally won thepetition that gave them a giant story. Now they were going to be losers just because there wasn¡¯t a ¡®winner announcement.¡¯
It was just because the Star Stream wanted this. Resentment mixed with anger filled Bihyung¡¯s eyes.
[Then... why does a streamer exist?]
It was the first time Bihyung felt helplessness since bing a dokkaebi. His fingertips trembled as the parts of the scenario he touched fell.
[If we can¡¯t stop this nonsensical development... what are the streamers of this world worth?]
[Bihyung.]
Baram saw Bihyung¡¯s sad eyes and slowly spoke.
[Steamers are also part of the story.]
The desperate Bihyung stared at the screen. Yoo Jonghyuk was gradually melting in the dazzling sunlight. Now the story was leaving the streamer¡¯s hand.
Thus, there was only one thing to believe in.
[Many constetions are looking at one constetion.]
The man on Lee Hyunsung¡¯s back was shaking. On the screen, the man was slowly opening his eyes.
Chapter 269 - Dokja’s Story (6)
Chapter 269: Episode 50 ¨C Dokja¡¯s Story (6)
[Baat! Baaat! Baaaaat!]
My cheeks hurt.
[
Baaaaat!]
There was a bit more pain. I felt something violently shaking in my arms. I opened my eyes at the exact moment the earth let out a tremendous ringing sound. I reflexively raised my head and could see brilliant shes of light. The sparks of probability in the sky were falling like lightning strikes all over the Demon World.
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
I woke up the moment I heard Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice. Like a disconnected current being reconnected, thoughts started to flow through my head.
There were broken incarnation bodies everywhere. No matter how I looked, this wasn¡¯t the Mythical Battlefield. All the fallen bodies were living human beings. The industrialplex being torn apart by the Thunder Eating Bird could be seen.
¡°Did the constetionse?¡±
Yoo Sangah, who was about to say something, wiped her bloody cheeks and nodded. ¡°...Yes.¡±
A system message was floating in the air while the party members were in tatters.
¡°The winner still hasn¡¯t been announced.¡±
It was a situation I expected thanks to thest message of Yoo Jonghyuk in the library. However, I didn¡¯t expect the situation to be so serious.
¡°Kuk...¡±
Lee Hyunsung suffered a serious injury on his side and staggered. I quickly got off Lee Hyunsung¡¯s back and bought a few recovery items from the Dokkaebi Bag.
I gave the Great Return Pill to Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah, who were the most seriously injured. Shin Yoosung had no wounds but her magic power was depleted, so I gave her an advanced magic power recovery medicine. Trauma medicine was given to Han Myungoh, Breaking the Sky Master and Jang Hayoung. It cost over 400,000 coins but now wasn¡¯t the time to worry about that.
¡°Ahjussi...¡±
Shin Yoosung drank the potion and looked up at me while leaning against the rock. I looked at Shin Yoosung for a moment before saying, ¡°You should rest here. By the way...¡±
In a distance ce, the deafening roar of the constetions was shaking the earth. I could tell the number exceeded 12 just by the ¡®status.¡¯ At this moment, I had an ominous feeling.
...The constetions were gathered so how could the party members flee to here?
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk...¡±
None of the party members answered. I looked around the battlefield as an explosion urred. Everyone except for Yoo Jonghyuk was here. In addition, someone was fighting the constetions.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking faintly.]
¡°That stupid bastard...¡±
¡°Ahjussi! No!¡± Shin Yoosung clung to my waist when I tried to run forward. ¡°Ahjussi will die. You¡¯ll die there.¡±
She was an always straightforward and brave child. Fear was deeply permeated in the child¡¯s eyes. Shin Yoosung burst into tears as I pulled away from her. In the saturated battlefield, the tears scattered like dust. Perhaps this child had seen it. It was the fear of a giant story that humans could never ovee.
¡°Please take care of Yoosung.¡±
I left Shin Yoosung to Jang Hayoung who was in a good condition and activated Way of the Wind. I heard a voice calling out to me from behind but had no time to turn around.
I moved forward and the pressure of the ¡®status¡¯ bursting from the centre of the battlefield became stronger. It was a fearsome storm of magic that I had never experienced before. The centre definitely contained Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: Is there a way? ¡¹
The pages of Ways of Destruction shed in my head.
¡¸It isn¡¯t possible. ¡¹
¡¸That method is too unreasonable. ¡¹
I bit my lips. I predicted that this situation might happen. However, the time passed too quickly and I had been asleep for too long.
I waste. Yoo Jonghyuk was still far away and the wind wasn¡¯t on my side. I could buy a new skill from the Dokkaebi Bag but I can¡¯t guarantee its utilization.
In the end, I made a decision.
¡°I will invest three million coins into my strength, physique, agility and magic power.¡±
[Your total stats have grown abnormally!]
[The coins you invested have allowed you to cross the stats limit of the scenario.]
[A fuller probability will release some of the stat constraints for this scenario.]
[The growth of the stats valuepared to the invested coins will be randomly adjusted.]
A tremendous amount of sparks jumped from my body. It felt like my muscles were tearing and growing bigger. There was the feeling of my bone density changing and a terrible pain came over me.
¡°Cough...¡±
I had put it off until now due to the poor cost to value ratio but there was no other way.
[Your mind can¡¯t cope with your evolving incarnation body.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
[Your incarnation body is evolving to a new level!]
Since the early scenarios, the ¡®overall stats¡¯ didn¡¯t have a big influence onbat. It was because stories, stigmas and skills had much more influence.
In addition, since the number of coins per level after level 100 was exponentiallyrger, it was more advantageous to buy a skill using the same amount of coins. Now the situation was different.
[All your stats have exceeded 200!]
[Your incarnation body can handle a bigger ¡®status.¡¯]
I needed a strong body, not a powerful skill.
[Your agility has reduced the air resistance.]
[Magic power is opening up the blocked bloodstream.]
A huge amount of coins was transforming my incarnation body.
[Your strength is causing an explosive change!]
The frequency of my footsteps and the speed at which thendscape passed in my vision changed drastically.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
Of course, it was impossible to surpass the constetions or transcendents. Still, it was enough to confront them for a while.
[Many constetions are envying your incarnation body.]
I crossed the wilderness at a tremendous speed and the centre of the battlefield finally entered my eyes. At the centre, I could see a dying person.
¡°You idiot! What are you doing?¡±
In front of Surya¡¯s radiant light, Yoo Jonghyuk was dying. I didn¡¯t know where his left arm had gone and steam was rising from his charred body. Even so, Yoo Jonghyuk was gripping the ck Demon Sword without moving an inch. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s head moved slowly towards me. His voice wasn¡¯t heard, as if he had no strength to open his lips.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is greatly shaken.]
The words of the Mass Production Maker came to mind. The constetions were also just part of this great story. They were also lonely and had to do these things.
...Bullshit.
[Get lost!]
The Founder of Humanity stood in front of me and wielded the Primitive Spear.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification¡¯ Lv. 12 (+2) has been activated.]
White lightning exploded from my fist and the battlefield filled with a blue light.
[Kuaaack!]
The confused constetions supported the thrown back Manu and raised their status. The magic power poured towards me like a tsunami. My strengthened body withstood the mighty power of the constetions.
The flesh of my fist cracked and blood flowed down but it was still bearable. The constetions blinked as the dust settled down. They didn¡¯t know I had this much power and were shocked.
[Stop him!]
A blue-white energy flew towards the constetions. In an instant, there were abrasions on my back and thighs as well as a long stab in my side.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
My cry didn¡¯t reach him properly. Yoo Jonghyuk had fallen to his knees and his life was now flickering. No magic power could be felt from him. Yoo Jonghyuk was dying.
I held my breath and then shouted with the greatest true voice possible. [Asmodeus!]
The true voice burst out and the constetions blocked their ears for a moment. The great-grade constetions couldn¡¯t stop and tears poured from my eyes. I shouted again.
[If you are a demon king, keep your promise!]
The situation was so big that I didn¡¯t expect much. He was a shrewd guy and should know how dangerous it was to take my side right now. However, it was Asmodeus...
As if waiting, one star in the sky shed. There was a storming in and something was descending.
[The Demon King of Lust and Fury has appeared in this world!]
A tremendous probability was flowing and a colossal presence was manifesting before my eyes as an incarnation body. A little girl surrounded by a dark aura raised her head.
It was the king of the Demon World who immediately subdued the transcendent Yoo Jonghyuk. Later, he would join one of the worst organizations in the world, ¡® the Seekers of the End.¡¯
[D-Demon king!]
The 32nd demon king, Asmodeus started running wild.
[Ahahahahahat!]
Heughed and a huge rake appeared at the fingers of the demon king. Asmodeus¡¯ ¡®Bloody Grip¡¯ scraped through the area and tore at the constetions.
[Kuaaaack!]
[The mad demon king!]
[What the hell is this?]
The constetions turned their gaze towards me and I triggered Way of the Wind to snatch Yoo Jonghyuk.
[Chase him!]
The constetions started running but my strengthened incarnation body was a bit faster than them. I ran with all my strength while carrying Yoo Jonghyuk on my shoulder. ¡°Wake up please.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was barely breathing. The weight of his body was lighter than usual. He had suffered such severe pain that even the skeleton of his body seemed changed. I listened to his gradually fading heart beat and cried out, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t mess around! You can recover! Do something!¡±
However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t move. I called out to Biyoo and bought a few more Great Return Pills. My left hand supported his body while my right hand poured the pills into Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mouth.
No effect was visible. He didn¡¯t have the strength to swallow it. His breathing slowed and became distant. The tips of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s toes were breaking and his body was disappearing.
I used Way of the Wind to wrap around the debris and prevent them from escaping. Even so, I couldn¡¯t prevent the dim light from emerging from his heart.
I was well aware of this phenomenon. I had read the scene a few hundred times and had to know what it was.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk had a thought. ¡¹
¡°Don¡¯t think about it.¡±
¡¸ This life ends here. ¡¹
¡°Dammit! Don¡¯t think about it!¡±
Story fragments were falling from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s cheeks. I was scared of this story and pped his cheek before crying out to the air.
¡°Shit! Don¡¯t go back! You jerk, leave him alone!¡±
[The sponsor of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is looking at you.]
¡°You can still survive! This round isn¡¯t over! You can fight back against this guy! I can save you!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sponsor was silent. This guy always did the same thing. He watched Yoo Jonghyuk suffering from death. He ced the soul of a hopelessly broken man back into the world line of the past.
[The stigma ¡®Regression Lv. 3¡¯ has been activated!]
It was cruel. Was this really how it ended? How did I get here? Would Yoo Jonghyuk really die here?
Then a single line emerged.
[Incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is looking at his sponsor.]
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk, who became so ragged that his shape couldn¡¯t be recognized, stared at his sponsor with a single bloody eye. Sparks appeared around his disappearing body.
[Incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is resisting his sponsor.]
[All of the stories of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is resisting death.]
This was something I had never seen in any round.
[The incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has refused to regress.]
Chapter 270 - Dokja’s Story (7)
Chapter 270: Episode 50 ¨C Dokja¡¯s Story (7)
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s entire body was trembling.
¡¸...I can¡¯t die. ¡¹
¡¸ I will never die here. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s desperate will was being conveyed through Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
¡°Hey, you...¡±
This Yoo Jonghyuk refused to ¡®regress.¡¯
[The sponsor of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is looking at his incarnation.]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sponsor was silent as this situation urred for the first time. It was a mysterious silence. It seemed to be both angry and sad. Or perhaps there was no response. Not long after that, the gaze on Yoo Jonghyuk disappeared.
[The stigma ¡®Regression Lv. 3¡¯ has been cancelled.]
Crazy, something like this was possible. The light of the stigma disappeared and Yoo Jonghyuk once again sagged down. His barely opened eyes closed and his mouth was mumbling something. I felt his desperate will to live. It was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s uniquemitment to somehow survive.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts were heard in my head.
¡¸ Break it down. So I can eat. ¡¹
I pulled out another Great Return Pill, turned it to powder and poured it into his mouth. The stories of the fallen man slowly stopped copsing.
¡°...It¡¯s fine.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was betting everything into this round. He decided to forsake the premise that it was okay to fail a few times and to remain in this world. Perhaps he had lost consciousness but Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t say anything else. Instead, the stories wrapped around Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body shone brightly.
[The story ¡®Life and Death Companions¡¯ wants to continue.]
Life and Death Companions. It was a story that didn¡¯t exist for Yoo Jonghyuk in the original novel.
¡¸ ¡°What is your rtionship with Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°We are life and deathpanions. ¡¹
It was at Chungmuro. It was clearly the conversation I had with Gong Pildu. I couldn¡¯t helpughing. Now we would really live together or die together.
I ran while holding on tightly to Yoo Jonghyuk. My party members shouting in the distance could be seen.
I felt a hot heat behind me. Together with a fierce wind, fireballs narrowly brushed over my head. The chasing constetions were already right behind me.
[Did you call the demon king? Do you know what you have done?]
The constetions roared as a formidable aura poured towards me.
[Stupid bastard. Now the 73rd Demon Realm will perish!]
I shouted at Lee Hyunsung in front of me instead of replying to them. ¡°Lee Hyunsung-ssi!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body flew through the air and Lee Hyunsung caught him. At the same time, I turned around and reflexively punched out. A running constetion collided with me and screamed.
Electrification struck the tail of the Scorpion Goddess and then Unbroken Faith shed at the Thunder Eating Bird. The de of Faith absorbed power and shone brightly. Blood sshed and I unleashed with all the power of Electrification.
The number of constetions that followed me was seven. It was a number I couldn¡¯t afford by myself. The bigger problem was that the dark clouds in the air were thickening. Dark clouds flocked like a sinister omen and the stars shining towards the 73rd Demon Realm disappeared one by one.
In fact, this was why I didn¡¯t call Asmodeus until now. A series of dark lightning fell from the sky and the frightened constetions jumped back. Sparks flew in the air and the demon kings descended.
Now that Asmodeus was here, nothing was holding back the other demon kings. Unfortunately, the demon kings weren¡¯t on my side.
[The demon king ¡®Maker of Discord¡¯ has appeared in the Demon World!]
[The demon king ¡®Monarch who is a Philosopher about Corpses¡¯ has appeared in the Demon World!]
The summoning of the incarnation bodies alone seemed to surpass the other constetions. Now there was no one who could help me.
[The 73rd Demon Realm is responding to your story.]
The only thing I could believe in was the stories I had built.
¡°Everybody, step back! Maintain your strength as much as possible while I buy time!¡±
Then one of the party members went wild. There was a roaring sound from my side.
¡°Department Head-nim? What...¡±
Han Myungoh activated One-Legged Swift Runner and started running somewhere at a tremendous speed. It was the direction I came from. It was the ce that contained Demon King Asmodeus.
***
[Ahahahahahat!]
Demon King Asmodeusughed cheerfully. Arrows of light struck all over his body and blood flowed from his torn arm. However, only feelings of pleasure and joy could be seen on the face of the little girl.
[I¡¯m happy! This is fun!]
Many constetions lost their incarnation bodies due to the Bloody Grip. However, there were still many constetions remaining.
The demon kings were basically existences equal to narrative-grade constetions. Normal constetions were unknown but there was no chance for Asmodeus to win against one of the Lokap, Surya.
Surya opened his mouth like he couldn¡¯t understand. [I wonder why, Demon King of Lust and Fury.]
There was the sound of a giant drum bursting in the distance. Perhaps the constetions chasing the Demon King of Salvation were having the final showdown.
Surya couldn¡¯t understand it.
Why were these humans still resisting? Why was a demon king taking sides with a human?
Asmodeus smiled like he was slightly exhausted. Surya raised his left hand and the attacks of the constetions ceased.
[Asmodeus, why are you siding with trivial humans?]
[Siding... I¡¯m not siding with anyone.] Asmodeus grinned while licking the blood on his hands. [It just seems fun.]
[...Fun?]
[You don¡¯t know. What is the story of the Demon King of Salvation?]
[I also saw it. It is amon story.]
Asmodeus made a big fuss at the words.
[Hahahahat! Surya! You must¡¯ve lost your eyes from all the light pouring out! I told you before. If you want to enjoy the stories for a long time, take good care of your eyesight.]
[...I admit that the child is a good one among the new stars. However, it is a normal level in the Star Stream. He doesn¡¯t yet have a myth-level story.]
Surya frowned as his status spread out.
Asmodeus was stillughing. [A myth-level story... you have lived for a long time but you are still judging the stories by that?]
[It is only human history. No evaluation is needed.]
[All stories eventually depart from history.]
[...Asmodeus, you yed around in the Gourmet Association and now you¡¯re saying this. Then do you want to keep going? You will eventually lose your incarnation body.]
[Well, I suppose. But before that...] The constetion was narrowing the distance one step at a time and Asmodeus suddenly opened his mouth. [By the way Surya, why are you obsessed with the Demon King of Salvation?]
[...Obsessed? What do you mean?]
[It isn¡¯t just you but the nebe. Isn¡¯t that right?]
[It seems you are the one who is blind.]
[At best, it is human history as you said. Yet you and Vedas keep trying to recruit the Demon King of Salvation. You failed and now you¡¯re trying to kill him. This isn¡¯t exactly like a giant neb.]
[...]
[At this point, I want to ask something. Why are you doing this?]
Surya had no words for a moment. There was a subtle emotion on his face. Surya hurriedly raised his right hand as if to hide his feelings. It was a sign for the constetions to attack. At this moment,
Asmodeus said, [Wait, ahaha... hahahat. I see. Surya...]
[...]
[You... I heard about what happened at the Gourmet Association.
Surya¡¯s raised hand stopped.
[The Demon King of Salvation is pursuing the st scenario.¡¯ That¡¯s why you hate him. Right?]
Surya¡¯s fingers trembled, showing his agitation. Asmodeus scoffed at the shaking.
[It is because you can¡¯t get the qualification of the end.]
A spear of light pierced Asmodeus¡¯ body. Asmodeus¡¯ lips held a deep ridicule as he was constantly pierced by spears of light.
Blood dripped down. The urgently implemented incarnation body was much weaker than usual. Asmodeus held the intestines that were flowing from his torn skin.
[...The human body is really ufortable.]
Asmodeus ignored the iing constetions and looked up at the sky. Stars could be seen through the dark cloud. The light and darkness in the sky werepeting against each other.
The strong existences surrounding the 73rd Demon Realm were moving. Asmodeus had lived for a long time but he hadn¡¯t seen something like this before.
Today, something tremendous was happening in the Demon World.
Surya¡¯s spear of light moved and the constetions poured magic power towards Asmodeus. The moment that Asmodeus¡¯ incarnation body was going to die.
Dududududu!
A cloud of dust obscured the view of the constetion. The astonished constetions paused for a moment and someone embraced Asmodeus¡¯ small body. Even Asmodeus was surprised this time. He had lived for many years but had never been saved by anyone.
[You...?]
Han Myungoh was running while carrying him. One arm and a part of Han Myungoh¡¯s left arm had disappeared from the constetions¡¯ attacks.
Asmodeus muttered with a bemused expression. [Why...]
He knew the identity of this person but Asmodeus couldn¡¯t understand why this person came here. Han Myungoh might be a member of his household but this loyalty...
Han Myungoh strongly hugged Asmodeus without answering. A blind and big heart could be felt. The emotions weren¡¯t directed at Asmodeus.
Asmodeus smiled as he was held in Han Myungoh¡¯s arms.
[Really, this scenario is truly interesting...]
***
¡°I¡¯m sorry everyone. I think you have toe with me.¡±
The moment Kim Dokja said, this, Lee Hyunsung was the first to stand up.
¡°I was waiting.¡±
Yoo Sangah and the Breaking the Sky Master followed while the frightened Shin Yoosung clenched her fists. Osu, who was the size of a guinea pig, barked.
It was a humbling power but they were determined. Humans didn¡¯t back down in front of the ¡®status¡¯ of the constetions.
There was an explosion and the battle began. One blow broke bones, two blows caused a deep wound and three blows couldn¡¯t guarantee their life.
The demon kings were making things more and more chaotic. The demon kings flew through the air like released strings.
¡°Kuheeok!¡± It was Lee Hyunsung who flopped down first.
The chimera dragon screamed as its wings were broken.
Jang Hayoung sat down and watched all of it. ¡°Ah, ahh. Ah...¡±
Jang Hayoung was ovee by overwhelming helplessness and couldn¡¯t move. The Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship that Jang Hayoung learnt was too weak. The techniques he learnt through the wall weren¡¯t enough to deal with the constetions.
Jang Hayoung held the ce that was hit by the demon king and gazed at the fighting Kim Dokja.
The Demon King of Salvation he had long wanted to meet was struggling.
His ribs and right arm were broken. Jang Hayoung wanted to fight together. Only the stars in the sky were shining without mercy. There were so many stars so why wasn¡¯t anyone helping them?
[The exclusive skill ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ is activated!]
In fact, he had done it many times already. He sent messages several times to the modifiers Kim Dokja mentioned but there was no reply. Nevertheless, Jang Hayoung kept sending unanswered prayers to the constetions.
¡®Please, please just one person.¡¯
[The Unidentified Wall asks, ¡°Do you really want to help?]
The wall was slightly vibrating.
[The Unidentified Wall asks, ¡°Do you really want to help?]
He nodded. ¡®I want to help. I can ept any price. Please.¡¯
The next moment, numerous messages appeared in front of Jang Hayoung¡¯s eyes.
-Hello. Do you perhaps know Kim Dokja? He is looking for constetions...
-Hello constetion. You don¡¯t know me but I have to ask a favour... if Kim Dokja...
-Constetion, please help me. Kim Dokja is in danger.
-Please help. Please...
.....
Jang Hayoung read the hundreds of messages that surfaced in front of him with a nk expression.
They were all messages from himself.
[There are currently 124 messages waiting to be sent.]
To be exact, they were messages he thought he had sent.
¡°W-Why...?¡±
Goosebumps covered his entire body. It was the reason why a reply didn¡¯te from numerous constetions.
[The Unidentified Wall said, ¡°I was told not to send it¡±]
¡°Who?¡±
[The Unidentified Wall says, ¡°It is an existence higher than me.¡±]
He didn¡¯t know who it was. However, Jang Hayoung could see what he had to do now. ¡°Send them. Right now! Send all of them!¡±
The Unidentified Wall was silent for a moment.
[The Unidentified Wall is sighing. ¡°Don¡¯t regret it.¡±]
The next moment, his head was going to burst from the pain.
[124 messages have been sent.]
Like water being discharged from a damn, numerous messages were released from Jang Hayoung and flew through the sky. Time passed. One minute, two minutes... Jang Hayoung stared up at the sky without releasing the string of hope.
[The constetion ¡®One-Eyed Maitreya¡¯ has entered the channel.]
Then somebody answered. Simr to a meteor shower, the sound of people entering the channel didn¡¯t stop.
[The constetion ¡®Brash Swamp Predator¡¯ has entered the channel.]
[The constetion ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil¡¯ has entered the channel.]
[The constetion ¡®First Spiritualist of Joseon¡¯ has entered the channel.]
[The constetion ¡®Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯ has entered the channel.]
[The constetion of a small has entered the channel.]
The distorted bnce of the sky changed and Jang Hayoung listened to all the messages with joy and despair.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ has entered the channel.]
Chapter 271 - Dokja’s Story (8)
Chapter 271: Episode 50 ¨C Dokja¡¯s Story (8)
TL: Hey guys, sorry but flu season has started in Melbourne and I have caught it. I¡¯ve been feeling terrible thest few days but it finally hit today. I¡¯m gonna take the rest of the week off and start posting again on Monday (hopefully).
I raised my head at the entrance of the constetions.
[The constetions who favour you are looking at you.]
All of them were constetions who had once sided with me.
[The constetion ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®First Spiritualist of Joseon¡¯ is looking at you.]
Among them were constetions of Earth.
[The constetion ¡®Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯ is looking at you.]
There was also Cheok Jungyeong who I couldn¡¯t contact for a while. However, there was an even more wee existence.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is looking at you.]
Secretive Plotter. I didn¡¯t know his exact identity. All I knew was that he favoured me and watched my scenarios.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is sping both hands together gently.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is forming fists.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is grunting and looking at you.]
All four of my early constetions had now gathered.
[Your story is being created in the 73rd Demon Realm.]
All the gazes poured towards me and I felt like I had returned to the beginning of the story.
Surya spoke.
[Child, I know your expectations but they won¡¯t help you. The constetions are clever and won¡¯t make foolish choices like you humans.]
I saw my colleagues who were barely standing. My colleagues were centred around the fallen Yoo Jonghyuk.
Suryaughed. [None of them will want to be the enemy of a neb...]
As soon as he spoke, an earthquake urred between Surya and I. The ground quickly became damp and turned into a sticky swamp. In the swamp where I would be sucked in if I took a step, someone was waking up.
I immediately noticed who it was.
[The constetion ¡®Brash Swamp Predator¡¯ has appeared in the Demon World!]
The Brash Swamp Predator. He was a constetion of the Gourmet Association. He had fallen into debt and was dragged away by the Executive Branch.
It was a lizard that was over 30 metres. The ancient lizard that awakened from the swamp let out a resounding roar. The Breaking the Sky Master recognized the Brash Swamp Predator and growled.
If I was right, this time he wasn¡¯t my enemy.
I smiled and asked, ¡°Have youe to pay off your debts?¡±
In the past, the Mass Production Maker had advised me: Don¡¯t make too many enemies.
[...I could¡¯ve paid them back if you hadn¡¯t helped me!]
The giant lizard turned his head and showed hostility towards the constetions.
[I don¡¯t like them very much. That¡¯s why I came!]
The giant lizard finished the short conversation and rushed to the constetions. The constetions shouted at the monster who was running towards them.
The Brash Swamp Predator was a narrative-grade constetion. He was scary when he was an enemy but I couldn¡¯t feel reassured now that he was on the same side. The angry Surya cried out,
[Lackey of the Gourmet Association... aren¡¯t you afraid of the neb?]
[Neb? Hahahahat! Since when has the Gourmet Association cared for such a thing?]
Many members of the Gourmet Association were heretics of the Star Stream. They were those who practiced their will, regardless of whether they belonged to a neb or not. The Brash Swamp Predator wasn¡¯t part of a neb and was one of the most free-spirited in the Gourmet Association.
[Kuaaack!]
The giant lizard swung his tail and the surface of the ground split apart while fragments shot up. The Thunder Eating Bird and Mysterious Bird of the Nile rushed towards him. The huge monsters started to fight and the surroundings quickly became a mess. In the centre of the mess, Surya rose to the sky and looked down at me.
[One garbage doesn¡¯t change the result.]
Surya¡¯s light flooded towards me. It wasn¡¯t easy to avoid even if I used Way of the Wind and Electrification. I couldn¡¯t contend with a Lokap but I didn¡¯t give up. My skin was torn and my bones were exposed. In the middle of this pain, I somehow tried to buy time.
My nerves were focused on the system message in the air.
[The winner of the second game will soon be announced.]
The winner of the game was decided. No matter how strong the presence that dyed the scenario, there was a limit. In other words, I only needed to buy time and we would win this game.
[Child, it won¡¯t work out as you wish.]
I could feel a lot of probability moving. It was a probability originally not allowed for this scenario. The probability offered by Vedas was moving. The bnce in the sky changed and the scales of probability were leaning.
[Vedas¡¯ will hase here.]
A bright sun shone behind Surya. Sweat flowed as my body felt like it was melting. One, two, three, four... the light sources burnt the ground. I was unable to look at Surya since I would be blinded so I focused on his shadow.
[The story ¡®King of the Twelve Suns¡¯ is shining.]
This was Surya of Vedas. He was a king who united the twelve sun gods.
[Do you see the difference in status now?]
My exhausted party members fell down and groaned.
¡°U-Uhhhh....¡±
The Brash Swamp Predator struggled painfully and the only constetions looked up at Surya with awe. Surya was powerful but he became even more powerful when the ¡®Destruction Scenario¡¯ of Vedas ended. Surya, the sun god who absorbed all the power of Vivasvat and Savitr, became a monster who turned the Earth of the 265th round of Ways of Survival into a hell of fire.
Still, no matter how strong the enemy, I had to struggle.
[The stigma ¡®Song of the Sword Lv. 3¡¯ has been used.]
[Your sword is filled with the words left by the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.]
¡¸ In the night, a god appeared in his dream and said, ¡°You will win big if you do this. Otherwise, you will lose.¡± ¡¹
It was a verse I heard when dealing with the lesser dragon.
[It is the stigma of a great-grade constetion. You are using a petty trick.]
Thanks to the effect of the skill, it was like I wore sunsses and could see the light source in front of me. As I recalled, this verse had the effect of telling the enemy¡¯s weakness through colour. The green showed the strong areas and the red showed the weak areas. I stared at Surya with my eyes wide open.
I stared and stared again. Cold sweat flowed down my back.
[Yes, what are you seeing?]
The smiling Surya was slowly approaching me.
[You can keep stealing stigmas. You might have risen to be a constetion but you were born human.]
Surya¡¯s whole body was green. I couldn¡¯t see any weaknesses.
[A human history can¡¯t transcend a god. There is no such thing in the Star Stream.]
I couldn¡¯t deal with Surya alone. It was impossible even with the Brash Swamp Predator¡¯s help. I threw my torn coat and spoke.
¡°...The bnce of probability is tilted. This means I can put more weights on it.¡±
[The bnce won¡¯t tilt, no matter howes.]
My story wasn¡¯t a myth. I wasn¡¯t a god or a hero. My story might be amon one in the Star Stream.
[The constetions in the night sky are making a decision.]
Even so, someone in this world was listening intently to my story.
¡°That remains to be seen! Come, Goryeo¡¯s First Sword!¡±
There were explosive sparks and a meteor fell through the dark clouds.
[The constetion ¡®Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯ is responding to your call.]
A spectacr sword energy tore through the sky. It was the Three Sword Style I had previously seen.
[Who called me, Cheok Jungyeong?}
The sword struck like a thunderbolt and deeply wounded one of Surya¡¯s suns. Along with the blinding explosion, Surya¡¯s voice was heard.
[A trivial great-grade constetion dares...!]
A hot sh flooded towards the ground and something thumped against the ground, sending me and my colleagues back. Once I came to my senses, I was in the arms of a man. In terms of size, he was no smaller than the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[It has been a long time, Descendant.]
The magnificent sight of Goryeo¡¯s First Sword was in front of me.
¡°It¡¯s been a long time, old man. Your status has changed.¡±
The great-grade Cheok Jungyeong was now narrative-grade.
[It is all thanks to you. Several things happened.]
I had expected it. Cheok Jungyeong had joined in the fight against the outer god. He would¡¯ve gained a powerful story and risen to a higher level.
[The debt can finally be repaid.]
Cheok Jungyeong stared up at the sky and the indirect messages of the constetions followed.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is murmuring to himself in anger.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is started gloomily.]
Perhaps the other constetions also wanted toe here. However, there were constraints on probability and they couldn¡¯t move in front of the neb¡¯s eyes.
In particr, Uriel belonged to Eden and the problem was moreplicated. If she did something wrong, a great war between good and evil might ur...
I wasn¡¯t disappointed despite not receiving help from Uriel.
¡°It¡¯sing.¡±
Surya¡¯s beams of light wereing in waves.
[...I knew that the gods on the Indian side don¡¯t y around but they are truly monsters.]
Cheok Jungyeong protected me and cut down the waves of light. However, Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s de was slightly corroded.
[I might be able to cut the great mountain and the sea but I haven¡¯t cut the sun yet. If I knew there was such a monster, I would¡¯ve brought ¡®Ye.¡¯]
¡®Ye¡¯ was probably the sun hunter in Chinese mythology. He seemed to be an acquaintance of Cheok Jungyeong. Even so, Ye wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with Surya, a constetion with the constitution of an ¡¯emperor.¡¯
[I¡¯ll deal with you!]
The Founder of Humanity rushed towards Cheok Jungyeong. The great men fought and the surrounding area was devastated by the sword energy.
[The 73rd Demon Realm is snooping around your story.]
Then something flowed from my chest up towards the sky. They were the ¡®sentences¡¯ I obtained from thest game. Surya shouted with a thunderous voice.
[What are you doing? There is no time left! Kill them quickly!]
These sentences were materials that made up the giant story. Finally, the giant story of this world started to fluctuate.
[The demon king ¡®Maker of Discord¡¯ is showing hostility towards you.]
The passive demon kings finally started moving. The heat sent from the Maker of Discord blew me through the air and I felt the pain of my entire body tearing apart.
I had two allies but the battlefield was outrageously disadvantageous. The demon kings released their strength and the scales of probability once again creaked.
I needed the help of more people but who could deal with these powerful demon kings? I thought hard but couldn¡¯t figure out a constetion who would help. Suddenly, the approaching demon kings slowed down.
¡°Fire with full force!¡±
There was the sound of cannon fire along with a familiar girl¡¯s voice.
¡°Ahjussi! It¡¯s me!¡±
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at you.]
¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯mte!¡±
On the moat in a distant part of the industrialplex, Lee Jihye¡¯s ghost fleet was firing towards this side. The indirect messages of the angry demon kings filled the air. Two demon kings turned towards Lee Jihye.
¡°Jihye!¡±
It was good that she came to help but it was unreasonable with only Lee Jihye. Her opponents were two demon kings. If she did something reckless, she would be killed immediately.
¡°Run away!¡±
I quickly moved but it wasn¡¯t easy due to all the injuries I had suffered. The demon kings were entering Lee Jihye¡¯s vicinity. This couldn¡¯t continue. This... if I used Way of the Wind...
Then someone grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Dokja-ssi, doing things alone again... I told you not to be like this.¡±
Was it because I had been burnt by Surya¡¯s light for too long? I couldn¡¯t see the woman¡¯s face properly. However, I knew who she was from her voice alone.
¡°I¡¯mte because I lost the coin toss. Don¡¯t be too upset.¡±
The woman walked towards the demon kings.
¡°Wait a minute! Heewon-ssi!¡±
Jung Heewon was strong. She probably became stronger after doing the personal scenarios. Nevertheless, it was too unreasonable for her to deal with a demon king. Even if she used Judgment Time against the demon king...
¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking but don¡¯t worry.¡±
Was I mistaken? Angelic wings seemed to ovep on her back.
¡°It is because I¡¯m not fighting.¡±
It was a huge ¡®status¡¯ I had never felt before. The demon king rushing towards Lee Jihye looked over with an astonished expression. The power of the constetion descended towards Jung Heewon, covering the entire Demon World and turning it silver for a moment.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ has appeared in the 73rd Demon Realm.]
Chapter 272 - – Giant Story (1)
Chapter 272: Episode 51 ¨C Giant Story (1)
Archangel Uriel had appeared in the 73rd Demon Realm. In thetter half of the original novel, Uriel had descended directly in an incarnation body. However, now it was only the 25th scenario.
The confused mutters of the demon kings and constetions could be heard.
[W-What ridiculous...]
The transparent shape of Uriel appeared behind Jung Heewon, who had closed her eyes. Along with a splendid aura, Uriel¡¯s long golden hair waved in the air.
The bnce of probability was leaning again. Thepletely out of equilibrium bnce was gradually being restored with the appearance of Uriel. No, now it felt like this side was bing heavier.
The even more surprising thing wasn¡¯t Uriel¡¯s power. All fights on the battlefield ceased. Surya watched with tense eyes while all the fighting constetions stopped. The descent of an archangel was also a tremendous event for the constetions.
The first one to speak with a demon king with an owl¡¯s face who was holding a burning sword. [Archangel! You dare... you dare appear here?]
I knew who he was. Maker of Discord. The demon king of the 63rd Demon Realm, Andras. He had cursed Han Sooyoung who once killed his subordinate.
Then the demon king beside him also opened his mouth. [D-D-Do you want to be a corpse, archangel?]
A skeleton wearing a crown and green armor. The Monarch who is a Philosopher about Corpses. He was the demon king of the 54th Demon realm, Murmur.
They might be lower ranked demon kings but they were both stronger than me. Even so, there was a strange feeling in the expressions of these two strong existences. It was fear.
After her descent, Uriel slowly opened her eyes. Her stunning emerald eyes took in the world and the colour of the world changed. I felt like my heart was frozen despite not even making eye contact with her.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at the 73rd Demon Realm.]
The archangel¡¯s gaze implied ¡®destruction.¡¯ It was a gaze that looked at thest mountain of the world for the sake of purifying the world. The 73rd Demon Realm trembled at her gaze.
[¡ö¡ö. Hasn¡¯t it been a while?]
The two demon kings took a few steps back. Jung Heewon¡¯s mouth curved subtly.
[You... didn¡¯t I previously tell you not to carry that de before me? I¡¯m annoyed because of the ovepping characteristics.]
At the words, Andras slightly lowered the burning sword. Andras¡¯ owl eyes blinked rapidly and Murmur¡¯s skeletal jaw shook violently. It was Murmur who stepped forward first.
[Foolish archangel! Do you know what your action means? Or... has Eden decided to intervene in the selection...]
[¡ö. I came on my own.]
I was reminded of Uriel¡¯s setting. I had forgotten due to Uriel¡¯s kindness towards me but she was one of the most fearsome archangels of Eden.
The Demon-like Judge of Fire. She was crueler than any archangel and ughtered the most demons. She raised her hand towards the air and a white me sword appeared. In front of her sword, all mes extinguished like a tribute.
It was the sword containing the mes of hell. This was Uriel¡¯s star relic. The moment she pulled out her sword, the demon kings made an urgent expression.
[Did you forget the agreement?]
[Eat ¡ö. ¡ö ¡ö¡ö like you.]
[What?]
[Ah, ¡ö hit. The ¡ö filtering...]
The archangels of Eden had their own filtering in order to preserve the dignity of their neb. Then Uriel nced at me.
[Kim Dokja?]
Did I look too nervous? Uriel smiled awkwardly at me.
[...Ah, hello?]
It was an embarrassing and awkward greetingpared to her former appearance.
[Many constetions are speechless.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is pointing out that it doesn¡¯t match.]
The demon kings, who had just been threatened, watched with an absurd expression. I regained my senses and bowed. ¡°It has been a while, Uriel.¡±
[Yes!]
Urielughed.
[You are loved by an archangel!]
[You have acquired a new story!]
[The story ¡®Person Who is Loved by an Archangel¡¯ has been acquired!]
Maybe she thought I was afraid and bombarded me with indirect messages filled with caring. Frankly, I was a bit impressed. There were a few constetions who favoured me so far. Even so, there was no one who helped me as much as Uriel.
I didn¡¯t do anything for her. I was always the one on the receiving end. Even so, Uriel came here today for me.
Uriel raised Jung Heewon¡¯s arms and eximed triumphantly. [Don¡¯t worry Kim Dokja! I¡¯ll kill them all for you!]
I knew this was a performance. This was the Demon World. It was obvious that something would happen if an archangel exerted their power here. Nevertheless, for Uriel to say so...
¡°...Uriel?¡±
Kwaaaaaaah!
¡°Wait a minute! Uriel!¡±
Hell mes rose from Uriel¡¯s sword and continuously soared towards the sky. This was the true Hell mes Ignition. It was the real power of Uriel that could turn the world into a sea of mes with one blow.
[T-The archangel is crazy! Run away!]
[Completely crazy!]
The freaked out constetions started to flee. I didn¡¯t think Uriel would exert her real power. The hiding Dokgak finally appeared.
[W-Wait a minute. Archangel, please calm down!]
His cunning face was flushed. The scenario was dyed until the announcement of the winner and now...
Uriel spoke like she had read my mind.
[¡ö.]
[Y-Yes?]
[Scenario ¡ö! Dokkaebi ¡öck, ¡ö guys.]
Uriel had a really angry expression. The sky of the Demon World was howling from her rage. The moment that the archangel¡¯s sword was going to touch the ground.
[The demon king ¡®Immeasurable Austerity¡¯ is furious.]
The ck magic power in the sky was raging wildly.
[The demon king ¡®Ruler of the East Hell¡¯ is staring at the archangel.]
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Principles¡¯ is raising his status.]
[The demon king ¡®ck Mane Lion¡¯ is heading towards Eden.]
The fearsome and highly ranked demon kings appeared one by one in the channel. Dammit, there was going to be a war in the Demon World. However, the demon kings weren¡¯t the only ones who appeared.
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ has entered the channel.]
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ has entered the channel.]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ has entered the channel.]
The highest level constetions who could make everyone nervous just by appearing. The major constetions of Eden entered the channel and the volume of the channel grew drastically. Biyoo trembled like it was painful.
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is watching the ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ with severe eyes.]
Uriel¡¯s sword trembled. It felt like time had frozen. All the demon kings and archangels were concentrating on Uriel¡¯s sword. The future of the Demon World and Eden depended on the direction of this sword.
[The demon kings of the Demon World and the archangels of Eden have opened an emergency meeting.]
[All this time, all demon kings and archangels in the scenario will be urgently summoned.]
There was the sound of a great probability moving and Uriel¡¯s sword disappeared in the air.
Jung Heewon¡¯s body shook as the energy of the archangel left the Demon World. Uriel nced at me with a light smile.
[I wanted to help you until the end.]
In hindsight, I realized Uriel¡¯s intentions.
[T-This! This can¡¯t be!]
It wasn¡¯t just Uriel who disappeared. The demon kings who descended slowly disappeared in the sparks of probability. Uriel sacrificed herself to tie up the hands and feet of all the demon kings here.
[...It is amazing.] Cheok Jungyeong muttered to himself with admiration. [A majestic archangel making such a great sacrifice for you...]
I could easily predict the great punishment Uriel would face. An archangel who broke the convention of the Good-Evil War with her own will. She would probably receive harsh sanctions from Eden.
[Please win, Kim Dokja.]
I reached out to the disappearing Uriel but she had already scattered into ashes. I quickly embraced the fallen Jung Heewon. Jung Heewon had just taken on Uriel¡¯s status and fell asleep with an exhausted face.
I raised my head as I felt pressure from the sky and saw Surya watching everything.
[My judgment was wrong. I didn¡¯t think you were a constetion who could call an archangel here.]
Thanks to Uriel, there was no need to worry about the participation of the demon kings. However, there was something worse.
A more serious light appeared in the eyes of the silent Surya. The same was true for King Oedipus and Manu who were guarding the left and right of Surya.
[From now on, I will be sincere.]
Surya¡¯s new energy shot through the sky. The surrounding air changed and a huge wind pressure hit the area. After a while...
¡°W-What is that?¡±
My party members approached me one by one. The first one to speak was the weary Jang Hayoung. ¡°When will this hell end... what the hell is that?¡±
Beyond the radiant sun, something was flying through the distant universe. Something was ripping through the air. It was like the sound of meteorites colliding.
I looked closely and a huge carriage was flying towards this ce. Whenever the gigantic golden mare elerated, the entire Demon World shook like it was going to burst.
¡°...A carriage?¡±
Could this thing be called a carriage? No, should it be called a lotive? No words fit. The only thing certain was that the object that was a size that couldn¡¯t be understood withmon sense was heading towards this direction. It would be a disaster for this world.
Yoo Sangah opened her mouth. ¡°Surya¡¯s chariot. ording to legend, it is over 130,000 kilometres in length...¡±
¡°130,000? Does that make sense?¡±
Jang Hayoung asked and Yoo Sangah shook her head. ¡°...That¡¯s why it¡¯s a myth.¡±
The Indian myths imed that giant turtles and elephants held up the earth. Thus, it wasn¡¯t strange if a lotive of such a huge scale appeared. The problem was that we had to deal with that disaster.
[You have watched a part of the giant story, Vedas.]
[Your storyprehension has increased.]
...Was this the ¡®sincerity¡¯ mentioned by Surya? I admired the ¡®status¡¯ that caused chills to go through my body. I felt overwhelming despair just because it approached this side. I had only watched ¡®some¡¯ of it but this strength was different from an ordinary ¡®story.¡¯ It was the reason why I had to get a giant story.
[Shit, run!]
Some constetions were already hiding from the rushing carriage. There were no constetions who would be safe after being hit by it.
Cheok Jungyeong muttered, [Things are really difficult. He seems to truly want to destroy this world.]
¡°...Are you scared?¡±
[No, it¡¯s interesting.]
Cheok Jungyeongughed like he was truly having fun. The moment I tried to say something to my party members, someone stood beside me. It wasn¡¯t Cheok Jungyeong or a constetion.
¡°...You woke up?¡±
I looked over and saw Yoo Jonghyuk standing up with the ck Demon Sword.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used Recovery Lv. 10!]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body had finally healed to the point where he could use Recovery. Thest of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s vitality was burning on the dark sword. The mouth and vocal cords were still slow to recover so Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t speak. Instead, I heard Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts through Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
¡¸ Kim Dokja. ¡¹
¡°Yes.¡±
Perhaps this would be thest fight in the Demon World.
[The 73rd Demon Realm is focused on your choice.]
This time, I couldn¡¯t guarantee anything. Someone here could die. Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk and I would die. Nevertheless, I dered, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung nodded while Shin Yoosung climbed onto the chimera dragon. Lee Jihye looked at the sky from the moat and also nodded.
There were no longer any constetions to help us. Now there were only humans here. This didn¡¯t mean it was a fight with no chance of winning. It was because I had already bought enough time thanks to Uriel.
[The 73rd Demon Realm is responding to your choice.]
Perhaps it was a mistake for Surya to show his sincerity. In the face of theing cmity, we wouldn¡¯t be the only ones who woulde to an end. Just like First Murim in the Destruction Scenario, the 73rd Demon Realm approached the time of choice.
[The giant story of the 73rd Demon Realm is germinating.]
There was no world that wanted its master to be the one that destroyed itself.
[The 73rd Demon Realm has chosen its master.]
The perplexed dokkaebis and constetions let out exmations at this message. However, I didn¡¯t hear any of them. It was because now I wasn¡¯t listening to the story, I was talking to the story.
[Your ¡®giant story¡¯ has started talking.]
Chapter 273 - Giant Story (2)
Chapter 273: Episode 51 ¨C Giant Story (2)
Surya floated in the air and looked down at the ground with aplicated gaze.
The 73rd Demon Realm was surrounded by a bright light as sentences were woven into one being.
It was the sight of the world choosing its master before the enormous destruction flying from the universe.
Surya muttered, [It is only the 25th scenario yet a giant story has been obtained... There is such a thing in the Star Stream.]
Surya had lived for a long time but he couldn¡¯te up with a name. There was Hercules of Olympus but he was a half-god, not a pure human. King Oedipus eximed, [Surya, it¡¯s fine. It is still germinating and you can crush it!]
The ¡®giant story¡¯ was unlike any other story. It was the sum total of numerous tales and a story that guaranteed a tremendous probability by itself. However, it might be a giant story but it was only beginning. The Demon King of Salvation was just a superficial being who fortunately rose to the status of a constetion.
Nevertheless, why couldn¡¯t Surya easily feel confident?
[Surya, what¡¯s wrong with you? Let¡¯s finish it...]
All giant stories were the ¡®beginning of the end.¡¯ The story that headed towards the end of this epic scenario. Even so, getting a giant story didn¡¯t mean that everyone would get the ¡®qualification of the end.¡¯ Some giant stories were connected with ¡ö¡ö but others didn¡¯t go near the vicinity of ¡ö¡ö before disappearing.
-Surya, it is because you can¡¯t get the qualification of the end.
He didn¡¯t forget Asmodeus¡¯ words. In his tranquil rage, a message entered Surya¡¯s ears.
[A new scenario has been given to you!]
[You will be the destruction of the 73rd Demon Realm.]
Surya frowned at the undesirable role assignment.
¡®The Star Stream. What do you want from this old body?¡¯
He lost one of his 12 suns to Cheok Jungyeong and wasted a great deal of energy against Asmodeus. In addition, he had exhausted most of the probability given to him.
[Surya. You don¡¯t have to go by the book. I have an idea. There is a way to subdue them without fighting.]
Surya frowned.
[Oedipus. Are you going to use a despicable trick again? Against humans?]
[T-That isn¡¯t it...]
[I am the Supreme God of Light, Surya.]
The great sentences of Vedas were shining in Surya¡¯s halo.
[Even if I can¡¯t use my full strength, I will never lose to humans.]
Oedipus shut his mouth in front of the overwhelming ¡®status.¡¯ Surya raised his hand and the paused carriage started the violent charge again.
***
The lotive made a deafening sound as it crashed through the atmosphere. Red and blue mes sparked from the head. The first one to speak was Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like 135,000 kilometres.¡±
If a train of that size really appeared, it would seem like a giant was falling. Cheok Jungyeong told me, [His words are correct. It is around 30 kilometers long. Still, that is enough to destroy this ce. Demon King of Salvation, what happened to the giant story?]
¡°It has just started talking. The sentences are slow to gather.¡±
The giant story of the 73rd Demon Realm was safely obtained but things weren¡¯t over just by receiving it.
¡°It needs more time to work properly. We have to slow down the train.¡±
Perhaps this ¡®train¡¯ was all that the present Surya could mobilize. There was a chance for us if we managed to block that train. I looked back and saw Cheok Jungyeong already prepared to jump forward. ¡°Please, Goryeo¡¯s First Sword.¡±
[Believe in me.]
Cheok Jungyeong shot forward towards the sky. Yoo Jonghyuk and I chased after him and the rest of the group followed on Shin Yoosung¡¯s chimera dragon. The Thunder Eating Bird and Mysterious Bird of the Nile flew to interfere with us but the Brash Swamp Predator bit at their wings.
[Leave these guys to me!]
The closer we got to the head of the train, the more I realized the enormous scale of Vedas. The width of the head of the train was a few hundreds metres and it was at the level of an outer god.
[Haaaaaap!]
Cheok Jungyeong shouted and showed his Three Sword Style.
Two Swords Style, Two Sword Mountain Chop.
Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s sh that cut through a mountain hit the train. The head of the train met Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s status and let out a strange sound. It deviated from its course but the speed of the train didn¡¯t slow.
In the formidable heat, it was Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s sword sh that was melted away. However, Cheok Jungyeong didn¡¯t stop.
Three Swords Style, Three Sword Ocean Chop.
A strike that cut the sea. It felt like there was a tsunami and the speed of the train was reduced to a slight degree. The biggest achievement was the explosion to the lead car, creating an internal ess point.
[It will be easier to move inside! I will slow it down from outside!]
Cheok Jungyeong emitted a strong magic power from the head of the train. Still, it was hard for Cheok Jungyeong to deal with an object of this speed alone. ¡°I¡¯ll help you Ajusshi!¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s chimera dragon moved to the head of the train with Cheok Jungyeong. The second-grade monster, the chimera dragon created intense wind pressure and the speed of the train was further reduced. Cheok Jungyeong cried out, [I have somehow bought 20 minutes. Surya will be in the car at the end. Knock him down and this story will disappear! Go!]
We nodded and entered the interior of the train. The train looked like a subway built for a giant. We adapted to the inertia to a certain extent and pressed the button to go to the nextpartment of the train.
[The door won¡¯t open.]
[This train is only avable to the constetions of Vedas.]
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t hesitate to activate the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship and hit the door. There was a dent in the door but it didn¡¯t open.
¡°...Amazing.¡¯
Unlike Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s expectations, the train¡¯s internal strength was formidable. It wouldn¡¯t be hard to break if Yoo Jonghyuk and I were in good shape but the train was 30 kilometers long. In other words, we had to consider the distribution of power.
Then the first sentence of the giant story was heard.
¡¸ The story started on the subway. ¡¹
Sparks surged and my stories were released into the air. I felt waves surging from a distant ce. It was the sign of a very old story. I looked back and the party members seemed to be feeling something simr.
[The first story of your ¡®giant story¡¯ has begun.]
Yoo Jonghyuk, Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah looked at me. The sparks that flowed like the tide was transforming the scenery around us. Lee Hyunsung murmured with astonishment, ¡°T-This...¡±
Every giant story was a different story. Some involved the birth of a hero while others told the birth of a world. Our story wasn¡¯t a hero¡¯s biography or a creation story. This story was our survival record.
The number ¡®3807¡¯ was on the back door of the train. I looked around and sighed. ¡°...It is the subway.¡±
All stories invoked Stage Transformation when the ce or person involved in the story collided.
-The 3807 car of the 3434 Bulgwang train.
It was where Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung became my colleagues and where I met Yoo Jonghyuk.
All of our stories started here. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s fists were clenched as he opened his mouth with a tense expression. ¡°I remember that time.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t a good memory but...¡±
Yoo Sangah was watching me with a faint smile.
¡°Even so, I often think about it.¡±
It wasn¡¯t a memory I could happily recall. Someone¡¯s death and the hell of an absurd scenario. It wasn¡¯t a memory I could feel nostalgic about but it was a history that we survived. Lee Hyunsung smiled and ced his hand on the door. ¡°I think I can do it somehow.¡±
¡¸ There was a soldier who wanted to be righteous. ¡¹
Eventually, everything became a story. It was hard, sad and even something I wanted to forget. After all, everything was a story.
¡°Haaaaaap!¡±
I didn¡¯t expect it would beforting for us now. There was only one thing we could know.
[The constetion Prisoner of the Golden Headband is watching your party.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is listening to your story.]
In a world where sadness and joy were useless, we had to continue the story. The door, which didn¡¯t open to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship, started to open at Lee Hyunsung¡¯s power. The giant story dwelling in Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body started exerting its strength.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has used the stigma ¡®Great Mountain Push Lv. 10.¡¯]
When I thought about it, Lee Hyunsung was the one who opened the door to escape.
¡°Go. Quickly!¡±
Lee Hyunsung opened the gap and our party ran. Nevertheless, it was only one door and the train was still long. This time, it was Yoo Jonghyuk who came forward.
¡°I will break through next.¡±
I suddenly remembered a long time ago. The regressor who annihted the other incarnations on the train and rushed forward like a tank was now in front of me.
¡¸ There was the strongest and loneliest man in the world. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk put away his sword and concentrated all his magic power on his fist. Then he mmed his bare fist into the door. The door of the car, which was unharmed before the sword, was torn apart by his bare hands.
This was the effect of Stage Transformation. It was unfortunate for Surya that his main story was this ¡®train.¡¯
¡°Dokja-ssi! I don¡¯t think we need to break this car!¡± Yoo Sangah figured something out and yelled. Just like when I found the opening device, Yoo Sangah found a way to open the car door without force.
¡¸ There was also a woman who hid herself for others. ¡¹
One car, another car. We kept moving forward. It was as if we were living history again. There was the sound of hammering from the outside of the train. Lee Jihye was also struggling to reduce the speed of the train.
¡¸ The sword demon wounded after losing a rtionship was met.¡¹
The chimera dragon¡¯s roar was heard. In my arms, Biyoo raised her head and looked at the head of the train. To be exact, it was in Shin Yoosung¡¯s direction.
¡¸ A child born in the gap between past and future wept. ¡¹
The next moment, the chimera dragon let out a formidable roar. The train tilted and the speed of the train was further reduced. I didn¡¯t know but I thought Biyoo might¡¯ve given something to Shin Yoosung here.
¡°We aren¡¯t halfway yet. We have to hurry.¡±
As Yoo Jonghyuk stated, we were still far away from the end of the train. More than 10 minutes had already passed. The speed might be reduced but the industrialplex would bepletely destroyed at this pace. To make matters worse, we faced a challenge when we reached the next car.
A ray of light shot towards us. Lee Hyunsung blocked it for me and held his shoulder.
[You can¡¯t go any further.]
¡®Founder of Humanity¡¯ Manu and several other constetions were waiting there. Yoo Jonghyuk directly used Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship against them but it wasn¡¯t enough to break through the constetions on the defense. They knew they had to drag out time here.
I was going to use the magic power I had saved when the ceiling of the train started to be squeezed. Something was destroying the train with an immense magic power from outside.
[W-What... what¡¯s going on?]
It was at least a narrative-grade constetion. They couldn¡¯t destroy the shell of the train unless they had the power to match Cheok Jungyeong.
¡°Mooooove!¡±
Then Jang Hayoung¡¯s voice was heard outside the train. ¡°Kim Dokja! They came! They came!¡±
The next moment, the entire ceiling was torn off and two beings appeared with Jang Hayoung.
[The constetion of a small is looking at you.]
It was a small person filled with a brilliant blue-white energy and a huge woman releasing a blue aura. Funnily enough, my vision seemed to blur for a moment. ¡°Where is my disciple?¡±
¡¸ There was the strongest small person in the world as a teacher. ¡¹
¡°It seems that we¡¯re a bitte.¡±
¡¸ The world of the strongest giant was saved. ¡¹
They were existences with enough power as Cheok Jungyeong who could help us.
[Transcendent...!]
In front of Manu, the two transcendents of First Murim descended. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, Namgung Minyoung. The Paradox Baekchung, Kyrgios Rodgraim.
Namgung Minyoung nced at us and said, ¡°Do it properly until the end. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kick your ass.¡±
Kyrgios stared at me and dered, ¡°You will pay the price for lying to me. I won¡¯t allow your death until then.¡±
Kyrgios and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint fired their skills at the door to the next car. The energy of Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship and Electrificationbined and caused a formidable wind pressure to rise.
The constetions shrank back at their momentum. The fearsome waves of magic power advanced and crushed the doors blocking our way. It was a straight road prepared for a short period of time. Yoo Jonghyuk met my gaze and we started running.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 11 (+1) is activated!]
Way of the Wind and Red Phoenix Shunpo assisted each other as we ran. We soon reached thest car of the train.
¡¸ Finally, there was a man who knew the ending of all these worlds. ¡¹
This story didn¡¯t exist in Ways of Survival. It was a story that never existed before. It was a story that would lead me to the ending I wanted.
I opened thest door of the train.
Chapter 274 - Giant Story (3)
Chapter 274: Episode 51 ¨C Giant Story (3)
Surya was beyond thest door. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fist struck the door and broke it down, revealing a pierced skyline with strong winds. Thest train car with Surya was cut apart, as if it had been ripped out by something.
[You came sooner than expected.]
Surya stared at the sky and spoke with his back to us. A square space was visible beyond the cut train. The light of the divine being stretched out into the darkness. It was like a palm gathering sand on a vast beach.
I deliberately spoke in a polite tone, ¡°Surya, let¡¯s stop here.¡±
The divine light that couldn¡¯t touch the providence of the universe looked at me. Surya¡¯s eyes stared at me. They seemed to be saying that even if they didn¡¯t understand the Star Stream, there was no way they couldn¡¯t read everything about me.
[A man who knows the ending of all the worlds... it is a really wild story.]
Perhaps Surya had heard the sentence of my ¡®giant story.¡¯ Before I could answer, King Oedipus stood by Surya¡¯s side and replied, [It is just a metaphor. A pun.]
It was rather fortunate if he thought so. I felt a bit ufortable since the story contents came directly from me.
[The constetion ¡®Mass Production Maker¡¯ is questioning your sentences.]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is wondering about your giant story.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is telling him to be nervous.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is forming clenched fists.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is looking at you.]
Surya¡¯s gaze towards me was changing. I realized that no matter what I said, I couldn¡¯t stop him.
[Come on child. The time given to you is 10 minutes.]
Surya¡¯s four arms were raised in a fighting posture. His size gradually became bigger as he opened up his status. He didn¡¯t use any weapons. Surya intended to exclude me simply using the pure power of stories.
[10 minutester, this carriage will collide with the Demon World.]
There was no more need to dy and Yoo Jonghyuk rushed in first. A blue aura reminiscent of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint emerged from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. The Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship was spreading its light.
I wasn¡¯t the only one affected by the giant story. Yoo Jonghyuk also had a stake in this story. Despite his injured body, Yoo Jonghyuk was now able to exert a power equivalent to a constetion.
There was the sound of a de and a pole colliding. It wasn¡¯t Surya who received Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s attack.
[Kuooh...!]
King Oedipus let out a pained groan as he confronted Yoo Jonghyuk.
[Kuaaack!]
Oedipus squeezed out power from an overheated incarnation body but he seemed to be having a hard time dealing with Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Kim Dokja!¡± Along with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s cry, I leapt through Oedipus¡¯ defenses and headed to Surya. In the air of the train, the several timesrger Surya greeted me.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification¡¯ Lv. 12 (+2) has been activated.]
I was surrounded with the light of Electrification and a blue-white energy struck Surya¡¯s chest. The other time, Surya stopped my Electrification with one fist.
However, this time was different. Surya¡¯s skin was touched by the blue-white energy and started burning. This was from a slight blow.
Surya¡¯s eyebrows twitched with surprise. I flew through the air and collided with Surya¡¯s fists. The shock shook my heart but I endured it.
[The power of the ¡®giant story¡¯ is working for you.]
The world¡¯s sentences were swirling around me. The power allowed me topete with the mighty narrative-grade constetion. This was a great story but Surya was still alive.
[I said it before. You can¡¯t win with the skills you have stolen.]
Maybe it was as Surya stated. I always struggled with the skills of others.
¡°This isn¡¯t something that I stole from others. I read it.¡±
[Read?]
As Persephone told me, an existence was a story. Memories of sentences that had been read for many years. Everything that I had read and seen now became me.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated.]
On the Fourth Wall, the sentences of the giant story emerged.
¡¸ This is the story of a reader. ¡¹
I ran towards Surya. In the trail of my run was the countless hours I spent alone reading. It was an ordinary life. I sat alone in a dark room and read Ways of Survival. On the bus after my part time job was over, in the army, in the ssroom, on the subway home from work...
¡¸ At the same time, it is the story of Dokja. ¡¹
I lived in that world alone. I entered the mind of countless characters and became different beings again and again.
[Only this story...]
Therefore, I was a regressor who had never regressed.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 11 (+1) is activated!]
A returnee who had never returned.
[The number three bookmark has been activated.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Beast King¡¯s Sensitivity Lv. 10 (+1)¡¯ has been activated.]
Maybe I was a reincarnator.
Surya¡¯s face slightly distorted as he was confronted with my ¡®status.¡¯ Every time our statuses shes, I could feel our bodies being destroyed. Surya was also pulling out all the power he could.
[This is too much! It is ridiculously insufficient to get the qualification of the end!]
I shook my head. ¡°It seems like you are mistaken about something. It isn¡¯t only the giant stories that can reach the end.¡±
Maybe Surya wouldn¡¯t understand. I had only received enlightenment after learning from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s myriad failures.
Surya¡¯s face hardened and he concentrated his strength into his four arms. Perhaps this would be Surya¡¯sst attack.
I didn¡¯t back down and stood up to him using the power of Electrification. The re of the sun that melted everything was fired towards me. The blue-white light couldn¡¯t ovee the high temperature and was pushed little by little.
I had just taken a step or two back when a rough and solitary story wrapped around me from behind. It wasn¡¯t necessary to see whose story it was.
The sparks between Surya and I became more intense. Slowly, the pushing stopped.
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of the Skywalk¡¯ is looking at you.]
Lee Hyunsung and Yoo Sangah. There was also Jung Heewon¡¯s story. The history of all those who struggled to survive was nestled inside me.
¡¸ The woman who woke up from a long crouch andughed while holding a sword to destroy evil. ¡¹
They weren¡¯t here but there were others who shared our history.
¡¸ The boy who lost his mother and held the insect in his hand cried. ¡¹
¡¸ The man who built the castle roared for the family that wouldn¡¯te back. ¡¹
Lee Gilyoung and Gong Pildu.
¡¸ The woman who built up the truth by lying dly became his shadow. ¡¹
There was also Han Sooyoung.
[The exclusive attribute ¡®Scenario Interpreter¡¯ is activated!]
Everything I lived made their way into the story. Surya¡¯s incarnation body was right in front of me. Surya¡¯s weakness was something that couldn¡¯t be read with the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s stigma. Yet strangely, at this moment I knew where to stab Surya.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Reading Comprehension¡¯ is activated.]
Unbroken Faith shone brightly and an intense white light pierced Surya¡¯s chest. There was the sound of something breaking as I poured out all my magic power before flying through the sky.
Among the fragments of the story that poured through the air like a fountain, the copsed Surya could be seen.
[Surya! The Supreme God of Light!] Oedipus shouted and the situation started falling apart.
Meteorites were oxidized in the atmosphere and Surya¡¯s train copsed. I was falling towards the ground.
¡°Kim Dokja!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk flew like the wind and grabbed me while the chimera dragon picked up my fallingpanions. It was truly a narrow escape. A few fragments of thest car left a long trail as they fell towards the ground. The shattered debris wept. Fortunately, the industrialplex wasn¡¯t going to be hit.
Shin Yoosung was watching me from the head of the chimera dragon. ¡°Ahjussi!¡±
Joy could clearly be seen on the child¡¯s expression.
The next moment, a voice was heard from the cloud of dust on the ground. [Not yet! Not yet!]
It was King Oedipus. The miserable looking existence shouted at us from among the fallen constetions.
[The Demon King of Salvation! I know that the session of the giant story hasn¡¯t ended yet! If you give us the story, we will leave here.]
The game was already over but he still hadn¡¯t given up. It was Yoo Jonghyuk who replied on my behalf. ¡°Why should we?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuknded on the ground, dropped me down and took out the ck Demon Sword. Then King Oedipus spoke. [Otherwise, your precious world will disappear.]
¡°Do you want to talk about fate again? I know you don¡¯t have enough probability left in the Demon World.¡±
[What if it isn¡¯t the Demon World?]
He flicked his fingers and a huge panel appeared in the air. It showed a blue that we knew well.
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve sold your pride as a constetion. Is this yourst hurrah?¡±
At this point, it was impossible to destroy Earth even if all of Olympus¡¯ probability was used. Yoo Jonghyuk was aware of this and wasn¡¯t panicked at all. King Oedipusughed.
[It¡¯s impossible to destroy Earth. But what about this?]
He flicked his fingers again and the screen changed. At this moment, the faces of Yoo Jonghyuk and the party members hardened.
The Korean Penins was engulfed in mes.
***
¡°If I knew this, I would¡¯ve gone to the Demon World.¡±
Han Sooyoung frowned as she gazed at Gyeonggi-do burning with red and blue mes. In fact, there was a reason why Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t go to the Demon World.
[You are currently cursed by the demon king ¡®Andras.¡¯]
Han Sooyoung had been caught in Kim Dokja¡¯s plot and cursed by the demon king. Thanks to this, she would be the meal of the demon king as soon as she visited the area. Lee Gilyoung stomped his feet beside her and shouted, ¡°Won¡¯t everyone be with Dokja hyung by now? I wish I was Shin Yoosung...¡±
¡°I guess so. However, that ce will be harder than here.¡±
Han Sooyoung felt the disastering through the mes and gulped. After Kim Dokja¡¯s group left for the personal scenario, the disaster scenario hade to the Korean Penins.
[The time limit for the disaster scenario is 30 minutes.]
The problem was the disaster that came this time were constetions.
¡°Damn Olympus.¡±
She didn¡¯t know what type of back-door dealings they made with the dokkaebis of the bureau but the constetions of Olympus hade as the ¡®disasters¡¯ of this scenario. Due to the difficulty, the scenario would end after 30 minutes. In these 30 minutes, the Korean Penins was likely to disappear from Earth.
¡°What are you going to do now?¡± Gong Pildu asked while blowing out cigarette smoke.
The reason the Gyeonggi-do area hadsted so far was thanks to Gong Pildu¡¯s Armed Fortress. Han Sooyoung replied, ¡°Just hold on a bit longer. There is a way.¡±
¡°The opponents are the incarnation bodies of constetions. There are more than five of them. How are you going to win? You aren¡¯t Kim Dokja.¡±
Their auras showed they were great-grade constetions. Perhaps they were ancient heroes or lesser gods of Olympus.
[There are only small people on this littlend!]
Her head hurt from all the noise. Han Sooyoungcalmly pulled out a dark stone.
[Abyss Stone.]
It was an item Kim Dokja told her to collect before they separated. Thanks to this item, she could send the other party members to the Demon World despitecking probability. She had used three so far and there were six remaining. The number was a bitcking but this was the only way.
¡°This... I didn¡¯t know I would use them catching bugs.¡±
As Lee Gilyoung¡¯s insects protected the fortress and Gong Pildu¡¯s fortress continued firing, Han Sooyoung started the descent ceremony by offering the Abyss Stone.
It was just for a short time but she could call an existence to bnce this twisted scale.
Sparks flew and the Abyss Stones started to disappear one by one as an offering. It was a fearsome presence who could only use a portion of their power through the six Abyss Stones.
The sky of Gyeonggi-do turned dark and filled with thunder. A huge shadow was revealing itself behind Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung sighed lightly and slowly opened her eyes. ¡°ck dragon. You can do whatever you like.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is grinning and revealing white teeth.]
Chapter 275 - Giant Story (4)
Chapter 275: Episode 51 ¨C Giant Story (4)
The Olympians swept away Seongnam in an instant and slowly narrowed the siege around Gong Pildu¡¯s fortress.
[Isn¡¯t this stage too small for us toe forward?]
The constetions thought it was disgraceful. It was natural. There were no constetions who could build up anything from this scenario. Amidst these unmotivated constetions, a constetion wearing a crown and holding an ancient spear and shield spoke.
[Stopining. Once this is over, Father says he will suggest our promotion to the 12 gods.]
[Oedipus? Really?]
The expressions of the constetions changed due to the words of the Blind King¡¯s Heir. Promotion in the neb meant their stakes in the giant stories were increased.
[Haha, can we reach one decimal ce?]
The stakes in a giant story were one of the measures of a constetion¡¯s strength. More stakes meant more probability, which was a source of escaping from the constraints of many scenarios.
[Let¡¯s finish it and go back.]
The constetions finally started to advance to the armed fortress. It happened the moment their star relics were shining. The sky was covered by a dark dome and light disappeared from it. The great-grade constetions approaching the armed fortress stopped at the appalling darkness.
[...What?]
The lights in the area were turned off by the clouds that came. It wasn¡¯t just this area. The darkness covered the entire Korean Penins. Even the sparks of probability were covered by the deep darkness.
The Blind King¡¯s Heir stared up at the sky with bewildered eyes.
[Is it the queen of the Underworld?]
The only neb that could descend to the Korean Penins today was Olympus. In addition, there were few constetions of Olympus who could use such arge amount of probability.
One of the constetions emitted a faint light to reveal the surroundings but it quickly disappeared. It was like a ck hole that sucked out all the light.
The anxious constetions shouted. [Your Majesty! If you havee then please say it¨D]
One of the constetions suddenly gave a warning. [Something ising...!]
A dark object was fired from the sky and pierced the chest of one constetion.
[Keeeeok...!]
It was an object like a dragon¡¯s w. The confused constetion coughed up blood and tried to pull out the w, but the w grew increasinglyrger and soon burst through the constetion¡¯s body. The constetion let out a sound before bing part of the darkness. The frightened constetions screamed.
[U-Uhhhhh!]
They heard the sound but couldn¡¯t avoid it. It meant...
This existence had apletely different ¡®status¡¯ from them. The queen of the underworld wasn¡¯t this much.
[Run away...!]
The Blind King¡¯s Heir discovered the situation and ordered a retreat. Then an enormous amount of sparks burst from the armed fortress. The intense light that the darkness couldn¡¯t swallow revealed the open door of the fortress leading to the dark city. There was a woman with a small body.
The first one to discover her was the Blind King¡¯s Heir who trembled.
[W-Why are you...?]
The shadows of ck mes were swirling around her body. The face of a little boy with red eyes underneath ck hair shed. The boy with one arm bandaged raised his hand and the shadow of a dragon covered the sky. White fangs were bared.
As the boyughed, the darkness of the world breathed. Then the massacre began.
***
King Oedipus couldn¡¯t hide his astonishment as he stared at the scene on the screen.
[The constetion ¡®Blind King¡¯s Heir¡¯ has been removed from the scenario.]
[The constetion ¡®Thebes¡¯ Gatekeeper¡¯ has been removed from the scenario.]
The shadow of a dragon was tearing up the fleeing constetions on the screen. Fortunately, Han Sooyoung wasn¡¯t toote.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is letting out wildughter.]
-Ahahahahahat!
Han Sooyoung had a bandage around one arm and half covered her face as she burst outughing. She was really a match for the ck dragon. She acted so well that I didn¡¯t know why she hated it so far.
King Oedipus stared at me and eximed, [Howe... why is a candidate of the apocalypse...]
Candidate of the apocalypse... Well, King Oedipus would have that type of information. The Abyssal ck me Dragon was one of the candidates of the apocalypse.
[Many constetions are astonished by your scheme.]
[The constetion ¡®Dragon Lying Down¡¯ is nodding.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is feeling pure admiration.]
[You have acquired a new story!]
[The story ¡®Kill with a Borrowed Knife¡¯ has been acquired.]
I watched Gyeonggi-do covered in darkness and licked my lips. Attracting the Abyssal ck me Dragon was ast resort. It could¡¯ve brought about a bigger disaster. However, there was Han Sooyoung and the promise made with the ck dragon. Thus, he wouldn¡¯t destroy the Korean Penins.
[Ku...ock....]
King Oedipus bowed his head and let out an unknown groan. We saw the unusual appearance and Yoo Jonghyuk and I raised our swords at the same time.
[You...!]
King Oedipus¡¯ son was among the constetions who suffered under the ck dragon. There was the possibility that the enraged Oedipus wouldn¡¯t be able to control his emotions.
[I will kill you!]
As expected, the constetions who survived with Oedipus released their status at the same time. I had a giant story but it wasn¡¯t enough power. The moment I was about to trigger Electrification, something rose from the ground and caught Oedipus¡¯ neck.
[Cough!]
The huge Surya moved one of his four arms and held onto Oedipus¡¯ neck. King Oedipus stared at Surya with surprise.
[W-Why?]
[Stop it.]
Surya¡¯s heavy status pressed down on the other constetion.
[Don¡¯t look so ugly anymore.]
[I won¡¯t listen to the words of a dog who lost the fight! It can¡¯t end like this...!]
The next moment, King Oedipus¡¯ body exploded. The brutally exploded body scattered into ashes in front of Surya¡¯s eyes. The movements of the constetions stiffened and they nervously stepped back.
Despite the severe injuries, Surya still had the power to stand up alone... it was a phenomenal vitality.
I quickly calcted the power of my remainingpanions. If we hit Surya right now...
[It is our defeat.]
For a moment, I thought I heard wrong. However, the words had definitely emerged from Surya¡¯s mouth. I bit my lips as joy boiled from deep inside my heart. The great Lokap had admitted defeat.
[The winner of the Demon King Selection has been determined.]
There were screams from afar as the ensuing system messages came. They were the screams of the dukes defeated in the Demon King Selection.
One by one, the bodies of the constetions staring at us scattered. The scenario ended and the Star Stream started to recall the probability that they were allowed. Surya¡¯s body was also disappearing.
I opened my mouth before Surya¡¯s bodypletely disappeared. I wanted to ask. Why did he suddenly change his mind?
[The Demon King of Salvation.]
However, I shut my mouth the moment I saw Surya¡¯s eyes. In retrospect, Surya wasn¡¯t an ordinary constetion. He was one of the great Lokap. It was rather strange that such a constetion would use cowardly tricks against us. Perhaps this ¡®selection¡¯ had dealt a significant blow to his reputation and pride.
Surya slowly blinked and asked, [Did you get the qualification of the end?]
¡°I¡¯ll probably get it. And you also...¡±
Surya¡¯s eyes shone terribly, as if he was dismissing the trivialfort.
[I will watch your story.]
Surya would also get the qualification of the end one day. Then the day woulde when we meet again. It wasn¡¯t here but in theter scenarios of the Star Stream.
[And...]
In a short moment, Surya¡¯s gaze turned towards the fragments of the destroyed train. They were fragments of the car where Surya and I faced each other. However, the appearance of some fragments was a bit strange. They weren¡¯t broken from the battle with me. They were scars carved on the train from before.
¡°I know.¡±
[That¡¯s right. You understand.]
Surya finally disappeared with these words. The pressure on the surroundings vanished and a curious silence took its ce. I didn¡¯t feel it was real. I calmly practiced what I had nned and was lucky with several things. Then I came all this way.
[The 25th main scenario has ended.]
I turned my head and saw Yoo Jonghyuk watching Surya¡¯s disappearance.
[The main scenario ¡® Demon King Selection¡¯ has been cleared.]
[The rewards for the selection are being prepared.]
[A new demon king has appeared in the Demon World!]
[You have be the master of the 73rd Demon Realm!]
There was the explosive system message and Yoo Jonghyuk and I simultaneously looked up at the sky. The gazes of countless beings poured towards me from the sky.
[The demon king ¡®Ruler of the East Hell¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Principles¡¯ is curious about you.]
[The demon king ¡®ck Mane Lion¡¯ is inviting you to his demon realm.]
.
.
[The constetion ¡®Mass Production Maker¡¯ is sending his congrattions.]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ has sent you a gift.]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is proposing a toast.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is greatly pleased.]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is wary of you.]
It was an iparable amount of attention. There were strong people simr to me to distant beings who I couldn¡¯t even look at their toes.
There was a pause and then Jang Hayoung¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°...It¡¯s over.¡±
I nodded and looked around.
Lee Hyunsung carried Jung Heewon while watching the sky. Lee Jihye supported the injured Yoo Sangah and waved at me while Shin Yoosung held onto my sleeve and looked up at me. The Breaking the Sky Master held the small Osu in her mouth and barked lightly. Han Myungoh held Asmodeus¡¯ incarnation body in his arms and let out a weary breath. On the rocky hill not far away, I could see the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios. The injured Brash Swamp Predator was curled up and Cheok Jungyeong was sitting on his back.
It was an ordeal that couldn¡¯t be ovee without any of them.
[Your ¡®neb¡¯ is well known in the Star Stream.]
[Arge number of constetions remember the neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company (Temporary)¡¯.]
Yoo Jonghyuk heard the message and frowned. ¡°...The name needs to be changed.¡±
I smiled at the guy who had his pride in a strange ce. It wouldn¡¯t be bad to brainstorm names for the neb sooner orter.
It felt that the darkness was retreating from the sky. I could breathe for a moment from the seemingly endless trials.
[Your first ¡®giant story¡¯ is fully blooming.]
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has been acquired.]
Citizens started emerging from the ruined industrialplex. People were intoxicated by the unbelievable victory. Some people shouted while others called out mine and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s names. I could also see Aileen and Mark.
[The Star Stream is satisfied with your giant story.]
[You have earned the qualification of the end.]
Finally, there were the messages I had been waiting for.
[The hidden scenario ¨C ¡®A Single Story¡¯ has begun!]
[Your legendary stories has formed an opening act.]
[The ¡®initial¡¯ portion of your first giant story has beenpleted!]
After a long period of enduring, the first footstep towards the final scenario was taken.
[You have been given the authority of ¡ö¡ö.]
[The ¡ö¡ö filtering is turned off.]
It was the moment when the information of thest chapter, which had long been covered with a veil, finally appeared in front of my eyes.
Chapter 276
Chapter 276: Episode 52. ¡ö¡ö (1)
After the Demon King Selection, the Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja Industrial Complex became busy with reconstruction. The citizens¡¯ expressions were dark from the dangers of war. The atmosphere would¡¯ve been harsher if it wasn¡¯t for the relief resources that I persuaded Bihyung to give.
¡°The clock tower is over there! Hey, watch out over there!¡±
Due to the deaths of the dukes, the citizens of other industrialplexes came over and I wasn¡¯tcking manpower. I spent two days helping the citizens rebuild and the city was gradually regaining a lively atmosphere.
¡°Thank you for the help, Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
The foundation reconstruction would¡¯ve taken a longer time if it wasn¡¯t for Yoo Sangah¡¯s Arachne¡¯s Web. Yoo Sangah wiped the sweat off her forehead and replied, ¡°You should take a break Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°I¡¯m fine. What about Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
Yoo Sangah looked closely at the bandage wrapped around my chest while answering, ¡°I¡¯m good as well.¡±
Good... It was a word used by Yoo Sangah.
I stopped working as I climbed up the clock tower with Yoo Sangah and looked down at the square.
Yoo Jonghyuk and the other seriously injured party members were hospitalized in Aileen¡¯s ward. Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye were rtively well and helped with the reconstruction of the industrialplex. Meanwhile, Lee Hyunsung was demanding to be discharged from the ward because he was all better.
Thanks to the hard work over the past two days, the square area started to feel like a ce where people lived. The schedule was tight but the things I were doing now would be returned to me as a reward.
¡°They came.¡±
A portal had appeared in the air. There was a kid running at great speed from one side of the square.
I lightly jumped down the clock tower and greeted him.
¡°Dokja hyung! Uwaaaaah!¡± Lee Gilyoung struggled in my arms. I smiled and patted his head.
¡°Have you been well? You seem a bit taller.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Yes, you¡¯re almost around Yoosung¡¯s height now?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be bigger soon!¡±
It wasn¡¯t just Lee Gilyoung who came through the portal. Arge man fell to the floor of the square with a thud.
¡°It has been a long time, Gong Pildu-ssi.¡±
¡°Bah!¡± Gong Pildu stared at me like he didn¡¯t care about my safety and then waved to Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah bowed her head with a slight smile and Gong Pildu spoke in a slightly more rxed tone. ¡°I didn¡¯te to see you.¡±
During this time, Gong Pildu had changed a lot. Who could call him one of the 10 Evils now?
¡°Han Sooyoung?¡±
¡°I think she needs some time to recuperate.¡± Lee Gilyoung answered with his head against my stomach.
Recuperate... She had offered the Abyss Stones as a sacrifice but the damage wouldn¡¯t be small because she took the ck dragon into her body. However, to note here...
¡°Ah, Sooyoung noona told me to give this to you.¡± Lee Gilyoung rummaged through his pockets and handed me a note.
It was a crumpled piece of paper that gave off an obstinate impression simr to Han Sooyoung. I carefully opened the note while avoiding Lee Gilyoung¡¯s glistening eyes.
-I will kill you if you make me do it again next time.
I couldn¡¯t helpughing. Indeed, there was a reason she hadn¡¯te. If I closed my eyes, I could still see the bandaged Han Sooyoungughing like crazy.
-There are still a few problems left.
The note contained some other information. There were things about the Korean Penins and the nebe that could only be heard on Earth. Fortunately, the situation on Earth didn¡¯t deviate much from the original cycle I knew. In fact, most of the information were things I already knew and didn¡¯t need to be conveyed.
Han Sooyoung knew this and struggled with eloquence.
-Anyway, that¡¯s it... well... goodbye, idiot. See you when youe to Earth.
It was too bad. I was going to tease her properly if we met this time. I put the note in my coat and told Lee Gilyoung and Gong Pildu.
¡°There will be a party at night. Go wash up and prepare.¡±
¡°Party?¡±
¡°Guests areing.¡±
I¡¯ve passed one crisis but the crisis of this industrialplex was just beginning.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ has epted your invitation.]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ has epted your invitation.]
.....
I saw numerous indirect messages pouring in and sighed lightly.
***
Since the selection, Yoo Jonghyuk hadn¡¯t woken up.
¡°How long will it take for him to recover?¡±
¡°It should take two more weeks.¡± Aileen checked Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s pulse, ked out of the hospital room and nced at me. ¡°You need to rest as well. Do you know?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±
Aileen left but I stayed in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hospital room. The sleeping man¡¯splexion was paler than any ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ I had ever seen. It was natural. This was the first time that Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t regress despite suffering injuries serious enough to trigger ¡®regression.¡¯
I stood up and checked the story packs that were stuck to him. Sometimes, a story pack being inserted incorrectly could cause death from side effects. It might be different if he had Lamarck Kirin like me...
¡°...Packs like these are being plugged in.¡±
¡¸ I am going to a lonely world. ¡¹
¡¸ The sword master was the easiest. ¡¹
¡¸ I was a genius since receiving the sword at 5 years old. ¡¹
Fortunately, Aileen was a story expert and had a good grasp on theposition. In fact, Yoo Jonghyuk of the 144th round briefly went crazy after wrongly receiving Lee Hyunsung¡¯s army story.
¡°He is a picky guy.¡±
I was almost shocked by the voice suddenly heard behind me. I looked back and saw a handsome giant leaning against the wall.
¡°Since when were you there?¡±
¡°From before youe in.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stared down at me with calm eyes before indicating Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°It is too much healing. Just throw a few Murim dumplings at him and he will get better soon.¡±
¡°It is because there are no Murim dumplings here.¡±
Despite the words, the eyes of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint were still very mild. Then the terrible man¡¯s voice was heard.
¡°So he is the one who beat you up?¡±
Something the size of a frog was hanging upside down from the ceiling opposite the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. It was Kyrgios Rodgraim.
¡°Master.¡±
¡°Tell me. Is it this guy?¡±
I was reminded of the nonsense I spoke to send Kyrgios to Murim. I was beat up by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s disciple. Kyrgios¡¯ handsome eyebrows curved and the aura of Electrification appeared around his entire body. ¡°Was it all a lie?¡±
I gulped and opened my mouth. ¡°It wasn¡¯tpletely a lie! In fact, I¡¯m not on good terms with this guy. I was actually beaten up...¡±
¡°You were just beaten up?¡±
¡°Of course, I hit back...¡±
It was a loophole in the system but I didn¡¯t lie because I had beaten up Yoo Jonghyuk in the Absolute Throne battle. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint made an intrigued expression as she listened to the story. ¡°Hrmm. You beat my disciple?¡±
¡°Then who won?¡±
The gazes of the new teachers met in the air. It was only their gazes collided but the sense of space seemed to distort and sparks flew. I thought the two of them were getting along better with each other but it seemed to be my mistake. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s voice was cold. ¡°That is a stupid question. Just looking at the face, it is obvious that my disciple is better than yours.¡±
¡°My disciple can¡¯t be weaker than an aura parasite who only raises muscle. Don¡¯t look down on my vision of my martial artists...¡±
¡°Your martial artists are getting smaller.¡±
I thought the hospital room would explode if this continued and quickly stepped in between the two of them.
¡°I have something to ask you.¡±
The fearsome gazes shot towards me at the same time. I raised my status and barely endured the pressure.
¡°What happened to First Murim?¡± I was curious. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios were here so I knew Murim was likely to be safe. However, the opponent was an outer god.
The first one to speak was Kyrgios. ¡°Hmph, this body moved personally and you think I can¡¯t save one world?¡±
Kyrgios flew out the window like he was offended.
...What was wrong with him? The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint gazed at the window that Kyrgios had disappeared through and replied, ¡°We stopped it but it is hard to say that we stopped it.¡±
¡°Did you defeat the outer god?¡±
The aura of a giant story could be felt from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s body. It was clearly a giant story associated with First Murim.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint nodded. ¡°It was a daunting opponent but it wasn¡¯t something I couldn¡¯t fight. That unlucky paradox was also present.¡±
Only the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint could describe an outer god as a ¡®daunting opponent.¡¯
¡°The problem was the next guy.¡±
***
The outer gods also had ranks. So to speak, there were different names for them. For example, ¡®old one¡¯ and ¡®great old ones.¡¯
-He was neither ¡®old¡¯ or a ¡®great old.¡¯
However, there were also distant beings beyond such categories.
-I have never seen such an existence before so I can¡¯t exin it clearly. The only thing certain is that Paradox and I together couldn¡¯t beat it. In fact, it wasn¡¯t even a fight. If it hadn¡¯t withdrawn itself, we would¡¯ve disappeared from the universe along with Murim.
The words of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint were strange. ording to the development of the original novel, there was no such possibility that such an outer god would appear in First Murim that day. Yet such a great outer god appeared and withdrew.
-It disappeared like it found another delicious prey.
A being that was neither old or a great old one. An outer god that forced strong people such as the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios to freeze...
Waaaaaah!
A small party was currently in progress in the central hall of the industrialplex. The recovered party members had gathered. The symbolic bodies of some invited constetions could be seen.
[Hmm, Demon King of Salvation. Did you receive the gift I sent?]
Persephone approached with a mischievous smile. Once again, her symbolic body took Yoo Sangah¡¯s appearance. The party members stared at her symbolic body with surprise. In particr, Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression was a delight to see.
¡°...I don¡¯t like garter belts anymore.¡±
Persephone wore a Chinese dress and waved her fan whileughing.
[Is that so? It was a pretty good performance.]
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s ears pricked up at the word ¡®performance.¡¯ I spoke quickly before the wrong words coulde out. ¡°I am indebted to you regarding the selection game.¡±
[Hmm, I didn¡¯t do anything?]
¡°I know that you persuaded the Master of the Skywalk.¡±
Now Olympus was in a divisive state. If she hadn¡¯t persuaded Hermes, I might¡¯ve had to fight more Olympus constetions in thepetition.
[Think of it as an investment in the future.]
The smiling Persephone headed to the centre of the hall and started dancing. She even pulled Yoo Sangah over as her partner. At first, Yoo Sangah was embarrassed but then she kept a cool expression. Jung Heewon whistled. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi is cool!¡±
Dionysus had already finished his tenth drink in the corner while Cheok Jungyeong was sharing a cup of soju with the Brash Swamp Predator. It was a small party but it was more rxed than any other party I had attended.
[It is a precious break. Congrattions, Demon King of Salvation.]
I turned back and saw an old man in a formal suit. ¡°You came, Mass Production Maker.¡±
He was also one of the constetions who helped in this selection.
[I saw your story well. The Gourmet Association is making a huge fuss.]
¡°You¡¯re overpraising me.¡±
I grabbed a ss from the table and bumped cups with the Mass Production Maker. It was pretty strong alcohol based on the smell and I poured it into my mouth. We were silent for a moment. Perhaps the Mass Production Maker was choosing his question. The question was why he and the other constetions attended this party and why I held it.
The Mass Production Maker sipped the alcohol before speaking. [You got the qualification of the end so the filtering should be turned off.]
I could feel a fine change in the atmosphere. I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
The hall was still buzzing but the eyes of the constetions gathered one by one on me. Persephone, Cheok Jungyeong, Dionysus... Everyone was pretending not to care but they were listening to this story.
The gazes of all the constetions focused on me and the Mass Production Maker asked, [Can I ask what your ¡ö¡ö was?]
Chapter 277
Chapter 277: Episode 52. ¡ö¡ö (2)
What was my ¡ö¡ö? I knew that the Mass Production Maker would ask that question. ¡°Are you curious?¡±
[Is there anyone here who isn¡¯t curious?]
The Mass Production Makerughed lightly and several constetions coughed. The atmosphere grew unusual and the other party members who weren¡¯t aware of the situation started to pay attention to me.
¡°Why is everyone suddenly...?¡±
¡°Shhh.¡±
Lee Hyunsung tried to intrude only to be stopped by Jung Heewon.
I slowly looked around at all the people in the room. All of a sudden, everyone in the hall was watching me.
¡ö¡ö...
There were various names for it in Ways of Survival. For example, the Dokkaebi King said:
¡¸ The end of every story and the beginning. ¡¹
However, this was what Yoo Jonghyuk had to say:
¡¸ The damn Star Stream. ¡¹
Lee Hyunsung would describe it as the ¡®whole region¡¯ while Yoo Sangah might say ¡®old design.¡¯ It would be ¡®graduation¡¯ for Lee Jihye. Surprisingly, all these interpretations of ¡ö¡ö weren¡¯t wrong.
The Mass Production Maker asked, [All those who have earned the qualification of the end have received a different name of the ¡®end.¡¯ Do you know?]
¡°It is natural since all your stories are different.¡±
In the first ce, there wasn¡¯t a proper noun capable ofmunicating ¡ö¡ö in the proper sense. The fact that the filtering was resolved meant that I could ¡®read¡¯ it. Perhaps the constetions who received a hidden scenario like me were probably in a simr position.
+
[Hidden scenario ¨C ¡®A Single Story¡¯]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: ???
Clear Condition: Complete one story to reach ¡ö¡ö.
Time Limit: ¨D
Compensation: ???
Failure: ???
* Currently, you havepleted the ¡®initial¡¯ portion.
* See the additional scenario description for details.
+
The hidden scenario ¡®A Single Story¡¯. This scenario was given to all those who obtained the qualification of the end. In the gxy of the distant Star Stream, we went through numerous stories andpleted a single ¡®perfect¡¯ story.
The legendary stories, the mythical stories and even the giant story that I got were just a journey towards the ¡®single story.¡¯ The Mass Production Maker in front of me and Persephone over there would¡¯ve received this scenario. Of course, the ce where they finally arrived was different from me.
[Baat!]
Biyoo blocked the channel of the hall before I even directed her. Perhaps Biyoo instinctively realized that the story to be told from now on was important. The protests of the constetions flowed through the air and the Mass Production Maker spoke in a heavy tone.
[My ¡ö¡ö is ¡®dried up¡¯.]
I was a bit surprised because I didn¡¯t think he would reveal his hand so easily. Then the dancing Persephone also spoke. [I am ¡®death.¡¯]
Dried up and death. Both were words that could symbolize the ¡®end¡¯ of something. It was a paradoxical end for the Mass Production Maker who liked to make something and for Persephone who governed the world of the dead.
Now that they revealed their cards, I had nowhere to retreat. ¡°Everybody, please swear by your modifiers. You will never speak of what you heard here.¡±
The constetions nced at each other.
[Of course...]
[Hum, what is this? Why would we go somewhere and say it...]
[How great is your ¡ö¡ö that you are feeling such pressure?]
I didn¡¯t answer immediately and just smiled. Then a ripple started among the constetions.
[Don¡¯t tell me?]
The thoughts in the constetions¡¯ heads seemed to be visible. I looked at their expressions and thought.
Yes, think about it. Be worried and suspicious. That way I would get the picture I desired.
As the agitation of the drunk constetions reached the peak, I slowly opened my mouth.
***
Han Sooyoung walked down the street. They were the ruins of Seoul. There were no survivors on the streets and she was walking alone. All types of delusions passed through her head.
Why was she here now? She had obviously been fighting with the constetions using the ck dragon. No, rather, Seoul had been closed off. Why...
-ck dragon?
The Abyssal ck me Dragon didn¡¯t answer.
-Hey, is anybody there?
Han Sooyoung wandered between the ruined buildings and shouted. The corpses of monsters hung between the familiar buildings of Gwanghwamun. Han Sooyoung shuddered every time she passed between nasty smelling corpses. Every one of them was a monster she couldn¡¯t face right now. How? What happened?
There was no one to answer her questions. No, she thought it would be better not to have answers, even if someone was here. If there was a living being here, they would be the terrifying monster who killed these monsters.
If this was a dream, please wake up...
Then a shadow of a person could be seen in the distance. It was a familiar humanoid form dressed in a white coat. Her heart was full ofplicated emotions.
-Kim Dokja!
The moment the person looked back. There was the sound of flesh being pierced and a knife suddenly burst out of the coat. The white coat was dyed red.
Han Sooyoung screamed as she woke up from her sleep.
¡°Haack, haack...¡±
She blinked a few times and her sense of reality slowly returned.
¡°What...?¡±
She couldn¡¯t help talking to herself. Her back was wet with sweat.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is satisfied with your soliloquy.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ believes that you have now truly be his sessor...]
¡°Shut up.¡±
The ck dragon was speaking bullshit so this seemed to be reality. Han Sooyoung ced a hand against her temple. Why was that person in her dream?
Han Sooyoung would¡¯ve usually passed over the dream but it was a world where superstition became reality. Thus, this dream couldn¡¯t be overlooked. Shortly afterwards, she noticed the bandage around her arm.
¡°God dammit. It hasn¡¯t been solved yet.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t loosen it. You are still wounded.¡±
She looked back with astonishment and saw a woman standing there.
¡°...Kim Dokja¡¯s mother?¡±
¡°You are the only one who still calls me that.¡± Lee Sookyung wiped Han Sooyoung¡¯s back and forehead with a towel.
Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go to the Demon World?¡±
¡°What type of face would I have to go there?¡±
¡°Kim Dokja would¡¯ve liked it.¡±
¡°He would¡¯ve liked it more if you went.¡±
¡°...You don¡¯t know your son very well.¡±
Han Sooyoung stuck out her small lips. Lee Sookyungughed lightly and reced the wet pillow with a new one. Han Sooyoung sniffed the new pillow and said,
¡°It seems to be resolved well.¡±
¡°What are you talking about?¡±
¡°Kim Dokja¡¯s big disaster.¡±
Seeing the ck dragon¡¯s ecstatic state, things on the Demon World side seemed well. The damage on the Korean Penins wasn¡¯t greater than expected. There was a blow to the area but the citizens were safely evacuated...
The dream troubled her but a dream was just a dream...
¡°It isn¡¯t over.¡±
¡°...Eh?¡±
Lee Sookyung brought over a te without speaking and pointed to the Good or Bad Luck, Disaster or Happiness Fortune floating on it. Han Sooyoung read the characters rising to the surface of the water. She couldn¡¯t believe it. Thus, she asked Lee Sookyung to repeat the divination many times. They were all the same. Han Sooyoung looked down at the arm wrapped with a bandage and dered, ¡°Please contact Kim Dokja.¡±
***
The night after the party ended, I sat alone in the office. Normally, it would be a good time to read Ways of Survival while rxing with a cup of hot chocte. However, I couldn¡¯t afford it now.
I was staring at a huge debris lying on the table. It was a pierce that came off from thest car that Surya and I fought in. I closed my eyes and tried to reconstruct my memories of the time.
Surya¡¯s train was much shorter than the mythical train. In addition, thest car had a hole in the back. It was as if part of the train had been ripped off.
In other words, that space wasn¡¯t the originalst car. I opened my eyes and examined the wounds on the debris fragment again. There was something powerful enough to pull off part of Surya¡¯s train that my party members and teachers barely broke.
...It was also ¡®that.¡¯
Knock knock knock.
I looked up at the sound of knocking and saw Yoo Sangah watching me from the door. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Dokja-ssi. Am I disturbing you?¡±
¡°No. I called you.¡±
I urgently arranged the table and greeted Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah looked around with a slightly shaky expression and then sat carefully on the other side of the table where I was sitting.
¡°Would you like some tea?¡±
¡°Nope. It¡¯s fine.¡±
¡°Then do you want water...?¡±
¡°Okay.¡±
We silently faced each other across the small table. I called her but I couldn¡¯t easily bring up the topic. Yoo Sangah must have many questions for me as well. I told her, ¡°Just ask.¡±
¡°In fact, I¡¯ve been thinking about Dokja-ssi for quite some time.¡± Her tone sounded like she had been waiting. ¡°Why do you know the future that others don¡¯t know? How could you be so calm in such situations and always find answers that others haven¡¯t thought of?¡±
¡°Then did you find out something?¡±
¡°I seem to know some things while others don¡¯t feel right.¡±
Perhaps Yoo Sangah had been studying me. Just as she studied Spanish with the app, Yoo Sangah would¡¯ve studied people. As always, she reached meaningful results before anyone else.
¡°To Dokja-ssi, is this world like a novel?¡±
¡°Why do you think that?¡±
¡°It is because of what you said at the party.¡±
...As expected from Yoo Sangah. Really, that was the only thing I could say.
-I¡¯m heading towards the final chapter.
That was my answer to what ¡ö¡ö I received. The final chapter. The end of every book that needed to be reached by turning over the pages.
Yoo Sangah continued speaking, ¡°The constetions were greatly surprised. There were some who were amazed and some who were shocked.¡±
The constetions had to feel surprised. It was a statement I gave with such intentions.
¡°After Dokja-ssi left, I asked the queen of the underworld. Why are you so surprised?¡±
¡°What did she say?¡±
¡°She said Dokja-ssi is very special.¡± Yoo Sangah moistened her lips with the water and continued, ¡°I heard that every being is given a different form of ¡ö¡ö. In addition, most of them are very personal words. There are numerous ¡ö¡ö in the world but I heard that words that imply the ¡®end¡¯ are extremely rare.¡±
Anyone who heard it would understand it meant an obvious ¡®end.¡¯ It was a word that had excellent versatility for all beings.
¡°In addition, all beings who received such a clear ¡®end¡¯ were great constetions like Olympus, Vedas and Papyrus... the top deities of the massive nebe.¡¯
¡°...¡±
Now... Dokja-ssi has be one of them.¡±
Yoo Sangah was staring at me withplicated eyes. Her trembling eyes held feelings that she herself couldn¡¯t measure.
I replied, ¡°It is a good thing.¡±
¡°...It is good?¡±
¡°Now I can finally try something.¡± I smiled. However, Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t smile back.
¡°After the destruction of the world, I thought Dokja-ssi was happier. Youughed more often than before and seemed more vigorous... thus, you looked good. By the way...¡± Yoo Sangah bowed her head. ¡°Dokja-ssi, why do you think this world is fiction?¡±
Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t know me. What was ¡®fiction¡¯ to me? What did this world mean to me? I couldn¡¯t exin or describe it.
¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry Dokja-ssi. I was presumptuous...¡±
Nevetheless, the only person who could tell me such things was Yoo Sangah. She was a person who noticed things that nobody cared about.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Character List¡¯ is activated!]
She was the first colleague I met. Maybe it was before this world began.
[The person¡¯s information can¡¯t be essed through Character List.]
There was an unexpected sense of relief from the rising message.
[Currently collecting information about the corresponding figure.]
When I first used Character List on Yoo Sangah, I had been very anxious because I couldn¡¯t read her information. Why was it now the opposite?
I sighed lightly and looked out the window. It was a clear sky. This was a world where nothing had happened yet.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, I¡¯d like to ask you to do something.¡±
Thus, now was the only time to prepare.
Chapter 278
Chapter 278: Episode 52. ¡ö¡ö (3)
The neb Eden. This neb wasposed of the angels of the apocalypse, was the scourge of the demons and the eternal enemies of the Demon World. The guardians of the Celestial World, the angels who didn¡¯t fear any evil in this world.
However, there was something that the angels of this fearsome Eden hated.
[Elder, in Eden you are fully prepared and bid your time before the battle...]
It was Metatron¡¯s ordinance time. Today, the one in charge of the lecture was the Commander of the Red Cosmos, Jophiel.
[We urge you not to fall for the demon¡¯s two-faced war tactics...]
Gabriel tapped the floor with his heel and frowned.
-Oh, why must it be that person today?
There were thousands of low-ranked angels in the training ground of Eden. The archangels like Gabriel were positioned at the forefront as teaching assistants.
Lily Pin of Aquarius, Gabriel.
Guardian of Youths and Travel, Raphael.
Friend of Justice and Harmony, Raguel.
Apart from the archangel on duty, most of the top-ranking constetions of Eden were assembled.
Jophiel¡¯s mental training had already been going on for an hour. Gabriel secretly yawned and looked around at his colleagues withnguid eyes, only to notice something strange.
-Hey, where¡¯s Uriel?
Raphael, who was nodding off on the cloud, replied while fixing his curly hair.
-She is being detained.
-Detained?
-She is being told off by the scribe. Don¡¯t you know?
...What did she do? Raphael borrowed the power of the wind to speak like it was annoying. Gabriel¡¯s
eyes widened.
-What? Really? Uriel?
-Yes yes. She is banned from broadcasting for three years.
...That Uriel was going to be confined for three years?
Gabrielughed at the unexpected news.
-For the time being, the broadcast bulletin board will be clean.
The ordinance ended after 30 minutes. Metatron dismissed the low-grade angels and called the archangels separately. ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ Metatron had grey hair that went down to his waist and his expression seemed tired today. It was because he was busy trying to prevent the possibility of Armageddon.
Metatron pushed up his thin frame sses and spoke, [Thank you for the trouble Jophiel. It was a good presentation.]
Jophiel nodded. Metatron looked around at the archangels and asked,
[Uriel didn¡¯te?]
[Didn¡¯t you detain her? Otherwise, she would be here.]
The other archangels giggled at Gabriel¡¯s words. However, Metatron didn¡¯tugh. The archangels exchanged looks with each other. There was no angel here who didn¡¯t know that Uriel was a headache for the scribe. The first one to speak was Archangel Raguel, who had faint freckles on his cheeks.
[Excuse me, Scribe. Isn¡¯t three years of detainment too much? Recently Uriel has be quite bright due to the broadcast...]
For the constetions who had to endure the boring years, the meaning of the live broadcast was immense. Some angels called the ¡®livestream broadcasting¡¯ the only drug allowed in Eden...
[What are you saying Raguel? Do you know how many times the scribe let that ¡ö watch?]
Raguel¡¯s expression hardened at Gabriel¡¯s words.
[Gabriel. Insulting a fellow angel is a felony.]
[Did I say something wrong? When she was bored, she picked up a demon¡¯s neck and did something strange...]
[Gabriel!]
It was Metatron who calmed down the tense atmosphere.
[I will decide how to deal with Uriel.]
The sublime aura rising from Metatron caused all the excited angels to close their mouths. As the surroundings became silent, Metatron brought up the main point.
[In connection to the Demon World Convention, I¡¯m going to give you a new assignment.]
The Demon World Convention. The expressions of the archangels became tense. The bnce between Eden and the Demon World had been shaken by the recent armed conflict in the 73rd Demon Realm.
[We need an archangel to monitor the ruler of the 73rd Demon Realm, the Demon King of Salvation.]
Confusion filled the angels¡¯ faces. Gabriel asked in a sharp voice, [Wait, isn¡¯t that originally Uriel¡¯s mission? And what does it have to do with the Demon World Convention...]
[It is relevant. Now that Uriel is being detained, other archangels need to do her work.]
Metatron¡¯s gaze moved across the archangels.
[Raphael had a doctrines tour next week and Raguel is scheduled to visit Vedas so the mission...]
The scribe¡¯s eyes finally stopped on one archangel.
[...Me?]
***
In the days after the party, the party members enjoyed a sudden luxury.
¡°Dokja-ssi, can I ept something like this?¡±
¡°I bought it for Hyunsung-ssi.¡±
Kim Dokja bought clothes or items for the party members every day from the Dokkaebi Bad, as ifpensation for his absence in the meantime. The kids were particrly excited.
¡°Hey, look at this Shin Yoosung!¡±
¡°I received it as well?¡±
Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoungughed and ran through the streets while covered with essories bought by Kim Dokja. Jung Heewon saw the scene andughed. ¡°The kids look like a Christmas tree.¡±
The two children were sitting on Lee Hyunsung¡¯s big shoulders. The same was true for Lee Hyunsung. He was excited about the new shield he received from Kim Dokja.
¡°...Three fools.¡±
She muttered as she looked around and saw Lee Jihye approaching while wearing a triangr gimbap-like helmet on her head. If the other three were like a Christmas tree, she was a three-tier cake.
¡°Do you have a good rtionship with Dokja ahjussi these days?¡±
¡°I have btedly realized the importance of colleagues.¡±
Lee Jihye narrowed her eyes at Jung Heewon¡¯s reaction. ¡°Unni... perhaps you haven¡¯t received anything?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡±
In fact, Kim Dokja had visited Jung Heewon several times. However, he didn¡¯t give her any items and only taught her a few training methods as well as telling her about hidden pieces. She told him that they were things she could do without him and Kim Dokja¡¯s expression was still vivid in her mind.
She was going to give Lee Jihye some honey when someone poked her shoulder. She looked back and saw the tired Kim Dokja.
¡°Ah, Dokja-ssi...¡±
Kim Dokja had dark circles on his face as he held out something towards Jung Heewon.
¡°This...¡±
¡°It is a new suit. It will be morefortable for you.¡±
Jung Heewon epted the clothes in a daze. It was a blue-ck special suit with arge cloak. She had seen it at the exchange but gave up because it was too expensive.
¡°The clothes are too expensive. I still have enough...¡±
Kim Dokja silently shook his head. Jung Heewon saw his unknown facial expression and recalled a memory from a long time ago. During the days at Chungmuro, she received an outfit from Kim Dokja. At the time, it was a rag...
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is disappointed with incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon.¡¯]
¡°You agreed to be my sword. I should do at least this much for you.¡± Kim Dokja said these words and instantly walked away like he had something else happening. Jung Heewon stared at Kim Dokja¡¯s back and touched the special uniform in her hands.
Lee Jihye grinned from next to her. ¡°Unni¡¯s mouth...¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Nothing, I just found something from the corners of your mouth. Unni, if you don¡¯t like it then exchange it with my helmet. That suit is really romantic.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
She looked closer and saw a pattern on the suit that was simr to Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shield. Made bai... Yangu... san...? Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t fluent in English, scratched her head and gave up reading. In any case, it was good.
¡°By the way, why is Ahjussi suddenly doing this? The person who sold food for money...¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. He might be plotting something strange like before.¡±
It certainly wasn¡¯t strange if it was Kim Dokja. He gave her such a good item that he would definitely put her to tremendous use.
Jung Heewon looked at the suit and felt like an office worker who received a sry advance. She was discussing with Lee Jihye how to wear the coat more stylishly when someone appeared and passed her like a ghost.
¡°Sangah-ssi, what¡¯s going on?¡±
¡°Huh? Ah, yes. It¡¯s nothing.
Yoo Sangah, who was staring nkly into space, reacted with surprise. Her pupils were empty. Jung Heewon realized that something was strange and tried to speak but Lee Jihye was one step faster.
¡°Aha, I understand. Sangah unni hasn¡¯t received an item?¡±
Jung Heewon poked Lee Jihye¡¯s ribs and she let out a light shriek. Yoo Sangah smiled helplessly. ¡°I just have many thoughts these days... Heewon-ssi, that is a wonderful outfit.¡±
¡°Ah, yes. Dokja-ssi gave it... I think it is too much to wear it.¡±
¡°I think it suits you very well.¡±
¡°Is that so? Thank you.¡± Jung Heewon scratched his head. There was a shining bracelet that hadn¡¯t been seen before on Yoo Sangah¡¯s wrist.
The mood became awkward and Jung Heewon asked awkwardly, ¡°Ah right, how is Dokja-ssitely?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression asked what she meant. Jung Heewon, who might¡¯ve been misinformed, started speaking gibberish. ¡°Eh, er, I mean... I just wanted to know if the two of you are doing well...¡±
Yoo Sangah cocked her head to one side and muttered, ¡°Umm, I think it is the same as when we were in thepany...¡±
was simr to when they were at thepany. It was a difficult response for a hopeful observer. Lee Jihye whispered to Jung Heewon.
¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before? There is nothing between them. Dokja ahjussi¡¯s taste doesn¡¯t go that way. We...¡±
¡°I understand why my sponsor likes you. By the way, has your master woken up?¡±
¡°Not yet. I heard it would take a few more days.¡±
In the distance, Kim Dokja seemed to be talking to himself as he headed towards the ward.
¡°Is there something to give...¡±
The clock tower was on the verge ofpletion. The boisterousughter of the party members could be heard. Gong Pildu was dissecting something like a machine gun while Han Myungoh was testing a new prosthetic leg.
Without knowing why, Jung Heewon felt overwhelmed. In any case, the party was all gathered now. They would soon return to Earth and go through the hellish scenarios again. Even so, Jung Heewon was afraid. Jung Heewon watched the sunset from the clock tower and recalled the words she heard in the Theatre Dungeon.
-I wish to see the novel¡¯s epilogue.
At the time, the Kim Dokja who said these words seemed very lonely. She didn¡¯t know what he meant at the time but now she felt like she knew a bit. Now one thing was clear.
When the ¡®epilogue¡¯ came, Kim Dokja wouldn¡¯t be alone.
***
It was a few days after the part ended. The constetions present in the industrialplex started to leave one by one. I went to see the constetions off and found two flowers in the chest pocket of my coat.
¡°What is this?¡±
It was a pair of red cosmos and a lily. It wasn¡¯t a very suitablebination... did the kids do it? I took care of the flowers and headed towards the square. Some constetions had already passed through the portal. Among those leaving were constetions who signed a special contract with the Kim Dokja¡¯s Company neb, including the old man in front of me.
[It looks like you¡¯re preparing for war. You don¡¯t have to be so impatient.]
¡°In the scenario, it is always war.¡±
The Mass Production Maker chuckled at my words.
[Don¡¯t be senseless. I want you to be different from the other constetions.]
¡°Thank you for the help.¡±
I smiled and bowed my head. The Mass Production Maker opened the door of the car before stopping and looking at me. [There is one final thing I want to ask...]
¡°Yes. Feel free to ask.¡±
The Mass Production Maker didn¡¯t immediately ask the question. Instead, he pulled out a cigarette and mumbled. [...Have you ever thought about what exactly ¡ö¡ö is?]
He turned on his lighter and touched the end of the cigarette to the me. The Mass Production Maker sighed and blew out smoke before continuing.
[Is it the ce we want to reach or the ce destiny is leading us to? Is it a ce, a life or a space?]
Perhaps the Mass Production Maker had thought about this question countless times. Finally, he wouldn¡¯t have found the answer.
¡°The certain thing is that it is the end of the story.¡±
[Sometimes I find your calmness amazing.]
¡°I¡¯m nervous as well.¡±
[I felt it at the time of the Gourmet Association but you¡¯re not as good at lying as you think.]
The Mass Production Makerughed like a child.
[Then I¡¯m asking you... is your ¡ö¡ö really the ¡®final chapter¡¯?]
The words broke through my guard. I reflexively shut my lips. The Mass Production Maker waited patiently for my answer. I finally opened my mouth once the Mass Production Maker¡¯s cigarette was burned halfway through.
¡°I don¡¯t know where the story will take me. However... I¡¯m sure that the ce I want to go is the final chapter.¡±
He continued to listen after I finished. It was as if my story was still ongoing. Once the remaining cigarette had been burned, the Mass Production Makerughed.
[I hope that I¡¯m on thest page with you.]
¡°Go carefully, old man.¡±
[Be careful.]
There was a light engine sound and the Mass Production Maker¡¯s car slipped into the portal. The other constetions also disappeared into the portal. The portal closed and ominous sparks filled the empty sky.
I watched the sparks and touched the petals in my pocket. Now the remaining time was three days. Soon, the most important story of the industrialplex would begin.
Chapter 279 - Demon King of Salvation (1)
Chapter 279: Episode 53 ¨C Demon King of Salvation (1)
A door with an image of two baby angels blushing. Gabriel¡¯s lips twitched as he saw the [Uriel ¡î] written on the namete.
[Hey.]
There was no answer when he knocked on the door. Thus, he did it again.
[Hey Uriel!]
He knocked harder on the door and there was a groan from beside it.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says to get lost.]
Gabriel frowned at the indirect message.
[Do you think I¡¯m happy toe here? I¡¯m here because of my mission.]
Gabriel sounded like it was annoying just to speak. It had been two days since he received the unreasonable assignment from Metatron. He was nning to y around but Metatron got in front of him.
-Gabriel, please take over Uriel¡¯s mission. In addition, Jophiel will watch Gabriel to ensure he isn¡¯t beingzy.
-Leave it to me.
He was ced in a team with the upright Jophiel. Gabriel would rather be in a team with Uriel.
[Didn¡¯t you record your observations of the Demon King of Salvation? I came here to grab it. Open the door!]
There was a rustling sound from beyond the door.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is asking why you are her sessor.]
[Yes you ¡ö.]
Once again, an indirect message rang like a thunderbolt.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says ¡®¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡¯.]
[Do you want toe out and say it yourself?]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is asking if you are her only sessor.]
[Me and Jophiel.]
A deep sigh was heard beyond the door. After a while, there was a gap in the door and long fingertips emerged. Looking closer, the white fingertips were holding onto something. Gabriel realized its identity and clicked his tongue.
[...USB? Who uses a USB these days? Are you a human?]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is warning you not to speak nonsense and take it.]
Gabriel received the USB and Uriel added.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says it is a secret from the Red Cosmos.]
[Jophiel? Why?]
Uriel didn¡¯t respond and shut the door. Then intermittent sniffling was heard in the distance. Gabriel was about to say something only to end up pouting. They usually didn¡¯t get along but he became worried when he saw ¡®Demon Hunter Uriel¡¯ like this.
[Hey, don¡¯t tremble. The detainment will be released soon. It¡¯s only three years...]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is shouting at you to get lost!]
[Crazy ¡ö. I was only trying tofort ¡ö.]
After a while, Gabriel opened the USB in his room. Then...
[What the hell did you do on this mission?]
Despite his mutters, Gabriel couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the footage on the screen.
***
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is curious about you.]
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ likes looking at you.]
Jung Heewon frowned as she heard the voice in the air. Uriel disappeared and this time a strange constetion clung to her. This wasn¡¯t her only concern. Jung Heewon looked at Kim Dokja who was wandering in the distance.
¡°...Why isn¡¯t he saying anything?¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
Jung Heewon turned around and see Lee Jihye closely stuck to her.
¡°Never mind.¡±
¡°Why, what is it?¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±
¡°Unni, are you going to join Kim Dokja¡¯s Company?¡±
Jung Heewon, who was swallowing the drink she bought from a street vendor, gasped as she choked. ¡°W-What? No! The name is too strange. Isn¡¯t it embarrassing to join a ce like that?¡±
¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. Thepany name is a bit strange but it feels like I¡¯m experiencing the workce. Perhaps I will even receive a sry?¡±
¡°If you know what a real workce is like, you¡¯ll think differently.¡±
Lee Jihye pouted. ¡°In any case, I¡¯m looking for a chance to join. Master is also there.¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi has already joined?¡±
¡°Dokja ahjussi said so. This is Yoo Jonghyuk and my neb!¡±
Of course, he never said anything like that but Jung Heewon reflexively looked up at the sky. However, she didn¡¯t hear the indirect message she was waiting for. She felt strangely ufortable.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ dislikes the humour of incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye.¡¯]
Jung Heewon shook her head and looked at Kim Dokja who was busy in the square. He was so busy she hadn¡¯t seen his face for a few days and she didn¡¯t know what he was working so hard on.
Then Yoo Sangah¡¯s appearance caught Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes. Jung Heewon waved at Yoo Sangah who was sitting on a bench and staring nkly into empty air.
¡°Sangah-ssi! Are you going to join Dokja-ssi¡¯s neb?¡±
Yoo Sangah discovered Jung Heewon and looked up with surprise. What was this woman thinking about that she lost her soul for a few days...
¡°My situation is a bit...¡±
¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. It is tough for Sangah-ssi.¡±
Yoo Sangah was an incarnation of Olympus. It was a special case where she was supported by an entire neb and it would be hard to join Kim Dokja¡¯s neb. It was obvious what would happen if she received the sponsorship only to choose another neb.
¡°Instead, I made an alliance offer. Some of the constetions have a friendly rtionship with Dokja-ssi through me.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t all the constetions of Olympus hate Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Not all of them. Heewon-ssi, did you join the neb?¡±
¡°I¡¯m still thinking about it.¡± Jung Heewon looked back at the square again. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m not sure about joining. There is a problem with my sponsor and...¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s high self-esteem seemed hurt and Yoo Sangah smiled gently.
¡°I think you will be a great help to Dokja-ssi if you join his neb.¡±
¡°I want to help if possible.¡±
Fortunately or unfortunately, Jung Heewon wasn¡¯t the only one in aplicated situation.
In the middle of the distant square, Lee Hyunsung sat down like a dull big dog. Next to him were Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung, who were squatting like baby cats as the three of them stared at Kim Dokja. To be exact, their eyes chased after him every time he moved. It was obvious what they were waiting for. Kim Dokja ignored them to the end.
¡°...There is still no word.¡±
Jung Heewon nodded at Lee Jihye¡¯s words. ¡°He will speak when the timees. It is because he is a secretly introverted person.¡±
Well, she also wanted to know what was going on. A long-awaited peace hade to the party but Kim Dokja was still thinking about something. Thus, they could only wait while doing nothing.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is looking at you approvingly.]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is wary of the Demon King of Salvation.]
...There were strange angels so Jung Heewon wouldn¡¯t be bored for a while. Jung Heewon reluctantly put down her worries.
Then... the work suddenly began.
***
¡°Really? There is no way to contact them?¡±
¡°The channels leading to the Demon World are blocked. It is a powerful enchantment...¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression became grim at Lee Sookyung¡¯s words. She had been calling the dokkaebis since a while ago but none responded. Han Sooyoung looked down at the water bowl that contained the Good or Bad Luck, Disaster or Happiness Fortune.
Misfortune, misfortune, misfortune, misfortune, misfortune, misfortune, misfortune...
She couldn¡¯t count how many times ¡®misfortune¡¯ emerged.
¡°What the hell is going on?¡±
Thest time ¡®great misfortune¡¯ appeared, Kim Dokja had to face a Lokap of Vedas. However, now there were so many ¡®misfortunes¡¯... it wasn¡¯t a great misfortune but it should be an extensive misfortune. The water in the bowl trembled and faint sparks appeared.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is raising his head.]
¡°ck dragon?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking at the 73rd Demon Realm.]
¡°Do you know something?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is letting out a threatening cry.]
Her arm wrapped with a bandage was tingling and sparks appeared around the body that was in sync with the ck dragon.
¡°Hey dude!¡±
The feelings of the ck me dragon were transmitted. The ck dragon had never acted like this whenever he encountered an opponent.
[The constetion ¡®Expert at ying Both Sides¡¯ has pale lips.]
[The constetion ¡®Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ is dripping saliva.]
[The constetion ¡®Great King Heoncheon Hongdo Gyungmun Wimu¡¯ is quietly putting down his
sword.]
[The constetion ¡®First Spiritualist of Joseon¡¯ is clearing his traces.]
The constetions of the Korean Penins were turning off their lights. It was as if they were hiding from a predator. Her bandaged arm kept tingling.
Han Sooyoung scattered Lee Sookyung¡¯s divination and unraveled the bandage to reveal the tattoo of the ck dragon that was shining. Sparks burst and Han Sooyoung¡¯s right arm wrote letters in the air.
-A disaster of the stars ising.
¡°Disaster of the stars? What is that?¡±
The arrogant ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ thought this situation was so urgent he had to manually write. She felt the will of the Abyssal ck me Dragon that wanted to stop her from going to the Demon World no matter what.
¡°Hey, don¡¯t make me nervous. Are you doing this again?¡±
She had been fooled by the Abyssal ck me Dragon more than once or twice. She didn¡¯t know what the ck dragon was talking about but Kim Dokja had predicted Olympus¡¯ invasion of the Korean Penins. Thus, maybe he knew about this situation. No matter what came...
There were faint sparks as Han Sooyoung¡¯s hand moved through the air like a brush.
-The 73rd Demon Realm will perish.
***
It was the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint who noticed it first. She was lying on the wall of the industrialplex and dropped the smoking pipe in her mouth.
¡°...That guy was right.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint mumbled while the Breaking the Sky Sword emitted a blinding light as it was pulled out. After obtaining the name Breaking the Sky Sword, she held this sword less than 10 times.
It was a sword that made her be called the disaster of Murim. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint felt the texture of the sword against her palm and felt funny.
A disaster. What could be called a disaster? For human beings, disasters were natural phenomenon on arge scale. For examples,ndslides, tsunamis and earthquakes. They were huge phenomenon that the power of humans couldn¡¯t resist.
For transcendents, it was nothing more than a maniption of physical phenomena. They were existences far beyond human standards. They could causendslides and tsunamis with a de and could quiet them. For transcendents like the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, the word disaster meant something different from the standards of ordinary humans.
Perhaps the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was facing the answer now.
Small sparks bounced and Kyrgios was suddenly by her side. The aura of Electrification was already rising from Kyrgios¡¯ body. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint slowly raised her magic power. The two transcendents looked at the distant end of the void. Kyrgios asked, ¡°It is him?¡±
It wasn¡¯t yet visible to the naked eye but a presence was clearly heading towards this ce. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint replied in a heavy voice, ¡°There is no doubt. It is the guy who tried to devour the First Murim.¡±
Darkness was entering the atmosphere. From the other side of the universe that swallowed up even light, something was approaching while devouring the scattered probability.
Chapter 280 - Demon King of Salvation (2)
Chapter 280: Episode 53 ¨C Demon King of Salvation (2)
[Hidden scenario ¨D Escape the Demon World has begun!]
At this time, all dokkaebis of the bureau were concentrating on the panel.
¡°Are you kidding me? Why is there no dokkaebi to proceed when the scenario is released?¡±
It was the other dokkaebis who blocked Bihyung rioting alone. After the Demon King Selection, all dokkaebis who operated the channels were withdrawn from the 73rd Demon Realm.
¡°Where is Baram? Shit, that Dokgak jerk!¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°What are you doing here why the Demon World channels are running out of control? If you¡¯re going to do this, let me go there!¡±
¡°Bihyung, do you think it is possible to broadcast now?¡±
Even the prideful Dokgak had given up on this scenario. The bureau had exhausted all the avable probability during the Demon King Selection. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the only problem.
-Baat!
There was the cry of a baby dokkaebi who knew nothing. Some dokkaebis sighed and turned their eyes away while others couldn¡¯t take their eyes off the screen to the end.
The distant presence had crossed the Star Stream and was covering the sky of the 73rd Demon Realm.
Not all beings lived in the scenario. If the constetions were living in a ¡®story¡¯, the outer gods were based on a confused ¡®story.¡¯ They were beings born from the subconscious of the story. A monster roaming the deep sea of the scenario that wasn¡¯t possible for the dokkaebis.
¡®This isn¡¯t the right scenario.¡¯
Bihyung looked at ¡®it¡¯ that was opening its massive mouth and prayed with a gloomy heart.
¡®Run away Kim Dokja.¡¯
***
¡°What is this?¡±
It was only a few minutes after Jung Heewon had noticed ¡®it.¡¯ Suddenly, the hairs on her body rose and sweat flowed down. She looked around and saw the citizens who lost consciousness or were vomiting up blood on the ground. Lee Jihye stood beside her and was squeezing her shoulders with dim eyes.
¡°Jihye! Wake up!¡±
Her shoulders shook several times before Lee Jihye barely managed to look up. ¡°U-Uh, uhhh... unni...¡±
Her nails dug into her shoulders and blood was flowing.
Jung Heewon looked around the square. Yoo Sangah was already moving. ¡°Everyone, gather this way!¡±
Her voice was filled with magic power and the party members came to their senses one by one.
¡°W-What is that?¡±
Lee Hyunsung and the children looked up at the sky. Lee Gilyoung staggered while Shin Yoosung grabbed onto Lee Hyunsung and trembled.
At this moment, all the party members in the square were thinking the same thing. It didn¡¯t matter how many books they read or how many words they knew.
¡®It can¡¯t be described.¡¯
Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon were the same. All human words were helpless in front of theing existence. The entire sky was covered by the darkness of this being.
The party members couldn¡¯t understand what they were seeing. Thanks to this, they lost their means to cope.
If a typhoon blew, they could ce newspapers against the window. If a tsunami urred, they could enter sturdy high-rise buildings. If a fallout started, they could hide in a basement with thick barriers. But this...
How the hell could they stop it? Was it possible to stop it?
Then a man appeared in the sky where the light had disappeared. He exhausted his probability as he shone brightly.
Jung Heewon discovered his appearance and was filled with relief. Most of the constetions who attended the banquet left the Demon World two days ago. However, it wasn¡¯t everyone.
Surrounding by brilliant sparks, the man stood on the walls. He shouted loudly, [Everyone, wake up!]
Goryeo¡¯s First Sword, Cheok Jungyeong. The huge roar echoed from the walls and the incarnations with the strongest minds barely regained their sanity. They watched Cheok Jungyeong. They didn¡¯t know what wasing but there was Cheok Jungyeong on this side. Cheok Jungyeong also had experience fighting against an outer god.
[Outer god! Why did youe here? This isn¡¯t your scenario!]
It was a resounding yell towards the sky. A light of hope emerged in the faces of the incarnations after they heard this voice. Cheok Jungyeong shouted once again.
[What a great foreign power, eating up the extra probability!]
Despite the repeated calls, there was no response from the sky. Just like an elephant didn¡¯t see an ant, ¡®it¡¯ didn¡¯t even look at Cheok Jungyeong. Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s expression hardened. If the elephant didn¡¯t see an ant then he would make it look.
[¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö! Indescribable Distance!]
At this moment, something stared at Cheok Jungyeong. Sparks exploded from Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s body. His outer skin was charred ck. Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s tight muscles were ruptured and blood flowed as a broken star relic flew through the air as ashes. It was the price for merely calling the name. Nevertheless, Cheok Jungyeong raised his sword without backing down.
[It is a sword that cuts the mountains, the sea and even the sun. With this sword, I¡¯ll cut you this time.]
The enormity that couldn¡¯t be grouped into ¡®one¡¯ description filled Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s eyes.
He didn¡¯t know where to cut because he couldn¡¯t see where it started or ended. In the infinity that even a handful of possibilities didn¡¯t exist, Cheok Jungyeong moved.
[Ohhhhhh!]
A beam of light shot from Cheok Jungyeong.
Cutting 1,000 people with one sword. Cutting a great mountain with two swords. Separating the sea with three swords.
The sword shone like a meteor shower as it moved through the vast darkness. For a moment, a ray of light was drawn into the depths of the sky. The incarnations saw the light and were thrilled.
Goryeo¡¯s First Sword was fighting the outer god. The next moment, they heard a strange noise in the sky. It was the sound of a star that had finished its life cycle in a distant gxy. Then something fell from the sky.
¡°A-Ahh, ah...¡±
Someone with good vision discovered it first. The cut off arms and legs. Only half of the incarnation body was left and the areas cut off were falling to the ground. Surprise and disbelief. Even those who couldn¡¯t see Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s expression knew what he was feeling.
A sword that cut a mountain, a sea and even the sun. There was something that this swordsmanship couldn¡¯t cut. It was ¡®unbreakable¡¯ from the beginning. It was the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint who caught Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s ruined body.
[...Remember the sword.]
Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s incarnation body died and he left. It was the incarnation body of a narrative-grade constetion. He broke Surya¡¯s train and cut off the legs of an outer god. Yet such a constetion lost his incarnation body in a single moment of battle.
¡°U-Uwaaaaack!¡±
The screams of the citizens were heard as fear encroached on their mind. The darkness filled the horizon in all directions. The ground wriggled and moved like a fetus. It was the sound of a giant worm eating its prey. It seemed that the horizon was getting closer. The intensity of the light shining on the ground gradually decreased.
[The 73rd Demon Realm is groaning with pain!]
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios had already seen this scene in the First Murim.
Kyrgios spoke, ¡°...I¡¯m going to die here because of my crazy disciple.¡±
¡°Neither you or I have any luck with our disciples.¡±
The world let out a scream. The darkness filled with greet was approaching and eating the 73rd Demon World. Kyrgios concentrated all the magic power of the White Pure Star Energy.
¡°This is why we have to stick to probability.¡±
The Indescribable Distance. The outer god, called the disaster of the stars, was in a sense, a probability storm itself. It was the janitor who came from chaos caused by rules of the Star Stream being broken.
¡°Things have already gone wrong so it can¡¯t be helped. I twist it with all my strength!¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint cried out and two transcendent lights shone brightly.
The sword of Breaking the Sky that split apart the sky. She held the power of First Murim in her arms as the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint shot towards the sky.
Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship.
Destruction skill.
Breaking the Sky Meteor.
It was the sword technique that Yoo Jonghyuk had used in the past. It was the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship that defeated countless constetions. The first Breaking the Sky Sword shot towards the sky. The explosive magic power was radiant in the air and the meteor sword drew colourful shapes.
However, ¡®it¡¯ didn¡¯t even receive a scratch. Like dust drifting in space, the sword disappeared into the void. Her swordsmanship that broke the sky couldn¡¯t destroy the universe.
¡°Kyrgios!¡±
Kyrgios received the signal and stepped on the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s shoulder before jumping. Kyrgios elerated with the power of Electrification, prating through the atmosphere and flying into the expanse.
An unending universe. In the shadow of the darkness, Kyrgios felt the darkness covering the sky and the gaze of the stars looking from beyond the darkness.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is emitting a golden light.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is roaring!]
It was a ce where stars stayed. It was a ce that could never be reached with short human arms. Kyrgios also knew it. Thus, he tried. He tried and tried again.
He stepped on the meteor fragments left behind by the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios jumped higher and higher. He rushed towards the unreachable stars and the mortal existence who build his history through hard work finally reached the stars.
He reached the universe. Kyrgios finally reached a position where he could see ¡®it.¡¯ It was reminiscent of a huge fog. The fog without a definite shape was greedily devouring the 73rd Demon Realm. The centre of the fog contained a thread left behind by Cheok Jungyeong.
The blue-white power climbed to the limit and was concentrated in Kyrgios¡¯s right hand.
[From the smallest particle, the universe began.]
Kyrgios¡¯ right hand moved along with his fierce cry. Like a big bang, the blue-white energy struck the centre of the fog. There was a white sh and all citizens closed their eyes.
It was the moment the two transcendent forces overwhelmed the darkness covering the universe. The moment the light was turned off, there was a huge crack in the darkness that covered the sky.
The citizens shouted, ¡°H-He did it.¡±
¡°He did it! The transcendent did it!¡±
However, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t good. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint looked at Kyrgios piercing through the expanse andughed faintly.
¡®It is up to here.¡¯
Beyond the falling Kyrgios, the sky was splitting. Something in the darkness was awakening. It was a pupil. A huge eye hade to the world. The white lens and ck pupils followed the falling Kyrgios. The Breaking the Sky Sword Sword Saint moved and Kyrgios turned around. The transcendent power collided with an irresistible atmosphere.
Kyrgios¡¯ long hair turned white. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s muscles swelled up until they seemed like they were going to burst. As if suffering from aging, the two transcendent bodies were dying in front of the distant time.
The ¡®status¡¯ of the universe was different. They became transcendent beyond mortals and gained the power to destroy constetions. However, the history of the grueling training they went through was dustpared to the ¡®history¡¯ of the universe.
[The ¡®Indescribable Distance¡¯ is looking at the 73rd Demon Realm.]
The citizens became crazy and rushed around. ¡°Escape! Escape!¡±
¡°Kieeeeeek!¡±
The citizens wept like wild beasts without knowing what they were saying.
[The portal can¡¯t be used due to the intervention of a strong presence.]
¡°What, what, what?¡±
¡°W-W-W-What?¡±
¡°Wwwhat....¡±
The bodies of the citizens burst all over. Some of them turned into bizarre beings and others had tentacles emerge from their mouths.
The world was going crazy. However, it wasn¡¯t everyone. Before the gaze of that absurd being, there were those who didn¡¯ty down their swords.
¡°...Not yet. We can fight.¡±
It was Jung Heewon. Jung Heewon gasped but didn¡¯t kneel down as she controlled her nausea. One by one, the party members stood beside her. The reason they were able to endure was simple.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is protecting the incarnations.]
It was because this world was refusing to perish. They were the history of this 73rd Demon Realm.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is shouting to flee!]
[The constetion ¡®Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth¡¯ is screaming.]
[The constetion ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil¡¯ is closing his eyes in pain.]
The party members also knew it. Any power they had was shabby in front of that mighty being. Jung Heewon grabbed the Sword of Judgment and coughed up blood as she shouted.
¡°Uriel! Please!¡±
There was no reaction from the Demon-like Judge of Fire. It was the same for Gong Pildu¡¯s Defense Master and Lee Hyunsung¡¯s Master of Steel. This time, they didn¡¯t respond to the request of the incarnations. No, they couldn¡¯t respond.
[All the stars in the night sky are silent.]
The constetions in the sky didn¡¯t offer anything. Just as thunder and lightning couldn¡¯t be controlled, ¡®that¡¯ wasn¡¯t something that could be received.
The terrified Osu pissed. Jang Hayoung copsed on the ground and vomited. The senseless Gong Pildu started to build meaningless walls. Han Myungoh shivered and looked around for a ce for his one leg. However, his foot didn¡¯t move. In front of the creature that devoured the world, there was no straw for his foot.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Then there was Kim Dokja. Yoo Sangah cried out and everyone looked at the same ce. It was the top of the unfinished clock tower. As time flowed slowly, Kim Dokja stood on the edge of the tower.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at the night sky.]
A star that uniquely illuminated the night sky that had its light turned off. It was the Demon King of Salvation.
Chapter 281 - Demon King of Salvation (3)
Chapter 281: Episode 53 ¨C Demon King of Salvation (3)
Jung Heewon muttered, ¡°...Dokja-ssi?¡±
Beyond the re of Kim Dokja¡¯s light, the huge eye was looking down at the world. The moment she faced this eye, Jung Heewon¡¯s entire body trembled. The ground was distorted and shook like a tsunami was approaching.
[The 73rd Demon Realm is crying out with pain!]
Lava burst from the broken crust and the overflowing heat once again disappeared into the empty stomach. The whole world was bing narrower around the industrialplex. Then it was obvious what would¡¯ve happened to the other industrialplexes.
The transcendent magic power amplified by the story moved. It was unreasonable to directly oppose that ¡®eye¡¯ but the seismic waves could be slowed.
¡°Quickly, you stupid disciple!¡±
Kyrgios shouted and the space beyond the walls of the industrialplex distorted. The horizon was swallowed up by a huge fog and disappeared into the darkness. No, it wasn¡¯t the horizon any longer.
Nevertheless, Jung Heewon didn¡¯t release her string of hope. If what she heard was right, the teachers and Kim Dokja had already predicted this situation.
¡°Ahjussi! What the hell is this?¡±
Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s body disappeared and Kyrgios and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint were in a poor state. However, Kim Dokja hadn¡¯t acted until the situation became this bad.
Kim Dokja¡¯s lips moved as he constantly muttered something. His eyes moved quickly as he looked for something in the distant universe.
Jung Heewon realized it. Just as they hadn¡¯t given up, Kim Dokja hadn¡¯t given up either. Kim Dokja slowly came down towards the ground. Jung Heewon shouted as a signal, ¡°Get ready!¡±
Lee Hyunsung used Steel Transformation and asked, ¡°Dokja-ssi! What should we do?¡±
Everyone was watching Kim Dokja. They didn¡¯t know what but Kim Dokja would have something in mind.
Kim Dokja slowly blinked and looked at the party members. Over the past few days, Kim Dokja gave many things to the party members. Lee Hyunsung gained a new shield and Jung Heewon got a new skill. Lee Jihye¡¯s magic power was strengthened and Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung learnt arge number of control skills. The party members believed it.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is moving for the owner of the story.]
If they had this giant story that they built together and the n prepared by Kim Dokja, they would be able to knock down even the strongest enemy. They even destroyed Surya¡¯s train. Even if this enemy came...
¡°Ah...jussi...?¡±
The earliest one to sense something unusual was Shin Yoosung. There were rough sparks as Shin Yoosung¡¯s knees sank downwards. Her body couldn¡¯t move, like there was a chain tied around her.
¡¸ This is the story of Dokja. ¡¹
The giant story that flowed from Kim Dokja¡¯s body became powerful shackles around the party members. Lee Hyunsung was slowly sinking to the ground. His face was nk as he asked, ¡°Dokja-ssi? What is this...?¡±
Kim Dokja¡¯s expression was still unreadable. He was there but he didn¡¯t seem together with them. The party members thought they were all in this together so why?
Why did Kim Dokja seem to be there alone? There was no ¡®story¡¯ that existed alone. Kim Dokja¡¯s ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯ was linked to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ¡®One Who Seeded the Name of the King¡¯ while Jung Heewon¡¯s ¡®Exclusion of Future Evil¡¯ was linked to Kim Dokja¡¯s One Who Showed Contempt for a Streamer.
Not to mention the giant story that was a share in arger story. The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ was of everyone who participated in the terrible battlefield. Nevertheless, at this moment, the Demon World¡¯s Spring was only for Kim Dokja.
[The chief narrator of the giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has started his story.]
All the stakes in the giant story given to the party members were being controlled. The party members resisted using their stake in the giant story. Jung Heewon, Yoo Sangah, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yoosung...
Even with all the shares they had, they couldn¡¯t defeat the gigantic will of a single person. It might¡¯ve been different if Yoo Jonghyuk was awake but Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t here now.
Jung Heewon sat on the ground and cried out painfully, ¡°Wait! What is this? What the hell is this?¡±
Jung Heewon stared at Kim Dokja¡¯s expression and finally realized something.
Before a looming crisis, Kim Dokja always made a certain expression. The corners of his lips curved slightly and he looked a bit unlucky, but it reassured the members. Now Kim Dokja¡¯s expression...
Why?
¡°If you were going to do this anyway, why have you been preparing us for the past few days? Why give me these skills?¡±
At Jung Heewon¡¯s desperate cry, Kim Dokja opened his mouth for the first time. ¡°I told you how to deal with the sasquatch in the 28th scenario.¡±
¡°T-Then my shield...¡±
¡°It will be useful for catching the ¡®algonkin snake¡¯ in the 35th scenario. Don¡¯t forget your skills. Didn¡¯t I tell you all how to use it?¡±
As always, there was a reason for the arrangement. To thepanions who were looking bewildered, Kim Dokja gave reasons one by one.
¡°Then this... this scenario...¡±
However, none of the arrangements were for this situation.
The darkness was covering the horizon. Kim Dokja watched the darkness and spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll handle this situation.¡±
¡°Shit! Don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡±
Jung Heewon shouted. ¡°I can¡¯t let you go! Don¡¯t go alone again! Please!¡±
It was impossible for Kim Dokja to deal with that thing alone. The two transcendents and Cheok Jungyeong couldn¡¯t block it. There was no way Kim Dokja alone could face such a thing.
¡°Aaaaaaack! I don¡¯t like this! Dokja hyung!¡±
She grew stronger because she didn¡¯t want to be in debt to him likest time. She performed the hellish personal scenarios and frantically defeated monsters. Jung Heewon shouted as she coughed up blood. ¡°It is you who said we couldn¡¯t do this alone! You were the one who gathered us! You told me all of this!¡±
An unfamiliar true voice flowed from the lips of the smiling Kim Dokja. [I know.]
¡°What do you know? The person who knows, how...?¡±
[Still, not now.]
Lee Hyunsung screamed, ¡°I don¡¯t want this! I don¡¯t need this type of help. I¡¯ll die here! I¡¯ll die here with Dokja-ssi!¡±
Dying here. Kim Dokja, who was staring at the sky, lowered his gaze towards the party members.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at the party.]
The party members heard the message. They looked at Kim Dokja¡¯s fluttering hair. They saw his long eyshes, his eyes, his white cheeks and sadly distorted lips. Suddenly, they realized that Kim Dokja could exist in this world with such an expression.
[Please live.]
They listened helplessly like the true voice was amand.
[The demon king ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking out.]
Kim Dokja¡¯s expression was changing. The sleeping power of the demon king was awakening.
[The story ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has begun.]
The stories of the 73rd Demon Realm started to gather around him. The white coat was stained ck from the demonic energy and two horns rose from Kim Dokja¡¯s head. It was the power of the ¡®Demon King Transformation¡¯ that only a demon king could use.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at his friend.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is paying homage to his adversary.]
[The constetion ¡®Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯ is making a furious yell.]
[The constetion ¡®Supreme God of Light¡¯ is watching the end of the 73rd Demon Realm.]
Dark feathers stretched from Kim Dokja¡¯s shoulders and reached towards the night sky. The second hand of the clock tower moved slowly and Kim Dokja soared. As if leaving this time, the Demon King of Salvation became a light and flew towards the sky.
The moment Kim Dokja prated the expanse, thunder struck. A few thunderbolts poured down and the foging from the horizon stopped.
It was as if time had stopped. The party members looked up at the night sky where Kim Dokja disappeared and couldn¡¯t breathe properly. Time continued passing on the iplete clock tower. One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
No matter how much time passed, Kim Dokja didn¡¯te back. Jung Heewon screamed, ¡°Kim Dokjaaaaa!¡±
At almost the same time, the transcendents were thrown from the wall. The ragged Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios staggered and rose from their spot.
The fog started eating the world again. It ate everything on the horizon and was nearing the walls. The walls were disintegrating. People screamed.
Jung Heewon was busy thinking. ¡®He can¡¯t stop it. Kim Dokja can¡¯t stop that.¡¯
Fog covered the entire industrialplex. The next moment, Jung Heewon felt her body being transmitted elsewhere.
Yoo Sangah closed her eyes like she had given up and Lee Hyunsung howled as he watched the sky.
Han Myungoh sat down and Gong Pildu guarded the destroyed castle.
Everyone was leaking white sparks. Then everyone in the Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja Industrial Complex were sent somewhere else.
A threatening cry was heard from the fog like it was furious.
[¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö... ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!]
Soon, the darkness swallowed up everything.
***
In the faint uproar, Yoo Jonghyuk opened his eyes. The muscles of his body didn¡¯t move well. The aftereffects of Recovery were big.
He stared up at the cracked ceiling and took deep breaths to calm himself. Then he remembered what happened.
There was the Demon King Selection. He refused to regress. He fought with Kim Dokja and won against Surya. He thought about it and energy filled his head.
They won. They had won.
Magic power moved roughly through his body and he felt a bit dizzy. His senses slowly returned. He blinked once again and the scene around him gradually entered his eyes.
It was a hospital room. He could feel the texture of a soft bed and his right hand touched something hard.
Yoo Jonghyuk raised his upper body with a groan and saw a small pocket watch wrapped around his arm with a watch strap. The moving hands of the clock were like his heartbeat. Yoo Jonghyuk looked down at his watch.
There was the faint glimmer of sunshine outside the window. The sunshine was too bright for the Demon World.
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly rose and went to the window. Beyond the walls of the copsed industrialplex, he saw a strange but familiar scene. The broken statue of Admiral Yi Sunsin and the ruined Gyeongbok Pce. Smoke wasing from the copsed buildings of Gwanghwamun.
It was Seoul.
He could see the party members sitting down outside the window. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s head was confused.
Why... they were in Seoul? It was the entire industrialplex.
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at the party members with bewildered eyes. He didn¡¯t see a familiar face. ¡°...Kim Dokja?¡±
The moment he muttered this, a message was heard.
[The story ¡®Life and Death Companions¡¯ is silent.]
Yoo Jonghyuk heard the message with a nk expression and stared at the window again.
...Not there. He couldn¡¯t be seen anywhere.
Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at the sky. The sky was bright enough that the light of the stars wasn¡¯t needed. He counted the light of the constetion beyond them. He counted and counted again. He didn¡¯t know. There were so many stars that he couldn¡¯t find the person.
Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth and spoke in a trembling voice.
[The item Midday Tryst has been used.]
The message window that hadn¡¯t been used for a while was opened and a message was sent.
[The message has been returned.]
It must be an error. He sent the message repeatedly, several times over and over. He sent it, sent it and sent it again. As the messages kept being returned, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s gaze slowly lowered. Then finally.
[You have exhausted the quota for today¡¯s messages.]
There was a ticking pocket watch in the foreground while messages filled Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s vision.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ doesn¡¯t exist in the Star Stream.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ doesn¡¯t exist in the Star Stream.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ doesn¡¯t exist in the Star Stream.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ doesn¡¯t exist in the Star Stream.]
.
.
.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ doesn¡¯t exist in the Star Stream.]
Chapter 282 - Demon King of Salvation (4)
Chapter 282: Episode 53 ¨C Demon King of Salvation (4)
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking violently.]
I didn¡¯t mean to do this in the beginning. The start was shortly after the battle with Surya. The day he gained a giant story and protected the Demon World with hispanions.
-Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (3rd Revision).txt
I received the third revision of Ways of Survival.
¡¸ When he opened his eyes, Yoo Jonghyuk thought, ¡®It is the fourth regression.¡¯ ¡¹
At first, I read it with a light heart. I was looking forward to it. The current ¡®third turn¡¯ was more perfect than any of the turns that Yoo Jonghyuk experienced. In the 25th scenario, I became a demon king and got a giant story. Maybe in this revision, the ending I wanted would be recorded. By the way.
¡¸ I thought it was going well. That¡¯s what that person said. Everyone was fine until the ¡®outer god¡¯ appeared. ¡¹
¡¸ Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk was different from the first and second revisions. He lost his reason, was hasty and didn¡¯t make ns. Yoo Jonghyuk was seriously broken by something that happened in the third round.
¡¸ On that day, everything in the third round was over. ¡¹
I read this part and realized what was wrong. I looked at the ck foging over the walls and bit my lips. The Fourth Wall wriggled in my head and spewed out sentences.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: It might fail. ¡¹
I couldn¡¯t survive if I died this time. Now I didn¡¯t have my resurrection attribute. Once I was swallowed up by the outer god, I would be entirely wiped out. However, if I could stop him...
¡¸ I can¡¯t beat him no matter how I look through Ways of Survival. ¡¹
Han Sooyoung had told me that the Earth scenarios faithfully followed the original trajectory. If we passed this crisis safely, we could aim for areas of the original novel and head for the desired ending.
Below the clock tower, my colleagues were looking up at me.
¡¸ No, there is one way. The ¡®failed¡¯ method in the original. ¡¹
I just had to do it well.
¡¸ They have to live. They might not like it but they have to live. ¡¹
I couldn¡¯t let anyone die.
¡¸ Only then will everyone be able to reach the ending. ¡¹
The night sky split apart and I saw a giant eye looking down at the ground. The transcendents sank down while coughing up blood.
Kyrgios was already told the story in advance and shouted, ¡°Quickly, you stupid disciple!¡±
I nodded and descended from the clock tower. I couldn¡¯t waste the time that Cheok Jungyeong and the masters had earned.
¡°I can¡¯t let you go! Don¡¯t go alone again! Please!¡±
¡°Aaaaaaack! I don¡¯t like this! Dokja hyung!¡±
¡°It is you who said we couldn¡¯t do this alone! You were the one who gathered us! You told me all of this!¡±
I heard the cries of the party members and told them the necessary stories. Really. I really only told them what they needed.
[Please live.]
My head tickled as horns emerged from it. My back was sore from the wings. I could hear the screams of Jung Heewon and cries of Lee Hyunsung. The children reached out for me. Yoo Sangah, who heard the story from me in advance, couldn¡¯t take her eyes off me while crying. Yoo Sangah would do things well.
The moment I pushed off from the ground, my panoramic view changed. The grieving voices of the party members drifted away. Maybe I wanted to tell them something.
¡¸ I want to see the ending with you. ¡¹
There was a sound as I pierced through the atmosphere and the fog let out a pained scream.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ has dropped his ss.]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is letting out a deep sigh.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ wishes you good luck.]
Some constetions were worried about me.
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ dislikes you.]
[Some constetions are denouncing your actions.]
Some constetions criticized me. No one sponsored me any coins. Perhaps even the constetions knew. This wasn¡¯t a story for coins.
¡¸ Wiping his cheeks, Kim Dokja looked at the vast universe. ¡¹
The centre of the fog. I could see the small scar made by Cheok Jungyeong, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios. I activated Electrification and threw myself towards the scar. It was a method I would¡¯ve never attempted if it was the original novel.
However, now there was no other way. The outer gods didn¡¯t share theirnguage with unqualified beings. The White Pure Star Energy rose in my right hand while I raised Unbroken Faith.
Demonic energy moved through the blood vessels in my body and the ck aura oveid with the blue-white energy. A powerful shock wave burst from the centre of the fog as the magic power in my right hand exploded. A very small gap opened for a moment and I didn¡¯t hesitate.
I entered the dark fog and the outer god was revealed. Like white blood cells that caught infecting bacteria, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions... countless particles looked at me at the same time. It was as if they were eyes.
Indescribable Distance, the Nameless Mist. It was the name of the disaster that drifted in the Star Stream. I opened my mouth towards that being.
[ The great outer god.]
Strictly speaking, this mist wasn¡¯t the original form of the outer god. It was a terrible prototype. However, this alter ego contained enormous power.
[Please. Please leave.]
The particles pulsed at my words. Of course, I didn¡¯t expect words to work. The fog particles gathered around me started to eat at me.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is protecting your incarnation body!]
[The Fourth Wall is protecting your spirit!]
The influence of the Fourth Wall kept me from falling in front of this vast existence. However, it was impossible to stop the ¡®giant story¡¯ from being damaged little by little.
[¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö]
The fog was talking in an unknownnguage. Perhaps I couldn¡¯t hear it properly even if it was interpreted. The Indescribable Distance was closer to an unconscious thing. It was a hungry predator that only used its instincts to follow the story.
My presence grew thinner in the choking fog.
[...Damn son of a bitch.]
Even Uriel descending couldn¡¯t stop this guy. It was the same for the current the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven and the Abyssal ck me Dragon. It might be possible if all three came but that wouldn¡¯t happen.
¡¸ There is only one thing that can help Kim Dokja now. ¡¹
An existence that didn¡¯t appear in Ways of Survival. There was only one thing that could possibly help me against this fog. The starlight could be dimly seen between the fog particles. I came all this way just to give him the ¡®right¡¯ voice.
[Secretive Plotter!]
The voice that was released with all its might prated the fog and crossed the interster space. The fog wriggled and roared as something shone from across the distant gxy.
I once again shouted, [I will make a ¡®Outer World Covenant¡¯ with you!]
***
Yoo Jonghyuk was unhappy every time he made an Outer World Covenant. It was because he couldn¡¯t afford it or had to fulfill a ridiculous contract. But this was the only way. This was the first andst way for me to live.
The fog didn¡¯t start eating. It didn¡¯t stop eating me or the 73rd Demon Realm. I got a bad feeling as I saw the stories being broken. Could Secretive Plotter stop this guy?
Time and space creaked and everything started slowing down. The overwhelming power was controlling all the time and space in the area. The fog cried out and the life activities of everything around me suddenly stopped. Like living creatures frozen in a cier, they were trapped in that time forever.
The next moment, I stood in an unknown gxy. I looked down at my feet and saw the scene of the Star Stream. It was outside the Star Stream, the furthest ce of the nebe of stars. The numerous stars were shining beautifully at my feet.
[ It is a boring sight. ]
Unlike other outer gods, this voice was very sharp and clear. A shadow with a man¡¯s shape was wavering.
[ I waited for you, the one pursuing the ¡®final chapter.¡¯ ]
A whiteness could be seen as I looked into that gaping mouth. I just listened to him but my body was shaking. An endless unknown darkness. The evil that stood in the centre of the darkness was staring at me. I wasn¡¯t trembling just because of the ominous status of Secretive Plotter.
[ No, perhaps I should say that you are pursuing eternity. ]
I stared at him and was silent for a moment. ¡°...How did you know?¡±
[ ¡ö¡ö. ]
His words had two meanings for me.
Eternity. Final chapter. Two opposing meanings were implied in one word. It was like the messages I heard when I got a giant story.
-You have obtained the qualification of ¡®eternity.¡¯
-You have obtained the qualification of ¡®final chapter.¡¯
Oddly, my ¡®end¡¯ had two meanings. When the constetions, including the Mass Production Maker, asked me about the filtering, I replied with ¡®final chapter¡¯ because it was easier to persuade the constetions. I never told anyone that my ¡ö¡ö had two meanings.
[ Once you live for many years, the things that aren¡¯t said are heard louder. ]
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking ominously!]
[The Fourth Wall is protecting you by bulking up.]
[The Fourth Wall is baring its teeth towards the Secretive Plotter.]
[ Fragment of the ¡®Last Wall¡¯... don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t intend to hurt you. ]
Unknownughter emerged from the shadow¡¯s mouth.
Secretive Plotter. Along with the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven, the Abyssal ck me Dragon and Uriel, he was a constetion who had been watching me the longest. An existence I hadn¡¯t read about in Ways of Survival.
I took a deep breath. I practiced my meeting with him several times but I didn¡¯t know it would be like this.
¡°Nice to meet you, Secretive Plotter.¡±
I didn¡¯t know him. However, that didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t make any guesses.
¡°The ¡®crawling chaos¡¯ in the depths of the scenario.¡±
Chapter 283 - Demon King of Salvation (5)
Chapter 283: Episode 53 ¨C Demon King of Salvation (5)
The Crawling Chaos. One of the outer gods that was closest to the ¡®origin¡¯ of the universe and favourable to humans... this was ording to mythology. In fact, there was no mention of him in Ways of Survival.
[ The Crawling Chaos... did the ¡®Last Wall¡¯ call me that? ]
¡°It¡¯s just my guess.¡±
[ It is literature left by the ¡®recorders of fear.¡¯ Believing in records that aren¡¯t even 100 years old, you are more naive than I thought. The unknown can¡¯t be revealed in humannguage. ]
I bit my lips. There wasn¡¯t much known about the outer gods in the myths that were the prototypes for Ways of Survival. In the 74th turn of Ways of Survival, one of the ¡®recorders of fear¡¯ left the following remark:¡¸ ¡°Everything we wrote was a lie. It was the only lie we could use to exin the unknown horrors.¡± ¡¹
I was a bit daunted as I asked, ¡°...Are the myths on Earth wrong?¡±
[ I am Secretive Plotter. That is enough. ]
It was an ambiguous answer but also a sufficient one. I didn¡¯t know if he was the ¡®Crawling Chaos¡¯ or not. At the very least, it was clear that Secretive Plotter was undoubtedly a strong outer god.
¡°I have a request.¡±
[ You want to ask me to stop that. ]
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
The Secretive Plotter looked down as the mass of fog swallowed a. The time of the world was slowed down by the power of Secretive Plotter but it wasn¡¯tpletely halted. The Secretive Plotter kept looking down as he spoke.
[ The fog is a disaster originating from the beginning. It is impossible to eliminate itpletely. ]
¡°I know that there are ways.¡±
The Secretive Plotter just looked down at the universe while disregarding my words. I waited nervously for what he would say next.
The shimmering shadow made a disturbing sound. I didn¡¯t think it would feel like this when I heard the indirect messages on the channel. I thought he was a good constetion with lots of yfulness and friendliness...
The shadow currently in front of me only gave off a cold and frightening sensation. I didn¡¯t know what happened but the appearance of the 73rd Demon Realm suddenly seemed close. It was as if I was looking through a telescope of enormous magnification as I saw the people of the industrialplex.
-Kim Dokjaaaaa!
Jung Heewon¡¯s voice seemed like an auditory hallucination. I saw the party members screaming in despair.
[ Why are you trying to save them? You can see the ending even if you live alone. ]
¡°The ending is only meaningful if they are there.¡±
As I spoke, I stimted dozens of questions and answers in my head. Both my hands were sweating. I couldn¡¯t fail here. No matter what, I had to convince the Secretive Plotter in this conversation.
[ What if they don¡¯t want it? ]
I slowly opened my mouth.
¡¸ Dammit, Kim Dokja! Stop! Please! Come back! ¡¹
¡¸ I don¡¯t want this! I don¡¯t want to survive this way. ¡¹
¡¸ I¡¯ll do anything. If you die, I¡¯ll die. If you are going to sit still, I¡¯ll sit still. Please don¡¯t do this!
Please! ¡¹
The voices of my party members were heard using Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. They didn¡¯t say it but I heard the words.
[ What if the ending they wanted was to die with you there? Do you still want to save them? ]
I barely managed to open my mouth. ¡°...Yes.¡±
[ It isn¡¯t salvation. It is a curse. ]
I couldn¡¯te up with an excuse. It was my story that answered on my behalf.
[ The story ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is continuing. ]
The Secretive Plotter watched the storying from me and kept asking,
[ Using those who should¡¯ve died, changing the world line, hurting everyone and reaching the ending you desire... what is the meaning? ]
The empty eyes of the shadow were shining. An eerie chill went down my spine.
[ No matter what you do or what story you make, you can¡¯t truly reach them. ]
The indirect messages didn¡¯t reveal the essence of the constetions. Just as I couldn¡¯t fully understand the characters from reading the books. Maybe it was a mistake to see the Secretive Plotter.
However, it was toote to back down. I opened my mouth after a moment. ¡°...I heard that once in my childhood. Still, there is still the ¡®wall¡¯ left behind.¡±
They were words that Jang Hayoung once said.
¡°Even if there is an insurmountable wall between me and then, even if it isn¡¯t heard by the person beyond the wall, I can write something on the wall and at the very least, the wall will change.¡±
I wasn¡¯t able to say a proper goodbye to Jang Hayoung. Perhaps he was in the ward like Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Maybe after a very long time, somebody might look at the wall.¡±
There were no words from Secretive Plotter for a while. Every sentence had a different meaning to the interpreter. To the Secretive Plotter who lived for a very long time, my words might soundpletely different. Even so, these were the only words I could squeeze out with my 28 years of wisdom. I just hoped that these words would move something in the Secretive Plotter.
[ I don¡¯t agree with your method but I¡¯m curious. ]
Finally, the Secretive Plotter opened his mouth.
[ Let¡¯s say you reach the end of everything using your method and save the world. Then what about the other worlds? ]
¡°Huh?¡±
...Other worlds? The moment I was about to speak, the universe at my feet flipped over like a card. The cards that were divided into dozens and hundreds of pieces were shining in their own way with different colours and shapes.
It was a dimension more distant than the Star Stream. A world that was blurry but clearly existed. It contained the world of Ways of Survival that I had read.
There was Yoo Jonghyuk who died in the Theater Dungeon in the eighth round.
There was the Yoo Jonghyuk who went to the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint in the 18th round.
There was the 41st round Yoo Jonghyuk who made the choice to sacrifice his colleagues.
There was the 181st round Yoo Jonghyuk who stood up from despair.
.....
The stories of the Yoo Jonghyuk who once saved me were on disy in front of me. In addition, I knew the ending of all the regressions.
[ What about all the worlds you didn¡¯t save? ]
It was an unthinkable question. No, it was a question I didn¡¯t want to think about. In order to stop that story, I changed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s third turn.
All the events of the original Ways of Survival and all the worlds that protected me in my childhood...
Were they going to be nonexistent now? The Secretive Plotter looked at me like it was interesting.
[ I will fulfill your request. ]
Suddenly, the screen on the floor changed to the 73rd Demon Realm. I didn¡¯t understand this whim but Secretive Plotter decided to ept the deal with me.
[ However, there is a condition. ]
I had expected it. All Outer World Covenants were subject to severe conditions. ¡°Anything is fine, unless it requires me to be subordinate to you or my death.¡±
The mouth of the Secretive Plotter opened and revealed something white. It was as if the conditions I mentioned were ridiculous.
[ Sometimes you might have to risk your life. It is all up to you. ]
¡°Okay. However, please save my party members first before speaking the terms.¡±
[ As I said before, I can¡¯t eliminate the fog. ]
¡°Then...?¡±
[ I can only save the mortals in the industrialplex. Is that okay? ]
I paused for a moment before nodding. I thought I knew what the Secretive Plotter was going to do. ¡°Can you move them to a safe ce?¡±
[ Where do you want to move them? ]
¡°Earth. If possible, I would prefer Seoul.¡±
[ It is a closed scenario area but there is hope. ]
There was a sound and one of his long fingers was cut off. The small finger of the shadow rose in the air, turning into tens of thousands of points that flew into the universe. The points crossed the gxy in an instant and dug into the 73rd Demon Realm.
The screen under my feet showed the people of the industrialplex. The people were being transported somewhere with a new scenario. The poption of the industrialplex was close to 100,000.
Now the Secretive Plotter would send out personal scenarios to all the incarnations. A great amount of probability was exhausted but Secretive Plotter reced the probability with the sacrifice of one finger.
The people who received the scenario were hiding in the Demon World. Indescribable Distance was released from the bondage of time and started to btedly devour the, but it was already empty. The fog missed the party members and cried out.
[ Now it¡¯s my turn. ]
¡°Speak.¡±
[ You must kill someone. ]
¡°Can I ask who I have to kill?¡±
My heart was heavy. Maybe there would be special constraints. Or it might be a tangle of probability that not even the Secretive Plotter could touch.
[ ept the covenant and you will know. ]
¡°...What happens if I refuse?¡±
In the end, I saw the group of people who had been moved to Earth by the Secretive Plotter.
[ I still have nine fingers left. ]
¡°I ept.¡±
In any case, the worst situation was escaped. The party members safely returned to Earth and everything was as nned.
[A new sub scenario has been acquired!]
[The Star Stream¡¯s scenario system has encountered an error.]
[The information of this scenario is being reconstructed.]
[You have acquired the possibility of a new story!]
[A story that can¡¯t be understood by the Star Stream is germinating.]
I was the only one left. If I did this well, everything would end smoothly.
The Secretive Plotter lifted his right hand, the darkness of the universe distorted and a small portal started to open.
[ Actually, there was another person beside you who made a covenant. ]
...Besides me? I looked through my memories of the original novel but couldn¡¯te up with a person who would make an Outer World Covenant at this time. ¡°What happened to them?¡±
[ I¡¯m expecting much bigger things from you. If you safelyplete the scenario, you¡¯ll be able toe back without any problems. ]
The portal increased to a size I could go through.
[ Another outer god will transfer you. Be careful not to disobey him. ]
At the end, I was sucked into the portal. The foundations were built up and the whole world spread out like a post-modern oil painting where the intention couldn¡¯t be read. The brilliant colours caused me to feel nauseated and once I lifted my head again, there was a huge door in front of me.
Facing me was a giant bubble that filled the endless universe and a circr door upied the centre. The moment the door opened its big eyes at me, the Fourth Wall was triggered.
[The Fourth Wall is issuing a warning!]
There was only one such gigantic door in Ways of Survival.
[ An exis tence se nt by the plot ter. ]
I nodded. The door looked down at me with its own will.
[ Frag ment of the La st Wall... and... ]
It was a stuffy voice that sounded like it wasing from water.
[ ... Ser vant jour ney ing to end of life... ]
¡°...Where am I going?¡±
[ Every thing is wri tten and exist at the sa me ti me. ]
...Well, I never thought a normal conversation would work. It was usually the case with an outer god. Only the Secretive Plotter was an exceptional case.
[ The past and pre sent aren¡¯t dif fe rent from the fu ture. On ly free will is le ft. ]
The door opened with a huge sound. A door that linked the past, present and future. If I stepped in there, I wouldn¡¯t be able to go back.
Before that, there was something I had to do. I hesitated before cing my hand into my clothes. I pulled out a warm and tiny cotton ball.
[Baat!]
Biyoo was crying as she shouted at me.
Chapter 284 - Demon King of Salvation (6)
Chapter 284: Episode 53 ¨C Demon King of Salvation (6)
[Baat, baaat!]
¡°No.¡±
[Baaat!]
¡°Go back.¡±
The world inside the open door couldn¡¯t be seen properly. After all, it was clearly a dangerous ce. ¡°Take care of the people.¡±
Perhaps this moment had been scheduled from the moment I found traces of ¡®Indescribable Distrance¡¯ from Surya¡¯s train fragments. Perhaps I would receive little help from Ways of Survival in the ce where I was going now.
Still, I had to go. If I endured it well this one time, I could return to the party members. With them, I could reach the end of all the scenarios. I slowly moved my feet and Biyoo screamed.
[Baat, baat.... baaaat....! Ah, ba, at...]
I stepped through the boundaries of the door and Biyoo¡¯s voice suddenly faded away. I looked towards Biyoo¡¯s fuzzy face and spoke words that couldn¡¯t be conveyed.
¡¸ I¡¯lle back. ¡¹
[The Outer World Covenant is activated!]
[You have been deported from the Star Stream.]
[Your modifier will disappear from the ¡°Star Stream>.]
***
Even after Kim Dokja disappeared into the portal, Secretive Plotter stared at the portal for a long time. An elderly man with two abnormallyrge lumps stood beside the Secretive Plotter.
[Great plotter. He is already gone?]
[ He just left. ]
[Too bad. I wanted to see what type of person he was... well, you must like him a lot. You sacrificed three fingers for him.]
Three fingers on Secretive Plotter¡¯s left hand had disappeared. It was the price of the probability.
[No matter your identity, it would¡¯ve been a burden to borrow the Viceroy¡¯s Dimensional Gate. Why didn¡¯t you ask us?]
[ It is a fraudulent transaction that the probability of the wenny people can¡¯t handle.]
The elderly man clicked his tongue.
[I can¡¯t understand it at all. No matter the story, I wouldn¡¯t do something like this.]
[ You can¡¯t understand it. ]
In the shadow of Secretive Plotter, white eyes shed in the air. The elderly man followed the gaze. It was as if he discovered something in the air.
[That troublesome person... did you intentionally send him?]
[ There will be no harmful effect anyway. ]
The old manughed.
[Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. If only I can deal one blow to that damn Star Stream. But is there a chance?]
[ If he seeds, he will be closer to the ¡®result¡¯ than anyone else. ]
[...Than anyone else? It is funny you are saying that when you have already seen the ¡®result.¡¯]
The old man grumbled.
[Whether he seeds or fail, it will be a loss for you anyway.]
Secretive Plotter shook his head and replied,[ It isn¡¯t me who will judge it. ]
***
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking violently.]
As my consciousness flickered, a chill went down my spine.
[The Outer World Covenant is protecting your existence.]
I felt like I was going somewhere as I had a few dreams. It was a dream about the party members.
-Dokja-ssi is always looking at the smartphone. What is Dokja-ssi¡¯s number?
-...We can¡¯t call him anyway so what is the point?
-Just let me know. I¡¯ll send him a game invitationter.
A game invitation. I really hoped I would get it in the future.
-Dokja-ssi seems tough more often after the fall.
-By the way, Ahjussi is a bit unlucky when he smiles.
-Isn¡¯t it worth changing his mouth shape.
-I wish Dokja-ssi could¡¯ve been my senior.
The second hand of a clock was ticking somewhere.
-I never hated Dokja-ssi like I do today. Come back.
The beginning and end of the unknown story were pushing me. I relied on my memories like a small raft moving through a vicious current. In the endless void of the universe, only my memories were floating. Maybe this was how Biyoo... Shin Yoosung of the 41st round felt.
Not longer afterwards, a message was heard.
[The Viceroy¡¯s Dimensional Door is closed.]
[The Star Stream has noticed your presence.]
By the time I came to my senses, I was crouched on the floor and vomiting. I felt the touch of the hard ground and slowly opened my eyes.
[You have entered the new scenario area!]
[The dokkaebis of the bureau have doubts about your existence.]
The stiffened joints of my incarnation body screamed. I used Hit a Pressure Point to restore my body as quickly as possible. I didn¡¯t know where this was but I had to be nervous from now on.
Secretive Plotter himself wasn¡¯t in the original novel so Ways of Survival couldn¡¯t help me with the things that happened here.
¡°Kuk...¡±
The ces eaten by the Indescribable Distance were painful but I somehow recovered with a Great Return Pill. My horns and wings disappeared because the Demon King Transformation was over.
[It is impossible to use Demon King Transformation at the present time.]
I didn¡¯t forget to thoroughly check the equipment and ced the necessary items in a position where I could use them immediately. The first thing I checked was the personal scenario window.
[You can¡¯tunch the sub-scenario window.]
[The information for this scenario hasn¡¯t been updated yet.]
...The scenario update wasn¡¯t applied yet.
I looked around at the wreckage of the broken buildings. The copsed high-rise buildings and the debris of the logos between them. The characters that made up the logo were familiar. There was Hangul and also English. Thenguages of second-grade tribes were also found.
I stopped for a moment and read them. Slowly, an ufortable feeling rose from the tip of my feet. Where was this ce?
[The Star Stream has recognized your modifier.]
[Your position in the night sky will be refreshed!]
[The bureau is wary of your presence.]
[You have been assigned a hidden scenario!]
[Hidden Scenario ¨C World Adaptation has been acquired!]
[You have acquired a new story!]
...Don¡¯t tell me? I started running through the streets. An unrecognizable ruined city. Even so, I was able to recognize this ce. It was strange if I couldn¡¯t recognize it. It was because my nightmares originated from this city.
The status of Yi Sunsin that only had the legs remaining and the destroyed Absolute Throne. The carcasses of beasts scattered everywhere and the remnants of giant tentacles gave off a terrible stench.
¡°...Seoul?¡±
Nevertheless, there was no time to think. I heard the sound of an explosion and hide among the ruins in my area. A loud shout was heard. People were fleeing from something. No, looking closer, it wasn¡¯t people.
They were constetions in incarnation bodies. The considerable number of constetions were shouting in their true voices.
[Run away!]
[Dammit...!]
Their words didn¡¯t finish. The feet of an elephant descended from the air and the incarnation bodies burst like worms. I watched the scene breathlessly. The elephant¡¯s feet contained an irresistible ¡®status¡¯ and dragged the dead incarnation bodies somewhere.
Crazy, what the hell was this?
After the elephant disappeared, I carefully escaped through the ruins and headed cautiously towards the bodies. There were a few items to collect on the floor. I looked at the items and controlled my mind.
Stay calm. No matter how dangerous this ce was, there was a chance of winning if I obtained information. If this was still a scenario area, Ways of Survival was still valid.
[The attribute effect has improved your memories of the pages already read.]
What type of scenario was this? The incarnation bodies of the constetions were present and the fragments of the outer god were scattered...
[The 95th main scenario is in progress.]
[The Outer World Covenant has reced yourcking probability.]
[You aren¡¯t a formal participant of the scenario.]
[The Star Stream doubts your eligibility.]
Their hairs on my arm stood up.
...How many?
[The item ¡®Arondight ¡® has been acquired.]
I stared nkly down at the item I had collected. A constetion¡¯s star relic was rolling around on the streets. I... skipped a few years? I wondered how the party members were doing.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
.Jung Heewon. Lee Hyunsung. Shin Yoosung.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ is cancelled.]
[You can¡¯t connect with the current target.]
[The ¡®character¡¯ can¡¯t be found.]
I tried to calm my trembling heart. I needed to be calm. Nothing was certain yet. I took deep breaths to control my mind and expressed the power of a constetion. I nned to explore the surroundings through a channel, if there was one nearby.
At this moment, a sound was heard in the area. It was the sound of a powerful strike along with the constetions¡¯ screams. The moment I reflexively tried to hide between the buildings, I could see a ck coat fluttering.
For a brief second, I felt my heart stop. Scarred muscles could be seen through the torn sleeves of the coat. I looked at the trajectory of the sword against the ground and emotions filled my heart.
He was alive, although he wasn¡¯t exactly the same as what I remembered. His physique was a bit bigger, his impression was a bit sharper and there was arge scar on his cheek. There was no way I couldn¡¯t know him.
¡°Yoo¨D!¡±
I opened my mouth but something faster than sound flew at me. I would¡¯ve died instantly if I hadn¡¯t invoked Bookmark and Way of the Wind. Even though I dodged, there was a big stab wound in my side. I covered the wound and looked at him with a confused expression. By the time I looked up, he was already in front of my eyes.
I was suffocated as he gripped my neck. My voice didn¡¯te out so I had to use my true voice.
[Hey! Yoo Jonghyuk, it¡¯s me!]
Maybe too much time had passed. It took me longer than I thought so he might¡¯ve forgotten about me.
[Let me go. It¡¯s me! You already forgot...]
A terrible pain hit my belly and I felt like I was going to fall unconscious. I thought it was a terrible joke. Or perhaps he was so angry that he was acting like this. Then Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s cold voice was heard. ¡°Where is Arondight? Do you have it?¡±
At this moment, a cool sensation grazed my neck. The moment I first met Yoo Jonghyuk on Dongho Bridge came to mind. He had simr eyes. It was the eyes of a person who didn¡¯t know me.
¡°I will kill you if you don¡¯t answer within five seconds. Oh.¡±
Really, it was the eyes of a person who could kill me.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Character Summary List.]
[A system error has urred.]
¡°Four.¡±
[The information of the character can¡¯t be summarized!]
[The information of the character can¡¯t be summarized!]
Along with a terrible headache, a terrible amount of information started flowing in.
¡°Three.¡±
I groaned and changed the setting of ¡®Character List.¡¯
[The minimum number of items specified by the user is shown.]
I saw the information rising before my eyes and was upset. I thought I knew all the endings of Ways of Survival.
+
[Character List Summary]
Name: Yoo Jonghyuk.
Constetion Support: ???
Private Attribute: Regressor (1863rd round) (Myth), Ruler of Amusement (Legend), Iron Blood Supreme King (Legend), Demon King yer (Myth), Eternal Solitude (Quasi-myth), Horror of the Stars (Myth)...
Exclusive Skills: Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. ???, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. ???, Thoughts Vine Lv. ???, Hundred Steps Godly Fists Lv. ???, Red Phoenix Shunpo Lv. ???, Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship Lv. ???... (Omitted).
Stigma: Regression Lv. ???, Transmission Lv. ???]
.....
* The skill level of this person can¡¯t be converted to a numerical value!
* The stigma level of this person can¡¯t be converted to a numerical value!
....
+
However, there was only one. There was one regression where I didn¡¯t know the end. A man who lost all his colleagues and finally saw the final chapter of the story in front of him.
¡°Two.¡±
The monster whose emotions were worn out by countless betrayals and numerous regressions were watching me. Along with the pain that pierced deep into my chest, the words left by Secretive Plotter revolved in my ears.
[ Let¡¯s say you reach the end of everything using your method and save the world. Then what about the other worlds? ]
[ What about all the worlds you didn¡¯t save? ]
In the sky of the ruined Gwanghwamun, the dying stars were shining. This wasn¡¯t the third round of the Star Stream that I changed. I changed the future and the worlds of the original novel were abandoned. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s de moved through the air.
¡°It looks like you aren¡¯t going to answer. Then die.¡±
It was the 1863rd regression of Ways of Survival. This world was thest round of Yoo Jonghyuk that I knew about.
Chapter 285 - Demon King Slayer (1)
Chapter 285: Episode 54 ¨C Demon King yer (1)
The most imaginative thing I¡¯ve ever read was Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.
-What if Ways of Survival became a reality?
Perhaps anyone would¡¯ve imagined such a thing with their favourite novel. I did as well. Maybe it was due to the endless imaginations in my youth that I was able to adapt to Ways of Survival. Once the scenario started, I would do this first and then do this. This hidden piece would be obtained...
During middle school, I even drew charts in the corner of my textbook.
-Yoo Jonghyuk: A professional gamer, an awful personality, a psychopath, kills if words don¡¯t work (sometimes just kills), have to unconditionally bring him to my side, humanity still remains in the third round...
I had been d when I first realized I had fallen into the third round of Ways of Survival.
I came to a world I could change and thought it was really fortunate. If I had fallen into thest round...
¡¸ Kim Dok ja thou ght. ¡¹
There was no existence that could stop him.
¡¸ Sh¨Dit. ¡¹
I shouted with all my straight as I saw the de flying towards me.
[Wait! Stop! I said stop!]
A person who regressed more than a thousand times. A spirit that had be insensitive from the hundreds of suicides and tragedies that an individual could suffer. The extremely widespread regression depression...
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk of the 1863rd round is the despair of the world itself. ¡¹
I acted the moment the de was about to pass through my neck.
[The special skill ¡®Miniaturization Lv. 10¡¯ is activated!]
My body shrank in an instant and the de passed through the air. The man¡¯s startled eyes were seen from over the de. This damn guy. Did he think I came here to die? This might be the 1863rd round but he was mistaken if he thought I would obediently die.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ is activated!]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification¡¯ Lv. 12 (+2) has been activated.]
I knew I wasn¡¯t his opponent. However, I still had to try my best. My body moved at lightning speed as I yelled, ¡°Son of a bitch! You have to let me talk to you!¡±
The indirect messages poured from the air along with my cry.
[Some constetions have noticed your presence!]
[The constetion ¡®Adventurer who Stands Up an Egg¡¯ is interested in your appearance.]
[The constetions ¡®King of Ephemera¡¯ is interested in the fight between you and ¡®Iron Blood Supreme King¡¯.]
[Some constetions feel strong jealousy towards you.]
[1,000 coins have been sponsored.]
The 95th scenario of the 1863rd regression. The world might be like this but there were still constetions giving donations. The nature of the sponsorship was a bit different but...
Yoo Jonghyuk red at me with a stiff expression. ¡°The Baekchung School? Strange. I¡¯m sure he is out of action in this round...¡±
This person¡¯s brain circuits had be twisted after over 1,000 regressions. He would¡¯ve finished judging whether to kill or spare me based on the actions I had shown so far. It was scary.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
It was because I was afraid that I had to read it now. Thus, I could get out of this situation.
[You have an insufficient understanding of the person and can¡¯t activate the second stage!]
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ stage 1 has been activated!]
...Icked understanding. My pride was a bit hurt but I thought it would be like this. This was Yoo Jonghyuk of the 1863rd round, not the Yoo Jonghyuk I knew. It might just be the first stage but I had to invoke it. I might not be able to read the details but even knowing the attack direction would help.
¡¸ Neck. ¡¹
The moment that Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thought was transmitted, I withdrew with all my might.
Even this guy wouldn¡¯t be able to easily catch me. It was because I was now using Way of the Wind and Electrification.
¡°...Keok?¡±
I didn¡¯t know if I had turned my body first or the dark shadow had moved ahead of me first. My breath was blocked and my vision darkened. It was a feast of magic power that seemed to hurt my whole body. I flew through the air like an electrocuted fish. A tremendous amount of magic power shook my body.
[Some constetions areughing at you.]
It was the face of Yoo Jonghyuk that was seen in front of me. His hands were crushing my torso. My neck hurt like it was broken as it was held between thumb and index finger.
I couldn¡¯t believe it. This might be the Yoo Jonghyuk of thest regression but how could he catch me so easily when I used Electrification?
¡°I will ask you a final time.¡±
I realized the moment I heard his cold and apathetic voice. It was stupid to think I could avoid it by knowing the direction in advance. The person in front of me wasn¡¯t the young Yoo Jonghyuk of the third round.
¡°Where is the dragon sword, Arondight?¡±
...How could I speak when he was holding my neck?
¡°I see Lancelot¡¯s incarnation body here so you must surely know...¡±
Ah, the constetion who just died was Lancelot? Shit.
¡°If you don¡¯t answer, I will it out of you.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes shone with a golden light. As a matter of fact, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s foundations remained unchanged, whether it was the third or 1863rd regression.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used Sage¡¯s Eyes Lv. ???!]
After over one thousand regressions, his Sage¡¯s Eyes had reached a formidable level. Perhaps the presence that wasn¡¯t visible now in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes was the outer god that had lived for a long time.
[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall has blocked Sage¡¯s Eyes!]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
The moment Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Sage¡¯s Eyes focused on my body, the wall moved. The Fourth Wall stood firmly in front of the persistent gaze that didn¡¯t want to miss a single piece of information. There were stronger sparks than when I had encountered the Unidentified Wall.
¡¸ No t bad. ¡¹
This time, the Fourth Wall looked formidable. At this point, I couldn¡¯t tell if the Fourth Wall or Yoo Jonghyuk was the great one. The Fourth Wall didn¡¯t back down and Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t give up. It was me who was fried between them. It was so painful that I couldn¡¯t scream, even with my true voice.
¡°Kuek...?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk raised his power first. The collision was so strong that golden circles swirled in his eyes.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is feeling apetitive spirit.]
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is showing great hostility towards you!]
This was a barrier that couldn¡¯t be prated even with Sage¡¯s Eyes. Once again, I realized what a great skill Fourth Wall was.
Then something strange happened. The Fourth Wall was able to prevent Sage¡¯s Eyes and started to flow like water over Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hand. The typed letters covered his body like insects and for the first time, Yoo Jonghyuk sounded disconcerted. ¡°What?¡±
The wriggling letters became memories that flowed like a panorama. They were my memories of the third round that were recorded on the Fourth Wall.
¡¸ ¡°Get your hand off me and get lost, you damn jerk!¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Maybe not. In any case, I am hopeful about the situation.¡±
¡°...What is so hopeful about it?¡±
¡°Jonghyuk, we can save the world. Don¡¯t you know?¡± ¡¹
¡¸ The name of our neb is... Kim Dokja¡¯s Company...¡±
¡°There isn¡¯t a name yet. In addition, we will gain the supporters now.¡± ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯tprehend the memories in front of him. They were all things that didn¡¯t exist in this round. The sparks that almost blinded me eased and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression became clearer.
¡°What are you...?¡±
The ¡®1843rd round¡¯ made an astonished expression. I heard the voice of the Fourth Wall in my head, as if it thought this round was interesting.
¡¸ I did we ll Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
Did it do well?
¡°Tell me. What is this? I¡¯ll tear you apart if you don¡¯t say it.¡±
What did it do well? Shit.
[Kuek... no, wait! I need some time to answer!]
I exploded the blue-white energy as I was held in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hands. I was struggling to escape from him. This might not be enough but I would at least buy some time until I could borrow the power of the ¡®giant story...¡¯
Then something unexpected happened. There was an explosion and Yoo Jonghyuk missed me. There was a surprised and confused expression. Yoo Jonghyuk reached out with sluggish movements. I wanted to know what happened but I couldn¡¯t miss the opportunity I had just gained.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 11 (+1) is activated!]
Way of the Wind was activated and the blue-white energy made a trail through the air. I thought he would chase after me quickly but I didn¡¯t feel Yoo Jonghyuk right away. I looked back and saw an unexpected sight.
...What was this?
The moment I had the question, a deafening true voice echoed in the expanse.
[Yoo Jonghyuk! I will repay the grudge of Immeasurable Austerity!]
Red and blue eyes red from the roof of a nearby building. Two ck leopards with streamlined buildings emanated a strong energy as they fell towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Easiness and Atrocity¡¯ is showing hostility towards incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
[The demon king ¡®Eyes that See the Forbidden¡¯ is showing his teeth to incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
Yoo Jonghyuk of the 1863rd round was stronger than anyone else but he had many enemies. Thanks to this, I could identify the two leopards without much difficulty.
Devil of Easiness and Atrocity, Ose. Eyes that See the Forbidden, uros. They were the 57th and 64th demon kings of the Demon World.
The prideful demon kings forgot their shame and unleashed a pincer attack towards an incarnation.
However, it wasn¡¯t shameful.
[Demon King yer! Your story will end here!]
Right now, Yoo Jonghyuk was an existence full of value. I buried myself in the rubble as there was a deafening roar. Then I carefully watched the situation. It was a sh I couldn¡¯t afford and I thought I should move away, but I had a desire to watch the fight a bit more.
It wasn¡¯t another fight but the fight of the 1863rd round Yoo Jonghyuk. It wasn¡¯t easy to see. My ears seemed to burst and the battle began.
[Many constetions are enthusiastic about the battle of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
Indirect messages poured out as Yoo Jonghyuk pulled out his sword. It was the Heaven Shaking Sword that was already broken in the third round. The de had gone through a number of scenarios and had been upgraded to apletely new level, shining brightly in the darkness.
The demon kings facing him also revealed their power.
[Creatures, rise from death!]
The dead earls and dukes of the Demon World became undead and emerged from the ground. They held elite objects that preserved thebat power of their lives.
However, Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t panicked at all. ¡°It is Summoning the Dead? The Devil of Principles also used it.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was smiling.
¡°That bastard¡¯s body is now hanging among the dead constetions.¡±
[Shut up!]
A light shed and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword moved. What should I call this swordsmanship?
...Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship? I didn¡¯t know. The certain thing was that it was an amazingly beautiful swordsmanship. It was also a surprisingly cruel swordsmanship.
The nobles of the demon world were cut by the sword and screamed as they turned to ash. They were high-ranking dukesparable to great-grade constetions. Such beings exploded with a few swings of the sword.
In less than a minute, Yoo Jonghyuk killed dozens of undead nobles and reached the nose of uros.
[How...]
Like a toy, the head of Demon King uros exploded.
There were no emotions in his eyes. There was a single blow with a sweet smile. Yoo Jonghyuk killed a demon king.
[This... this crazy bastard!]
The Demon King Ose shouted angrily.
[Constetions! Why are you hesitating?]
The moment the call was heard, the constetions hiding in the ruins came out. Most of them were constetions of the absolute evil system. They ranged from great-grade to narrative-grade. Every constetion rushed to get rid of one incarnation, Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is talking about the story of ¡®Eternal Damnation.¡¯]
However, Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t pushed at all. A bloody aura overflowed from his body and collided with the constetions. It was a scary and powerful force but the blow was calm and full of moderation. Every time Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword moved, the ranks of the constetions shook helplessly.
[The constetions of the absolute good system hate the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯.]
The incarnation bodies of the constetions exploded one by one. The high-ranking constetions could look so shabby. There were no signs of impatience as Yoo Jonghyuk continued the battle.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is talking about the giant story ¡®Lonely Pilgrim of Destruction.¡¯]
Yoo Jonghyuk was only using his ¡®left arm¡¯ to destroy the constetions. Every time a constetion fell, my arms trembled.
[The constetions of the absolute evil system are shocked by thebat ability of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯.]
Hatred became shock.
[Some constetions of the absolute evil system are afraid of the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
Shock became fear.
[Many constetions are trembling at the power of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
It was thrilling. Crazy guy... he was a really crazy guy.
No matter how I thought about it, there was no way to bring down the current Yoo Jonghyuk.
I didn¡¯t know what scenario Secretive Plotter gave me but I must never be enemies with this guy until it was over.
Then a message was heard.
[The sub scenariomissioned by ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ has arrived!]
Chapter 286 - Demon King Slayer (2)
Chapter 286: Episode 54 ¨C Demon King yer (2)
Finally, the message I had been waiting for had arrived. Secretive Plotter¡¯s personal scenario.
+
[Sub Scenario (Secretive Plotter) ¨C ???]
Category: Sub (Personal)
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: ???
Time Limit: ¨D
Compensation: Can return to the original round with a legendary story (1), a skill (1) and an item (1) (The probability required will be born by the scenario proponent).
Failure: Unable to return to the original turn, your incarnation body will be destroyed.
+
The moment I opened the scenario window, the thing that caught my eyes was the pensation.¡¯
[The bureau is currently suspicious of your probability.]
I wasn¡¯t a member of this ¡®regression.¡¯ Therefore, even if I got an item, skill or story in this turn, I wouldn¡¯t be able to preserve it after returning to my original world. It was just like how the 41st round Shin Yoosung was weakened so badly that she could be hit.
However, if the reward was true... I could take the things obtained in this round because to my original world.
It was a tremendous reward. No matter how much the probability was constrained, the spoils of the 95th scenario would match the 95th scenario. The skills and stories avable here had the power to transform the world in the 20th scenario.
¡¸ Don¡¯t be too ex hi rated Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
I barely calmed down at the Fourth Wall¡¯s words. In fact, it wasn¡¯t a situation where I could rejoice. The rewards for the scenario was high but the cost of failure was just as huge. If I failed, I couldn¡¯t go back to my original round and would lose my incarnation body.
This wasn¡¯t the turn I belonged to so the influence of my ¡®stories¡¯ weren¡¯t big. In such a situation, I could end up killed by a probability storm if I lost my incarnation body. Moreover, this wasn¡¯t the biggest problem.
[The clearance conditions for this scenario are being updated.]
The most importance clearance condition hadn¡¯t been updated. I didn¡¯t know if it was an error from crossing dimensions or if Secretive Plotter was deliberately dragging out the time.
Frankly, it was possible either way. I thought as I watched Yoo Jonghyuk fighting in the distance. If I was Secretive Plotter, what clear conditions would I ce on this scenario? Based on the movements of Secretive Plotter so far...
It was an ominous thought.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Reading Comprehension¡¯ is activated.]
Secretive Plotter. I was expecting him to be Crawling Chaos but the true identity of the outer god was unknown.
He had been with me since my first channel opened but I had very little information about him. He wasn¡¯t arrogant like the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven, full of justice like Uriel, wicked like the Abyssal ck me Dragon... he wasn¡¯t even present in the original Ways of Survival. He was merely Secretive Plotter.
[You can¡¯t read the target with the information you have.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Reading Comprehension¡¯ is cancelled.]
[Curiosity about the unknown is leading to a new ability.]
...I didn¡¯t know. What was he trying to show me through this scenario? In addition, what did he want to gain?
There was never a case where the outer god had done this so I couldn¡¯t easily guess. Only one thing was certain.
[Kuaaaack!]
This scenario was likely to be connected to the monster ughtering the constetions over there.
[That¡¯s it! Now! Everybody pincer attack him!]
[Die Yoo Jonghyuk!]
As I was briefly distracted by the scenario window, the battlefield was flowing in an unexpected form. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s condition was strange. A little while ago, he had been killing the constetions and overwhelming the battlefield...
Now his movements were dulled. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body was stiffening under the pouring bombardment.
...What was this bastard? What happened?
I adjusted the setting of Character List to check his condition.
+
* Currently in an abnormal condition.
+
Abnormal condition? There was no way. Who was the 1863rd regression Yoo Jonghyuk? This was Yoo Jonghyuk who was the Ruler of the East Hell and killed the Devil of Principles. There was no one among the constetions who could ce an abnormal condition on the present Yoo Jonghyuk.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes were nk.
I felt ufortable like something was stuck in my throat. No, there was. There was only one person who could cause an abnormal status in Yoo Jonghyuk.
+
* The target is suffering from ¡®regression depression¡¯ due to an unknown cause.
+
It was Yoo Jonghyuk himself.
Regression depression. The spirit of the man who had been broken over 1863 lives made the regression depression almost a passive, low level skill. Once he fell into the depression, his consciousness was caught in the weight of his memories and he couldn¡¯t wake up.
[Kill him! He isn¡¯t invincible!]
The ruthless strikes caused Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body to bleed little by little. It was strange. Originally, the regression depression shouldn¡¯t ur in this situation. In the 1863rd round, Yoo Jonghyuk had learnt how to manage this disease.
Why was he in this current state...
¡¸ The Fourth Wall is saying, ¡°Ha ha ha.¡± ¡¹
¡°...Was it your doing?¡±
The Fourth Wall didn¡¯t answer but it was the only guess I had. The previous collision with the Fourth Wall must¡¯ve caused some disruption in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s inner surface.
Damn, what should I do?
Blood flowed from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s skin as he protected his face. The power of Imprable Skin was still applied but it was only a matter of time before Yoo Jonghyuk died.
¡¸ I have to help. ¡¹
¡¸ Why should I help him? ¡¹
The choices were fighting in my mind.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk is a monster now. If I help, he will surely kill me when he wakes up. ¡¹
¡¸ Think carefully. You don¡¯t know the clear conditions of this scenario. ¡¹
The clear conditions were still question marks.
¡¸ If the condition to clear the scenario is Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s death, this is a golden opportunity. ¡¹
However¡ª
¡¸ What if the clear condition is Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s survival... ¡¹
If Yoo Jonghyuk died, I would lose everything.
¡°Damn...¡±
Should I help or not?
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s knees were slowly sinking to the ground. The normally weak guys were excitedly tearing at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body.
[Hahahat! I will have the story of the Iron Blood Supreme King!]
Yoo Jonghyuk would regress even if he died here. Then he would start a new round.
Regression...
[ Then what about the other worlds? ]
...Fucking plotter.
[ What about all the worlds you didn¡¯t save? ]
Once Yoo Jonghyuk died here, a world that wasn¡¯t in the original novel would be born. Yoo Jonghyuk would repeat the hell yet again. An abandoned world that Secretive Plotter showed me would be created and Yoo Jonghyuk would once again crawl in the infinite despair.
...Shit, I didn¡¯t know.
I activated Electrification and flew towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
[Hey! Leave me a share too!]
At my rough true voice, the demon kings and constetions attacking Yoo Jonghyuk looked up.
[Who are you?]
[...Demonic energy? I¡¯ve never seen you before.]
[Do youe here to kill the Demon King yer?]
Demonic energy flowed from my body and I could see the enemy¡¯s tenseness being released. It was as expected. I spoke as I pulled out my status. [That¡¯s right. We will share the good things together. It isn¡¯t possible?]
[You camete so you can¡¯t have the good stories.]
[Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll only help from the back.]
[A good attitude. Now, everybody continue...!]
I turned and struck the constetion with all my strength. The constetion let out a scream as he flew in a straight line and hit a ruined building.
[K-Kuooh... what are you doing?]
I wanted to hit him to death but wascking. The constetions were angry by my abrupt actions and stared at me.
[Are you siding with the Demon King yer?]
I didn¡¯t reply and opened up the power of the giant story.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has begun!]
The pulse of the story stirred deep in my heart. Sparks surrounded my body as the story energy flooded through my blood. Some of the constetions saw my ¡®giant story¡¯ and screamed with shock.
[The status of a demon king? From a guy I¡¯ve never heard of?]
Of course, I wasn¡¯t a demon king of this world. I once again concentrated the power of Electrification and blew away a constetion. The constetion was hit in the belly and took a few steps back. It wasn¡¯tparable to Yoo Jonghyuk but the effect wasn¡¯t bad. I might be able to fight if it continued like this.
[An error has urred in the operation of the story.]
[The Star Stream can¡¯t find the origin of the giant story owned by you.]
[The power of the ¡®giant story¡¯ is sharply reduced.]
...Shit. It was like this. The basis of my giant story, the 73rd Demon Realm wasn¡¯t here. We made up the giant story together. Thus, it was natural that my story didn¡¯t work properly.
I swung my sword at the approaching constetions and shouted at Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Hey! Wake up you jerk!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. I tried to think of lines to wake up him but I couldn¡¯te up with anything. My status started to decline and Demon King Ose, who rose again on the battlefield, shouted.
[He is with the Demon King yer! Kill him!]
There were seven constetions, including Demon King Ose. I naturally couldn¡¯t deal with them with my current power. I desperately evaded the attacks but the 95th scenario was the 95th scenario.
They might be ordinary constetions of the absolute evil system but the blows hurt. My flesh was frayed by the onught and the range of my movements became narrower.
Despite the urgency, I continued to think of ways to wake up Yoo Jonghyuk. Some things came to mind that would definitely wake up Yoo Jonghyuk.
The problem was what came next. If I woke him up using the methods I was thinking of, I was likely to die.
I bit my lips and slowly opened my mouth. There was no way. In any case, I expected it to happen like this. I briefly took a deep breath and opened my mouth. ¡°How long will you keep your mouth shut?¡±
The expressions of the constetions changed at my words. Their eyes wondered what I was talking about.
I continued speaking. ¡°It will be difficult for them if I die here.¡± The next moment, the pockets of my chest shone brightly and a true voice was heard.
[What, you knew?]
Of course, I wouldn¡¯t wake up Yoo Jonghyuk. I might die if I did something crazy like that.
¡°It would be strange if I didn¡¯t know. I don¡¯t have a flower arrangement hobby.¡±
Two flowers emerged from the inner pocket of my coat. It was a red cosmos and a white lily. I hadn¡¯t noticed their existence in the beginning. I realized when I crossed worlds. They were really daring constetions.
[Che. There is no other way.]
The moment they realized the identity of the true voice, theplexion of the constetions hostile to me darkened. The ¡®lily¡¯ughed at them.
[Should we bothe out? Or Jophiel, will you do it alone?]
[They are enemies of Eden. Immediately execute them.]
[...Do you want to do it together? How annoying. Okay, I understand.]
The next moment, the petals of the cosmos and lily scattered in the wind. The petals moved towards the sky and a message shed in front of me. I looked at the message for a moment before slowly nodding.
A huge presence started to descend behind me. Astonishment appeared on the faces of the constetions and I couldn¡¯t helpughing.
I was curious. I had wondered what Jung Heewon felt like at the time. Now I knew very well.
Six wings stretched out from behind me. I overflowed with probability as the ¡®status¡¯ of Eden¡¯s best archangels was discharged from my body.
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ has appeared in Seoul!]
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ has appeared in Seoul!]
Chapter 287 - Demon King Slayer (3)
Chapter 287: Episode 54 ¨C Demon King yer (3)
TL Note: Ack of gender words in Korean means that sometimes the gender of a character is ambiguous. This chapter was the first time a gender pronoun appeared for Gabriel, showing that she is female, not male like previously assumed.
[Archangel!]
Demon King Ose was looking to this side with eyes that were frightened beyond surprise. It was the same for the constetions of the absolute evil system. For them, the archangels of Eden were the worst enemies.
It wasn¡¯t strange that they would be shocked at the sight of two archangels emerging simultaneously.
[Why are there archangels? The angels of Eden mostly died after that day!]
I heard the murmurs and felt regret. This was the world of the 1863rd regression. Gabriel and Jophiel wouldn¡¯t know what happened in this round.
[¡öck, what nonsense is this?]
Gabriel¡¯s true voice rang out like she had been waiting. Like Uriel, Sswear words emerged from her mouth. I had to stop her before things became bigger.
¡°Gabriel. You don¡¯t need to listen to their nonsense. Quickly handle them!¡±
[...Don¡¯t whine at me. Cheeky human.]
There were ces to tackle but she had to follow the words this once. Gabriel¡¯s power filled my entire body.
[I am the archangel Gabriel.]
I could feel my hairs standing up. Finally, Gabriel¡¯s main story was heard.
[I have been sent to tell you this good news.]
Of course, that ¡®good news¡¯ only applied if Gabriel was on the same side.
[Don¡¯t be scared! The archangels are nothing but remnants who have lost their stronghold!]
Demon King Ose encouraged the constetions. However, as he was talking, Oso was already moving far away. It happened when the constetions held their star relics and rushed towards me.
[This is about the fixed end.]
Gabriel¡¯s story, the ¡®Revtion of the Apocalypse¡¯ had begun.
¡¸ You have seen a ram with two horns, the great horn between the eyes is the first king. ¡¹
Golden strings flowed from my body. The size of my body was growing along with the strings. My body was overflowing with power like a ram in breeding season. Pure white horns rose in the ce where the demon king¡¯s horns had grown.
[U-Uhhhh...]
The constetions of the absolute evil system were frightened just looking at the horns. Some constetions dropped their weapons like helpless incarnations and some of them rushed around screaming.
[Uwaaah!]
It was like they saw their end.
¡¸ He will be stronger and stronger with his own power, not my power. ¡¹
The six wings behind my emitted a brilliant sh of light as the attacks of the constetions poured towards me. Even so, I didn¡¯t receive any damage.
The solid metal summoned before my eyes neutralized all types of attacks. It was a weapon that the giant god n were likely to use. The snake shining with a white light climbed up the shaft and the snake¡¯s eyes were studded with a dazzling windowpane reminiscent of a cross.
This was Gabriel¡¯s divine speak, the Preference Scale. I grasped the handle of the spear. All of a sudden, the world felt like it was tilting. All beings in the vicinity were ced on a scale. They were on one side of the scale or the other.
I turned my head and Gabriel was smiling. Her palms touched my shoulder.
¡¸ He willmit terrible destruction and shall destroy the mighty and holy people. ¡¹
The spear shone brilliantly and I threw it with all my might.
Then part of the world was erased. The constetions attacking me from the sky, those running from the side and even the ones who had lost their fighting spirit and had sunk to the ground. They disappeared like they never existed in this world. The only things left were the existences on this side of the scale.
This was the true power of the archangel. Gabriel opened her mouth and spoke in a grudging voice. [...I missed one. There was a limit to the number of petals.]
In fact, Demon King Ose had anticipated the situation in advance and had already fled. He knew that he couldn¡¯t cope with an archangel alone as a lower-ranked demon king. However, Jophiel didn¡¯t just watch.
A red fog was generated behind me and followed Ose. The whole world screamed like it was in pain. It was apparently a red fog but when I looked closer, it was an army of small soldiers.
The 503rd unit of Eden turned the sky red. It was the elite unit that followed the Commander of the Red Cosmos.
[Kueeeeok!]
Red thorns rose from the bloody fog that moved like piranhas. A terrible scream was heard in the distance as the soldiers of heaven held a festival of blood. Then after a while, everything became silent.
The torn incarnation body of the demon king flew in the wind like crumbs. The silent Gabriel moved my feet and trampled on the fragments of the demon king.
[It¡¯s nothing.]
[The constetions of the absolute evil system are greatly baffled by the emergence of the archangels.]
[The demon kings are doubting the probability of the Star Stream.]
[Some constetions have condemned the abnormal intervention of the archangels...]
[Shut up these ¡ö¡ö.]
The six wings stretching from my back flew through the wind as countless feathers and the power of the archangels diminished.
I felt a bit nauseous but the burden on my body wasn¡¯t as severe as I thought. Maybe it was because the amount of probability in the 95th scenario was much more abundant or maybe it was the Outer World Covenant with Secretive Plotter. Either way, it was good for me.
[It isn¡¯t finished yet.]
However, Jophiel didn¡¯t retract her strength. Jophiel continued by giving amand. [Kill him too.]
She was pointing to Yoo Jonghyuk who was as stiff as a statue. I hurriedly waved my hands. ¡°There is no need. He isn¡¯t a bad guy...¡±
[He is absolutely evil.]
My right eye stung and the world started to look different.
[The stigma ¡®Eye of Sin¡¯ is triggered!]
Eye of Sin. It was Archangel Jophiel¡¯s stigma.
[Measuring the ¡®sins¡¯ of the target.]
The eye that saw the ¡®sins¡¯ umted in every existence in the world. There was only a dark abyss in the ce where Yoo Jonghyuk had just been standing.
[The ¡®sins¡¯ of the target can¡¯t be converted to a numerical value.]
A darkness with no end. It was a darkness that got worse just by looking at it. Even the demon kings or constetions of the absolute evil system didn¡¯t have such huge sins.
Jophiel spoke. [It is an endless sin. I have never seen such a dense sin apart from Baal and Agares. All the sins in the worldbined can¡¯t go beyond his sins.]
I knew. Yoo Jonghyuk hadmitted many sins. He killed many people. He destroyed many worlds. Countless souls cursed him.
[He must die.]
However¡ª
¡°It isn¡¯t possible.¡±
This person, he also saved others.
¡°You can¡¯t kill him.¡±
Maybe it was nothingpared to everything he screwed up. Obviously, there were some things he saved.
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is looking at you.]
In front of that sullen gaze, I gulped and opened my mouth. ¡°This guy is still useful. You shouldn¡¯t kill him now.¡±
[...Demon King of Salvation. It is because of the scribe¡¯s orders that you are still alive.]
¡°You spared me so you can spare one more person.¡±
I looked back and saw that Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body was lightly shaking. His consciousness was somehow struggling to emerge from the water.
Jophiel spoke towards Yoo Jonghyuk. [If he wakes up, there is no guarantee that I can stop him. We have to kill him now.]
Jophiel tried to summon her fog again. I inwardly sighed. No matter what I thought, this was the only way.
¡°What if I can stop him from waking up without killing him?¡±
Jophiel¡¯s red fog stopped.
¡°What if there is a way to stop him from regaining consciousness while controlling his unconscious self?¡±
[Is there a way to bind him? What trick are you going to use?]
The moment Jophiel was about to explode again, Gabriel stepped in.
[Jophiel, leave it. In any case, we need time to figure out the situation.]
Jophiel thought for a moment before responding. [...If he shows signs of waking up, I will kill him immediately.]
I nodded. Then I ran straight to Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Hey.¡±
The vibrations of his body were bing stronger. I had seen this scene several times in the original novel. Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s consciousness would wake up in a few minutes. It was difficult if that happened.
I slowly moved my hand and grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s neck. Just as he did to me. It wasn¡¯t easy to raise him up because he was bigger than me.
¡°Let, go.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s consciousness had almost reached the surface of the water and he spoke in a choppy manner. His fingertips moved slowly like he was trying to catch me.
I knew how to wake up Yoo Jonghyuk from his regression depression. In other words, it meant I also knew how to sink him deeper into that mncholy.
I saw Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fingertips moving and opened my mouth. ¡°Do you remember? The 33rd round. You cleared the 40th scenario and Lee Jihye said this.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes dimmed and his moving fingertips stopped.
¡¸ ¡°It would be nice if Master didn¡¯t have to go to the next round.¡± ¡¹
¡°Think about it. You weren¡¯t always unhappy. Right? In all the rounds, there were moments when you were happy.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression was bing stiffer.
¡°The 173rd round. You protected Earth for quite some time. You also saw Lee Jihye receiving her high school diploma and Lee Seolhwa smiling at someone¡¯s child.¡±
¡¸ ¡°Jonghyuk-ssi, are you happy that you¡¯re alive?¡± ¡¹
Every time I spoke, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression copsed. It wasn¡¯t despair that broke down Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°The 383rd round. You finally cleared the 75th scenario. Fortunately, nobody died in that round. That was the first time. Then Lee Hyunsung told you.¡±
¡¸ ¡°Jonghyuk-ssi, I won¡¯t forget today until I die.¡± ¡¹
The feather-like memories sank into his head.
¡°Then the 498th round...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s palms moved to cover his ears. The usual Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t have fallen from this much. Now it was different. I held his hands and kept talking. ¡°That happened 10 times.¡±
A human sank deeper into the water just because of the weight of these feathers.
¡°Twenty times.¡±
My breath clogged up and my lungs tightened. I could feel what Yoo Jonghyuk was going through. Only I could feel it. The most primitive darkness at the bottom of one person was swallowing his ego greedily.
¡°100 times. It repeated over 1,000 times.¡±
All those words were destroyed. All the happy memories flowed back to a time they could never return to. Through the countless regressions, the meaning of happiness faded. All the values he preserved became pieces of torn paper.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s self was sinking into the deep sea. It was to a ce that he could nevere up from without someone¡¯s help.
¡°Have you protected all the things you wanted to keep?¡±
I looked at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s miserable face and thought: Don¡¯t worry Yoo Jonghyuk. I¡¯ll do the rest. You stop and rest.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is increasing explosively.]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s empty eyes were showing memories of losing his master. I didn¡¯t use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint but it wasn¡¯t hard to read.
¡¸ I want to die. ¡¹
¡¸ I want to finish all of this. ¡¹
¡¸ If only I can never wake up. ¡¹
A few drops of rain fell from the sky. It was ck rain made from the blood of the demon kings and constetions. Liquid also flowed onto Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s gaze lowered and finally fell on me.
I was looking at the moment a human¡¯s spirit copsed. There was a broken voice. Like a creaking machine, Yoo Jonghyuk stammered, ¡°Wh,at... should, I, d...o?¡±
I released Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hands and told him. ¡°I¡¯ll finish your story.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at me with empty eyes. However, I didn¡¯t see him. The sub scenario window had just updated.
+
[Sub Scenario (Secretive Plotter) ¨C End of the Regressor]
Clear Conditions: Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s death.
+
I reached for Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Heaven Shaking Sword that was on the ground.
Chapter 288 - Demon King Slayer (4)
Chapter 288: Episode 54 ¨C Demon King yer (4)
A day passed since I arrived in the 1863rd round.
The Gwanghwamun area was wet from the dark rain that had been falling sincest night. Soon after the rain started, the monsters crouching between the ruins woke up one by one. There was the monster that looked like an elephant that I saw when I first got here and one that reminded me of a huge octopus. The most frightening thing was the baby that was the size of a huge building.
There were many types of outer gods but not all of them were named ¡®Eater of Dreams¡¯ or ¡®Indescribable Distance.¡¯ Most of them were ¡®unnamed¡¯ and existed without a proper ego.
I watched the baby in a diaper pushing through the city like a bulldozer and hid while holding my breath.
...To be honest, I probably needed the diaper more than the baby.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is looking at you.]
It had been a few hours since the archangels fell asleep, stating that they would save their energy.
The white lily in my coat trembled as if it had regained power. Gabriel.
¡°Have you woken up?¡±
[Why did you make that choice?]
¡°What choice?¡±
[Do you need to ask?]
¡°There was no other way.¡±
I heard a creaking and crushing sound in the distance. The moment I thought something else had happened, I saw the torn off leg of the elephant monster. There were signs that it was torn off by a powerful force. Someone dragged the severed leg and approached this way. It was the real monster of this scenario, Yoo Jonghyuk.
Like a sigh, the petals shook again. [I thought he would die... why is he holding a sword?]
¡°He could¡¯vemitted suicide. Well, I don¡¯t think that will happen now.¡±
I spoke while swinging Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Heaven Shaking Sword through the air. It wasn¡¯t surprising but I didn¡¯t kill Yoo Jonghyuk.
Gabriel was silent for a moment before muttering in a small voice. [What does Uriel like about this guy...?]
¡°Uriel? Ah, is Uriel well?¡±
[How should I know?]
It was a reaction that seemed a bit excessive. The moment I was about to ask, another indirect message came.
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is looking at you.]
The difficult angel had also woken up. Jophiel woke up and got straight to the point. [Did you decide to keep him alive?]
I epted the elephant¡¯s leg that Yoo Jonghyuk had brought instead of answering. It was a leg that was very fleshy. It gave off a very rich and clear story. I faced Yoo Jonghyuk who stared at me with empty eyes. Jophiel opened her mouth again.
[Don¡¯t you know that you shouldn¡¯t keep him alive? The scenario you received is...]
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s death.¡±
It would¡¯ve been nice if I could lie but it was toote to deceive the archangels. They would¡¯ve seen the scenario window that I saw.
-Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s death.
It was the scenario that Secretive Plotter gave me. I had to kill him in order to return to the original third round.
¡°As I¡¯ve already mentioned, it is difficult to interpret this scenario as it is.¡± The death proposed by Secretive Plotter might not be the ¡®death¡¯ we thought about.
The archangels were silent. They didn¡¯t seem to understand my words. I flipped the elephant¡¯s leg and calmly dered. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk can¡¯t ¡®die.¡¯ As archangels, you should already know this?¡±
I could feel the gazes of the two angels on me.
[What does that mean?]
¡°This guy is a regressor.¡±
In the early scenarios, the information I just mentioned would¡¯ve been filtered but now it was different. The scenario was a scenario but by now, rumours about the ¡®regressor¡¯ should¡¯ve spread quite a bit. Thus, the high-ranking constetions of Eden would know it.
The red cosmos leaves shook uneasily. [...Don¡¯t tell me?]
I nodded. ¡°He is a being who repeats his life forever. No one can kill him. If he dies, he will just move onto another round.¡±
[How do you know this?]
¡°Why was Uriel keeping an eye on me?¡±
It was best to respond to questions that couldn¡¯t be answered was with more questions. Jophiel trembled as if controlling his anger.
[Then... what are you going to do now? If you can¡¯t kill him, you can¡¯t return to your original round.]
I shrugged and ced the roasted meat into my mouth. ¡°I have to think about a way. There is plenty of time.¡±
At my calm response, an unusual air flowed around the two flowers. I was nervous because I thought they wanted to express their ¡®status¡¯, only to suddenly hear a strange sound.
It was a growl that wasn¡¯ting from my stomach. It didn¡¯t seem to be Yoo Jonghyuk either.
...Then? I bowed my head and saw the two flowers looking away.
¡°Are you hungry?¡±
***
[Gabriel, how long are you going to stand by?]
[I¡¯m not standing by. I¡¯m just watching. If it wasn¡¯t for Uriel, I would¡¯ve killed him...]
Gabriel, who was stuck in a stic bottle, answered while sucking up water through his stem. Beside her, the cosmos of Jophiel was likewise inserted into a bottle of water.
In the distance, Kim Dokja was saying something to Yoo Jonghyuk. Gabriel stared at him nkly and asked,
[That Uriel, is she well?]
[Focus on the mission, Gabriel.]
[No, I¡¯m worried. Uriel always gets into trouble when she is left alone.]
[...I see. Do you actually like Uriel?]
[What nonsense! Have you found a way to go back yet? How long are we supposed to stay with them?]
Gabriel¡¯s petals fluttered and Jophiel replied, [I¡¯m looking for a way but it seems hard.]
[Why? No matter how different the world line, there must be Eden here. If you ask the scribe here for help...]
[There is no reply from the scribe.]
[What?]
[It isn¡¯t just the scribe. I can¡¯t contact anyone from Eden.]
Eden couldn¡¯t be contacted? It was strange, no matter how much the world had changed. Due to the constraints of the scenario, it was impossible to return to their original ¡®constetion context.¡¯ It was frustrating.
Gabriel sighed and sucked up water again. [What? They were fighting and holding each other by the cor a few hours ago...]
In the distant ce, Kim Dokja seemed to be stroking Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s head. Looking at this scene, Gabriel was reminded of Uriel and herself. It was different but there was some resemnce.
...Comradeship?
For a very short time, Gabriel seemed to understand why Uriel liked them.
***
¡°Eat the soil, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk started to silently eat the soil. I was startled and smacked him in the back of the head. ¡°Why are you really eating it?!¡±
I wanted to test it but I didn¡¯t know he would actually follow my order. The Yoo Jonghyuk I knew would¡¯ve never done this. However, the regression depression hadpletely devoured his ego and for the time being, Yoo Jonghyuk was in a stupid state. Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at me nkly.
I sighed with somepassion. ¡°How good would it be if the usual you was so calm? You are better than the third round bastard.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°...Spit it out.¡±
I watched Yoo Jonghyuk spitting out the soil and remembered another Yoo Jonghyuk that I knew. I didn¡¯t know if he was okay. It would be nice if he hadn¡¯t lost his mind by the time I came back. I entrusted it to Yoo Sangah so I hoped things would turn out well.
¡°Now lie down there and get some rest, 1863rd Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
At my words, Yoo Jonghyuk trudged towards the ruined building. I could see the sun setting in the distance. The sunset of the 95th scenario was still glowing. I looked at the haze and felt strangely peaceful. It was strange. In this horrible scenario, I could indulge in this appreciation.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja needs to kill Yoo Jong hyuk. ¡¹
...No, I didn¡¯t. Fortunately, there was no deadline for the scenario that Secretive Plotter gave me. I turned my head and saw Yoo Jonghyuk curled up with a foolish expression as he waited for my orders.
¡°Sleep.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk understood my words and closed his eyes. Since the scenario started, Yoo Jonghyuk had never slept properly. Maybe this was the ¡®first sleep¡¯ for Yoo Jonghyuk. It was the first sleep where he was freed from all his memories.
Once Yoo Jonghyuk waspletely asleep, I turned on my smartphone. The phone desktop contained the text of Ways of Survival as usual. However, there was something different this time.
-Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.txt
...What? Wasn¡¯t it the ¡®third revision?¡¯ I suddenly got goosebumps. Was it because I came back to the original round? Then it changed back to the original text, not the revised one?
I opened the file with a confused mind. The file was the original Ways of Survival that I knew. Maybe this was better. It was important to obtain information about this round if I wanted to think properly about the future. I quickly moved the screen to the 1863rd round and read all the information thoroughly.
¡¸ I lost Lee Hyunsung in the 54th scenario. ¡¹
I read the story, read it and read it again.
¡¸ In the 67th scenario, Lee Seolhwa was killed. ¡¹
He lost, lost and lost more people.
¡¸ Lee Jihye died in the 78th scenario. ¡¹
The Yoo Jonghyuk of this round waspletely alone. In fact, it wasn¡¯t only this round. In all of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s rounds, he had to leave alone. It was the same life even until the end.
¡°...Poor guy.¡±
I didn¡¯t know the epilogue of Ways of Survival. The one thing I could be sure of was that Ways of Survival didn¡¯t have a happy ending.
...What if I didn¡¯t go back to the third round? What if I stayed here and helped Yoo Jonghyuk of thest round clear the scenario?
¡¸ The Fourth Wall says, ¡°Kim Dok ja, that...¡± ¡¹
I know.
¡¸ Ye s. ¡¹
This was the trick hidden in Secretive Plotter¡¯s scheme. Perhaps Secretive Plotter expected this and gave me a scenario. It was why the scenario had no time limit.
Kill Yoo Jonghyuk here and return to the original world. Or see the conclusion of the scenario with Yoo Jonghyuk here.
This was the idea of the ¡®outer god.¡¯ Theughable thing was that I was really shaken by the proposal. If I looked at the person here... I wouldn¡¯t see the ending I really wanted. But if I killed him here, the original ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ would disappear forever.
My head hurt as I thought about it. If I wanted to kill Yoo Jonghyuk, I had to end Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s regressions. However, his sponsor didn¡¯t speak and I didn¡¯t know the identity. I didn¡¯t know if it was fortunate or not.
I sighed and scrolled through Ways of Survival again. Then I felt a cold feeling down my spine.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is warning you!]
In the distance, the two flowers in the stic bottles were shaking. It was a strong rm. Was it an outer god?
¡°You¡¯ve been hiding here, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The moment I reflexively tried to turn around, I felt an eerie prediction. If I turned around now, I would die. I clearly had this feeling. It was a degree of stealth that could fool my constetion senses. It was clearly an unquantifiable existence. The presence was nearby?
¡°What are you? Are you Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯spanion?¡±
I got a sense of deja vu from the voice. It was clearly a voice I knew. I turned my head slowly enough so that the enemy wouldn¡¯t feel threatened. Behind me was a woman with a familiar appearance. For a moment, my mind was awash with panic.
...How on earth? I hadn¡¯t thought about it. It was because this person was already dead in this ¡¯round.¡¯
¡°Well, there is no need to know. I¡¯ll kill him anyway.¡±
The smiling Admiral Lee Jihye smiled as she pointed the Double Dragon Swords towards me.
Chapter 289 - Demon King Slayer (5)
Chapter 289: Episode 54 ¨C Demon King yer (5)
¡°Destroy, Double Dragon Swords.¡±
At Lee Jihye¡¯s words, magic power exploded from the two swords. Something resembling a blue dragon flew forward to tear at my neck.
The Double Dragon Swords. The strongest swords on the Korean Penins and the relic of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare shone. I looked at the trajectory of the Kendo and used Way of the Wind and Electrification.
¡°Eh, you became smaller? Where did this incarnatione from?¡±
Admiral Lee Jihye. She survived up to the 95th scenario and was one of the 100 most powerful people in Ways of Survival.
However, this was a story for when she was ¡®alive.¡¯ If I remembered, in the original novel, the Lee Jihye of the 1863rd round had died long ago. Then who was the Lee Jihye in front of my eyes?
I flew at an altitude that the Double Dragon Swords couldn¡¯t reach me and shouted, ¡°Lee Jihye, stop! I¡¯m not an enemy!¡±
¡°What, you know me? Indeed, I am a bit famous.¡± She muttered shameless words and took a pose.
I knew what this technique was.
Instant Kill. A great skill in Ways of Survival and a fearsome skill that killed any opponent with one blow.
¡°Do you really think I can¡¯t cut a small bug like you?¡±
I faced Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes and got goosebumps. Then Lee Jihye disappeared in an instant. An invisible sword was aimed at my neck and I instinctively knew what would happen next.
I cried out, ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
A shadow as big as a house covered my eyes and the strong sound of metal colliding was heard.
Yoo Jonghyuk blocked the sword by my side and Lee Jihye swung the Double Dragon Swords at Yoo Jonghyuk.
There was a small scratch on the de of the Heaven Shaking Sword. Instant Kill was a powerful technique. If only the opponent wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk.
In the 1863rd round, Yoo Jonghyuk was closer to a killing machine than anyone else. His decision couldn¡¯t be reversed. Once he decided to kill someone, he would kill them.
Yoo Jonghyuk broke through the threshold of transcendence and swung his sword. Lee Jihye was pushed by the power gap and crashed to the ground. Yoo Jonghyuk, who held the upper hand, fell towards Lee Jihye.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Stop!¡± I shouted as there was a loud roar from the ground.
I saw Lee Jihye falling in the dust and Yoo Jonghyuk aiming at her. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t stop at my words. Sparks of probability were around him. The regression depression was releasing.
¡°Happy memories! Happy memories!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk paused.
¡°Don¡¯t kill her! You can¡¯t kill her!¡±
I didn¡¯t know why this Lee Jihye was alive. However, there was one thing I knew. At the very least, Yoo Jonghyuk shouldn¡¯t kill her. Lee Jihye rose from the dust and shouted, ¡°What are you doing? Come on Supreme King! This time I will kill you!¡±
It seemed this wasn¡¯t the first time Lee Jihye and Yoo Jonghyuk had shed. I couldn¡¯t understand no matter how I thought about it. It was strange that the dead Lee Jihye had survived, let alone be enemies with Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Wait! Lee Jihye, stop this! We have no intention of fighting!¡±
Lee Jihye didn¡¯t stop. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s movements had be passive because of my order. Lee Jihye¡¯s de cut the skin and blood flowed from Yoo Jonghyuk. In the regression depression state, he couldn¡¯t take effective defense measures.
However, if I gave an attack order then he would rush at Lee Jihye like before... shit. I was still maintaining Electrification so I climbed onto Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s shoulder and shouted at Lee Jihye. ¡°Stop it, you brat! Yoo Jonghyuk is your master!¡±
¡°Master? What is this bullshit? I¡¯ve never had this monster as a master.¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes shone fiercely. ¡°My master is a much more wonderful person.¡±
A five coloured aura flowed from Lee Jihye¡¯s de. I reflexively activated Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. No matter what the attack, it was easy to avoid if the direction was known.
[The skill activation is cancelled due to ack of understanding about the person!]
...Even if my understanding with Yoo Jonghyuk was low, something was strange. Lee Jihye wasn¡¯t such aplicated human being. At the very least, the Lee Jihye that I knew...
[The character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has activated the stigma ¡®Song of the Sword Lv. 10!]
Was she going to do this? Then I had an idea. I strongly gripped Unbroken Faith and invoked a stigma.
[The stigma ¡®Song of the Sword Lv. 5¡¯ has been used.]
Lee Jihye¡¯s expression was shocked as she confirmed the five colours rising from my de. She hadn¡¯t seemed to notice yet. In any case, this stigma relied on ¡®chance.¡¯ Let¡¯s see who was luckier.
Lee Jihye was the first yer. Strings floated in the air and the writing of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare flowed.
¡¸ The 10th day. Clear skies. After eating breakfast, I went to work in Donghun. ¡¹ (TL: Central building where government affairs of the local area were performed)
Bingo. I could see Lee Jihye¡¯s expression distorting. Song of the Sword was a skill developed based on the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s diary. If there was no luck then an effect wouldn¡¯t be triggered.
Then it was my turn.
¡¸ The 28th day. Clear skies. I fired 10 rounds of five with the bow. In five rounds, I hit all targets. In two rounds, I hit four targets and in three rounds, I hit three targets. ¡¹
A fire bolt poured out from my de. Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes widened and she stepped back.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at you with astonishment.]
Lee Jihye put out the fire burning her cor and screamed, ¡°Who are you? How are you using my sponsor¡¯s stigma?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s have a conversation.¡±
¡°I will cut off your limbs and then you will answer straight.¡±
Perhaps my attack had irritated her but Lee Jihye¡¯s expression became a bit serious. ¡°I don¡¯t know what sponsor you have but they will receive a big injury.¡±
Lee Jihye pulled out a new sword. Surprisingly, it was an item that I also knew. The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. In all the rounds that I had read about, there was no memory of Lee Jihye holding the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
¡°The Big Dipper! Give me strength!¡± At Lee Jihye¡¯s cry, several stars shone in the sky.
The Big Dipper originally consisted of seven constetions. However, this was thetter scenario and only four stars shone because some had died. Dazzling light poured from the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword as it evolved into a star relic.
It was obvious what Lee Jihye was going to do. The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword had the terrible power to break the link between sponsor and incarnation for a short time.
By the way, Lee Jihye¡¯s expression towards me was strange. ¡°You... there are no links?¡±
Of course. I was now one with my incarnation body.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
The astonished Lee Jihye took one step back. Then it was my turn. I pulled out the same sword that Lee Jihye was holding.
¡°H-How?
How on earth?¡±
I leapt from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s shoulders and held onto the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword that let out a dazzling brilliance. The moment that the careless Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes widened, the trajectory of Way of the Wind moved over her head. There were explosive sparks and Lee Jihye shrieked with pain.
¡°Aaaaack!¡±
The star of the Maritime War God defending her flickered. I backed away.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is angry at you!]
...I understood. I had been nning to break the Maritime War God¡¯s link to Lee Jihye in order to neutralize Lee Jihye, but it failed.
Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes turned white. The Duke of Loyalty and Warfare of the 95th scenario was about to descend in front of my eyes. I hurriedly checked the water in the surrounding area. Everything was over if the Ghost Fleet was summoned here.
The tributary of Cheonggyecheon was rising in the air. (TL Note: A stream) There were sparks as the illusions of the Ghost Fleet started to appear one by one.
Dammit. I reflexively looked at the stic bottles behind me. To be precise, it was at the flowers plugged in. Should I borrow the archangels¡¯ power? Would they lend their strength? The Lee Jihye in front of me wasn¡¯t ¡®evil.¡¯
¡°Duke of Loyalty and Warfare. Please stop.¡±
Then a serious man¡¯s voice was heard. A bear-like man¡¯s hand pointed at Lee Jihye¡¯s shoulder.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is furious!]
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is sending out a cold gaze!]
It was a battle between constetions. It was the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare who stepped down first. The Ghost Fleet¡¯s illusions disappeared and Lee Jihye copsed on the ground. Then a man emerged from behind Lee Jihye.
¡°You were here as well.¡± I stared nkly at the man. I didn¡¯t know how many times I would be surprised today.
¡°What are you doing, Hyunsung ahjussi? He is on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s side!¡±
¡°That hasn¡¯t been figured out yet.¡±
The 25th or the 95th scenario. The third round or the 1863rd round... Lee Hyunsung was the Lee Hyunsung I knew.
I barely managed to hold back a few tears.
¡°I am Lee Hyunsung. Can I ask for your name?¡±
¡°...I am Kim Dokja.¡±
Lee Hyunsung seemed to have suffered a lot and I could see a thick scar on his forehead. There were countless scars on his tight steel-like muscles.
I tried to calm my confused mind. Like Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung was a person who couldn¡¯t be alive right now. In the 1863rd round, Yoo Jonghyuk lost all hispanions.
Lee Hyunsung said, ¡°Dokja-ssi. We have no intention of being hostile to you. We just need Yoo Jonghyuk over there.¡±
It was a nice smile but I could read the calm behind it without much difficulty. This Lee Hyunsung had made it through 94 scenarios. If I threatened him even a little bit, Lee Hyunsung would try to remove me in a more thorough and effective way than Lee Jihye.
I inquired in a calm tone, ¡°Why do you need Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°He has the key to clearing this scenario.¡±
I knew what the 95th scenario was and could see that Lee Hyunsung¡¯s words were true. By the way, that wasn¡¯t the only thing I was curious about.
¡°How many people are in your group?¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°If you have reached the 95th scenario then you must have a group.¡±
¡°Ah, my group is Jihye...¡±
¡°If you lie to me one more time, I won¡¯t trust your words in the future.¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s expression hardened. I continued speaking, ¡°Are you the leader? Is it Lee Hyunsung-ssi?¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s eyes were shaking. Indeed, he was a man who wasn¡¯t good at hiding his emotions, no matter how much time passed.
¡°That...¡±
The blurred eyes gave me confidence. Lee Hyunsung and Lee Jihye were in the same group but they weren¡¯t the leader. This ¡®1863rd round¡¯ wasn¡¯t the 1863rd round I knew.
My head calmed down because a definite hypothesis was in it. In hindsight, many things could be understood. My understanding of Yoo Jonghyuk was strangely low. The reason why Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung survived when they should be dead.
There was someone else besides me. Someone who wasn¡¯t in the original novel was active in this round.
¡°If you want Yoo Jonghyuk, please guide me to your leader.¡±
Lee Hyunsung shook his head. ¡°It is difficult. I don¡¯t know what you and Yoo Jonghyuk intend...¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have to be so vignt. As you can see, I¡¯m weak and the current Yoo Jonghyuk is safe. He listens to my words pretty well.¡±
¡°What a piece of shit! How can that bastard listen to anyone?¡±
Lee Jihye had a pretty good understanding of Yoo Jonghyuk. Lee Hyunsung was also full of disbelief.
¡°Kim Dokja-ssi, are you Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯spanion?¡±
...Companion.
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t believe it. I know that Yoo Jonghyuk has nopanions.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll show you the evidence. Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at me.
¡°Pick up your sword.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk picked up the Heaven Shaking Sword.
Lee Jihye cried out. ¡°Only that much...!¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk,e here.¡±
As Yoo Jonghyuk approached, the terrified Lee Jihye hid behind Lee Hyunsung. ¡°Hyunsung ahjussi! Be careful! He¡¯s going to attack¨D¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, sit down.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk sat down.
Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung¡¯s mouths were wide open. It was truly amazing. The Yoo Jonghyuk they knew would never do something like this. I felt a bit sorry for him but it should be fine since I was beaten up a lot yesterday.
Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung looked like they were watching a circus and I smiled at them. ¡°What else do you want to try? Should I feed him dirt?¡±
They nced at each other after hearing my words. Lee Jihye waved her hands and Lee Hyunsung gave a deep sigh.
¡°...Follow me.¡±
***
Their base wasn¡¯t far away. However, due to the ¡®unnamed things¡¯ that appeared along the way, it took longer than I thought. It took around two hours as we wandered around the ruins avoiding the monsters.
In the distance, a building that seemed to be their stronghold appeared.
¡°This is the ce.¡±
There, I met a person wearing the same coat as me.
Chapter 290 - Demon King Slayer (6)
Chapter 290: Episode 54 ¨C Demon King yer (6)
¡°Hey, Lee Jihye.¡± A man waved towards us while speaking in a typical gangster tone. The white coat hanging from his shoulder was unmistakably the Infinite Dimension Space Coat. Thus, it was the same coat as mine.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is frowning.]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is showing displeasure.]
The flowers were shaking in my coat¡¯s inner pocket.
...This guy was the leader? The surging shock made me momentarily dizzy. I reflexively looked back at Yoo Jonghyuk but I couldn¡¯t share my shock with Yoo Jonghyuk who had be a fool.
I looked back at the man again. He had a bandage wrapped around one hand and he was half-leaning against a door as heughed while pushing back white hair.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja is an i diot. ¡¹
...No matter how I thought about it, he couldn¡¯t be the leader. In the first ce, this ¡®coat¡¯ was something that could be easily obtained by the 95th scenario.
Lee Jihye frowned. ¡°Kim Namwoon.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°I told you to pretend not to know me. Now get lost. I have to go in.¡±
¡°Uh, uh...¡±
Kim Namwoon faltered in front of Lee Jihye¡¯s words. Lee Jihye red at Kim Namwoon like he was pathetic.
¡°In addition, don¡¯t steal Master¡¯s coat. I¡¯ll kill you.¡±
¡°...Don¡¯t you want to wear it once?¡±
Lee Jihye mmed open the door and entered the building. As if overwhelmed by Lee Jihye, Kim Namwoon¡¯s gaze followed after Lee Jihye¡¯s back.
...Come to think of it, their rtionship was exactly the same as it was in the original novel. There were many new things that emerged in my mind. Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung and Kim Namwoon...
Curiosity and an unknown fear coiled deep in my heart. What happened in this round? As I was distracted for a moment, Kim Namwoon looked at me.
¡°Who are you? That coat looks like mine?¡±
[The character ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ is showing vignce towards you!]
I remembered the first time I met him. Kim Namwoon¡¯s head was blown up on the subway. If Kim Namwoon was still alive... would it have felt like this?
¡°Hey soldier, who is this person? Fuck! It is Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
Kim Namwoon discovered Yoo Jonghyuk behind me and quickly stepped back.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is baring his teeth.]
Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon. In this turn, the Abyssal ck me Dragon had picked his original incarnation.
Yoo Jonghyuk raised his head at the hostility directed towards him and Kim Namwoon flinched. ¡°You are still cool... did youe to fight, Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Kim Namwoon¡¯s hands were trembling and I couldn¡¯t tell if he was excited or afraid. Maybe it was both. It was Lee Hyunsung who blocked the atmosphere from bing worse. ¡°Namwoon, these people didn¡¯te to fight.¡±
¡°What? Then why did theye?¡±
¡°That...¡±
I stepped inside the building without listening to their conversation.
¡°Wait a minute! Kim Dokja-ssi!¡±
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s voice was heard behind me but my desire to check the interior of the building was greater. If my idea was correct... This building was the very ¡®building¡¯ that Yoo Jonghyuk envisioned in the early rounds.
I entered and a spacious room appeared. It was the size of a warehouse of argepany. From arge door next to me, a bed carrying a patient rushed in. There was one emergency patient.
¡°Don¡¯t y around and move the patient over here!¡±
I quickly pushed the bed over. There were people in white coats gathered.
¡°A story pack! Bring a story pack!¡±
¡°This patient is allergic to animal-rted stories!¡±
They were all trained in medical skills. The one leading them was a woman wearing small rimless sses. A woman looked at the patient¡¯s pierced stomach and thighs and asked me about the details of the patient.
¡°Where did this patient get hurt?¡±
I stared quietly at her. A woman who was called ¡®Poisoner¡¯ or ¡®Righteous¡¯ depending on the rounds. She was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s lover in some rounds and enemies in others.
I wore a white coat and was mistaken to be a doctor. I looked at the patient¡¯s details and answered, ¡°Perhaps he was hit by an unnamed thing. It seems that the tentacles contaminated the wound.¡±
¡°Indeed... um?¡±
Lee Seolhwa slowly blinked at me.
[The character ¡®Lee Seolhwa¡¯ has received a strange feeling from you.]
¡°Who are you?¡±
Who should I say? No, she wouldn¡¯t know no matter what I said.
¡°Hey Ahjussi, what are you doing? Come along quickly! Bring Yoo Jonghyuk with you!¡±
I left the bemused Lee Jihye and walked up the stairs with Yoo Jonghyuk towards Lee Jihye.
The inner walls of the building were made of a transparent material so the structure of the whole building came into view as I climbed up.
Patients were constantly pouring into the emergency room on the first floor. They were incarnations injured by confronting outer gods or constetions.
It wasn¡¯t strange. Such tragedies had bemonce in the 95th scenario. I remembered the 95th scenario of the 1863rd round.
I turned my attention outside the building and saw the ruined scenery of Seoul. There were nebe emitting smoke and sleeping outer gods. Above them were dark crystals covering the sky.
[Apocalypse Dragon Sealing Ball]
This seal was the core and goal of the 95th scenario. Gather five scattered keys and release the Apocalypse Dragon. Once the Apocalypse Dragon was released, destruction woulde to the and those whopleted the scenario would automatically go to the next scenario.
However, this 1863rd round was different from the 1863rd round I knew.
-A first-grade monster has appeared on the river side!
Radio waves were spreading through the building. As we climbed the stairs, I could see the scene in the situation room that had bright panels shining.
-I strongly rmend that you withdraw the forces dispatched to Seocho! The Archangel of Fire has appeared.
-We have found the Holy Sword Ascalon in Nowon! We are currently engaged with dozens of unnamed things! Please send support!
Numerous messages came and went and one person was managing everything. He had curly hair. A boy wearing a headset with dark circles under his eyes.
...No, he wasn¡¯t a boy anymore. I looked at him with a strange feeling.
Hermit King of Shadows, Han Donghoon. The child, who didn¡¯t be a ¡®king¡¯ in the round I lived, sat in a ce where his talent could shine. White light emerged from Han Donghoon¡¯s fingertips and hispleted the calctions quickly.
-Min Jiwon-ssi and her Hwarang and Maitreya Cha Sangkyung will be in charge of the Nowon area.
-The incarnations of Olympus must be hit first before they attack.
-You must secure the holy sword Ascalon. Hurry!
Familiar names were heard in the messages. Min Jiwon and Cha Sangkyung. Those who had the Lady of the Brocade Sleep and One-Eyed Maitreya as their constetions survived to the 95th scenario.
¡°Why are you looking like that?¡± Lee Jihye watched me from the side and poked me.
I hesitated to answer before telling her honestly. ¡°...It is more amazing than I thought.¡±
Lee Jihye was surprised by my answer and hesitated for a moment. ¡°Well, my master is really great. It is all thanks to Master. That person did it alone.¡±
Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Seolhwa, Min Jiwon, Cha Sangkyung, Han Donghoon... in addition, Kim Namwoon. All the people who should¡¯ve died in the original 1863rd round were alive. Furthermore, their level of their armed forces was high and the size of their force was formidable.
In a sense, it was better than the third round that I lived... no, it was the level I had always hoped for.
My head throbbed.
Someone I didn¡¯t know had changed the history of the 1863rd round. The tragedy that should¡¯ve happened didn¡¯t happen and humanity was fighting.
Yoo Jonghyuk hadn¡¯t lost any colleagues yet. Maybe... I didn¡¯t have to go back to the third round. I could see the proper ending here.
Lee Ji-hye told me, ¡°We will go to the end of the scenario with Master.¡±
The moment I heard this, an eerie and cold sensation filled my chest. Clearly, there was everything present in thisndscape. Apart from one thing.
I turned around and saw Yoo Jonghyuk standing with a nk expression. I couldn¡¯t tell whether or not Yoo Jonghyuk was looking at this scenery. I didn¡¯t know if he was grieving or rejoicing. All I could know was about myself.
¡°Why do you hate Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°It is because he is a bad guy.¡±
¡°Why is he a bad guy?¡±
¡°Are you really asking because you don¡¯t know?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°That person won¡¯t hesitate to kill for his own goals.¡±
It was true. I asked, ¡°Is that all?¡±
¡°Do you need another reason?¡±
That¡¯s right. Maybe this reason alone was sufficient. However...
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought, ¡®You don¡¯t know why Yoo Jonghyuk did those things.¡¯¡¹
I took a deep breath. This wasn¡¯t Lee Jihye¡¯s fault. No one had done anything wrong. Rather, everyone was doing so well that perhaps it made me angry.
¡°Who is the Master you are talking about?¡±
¡°Go to the top floor of the building. Take the elevator over there.¡±
I nodded and moved to the elevator. Yoo Jonghyuk followed behind me and Lee Jihye pulled out her sword. ¡°Leave Yoo Jonghyuk here.¡±
It was as expected. I alternated looking between Yoo Jonghyuk and Lee Jihye. I heard a dinging sound as the elevator arrived.
I approached Yoo Jonghyuk before boarding the elevator. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, think happy thoughts and wait. Do you understand?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk nodded.
¡°However, if someone tries to harm you... remember the memories of the most unfortunate days.¡±
¡°What are you doing now?¡±
Lee Jihye felt a strange nuance from my words. I ignored her and got on the elevator.
¡°Hey! Answer me! What did you mean by what you said to Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
I knew how important this ce was to Lee Jihye. Naturally, someone¡¯s precious thing was a weakness.
¡°If you¡¯re curious then try touching him. Although I wouldn¡¯t if I was you.¡±
The door of the elevator closed.
3, 4, 5...
Gravity increased as the number of floors of the building changed. The numbers changed while my brain moved faster than ever.
Who was it? There were a few potential candidates. Those who could read information of the future and change the future. Anna Croft and some constetions of a certain neb. However, none of them could do something like this.
No matter how good they were, they were still part of the original novel. It wasn¡¯t possible to make a change to the original events with their power alone.
9, 10, 11...
Then there was only one answer. Besides me, there was another being outside the original. Still, there were some weird points. Even if it was an existence outside the original, there was no reason they could progress so perfectly to the 95th scenario. In a way, it resembled me... At this moment, I got goosebumps.
...Don¡¯t tell me? There were the Yoo Jonghyuks in other rounds. If so, what about me?
Dding.
I shook my head the moment the elevator made a sound. ording to the revised version of Ways of Survival, I didn¡¯t exist in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s other rounds. After a few more rounds, there was no ¡®me.¡¯ If there was, the revision itself would be different.
Thus, the existence likely wasn¡¯t me. The one thing that bothered me was Secretive Plotter.
[ Actually, there was another person beside you who made a covenant. ]
The door opened. Then a room reminiscent of a hotel suite appeared. It was a dim room where the fire was extinguished. There was a soft carpeted floor. I saw a figure sitting on the chair.
¡°Hmm... you are the one Lee Hyunsung mentioned.¡±
Along with the voice, a silver light lit up the room. The first thing I saw in my dim vision was the sword on the table. The sword boasted a pure white luster. I knew this sword well. It was because it was my Unbroken Faith. As I looked at the sword, the person sitting on the chair spoke.
¡°It is a good sword. As the name implies, it doesn¡¯t break.¡±
¡°I know. I¡¯m using it too.¡±
¡°Really?¡±
The person sitting on the chair was covered in a ck half mask. I stared at the eyes visible beyond the half mask. It had changed by the winds of the scenario but there was no doubt.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Character List¡¯ is activated!]
Originally, it was a skill that shouldn¡¯t work. I used it a few times and I knew it well. Then why did I try it again?
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Character Summary List.]
Maybe it was because I hoped it wouldn¡¯t work. I looked at the information in front of me and felt somewhat heavy. Maybe she didn¡¯t know.
What terrible loneliness did I feel right now?
¡°Okay, where did youe from? I¡¯ve never heard the name Kim Dokja.¡±
I should¡¯ve noticed it from the beginning. She was the only person who knew the existence of Ways of Survival apart from me. She was the only one who could¡¯ve done this in the first ce.
...But how? It was pointless to ask. There was a part I needed to know from now on. However, there was one thing I could know. This wasn¡¯t the one from the third round that I knew.
I looked at the woman with a bob cut and asked, ¡°Are you Han Sooyoung¡¯s avatar?¡±
Chapter 291 - Happy Memories (1)
Chapter 291: Episode 55 ¨C Happy Memories (1)
One day in the past, Han Sooyoung had said,
-The first time I tried creating a clone using Avatar... I gave away too many of my memories and it went out of control.
¡°...How interesting. Where did you hear that?¡±
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ is curious about you.]
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has increased.]
Han Sooyoung¡¯s clone was looking at me with interest. Her eyes were so vivid that I couldn¡¯t help doubting if she was really a clone for a moment. However, the real Han Sooyoung wouldn¡¯t be soposed.
¡°I have familiar with your main body. She has a loose mouth.¡±
¡°Hmm... it is a childish provocation but I will let it pass this time. Your idea is wrong. I¡¯m not Han Sooyoung¡¯s clone but the real Han Sooyoung.¡±
¡°What?¡±
The shape of this smiling mouth was undoubtedly Han Sooyoung.
¡°I have memories that she doesn¡¯t have.¡±
¡°Memories? What memories?¡±
¡°Unlike her, I am tight-lipped.¡±
I grasped the hilt of the sword at my waist.
¡°I heard that clones will live even if their heads are cut off.¡±
In any case, I hadn¡¯te here to waste time. The Unbroken Faith in my hand cried out violently.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung.¡¯]
The whole suite shook from the ¡®status¡¯ I released. I heard loud noises from below but Han Sooyoung wasn¡¯t nervous at all.
¡°...Demon king. You are bigger than I think.¡±
The next moment, I realized why she wasposed. A of probability spread over the entire room. The status that I emitted suddenly fell sharply.
[This area is a Non-aggression Zone.]
[You are prohibited from fighting in the area for the next hour.]
A Non-aggression Zone...
¡°Did you make a deal with the dokkaebi?¡±
¡°It is necessary for a person who can control Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
I decided not to think of her as a mere ¡®clone¡¯ anymore. Maybe as she said, this was the real Han Sooyoung.
Then a system message was heard.
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has triggered the Eyes of Truth!]
Eyes of Truth. It was a ¡®attributes detection¡¯ skillparable to Anna Croft¡¯s Great Demon¡¯s Eye. In this short time, Han Sooyoung tried to read my information.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
[The Fourth Wall haspletely broken down the Eyes of Truth...]
Sparks flew and Han Sooyoung hurriedly cancelled the skill. ¡°You have a tremendous skill.¡±
Han Sooyoung wasn¡¯t greedy. She didn¡¯t try to break the Fourth Wall like Yoo Jonghyuk and didn¡¯t panic like Anna Croft. This calmness wasn¡¯t the Han Sooyoung that I knew.
Han Sooyoungughed like it was fun. ¡°You can cut off my headter. Shall we y a game? Do you know the Divine Three Questions and Answers?¡±
It was the question and answer exchange I had once done with Ariadne of Olympus.
¡°Don¡¯t you have questions you are curious about? Let¡¯s exchange them one by one.¡±
I didn¡¯t know what was going on. However, this was clearly a chance for me. I nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s make a rule instead. We are able to lie.¡±
¡°Then what is the use of the Three Questions and Answers Exchange?¡±
¡°It is interesting.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes moved in a smooth curve. It wasn¡¯t difficult to read what she was thinking. I smiled and replied, ¡°Yes, okay.¡±
At my answer, messages popped up in the air.
-The Divine Three Questions and Answers has begun.
-Both sides will exchange three questions and answers.
-Both sides can refuse to answer one question.
-The conversation won¡¯t end until the questions and answers are fully exchanged.
¡°I will ask first.¡±
-The first question ticket has been used.
¡°Tell me about the contents of the Outer World Contract you signed with Secretive Plotter.
Han Sooyoung shook a bit at my first question.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has increased!]
The key to this exchange was to create ¡®concrete questions¡¯ that were difficult for the other person to avoid. I also had to make the most of the information that could be handed over.
Han Sooyoung said to me, ¡°You even know this? It isn¡¯t easy.¡±
¡°Answer me.¡±
¡°It means you have also made an Outer World Covenant.¡±
She was quick to notice, just like Han Sooyoung of the third round. Han Sooyoung continued speaking. ¡°I have signed an Outer World Contract with Secretive Plotter. If he hears what he wants, he will help meplete the world I wanted.¡±
-The first answer has been received.
It wasn¡¯t a very informative answer. The important thing was the authenticity of the answer.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 6¡¯ is activated!]
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has triggered ¡®Poker Face Lv. 10¡¯!]
[Poker Face has neutralized the effect of Lie Detection!]
As expected, she knew this skill. There was Poker Face among the skills that I saw on her Character List. Thanks to this skill, it was impossible to find out the truth of the answer using Lie Detection. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean I had no solution.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
[Your understanding of this person is sufficient and the second stage of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint is activated!]
As soon as she became a character, I could read her thoughts just by asking questions. The next moment.
....
¡¸ I knew it. ¡¹
¡¸ I told you. ¡¹
¡¸ Uh, don¡¯t step on my feet! ¡¹
¡¸ Why are you peeking at me? ¡¹
....
I instantly heard hundreds of voices and my heard felt like it was going to burst. I didn¡¯t have any time to express my astonishment and hurriedly cancelled the skill.
[Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint has been turned off!]
I looked at Han Sooyoung nkly and she had a peculiar smile on her face. ¡°I did this just in case and indeed. I thought there would be such a skill.¡±
¡°...What was that just now?¡±
¡°Is that your second question?¡±
I reflexively closed my mouth. Han Sooyoungughed. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll answer as a free service. It is an application of the Avatar skill.¡±
I finally understood what was going on. Han Sooyoung split her self into hundreds by using ¡®Avatar. I looked at Han Sooyoung¡¯s cheerful expression and felt my heart beating quickly. I had never met such an opponent before.
Han Sooyoung spoke first. ¡°This time I will ask.¡±
-Incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has used the first question ticket.
¡°Have you ever written a novel called Ways of Survival?¡±
Some questions implied information just by the question itself. I knew for sure what this person thought of me. Thus, I had to show off my skills here. ¡°That¡¯s right. I wrote it.¡±
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has used ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 10¡¯.]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Poker Face Lv. 5¡¯ is activated!]
I¡¯m sorry but I also had the Poker Face skill. Just before I came to this round, I bought a bunch of needed skills to the Dokkaebi Bag.
[Poker Face has neutralized the effect of Lie Detection!]
Han Sooyoung¡¯s lips curved slightly at the message. ¡°You¡¯re really interesting.¡±
This person was also interesting.
***
¡°...Is this really Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Lee Seolhwa asked like it was unbelievable. Standing in front of her were Iron Blood Supreme King Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk stood upright and stared into space with nk eyes.
People flocked around Yoo Jonghyuk. It was Lee Jihye who scolded them first. ¡°What are you all looking at? What¡¯s wrong with you when you¡¯ve often seen him on the screen?¡±
¡°It¡¯s amazing... This is the first time I¡¯ve seen him standing still like this. How did you do it? Did you use poison?¡±
Even Han Donghoon sitting in the control room observed Yoo Jonghyuk through the panel windows. Kim Namwoon sneaked up beside Yoo Jonghyuk and took a subtle pose.
Click. Click.
Lee Jihye frowned as she saw the scene. ¡°What are you doing?¡±
The surprised Kim Namwoon¡¯s phone flew into the air. Then a hand stretched out from Kim Namwoon¡¯s shadow and grabbed the smartphone in ce of Kim Namwoon.
¡°Hey, let¡¯s take a photo together. This opportunity isn¡¯tmon.¡±
¡°Hey, shouldn¡¯t you leave him alone? Why are you taking photos?¡±
Lee Jihye grabbed his wrist and roared. Then there was the sound of a photo being taken. The photo showed the expressionless Yoo Jonghyuk, the giggling Kim Namwoon and the angry Lee Jihye.
¡°The soldier over there! Don¡¯t just stand there and move out of the way! We¡¯re taking photos!¡±
Lee Hyunsung stood still in the distance and Lee Seolhwa hit Kim Namwoon¡¯s head.
¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to use honorifics with Hyunsung-ssi?¡±
¡°Ah, I hate it. Stop nagging me!¡±
Click.
¡°By the way, is this guy really safe?¡±
¡°Shall I stab him once?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t do anything. The guy who climbed up set a strange trigger. If the worst happens, he will start a massacre.¡±
Click.
¡°Trigger? What trigger?¡±
¡°I think he told Yoo Jonghyuk to go on a rampage if he was harmed.¡±
¡°Hmm, then... what about this?¡±
Kim Namwoon smiled and put a hand on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s shoulder. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t react. ¡°What? This is okay? Then what about this?¡±
Peopleughed as they surrounded the empty Yoo Jonghyuk. There were some who were amazed and others who were happy.
Click.
Several photos were taken and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression changed little by little. Faint emotions appeared in the depth of his hollow eyes. Maybe they were emotions that Yoo Jonghyuk himself couldn¡¯t understand. His eyes seemed to be hot and his heart was stuffy. However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t have a proper consciousness and didn¡¯t know what this feeling was.
¡°Eh, what? I think he just moved.¡±
¡°...Did you see wrong?¡±
¡°No! Really...¡±
All he knew were the words left behind by Kim Dokja.
-Imagine happy memories.
-Warning! Warning! The archangel of mes is approaching!
A warning rang in the air and the people attached to Yoo Jonghyuk were amazed. The first one who screamed was Kim Namwoon.
¡°What? Fuck! Why is that crazy bitch here?¡±
¡°This is bad. Be prepared. Hyunsung, go up and let Master know!¡±
As the group scattered, Yoo Jonghyuk stood in ce. Some disturbed people hit him as they passed by.
-Imagine happy memories.
In the urgent situation, Yoo Jonghyuk stared at the huge panel screen in the air. The dazzling angel burning with red mes was moving. Every time the angel¡¯s burning sword moved, the ruined area was engulfed in mes.
Yoo Jonghyuk had a headache. In his empty mind, Yoo Jonghyuk had seen the angel.
Happy memories.
Strangely, the memory was unfamiliar and amicable. It was like a thick wall was in the middle of this distant and cold memory. In his memory, she was a small doll.
-The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ isughing.
-The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is hoping you won¡¯t make any unnecessary sacrifices.
It wasn¡¯t her memory. It was a record left on someone¡¯s wall and he just stole it. They were memories of a world that didn¡¯t exist for him. It was fiction.
-The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is touched by yourradeship.
Even so, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t understand why he remembered this fiction so clearly.
-The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is rubbing her cheek against you.
The burning archangel was watching him on the screen. Yoo Jonghyuk muttered like a child first learning to speak. ¡°...Uriel.¡±
Chapter 292 - Happy Memories (2)
Chapter 292: Episode 55 ¨C Happy Memories (2)
It had been approximately 20 minutes since the conversation with Han Sooyoung started. I was able to deduce a few pieces of information through the three questions.
One, the ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ of the 1863rd round had contracted with Secretive Plotter through the Outer World Covenant.
Two, ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ of the 1863rd round might not be the alter ego of the third round person.
Three, the ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ of the 1863rd round had more information (and was a bit smarter) than the third one.
I couldbine them and deduce more information. For example, it was likely that this Han Sooyoung came from from the same ¡®third round¡¯ as me. She also obtained information about the future through methods I didn¡¯t know...
I spoke to Han Sooyoung, ¡°Thanks to you, I got some good information. Then all that¡¯s left is myst question?¡±
¡°Hmm, do I have to answer? I know enough information about you now.¡±
¡°...Really? What do you know?¡±
¡°Is that your third question?¡±
¡°No.¡±
Han Sooyoung licked her lips and smiled at me. ¡°Kim Dokja of the third round. How am ¡®I¡¯ there?¡±
The moment I was about to say that her right to ask a question was over, a cold sensation filled me.
...How did she know that I came from the third round?
¡°Oh, based on your expression, I¡¯m right? I was taken.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t lie. You knew when you said it.¡±
¡°Ahaha, I didn¡¯t.¡±
My gaze collided with Han Sooyoung in the air. Han Sooyoung moistened her lower lip and asked, ¡°The third round... do I have a screw missing? I took too many memories.¡±
¡°You are doing well in your own way. Shouldn¡¯t you worry about yourself now?¡±
¡°Are you covering for me? Then will you give me some information? You have read all the novel so you can show me this much generosity?¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±
¡°I was really curious about what type of person would read all of that novel but you are more than I expected. Kim Dokja.¡±
The third round Han Sooyoung was formidable but this one really wasn¡¯t ordinary.
¡°I said that I¡¯m the writer.¡±
Han Sooyoungughed. ¡°You¡¯re not the writer. You¡¯re too intelligent to write that novel. Although you are too stupid to deceive me.¡±
¡°Only that reason...¡±
¡°I also have a guess about what the author of Ways of Survival is.¡±
I almost asked her about the author. However, I couldn¡¯t reveal any loopholes in this ce that might be a trap. I frowned and asked another question. ¡°If you thought I wasn¡¯t the writer, why ask the question in the first ce?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see? Why did I?¡±
Han Sooyoung smiled leisurely. It wasn¡¯t that hard to guess. Han Sooyoung asked if I had written Ways of Survival. My answer admitted that I knew about Ways of Survival... damn. I decided to stop talking and ask the most important question. ¡°I will ask thest question.¡±
-The third question ticket has been used.
¡°How did you survive up to the 95th scenario? You definitely couldn¡¯t have read Ways of Survival until the 95th scenario¨D¡±
Then a deafening noise urred downstairs. Along with a beeping sound, Lee Hyunsung hurriedly rushed up the emergency stairs into the suite and shouted,
¡°Captain! It is serious!¡±
At the same time that Lee Hyunsung spoke, the two angels in my arms also sent indirect messages.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is shocked by something!]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is warning you!]
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Your flowers...¡±
I ignored her and ran towards the outer window. I didn¡¯t know exactly what happened. However, if I was right...
The shadow of a giant dragon flew outside the window. I wondered if someone had awakened the Apocalypse Dragon but it wasn¡¯t possible. I gulped as I watched the giant dragon pping its wings in the sky. Yes, why didn¡¯t I see it?
¡°Everyone, avoid it! I will do it alone!¡±
A woman in a white fur coat was leading the giant dragon. Beast Lord Shin Yoosung. She was no longer a child and was guiding the party in the 95th scenario. The chimera dragon, that had evolved beyond a first-grade monster to special-grade, breathed out.
However, the overflowing mes weren¡¯t extinguished by the breath. Rather, they zed even more with the poisonous substance.
I knew these mes. The mes were the Hell mes that zed at the bottom of Eden. I knew that the future had changed with Han Sooyoung¡¯s intervention.
However, this 1863rd turn was simr to the 1863rd turn I knew. For example, the name of thest remaining archangel in this fallen world.
¡°Uriel.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is furious!]
There was an explosive current and the outer window of the building was broken entirely. Shin Yoosung¡¯s chimera dragon was falling. I leapt out the window and pierced through the wind. The helpless Shin Yoosung fell into my arms.
Shin Yoosung looked up at me with surprise. ¡°Who...?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll stop the bleeding.¡±
I triggered the Hit a Pressure Point skill and struck Shin Yoosung¡¯s neck and arms. Then something waved inside me and a transparent string popped out from my fingertips.
¡¸ The Fourth Wall is making a yful expression. ¡¹
I noticed what he was trying to do.
¡®But.¡¯
¡¸ The Fourth Wall is looking sullen. ¡®Che.¡¯ ¡¹
I didn¡¯t want to tell the people of this world my story. It was strenuous and unfair. There was also nothing they could do to help me. Inded lightly on the ground and put Shin Yoosung down.
A littleter, Lee Hyunsung descended to the ground while carrying Han Sooyoung on his shoulder. Shin Yoosung staggered up and spoke towards Han Sooyoung.
¡°...Captain, I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±
Han Sooyoung jumped from Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulder and patted Shin Yoosung. I felt very strange as I watched the scene. The existence that was originally supposed to be in that ce was Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Coat.¡±
Han Sooyoung held out a hand and Lee Jihye took the white coat from Kim Namwoon.
¡°Here it is, Master.¡±
The white coat reduced its size to fit Han Sooyoung¡¯s body. I didn¡¯t know if it was my feeling but it looked cooler than my coat. Han Sooyoung raised the cor of her coat and looked at Gwanghwamun.
The hell mes were burning in the dust cloud. The burnt constetions screamed helplessly. The remnants of the stars were turning to ask one by one.
This was the field where the Archangel of Destruction, Uriel descended. I watched the mes and asked Han Sooyoung. ¡°...Do you know the reason why Uriel came here?¡±
¡°What reason do you think?¡±
¡°The destruction of Eden.¡±
¡°Your guess is right.¡±
The flowers in my pocket trembled a the conversation.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is asking what you mean!]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is looking at you.]
Of course, they didn¡¯t know what happened to Eden in the 1863rd round. In fact, I didn¡¯t want them to know the truth. There were strange creaturesing from every corner of Gwanghwamun where the white mes were burning.
The unnamed things. The beings were attracted to Uriel¡¯s presence and flocked like moths towards the mes. I asked Han Sooyoung, ¡°Do you need help?¡±
¡°Thank you for your help. The Archangel of mes is difficult to deal with.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk waited for my orders and stared at me. Han Sooyoung continued speaking. ¡°If this continues, someone can die.¡±
I bit my lips. This round wasn¡¯t my round. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t have any colleagues in this round. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk. Stop Uriel.¡±
At my words, Yoo Jonghyuk moved. In fact, I hadn¡¯t wanted to do this. Uriel discovered Yoo Jonghyuk and shouted as she lost her temper.
-Ahhhhhhh!
It was natural. One of the reasons why Eden was destroyed was right before her eyes. The furious Uriel unleashed a wave of hell mes and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship cut off the wave. The terrifying collision generated a tremendous shockwave in the sky.
The third round Yoo Jonghyuk and Uriel wouldn¡¯t have believed it if they saw the scene. I didn¡¯t want them to see it either. I wanted this scene to remain in my head.
The vibrations from the flowers in my pocket were bing worse. The impatient Gabriel couldn¡¯t bear it and spoke in her true voice.
[Why is Uriel attacking him? You know something. Right?]
I nodded.
[Tell me quickly! Otherwise¨D]
¡°What good is it to say it?¡±
There was nothing that could be changed. No, maybe it shouldn¡¯t be changed. This fight was caused by the events of the 1863rd turn. Uriel¡¯s fury was justified and Yoo Jonghyuk had to endure the fury.
I watched with clenched fists. Han Sooyoung spoke in an admiring voice by my side. ¡°You really can control Yoo Jonghyuk. I honestly didn¡¯t believe it.¡±
¡°Can you stop the rest?¡±
¡°No problem. Ah, I¡¯ll give you a reward.¡±
Han Sooyoung continued speaking. ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me earlier? Why I could survive to this scenario.¡±
[The character ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ is talking about the story ¡®Anticipation garism.¡¯]
¡°This is the answer.¡±
A white light emerged from Han Sooyoung¡¯s body. Her eyes shone brightly as she read the patterns of the iing monsters.
...Future Sight? There was no doubt. I didn¡¯t know the principles but it was unmistakable an ability like Future Sight. It was an ability that wasn¡¯t in the original novel.
¡¸ There is nothing new under the sun. Everything that is written is a modification of what has already been written. ¡¹
Han Sooyoung¡¯s story started flowing out in its entirety. She smashed Unbroken Faith towards the necks of the approaching monsters andughed.
¡°I¡¯m a first-rate writer. In addition, Ways of Survival is a collection of cliches at best. Do you think it¡¯s hard to predict the development? In the end, it¡¯s just a repetition of patterns.¡±
Han Sooyoung skillfully read the patterns and hunted the monsters. I watched the scene for a while and said, ¡°Did you survive because of that?¡±
I had to admit that it was an excellent ability.
¡°Ways of Survival is a story full ofplicated settings. Even if you are a writer, there are things you can do and things you can¡¯t do.¡±
¡°Yes, you are right.¡±
The next moment, a white light rose from Han Sooyoung¡¯s body and countless clones rushed out. 10, 20, 30... in an instant, there were 100 clones holding Unbroken Faith.
¡°If there was only one of me.¡±
Han Sooyoung swung the sword in her hand and hundreds of Han Sooyoungs jumped into the battlefield at the same time. They weren¡¯t afraid of death and carefully attacked the unnamed things. Han Sooyoung continued to split apart.
¡°However, what if it bes two or three?¡±
The things that one person could do were different from what 100 people could do. The things that 100 people could do were different from what 1,000 people could do.
¡°Do you know? Things that will take one person a lifetime to do can be done by 10,000 people in two days.¡±
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
Many voices pushed towards me at once, enough to overload me. The voices soon produced a single image. I realized it was thendscape of Han Sooyoung¡¯s mind. Numerous Han Sooyoungs were meeting there to conceive the world.
.
.
¡¸ This is wrong. ¡¹
¡¸ The next development is like this. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll emerge. ¡¹
¡¸ No, this is right. Archangel Uriel... ¡¹
¡¸ Let¡¯s do a majority vote. ¡¹
.
.
Simtions of the world were drawn by Han Sooyoung. Perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t the only regressor.
In someone¡¯s head, millions of worlds were born and broken. It was because a small mistake was made or because there was a very small defect. It was a scene where a story that pursued the extreme piled up.
I fell into Han Sooyoung¡¯s story. The life of this story was sad and beautiful. Some were agreeable developments. Some were developments I hadn¡¯t even thought about.
I didn¡¯t want to admit it but I had to. Some reproductions went beyond the original. It was an effort to create a perfect ¡®single development.¡¯ This world was the result of Han Sooyoung¡¯s n.
I raised my head and looked at Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk kept swinging his sword even when his skin was torn and blood sshed. It was Uriel fighting against such a Yoo Jonghyuk.
No colleagues would die. No destruction would happen. A world where everyone could gather their strengths and reach the st scenario.¡¯
Dammit, I had no choice but to agree. In order for this world to bepleted, Yoo Jonghyuk...
Han Sooyoung stared at me. She seemed to understand what I was thinking. ¡°You know it by now. I don¡¯t need him in this world.¡±
The giarist, who dreamt of a world beyond the original, told me,
¡°I know how to kill Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Chapter 293 - Happy Memories (3)
Chapter 293: Episode 55 ¨C Happy Memories (3)
-I know how to kill Yoo Jonghyuk.
Those were Han Sooyoung¡¯s words.
I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth. ¡°...You don¡¯t have to do something like that. A perfect story isn¡¯t the best story.¡±
From afar, there was a deafening roar from the collision between Yoo Jonghyuk and Uriel. The light that emanated from the sky filled Han Sooyoung¡¯s white eyes.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk has to die in this scenario. That way, the world I am hoping for will be finished.¡±
¡°What world are you hoping for...¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you look into my head? Yet you¡¯re still saying this?¡±
My voice was buried by another roar. It was a meaningless question in the first ce. As Han Sooyoung mentioned, I got a glimpse of the world she dreamt of.
It was a utopia without any gaps. It was an answer that only a person who digested the original novel in apletely different way could present.
I turned my head and watched the battle between Yoo Jonghyuk and Uriel. In the world that Han Sooyoung dreamt of, the answer for this battle was as followed:
¡¸ The archangel of mes will die here. ¡¹
As if waiting, the party members gathered around Uriel and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s battlefield. Lee Jihye was preparing Instant Kill, Lee Hyunsung charted up Great Mountain Smash, Kim Namwoon was untying his bandage and seemed ready to call the Abyssal ck me Dragon.
I grasped Unbroken Faith. Han Sooyoung noticed my movements and red at me. ¡°Wait, you...!¡±
It was obviously Han Sooyoung, not Yoo Jonghyuk, who made this world. But... so what?
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is opening his ¡®status.¡¯]
In the first ce, this wasn¡¯t the story I wanted to read. The small horns that symbolized a demon king rose from my head. I wanted to embody the wings but it wasn¡¯t possible with the imperfect Demon World¡¯s Spring. Han Sooyoung was surprised but didn¡¯t stop me. Perhaps she thought it was impossible to stop the fight with my own strength.
I knew it as well. By the way, now I wasn¡¯t alone.
¡°Gabriel, Jophiel.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is looking at you.]
¡°Please help me.¡±
[The archangels says that it will require more probability than before.]
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±
The moment I gave permission, the status of the two angels entered me. I felt my skin tearing and something grew.
[The archangels¡¯ ¡®status¡¯ dwells within you.]
Six wings grew from me, just like when I destroyed the constetions.
[The status of a demon king and an archangel are conflicting inside you.]
The stories that didn¡¯t mix screamed from inside me. An archangel¡¯s status was added to the power of a demon king. The wavelength that was impossible withmon sense swept through the battlefield.
¡°What, this status...!¡±
It was natural to be shocked. Now Uriel was the only archangel to survive in this world. Yet the status that could be felt from me belonged to an archangel.
[The demon king ¡®ck Mane Lion¡¯ is watching you!]
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Lust and Fury¡¯ is looking at you!] (TL: Slight change to Asmodeus¡¯ modifier)
It was surprising that the power of a demon king and archangel dwelt in one being. As far as I knew, there was only one existence in the world that could create this type of status in Ways of Survival.
[Demon. King...!]
Uriel felt my presence and looked over here. The moment I opened my mouth, Gabriel who descended inside me struck first.
[Uriel! Stop! What is this?]
The majesty of the archangel¡¯s true voice caused a light of reason to return to Uriel¡¯s eyes.
[...Gabriel?]
[Are you out of your mind? What are you doing?]
Gabriel¡¯s true voice flowed through me. I looked at Uriel¡¯s cold eyes and btedly realized the mistake.
[Look, these are the people you like! Yoo Jonghyuk and Kim Dokja! You are always talking about them!]
The moment Gabriel¡¯s incarnation approached Uriel, her lips opened.
[What are you talking about? ¡ö¡ö¡ö]
The confused Gabriel stiffened. Uriel continued speaking. [You are alive Gabriel. You also groveled to a demon king.]
[W-What are you saying?]
-Ahhhhhhh!
Uriel¡¯s enormous magic power flooded the Gwanghwamun area. Hell mes Ignition was running wild and turning it into hell. I was able to see Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s coat melting away from the high temperature.
The unnamed things were swept away by the aftereffects and scattered into pieces of meat.
I shouted, ¡°Gabriel!¡±
The dazed Gabriel btedly handed his strength to me.
[I will hear the exnationter.]
To be honest, I wasn¡¯t confident in exining. They wouldn¡¯t be able to fathom what happened to Eden in the 1863rd round. Once the archangels of the third round knew the information, I didn¡¯t know what type of storm I would be swept up in or the psychologically damage Gabriel would receive. Because... Gabriel of the 1863rd round betrayed Eden.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
The moment I called out, Yoo Jonghyuk cut the mes using Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship. I plunged into the mes.
Three petals from Gabriel and Jophiel scattered in the air. There was a huge charge and something rose inside me. I took advantage of the reaction from the colliding magic power to instantly approach Uriel.
I¡¯m sorry Uriel.
I grabbed Uriel¡¯s head with both hands. The power of the White Pure Star Energy and the status of the archangels and demon king struck Uriel¡¯s head. Uriel made a pained frown but Uriel¡¯s momentum didn¡¯t decrease at all.
Rather, her mes were encroaching towards me little by little. The high heat caused my wings and horns to melt slightly. I was the one who groaned first. This was the power of Edens¡¯ strongestbat angel.
Uriel smiled brutally and called the hell mes to her hands. The hottest mes in the world. The moment that sharp de of mes aimed at my heart.
¡°Jophiel!¡±
Huge sparks appeared at my fingertips and Uriel¡¯s body was surrounded by a circr restraint reminiscent of a halo. Uriel cried out with shock as the white constraints bound her.
Uriel¡¯s status was reduced in an instant and the mes suddenly extinguished. Uriel was one of the most powerful archangels in Eden. No other angel could match her in fighting demons.
However, what if the opponent was also an archangel?
Archangel Jophiel. Unlike the other angels who focused on demon eradication, Jophiel had one more special ability.
[Confinement of Good and Evil.]
Uriel¡¯s skill that was used to hunt fallen angels exerted strength against Uriel. Uriel tried to escape but the restraint tightened. Uriel struggled before finally giving up on rebelling and copsed. The archangel trapped by the constraints would fall into a deep sleep for a week.
I hugged the sleeping Uriel and moved out of the fire with Yoo Jonghyuk. I emerged from the smoke and saw the party members looking this way. Someone stared with astonishment while others felt admiration...someone else was staring at me with faint hostility.
I watched Han Sooyoung. ¡°This is something that wasn¡¯t present in the world of your dreams.¡±
¡°...Uriel being dead or not has no impact on the big picture. You¡¯ve seen it so shouldn¡¯t you know?
My visualization is perfect.¡±
Her white coat fluttered as Han Sooyoung walked towards me. She soon reached my nose and looked up at me. She nced at the burned angel wings and broken demon horns and asked,
¡°Kim Dokja, what world do you want? You have read the story to the end and there must be a world you want.¡±
I knew Han Sooyoung¡¯s words very well.
¡¸ ¡°What is the world that I want?¡± ¡¹
They were the very words that Yoo Jonghyuk always used when recruiting new colleagues. I told Han Sooyoung. ¡°I¡¯m not your colleague.¡±
¡°I need you toplete this story.¡±
Han Sooyoung continued while pointing to Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Don¡¯t you also need thepletion of a new story?¡±
It seemed that she knew why I came to this world. I examined the faces of the party members one by one. Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye, Lee Seolhwa, Shin Yoosung, Kim Namwoon...
So far, there was no round where all of them had survived up to this point. However¡ª
¡°What¡¯s new about this story?¡±
I was watching Yoo Jonghyuk. The only person not selected by this world. He repeated thousands of rounds to save this world but this time, he had to die for the world.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s world was also a world where someone must die in the end. There were countless other worlds like that, not just Han Sooyoung¡¯s world.
¡°You have read part of the original, changed the development and ced the name of another person in the ce of the protagonist.¡±
Some reproductions might surpass the original. However, they could never be the original.
¡°Do you know what they call such an act?¡±
I wanted to have a rxed smile but now I wasn¡¯t in the mood. Han Sooyoung stared at me with zing eyes. ¡°This isn¡¯t the round you were in. Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±
Han Sooyoung no longer listened to me and turned away. ¡°I¡¯ll give you three days. You better decide by then. Help me or don¡¯t help me. That¡¯s all I want to hear.¡±
The party members followed Han Sooyoung and entered the building one by one. Lee Hyunsung helped Lee Seolhwa transport patients. Lee Jihye and Kim Namwoon nced at me before looking away.
This wasn¡¯t my round. The people in my round were waiting for me and I could go back if I killed Yoo Jonghyuk.
I looked at Yoo Jonghyuk. There were holes in his coat as Yoo Jonghyuk stood there with foolish eyes.
...However, was that really all I had to do?
***
Han Sooyoung was sweating when she opened her eyes in the darkness. There were faint sparks around her body. Her entire body was freezing cold.
Han Sooyoung took a deep breath and rose from her spot. She turned on her smartphone and opened her novel file. SSSSS-grade Infinite Regressor.
¡¸ Yoo Junhyun thought about it. ¡¹
¡¸ ...I¡¯m afraid. ¡¹
¡¸ Is it just up to here? ¡¹
These were the contents of the saved pages. Nevertheless, Han Sooyoung read them. She read them again and again, as if the contents would be blown away if she didn¡¯t.
How long did she read? The sparks around her started shrinking. She barely managed a sigh. If she had been a bitter, her existence itself would be swallowed up by the sparks.
It wasn¡¯t the first time. It was the probability storm gnawing at my memories. It wasn¡¯t known if this was a side effect of the excessive use of Avatar or rted to Ways of Survival.
[The Star Stream is watching incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung.¡¯]
Han Sooyoung bit her lips and rxed her body. Her shoulders and wrists hardened by the side effects were checked one by one. She could feel the eyes of countless constetions on her.
Han Sooyoung thought, ¡®Look as much as you like. I didn¡¯t start this just to end here.¡¯
After warming up, the coldness in her bones were gone. Han Sooyoung put on a coat and nced out the window.
Kim Dokja and her party members could be seen. They were awkward on the first day but after a few days, they were chatting. It was strange. Those who had gone through 94 scenarios and were filled with distrust quickly opened their hearts to him.
Kim Dokja. The variable that appeared at the end of this n.
...Why did Secretive Plotter send another covenant at this point? Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t know the answer. She just knew that she had to use Kim Dokja.
Yoo Jonghyuk was standing nkly in a corner of the square. Han Sooyoung watched for a while before jumping out the window.
Han Sooyoungnded beside Yoo Jonghyuk and opened her mouth. ¡°It has been two days.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. Han Sooyoung slowly watched Yoo Jonghyuk. His nk eyes seemed to hear nothing.
Han Sooyoung stared into his eyes and suddenly approached him. ¡°...You really aren¡¯t conscious?¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s hand grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s chin. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t react.
¡°How funny. I can¡¯t believe this is happening... did you forget that you promised to die?¡±
At this close distance, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face was covered with scars. They were traces of a lonelier battle than any other round.
Han Sooyoung looked at such a Yoo Jonghyuk. She felt both sympathetic and angry. Han Sooyoung removed her hand from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s chin and pulled out a cigarette. Smoke appeared as she lit it up.
In the distance, the people surrounding Kim Dokja shouted at something he said. Han Sooyoung blew out smoke.
¡°The world is unfair. Some people find it easy to get along with others using a few words while some people egress so much and feel out of ce.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you write down some good memories for me? You could¡¯ve done enough... no, it¡¯s fine. There was no way you could do it.¡±
Han Sooyoung stepped on the cigarette ash that fell.
¡°Don¡¯t me me for killing you when you don¡¯t remember. I did everything you asked me to do.¡±
Han Sooyoung walked towards her party members. Yoo Jonghyuk watched Han Sooyoung moving away with empty eyes. A dim light was returning to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s nk eyes.
Chapter 294 - Happy Memories (4)
Chapter 294: Episode 55 ¨C Happy Memories (4)
Two days had passed since I started staying at Han Sooyoung¡¯s headquarters.
In the meantime, I had to concentrate on a few things. One was to reveal exactly what Han Sooyoung meant by ¡®the death of Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯ The second was to find out what Han Sooyoung ultimately wanted to achieve through it.
Either way, finding out wasn¡¯t easy. This wasn¡¯t the only problem.
[It is really destroyed? Our Eden?]
I looked at Gabriel who was exuding a ferocious spirit.
¡°That¡¯s right. Didn¡¯t you hear anything about it from the third round Metatron?¡±
[...The scribe knows about the destruction of Eden?]
I nodded. ¡°If you go back, ask him yourself. Of course, that¡¯s if you can go back safely.¡±
The stems of Gabriel and Jophiel started to shake. I thought they were angry with me but they seemed to be talking to each other. I pulled out the Uriel doll. She was caught by the Confinement of Good and Evil and couldn¡¯t use her strength for the next five days.
¡¸ The Fourth Wall is looking at you. ¡¹
Maybe I could borrow the power of the Fourth Wall to give her memories of the third round. However, the idea that Uriel would be moved by my memories was just a fantasy. Maybe after seeing the memories, Uriel would say:¡¸ ¡ö¡ö, so what? ¡¹
The memories of the third round would sound like a novel to Uriel who had lived through the third round.
¡°Kim Dokja-ssi, are you going to hunt with us?¡±
I looked up and saw Lee Hyunsung standing there with steel gauntlets on. ¡°Is it okay if I go with you?¡±
¡°Yes, well... there is no meaning in identifying a picked up bullet.¡±
I smiled at Lee Hyunsung¡¯s words. Whether it was the third round or the 1863rd round, the strange analogies were still there. I calcted how many times Lee Hyunsung must¡¯ve be confined in the guardhouse so far.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has increased.]
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ shows a weak liking towards you.]
I recalled the first scenario and suddenly felt a bit distracted. I added a sentence to alleviate Lee Hyunsung¡¯s wariness. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be more vignt? I am Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯spanion.¡±
¡°Um... Captain didn¡¯t say anything and... as a matter of fact, I feel that Dokja-ssi isn¡¯t a bad person. I guess this is the intuition I gained after 94 scenarios.¡±
Throughout the novel, Lee Hyunsung¡¯s intuition was mostly off the mark. Whenever Lee Hyunsung said this, I used to think that Yoo Jonghyuk would be stabbed in the back.
¡°Hey, you came? Let¡¯s take a look at your skills.¡±
Those who went out to hunt together were Kim Namwoon and Lee Jihye. Lee Jihye was covered with a big grey hood and looked at me in a displeased manner.
¡°Come quickly. We¡¯re going to start.¡±
I followed the party members out of the headquarters. The purpose of this hunt was to clean up the unnamed things around the headquarters and collect the items. Of course, I knew the real reason why Han Sooyoung ordered this hunt.
-There are two ahead of you. One is a tentacled species and the other is aposite species.
Han Donghoon¡¯s message was heard and Lee Jihye pulled out her sword. She triggered Instant Kill to defeat all the tentacles and then Kim Namwoon burned the main body with his ck mes.
I felt it when I read the original but the two of them were really well matched. There was a terrible scream as the monster turned to ashes and Kim Namwoon approached Lee Jihye.
¡°Nice attack.¡±
Kim Namwoon raised his right hand towards Lee Jihye with a cool face. Lee Jihye aimed her sword at Kim Namwoon with cold eyes. The sword pierced past Kim Namwoon¡¯s cheek and prated the tentacle that was wriggling around as the unnamed thing struggled with the mes.
Lee Jihye moved towards the next prey. Kim Namwoon chased after her. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go together!¡±
Once Gilyoung and Yoosung grew up, would they be a duo like this? I might see such a scene if I went back.
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°Ah, yes. I¡¯ll take the other side.¡±
I hurriedly pulled out Unbroken Faith and activated Way of the Wind. Some flying tentacles prated during an unguarded moment. It was a bit tricky to deal with the unnamed things when I deliberately wasn¡¯t using Electrification.
¡°Kukuk, you¡¯re weak?¡±
Kim Namwoon, who had the ck mes in both hands, started to beat up the unnamed things with a careless smile.
¡°Watch and learn!¡±
Certainly, it was a greatbat force. The present Kim Namwoon was able to draw out half the power of the Abyssal ck me Dragon.
I quietly cheered on Kim Namwoon. ¡°You¡¯re great. It ising again.¡±
¡°Hahahat, give it to me!¡±
¡°Wow, no matter how good you are, isn¡¯t it hard?¡±
¡°What are you talking about? Hahahahat! Die!¡±
¡°Hey, there¡¯s that one over there...¡±
Kim Namwoon btedly noticed something and his eyebrows twitched. Lee Hyunsung standing nearby was smiling. In the distance, Lee Jihye caught a monster and clicked her tongue like he was pitiful. The moment Kim Namwoon¡¯s expression distorted and he raised his fist towards me, I told him, ¡°Lee Jihye doesn¡¯t like pretentiousness.¡±
Kim Namwoon¡¯s face turned as white as his hair. His eyes shook like an earthquake had urred.
In fact, the one who had the biggest reaction was Lee Hyunsung, whose eyes widened.
...This guy passed through every round without noticing. Kim Namwoon nced between Lee Jihye and I before stammering.
¡°H-How do you know that?¡±
¡°It would be strange if I didn¡¯t know. Dye your hair first and get rid of the bandages. Rece them with half gloves on both sides. After the hunt, don¡¯t say things like nice attack.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ hates you.]
¡°It will be more helpful if you act like the guy behind me.¡±
Kim Namwoon blinked as he looked at the person behind me. Yoo Jonghyuk was standing there nkly. His coat was crooked and he hadn¡¯t washed himself but he couldn¡¯t hide his good looks.
¡°That person is ¡®evil. Still, he looks cool.¡±
Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon muttered. I answered with a smile. ¡°He isn¡¯t too bad. He has good parts.¡±
¡°Hah, you must be talking about someone else. That reminds me, how did you end up as Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯spanion?¡±
Kim Namwoon watched me suspiciously and Lee Hyunsung spoke up. ¡°I heard that Dokja-ssi is from another world.¡±
Maybe Han Sooyoung had talked about me. Kim Namwoon looked surprised and pointed at me. ¡°Different worlds? Like... parallel universes?¡±
¡°It is simr.¡±
I admired the fact that Kim Namwoon knew about parallel universes when he had no biology knowledge. Obviously, this round was different from the round I remembered.
¡°That¡¯s why I haven¡¯t seen you so far. So? Why did youe here?¡±
¡°You¡¯re excited. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t tell you.¡±
¡°Sheesh, then what am I doing in your world? Am I a leader?¡±
¡°You¡¯re dead.¡±
Kim Namwoon¡¯s face paled again.
¡°I¡¯m joking. You¡¯re building a gundam there. You are very happy.¡±
¡°Gundam? Ohh...¡±
Lee Jihye came back and hit the back of Kim Namwoon¡¯s head. ¡°Why are you messing around? Pick up the items.¡±
¡°Uh, uh.¡±
I watched Kim Namwoon hurriedly picking up items after Lee Jihye and thought. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have killed him in the first scenario. Kim Namwoon, who was following Lee Jihye and picking up items, turned to me and whispered, ¡°Excuse me. I have something to ask.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Can you lend me that coat for a minute?¡±
...What was I saying?
¡°I see you.¡±
Kim Namwoon grumbled and started picking up the items again. Lee Jihye nagged him and Lee Hyunsung chuckled.
It was a peaceful sight. In the midst of this peace, I was strongly reminded of my world. There was no Jung Heewon here. No Yoo Sangah or Lee Gilyoung.
...Yes, Han Myungoh as well. Thus, I had to go back.
Not long after, we collected all the items around us. I looked at the items I collected and smiled. There it was. One of the five swords that were the key to clear the 95th scenario. Perhaps Han Sooyoung knew that one of the swords was in the vicinity.
However, I was surprised the moment I held the sword. ¡°Excuse me, Hyunsung-ssi.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Did Han Sooyoung tell you to collect this sword?¡±
Lee Hyunsung nced at the sword in my hand and replied, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. We are looking for that sword.¡±
The 95th scenario was a scenario where ¡®five swords¡¯ were the key. A scenario where the sealed Apocalypse Dragon was released through the key five swords. But this sword...
A sense of difort passed through my head. I looked up at the sky and saw the Apocalypse Dragon¡¯s Sealing Ball heading this way. Sleeping inside the dark sphere was the worst ruin dragon in Ways of Survival.
Originally, Yoo Jonghyuk was supposed to liberate the dragon and gain the giant story ¡®Liberator of the Apocalypse Dragon¡¯, entering the final scenario.
¡¸ At this moment, Kim Dokja realized how to kill Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
The hand holding the hilt trembled.
¡¸ In addition, Han Sooyoung was thinking exactly the same thing as him. ¡¹
***
Throughout the day, Kim Dokja read Ways of Survival again and again. He read the pages he had already read and checked if there were any lines he missed. Kim Dokja seemed to find something. Or perhaps he didn¡¯t find it. He looked down at his smartphone, grabbed his head several times and even sighed. ¡°...Noisy. Stop talking.¡±
Sometimes, he scolded the Fourth Wall. In any case, Kim Dokja tried hard. It was an effort to change something, an effort that perhaps no one would understand.
Soon a small resolution filled Kim Dokja¡¯s eyes. It wasn¡¯t a resolution that could umte in one or two days. It was a resolution that only a person who had read a story for a long time could have.
With that resolution, Kim Dokja continuously read Ways of Survival. He read, read and read it again.
How many times did he read? Kim Dokja¡¯s eyes, shining like stars, dimmed little by little. Kim Dokja fell into a shallow sleep.
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at the scene with empty eyes. The back of the weary Kim Dokja. A snoring sound came out at regr intervals.
There were very small sparks as Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes recovered. Killing intent filled the nk eyes and this killing intent was aimed at precisely one person. Yoo Jonghyuk quietly moved the Heaven Shaking Sword. He didn¡¯t make a sound as he approached and aimed a sword at Kim Dokja¡¯s neck.
¡¸Ha ha do not do su ch a th ing. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk frowned. The Fourth Wall caused sparks to fly, as if going to wake up Kim Dokja straight away. Yoo Jonghyuk sent a message to the illusionary wall using Sound Transmission.
-Don¡¯t wake him up. I will cut off his head straight away if you do.
¡¸Hu um. ¡¹
The sparks produced by the Fourth Wall rapidly reduced. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t remove the sword and the Fourth Wall drew characters in the air.
¡¸ Wh at do you wa nt? ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t say anything. It seemed like he was finding his words or he didn¡¯ know what to say. At this time, the Fourth Wall let out bizarreughter.
¡¸ A ha, I under stand. ¡¹
¡°...¡±
¡¸ Are you cu rious? ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk still didn¡¯t answer and the Fourth Wallughed like it knew everything. The letters of the Fourth Wall started to increase. Gold letters soon filled the room. Yoo Jonghyuk stared at the letters drifting around him and reached out for one of them. The letters seemed to respond to his hand and started to speak.
¡¸ ¡°My name is Dokja.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ I usually introduced myself to people like this and then the following misunderstanding would
ur. ¡¹
It was the story of a world he had never experienced. The Fourth Wall giggled.
¡¸ Very in te res ting. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk quietly listened to the story. Thisst until the night was deep and then the faint light of dawn was seen.
.
.
.
By the time the sleeping Kim Dokja woke up, Yoo Jonghyuk was leaning against the wall with nk eyes.
¡°...I fell asleep, damn.¡±
Kim Dokja stood up with dishevelled hair and picked up his smartphone and sword. He looked out the window and saw the troops of the headquarters that had already gathered. They were gathered to clear the 95th scenario. At the centre of the party, Han Sooyoung in the white coat was looking this way.
Today was the day that ¡®Incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ would die.
Chapter 295 - - Reader and Writer (1)
Chapter 295: Episode 56 ¨C Reader and Writer (1)
It was noon when the march began. It was an army containing 200 elite incarnations. As numerous constetions watched, Lee Hyunsung raised a horn at the front of the army.
[The item ¡®Battlefield Horn¡¯ is activated!]
[The morale of the allies has increased significantly!]
[The attack power of the allies has increased slightly!]
As expected of Han Sooyoung. She had already prepared such consumables. Lee Hyunsung blew the horn once again and the incarnations cheered. Everyone seemed excited.
Shin Yoosung nced at me and spoke politely. ¡°That... thank you for saving mest time.¡±
¡°Ah, yes. It was nothing.¡±
Shin Yoosung smiled at my words. She was raised to be kind and polite, unlike Kim Namwoon. I nced to the side and saw Han Sooyoung making an unknown smile.
...I don¡¯t think Shin Yoosung grew up like this because someone raised her. Yoosung was originally a good kid.
¡°Kim Dokja-ssi is also participating in this scenario?¡±
¡°Nope. I¡¯m not qualified.¡±
¡°Ah yes... I¡¯m sorry. I heard that we can get a giant story if we clear this scenario.¡±
I didn¡¯t feel regret. It would be great if I could acquire Liberator of the Apocalypse Dragon here as the second giant story. However, this wasn¡¯t the direction I wanted. The giant story I wanted was in the third round.
In the front, Lee Seolhwa was wiping sweat from Lee Hyunsung¡¯s forehead. Lee Hyunsung smiled weakly.
¡°...I¡¯m nervous. I don¡¯t know if we can do it well.¡±
¡°It¡¯s going to be fine. We¡¯ve done a good job so far.¡±
I could hear Kim Namwoon and Lee Jihye¡¯s voices behind me.
¡°Hey, Lee Jihye. What will you do at the end of this scenario?¡±
¡°Well, it is clearing another scenario.¡±
¡°How long will you only clear the scenario? Sometimes we need to have some fun. Come y with me after this scenario is finished...¡±
Kim Namwoon was watching Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes while wearing the coat I lent him. As I told him, gloves were on both hands. His hair was still white and there were bandages wrapped around his arms...
Then thunder struck in the sky. The armies of the nebe participating in this scenario were approaching in the distance. They were nebe I had already encountered and nebe I hadn¡¯t met.
Han Sooyoung¡¯spanions were strong enough but the number was inadequate to deal with all the enemies. Han Sooyoung stepped towards Lee Hyunsung and dered. ¡°We have only one objective. It is to liberate the ¡®dragon¡¯ sealed in the sphere.¡±
Her white coat fluttered as Han Sooyoung kept speaking. ¡°As you know, liberation the ¡®Apocalypse Dragon¡¯ will destroy the penins. However, as long as we havepleted the clear conditions, we can move onto the next stage. Then no one on this earth will die.¡±
The determination of the incarnations solidified at Han Sooyoung¡¯s deration and they shouted again. They chanted Han Sooyoung¡¯s name. It was a somewhat familiar sight.
...All of this was once done by Yoo Jonghyuk.
The 95th scenario, the Second Coming of the Apocalypse Dragon. This was a scenario to awaken the apocalypse dragon that was sealed at the time of Eden¡¯s fall. It was aplished by collecting five ¡®swords¡¯ scattered around the world and plugging them into the keyhole of the seal.
In fact, Yoo Jonghyuk aplished this scenario and gained the giant story.
¡°Let¡¯s go to the next scenario!¡± Han Sooyoung shouted and the incarnation army moved towards the sealed sphere. However, enemies could be seen running from the other side.
[Take the sword! We must take the keys!]
[Over there! Han Sooyoung!]
They were the incarnations and constetions hiding all over the Korean Penins. They wished to acquire the story by awakening the apocalypse dragon.
¡°Stop them!¡±
The people beside me scattered and pulled out their weapons. Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye and Shin Yoosung ran while emitting magic power.
¡°Hahahahat! Come! Abyss Dragon!¡±
Kim Namwoon was also jumping into the battlefield. His ckening reached the peak. The Kim Namwoon of this world was different from the Kim Namwoon I knew. Still, Kim Namwoon tearing all the enemies approaching him was clearly the Delusional Demon I knew. I didn¡¯t know what terrible things he had done to reach this point.
Then Han Sooyoung pulled out several swords. The star relics gave off a brilliant light. They were the keys to be used to clear this scenario.
Four swords. They were stillcking one toplete the key.
¡°Kim Dokja. Give me your Arondite.¡±
¡°...You knew?¡±
I smiled as I pulled out a sword. The Dragon yer Arondight. This was the key to ending this scenario.
¡°Then send Yoo Jonghyuk to the seal.¡± I stared at Han Sooyoung after hearing her words. Han Sooyoung was smiling. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I would kill him? Have you forgotten?¡±
I didn¡¯t like the look in her eyes. At this moment, I realized something. ¡°You killing Yoo Jonghyuk is the condition for your Outer World Covenant.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Yes.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re fixated on Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
¡°Quickly give me that sword.¡±
The cold texture of Arondight was felt. In fact, I knew what Han Sooyoung was going to do.
¡°Holy Sword Ascalon. Thunder Sword Gram. Dragon Sword Ridill. Old Dragon Sword N??ling and the Dragon ying Sword Arondight.¡±
I called out the names of the swords and Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression strangely stiffened.
¡°There is one problem. One of the swords I just mentioned has a different character.¡±
¡°What are you doing now?¡±
¡°You¡¯re fooling the people.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go to the next scenario?¡±
I continued speaking, ¡°Don¡¯t pretend. You don¡¯t want to clear this scenario.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes shook. Her eyes were filled with something close to madness. The four swords were shining white beside her. ¡°Continue.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t want to free the Apocalypse Dragon. It is actually the opposite. You are going to seal this ¡®Earth¡¯ with the Apocalypse Dragon.¡±
¡°Why do you think that?¡±
I pointed to an object in Han Sooyoung¡¯s hand. ¡°You have N??ling. This sword is the only ¡®sword¡¯ with a different attribute.¡±
The five swords that made up the 95th scenario were all rted to dragon ying stories. Only one sword, the ¡®Old Dragon Sword N??ling¡¯ was different.
¡°That sword is a failed dragon ying sword. If you use that sword as a key, the seal won¡¯t be released. It is actually the opposite.¡±
An improper key would strengthen the seal, not release it. The seal would realize it wasn¡¯t yet time for liberation and be a bigger and stronger barrier. It would soon cover the entire with a seal.
¡°The time here will stop and Earth will be sealed with the Apocalypse Dragon. It will remain forever fixed in the 95th scenario.¡±
I couldn¡¯t read the expression of Han Sooyoung, who had bowed her head. I continued speaking,
¡°This is how you will kill Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
I looked back at Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk was watching me with nk eyes. As long as there was his sponsor, Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t die. Once he died, he would return again and again. However...
What if there was eternal sleep in the world? An eternal sleep with no dreams and no waking up. Such a thing was no different from ¡®death.¡¯
¡°You have decided to seal Yoo Jonghyuk forever in this turn.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk would be trapped in the seal and fall into a sleep that no one could wake up from. He wouldn¡¯t regress or suffer anymore. He would fall asleep eternally and a new world line wouldn¡¯t be created.
This was the ¡®death¡¯ of Yoo Jonghyuk. It was the death of a regressor.
I turned and saw Han Sooyoung smiling faintly. ¡°Better than expected. How did you know? I never showed you exactly what my next n was.¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t show me.¡±
I had seen Han Sooyoung¡¯s mind. I saw the world she dreamt and read the information she had shown. Obviously, almost everything was perfect. However, there was one crucial thing missing from the world.
¡°There were no signs of ¡ö¡ö in your story.¡±
The end of all the scenarios, ¡ö¡ö. However, not everyone reached ¡ö¡ö. Some stories ended without even going near ¡ö¡ö.
Thunder was heard from the sky to the west. Rain started to fall from the dark clouds. The voices of those shouting in the distance and the true voices of the constetions engaged in battle came out. Lee Hyunsung, Lee Seolhwa and Lee Jihye.
They were all desperate. It was in order to survive. Survive and go to the next scenario. It was Han Sooyoung who brought them here.
¡°Is this the conclusion you came up with?¡±
Han Sooyoung was now trying to finish their story. ¡°That¡¯s right. This is the end of the world that I thought of.¡±
¡°If it was going to end this way, why did you save everyone? Why stick to such a perfect development?¡±
Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t answer.
¡°You betrayed them.¡±
If Han Sooyoung¡¯s n seeded, all of them would never reach the end. They would fall asleep in the eternity of this 95th scenario.
Han Sooyoung stared at the four swords floating around her with emotionless eyes. ¡°The end of the world isn¡¯t necessarily bound to ¡ö¡ö. This will make Earth safer. Neither Yoo Jonghyuk or the other constetions will know how to unlock the reinforced seal of the apocalypse dragon.¡±
¡°It is a deception.¡±
¡°Some call it salvation.¡±
¡°Then thepanions who have trusted you so far¨D¡±
¡°In any case, this isn¡¯t a world that I made.¡±
Tragically, I understood Han Sooyoung¡¯s mind. I wanted to return to the original world because this world wasn¡¯t my world.
¡°Is this the price of the Outer World Covenant that you received? In exchange for killing Yoo Jonghyuk, you will get the power to make your own world?¡±
A powerful air started flowing from Han Sooyoung¡¯s body. She intended not to waste any more time.
¡°Give me the sword, Kim Dokja. This is the best way for everyone. Yoo Jonghyuk wanted it.¡±
The giarist who wanted to go beyond the original probably knew. To go beyond the original, you had to get out of the original. This was impossible as long as she was a giarist.
Iughed. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to kill Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
¡°What are you saying? Are you going to give up on the Outer World Covenant?¡±
¡°Of course not.¡±
As soon as I finished talking, Han Sooyoung moved.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, block it!¡± I called out and Yoo Jonghyuk stepped forward to block Han Sooyoung¡¯s swords. I put away the shining Arondight and pulled out another sword.
It was the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. An item that cut off the links between a constetion and incarnation. I focused my attention on the sword as I stared at Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The star relic ¡®Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword¡¯ is opening up its power!]
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes widened as she confirmed the energy dwelling in the sword. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you...¡±
Death had a variety of meanings in the Star Stream. For example, my fate in the past.
¡°It is useless Kim Dokja! That method...!¡±
At that time, I died as ¡®Incarnation Kim Dokja¡¯ but ¡®Constetion Kim Dokja¡¯ lived. Then what about Yoo Jonghyuk?
¡°Gabriel, Jophiel! Please help me!¡±
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is looking at you.]
I heard Han Sooyoung yelling but I didn¡¯t listen. My senses were concentrated on a single ck thread rising above Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s head. It was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s link that I could see using the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
No one in Ways of Survival had ever tried this method. However, if I seeded... If I could break this link for even a moment, I might be able to save Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, keep your mind straight!¡±
Now Yoo Jonghyuk had a sufficient amount of stories to be a constetion. If the connection was temporarily disconnected and he got a new story from this scenario... he might be reborn as ¡®Constetion Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯
It meant he would die as an ¡®incarnation.¡¯ This way, Yoo Jonghyuk might not regress even if he died. I might be able to go back to the third round without having to seal Yoo Jonghyuk. The power of a demon king and the archangels¡¯ power was imbued in the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.
The opponent was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sponsor, whose identity was unknown. This much power would be needed to break the link.
I swung the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword. Then I did it again. One more time. Again and again, repeatedly striking.
The huge shockwaves from the link swept away the surrounding constetions and incarnations. Han Sooyoung couldn¡¯t easily approach through this storm.
How many times did I hit him? Finally, I heard a sound. It was the sound of the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword breaking in half. I looked at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s link that didn¡¯t have any scratches.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is feeling an unknown fear.]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is astonished.]
At this moment, I felt the vast universe staring at me. I couldn¡¯t imagine the origin or fathom the enormity.
[The sponsor of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is looking at you.]
Chapter 296 - Reader and Writer (2)
Chapter 296: Episode 56 ¨C Reader and Writer (2)
Along with the extreme dizziness, it felt like the entire history of my life had been destroyed.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sponsor. I didn¡¯t know exactly who it was. It couldn¡¯t be described or exined. I
could just see it. It was very powerful and pure. It was like the original circle of desire.
A baby¡¯sughter echoed in my ears and by the time I came to my senses, half of the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword had fallen to the ground.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s link wasn¡¯t broken. I had failed. I turned my head and saw Han Sooyoung approaching me.
¡°Did you see it?¡± Han Sooyoung was making a strange smile. At her waist, the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was shaking just like mine.
¡°...You already tried it?¡±
¡°Of course. I tried it on a muchrger scale than you. I borrowed the power of a neb.¡±
Perhaps Hyung had confirmed the reality of the sponsor in a form more clearer than me.
¡°What the hell is it?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see? I don¡¯t know exactly. Still, don¡¯t you have a bit of a guess?¡±
I didn¡¯t answer. Han Sooyoung continued speaking, ¡°Now yourst n has failed. There is no other way.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°As I told you before, Yoo Jonghyuk agreed to this n.¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk agreed?¡±
¡°You can read thoughts. Haven¡¯t you tried reading that guy¡¯s thoughts?¡±
There was a nging sound as Yoo Jonghyuk hit Han Sooyoung¡¯s sword. I watched Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s back that was blocking the front of me. Obviously, I could use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 2 on him now. I hesitated for a moment before triggering the skill.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
[Your understanding of this person is sufficient and the second stage of Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint is activated!]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts were heard in my head. Most of the words floated in the air like dust because his consciousness was deeply sunken. One or two fell beside me like snow and then there was a flood of heavy snow.
.
.
¡¸ I want to die. ¡¹
¡¸ I want to die. ¡¹
¡¸ I want to die. ¡¹
.
.
I was currently looking at the inner self of a human who was repressed in the text of Ways of Survival.
Han Sooyoung approached me as I stood there idly. Her hair grazed my chin as she reached into my coat and took out Arondight. Han Sooyoungughed as she finally collected five swords and stepped away from me.
Yoo Jonghyuk stood nkly. Once Han Sooyoung inserted all the swords, Yoo Jonghyuk would be trapped forever. Then he would get what he wanted. This was the ending of this world.
At this time, I heard something in my ear. It was a very small voice. It was a very small voice among the countless voices.
I ced the broken Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword on my shoulder and ran towards the distant Han Sooyoung. Her coat was crumpled by the strong grip and Han Sooyoung turned her head with a frown. ¡°You still want toe?¡±
I watched Yoo Jonghyuk. I heard it clearly. I was still listening.
¡¸ I want to live. ¡¹
It was very faint but it was a voice. He was clearly speaking. Han Sooyoung threw off my hand in an irritated manner.
¡°Forget saying any good things. Yoo Jonghyuk has to die in order to achieve what you and I want.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know what I want.¡±
I grasped Unbroken Faith. The de cried out and Han Sooyoung stepped away from me with a hardened face.
¡°What the hell are you trying to do? There is no other way for you.¡±
That¡¯s right. There was no way. The Outer World Covenant meant I had no way to save Yoo Jonghyuk. There was no such thing in Ways of Survival that I read all night.
¡°There is a way.¡±
However, there was another way.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
At my shout, Yoo Jonghyuk ran like a lightning bolt and dealt a blow to Han Sooyoung. In this short gap, Yoo Jonghyuk was able to take four swords from Han Sooyoung.
Holy Sword Ascalon. Thunder Sword Gram. Dragon Sword Ridill. The Dragon yer Arondight. They were all swords with dragon killing stories. They were the key swords in this scenario.
¡°Now Yoo Jonghyuk! Free the apocalypse dragon!¡±
¡°What is this nonsense?!¡±
The angry Han Sooyoung rushed towards Yoo Jonghyuk. I bumped into Han Sooyoung¡¯s body and rolled with her. Han Sooyoung kicked me while shouting. ¡°There are only four swords! You will never clear the scenario!¡±
¡°No, there is one more sword.¡±
I pulled out a sword. The Grass-Cutting Sword. It was a sword obtained from Yamata no Orochi in Peace Land. I used the Grass-Cutting Sword to kill the shadow of Yamata no Orochi and it inherited the story of ying a dragon.
¡°Take it, Yoo Jonghyuk!¡± Yoo Jonghyuk received the sword that was fired with Way of the Wind. Finally, all five dragon ying swords were gathered. Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°You crazy bastard...!¡±
There was a conflict between the ¡®status¡¯ that Han Sooyoung and I emitted. I activated Electrification while pouring the blue-white energy towards Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung was pushed by the magic power and eximed, ¡°Everyone, stop Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s shout caused the eyes of the scattered party members to concentrate on Yoo Jonghyuk at the same time.
¡°I¡¯ll catch him!¡±
Kim Namwoon discovered Yoo Jonghyuk first and flew.
¡°Damn, I knew you were going to betray...!¡±
Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung btedly came out. Three of the 100 most powerful people in Ways of Survival ran towards Yoo Jonghyuk at once.
Han Sooyoung emitted a formidable aura and screamed at me. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing now? If this scenario is cleared¨D¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s following words weren¡¯t heard. I watched Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s back as he headed towards the seal.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought about the third round Yoo Jonghyuk, who was silently going through the scenarios. ¡¹
The sword wielded by Lee Jihye cut at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s back.
¡¸ He thought of Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung of the third round. ¡¹
Lee Hyunsung grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s wrist while Kim Namwoon aimed the ck mes at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face.
¡¸ He thought for a long time about Jung Heewon and the children, Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t back down. His coat was torn and he moved forward while bleeding. Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung were swept away by the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship.
¡¸ He thought of Lee Jihye who called him ¡®garbage¡¯ and Lee Hyunsung, who lost his casings. ¡¹
...I wanted to see it.
¡¸ Thus Kim Dokja finally made up his mind. ¡¹
I told Han Sooyoung, ¡°I won¡¯t go back to the third round.¡±
¡°What nonsense are you saying? You, now...¡±
¡°I will stay here and see the ending with the people here.¡±
The end of this world wasn¡¯t the ending I wanted.
¡¸ It might take a very long time. Maybe I will never be able to go back. ¡¹
Even so, it was an ending.
¡°Secretive Plotter isn¡¯t the only outer god of this world. There will be another way to go back. Clearing the scenario and moving towards the end...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense! It doesn¡¯t matter what you do! You don¡¯t know the end of this story anyway!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
I spoke as I followed Yoo Jonghyuk soaring towards the sealing sphere.
¡°I¡¯ll create it myself.¡±
Han Sooyoung leapt towards the sky and fired a ck spear at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s back. I threw myself in front of the spear instead. The shock hurt but I didn¡¯t retreat. Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes were filled with apletely different killing intent.
¡°Shall we do it now?¡± Han Sooyoung directly threatened me.
[The constetion ¡®Director of the False Last Act¡¯ is looking at you.]
Laughter emerged. Like me, Han Sooyoung of this round didn¡¯t have a sponsor. She was a constetion like me. She even held the same Unbroken Faith in my hand.
Unbroken Faith shone with a ck ether that was much stronger than mine. The moment the ck de appeared in front of me, I used the White Pure Star Energy and blocked the blow. It was obviously blocked but the bones of my hand were distorted from the impact.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s body started to divide. Avatar. Numerous clones leapt towards Yoo Jonghyuk and I at the same time. I moved to stop them. Jophiel¡¯s Unit 503 was qualified to stop the clones.
¡°Jophiel!¡±
However, Archangel Jophiel didn¡¯t answer. I could guess why. Perhaps she didn¡¯t like my current choice. The archangels wanted to go back to the original world.
The next moment.
[The story ¡®Person Who is Loved by an Archangel¡¯ is triggered!]
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ feels favourable towards you.]
Archangel Gabriel sent me an indirect message. At the same time, Gabriel¡¯s Preference Scale was created in one hand.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Commander of the Red Cosmos¡¯ is confused.]
I didn¡¯t know why Gabriel chose to help me. The only thing I was certain of was that I desperately needed her help. Han Sooyoung ran and shouted, ¡°A reader shouldn¡¯t disturb me. The owner of the story is a writer! The world should end here!¡±
¡°You aren¡¯t the owner of this story either. That type of ending is only in your world!¡±
I cut through dozens of avatars of Han Sooyoung and flew towards the dark clouds. Two Unbroken Faiths met in the air. The ether of the divine nature and ether of the dark nature shed together and produced a strange tone. Along with the powerful explosion, my Electrification was broken.
I rolled on the ground while covered in wounds, Most of Han Sooyoung¡¯s avatars had disappeared but she was still going strong. As the angry Han Sooyoung ran through the dust towards me, I shouted, ¡°Go! Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body leapt into the air and he finally reached the sealed sphere.
[The five keys have been inserted in the sealing sphere.]
Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°No!¡±
Five swords were inserted into the huge sphere. There was the sound of the keyhole being turned.
[Someone has released the ¡®Seal of the Apocalypse Dragon.¡¯]
[The scenario clear conditions have been met.]
The sleeping dragon¡¯s power was awakening. The entire sky flickered like a giant light bulb. The sky was half divided into night and day. I felt the owner of a giant story waking up.
[The constetions of the neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ are astonished.]
[The constetions of the neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ have boarded their gship.]
[The constetions of the neb ¡®Papyrus¡¯ are wary.]
The messages of the nebe were head as the shadow of the dragon trapped in the sphere was revealed. I knew what would happenter.
Not long after, the apocalypse dragon roared and swung its tail towards the constetions in the distant Star Stream. A third of the night sky disappeared. Maybe, if they were really unlucky¨D
¡¸ Kim Dokja. ¡¹
I turned my head and saw Yoo Jonghyuk holding the Heaven Shaking Sword beside me. He didn¡¯t seem to care if this scenario was cleared or not. The moment we made eye contact, I got goosebumps.
...Since when had the regression depression been released? The two eyes were staring at me with a clear awareness. That bastard asked me.
¡¸ The world that you showed, does it really exist? ¡¹
Chapter 297 - Reader and Writer (3)
Chapter 297: Episode 56 ¨C Reader and Writer (3)
I couldn¡¯t find an answer to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s question. I didn¡¯t understand exactly what he meant. Then I heard it once again through Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
¡¸ Does the world where you live really exist? ¡¹
Then I realized what Yoo Jonghyuk was talking about. He had seen the world I lived.
¡¸ Hi hi. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall wasughing mischievously. The moment I was going to open my mouth, Han Sooyoung ran and struck my back, pressing me against the ground. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Didn¡¯t you promise me?¡±
Anger was contained in Han Sooyoung¡¯s voice. ¡°You will die here and I will get a new world. That was the condition of our exchange. Why did you do this?¡±
I could feel the taste of the soil as my lips touched the ground.
¡¸ Kim Dokja was thinking about his future ns. ¡¹
Once again, I didn¡¯t know what Yoo Jonghyuk felt through my memories. However, looking at his attitude, I didn¡¯t think he would give up on this life. A terrible cry came from the top of the sealing sphere.
[Uwaaaah...]
[Everyone flee! Quickly escape from this scenario!]
The astonished constetions were escaping one by one from the scenario. Even the nebe in the sky were being bitten by the dragon. The apocalypse was indeed such an existence. The decisive cause of Eden¡¯s destruction, the worst disaster of the Star Stream.
In the midst of this, Han Sooyoung shouted at Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Is it because of this guy?¡±
Han Sooyoung grabbed my head and screamed. ¡°Did this guy do something to your spirit? Didn¡¯t you want to die so badly? Aren¡¯t you tired? Don¡¯t you want to stop performing scenarios?¡±
Every word spoken by Han Sooyoung seemed to pierce my chest. Yoo Jonghyuk had no expression but I knew the life he lived. Yoo Jonghyuk of the 1863rd round was the Yoo Jonghyuk of the original novel that I knew.
When my mother was locked up in prison, when I was bullied, when I sat the CSATs, when I went to the army and when I joined thepany. It was the Yoo Jonghyuk I had always been watching. The Yoo Jonghyuk who was cold, calcting and never gave up.
I have lived watching such a Yoo Jonghyuk. I could live because of him. Thus, I didn¡¯t want to let him die.
If Yoo Jonghyuk died here, the Ways of Survival that I knew would disappear forever.
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly opened his mouth.
¡°I want to die.¡±
It was a clear voice but there was a voice only clear to me.
¡¸ I want to live. ¡¹
My hand tightly gripped the ground. Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°Then why did you do this? Shit, why are you still alive?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Somehow rece the apocalypse dragon¡¯s seal. Draw the sword and do it somehow!¡±
Han Sooyoung knew there was no possibility. Han Sooyoung was copsing. Her world that she expected through the ¡®Anticipation garism¡¯ was copsing for the first time.
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. Han Sooyoung couldn¡¯t ovee her emotions as she threw me away and ran towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
The de of Unbroken Faith moved to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s neck. In the end, Han Sooyoung couldn¡¯t cut Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Dammit...!¡± Han Sooyoung¡¯s de stopped as it touched Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s neck.
Han Sooyoung also knew. If she killed Yoo Jonghyuk, he would only regress. I stood up and told her, ¡°Give up, Han Sooyoung
¡°Shut up!¡±
¡°You have failed. Now you need to find a new way.¡±
¡°Shut up! What do you know? The things I did to get this far¨D¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at the de touching his neck and spoke. ¡°I want to die.¡±
¡¸ I want to live. ¡¹
¡°I want to finish it here.¡±
¡¸ If there is a chance, like the world I saw... ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body shook. It was shaking violently from two different egos shing. The pain seemed to be getting worse as Yoo Jonghyuk grabbed his head and slowly sank down. The surprised Han Sooyoung stepped back as a powerful shock wave burst from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s body flew towards me and I rolled across the ground.
Stories were flowing from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. The memories of the 1863rd Yoo Jonghyuk revolved in the air, floating past me and Han Sooyoung. In the memories, Yoo Jonghyuk spoke.
¡¸ Han Sooyoung, find a way to kill me.¡± ¡¹
Then the Han Sooyoung in the memory nodded.
¡¸ ¡°Okay. Instead, promise me. You will help me.¡± ¡¹
The promise between the two people that I didn¡¯t know about before. The seemingly perfect 1863rd turn was based on the sacrifice of a single person. In this round, Yoo Jonghyuk lost everything.
¡¸ ¡°If you carry out my n, I can¡¯t save your sister.¡± ¡¹
He lost his sister.
¡¸ ¡°I can¡¯t save the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Breaking the Sky Master. There is no time for the First Murim.¡± ¡¹
He lost his teacher.
¡¸ ¡°Be the enemy of the world. That way, all who are hostile to you can unite.¡± ¡¹
Through his own will, he became the evil of this world. In the 1863rd round, Yoo Jonghyuk was unhappy. He was more unfortunate than any round.
I shouted through clenched teeth, ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
I didn¡¯t know what to say. I could understand the mind of Yoo Jonghyuk who wanted to die but I still forced him to live. It was just because of my words.
Then what was right?
Yoo Jonghyuk asked,¡¸ The world that you showed, does it really exist? ¡¹
I didn¡¯t know if saying this would beforting to Yoo Jonghyuk. I cried out with all my strength.
[It exists.]
This was the only thing I could convey to him. It was in a ce that he couldn¡¯t see or hear but it definitely existed. Then Yoo Jonghyuk answered, ¡¸ ...I see. ¡¹
Strangely, at this moment, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression lookedfortable.
¡¸ You can go back to that world if I die? ¡¹
¡°No, that isn¡¯t it. Somehow, I¡¯ll find a way. You don¡¯t have to die. It might take some time but somehow...!¡±
I quickly summarized the information in his head. The best possible future was drawn in my head. The world of the third round had Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung and would be safe until I returned. In the 1863rd round, the 95th scenario was already cleared. There were plenty of people who survived so if I struggled for three or five years here...
I looked up and saw Yoo Jonghyuk looking this way.
¡¸ Then it iste. ¡¹
It was as if he knew everything.
¡¸If you are here, you can¡¯t save that world. ¡¹
The moment I wanted to refute it, Yoo Jonghyuk stood up. The vibrations from Yoo Jonghyuk were bing bigger and more than one of him seemed to be seen.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has reached the moment of attribute evolution!]
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has received a new attribute!]
Yoo Jonghyuk split apart with a bright light and nced at me.
¡¸ I was curious about the world¡¯s ¡ö¡ö. ¡¹
A story overflowed and Yoo Jonghyuk was split into two people. I knew this skill.
Avatar. A skill that only a person with the ¡®author¡¯ attribute could use. Until recently, it was Han Sooyoung¡¯s exclusive skill.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk! Y-You...!¡± Han Sooyoung¡¯s shoulders shook as she opened her mouth. Her real confusion was conveyed through Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
¡¸ What if a person¡¯s presence could be divided exactly in half? ¡¹
Tens of thousands of Han Sooyoungs were talking.
¡¸ If one entity is divided into two exact and separate entities, which one of them can be called real? ¡¹
A chill went down my spine. The memories of Han Sooyoung in the 1863rd round. Her figure, which was precisely divided into two, crossed my head like a panorama. It was Han Sooyoung¡¯s experience and also Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s experience.
Yoo Jonghyuk split into two in a brilliant manner and faced each other. Yoo Jonghyuk said, ¡°I want to die.¡±
Then the other Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°I...¡±
The other Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t talk but looked down at his ragged ck coat. He threw his coat to the ground.
¡°I want to live.¡±
The white coat worn by the copsed Kim Namwoon had fallen to the ground. It was the Infinite Dimension Space Coat I lent him. Yoo Jonghyuk picked it up and wore it. The white coat fitted to his body like it was made for him from the beginning.
The Yoo Jonghyuk in a white coat confronted the one in a ck coat.
¡°There is only one way.¡±
The two Yoo Jonghyuks pointed their Heaven Shaking Swords at each other.
[The sponsor of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is looking at his incarnation.]
The party members were shouting in a confused manner.
¡°W-What are you doing?¡±
¡°Why did you suddenly be two?¡±
In the air, the energy of Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship and Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship hit each other.
¡°Oh my god, that guy...¡±
Only Han Sooyoung had the same thoughts as me.
¡¸ One being bes two. ¡¹
¡¸ However, there is only one sponsor behind the two of them. ¡¹
This was the answer that Yoo Jonghyuk found. I shouted at him. ¡°Stop, Yoo Jonghyuk! I said stop!¡±
The method to send me back to the third round and clear this scenario. How to die yet continue living at the same time.
¡°No matter which one survives, the other will regress!¡±
The two Yoo Jonghyuks ignored my call.
¡¸ I will die. ¡¹
¡¸ I will regress. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk knew it. He knew it very well yet he chose this method.
¡¸ The story ends here. ¡¹
¡¸ Once again, everything will start from the beginning. ¡¹
There was an end to this world that neither Han Sooyoung or I knew. The ck coat was pierced by the Heaven Shaking Sword. It was exactly half his memories. The numerous memories umted by Yoo Jonghyuk scattered in the air.
The stigma ¡®regression¡¯ could only be activated on one side. Thus, I could see it. The ck coat Yoo Jonghyuk was the one who chose to die.
[The incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has died.]
On the opposite side was the Yoo Jonghyuk in the white coat. Yoo Jonghyuk killed himself with his own hands. However, he was also stabbed. The Heaven Shaking Sword pierced his belly. The speed was slow but he was also dying.
[The sponsor of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is looking at his incarnation.]
[The stigma ¡®Regression Lv. ???¡¯ has been activated!]
[Incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has epted the intention of his sponsor.]
Even so Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t die. He would open his eyes in the darkness and appear in the subway of the 1864th round, starting everything once again.
¡¸ This is a reward for showing your world. ¡¹
Some stories flowed from the fingertips of Yoo Jonghyuk in the white coat and reached me.
[The stories of the character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ have been given to you.]
I approached Yoo Jonghyuk. The person who protected my youth was disappearing into a world I didn¡¯t know.
¡¸ The next round... ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s figure started to scatter. I didn¡¯t hear any more of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts through Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint no longer worked for him.
[This person isn¡¯t a ¡®character.¡¯]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s appearance was fading into the light of this world. By the time I staggered towards him, Yoo Jonghyuk had already disappeared from the world. I looked back and saw Han Sooyoung sitting down with a despairing face.
[You have cleared the criteria of the Outer World Covenant.]
The dazzling light filled the air like ashes, revealing a pale reality. In it, Yoo Jonghyuk was walking towards a world we didn¡¯t know.
Chapter 298 - Reader and Writer (4)
Chapter 298: Episode 56 ¨C Reader and Writer (4)
Yoo Jonghyuk died.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking violently.]
It didn¡¯t feel real.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is severely shaking!]
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
I couldn¡¯t breathe from the horror that filled my lungs. Why did Yoo Jonghyuk suddenly get the ¡®writer¡¯ attribute and why did he choose to die or regress? I seemed to know but it was hard to understand. There was no more of the original Yoo Jonghyuk that I knew. Only a handful of stories proved his absence.
...I felt like this.
¡¸ This is a novel. It is a story in a novel. ¡¹
I slowly inhaled and breathed out again.
¡¸ Yoo Jonghyuk escaped from being a character. ¡¹
I got tinnitus and my heart beat like crazy. I once again breathed in and out.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated more strongly!]
My senses slowly returned and the murmurs of the party members were heard.
¡°...What happened?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you just hear? The scenario is cleared!¡±
I pped my cheeks twice and raised my head as I felt the status of the apocalypse dragon flowing from the seal.
[The neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ is preparing the battlefield for the Apocalypse Dragon.]
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ is preparing for the disaster.]
[The neb ¡®Tamna¡¯...]
If my prediction was correct, there was still time. I shouted towards the party members scattered all over the ce. ¡°Everyone gather together. I have a story to tell.¡±
The party members gathered around me despite their wariness. Someone was supporting the fallen Han Sooyoung while Kim Namwoon and Lee Jihye showed strong hostility towards me.
¡°After a while, the Apocalypse Dragon will be released. In rtion to that¨D¡±
¡°Shut up! What were you doing earlier? You and Yoo Jonghyuk joined together to attack Master!¡± Lee Jihye screamed as she aimed her de at my neck. Then Lee Hyunsung muttered, ¡°Dokja-ssi, that thing...¡±
¡°Captain! What about this jerk? Should I take care of him?¡±
Kim Namwoon filled his hands with the ck mes. Han Sooyoung shook her head. ¡°...Everybody, listen to him.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Listen to him.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes were open but the empty pupils proved that he gave up everything. Han Sooyoung resembled me. She might look like this on the surface but she already understood the situation in her head. Maybe she was thinking about the next n.
I looked around at the party members. Lee Hyunsung, Kim Namwoon, Lee Seolhwa, Lee Jihye, Shin Yoosung...
The people who survived the 1863rd round. I could¡¯ve told them the truth about Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung was using you. In order to make a new world, she wanted to end your story here. Even so, I couldn¡¯t say it.
¡°Everybody, take care of the captain. Don¡¯t jump to rash conclusions. Listen to Dokja-ssi.¡±
It was because they were seriously following Han Sooyoung. The group¡¯s hostility towards me was dampened by Lee Hyunsung¡¯s words.
I started the story. ¡°The liberation of the apocalypse dragon isn¡¯t over when the seal is released. You might not know it but the end of this scenario...¡±
I looked up at the sky. The other party members also looked up with me. The sealing sphere was crumpled. The fragments of the seal were breaking little by little. As time went on, the density of the sky was bing thicker.
I relied on the Fourth Wall and spat out empty words. ¡°Go back to the headquarters and prepare for the next scenario. Maybe there will be three days left.¡±
***
I could immediately leave the 1863rd round. However, I couldn¡¯t do this because the characters in this turn were people I liked.
I earned some time from the liberation of the apocalypse dragon by using the Grass-Cutting Sword as thest key. It wascking a bit of status to be used as a key, slightly dying the release of the apocalypse dragon.
I had to use this time wisely. Now that Han Sooyoung had chosen this route, the destruction of at least one neb was determined. The most important thing was to avoid Earth being destroyed.
The next day, I handed Lee Hyunsung a considerable amount of information. They were all ns that I had mapped out beforehand. From avoiding the disaster of the apocalypse dragon to gaining new stories and items. I also handed over the list of the strongest people.
Lee Hyunsung listened to my story from beginning to end and suddenly looked up. ¡°...How does Dokja-ssi know all of this?¡±
¡°It is the reason why Han Sooyoung knows.¡±
I tried to avoid unnecessary exnations but Lee Hyunsung¡¯s expression was unusual. Lee Hyunsung hesitated for a long time before saying something unexpected. ¡°Is Dokja-ssi a ¡®giarist writer?¡¯¡±
¡°...giarist writer?¡±
¡°You... aren¡¯t? I¡¯m sorry.¡±
I was filled with confusion. ¡°Did Han Sooyoung talk about her attributes?¡±
¡°Ah, well...¡±
Lee Hyunsung scratched his head with a troubled expression. I couldn¡¯t believe it. The prideful and selfish Han Sooyoung showed her original attribute? Why?
¡°Everyone get out.¡±
I was just thinking this when the door to the situation room opened and someone entered. It was Han Sooyoung who was wearing a hat deep over her face.
¡°Yes, I understand.¡± Lee Hyunsung bowed, packed up and went out of the room. The only ones left in the room were Han Sooyoung and me.
Since I cleared my Outer World Covenant, it must be the same for Han Sooyoung. In such circumstances, there was no reason for her to show hostility to me.
¡°Your mental state seems better.¡±
¡°Shut up.¡± Han Sooyoung answered as she folded her arms and sat down on the chair. I asked, ¡°Why are youining?¡±
¡°Comining? Is that what you¡¯re calling it? Thanks to you, all the people here might die.¡±
I saw the party members waiting outside the room for us. The people gathered outside the transparent wall were talking with serious expressions. It was probably because of Han Sooyoung¡¯s desperate expression shortly after Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s death. I stated, ¡°It is better to go to the next scenario than fall asleep forever.¡±
Outside the window, Lee Hyunsung met my gaze and smiled faintly. Lee Hyunsung knew that Han Sooyoung was a giarist. Maybe Lee Hyunsung knew that Han Sooyoung would abandon them. He was bear-like but he had a deep heart. Lee Hyunsung might¡¯ve predicted that this would happen. Nevertheless, he decided to follow Han Sooyoung.
I continued speaking, ¡°It isn¡¯t over when the apocalypse dragon is released. Don¡¯t you also know?¡±
Han Sooyoung bowed her head and didn¡¯t answer. The apocalypse dragon that was gradually being freed from the seal. Once freed, there would be a disaster in the Star Stream. This didn¡¯t mean that all future scenarios would end.
In fact, in the 1863rd round, Yoo Jonghyuk freed the apocalypse dragon and saw the end of the scenario.
¡°Exin it to the members. Everything you did and everything you hid. It might not be a perfect development but there is a way to do it.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°There are still many ces where you can borrow power. Anna Croft¡¯s Zarathustra, the Seekers of the End, the Transcendent King and ¡®the person¡¯ who lives on the reincarnation...¡±
¡°I told you to shut up.¡± Han Sooyoung looked up and red at me. The prideful eyes red at me from below the hat. By the way...something was strange.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes were swollen. As I stared at her face, Han Sooyoung growled and pressed her hat lower.
I didn¡¯t like Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd round. Even so, I could understand Han Sooyoung. The world that she wanted to make was a bit like the world I dreamt of.
Han Sooyoung spoke through gritted teeth. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk became an ¡®author.¡±
¡°Why did he suddenly get such an attribute?¡±
¡°I guess he wanted to write a new story in a very sincere manner. That is the condition to opening the ¡®author¡¯ trait.¡±
I could understand but also didn¡¯t understand. A world that couldn¡¯tplete the round but was struggling to survive... Yoo Jonghyuk went out of it in order to write his own story.
Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t speak but we could clearly see what the other was thinking. Han Sooyoung raised her head, took off her hat and lit a cigarette.
I asked, ¡°How about a question and answer exchange? Don¡¯t use the system because it is annoying.¡±
Han Sooyoung smoked with an emotionless face. ¡°Lies are included?¡±
¡°Okay.¡±
¡°You first.¡±
I nodded. ¡°Who do you think is the author of Ways of Survival?¡±
Han Sooyoung once again sucked in smoke and blew it out. Then she replied, ¡°A very big baby.¡±
¡°...Baby?¡±
¡°In a world without scenarios, only the desire to see the next story... a baby with a terrible imagination.¡±
Something came to my mind. A world without scenarios. There was only one such world in this Star Stream.
¡°Don¡¯t tell me...¡±
¡°You better not say it with your mouth.¡± Han Sooyoung pointed at the sky. ¡°It might be listening.¡±
I closed my mouth. It wasn¡¯t impossible if that ¡®existence¡¯ was really the writer. However...
My head was in aplicated state as I told Han Sooyoung, ¡°It¡¯s your turn. Ask.¡±
¡°I¡¯m thinking, please wait.¡±
¡°...There isn¡¯t much time so ask me quickly. I¡¯m leaving tomorrow morning.¡±
¡°Tomorrow morning?¡±
¡°I have fulfilled the Outer World Covenant and need to go back to my original world.¡±
Han Sooyoung frowned slightly. ¡°You are finished and you¡¯re going to throw us away? That¡¯s great. My world is ruined...¡±
¡°Everything I know was handed to Lee Hyunsung. They can proceed to the end without any other help.¡±
I thought as I nced at the people outside the situation room. From the beginning, this world was ¡®their world.¡¯ I asked, ¡°When are you going to leave?¡±
¡°Leave?¡±
¡°You have also fulfilled the Outer World Covenant.¡±
I wasn¡¯t the only one to finish the Outer World Covenant. Yoo Jonghyuk had died and Han Sooyoung fulfilled his mission. She would now leave toplete her ¡®world¡¯ with the help of Secretive Plotter.
¡°Han Sooyoung?¡±
Han Sooyoung stared at the floor and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡±
Chapter 299 - Reader and Writer (5)
Chapter 299: Episode 56 ¨C Reader and Writer (5)
¡°What?¡±
¡°I won¡¯t go.¡±
It was an unexpected answer so I looked like a fool. ¡°Why?¡±
¡°Without me, they will all die.¡±
I doubted my ears. I couldn¡¯t believe that Han Sooyoung could talk like this. My voice involuntarily became louder and aggressive.
¡°Didn¡¯t you want to make your own world?¡±
¡°...I can make my worldter. Somebody has to lead them.¡±
¡°Why all of a sudden...¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk is no longer a character. What do you think that means?¡±
I closed my mouth.
¡°It is no longer a novel.¡±
My heart pounded at Han Sooyoung¡¯s words.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
¡°It isn¡¯t about being forgiven for everything. No matter how the developments flow, we should end the story properly.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s face couldn¡¯t be seen properly because of the brim of her hat. Before my words finished, Han Sooyoung left the situation room. I saw Han Sooyoung talking to the people outside the situation room. I kept watching.
***
Before leaving, there were a few things that needed to be addressed. One of them was Uriel.
I looked down at the confined Uriel doll. She was currently in a state of calm but once the confinement was over, Uriel would wake up again as the Angel of mes. She would burn all living things around her.
Gabriel¡¯s true voice entered my ears. [What are you going to do with Uriel?]
¡°I am thinking.¡±
I looked down at Gabriel who was waving her helplessly drooping petals. Perhaps she was shocked by the situation here. ording to the original setting, Gabriel was someone who took good care of other angels.
[I¡¯ll stay.]
¡°It isn¡¯t possible.¡±
[Why? Is it because I betrayed this ce?]
I didn¡¯t answer. Gabriel acted like it was unfair.
[Why did I betray Eden?]
¡°It must¡¯ve been an unavoidable decision for you.¡±
[Tell me the details urately. What happened? You know something!]
¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. If you are curious, go back and talk to Metatron.¡±
It wasn¡¯t good for me to intervene in this thing. There was a possibility that the development of the third round could find unexpected difficulties because of misinterpreted information. Gabriel¡¯s leaves trembled.
[If I go back, won¡¯t I betray Eden again? Then I would rather remain here¨D]
¡°The future can change. We have to go back.¡± I spoke with confidence. This world wasn¡¯t our world.
[Then Uriel...!]
¡°I told you, I¡¯m thinking.¡±
For now, the best option was to leave Uriel to Han Sooyoung. However, I wasn¡¯t sure if she could control the Archangel of mes.
¡¸ The Fourth Wall is saying, ¡°Do you want me toe out?¡± ¡¹
There was a way to tell Uriel the story of the third round. However, as I said many times, there was no guarantee that Uriel would hear the story and react like Yoo Jonghyuk. Perhaps the story of my world line might further ruin Uriel¡¯s insecure spirit.
Still, there might be a bigger problem if I really left Gabriel here. Moreover, Gabriel couldn¡¯t use Confinement of Good and Evil... I would also like to stay a bit longer and help Uriel...
[I will stay, Gabriel.]
The petals of the red cosmos swayed. I reflexively bowed my head and the startled Gabriel shouted, [...Jophiel?]
[It is best that I stay.]
It was an unexpected deration. Even I was stunned. It wasn¡¯t another archangel. Jophiel was dering to stay here?
[I decided after careful consideration. I can control Uriel through Confinement of Good and Evil. Thus, it is right for me to stay here.]
¡°Jophiel, if you don¡¯t return to the original world now, you might never be able to return.¡±
[There are a few ways to cross world lines.]
¡°I know but they all require a tremendous price.¡±
[It doesn¡¯t matter if I can¡¯t go back.]
[Jophiel!]
Jophiel didn¡¯t back down despite Gabriel¡¯s cry.
[This world line also has value. I don¡¯t want to depend on this insidious guy but I think it is better to find out more about this world. I have an obligation to find out why the Eden here was destroyed, what things will happen in the future and to inform the original world.]
Jophiel¡¯s remark was reasonable. This world was very different from the old 1863rd round and it would certainly help if information could be sent to the third round.
[Wait, Jophiel! Why are you making this decision¨D]
[There is no turning back Gabriel.]
A gleam of light emerged from the red cosmos and this turned into a white light that bound the white lily. It was Confinement of Good and Evil. Gabriel¡¯s petals drooped like he fell asleep. Jophiel told me. [Please look after Gabriel.]
¡°Why are you doing this?¡±
[Uriel needs Gabriel. And Gabriel... both of them are unstable.]
I thought like Archangel Jophiel. Eden was a neb made up of archangels.
¡°Then you?¡±
[I don¡¯t believe in you but I have one thing to ask.]
I hesitated before nodding.
[After returning to the original world line, please visit Eden. Then I hope you can tell the scribe what happened here. Can you do that?]
¡°I understand.¡±
Certainly, it wasn¡¯t a difficult request. I was already nning to visit Eden.
Soon after, Jophiel¡¯s cosmos flower drooped. It was a seemingly sleepy and tired appearance. I changed the water bottles of the two flowers.
Someone was left and someone was leaving. No matter what was chosen, everyone would eventually reach their end.
***
The next morning, I was sent off by the party members. Many things had happened but the party members said they would send me off. To be precise, it was Lee Hyunsung who said it.
I turned my head and saw Han Sooyoung staring at me with her unique disgruntled face. I handed her a wrinkled notebook. Han Sooyoung bluntly wondered, ¡°...What is this rubbish?¡±
¡°The information you need now.¡±
I had selected a few more pieces of information that would be useful for the 1863rd round from Ways of Survival.
Sparks rose around Han Sooyoung¡¯s body. I vaguely knew its identity. The sparks were rted to Han Sooyoung¡¯s identity as a ¡®character.¡¯
¡°Don¡¯t throw it away and look at it whenever you have time.¡±
Han Sooyoung stared down at the notebook I gave her and asked, ¡°...Is this okay?¡±
¡°What?¡±
[The Fourth Wall is strongly activated!]
Han Sooyoung stared at me carefully as if reading something on my fate. Then she shook her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Never mind.¡±
...She was unreliable.
Lee Hyunsung listened to the conversation and opened his mouth. ¡°It would¡¯ve been nice if we couldn¡¯t carried out the scenario together. It is unfortunate.¡±
Lee Hyunsung, who became close to me, said goodbye first and then Kim Namwoon stared at me.
¡°Bah, get lost. Give my best regards to the me over there.¡±
Of course, it wouldn¡¯t happen. I had to go to the next world to speak to Kim Namwoon of the third round.
The moment I finished the goodbyes and was turning around.
¡°Hey.¡±
Something with a soft weight came flying towards my back. I hurriedly turned my head and grabbed it. A white coat was caught. It was the Infinite Dimension Space Coat.
¡°Didn¡¯t you never get a clear reward? Take this.¡±
It was the coat that Han Sooyoung was wearing. I was dumbfounded. ¡°Coming to the 95th scenario and only getting something like this¨D¡±
Han Sooyoung looked at me like I was pathetic. Then a thought crossed my mind. This bastard, don¡¯t tell me? I ced my hands in my pocket with a bemused expression and Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°The
question I didn¡¯t ask yesterday, can I finish it now?¡±
¡°...Speak.¡±
¡°Why did you say you wouldn¡¯t go back to the third round?¡±
It was an unexpected question. Han Sooyoung continued to ask. ¡°You are ying my part over there... if you didn¡¯t go back, that world would¡¯ve perished. You should know this so why¨D¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see... why?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Even without me, the third round would¡¯ve been fine for a long time.¡±
¡°How can you be sure?¡± Han Sooyoung stared at me suspiciously.
¡°You are there.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s expression slightly hardened at my words. Her eyes were shaking with vague surprise.
¡°I believe in the you of the third round.¡±
Han Sooyoung stared at me for a moment before turning her head away. ¡°Quickly get lost. I don¡¯t want to see you anymore.¡±
¡°I¡¯m going. Stay alive and well.¡±
I looked up at the sky.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at the night sky.]
[Secretive Plotter! Please fulfil the contents of the covenant.]
A new portal was created under my feet. It felt like something was pulling at me as the world started to copse. The world of the 1863rd round was bing dim.
A world different from the original that I knew. It was a short time but I felt that many things had changed.
Lee Hyunsung waved while the others sent me off withplicated expressions. Just like Yoo Jonghyuk did and I did, they would walk through a world different from the original that I knew.
Maybe someday, our worlds might be able to meet one another. However, even if we couldn¡¯t meet again, there was no doubt that the world existed. Just like Ways of Survival was to me.
The world was dark. I felt dizzy while hearing the voice of an outer god.
[ On ly the sto ry with out a be gin ning or end will re main. ]
The ground disappeared and I was sucked into the portal. The metaphysically distorted pathways narrowed and expanded several times.
I closed my eyes and let my body flow in an unmeasurable passage of time. I shouldn¡¯t have been gone for too long from the third round.
After a while, I fell to the ground with a loud sound.
[The Outer World Covenant has beenpleted!]
[Thepensation will be settled.]
To be precise, it wasn¡¯t the ground. It was the gxy of the Star Stream that I had seen before. My body was floating in the emptiness of the universe. I groaned and saw the hem of a ck cloak dragging against the ground.
[ You came. ]
It was Secretive Plotter.
Chapter 300 - Episode 57 - Glorious Return (1)
Chapter 300: Episode 57 ¨C Glorious Return (1)
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
The Fourth Wall moved the moment Secretive Plotter stared at me. The Fourth Wall growled like a beast protecting its cubs.
¡¸ Be care ful Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
The first time I came here, Secretive Plotter called the Fourth Wall the ¡®Last Wall.¡¯ There was no information about it in the original but that didn¡¯t mean I had no idea at all. It was because there were various types of walls in Ways of Survival, including Jang Hayoung¡¯s Unidentified Wall.
¡°I came to receive thepensation, Secretive Plotter.¡± I opened my mouth but Secretive Plotter didn¡¯t reply. Sparks were flying around Secretive Plotter. The darkness covering his expression looked angry as he asked me, [Demon King of Salvation, why did you make that choice?]
¡°Huh?¡±
I didn¡¯t know what he meant by his sudden question. Secretive Plotter asked again, [ Why didn¡¯t you want to go back to the third round? That world wasn¡¯t your round. ]
¡°This world saved my life. That¡¯s it.¡±
[ If you left it, they could find rest. ]
¡°That isn¡¯t rest. Secretive Plotter, why did you send me to that parallel world?¡±
The sparks around Secretive Plotter intensified. It seemed like his existence was bing unstable. Secretive Plotter sighed and said,[ Everything was already decided... you don¡¯t know what you changed. ]
The white hole in the ce where there should be eyes was watching me.
[ I will give you the reward I promised. ]
I nodded. There were three rewards promised for this sub scenario. An item, skill and story that was acquired in the 1863rd round.
[ What item will you take? ]
¡°This coat.¡± I was a bit tense as I pulled out the white coat that Han Sooyoung gave me. Secretive Plotter¡¯s eyes leaked out light and narrowed. It seemed I couldn¡¯t deceive the outer god.
Secretive Plotter had promised me one item. However, the coat¡¯s inner pockets contained more than one item.
[ ...That¡¯s fine. Since one less flower is returning, the total sum of probability must be simr to the flower. ]
[The ¡®Infinite Dimension Space Coat¡¯ has been received as a reward item.]
Fortunately, Secretive Plotter overlooked Han Sooyoung¡¯s coat. Next was the ¡®story.
[ You will naturally be taking ¡®that¡¯ story? ]
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
In the first ce, the only story I got in the 1863rd round was the one that Yoo Jonghyuk gave to me. Obtaining this story meant I needed to modify some of my nned routes but... it didn¡¯t matter. The important thing was to see the end of the story that I chose.
[You have acquired a new story.]
[This story will be applied normally after returning to the original world line.]
Last was the ¡®skill.¡¯
[ What will you do about the skill? You didn¡¯t acquire any new skills. ]
¡°I wasn¡¯t able to receive a skill but... is it possible to receive this type ofpensation?¡±
I started exining to Secretive Plotter. After a while, Secretive Plotter nodded. [ It is possible. ]
[You have acquired the reward skill.]
[This skill will be applied normally after returning to the original world line.]
I obtained everything I needed to get. The unexpected happened when I was going to ask the Secretive Plotter to return me to my original world. There were strong sparks as someone tried to prate this space from the rear.
I noticed the ¡®status¡¯ that could be felt beyond this space. It seemed that the bureau had noticed Secretive Plotter in this ce. In other words, the person trying to break into this space was likely to be a great dokkaebi of the bureau.
[ You¡¯ll be going now, Demon King of Salvation. ]
Secretive Plotter moved his fingertips lightly and a portal appeared under my feet.
I hurriedly called out to Secretive Plotter. ¡°Wait a minute! How many years will have passed when I return to the world?¡±
Secretive Plotter nced at me.
[ Some stories are read quickly and some are read slowly. ]
I tried to open my mouth but my lower body had already passed through the portal.
[ Demon King of Salvation. Do you think the story of your disappearance will be read quickly or slowly? ]
I could hear a mischievousughing from somewhere. The portal was fully activated and my field of view waspletely blocked.
[ Once we meet again, I hope that you are the proper master of the wall. ]
***
Was it because it wasn¡¯t my first time crossing the world line? I was able to maintain my consciousness despite being swept through the portal.
[The Fourth Wall is strongly activated!]
[The Viceroy¡¯s Dimensional Door has set the time-space coordinates.]
The scene of the flowing Star Stream. I thought of the things I needed in the memories that floated up like buoys.
[The Viceroy¡¯s Dimensional Door is closed.]
I woke up at the message and was lying on the ground. It was a spacious ce dimly illuminated bynterns hanging from the ceiling. There seemed to be voices in the distance.
...Where was I? It didn¡¯t seem to be Earth. Why? Why did I suddenlye here?
[The Star Stream has detected your presence in the world!]
[The Star Stream has reconfirmed your modifier.]
[The Star Stream will assign you to the scope of your constetion.]
[The bureau is calcting your status.]
I thought I knew what was going on. I left the scenario of the original world through the Outer World Covenant. A price was necessary to return to the original scenario. I felt the muscles of my body jerking as the messages continued to rise.
[The bureau haspleted your examination.]
[Returning you to the original scenario isn¡¯t suitable.]
[The bureau will review scenarios for your level.
[The review has beenpleted.]
I sighed as I watched the messages that came up.
...I expected this to happen. No, actually, I intended it. I left my original world and went to another world. The categories were different but all beings who came back to the original scenario like me were called by the same name.
[You have acquired a new story!]
[You have acquired a new attribute!]
[You have obtained the qualification of a ¡®returnee.¡¯]
[A new scenario is being prepared for you.]
I had be a returnee. I slowly raised my body and saw several men and women talking around me. They were all returnees like me.
¡°Hahaha, I can finally return to Earth! It has been 10 years!¡±
¡°I have been waiting 20 years.¡±
¡°Where have you been? Based on the colours, was it Murim?¡±
¡°I¡¯m from Gratus. Have you heard of it?¡±
Then someone waved at me. ¡°Oh, you must be thest one.¡±
It was a man dressed in ck shaman clothing. He was wearing a mask but his eyes and the impression he gave off were somewhat familiar.
I briefly greeted him and the man spoke again. ¡°Brother, where are you from?¡±
¡°Earth.¡±
¡°No, that isn¡¯t the question. There is no one here who isn¡¯t from Earth... I¡¯m asking about the you moved from.¡±
The man smiled wryly. At this moment, I thought I knew the identity of the man.
¡¸ A towering person who looks like he has a bag of tricks. Eyes that are suitable for night vision and only half the eyebrows are left, as if eaten by crows. ¡¹
I couldn¡¯t help smiling. It was already time for this person to appear...
¡°The ce I went to was also Earth. The Earth of a parallel dimension.¡±
¡°Hrmm, is that so? You are a very unusual person.¡±
The man extended his hand towards me.
¡°I will introduce myself first. My name is Wang Weirong. In the 2nd Murim that I went to, I was called Flying Fox.¡±
Flying Fox, Wang Weirong. He was one of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ster colleagues.
¡°My name is Kim Dokja.¡± Also known as... um... the Demon King of Salvation.¡±
A few returnees listening to the story from the sideughed.
¡°Demon King of Salvation? Kuhahahat!¡±
¡°It is a great title. It looks like you went to some third-rate fantasy world!¡±
A hand hit me on the back. More of them were returnees from Murim or a medieval world. Flying Fox said with a grin. ¡°Nice nickname.¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±
¡°By the way, you have already been given the returnee¡¯s clothing.¡±
¡°Ah, yes.¡±
I looked down at the Infinite Dimension Space Coat I was wearing. I forgot it was originally a garment only for returnees, just like the Disaster of Questions who I once faced. Maybe that guy was summoned to Earth after going through the same procedure.
Just then, dokkaebis appeared in the air and started giving coats to the returnees. Several returnees looked between the coats they received and mind and protested.
¡°Hey dokkaebi! The one he is wearing looks much better...!¡±
It was natural. It didn¡¯t make sense if a coat received from the 95th scenario was worse than the supply coat.
Some of the dokkaebis were shocked when they saw me and reported to their superiors. By now, Bihyung should know I was back.
I wanted to see the people of Earth as soon as possible. How many years had passed? Everybody had to be doing well.
Flying Fox received the coat and said with a smile, ¡°Uh, nice clothes. What will you do when you get back?¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to look for somebody.¡±
¡°Ho, do you have a lover waiting?¡± I smiled at him. Flying Fox kept speaking. ¡°I think I will live in a grand style once I go back. I have obtained a long-awaited strength. I don¡¯t need to be intimidated by bullies anymore! Now is the beginning of happiness!¡±
¡°...The days won¡¯t be that happy. Earth would¡¯ve changed a lot.¡±
¡°Uhuh, you are already talking weakly. I have been through all that suffering. What can happen when I get back to Earth?¡±
[All returnees, please pay attention.]
The turmoil subsided and the intermediate dokkaebi in charge of the returnees opened his mouth as the representative.
[You will soon return to Earth. You will be assigned a ¡®returnee only scenario¡¯ and will perform that scenario in your hometown. It is a simple y and I would appreciate it if you enjoyed it.]
¡°A returnee scenario? Tell us properly!¡±
[Please check the scenario window for details. Ah, please note that this is a group scenario so there is a leader. Please remember that the one with the most prominent status will be automatically elected as leader.]
¡°I will naturally be the leader!¡±
¡°That friend from Murim looks pretty strong...¡±
I wondered who would be the ¡®king¡¯ of this group.
[The return to Earth has begun!]
Together with the dazzling light, the 10 returnees started to move through the space at once. My vision briefly ckened and when I opened my eyes again, we were in the middle of a vast city.
A damaged sidewalk covered with dust. The skyline where the reconstruction of buildings had begun. It was unmistakably Earth.
¡°Where is this? Those characters...¡±
¡°South Korea! It is South Korea!¡±
A returnee from the Korean Penins jumped forward. I checked the information rted to the ¡®returnees scenario¡¯ and shouted, ¡°Wait a minute. Everyone calm down and gather together.¡±
The returnees were already out of control. Some hasty returnees grabbed the people passing by and asked,
¡°Where is this? What year is it now?¡±
I sighed,
[The ¡®returnee trigger¡¯ has been activated!]
¡°T-They asked for the date! They are returnees!¡±
¡°Aaaack! Returnees! Run away!¡±
¡°Report to the alliance!¡±
The whole street was rattled by the word ¡®returnee.¡¯ The people fled like the tide and the returnees made puzzled expressions.
¡°What? What did I do wrong?¡±
[A new main scenario has arrived.]
[Main Scenario #45 ¨D ¡®Glorious Return¡¯ has started!]
The reflections on the ss building could be seen. Sparks flew as my appearance changed. It was the terrible appearance of a dirty monster with tentacles.
The real me wasn¡¯t like this but outwardly, I looked like a smaller outer god. I probably looked like this to everyone on Earth. To the people of Earth, all returnees were disasters.
The incarnations of Earth stepped closer with cold eyes. I turned around to see the confused Flying Fox open his trembling lips. ¡°B-Brother. What is this...?¡±
¡°I told you nothing joyful would be waiting for us.¡±
[The summoning of the 163rd returnees group has beenpleted!]
[You¡¯re the king of the 163rd returnees group.]
Chapter 301 - Episode 57 - Glorious Return (2)
Chapter 301: Episode 57 ¨C Glorious Return (2)
It was a tranquil dream. Smoke spread in the field of view. It was definitely South Korea but there were unfamiliar structures and story weapons I had never seen, while the sky was dark like the world was about to copse...
Han Sooyoung in the dream muttered, ¡®What is this?¡¯
However, her voice didn¡¯te out at all. There were two people fighting in front of her. A man in a ck coat and a white coat. She had seen this before but something was different. The two men had the same face.
...Yoo Jonghyuk? There was a sound and the two Yoo Jonghyuk in front of her were gone.
What was this situation? What the hell was this sight? In a ce not far away, she saw Kim Dokja. Kim Dokja knelt down like a man who lost everything. The moment Han Sooyoung reached out her hand, somebody called from right beside her.
-It is up to here.
She looked over and there was a ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ with the same face as herself. A chill went down her spine. The cold feeling caused Han Sooyoung to wake up from her dream.
¡°...!¡±
Han Sooyoung woke up with a light man and realized she was lying on the couch.
¡°Another dream, dammit.¡±
It was a dream that had been repeating since a few days ago. Yoo Jonghyuk and Yoo Jonghyuk fought each other while another one of her and Kim Dokja watched. At first, she thought it was a visionary dream. However, no matter how much she tried to interpret it, she couldn¡¯t get a sense of the dream.
News wasing from the distant television.
-Theunch of the new Incarnation Alliance is causing a change to the situation on the Korean Penins...
Han Sooyoung listened nkly while rolling around the cold ice in her mouth.
...Huh? Ice?
¡°What is this? Ahjumma, did you put it in my mouth?¡±
¡°Why would I do that?¡±
Lee Sookyung received the water without even looking back. Han Sooyoung frowned as she broke the ice. Then it had to be Yoo Sangah. ¡°How long did I sleep?¡±
¡°Two hours.¡±
¡°Yoo Sangah?¡±
¡°She is drinking coffee in the break room.¡±
¡°What break room? Is this ce apany?¡±
She said this but in fact, the building they were residing in was an abandonedpany building. Han Sooyoung grumbled and headed to the break room. ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡±
There was a small paper cup on the table in the break room. Yoo Sangah was moving her white fingers through the air. The information that emerged from the hologram was leaking into Yoo Sangah¡¯s retinas. The startled Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°...Are you crazy? Are you using that stigma again?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You can score goals at a really young age. I don¡¯t know what will happen if you spam such a powerful stigma...¡±
The stigma used by Yoo Sangah was the Hermes System of Olympus. It was Olympus¡¯s big datawork that gained information from all over the Star Stream to measure the future.
¡°It can¡¯t be helped. The worst situation has to be avoided.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t I know information about the future?¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t enough. There are too many variables.¡±
The stigma Hermes Stigma dramatically shortens the user¡¯s life span. Han Sooyoung was aware of this fact but she was unable to dissuade Yoo Sangah because Yoo Sangah yed arge credit in the group members reaching the 45th scenario. If it wasn¡¯t for Yoo Sangah measuring future scenarios, the party members would¡¯ve experienced a major crisis in the 35th scenario and 40th scenario.
Han Sooyoung bit her lips. This girl...
It had been three years since Kim Dokja disappeared. It had already been a long time since the hope of himing back had started to dim. Steam rose from the cup of coffee. Yoo Sangah stared at it and opened her mouth. ¡°Sitting here reminds me of my days working at thepany. At the time, I always hid in the break room.¡±
¡°I never worked in apany so I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°You definitely aren¡¯t apany person.¡±
Yoo Sangah smiled and Han Sooyoung licked her lips. ¡°You were in the samepany as Kim Dokja?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Were the two of you close?¡±
Yoo Sangah stared at Han Sooyoung, who had tried to sound casual. Yoo Sangah smiled and replied,
¡°Even then, we wererades.¡±
¨CDisaster alert!
¨CDisaster alert!
There were loud notifications and Han Sooyoung rushed to the office. Lee Sookyung, who had been on standby, checked the warning area through the television.
¡°...Another? Where is it this time?¡±
¡°Busan.¡±
¡°Busan? That isn¡¯t too far. The kids will handle it.¡± Han Sooyoung replied curtly while looking at the news sh on the screen. Tentacled monsters appeared on the screen and engaged with incarnations.
Lee Sookyung sighed and asked, ¡°Sooyoung, are you keeping in touch with the other kids?¡±
¡°Why keep in contact with the kids who don¡¯t like me? Rather, what is emerging on the bowl Ahjumma?¡±
Lee Sookyung looked down at her star relic. Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°What have you seen this time?¡±
Lee Sookyung didn¡¯t answer. Han Sooyoung raised her head as she smelt something strange and Lee Sookyung stood like a stiff statue.
Thus, Han Sooyoung realized something.
Kim Dokja had disappeared for three years. In the first ce, there was only one thing that Lee Sookyung had been checking.
Han Sooyoung stared at the bowl for a long time before dering, ¡°I¡¯m going to take a quick trip to Busan. By the way, there is Yoo Jonghyuk now?¡±
***
I looked at the scenario window that popped up in the air.
+
[Main Scenario #45 ¨D ¡®Glorious Return¡¯]
Category: Main
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: After a long journey, you have finally returned home. Let people in your hometown
know about your presence and leave a mark that you are back in one of the main base areas. The people of your hometown will wee you.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: 200,000 coins, the removal of the disaster transformation.
Failure: Death
* While the scenario is in progress, the incarnations will recognize returnees as creatures.
* While the scenario is in progress, the incarnations can¡¯t understand thenguage of the returnees.
+
The clear conditions were screwed up but cursing didn¡¯t make people feel better.
[Your goal is ¡®Yeouido, Seoul.]
[There is currently no markable base area nearby.]
I took a deep breath. Yes, maybe this was better. If I had to carry out the 45th scenario anyway, it might be a good thing that I was a returnee. This scenario was practice for some ces that would be opened in the future.
¡°Shit! Why are they attacking?¡±
The returnees attacked by incarnations were angry. Not all the surviving incarnations were strong. There were still some incarnations without sponsors and others whoter joined the scenario. Therefore, the attacks of the incarnations weren¡¯t threatening to the returnees.
¡°I can¡¯t stand it. Hey friends, just wipe out the whole area¨D¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t possible.¡±
The returnees¡¯ expressions hardened at my words. ¡°Why? They attacked first!¡±
¡°What is the good reason?¡±
¡°What is the reason? Shit, look at their faces. They want to catch and kill us right away.¡±
It certainly seemed that way. I was confused on how to exin this situation.
[The dokkaebis disapprove of your presence.]
Originally, the 45th scenario was a full-scale deployment of returnees and existing incarnations. Since my group number was 163, there must be 162 groups summoned all over the world.
The first returnees war. In the original novel, the third round Korean Penins was devastated by this war. In other words, it would flow like the original if this kept happening.
¡°What? The disasters are talking together?¡±
¡°Kill them quickly! The ck mes Empress said so. It is easy to kill them when they are off guard!¡±
¡°No, didn¡¯t you hear about the Moonlight Wise Empress? There are disasters that canmunicate so be careful...¡±
I heard some familiar nicknames. In any case, the strong incarnations of the Korean Penins were still alive, allowing these incarnations to be carefree.
Then a returnee waiting for my words seized my cor. ¡°I will kill you if you disturb me. Get lost.¡±
¡°What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±
The returnee aimed his status at me and I grabbed the returnee¡¯s wrist.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is opening his ¡®status.¡¯]
There was the sound of bones breaking and the face of the returnee I grabbed started to turn blue.
¡°W-Who are you...?¡±
The frightened returnee¡¯s legs weakened.
[The temporary channel has opened.]
[The constetions of the Korean Penins are paying attention to you!]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ has entered the channel.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ feels a sense of deja vu from you.]
They were wee modifiers but now wasn¡¯t the time for greetings. I told the returnees, [Shut up and put away all weapons. Then gather by my side. I will blow away your brains if you arete, so move quickly.]
I deliberately spoke in a radical manner. Those who realized the difference in my true voice gathered around me. By the way, it wasn¡¯t only the returnees who were confused.
¡°Crazy! What is that monster?¡±
¡°Report it quickly! Report to the alliance!¡±
The incarnations that felt my status were running away. I thought this had worked out better. Flying Fox asked, ¡°B-Brother. Are you the leader of our group?¡±
I nodded and the returnees eximed, ¡°Oh my god, we have a constetion among us...¡±
There were 10 returnees gathered around me. There were five from a medieval and three from Murim. The remaining two were from other areas. I gazed at their faces one by one and started talking.
¡°I don¡¯t know where you came from or your purpose foring back.¡± The nervous returnees were looking at me. ¡°There is one certain thing. If this scenario fails, we will all die.¡±
Some of the returnees btedly opened the scenario window.
¡°You can¡¯t meet your loved ones or acquaintances, nor can you step on your hometown. We will be remembered as ¡®disasters¡¯ to the people of Earth.¡±
The returnees who argued with me and the returnees who were deeply shocked. They seemed to being to their senses one by one. Some returnees saw themselves in the ss of the broken buildings.
¡°The reason they attacked us...¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t just our appearance. There were returnees who were summoned before us.¡±
Some returnees came back because they missed their homes while others came back to destroy their homes. They threatened Earth¡¯s well-being and perhaps it was currently happening in other ces. I dered with confidence, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t fight. It will only cause ruin.¡±
¡°Why don¡¯t we tell them that we don¡¯t intend to fight?¡±
¡°It is doubtful if they will believe it and it is also hard tomunicate our words. Our words won¡¯t be properly conveyed to them until the end of the scenario.¡±
The returnees¡¯ expressions darkened. ¡°Do you have any ns?¡±
¡°Avoidbat as much as possible. Make it a top priority to leave a mark on a base. Once we clear this scenario, we can escape from being disasters.¡±
Fortunately, I was able tomunicate with this group. There was Flying Fox so if I was lucky, I would be able toplete the scenario without much conflict. However, things didn¡¯t work out so easily, just as in all scenarios.
¡°Alliance! The Busan Alliance!¡±
Along with the shouts, people approached through the crowd of incarnations that split apart. At this moment, I heard the distant sound of boats in my ears. There was a faint saltiness in the breeze from Haeundae.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shimmering faintly.]
12 boats appeared on the sandy beach of Haeundae. Two people leapt from the front boat.
¡°The admiral hase!¡±
¡°The Insect King!¡±
I once again realized that a lot of time has passed. Some things had changed and some hadn¡¯t changed. The girl with the cap on her head was still wearing her distinctive hoodie but she no longer wore a uniform skirt.
The boy with the insect still had his distinctive, fierce eyes but his features were more pronounced and he was taller. At the very least, he couldn¡¯t stick to my thighs anymore.
¡°Kid, do you want to do it or should I?
¡°We will decide by tossing a coin.¡±
I missed them. I really missed them. I wanted to say this. The pure white sand sparkled and I knew I had to run away, but I couldn¡¯t move my feet.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at hispanions.]
Maybe I had hope. The others were different but they would definitely recognize me. Perhaps I wanted to believe that.
[The scenario penalty has distorted the indirect message.]
The next moment, an indirect message emerged in the air.
[The ¡®Ugly Squid¡¯ is provoking the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
Lee Jihye stared at me. ¡°Kid, I will kill that squid.¡±
Chapter 302 - Episode 57 - Glorious Return (3)
Chapter 302: Episode 57 ¨C Glorious Return (3)
Lee Jihye was holding the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare¡¯s sword in her hand. It wasn¡¯t the Double Dragon Swords that Lee Jihye of the 1863rd round had but the performance was excellent. Maybe she took it from a museum somewhere...
¡°Where is the squid?¡± She asked the baffled returnees.
¡°Jihye. Stop! It¡¯s me!¡± I shouted desperately but my mouth didn¡¯t open. On Lee Jihye¡¯s side, it looked like I was screaming and waving my tentacles.
¡°Ugh, disgusting squid. Die!¡± Lee Jihye¡¯s de shed as she ran towards me.
...This was vaguely simr to the 1863rd round. Lee Jihye¡¯s de narrowly grazed the top of my head. My hair was severed and Lee Gilyoung called out.
¡°Do a good job Noona! Cut the big tentacles instead of the small ones!¡±
¡°Shut up!¡±
Somehow my hair looked like tentacles to the other side. They didn¡¯t know it was me but I couldn¡¯t help feeling sad.
I warned the returnees who were retreating nervously. ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t attack! I¡¯ll take care of it!¡±
Fortunately, it wasforting that the returnees listened to me. Flying Fox¡¯s confused voice was heard. ¡°I¡¯ll help you anytime.¡±
Flying Fox was a returnee who was pretty outstanding in the 2nd Murim. If an unavoidable situation happened then I could borrow his help. How could I let Lee Jihye know of my existence?
¡°Cut the squid!¡±
In this scenario, my ¡®spokennguage¡¯ wasn¡¯t conveyed to Lee Jihye. However, originally humanmunication wasn¡¯t just through spokennguage.
¡°What? Don¡¯t move strangely!¡±
I activated Way of the Wind and started writing on the ground. Lines were drawn on the ground as I avoided Lee Jihye¡¯s sword. The returnees behind me noticed my intentions and let out exmations.
In fact, I didn¡¯t know if this would work or not. The original novel didn¡¯t cover these types ofmunication possibilities in detail. The question was, would Lee Jihye notice my intentions?
¡°What? Is it writing on the ground?¡±
Fortunately, Lee Gilyoung was quick to notice and understood my intentions first. Lee Jihye paused and looked down at the ground. There was a note left by my dazzling footsteps. The handwriting was bad but it wasn¡¯t illegible.
-I am Kim Dokja.
This was the sentence that I wrote. By the way.
[The scenario penalty has distorted your writing.]
...The penalty was applied to this? The Fourth Wall read the distorted sentence on behalf of Lee Jihye.
¡¸ I am a good look ing squid. ¡¹
[The character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has used Demon ying Lv. 10!]
Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes turned red as she started to elerate towards me. She was much faster than before and this made it hard for me to dodge. I tried to wave my coat in a sign of surrender but all my efforts were in vain due to the scenario penalty.
[The ¡®Ugly Squid¡¯ is provoking the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
¡°Die!¡±
I had a slight headache. If these hallucinations continued, my message would never be delivered over there.
...It would be best just to suppress them. However, I didn¡¯t want to do that. Maybe something had changed in me after the 1863rd round.
¡¸ At that time, something popped up in the head of the good-looking squid. ¡¹
Ah, wait. If this was the case...? I thought for a moment before deciding to do it. No matter how the scenario distorted mynguage, it couldn¡¯t distort it this much.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has sponsored 91 coins to the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye.¡¯]
Something that couldn¡¯t be distorted.
[The scenario penalty has distorted the indirect message.]
[The ¡®Ugly Squid¡¯ has sponsored 91 coins to the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
It was precisely the coin number. Lee Jihye frowned at the sudden donation from the squid. ¡°...What?¡±
Come on Jihye, please.
[The ¡®Ugly Squid¡¯ has sponsored 91 coins to the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
¡°Do you think I won¡¯t attack you if you give me this?¡±
[The ¡®Ugly Squid¡¯ has sponsored 91 coins to the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
¡°Don¡¯t be so annoying! I dislike coins that aren¡¯t in units of 100!¡±
...Really? Then what about this?
[The ¡®Ugly Squid¡¯ has sponsored 9,158 coins to the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
For the first time, Lee Jihye¡¯s attacks stopped. She didn¡¯t understand anything. It was just because the amount of sponsored coins had increased.
Lee Gilyoung asked, ¡°Why did you suddenly stop Noona?¡±
¡°No, it keeps giving me coins.¡±
¡°Coins?¡±
The surprised Lee Gilyoung nced at me. ¡°Is it a constetion?¡±
¡°What constetion will have a modifier like the Ugly Squid?¡±
There was one. No, not me. It wasn¡¯t a squid but there was someone with a simr modifier. Now my modifier had changed... damn, why was I exining this?
Lee Jihye hesitated as she stared at me with uncertain eyes. ¡°Why does it keep giving 91 coins?¡±
¡°91 coins?¡±
¡°Yes. Then he gave me 9,185 coins at the end.¡±
¡°9,185 coins is quite a lot. Is it a hidden scenario? Or maybe something meaningful...¡±
I thought this was my only opportunity.
[The ¡®Ugly Squid¡¯ has sponsored 7,942 coins to the incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯.]
Lee Gilyoung looked shocked at my coins baptism.
¡°7,942? Perhaps...¡±
The children¡¯s eyes were shaking. I watched the clear eyes and was deeply moved. Yes, that¡¯s it children. It¡¯s me. Kim Dokja.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ doubts your identity.]
[Some constetions on the Korean Penins are curious about your identity.]
Then an unexpected constetion entered the channel.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ has entered the channel.]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ has noticed your identity!]
God of Wine and Ecstasy, Dionysus. Speaking of which, it was Dionysus who told me about this ¡®7942¡¯. I thought things might work out better than I expected. If it was this constetion, he might decipher the message I sent to the children.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ imed the number ¡¯91¡¯ to be a type of numerical y!]
My heart was pounding. Dionysus¡¯ guess was right. The number, which was read as ¡®ny-one¡¯, was my code to the children.
9 (Gu) 1 (One). Guwon (Salvation).
Fortunately, Dionysus seemed to understand what I was saying. Now Dionysus just needed to tell them that I was the Demon King of Salvation...
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ says the squid must be an intelligent squid.]
I looked up at the sky. Lee Gilyoung cried out happily. ¡°It is a hidden piece. Will it give coins every time a tentacle is cut?¡±
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is nodding.]
Once this scenario was over, I would smash Olympus.
Lee Jihye cried out, ¡°I will catch it. Hey Gilyoung, you take half!¡±
The tentacle that Lee Jihye ran along was my arm.
¡°It¡¯s really nimble. Noona, cut that big tentacle there first!¡±
That was my leg.
¡°Ah, I¡¯m annoyed. I¡¯ll just cut it from the middle.¡±
That... couldn¡¯t happen. The moment I was about to liberate my ¡®status,¡¯ there was a dragon¡¯s roar. The force caused the returnees to momentarily flinch.
I looked up at the sky and saw the ck dragon covering it. There was a nostalgic face. Like Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung... this child had grown a lot.
¡°You¡¯re alwayste, Shin Yoosung! Don¡¯t rush around on your own!¡±
Only the plump cheeks proved that this girl was the child I remembered. Shin Yoosung on the chimera dragonnded on the ground. Shin Yoosung nced to this side and asked Lee Jihye, ¡°You haven¡¯t finished it yet? I told you not to take too long.¡±
¡°I¡¯m trying but it is a strange disaster.¡±
¡°Strange?¡±
¡°That squid over there.¡±
Shin Yoosung stared at me.
¡°It keeps giving me coins. I feel bad...¡±
Shin Yoosung kept watching me.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at his incarnation.]
I slowly went up to her.
¡°Shit! Don¡¯t approach suddenly!¡± Despite Lee Jihye¡¯s threat, I kept moving forward. I couldn¡¯t help moving forward.
¡°The Beast Master hase!¡±
¡°Okay, we can kill them now!¡±
The emergence of Shin Yoosung caused the incarnations who fled to the periphery of the shore to ran back across the white sands. There were the sounds of weapons colliding all over the ce. The courageous incarnations were aiming des towards me and the returnees.
In fact, a real hidden piece was concealed in the 45th scenario. If our group could clear the scenario without having a single victim...
Flying Fox shouted as he was pushed back with the returnees. ¡°Brother! We can¡¯t hold out long! I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to do but do it quickly!¡±
Human beings were people who didn¡¯t even trust fellow humans. Then how could they be friends with a disaster?
¡°Die tentacled monsters!¡±
A race that tried to dominate what was simr to them while excluding what was different from them. My appearance was reflected in their eyes. I was just a tentacled monster to them.
¡¸¡¯Maybe there is another way.¡¯ ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk in the original novel took this ¡®returnee route¡¯ several times. However, Yoo Jonghyuk had never once aplished this hidden piece. To be precise, he couldn¡¯t aplish it.
¡¸ ¡®Even if it is a bit hard, if I had been able to find another way...¡¯ ¡¹
Everyone who took the ¡®returnee path¡¯ walked the road of regret. Thus, I knew his failure. All the ways I could fail were the roads he had already walked.
Now Yoo Jonghyuk left for a road that didn¡¯t exist in the original. It was a world where the possibility of countless failures was open again.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shimmering faintly.]
Thus, I couldn¡¯t lose either.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at you closely.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is looking at you closely.]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is looking at you carefully.]
¡°What are you doing all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Jihye noona, be careful!¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s de flew towards me as I moved forward. I didn¡¯t avoid it this time.
Blood from my unprotected skin flowed onto my coat.
She didn¡¯t know I wouldn¡¯t avoid it and the startled Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes widened. The other incarnations rushed through the gap towards me. In a moment, my surroundings were filled with the weapons of the incarnations. The number of tears on my coat started to increase. I took some attacks, blocked some attacks and kept moving forward.
There was a girl at the end of the road. The child who was my first incarnation. There was Shin Yoosung who was supposed to be a ¡®disaster¡¯ like me. The child was watching me.
I went through the road and approached the child. One step, another step. I walked at a steady pace to not frighten the child. I didn¡¯t care if my blood was sttered or my flesh was torn. I didn¡¯t release any status to raise her vignce or take out a weapon to pose a threat.
The child¡¯s face was right in front of my nose. If the destruction hadn¡¯t happened, she would be at an age to enter middle school. The child grew up this way but I had been away from her for too long. A sharp sensation pierced my chest and I dropped my head.
[The ¡®Ugly Squid¡¯ is looking at the incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯.]
I suddenly felt funny. Maybe I was better off as an ugly squid.
The words of Secretive Plotter crossed my mind.
[ What if the ending they wanted was to die with you there? Do you still want to save them? ]
[ It isn¡¯t salvation. It is a curse. ]
I was arrogant. My longing was just my longing. There was no guarantee that my feelings would be shared by my party members. The Kim Dokja they remembered was just a selfish constetion. Forcing a goal at will, forcing them to live and forcing wounds on them. I was a colleague who wasn¡¯t around when they needed me most.
¡¸ Then why is this child crying? ¡¹
Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung lowered their weapons and the incarnations stopped attacking. As everyone stared at us, I knelt slowly towards my incarnation. It might be because I wanted to show respect to my child who grew up brilliantly alone or to seek forgiveness for all the times I wasn¡¯t there.
¡°I¡¯m back, Yoosung.¡±
My words wouldn¡¯t be delivered.
[Your incarnation is looking at you.]
My incarnation slowly stretched out her hand andid her little hand on my head.
Chapter 303 - Episode 57 - Glorious Return (4)
Chapter 303: Episode 57 ¨C Glorious Return (4)
The texture of the hand was like a feather on my head. Something hard deep inside my heart crumpled. Perhaps she recognized me.
She looked up and Shin Yoosung¡¯s clear eyes could be seen. ¡°...Ahjussi?¡±
***
After a while, I was flying in the air on the chimera dragon. To be exact, it wasn¡¯t just me but the other returnees who had a simr appearance. Four on the legs, two on the wings, three on the tail and... me. A total of 10 returnees rode the dragon and flew to Seoul.
I spoke to encourage the returnees who had motion sickness. ¡°Seoul is a little bit further. Have strength, everybody.¡±
¡°Ugh, I could¡¯ve run faster...¡± Flying Fox grumbled.
¡°It¡¯s safer to go by air. There might be unknown risks.¡±
¡°Well... I guess if Brother is saying this. By the way, is that Brother¡¯s child?¡±
He seemed to be asking about Shin Yoosung and I nodded. ¡°Yes, well... it is simr.¡±
She was my incarnation and it was true that she was special like my child.
¡°...Huh, you must¡¯ve had a hard time at a young age. What about your wife?¡±
I wasn¡¯t married in the first ce. Somehow, he understood my silence and Flying Fox looked at me with sympathetic eyes. I turned my head and other returnees had a simr expression.
¡°Tsk tsk, too bad...¡±
¡°Well, let¡¯s do out best now. After this scenario, we can meet our families.¡±
¡°Brother! Have strength!¡±
These sentiments were best directed for the returnees who had family or lovers. In any case, things were going better than I expected. Rather...
¡°What are you so nervous about? Can¡¯t you listen quietly?¡±
At Lee Jihye¡¯s words, the returnees all shut their mouths. As if she still couldn¡¯t believe it, Lee Jihye nced at me and told Shin Yoosung, ¡°It will be your fault if things go wrong. Don¡¯t you know?¡±
Shin Yoosung nodded.
A few dozen minutes ago, Shin Yoosung had dered to Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung. ¡°I think the squid is Dokja ahjussi.¡±
Lee Jihye, who cut my hair, had a wide open mouth while Lee Gilyoung, who wanted to cut my leg, stiffened. Needless to say, the reactions of the two people seemed the same.
¡°...This is Dokja ahjussi?¡±
¡°Hyung can¡¯t be a squid, you idiot!¡±
Shin Yoosung cried out, ¡°Really! It is really Dokja ahjussi!¡±
We had been flying for dozens of minutes but the argument was still continuing.
¡°You are sick again... Gilyoung, how many times is it now?¡±
¡°Five to six times.¡±
A breeze blew against our faces. Shin Yoosung sat beside me and sighed like she was upset.
¡°Ahjussi...¡±
[The demon king ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is proving his existence.]
[The indirect message is distorted by the scenario penalty.]
[The Ugly Squid is waving his own suckers.]
Shin Yoosung nodded and eximed triumphantly. ¡°Look! It really is Ahjussi!¡±
Thank you. I was grateful but I didn¡¯t know why it was soplicated.
Lee Jihye sighed, ¡°What will you do if he isn¡¯t Dokja ahjussi?¡±
¡°That...¡±
¡°Bringing all these disasters to Seoul, what if something goes wrong?¡±
¡°Even if it isn¡¯t Dokja ahjussi...¡±
Shin Yoosung bit her lip before saying. ¡°Sangah unni told me. There might be disasters who aren¡¯t enemies.¡±
¡°...There has never been a case so far.¡±
¡°This might be the first time.¡±
Fortunately, Yoo Sangah hadmunicated my words to the party members. In the 45th scenarios, returnees turned into disasters and some of them weren¡¯t enemies.
¡°The level of Sangah unni¡¯s Interpreter skill is high. Maybe we canmunicate this time. We have to try, even if things go wrong.¡±
Little by little, hope emerged. In any case, I just needed to get to Seoul. There was a moment of silence between the party members. For a while, there was only the sound of wind blowing. I spoke to Shin Yoosung.
¡®Yoosung.¡¯
[Yournguage is distorted by the scenario penalty.]
[The Ugly Squid is attracting attention.]
Shin Yoosung stared at me. ¡°Yes, Ajusshi.¡±
¡®You don¡¯t have to convince people that I¡¯m Kim Dokja.¡¯
[Yournguage is distorted by the scenario penalty.]
[The Ugly Squid is waving his ten legs.]
¡°Huh? Ahjussi...¡±
I didn¡¯t answer. I didn¡¯t have the confidence to answer correctly.
[The Ugly Squid has a gloomy expression.]
I silently stared at Lee Jihye.
¡¸ It is a lie. It isn¡¯t possible. ¡¹
Lee Jihye¡¯s thoughts entered my head. From the moment I met the party members, I activated Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
¡¸ Dokja ahjussi... ¡¹
Some emotions weren¡¯t conveyed throughnguage. There were fragmented sentences and broken off words. Sometimes they couldn¡¯t be left that way because I couldn¡¯t look properly.
My presence is an indelible wound on them. The sense of helplessness caused by theirpanion dying in front of them. The despair of nothing being able to do anything, only watch as someone sacrificed themselves.
A small keyring hanging from Lee Jihye¡¯s sword shook. I knew the identity of this keyring. Lee Jihye had long been a scarred sword demon.
Lee Jihye smiled as if trying to hide her feelings. ¡°Hey, take a good look. This is the real Dokja ahjussi, right?¡±
¡°...¡±
Shin Yoosung didn¡¯t answer. Maybe she was feeling my emotions as well. This was the rtionship between a constetion and incarnation. We understood more than was spoken.
Lee Jihyeughed mischievously. ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Are you not confident?¡±
¡°That isn¡¯t it...¡±
¡°I knew Shin Yoosung would do this again!¡±
Lee Gilyoung interrupted. ¡°Noona, she did this before! She saw the frog and said that Dokja ahjussi must¡¯vee back¨D¡±
¡°I¡¯ll kill you...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you remember? We were almost killed because of you.¡±
Lee Jihye nodded. ¡°...Certainly, that happened.¡±
¡°There is a collection at your house. Frog Kim Dokja, Tentacled Disaster Kim Dokja, Elephant Monster who Almost Became Kim Dokja...¡±
¡°Die...¡±
¡°By the way, can you give me Frog Kim Dokja?¡±
¡°This is really...!¡±
The chimera dragon pped its wings wildly and suddenly stopped in the air.
Lee Jihye screamed, ¡°Waaah! What is this all of a sudden?¡±
A series of airships were blocking our way. It wasn¡¯t just one or two. A coin flying boat that could only be purchased after the 40th scenario. The decks of the ships had ¡®GG¡± written on the
...I think I knew their identity.
-Busan Alliance, why did youe here?
A high-pressure voice was heard from an airship. Memories of the original novel came to mind.
Lee Gilyoung grumbled, ¡°Why can¡¯t wee?¡±
In the original novel, after the 25th scenario, the Korean Penins was divided into several regional alliances such as the Busan Alliance, the Daegu Alliance, the Seoul Alliance...
Most of the alliances were centred around incarnations with powerful sponsors and if I remembered correctly, there was one such person in the Gyeonggi region.
-Disasters can¡¯t enter the Gyeonggi area. Leave the disasters behind right now.
The Gyeonggi Alliance. It was called the Gyeonggi Alliance but most of the members weren¡¯t from Gyeonggi. They were predators who only moved for the benefits of the group. They were one of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s headaches in several rounds. It was because the head of the alliance was one of the 10 Evils.
-I will fire if you don¡¯t leave in five seconds. Five.
The troubled Lee Jihye rose from her seat. ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t help fighting if youe out like this.¡±
In the original development, the present party members wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with the Gyeonggi Alliance with an individual force. However, the third round was a lot different from the original.
This Lee Jihye didn¡¯t survive because of luck. ¡°I am the leader of the Busan Alliance, Lee Jihye.¡±
Blue mes soared from Lee Jihye¡¯s de. I watched the spectacr wave of magic power and was truly amazed.
Jihye, you really tried.
It was an ether de. Lee Jihye was able to implement a technique that only those in Murim could use.
-Admiral! This isn¡¯t the sea! At least in the sky, our Gyeonggi Alliance...!
¡°That remains to be seen.¡±
Lee Jihyeughed and leapt forward with his de pointed backwards. Suddenly, there was an explosion from the other side of the airships. The fleet was cut in half along with the soundwave. Lee Jihye stared at Lee Gilyoung like she was dumbfounded.
¡°Is that Titano? Why are you intervening?¡±
¡°...My Titano is dead.¡±
The chimera dragon hadn¡¯t moved yet so it wasn¡¯t done by Shin Yoosung. Less than a minuteter, all the alliance¡¯s airships were blown up. There was a zing inferno as someone jumped towards this side.
Lee Jihye raised her de cautiously. Not long after, the wariness lightened. It was because the person was known. The thoughtful Shin Yoosung yelled at Lee Jihye, ¡°JIhye unni! Did you tell
Heewon-ssi already?¡±
¡°That... I texted her a while ago. I just didn¡¯t know if she woulde this soon...¡± Lee Jihye smiled apologetically.
¡°It is great that we¡¯re gathering after a long time! That is either Dokja ahjussi or a squid party. Heewon unni¨D!¡±
I gazed at the wee face that was approaching and my heart ached.
-If you were going to do this anyway, why have you been preparing us for the past few days? Why give me these skills?
-I told you how to deal with the Sasquatch in the 28th scenario.
I could see it the moment I saw Jung Heewon. She kept everything I said. Then she became stronger than I expected.
-Shit! Don¡¯t talk nonsense! I can¡¯t let you go! Don¡¯t go alone again! Please!
Jung Heewon dressed in a special suit emerged from the thick smoke andnded on the chimera dragon¡¯s back. The Sword of Judgment emitted a light as it cried out wildly. Jung Heewon nced at the squid before asking, ¡°Who is Kim Dokja?¡±
The frightened returnees held their breaths in unison. Shin Yoosung realized that something wasn¡¯t right and quickly came forward.
¡°I-I don¡¯t know who Ahjussi is just yet. I just got the feeling of Ahjussi...¡±
Jung Heewonughed. ¡°I see. Then you¡¯re going to see Sangah-ssi?¡±
¡°Yes, I wanted to go see Sangah unni and ask for her opinion...¡±
¡°There is no need. I can tell if he is Kim Dokja or not.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is preparing to activate Judgment Time!]
¡°I¡¯ll see soon. If he is the real Dokja-ssi, the squid will survive.¡± An almost crazy magic power nestled in Jung Heewon¡¯s de. ¡°Or he will go to hell at my hands.¡±
It was a horrifying will-o¡¯-the-wisp. Shin Yoosung realized that something was wrong and shouted, ¡°Ahjussi! Run!¡±
The moment the chimera dragon howled, I jumped down from its back with the other returnees. There was a deafening collision as I used Way of the Wind and pulled the returnees one by one.
In any case, the goal was around the corner. Once I arrived at Yeouido, I could prove myself without fighting. The 10 returnees, including me, joined hands and made a formation in the air. It was all prearranged in advance.
¡°Flying Fox!¡±
¡°Leave it to me!¡±
Flying Fox, the fastest man in Murim, started to make a rapid journey by repeatedly stepping through the air. He used Walk on Snow with No Traces while supported by the momentum created by Way of the Wind.
We rotated like a pinwheel and started to elerate. We entered Seoul through the sky and a system message was heard.
[The ¡®target base¡¯ is very close.]
I could see Yeouido in the distance. There was a huge monument I had to leave a mark on.
At that moment, I felt time and space creaking. Strong rm bells were telling me that I shouldn¡¯t go to this ce. It was an almost instinct-based choice to change the course of the party.
Then by one hair¡¯s breadth a sword with a tremendous destructive force swept through the sky. The ck sword crushed the ceiling of the sky and disappeared as cracks formed. It would¡¯ve been a terrifying blow if I was hit. As far as I knew, there was only one incarnation on the Korean Penins with this technique.
I raised my head and met a cool gaze. As if the second hand stopped, time flowed very slowly. A huge ck Demon Sword was inserted into the ground. The incarnation who was stronger than anyone I knew and with the strongest determination was waiting for me.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Standing there was the supreme king of this world.
Chapter 304 - Glorious Return (5)
Chapter 304: Episode 57 ¨C Glorious Return (5)
Why was Yoo Jonghyuk here? I was confused as I guided the returnees to safelynd on the ground. In front of the monument, Yoo Jonghyuk scattered a heavy status and the returnees nervously stepped back. Flying Fox asked, ¡°Brother, this person...?¡±
¡°Get back and I¡¯ll talk to him.¡± I signalled to Flying Fox and slowly approached Yoo Jonghyuk. After all, our aim was to leave a marker on the base. The scenario waspleted once we aplished this.
The moment I got within a few dozen metres of Yoo Jonghyuk, the momentum flowing from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body changed. I gulped and opened my mouth. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
Understandably, my voice wouldn¡¯t be delivered properly.
¡°Get lost. Please.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t move. Yoo Jonghyuk would¡¯ve be stronger, just as I be stronger after going to the 1863rd round. Based on what I felt, I couldn¡¯t guarantee the oue. Then there was only one way.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
This way, my body would pass out and I would transfer to Yoo Jonghyuk...
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ is cancelled.]
[Yourplex understanding of this person is insufficient!]
[There isn¡¯t enoughprehension to understand the current state of this person.]
...What? I stepped back with surprise. This was the first time. This was definitely the first round. It wasn¡¯t the 1863rd round that I didn¡¯t know well.
The Yoo Jonghyuk in front of me felt strange. What happened in thest three years?
¡°Brother! Avoid it!¡±
If I hadn¡¯t been pushed by Flying Fox, I would¡¯ve been cut by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s de. Flying Fox eximed. ¡°Let¡¯s do it together! I think he¡¯s dangerous!¡±
¡°...It isn¡¯t possible.¡±
¡°Why? Do you know him?¡±
I stared at Flying Fox. ¡°He is my colleague.¡±
The words that came out of my mouth were funny. I felt I could understand Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s feelings in the past.
Yoo Jonghyuk and I didn¡¯t fit well. Our personalities were different and the way we carried out the scenarios differed. The way wemunicated with others was also different. Nevertheless, we saved each other¡¯s lives on a number of asions and arrived here.
¡°...Thus, he can¡¯t be killed.¡±
I put my hand into my coat. Just as Yoo Jonghyuk had his own beliefs, I had my own beliefs.
[de of Faith is activated!]
It wasn¡¯t my Unbroken Faith. This de was much glossier than my sword. It was the one that belonged to the 1863rd round Han Sooyoung. The ether that rose from the de of Faith was a deep ck.
[The rating of this item doesn¡¯t match the fairness level of the scenario.]
[The item¡¯s stats are partially adjusted.]
The Unbroken Faith of the 95th scenario that was refined using Han Sooyoung¡¯s method.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes were shaking slightly. I couldn¡¯t see what I looked like now. Perhaps the ether de being swung was like a giant tentacle.
¡°Stop it, Yoo Junghyuk. I have no intention of fighting.¡±
How could I not fight against Yoo Jonghyuk? How could I tell him that I was Kim Dokja? The moment I avoided Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s de, I had a sh of a thought.
...Wait a minute, perhaps? I couldn¡¯t be sure. In addition, the effect would be distorted because of the scenario penalty. Still, it was better than doing nothing.
[You have triggered the item Midday Tryst.]
[The connection with the current target is good.]
[Due to the scenario penalty, the item username has been changed to ¡®Ugly Squid¡¯.]
I immediately sent a message to Yoo Jonghyuk.
-Yoo Jonghyuk! I am Kim Dokja! Don¡¯t cut me!
The Midday Tryst. It was an item used formunication when Yoo Jonghyuk had died one day. Surprisingly, the item was still valid.
[The scenario penalty has distorted the message sent.]
-Come on, sunfish.
...Son of a bitch. The distortion went this far? I was slightly vignt as I watched Yoo Jonghyuk. The contents were strange but the fact that Yoo Jonghyuk received the message was important.
The Midday Tryst was an item that could only be used between set people. The name might¡¯ve changed but the quick-witted Yoo Jonghyuk should guess my identity just by receiving the message.
-Yoo Jonghyuk! I said stop! I am Kim Dokja!
[The scenario penalty has distorted the message sent.]
-I am the king of the sea.
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me for a moment and slowly lowered his sword. I took a deep breath. Did he finally notice?
A huge stream of air flowed from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. His whole body was covered with a blue light before emitting a golden torrent. Yoo Jonghyuk released his transcendent power.
I panicked and asked, ¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
My head was pounding. If I was Yoo Jonghyuk, I would¡¯ve noticed my existence just by receiving a message. Then why? The moment the two swords collided, my body was bounced back. There was a shock that seemed to break my wrist and a single question rose.
¡¸ Why was Midday Tryst activated? ¡¹
Midday Tryst was a temporary item. After a certain time psed, the period of use had to be extended by paying additional coins. Yet Midday Tryst was activated without any dy. In other words, someone had been extending that period of time.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is telling the giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯.]
Finally, Yoo Jonghyuk opened the giant story. At this moment, I realized. Now Yoo Jonghyuk was sincere.
¡°Dammit...!¡±
I didn¡¯t back down and faced him.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is being told.]
I wouldn¡¯t lose if it was the same big story. In the first ce, I was the best speaker for this story. I aimed the status of a demon king towards Yoo Jonghyuk who was running away.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is opening the status of a demon king!]
A huge fortress was seen in the centre of Seoul. It was my industrialplex that was once located in the 73rd Demon Realm. It was sent to Seoul with the help of Secretive Plotter. I would never lose as long as the industrialplex was here.
[The demonic energy in Seoul is raising your status!]
ck wings tore from my spine. The dark attributed poured into the ether de of Unbroken Faith. The transcendent sword and de of Faith shed and caused a roar. The first conflict was intense.
Yoo Jonghyuk and I were both pushed back a step and at the same time, we wielded our swords to each other again. Unbelievable explosions urred as the sword and sword hit each other. We struck, struck and struck each other again. We fought desperately as if it was the only conversation we could share with each other.
I couldn¡¯t believe it. I knew that Yoo Jonghyuk was strong. I expected him to be stronger in the meantime.
However, I didn¡¯t expect him to be this strong. I couldn¡¯t win against Yoo Jonghyuk despite using Way of the Wind and Electrification. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as he stood there like a solid wall.
I couldn¡¯t help smiling. I thought this whole thing was a misunderstanding. I thought Yoo Jonghyuk attacked me because he didn¡¯t recognize me.
Nevertheless, it wasn¡¯t like that. Throughout the fight, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t say a word. He was a born swordsman and had written his story with the sword for countless years. Thus, I could see it.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has increased!]
Yoo Jonghyuk recognized me and knew I woulde here. I didn¡¯t know how it was possible but it was obvious. He was waiting for me here. The battle was temporarily interrupted by a child who jumped in the way.
¡°Stop it! Jonghyuk ahjussi! Stop it!¡±
It was Shin Yoosung. The small child stood in front of me and started weeping.
¡°This squid is Dokja ahjussi!¡±
In the end, I remained silent. I looked around and saw the party members gathered. Jung Heewon¡¯s expression was stiff, Lee Jihye looked worried and Lee Gilyoung was excited. I could feel eyes looking at me from the top of the Demon World¡¯s fortress.
...It was a person I had long resented at one time.
The inhabitants of the Demon World were also seen. They were people I met in the 73rd Demon Realm. Aileen was there, Mark as well. Perhaps she ran from a distance as the panting Han Sooyoung looked down at me from a nearby high-rise building.
The history of my life was gathered in one ce. However, none of them interfered in the fight.
Yoo Jonghyuk stopped before raising his de again. It was like he didn¡¯t hear Shin Yoosung¡¯s words.
Shin Yoosung shouted again, ¡°Uh... t-that is actually a lie! That isn¡¯t Dokja ahjussi! I-It is just a disaster I tamed! A monster I tamed! I¡¯ll control him well so please forgive me!¡±
¡°Yoosung.¡±
I stretched out a hand and ced it on Shin Yoosung¡¯s shoulder. Then Jung Heewon pulled Shin Yoosung back with her. Jung Heewon¡¯s steadfast eyes were shaking. At this moment, I realized something.
Yes, it was like this. I lowered my head and Jung Heewon avoided my gaze.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has rapidly increased!]
I looked back and saw Yoo Jonghyuk approaching. Yoo Jonghyuk was gathering the energy of the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship. The ultimate technique was being prepared at the tip of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s de.
I nodded. Yoo Jonghyuk probably had something he wanted to prove to me.
¡°Bring it on, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The moment I raised my sword, Yoo Jonghyuk and I shed head on. There was a blinding re right under my nose.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ has entered the channel!]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has entered the channel!]
[Multiple constetions are entering the channel!]
The constetions felt our sh and entered the channel.
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is surprised at your status!]
[The constetion ¡®One-eyed Maitreya¡¯ is admiring the incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk.]
Some constetions were shocked to see Yoo Jonghyuk and I.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ realizes something and is sighing.]
Some were surprised in apletely different sense. The sound of an explosion urred again and I rolled across the ground. My eyes peered at the sky through the dust while gazes poured down on me. Laughter emerged. ¡°...It is dirty.¡±
I hadn¡¯t used all the means avable to me but I didn¡¯t want to. It was a confrontation of pure power and I was pushed back by Yoo Jonghyuk. The sound of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s footsteps approaching was heard.
His ck Demon Sword stabbed the ground right next to my head. Yoo Jonghyuk stared down at me with his distinctive eyes. I watched him and spoke,
¡°Take a look. Hey.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t say anything but I could tell. Perhaps this was what Yoo Jonghyuk wanted to prove. This was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯sst three years. This was what he really wanted to say.
Iughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t take care of it.¡±
The towering monument behind Yoo Jonghyuk was shining. The base that was the goal. One man was talking from the monument.
¡°Hey Brother! I just write here?¡±
The moment the surprised Yoo Jonghyuk turned around, Flying Fox moved his feet. He quickly kicked and carved a stylish marker on the monument. It was a phrase I told him in advance.
[The 163rd returnees group has cleared the scenario!]
My body was covered in smoke. To be exact, it wasn¡¯t just me but the other returnees. The appearance of the returnees was changing inside the smoke.
[You are no longer a disaster.]
In the pupils of my party members, my figure lying on the ground could be seen. Shin Yoosung burst into tears and ran over. I patted the child who was in my arms.
¡°It has been three years. Three years...¡±
Lee Gilyoung btedly ran over and hugged my waist while crying.
¡°Hyung, I knew you were alive! I knew from the beginning that you were Dokja hyung!¡±
[You have met the clear conditions for Main Scenario 45 ¨C Glorious Return!]
[The rewards for the scenario are being prepared.]
[You have met the progress conditions of the 46th main scenario!]
I hugged the children and slowly stood up. The top of the monument was clearly visible in the dusty sky. I pointed to the monument.
¡°It is amemorative gift.¡±
[The name of the neb you belong to is officially announced.]
[The site of the neb you belong to has been established.]
The marking on the monument was as followed:
-Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.
I arbitrarily decided the name of the neb. The party members approaching this way looked at me in a dumbfounded manner. Lee Jihye has swollen eyes while Han Sooyoung sighed and shook her head. I watched them and wondered, ¡°Are you going to join me?¡±
I could see the faces of the uing party members. One person, one person. They were all the people I wanted to see. The moment I opened my arms to the running group members, a stinging pain struck the back of my head. In my gradually blurring consciousness, I could see Jung Heewon¡¯s face.
¡°This man, lock him up.¡±
Chapter 305 - Context of the Constellations (1)
Chapter 305: Episode 58 ¨C Context of the Constetions (1)
During the past three years, Jung Heewon had changed a lot.
-Leader of the Chungcheong Alliance, Jung Heewon!
-The age of the Supreme King has passed! The strongest incarnation is Destroyer of Evil!
She had fan clubs and people in various media wanted to turn her story into a product. Any incarnation who used a sword would admire her. There were constetions who tried to get her to join their neb.
Of course, it was a futile effort. Jung Heewon was the incarnation of a famous constetion in the Star Stream. The problem was that the famous constetion didn¡¯t appear in front of Jung Heewon for three years.
¡°I thought my sponsor was dead.¡±
Her sponsor suddenly disappeared after the incident three years ago. Thus, Jung Heewon was forced to try harder than other incarnations. She had been trained by transcendents such as Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios every day. It was in order to notg behind the party members or sacrifice anyone else.
¡°It would¡¯ve been a lot less unfair if you were there.¡±
Jung Heewon was really strong. Then in front of her strong self, the vanished sponsor once again appeared.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is silent.]
Jung Heewon sighed. ¡°That... what are you saying to me just now?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is smiling.]
Jung Heewon didn¡¯t smile She quietly raised her hand to grip her sword.
[The incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is prepared to invoke Judgement Time on her sponsor!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is surprised!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says that Judgement Time can only be used against the wicked.]
Jung Heewon replied, ¡°I know.¡±
Indirect messages poured out.
[Some constetions of the absolute good system have agreed with Jung Heewon¡¯s request.]
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ has agreed to the request.]
[The constetion ¡®Friend of Justice and Harmony¡¯ has agreed to the request.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of the Ark¡¯ has agreed to the request.]
[Some constetions of the absolute good system have opposed the request.]
[The activation of the skill is cancelled!]
Jung Heewon stared at the air with wide eyes.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is avoiding the eyes of her incarnation.]
Jung Heewon released her sword and sighed once again. In her head, the feelings of her sponsor were conveyed.
Sorrow and joy. Regret and guilt.
In fact, Jung Heewon knew why Uriel was detained for the past three years. It was miraculous that she was just confined in Eden after the events of the Demon King Selection.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says she is sorry.]
However, she was still disappointed. Furthermore, her sponsor appeared for the first time in three years...
¡°If you want to see Dokja-ssi, why don¡¯t you go and see him yourself? You know he is at the top of the fortress.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ says that it isn¡¯t possible to summon a symbolic body because the probation period isn¡¯t over yet.]
The worried Jung Heewon hesitated for a long time before opening her mouth. ¡°...I understand. Instead, don¡¯t do anything weird.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is greatly pleased!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is asking if Kim Dokja is really imprisoned.]
¡°...Why do you like it?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is asking if Kim Dokja really became a squid.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯...]
¡°I¡¯ll go now and look directly.¡±
Not long after, Jung Heewon arrived at the top of the fortress where Kim Dokja was trapped.
[This is a space where the Celestial Emperor¡¯s Sturdy Ward is enforced.]
[The incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is permitted to enter.]
The door opened and the interior of avish room appeared. It was a prison but it was a room worthy of being a suite in a five star hotel. There was a sumptuous feast on the dining table that could be eaten whenever a person was hungry and a king-size bed to help with sleep. On the side were a few fantasy novels published before the fall of the world. Come to think of it, Kim Dokja liked fantasy novels.
Jung Heewon tried one of them as a test. Title: The World After the Fall. Author: Sing Shangshong...
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is screaming!]
She turned her head and saw Kim Dokja sitting on a soft rocking chair. A catheter was plugged into his arm to feed him story packs.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at the Demon King of Salvation.]
The pack also contained sleeping pills made by Lee Seolhwa. She came closer and could see Kim Dokja¡¯s face. At the gaze, Kim Dokja opened his eyes. ¡°...Heewon-ssi?¡±
Jung Heewon didn¡¯t know that she was biting her lips. Kim Dokja¡¯s defenseless face that was weary from the hard times. A corner of her heart ached at the sight.
¡°This ce...¡±
There were many things she wanted to say when she met Kim Dokja again. She wanted to be angry, she wanted to puke, she wanted to ask why the hell he did those things. Even so, all her emotions melted away after seeing Kim Dokja¡¯s face. These were her feelings or perhaps they were the feelings of her sponsor. Jung Heewon didn¡¯t know.
Jung Heewon controlled the amount of sleeping pills flowing through the catheter.
¡°The person who wants to see Dokja-ssi... no, it is an angel.¡±
A white light shone around Jung Heewon¡¯s hand. It was a warm light reminiscent of an archangel. Jung Heewon raised Kim Dokja¡¯s body andid him down on the bed. Not long after, Kim Dokja fell asleep with a light breathing sound. Jung Heewon¡¯s hand surrounded by the white light passed over Kim Dokja¡¯s head several times.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at the Demon King of Salvation.]
It was a valuable emotion that couldn¡¯t be conveyed in words. In the meantime, Jung Heewon hadn¡¯t understood Uriel¡¯sradeship but somehow, she felt like she knew it a bit.
***
I had a long dream. The dream was a bit strange.
-The vitals check is good.
-There is a stable dose of the story pack.
Lee Seolhwa and Aileen¡¯s voices came and went like a hallucination.
-Hyung... um...
Sometimes I saw the faces of Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung as they clung to my waist.
-Uwahhhh! Dokja-ssiiiii!
I heard Lee Hyunsung howling like a monster. Then...
At first nce, it seemed like my mother¡¯s face. I thought about it. If this was a dream, I would rather not wake up.
-Hey, he¡¯s going to wake up! Quickly get another dose of sleeping pills!
I listened to Han Sooyoung¡¯s loud voice and smiled. In other words, this dream was a y for only one person. Just like Ways of Survival was to me.
¡¸ In fact, he couldn¡¯t wake up anytime he wanted but Kim Dokja didn¡¯t do this. ¡¹
Thus, I decided to be the audience of the y.
¡¸ For the first time since the fall began, Kim Dokja sleptfortably. ¡¹
It was the first time I felt this way. My heart was always impatient. Now I could be protected by someone. There were people I could trust.
-Take a break, Dokja-ssi.
...Yes, there was still some time until the 46th scenario. The moment I made up my mind, a full sleep came over me.
***
Lee Gilyoung, who was caught by the cor, screamed. ¡°Ah, Noona! Do I have to go? I want to stay with Dokja hyung!¡±
¡°You have been with him long enough.¡±
¡°Shin Yoosung was together with him for eight hours! I was only there for six hours!¡±
Lee Jihye gave some sweet honey to theining Lee Gilyoung. ¡°These guys are offensive. You and Yoosung are the only ones who can deal with them. In addition, Dokja ahjussi is sleeping and you can meet him anytime.¡±
¡°But...¡±
¡°Unni, we¡¯ve almost arrived.¡±
The chimera dragon started a sharp descent along with Shin Yoosung¡¯s words. The buildings of the Gyeonggi Alliance could be seen below. The reason the Busan Alliance came here was simple.
¡°...You really made a kingdom.¡± The people treated as ves were crying out with pain. Lee Jihye bit her lips and dered, ¡°Kill them.¡±
Lee Jihye pulled out her sword while Lee Gilyoung stepped forward. ¡°Hey, Shin Yoosung. I¡¯ll handle it so you¡¯re out.¡±
¡°Shut up, you didn¡¯t even recognize Dokja ahjussi.¡±
¡°...Go, Titano-MKII!¡±
The moment Lee Gilyoung gave themand, the insect king unit wearing hard armour flew into the air. They were at least fourth grade insect kings.
¡°The enemy!¡±
Lee Jihye asked as she saw the scythe of a giant praying mantis cut the buildings.
¡°Didn¡¯t Titano die?¡±
¡°That was just Titano. This is Titano-MKII.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±
An explosion urred in the middle of the enemy¡¯s camp. It wasn¡¯t caused by Titano. The high-rise buildings that formed the main pirs of the Gyeonggi Alliance copsed and there was a huge storm. The airships floating in the sky could be seen crashing down after being hit by something that was like ck lightning.
Lee Jihye was dumbfounded. ¡°We said we would take care of it...¡±
There was only a ruin in the ce where the storm passed. A man was ughtering the fleeing alliance members. It was Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°W-Wait a minute! Wait! Stop Supreme King!¡± A man who appeared to be one of the leaders of the Gyeonggi Alliance hurriedly shouted, ¡°You will be in trouble if you kill me now! We have a hostage on our side!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword stopped for the first time at the word ¡®hostage.¡¯ The man thought it worked and kept shouting, ¡°Phew... the reason why the Moonlight Empress doesn¡¯t emerge from the top floor if the fortress is because her disease is worsening.¡±
The confused Lee Jihye and Shin Yoosung nced at each other.
¡°What is this brat talking about?¡±
¡°...The Moonlight Empress, Sangah unni?¡±
The man¡¯s words continued. ¡°Haha, it took a long time to pierce the barrier of the Demon Realm but we did it!¡±
¡°What are you saying?¡±
¡°The elite forces of our alliance have prated the fortress while you were absent. In other words, the life of the Moonlight Empress is now in our hands. It was hard to break through but your colleague¡¯s life is now in our hands¨D¡±
¡°You pierced the wards?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression cracked for the first time. The facial expressions of the other party members shifted. Shin Yoosung asked,
¡°There isn¡¯t anything around Sangah unni¡¯s room?¡±
¡°Then that crazy guy is saying...¡±
At the same time, the group looked at Seoul.
***
At the same time, ten men prated the fortress of the industrialplex. They were all elite fighters of the Gyeonggi Alliance.
-It¡¯s here.
-Yes, that¡¯s correct.
-The Snacks Team, get started.
The members in charge of releasing the ward rushed at the order of the leader. One of the group members asked.
-What if the ck mes Empress is present? Won¡¯t all of us be cut down?
It was only recently that the ck mes Empress was renamed ck mes Demon Ruler and the Moonlight Girl was renamed Moonlight Empress. It was due to the Seongnam Disaster that took ce a year ago.
-The ck mes Demon Ruler is away. The only one inside the room is the Moonlight Empress.
-Is it really okay for us to do this alone?
-There is a rumour that her illness is deep. It¡¯s no problem if she¡¯s alone.
A whileter, the ward blocking the door was released.
-The ward has been lifted!
-Already? It was faster than I expected.
-Well, it is hard to prate from the inside but it is easy from outside.
-How funny. There was something like this?
-That¡¯s right. Really stupid...
Theyughed as the ward was broken and the door opened.
-Shall we see the workmanship of the Moonlight Empress? Everybody, get ready to infiltrate!
The moment they touched the door handle, an unexpected message entered their ears.
[The constetion ¡®ck Sword Assassin¡¯ is giving a warning!]
[The constetion ¡®Hunter of the Dark Moon¡¯ is astounded!]
[The constetion ¡®Knight of the Frozen Heart¡¯ is convulsing.]
They were all the sponsors of the incarnations.
-What is this? My sponsor...
-D-Did you hear it as well?
Their curiosity didn¡¯tst for long. A formidable aura was felt from beyond the door. A huge aura they never encountered before was covering their body.
-Body...?
The elite members stiffened at the power that was on a different dimension. It was impossible.
¡°I was enjoying my rest but that isn¡¯t my fate.¡±
A man in a white coat walked through the open door. The smiling man ced a hand on the shoulder of the leader.
¡°Everyone, thank you for bringing me out.¡±
Chapter 306 - Context of the Constellations (2)
Chapter 306: Episode 58 ¨C Context of the Constetions (2)
It took less than 30 seconds for the nine people to be lying on the ground.
¡°Kuock...¡±
I ignored the groan and wiped the blood off my hands. I used Character List but the answer came out without having to look.
¡°The Gyeonggi Alliance. Why did youe here?¡±
One of the bleeding bodies started melting down. It seemed to be a technique.
[The constetion ¡®ck Sword Assassin¡¯ is wary of you!]
[The constetion ¡®Hunter of the Dark Moon¡¯ questions the fairness of the scenario.]
I frowned towards the air as the messages died down. I thoroughly checked the routes of their movements. I saw someone flying and fleeing through a broken window. I saw the method of running through the air and knew who it was.
I thought they were mere members of the alliance but one of the 10 Evils was among them. The leader of the Gyeonggi Alliance, one of the 10 Evils Cho Jinchul. The guy who had a sponsor from Murim and was one of the problems of the original 45th scenario.
Of course, that was ording to the original story. The person in front of me right now wasn¡¯t worth caring about. There were ranks among the 10 Evils and Cho Jinchul was one of the small fries. For the current party members, there were no incarnations on the Korean Penins who could be a match against them. Perhaps if it was the United States or India...
¡°This guy! Chase him!¡±
I saw some people chasing after the distant Cho Jinchul. Among them was the returnee Flying Fox who I brought with me. As the fugitive and pursuer engaged in a cat and mouse chase, the panoramic view of Seoul entered my vision.
I knew it was Seoul. In addition, it was the centre of the industrialplex. Through a contract with Secretive Plotter, the Industrial Complex was transferred to empty Seoul. As if the reality and fiction arebined and he realised that the world is watching, thendscape has changed and realized that. The bottom of the fortress had ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk ¨C Kim Dokja Industrial Complex¡¯ engraved.
...Why was Yoo Jonghyuk first? I would change itter.
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ is looking at you.]
I looked up at the air. Guardian of Youths and Travel. I knew the owner of the modifier.
¡°Raphael.¡±
An archangel of Eden, Raphael. Sparks flew in the air like Raphael was reacting. I thought I would hear from Eden soon. ¡°I was just going to find you. I will give back...¡±
I remembered that I still had the symbolic body of Gabriel. Jophiel¡¯s confinement effect was over and it was time for Gabriel to wake up. By the way...
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ says that Gabriel has already been recovered.]
The lily had disappeared. Come to think of it, I remembered an archangel¡¯s hand passing over me when I was sleeping. Maybe one of the constetions of Eden had visited at that time. Since Jung Heewon¡¯s sponsor was Uriel then it was likely to be Uriel.
...By the way, what happened to Uriel? Why wasn¡¯t there an indirect message from her?
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ says that Uriel doesn¡¯t yet have authorization to speak in the channel.]
Ah, I see.
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ is curious about you.]
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ says that the red cosmos hasn¡¯t returned.]
At Raphael¡¯s message, I hesitated for a moment and opened my mouth. ¡°The Commander of the Red Cosmos didn¡¯te back with me.¡±
Commander of the Red Cosmos, Jophiel. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to return to the third round without her help. ¡°She wanted to remain in the other world line out of her own will.¡±
There was a wild gust of wind.
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ distrusts your words!]
Raphael was furious. I calmly continued speaking. ¡°If you use your ability, you know that I¡¯m not a lie.¡±
Not long after, the winds sweeping around slowly eased.
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ is asking you for rification.]
¡°I will go there. The 46th scenario is ahead... we¡¯ll be able to talk soon.¡±
I felt a strange change in Raphael¡¯s gaze on me. The archangel knew the contents of the scenario.
¡°I will go to Eden as soon as the scenario is over.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ will wait for your answer.]
After the message, Raphael¡¯s energy in the areapletely disappeared. The status flooding the area was gone and I felt bitter. In the meantime, I had umted many stories and became quite strong. I could suppress low to mid-grade constetions and it was almost impossible to find a stronger presence among the constetions. Yet the archangel¡¯s status was still too high.
Guardian of Youths and Travel, Raphael. A powerful adversary who took down Demon King Asmodeus.
¡¸ Kim Dokja quietly clenched his fists and repeated. ¡¹
I still had a long way to go. However, I didn¡¯t have to rush. I was doing well enough right now. That reminded me of Asmodeus... no, Department Head Han. So many things had happened when I was gone. There weren¡¯t only one or two things to wonder about. I checked the system messages first.
[You have missed the dokkaebimunication.]
[Sender: Senior Dokkaebi Bihyung.]
There was a message from Bihyung. I thought it was strange that Bihyung hadn¡¯t made a fuss when I came back... he expressed his concerns in this message. I opened the screen and manipted the message window. The message was long but the contents itself was simple.
-I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯te. I am busy with some things. I will go see you once things are over.
These were roughly the contents of the long message.
-By the way, don¡¯t you care about your baby?
The news I was curious about appeared at the end of the message.
-I have Biyoo. Well, she is also my child. You left her in front of the portal and she was almost taken away by the wenny people.
I had been worried because Biyoo didn¡¯t appear.
-You will be a bit surprised when shees back. Look forward to it.
Bihyung¡¯s message was over. I felt a bit ufortable but I was relieved that Biyoo was with Bihyung.
Then let¡¯s move. I piled up the bodies in one ce and decided to find the party members.
.
.
.
Dozens of minutes passed. I was wandering along the road. Why was this factory so wide? I scratched my head and looked around but I couldn¡¯t tell where I was located. It wasn¡¯t toote but I should purchase the Reading Map or Pathfinding skill.
¡°Excuse me, is anybody there?¡±
I had a tendency to get lost in the ¡®first building I visited.¡¯ When I entered elementary school and middle school for the first time, when I got my first cement and when I joined Mino Soft...
Thinking about it, this was the reason why I first spoke to Yoo Sangah.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought, ¡®Where is the emergency exit?¡¯ ¡¹
I had never been inside the Factory properly and had no idea where I was. In addition, the structure seemed changed from back then. I decided to open suspicious doors one by one.
The moment I opened a door, a small tentacled monster and frog stared at me. Some objects were inside test tubes while others were freely roaming the room.
[Frog Who Could¡¯ve Been Dokja Ahjussi]
[Elephant Monster Who Was Almost Dokja Ahjussi]
[Tentacle Monster Who Unfortunately Wasn¡¯t Dokja Ahjussi]
The frog gazed at me and shot out its tongue. I closed the door with surprise. Wait, this room
perhaps...
I wanted to check the namete when I heard a voice nearby.
¡°...Hey! How did you get out?¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi?¡±
It was Han Sooyoung and Lee Hyunsung.
***
¡°I mean, Dokja-ssi. In the 35th scenario...¡±
Lee Hyunsung was talking about the scenarios he experienced. I silently listened to the story while examining Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body. His pectoral muscles were more developed than before. The magic power of steel was connecting muscle fibres.
Now Lee Hyunsung¡¯s Steel Transformation had reached the edge of mastery. It wasn¡¯t unreasonable if the 46th scenario started right now. It was a bit impressive. While I was away, the party members faithfully trained while following the guidelines I gave them.
Of course, I wasn¡¯t just listening to Lee Hyunsung.
[Midday Tryst has been activated.]
[Incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ is currently participating in the conversation.]
I was fortunate to have met Han Sooyoung first. Preparing for a scenario was alwayste. For quick preparations, I needed someone who could provide the most urate information efficiently and there was only one person best suited for it.
-Where is Jang Hayoung and the Breaking the Sky Master?
-He went to other scenario areas with the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios. It seemed to be a scenario only for transcendents.
-What about Han Myungoh and Gong Pildu?
-They are currently in North Korea. Gong Pildu has gone to carry out the North Korean scenario. Han Myungoh was dragged away as an extra.
...North Korea. By the way, now was the time for North Korean incarnations. There were a few prominent constetions to be found in North Korea. Of course, most of them were great-grade but there were someparable to narrative-grade. For example, the Great King...
-Where have you been so far?
-The 1863rd round of Ways of Survival.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes widened.
-What? Really?
-Ah, you were there. I don¡¯t know if it was a true self or not.
-...True self? What is this bullshit?
I tried to answer when someone stood in our way.
¡°...Dokja-ssi.¡± It was Jung Heewon.
¡°I slept well thanks to you.¡±
Jung Heewon stared at me with aplicated gaze. It seemed that she wanted to say something but she also wanted to hear my story. Jung Heewon¡¯s gaze slowly moved towards Han Sooyoung.
For a moment, sharp currents flowed between Han Sooyoung and Jung Heewon. Jung Heewon stared at Han Sooyoung with cold eyes before turning her head. In this awkward atmosphere, I opened my mouth first. ¡°Yes, there were intruders in front of my room...¡±
¡°I gave orders to handle it. If you have woken up then go see Sangah-ssi. We can talk about the details next time.¡± Her voice was much colder than usual. It was different from the Jung Heewon I knew. Lee Hyunsung, standing beside me, gazed after Jung Heewon with sad eyes.
Once Jung Heewon disappeared around the corner, I asked Han Sooyoung. ¡°What is this?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°What¡¯s going on between you and Jung Heewon?¡± I gazed at Han Sooyoung¡¯s pout and felt a bit anxious. I didn¡¯t know what happened but it wasn¡¯t the time for them to be fighting. ¡°Have you forgotten the 46th scenario? You now...¡±
¡°You haven¡¯t been here for three years. You don¡¯t know anything so shut up.¡±
Han Sooyoung also turned away and left at these words. Only Lee Hyunsung remained. I saw Lee Hyunsung¡¯s sagging shoulders and felt depressed. It seemed this had happened more than once.
During the three years I was away, a rift that I didn¡¯t know about formed between the party members. It was clear without asking Lee Hyunsung about the shape of the group.
I lightly patted Lee Hyunsung¡¯s shoulders. I didn¡¯t know what happened but it was obvious what I had to do to grasp the situation. ¡°Hyunsung-ssi, where is Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
¡°This way.¡±
It was very brief but I didn¡¯t miss Lee Hyunsung¡¯s darkening expression. I followed Lee Hyunsung¡¯s big back and we arrived at a small door covered with simple white paint. Unexpected, Jung Heewon and Han Sooyoung who left earlier were standing in front of the door.
...What was with these people? I was about to speak to them but their expressions were a bit strange. It was the first time I had seen Han Sooyoung and Jung Heewon making this expression.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought, ¡®There isn¡¯t any easy task.¡¯ ¡¹
Shut up. I sighed lightly and ced my hand on the door handle. Things would be resolved once I met Yoo Sangah. I briefly knocked on the door and heard Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice from inside.
-Who is it?
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
The answer was unexpected.
-Go back.
Chapter 307 - Context of the Constellations (3)
Chapter 307: Episode 58 ¨C Context of the Constetions (3)
The door shut me out. I held the door handle and nced back. Jung Heewon was watching to see how I would act while Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes were oddly vignt. Meanwhile, Lee Hyunsung looked like he would melt from anxiety.
I leaned back against the door and carefully sat down. ¡°I won¡¯t enter. Can I talk here for a while?¡±
This wasn¡¯t anyone else, it was Yoo Sangah. There must be a reason if Yoo Sangah was refusing to meet me. The answer came back after a long time.
-...If you want.
There was no strength in her voice. In the midst of the stillness so deep I could hear people breathing, I thought about Yoo Sangah. It was Yoo Sangah when I was still at Mino Soft.
If you asked me if I was close to Yoo Sangah, I couldn¡¯t say yes with confidence. However, if you asked me what type of person Yoo Sangah was... I might have a few words to say.
¡°Did Ie back toote?¡± I spoke softly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was a bit too much. The incident where I waste on the first day of my new job and Yoo Sangah-ssi helped me... do you remember?
Yoo Sangah was silent for a moment before replying.
-...You werete both times.
Yoo Sangah looked perfect on the surface but she wasn¡¯t. Yoo Sangah was more sincere than anyone I knew.
¡°Do you remember searching in the interview?¡±
-I remember.
Mino Soft¡¯s interview for new employees was quite popr in the industry. Every year, different types of ¡®quests¡¯ emerged. The mostmon ones were ¡®raising the interview¡¯s favourability¡¯ or ¡®finding hidden interview hints.¡¯ For reference, the quest in the year when Yoo Sangah and I were interviewed was ¡®find the interview.¡¯
-...I think I received more help from Dokja-ssi.
¡°I only found the quest items. Yoo Sangah was the only who worked out how to find the path using the items.¡±
At the time, I teamed up with Yoo Sangah and found the interview location.
-Dokja-ssi pointed out the inefficient quest routes.
¡°Sangah-ssi pointed out the causal rtionship with the quest upgrade system.¡±
The ¡®quest¡¯ wasn¡¯t simply about clearing it. Identifying problems, weaknesses and finding the efficiency of the quest. This was the core of Mino Soft¡¯s interview. Yoo Sangah and I passed the interview with the highest score.
¡°It was a pity that we were split into different departments after joining... well, it was a natural thing.¡±
-...
I joined the QA team while Yoo Sangah was in HR. After joining thepany, we barely managed to exchange greetings.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi, I¡¯m happy to be on the same team as you again.¡± I heard the very small sound of someone breathing. ¡°Just as I did then, I need Yoo Sangah-ssi now. I need someone to help me find the way.¡±
Lee Hyunsung was looking at me with tearful eyes. Jung Heewon sighed lightly while Han Sooyoung turned her head away. Then Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice was heard.
-Dokja-ssi.
¡°Yes.¡±
-I¡¯m not such a good person.
I didn¡¯t know what to say. If Yoo Sangah wasn¡¯t a good person then there were no good people in the world.
-Do you remember the break room incident?
I replied to the unexpected question.
¡°...I remember.¡±
There was a case where someone sprinkled pepper in the break room. Thanks to this incident, thepany was noisy for a while. The bosses were upset at drinking pepper voured coffee and the new employers were criticized.
-I was the one who did it.
¡°...Is that so?¡±
-...You aren¡¯t surprised.
¡°Thanks to you, the neers didn¡¯t have to do coffee errands for a while.¡±
In fact, I knew Yoo Sangah was the culprit. At the time, the QA team were given the task of catching the culprit. As the youngest member, I was mostly responsible for it. I was hiding in the break room while using the cleaning tools as a cover to read Ways of Survival. Then I saw Yoo Sangah entering ale at night.
-It wasn¡¯t just that.
Yoo Sangah kept talking. Most of the cases were minor but despite this, they changed things little by little. They were events where someone suffered, someone found their lost rights or someone felt happy.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
She wasn¡¯t a character. Yet in fact, before Ways of Survival arrived, she was like a ¡®character¡¯ to me. It was because I didn¡¯t think there was anyone like her in reality.
¡¸ ¡°You will be killed.¡± ¡¹
From the moment the first scenario started, I began to know Yoo Sangah. The person who tried to maintain ¡®ethics¡¯ that didn¡¯t exist in Ways of Survival.
¡¸ ¡°I¡¯ll do it Gilyoung. I will do it.¡± ¡¹
Without Yoo Sangah, the party would¡¯ve surely copsed.
¡¸ ¡°Dokja-ssi is really good.¡± ¡¹
No matter what nonsense I spoke, Yoo Sangah smiled and epted it.
¡¸ ¡°Then I will live an ivory life.¡± ¡¹ (Sangah=ivory)
If she hadn¡¯t been there, no matter the story I wanted to create...
¡¸ ¡°I never hated Dokja-ssi like I do today. Come back, please.¡± ¡¹
I wouldn¡¯t have been able to make the Outer World Covenant with confidence.
-I really can¡¯t stand it...
Yoo Sangah¡¯s weak words followed.
I slowly got up. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
Yoo Sangah continued like she couldn¡¯t hear my voice. I silently listened to her as I grabbed the handle again. Helping someone who didn¡¯t want help could be a curse. However, some people couldn¡¯t ask for help despite needing help. It was because they had never asked for it before.
...Just like the day I went to the interview.
¡°Wait a minute, Dokja-ssi¨D!¡±
I ignored Jung Heewon¡¯s words and forcibly turned the locked door. The door opened and the scene of the room was revealed. Then I saw three dark faces. Lee Seolhwa, Aileen and... my mother. My mother¡¯s eyes were saying, ¡®You came.¡¯
The three people stood on the bed and Yoo Sangah was lying on the bed. Her face was pallid. Her firmly closed lips had no colour. It was the others who had conveyed her words on her behalf.
¡¸ So... ¡¹
Inside Yoo Sangah, the broken stories were flowing incessantly.
***
After a while, I sat down in Yoo Sangah¡¯s hospital room with the group.
¡°Since when has this been happening?¡±
¡°...It hasn¡¯t been long.¡± Jung Heewon replied. It was Lee Seolhwa who gave the detailed exnation. ¡°The side effects from the excessive use of the stigma are serious.¡±
I gazed down at Yoo Sangah¡¯s pale face. Yoo Sangah wouldn¡¯t have suffered like this if she had a normal sponsor. Right now, she had the neb Olympus itself as a sponsor. The unusual Sponsor Contract reduced the lifespan of the incarnation. The ¡®lifespan¡¯ didn¡¯t simply mean physical life. It was the ¡®lifespan of the story.¡¯
¡°The soul has fallen asleep under the consciousness and all that is left is the stream of consciousness.¡±
She repeatedly used a stigma she couldn¡¯t afford and the absurdity umted in Yoo Sangah¡¯s soul. Probability created cracks in her mind and body and the stories eventually started leaking out of the cracks.
Aileen added, ¡°Story packs are constantly transfused and the broken fragments collected and re-added. Nevertheless, there is no difference.¡±
I couldn¡¯t think of what to say as I watched Yoo Sangah. It was because of me. I came back toote...
¡°I told you not to go in because you would make this expression.¡± Han Sooyoung grumbled.
I bit my lips and asked Lee Seolhwa. ¡°How much time is left?¡±
¡°3 months...¡±
¡°Is there a way?¡±
¡°As of right now... there is nothing we can do here.¡±
¡°It might be possible somewhere else.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ is nodding.]
The sponsor responded on behalf of Lee Seolhwa.
[The constetion ¡®Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ says Incarnation Yoo Sangah¡¯s disease isn¡¯t a human disease.
Human diseases could be treated using human power.
...Then what if it was a disease of the gods?
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking up at the night sky.]
In the dark Star Stream, several small stars shone.
[The constetion ¡®Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is looking at you.]
All of them were stars of Olympus with a connection to Yoo Sangah. Suddenly, my anger soared. Certainly, it was Yoo Sangah herself who used the power. Even so, it was Olympus who induced such an absurd contract in the first ce.
[Olympus, you can bear the probability.]
My true voice headed towards the night sky. A few stars shone again.
[The constetion ¡®Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth¡¯...]
The next moment, the indirect messages were cut off by unknown sparks. The shining stars were no longer visible. Someone had interfered with the indirect message.
I spoke through gritted teeth. ¡°If it is them, there might be a way.¡±
There was no one here who didn¡¯t know who ¡®they¡¯ were. Jung Heewon¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°However, there is no way to ask for help. We made a few attempts but...¡±
The constetions were selfish and did what they wanted. They only looked at stories they wanted to see or listened to stories they wanted to hear. If Yoo Sangah was still in this state, it meant the high level constetions didn¡¯t want Yoo Sangah¡¯s miracle.
Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to the Underworld like you didst time? You¡¯re friendly with the queen.¡±
¡°The situation at that time was special. In addition, Yoo Sangah isn¡¯t dead yet. Besides, she isn¡¯t like Biyoo.¡±
In fact, I contacted Persephone but there was no answer. It was also a difficult situation. It was already lucky that Shin Yoosung could be reincarnated as Biyoo. Most deaths in this world were literal deaths. Reincarnation and regression were just miraculous stories of the Star Stream.
¡°You said Jang Hayoung went to perform another scenario?¡±
¡°...He went pretty far.¡±
If Jang Hayoung was here, I could¡¯ve sent messages directly to the constetions... I looked at the face of the sleeping Yoo Sangah and thought.
¡¸ How to save Yoo Sangah? ¡¹
In the end, there was only one method. I slowly breathed in. ¡°There is still a way. It is a bit earlier than I expected but...¡±
¡°We have to clear the 46th scenario first.¡±
The low and cold voice interrupted my words. I turned around towards the man.
...He appeared like he had been waiting. The group of people who had been dispatched to destroy the Gyeonggi Alliance was standing at the door. Shin Yoosung, Lee Gilyoung and Lee Jihye. In addition... Yoo Jonghyuk.
The children ran into my arms and hugged me. I stroked Shin Yoosung¡¯s head while watching Yoo Jonghyuk. He stared at me ferociously before ncing at the other party members.
¡°It is time to meet the constetions.¡±
¡°The constetions?¡±
The wind blew through the slightly open window. Two dokkaebis appeared in the distant sky. Perhaps they were those who came to prepare for the next scenario. Beyond that, the number of constetions watching the scenarios increased. I pointed to the stars and dered. ¡°There are constetions present in the 47th scenario area.¡±
The 47th scenario. It involved the interster cities of the constetions and the ¡®constetion context.¡¯
¡°Let¡¯s go destroy Olympus.¡±
Chapter 308 - Context of the Constellations (4)
Chapter 308: Episode 58 ¨C Context of the Constetions (4)
After a short time, the party members managed their equipment while waiting for Kim Dokja. Lee Jihye changed her de and asked Jung Heewon, ¡°Is Dokja ahjussi being serious? Really destroying Olympus...¡±
¡°It must be a joke. Dokja-ssi isn¡¯t that stupid.¡±
¡°Still, we don¡¯t know where he has been for three years. Do you know thest three years?¡±
¡°...I understand. I¡¯m not a fool.¡±
¡°We might not know where he has been for three years but if we look at Master...¡±
The speaking Lee Jihye quickly shut her mouth as she felt Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s gaze from a distance. Jung Heewon sighed at Lee Jihye before ncing at the meeting room that Kim Dokja entered.
***
Two people were sitting in a private room reminiscent of the reception room of a detention centre.
¡°It¡¯s been three years.¡±
¡°...It took me longer than I thought.¡±
Kim Dokja watched Lee Sookyung and locked his lips several times. There were many things to say but some were buried in theyers of scenarios and others were missed by time passing.
¡°That...¡± In the tomb of a bygone story, a word was barely excavated. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
Lee Sookyung smiled and wondered,¡±Are you thinking of leaving for the next scenario?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°When?¡±
¡°This evening.¡± Kim Dokja kept his mouth shut for a moment before asking, ¡°Will you go with me?¡±
¡°I still have a lot of work to do here.¡±
Lee Sookyung gazed out the window at the industrialplex. Kim Dokja followed Lee Sookyung¡¯s gaze and looked out the window. They were women who had once been prisoners in this society.
There were Cho Youngran who had Jeon Woochi as her sponsor and Lee Boksoon who fought with him on Fisnd.
¡°There are more people than you think who make the wrong choice because they are attracted to greater power.¡±
The criminals who left prison were now fighting for people.
¡°The important thing is that people can change. Perhaps now they are getting the opportunity.¡±
Lee Sookyung¡¯s voice was sneering at herself. Lee Sookyung turned her head and stared into her son¡¯s eyes.
¡°Do you know? A big story is a way to destroy an individual.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
Kim Dokja¡¯s eyes shook slightly. Small sparks jumped out from his two eyes. Perhaps it was a topic that shouldn¡¯t have been brought up. A human being exterminated by a ¡®big story.¡¯ Her son probably knew this better than anyone else in the world. Lee Sookyung hesitated for a long time before speaking.
¡°There is something I want to say.¡±
¡°I know. I read it as well.¡±
The book written by Lee Sookyung, the Underground Killer. Lee Sookyung¡¯s book became a bestseller and society started talking about domestic violence in earnest, leading to a bill to strengthen thew on punishment. On the macro level, it might¡¯ve been the right thing to do.
However, thanks to the story, the humans ¡®Lee Sookyung¡¯ and ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯ werepletely dissected.
Kim Dokja became the son of a tragedy caused by domestic violence in this society and Lee Sookyung became a criminal who killed her husband and made it a story. People called them by different names. The son of a murderer or a cruel mother... It changed the world only a little bit.
¡°We were exterminated even before the book came out. Maybe even in the future...¡±
Kim Dokja¡¯s words were cut off halfway before the end. Rather than look at each other, they stared out the window.
The world was there. There wasn¡¯t anyone who wasn¡¯t hurt. On top of the scenario-weary incarnations, the constetions wishing for more terrible stories were shining.
Kim Dokja spoke, ¡°A big story destroying an individual. I¡¯m going to change that.¡±
¡°I¡¯m here to change it as well.¡±
¡°Then... we have to separate here again.¡±
Kim Dokja stood up and told her, ¡°Be well.¡±
The door closed and Kim Dokja disappeared. Lee Sookyung silently watched Kim Dokja disappearing through the door. After a while, a shadow emerged from behind a curtain of the meeting room and Han Sooyoung came out. Han Sooyoung watched the door that Kim Dokja had gone through. ¡°...He is a grumpy fellow.¡±
¡°That¡¯s how I raised him.¡±
At Lee Sookyung¡¯s words, Han Sooyoung narrowed her eyes. ¡°Ajumma. Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±
¡°Tell you what?¡±
¡°The book.¡±
Lee Sookyung looked like she didn¡¯t know. Han Sooyoung nced at Lee Sookyung and was oddly incensed.
¡°I heard about Ahjumma¡¯s motives. The earnings from that book, did you send it to your rtives? It supplemented his living expenses.¡±
¡°It didn¡¯t go to that child so it¡¯s like I didn¡¯t send it.¡±
¡°Where are your rtives now?¡±
¡°They are dead by now.¡±
Han Sooyoung closed her mouth. The previous animosity was pointless after the destruction of the world. All the people who had to pay a price had diedfortably and the rest of the people had to live their lives in a more terrible world.
Han Sooyoung sighed and asked. ¡°By the way, you really aren¡¯ting?¡±
¡°I think I have raised my child for too long. It is enough for me to live my life.¡±
Lee Sookyung¡¯s lightly smiling face was wrinkled. One reason why the industrialplex could be safe was Lee Sookyung. The Demon World and Earth. The fact that two different ecosystems could unite safely was possible thanks to the non-discriminatory rule of Lee Sookyung and Yoo Sangah.
Lee Sookyung was a necessary person for the industrialplex.
Han Sooyoung knew it well and turned away without a word. She walked to the door that Kim Dokja had exited through.
Lee Sookyung opened her mouth. ¡°Sooyoung.¡±
Han Sooyoung raised her hand without looking back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Leave your son to me. You just¨D¡±
¡°Be careful.¡±
Han Sooyoung nced back with a bemused expression. Lee Sookyung was smiling. Her eyes were the same colour as Kim Dokja. Han Sooyoung licked her lips and sighed.
¡°Anyway... I have no luck to the end.¡±
***
A girl sucking on candy suddenly pointed at me and dered, ¡°Squid.¡±
I briefly lost my soul at the mental attack.
[Some constetions are wondering about the girl¡¯s identity.]
This girl... I mean... I sighed and spoke the girl¡¯s name. ¡°Mia, have you been well?¡±
¡°Who is this Ahjussi?¡± She had forgotten since I hadn¡¯t seen her for a long time. I was about to exin when Yoo Mia pped her hands. ¡°Ah, my brother¡¯s friend.¡±
¡°Not a friend... in any case, you¡¯ve changed your way of speaking in the time since Ist saw you.¡±
¡°You have be uglier in the time since Ist saw you.¡±
¡°Hey, Yoo Jonghyuk. Surely you aren¡¯t taking your sister with you?¡±
At my words, Yoo Jonghyuk red at me from where he was putting a hand on Yoo Mia¡¯s head. I watched him for a moment before asking, ¡°...Have you been well? I was so busy that I forgot to ask.¡±
¡°There is no time to leisurely ask something like that.¡±
I heard that hard voice and felt it was somewhat familiar, rather than feel upset. Yes, this was the Yoo Jonghyuk I knew. The Yoo Jonghyuk I knew kept speaking. ¡°The 46th scenario is dangerous. Of course, I am leaving my sister behind.¡±
¡°Who else are you going to leave? Yoo Sangah-ssi will naturally stay behind. My mother and the
Wanderer forces...¡±
¡°I will leave Flying Fox.¡±
¡°You have already talked to Flying Fox?¡±
¡°I signed a contract with the returnees group.¡±
Those freed from being a disaster needed time to adapt to their home world. Yoo Jonghyuk contacted them and came back with a contract rted to the protection of the industrialplex. As expected from the protagonist, he was pretty good at acting.
However, I shook my head. ¡°They won¡¯t be able to protect this ce alone.¡±
¡°Teacher will be back soon.¡±
¡°That isn¡¯t the problem. Besides, it will be more dangerous if transcendents are here. Don¡¯t you know?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was well aware of what I was saying. It was because he lost the Breaking the Sky Sword in thest round.
Yoo Jonghyuk nodded. ¡°I know. You cane back before ¡®that¡¯ happens. You should be thinking about the 46th scenario.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve thought about it.¡±
¡°It won¡¯t be easy. It might fail.¡±
It wasn¡¯t unusual for him to say so.
-You can¡¯t break through the 46th scenario alone. Don¡¯t you know?
I spoke these words to persuade Yoo Jonghyuk the first time I met him. Finally, the day hade to realize those words.
Yoo Jonghyuk said, ¡°There are many ways to clear the 46th scenario.¡±
¡°No, there¡¯s only one.¡±
¡°It won¡¯t turn out like you think.¡±
¡°Haven¡¯t you talked with the party members while I was away?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t believe in people.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk replied in aposed manner while Yoo Mia, listening by his side, shook her head.
I told him, ¡°Don¡¯t you know what¡¯s after the 46th scenario? If you don¡¯t cooperate with others from now on¡ª¡±
¡°A real disaster doesn¡¯t appear on the surface.¡±
I shut my mouth at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words. The 45th scenario ¡®Glorious Return¡¯ was a scenario where people fought disasters. The appearance was a monster but they were fighting against humans. I read the messages stored in the system log.
[You have cleared the 45th scenario.]
[Your group members didn¡¯t kill anyone throughout the scenario.]
[Your group members didn¡¯t kill any incarnations throughout the scenario.]
[Your group has shown new possibilities between incarnations and returnees!]
[The ¡®disaster state¡¯ of you and the group will be released.]
New possibilities. It was evidence that trust and faith were capable between different species. Yoo Jonghyuk spoke like he read my thoughts. ¡°After the scenario started, many people were killed by the scenario. More than that, many people were killed by the same human beings.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s cold eyes suddenly looked far away. ¡°You will lose the party in this scenario.¡±
¡°What are you saying...¡±
¡°I have already lost a lot of people. You are different.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You better prepare your heart.¡±
I frowned because I knew the 46th scenario. Thus, I wasn¡¯t convinced by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words. It was impossible with the party that I knew. After three years, they might¡¯ve locked me up and fed me sleeping pills but they would never fight against each other...
¡°By the way, are you going with me?¡±
¡°Uh, why?¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯m just asking.¡±
Intense sparks flew in the air. In the distance, the party members wereing this way. Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung were leading from the front while Lee Jihye, Lee Seolhwa and Lee Hyunsung were behind them. The problem was Jung Heewon and Han Sooyoung.
...Come to think of it, they had a problem. Damn.
[Main Scenario #46 ¨C Proof of the Stars has arrived!]
The 46th main scenario, Proof of the Stars. In order to meet Olympus and the other constetions, I had to break through this scenario. Soon after, the dokkaebi carrying out the scenario appeared in the air.
[Let¡¯s start the main scenario.]
Chapter 309 - Context of the Constellations (5)
Chapter 309: Episode 58 ¨C Context of the Constetions (5)
The dokkaebi who appeared for the scenario wasn¡¯t Bihyung. Nevertheless, it was a very familiar dokkaebi. At one time, he was a low-grade dokkaebi and he even learnt how to use the Dokkaebi Bag from me.
-...Kim Dokja?
The dokkaebi¡¯s eyes widened and he activated the Dokkaebi Communication.
-It¡¯s me! Dokkaebi Youngki!
Dokkaebi Youngki in a suit was looking at me. Perhaps it was due to the main scenario progress but he seemed reluctant to look at the other participants.
-It has been a while.
-I heard rumours that you hade back...
-The rumour spread?
-Ah, you don¡¯t know. Right now, Bihyung is trying to deal with the probability caused by Kim Dokja
in every direction.
Youngkiughed and continued,
-Anyway, it was a pleasure to see you again. Other constetions have been asking a lot about Dokja-nim. After this scenario, you will finally go and see those sponsors.
-Yes, if things turn out well.
-Huhu, of course, it will. However, Kim Dokja won¡¯t receive any special treatment. Do you understand?
-I know.
I heard distant sounds from afar. Without realizing it, the incarnations participating in the 46th scenario had gathered.
[Hmm... there are 48 people. The Seoul area has fewer participants.]
Youngki changed his tone as he studied the volunteers with calm eyes. The appearance of the volunteers varied. They were originally residents of the industrialplex or incarnations who desperately reached this point.
Some of the returnees who stopped being disasters but rejected Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s contract could be seen. Their expressions were distorted with deep rage or sadness. Perhaps they couldn¡¯t find their family.
[This scenario is different from many scenarios. First of all, this scenario is an optional scenario.]
It was a returnee from Murim who asked the question. ¡°An optional scenario? What is that?¡±
[It means you can choose to participate as an ¡®individual qualification¡¯ or you can choose to participate in the ¡®neb qualification.¡¯ No matter which one you choose, you will need colleagues.]
I listened to Youngki¡¯s words and clenched my fists. The 46th main scenario, Proof of the Stars. It had finallye. The voices of the incarnations could be heard.
¡°What¡¯s the difference between participating as an individual or participating as a neb?¡±
¡°Stupid. An individual qualification literally means participating alone and a neb qualification means participating as a group. Well, this is a neb we¡¯re talking about.¡±
¡°What about the people who are already in a neb?¡± Will they be forced to participate as a ¡®neb qualification¡¯?¡±
[Oh, this is an important question. In regards to that...]
The moment Youngki¡¯s words were about to continue, a light shed in the night sky.
[Oh, you¡¯re already here. Your nature is too hasty.]
At the same time, messages poured from the sky. The messages headed to their destination like a meteor shower and hovered above the heads of incarnations.
.
.
[The neb ¡®Asgard¡¯ has invited you to join.]
[The neb ¡®Guardian Tree¡¯ has invited you to join.]
[The neb ¡®Tamna¡¯ has invited you to join.]
[The neb ¡®Emperor¡¯ has invited you to join.]
.
.
The 46th scenario started with a neb selectionpetition.
¡°W-What is this?¡±
The shocked incarnations screamed. There were also incarnations checking the list of nebe with a cautious expression. There were a handful of returnees who already knew the scenario. Some incarnations also counted the number of stars above another person¡¯s head. Most of them had one or two but there were several cases that went beyond five.
¡°Crazy, what is this?¡±
Of course, my party was the one who received the most messages. In particr, Yoo Jonghyuk and some of the party members couldn¡¯t have their faces seen due to the blinding light. I looked above my head.
[A total of 137 invitations have arrived for you.]
[However, if you ept this invitation then the neb Kim Dokja¡¯s Company will automatically be disbanded.]
The messages were sent with the intention of poking at people who couldn¡¯t eat. Did they really think I would disband my neb and join them?
Youngki continued when the incarnations seemed to settle down a bit.
[This scenario is the first scenario to receive a neb selection. You can join one of the invited nebe and participate in the scenario.]
¡°Do we have to join? What is so good about joining up?¡±
[It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t join. However, if the neb you join has alreadypleted the 46th scenario...]
Youngki smiled slyly.
[You can be exempt from the scenario and go straight to the 47th scenario.]
***
In the midst of the incarnations, the party members gathered around me.
¡°I will pick Emperor!¡±
¡°I will choose g of Glory.¡±
In the meantime, the incarnations finished choosing and shouted from everywhere.
[Those who have chosen an exempt neb will be automatically sent to the 47th scenario area. Please keep this in mind.]
Most incarnations chose to join a neb rather than challenge the 46th scenario. It was a reasonable judgment to some extent. The Korean Penins was slowly when it came to scenarios so the notoriety of the 46th scenario had spread from other countries that had already gone through it.
-If two people challenge the 46th scenario together, one of them will die.
None of them wanted to be the ones to die. Some of the incarnations gave up on participating in the scenario while others chose a neb and proceeded to the next scenario. The number of incarnations increased and Youngki finally looked at us.
[Now you¡¯re the only ones left. What will you do?]
The party members gathered around me were waiting for my choice.
Youngki asked again. [Do you want to apply as an individual or a neb? No matter what you choose, you can¡¯t do it alone.]
¡°If I pass this scenario with the qualification of a neb, the members of the same neb will automatically be promoted?¡±
¡°Hoh that¡¯s right, Demon King of Salvation. Do you intend to challenge as a neb?]
¡°Yes.¡±
The 46th scenario Proof of the Stars was the debut stage for our new neb. In this scenario, the story recorded in the constetion¡¯s context depended on the number of victims and the performance.
I looked around at the party members. Apart from Yoo Jonghyuk and I, they hadn¡¯t joined a neb. I made eye contact with every one of them and slowly breathed in.
¡°I won¡¯t force you to choose but keep this in mind. If you choose another neb here and proceed with the scenario, you will definitely be under unfair constraints¨D¡±
¡°Dokja ahjussi really isn¡¯t honest. Why don¡¯t you just tell us to sign up?¡±
Lee Jihye pouted and interrupted my words. Among the party members, it was Jung Heewon who opened her mouth first. ¡°Hmm, what should I do?¡±
Jung Heewon smiled yfully while the nebe invitations shimmered above her head. ¡°Considering Uriel, I should go to Eden...¡±
In fact, it wasmon for many incarnations to join the neb their sponsor belonged to. However, there were cases where the sponsors were very open and respected the choice of the individual incarnation. In particr, Eden respected the free will of the incarnations.
Jung Heewon asked, ¡°Will we be eligible for the four major insurances if we join Kim Dokja¡¯s Company?¡±
¡°Uh, um. This is the first time I¡¯m operating this type of thing...¡±
¡°Is there a lunch break and nap time?¡±
¡°What about a personal maintenance time?¡±
¡°What about the support of medicinal or material items?¡±
Lee Hyunsung, Lee Seolhwa and Lee Jihye. Each of them threw out the questions they wanted to ask.
¡°Well, that... as you know, Kim Dokja¡¯s Company is just a new neb.¡± I stuttered at the explosive baptism of questions before sighing. ¡°You can decide your break time and maintenance time. I will supply consumable material items but it might not be the best. There might be frequent night work and the overtime allowance isn¡¯t enough.¡±
It felt like I had no true conscience while speaking. If it had been before the destruction, I would wonder about who would join such apany.
Nevertheless, Lee Hyunsung was listening to me while Lee Jihye yawned.
¡°As well as...¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Huh?¡± Jung Heewon interrupted in a calm voice. ¡°In fact, there are many questions I want to ask. Where have you been in the meantime, why have youe back sote?¡±
¡°I will tell you soon...¡±
¡°In fact, I can¡¯t easily let go of my anger.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I be furious every time I think about that day. Why should Dokja-ssi decide our lives? We aren¡¯t Dokja-ssi¡¯s pets to be raised.¡±
¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°Even if Dokja-ssi doesn¡¯t help, our lives are what we decide.¡±
I couldn¡¯t fathom the extent of Jung Heewon¡¯s scar. Maybe it wasn¡¯t only Jung Heewon. I didn¡¯t know what the past three years had been like for the party members.
¡°Thus, this is my decision.¡±
Jung Heewon bowed her head. Her shoulders were trembling. The moment I approached, Jung Heewon raised her head and looked at me. The tough swordsman was looking at me with faintly red eyes.
[Incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has joined the neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ respects the opinion of her incarnation.]
I bit my lips as I faced those eyes. Then I barely smiled. ¡°Thank you, Heewon-ssi.¡±
Jung Heewon smiled slightly.
The second one was Lee Hyunsung. ¡°I also have many words but... Heewon-ssi has mentioned everything.¡±
¡°Then why didn¡¯t you say it first?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not very eloquent... In fact, I wanted to quit my job.¡±
[Incarnation ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has joined the neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ respects the opinion of his constetion.]
Then Lee Jihye was next. ¡°Ugh, I hate this atmosphere. Quickly change it!¡±
[Incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has joined the neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ respects the opinion of his constetion.]
Lee Seolhwa also smiled. ¡°In fact, I joined through Jonghyuk-ssi yesterday.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Guam Divine Doctor¡¯ is nodding.]
Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung hung onto me. ¡°Us as well, Ahjussi!¡±
I checked the list and it was true. These three people had already joined my neb.
As everyone was checking the neb message above their heads, only one person was gazing at me. A few party members were also ncing over there. Only one person among the group hadn¡¯t joined the neb.
Han Sooyoung paused before speaking. ¡°I¡¯ll do it just this once, you idiot.¡±
[Incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has joined the neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is grumbling but respects the opinion of his incarnation.]
¡°Instead, change the name at ater date. It will be the Han Sooyoung Corporation.¡±
I bowed at the party members and looked back at Youngki.
[Hmmm, it seems you are done. Then I¡¯ll ask you. Would the neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company¡¯ like to challenge the scenario with the neb qualification?]
I nodded. Youngki smiled and continued.
[It isn¡¯t fun for a lot of people to enter at once so I¡¯ll divide the party.]
Something was weird. We had a lot of people so the party would be divided? There was no such thing in the original 46th scenario.
Youngki¡¯s expression was weird. His forehead was strangely sweaty.
-I¡¯m sorry Kim Dokja.
...What?
[The neb ¡®Papyrus¡¯ disapproves of your challenge!]
[Many nebe are frowning at your challenge!]
I seemed to understand what was going on.
...These jerks, they were going to bother me to the end?
I shouted at the party members. ¡°Keep this in mind! Never touch the ¡®star¡¯...!¡±
There was a dazzling light and the scene in front of me started to change.
[Your neb has met the criteria to participate.]
[Going to the 46th scenario area.]
[A room will be allocated to the participants.]
At the same time, the scenario contents appeared in the air.
+
[Main Scenario #46 ¨C Proof of the Stars]
Category: Main
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: Acquire and use the ¡®star¡¯ in the centre of the room or prevent the other party from obtaining the ¡®star¡¯ within the time limit. If one of the two conditions were met, the scenario would be automatically cleared.
Time Limit: 3 hours.
Compensation: Check the additional message.
Failure: Conditional death
+
Youngki¡¯s voice followed.
[I¡¯ll put together something very special for yourradeship.]
I opened my eyes and stood alone in a white room. In the centre of the room, there was a star floating on top of a small marble pedestal.
[Oops, one room is wrongly assigned. Haha, it can¡¯t be helped! I wish all of you the blessing of the story.]
Then another person was summoned to the other side of the room. I rubbed my eyes as I gazed at the person standing opposite me with a dreadful expression.
¡°...I guess this is the wrongly assigned room.¡±
[The rewards for the star in the room will be revealed!]
+
[Star Reward]
Choice 1. If you acquire or use the ¡®star¡¯ before your opponent, you can acquire all the skills and stories of the opponent.
Choice 2. If you acquire or use the ¡®star¡¯ before your opponent, you can have indefinite life or death rights over your opponent.
Choice 3...
+
I didn¡¯t read the rest of thepensation and waved my hand to the other person.
¡°Hey, you know what to do? As you know, this scenario... ah!¡±
I stopped talking and started running towards the star. Yoo Jonghyuk, who already arrived at the centre of the room, was reaching for the star.
Chapter 310 - Kim Dokja’s Company (1)
Chapter 310: Episode 58 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Company (1)
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, you are crazy!¡±
I shouted while hurriedly running towards Yoo Jonghyuk. I was so surprised that I couldn¡¯t control the power of my skills. Way of the Wind and Electrification were activated at the same time through Bookmark and collided with Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body.
The power of the White Pure Star Energy dyed the air and the star on the pedestal rolled to the ground. Yoo Jonghyuk was hit by my magic power and spoke without looking at me. ¡°Get out of the way.¡±
¡°What get out of the way? Are you really crazy?¡±
I was dumbfounded. Other characters might not know anything but Yoo Jonghyuk, who knew everything, wanted to touch the star. It was unbelievable.
¡°Don¡¯t you know what the 46th scenario is? Haven¡¯t you read the scenario properly?¡±
Of course, I couldn¡¯t read the scenario properly because of Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°I read it.¡±
¡°It is over if you touch it!¡±
¡°Not really. Most people acquire a star and move onto the next scenario.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly gazed at me. I couldn¡¯t feel any agitation from his expression. This wasn¡¯t the first time he did the 46th scenario.
¡¸ In the 46th scenario, only those who are part of the same neb or have been recognized as ¡®colleagues¡¯ would participate together. ¡¹
In the previous round, Yoo Jonghyuk calcted everything and jumped to the 46th scenario. He didn¡¯t want to be restricted so he didn¡¯t join a big neb. Instead, he pickedpanions and challenged the scenario. He also used the information given to him by the 41st round Shin Yoosung.
However, there was one existence that Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t expect. A person who adapted to the new future changed by Yoo Jonghyuk and appeared as Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯spanion.
¡¸ ¡°I believe in you, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡± ¡¹
Prophet Anna Croft. In the past round, she was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯spanion.
I blocked his hand and called out, ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
I thought it would be fine. I thought it would be different from the previous lives that he lived. We came to this ce by saving each other¡¯s lives several times and I thought there must be some type of trust between us.
¡°I¡¯m not Anna Croft. I won¡¯t betray you.¡±
¡¸ ¡°I believed you wouldn¡¯t betray me.¡± ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk failed the 46th scenario thanks to Anna Croft. He lost his party members and everything he had. Yoo Jonghyuk survived but he didn¡¯t survive. After losing everything to Anna Croft in the 46th scenario and having his existence given to her, he lived like a ve until he died.
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me.
¡°Kim Dokja, you said you are a prophet.¡± The expression on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face was cold. ¡°I don¡¯t like you. It was like this from the beginning.¡±
Transcendent energy rose from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. The ck Demon Sword didn¡¯t hesitate even a bit and I also raised the power of Electrification to the limit. My body bounced like a warm as shock waves were felt.
Now I was really angry. ¡°You son of a bitch¨D!¡±
[The status of the demon king has opened!]
It was Demon King Transformationbined with Electrification. I focused all my power and responded to Yoo Jonghyuk. It was the opening of the second round that we didn¡¯t finish the other day.
The star was rolling around from the collision and I shouted. ¡°You reached all this way and you¡¯re just going to give up? Do you covet my skills and stories that much?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. I bit my lips as I swung my sword. Unbroken Faith and the ck Demon Sword collided and created an ear-splitting sound.
.
..Yes, it wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t understand. Yoo Jonghyuk was betrayed by the prophet in thest round. Thus, the strength he desired most must be the power of prophecy itself. In addition, he still misunderstood me as a prophet.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja is a fo ol. ¡¹
What?
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking and smiling.]
My head instantly turned cold like cold water was poured on me. Was Yoo Jonghyuk really trying to kill me because I was a prophet? Was he doing this to gain my skills and stories?
.
..Had he postponed everything only for this moment?
[There are unread messages left in Midday Tryst.]
An item with the traces of the past three years. I blocked Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword while opening Midday Tryst.
[There are ??? unread messages.]
[The messages can¡¯t be read because they are corrupted.]
Damn...
¡¸ Shoul d I he lp? ¡¹
At these words, the messages in my mind started to be sorted.
[The corrupted messages will be recovered in an iplete manner with the power of Fourth Wall.]
The messages left by Yoo Jonghyuk started to y in an iplete manner through the Fourth Wall¡¯s mouth.
¡¸Lee Gil young and Shin Yoo sung, annoy ing kids. ¡¹
¡¸ Lee Hyun sung is a stu pid sol dier. ¡¹
They were funny messages. Did this brat use a chat window as a notepad?
¡¸It is bad be tween Jung Hee won and Han Soo young. ¡¹
¡¸ Lee Ji hye¡¯s head is not go od. ¡¹
¡¸ Yoo Sang ah does not ha ve to do this. ¡¹
He only wrote bad things about the party members. However, I knew Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk was a person who didn¡¯t mention anyone he was uninterested in.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
I instantly became dizzy, like I had been hit on the head with a hammer. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, you now...¡±
In the first ce, this scenario could only be activated when recognized as a panion.¡¯ If he hadn¡¯t trusted me and recognized me as a colleague, he couldn¡¯t enter this scenario.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is increasing explosively.]
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
I stared at Yoo Jonghyuk in a daze. Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t want my skills or stories. Finally, he opened his mouth. ¡°My indulgence is up to here.¡±
The ck Demon Sword pointed at my neck. ¡°You have been acting freely in thest three years. You can¡¯t do that again.¡±
¡°It was necessary. It was unavoidable to go to the ¡ö¡ö!¡±
¡°Nobody knows if your pursuit of the ¡ö¡ö is right or not.¡±
¡°So you want the right over my life and death?¡±
A calm anger red in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes. ¡°At least this way, you won¡¯t be willing to sacrifice yourself again and the others... they won¡¯t do anything unnecessary.¡±
The Fourth Wall continued to read sentences from Midday Tryst.
¡¸ Lee Ji hye ta kes her life light ly. ¡¹
¡¸ Lee Hyun sung deliber ately jump ed in to the mon sters. ¡¹
I realized the ¡®unnecessary¡¯ things the party members had been doing. I dered, ¡°I will never do such a thing again.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Who wants to die? I don¡¯t want to either.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t remove the sword aimed at me. His eyes showed he didn¡¯t believe my words. In the end, I had to change the direction of my persuasion.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, if you touch the star, you can gain the my ¡®life and death rights¡¯ but you will also get
the traitor story.¡±
The traitor story.
¡°Once you get that story, you won¡¯t be trusted by the party members even if you go to the following scenario. No one will believe you anymore. Do you want to live like that?¡±
No one wanted to be hated. It was the same for the cold-blooded regressor, Yoo Jonghyuk. Especially if it was the Yoo Jonghyuk who hadpanions.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked at me. His thoughts were heard through Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint.
¡¸ ...It would¡¯ve been better if I was like you. ¡¹
The Yoo Jonghyuk I knew would¡¯ve never done this. My feet hardened as Yoo Jonghyuk moved towards the star. Everything around us slowed as if someone had pulled the anode of time.
-By the way, is the Yoo Jonghyuk of your world okay?
The voice of the 1863rd Han Sooyoung was heard.
-This Yoo Jonghyuk is a worn-out person but is the 3rd round Yoo Jonghyuk still right in the head? He will surely be broken if someone like you shows up.
The expression on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face as he reached towards the star wasn¡¯t that of the main character. This was no longer the proud and confident Yoo Jonghyuk that I remembered. Rather, Yoo Jonghyuk was frightened by something.
¡¸ This world needs Kim Dokja. ¡¹
¡¸ And the other party members... ¡¹
¡¸ I¡¯m not the one who can clear the scenarios to the end. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall said. ¡¸ You want ed this to o. ¡¹
My ears were buzzing as the things I had done so far passed through my head. The history where I obtained the things that Yoo Jonghyuk should¡¯ve got and took the ces where Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s should¡¯ve climbed flowed like a panorama.
¡¸ ¡°I am Yoo Jonghyuk.¡± ¡¹
The words that were uttered as a joke were returned to me. The history that I took away without thinking made the present Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ You want ed to be the ma in charac ter. ¡¹
No.
The Fourth Wall said. ¡¸ You are Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
I wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ Kim Dokja is Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
I didn¡¯t want to be the main character.
¡¸ Th en why ha ve you be en do ing the scena rios so far? ¡¹
Why have I been doing the scenarios? I could see Yoo Jonghyuk reaching towards the star. I muttered inwardly. I couldn¡¯t exin in words why I was clearing the scenarios.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is causing an unknown reaction.]
I heard a sound in my head. It was the sound of something solid cracking. I listened to the sound as I ran towards Yoo Jonghyuk. As if he had been waiting, Yoo Jonghyuk turned towards me.
The transcendent power that had matured. Over the past three years, Yoo Jonghyuk had be stronger.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is telling the giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯.]
¡°You aren¡¯t my opponent.¡±
¡°Maybe that is true.¡± During my trip to the 1863rd round, Yoo Jonghyuk became strong enough that perhaps I couldn¡¯t win against him. I didn¡¯t understand how such a strong person could becking confidence. ¡°However, I know a person who can beat you.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was afraid. The information he received from the 41st round Shin Yoosung would soon run out. He would be starting a story he didn¡¯t know.
[You have received the story reward given for the Outer World Covenant.]
Thus, I had to let him know.
You aren¡¯t only this much. The ce you can reach isn¡¯t only the 41st round.
[You have earned the ¡®myth¡¯ rated story!]
[The story has been handed down to you by someone.]
There was a dazzling light as the messages exploded in my head.
[The myth rated story ¡®A Single Story¡¯ is responding to your level!]
[The myth rated story is sufficient to rece the giant story!]
[The ¡®session¡¯ portion of your first myth rated story has beenpleted!]
[Part of the story is lost during the transmission and the ¡®session¡¯ couldn¡¯t bepleted.]
[Acquire other myth rated stories or giant stories.]
...Obtaining this story wasn¡¯t part of my original n. I didn¡¯t know I would get this story in the 1863rd round. In any case, the situation was like this so it wouldn¡¯t be bad to use the story.
[The size of the story has gone beyond your capacity to tell it.]
[At your Reading Comprehension level, you can only interpret part of the story.]
I got a nosebleed and my body trembled like it was electrocuted. Dark shadows flocked around me and Yoo Jonghyuk. The scenery of the room changed and I could smell sulfur. Hot hellfire and blood covered the floor.
I could hear Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s confused voice. I didn¡¯t respond to him and just gazed at the countless shadows around me.
[Measuring the number of rounds possible with your Reading Comprehension level.]
Numbers quickly passed before my eyes.
[The maximum number of times you can read ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is up to the ¡¯41st round.¡¯]
[Do you want to select the 41st round?]
I slowly nodded and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s emotions filled my head. Terrible despair and helplessness. Emotions that were worn out from the scenarios. A crazy depression attacked me and the sound of derisiveughter could be heard. I endured all of it.
[The talent of ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ in that round is attracted to you.]
In the midst of this distant feeling of loneliness, a shadow was watching me. The 41st round Yoo Jonghyuk. The cruel man who sent Shin Yoosung to his past.
He spoke to me,¡¸ My specialty is the spear. ¡¹
A spear that existed in the dark shadow appeared in front of my eyes. I didn¡¯t hesitate to grab the spear.
[The story ¡®Hell of Eternity¡¯ has begun.]
Chapter 311 - Kim Dokja’s Company (2)
Chapter 311: Episode 58 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Company (2)
The story, Hell of Eternity. It was a story the 1863rd Yoo Jonghyuk passed to me.
[Many constetions are astounded by your story.]
[The neb ¡®Asgard¡¯ is focused on your story.]
[The neb ¡®Vedas¡¯ is focused on your story.]
A story that drew the attention of the nebe. It wasn¡¯t strange. This was a myth grade story and had enough destructive power to rece some of the giant stories. There was a ripple in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes.
¡°How...?¡±
Hell of Eternity was a story that allowed me to borrow the ¡®history¡¯ that Yoo Jonghyuk had umted through 1863 rounds.
I felt a power that wasn¡¯t mine from the spear held in my hand. I couldn¡¯t borrow the skills or stigma of Yoo Jonghyuk with this story. However, the real strength of Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯te from the system. It was embodied through the transcendental training.
¡¸ In order to hold that spear, Yoo Jonghyuk trained with a single focus for decades. ¡¹
The 41st round Yoo Jonghyuk.
Rather than look for the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, he found a legacy of the vanished Zero Murim. It was a world of martial arts that had been destroyed a long time ago.
Soul Killing Spear. The martial arts that wereparable to the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship, the strongest martial arts of Murim.
Yoo Jonghyuk of the 41st round had destroyed the returnees with this spear. The 3rd round Yoo Jonghyuk would probably recognize this power. It was one of the achievements he had in mind.
¡°Yes, this is the power you¡¯ve been trying to learn.¡±
I spoke with a stiff expression. The hand holding the spear trembled like it was caught in a heavy wind. It was due to excessive integration. It was only the 41st round. The 41st round Yoo Jonghyuk had already reached this level.
This was the power that the human Yoo Jonghyuk umted through his life that went beyond skills and stamina. This was the status of a transcendent.
I felt like I was going to faint from dizziness but held on. The mental load was greater than the physical burden. However, if this load was only mental...
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is in action!]
I could hold out somehow. ¡°Bring it on, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The story version of Yoo Jonghyuk took a stance. It would¡¯ve been better if I had a star relic like Harmony Fox Halberd or White Lightning God Spear but for now, this ¡®shadow spear¡¯ was sufficient.
The fictional 41st round character summoned by me spoke.
¡¸ You are weak. It is good to regress. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk was weakened. Perhaps I was the one who weakened him.
¡°If you don¡¯t do it correctly, I will kill you.¡±
A torrent of transcendent power rushed from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. Yoo Jonghyuk noticed that I was serious. We rushed towards each other without needing to be told.
Our statuses collided and caused a roar. Beyond the towering dust cloud, the Soul Killing Spear divided into hundreds of different branches. The Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship started to be pushed by the offensive of the Soul Killing Spear.
It wasn¡¯t a skill or a stigma. It was a history made by the efforts of 41 regressions.
The Soul Killing Spear exploded and wounds appeared all over Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body.
¡°Is this all you can do? Three years have passed but it is only this much.¡±
I was breathless and dizzy from my magic power being exhausted. Nevertheless, I kept talking. I spat out inmmatory words in order to provoke him. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts floated through the air.
¡¸ What would it be like if I had won the Absolute Throne at the time? ¡¹
In the midst of this overflowing regret, Yoo Jonghyuk stepped back again.
¡¸ If only I had tried more. ¡¹
Step back, step back. After the constant retreat, Yoo Jonghyuk reached a dead end as always.
A wall with no more ce to retreat.
I stabbed the spear towards Yoo Jonghyuk. The spearman spoke as he rushed towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ No, you tried. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes grew bigger as he narrowly avoided the spear. Yoo Jonghyuk shuddered as he stared at the spear stuck in the wall. The spearman kept speaking.
¡¸ It wasn¡¯t enough. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s trembling slowly subsided. His shaking eyes sunk and a cold image flickered in his retina.
[The story ¡®Hell of Eternity¡¯ has affected the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
Yoo Jonghyuk raised his sword again. As the spearman¡¯s split apart the air, the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship ovepped with its trajectory. Blue sparks shed and Yoo Jonghyuk stared at the spearman rather than me. The number of collisions increased and the time and space around us changed.
The time of transcendence was opening.
¡¸ You sent me Shin Yoosung. ¡¹
¡¸ That¡¯s right. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk kept wielding his sword. It was a swordsmanship that was more unrefined than earlier.
The trajectory was immature and clumsy. The Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship that was on the verge ofpletion was falling apart again.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked,¡¸ Can I be this powerful after going through 41 rounds? ¡¹
¡¸ To be exact, it was only this much. ¡¹
In order to transcend transcendence, one must have the courage to abandon the framework.
Like an architect breaking the castle because of a window frame, a persistent obsession and desire for perfection became the key to open a new transcendence.
Then Yoo Jonghyuk chose his road. Every time he encountered the Soul Killing Spear, the shape of the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship copsed.
The trajectory changed, causing the meaning to change. Ultimately, the power of transcendence followed the grains of the story he pursued. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s history became stronger every time we faced a huge challenge. That history was once again preparing for a jump forward.
¡¸ Be stronger, Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk and Yoo Jonghyuk were talking.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk.]
Perhaps this was my role. Once he reached a certain phase of his life, Yoo Jonghyuk looked inside himself. I looked at such a Yoo Jonghyuk and thought about myself.
I couldn¡¯t be the protagonist. I couldn¡¯t save someone else. Still, at least I knew the story and could tell the story. All the strokes of the spear contained the sentences I read.
From the terrible 3rd round through to the 41st round. In addition, the 1863rd round that was like hell. I read every sentence without fail.
-Ahhhhhhh!
Within the sh, Yoo Jonghyuk was living different threats. Just as I lived through Ways of Survival, Yoo Jonghyuk experience a life he hadn¡¯t lived. Yoo Jonghyuk of the 3rd round was growing thanks to the 41st round.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is staring at the story of Hell of Eternity.]
Human beings couldn¡¯t be saved by others. They could only save themselves. The thing I could do for others was to y the role of a bridge at best.
¡°All of you have failed.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk said. ¡°I won¡¯t listen to the advice of those who have failed.¡±
Finally, it was the Yoo Jonghyuk that I knew. The trajectory of the evolved Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship followed the flow of the Soul Killing Spear. His persistent sword destroyed the shadow of the spear, breaking the link that followed.
Yoo Jonghyuk was frustrated but he didn¡¯t give up. Even if the despair didn¡¯t stop and everything copsed, he would once again pick up the first building block.
¡¸ I am Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡¹
¡°No.¡± Finally, he surpassed himself. ¡°I am Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
The explosion scattered through every corner of the room.
[The story ¡®Hell of Eternity¡¯ has finished.]
The burning hell disappeared and the bloody scent became dull. In the dirt and the dust, the de of the ck Demon Sword touched my throat. At almost the same time, the Unbroken Faith that I stretched out and reached his chest.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ truly feels admiration.]
[The constetion ¡®One who Ovees the Late Trials¡¯ is paying tribute to you.]
[The constetion ¡®Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol¡¯ admires the true confrontation.]
Time passed and only breathing sounds filled the area. In the stillness that was intermittently broken, Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me. Yoo Jonghyuk of the 3rd round had exceeded the 41st round and dered, ¡°I won.¡±
I smiled. ¡°What are you saying? I won.¡±
The star rolling on the ground shone brightly.
[The scenario¡¯s time limit has ended.]
Like a blessing, the star burst apart in the air and scattered a silver light. We looked up nkly at the light.
[The room star has failed to be acquired.]
[Nobody hurt theirpanion.]
The 46th main scenario, Proof of the Stars. The scenario could be cleared properly when all the participants didn¡¯t harm each other.
[You have proven your ¡®trust.¡¯]
However, those who had reached the 46th scenario didn¡¯t think it could be cleared this way.
Up to now had been a world of constetions. Finally, there was no incarnation that would abandon the opportunity to grow their strength.
One star was born and another star would die. In addition, there would be no one to share the light.
[You have acquired a new story!]
[You have met the conditions to clear the scenario.]
Once we came to our senses, we were lying on the floor like we had made a promise. It was because Yoo Jonghyuk and I had reached our limits. The fuses of our consciousness was cut off for a short time and came back. I opened my eyes and could hear Yoo Jonghyuk murmuring. ¡°...It is a pity.¡±
¡°I agree. This was a good chance to get the story of the Supreme King.¡±
I didn¡¯t respond butughter emerged. All the muscles of my body were sore. I chewed on a few Great Return Pills that I secretly pulled out but the restoration of my broken body was slower than I expected. Hell of Eternity was a story that caused severe overload.
¡°You seem okay?¡±
¡°...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was breathing hard as he seemed to think of something. Yoo Jonghyuk had probably reached a new ground due to the enlightenment he just gained. This was the thing called talent. I was envious. Well, he was the protagonist.
The silent protagonist opened his mouth. ¡°You said you went to another world line.¡±
I wondered why he hadn¡¯t asked before.
¡°What round was it?¡±
¡°The 1863rd round.¡±
Was the number too big? Yoo Jonghyuk was silent for a moment. ¡°The me in that world gave you the story?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t ask for further details. He thought about something for a while before asking, ¡°That me... did I fail?¡±
I looked up at the air. ¡°You seeded.¡±
I could feel Yoo Jonghyuk stiffening.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shimmering faintly.]
Yoo Jonghyuk of the 1863rd round, who went beyond the original novel and left to find his own story. I was reminded of that Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯sst appearance. ¡°He¡¯ll be able to reach the end of the scenario. Maybe it is an ending I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°...You didn¡¯t check it properly.¡±
¡°If I checked it, I wouldn¡¯t have returned.¡±
¡°It wouldn¡¯t be so bad to see the end in that ce.¡±
¡°That wasn¡¯t my world.¡± I looked at the empty space. ¡°My world is here.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was silent for a long time. I licked my lips andughed. ¡°This ce has my incarnation Yoosung, my colleague Yoo Sangah, Han Sooyoung who hasn¡¯t ckened yet, my mother...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t feel joyful. It isn¡¯t over yet.¡±
Then the voice of a dokkaebi was heard in the air.
[Geez, one room is already over. [Hihi, truly... it was a thrilling battle that the scenario anticipated!]
It wasn¡¯t Youngki. There were a number of dokkaebis handling the scenario so their responsibilities had probably changed. I struggled to get up. Yoo Jonghyuk was right. This scenario wasn¡¯t over yet. Yoo Jonghyuk said. ¡°The other rooms enteredter than us.¡±
In fact, the following message was in front of our eyes.
[Currently waiting for the remaining neb members to clear the scenario.]
Then Youngki¡¯s voice was heard.
[For those who have satisfied the clear conditions, I¡¯ll show you the scenery of another room!]
Along with the message, a few screens popped in front of us. This was followed by numerous indirect messages entering my ears.
[The demon king ¡®Ruler of the East Hell¡¯ is watching the sh between two constetions.]
[The demon king ¡®ck Mane Lion¡¯ is deeply interested in the battle.]
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ is focused on the battlefield.]
[The constetion ¡®Friend of Justice and Harmony¡¯ has an anxious expression.]
[The constetion ¡®Twisted Head of Cmity¡¯ wishes for the victory of a friend.]
They were all modifiers difficult to gather in one ce. I fixed my gaze on one of the screens that had emerged. Why were these bigshots gathered?
...Dammit, this was what happened. ck and red waves of magic power were colliding on the screen. It was a feast of magic power that filled the room. There was a hellfire that melted everything and ck mes with formidable destructive power. The mere sight made me feel like my body would burn from the heat.
The two most terrible constetions I knew. The incarnations of these constetions were fighting.
Abyssal ck me Dragon and Demon-like Judge of Fire.
A dokkaebi¡¯sugh was heard.
[The wrong that was wrongly assigned will probably end in a nd way.]
There was an explosion of red magic power and everything in the room burned. Pale shadows shook in the hazy field of view.
Flesh was sharply torn and blood flowed. Someone¡¯s body was slowly falling down in the smoke.
Chapter 312 - Kim Dokja’s Company (3)
Chapter 312: Episode 58 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Company (3)
Fragments of the ceiling fell as Jung Heewon quietly stared through the dust. She could see the copsed Han Sooyoung through her blurred vision.
Judge of Evil and ck mes Demon Ruler. Demon-like Judge of Fire and Abyssal ck me Dragon.
It was a battle that almost all the constetions on the Korean Penins looked forward to but the expressions of the parties involved weren¡¯t pleasant at all. Jung Heewon stepped through the dirt and pointed the Sword of Judgment at Han Sooyoung. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stop acting?¡±
Han Sooyoung scattered into powder. There was a sharp ripple. Jung Heewon reflexively twisted her body and stabbed the sword behind her. There was the sound of metal being struck. Han Sooyoung untied the bandage around her right hand while the Sword of Judgment pierced through the darkness.
¡°...You weren¡¯t fooled?¡±
¡°I know you have the Avatar skill.¡± A white light emerged from the Sword of Judgment. ¡°You are the First Apostle.¡±
Their status collided with each other and both people fell at the same time. Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes were red after she triggered Demon ying. It strengthened the user¡¯s attack power but also heightened their uneasy emotions. The grief and anger amplified.
¡°It was you who attacked the people of Chungmuro.¡±
The battle of Chungmuro when the g war was in full swing. It was the first time Han Sooyoung met the party members.
¡°At that time, Jihye and Gilyoung almost died.¡±
¡°...You aren¡¯t the one who almost died so why are you so angry? You weren¡¯t even there at the time.¡±
¡°I am angry because I wasn¡¯t there. If I was, I wouldn¡¯t have left you alone.¡±
Lights were shining in the air and the things that happened during the g battle was projected as holographic images. Perhaps it was a service from the dokkaebis for the constetions who weren¡¯t in the channel at the time. The appearance of Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung as they were terribly hurt by the apostles was shown. Han Sooyoung seemed like she was going to be sick. ¡°Then are you going to kill me now?¡±
¡°I can¡¯t trust you.¡±
Han Sooyoung bit her lips. She also understood that Jung Heewon¡¯s anger was reasonable. Certainly, she was the First Apostle and at one time, the enemy of the party.
It happened one day two years ago. The rumour that Han Sooyoung was the First Apostle spread. It was unknown why the rumour spread. One thing was for certain. Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t deny the rumour. It might¡¯ve been due to guilt or it could¡¯ve been a cowardly heart. Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t know either.
The only thing she knew was the attitude of the party members towards her.
-Well, it is a thing of the past.
-Really? Noona was the person who talked with your head cut off? How amazing.
Lee Jihye and Lee Gilyoung were the ones who suffered the most during the g battle but they didn¡¯t care at all. Yoo Sangah was already aware Han Sooyoung was the First Apostle and closed her eyes, while Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t mind. However, Jung Heewon was different. ¡°You have to atone properly.¡±
¡°Why are you¨D¡±
¡°If you continue roughly like this, what about the scars the kids received?¡±
¡°...¡±
In order to make everyone happy, there were things they put up with because they didn¡¯t want to break the harmony. This was especially true for people who kept an eye on the surroundings.
¡°Han Sooyoung, if you¡¯re an adult then you should act your age. Don¡¯t be immature.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is nodding.]
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes became ferocious.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is angry.]
¡°This person, do you think you¡¯re the apostle of justice? It is good to pretend to be cool but think about the time and ce. Would Kim Dokja like what you are doing now?¡±
¡°It has nothing to do with Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°You said it with your own mouth. You will be Kim Dokja¡¯s sword.¡±
For the first time, Jung Heewon fell silent. Han Sooyoung ridiculed her. ¡°As a sword, shouldn¡¯t you move as your master tells you?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The dust on the floor sparked. The air burned wherever Jung Heewon¡¯s sword passed through. ¡°This sword is selfish.¡±
Jung Heewon activated Hell mes Ignition. ¡°I will decide who I cut.¡±
The Sword of Judgment aimed at Han Sooyoung.
¡°Now your mischief is over, Han Sooyoung. Bring out all your power.¡±
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has requested the activation of Judgment Time!]
***
I watched the ck mes and hell mes filling the screen and sighed. ¡°...That¡¯s why they are fighting.¡±
I thought it was time. Han Sooyoung¡¯s identity had been concealed for a long time but there was no way it could be maintained forever. Rather, it might be fortunate that the secret was revealed before going to the 47th scenario. This scenario didn¡¯t mean anything unless they were honest with each other. The hidden secrets exposed to the dokkaebis would be materials on the screen.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going?¡±
I could intervene using Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. Jung Heewon¡¯s confused voice was heard from the screen.
[Some constetions of the absolute good system have opposed the request.]
[The activation of Judgment Time is cancelled!]
I nced over and Yoo Jonghyuk was watching me. ¡°...I can¡¯t leave it alone.¡±
Of course, I didn¡¯t intend to interfere in the fight between the two of them. However, I wanted to prevent their battle from spreading to their constetions.
[The demon king ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ doesn¡¯t want the constetions to intervene in the fight between incarnations.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is dissatisfied with your intervention.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is reluctantly convinced.]
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ agrees with your thoughts.]
There was no answer from Uriel. She wasn¡¯t allowed ess to this channel yet.
Yoo Jonghyuk said. ¡°One of them could die.¡±
¡°No, that won¡¯t happen.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know the past three years. The rtionship between the two of them is really bad.¡±
¡°Yes, I can see.¡±
I was unconcerned and Yoo Jonghyuk frowned. ¡°Do you want your colleagues to die?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Or did you see the future through the power of prophecy?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have the power of prophecy. Do you still believe in something like that?¡±
I watched Jung Heewon and Han Sooyoung fighting on the screen. Then Yoo Jonghyuk coldly replied, ¡°It is a situation where future information is actively used to calcte everything. There is no room for the faith of humans to intervene.¡±
It had been a while since he spoke so much. Certainly, my current appearance looked like I had no countermeasures.
Thinking about it, I had a simr conversation with Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd round. Han Sooyoung used Anticipation giarism and collected, calcted and read the future while coborating with the 1863rd round Yoo Jonghyuk. I had asked Han Sooyoung,
¡¸ ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense no matter how I think about it.¡± ¡¹
Anticipation giarism was a good story and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s knowledge was useful. Even so, it was impossible to save everyone up to the 95th scenario, including Kim Namwoon. Numerous variables would¡¯ve urred from changing the story and unexpected things would¡¯ve happened.
No matter how great Han Sooyoung and Yoo Jonghyuk were, they weren¡¯t the writers of Ways of Survival. Not everything could be absolutely controlled. Failure was expected.
¡¸ ¡°How did you get here? Tell me honestly. Is there another secret?¡± ¡¹
Han Sooyoung looked at me like she was either pitying me orughing at me.
¡¸ ¡°I believed.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°What?¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°I believed in the characters I created. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡¹
This was the answer of the giarist write, although I couldn¡¯t remember it well. I told Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, I believe in humans.¡±
The sword and fist collided and the mes melted everything around them. I watched Jung Heewon and Han Sooyoung bleeding, shouting and rushing at each other. I looked at them and had a faint understanding of the secret behind Han Sooyoung reaching the 95th scenario.
¡°I believe in the story they had built.¡±
There was another deafening roar from the screen. The two people gasped in the series of shes. They rolled in the dust pit, striking the other person¡¯s abdomen or cutting hair. Their blood clotted as their expressions changed.
-You must be very upset about me.
-It isn¡¯t just that.
I seemed to hear their thoughts without using Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. It was the history of the two people who fought together until now. The party members had survived unharmed for the past three years. They wouldn¡¯t survive those three years without cooperation.
Dealing with the sasquatch in the 28th scenario. Catching the ¡®algonkin snake¡¯ in the 35th scenario. The two people must¡¯ve protected each other¡¯s backs to survive. They saved each other¡¯s lives many times, pulling up each other with tired hands.
Jung Heewon and Han Sooyoung also knew this.
-Just...
Jung Heewon was strong. Even if all the incarnations in the world were counted, there were few incarnations who could surpass Jung Heewon. However, her opponent was Han Sooyoung. In a situation where Judgment Time is blocked, the oue of this match was almost set.
-Please apologize properly to the children...
Jung Heewon staggered and fell forward. The hot temperature of the room gradually cooled down. Han Sooyoung looked down at Jung Heewon¡¯s fallen body and carried Jung Heewon on her back. She seemed to mumble something but I couldn¡¯t hear Han Sooyoung¡¯s voice. Perhaps it was Han Sooyoung¡¯sst pride.
There was a star glowing white at her feet. Han Sooyoung stared at the star and kicked it with her feet.
[The scenario¡¯s time limit has ended.]
[Incarnation Han Sooyoung and Incarnation Jung Heewon have demonstrated their ¡®trust¡¯.]
Han Sooyoung raised her head and looked in my direction.
-...Is it fun to steal a look?
I turned my gaze towards other screens.
-Lee Gilyoung... do you surrender?
-I don¡¯t want to! Shin Yoosung, you surrender!
Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung had entered a room and were crying while pinching each other¡¯s arms. I turned my head again and saw a room with an unusualndscape. Lee Jihye, Lee Seolhwa and Lee Hyunsung were together.
-This room isn¡¯t fun. Right unni?
-...Yes.
-Hyunsung ahjussi! Stop picking your nose and get up. The time was up.
No one touched the star and it was just a shining decoration. It was so peaceful I doubted it was a scenario.
[I¡¯m sorry Constetions. I made a mistake when distributing the rooms...]
The misced room seemed to be over there.
[Incarnation Shin Yoosung and Incarnation Lee Gilyoung have demonstrated their ¡®trust.¡¯]
[Incarnation Lee Hyunsung and Incarnation Lee Seolhwa have demonstrated their ¡®trust¡¯.]
[All members of the neb has met the scenario clear conditions.]
[Main scenario #46 ¨C Context of the Constetion has beenpleted.]
[None of the neb members have harmed each other.]
[Compensation for the clearance is prepared.]
No one had the same story. Everyone lived a different history and understood things using different contexts.
There was a dazzling light and the party members were summoned. Shin Yoosung, Lee Gilyoung, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Seolhwa, Lee Jihye, Han Sooyoung, Jung Heewon...
They were the people who came here with me. The faces of the party members changed as they saw us covered with wounds.
¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Unni, are you okay? How...¡±
The party members supported each other. Jung Heewon smiled faintly while Han Sooyoung tapped the ground with her feet. I could see Han Sooyoung smiling.
I raised my head and saw the sky opening. Someone sighed. ¡°Ah...¡±
The sky of the Star Stream had unfolded. It was a marvellous cosmic scene. At the overwhelmingndscape, some people trembled. It was a deep darkness with no end. The thing that couldn¡¯t be filled up was waiting for us.
Shin Yoosung grabbed my right sleeve and Lee Gilyoung grabbed the fingers of my left hand.
They were followed by Lee Jihye, Han Sooyoung, Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon. Finally, Lee Seolhwa and Yoo Jonghyuk formed a circle around us.
¡°...Isn¡¯t this simr to that squid in the past?¡±
There was fear in Lee Jihye¡¯s voice. I smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
The next moment, a small star shone in the night sky.
¡¸ Between salvation and the demon king. ¡¹
With this light, severals started to shine together.
¡¸ Between the demon and judgment. ¡¹
¡¸ Between the steel and master. ¡¹
¡¸ Between the abyss and ck me dragon. ¡¹
I saw the white lines connecting the empty universe. The stars, that seemed like they would never meet each other, were facing each other. At this moment, I understood the context of the modifiers. Perhaps the party members felt the same way.
Shin Yoosung spoke. ¡°Pretty.¡±
There were stories between the stars.
[The neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company¡¯ has broken through the 46th scenario!]
There were still vacancies in the constetion of the neb. One of the vacant ces belonged to Yoo Sangah.
I spoke to the people. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Our bodies rose into the air and we soon became light. The numerous stars of the Star Stream passed by and the vastndscape of an interster city was seen in the distance. It took me a long time but I eventually ended up here.
Olympus. Vedas. Papyrus. The grudges were piled up in me. I hadn¡¯t forgotten. Not at all.
Shadows were swaying in ces where the blinding light diminished. Surprisingly, someone was waiting for us at the entrance to the interster city. A huge shadow swaying in the light spoke to me.
[Father.]
Chapter 313 - Kim Dokja’s Company (4)
Chapter 313: Episode 58 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Company (4)
...Father? If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, the giant shadow¡¯s word was definitely directed this way. The party members were staring at me with eyes full of disbelief. I looked back at the shadow with bewilderment.
[Baat?]
The faint lighting from the entrance of the interster city revealed the shadow.
[No, not that! Try again. ¡®Father.¡¯]
[Baaaat?]
[No, it is Father. You really...]
The giant shadow wasn¡¯t a single creature. To be precise, there was a creature the size of a ser ball on the huge shadow.
¡°What are you doing?¡± My words caused Bihyung to look this way.
[...Uh. You¡¯re already here?]
The giant shadow was Bihyung, who had inted his body like a giant. The stronger the dokkaebi, therger the body became. The fact that Bihyung was this big showed he had reached a significant level in the bureau. Wait... the reason for Bihyung¡¯s presence and the ser ball...
¡°Biyoo!¡±
The cotton candy Biyoo flew through the air.
[Baaat!]
Biyoo came into my arms and rubbed against my cheeks. Something was forming in her small eyes. I couldn¡¯t believe the child the size of a baseball had be a ser ball. Biyoo had grown up since the past.
¡°Did you wait long?¡±
A small hand popped out from the cotton candy and pped me in the cheek. I left her alone in front of the dimensional gate and deserved this much punishment. I silently endured the ticklish touch. Tears fell as Biyoo once again dug tighter into my chest. The children ran to me and touched the fluffy Biyoo.
[Hum hum.]
I turned my head to see Bihyung waiting for me. I opened the dokkaebimunication and spoke to Bihyung.
-What were you doing here?
-I have been waiting. A dokkaebi to take you to the 47th scenario zone was needed.
-What is with your body size?
Bihyung ignored me and spoke to the party members.
[Everyone of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. Do you know who I am? I am Bihyung, branch manager of the
Korean Penins branch.]
Bihyung banged on his chest like he was showing off his thick muscles. He made a production out of this.
[It seems like yesterday when the Korean Penins scenario first began... now you¡¯ve alreadye to the 47th scenario area.]
Bihyung¡¯s face was full of emotions.
[As you might know, the scenarios after the 47th scenario don¡¯t have to be carried out in order. After entering the interster city, you can selectively perform scenarios 48 to 65.]
Shin Yoosung raised her hand. ¡°We can choose the scenario?¡±
[It is the so-called autonomous selection system. Hahaha!]
Nobodyughed. Bihyung shrugged. [Hum hum, anyway. It is up to you which of the scenarios up to number 65 will be done first. You can do the 65th scenario at once or go through the scenarios to build up your ¡®status.¡¯ In any case, you need a certain level of status to enter the scenario area after number 65.]
Lee Hyunsung asked, ¡°Then what will happen after the 66th scenario?¡±
[There will be a new exnation at that time. You can¡¯t go there now so don¡¯t worry.]
It was a cold tone but Bihyung¡¯s expression to the party members wasn¡¯t cold.
[Well, it took four years to get here... I don¡¯t know how much time it will take in the future. Ah, not all of you went through the same four years.]
Bihyung grinned at me as he spoke.
[Let¡¯s go to the interster city. It will take around 10 minutes toplete the transmission. Please prepare yourself. An amazing world is waiting for you.]
The moment Bihyung;s words were over, Biyoo shouted. [Baaat!]
A gorgeous beam of light wrapped around our party members. We started to fly towards the interster city. For safety reasons, the movement speed was slower than expected. I didn¡¯t know when Biyoo would emerge from my arms. Jung Heewon watched this scene and opened her mouth.
¡°Dokja-ssi. I have something to ask.¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s expression towards me was strange. The other party members nced at me like they knew what she was going to say.
¡°Where have you been in the past three years?¡±
***
During the journey to the interster city. I told the party members about what happened in the 1863rd round. Of course, I didn¡¯t tell them everything and only picked the points I could exin. As expected, the party members noticed and were startled.
¡°Really? I survived to the 95th scenario?¡±
¡°...I can¡¯t believe it. That subway boy survived.¡±
The excited Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung faced each other. Yoo Jonghyuk listened silently to the story while Lee Gilyoung and Jung Heewon seemed a bit sullen. It was natural for the people who didn¡¯t exist in that round to feel so. It was Han Sooyoung who reacted the most.
¡°I was in that world?¡±
¡°Yes, you were. You were the leader.¡±
¡°No, why...¡±
Something seemed toe to her and Han Sooyoung promptly sent a message with Midday Tryst.
-Do you mean the Avatar I talked about before...
I nodded and Han Sooyoung made an expression of amazement. It would be absurd for Han Sooyoung. The avatar split from her found a different world line.
Jung Heewon looked closely at me and asked, ¡°By the way, Dokja-ssi¡¯s coat has changed a bit... did you take it from the 95th scenario?¡±
¡°Correct.¡±
The only thing I took from the 1863rd scenario was this coat. Han Sooyoung, who was staring at me carefully, put her hands into my coat¡¯s pockets. Come to think of it, Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd round was like this.
¡°Crazy... what did you bring back? Doesn¡¯t this vite probability?¡± Han Sooyoung checked the items and her mouth dropped open. ¡°...Hey. Can you give me a few of these?¡±
¡°You¡¯re looking at it.¡±
There were many different items that the 1863rd round Han Sooyoung packed in the coat. Most of the items weren¡¯t needed yet in this round but some items were useful enough. By the way, there was an unexpected item.
¡°What is this smartphone?¡±
It wasn¡¯t my smartphone. I turned on the smartphone and a photo with a strange phase appeared on the main screen.
¨C Namwoon ? Jihye.
It was a photo of the smiling Kim Namwoon and frowning Lee Jihye. I realized the owner of this smartphone. That reminded me, Kim Namwoon once stole this coat and wore it.
Lee Jihye asked me with the same expression as herself on the screen. ¡°Ahjussi, what is this photo?¡±
¡°Uh, this... it was used by the child of that world. I must¡¯ve brought it here by mistake.¡±
¡°Were we dating in that world?¡±
¡°No, he one-sidedly liked you.¡±
¡°Phew, I see.¡± Lee Jihye took the smartphone from my hand and opened the gallery. ¡°Wow, this photo is pretty good?¡±
...Photo? This time I was surprised and looked at the smartphone with the party members.
¡°Look, Seolhwa unni and I... uh? There is also Han Donghoon? Isn¡¯t he in the Ulsan Alliance?¡±
¡°Here is Hyunsung-ssi. However, it is cut off at his neck.¡±
It was a group photo of the 1863rd round people smiling brightly. Lee Seolhwa, Kim Namwoon, Lee Jihye, Han Donghoon, Lee Hyunsung... and the emotionless man in the centre.
Lee Ji-hye told me, ¡°This is Master in that world? His face is injured? Isn¡¯t he cooler than the one here?¡±
Everyone in the photo was smiling apart from the 1863rd Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk was already looking over.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shimmering faintly.]
No one here knew the life that Yoo Jonghyuk of that world had lived.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is looking at you.]
...No, there was one person. I looked up at the ce where Secretive Plotter would be watching among the stars of the Star Stream.
I still didn¡¯t know why Secretive Plotter made such an Outer World Covenant. I didn¡¯t know why he reacted like that to my choice. I guessed a few things but everything was just a hypothesis.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking at you.]
The interster city ¡®Context of the Constetions¡¯ was a transit station that led to the worlds of other constetions. I felt that my physical distance from the constetions was gradually getting closer.
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is weing you.]
The punishment seemed to finally be released and Uriel also sent an indirect message. In the midst of a brilliant light, our bodies entered the city.
[You have entered the interster city ¡®Context of the Constetions.¡¯]
[A new main scenario is waiting.]
The ce wended was a huge city square. Some incarnations nced this way but none of them paid attention to us. This city¡¯s scale was different from where we had stayed so far. It was natural.
I spoke to the people, ¡°Everyone knows why we came here?¡±
From now on, the enemies we were dealing with were thousands of years old. Jung Heewon nodded and wondered, ¡°We came to y with Olympus right?¡±
¡°Do you have a separate n? Perhaps a full-scale war...¡±
I answered Lee Hyunsung¡¯s question. ¡°I¡¯m not thinking of a full-scale war. Olympus is one of the biggest nebs in the entire Star Stream.
The odds of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company winning in a head-on confrontation against Olympus was almost zero.
¡°I want to visit Olympus. They have to take responsibility for making Yoo Sangah that way. There will definitely be a way to save her.¡±
Currently, Yoo Sangah was stuck in the flow of consciousness. After three months, all the stories would disappear from Yoo Sangah¡¯s body and her empty soul would disappear into the void. Prior to that, we had to find a way to save Yoo Sangah. Perhaps Olympus had one of those methods.
Then Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. ¡°Not everyone needs to go. Lee Seolhwa and I will stay here.¡±
¡°Where are you going?¡±
¡°I have no obligation to report to you.¡±
In fact, the ce where Yoo Jonghyuk wanted to go was obvious. Context of the Constetions was an interster city where all nebe converged. In other words, we weren¡¯t the only incarnations who woulde here.
I advised him, ¡°Watch out. As you know well, that woman isn¡¯t easy.¡±
¡°I will take care of it.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk turned around and started walking somewhere. Lee Seolhwa smiled softly at me and followed behind Yoo Jonghyuk. Lee Seolhwa in this round was more ¡®good¡¯ than any other round. It was unreasonable for anyone to haveplete control over Yoo Jonghyuk but she would be able to reduce some unnecessary conflict.
Yoo Jonghyuk disappeared into the alley and I moved with the party members towards the portal in the centre of the square. Context of the Constetions contained a ¡®portal¡¯ that connected to almost all the world.
It was a portal that allowed me to visit past scenario areas as well as the residence of other nebe. I nned to make a formal visit to Olympus using the portal. I entered the destination for the portal.
¡°Mount Olympus.¡±
Olympus, a huge neb with all types of legends and adventures. It was Mount Olympus where the 12 main gods of Olympus resided. Finally, the time hade to check their home.
The portal swirled at my feet and faint mythological scenes came to mind. The next moment, an unexpected message came back.
[Olympus is currently refusing all visitors.]
Chapter 314 - Kim Dokja’s Company (5)
Chapter 314: Episode 58 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Company (5)
Along with the message, the swirling of the portal quickly subsided. The party members waiting were confused. Jung Heewon was the one who raised the question first. ¡°...Entry was refused? What is this?¡±
I once again called out the destination.
[Olympus is currently refusing all visitors.]
[The Olympus scenario will open after seven days.]
After seven days? At this point, something shed in my mind.
[A small neb is quite ambitious, actually thinking about going to Olympus.]
The true voice came from a constetion sitting at the fountain next to the portal. Based on his calm but violent pressure, he was a warrior who had struggled for a long time before bing a constetion. His body was bigger than Lee Hyunsung and there was a long spear on his back... wait, a spear?
[Hrmm, your impressions are familiar... where did youe from?]
I replied on behalf of the party members. ¡°Earth.¡±
[Hoh, I¡¯m from there. It¡¯s a pleasure. Where on Earth? It it on the continent side?]
¡°The Korean Penins.¡±
¡°Neighbourhood friends! There seem to be some decent ones there.]
I became more convinced after hearing the constetion¡¯s easyugh. Arge one-handed spear resembling the head of a snake...
The man rose from the fountain with a grunt and walked away. Han Sooyoung came to be side and said, ¡°Hey, that constetion? The battle of Changban?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
A great-grade constetion who was one of China¡¯s greatest warriors along with Guan Yu and Xiang Yu. He was arguably the tiger official of the battle of Changban, Zhang Fei.
Lee Jihye was surprised by the overheard whisper and asked, ¡°Really? Is he that Zhang Fei guy?¡±
I nodded. The expressions of the party members were spectacr. They didn¡¯t show this much reaction when they met Surya...
I could see the status of the Three Kingdoms in South Korea. Even Lee Hyunsung was flustered as he hurriedly took out a soldier¡¯s handbook. ¡°Excuse me Dokja-ssi. I¡¯m a big fan of the Three Kingdoms. Can I get his autograph...¡±
¡°You will often experience this in the future. Many of the historical figures we know have be constetions.¡±
I looked around the square with the party members. The previously quiet square was already crowded with constetions and incarnations.
[Recruiting participants for the 53rd scenario!]
[Looking for an incarnation to be a tanker to obtain the story.]
Crude true voices were heard from all over the ce. It was possible to build up full-fledged stories after the 47th scenario. Therefore, great-grade constetions would often organize small parties to target the scenario. Jung Heewon spoke like she couldn¡¯t believe these beings had sponsored us so far.
¡°All of a sudden, the dignity of the constetions has fallen off.¡±
¡°In fact, most of them are low-grade. They haven¡¯t fallen. It is just that our status has risen.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll have to break those scenarios after saving Sangah-ssi?¡±
¡°As Bihyung said, we don¡¯t have to clear them all.¡±
I stared at the shing scenario billboard in the sky.
-We invite you to battle against the giant gods in Gigantomachia of Olympus.
Among the scenarios after the 47th scenario, there were manyrge scenarios created by the direct intervention of the nebe or bureau. One of the representatives of this was Gigantomachia, which was regrly run by Olympus.
Some of the constetions saw the advertisement and mumbled, ¡°Is it real this time? Will the ancient giants be released from Tartarus?¡±
¡°Hey, you said that a dozen years ago but they didn¡¯t.¡±
¡°This time is different? The atmosphere is very suspicious. There is talk of internal conflict in Olympus.¡±
¡°Are they pretending to be fighting?¡±
I listened to the conversation and saw the ensuingmercial. It was a video showing Olympus having a brilliant battle with the giants. A trident split apart the sea, the ranks of the giants were crushed and the soldiersmanded by the ¡®Atrocious God of War¡¯ rushed towards the bodies of the giants. The ¡®Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom¡¯ cut the neck of a giant and the Goddess of Love and Beauty made finger hearts. The end of the advertisement was Dionysus raising his ss in celebration of the war.
-The best scenario in the Star Stream will start after a week!
-Three of the scenario participants will be selected to receive a ¡®limited edition¡¯ weapon made by the Volcanic cksmith.
-Scenario admission: 100,000 coins.
Lee Gilyoung watched the advertisement to the end and asked me, ¡°Dokja hyung, I have to pay an admission fee to clear that scenario?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°A scam!¡±
¡°Well, it¡¯s a business. Olympus gets ie from the Star Stream by providing scenarios. The dokkaebis advertise it and redistribute the ie.¡±
Jung Heewonughed in a dumbfounded way at my words. ¡°It is a hustle. So desperate...¡±
¡°We will make them desperate.¡±
Jung Heewon made a stiff expression and nodded. ¡°What will we do now? Should we wait a week? Won¡¯t the Olympus scenario start in a week?¡±
I shook my head. The remaining time was three months. It was important not to waste any time.
¡°Gigantomachia is a giant story scenario and we need to be thoroughly prepared to challenge it. For now, Yoo Sangah¡¯s situation is urgent and we should find another way.¡±
The flow of consciousness was rare but other incarnations had suffered from it. If it wasn¡¯t Olympus then it was likely that a neb of a simr level would know how to treat Yoo Sangah.
I pondered carefully before making various ns. There were two major things to be gained here.
¡°We will split up the party here. Han Sooyoung, take the others to the auction. Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk will be there too. The party member¡¯s equipment should be changed. Buy some clothes for the kids.¡±
¡°What if I don¡¯t have enough money?¡±
¡°Here are some coins.¡±
Han Sooyoung quickly stretched out her finger. I touched Han Sooyoung¡¯s index finger and exchanged coins. Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes bugged out when she saw the number of coins.
¡°You know, you are really rich.¡±
¡°Use it sparingly. I didn¡¯t give you a lot.¡±
¡°Hey kids, let¡¯s make Kim Dokja¡¯s Company go bankrupt!¡±
Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung shouted with excitement and followed Han Sooyoung. I spoke to Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung. ¡°Go with them. There are many star relics avable at the constetions¡¯ auction site.¡±
¡°T-Then we¡¯ll follow!¡±
¡°Thank you Ahjussi!
Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung ran like the wind and chased after Han Sooyoung. I grabbed Jung Heewon¡¯s shoulder as she was about to follow.
¡°Heewon-ssi, remain here. There is a ce you shoulde with me.¡±
***
After a while, I took Jung Heewon to a department store. It was one of the branches of the Dokkaebi Mart in the Context of the Constetions city.
The moment we entered, arge dokkaebi blocked our way. [I¡¯m sorry but only tinum members can enter.]
Perhaps it was due to our shabby appearance but there was slight contempt in the dokkaebi¡¯s eyes. Rather than arguing, I opened the Dokkaebi Bag to confirm my rating.
[A diamond member?]
The flustered dokkaebipared my modifier to the list of customers and his eyes widened.
[I-I¡¯m really sorry! Is this your first visit to the store? Hey, call the manager and staff members! If there is any inconvenience in your shopping¨D]
¡°There is no need. Don¡¯t call them because it is a hassle.¡±
I refused and passed the dokkaebi. Jung Heewon spoke in a thrilled manner. ¡°Dokja-ssi is like a third-generation chaebol.¡± (TL note: Large family-owned business conglomerates)
¡°I am thepany¡¯s boss.¡±
¡°By the way, what is this department store?¡±
I quickly scanned Jung Heewon. She wore an old uniform and had the Sword of Judgment hanging from her waist. The clothes had been stained with blood thanks to countless battles over the past three years and the sword was much sharper and redder than before.
¡°How can apany that makes fun of an employee¡¯s welfare seed?¡±
¡°Well, I deserve that.¡±
We stood in front of a disy stand in a corner of the store. They were masterpieces of the Mass Production Maker¡¯s first generation products.
I observed the products with cautious eyes and took out two neat suits. It was an SSS-grade armour with a practicality that wasn¡¯t bad for the 47th scenario. However, Jung Heewon was confused. ¡°Why do you want to dress up all of a sudden?¡±
¡°We have to go somewhere pretty formal.¡±
We each changed into the suit. The suit became the right size the moment we wore it.
Jung Heewon wore the suit and looked like a presidential bodyguard. By the way, I didn¡¯t know what type of person Jung Heewon was before the destruction.Character List didn¡¯t give such information and she was barely in the original Ways of Survival.
¡°What was Heewon-ssi¡¯s previous job? Can I ask?¡±
¡°Well, thest thing I did was a bartender. It was just a part-time job. If it is a job... then a regr person who switches between part-time jobs?¡± Jung Heewon shrugged while scratching her head. ¡°I used to exercise.¡±
¡°Exercise?¡±
¡°I did kendo in middle and high school. I quitpeting due to injuries. What about Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°I was a contract employee with a gamingpany. I was destined to soon be fired.¡±
We were silent for a moment. The man and women stood in front of a mirror dressed in suits. I could see some constetion¡¯s incarnation bodies ncing at us as they passed. The Jung Heewon in the mirror asked, ¡°Dokja-ssi, are you happier now then you were before?¡±
¡°If you¡¯re saying that the story is better now, it is true.¡±
It was an honest answer and Jung Heewonughed. ¡°It is the same for me.¡±
We paid in coins and went upstairs using the esctor. Jung Heewon asked curiously, ¡°Dokja-ssi, where are we going? This is the roof.¡±
¡°It is a portal.¡±
The roof door opened and a panoramic view of the interster city could be seen. Jung Heewon gave a short exmation of admiration but there was no time to admire it.
I took Jung Heewon to the railing of the roof. ¡°Do you trust me?¡±
It was a short exchange. I jumped from the rooftop while holding Jung Heewon¡¯s hand. Despite falling down, Jung Heewon maintained her mind. By the time we were halfway to the ground, I red at the air.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at the hidden portal.]
[The portal requires a password.]
¡°Everything that falls down has wings.¡±
A portal appeared in the air and swallowed our bodies.
[The neb has allowed your entry.]
I felt my feet touching the ground. The wind that gave off a seemingly primal breath grazed the tip of my nose. It was a clear wind I had never encountered before. An idyllic meadow stretched out endlessly and a white castle was built beyond it.
Jung Heewon was making a stupid expression. ¡°Dokja-ssi, don¡¯t tell me this ce...¡±
¡°Correct.¡±
This was the neb of the mighty archangels. It was cumbersome to enter this way but it minimized the time required for entry. I looked up at the air and muttered, ¡°They probably figured it out by now...¡±
Then a cold rm sounded in my head.
[...Demon king?]
It was an incredibly cruel voice for an archangel. It wasn¡¯t the voice I had been waiting for. It seemed that an unwee visitor had appeared.
[Your boldness has grown. How did a demon kinge here?]
The power of the narrative-grade constetion caused the body to shrink back. Even the brave Jung Heewon had a paleplexion.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is opening his ¡®status.¡¯]
This allowed Jung Heewon to take a breath. I was about to look for the owner of the voice but a hand seemed appeared in front of me and grabbed my chin.
[Demon King of Salvation?]
Only my chin was grabbed but it felt like power was slipping away from my body. The status was too enormous for me to withstand.
[How does a demon king have the modifier of salvation? There has only been one owner of that modifier in the past 1,500 years.]
I barely managed to turn my head and saw a blonde-haired man staring at me. They were slightly shining purple eyes. I instantly realized the identity of this constetion.
[The constetion ¡®Saviour of Corruption¡¯ is looking at you with crazy eyes.]
There was only one existence in Eden with the modifier of both ¡®good and evil¡¯ and he was the strongest of all the archangels in Eden.
...Dammit, it was the worst opponent. I couldn¡¯t believe he was in Eden right now. The purple eyes of the man curved like a crescent moon.
[I don¡¯t know what you are but I don¡¯t like sharing my modifier. Then you need to die.]
The moment that the man¡¯s hand holding my chin glowed with a purple light...
[¡ö¡ö. Take off your hands, Michael. Unless you really want to go to hell.]
It was the voice of the archangel I had been waiting for.
Chapter 315 - Kim Dokja’s Company (6)
Chapter 315: Episode 59 ¨C Kim Dokja¡¯s Company (6)
I could hear the roaring sound of mes and a wall of hot fire appeared between me and Michael. The frowning Michael stepped back while shaking his hands.
[...What are you doing?]
[Get lost.]
Michael stared at Uriel for a moment before smiling.
[Uriel, you must¡¯ve gone crazy after quitting demon hunting.]
A purple energy started to overflow wildly in Michael¡¯s body.
[The constetion ¡®Saviour of Corruption¡¯ is preparing the ¡®Demon King yer¡¯ story.]
Demon King yer. It was the same story that Yoo Jonghyuk of the 1863rd round had.
The green meadow was dyed with purple waves. The grass withered and an eerie sensation rose from my feet.
Demon King yer was a story that had a near invincible power against demon kings. I could never win against Michael as long as he had this story.
Michael¡¯s status aimed at me but someone blocked it.
¡°Archangels are basically ruthless?¡± Jung Heewon was standing in front of me with the Sword of Judgment. Her shoulders were faintly trembling and her spirit was shrinking back. Nevertheless, Jung Heewon was brave. The will of a human withstood the pressure in front of the archangel¡¯s killing intent. Behind such a Jung Heewon stood Uriel.
There was a zing glow in the background. Hellfire rose and the fields of Eden were filled with sparks.
I gulped as the situation reached the bursting point.
Uriel was one of the top five strongest archangels. She had the highest voice in Eden among the constetions of the absolute good system.
Even so, her opponent was Michael. An unmatched archangel with all types ofbat abilities. In Eden, there was no archangel beyond Michael in purebat power alone.
[The constetion ¡®Friend of Justice and Harmony¡¯ is dissuading ¡®Saviour of Corruption¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ is looking at the ¡®Saviour of Corruption.¡¯]
[The constetions of the absolute good system are criticizing the ¡®Saviour of Corruption.¡¯]
Michael didn¡¯t back down despite the messages pouring from the sky. Rather, he seemed to find it funny.
[Yes, it¡¯s time to show who is the strongest in Eden.]
At the same time, Michael¡¯s purple and white aura simultaneously formed around his hands. The force swirled around both hands. The aura soon turned into a two-handed sword. Sweat flowed down my body. This jerk, where did he get this star relic...?
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is warning the ¡®Saviour of Corruption.¡¯]
A huge storm broke out and the sparks in the surroundings were instantly extinguished. This was the power of Eden¡¯s highest constetion, Metatron. At the very least, this huge pressure couldn¡¯t be countered in Eden. The violence created silence as Michael btedly dispersed his momentum.
Michael stared up at the sky for a while before grumbling, [...Even you? Eden seems to be gone now.]
Michael turned around and started to move away. The heads of demon kings were hanging from his waist like fruit.
[Head of Grand Duke Semida.]
[Head of Grand Duke Graphio.]
Goosebumps covered my body. Some of the grand dukes were equivalent to lower-grade demon kings. Yet he hung their heads like they were toys.
Once Michaelpletely disappeared over the hill, Jung Heewon sighed and put away her sword.
I turned my head and saw Uriel looking this way.
Archangel Uriel. She was different from when I had seen her at the Constetion Banquet. She wore Eden¡¯s uniform with cross earrings and looked elegant. The usual mischievous feeling couldn¡¯t be found as nobility overflowed from her body.
[Kim Dokja...]
She stared at me withplicated eyes before suddenly making a startled expression. Then she turned towards Jung Heewon like she was avoiding my gaze.
[It¡¯s nice to see you. Is this the first time you¡¯ve met me like this?]
Jung Heewon¡¯s lips were slightly parted as she faced Uriel. Perhaps it was a type of excitement. Indeed, this was the first time Jung Heewon had seen Uriel. The Uriel in front of us right now was in a shape where her incarnation body and her true self were united. The archangel in front of us was the true nature of the Demon-like Judge of Fire.
[Come along, the scribe is waiting.]
***
¡°...How long do we have to wait?¡±
Jung Heewon and I were immediately taken to Eden¡¯s pce. Eden was a lot more modest than I expected. I was familiar with the depiction from Ways of Survival but it was certainly different from the other magnificent residences. There were small decorations that didn¡¯t give any feeling of pretenses. The murals and statues decorating the monotonous white gave off a curiously humble feel. The problem was that such modest made my wait even more boring.
-Wait here. A guide will soone.
Uriel left me here and disappeared somewhere with Jung Heewon. I wanted to see Eden as well... I was feeling a bit disappointed.
...Perhaps it was because of what happened in the 1863rd round. I left Uriel¡¯s colleague, Jophiel there. It was unavoidable if I received me.
[Kim Dokja, you came?]
I raised my head with nk eyes and an angel sitting on a cloud was looking down at me. The appearance was in the early teens with curly hair. The angel looked down at me with half sleep eyes and I got up. ¡°Are you Raphael?¡±
Raphael nodded.
Guardian of Youths and Travel, Raphael. This world¡¯s Eden seemed to be in good shape. After Uriel, I was d to see Raphael. By the way... was this the archangel who really repelled the fearsome Asmodeus?
[How did you find out about the secret portal?]
¡°I was told by Jophiel.¡±
[How does it feel to be in Eden?]
¡°Good.¡±
[You look sleepy?]
I hurriedly changed my expression and smiled. Raphael guided me through the corridor from the parlour. As we walked through the outer corridor, the scenery of the garden could be seen through the window. The sheep that were grazing on the grass cried out as they looked up at me. I watched the sheep and wondered,
¡°There really arembs in Eden.¡±
[Yes, thyey¡¯re good when you can¡¯t sleep.]
¡°...Are you saying you count them?
[You¡¯ve probably seen it too. They are the one who appear when you close your eyes and think of
sheep before you sleep.]
I was surprised because it was a story that didn¡¯t appear in Ways of Survival. Were they really the sheep that people counted before going to bed?
[I was lying.]
¡°...¡±
I stared at Raphael in a dumbfounded manner. Raphaelughed and started talking again.
[Do you know? Originally there were no sheep in Eden.]
¡°Are you lying again?¡±
[This is real. The sheep were brought by Uriel.]
Uriel? Why?
[One day, the scribe gave Uriel a sub scenario.]
The archangels of Eden received missions through the Scribe of Heaven. Understandably, every mission was reduced to a scenario. I was curious because this wasn¡¯t in Ways of Survival.
¡°What scenario was it?¡±
[Bring 10mbs.]
Many scenarios in the Star Stream took the form of metaphors. In Eden, the metaphor of the sheep was obvious. In a nutshell, Metatron wanted Uriel to bring 10 worshippers.
¡°...Uriel brought realmbs?¡±
[Yes. It was 10 at first but they reproduced and grew too much.]
It sounded like something Uriel would do.
The angels who managed the sheep could also be seen. The angels feed or shaved the sheep¡¯s fur. Everything was beautiful as described in Ways of Survival. Some of them looked to this side and chatted with each other. One, two, three... the numbers went up more and more. Someone improvised a card out of shaved fleece and started to wave it this way.
...What did it say?
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is making a stern expression.]
The angels hurriedly scattered. I could see Uriel and Jung Heewon waving in the distance. Raphael clicked his tongue. [An angel is fond of fallen humans.]
¡°Can you speak while moving?¡±
[Go in. The scribe is waiting.]
I was standing in front of the scribe¡¯s office. I took a deep breath before opening the door and entering.
The first thing that came into view were piles of books stacked up to the height of a person.
The pile of books was impossible to read in my lifetime and I involuntarily took a liking to the owner of the room. Anyone who liked books couldn¡¯t be a bad person.
I was careful not to destroy the pile of books as I stepped into the office. Beyond the mountains of books, the table of the office could be seen. Then I saw a grey-haired archangel sitting in front of me with a tired face.
[You came.]
It was a godly voice that couldn¡¯t bepared to any constetion I had seen before. Metatron pushed up the frame of his sses and smiled at me.
[Wee, Demon King of Salvation. I am the Scribe of Heaven.]
***
I came to Eden for two reasons. One was superficial and the other was a real errand.
[I would like to hear what happened in the other world line.]
I nodded and started to exin. It went from the agreement with Secretive Plotter to the 1863rd round world, meeting the people there and leaving Jophiel behind.
I told the story. Some parts were honest, some were summarized and some things I didn¡¯t say. Metatron listened to my story. Some stories were heard earnestly and some calmly. Some stories he listened to curiously.
[Secretive Plotter...]
¡°Do you know him?¡±
Metatron smiled lightly.
[There are probably no constetions in this world who don¡¯t know him. However, they don¡¯t know who he is.]
I closed my mouth. My story ended here.
[Thank you for telling me the story, Demon King of Salvation.]
¡°No problem.¡±
[In the future, Eden will indeed be destroyed.]
His voice was very casual for speaking about the destruction. It was a face that didn¡¯t show the slightest agitation. I looked at this Metatron and asked, ¡°Why did you call me? It isn¡¯t just to hear the story.¡±
The Scribe of Heaven. He recorded everything in Eden and was the number two benevolent person in Eden. Metatron¡¯s smile widened.
[Why do you think I called you?]
This was Metatron¡¯s conversational style. He listened to his desires through the mouth of another person. I thought for a moment before replying. Perhaps this was a chance for me.
¡°I think you want to use me as a tool to stop the destruction.¡±
[You? What is useful about you?]
My figure was reflected in Metatron¡¯s transparent eyes. Kim Dokja in one eye had white wings while Kim Dokja in the other eye had ck demon wings.
¡°I am a demon king who hasn¡¯t chosen an alliance.¡±
I became the demon king of the 73rd Demon Realm through the selection. It was a position that had been vacant for thousands of years. Such a ce was upied by a newborn constetion.
I opened myst message log.
[The demon king ¡®ck Mane Lion¡¯ is inviting you to his demon realm.]
[The demon king ¡®Immeasurable Austerity¡¯ is inviting you to his demon realm.]
....
They were messages that had umted from the moment I became a demon king.
¡°The destruction of Eden is triggered by the war with the Demon World. You¡¯re trying to use me as a mediator.¡±
It was natural to get attention from other demon kings. Then what about Eden? Eden had shown an unusual interest in me before I became a demon king. I received the favour of the archangels, starting with Uriel. Based on the attitude that Eden normally took towards evil alignment constetions, their treatment of me was unusual.
¡°You need me. In the history of the Star Stream, I am probably the first person to receive the attention of the Demon World and Eden at the same time.¡±
I deliberately raised my voice. Considering future negotiations, I couldn¡¯t be pushed back by Metatron here.
Metatron didn¡¯t answer and stared at my face for a moment. The next moment, I realized that something was wrong. Along with an intense pressure, a bright light emerged from behind Metatron. It was a light gaze that I had felt someone before. I felt a dangerous force prating my essence.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
Sparks covered my eyes as I took a few steps back with a groan. The sparks gradually became smaller and Metatron expressed his admiration.
[...As expected, you are also a chosen being of the ¡®Fragment of the Last Wall.¡¯]
¡°What...¡±
[The ¡®Wall Dividing Good and Evil¡¯ is looking at you with surprise.]
I stared in front of me with surprise. Behind Metatron was a silver ¡®wall.¡¯ There was no doubt.
[The Fourth Wall is baring its teeth towards the Wall Dividing Good and Evil]
Wall Dividing Good and Evil. Archangel Metatron was the owner of a ¡®wall¡¯, just like me.
Chapter 316 - -Taste of Ruin (1)
Chapter 316: Episode 60 -Taste of Ruin (1)
¡¸ Twi sted guy. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall seemed to know this wall. There was also a brief mention of it in Ways of Survival. Like Jang Hayoung¡¯s Unidentified Wall, it was one of the walls that had a strong power but whose origins were unknown.
[Wall Dividing Good and Evil is measuring your goodness and evil.]
[The Fourth Wall is snorting.]
[Wall Dividing Good and Evil is confused on how to judge your existence.]
Wall Dividing Good and Evil was the standard for dividing good and evil in this world. The power to distinguish between good and evil in the Star Stream responded to Metatron¡¯s rational doubt. If the skill named someone evil, the constetions belonging to the absolute good system had the right to vote on that decision and the result would be reflected immediately. Jung Heewon¡¯s Judgment Time was a power that shared the probability of this wall.
[Why are you confused? It isn¡¯t the first time you¡¯ve seen the owner of a wall.]
¡°I didn¡¯t know you would bring it out of all a sudden. Then are you going to define me as an ¡®evil¡¯ person? I know the decision was withdrawn in the past.¡±
[I don¡¯t think so. As you said, you are useful.]
I didn¡¯t know Metatron¡¯s exact thoughts. The only thing certain was that he intended to use me to prepare for Eden¡¯s future destruction.
[The wall on which all the ¡ö¡ö¡¯s are written. You have read about Eden¡¯s destruction there. Isn¡¯t that right?]
I was a bit surprised. Metatron of this time seemed a bit different from the Metatron I knew. He knew the existence of Ways of Survival. He also called the wall by the ¡®Last Wall.¡¯ The moment I was about to answer, the Fourth Wall interrupted.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja, don¡¯t spe ak non sense. ¡¹
I closed my mouth. Metatron said. [The wall seems to have made you silent. As expected from thergest fragment of the Last Wall.]
¡°Do you know what the Last Wall is?¡±
Metatron made an unknown expression at my question.
[Are you asking because you are curious or do you have another purpose?]
I stared into Metatron¡¯s eyes without speaking. Metatron smiled wryly. [...Okay. Instead, turn off the channel. They should¡¯ve seen plenty of Eden.]
The next moment, indirect messages exploded from the sky.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is scratching his head.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is emitting light from his fingernails.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ is impressed by the heavenly scene.]
[Some constetions are pleased with the tour of Eden!]
[50,000 coins have been sponsored.]
Just like the Underworld, there were many constetions wondering about Eden. Biyoo made a sound and closed the channel.
Metatron touched a thick stack of books and started talking. [The Last World is the wall that constitutes the essence of this world. It has existed for a long time and crumbled, leading to a broken wall.]
Metatron touched a book so old it felt like it would fall apart with one touch.
[The Wall Dividing Good and Evil is one of the fragments of this wall.]
¡°How many have these walls?¡±
[I don¡¯t know exactly. I didn¡¯t hear it from ¡®him.¡¯ Just...]
I wondered who Metatron was referring to with ¡®him.¡¯ In fact, it was a foolish thought. There was only one being who would be called ¡®him¡¯ in Eden.
Metatron continued speaking. [Every wall has a meaning. Some walls distinguish between good and evil while others controlmunication. Some walls can also change the future of a given world.]
Metatron stared at me and spoke in a serious voice. [I think you are the key to change the ¡®set¡¯ destruction.]
Metatron¡¯s expectations for me were so clear that it was a bit burdensome. I deliberately spoke with confidence. ¡°Scribe, you must be making ¡®A Single Story.¡¯¡±
[...Yes.]
¡°I am currently a neer who is only in the ¡®session¡¯ stage. Do you think I can do this?¡±
[No one knows which story will be chosen at the end.]
Metatron turned his gaze towards the window of the office. The suning into Eden shone on Metatron¡¯s beautiful face. Some parts were covered in a dark shade while others became abnormally bright. In the unequal light, Metatron¡¯s face seemed strangely distorted.
[We can only carefully choose the method of worship from a category we can understand.]
Perhaps this was the story that Metatron thought of. I quietly watched Metatron and opened my mouth. It was time to get to the main point. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you use me for. Instead, I have one condition.¡±
[You havee here to save Incarnation Yoo Sangah.]
In any case, it was good that the story was fast. Metatron seemed to have already grasped the details of Yoo Sangah through the broadcast.
[The flow of consciousness is a very dangerous disease and investing probability recklessly can cause a big loss. They will be swept away by the rapids of the exiting stories.]
¡°Is there no solution?¡±
[There is. If you believe and practice the great words like other archangels in this garden...]
¡°It means I have to join Eden. That isn¡¯t possible.¡±
[For now, it is best to strengthen the incarnation body to the limit to alleviate the disease. It is rmended to obtain items to do this. It shouldn¡¯t be things like the Great Return Pill made by the humans of Murim. Instead, it should be star fruits or star fluids that contain the miracle of a giant story.]
Star fruits and star fluids...
Metatron read my expression and smiled.
[Eden has some leftover nectar but it can¡¯t be used for your purpose. Eden¡¯s star fruit is a bit special.]
I already knew. There was no one on Earth who didn¡¯t know the identity of Eden¡¯s star fruit. ¡°...Then there is no way.¡±
I was a bit discouraged. I thought it was possible for Eden but I guess I was thinking too much. Then Metatron added, [I mean, there is no way in Eden.]
The door of the office opened. A man walked into the office, copsing the high stacks of books. I looked at the body covered with a dazzling light and unknowingly invoked my status.
[It has been a long time, Demon King of Salvation.]
***
Jung Heewon had an excursion through Eden. The angels were mostly friendly and some asked her questions. Most of them were questions about Kim Dokja and Yoo Jonghyuk but she thought that was natural. The two people were currently the most popr on the Korean Penins.
Rather, if something was bothering her then it was her sponsor repeatedly losing her soul.
¡°Uriel.¡±
[Yes, Heewon.]
¡°I understand.¡±
[Yes, Heewon.]
¡°You aren¡¯t listening to me, are you?¡±
[Yes, Heewon... ah?¡±
The surprised Uriel nced between the list of ranks engraved on the b Jung Heewon was holding and the pce.
[W-Well... Ah, right. I was exining the order of the angels. So our ranks are...]
¡°If you¡¯re so nervous, why don¡¯t you go see for yourself?¡±
Jung Heewon talked about going to the office in the pce and Uriel became pale.
[T-that. No. I should distinguish between business and personal matters...]
¡°You can give the exnation to Edenter. He will be thankful that you came to meet him.¡±
Jung Heewon saw the terrible Demon-like Judge of Fire flustered like this andughed. It was a sponsor she couldn¡¯t hate. Uriel touched her cross earrings and bit her lips before looking up. [...Can I go see Kim Dokja?]
¡°Of course.¡±
Uriel¡¯s expression lightened up at Jung Heewon¡¯s permission. Then next moment, Uriel thought of something and her eyes became sullen.
[No, I can¡¯t.]
¡°Why?¡±
[That...]
Uriel rolled her eyes and wriggled her fingers. She was so cute that Jung Heewonughed. Her sponsor felt like a big sister. Jung Heewon nced at Uriel¡¯s gloomy expression and asked, ¡°If you like Dokja-ssi so much, you should go see him. What are you hesitating about?¡±
Uriel turned red at the question, made gibberish gestures and bowed her head with a sigh.
[I¡¯m shy.]
¡°Why are you shy? You always send him indirect messages.¡±
[A fan letter is different from talking to the person directly.]
¡°Didn¡¯t you meet himst time? At a banquet or something.¡±
[It was just an incarnation body then. Now I¡¯m different. It is like meeting an online game avatar in person.]
It was an analogy suitable for a constetion.
[I don¡¯t mean that the time I spent with you is like a game! I mean, in a figurative sense...]
Jung Heewon smiled at the struggling Uriel. Perhaps this was the difference between her sponsor and other constetions. It might be the reason why Kim Dokja wasn¡¯t vignt towards Uriel.
Jung Heewon was about to answer when her lips stiffened. A bad feeling went down her spine. In the distance, someone turned a corridor in the pce and headed for the scribe¡¯s office. It was in Kim Dokja¡¯s direction. It was an extremely high¡¯ status¡¯ and Jung Heewon was horrified when she saw the person.
¡°Uriel! That constetion...!¡±
Jung Heewon knew this existence. There was no way she couldn¡¯t know. It was because he was the person who made thest Demon King Selection a nightmare. She turned her head and saw Uriel staring at her with a hardened expression.
¡°I want to go see.¡±
Uriel nodded.
***
The sound of a huge train leaving the tracks filled my ears. It felt like memories were revived just by facing them. This was Eden and the constetion couldn¡¯t attack me. Even so, my instincts remembered it and my status reacted violently.
There was a sublime voice reminiscent of sunlight. [You aren¡¯t as polite as I thought you would be. Are you still reflecting on the past story?]
¡°I would be hit in the back of the head in the Star Stream if I didn¡¯t remember it.¡±
[You might be a constetion but you haven¡¯t escaped from the mentality of a human. A constetion doesn¡¯t dwell on such trivial history.]
Four arms attached to a body. The third eye looked down at me softly. The miserable battle during the Demon King Selection still gave me chills.
[Surya. Did the demon hunting turn out well?]
Metatron spoke and Surya passed by me like he wasn¡¯t interested. The heads of a grand duke demon were hanging from Surya¡¯s waist. Surya pulled off the heads and ced them on Metatron¡¯s table.
Metatron examined the state of the heads and said, [The rewards will be sent via the neb.]
Perhaps Surya had received a contracted sub scenario through Eden. Like Michael and Uriel, the Supreme God of Light was a nightmare for demons.
[No, I¡¯d like it now. I don¡¯t have much of a rtionship with my neb these days.]
Surya nced at me as he spoke. Metatron replied. [Come to Eden...]
[Stop joking about that. The matter is over so I¡¯m leaving.]
Surya headed to the exit of the office with this remark. Metatron stared at Surya¡¯s back with a faint smile. I was taken aback. I felt nervous but he didn¡¯te here because of me. Then Surya¡¯s footsteps stopped in front of the door.
[Demon King of Salvation, I was told that one of your colleagues has a special illness.] Surya spoke without looking back. [If you want, I can help.]
At this moment, information from Ways of Survival quickly passed through my head.
¡¸ Surya is one of the eight Lokap of Vedas. ¡¹
¡¸ He and the Lokap are the origins of the star fluid of Vedas, the Soma.¡¹
Vedas¡¯ star fluid, the Soma. Then it was likely he could improve the condition of Yoo Sangah. I looked over at Metatron. He smiled faintly at me with a shifty expression.
This scribe knew from the beginning that Surya woulde here. Yet it wasn¡¯t even possible for this schemer to stop the destruction of Eden... I realized that the fate of the Star Stream was harsh.
I asked without looking at Surya, ¡°What do you want?¡±
Soma was a drink that could only be enjoyed by a few privileged gods in Vedas. He wouldn¡¯t give me such a gift without strings attached. The Supreme God of Light slowly turned his head. A demon-like smile was on Surya¡¯s face.
[I want Olympus ruined.]
Chapter 317 - -Taste of Ruin (2)
Chapter 317: Episode 60 -Taste of Ruin (2)
Surya approached and stood in front of me. He was at least 20cm taller than me. I opened up more of my status to counteract the pressure he was emitting. The office was suddenly flooded with Surya¡¯s energy.
The conversation from now on was between constetion and constetion. ¡°The ruin of Olympus... is that your meaning or Vedas¡¯ meaning?¡±
[Is it important?]
¡°It is important.¡±
I expected the troubles between big nebe to be in full swing by now. They pursued cooperation with me in order to ruin each other but originally, Vedas, Olympus and Papyrus weren¡¯t solid alliances. All big nebe were in a potentiallypetitive position when pursuing ¡®A Single Story.¡¯
Surya thought for a moment before replying. [I don¡¯t like Olympus and Vedas. Is this enough for an answer?]
It was a vague answer. Yet in a sense, it was the answer I wanted. Based on the original Ways of Survival, Surya was definitely a heretical constetion of Vedas. ¡°It is an answer.¡±
[I have enough authority to give one Soma. Don¡¯t you know who I am?]
Surya was the source of Soma, an immortal beverage. If I got his promise then obtaining Soma definitely wouldn¡¯t be a problem. By the way, this... things had be interesting.
Metatron¡¯s finger moved like it was pleasant to hear our conversation. I watched the finger moving like a metronome and spoke, ¡°I still have one question left. The ruin of Olympus is precisely¨D¡±
[The 60th scenario, Gigantomachia.]
¡°That is just a theme park event. They will summon a few giants to hunt and...
[If they aren¡¯t serious, you would make them serious.]
...Since when had he been listening to me? Did he subscribe to Biyoo¡¯s channel?
[Olympus won¡¯t suddenly be destroyed because of the scenario. However, it is possible to provide a stepping stone to the ruin.]
¡°How?¡±
[Haven¡¯t you already thought about how to do this?]
The third eye on Surya¡¯s forehead was white. I gazed at his eyes. Indeed, I couldn¡¯t step back and pretend ignorance.
¡°It is absurd with my power or the power of my neb. Of course, this didn¡¯t mean I had no way.¡±
Metatron¡¯s finger stopped moving at my words. I watched Metatron. ¡°Scribe. Take responsibility for calling this person here.¡±
[What responsibility do you mean?]
¡°Be a witness for this agreement.¡±
Metatron made an intrigued expression. His wait and see expression was transformed into a schemer.
[What are the benefits of being a witness?]
¡°I will give you a stake in the giant story I will obtain this time.¡±
A stake in a giant story. No matter the scenario, the giant story was a temptation that couldn¡¯t be ignored by a neb. In addition, the archangels of Eden needed an enormous number of giant stories because incidents urred every day and they needed to diffuse the probability storm.
Metatron nodded with satisfaction.
¡°Naturally, your mouth can¡¯t be empty.¡±
[What do you mean? It is enough to stand witness...]
¡°You want to take a stake in a giant story with just that? Where did an archangel¡¯s conscience go?¡±
[The Fourth Wall is nodding.]
[The ¡®Wall Dividing Good and Evil¡¯ is looking closely at its master.]
Faint embarrassment crossed Metatron¡¯s face. Sometimes justice would devour its master.
Surya shook his head and muttered. [Truly a demon king.]
[...Demon King of Salvation, is there anything you want in Eden?]
I nodded. There were many things I wanted. It was because one or two preparations wasn¡¯t enough for the future Gigantomachia.
¡¸ Kim Dokja recalled the 1863rd round. ¡¹
I wouldn¡¯t lose anyone.
¡¸ In Kim Dokja¡¯s mind, the information of Ways of Survival appeared and disappeared. ¡¹
From now on, it was likely that high ranking constetions would join the battle. It wasn¡¯t just Surya but the other Lokap of Vedas and some of Olympus¡¯ 12 gods could participate in the scenario.
Was that all? It might be possible to encounter senior demon kings like the Demon King Selection. Maybe Michael as well.
...Michael.
¡¸ Finally, Kim Dokja made a decision. ¡¹
I looked at one of the items arranged on a shelf behind Metatron. ¡°Give me one of Eden¡¯s star relics.¡±
***
A few minutester, Kim Dokja finished his contract with Surya and stood at the entrance of a portal. Unlike when he came in, this was the front door. Several angels came to see him off.
[...Already?]
Uriel was full of regret as she grasped Jung Heewon¡¯s hand. Jung Heewon looked at Uriel and hugged her tightly.
[Uh...?]
The initially embarrassed Uriel soon hugged Jung Heewon back. Her face was full of emotions.
[The constetion ¡®Lily Pin of Aquarius¡¯ is looking at Incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯.]
Gabriel¡¯s indirect message came from somewhere. Kim Dokja looked at the sky as if thinking about something. Then he told Jung Heewon, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt the emotional farewell but Heewon-ssi will stay here for another week.¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I already spoke to the scribe.¡±
Uriel¡¯s eyes widened at the words. [Really? Is that possible?]
¡°Of course. Instead, please train Heewon-ssi. You¡¯ve been absent for the past three years.¡±
[Yes! Leave it to me!]
Kim Dokja turned away from the widely smiling Uriel towards Jung Heewon. ¡°Heewon-ssi, I¡¯ll meet you a weekter in Olympus.¡±
¡°...I understand. I¡¯ll be sure to be stronger when I go back.¡±
A short handshaketer, Kim Dokja disappeared into the portal. Some angels looked disgruntled while others sighed.
The brief event ended and the angels returned to their positions. Gabriel watched from a distance.
[Gabriel.]
[Scribe.]
Gabriel bowed towards Metatron who appeared behind her.
[Why didn¡¯t you meet him and talk?]
Gabriel didn¡¯t answer.
[Jophiel¡¯s matter isn¡¯t your fault.]
[But...]
[Jophiel is strong. She is doing her job properly. Her choice will be the first step in preventing Eden¡¯s destruction.]
Gabriel¡¯s clear eyes shook at the word ¡®destruction.¡¯ Her lips opened like she wanted to ask something.
[A message has arrived.]
In the sky, a message for Metatron arrived. Surprisingly, the sender of the message was Commander of the Red Cosmos.
-This is a report on the identity of the outer god, Secretive Plotter.
Metatron spoke while reaching out for the report. [Soon, the real war will begin.]
***
It was a bustling street reminiscent of a battlefield. On the way to the auction house, countless merchants were selling all types of items.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke behind him. ¡°Go quickly.¡±
Despite his harsh words, Yoo Jonghyuk was constantly concerned with Lee Seolhwa¡¯s movements. He blocked the front of her like he was worried she would be hurt by the passing incarnations and constetions. Some of the incarnations cursed him but Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t care.
¡°You should be avoiding us...¡±
¡°Pedestrians first.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s shamelessly was so high that Lee Seolhwaughed. Yoo Jonghyuk asked, ¡°...Why are youughing?¡±
¡°Jonghyuk-ssi said that you are a regressor.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Then did you meet me in your previous life?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk had no answer for a moment. ¡°No.¡±
¡°...I see.¡±
An awkward atmosphere formed between the two people. Lee Seolhwa nced sideways at Yoo Jonghyuk. He was someone who seemed to be walking in the far distance, despite being by her side.
Lee Seolhwa smiled bitterly. ¡°Slow down a little bit. There might be items or skill books that you want to buy.¡±
¡°There¡¯s no time for that.¡±
¡°I already bought one?¡±
Lee Seolhwa smiled and waved the skill book in her hand.
[Skill ¡ª Preserve Humidity].
Yoo Jonghyuk confirmed the skill book and narrowed his eyes. ¡°You bought a useless skill.¡±
Lee Seolhwa was already using the skill as her cheeks and lips were moistened. It was harder to find the daily necessities after the scenario began and these life skills were gaining huge poprity, regardless of gender. Lee Seolhwa nced at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face and spoke, ¡°Jonghyuk-ssi, don¡¯t you need it? The back of your hand and your lips are dry. This city¡¯s temperature is low overall so
your skin bes dry quickly.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need skills that aren¡¯t forbat.
¡°But Dokja-ssi has this skill as well?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyebrows twitched. ¡°Kim Dokja has this skill?¡±
¡°Yes, he said this is required if you want to be popr with constetions...¡±
¡°That guy wants to be an idol.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk gritted his teeth and kept moving.
Lee Seolhwa looked at Yoo Jonghyuk like he was funny. She didn¡¯t know why but this cold-hearted man became angry whenever he heard Kim Dokja¡¯s name.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes shifted towards a stand.
-50% discount on skill books.
Lee Seolhwa couldn¡¯t helpughing. ¡°Do you want to buy one?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s steps stopped. She wondered if he liked an item but something was wrong. His fists were trembling. Anger overflowed from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes and dominated his expression.
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi?¡±
The entrance to the auction house could be seen in the distance. A group of incarnations was entering it. A girl with blonde hair. Lee Seolhwa felt her heart sink. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t control his killing intent as his hand moved towards the ck Demon Sword.
¡°Jonghyuk-ssi, wait!¡± Lee Seolhwa instinctively grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s arm. She knew the identity of the blonde girl.
Asgard¡¯s prophet. She remembered the story. Yoo Jonghyuk of thest round died after being betrayed by her.
¡°No. This ce... the other members...!¡±
Her heart was in a hurry. No matter how strong Yoo Jonghyuk was, this ce was the auction house of constetions. It was a ce where low-grade and great-grade constetions gathered. Moreover, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s enemy wasn¡¯t alone. If he rushed over now...
¡°I thought it would be like this.¡± There was a sarcastic voice and Han Sooyoung was standing there. ¡°Have you forgotten? Kim Dokja told you not to get into trouble.¡±
Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue like he was pathetic and flicked a coin around her fingers. Yoo Jonghyuk replied in a cold voice, ¡°This is none of your business.¡±
¡°None of my business? Aren¡¯t wepanions?¡±
¡°Companions?¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression distorted. ¡°You aren¡¯t.¡±
¡°This is the bottom line... hey, you might be the protagonist but...!¡±
¡°Sooyoung-ssi.¡±
The words of theters caused Han Sooyoung to touch her forehead and mutter. ¡°Sigh... I can¡¯t live because of Kim Dokja and Yoo Jonghyuk...¡±
¡°Anna Croft should be removed here.¡±
¡°Well, Kim Dokja doesn¡¯t want that.¡±
¡°It has nothing to do with Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°You just want to deal a blow to her?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk paused and nced at Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung stared back at Yoo Jonghyuk for a moment before turning her gaze to the entrance of the auction house.
¡°What if I have a good idea?¡± There was an item in Han Sooyoung¡¯s hand.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes shook. ¡°That...?¡±
¡°I sneaked it out from Kim Dokja¡¯s coat.¡± A wicked smile formed on Han Sooyoung¡¯s face. ¡°Let¡¯s test it once, the prophecy ability of the prophet.¡±
Chapter 318 - Episode 60 -Taste of Ruin (3)
Chapter 318: Episode 60 -Taste of Ruin (3)
The auction house was one of the few ces where it was possible to obtain items that were difficult to find on the Dokkaebi Bag or General Exchange. Prophet Anna Croft had a few items to obtain here.
Anna Croft spoke the constetions of Olympus behind her. ¡°The guards aren¡¯t a problem?¡±
[Of course. Originally, this auction house is under the legal authority of our Olympus. In this Context of the Constetion, no one can touch you.]
¡°Thank you.¡± Anna Croft bowed and the shadow of the constetion protecting her disappeared. Anna Croft spoke towards Selena Kim. ¡°Then let¡¯s go in.¡±
¡°...Yes.¡± Selena Kim replied in a dark voice.
As they moved through the corridor of the auction house, Anna Croft nced at Selena Kim¡¯s expression. Selena Kim, who was always smiling and kind to everyone, wasn¡¯t smiling anymore.
¡°Selena.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
In fact, Anna Croft knew when this change happened. The Gourmet Association. It was after meeting the Demon King of Salvation.
¡°...It¡¯s nothing.¡±
Selena Kim lowered her head and looked forward again. Anna Croft felt strangely alone, even though she had ¡®predicted¡¯ it to some extent. She couldn¡¯t properly cope with some things even if she knew the future. This was particrly true for human emotions.
[The 8611th Constetion Auction will begin!]
However, now wasn¡¯t the time to be focused on such things. Anna Croft saw the constetions and incarnations filling the seats and reaffirmed hermitment. There was no one with an easy ¡®status¡¯ no matter where she looked. They were all deadly enemies.
[The first auction item!]
A senior dokkaebi stood at the podium of the auction. Anna Croft and Selena Kim took the seats they preempted in advance and participated in the auction. Several items were sold in an instant and Anna Croft bought some of them.
¡®A manticore¡¯s teeth.¡¯
¡®Scales of an Ancient Dragon.¡¯
¡®Old Yeti¡¯s leather.¡¯
Her main purchases were rare material items. All her items were identified through Future Sight and there were no errors on the list.
¡®I need these items to make a giant soldier.¡¯
Some incarnations participated in the biddingpetition but she already confirmed their highest bid price through Future Sight and there was no problem winning the items. Anna Croft finished checking the list and stood up on the spot. ¡°It is roughly over. Then let¡¯s...¡±
[Now, we have a special product today!]
Anna Croft turned at the voice that came from the stage. Selena Kim saw Anna Croft¡¯s reaction and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±
Anna Croft stared at the auction house with a stiff expression.
[This is an item called the ¡®Old to New Toad¡¯!]
[Haha, isn¡¯t it cute? Since this item is a star relic...]
-I¡¯ll give a new house for an hour house. [It really knows how to talk.
The auction product hasn¡¯t finished the appraisal yet but it is definitely of immense value¨D]
¡®...There was no such item in the prophecy?¡¯
The auction list had been confirmed through Future Sight. However, no such item had been seen anywhere in the short film of the future. There was the intervention of a variable that shook Future Sight. Anna Croft nced at the constetions of Olympus. Some constetions nodded as if to reassure her.
She didn¡¯t hesitate to case the Great Demon¡¯s Eye towards the stage. The eye glowed with a red light. After a few moments, the hidden features of the Old to New Toad were seen in Anna Croft¡¯s retinas. ¡°I have to buy that.¡±
¡°Anna?¡±
[The first auction price is 500,000 coins!]
The moment the dokkaebi spoke, Anna Croft immediately made a bid.
¡°600,000 coins.¡±
[600,000 coins havee out! The bidder... Incarnation Anna Croft!]
It was arger amount than she thought but the Old to New Toad was worth it.
+
This item has a legendary story The item eats ¡®old items¡¯ and reces them with ¡®new items¡¯ of the same rating.
+
The feature itself was simple. Eat old items and spitting out other items of the same rating. The words were simply but the application was infinite.
¡°Contact the neb and collect as many coins as possible.¡±
¡°Why this item...¡±
¡°With this, we can get the items we want at any time.¡±
The other constetions and incarnation didn¡¯t seem to know the usage of this toad yet. Thus, she had a chance to win the bid right now.
[The highest bid is currently 600,000 coins! If there isn¡¯t any more...]
At this moment.
¡°700,000 coins.¡±
Someone made a bid.
[Ohh! 700,000 coins havee out!]
There was a light from the other side of the audience that showed a bid. A demon sword that absorbed the sunlight.
Anna Croft¡¯s expression hardened.
[The bidder is Incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk!]
***
Yoo Jonghyuk emerging after Anna Croft caused a small turmoil in the auction house. Both of them were famous incarnations of Earth.
¡°Anna, if things go wrong...¡±
¡°This is fun. I never thought the Supreme King would be here.¡±
Anna Croft wasughing. She raised her hand and cried out, ¡°800,000 coins!¡±
[Incarnation Anna Croft has bid 800,000 coins!]
¡°900,000 coins.¡±
[900,000 coins! 900,000 coins havee out!]
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t give up. It was an auction war they had to stick to. The atmosphere of the auction house started to heat up after the amount exceeded one million coins. It was a climb that could cause a price bubble but Anna Croft was rxed.
¡®You can¡¯t beat me.¡¯
Dizziness urred along with a short headache. A part of the future emerged in Anna Croft¡¯s retinas. She used Future Sight and seeded in reading the maximum amount Yoo Jonghyuk could pay.
¡°1,280,000 coins.¡±
[Incarnation Anna Croft has bid1,280,000 coins!]
Yoo Jonghyuk was silent at Anna Croft¡¯s bid. It was as expected.
[Now, if there are no further bids...]
Anna Croft smiled. 1,280,000 coins was a huge amount but it was hard to see it as a loss. The Old to New Toad was a worthy item and if she obtained it...
¡°2 million coins!¡±
The voice of a woman was heard from right above her and Anna Croft¡¯s body whipped around. She wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked.
[D-Did she say two million coins? Suddenly such an amount...]
¡°It is the emergence of Han Sooyoung, a newly rich person.¡±
[Who...]
¡°Don¡¯t you know? ck mes Demon Ruler Han Sooyoung, the leader of the Han Sooyoung Corporation and the real power of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.¡±
Lee Hyunsung, sitting beside Han Sooyoung, asked with surprise, ¡°Sooyoung-ssi, is that true? Since when...¡±
Anna Croft stared at Han Sooyoung with wide eyes. The ck mes Demon Ruler of the Korean Penins. It was a name Anna Croft knew well. ¡°What trick is this, ck mes Demon Ruler?¡±
¡°I just want that toad.¡±
Anna Croft once again used Future Sight. It might be a short-term prediction but using Future Sight so many times in one day ced a huge burden on her body. Still, it couldn¡¯t be helped. This had already be a showdown of pride.
The maximum amount of money that Han Sooyoung would pay appeared before Anna Croft¡¯s eyes. How long had it been? Anna Croft wiped the nosebleed that urred from her overloaded body and opened her mouth.
¡°...I bid 3 million coins.¡±
¡°Anna!¡± The startled Selena Kim shouted.
However, Anna Croft was adamant. ¡°I must buy it.¡±
Anna Croft¡¯s Future Sight showed that Han Sooyoung¡¯s amount of money was 2,999,999 coins.
[3 million coins hase out!]
The dokkaebi was dancing with joy. Large cheers filled the venue.
[As expected of the prophet!]
[I heard she was shrewd and cunning but she was a big person!]
The audience was wowed but Anna Croft wasn¡¯t the least bit excited.
¡°Anna, 3 million coins is unreasonable. This is too much damage!¡±
¡°I can get a dokkaebi loan.¡±
¡°Going so far...¡±
¡°It is a loss but in some senses, it isn¡¯t a loss. I can¡¯t concede it to them and that is enough to make it not a loss.¡±
¡°What...¡±
¡°The fact that they made such arge follow up bid shows they are desperate for this item.¡±
Anna Croft nced at Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. The fact that they hade here showed they were likely to participate in Gigantomachia. If they were going to meet one day, she needed to break them now.
In fact, Han Sooyoung was raising both hands like she lost. ¡°This... I can¡¯t afford it. We lost. Completely and 100% lost.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°This is why the world is unfair. We can win against a golden incarnation.¡±
...Something was weird. Anna Croft clearly won the bid but why did they look like they were enjoying it?
[Those who have won the items, pleasee down to the stage.]
Anna Croft turned to the stage at the dokkaebi¡¯s call. The feeling of difort still hadn¡¯t disappeared. She viewed the faces of Han Sooyoung and the expressionless Yoo Jonghyuk. She wanted to use Future Sight but she had already reached the limit for today.
¡®Wait, don¡¯t tell me?¡¯
Anna Croft stood in front of the auctioneer and reflexively asked, ¡°This product, who is the contributor?¡±
[That... Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.]
¡°I won¡¯t buy it.¡±
[Huh?]
The dokkaebi looked surprised.
[We can¡¯t refund products that have already been sold. If you do not pay the amount¨D]
¡°This is obviously a scam. Thus, I won¡¯t buy it.¡±
[A scam?]
Anna Croft pointed at Kim Dokja¡¯s group. ¡°They induced an artificial pricepetition. They had no intention of buying this item in the first ce.¡±
Han Sooyoung clicked her tongue at Anna Croft¡¯s im. ¡°What are you saying? I really wanted to buy it.¡±
¡°Even if you wanted to buy it, this auction is invalid. They are the contributors of this product. Isn¡¯t it forbidden for contributors to participate in the auction?¡±
In the end, Han Sooyoung and Yoo Jonghyuk nced at each other. The senior dokkaebi spoke [That... it is correct. It is certainly forbidden for contributors to participate in the auctions of their own products.]
Anna Croft nodded like she knew it. ¡°Please check the contributor. The contributor will surely be one of them.¡±
[Okay. Please wait a moment.]
The members of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company were making troubled expressions. On the other hand, Anna Croft¡¯s expression was filled with relief and triumph.
It was a pretty good trap. She was the prophet yet she almost got hit. By the way, the dokkaebi checking the contributor cocked his head.
[Strange. None of them are the contributor.]
¡°Huh?¡±
Han Sooyoungughed. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? Ah~ I really wanted that toad...¡±
¡°Then the contributor is...¡±
At this moment, the door of the auction house opened wide. A dazzling light entered from outside the auction house and the white coat was shaken by the wind.
The man in the white coat walked passed Han Sooyoung and Yoo Jonghyuk. The man who came up to the stage was someone Anna Croft knew well. The man smiled and held out his hand like he was asking for a handshake.
¡°3 million coins.¡±
It was Kim Dokja.
Chapter 319 - Episode 60 -Taste of Ruin (4)
Chapter 319: Episode 60 -Taste of Ruin (4)
I was able toe here thanks to the message sent by Han Sooyoung. I already knew that Han Sooyoung took the Old to New Toad. It would be odd if I was ignorant of her stealing an item.
-I want to screw with the prophet. Will youe?
I was just going to check the auction house so it didn¡¯t take long. Anna Croft had moved as I expected.
-You came.
-You came at the right timing?
Messages came from the Midday Tryst at the same time. There was temporary confusion and Yoo Jonghyuk and Han Sooyoung nced at each other.
¡°...What?¡±
¡°I should say that. You have Midday Tryst as well?¡±
I couldn¡¯t help smiling at the two snarling people. I looked ahead and saw Anna Croft¡¯spletely lose expression. I formed a fist and provoked her. ¡°What are you doing? 3 million coins please.¡±
It was our first meeting after the Gourmet Association. Selena Kim stood next to Anna Croft and nodded lightly to me. Anna Croft furrowed her brow and asked, ¡°Demon King of Salvation, you are the contributor of this product?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°No... you shouldn¡¯t be able to acquire this level of item. It is an item that can only be obtained in the
te scenarios.¡±
She was still denying reality. I nced at the dokkaebi instead of answering. The dokkaebi spoke,
[The contributor is Constetion Demon King of Salvation, who belongs to Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. The confirmation result is correct.]
Anna Croft became paler once the dokkaebi testified to the fact. 3 million coins. At the present time, there wasn¡¯t a single incarnation with such arge number of coins in the Star Stream. It was a lot of money and was also a burden for some narrative-grade constetions.
In the distance, Han Sooyoung twitched.
-Hey, you will give me a share of the 3 million coins, right? You wouldn¡¯t have received this money if it wasn¡¯t for me.
Anna Croft¡¯s fist trembled. She nced at Selena Kim before turning back to me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t give you the winning bid.¡±
Anna Croft¡¯s expression gradually returned to normal. ¡°Rather than receiving the item, I will pay the penalty.¡±
The prophet made a choice. It was currently difficult for her to obtain three million coins. Moreover, her desire to buy the item disappeared after knowing the 3 million coins would enter my hands.
[Your understanding of the character ¡®Anna Croft¡¯ has increased!]
I nodded and said, ¡°Well, do as you please.¡±
Han Sooyoung red at me.
-Hey, are you crazy? It is 3 million coins!
-This is good for us.
As Anna Croft mentioned, the Old to New Toad was a very useful item, especially when I thought about the uing Gigantomachia. It was better to have an item than three million coins.
The senior dokkaebi spoke, [The penalty is 500,000 coins, which is the initial bid.]
Besides, I received 500,000 coins without giving anything. I was grateful. Anna Croft thought of something for a moment before slowly pulling out the coins. However, she took out one million coins, not 500,000 coins. ¡°Demon King of Salvation, do you want to make a bet with me?¡±
¡°A bet? I don¡¯t want to.¡±
¡°...I heard that you like to bet. It is disappointing to hear you refuse so easily.¡±
Iughed at the childish provocation. This was suddenly funny. Anna Croft continued speaking, ¡°If you win the bet, I¡¯ll give you one million coins, which is double the amount.¡±
¡°One million... then if you win?¡±
¡°This story never happened and we will each go our own way. You won¡¯t lose any money.¡±
I saw Anna Croft¡¯s red eyes and recalled a sentence from Ways of Survival. Anna Croft was a gifted gambler. Long before the scenario began, she was called the ¡®Prophet of Las Vegas.¡¯
I opened my mouth. ¡°Why should I if I don¡¯t lose anything? I will get 500,000 coins even if I do nothing. Why should I agree to a strange gamble?¡±
¡°You must be afraid to lose. Well, you will get a ¡®Losing Story¡¯ if you lose to me.¡±
...Look at this.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is paying attention to your choice.]
[The constetion Secretive Plotter is focused on your choice.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ wants you to refuse the bet.]
Anna Croft¡¯s smile widened like she heard the indirect messages in the channel. ¡°Demon King of Salvation. Your constetions are watching.¡±
[Many constetions are curious about your choice.]
[Some constetions are condemning your cowardice.]
She was a clever woman. In the period before Gigantomachia, the opinion of the constetions was important. I could make allies, reinforcements or enemies depending on my actions. By the way, this provocation...
I grinned and opened my mouth. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid. I just don¡¯t like the betting conditions.¡±
Anna Croft¡¯s eyes widened.
[The constetion ¡®Dragon Lying Down¡¯ is interested in your words.]
¡°Conditions. Do you want to add more to the bet?¡±
¡°The coins are only that much. I would like to add one more condition.¡±
¡°One more condition...?¡±
¡°If I win, release the Lord and Vassal Pledge hanging on Selena King.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Friend of Justice and Harmony¡¯ is shocked by your words.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is nodding at your words.]
Selena Kim¡¯s eyes shook. Perhaps Selena Kim had been bound during the Proof of the Stars beforeing to the Context of the Constetions. There was no way Anna Croft would have someone beside her that she couldn¡¯t control.
Anna Croft looked confused. ¡°Demon King of Salvation! That...¡±
¡°Can¡¯t you free Selena Kim if you borrow the probability of Asgard?¡±
It would be a significant burden on Anna Croft to liberate the lord and vassal rtionship formed during Proof of the Stars. The fact that she made the lord and vassal rtionship in the first ce was evidence that she didn¡¯t fully trust Selena Kim. Anna Croft struggled for a while before replying, ¡°...Okay.¡±
Selena Kim stared at me with surprised eyes. Then Biyoo¡¯s voice was heard from the air.
[Baaat!]
[A number of constetions are requesting the ¡®bet¡¯ scenario.]
[The request of the constetions has been epted.]
[A new sub scenario has arrived!]
+
[Sub Scenario ¨D Entertainment of Ruin]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: Anna Croft and the Demon King of Salvation have made a bet. The subscribers and incarnations can make a bet on who will win.
Time Limit: ¨D
Compensation: Dividends will be distributed based on your percentage of the winning bet.
Failure: ¨D
+
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ has bet 50,000 coins!]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ has bet 50,000 coins!]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ has bet 1,000 coins!]
Interestingly, this scenario was a scenario where beings other than Anna Croft and myself could participate. The startled Han Sooyoung spoke through Midday Tryst.
-Hey! What are you thinking?
-Just bet some coins.
-To who? You?
I spoke towards Anna Croft. ¡°Tell me about the bet.¡±
¡°It¡¯s simple.¡±
Anna Croft threw the coin that read ¡®one million¡¯ into the air. The coin rose to over 30 metres in the sky and stayed there. ¡°You just need to grab the coin with your hand.¡±
The constetions were shocked when they heard the contents of the bet.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is surprised.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is asking for his coins to be returned!]
Han Sooyoung frowned.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is avoiding the gaze of Incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung.¡¯]
The coin had a floating skill and hovered in ce. At first nce, it was a simple and easy bet. I just had to jump using my skills and grab the coin. However, the simplicity of the bet meant there was a pitfall.
Han Sooyoung told me,
-Hey, Kim Dokja. It is a trap! Don¡¯t make the bet!
I knew it already. This Anna Croft would never make a losing bet.
¡°Do you agree with the bet contents?¡±
¡°Okay.¡±
[The formation of the bet has beenpleted!]
I looked at the coin spinning in the air. In a situation where many constetions were watching, she couldn¡¯t have done anything strange to that coin. This meant the coin itself wasn¡¯t the trap and the trap was elsewhere.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ is activated!]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Way of the Wind Lv. 11 (+1) is activated!]
30 metres was quite high and it was almost impossible to grab that coin with my bare hands if I was an ordinary constetion. However, since the scenario started, I wasn¡¯t an ordinary person.
I used Way of the Wind and jumped lightly, my body springing towards the sky. The remaining distance to the coin was 10 metres.
At this moment, someone interrupted me.
[The probability of the neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ is responding to you!]
It wasn¡¯t one person. A powerful status came from all over the audience. The incarnation bodies of some constetions stood before me.
[Demon King of Salvation! Cancel your skill right away.]
I felt their status from the true voice. The ones standing in my way were from Olympus. There were three great-grade constetions and one narrative-grade constetion.
I spoke in a cold voice, ¡°What are you doing?¡±
[It is forbidden to usebat skills here. Don¡¯t you know?]
A familiar doll popped out from among the constetions. It was a constetion with meteorites swirling overhead. I knew this person¡¯s modifier. It was because this boy was obviously a constetion of Olympus.
¡®Wandering Terror.¡¯
Someone in the audience shouted, [Wandering Terror, Phobos! It is Ares¡¯ son!]
The son of one of the 12 main gods of Olympus, Atrocious War God. The god of terror created by war. This was Phobos who was called Wandering Terror.
I looked down at Anna Croft. It seemed this guy was the backer that Anna Croft believed in.
Chapter 320 - Taste of Ruin (5)
Chapter 320: Episode 60 -Taste of Ruin (5)
¡°King of Salvation, what are you doing? Go and take the coin.¡± Anna Croft spoke provocatively. ¡°Or maybe it wouldn¡¯t be too bad to admit defeat neatly.
I slowly looked around at the constetions in the audience and then Phobos in front of me. The information of Ways of Survival passed through my head.
¡¸ The neb that exerts the greatest power in the Context of the Constetions is Olympus. The neb maximizes its power in certain areas and the most representative one is the auction house. ¡¹
This was why Anna Croft could be so rxed. The biggest event that could be reached through the Context of the Constetions was Gigantomachia. Thus, the organizer Olympus was the force with the strongest influence.
¡°You seem to have misunderstood something... I have no intention of fighting.¡±
[Once again, you can¡¯t use skills here. Return to your seat. Otherwise, you will be bound by the authority of the ¡®legal zone.¡¯]
He was a person that wasn¡¯t easy to talk to.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ admires Olympus¡¯ stubbornness.]
If I used a skill to retrieve the skill, the constetions would exercise the authority of the ¡®legal zone.¡¯
In other words, Anna Croft knew from the beginning that I couldn¡¯t use skills and made this bet. I spoke to Phobos, ¡°It is Anna Croft who used a skill first. Shouldn¡¯t you punish her first?¡±
[Incarnation Anna Croft has already received permission to use skills from Olympus.]
¡°Then give me permission.¡±
[You can¡¯t.]
¡°Why?¡±
[I can¡¯t tell you the details. The auction is over and you should leave here with your party.]
Anna Croft was looking at me with a peculiar smile. There was noughter in my mind.
...Yes, she had calcted up to here?
Han Sooyoung heard the story and cursed. ¡°What is this dog?! Are you joking right now?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk also pulled out the ck Demon Sword. The bear Lee Hyunsung made a threatening sound as he banged his gloves together. I warned Han Sooyoung.
-Stop the party. Don¡¯t move at all.
-What? Hey, this is ridiculous. If we don¡¯t move now...
-If we fight here, we will be doing what they want.
-You are going to y her game?
-Can¡¯t I?
I waved my hand in a reassuring manner and looked back at Phobos. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take the coin as scheduled.¡±
[What?]
At the same time, I used a skill.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has begun!]
I suddenly opened the giant story and theplexion of the constetions turned white. He didn¡¯t know I would open this and the startled Phobos shouted. [Demon King of Salvation. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking but you¡¯re making a mistake.]
¡°A mistake? What mistake?¡±
[This is the ¡®legal zone¡¯ of my neb. Don¡¯t you know that when you start a riot, you will be bound by probability?]
I took a breath and immediately replied with my true voice. [So? What do you want to say?]
I activated Electrification through Bookmarks.
[Don¡¯t you know how much I¡¯ve been holding back in the meantime? It has been from the time you messed with my fate.]
Phobos was the son of Ares. Perhaps this guy helped make my nasty fate.
[What...?]
[Try to stop me, if you have the ability.]
The story of the Demon Realm added to the magic power of Electrification. The white magic power and ck magic power spread like a gradient.
Phobos was still unable to grasp the situation and shouted. [You! You dare to be hostile to Olympus!]
[Tell this to the 12 gods.]
I swung my fist as hard as I could towards Phobos, who was raising his status.
[Kim Dokja¡¯s Company, I¡¯m going to aggressively grow thepany.]
There was an explosion in the centre of the auction house and Phobos¡¯ bloody body flew through the air. There was a bombardment of Electrification and Phobos¡¯ incarnation body screamed terribly as he was buried deep into the ground.
[Many constetions are astonished by your actions!]
[The neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ has noticed your actions!]
I looked down at the groaning Phobos. Wandering Terror was still a narrative-grade constetion. He wasn¡¯t an easy opponent to hit. However, he was careless because I was a constetion in a small neb and this was the result of his neglect.
[Where is the legal zone you were talking about?]
The dejected constetions of Olympus stared at me and stepped back.
[You havemitted a criminal act in Olympus¡¯s legal zone!]
The probability restraint didn¡¯t act immediately. I activated Way of the Wind and jumped into the air, snatching the coin.
[1,00,000 coins have been acquired as a scenario reward.]
At the same time, system messages poured out.
[The sub scenario ¨D Entertainment of Ruin has ended.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is cheering!]
[Some constetions are apuding your courage!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is concerned about your safety!]
[The winners of the bets have sponsored you 100,000 coins!]
I gained 1.1 million coins with one blow. It was a very profitable business.
[Grab that bastard! Do it now!]
Some of the constetions shouted but none of the Olympus constetions came forward. It was due to the power of the giant story that I showed.
Anna Croft was watching me from the ground. ¡°Your body is lightpared to the power you have, Demon King of Salvation.¡± She lost a million coins but she wasn¡¯t disappointed. It was because she knew what would happen next.
¡°Now you¡¯ll be trapped in Olympus¡¯ prison.¡± The constetions who disturbed the legal zone were imprisoned in Olympus. ¡°It also means you won¡¯t be eligible to participate in Gigantomachia.
Iughed as I watched Anna Croft.
[I know that much.]
Maybe Anna Croft didn¡¯t know. I was aiming for this from the beginning.
[The probability of the neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ is binding you.]
[Your incarnation will be transferred to the court of justice in Olympus.]
A bright light poured out and someone started to swallow me. Han Sooyoung shouted, ¡°Kim Dokja! Where are you going again? You crazy bastard!¡±
The probability of the legal zone finally started to work. All the troubles that urred in this auction house would be handled ording to the will of the local jurisdiction.
I smiled at Han Sooyoung.
-I¡¯ll be back!
¡°You deliberately...!¡±
-I¡¯ll see you in a week. Remember what I said? Prepare well.
I could hear Han Sooyoung shouting something. They were mostly curses. The next moment, my body disappeared in the light. There was a short dizziness from the forced dimensional movement. I opened my eyes with a small groan and saw that I was thrown into a dim darkness. By the way... I didn¡¯te alone.
¡°...Why did youe?¡±
I turned to see Yoo Jonghyuk holding onto my shoulder.
¡°I can¡¯t just watch you do your crazy ns again.¡±
As expected, this guy knew what I was going to do. ¡°Those crazy ns have saved you so far.¡±
¡°Where do you n to die alone?¡±
I stopped talking because something appeared in the silent darkness. I turned my head and a small staircase appeared in front of our eyes. On top of this staircase were two thrones. Two dolls were hanging on the throne. My skin got goosebumps just by looking at this. Even the mighty Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t endure it and grasped the hilt of his sword. In particr, one of the two dolls contained a great status that we couldn¡¯t measure.
[Demon King of Salvation, did you have to do this?]
The woman sitting on the throne sighed. The woman seemed to lift the darkness just by walking.
I bowed towards her. The woman who descended the stairs was Persephone, Queen of the Darkest Spring. ¡°...It¡¯s been a while. Your appearance has changed again.¡±
Persephone smiled faintly at my words. [I¡¯m interested in Eden these days. You seem to like this constetion, right?] (TL: Implying that she took Uriel¡¯s appearance)
¡°Yes, I like her but...¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ likes your words.]
[By the way, there is someone who is very angry with your rudeness. Do you know?]
¡°I know.¡±
¡¸ Anyone who hasmitted a transgression in Olympus¡¯ legal zone will be ced in front of the most terrible judge of Olympus. ¡¹
Originally, it would¡¯ve been one of the judges of the Underworld greeting me, not Persephone. Perhaps I would be jailed for a short time in Tartarus under a proper verdict. Nevertheless, I met Persephone instead of a judge. Maybe it was because Persephone interfered.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, there was no other way. All portals to Olympus were blocked.¡±
[...Huhu, you are really cocky to shoot at the sky.]
The air in the area froze. The darkness solidified because of the sound. Breathing became more and more difficult and it was hard to move even a finger. It was amazing that someone¡¯s will could have such power by itself.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is making an interested expression.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is filled with apetitive spirit.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ truly feels admiration.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ can¡¯t close his surprised mouth.]
The constetions in my channel reacted violently. Perhaps it would be difficult to find anyone with a stronger status in all of the Star Stream.
[I¡¯ll introduce you, Demon King of Salvation.]
I turned and saw a faint light in the darkness. There was someone in the centre of the rich darkness. How could I describe it in words? A man who looked like darkness itself. The obsidian eyes embedded in pure white skin seemed to prate into my existence.
[The giant story ¡®Underworld¡¯ has begun.]
One of the oldest myths in the world was looking at me. It was always mentioned together with the myth of Olympus but in fact, it didn¡¯t belong to Olympus. The loneliest and most solitary constetion in all of Ways of Survival. In order to pass through this Gigantomachia safely and to save Yoo Sangah...
I had to surely borrow the hand of this constetion. I took a deep breath and slowly opened my mouth. ¡°King of the Underworld, Father of the Rich Night.¡±
The night of the Underworld looked down at me. The creepy air pressured me but I couldn¡¯t be pushed here. It was because I was here as the representative of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.
¡°Do you want to try making the real Gigantomachia with me?¡±
Chapter 321 - Gigantomachia (1)
Chapter 321: Episode 61 ¨C Gigantomachia (1)
The atmosphere was scary. Hades was silent for a long time and it was unknown what he was thinking. I tried to hide my nerves.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: This is the first hump. ¡¹
The surrounding air became increasingly heavy as Hades opened his mouth.
[The real Gigantomachia... Do you know the weight of those words?]
¡°I know.¡±
The Gigantomachia hosted by the great neb Olympus. It was the festival of the Star Stream where five or six sub-giants trapped in Tartarus were released and hunted in order to enjoy an old victory.
Hades spoke, [The war ended long ago. The gods won both Titanomachy and Gigantomachia.
Hades was right. The real war was already over thousands of years ago.
[It is already a predetermined history. What is the point of recalling it? Why are you trying to recreate Gigantomachia?]
¡°...That is what I want to ask you. Why do the constetions of Olympus continue to make fake Gigantomachia?¡±
[...?]
¡°Why do you call that scenario Gigantomachia, summoning and killing the giants and reenacting the old battles?¡±
My knees involuntarily quivered in front of Hades¡¯ furious status. The distant Persephone was upset and alternated looking between me and Hades. The moment Persephone opened her mouth, I shook my head at her.
I shouldn¡¯t receive help here. With my own strength, I had to endure it without kneeling.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is protecting the best narrator.]
It wasn¡¯tparable to Hades¡¯ Underworld but we also had a story. The story we had umted with our power. I used the power of this story to oppose Hades. ¡°In fact, it is because of fear.¡±
The big nebe were filled with fearsome and powerful beings. They were also the most cowardly in the Star Stream.
¡°You are afraid that the giants will rise again. Thus, you will take out the soul of the dead and trample on them, giving a reminder of the ugly triumph.¡±
There were many ways to make the ¡®real¡¯ disappear. One way was to create countless ¡®fakes.¡¯ Worthless andmon fakes. The desperate battle became a y that was replicated countless times. A story that was aughingstock to everyone. Gigantomachia lost its authenticity long ago. It became a scenario that no constetion was truly afraid of.
I looked up at Hades and asked, ¡°Father of the Rich Night. How long will you let Tartarus be Olympus¡¯ toy?¡±
He didn¡¯t belong to Olympus but was considered to be one of Olympus¡¯ three great masters. I suddenly recalled his setting in Ways of Survival.
¡¸ Hades supplied a number of giants to Gigantomachia but never participated in the scenario. ¡¹
The king of the Underworld had watched the suffering of the giants trapped in his prison for a long time.
¡¸ Hades knew the sorrows of the prisoners and understood their pain. He was like a prison guard educated by the prisoners. ¡¹
¡°Thest time I visited, I saw a giant soldier in the underground of Tartarus. Haven¡¯t you been preparing for this time?¡±
[...That is spection.]
To the 12 gods of Olympus, Hades would¡¯ve exined the existence of the giant soldier in a different way. It was in case the giants once again made a war. However, I knew Hades¡¯ real idea.
¡°I know that you hate the 12 gods.¡±
[...]
¡°Despite being one of the three heads, to them you are just a guard taking care of troublemakers.¡±
The oldest guard in the world might be no different from prisoners. Hades quietly looked down at me.
[Gigantomachia is a terrible war.]
¡°I know.¡±
[Once the real GIgantomachia starts, it isn¡¯t only the giants who be the toy of the scenario. Everyone there will be part of the giant story.]
Hades spoke with distant eyes that seemed to see destruction.
[The dokkaebis will run wild and there will be an upheaval in the Star Stream. The dynamics of the nebe that havested for a long time will copse.]
¡°I¡¯m also aware of that.¡±
[What do you want to gain from disying that terrible pain to the world?]
It wasn¡¯t me who answered.
[The story ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯ has started the story.]
[The story ¡®Person who Opposes the Miracle¡¯ has started the story.]
[The story ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has started the story.]
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has started the story.]
All the stories I umted answered for me. There was also a story I saw for the first time.
[The story ¡®Life and Death Colleagues¡¯ has started the story.]
All the stories flowed towards the proper ending.
[...A little human has very amazing dreams.]
¡°The smaller you are, the bigger the dream.¡±
[You know about Stage Transformation.]
I nodded. I already knew what Hades would say.
[The 12 gods aren¡¯t the problem. Once the war begins, the ancient heroes who led Gigantomachia to victory will reappear. The moment they encounter the giants, Stage Transformation will begin and the tragedy of history will be repeated.]
¡°There are also heroes on this side. The stage will be smashed.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk nced at me and frowned. Hades opened his mouth again. [There still remains one decisive problem.]
¡°The main characters of the stage.¡±
I looked down at the ground. In the underground of this old prison, the protagonists of the old Gigantomachia will be waiting for me.
[Do you think they want Gigantomachia?]
¡°The beginning is Gigantomachia but the end will be different.¡±
I smiled and answered, ¡°If they don¡¯t want it, I have to make them want it.¡±
***
After Kim Dokja disappeared, Han Sooyoung was busy appeasing the party members. ¡°Shit, am I some type of babysitter?¡±
Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung were sitting nkly in their seats while Lee Hyunsung¡¯s huge body was crouched down in the middle of the children as he muttered something. Han Sooyoung sighed and pressed the party members ¡°Hey! Everyone, wake up. This time, he went with Yoo Jonghyuk.
Of course, it didn¡¯t work.
¡°Dokja hyung... Dokja hyung again...¡±
¡°I should¡¯ve locked him up at that time...¡±
Lee Jihye and Lee Seolhwa tried to soothe the children while Han Sooyoung was thinking about the problems she faced now. Kim Dokja and Yoo Jonghyuk were taken away so she had to take care of the preparations for the rest of the week.
¡°Now is the real Han Sooyoung¡¯s Corporation...¡±
[A message has arrived via the Unidentified Wall.]
It was from Jang Hayoung.
-Hey. Han Sooyoung, are you well?
Han Sooyoung became wide awake as contact was finally made. It was time for the transcendent party to return.
-Where are you now?
-I am about to return to Earth.
-Why didn¡¯t youe sooner?
Since there was no other ce to confide in, Han Sooyoung started to vent her umted anger through the Unidentified Wall. The things that happened in the meantime, what happened to the party members...
Han Sooyoung, who usually didn¡¯t talk much, strangely had a lot of words when using the ¡®wall.¡¯ It was the feeling of receiving a consultation.
-In summary, Kim Dokja came back and is gone again.
The window widened and the message window of the wall became a screen. On the screen, Jang Hayoung and the Breaking the Sky Master could be seen.
-Hey! Why are you telling me now? When did Kim Dokjae back?
-That isn¡¯t important right now...
The next moment, there was a strong noise from the screen and the subject of the conversation changed. At first, she thought there was a bug on the screen and wiped it. However, the bug looked good and started talking.
-Has my disciple returned?
A small man sat on the head of the barking Breaking the Sky Master and shouted in a stern voice.
-Show him right now. The guy who left and didn¡¯t find his teacher whening back must be severely punished!
The next moment, someone pulled the bug from the screen. Then a small mountain appeared on the screen. No, looking closely, it wasn¡¯t a mountain. It was someone¡¯s nose.
-Where did that guy go?
...It was the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Han Sooyoung summarized what happened as much as possible. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint listened to the story and thought about something for a moment.
-If he was taken from Olympus¡¯ legal zone... he must be trapped in Tartaros. Then there is no need to worry.
Han Sooyoung was a bit surprised by the unconcerned voice. Before she could say something, the giant nose looked somewhere and muttered with a nostalgic voice.
-I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re doing well.
***
Yoo Jonghyuk and I were thrown to the first floor of Tartarus. Persephone¡¯s face was yful as she patted my head and told me.
[Demon King of Salvation, it won¡¯t be easy to convince the giants.]
¡°Somehow you look happy.¡±
¡°It has been a long time since this type of incident happened in Olympus. I can secretly help along with my husband, but that wouldn¡¯t be fun, would it?]
¡°No, it would be good if you help¨D¡±
[I pray for the blessing of the story, Demon King of Salvation.]
I was expecting her to help me. The Underworld shouldn¡¯t officially participate in this scenario. If the Underworld participated in Gigantomachia, the scale and probability of this war would be out of control.
Therefore, this war should be in the form of a ¡®rebellion¡¯ that proceeded under the tacit approval of the Underworld.
We crossed the first floor of Tartarus. The prisoners working on the first floor were still pouring their energy into the giant soldier. Some of them nced at us but none of them were very interested. It seemed they were new prisoners.
¡°Do you think you can convince the giants?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m going to see now.¡±
In the dungeons of Tartarus, those beyond imagination were trapped. It wasn¡¯t just the giants but also the constetions and transcendents who hadmitted all types of evil actions against Olympus. They were monsters that Yoo Jonghyuk and I could never deal with at the moment.
¡°It will be tough. There is only a week.¡±
¡°Somehow it will work out. By the way, don¡¯t you have someone to meet here?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me as he wondered how I knew. If my memories were correct, it was the existence who taught Giant Body Transformation to the former Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°I have someone to meet. I have to recruit him as a colleague.¡±
Colleague?¡±
¡°Originally, I would¡¯ve never made him apanion but I changed my mind.¡±
We stopped at the same time. We had to stop. Something huge was blocking our way.
¡°...By colleague, do you mean the one talking to the dog?¡±
The entrance down to the second underground floor. There was a giant dog that blocked it. The three-headed monster dog, the cerberus.
I looked up at the dog. To be precise, I looked at the giant soldier stroking the dog¡¯s head. One of the cerberus¡¯ heads was biting the giant soldier¡¯s upper arm.
[Hahahat! Yellowy! Bite!]
Yiiiip!
[I won¡¯t be hurt by this much!]
The gloves were made of a tough metal. In the original novel, it was a story weapon that Hades himself used.
¡°Hey.¡± I waved my hand and the giant soldier looked over. He trembled as if surprised and soon answered in a loud and jubnt voice. [...Subway grasshopper? Hahahat! You finally came to hell? Right?]
I smiled wryly. In order to win Gigantomachia, I needed the help of this gundam otaku. ¡°I came to pick you up, Kim Namwoon.¡±
Chapter 322 - Gigantomachia (2)
Chapter 322: Episode 61 ¨C Gigantomachia (2)
[...Pick me up? Why?]
¡°I need you.¡±
Kim Namwoon stared at me like I was speaking nonsense. Speaking of which, I felt strange. I also didn¡¯t expect that I would say this.
I recalled Kim Namwoon of the 1863rd round. A man with white hair who liked Lee Jihye and had a good rtionship with his colleagues. The guy who was immature, didn¡¯t care for his surroundings and was deeply self-absorbed.
¡¸ Kim Namwoon is an evil person. There is no changing this fact. ¡¹
I saw Kim Namwoon¡¯s possibilities but my prejudice against him hadn¡¯tpletely reversed. I decided to use Kim Namwoon because of a conversation with the 1863rd round Han Sooyoung.
-You won¡¯t be able to reach the 95th scenario with that mindset.
Han Sooyoung, Yoo Jonghyuk and I were different. However, if we agreed on one thing, it was that every story pursued a moment of efficiency.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is interested in your choice.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is interested in Incarnation ¡®Kim Namwoon.¡¯]
I didn¡¯t see Uriel¡¯s message so she must be busy teaching Jung Heewon. If she knew I was here then Jung Heewon would be furious again. I was d she was left in Eden.
Kim Namwoon opened his mouth. [I don¡¯t want to. Why should I help you?]
I thought he would say this. ¡°You don¡¯t have to if you don¡¯t want. Let¡¯s go, Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
I approached the cerberus with Yoo Jonghyuk.
[What? Where are you going?]
¡°Downstairs.¡±
[Puhahat, are you joking? Now Yellowy is staring at you!]
As if to prove it, the half-dozing cerberus raised its head and bared its teeth at us. At this time, Yoo Jonghyuk used the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship. Previously, it would be hard to deal with the cerberus on the first underground floor but now it was different.
¡°...You aren¡¯t gentle at all.¡±
¡°There is no time to waste here.¡±
The cerberus was hit by the blow and copsed on the ground with its tongue lolling out. The prisoners were surprised by the violence and rms rang out everywhere. Normally the judges would run over but there was a tacit agreement with Hades. We would be safe for the time being.
We walked past the copsed cerberus and down towards the second underground floor.
[Crazy... crazy guy!] Kim Namwoon¡¯s baffled voice was heard.
Yoo Jonghyuk nced at me.
-...Are you just leaving? The giant soldier is useful.
-Just watch.
We started down the circr staircase towards the second underground floor. The end of the circr staircase wasn¡¯t in sight. ording to legend, the depths of Tartarus was so great that a dropped anvil fell for a long time.
[Wait, I¡¯lle along!]
Kim Namwoon hurriedly followed after us. The body of the giant soldier was reduced to around two metres. Pluto was a giant soldier that could scale to fit the user¡¯s convenience.
I teasingly asked him, ¡°Why are you following us when you said you didn¡¯t want to help?¡±
[That... I¡¯m a bit bored.]
The smiling mouth couldn¡¯t hide his feelings.
[By the way, what are you going to do? Where are you going? Huh?]
¡°I¡¯m going to meet the giants.¡±
[What?]
Kim Namwoon made a nk expression for a moment before shouting, [Kuhat... uhahahat! Hey, subway grasshopper! I saw it at the time but you are really crazy. Do you know what the giants are?]
Of course, I knew.
[Once you meet those ¡ö¡ö, a hole will be punched through your ¡ö¡ö in a moment...]
[The prisoner filtering is activated!]
[The contents have been filtered to ensure the correctnguage usage in Tartarus.]
[Prisoner ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ has received one penalty point.]
[This sh¡ö!]
[Prisoner ¡®Kim Namwoon¡¯ has received two penalty points.] Even if I didn¡¯t hear Kim Namwoon¡¯s curses, I knew what the giants were.
The giants. A race that dominated in the early days of Olympus. There was a dizzying roar and I involuntarily stopped. Down in the distance, the giants had already noticed our existence and were reacting. It was only some of the ¡®status¡¯ but it was enough to cause goosebumps.
[Crazy. This is crazy...]
I ignored Kim Namwoon¡¯s words and called out to Biyoo. Then Biyoo popped out from my chest.
[Baat?]
¡°Is the channel well controlled?¡±
[Baaat!]
¡°Since all broadcasts of the Underworld are off the record, only let the constetions who have vowed not to reveal the information into the channel.¡±
Biyoo nodded and started to manipte the channel. Some of the constetionsined but now was the right time to do this. The less exposure there was from now on, the better it would be.
Not long after, some constetions sent messages.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is grumbling and epts the agreement.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ isn¡¯t satisfied but agrees to make a pledge.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ says he already made a vow.]
I watched the pouring messages and Kim Namwoon expressed his admiration.
[Wow, this channel...]
Kim Namwoon died before even choosing his sponsor so he might be surprised by the indirect messages of the constetions. All the way down the stairs, Kim Namwoon continued to talk loudly.
[By the way, the Underworld King sent you all the way down here? That Ahjussi is really stern.]
¡°...Shut up. Open your mouth one more time and I¡¯ll cut it off.¡±
[What? Do you want to fight? You want to y?]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s gaze towards Kim Namwoon wasplicated. Yoo Jonghyuk already knew Kim Namwoon. In thest round, Kim Namwoon was also Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯spanion.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk. Don¡¯t waste power here. Don¡¯t you know?¡±
Kim Namwoon smacked his lips when he saw Yoo Jonghyuk raising his sword. He looked like a child as he breathed with excitement. A child who hadn¡¯t received attention for a long time and was alone.
In response to my question about why she used Kim Namwoon, Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd round replied:
-No one is born a bad person from the beginning. It is all set up by the writer. The writer gave the
narrative to be a bad person. I didn¡¯t like this.
I also agreed with Han Sooyoung¡¯s words to some extent. However, Kim Namwoon of this world pressed the wrong button first. He instigated the worst crime by inciting the people on the subway.
[My heart is pounding. It is the first time I¡¯ve felt like this since my father and mother abandoned me.]
¡°What do you feel?¡±
[It feels like a new adventure is waiting for me.]
Obviously, Kim Namwoon was created. Should I me the writer of Ways of Survival? Or should I me myself for not stopping Kim Namwoon properly at the time?
I opened my smartphone and a new message was floating.
[The ¡®fourth revision¡¯ update is currently in progress.]
...I knew it would update soon. There were many things going on that it would be strange if this was quiet. As I headed downstairs, I opened Ways of Survival and read the necessary parts. It was best to read Ways of Survival when my mind became uneasy.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: The third round I am living no longer resembles any of the original rounds. ¡¹
Still, I might be able to find a simr part. There were many scenes about the Underworld in the original Ways of Survival.
The 47th round, the 211th round, the 397th round... there were many. However, the Underworld had never appeared at ¡®this point¡¯ in those rounds.
¡¸ We have to gather all the information avable. ¡¹
¡¸ We can¡¯t win Gigantomachia if we don¡¯t persuade the giants. ¡¹
There were remnants of Olympus throughout the pages of Ways of Survival. The sea was parted with a single gesture. Trampling on transcendents and constetions. The 12 gods of Olympus brutally destroyings. Once I left here, I would have to face them head on.
Many pieces of information passed through my head regarding things that could be used and things that couldn¡¯t be used.
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
¡°What is it?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk gazed at me quietly before speaking in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±
What was with this bastard? Suddenly speaking out of the blue. I immediately used Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint and was exposed to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts.
¡¸ You don¡¯t seem confident. ¡¹
I felt like I had been stabbed. Maybe I showed my feelings on my face more than I thought. I deliberately opened my mouth and spoke in a loud voice.
¡°There are two things I need to get in the Underworld. ¡°One is the giant god¡¯s armour and the other is the giant god¡¯s oath.¡±
¡°...Neither will be easy.¡±
¡°I guess so.¡±
¡°The harder it is, the better the rewards.¡±
I smiled while listening to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words. Not long after, the entrance to the second floor of the Underworld appeared. As expected, the cerberus was guarding it. It was bigger than the one on the first floor. The moment Yoo Jonghyuk pulled out his sword, Kim Namwoon cried out.
[Wait! Don¡¯t hit Yellowy!]
¡°Get out of the way. There is no time.¡±
Kim Namwoon stroked the cerberus and spoke. [I know the location of the track elevator that the judges use.]
The track elevator. There were clearly such things in Tartarus. A hidden transport mechanism that only the judges could use. However, the exact location of the elevator wasn¡¯t exined in Ways of Survival.
I asked doubtfully, ¡°How do you know that?¡±
[I¡¯ve been sneaking downstairs with it.]
¡°How many floors?¡±
[The 77th floor.]
I was startled. The 77th floor gained the gateway to the lowest floor.
[Follow me. It¡¯s this way.]
Kim Namwoon walked forward confidently and Yoo Jonghyuk and I nced at each other.
Surprisingly, this guy was helpful.
...As expected, I should¡¯ve kept him alive? No, this time he was helpful after dying so I did a good job of killing him.
***
The track elevator was really fast. The second underground floor, the third, the fourth underground floor... the elevator descended in an instant and along the way, we could see the terrible scenes of Tartarus. The prisoners attacked each other and the demons in the terrible brimstone fire shouted at us.
¡°Neers!¡±
¡°Hey! What are you staring at? Lower your eyes!¡±
Among theughing prisoners, transcendents could be seen. They hadmitted crimes in Olympus¡¯ legal zone like me or were held captive due to the 12 gods. Some of them would be food at the Gourmet Association¡¯s dining table.
Then the elevator stopped and we got off at the 77th underground floor. The 77th floor was a prisoner-free floor. A space reminiscent of arge, hollow cavity and its width couldn¡¯t be measured. The centre of the space contained a generous sized door.
[There is no Yellowy on the 78th floor. They are useless.]
A cerberus couldn¡¯t stop a giant. It might be possible for a campe.
Kim Namwoon hesitated before stating. [...I¡¯ve never been there before. I put my hand into it previously but this was what happened.]
I looked at the scar left on the shoulder of the giant soldier. It was almost healed now but the damage seemed enough to tear off the arm.
It wasn¡¯t perfect but Pluto was a terrible weapon capable of exerting power equivalent to a narrative-grade constetion when there wasn¡¯t a passenger on board. Yet this weapon received such damage.
I approached the door. The door was over 30 metres in height and there was a pattern simr to a human face.
Yoo Jonghyuk said, ¡°There must be an offering to enter.¡±
Kim Namwoon was surprised by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words. [How do you know that?]
I ignored Kim Namwoon and replied, ¡°I know. I¡¯m ready.¡±
¡°If your offering is too powerful, you will call the ancient giants.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll have to meet them eventually.¡±
¡°...Not now. We will die if we meet them now¡± There was tension in the expression of the prideful Yoo Jonghyuk.
There were different types of giants in Tartarus. One type was the rulers of Olympus who caused Titanomachy, the ancient giants called the titans. The other type was the gigantes who caused Gigantomachia. If I had to divide them by levels, it was the difference between a myth-grade constetion and a narrative-grade constetion. The ones I dared to call were the gigantes.
¡°Don¡¯t worry. A titan-grade giant won¡¯t emerge unless there is a high-grade item among the star relics...¡±
At this moment, an earthquake urred.
[The configuration of Tartarus is bing unstable!]
The moment I realized something was wrong, the door suddenly opened and a huge hand grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
I reached out for Yoo Jonghyuk as two more hands emerged from inside the door. I hurriedly dodged using Electrification but Kim Namwoon wasn¡¯t lucky.
[Uwaaaack! Save me!]
The next moment, more than 10 hands covered me. My body became a mess in the closed space created by the hands and by the time I came to my senses, I was hanging upside down in the air. My shaky vision could see the huge hand that grabbed me.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
Sparks bounced and the ¡®status¡¯ was so full that it filled the surroundings. I felt like my existence could burst apart at any moment. A huge, blunt finger was tapping my ass.
[There is a cute fly.]
A huge eye resembling the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stared at me.
Chapter 323 - Gigantomachia (3)
Chapter 323: Episode 61 ¨C Gigantomachia (3)
[Little child, who are you?]
Three of the countless arms that stretched out from the gods were holding me, Yoo Jonghyuk and Kim Namwoon. I hung in the air and stared at the giant with disbelieving eyes.
The door opened so easily? I couldn¡¯t understand it. The door that sealed the ce below the 77th floor originally couldn¡¯t be opened from the inside. It was the same in the 47th round and the 211th round. That¡¯s why I prepared the offering in advance...
[Um... the probability is difficult. It¡¯s getting worse these days.]
There was a sound and sparks of probability appeared around the bodies of the giants. The giant pulled off one of its fingers and threw it at the door. The sparks rushed like they had been waiting and melted away the finger. Then the sparks slowly faded away. It was an unbelievable sight.
The probability was reced with one finger? Such a thing wasn¡¯t possible in any of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s rounds. An aura rose faintly from the giant¡¯s body. The depths were hidden by an enormous ¡®status¡¯ that was unfathomable was sleeping inside the giant.
One of the oldest existences in the world. Myths umted over the years. My heart trembled just counting the years on the surface. This was a titan. It was unmistakably a titan. The myths that stirred in the giant¡¯s body were worn but still alive. It was much different from the original novel I knew.
¡¸ The energies of the ancient giant that Yoo Jonghyuk met was on the verge of death. ¡¹
It was strange. All the giants relied on the giant stories of Titanomachy and Gigantomachia. As the influence of the myth weakened or the distortion of the traditions grew, their power weakened as well. Due to the habitual event of Olympus, their giant stories should¡¯ve been considerably weakened by now.
[Boy, aren¡¯t you going to answer? I am confident in waiting because my patience is as deep as the sea. I have already been waiting a long time but there is no reason I can¡¯t wait longer.]
However, there was an unbelievable vitalitying from the giant in front of me. Thoughts passed through my head.
¡¸ Maybe it is because I came to the Underworld too early? ¡¹
Gigantomachia hadn¡¯t happened yet and perhaps the decline of the giants hadn¡¯t exceeded the threshold.
The giant continued speaking. [However... I don¡¯t know if my other friends will be the same. It has been a while since children as delicious as you entered.]
Kim Namwoon was shaking and didn¡¯t even think of answering. The giant stroked Kim Namwoon¡¯s cheek like he was cute.
[You are a child with deep sin. A child like you is delicious to eat. The body of a giant soldier itself... were you the one tornst time?]
The prisoners who crashed underground while trying to escape Tartarus were usually fed to the giants. Kim Namwoon struggled and would already be foaming at the mouth if he was human.
The giant¡¯s gaze turned to me again. [You have many good smells. A constetion, angel, demon, human... there is even an outer god. What type of stories are these?]
I didn¡¯t answer. Sometimes this was a clearer answer than words. The opponent might be an ancient god but I couldn¡¯t be intimidated from the start.
[The status of a ¡®demon king¡¯ is released!]
I emerged from the grip of the giant and the giant¡¯s appearance became clearer. The size of the giant was beyond my imagination. It was almost 100 metres in height... in the first ce, I couldn¡¯t fight this existence.
[I¡¯m going to eat this child.]
[Let¡¯s tear him in half.]
Voices came from all over the ce. I opened my mouth and gave a cold warning. ¡°We aren¡¯t prey.¡±
¡°We havee to negotiate.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk also contributed.
Yoo Jonghyuk released his transcendence and also escaped the giant¡¯s hand. However, the giant replied in an unconcerned manner. [It isn¡¯t your decision.]
I knew it would be like this. The destruction of the giants ultimately derived from this arrogance.
I used my true voice without further dy. [It is nice to meet you. The great ¡®Hundred-Handers, the three Hecatoncheires brothers.]
At my words, 300 eyes simultaneously opened in the darkness. These eyes belonged to only three giants.
The three giants spoke at the same time.
[Interesting. You came here knowing about us?]
50 heads and 100 arms, the Hundred-Handers. I knew the names of these titans.
The strongest storm, Briareus.
The rushing stone, Cottus.
The changing limbs, Gyges
They were living myths who had experienced both Titanomachy and Gigantomachia. All the stories of Olympus were umted in their bodies. If they were ¡®books¡¯, I felt like I could sit here for decades reading them.
[The Fourth Wall is greedy for the taste.]
Perhaps this was a myth. The oldest story in the world. Things that had been passed down to mortals and finally formed a worldview.
The appearance of the three gods was the same but their eyes were different colours. Briareus had blue eyes, Cottus had brown eyes and Gyges had green eyes. I gazed at the hundreds of eyes and opened my mouth again.
[I havee to liberate all the giants from Tartarus.]
My true voice echoed and spread. Perhaps it was enough to be heard by all of Tartarus, not just the Hecatoncheires. In the darkness, the sound of some giants moving their bodies was heard. However, nobody opened their mouths.
It was because the titans in front of us didn¡¯t say anything. The reactions of the Hecatoncheires to my words were different. Cottus was grumpy while Gyges looked tired. Only Briareus was different.
[What a funny joke. I want to eat you even more.]
I didn¡¯t back down despite the intimidating threat and smiled. ¡°As you can see, I¡¯m too small for you to taste. You will have to eat more than me.¡±
I looked over at Yoo Jonghyuk. As if he had been waiting, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s muscles started twitching. Soon after, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body started to grow. 2 meters, 3 metres, 4 metres... Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s height increased rapidly as he held the ck Demon Sword while gazing at Briareus. Half of the many eyes were filled with doubt.
[...Giant Body Transformation? How do you have that skill?]
¡°I learnt it from you, Briareus.¡±
The power of the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship filled the ck Demon Sword. Like a little hero going against the myth, Yoo Jonghyuk growled out. ¡°To be exact, it was the you of thest ¡¯round.¡¯¡±
***
Technically, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s teacher was only the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. The source of the power he possessed was the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship trained through countless regressions.
However, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t learn only one skill. Through numerous regressions, Yoo Jonghyuk had learnt various techniques from various beings.
Giant Body Transformation was one of them. It was gained through the stigma Transmission. In particr, Briareus who taught the Giant Body Transformation had a small connection with Yoo Jonghyuk. The evidence was the blue eyes that resembled the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[A little while ago, a young giant visited here. I heard a story in exchange for awakening that child¡¯s ¡®destiny¡¯... I wanted something but it was about you.]
In the First Murim, I promised to send the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to Tartarus in exchange for her help. Perhaps Breaking the Sky Sword Saint told him about us at that time. I didn¡¯t know what the stubborn transcendent had said but I thought the story might be resolved well.
[...The singrity mentioned by the constetion.]
[The presence moving a giant wagon...]
[The scenario is really heading towards ¡ö¡ö...]
There was an unknown tiredness in the voice of the giants who wanted to eat us a while ago. No, it was a voice close to resignation rather than a sense of liberation.
[I am interested in you. Then how do you want to liberate us?]
¡°I want to create Gigantomachia.¡±
I cut to the chase. I had ended up meeting the titans and it wasn¡¯t good if I couldn¡¯t get the job done.
The three Hecatoncheires brothers were the protagonists of Gigantomachia and Titanomachy. With these three, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to overturn Gigantomachia. ¡°This side is ready. If you try¨D¡±
[I refuse.]
I was a bit hesitant at the decisive answer. ¡°Why?¡±
[Young child. You won¡¯t understand.]
Funnily enough, his words were true. I couldn¡¯t understand why they would refuse the offer.
The three Hecatoncheires brothers and the giants were detained for a long time here in Tartarus. They hated this prison more than anyone and had a deep grudge against the 12 gods. Why did they refuse to be liberated?
¡¸ Kim Dok ja¡¯s head is ba d. ¡¹
I quickly recalled the contents of Ways of Survival but couldn¡¯te up with the correct insight.
The information f the giants wasn¡¯t described in detail in Ways of Survival. As the contact with the giants increased in the second half of the novel, Yoo Jonghyuk would rather pull out his sword than talk. I mean... just like now.
-Stop. We were really screwed if he moved his sword here.
I saw Yoo Jonghyuk release the hilt and looked back at the giants. I had to remember. How could I convince these lumps that were tens of thousands of years old?
Unexpectedly, Briareus opened his mouth first. [Young child, how many Gigantomachias do you think there are in the world?]
At this moment, letters appeared on the faces of the giants. The stories of the giants were started to speak. The sentences contained very old feelings.
[The effect of the ¡®Scenario Interpreter¡¯ is activated!]
[Your understanding of the story has increased sharply!]
I was able to glimpse the memories of the giants through these sentences. The history of the long-ago Titanomachy and Gigantomachia.
[The result of all scenarios is fixed. We are just a part of that scenario. We have already fought in numerous Gigantomachias that you don¡¯t know.]
The 60th scenario, Gigantomachia. In that scenario, the giants were trampled on. Olympus won the war and periodically reopened Gigantomachia. The giants were brought to war again and again. They were dressed in ragged clothing and equipment and were hunted by hundreds of armed constetions and incarnations. The bloody wounds were false and their bravery mocked.
[We were defeated.]
It happened 10 times.
[We lost.]
100 times.
[Another defeat.]
It repeated over 1,000 times.
[Now you are telling us to stand on the battlefield again.]
Just like the regressor Yoo Jonghyuk.
[How long will you call out the spectres of the past? How long will you turn over the dead shells of the myth and insult them?]
The giants were ¡®regressors¡¯ in a different sense than Yoo Jonghyuk. Finally, they were exhausted by the ¡®regressions.¡¯
[Child, we don¡¯t want liberation. We are no longer curious about the story.]
Chapter 324 - Gigantomachia (4)
Chapter 324: Episode 61 ¨C Gigantomachia (4)
Over the years, the giants had forgotten the anger from the first Gigantomachia. The repeated scenarios took away their will and tarnished the glorious days.
Now the 60th scenario, Gigantomachia was merely a festival of constetions where several giants
were conscripted.
[Please go back.]
Rather than resisting the world, the giants chose to be forgotten from the world. Their despair was so huge that I was speechless for a moment. It would¡¯ve been nice if Yoo Sangah was here right now. She was better at convincing people than me.
¡°Themanders of a mythical era... they aren¡¯t a big deal.¡±
It was a uniquely rude tone. Surprisingly, Kim Namwoon was the first one to open his mouth.
¡°Lumps, you aren¡¯t dead like me.¡±
Despite the terrifying status of the giants, his small mouth was still moving. Kim Namwoon shouted in a strangely heightened ent, as if it was his end and he wanted to have no regrets. ¡°Those who are alive can change the future. Yet you¡¯re already giving up? They say that gods are greater than humans and have enormous mental strength? ¡öking bull¡ö! Whining after losing a few times...!¡±
A bloody aura rose from the giants. I quickly moved in front of Kim Namwoon to stop him. ¡°You can still change. This Gigantomachia ispletely different from the ones before.¡±
[History doesn¡¯t change.]
¡°Have you already forgotten that you were betrayed by the God of Lightning? Have you forgotten how you fell to the abyss of Tartarus after helping him win Titanomachy?¡±
Yoo Sangah wasn¡¯t around but I remembered what she told me. Yoo Sangah was excellent in world history and mythology. I recalled the time when she persuaded King Heungmu the Great with her words. ¡°How was it during Gigantomachia? It was a fight you could win. It was a fight you could win if it wasn¡¯t for the help of human heroes. Do you want to be recorded as a myth that was forever defeated?¡±
[Cheeky child. You don¡¯t understand...!]
¡°I understand. Your despair, I understand it all.¡±
It was a lie. It was because I didn¡¯t know about them. However, it also wasn¡¯t a lie.
¡°I know someone who was in the same position as you but he didn¡¯t give up to the end, unlike you.¡±
We could only understand the other person through our stories.
¡°I knew a man who was desperate thoughts of times in front of a world greater than him, yet never gave up.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk and Kim Namwoon looked at me. Briareus asked, [Whose story are you talking about?]
¡°The story of a hero I know. I can tell you if you like.¡±
Briareusughed at my words. The deep distrust was filled with ridicule.
[Hidden behind the wall.]
...The presence behind the wall. At this moment, I heard the world creaking.
[I know that you have a fragment of the Last Wall. You are hiding behind it and avoiding the attention of other constetions.]
It was true.
[Do you think there is any authenticity in the words from such a coward? You can¡¯t persuade us.]
Funnily enough, I couldn¡¯t refute the words. It felt like he pointed out something that I had ignored for a long time.
[The Fourth Wall is indignant!]
[The Fourth Wall is saying not to listen.]
Unexpectedly, it was the constetions who helped me.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ condemns the weakness of the giants!]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ thinks the ¡®Strongest Storm¡¯ is pathetic.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is shaking his head.]
Briareus was surprised by the sudden burst of indirect messages.
[You have great sponsors in your channel... spectres of the scenario. You still remain? I wonder what the story is that you are chasing after this little boy.]
I stared at the indirect messages pouring from the air and worried for a moment. I didn¡¯t take long to make a decision. ¡°I¡¯ll release the wall.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is looking at you with astonishment!]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is watching you with serene eyes.]
¡°Then will you listen to my story?¡±
¡¸ Kim Dok ja can¡¯t do th at. ¡¹
There were intense sparks around me as the Fourth Wall spoke.
¡¸ I can¡¯t d o it. ¡¹
¡®Just once. It is okay even for a moment.¡¯
¡¸ It wi ll be dan ge rous. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall stood firm.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shimmering faintly.]
In fact, I wasn¡¯t confident either. I wondered if my mind could fully endure it once this wall waspletely gone. Still, I had to do it.
¡¸ Ab so lute ly not. ¡¹
¡®I will forcibly turn it off if you don¡¯t listen.¡¯
The Fourth Wall shook more strongly at my threat. The Fourth Wall that always protected me. I didn¡¯t want to fight it. Eventually, the first one to yield was the Fourth Wall.
¡¸ No t every thing... ¡¹
¡®Then?¡¯
¡¸One pa rt on ly. ¡¹
The moment I was about to answer, I heard the sound of the sky copsing. There was an artificial crack in something that was snugly wrapped around me. My head became cloudy and my calm heart suddenly became uneasy.
[Part of the Fourth Wall is opened.]
I started to feel like I was going crazy. My vision turned red and my heart jumped quickly. I was dizzy.
Some of my stories released their voices.
[The story ¡®Hell of Eternity¡¯ has begun.]
[The exclusive attribute ¡®Scenario Interpreter¡¯ is activated!]
The things I had been through in the 1863rd round were floating around in my head. I looked out and letters were pouring out from me. It was the story of Ways of Survival that I had read. In the feast of fascinating stories, I lost my breath for a moment.
There was Yoo Jonghyuk. It was Yoo Jonghyuk of the original novel that no longer existed. Some of the rounds I remembered became fragments and they were passed on to the Hecatoncheires. I started retching.
¡¸ I killed him. ¡¹
¡¸ It shouldn¡¯t be like this. ¡¹
¡¸ I could¡¯ve stopped it. ¡¹
Even so, I didn¡¯t lose my mind. I was obliged to tell this story. Only I remembered this story.
¡¸ ¡°I won¡¯t give up. One hundred times, a thousand times. I will go back a few times and surely kill all of you.¡± ¡¹
There was Yoo Jonghyuk fighting against Olympus.
The 150 eyes of the giants widened in unison.
¡¸ ¡°I will kill all of you without leaving a single thing left.¡± ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s rounds were flowing out. Yoo Jonghyuk fought. In the 211th round, he killed one of the 12 gods. In the 325th round, he killed two of them. In the 438th round, he killed four. The number of rounds suddenly exceeded four digits.
¡¸ ¡°I told you. You will die.¡± ¡¹
He dered. He swung his sword. He put his words into practice. In the meantime, there were the Gigantomachia scenarios where the giants were defeated. Yoo Jonghyuk held the heads of the 12 gods andughed.
¡¸ ¡°You can¡¯t survive forever.¡± ¡¹
The eyes of the giants were amazed as they looked at the heads of the gods. There was Yoo Jonghyuk who kept fighting and fighting. In the 1863rd regression, Yoo Jonghyuk ughtered the constetions.
Every time Yoo Jonghyuk killed, the fists of the giants shook. In the eyes of the giants, something long lost was waking up again. In the end, the only way to convince someone was the story.
The lost sensibility was woken up. Their old willpower was being rekindled. They were being told that life was possible. It was just a story.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
The story was soon cut off. I lost strength and copsed, only for somebody to help me. They were Yoo Jonghyuk and Kim Namwoon.
The giants were looking at me.
[So...] The giants asked me. [What happened next in the story?]
[What happened next?]
I was well aware of the desire seen in these eyes. ¡°Do you want to know?¡±
While hating the scenario, they were curious about the next scenario.
[...I want to know.]
¡°Find out for yourself.¡±
At my words, the eyes of the giants shook again. The chapped lips that dered they weren¡¯t curious about the next story were twitching in unison. The answer came back after a long time.
[...Do you think you can win?]
I knew what they were asking and answered confidently. ¡°I can win.¡±
300 eyes were looking at me. How long had it been? The number of eyes started to increase. 300 became 400 and then 500. In the darkness, countless Gigantes appeared around the three Hecatoncheires brothers.
[Giants, listen.]
The feet of the myths descended.
[We... will fight in Gigantomachia.]
There was an earthquake along with the sound. All the giants in Tartarus started swarming. One by one, the giants started stomping their feet.
Kung. Kung. Kung. Kung.
The sound of the feet unceasingly moved to the beat. The giants rose in unison and a grand spectacle unfolded.
Kung. Kung. Kung. Kung.
A step towards ruin. I barely breathed as I watched the giants rising like waves in the darkness.
It was pretty hard but it was sessful. At this time, Persephone¡¯s true voice was heard in the air.
[You better hurry, Demon King of Salvation. Olympus has already taken out the ¡®giants¡¯ to join Gigantomachia.]
¡°...Why have they already pulled out giants?¡±
[You don¡¯t know. Gigantomachia has already started.]
¡°What do you mean? There is still a week.¡±
[Have you forgotten that time flows differently in the Underworld?]
I made a mistake. The moment I was about to ask for the time outside, I heard the voices of the giants.
[How many were taken to Gigantomachia?]
[This year, there are four.]
...Four?
¡°There is no way. There should be five giants in this scenario.¡±
The giants gazed at me and answered, [Four.]
I quickly opened the smartphone and checked Ways of Survival.
¡¸ There are five giants in this year¡¯s Gigantomachia. ¡¹
There was no doubt. ording to Ways of Survival, there should be five giants in this year¡¯s war.
Yet only four were pulled out? At this moment, I got shivers.
I nced back and saw that Yoo Jonghyuk had a serious expression. ¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
All the giants in the Star Stream were trapped in Tartarus. Apart from one. Apart from the half-giant we knew.
Chapter 325 - Gigantomachia (5)
Chapter 325: Episode 61 ¨C Gigantomachia (5)
¡°Hah, it is really Earth...¡±
Jang Hayoung sighed as he crossed the portal and swept back his blond hair. Gwanghwamun unfolded before him. He had returned home after a long journey. ¡°Are you happy abouting home after a long time?¡±
Jang Hayoung looked back and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was exiting the portal. The Breaking the Sky Master moved through her legs. Kyrgios Rodgraim was sitting on the Breaking the Sky Master¡¯s head. It was the transcendent party who left to train in a different dimension.
¡°Not so much...¡±
¡°Are you Jang Hayoung?¡±
Jang Hayoung¡¯s words were cut off by a stranger¡¯s voice. They turned around and a man was looking at them. Based on his clothes, he wasn¡¯t Korean.
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Then is the giant behind you the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint replied and the man expressed his admiration. ¡°Hah, it is a great person. I¡¯ve been waiting for you. I am called Flying Fox.¡±
¡°A Murim person. What do you want?¡±
¡°Young Mister Kim said to wait for you here.¡±
¡°Young Mister Kim? Are you talking about that skinny guy?¡±
¡°If that skinny guy is referring to Kim Dokja then yes.¡± Flying Fox kept speaking, ¡°¡®The Returnees Alliance will soon invade Seoul.¡¯ That¡¯s what he said.¡±
¡°...Cheeky student. I told him toe back quickly.¡±
Kyrgios spoke with a frown. They also knew about the Returnees Alliance. In particr, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint had heard separate stories from Kim Dokja and Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°The Returnees Alliance... in the other world line, I was killed by them.¡±
Not all returnees chose the virtuous path like Flying Fox. The Returnees Alliance was a representative group that chose the path of violence and domination. ¡°It looks like you neglected training in that world, Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.¡±
¡°The opponents were the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon. You can¡¯t look down on them.¡±
¡°Whoeveres, you won¡¯t die in this world. We will fight together.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saintughed lightly at Kyrgios¡¯ assertion. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll die either. If I die here, I can¡¯t hit by cute student¡¯s butt.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint clenched her fists as she spoke. She didn¡¯t know how strong she was in the other world. However, she was certain that now she had stepped into another realm.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was reminded of the battle with Indescribable Distance three years ago. She couldn¡¯t measure the end of that outer god. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint never forgot the terror of that day when she faced a disaster beyond the constetions.
She preserved the First Murim and gained a giant story, before visiting Tartarus to open the fate of a ¡®giant god.¡¯ The enemy she couldn¡¯t deal with. In thest three years, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint had been training for a rematch with the outer god.
Then a strange feeling was felt in the distance.
¡°Something ising.¡±
Along with Kyrgios¡¯s words, Jang Hayoung and the Breaking the Sky Master also took their ces. At this timing, it must be the Returnees Alliance.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint quickly issued amand. ¡°Kyrgios and I will take care of the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon. Hayoung and the Breaking the Sky Master will protect the civilians of Seoul...¡±
The next moment, the body of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was surrounded by a bright light.
[The destiny of a ¡®giant¡¯ is found in ¡®Namgung Minyoung¡¯!]
¡°What?¡±
[The forced scenario transfer has begun!]
[The stigma of myth can¡¯t be rejected.]
¡°Master!¡± The startled Jang Hayoung screamed but the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s body had already disappeared somewhere. Even the calm Kyrgios couldn¡¯t stop his shaky eyes. Then in the sky, dark clouds started to gather.
Kyrgios¡¯ expression hardened. ¡°They are reallying this time.¡±
The army of the Returnees Alliance was advancing towards Seoul. A great feast of returnees.
The nervous Flying Fox muttered as he moved, ¡°This is dangerous.¡±
***
¡°Wait a minute, Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
¡°There is no time. Kim Dokja, haven¡¯t you noticed?¡± Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s distorted face was angry. ¡°The fifth giant is obviously the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
Originally, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint wasn¡¯t a sacrifice of Gigantomachia. It was because she didn¡¯t visit Tartarus, meet her kin and awaken her destiny.
¡¸ It is because of me. ¡¹
This had happened because I twisted the deployment. ¡°Teacher will be in danger if we don¡¯t help right away. Didn¡¯t you hear that Gigantomachia started?¡±
I gazed at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s face and shook my head. ¡°She isn¡¯t in danger. Rather, she is safe for the time being. Rather, it is someone other than the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint who is in danger.¡±
¡°What nonsense are you saying? If Teacher is designated as the ¡®giant¡¯ of the scenario...¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk stopped as he noticed something. He also realized it. In Gigantomachia, the ¡®giant hunting¡¯ event was designated as thest order. Before the start of the hunting event, the giants were given absolute protection in the scenario. If Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was really taking part in Gigantomachia, she would be safe for now.
The problem was Earth, where the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint had disappeared from.
¡°By now, the Returnees War would¡¯ve begun.¡±
We might¡¯ve passed the 45th scenario but not everyone on Earth was the same. The 45 scenario was still in progress and by now, the march of the Returnees Alliance would¡¯ve begun. Originally, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was supposed to deal with the Returnees Alliance along with the others.
Yoo Jonghyuk thought for a while before spitting out, ¡°Seoul is in danger.¡±
Of course, Earth was powerful even without the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
There were Jang Hayoung, the Breaking the Sky Master, Kyrgios, Flying Fox, my mother and the wanderer forces. Gong Pildu and Han Myungoh on the north side would also help.
However... the only ones who could cope with the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon were the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios.
Yoo Jonghyuk struggled for a while before stating, ¡°I will go to Earth. You will take part in Gigantomachia alone.¡±
¡°Is it okay?¡±
¡°There is no other way.¡±
I threw the item I was holding in my hand to him. ¡°Take this.¡±
It was the Giant¡¯s Armour that I just received from Briareus. It was the main armour used by Yoo Jonghyuk in the mid-tote scenarios. Yoo Jonghyuk grabbed it without a word and escaped from Tartarus with Persephone¡¯s help.
Kung. Kung. Kung. Kung.
The giants preparing for war kept stomping their feet.
[Sub scenario ¨C Myth Subversion has begun.]
[The possibility of a new story is germinating!]
Once this ceremony was over, the real Gigantomachia would begin. I gazed at the giants before calling out to Persephone. ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯d like to go out as well.¡±
[You can¡¯t go out.]
¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t you send out Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
[He isn¡¯t a ¡®prisoner.¡¯ However, you...]
I nced at the message floating in the air.
[You are currently imprisoned formitting a criminal offense on the legal zone.]
[Remaining confinement time: 4 hours.]
[Rules are rules.]
I frowned. There were earth-shattering roars from the giants. If I waited quietly for four hours in a ce where I didn¡¯t know the time rate, I wouldn¡¯t be Kim Dokja.
***
¡°Hey, did wee here to y?¡± Lee Jihye spoke with a nk expression as she looked around.
[Wee to the theme park, Gigantomachia!]
[Olympus¡¯ 12 work experience is in progress!]
The bustling group of incarnations and constetions were busily moving somewhere.
[Experience Capturing a Wild Boar.]
[Experience Hunting a Namea Lion.]
.....
Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were running around while wearing rabbit ear headbands. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a ce like this!¡±
¡°Is this really the outfit that Hercules wore?¡±
It had been eight hours since the group entered the 60th scenario, Gigantomachia. In these eight hours, the party members had watched a dull video of Olympus, watched a poor fourth-grade monster that was called a mythical wild boar and even saw a small hydra, less than 5 metres tall, howling while trapped in a cage. ¡°This is just an amusement park...¡±
Lee Hyunsung was able to get a lot of apples by participating in the Golden Apple Farm event. The children were preupied with ying and the soldier they believed in was like this.
Lee Seolhwa spoke, ¡°The 60th scenario can¡¯t be like this. Stay focused.¡± She said this but a star-shaped headband that she bought as a souvenir was shing.
Lee Jihye looked at Han Sooyoung with a stricken expression. ¡°Everybody isn¡¯t sane... Sooyoung unni, say something!¡±
Han Sooyoung was sitting on a bench and eating candy. As the distracted group yed in the amusement park, Han Sooyoung was looking at the progress of the scenario with sharp eyes.
[The next of the 12 tasks that incarnations and constetions will participate in...]
In particr, Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes were focused on the most important ce in the centre of the theme park. A man who seemed to be an event helper at first nce was wearing ancient Greek armour and trinkets.
¡®There is a thick cover over his heel.¡¯
There was only one hero in Olympus who had to be careful of his heels. Troy¡¯s sorrow, Achilles.
He was yawning because the progress of the event was tedious. How much time passed?
[Eh, they¡¯ve seen enough so let¡¯s go to the point.]
The rxed man¡¯s tone changed for the first time.
[Gigantomachia is an event that has been hosted by our Olympus for a long time. Experience the greatest myth in the Star Stream personally.]
The gazes of the raucous incarnations focused in an instant.
[As you know, this scenario is designed for incarnations and constetions who are about to enter the mid-tote scenarios. Through this scenario, you have an opportunity to be chosen by the 12 gods of Olympus.]
Han Sooyoung watched the ancient hero speaking like a dokkaebi and smiled bitterly.
¡®They won¡¯t use a dokkaebi for the reputation of the neb.¡¯
Of course, they couldn¡¯t exercise the authority of a dokkaebi by doing this but the performance was enough to stimte the participants.
[Is that all? You can also gain a stake in the giant story thought the ¡®giant hunting¡¯ event.]
¡®Some incarnations and constetions cheered at the words ¡®stake in a giant story.¡¯
Achillesughed and dered. [Then let¡¯s start the game.]
At the same time, the main hall of the theme park started to open. The sealed sphere opened and a pale light poured from the air.
[Introducing the first giant!]
The light disappeared and the figure of a legend was revealed. However, the appearance of the giant was smaller than expected. The giant was only around three metres tall.
[Haha, I see some people are disappointed. The first giant is smaller because she is a mixed-breed. However, there is no doubt that she has the story of the giants. So everyone, please start hunting!]
Han Sooyoung and the party members were watching the giant. Lee Jihye¡¯s mouth was open in a trance as she rubbed her eyes. Then she eximed, ¡°That person...!¡±
Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yoosung as well. Everyone knew the identity of the giant. It was because the giant was a colleague who had fought with them. The party members¡¯ eyes widened as they faced the giant.
[Main scenario #60 ¨D ¡®Gigantomachia¡¯ has begun!]
[The first game has been decided.]
[Hunt the giant ¡®Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, Namgung Minyoung¡¯]
The first prey was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s teacher, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[Why are you all still? Are you scared?]
No one moved despite the scenario starting. Thus, Achilles flew through the air.
[It seems that everyone is afraid since this is the first time you¡¯re experiencing Gigantomachia... it isn¡¯t a big deal. I¡¯ll give you a demonstration.]
A star relic, the Ash Spear was held in Achilles¡¯ hand. A legendary spear that killed numerous armed men in the Trojan War.
The incarnations cried out. Achilles was a hero of Olympus. There were no giants who could go against him.
Han Sooyoung untied the bandage around her arm. The scenario was important but they couldn¡¯t lose the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint here.
[Look. Being afraid of this¨D!]
Han Sooyoung rushed forward as Achilles¡¯s spear aimed at the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s heart. Then Han Sooyoung stopped. Achilles¡¯s charge stopped in the air. The cheers of the incarnations ceased. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s enormous hand was holding Achilles¡¯ head.
[Whether it is Murim or Olympus, giants always get the same treatment.]
Achilles hung in the air like a worm and struggled. The more he struggled, the more the muscles on the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s hand becamerger. A voice was heard from somewhere.
[You want to hunt giants?]
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s eyes were cold as she stared at the incarnations and constetions.
There was a loud sound and Achilles¡¯ head was crushed.
[Then give it a try.]
Chapter 326 - Gigantomachia (6)
Chapter 326: Episode 61 ¨C Gigantomachia (6)
The ceiling of Tartarus was opening.
[Cracks have urred in some areas of Tartarus!]
[Someone is trying to break out of jail!]
Along with the warning message that appeared in the air, the whole of the Underworld was shaking.
[The judges of the Underworld have noticed the actions of the Demon King of Salvation!]
Persephone warned in a sharp voice.
[...It is only this time. Please keep this in mind, Demon King of Salvation.]
Earthquakes urred and a faint portal started to be made on the wide-open ceiling of Tartarus. Persephone had opened an exit to the ground. Briareus watched the scene and asked,
[What did you say to make the queen of the Underworld help you?]
¡°It was just some threats.¡±
30 minutes ago, I sent the following message to Persephone.
-If you refuse to cooperate, I will spread the footage of Tartarus all over the Star Stream.
Tartarus had many secrets of the Underworld, whether it was the secret recruits they trained or the institutional facilities that were concealed. It wasn¡¯t good if the hostile forces to Olympus received a secret report on Tartarus.
Then Briareus shook his head. [Her Majesty was threatened by that?]
¡°She is on our side. She just needed a pretext to release me. It is an excuse when things go wrong in the future.
If this Gigantomachia failed and Olympus picked up on what happened in the Underworld, the Underworld would be in a difficult situation. Perhaps my current ckmail would be a bit of a defense for the Underworld.
Of course, this was a story for when Gigantomachia failed but I didn¡¯t intend to let that happen.
Briareus spoke, [You don¡¯t seem to know the king and the queen well.]
¡°Huh?¡±
Briareas gave a knowing smile instead of answering.
[You have received the Giant¡¯s Oath.]
[You have acquired a new semi-myth story!]
[The story ¡®Giant¡¯s Liberator¡¯ has been acquired.]
[This story is attributed to ¡®A Single Story.¡¯]
Giant¡¯s Liberator. This was the first story I should obtain from this Olympus war.
[Giant¡¯s Liberator. Soon the giants of this ce will enter Gigantomachia. Is there anything you specifically want?]
¡°There is no such thing. Just do what you want.¡±
[...I¡¯m bing curious. Why do you want to reach ¡ö¡ö? No other constetions have every built up achievement like you. Are you dreaming of a ¡®perfect story¡¯?]
A perfect story. Some people called ¡®A Single Story¡¯ by such a name. A story that never existed before and was made up of stories that never existed.
¡°I just want to see the end with my colleagues. Together without losing anyone.¡±
[It will be the hardest story in the world. There has never been such a story.]
It was true. A myth without any sacrifices didn¡¯t exist in this world.
[The probability of the Star Stream always moves in a way that forces sacrifice. Fate won¡¯t easily let you go.]
¡°I won¡¯t know without trying. In addition, fate has already been ovee.¡±
I remembered the damn fate given to me by fucking Olympus. Even now, I gritted my teeth remembering it.
However, Briareus¡¯ expression was grave. [Have you ovee fate?]
Something suddenly shed through my mind. ording to Ways of Survival, all titans were born with the power of prophecy.
[Liberator, ¡®fate¡¯ is a much broader concept than you think. The fate given to you by Olympus is only a speck of dust in the world. The real fate is inevitable. If you avoid it, probability must be distorted.
That twisted probability must be resolved by someone. That is why there is no ¡®perfect¡¯ story.]
¡°I won¡¯t know if I don¡¯t try. I will do it if possible. My colleagues also aren¡¯t weak enough to sumb to fate.¡±
I jumped into the portal and dered, ¡°Then let¡¯s meet in Gigantomachia.¡±
Briareus nodded. [I wish you the blessing of the story.]
***
¡°Kyrgios.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Maybe we need the story¡¯s blessing.¡± Jang Hayoung muttered as he watched the returnees approaching like cattle.
¡°There is no need if you have good training.¡±
A sword scattering a silver-white light emerged from behind Kyrgios.
[Pure White Paradox.] It was a sword made by the masters of Peace Land, Kyrgios¡¯s home for decades. It was Kyrgios¡¯ weapon that travelled with him through numerous battlefields and had the same performance as a star relic. The fact that Kyrgios, who rarely used a weapon, pulled out the sword proved that the opponents weren¡¯t easy.
Two figures were flying at the head of the returnees. There was a middle-aged man in a gorgeous red uniform and one in a ck and white uniform engraved with the symbol of his school.
¡°Strange. I heard the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was here.¡±
¡±Are you mistaken again?¡±
¡°find the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint!¡±
The voices of the middle-aged men were profound. Kyrgios shot into the air. The Murim people were surprised by the ¡®status¡¯ that filled the air and instantly stopped.
Kyrgios opened his mouth. ¡°You are the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon.¡±
¡°Who are you?¡±
Kyrgios raised his aura instead of replying. Lightning poured from dark clouds and part of it nestled in Kyrgios. Kim Dokja¡¯s gship technique, Electrification was now emitting a sublime aura from the founder.
¡°You can¡¯t know my name.¡± The astonished returnees stepped back. ¡°You will die soon.¡±
The white-blue lightning filled the sky. Anyone from Murim would know the name.
¡°Is this Paradox Baekchung?¡±
Kyrgios¡¯ sword pointed towards the sky. As the probability ran wild, Kyrgios¡¯s status shed with the returnees. There was a vast wind pressure and Jang Hayoung and the Breaking the Sky Master were pushed back.
The centre of the sky contained the Heavenly Demon, the Blood Demon and Kyrgios. Every time an attack poured out, the space screamed like thunder. It was hard to believe that this fierce battle was a confrontation between humans.
Jang Hayoung was ecstatic as he watched the battle. ¡®Someday, I can be strong like this.¡¯
-Jang Hayoung! Protect the industrialplex with the Breaking the Sky Master¡¯s group!
Jang Hayoung came to his senses due to Kyrgios¡¯ sound transmission and moved with the Breaking the Sky Master.
With the exception of the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon, there were approximately 1,000 returnees remaining. Among them were the 10 masters of Murim.
A small storm raged around Jang Hayoung¡¯s fist. ¡°Kuaaack!¡±
Some returnees were caught in the wind pressure but dozens of returnees used their bodies as the jumping point. There were too many of them.
¡°Evacuate towards the industrialplex!¡±
Their side contained Jang Hayoung, the Breaking the Sky Master, Flying Fox and other returnees. Apart from Kyrgios, only a few incarnations were able to confront the transcendent returnees.
In the northern part of the industrialplex, a huge fortress approached while firing.
Jang Hayoung¡¯s face became rosy. ¡°Gong Pildu!¡±
Magic shells poured out from the fortress towards the returnees and victims instantly appeared. However, the returnees soon maintained their ranks and defended against the shells.
¡°Smash that fortress!¡±
Gong Pildu¡¯s Armed Fortress was suitable for defense, not attack. 200 returnees gathered and proceeded to Gong Pildu¡¯s Armed Fortress. The number of returnees remaining was 400. The returnees crossed the walls and entered the interior of the industrialplex.
Then as if waiting, the wanderer forces dedicated to defending the industrialplex moved. Cho Youngran used the power of the First Spiritualist of Joseon. Lee Boksoon fired her sniper rifle. Jeon Woochi¡¯s techniques filled the air and bullets pierced the returnees.
¡°Kuaack!¡±
¡°The shaman! Kill the shaman!¡±
The innocent people were killed like fish caught in the waves. Cho Youngran and Lee Boksoon started to be injured by the bombardment of the returnees. The wanderers were pushed back and some returnees shouted. ¡°Listen up, leader of the Seoul area! If you give uour life, no more meaningless sacrifices will ur!¡±
The key to the Returnees War was to defeat the leader of each force. The core goal of the scenario that the returnees who invaded Seoul received was to defeat the leader.
A momentter, a glowing light emerged from inside the industrialplex. Cho Youngran¡¯splexion paled as she kept defending.
¡°No! Sookyung!¡± The moment Lee Boksoon cried out, a woman emerged from the industrialplex.
The Wanderer King dered, ¡°I am the leader of Seoul.¡±
In one hand, she was holding the broken Eight Beaded Bell and in the other, she as holding a bronze dagger. A few returnees staggered back from the aura that emerged from the Heavenly Symbols she was holding.
¡°There is no need to be afraid. She can¡¯t use the power of her sponsor!¡±
The returnees shouted and Lee Sookyung smiled bitterly. In the battle of Dark Castle, most of the Founder¡¯s Mother¡¯s status was destroyed. Even so, she had a way to fight.
¡¸ Establish the centre and be the wind. ¡¹
The bronze sword Lee Sookyung was holding gave off a bright light.
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is surprised by the actions of incarnation ¡®Lee
Sookyung¡¯.]
[The constetion ¡®One-eyed Maitreya¡¯ is warning that it is dangerous!]
[The constetion, ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil...]
All the constetions of the Korean Penins warned her at the same time. She knew. She was already familiar with what would happen if she did this.
Lee Sookyung nced around the industrialplex. The image of the sleeping Yoo Sangah blurred the window.
She thought of the children going to Olympus for Yoo Sangah¡¯s sake. The upright soldier Lee Hyunsung, Jung Heewon who didn¡¯t tolerate injustice, the fierce but brave Lee Gilyoung, the calm and gifted Shin Yoosung. She also remembered Lee Seolhwa, who was warm-hearted and took good care of the party members and Han Sooyoung, who often grumbled but had a keen sense of humour.
Then she was reminded of her child. The time for that child to live. The story she long dreamt about. The time she couldn¡¯t protect him.
The light from the bronze sword was as bright as the sun. Lee Sookyung muttered very quietly. ¡°Emperor of Heaven and the Wind God.¡±
There was a constetion associated with each of the star relics of the Korean Penins. The bronze sword Lee Sookyung was holding right now was one of the Heavenly Symbols.
[The constetion ¡®Wind God of Heaven¡¯ is looking down at Incarnation ¡®Lee Sookyung¡¯.]
Wind God of Heaven. One of the three constetions who held the highest rank in Hongik. Now Lee Sookyung was making herst bet with her life as coteral. ¡°Come, Pungbaek!¡±
The sky opened and a blue aura roared around the dagger. The returnees blinked at the blinding light. Lee Sookyung looked at the sky and the sky looked down at Lee Sookyung.
¡®Just a moment. Please lend me your strength.¡¯
Then the sky gave a warning. Blue-ck lightning struck and Lee Sookyung responded to the warning.
¡®It doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯
The next moment, the sparks of probability appeared around Lee Sookyung¡¯s body. Her bones were crumbling and her skin was burnt. Amidst this pain, the hand holding the sword became heavy.
The force of wind that a human couldn¡¯t endure was nestled in her right hand. This was one of the strongest constetions on the Korean Penins, the power of Pungbaek.
From left to right, Lee Sookyung swung her sword. Then the space was split apart. It was as if the world was split in half from the beginning. Everything around her was torn by the absolute wind pressure that followed the trajectory of her sword.
¡°Wh, at...?¡±
10, 20, 30... the number of returnees who died quickly surpassed 100. All the returnees who crossed the walls were falling through the air with their waist cut. Their faces showed they didn¡¯t understand the source of their death.
Lee Sookyung held her trembling right hand and took shaky breaths. In one blow, most of the returnees were destroyed. Of course, it wasn¡¯t everyone.
There were returnees who noticed the danger in the short time and moved out of range. They were masters from the Third Murim and Fourth Murim.
¡°It¡¯s over. Kill her.¡±
Lee Sookyung nced at the masters rushing towards her and smiled. She did everything she could. Dozens of swords rushed towards her as she fell through the air. There was the sound of flesh being pierced and Lee Sookyung sensed death.
However, she didn¡¯t feel the pain of being stabbed. She opened her eyes to see someone¡¯s back. It was a very wide back.
Chapter 327 - Gigantomachia (7)
Chapter 327: Episode 61 ¨C Gigantomachia (7)
¡°Lee Sookyung.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was there. The image that followed was the masters¡¯ necks being pierced. The lifeless bodies crashed to the ground.
¡°...I didn¡¯t expect to get your help.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk ran with a nk expression and Lee Sookyung on his back. Lee Sookyung didn¡¯t say anything but she could see where he was heading. Perhaps he was looking for the medical staff of this industrialplex.
¡°Thank you.¡±
The words spilled out and Yoo Jonghyuk replied indifferently. ¡°Don¡¯t say anything that isn¡¯t in your heart. I know you dislike me.¡±
¡°Of course, I dislike you. I hate you. You are the person who took my role.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what that means.¡±
In Lee Sookyung¡¯s head, time flowed slowly. She heard that it should move quickly... then why? Was it because it was hard and difficult?
¡°...I¡¯ve known you from a long time ago. That kid often talked about you. He came to visit his mother in prison and only talked about this.¡±
-This time, he challenged the 12 gods of Olympus.
The young face of Kim Dokja as he talked happily. Many thoughts had floated on this child¡¯s face.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke like he felt Lee Sookyung¡¯s heart rate slowing down. ¡°Lee Sookyung. Don¡¯t let go of your mind.¡±
Lee Sookyung barely maintained her blurring consciousness. She continued to be drowsy on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s back. ¡°In any case, at least once... I wanted to thank you.¡±
¡°You are saying things that I can¡¯t understand.¡±
The back that was now carrying her had actually carried her son. The middle school Kim Dokja and the high school Kim Dokja. He was the support. He raised the child she couldn¡¯t carry. He made the child live.
-I thought that I wanted to be like him.
However, she was the one who wanted to be the owner of that back, more than anyone else.
-Then... what did Yoo Jonghyuk do next? Are you curious Mother?
Her son¡¯s words continued throughout the visitation that onlysted 10 minutes.
-Yes, I¡¯m curious.
The two people spoke and listened with a wall between them. A story with adventure and life. The story of someone who wasn¡¯t rted to her or her son, but who lived hard. It was like talking through a wall.
The two people talked about Ways of Survival during those days. The fictional story was their only possession. Now that story had be reality and was carrying her.
Lee Sookyung murmured in a soft voice, ¡°I was finally living my life...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t tell me.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s back was wet with blood. Lee Sookyung¡¯splexion was gradually fading. There were still sparks of probability around her. In her damaged flesh, the stories she had umted were evaporating. In order to conceal it, Lee Sookyung purposefully asked about things she knew. ¡°Where are your parents?¡±
¡°I was told they died in an ident.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t sound sad.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t grieve what I can¡¯t remember.¡±
Lee Sookyung knew. He didn¡¯t remember because it wasn¡¯t in the original novel. Everything about Yoo Jonghyuk was just a character setting. From the beginning, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s parents didn¡¯t exist.
Lee Sookyung hesitated for a moment. ¡°Yes, humans are like this. Do you think I remember all my childhood?¡±
¡°...Is it memory loss?¡±
¡°Everyone gets memory loss. Little by little, we will forget our memories and one day, we will forget everything.¡±
Lee Sookyung knew that her words wouldn¡¯t reach Yoo Jonghyuk. A regressor who had lived three rounds. For an immortal man who would live an unknown amount of time in the future, her words would be lighter than the weight of dust.
Yoo Jonghyuk spoke, ¡°Sometimes I remember things. I remember someone watching me.¡±
It was the first time Lee Sookyung heard this story and she wondered, ¡°...Who was watching you?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know either. There was a gaze watching me for a long time. There were times when I often felt the gaze.¡±
After Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words were over, Lee Sookyung didn¡¯t talk for a long time. There was a long silence before Lee Sookyungid her hands on Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s head and spoke in a gentle voice.
¡°Maybe it was your parents.¡±
Lee Sookyung stared up at the sky. Numerous constetions were watching them. Her flesh was breaking. She felt the stories gradually pouring away from her body. Her vision was blurry as Lee Sookyung kept trying to watch the sky. It was as if she was trying to find a star somewhere.
¡°Lee Sookyung?¡±
Lee Sookyung¡¯s answer was no longer heard.
***
There was a bloody wind blowing in the theme park where the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint appeared. Since Achilles¡¯ head was blown off as a demonstration, several constetions rushed forward in session but received the same fate.
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s fists were covered in red. [You want to recreate Gigantomachia with just this?]
The scared participants hesitated when the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s voice rang out.
Han Sooyoung and the party members watched the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint from the fortress they were hiding behind. Lee Jihye spoke, ¡°We don¡¯t need to help.¡±
¡°Can¡¯t we just hide here?¡± Lee Gilyoung added.
Han Sooyoung murmured while chewing on candy. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make sense. Can a giant be so strong in Gigantomachia?¡±
It was an indisputable fact that the giants were strong. However, this was Gigantomachia, a scenario where the giants were defeated. In this scenario, the giants weren¡¯t able to use their strength due to the influence of Stage Transformation. Furthermore, against a hero like Achilles...
[...I underestimated this half-breed giant.]
The forgotten Achilles, whose head had been destroyed, was waking up.
[The constetion ¡®Troy¡¯s Sorrow¡¯ has invoked the Immortal Hero stigma!]
His crushed head was restored and the blood pouring from his body stopped.
¡¸ Achilles won¡¯t die until Achilles¡¯ heel is cut. ¡¹
This was the strongest skill of the hero Achilles. The regenerated Achilles wasrger than before. His height reached over three metres and the surrounding incarnations muttered. ¡°...Giant?¡±
Achilles¡¯ body became as big as a giant. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint asked, [Are you a giant half-breed?]
[...]
[How funny. A person who inherited the blood of the giants became a servant of Olympus?]
[I¡¯m not a giant. I am Olympus¡¯ hero, Achilles!]
Han Sooyoung watched the collision between the two giants and understood why Stage Transformation hadn¡¯t activated yet. Achilles was a hero of Olympus but he wasn¡¯t a source of Gigantomachia in the past. Moreover, he was a mixed-blood giant like the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
A shockwave created by the sh between giants shook the theme park. Achilles touched the palm of his hand like he couldn¡¯t believe it.
[Why does a half-breed have this power? I¡¯ve never heard of your name. What type of story do you have...?!]
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint stared at the sky without speaking.
[My distance blood is said to have been castrated by the sky.]
She was transcendent. Unlike other constetions, she only had a few stories because she pursued the highest strength. There was only one path she had ever walked.
[The story ¡®Path of Breaking the Sky¡¯ has started!]
It was the power to break the sky, which gave her the name of Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. An indirect message was heard as stories flowed steadily from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[The power to break through the sky is favoured by the ¡®Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.¡¯]
[The strength of Breaking the Sky is opened!]
Achilles was astonished by the message.
[A giant who breaks the sky? Don¡¯t tell me...!]
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint opened her mouth.
[You will have the same fate.]
There was a terrible aura flowing from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s body. It happened the moment the faltering incarnations stepped back. Arge horn sound was heard from somewhere.
[The neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ is in full swing!]
In the distance, a ship wasing from the sea. It was Argo.
[The giant story ¡®Fellowship of Heroes¡¯ has started!]
The incarnations discovered a giant ship moving across the water and screamed. It was because they knew who was riding the ship.
¡°The heroes! The real heroes areing!¡±
¡°The constetions of Gigantomachia!¡±
The real heroes who fought in Gigantomachia, unlike Achilles, wereing. There were also constetions flying in the sky.
The narrative-grade constetions of Olympus. It was a power that was notparable to Achilles.
[The Star Stream has announced the opening of the new stage.]
Finally, the Stage Transformation was going to begin. The momentum of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint started to rise sharply. Achilles regained his courage andughed at the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[Hahaha! Young giant. You don¡¯t know the cmity you have brought! You...!]
However, he couldn¡¯t finish his words. It was because someone popped out from another portal and destroyed his head. Achilles copsed to the ground after his head was burst twice in a row. The man knocked down Achilles and didn¡¯t hesitate to cut his heel.
[The constetion ¡®Troy¡¯s Sorrow¡¯ has died in pain.]
Achilles¡¯ giant body dispersed. Han Sooyoungughed as she saw the white coat blowing in the wind. ¡°Shit, you should¡¯vee quicker.¡±
Kim Dokja had returned from the Underworld. Kim Dokja sighed lightly and looked at the party members. ¡°Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. Are you ready?¡±
Kung! Kung! Kung! Kung!
Heavy footsteps were heard from somewhere. There was a deafening roar from the ground as countless mountains appeared in the sky. The giant mountains sprang up and destroyed the theme park.
On the edge of a mountain, Kim Dokja dered, ¡°Now, let¡¯s start the real Gigantomachia.¡±
Chapter 328 - God’s Enemy (1)
Chapter 328: Episode 62 ¨C God¡¯s Enemy (1)
[The Star Stream has confirmed the possibility of a new giant story.]
[The interpretation of old stories is possible!]
[The characters who appeared in the myth are reconstructed!]
[Based on past myths, Stage Transformation will ur.]
After seeing the indirect messages popping up one after another, the great dokkaebi ¡®Noksu¡¯ was silent. Originally, the 60th scenario Gigantomachia wasn¡¯t ryed by the dokkaebis. They only had channel and airing rights while the actual progress was done by the sub-heroes of Olympus.
However, the situation had changed. There was an explosion on the screen and roars as the giants emerged from the ground.
-Where the hell did the giants appear from?
-The Underworld! What is going on in the Underworld?
-Shouldn¡¯t they be trapped in the underground prison?
Now Gigantomachia was apletely different story.
¡°...Who will ry it?¡± Noksu turned and asked two advanced dokkaebi.
¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±
¡°No, I will.¡±
They were the director of the Korean branch Bihyung and the director of the Japanese branch Dokgak. The two gazes met and currents filled the air.
Dokgak eximed, ¡°Great Dokkaebi! Bihyung can¡¯t do this. He has been broadcasting Incarnation Kim Dokja for too long.¡±
¡°I¡¯m familiar with him so I can broadcast it better. In addition, since when will you still call him incarnation? He is a constetion.¡±
On the screen, the incarnations of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company were seen fighting the heroes. Their appearance of taking precise formations and releasing their status was reminiscent of glittering constetions centred on a single star.
The sound of chewing popcorn was heard from somewhere. [Very noisy. Do dokkaebis normally talk like this?]
The red wine in the ss was sucked into the man¡¯s mouth. Then one of the heroes of Olympus died on the screen.
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is cheering!]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ has sponsored 3,000 cons to the ¡®Demon King of Salvation.¡¯]
At this absurd sight, Bihyung asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a member of Olympus? Can you be sitting her leisurely?¡±
[What do you know? I¡¯m not really close to them. In addition, aren¡¯t you the ones who said I can take a tour today?]
Like any cheerer on the street, Dionysus had a g with his team on his back. The g was covered with ¡®Olympus is doomed.¡¯
Dokgak¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°The 12 Gods of Olympus would¡¯ve gathered at Olympus Temple by now.¡±
[I want Kim Dokja to win.]
¡°Huh?¡±
The dokkaebis were in an uproar from the remark that was like a bomb. Dionysusughed heartily. [What are you so surprised? I can support anyone. In addition, you shouldn¡¯t react like this. Don¡¯t you only need a ¡®fun¡¯ scenario?]
It was true, making the dokkaebis frowned at the words. Dokgak opened his mouth. ¡°The thing you are expecting won¡¯t happen.¡±
Dokgak¡¯s words caused Bihyung¡¯s expression to darken. In fact, Kim Dokja¡¯s Company fighting against Olympus was ridiculous. Breaking a rock with a quail egg had more of a chance than this. In addition, it ovepped with the Earth side.
Bihyung watched Gigantomachia with one eye while the other saw Yoo Jonghyuk running with Lee Sookyung on his back. At this moment, Dionysus opened his mouth again. [It is unknown if the story is a tragedy or aedy until this is over.]
¡°...Isn¡¯t it obvious? Gigantomachia is such a scenario.¡±
[Gigantomachia is just one of the many giant stories that Olympus had. You might belittle them as long as they¡¯re not there but you can¡¯t afford to overlook the lucky punch.]
¡°The probability of it happening is close to 0%.¡±
[That probability will happen. Isn¡¯t that why I¡¯m here?]
Dionysus watched the screen while shoving popcorn in his mouth.
[The key is... how to make the ¡®dizzy fish¡¯e out...]
***
More than half of the 12 Gods had gathered. They were in the form of symbolic objects that represented themselves. The first one to speak was a trident.
[The distinguished Lightning Throne didn¡¯te this time and... Dionysus is missing?]
[That¡¯s correct.]
The waters around the temple boiled up like the sea was furious. Some symbolic bodies looked at each other nervously and the trident kept speaking,
[Then why did the giants wake up again?]
[It is a group that broke out from Tartarus.]
The one who answered with a constetion with the symbol of a pair of swords. The trident asked again, [Hades let them go?]
[It was said they performed the myth ritual.]
[The myth ritual? They must¡¯ve sacrificed a great probability... did ¡®Everybody¡¯s Mother¡¯ wake up?]
[No. It was the three Hecatoncheires brothers who moved.]
[All three of them went out?]
[It is Briareus alone. It is said he lost half his Hundred-Handers.]
[They were probablycking probability for all three to leave.]
It was silent. Then the zing sun spoke, [We can¡¯t sit idly by. Kim Dokja¡¯s Company? The small neb is provoking us.]
[We need to severely punish them.]
Then a winged shoe with numerous data windows around it spoke. [It won¡¯t be easy. Like the three chiefs, the master of the neb has received the indication of the end ¡ö¡ö hint.]
[...Is that true Hermes?]
[Yes.]
[Huh, it is funny. The master of the neb is building a ¡®story¡¯ on the same level as the Lightning Throne?]
There was a stir in the group. ¡®A Single Story¡¯ was a sensitive topic for the 12 Gods. The constetions were all seeking the ultimate story. There was no one who wasn¡¯t interested in the hint of the end. It was the trident who arranged things. [Quiet. Everyone is busy and there is a lot of work to do. We will start the vote.]
Everyone in the ce fell silent. The reason why so many gods gathered was due to the 60th scenario.
[In response to the provocation of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company, I, as chairman, am calling for the deployment of the story weapon.]
Then the voting began.
[The constetion ¡®God of Marriage and the Home¡¯ deres abstention.]
[The constetion ¡®Organizer of Agriculture and the Seasons¡¯ deres neutrality.]
[The constetion ¡®Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom¡¯ deres that we must withdraw the justice the humans don¡¯t know about.]
[The constetion ¡®Atrocious War God¡¯ wants to fight the giants.]
[The constetion ¡®Almighty Sun¡¯ wants to burn a petty neb.]
[The constetion ¡®Volcanic cksmith¡¯ wants to make a weapon to fight against the giants.]
[The constetion ¡®Pure Hunter of the Moonlight¡¯ rejects a meaningless war.]
[The constetion ¡®Goddess of Love and Beauty¡¯ says she will abstain from this superficial vote.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of the Skywalk¡¯ says the issue shouldn¡¯t be approached so simple. The big data should be examined, the nature of the case reviewed and the patterns of the enraged giants...]
[Hermes, just say it.]
[The constetion ¡®Master of the Skywalk¡¯ is against the war.]
Several constetions were surprised by the deration.
[You are a coward, Hermes.]
[He always goes against the will of the temple...]
Hermes didn¡¯t say anything. Meanwhile, the result of the votes came up.
[Agree: 4 votes]
[Disagree: 2 votes]
[Abstain: 3 votes]
There was only onest vote left. Of course, it was the chairman¡¯s vote.
[The constetion ¡®Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea¡¯ is demanded the release of the weapon.]
[Agree: 5 votes]
[All seats have voted apart from the non-attendees.]
The gods nodded. [Apart from those who abstained, more than half are in favour and I am dering the release of the ¡®story weapon.¡¯]
A hammering sound rang through the temple while an ominous foam rose from the sea. The direction of the foam was the theme park Gigantomachia where the giants were gathering.
[We need amander to lead the weapons. The great-grade constetions will go together but they can¡¯t deal with the giants alone.]
[Who will you send?]
[I will approve some gods to move. You will be in an incarnation body and I hope you assist them without hesitation.]
Then somebody raised their hand.
[I will go.]
***
After Achilles¡¯ incarnation body copsed, the incarnations fell into panic. Several incarnations fled when the saw the mountains of giants rising everywhere. In the chaos, several incarnations shouted, ¡°Why are you doing this?¡±
¡°You! What the hell is this?¡±
The astonishment and resentment of the incarnations were soon directed towards me. I asked in return, ¡°Why are you doing what? What did I do?¡±
¡°We missed the chance to get a star relic because of you!¡±
¡°It was a chance to get a story about catching a giant!¡±
¡°I was going to catch the eyes of the 12 Gods and join Olympus!¡± Now because of you...!¡±
Gigantomachia. With a participation fee of 100,000 coins, they got a chance to gain hidden pieces and if lucky, a piece of a giant story. That opportunity was now disappearing into a handful of dust in front of their eyes.
I watched the incarnations and wondered, ¡°Do you really think that Gigantomachia is such a naive event?¡±
Perhaps they were right. There actually were incarnations and constetions who were strengthened through Gigantomachia. In addition, many of them likely became members of Olympus.
¡°Let¡¯s say you join Olympus. Then what will you do?¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°In a neb already upied by the 12 Gods and the ancient constetions, what can you do?¡±
Through Ways of Survival, I saw the words of countless incarnations who had joined Olympus. The incarnations were bound by unusual contracts and collected crude stories as they were used in the long-term for various scenarios.
¡°All the incarnations ofst year¡¯s Gigantomachia climbed to the top scenario! They...!¡±
¡°Are you talking about them?¡±
The people turned their heads in the direction I pointed. There were countless ships crossing the sea, including Argo. Among the ships¡¯ passengers, the participants ofst year¡¯s Gigantomachia were also seen.
¡°W-Why are they...?¡±
Gigantomachia. The myths recorded it as a fight between the giants and the gods and heroes of Olympus. However, most incarnations weren¡¯t aware of how the heroes who participated in the war were made.
[Many constetions are excited!]
The gods were afraid of the giants and mass-produced heroes from humans for Gigantomachia.
[The constetions of the neb ¡®Olympus¡¯ are showing hostility towards you.]
Even after the end of Gigantomachia, it was unknown how many incarnations were being mobilized for this re-enactment war. It was a scenario that ate and produced itself, like a snake biting its own tail.
[A number of constetions have entered the channel!]
[Arge number of constetions can¡¯t hide their excitement for Gigantomachia!]
The constetions who hated the scenario, reached the end of the scenario and enjoyed the scenario. They desperately climbed thedder of the scenario, mocked the incarnations and kicked thedder towards the top. The victim of the tragedy became the subject of the tragedy.
I dered towards the horror-stricken incarnations. ¡°I want to break the scenario.¡±
Chapter 329 - God’s Enemy (2)
Chapter 329: Episode 62 ¨C God¡¯s Enemy (2)
¡°Break the scenario? What are you saying...¡±
The people made expressions that showed they didn¡¯t understand. It was natural. There was no way they thought they could break the scenario. The scenario had be a condition of life for them.
[You are a splendid constetion! Do you think you can contend with Olympus?]
I turned after hearing someone¡¯s voice and saw a familiar big man. He had a bushy beard and held a long spear. It was a constetion I knew. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
[Kuahahat! If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to ask for your name.]
¡°I am the Demon King of Salvation.¡±
Demon King of Salvation. Some of the incarnations and constetions who heard my modifier immediately responded. ¡°Is it the Demon King¡¯s Selection...?¡±
¡°T-The demon king who knocked down Surya!¡±
The man with the big spear came forward and said. [I am called ¡®Protector of Changban.]
¡°Protector of Changban! It is Zhang Fei!¡±
Zhang Fei struck his massive chest. [I want to help you. I didn¡¯t want to y this childish game but now I¡¯m getting heated up!]
He threw away the items harvested from Olympus¡¯ theme park. It was the head of a young hydra, a golden apple and fake golden fleece.
I nodded and said, ¡°Good.¡±
If Zhang Fei had this equipment, he would definitely be a big power. However, it wasn¡¯t enough.
[The hidden scenario ¡®Myth Subversion¡¯ has affected the main scenario.]
I nced around at the other incarnations and constetions and stated, ¡°Now, choose.¡±
The incarnations looked between me, the terrible giants and Argo crossing the sea.
¡°Do you want to be stuck to the back of a giant neb and be their limbs for a lifetime? Or do you want to be the master of a new ¡®myth¡¯ along with the mythical giants.¡±
[The contents of the ¡®main scenario¡¯ that you and your neb received will be updated!]
+
[Main scenario #60 ¨D Gigantomachia]
Category: Main
Difficulty level: SSS+
Clear Conditions: The ancient giants havee to the Gigantomachia battlefield. You can join the battlefield by taking the side of the ¡®giants¡¯ or ¡®Olympus.¡¯ Cut the neck of the enemy leader and dere the advent of a new myth to the Star Stream!
Time Limit: ¨D
Compensation: A new giant story, ???
Failure: Partial disappearance of the ¡®giant story.¡¯
* If the enemy¡¯s incarnation body is destroyed, the corresponding scenario will end.
* Each faction has two leaders.
+
The moment the scenario updated, a green arrow shed over my head.
[You already belong to a force.]
[You are one of the two leaders in charge of the ¡®giant¡¯ forces.]
The incarnations around me were silent. They had probably received the updated scenario.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is delighting in this spectacle.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is delighting in your suffering.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is wondering about your strategy.]
Then the bombardment started from the sea. Han Sooyoung¡¯s voice was heard behind me. ¡°Kim Dokja! How long are you going to stand there? Do you want to just watch?¡±
I drew my sword and descended from the shoulder of a giant. ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡±
¡°How are we going to fight? Our power is overwhelminglycking.¡±
Han Sooyoung¡¯s words were true. I wouldn¡¯t say it was ¡®overwhelming¡¯ but less than 10 giants had passed through the portal with me. Furthermore, Briareus of the Hecatoncheires was a core power but he hadn¡¯t yet appeared on the field. Perhaps he was the other ¡®leader.¡¯
[Kill the giants.]
A true voice emerged from somewhere and the human heroes leapt from Argo to attack the giants.
[The Stage Transformation of Gigantomachia is urring.]
There were sparks and the surroundings changed. The ancient battlefield. It was thend of massacre where the first Gigantomachia urred.
The constetions of Olympus came flying through the air. Most of them were great-grade but once they joined forces and attacked the giants, the situation suddenly tilted.
¡¸ The supreme giants will kneel down to thebined forces of the heroes and gods. ¡¹
The giants were kneeling down one by one before thebined efforts of the constetions and heroes. My group tried to help the giants but we were blocked by the shellsing from the sea.
Lee Hyunsung eximed, ¡°I think we have to do something about that story weapon!¡±
The story weapon, Argo. The ship of the Olympus heroes wasunching shells that contained enormous magic power. It was difficult to even approach the sea. Of course, it was expected. ¡°Have you forgotten? Who we have.¡±
I stared at a girl standing among the party members. ¡°...Me?¡±
To be exact, I looked at the constetion behind Lee Jihye.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at you.]
Lee Jihye shouted, ¡°...Are you crazy? You want me to deal with that?¡±
Olympus¡¯ Argo was much bigger than Lee Jihye¡¯s Ghost Fleet. It was the size difference between a patrol ship and a destroyer. It was natural to think it was impossible.
¡°You can do it.¡±
I knew. Lee Jihye could indeed do it.
¡°You can definitely do it if you are with your sponsor.¡±
As the constetions of the Korean Penins watched, the Maritime War God was looking up at the sky. A constetion who had been confined to the Korean Penins for a long time. He had to carry the name of the country on his back. The constetion who had to remain a symbol of the nation he dedicated his life to.
One day, Goryeo¡¯s First Sword had said: Among the great-grade constetions of the Korean Penins, only the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare canpete with me.
Then why did Yi Sunsin remain at the ¡®great-grade¡¯ despite Goryeo¡¯s First Sword be a narrative-grade constetion?
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is looking at his fellow people.]
It was because he refused to be narrative-grade.
[The constetion ¡®Seo Ae Il Pil¡¯ wants ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ to fight for himself.]
it was the moment when a great-grade constetion became narrative-grade. The moment when a single constetion left his nation and moved towards his own path. A dazzling radiance emerged from Lee Jihye¡¯s body.
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ is opening his status.]
The Duke of Loyalty and Warfare released himself, as if revealing everything about him.
[The Star Stream is staring at the constetion ¡®Maritime War God.¡¯]
The sky of the scenario looked down at the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare. Like a seasoned actor who had been hiding his capabilities, the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare under the sky was magnificent and bold. It was a spirit that didn¡¯t retreat or feel fear.
[Many constetions are surprised by the status of the Maritime War God!]
After a long time, the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare was finally leaving the Korean Penins.
[The Star Stream has epted the promotion of Maritime War God.]
[The constetion ¡®Maritime War God¡¯ has be a narrative-grade constetion.]
¡°Jihye.¡± The opening of Gigantomachia started with the promotion of the sea admiral. ¡°Smash it all.¡±
Lee Jihye was surrounded by the spirit of the Maritime War God and raised her sword.
[The character ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ has activated the stigma ¡®Ghost Fleet Lv. 10!]
[The status of the sponsor has risen and the destructive power of the Ghost Fleet is rising rapidly!]
12 ships appeared at the shoreline. The ships had already grown to the size of a destroyer.
¡¸ Those who seek death shall live. Those who seek life shall die. ¡¹
The cannons of the 12 ships fired simultaneously. The number of enemy shells that never ceased firing slowly started to change. The front of Argo was crumbling. The number of shells dropped sharply and there was the sound of the hull exploding.
The solid Argo was shaking.
We equipped ourselves to defend against the shells and moved our feet. We cut down the Olympians running towards the giants and moved forward. Maybe they thought this couldn¡¯t continue anymore and the heroes of Argo came out.
[Everybodynd!]
The intense true voice was heard from Argo¡¯s expedition leader, Wind Expedition King. Argo¡¯ expedition leader, Jason.
[The giants can¡¯t stop humanity and gods from joining together! The winner of this war is already fixed!]
The army poured out along with this shout. I took the lead while speaking to the faltering group members. ¡°There is no need to be afraid. We aren¡¯t giants.¡±
We weren¡¯t giants. In other words, Stage Transformation didn¡¯t have an influence on us.
Therge Jason came this way and a man on our side ran towards him.
¡°I¡¯ll take this big one.¡±
It was Lee Hyunsung. Lee Hyunsung collided with Jason with a tremendous amount of force and bellowed as they had a battle of strength.
¡°Haaaaaap!¡±
Jason was surprised by the tremendous strength that forced him to be pushed back. In thetter half of Ways of Survival, Lee Hyunsung wasn¡¯t pushed by an incarnation or constetion in strength.
[Coordination with the constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ has increased!]
Lee Hyunsung¡¯s upper body was covered by a shell of steel. The level of Lee Hyunsung¡¯s Steel Transformation was extremely high. His body wasn¡¯t touched at all despite being punched by a hero.
In the sky, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were flying on the dragon. Shin Yoosung avoided the heroes with dragon ying stories and fired a breath. The sea was instantly poisoned and the enemies were cut by Lee Gilyoung¡¯s insect kings. Lee Seolhwa used poison against the heroes while Han Sooyoung used the ck mes and blocked the constetions of Olympus.
Now they all had the ability to deal with great-grade constetions. The 10 or so neb members were fighting against the constetions of a mighty neb.
The incarnations observing the situation in the back were shocked.
¡°What? Olympus seems to be pushed...?¡±
¡°By that small neb?¡±
This was the effect I had intended. The battle was still in its infancy. I had to appeal with strength to bring in reinforcements. However, the god of victory still wasn¡¯t on our side.
...It finally appeared. I looked at the 20 metres high monster filling my field of view. It wasn¡¯t a human, no matter how I looked.
Gleaming golden armour. A cloak made of lion leather wrapped around it. Those who knew Greek mythology couldn¡¯t not know his name.
Some of the giants shrieked at the majestic appearance. [Hercules...!]
The hero¡¯s ¡®status¡¯, that even the 12 Gods were reluctant to go against, dominated the entire battlefield.
I looked up as a dark shadow covered the surrounding area and smiled bitterly. If I wanted to deal with this monster then I had to call a monster as well.
It took me so long to get here. Naturally, I wouldn¡¯t withdraw from here.
¡°The sword designed to cut a sleeping giant.¡± I quietly stated. ¡°Now, descend upon this ce.¡±
Come, Kim Namwoon.
Chapter 330 - God’s Enemy (3)
Chapter 330: Episode 62 ¨C God¡¯s Enemy (3)
A swirling portal appeared in the sky.
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is looking at you.]
Pluto¡¯s license was obtained from Hades. I could use Pluto freely in the limited time Gigantomachia was held.
[Hahahat, grasshopper man! You memorized the starting change despite not liking it?]
It was Kim Namwoon¡¯s mischievous voice. However, the giant soldier didn¡¯t appear immediately. There was only the darkness of the abyss visible beyond the swirling portal.
[By the way, can you wait 10 minutes? The summoning circle is damaged and I can¡¯t go straight away. The giants stomped their feet too many times...]
...Dammit. Heracles was emitting a white light and looking my way with nk eyes. (TL: Small change from Hercules in thest chapter).
It couldn¡¯t be helped. I had to buy as much time as possible. I stepped forward and shouted, ¡°Heracles! Hero of the 12 Tasks!¡±
Heracles stared at me. The red arrow above Heracles¡¯ head was flickering.
[The constetion is a ¡®leader¡¯ of Olympus.]
As expected, he was one of the two leaders of Olympus. ording to the myths, Heracles was a man who killed the leader of the giants in Gigantomachia. Many constetions in Ways of Survival spoke about him.
¡¸ ¡°As long as Heracles is present, the winner of Gigantomachia won¡¯t change.¡± ¡¹
Numerous incarnations cheered when they saw Heracles.
¡°Ohhhhh!¡±
¡°Heracles! Heracles!¡±
Heracles, the hero of Olympus who left countless myths and folklore. Despite the many stories that resonated through the Star Stream, the number of constetions who actually saw Heracles could be counted on one hand.
He was a demigod, a mix between a god and human. He had a body of steel. The stories of the protector of Olympus circted around him.
[The story ¡®Man Who Strangled the Lion of Nemea¡¯ has begun.]
[The story ¡®Man Who Beat up the Giant Boar¡¯ has begun.]
[The story ¡®Man Who Overpowered a Cerberus with Bare Hands¡¯ has begun.]
.....
A tremendous amount of stories were shining in Heracles¡¯ body. At first nce, they seemed like crazy stories. Every one of them was at the very least, legendary grade stories. The scale of his ¡®giant stories¡¯ was iparable but I didn¡¯t start the game without knowing this.
¡°Once again, rumours in the Star Stream can¡¯t be believed.¡± I spoke in a provocative voice and Heracles¡¯ fist flew towards me.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Bookmark¡¯ is activated!]
Miniaturization and Electrification were activated. Heracles¡¯ fist passed over the top of my head and made a crater in the ground where I had been standing. I was swept back by the ignorant power but I didn¡¯t stop the provocation. ¡°Your punch is only this much. I don¡¯t know if this was enough to overpower the giants.
An angry cry seemed to burst from Heracles¡¯ body.
¡°I know many stories about you. You caught the lion of Nemea, killed a hydra, hunted a Stymphalian bird... they are incredible stories for ¡®one person¡¯ to aplish in a short period of time.¡±
Finally, a true voice burst out from Heracles¡¯ body. [That¡¯s right. That is me, Heracles!]
It was creepy hearing the voice. It might be equivalent to the 12 Gods but as a result, I was even more convinced.
¡°I heard a rumour that you were born for Gigantomachia. Your 12 tasks were trials for the victory of Gigantomachia.¡±
[Some constetions are interested in your words!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is worried about you.]
I didn¡¯t know how he took my words but Heracles banged on his chest. It was a spectacr sight to see a monster over 20 metres tall doing such a thing.
I kept speaking. ¡°Then one of my close colleagues heard your story and raised a question.¡±
I suppressed my boiling anger.
¡°The original Heracles was born after the ¡®Great Disaster Period¡¯. Then how could he participate in Gigantomachia which urred before that?¡± It was none other than Yoo Sangah who said this.
A stir urred among the constetions in the channel. Heracles¡¯ eyes gleamed angrily as his true voice rang out.
[Arrogant guy! Are you saying this Heracles is a lie?]
¡°Yes. Not just you but all of the 12 gods.¡± Heracles was silent at my answer. ¡°You made many false stories. You did this by manipting them.¡±
Heracles clearly looked embarrassed.
¡°I was surprised as well. If you kept talking and talking nonsense... it might someday be a ¡®real¡¯ story.¡±
One thousand years, two thousand years. The lies were repeated for tens of thousands of years.
¡°Once it bes a story, it can be said to originally exist. Isn¡¯t it amazing?¡±
[I am Heracles! Heracles of Gigantomachia and the symbol of Olympus!]
¡°Yes, perhaps in another world line. Somewhere in another world, you really killed Nemea¡¯s lion and the hydra.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is making an interested smile.]
I stared up at the sky as I spoke. I moved through the 1863rd round and remembered the countless rounds that Yoo Jonghyuk went through.
¡°However, that isn¡¯t the case in this world. In this world, a hero like Heracles doesn¡¯t exist.¡±
[You!]
¡°It is because Heracles is the name of the story weapon you created.¡±
Zeus, the god of lightning, had sowed his seed in preparation for Gigantomachia. As always, the ¡®seed¡¯ here was a metaphor. Zeus feared the giants and collected misceneous hero stories from across the world.
¡¸ Nemea¡¯s Lion. ¡¹
¡¸ Golden Horned Deer. ¡¹
¡¸ Bull of Crete. ¡¹
¡¸ Hydra of Nine Heads. ¡¹
.....
Stories were gathered and created a single character. This character was soon shaped into a story weapon. It was created to fight against the giants, using human souls as power. A weapon that brought the fear of massacre to numerous battlefields in the Star Stream.
¡°Giant soldier Heracles.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is surprised.]
[The constetion ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯ resents the atrocities of Olympus.]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ has a cold expression.]
[The constetion ¡®Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom¡¯ has shaky eyes.]
[Many constetions are shocked by the identity of Heracles!]
Perhaps most constetions were unaware of this story. It was natural. It was a truth that only I, who read Ways of Survival, and a few of the 12 Gods who made Heracles knew about.
[Many constetions have entered channel #BY-9158!]
The constetions in the channel suddenly increased and Biyoo cried out tearfully.
[Arge number of constetions are questioning the identity of Gigantomachia!]
The stage I wanted was finally going to bepleted.
[Heracles¡¯s mythical identity is shaken.]
[The identity of Heracles has influenced the reproduction of Stage Transformation.]
I stared at Heracles.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Reading Comprehension¡¯ is activated.]
[You have learnt about the other person¡¯sposition of stories due to the attribute effect!]
¡¸ He is a god of war born only for war. ¡¹
¡¸ Holding ¡®fear¡¯ in the right hand and ¡®anxiety¡¯ in the left hand. ¡¹
¡¸ He left discord every time he walked through a ¡®fight¡¯ in front of him. ¡¹
The stories of a constetion flowed through Heracles¡¯ giant soldier. They weren¡¯t Heracles¡¯ stories.
Heracles was a giant soldier. If so, there was someone riding him and I knew who that person was.
I cried out in my true voice. [Atrocious War God! Are you a coward who fights behind a giant soldier?]
A huge storm of wind blew around Heracles¡¯ body. The heroes and constetions fighting in a bloody manner around him were pushed back dozens of metres. I would¡¯ve flown to the horizon if I hadn¡¯t used Way of the Wind through Bookmark. Ares opened his mouth.
[In the past, many people who spoke bad words to Olympus didn¡¯t have a good fate. Oedipus and Prometheus as well. No one was an exception.]
Unlike the fierce outburst, Ares¡¯ true voice was unexpectedly calm.
[You have spoken more words than anyone I¡¯ve seen.]
It happened the moment Heracles aimed a fist at me. 10 minutes had passed. Pluto appeared in the sky and blocked Heracles¡¯ fist. I literally flew through the air and entered Pluto¡¯s cockpit.
[The Giant Soldier Pluto has confirmed your boarding.]
[The Giant Soldier Pluto has confirmed the master¡¯s constetion.]
[Your story will be assimted with Giant Soldier Pluto.]
I wasfortably embraced by the giant soldier¡¯s body. It was like soft muscles were wrapped around my body and I could see the vision of the ¡®giant soldier.¡¯ The power of the story weapon enveloped my entire body. This was one of the strongest story weapons of Ways of Survival, Giant Soldier Pluto.
[...Ugh! Eek! Eeek! I feel like there is a parasite in my stomach!]
As Kim Namwoon was making a fuss, Han Sooyoung spoke through Midday Tryst.
-Hey, can you do it? This is the giant soldier Heracles. You only have Kim Namwoon.
The rating of the giant soldier was determined by the quality of the ¡®soul¡¯ used as the material of the giant soldier. In addition, the soul used for the original Pluto wasn¡¯t Kim Namwoon. In other words, the current Pluto was much weaker than the original Pluto.
-Kim Namwoon is pretty good.
-The situation ispletely different from when you smashed the factory in the Demon World!
-Do you think I don¡¯t know that? He can do it.
-You¡¯re serious?
-Perhaps it would be impossible originally but... I learnt something from you.
-...From me?
I rushed towards Heracles. Heracles amplified his body volume to match Pluto and also headed
towards me. Four hands collided and the fierce wind pressure created a whirlpool in the sea. Ares was surprised when Pluto showed a strengthparable to Heracles.
[A giant soldier? Where did you get it?]
¡°I scammed it from someone, just like you.¡±
From the start of the Demon King Selection to the 1863rd round. I had been preparing for Gigantomachia. It was a chance for a new neb to establish a solid position and an opportunity to properly warn the big nebe.
¡¸ Kim Dokja read and read Ways of Survival. ¡¹
I changed the original novel and the future became uncertain. However, it was impossible for me to use Anticipation giarism like Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd round. It was possible for writers like Han Sooyoung to ¡®create¡¯ possible developments of the future.
To such a me, the 1863rd round Han Sooyoung stated:
-What are you talking about? You¡¯re a reader.
Reader. A person who read and appreciated the writer¡¯s words.
-Author, don¡¯t you think the research into the 12 Gods is a bitcking? Ares is more violent and looks down on humans more than depicted...
-Besides, the probability that the 12 Gods can use individually...
I was the one who made the story along with the writer. Heracles¡¯ fist mmed into Pluto¡¯s head and Pluto¡¯s fist struck Heracles¡¯ chest. In the ensuing melee, the feelings I felt while reading Ways of Survival flowed through me.
-I think the constetions who descended to the sub-scenario are too unfavourable...
I wasn¡¯t a writer. I couldn¡¯t do it like Han Sooyoung. However, more than anyone else, I was aware of the loopholes in the original work. Perhaps even more than the author who wrote the novel.
[The game ends here.]
The momentum around Heracles¡¯ body changed. The strength that shattered a lion¡¯s head was concentrated on both arms of the giant soldier and Heracles¡¯ star relic, Heracles¡¯ Club was summoned.
I had also prepared for the day when I would confront him.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has begun!]
[The status of a ¡®demon king¡¯ is released!]
The power of a demon king mixed with Electrification. On top of that, the giant story of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company was ced. I exploded all the stories I had hidden. The stories I released were amplified to an enormous level due to Pluto¡¯s buff effect.
Ares was greatly astonished. It was natural to be surprised. In fact, I was overdoing it. My status was stillcking to confront one of the 12 Gods but after going to the 95th scenario, I couldn¡¯t bepared to incarnations or constetions of the same grade.
At the very least, I exceeded the limits of the 60th scenario.
[Your status is going beyond the limit of this scenario!]
Since the 60th scenario, the probability storm that urred couldn¡¯t bepared to before. If I made a mistake, I might suffer a disaster where my incarnation body was destroyed.
I endured the sparks with gritted teeth.
The neb Olympus has used too much extra probability on me. Therefore, the probability allowed forrge-scale scenarios such as this Gigantomachia was almost gone. Indeed, Ares¡¯ status didn¡¯t rise above a certain level.
[Stupid fool! If you do that, you will die!]
[I might die.] I looked over at Ares and dered, [But you will die first.]
I looked down at Pluto¡¯s empty right hand. The power of the giant soldier was so high that an ordinary weapon couldn¡¯t withstand the shock. At the very least, I needed a weaponparable to Heracles¡¯ Bat.
In fact, I had such a weapon. It was a weapon I have been saving for a long time, just for this moment.
[Come, Steel Sword.]
Chapter 331 - God’s Enemy (4)
Chapter 331: Episode 62 ¨C God¡¯s Enemy (4)
The noise of the battlefield died down for a moment at my cry. The struggle between Giant Soldier Heracles and Giant Soldier Pluto. Even the constetions in the channel seemed nervous at the summoning of the weapon.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is wondering what your weapon is!]
[Many constetions are curious about ¡®Steel Sword¡¯!]
My empty hand still wasn¡¯t filled.
...Why didn¡¯t ite? I looked back and reflexively activated Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. It was to grasp the situation of the battlefield. Then I heard the thoughts of characters with a high level of understanding.
¡¸ Steel Sword? I seem to have heard that somewhere before. ¡¹
¡¸ A person who uses the sword... ¡¹
...What?
¡¸ Kim Dok ja is an i diot. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall¡¯s mocking words were heard in my head. I btedly noticed. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s nickname was still ¡®Pure Steel.¡¯
¡¸ Steel Sword... nice name. It was called by Dokja-ssi. He must be a great person. ¡¹
Lee Hyunsung was looking this way while fighting Jason. I shouted towards Lee Hyunsung, [Hyunsung-ssi! Come quickly!]
¡°Huh? You were talking about me?¡±
¡°Hurry, you idiot! I¡¯ll cover this ce!¡±
Han Sooyoung shouted and Lee Hyunsung gave up his showdown with Jason. The stigma Great Mountain Push was triggered and Jason flew backwards.
...No, use it earlier if he had that power.
I didn¡¯t know how much stronger Lee Hyunsung had be in thest three years but he was more useful than expected.
¡°However, I¡¯m not Steel Sword...¡±
[You will be called that from today.]
¡°W-What should I do?¡±
I quickly grabbed and swung Lee Hyunsung.
¡°Kuaaaaaack!¡±
Ares regrouped and swung Heracles¡¯ Bat. It was a tremendous blow thatbined Giant Soldier Heracles¡¯ story mixed with Ares¡¯ story. It was a destructive force that could crush Nemea¡¯s lion in one blow.
I swung Lee Hyunsung at Ares.
¡°Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi! It isn¡¯t possible!¡±
[It¡¯s fine! Trust yourself!]
Along with the sound of waves, particles of water turned into fog. In the fog, Lee Hyunsung slowly faced the bat.
[Look, you can do it.]
¡°Uh, uhhh, uweeeoh...¡±
Steel was growing all over Lee Hyunsung¡¯s body. It grew, grew and grew again. He soon became a sword.
Ares was noticeably baffled. If Yoo Jonghyuk was here, he definitely would¡¯ve said:
¡¸ ¡°This is the reason why Lee Hyunsung got the nickname of Steel Sword.¡± ¡¹
Steel Sword. The reason he was called Steel Sword wasn¡¯t because he could control a sword well.
[The character ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has used the stigma ¡®Steel Transformation Lv. 10.¡¯]
Steel Transformation. It was the stigma of a constetion from a distant ce in the universe.
As the stories piled up, it became harder than any metal and had the advantage of being capable of regenerating if broken. Lee Hyunsung was no different from a living ¡®strongest sword.¡¯
[The constetion ¡®Master of Steel¡¯ is frowning at your cruelty.]
Perhaps it was because this was his first time being a sword but Lee Hyunsung was still in an insecure state. I deliberately spoke in order to inspire Lee Hyunsung¡¯s morale. [Hyunsung-ssi, do you see the shield that Heracles¡¯ is holding?]
¡°Ye... y-yes, what is that?¡±
[It is the original version of ¡®Heracles Shield¡¯ that I gave you before.]
In the past, I had given the replica version of Heracles¡¯ Shield to Lee Hyunsung. It was the shield that Lee Hyunsung kept cleaning.
[I¡¯ll give it to you, Hyunsung-ssi.]
¡°...Really?¡±
[Of course.]
Lee Hyunsungpletely adapted and integrated himself into the hand of the giant soldier. It was a perfect grip like a handshake.
I started running. Arge amount of probability was consumed as I once again shed with Ares in Heracles.
[The Star Stream is paying attention to you!]
[The bureau is doubting your probability!]
[Overusing this probability will endanger your body!]
Steel Sword and Heracles¡¯ Bat firmly collided. Ares was surprised by the force and took one step back.
[...Damn crazy!]
We struck, struck and struck each other again. Part of Heracles¡¯ Bat flew away as debris and Lee Hyunsung¡¯s Steel Transformation had cracks all over it.
We were desperate because it couldn¡¯t be a longsting battle. Lee Hyunsung, Kim Namwoon, me as well.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is continuing.]
There wasn¡¯t the Stage Transformation like when we fought Surya but this story was protecting us.
A stage where Lee Hyunsung and I were together. Kim Namwoon, who was once an enemy, was now part of the story.
¡¸ The most despicable soul in the world, a man born from steel. ¡¹
Finally, the de of the Steel Sword cut at Heracles¡¯ right shoulder.
Ares growled out, [Why are you trying so hard? Olympus has always been merciful to you!]
[Merciful? Is that why you ced the fate on me?]
[Just because of that small that?]
[...It is small?]
[You survived it anyway! You should be thankful about sessfully passing the trial!]
That wasn¡¯t my only enmity.
[My colleague is dying because of you guys.]
[Colleague?]
The sword and the club hit each other again as Ares seemed to remember something.
[The incarnation who used to the the singrity watcher.]
[It isn¡¯t an incarnation but ¡®Yoo Sangah.¡¯]
[We didn¡¯t make the incarnation do that. She brought that misery onto herself.] Aresughed.
[The mortal tried to ess Olympus¡¯ database. It is natural to suffer.]
I shouted through gritted teeth, [It is you who gave her that strength. You brought about such a situation.]
[God is watching. Everything is a human choice.]
[Do you think you can use ¡®choice¡¯ for a predetermined cause?]
Aresughed. [This is the scenario.]
Cold anger settled deep in my chest. Yes, this was a constetion. They had a desire for stimting scenarios and enjoyed the fall of incarnations. They made ¡®good and evil¡¯ on purpose. A god waiting merrily for humans to break the taboo.
Sparks that I couldn¡¯t afford started to appear around Pluto¡¯s body. A brilliant magic power storm urred around the junction of bat and steel.
Ares eximed, [This crazy bastard...!]
¡¸ Kim Dokja was angry. ¡¹
¡¸ Apart from that anger, Kim Dokja¡¯s sense of reasoning was still as cold as ever. ¡¹
In fact, it was almost impossible to defeat Ares in a frontal showdown but now the story was different.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought. ¡¹
This was the ¡®sea¡¯ where Ares couldn¡¯t exert enough power. It was a sub scenario where he couldn¡¯t release all his status. Crucially, Ares¡¯ Heracles was an early model of the giant soldier.
Heracles¡¯ Bat broken Pluto¡¯s left arm and at the same time, the Steel Sword prated Heracles¡¯ waist.
Ares hurriedly cried out, [If you do this, you really will turn all of Olympus into an enemy...!]
[Ask anyone toe.]
However, they wouldn¡¯te. The 12 Gods were all cowards.
[Zeus, Poseidon or anyone else.]
Heracles was pushed back by the White Pure Star Energy. Even to the end, Ares didn¡¯t fully release his status. Not all narrative-grade constetions were like Surya.
It had been a while since the real Gigantomachia. The 12 Gods had forgotten their lives. The same was true for Ares, a fierce warrior.
He seemed more courageous than anyone else but he was actually more cautious about his life than anyone else. He unted his bravery in Gigantomachia but now he was a constetion who feared the aftermath of opening his status in the scenario.
Ares shouted angrily, [Aren¡¯t you afraid of probability?]
[I¡¯m not afraid.]
Lee Hyunsung, Kim Namwoon, me as well. There was no such thing as fear. It was because we had been living through the aftermath the whole time. Rather, it took courage to be weak.
Along with the bubbling sea foam, I thrust the steel sword into Heracles¡¯ cockpit.
[You have knocked down Giant Soldier Heracles!]
[You have acquired a new story!]
[The star relic ¡®Heracles¡¯ Bat (Damaged)¡¯ has been acquired.]
[The star relic ¡®Heracles¡¯ Shield (Damaged)¡¯ has been acquired.]
[The star relic ¡®Heracles¡¯ Spear (Damaged)¡¯ has been acquired.]
Then a tremendous explosion urred.
¡°Kim Namwoon!¡±
I emerged from Pluto¡¯s cockpit at the moment of the explosion. Pluto had exceeded the limits of probability and was breaking down.
[This dog...!] Kim Namwoon sounded happy.
After a while, Pluto¡¯s body couldn¡¯t withstand the probability storm and copsed. It was the result of taking the probability on my behalf.
Fortunately, the power supply seemed safe. It was just that more fighting would be difficult.
In the haze of the smoke, I saw Ares who escaped from the cockpit like me. Ares was wounded all over his body and he was roaring furiously.
The game hadn¡¯t ended yet. Heracles was a type of protective sphere. The moment Ares opened his status, I would have to deal with him head on. Still, it didn¡¯t matter. In the first ce, my purpose was to make him fall from Heracles.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi told me something about you.¡±
As Ares had mentioned, Yoo Sangah used Hermes¡¯ system to investigate all types of future information. Among them were things about Olympus.
¡°I heard you were once hit by Heracles¡¯ spear.¡±
Yoo Sangah had told me that Ares fought Heracles and was stabbed in the thigh with his spear.
-If ¡®fake¡¯ can be ¡®real¡¯, can I make this story real? If the weapon could be obtained...
Ares¡¯ eyes were shaken as he red at me angrily.
¡°I was curious. Heracles is the creature you have created. Then is this myth real or fake?¡±
Ares rushed towards me as I kept speaking.
¡°How much power can a fake story exert in the Star Stream? Aren¡¯t you curious?¡±
[The story fragment in Heracles¡¯ Spear is responding to you!]
[The story ¡®Natural Enemy in War¡¯ has begun.]
The story started talking.
¡¸ With one pration, the spear neutralized the god of war. ¡¹
I held the spear with all my strength. It was such a heavy spear that I wondered if I could throw it by myself.
Ares was now in sight. I should throw it properly. If it fails, I would die here. At this moment, the weight of the spear lightened. Someone was also holding onto the spear from behind me.
It wasn¡¯t Lee Hyunsung but there was no need to think. Only one incarnation in all of Ways of Survival could take on the weight of this spear lightly. In the first ce, this incarnation was an ally.
¡°Kim Dokja, there is only one chance.¡±
It was an eternal ¡®once.¡¯ A ¡®once¡¯ made with the countless failures of the regressor.
¡°It has always been ¡®once¡¯ for me.¡±
Thus, this one chance couldn¡¯t fail. We threw the spear at the same time.
Chapter 332 - God’s Enemy (5)
Chapter 332: Episode 62 ¨C God¡¯s Enemy (5)
The spear flew away with a dark blue light. The power and status of the spear weren¡¯t at a level that Yoo Jonghyuk originally was capable of. Perhaps the 3rd round Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s understanding if the spear had sharply increased after he went through Hell of Eternity. I watched the flying spear and asked, ¡°You came back faster than I thought? What happened to the returnees?¡±
¡°...I¡¯ll exinter.¡±
Ares gritted his teeth and tried to avoid the flying spear. He might not be able to move freely in the air like Hermes but it should be enough for Ares to move the spear. At least, if there wasn¡¯t a story in the spear.
¡¸ The spear that left the fingertips was inevitable. ¡¹
Could a story have feelings? No story expert was able to give a definitive answer. The only certainty was the situation currently unfolding in front of my eyes.
[The fragment of the story ¡®Enemy of the War God¡¯ is showing hostility to Atrocious War God.]
The Heracles in this world line was fake but over time, fake became real. The created story had its own will. The moment Ares quickly turned in the air, the spear turned at the same speed. Ares hurriedly took a defensive posture but the spear ignored it.
There was a terrible amount of blood and Ares gave a pained scream when his thigh was pierced. One of the great 12 Gods, the God of War fell into the sea while bleeding.
¡°I¡¯ll subdue him!¡± Lee Hyunsung, who had been waiting on the ground after releasing Steel Transformation, struck Ares¡¯ body with Great Mountain Smash while Yoo Jonghyuk opened his transcendence and trampled on Ares¡¯ incarnation body. It was fortunate that Yoo Jonghyuk came back at a good timing.
¡°The Earth side is all sorted out?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. Ares struggled and his face twisted as he was trampled on by a pair of boots. No matter how much he struggled, the spear in his thigh was restraining his status. The story of Heracles was persistent and stubborn. At the very least, it was strong enough for the 12 gods to be neutralized in the 60th scenario. It was something all the 12 gods inflicted on themselves.
[T-This Hephaistos like bastard!]
[The constetion ¡®Volcanic cksmith¡¯ is frowning.]
I saw the red arrow floating over Ares¡¯ head and pulled out Unbroken Faith. In order to win this scenario, the two leaders on Olympus¡¯ side had to be killed. Ares was one of them.
The Ares in front of me wouldn¡¯t really die because he was an incarnation body. However, the loss of the incarnation body would be huge damage to the 12 gods. Then Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts entered my mind.
¡¸ There is no time... I can save it if I hurry. Nectar is required. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk aimed the ck Demon Sword at Ares¡¯ neck and opened his mouth. ¡°Ares, do you have nectar?¡±
I was baffled by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sudden words.
...Nectar? I knew the identity of this item.
¡¸ If Vedas has the star fluid Soma, Olympus has Nectar. ¡¹
This jerk, was he still greedy to enhance his body? At this time, constetions who entered the channel sent indirect messages.
[A number of constetions have entered the channel!]
[The constetion ¡®King Heungmu the Great¡¯ is warning you!]
[The constetion ¡®One-eyed Maitreya¡¯ wants to tell you about the crisis on Earth...!]
There was a beep and the indirect messages disappeared.
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is warning everyone to shut up.]
I looked up and saw Biyoo making a restless expression.
[Baat, baat...]
-Biyoo, what¡¯s going on?
There was no answer from Biyoo. She was trying to avoid my eyes. Everything was uncertain. It wasn¡¯t another dokkaebi hiding from me, it was Biyoo.
Then Ares opened his mouth. [...You are a time-defying being. Why does the man who received the blessing of immortality need Nectar?]
¡°I have no obligation to respond to you. Once again. Give me the Nectar.¡±
[Is one of your colleagues in danger? Is that why you need Nectar?]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck Demon Sword lightly touched Ares¡¯ neck. There was the sound of blood falling. The particles of blood would have all the stories he built up contained in the red and white blood cells.
Ares seemed to think of something and opened his mouth. [I don¡¯t have it on my now. However, if you pull this spear from me, I can go and get Nectar for you...]
¡°That won¡¯t happen. Then die.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck Demon Sword stabbed Ares¡¯ heart. Ares¡¯ incarnation body emitted a faint light and he started to turn to grey. He was recovering his incarnation body from the scenario. The enraged Ares eximed, [I will repay this debt, puppet of the oldest dream!]
There was a loud sound and Ares¡¯ incarnation bodypletely disappeared.
[The constetion ¡®Atrocious War God¡¯ has left the battlefield.]
[One of the leaders of Olympus has abandoned the scenario!]
[You have defeated the Atrocious War God!]
[The legendary story ¡®One Who Defeated the War God¡¯ has been acquired!]
[You have obtained 400,000 coins aspensation.]
[Major contributors: Constetion Demon King of Salvation, Incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk, Incarnation Lee Hyunsung.]
There were huge rewards as the messages continued.
[A new story has been added to the existing Gigantomachia!]
[Some of the items on the incarnation body of ¡®Atrocious War God¡¯ will be distributed to the main contributors.]
After the system messages, indirect messages were sent to the battlefield.
[The constetion ¡®Wind Expedition King¡¯ is shocked!]
[The constetion ¡®Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom¡¯ is astonished!]
[The constetion ¡®Almighty Sun¡¯ distrusts his eyes.]
The battlefield became a crucible of confusion. It was the same for the heroes fighting in Olympus¡¯ camp and the giants fighting against them. Even those watching the battlefield were included. The fact that the war god of Olympus abandoned the scenario was a big shock.
[Hahahahahat! This time Gigantomachia is really interesting!] Zhang Fei¡¯s true voice rang out as he crossed the battlefield and dealt with the heroes.
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t care about the turmoil and was searching through the rubble of the dead Ares. ¡°He really doesn¡¯t have Nectar. Then I must kill Hebe...¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, you crazy bastard!¡± I grabbed Yoo Jonghyuk by the cor and shouted.
¡°What are you doing? You would¡¯ve killed him if I hadn¡¯t.¡±
¡°Why kill him straight away? I could¡¯ve received one more star relic from him by threatening him!¡±
Of course, I agreed that we should kill Ares. However, in a situation where his incarnation body was held hostage, I could¡¯ve received more items...
¡°This isn¡¯t the time to be leisurely.¡±
¡°Why are you asking for Nectar? You don¡¯t need it, do you? I am going to get Soma from Vedas...¡± A sinister hunch filled me. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk. What happened on Earth?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Perhaps Yoo Sangah...¡±
¡°Earth is safe. Don¡¯t think futile things and concentrate on finishing Gigantomachia.¡± Yoo Jonghyuk spoke in a determined voice. ¡°The war isn¡¯t over yet.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk looked around the battlefield. Ares¡¯ Heracles had copsed. However, one thing to keep in mind was that the Heracles ridden by Ares was just one of numerous giant soldiers.
¡°...More dirty ones areing.¡±
Countless Heracles were running to this side along the sea route Argo had created. The mass production type Heracles. In these long years, Olympus had prepared many giant soldiers for the war against other nebe.
[Kill the giants!]
Their fierce momentum was enough to shake the waves. Previously, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if the giants ran away in fear. However, now it was different.
[It is the time of liberation!]
[Comrades! Heracles is fake!]
Another leader on this side suddenly tore through the portal. Briareus. He used to have 100 arms and now only had 50 due to probability, but he was still enough topete in the battlefield.
[Don¡¯t be fooled by what you see! Believe in yourself, not the myths already recorded!]
The giants roared after hearing his true voice. Yoo Jonghyuk spoke, ¡°You¡¯ve changed the myth.¡±
The power of the myth was determined by those who believed in it. The protagonist of Gigantomachia was Heracles. The fact that Heracles was a fake had a direct impact on the giants. The shaky Stage Transformation was the evidence.
On this broken stage, a new stage was being made. On the pages of the torn script, another script would be used. However, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression didn¡¯t rx. ¡°This isn¡¯t the end. ¡°The gods wille.¡±
Ares was only one of the 12 gods. If the contents of the original were the same, there would be at least two more of the 12 Gods fighting.
One was Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom, Athena. The other was Almighty Sun, Apollon.
Yoo Jonghyuk nced at the broken Pluto. ¡°You can¡¯t go with the gods with the weary and broken giant soldier.¡±
¡°There is still a long time before you can fight one on one with the 12 Gods.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t know without trying.¡±
These words were spoken but it was impossible for the current Yoo Jonghyuk to go head to head and win against the 12 Gods. In my case, it was possible because I was lucky with the tricks I used.
¡°After witnessing Ares¡¯ defeat, the 12 gods wille in different ways. Even with your status, you are likely to have to sacrifice some probability.¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. That will make it taste better.¡±
¡°You deal with Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom. It will be difficult alone so I¡¯ll give you one more person. Then you¡¯ll be able to stop her somehow.¡±
¡°Who are you going to add?¡±
¡°You¡¯ll know soon.¡±
I saw Athena and Apollon flying in the distance. They had a terribly ¡®status¡¯ that could be felt from this distance. It would definitely be different from the battle with Ares.
Yoo Jonghyuk adjusted the ck Demon Sword and asked, ¡°Will you deal with the Almighty Sun?¡±
¡°There is a separate constetion for him.¡±
¡°...I will trust your tricks this once.¡± The moment he spoke, Yoo Jonghyuk ran into the sky. He disappeared using Red Phoenix Shunpo, leaving a beautiful trail behind him. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s early stage of transcendence was now perfect.
There was the sound of the ck Demon Sword splitting through the air. It stopped before Athena and a collision of red magic power urred almost simultaneously.
[Get out of the way. Or die.]
Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom, Athena. The daughter of the master of lightning who ruled Olympus and the most respected war god in Olympus.
[You might be proficient in mythology but I am different from Ares.]
They might both by ¡®war gods¡¯ but Ares and Athena were different. Both gods fought in many proxy wars but he had never won against Athena.
Athena spoke, [I don¡¯t hate you. My purpose is to return the giants to Tartarus. But if you continue to disturb¨D]
Cold anger filled her expression.
[In the name of justice, I am forced to punish you.]
Athena was a god who always fulfilled her words. If she truly lifted her spear and shield, there were few people who could prevent her wrath in all of Olympus. There were sparks as someone¡¯s true voice came from the sky.
[You are still using that line, Athena. Whenever we cut the ¡öing demons together... nothing has changed.]
I was barely breathing as I looked up at the sky. Athena was a constetion with one of the strongestbat power. However, it was limited to Olympus.
¡¸ If there was an Athena of justice in Olympus... ¡¹
Brilliant mes appeared in the air and a new incarnation entered the battlefield. The pure white mes subsided and I saw a person I knew well.
¡¸ There is Jung Heewon in Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. ¡¹
The strongest sword I had finally appeared on the battlefield.
[It¡¯s been a long time, Athena.]
Uriel unfolded pure white wings as she descended into Jung Heewon¡¯s body.
Chapter 333 - God’s Enemy (6)
Chapter 333: Episode 62 ¨C God¡¯s Enemy (6)
Jung Heewon emitted a pure white light as she pointed the Sword of Judgment at Athena.
Athena spoke, [Uriel... I didn¡¯t hear that Eden wasing?]
[I¡¯m not here as part of Eden.]
[Then?]
[I¡¯m just helping my incarnation.] Uriel continued speaking. [Athena. Up to here, haven¡¯t you done a lot for Olympus so far? How long are you going to worry about Gigantomachia? Are you going to keep creating it with the bureau?]
[I¡¯m concerned. It is very serious, Uriel. We are just trying to recall the tale of encouraging good while punishing evil. Good wins and evil is defeated. It is right to emphasize this a few times.]
[Encouraging good while punishing evil...]
[As the good story increases, the constetions will consume good scenarios. The more this happens, the cleaner the Star Stream will be.]
Uriel¡¯s eyes shook when she heard the words. Carrying out many good stories and scenarios would make the world better. Certainly, there was a time when she believed so.
[Then is the Star Stream better now? Do the constetions love the good stories?]
[It isn¡¯t enough right now. But someday¨D]
The angel¡¯s wings pped and moved.
[Athena, you are usually on the side of the weak.]
Uriel looked down at the giants fighting on the ground. To be precise, she was watching the smallest giant Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[I want to ask you, Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom.] Uriel¡¯s tone changed and Athena¡¯s expression became stricter. [Is that ¡®giant¡¯ evil?]
Athena looked down at the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. The Breaking the Sky swordsmanship smashed the sky and tore at the constetions. The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint was small but strong. Perhaps she was stronger than the giants who had been idle in Tartarus.
However, she wasn¡¯t strong from the beginning.
¡¸ Go away! Get away from me! You unlucky girl! ¡¹
¡¸ Cursed girl! You ruined my family! ¡¹
¡¸ The blood of the giants. It is said that if you eat that girl¡¯s heart, you will gain the strength of a tiger. ¡¹
The suffering that the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint experienced were narrated and entered Athena¡¯s eyes. It was a bitterness she had to bear just because she was born as a giant or because she had a different appearance.
Athena bit her lips. [All giants are dangerous. Their nature is fierce and they can bring about another terrible disaster.]
[Disaster? Who will they bring the danger of disaster to?]
Athena firmly grasped her spear but she was avoiding Uriel¡¯s gaze.
[Of course, to humans...]
[Humans? Since when does Olympus care about humans?]
[Uriel! You better be careful with your words¨D]
[Athena, you know it as well.]
Athena¡¯s mouth half-closed and Uriel continued.
[The thing you are trying to create right now is a fake ¡®encouraging good while punishing evil. It is a fake myth that arbitrarily designates ¡®evil¡¯ and ¡®good.¡¯]
Athena¡¯s eyes shook.
[So what if it is fake? Even if it is fake...]
[Athena, did you forget? The scenario of ¡®encouraging good while punishing evil¡¯ because of the rampant ¡®fakes.¡¯] Uriel¡¯s voice quivered as she remembered the time of ¡®demon hunting.¡¯ [Athena. In this scenario, there is no good or evil. There is only our desire to see the story.]
Uriel stared up at the sky and a light shone. [I... don¡¯t want to see this story anymore.]
Archangel Uriel was staring at the Star Stream.
[Now I want to see ¡®real evil¡¯ being broken.]
Athena¡¯s eyes widened. Her trembling voice flowed out. [...That story has disappeared a long time ago.]
[No, it hasn¡¯t.] Uriel smiled as she watched me. [That¡¯s why I came here.]
The Sword of Judgment and Athena¡¯s spear pointed at each other.
[There is no more room forpromises.]
The archangel of Eden collided with the goddess of Olympus. Athena¡¯s onught went beyond the probability. Jung Heewon seemed to be pushed at first but the situation soon stabilized thanks to Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s participation. It wouldn¡¯t be impossible to stall Athena while the synchronization with Urielsted.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is rejoicing in the bloody battle between constetions!]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ wants both to die!]
[The ¡®absolute evil¡¯ constetions are cheering for the collision between ¡®absolute good¡¯ constetions.]
A huge admission fee was pouring into the channel through Biyoo. Biyoo shook a bit.
[Baat...]
I looked at the other side of the sky. The problem was that red-headed man flying over there. He was riding a huge carriage with a red sun behind him.
The Almighty Sun, Apollon. Just like the myths, he had a very handsome face. It was almost enough to p Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s cheeks once... no, it would be twice.
[The constetion ¡®Almighty Sun¡¯ is directing intense anger at you!]
He was one of the 12 Gods and too much for me to handle alone. Pluto was broken and the body parts hadn¡¯t fully recovered. Maybe my incarnation body would turn to ash after being hit once or twice by the sun.
However, I wasn¡¯t worried. It was because I wasn¡¯t the one who would fight the Almighty Sun.
In the distance, I heard something like a lotive horn. There was the sound of train wheels. At one time, I didn¡¯t know how scary this sound was.
[The constetion ¡®Almighty Sun¡¯ is confused.]
If there were 12 main gods in Olympus, there were eight Lokap in Vedas. The Lokap that appeared was one I knew well.
[Surya, why are you here?!]
The sun carriage and sun train collided, creating a blinding explosion. Thecking probability meant Surya¡¯s train wasn¡¯t as big as before but it was enough to match Apollon¡¯s carriage.
[Surya... Can I ept this as Vedas¡¯ meaning?]
[I have no rtionship with Vedas. I left it a while ago.] Suryaughed. [I just came here to determine who the best sun god is.]
A zing sunlight filled the air. It was a showdown between Surya and Apollon. The arrows containing Apollon¡¯s light power covered the sky like a waterfall and Surya¡¯s third eye disrupted the trajectory of the arrows. The myth and myth were crashing together. It was enough to leave Apollon to Surya.
I looked around the rest of the battlefield.
¡°Dokja-ssi! I like the new shield!¡±
Lee Hyunsung, who held Heracles¡¯ Shield, was crossing the battlefield while knocking down heroes and giant soldiers. Han Sooyoung precisely managed her magic power and handled the mass produced Heracles one by one.
Once Stage Transformation started to copse, the bnce was slightly leaning towards us. The powerful Gigantes pushed the heroes and Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung controlled the chimera dragon, using its breath to turn the beach into a sea of fire.
Lee Jihye was constantly firing shells at the mass produced Heracles. I had increased Lee Jihye¡¯s magic power in preparation for this day.
[A new myth is emerging in Gigantomachia!]
The myth of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company was being recorded in real time. Everyone was fighting well and nothing was wrong.
¡¸ Nevertheless, Kim Dokja was strangely nervous. ¡¹
It was a very small hunch. I subtly felt that something was wrong. There was nothing wrong when I checked calmly. Uriel and Surya participated in a timely manner and Yoo Jonghyuk returned safely from Earth¡¯s crisis. Then why?
¡¸ Actually, Kim Dokja knew the reason. ¡¹
No.
¡¸ Look around. ¡¹
The one I was looking for didn¡¯t exist. Athena, Jason, Apollon, Achilles...
There were many gods and heroes who made a name for themselves in Olympus but none of them was Olympus¡¯ leader.
If the scenario was correct, there should be one more leader other than Ares. I had to kill them in order to end this scenario.
Perhaps it was the Volcanic cksmith Hephaistos who hadn¡¯t appeared but he didn¡¯t directly participate in Gigantomachia in the original novel or the revised versions. Then who the hell was the other leader of Olympus?
¡¸ At this moment, a hero entered Kim Dokja¡¯s eyes. ¡¹
[Stop! You have to stop!]
I looked at the hero. A beautifully tanned, muscr body and eyes full of dizziness. The ¡®status¡¯ I felt from him was simr to Yoo Sangah.
The Hero of the Labyrinth, Theseus.
[This fight has no meaning!]
Theseus was trying to stop the fight.
[We have to stop here! There is no need to fight the giants! Doing this won¡¯t help Olympus! Athena! Apollon! Don¡¯t you know?]
I couldn¡¯t figure out what the hell was going on. In the past Gigantomachias, Theseus had never appeared and done such a thing. It wasn¡¯t an impossible story but...
[Please! Stop! At this rate, Olympus will...!]
It happened at this moment. A red arrow shed over Theseus¡¯ head. It was an arrow stating he was the leader of Olympus.
Then Theseus grabbed his head and groaned with pain.
[T-This... no, no. No, Father!]
Something went wrong.
***
Dionysus, watching the scenario on the sofa of the Administrative Bureau, jumped up. The popcorn box rolled across the ground.
The surprised Bihyung was going to open his mouth when Dionysus eximed. [Damn! Why is Theseus there?]
Dionysus shouted at the dokkaebis. It was as if he was the Dokkaebi King.
[Quickly prepare the ¡®probability usibility screening¡¯. Or everyone in that scenario will die!]
The next moment, there was an explosion on the screen.
***
I couldn¡¯t tell what was happening. My ears rang and my vision turnedpletely white. I was caught in the explosion and flew through rock walls into a cave.
[Your incarnation body is severely damaged.]
[The damage to your incarnation body is serious. You need urgent treatment!]
I bandaged the wounds to stop my stories from escaping. I staggered up and looked outside the coastal cave.
A battlefield strewn with blood. The foam reached the tip of my toes and the sea breeze soaked my lips. In addition, no one could be seen on the battlefield.
There was no Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung flying in the sky on a dragon. Lee Jihye directing the phantom fleet as well. In addition, Lee Seolhwa and Lee Hyunsung who had just been protecting the party.
¡°Yoosung! Gilyoung!¡±
I couldn¡¯t see Yoo Jonghyuk fighting Athena in the sky or Han Sooyoung destroying the mass produced Heracles. There wasn¡¯t even Uriel or Surya.
¡°Han Sooyoung! Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
My shouts echoed inside the cave where the sea breeze was blowing. My heart sank. What the hell happened?
After a while, something huge emerged from the water. An immeasurable and inscrutable being to human cognition.
I thought as I faced it, ¡®This is a god.¡¯
It felt like all the constetions I previously saw were fake. It was an existence that could only be described as a ¡®god.¡¯
[I am the Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea, Poseidon.]
The mythical father of the great hero of Olympus, Theseus. The moment his true voice rang out, my heart throbbed and blood poured out. It was just like the first time I met an outer god a long time ago.
My fingertips shook like I had palsy. Why did Poseidon descend? It wasn¡¯t possible. Poseidon had never intervened in any period of Gigantomachia. If the myth-grade constetion like him intervened, not only would the odds of Olympus be seriously damaged, the entire scenario would be blown away.
Nevertheless, he appeared here. What the hell? What was he thinking? My hand kept shaking. Then after a while, I realized that I wasn¡¯t the one shaking. The smartphone that I subconsciously held tightly was vibrating.
Chapter 334 - End of the Myth (1)
Chapter 334: Episode 63 ¨C End of the Myth (1)
¡¸ (You will die like this.) ¡¹
This was the screen of the vibrating smartphone. I felt the rising waves against my toes and raised my smartphone.
¡¸ (Originally, the fourth revision should¡¯ve been sent... I think something went wrong.) ¡¹
I knew who was talking. The librarians of the library inside the Fourth Wall. Perhaps they were the ones who sent this.
¡¸ (This is all I can do to help. Even if it is only partly.) ¡¹
There was light interference and sentences rose from the LCD screen. It was as if the contents of the book were summarized.
.
.
¡¸ This ce again... ¡¹
It was obvious whose monologue the sentences belonged to. This was clearly the contents of the Fourth Revision.
¡¸ There were too many mistakes in the third round. ¡¹
¡¸ The appearance of Poseidon was unexpected. ¡¹
¡¸ I should¡¯ve thought more about the issue of probability. ¡¹
¡¸ I should¡¯ve considered the rtionship between myths... ¡¹
The sentences were filled with regret as always. Perhaps we failed even in the fourth revision.
¡¸ If I had saved Lee Sookyung, not Yoo Sangah at that time... ¡¹
.
.
...What? I stiffened and no longer scrolled down the screen. Lightning struck the screen and all the flowing sentences were erased.
I hurriedly shouted, ¡°Wait a minute! Show me again! What did you mean by those words just now?¡±
There was no reply.
¡¸ (Kim Dokja, fate can¡¯t be changed. However¡ª)
¡¸ Shu t up Nir va na. ¡¹
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
The power of the Fourth Wall obstructed Nirvana¡¯s voice. The sentences disappeared and my fast heartbeat rapidly calmed down. My irritated head cooled down like a sophisticated clock.
Thisposure, I didn¡¯t like it. I couldn¡¯t rage when I wanted to rage. I couldn¡¯t be sad when I wanted to grieve.
¡°Fourth Wall.¡±
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you.]
¡°Tell me honestly. Is my mother in danger?¡±
The Fourth Wall didn¡¯t answer.
...Shit, sometimes I wondered if this guy was on my side or not.
I looked up at the air. ¡°Biyoo.¡±
[Baat...]
Biyoo, whose body was transparent, looked down at me with sad eyes. I opened my mouth to ask before closing it again.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking!]
Biyoo was crying.
All types of thoughts passed through my head. Some of the confusing puzzle pieces were slowly fitting together. Yoo Jonghyuk had returned too quickly and he looked like he was hiding something.
Somehow, I thought it was strange. The reason why the constetions sent strange messages and why Yoo Jonghyuk was seeking the Nectar. Maybe, all of this was due to the same reason.
[This friend. Don¡¯t worry, your mother isn¡¯t dead yet.] A voice was heard behind me. [...Tsk, it was information that shouldn¡¯t be leaked.]
Sparks emerged from the darkness and it was a constetion I knew well. ¡°Dionysus.¡±
[It has been a while. Is this the first time since thest banquet?]
Dionysus approached my side and gazed outside the coastal cave, his left hand charred from the probability. This ce contained one of the three chief gods of Olympus, the ruler of the sea. Sea God Poseidon.
Poseidon didn¡¯t move but there was an ominous silence hanging around him. Like a predator waiting for the chance, Poseidon was silently staring at the sea. It was as if he was seeing where he came from.
[The ¡®probability usibility screening¡¯ has begun and Uncle won¡¯t move too much. However, don¡¯t do anything rash. He is looking hard for you.]
¡°You are saying this while spamming your true voice near me.¡±
[It¡¯s okay because I¡¯m hiding here using my power. He can¡¯t hear me.]
I saw that entrance of the cave was covered with a wine ss. Maybe this barrier was hiding Dionysus and I. Dionysus gazed at Poseidon and spoke. [Isn¡¯t it great? The third chief gods... that is a myth-grade constetion. They are high constetions that ordinary constetions can never reach in their life.]
Certainly, I could only say he was great. If I was Poseidon, I would be able to stop the nameless fog that had once destroyed the Demon Realm.
¡¸ The ce where his spear reaches will soon be the boundary of the sea. ¡¹
Poseidon¡¯s gaze soon reached the sea. All the mountains under the sea were shuddering before his sublime presence and prostrated themselves, praying for an error they probably hadn¡¯tmitted. The depths of my heart were roaring.
[...You are really amazing.]
¡°What are you saying?¡±
[There are no signs that you are truly afraid when looking at him. Why?]
Of course, I was afraid. My legs trembled and I was dizzy. But more than that...
¡¸ Kim Dokja was really impressed. ¡¹
I watched the majestic Poseidon for a long time before answering, ¡°I couldn¡¯t imagine this.¡±
[Imagine? Hahat, you truly are a funny person.]
¡°Why are you helping me? You are part of Olympus.¡±
[It is my heart.]
¡°What happened to the other party members?¡±
Dionysus flicked his fingers and a screen appeared. The party members were gathered in the distant sky. They were tied by Ariadne¡¯s web and floating in the air using Hermes Walking Method. No one was missing. Of course, the narrative-grade constetions Surya and Uriel were also safe.
Indeed, it was a clever escape. The sky was the domain of Zeus. Poseidon might draw the boundaries of the sea but he couldn¡¯t reach into the sky.
Dionysus sipped from a ss and said, [Rest assured. None of them were hurt. Ariadne and Hermes made it just in time...]
¡°Can I give a punch?¡±
[...To who?]
I red silently at Dionysus.
[Me? Why?]
¡°Don¡¯t you know?¡±
Dionysus was quick to notice and replied, [Ah, it¡¯s because of that incarnation. Yes, I¡¯m sorry. You can hit me if you want to. Instead, do it a bit softly... you are a constetion so it will be quite painful.]
I didn¡¯t hit him. Instead, I asked, ¡°Why did you do that to Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
[...The story isplicated.]
Dionysus sat at the edge of the coastal cave andid down his ss. He took some time to choose his words.
[In this world line, the Moira three sisters received a peculiar prophecy.]
¡°Peculiar prophecy?¡±
Dionysus nced at me and replied like a Greed-era orator. [The ¡®end of all¡¯ will soone.]
¡°What does that mean?¡±
[I don¡¯t know. The obvious thing is that Olympus can¡¯t get away from it either. Thanks to this, Olympus has been busy for a while. All the scenarios wille to an end one day but we had to know how it ended.]
Dionysus continued speaking. [In the process, we found some singrities rted to the predicted ¡®end. One of them was the ¡®regressor¡¯ with you.]
¡°You chose Yoo Sangah to keep an eye on Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
[Honestly, yes.]
My anger increase but I endured it. Dionysus¡¯ words hadn¡¯t finished.
[Then while spying on him, we came to know of your existence.]
¡°...¡±
[An incarnation who hates fate, hates constetions and doesn¡¯t believe in the Star Stream. He became a constetion on his own without choosing a sponsor and he is even a constetion we can¡¯t see the identity of. A singrity I have never seen before. We found you and made up our minds.] Dionysusughed. [Hide you and use you.]
There were remnants of dim stories in his tone. Some scenes in the past where I thought I was ¡®lucky¡¯ passed through my mind. The Even Bridge that unfolded at the first Oksu Station ¨D ¡¸Deus Ex Machina. ¡¹. There was the probability that helped whenever I was in danger.
[We wanted to use you to stop the destruction. Thus, I wanted to help you by using Incarnation Yoo Sangah.]
[It is different from Ares¡¯ words. He wants to get rid of me.]
[There is already internal conflict among the 12 Gods. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re aware.]
A golden aura rose from Dionysus¡¯ body as he got up. This was the grandeur of the lineage of Zeus, king of the sky.
[The present Olympus is a fake.]
Dionysus¡¯ golden eyes gazed at me like he was looking down on his vassal.
[Just as human priests created gods to establish their authority, the gods of Olympus created myths to maintain their power. Fake myths such as Gigantomachia and Heracles... and this is the result.]
[The constetion ¡®God of Wine and Ecstasy¡¯ is looking at you.]
[I want to end this era. Then I want to make a new Olympus.]
[The story ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯ is responding.]
The story sleeping inside me reacted to his story. The Dionysus in front of me was one of the candidates to rece Zeus in the future.
[Anyway, that was the n... now this ce is haunted by the fish uncle and there is nothing you can do. Perhaps the scenario will end this way.]
If the probability usibility screen begun then there was a high probability this scenario would fail.
The participants would receivepensation ording to theirbination but Gigantomachia wouldn¡¯t ur. Perhaps Poseidon had been aiming for this. At the expense of his own status and neb probability, he was trying to defend Olympus.
¡°No, there is still something I can do.¡±
[What?]
¡°I think we can overturn Olympus in this scenario. Instead, give me a Nectar in exchange for my help.¡±
[Nectar? I have a bit here.]
I took the Nectar from Dionysus. I ced a few drops on my tongue.
[A star fluid has been ingested for the first time!]
[The star fluid ¡®Nectar¡¯ has responded to you!]
[The probability of Olympus has restored your broken body!]
[All your stats and skill levels have increased slightly.
Was this the star fluid I had only heard about in words? I received an effect even though my average stats exceeded 200. Dionysus watched me put away the remaining Nectar and asked, [Hey, did you forget that one blow before? Yet you want to fight again?]
¡°Will you help?¡±
[Are you crazy? Even if I help you, no... it is impossible to change the situation even if half of the 12 Gods help. Don¡¯t you know how strong that fish is? Are you still out of your mind? The end of this scenario is already¨D]
¡°The end of the scenario is fixed. Is that what you want to say?¡±
As Giant Briareus stated, fate couldn¡¯t be averted. Ares had also said it. This scenario was just the development of a causal event that was scheduled. Yes, that¡¯s right. Perhaps their words were correct.
¡°If the end is fixed, is there any meaning in the process?¡±
[It must be meaningful but that is just being romantic. As a result, it is recorded as a failed story.]
¡°Are all failed stories meaningless? Even if you know you will fail, isn¡¯t the story of those who have fought to the end worth it?¡±
[The constetions like those stories but those who do so are bound to die.]
¡°It is a possibility. Then what about this? Someone who is influenced by the story tries to challenge the same story again.¡±
At this moment, Dionysus opened his mouth.
¡°10 times, 100 times, 1000 times. What if many constetions and incarnations are affected by the story and live such a story again?¡±
Failure might be scheduled but the countless beings built up a story of courage as they confronted the given fate over and over again. What if they umted stories about challenges and challenged them in another way.
¡°Then are the failed stories useless?¡±
Stage Transformation wasn¡¯t absolute. It was because the myth was just a creation. Dionysus was speechless.
In the end, the probability of the Star Stream was aw that flowed towards the ¡®desired flow¡¯ that many beings wanted. The story that many beings desired would be realized someday.
Dionysus barely managed to open his mouth but he was oddly incensed. [Then are you going to be the first? You will be the first victim and overthrow the torch of the scenario?]
¡°Nope.¡± I smiled. ¡°I will be thest torch.¡±
[What?]
¡°It is because numerous people have already failed before me.¡±
I knew. I needed hundreds or thousands of attempts to defeat this Poseidon. Just like... the current existence running towards Poseidon...
Dammit.
Chapter 335 - End of the Myth (2)
Chapter 335: Episode 63 ¨C End of the Myth (2)
Yoo Jonghyuk was rushing to Poseidon, who even narrative-grade constetions avoided.
Dionysus asked, [...Are you talking about this crazy guy?]
I activated Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts were pushed into my head.
¡¸ The period while the probability usibility screening is happening is the only opportunity. ¡¹
¡¸ Poseidon is a myth-grade constetion. There is almost no way to subdue him through Stage Transformation. ¡¹
¡¸ The only useful thing is this branch. ¡¹
I noticed the branch in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hand.
[The constetion ¡®Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom¡¯ is astonished!]
Perhaps the branch was a stolen star relic from Athena. Strictly speaking, it was a sacred star relic.
[Athena¡¯s Olive Branch]. The reason why Poseidon was so scary was that despite living for many years, he had very few ¡®losing stories.¡¯ Poseidon had lost once and it was in the best he made with Athena.
I had some memories from Yoo Sangah.
-A long time ago, Poseidon and Athenapeted in a city. People decided that the god who gave the better gift would be the guardian of the city. At the time, Poseidon struck a rock with a trident, causing the sea to rise. Meanwhile, Athena grew an olive tree filled with rich fruit.
-Sea water is verymon... did Athena win?
-Yes, Athena won thepetition and became the patron god. Thus, the city was called Athens. Ah... I¡¯m sorry. Am I talking too much? Dokja-ssi should know this as a fantasy expert...
-...
Of course, I had no idea. I wasn¡¯t as knowledgeable in myths as Yoo Sangah. Yet this damn Yoo Jonghyuk knew the story.
¡¸ If there is a slight blow, I can get rid of it. ¡¹
...The olive branch. If there was a losing story, there was a losing story. Perhaps Poseidon would only vomit a bit of seawater after being struck by the branch.
[The constetion ¡®Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom¡¯ is warning you that this isn¡¯t enough!]
However, I could understand Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s choice. If the scenario was going to be forcibly terminated by the probability usibility screening, it wasn¡¯t too bad to do a bit of damage to Poseidon. If he was lucky, he might be able to get the story ¡®One Who Changed the Boundary of the Sea a Bit¡¯ or ¡®One Who Went Against the Owner of the Sea.
...This was only if he was lucky.
I prepared to jump forward in case of an emergency. Dionysus grabbed my shoulder. [Don¡¯t go. You will die.]
¡°Huh?¡±
Dionysus¡¯ expression hardened. Then...
[The ¡®probability usibility screening¡¯ has ended!]
[There is no problem with the probability of the scenario.]
I looked up at the system messages in the air. The indirect messages poured out in session.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is questioning the bureau¡¯s judgment!]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is cursing!]
[Many constetions are suspicious of the bureau¡¯s judgment!]
Anyone would be shocked. It was impossible. A myth-grade constetion had appeared in the 60th scenario yet there were no problems with the probability?
A giant trident appeared in Poseidon¡¯s hand as he slowly rose. The star relic Triaina. The spear that drew the boundaries of the sea, a fearsome weapon that turned everything it touched into blood bubbles of the sea.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡± I shouted but Yoo Jonghyuk was already right under Poseidon¡¯s nose. Even Yoo Jonghyuk would die if he received one blow.
I couldn¡¯t bear it as I moved away from Dionysus and invoked Way of the Wind. However, Yoo Jonghyuk was too far away and the Triaina Spear was close.
Sparks of probability appeared like lightning in the air. The recoil naturally pushed Yoo Jonghyuk back. There was a mild spring scent along with a ck aura. Someone was blocking Poseidon¡¯s way.
[Poseidon, why are you fighting with kids?]
In the spot where the sparks disappeared, there was a goddess with a beautiful appearance. Half her face was covered with a folding fan and there was a ck silk cape around her body. Her face was unfamiliar so I didn¡¯t recognize her for a moment.
Dionysus screamed, [No, why is this olddy here?!]
The re, that could only bloom in the darkest underground, blocked Poseidon¡¯s spear.
[Persephone.]
The sea seemed furious and a fierce sea breeze shook her cor. Persephone nced at me and smiled.
I was thankful but my feelings wereplicated. Why did Persephone appear? I thought the Underworld wouldn¡¯t directly intervene in this...
Perhaps... was it to gain a part of the giant story? Things would be veryplicated if that happened.
[Persephone, why are you blocking me?]
[I am telling you to stop here. Look, it¡¯s too much. Your Majesty¡¯s parents are all terrified.]
Persephone pointed to the sea where countless life forms were trembling. Some aquatic species turned belly up and died. Even the kraken, the giant 2nd grade monster, was breathless.
[The constetion ¡®Pure Moonlight Patron God¡¯ is deploring the death of life!]
[The constetion ¡®Goddess of Love and Beauty¡¯ is dissuading the ¡®Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea.¡¯]
[The constetion ¡®Mistress of the Hearth and Benevolence¡¯ is talking to the ¡®Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea.¡¯]
The neutral constetions were trying to dissuade Poseidon. Persephone continued speaking. [This isn¡¯t the stage for a myth-grade constetion. Leave the children to fight among themselves.]
[This is no longer a problem for children.]
[It isn¡¯t a matter for children?]
[My son was attacked.]
In fact, there was a small arrowhead in Theseus¡¯ left arm, who Poseidon had descended in. Persephone narrowed her eyes.
[Just because of this... Then you should punish those who attacked Theseus. Do you know who it is?]
[It must be a giant.]
[You don¡¯t know that.]
[The giants will kill everyone.]
The stubborn attitude caused even the valiant giants to tremble with fear.
[Those who burrow deep underground. You will regreting up to the ground today!]
The power of Triaina caused all the nearby creatures to scatter. Yet Persephone didn¡¯t back off. I was worried. She might be ¡®Queen of the Underworld¡¯ but it was impossible for her to stop Poseidon, a myth-grade constetion.
[Get out of the way. You might be your brother¡¯s wife but I will kill you.]
Persephone didn¡¯t back down from the threat. Poseidon¡¯s Triaina didn¡¯t hesitate. The light moved and Athena and Apollon, watching the scene from the air, flew forward.
[No, Poseidon!]
[Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea!]
It was toote. The moment the waves hit, Poseidon¡¯s spear was already stuck into Persephone¡¯s heart. Then looking closer, the spear didn¡¯t hit Persephone but a giant hand. A hand made of dense darkness gripped Poseidon¡¯s spear.
It was a feast of probability so bright that I would probably never see it again in my life. I understood why the bureau had passed the ¡®probability usibility screening.¡¯
Dionysusughed while shivering. [Haha, if things go wrong today, the 12 Gods will die.]
A story of darkness was released into the air. The darkness that had kept silent for a long time was awakening.
[The giant story ¡®Underworld¡¯ ising to the sea.]
One of the three chief gods of Olympus, Father of the Rich Night. Underworld King Hades had descended to Gigantomachia.
[Poseidon. You are making a fight between children into one between adults.]
In the original novel of Ways of Survival, the myth-grade constetions had fought several times. Yet such a thing had never happened in the 60th scenario of Ways of Survival. If I remembered correctly, in the 75th scenario where Poseidon of Olympus and Shiva of Vedas collided, all of North America flew away. There were times when the surrounding asteroids were destroyed and... there was something else.
[Stop! You must stop!]
Spokesman of Justice and Wisdom Athena, Almighty Sun Apollon, Master of the Skywalk Hermes and God of Wine and Ecstasy Dionysus. There was also Briareus of the Hundred-Handers.
The moment the sh between the two myth-grade constetions urred, all of the constetions were thrown out like toys. The constetions were thrown into walls and Briareus lost half his remaining arms.
No one was able to stop the struggle between the two myth-grade constetions. The nearby Yoo Jonghyuk was also shocked and flew this way. I moved quickly to his body.
King of the Underworld and King of the Sea. Two myth-grade constetions were staring at each other. They were able to shake their world just by making eye contact. Poseidon was the one to open his mouth first.
[Hades, why did you emerge from the Underworld? You have no justification to intervene in this situation. Even if the scales of probability are aligned, you shouldn¡¯t be here.]
Justification. It was necessary for a major being such as a myth-grade constetion to descend to the sub scenario. The right justification would allow them to pass the usibility screening. In Poseidon¡¯s case, his justification was his son Theseus. Then what about Hades?
[Who says there is no justification? We came to protect our sessor.]
The one who answered was Persephone. Poseidon asked casually, [Sessor? You don¡¯t have children.]
Poseidon¡¯s words were right. Unlike Zeus and Poseidon, who had numerous children, Hades had no children. It wasn¡¯t because Persephone and Hades¡¯ conjugal harmony wasn¡¯t good.
[Of course not. We don¡¯t want to have children and use them in the long-term war. My husband¡¯s brain isn¡¯t his crotch like you.]
Poseidon¡¯s expression hardened and Persephone continued,
[Isn¡¯t it strange to think of raising a child in this damn world of scenarios in the first ce?]
[I don¡¯t intend to attack your crooked values. Answer me bluntly. How do you have a sessor without children?]
The cold voice was like the temperature of the deep sea. Poseidon¡¯s Triaina cried out roughly.
[If you don¡¯t answer correctly, you and your husband will die horribly in the aftermath of the probability storm.]
Persephoneughed silently. Persephone slowly turned and looked this way. The moment I encountered the strange gaze, the pages of Ways of Survival flipped in my head. I looked down at the unconscious Yoo Jonghyuk.
Perhaps it was like this. Suddenly, several things were understood. In the 481st round, Hades was very interested in Yoo Jonghyuk and said the following words:
¡¸ ¡°I want you to be the sessor of the Underworld King.¡± ¡¹
Come to think of it, the Underworld was especially friendly to Yoo Jonghyuk i.e. Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. It was impossible for this cold couple. Everything could be understood if the Underworld was nning to use Yoo Jonghyuk as their sessor.
They invited me and Yoo Jonghyuk to the constetion banquet, invited me to the Gourmet Association, sneaked the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint into Tartarus...
By the way...
Didn¡¯t it seem like I received more benefits? The next moment, the darkness of the world spoke to me.
[The constetion ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯ wants to make you the sessor of the Underworld King.]
Chapter 336 - End of the Myth (3)
Chapter 336: Episode 63 ¨C End of the Myth (3)
...What? I looked at the message with nk eyes. What did it say?
[The constetion ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯ wants to make you the sessor of the Underworld King.]
I wasn¡¯t mistaken. I gazed at Persephone, who was smiling this way. Rather than Yoo Jonghyuk, who was supposed to be the sessor, I was chosen instead. Still, I didn¡¯t understand. Why me?
Poseidon spoke, [You are crazy. You are going to make your sessor someone who doesn¡¯t have divine blood?]
[Isn¡¯t it past time to get over the disgusting old-fashioned notion of blood descendants?]
[Someone who hasn¡¯t even performed the task of session...]
[He performed the ¡®task.¡¯]
I wondered what Persephone was saying. Ipleted a task for the session? Something shed in my mind.
-I¡¯ll give you a task. You want to show me an interesting story? If you seed, I will let you find the soul you want.
-Your task is to cut off the head of the serpent.
Certainly, there was this incident. The test that I did to regain the soul of the 41st round Shin Yoosung. At the time, I cut off Yamata no Orochi¡¯s head toplete Persephone¡¯s task. That wasn¡¯t an ordinary task but a task for session? Since when had this queen nned...
[Hades! Are you serious? You want that trivial constetion to be your sessor? Poseidon cried out fiercely and Hades nced at me.
Come to think of it, Hades had always been favourable to me. Father of the Rich Night. He seemed strict and scary but never once did he do anything to harm me. It was strange when thinking of the many characters who went to the Underworld in the original novel.
Persephone¡¯s eyes deepened.
-Demon King of Salvation, it is better to decide quickly.
Bing the sessor of the Underworld. It suggested that in future scenarios, I might be able to borrow the probability of the Underworld. Furthermore, I was qualified to be the master of the Underworld after seeded Hades.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought. ¡¹
If I epted their proposal here, the Underworld would formally be able to participate in Gigantomachia. In return, they would get a part in the giant story of Gigantomachia. If I refused the session proposal, the Underworld would suffer a great loss and be locked underground again. Then their rtionship with me would bepletely severed.
...Really clever, queen of the Underworld. The Underworld would get the right to participate in Gigantomachia. I would prepare for the overthrow of Olympus. If I refused this offer, Poseidon was the only one to benefit. In such a situation, what was there to think about? In order to return to Earth as soon as possible... in order to revive my mother, this was the best way.
¡°...I will be the sessor of the Underworld. However, I have a condition.¡±
I swiftly told her my condition. I also said that I couldn¡¯t ept the session if the condition wasn¡¯t met. After a while...
[The constetion ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯ has epted your condition!]
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has be the sessor of the Underworld.]
The moment I made the deration, the probability of the Star Stream moved. Many stars looked down on me. Some were jealous of me, some felt admiration and some were genuinely pleased. Then the Underworld King spoke.
[Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea.]
The tone was thicker than any voice I had ever heard.
[We of the Underworld came here to protect our sessor.]
It was a dependable tone. I really wanted a father like this.
[The Star Stream is convinced of the cause suggested by the Father of the Rich Night.]
[The Star Stream has epted the probability of the Father of the Rich Night entering.]
A huge scale was now moving. It was on a level I had never seen before. The two myth-grade constetions climbed on their respective scales, released their status and destroyed the ecosystem of the scenario.
[The bureau has built a wall of probability to prevent the destruction of this scenario!]
[Many constetions are focused on the collision between two myth-grade constetions!]
[Many constetions are shouting the modifier ¡®Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea¡¯!]
[Many constetions are shouting the modifier ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯!]
.
.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is keeping a close eye on his rivals.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is excited about the ¡®real¡¯ confrontation.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is silently watching the situation.]
[Many constetions are praising the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ for the confrontation!]
[700,000 coins have been sponsored.]
This was the moment I realized how big a deal my actions were in the Star Stream.
Dionysus made a despondentugh and said, [You really... you don¡¯t know what you have done.]
¡°No, I know.¡±
Then both constetions moved. In the darkness reminiscent of a giant mountain, a ck sickle appeared. Meanwhile, Triaina emerged from the waves that rushed like a tsunami. There was a collision as the waves surged in front and a cloud of dust was created in the air, reminiscent of a
nuclear explosion.
Then Hades¡¯ body disappeared. Poseidon eximed, [Dammit, it is Kynee!]
If Poseidon had the star relic Triaina, Hades had the golden helmet ¡®Kynee.¡¯ A star relic made by the three cyclops brothers of Olympus and a helmet that could hide the existence of the wearer from the world.
[This is a cowardly method of fighting, Younger Brother!]
[...You are still trying to im that you are the older brother.]
Every time the wind struck, water vapour swept through the area and the fish that died in ce of Poseidon were blown away. The enraged Poseidon pushed Triaina towards the possible position of Hades¡¯ defense.
The stormy waves swallowed the darkness before the darkness once again broke out from the waves.
It was a game regarding the pride of the myths. In the duel between myth-grade constetions, neither of them retreated.
[The giant story ¡®Underworld¡¯ is continuing!]
[The giant story ¡®Supreme Ruler of the Open Seas¡¯ is continuing!]
Their main stories struck and Dionysus desperately started to protect the cave. The stories that the myths had been umting since birth were intersecting. The collision of the myths caused some sentences to disappear and some sentences to be born. The living stories of Poseidon and Hades were being rewritten here.
I watched the scene like I was reading a novel.
¡¸ A new wave was pouring in from where the night and the sea met. ¡¹
It was a scene that had never been seen in Ways of Survival. It was beautiful. The battle itself was spectacr, tremendous and marvellous.
I pulled out my sword.
Then Dionysus¡¯ surprised voice was heard. [What are you doing now?]
¡°I can¡¯t just watch.¡±
If the fighting of the two people continued, all the beings here would be wiped out from the aftermath. The giant story of Gigantomachia would be reconstructed around the influence of these two.
In addition, they might be even now but the stage of this battle was the ¡®sea.¡¯ Therefore, it was obvious who the god of victory would side with.
¡°I have to help Hades. Let¡¯s try whaling.¡±
[Didn¡¯t you see Athena disappearing into the horizon? If you get hit like that, you will die.]
¡°It is because she was trying to catch the father whale. Then what about the baby whale?¡±
I was pointing at Theseus. The great Greek hero, who epted Poseidon¡¯s descent, was releasing stories in the midst of the waves.
¡¸ Stop... ¡¹
¡¸ Now, stop, please... .¡¹
Dionysus¡¯ expression distorted. [You want to send Poseidon back by defeating Theseus?]
¡°It is cowardly but it is the best method.¡±
[It isn¡¯t cowardly. Still, do you think that fish will allow you to do so? It is impossible for a narrative-grade constetion to break through those waves.]
¡°Yes, if I am only trying with a single story. However, what if I¡¯m holding the sacred torch?¡±
At this moment, Dionysus¡¯ expression changed. [Don¡¯t tell me... you want to create a sacred torch? Will you collect the stories to pierce through Uncle Fish¡¯s barrier?]
¡°It is simr.¡±
A sacred torch. The mes that burned when many beings gathered their stories.
Dionysus asked, [Who will carry that fire? You?]
¡°I have to wear the fireproof suit first.¡±
I looked at the broken Pluto near the cave. Pluto waspletely ruined in the previous battle with Ares. I pulled out the Old to New Toad. The toad sang. ¡°Give me an old house and I¡¯ll give you a new house.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll give you two. Instead, fix this with the new one.¡±
¡°Go od.¡±
The real power of the Old to New Toad wasn¡¯t simply exchanging items with new items. This toad had the special power to rece broken items with the same ¡®new items¡¯ if the sacrifice was avable. There was a reason Anna Croft wanted this toad at the auction house.
I fed the toad with some low level star relics from the battle just now and Pluto¡¯s body. The toad opened its mouth unusually wide and swallowed the metal Pluto. After a while, Pluto was vomited out.
[Uwah, shit. What? I¡¯m alive?]
Pluto, who was smaller at two metres in size, came out while covered in sticky fluids. It looked perfect without any scratches.
Dionysus looked somewhat surprised but his expression was still dark. [How are you going to make the sacred torch? Do you think the other 12 Gods will help you? In addition, the ¡®torch¡¯ needs to borrow the power of the sun...]
I knew. However, there was ater matter. There was something more urgent right now. Someone rose from beside Dionysus. He looked terrible as soon as he woke up.
¡°You woke up?¡±
¡°...Poseidon?¡± Yoo Jonghyuk held his head like he had a headache and frowned. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t a big hit.
¡°He is fighting over there.¡±
¡°...The opponent is Hades.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk read the battlefield at once. A great battle between myth-grade constetions. The probability was vibrating uneasily. Perhaps he was thinking the same thing now.
¡°It is a great opportunity to deal a blow to Olympus. Don¡¯t you know?¡±
¡°...We have to hit them now.¡±
¡°To do so, we need the cooperation of the woman you hate.¡±
¡°A woman I hate?¡±
I silently stared towards the depths of the cave. Then from deep inside the cave, something like a torch turned on one by one.
The woman walked slowly through the light. I stared at her and asked with a smile, ¡°Anna Croft, will you help?¡±
Chapter 337 - End of the Myth (
Chapter 337: Episode 63 ¨C End of the Myth (4)
¡°Why should I help you?¡±
¡°Or you will die too.¡±
There were more than 10 incarnations in the darkness. They were Anna Croft, Selena Kim and other party members. As expected, they also fought in Gigantomachia.
¡°We can escape before that happens.¡±
¡°Then you¡¯ll receive damage. Wouldn¡¯t it be a good experience to clear it to the end as long as you¡¯re in the middle of the scenario?¡±
Anna Croft stared at me as if to test my true intentions. ¡°What do you really want?¡±
¡°King Ledes¡¯ Leather Gloves. Don¡¯t you have it? I didn¡¯t see it at the auction house, no matter how hard I looked.¡±
Anna Croft had used Future Sight. She probably knew the value of the items she purchased beforehand. Anna Croft read my intentions and then smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t give you that. It is a material for my giant soldier.¡±
¡°Are you trying to create a model capable of Stage Transformation? You should know it is impossible with your strength alone.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll only know after trying.¡±
One of Anna Croft¡¯s party members stepped forward with hostility. Then Yoo Jonghyuk stepped forward to confront him.
¡°There¡¯s nothing to say.¡± There was the clear sound of the sword being pulled out. ¡°She is a woman I need to kill anyway.¡±
A transcendent status filled the cave and the other side obviously became tense. I could use Yoo Jonghyuk to take away items. The problem was that the opponent was Anna Croft.
I raised my hand to restrain Yoo Jonghyuk and Yoo Jonghyuk stared at me with a dreadful expression.
[The character Yoo Jonghyuk is using Three Restraints Lv. 10.]
Restraining oneself three times to avoid killing a person... I couldn¡¯t believe I was seeing Yoo Jonghyuk use this skill in front of my eyes. It was difficult for me to tell how much of a grudge Yoo Jonghyuk had against Anna Croft, even after reading Ways of Survival.
I was struggling to make a decision when someone spoke. ¡°Anna, give him the gloves. Now is the time for us to yield.¡±
Anna Croft¡¯s expression hardened at Selena Kim¡¯s words. Selena Kim turned her head and sent a sound transmission to me.
-I am thankful forst time, Demon King of Salvation.
Previously, I had released the pledge on Selena Kim through the bet with Anna Croft at the auction house. In other words, Selena Kim no longer had to listen to Anna Croft¡¯smands. Anna Croft¡¯s expression when her greatest power opposed her opinion was worth seeing.
Since Selena Kim threw out these words, it was my turn to finish it. ¡°It won¡¯t be for free.¡±
¡°Then?¡±
¡°I will buy it with coins.¡±
Anna Croft paused at the mention of coins.
¡°How about 500,000 coins? You probably lost some money at the auction house.¡±
Anna Croft¡¯s eyes narrowed. She seemed to be thinking about the losses she had suffered. After a while, Anna Croft opened her mouth. ¡°I will consider it for one million coins.¡±
¡°It originally cost 200,000 coins. Isn¡¯t that too expensive? 600,000 coins.¡±
¡°900,000 coins.¡±
¡°700,000 coins. I can¡¯tpromise any further.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll give it to you for 800,000 coins.¡±
Indeed, she was a formidable woman. 800,000 coins wasn¡¯t a small number but the deal had to be made. The King Ledes¡¯ Leather Gloves was an indispensable item for this whale hunting.
[King Ledes¡¯ Leather Gloves has been acquired.]
[You have paid 800,000 coins to Incarnation Anna Croft.]
The deal was over and I smiled. ¡°There is no harm to each other.¡±
¡°No harm to each other? Have you already forgotten that you took one million coins from me?
There are still 200,000 coins...¡±
¡°Come to South Korea once. You can enjoy a 200,000 won course meal.¡±
Of course, 200,000 won and 200,000 coins were different. Anna Croft gritted her teeth angrily. ¡°Do you really intend to fight with Poseidon?¡±
¡°You have seen it with Future Sight so you will know.¡±
¡°That...¡±
Of course, I knew she didn¡¯t know the future. Her Future Sight couldn¡¯t see the futures associated with me.
I brushed past her and added in a small voice. ¡°Maybe this time will be pretty fun. You will go to a future that you can¡¯t read.¡±
I watched Anna Croft¡¯s quivering small head and felt a strange sense of triumph... I didn¡¯t know why I wanted to bully this person every time I met her.
¡°I hope you won¡¯t die a dog¡¯s death.¡±
¡°If you really want that, ask Asgard to add some probability.¡±
After finishing the conversation, I nced at Yoo Jonghyuk. He was still ring at Anna Croft and seemed on the verge of swinging his sword straight away. The moment I was about to open Midday Tryst, Yoo Jonghyuk unexpectedly sent me a message first.
-That woman¡¯s neck belongs to me. No matter when it happens.
-Do whatever you like.
Of course, at that time, I didn¡¯t intend to stop it. However, at least until then, Anna Croft was a person we needed.
Dionysus raised his hand. [What do I do?]
¡°Don¡¯t do anything.¡±
[What?]
I left Dionysus and nced at the giant soldier. Pluto was raising hisbody in the seawater.
I asked Yoo Jonghuk, ¡°Can¡¯ you burn for two people?¡±
[You¡¯re not satisfied with one and want me to do two?]
¡°Can you do it?¡±
[...Will you care if I say I can¡¯t?]
***
As the two myth-grade constetions shed, the true voices of the constetions came from the sky. They stopped fighting and voiced their opinions on the current situation instead of pointing their weapons at each other.
[I didn¡¯t think Hades would show up here...]
[How can we stop them? Athena, haven¡¯t you won a fight with Uncle Poseidon before?]
[Isn¡¯t that another story? I just nted an olive tree... how can I win against a myth-grade?]
[I don¡¯t know if the Lightning Throne or Mother Earth appears...]
The expressions of the 12 Gods were dark. The Lightning Throne neglected the work of the neb after entering the top-level scenario while Mother Earth hated Olympus and was unlikely to interfere in this incident.
[Hermes, what about using the giant stories of Olympus?]
[They are the chief narrators of our giant story. Do you think it will work?]
[...That¡¯s true.]
There werements here and there but a solution didn¡¯te out.
Lee Seolhwa observed the conversation between constetions and whispered in Lee Hyunsung¡¯s ears. ¡°...I thought narrative-grade constetions would be great but they¡¯re more ordinary than I thought.¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Then what should we do now? If the constetions are like this...¡±
There was no confidence in Lee Seolhwa¡¯s voice. In the meantime, Kim Dokja¡¯s Company worked hard. It was natural to be confident after training and progressing. However, now they weren¡¯t dealing with great-grade or narrative-grade constetions. The stories they built couldn¡¯t evenpare to the toes of these enormous beings.
Shin Yoosung muttered in a small voice. ¡°It was really had to beat that sun ahjussist time...¡±
Surya had two eyes closed and was watching the scene through the Third Eye on his forehead. Even Surya, the strongest sun god, remained silent without interrupting. He was also unable to confront the myth-grade constetions.
Shockwaves spread. The shes between Poseidon and Hades became more frequent and cracks spread in the sky. The space itself was copsing from the collision. In addition, the more serious thing...
[Uncle Hades will lose.]
[It can¡¯t be helped. This stage is the ¡®sea¡¯.]
Complicated expressions appeared on the faces of the 12 Gods. Poseidon or Hades. No matter who won, Olympus would fall into the crucible of confusion.
At this moment, Surya opened his mouth. [Something ising.]
Someone had prated the expanse and was quickly approaching this way. It was a giant soldier made of the skin of a ck dragon.
Lee Gilyoung shouted, ¡°Dokja hyung!¡±
There was a loud exhaust sound and the giant soldier stopped. Kim Dokja emerged from inside Pluto. ¡°Everyone. I¡¯ll exin it briefly.¡±
Kim Dokja slowly looked at the constetions and incarnations. ¡°I¡¯m going to make a sacred torch. For that, I need your help.¡±
Suddenly, the 12 Gods nced at each other. A true voice burst out.
[A sacred torch ry!]
[Indeed, why didn¡¯t I think of that?]
The voices spoke until Kim Dokja once again opened his mouth. ¡°The 12 Gods, please don¡¯t do anything.¡±
[What? What do you mean?]
¡°You belong to Olympus and have no way to resist Poseidon¡¯s giant story. If you participate in the torch ry, it can be counterproductive.¡±
Kim Dokja¡¯s words were true and some constetions nodded. However, it wasn¡¯t everyone.
[If we don¡¯t help, how can we turn on the sacred fire?]
In the first ce, the sacred torch was a light that came from the sun. In order to start the sacred light, the help of the sun was needed.
Then Surya quietly stood up. Kim Dokja gazed at him. ¡°Surya, sit down too.¡±
Surya sat down again.
[How will you make a sacred torch without the sun?]
¡°The sacred fire is about sanctification. It isn¡¯t turned on only by the sun.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is shrugging.]
Looking back, Jung Heewon¡¯s body was held tightly by Lee Hyunsung who had triggered Steel Transformation. Lee Hyunsung¡¯s cheeks were red, although it was unknown if this was due to embarrassment or the mes of Hell mes Ignition.
¡°Too hoooooooot!¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry. Please endure it a bit more.¡±
Surya nodded at the sight. [The mes of Eden are enough to rece the sun¡¯s heat. However, the mes made from that sanctification will find it hard to pierce through Poseidon¡¯s waves.]
¡°I know. Thus, it is time for you to step up.¡±
Surya rose from where he was sitting. [Interesting.]
***
I needed more time before Lee Hyunsung was heated enough by the mes so I sat on the giant soldier¡¯s shoulder and gave some instructions to the group members. Then I looked around and saw Han Sooyoung dangling her legs while sucking candy.
I scolded Han Sooyoung, ¡°Is it delicious?¡±
¡°Strangely, I¡¯ve been craving something sweettely. Do you want to eat?¡±
Han Sooyoung didn¡¯t wait for my answer and shoved the candy she was holding into my mouth.
It had a lemon vour. I ate the candy and Han Sooyoung looked at me quietly. ¡°By the way, that¡¯s what I was eating.¡±
¡°So?¡±
¡°...You are really no fun.¡±
Han Sooyoung slid down from the shoulder of the giant soldier andnded on its palm. I looked around and everyone also had a candy in their mouths, even Yoo Jonghyuk.
Lee Seolhwa said, ¡°Sooyoung-ssi gave them away. I heard it has a rxing effect.¡±
That¡¯s why they were all biting one. I nodded in a convinced manner and Lee Seolhwa asked, ¡°Can we win?¡±
I looked up and slowly gazed at Lee Seolhwa. Lee Seolhwa was looking back. I just smiled because I had no answer.
Victory or defeat, I didn¡¯t know such a thing. Just.
¡°No one will die.¡±
Finally, the Steel Sword was preheated by the sacred mes and the ¡®torch¡¯ was held in Pluto¡¯s hand.
I opened my mouth while boarding Pluto.
[Please gather together.]
One by one, the scattered party members gathered. People born in different ces and had different perspectives were gathered here. Thus, they became a constetion of people.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has begun!]
All the narrators of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company started their story.
¡¸ It is a story originating from a reader. ¡¹
¡¸ The strongest and loneliest man in the world held his sword. ¡¹
¡¸ The steel sword bore the inferno of hell and soared towards the high expanse. ¡¹
The history that we umted was gathering in the mes of the sacred torch. Our story was a giant story from outside Olympus. Thus, it was impossible for Poseidon to not be hurt by this force.
From a distance, Poseidon noticed the message and looked this way.
Heughed and covered the air with waves, like a barrier. He was confident that the barrier made with the power of a myth-grade constetion couldn¡¯t be pierced.
It was possible to know just by facing him. Kim Dokja¡¯s Company couldn¡¯t pierce that barrier with our current power. We needed more power and a faster speed. A momentum strong enough to break through that wall.
Finally, there was an assistant to provide that momentum to us.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has expanded.]
The sound of a train horn was heard from somewhere.
[Stage Transformation has urred!]
¡¸ Thus, the bright sun illuminated their way. ¡¹
The train that was once our enemy was now rushing through the sky to pick us up. The sun train emitted a dazzling golden aura and the party members looked up with ecstatic eyes.
It was possible. If it was like this, it was clearly possible.
¡°Let¡¯s go, Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.¡±
Chapter 338 - End of the Myth (5)
Chapter 338: Episode 63 ¨C End of the Myth (5)
At this time, all ¡®temporary bureau¡¯ members set up for the 60th scenario were looking at the same screen. The battle between myth-grade constetions was transmitted in real time. From low-grade to higher grade dokkaebis, they gathered regardless of their grade, forgetting their own channels scattered around various regions.
Hades vs. Poseidon.
In the past few years, the number of times constetions fought such a bloody battle could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Of course, there were cases of powerful constetions confronting each other but as always, it was about the story of the battle.
A battle to defend their sessors. Hades made a surprise deration, when he didn¡¯t have a sessor for thousands of years, caused the constetions to explode.
[The vast majority of constetions are enthusiastic about the battle scene!]
The vast majority. Even the advanced dokkaebis like Bihyung had never seen such a cluster of constetions.
[The demon king ¡®Ruler of the East Hell¡¯ is enthusiastic about the battle!]
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Principles¡¯ is burning with the motivation to participate in the scenario.]
[The constetion ¡®Saviour of Corruption¡¯ is watching the battle with mad eyes!]
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is looking at the battlefield with terrible eyes.]
The rumour spread quickly and the constetions started to gather together, no matter if they were good or evil.
[The constetion ¡®Great Mother God Who Created Man out of Earth¡¯ is watching the battle.]
[The constetion ¡®God King of Thunder¡¯ is interested in the war of Olympus.]
[The constetion ¡®Founder of Reincarnation¡¯ is rejoicing.]
From the neb Emperor to Vedas and Goddess Ind. The constetions of China, India and Irnd were gathered together to observe the battle of myth-grade constetions.
The subscribers of the channel skyrocketed and the bureau was busy capturing the remaining probability to sustain the scenario and maintain the channels. There was no way the bureau could miss such an opportunity.
As the bnce slowly tilted, the reaction of the constetions became hotter. It was predicted that one myth would end here today. In the ce where one myth fell, a new story that never existed would bloom like a flower.
Unlike the other dokkaebis who were full of excitement and passion, Bihyung was in a state of uneasiness.
¡®...That bastard, what the hell is he doing?¡¯
On the screen, Kim Dokja was moving. Giant Soldier Pluto was holding the Steel Sword who had been heated up. The steel sword shone like a giant torch in the sun of ancient Greek.
Dokgak opened his mouth. ¡°Crazy. They¡¯re trying a sacred torch ry.¡±
All the dokkaebis were streamers. A curious dokkaebi asked Dokgak. ¡°A sacred torch ry? What is it?¡±
¡°Do you know the torch that burns with mes in the myths?¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°The sacred torch ry is the ceremony of ¡®peace¡¯ and ¡®victory.¡¯ They are dering that they will end this war through that fire.¡±
After Dokgak¡¯s exnation, the dokkaebis opened their mouths.
¡°Crazy. Joining that battlefield now...¡±
The Demon King of Salvation was also famous among the dokkaebis. The master of the new neb, Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. The beloved demon king of archangels, the rule of the 73rd Demon Realm. A ¡®returnee¡¯ who survived the fight against the Indescribable Distance, received the favour of an outer god and even crossed to another world.
¡°Even if it is him, this time...¡±
¡°He is a foolhardy man.¡±
In the middle of this, one dokkaebi wasughing. ¡°Haha, hahaha...¡±
It was Bihyung. Some of the dokkaebis looked puzzled but Bihyung continued tough. He had a thought.
Perhaps none of the dokkaeb is here would understand his feelings. The members of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company who carried the torch of revolution. They were perceived as moths flying towards the mes.
However, he knew the stories they had umted. The difficulties given to them had varying sizes but they were always in the realm of ¡®impossibility.¡¯
¡°Yes, this is Kim Dokja!¡±
Bihyung watched the constetion drawn by Kim Dokja¡¯s Company and was reminded of a history not long ago.
The first time he met Kim Dokja on the subway. The moment he made the exclusive contract with Kim Dokja, who was weak but calm.
The stories piled up like snowkes. There was something unbelievable. It was something he saw for the first time. A trivial human who built up his stories and became a constetion, finally reaching the starting point of A Single Story.
Streamer Bihyung had watched it all.
Dokgak opened his mouth. ¡°He will fail this time.¡±
¡°Maybe so.¡±
¡°You areposed. Isn¡¯t this the constetion you contracted with?¡±
¡°He used to be but not anymore.¡±
Bihyungughed. He didn¡¯t know if Kim Dokja¡¯s strategy would seed or not but strangely, he had a streamer¡¯s hunch. Kim Dokja¡¯s story wouldn¡¯t end here.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has expanded!]
Along with the system messages, the dokkaebis¡¯ eyes widened. A golden train was flying through the sky. It was Surya¡¯s golden train.
¡°That...!¡±
If they were told about what would happen in the 60th scenario, who would¡¯ve believed it?
¡°If it is this... Maybe...!¡±
The cooperation between humans and gods. A Single Story, the torch of sanctification was leading the way to sess. The train descended like a yellow dragon and the dokkaebis gulped.
Why? They watched the reckless, absurd and impossible challenge. Yet why were the streamers¡¯ hearts burning?
Perhaps Dokgak was right. The attack might fail and this neb might be dust in the Star Stream. Nevertheless.
[The great dokkaebi ¡®Halong¡¯ is watching the 60th scenario.]
[The great dokkaebi ¡®Holong¡¯ is watching the 60th scenario,]
[The great dokkaebi ¡®Baram¡¯ is watching the end of the 60th scenario,]
At this moment, all dokkaebis were thinking the same thing.
¡¸ I also want to make such a scenario. ¡¹
The story of the constetions was growing on the grounds of the scenario. The constetions who grew up eating the stories dreamt of another story. This was the power of the Star Stream.
The overwhelmed Bihyung eximed, ¡°They! They are the ones I raised! Do you all know?¡±
What made a good story? What scenario was a good scenario? There was no dokkaebi who knew the answer. If anyone knew, it would be the Dokkaebi King.
However, the dokkaebis knew one thing. It was the fact that perhaps their king would also be watching this story.
***
The head of the falling train finally crashed into the waves. The surprised Poseidon¡¯s eyes widened. The status of the narrative-grade constetion advanced and entered into Poseidon¡¯s waves. Even so, the walls of the waves were still rough and thick.
¡°Next is me.¡±
¡¸ The woman who dreams of another apocalypse is staring her story. ¡¹
Han Sooyoung moved along the edge of the train and released her bandages to create ck mes.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s formidable ck mes took the form of a dragon.
She had already reached such a point. The shape of the dragon moved forward and tore through the waves.
Lee Jihye followed.
¡¸ The wounded swordsman raised her sword to protect her rtionships. ¡¹
The key ring on Lee Jihye¡¯s sword shone as she raised it like amander. At almost the same time, a fleet appeared on the wall of waves. The Ghost Fleet fired through the passage made by the ck dragon.
Poseidon called his gship as Yi Sunsin¡¯s bombardment prevented the waves from filling back up.
However, Poseidon couldn¡¯t afford to worry about this. Hades had regained his momentum and aimed for his neck with the scythe of the Underworld.
Behind the bombardment, Giant Soldier Pluto took a sprinting posture in the rear of the train.
Shin Yoosung dered, ¡°Depart, Ahjussi!¡±
The inertia of the train added to Pluto¡¯s speed. The wind attribute of the chimera dragon amplified the speed even further.
¡°Go, Dokja hyung!¡±
Along with Lee Gilyoung¡¯s cheer, Pluto started the dash. Pluto held the Steel Sword in both hands while Jung Heewon supplied hellfire to it.
¡°Haaaat!¡±
Lee Hyunsung bellowed and Pluto flew through the sky.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is continuing the story!]
[The giant story ¡®Supreme Ruler of the Open Seas¡¯ is continuing!]
Stories and stories shed and Pluto¡¯s gloves were torn off. Kim Namwoon screamed with pleasure despite the pain.
¡¸ The steel giant, who returned from hell, swung his sword. ¡¹
¡¸ The mes of hell burned up the steel. ¡¹
The sword that burned with hellfire and the stories of all the other members. The mes of the torch vaporized many water walls at once. The myth-rated barrier, that seemed impossible to prate, was being broken.
Beyond the broken waves, the defenseless Theseus could be seen. In the situation where victory was in front of his eyes, Pluto didn¡¯t move. The world shook like it was reversed and I vomited up blood inside Pluto.
In the meantime, Poseidon had thrown Triaina and it pierced Pluto¡¯s waist. It was the exact ce where I was riding.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
Jung Heewon¡¯s voice was faintly heard.
[The power of the star relic ¡®Triaina¡¯ is fatally injured your incarnation body!]
[The status is a power you can¡¯t afford!]
[The giant soldier ¡®Pluto¡¯ has offset some of your shock.]
This was the majesty of a myth-grade constetion. It could trample on a narrative-grade constetion like me as if I was a worm.
The waves had been pierced but the mes of the torch were cooling down. Lee Hyunsung seemed stunned and Jung Heewon¡¯s magic power was almost running out. The waves were showing signs of recovery again.
Poseidon was still rxed as he dealt with Hades. There was a faint smile. Maybe he thought he won. Towards that Poseidon, Iughed. As always, the protagonist was thest to attack.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk!¡±
Behind the torch that was dying out, a man in a ck coat was running with everyone¡¯s stories on his back. The surprised Poseidon created a water spear but Red Phoenix Shunpo quickly avoided it. Some spears that couldn¡¯t be stopped pierced Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thighs and shoulders.
[The item ¡®Giant¡¯s Armour¡¯ is effective!]
The armour that contained the power of the giants barely protected Yoo Jonghyuk from the sacred spears.
One step, two steps, three steps.
As the number of spears that stabbed it increased, the Giant¡¯s Armour started to crumble. Then it shattered. With 10 steps left, Poseidon¡¯s status rushed towards Yoo Jonghyuk.
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression hardened. This was a power that a regressor of the third round couldn¡¯t afford. Just a bit more. Just a little bit further. Theseus was right in front of our noses.
¡¸ Kim Dokja. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk in my vision became a bit blurry. I knew from the beginning that it was unreasonable. It wasn¡¯t possible for Yoo Jonghyuk to go to the ce where Theseus was located.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
Then what if he wasn¡¯t the ¡®third round?¡¯
[Your blurred consciousness has been partially liberated from the constraints of your body.]
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been activated!]
Once again, thendscape I saw had changed.
[The 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view has been activated!]
It was the veryndscape that Yoo Jonghyuk saw.
¡¸ Kim Dokja? ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s thoughts seemed confused. Poseidon¡¯s spear was moving. I felt time slowing as I turned over the pages of Ways of Survival in my head.
The third round couldn¡¯t finish this. However, I eagerly imagined what would be possible someday.
[The story ¡®Hell of Eternity¡¯ has begun.]
The 4th round, the 5th round, the 6th round... the 41st round... the 56th round...
[This round can¡¯t be understood with your Reading Comprehension.]
Pain came over me and my bloodshot eyes seemed like they were going to explode. The explosive stories were a mess in my head. Still, I didn¡¯t give up.
[The Fourth Wall is protecting your spirit!]
[Your ¡®Reading Comprehension¡¯ is moving towards new possibilities.]
[The pages you can¡¯t read are opening!]
Countless curious eyes were on us. They weren¡¯t constetions. Yoo Jonghyuk muttered, ¡¸ This... ¡¹
The ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ of the other rounds were watching us. Some looked envious while others had gloomy expressions. Finally, there was one with an expression of intrigue.
¡¸ Interesting. ¡¹
I quickly moved through the pages and reached the maximum I could turn over now. Thus, I finally used the future ahead of me.
[You have reached the maximum number of rounds you can read.]
[The maximum number of times you can read ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is up to the ¡®362nd round.¡¯]
The 362nd round Yoo Jonghyuk. This was thest card I could bring out. The 362nd round Yoo Jonghyuk wasn¡¯t strong enough to kill Poseidon. In order to do that, the number of regressions must be 1,700 times.
[Thanks to the influence of 1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view, the talent of ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ of this round is passed onto others.]
[The talent of ¡®362nd round Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is attracted to ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯]
However, the 362nd round Yoo Jonghyuk was strong enough. It was because the 362nd round Yoo Jonghyuk:
¡¸ ¡°It has been a while, Poseidon.¡± ¡¹
It was the Yoo Jonghyuk who fought against Poseidon for the first time.
¡¸ ¡°At that time, I killed your son.¡± ¡¹
Poseidon¡¯s furious roar was head. The 362nd round Yoo Jonghyuk moved inside Yoo Jonghyuk of the 3rd round. It was a stance that he took a million, ten million times.
¡¸ ¡°This is Palm Boxing.¡± ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Breaking the Sky Force Punch break through the final barrier and pierced Theseus¡¯ body.
. I also made a small correction to thest chapter.
[Pluto was raising his body in the seawater. I asked him while nodding towards Yoo Jonghyuk, ¡°Can you pick up two people?¡±]
Chapter 339 - End of the Myth (6)
Chapter 339: Episode 63 ¨C End of the Myth (6)
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has used Breaking the Sky Force Punch Lv. ???!]
[The skill level of this person can¡¯t be converted to a numerical value!]
[The skill is strengthened abnormally due to the power of the story!]
Theseus¡¯ right arm was destroyed by Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Breaking the Sky Force Punch and floated in the water. Theseus watched this with a nk expression.
I felt sorry for him who didn¡¯t do anything wrong. However, as long as Poseidon had descended into Theseus¡¯ body, getting rid of Theseus was the only way to expel the myth-grade constetion from the scenario.
The next moment, sparks appeared around Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s entire body.
[Some dokkaebis are doubting the probability of the story!]
[The incarnation body of the character can¡¯t bear the skill!]
...As expected, he might have the talent of the 362nd round Yoo Jonghyuk but this was the body of the 3rd round. It was insufficient to break Poseidon¡¯s barrier and destroy Theseus¡¯ flesh.
[The power of the item ¡®King Ledes¡¯ Leather Gloves¡¯ is triggered!]
There was an item that would bridge this gap. It was the very item I had purchased from Anna Croft.
[Stage Transformation is triggered by the effect of King Ledes¡¯ Leather Gloves!]
King Ledes was a figure known as the murderer of Theseus in mythology. Theseus¡¯plexion changed. Nevertheless, Theseus stepped forward instead of retreating. He unfolded his arms as if begging to be killed.
[...Theseus!]
The moment Poseidon¡¯s wrathful true voice was heard, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s Breaking the Sky Force Punch struck again.
[The constetion ¡®Abandoned Lover of the Labyrinth¡¯ is grieving.]
I saw Theseus looking down at his heart and then looking at Yoo Jonghyuk, or perhaps me. In thest moment, there was a relieved smile on Theseus¡¯ face.
[The incarnation body of the constetion ¡®Hero of the Labyrinth¡¯ haspletely disappeared.]
It was just the death of the incarnation body and he wouldn¡¯t disappearpletely. Still, Theseus would be so damaged that he couldn¡¯t do any scenario activities for the time being. Theseus threw his body toplete this scenario, despite knowing all of that.
[Olympus¡¯ leaders have all died!]
[The scenario clear conditions have been met.]
[Calcting the contribution of individual incarnations and constetions!]
.
.
[1st person protagonist¡¯s point of view has been released.]
I coughed up blood as I returned to my body again.
Inside the broken Pluto, Kim Namwoon¡¯s voice was heard. [The calling has stopped... grasshopper. Bye...]
Pluto¡¯s summoning time ended and he was returned to the Underworld. At the same time, a massive storm of water swept over the area where Theseus¡¯ incarnation body had died.
Poseidon who had descended in Theseus¡¯ body was running wild. In the midst of the spraying water, the incarnations struggled for breath. A portion of Poseidon¡¯s status was pouring towards the defenseless Yoo Jonghyuk.
It wasn¡¯t an attack that could be avoided by Yoo Jonghyuk, who was seriously damaged and turned to rags thanks to the talent of the 362nd round.
I shouted, [Hades!]
[I understand.]
Hades appeared in the air with Kynee, holding Yoo Jonghyuk in his arms. Poseidon¡¯s spear only crashed into the depths of the deep sea.
This wasn¡¯t the end. Cracks spread rapidly around the area where Triaina was stabbed. The cracks started to suck up everything around it like a vacuum cleaner.
Unfortunately, I was also included in the things to be cleaned. My damaged incarnation body didn¡¯t have the strength to resist this suction. I stretched out my hand as I was being swept away by the torrents. However, there was no one to grab my hand.
...That¡¯s what I thought.
¡¸ Dokja-ssi! ¡¹
¡¸ You idiot! ¡¹
Hair scattered beautifully in the water. Lee Seolhwa swam like a mermaid and grabbed my left arm while Han Sooyoung followed her and grabbed my right arm. The two people stopped my bleeding with Hit a Pressure Point and pulled me up with all their strength.
I saw Han Sooyoung swimming desperately in order to get away from the crack in the deep sea.
Shortly thereafter, we emerged safely from the water.
¡°Haaap!¡±
¡°Kim Dokja, you crazy guy!¡±
[The main scenario will close soon!]
Rather than replying to Han Sooyoung, I watched the currents. If my prediction was correct, Poseidon lost his incarnation body and would be forced to return.
[The constetion ¡®Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea¡¯ is roaring!]
However, the situation went differently than expected. Poseidon¡¯s power was bing stronger instead of weakening.
¡°...Ahjussi?¡±
It seemed that the party members perceived something was wrong.
[The bureau is urging the ¡®Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea¡¯ to withdraw!]
Poseidon didn¡¯t disappear despite the bureau¡¯s rmendation. The situation was obvious. In a scenario that already ended, there were no justifications for his actions.
[The bureau is preparing sanctions for the ¡®Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea¡¯ to withdraw!]
Fortunately, the bureau seemed to be doing its job properly. I watched the boiling and seething sea. The question was what Poseidon would do until the sanctions were imposed...
A little further away, Hades and Persephone were watching this side.
[Many constetions are condemning ¡®Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea¡¯!]
[Sh¨Dut¨Dup!]
My mind seemed to go nk from the true voice. In the distance, a tsunami was approaching. It was a wave hundreds of metres high.
¡°Crazy! What is that?¡±
¡°Poseidon is crazy!¡±
The incarnations btedly tried to flee but it was toote. Some of them, including the giants, were swept away by the first wave. It was a giant wave of water that no one could resist.
I looked at Hades but Hades didn¡¯t move. The reason he didn¡¯te forward was obvious. Hades had exactly the same idea as me.
We simultaneously looked up at the sky.
¡¸ No matter how disinterested you are in Olympus, you can¡¯t just watch this time. ¡¹
[The bureau is giving probability to someone.]
The next moment, the colour of the sky changed. A light that seemed to paralyze sight and hearing filled the sky. The light seemed to make the world disappear. It was a little whileter that I realized it was a veryrge lightning bolt.
The lightning tore through the waves. It was strong enough to split the sea into two and burn the ground of the deep sea. I heard Poseidon¡¯sst roar before he disappeared.
[The constetion ¡®Spear that Parts the Boundaries of the Sea¡¯ has exited the scenario.]
It was an incredible sight. Nevertheless, it really happened.
[The constetion ¡®Lightning Throne¡¯ is looking down at Olympus.]
No matter how many of the 12 Gods there were, they didn¡¯t dare to face him. The moment the indirect message came up, all the gods of Olympus froze in ce. It was the same for the insolent Dionysus and the virtuous Athena and Artemis. The gaze of the sky slowly turned to the king of the Underworld.
¡¸ The underground and sky faced each other. ¡¹
As if this conversation was enough, Hades wore Kynee and disappeared from the scenario.
[The constetion ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯ has exited the scenario.]
Persephone disappeared while winking at me.
[We¡¯ll meet again soon, our cute son.]
Two of the three chief gods had disappeared but the tension wasn¡¯t diminished. There was the sound of the world moving as the scales of probability once again tilted.
It was clear who the bureau had given probability to. King of Olympus, Zeus. The only one in Olympus who had reached the st scenario.¡¯ No constetion other than Zeus could eject Poseidon and cause this reaction in the constetions.
In fact, Biyoo¡¯s channel had a festive atmosphere.
[The dokkaebi of the bureau has recalled the probability given to the Lightning Throne.]
[The bureau is rmending for the Lightning Throne to withdraw.]
A festival was called a festival because it was short.
If Zeus stayed in the sub scenario for a long time, he would harm the bnce of the Star Stream. It might bring about a disaster like Indescribable Distancest time. Even so, Zeus was arrogant.
[Don¡¯t rush me. I didn¡¯te at your request. I came to see my seeds.]
The sky of Olympus looked down at the 12 Gods. The 12 Gods who came here were tense in front of Zeus¡¯ gaze.
[Yet they are still... only garbage.]
At Zeus¡¯ words, the 12 Gods sat down like they had received a great shock. Dionysus¡¯ shoulders were trembling. He was a narrative-grade constetion but Dionysus couldn¡¯t resist at all.
Some stories were like this. They umted for a long time and couldn¡¯t resist ending.
The clouds in the sky were lifted and Zeus¡¯ status became blurred. Like a farmer turning his back to barren ground, Zeus was leaving the scenario.
Some of the 12 Gods muttered, [Even his children...]
At this moment, a small stone flew towards the sky. It was the stone I threw. The stone in the air was destroyed by the sparks of probability.
[The constetion ¡®Lightning Throne¡¯ is looking at you.]
I felt a powerful status surrounding my body but I just red at the sky. In any case, the probability allowed to Zeus was over.
[The constetion ¡®Lightning Throne¡¯ has exited the scenario.]
I looked back at the 12 Gods. ¡°Why are you just listening to his words?¡±
[You...]
The moment Dionysus was going to spear, a message poured from the sky. No, it wasn¡¯t a message.
Dionysus, the 12 Gods and even me. We looked up at the sky where Zeus had disappeared.
White snow was falling like stars. The snow was irrelevant to Zeus, who ruled the sky. It was the power of a constetion who existed perhaps even longer than Zeus. It was the existence of light who ruled the first sky before Olympus was made.
Like a lonely ind, Briareus and the giants howled as they watched the falling snow.
[Main scenario #60 ¨D ¡®Gigantomachia¡¯ has ended.]
[Sub scenario ¨C Myth Subversion has beenpleted.]
[Thepensation settlement will begin.]
The constetions of the world were watching me. Apart from the four main constetions, there were constetions I knew and those I didn¡¯t know.
Dionysus spoke. [...You won, Kim Dokja.]
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and other giants used their big bodies like ships to carry us.
Yoo Jonghyuk and Han Sooyoung were looking in at the sky in different directions. Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung helped each other while Lee Seolhwa sped her hands tightly together. Lee Jihye was wiping her tears while embracing Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung. Maybe they were listening to the system messages too.
[You have acquired a new giant story!]
[Three additional new stories have been acquired!]
It was a really long-prepared n. I was able to see the things that would happen in the future, as if I was reading a novel with a definite ending.
[Your second giant story haspleted the ¡®sess¡¯ portion!]
[The second condition of the hidden scenario ¨DA Single Story has been fulfilled!]
Finally, the awaited ¡®sess¡¯ greeted me.
[The neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company¡¯ has be well known in the Star Stream.]
A system message celebrating our victory widely resonated in the universe.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is raising his rod!]
[The constetion, ¡°ck Dragon of the Abyss,¡± is waving the bandages of liberation!]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is nodding.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is proud of you.]
The constetions in my channel were congratting me.
[Some of the constetions of the st scenario¡¯ are paying attention to you.]
Then beings of the st scenario¡¯ like Zeus started to notice me.
[The demon kings of the Demon World are paying attention to your actions.]
[The archangels of Eden are paying attention to you.]
[Unknown gods of another world are staring at your existence.]
[The ¡®Seekers of the End¡¯ are listening to your story.]
In the midst of the white and snowy sea, good and evil and those who didn¡¯t belong to either side were watching the story. The end of the myth that had long dominated the world. Those who made the story with me would find me.
¡°Kim Dokja.¡±
However, at this moment...
¡°...Kim Dokja?¡±
I already wasn¡¯t there.
Chapter 340 - A Road That Isn’t a Road (1)
Chapter 340: Episode 64 ¨C A Road That Isn¡¯t a Road (1)
Immediately after the copse of Olympus in Gigantomachia, the restrictions on the giants disappeared. They were freed from the old story and would be reborn as participants in new scenarios.
[There is no desire to repeat the old battle. Do you agree?]
[I agree.]
Briareus, leader of the giants and Dionysus, interim representative of the 12 Gods, reached a dramatic agreement just before the end of the 60th scenario.
[The Star Stream has acknowledged this ¡®myth copse¡¯.]
[A new story is blooming in the 60th scenario.]
In fact, they could¡¯ve fought more if they wanted to fight. However, the power of Olympus had been drastically weakened through Gigantomachia. Many heroes and giants died, Poseidon¡¯s whereabouts were unclear and the silent Underworld King announced his sessor.
I
n such a situation, the existence of the neb would be jeopardized if the 12 gods and giants were to keep confronting each other.
The downfall of the giant neb, Olympus. At the centre of this ridiculous story, there was a small neb.
[A number of constetions are shouting the name ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company!¡¯]
The story, which began with the struggle of a small constetion, was finallying to the end with a giant story. Despite this, the members of the neb didn¡¯t appreciate the giant story and were calling someone¡¯s name.
¡°Dokja-ssi! Dokja-ssi!¡±
¡°Hyung! Don¡¯t mess around! Where are you hiding?¡±
Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yoosung...
They were looking for Kim Dokja on the small ind made by the giants. Someone sounded uneasy while another had an expression full of disbelief. The only one who remained calm in this chaos was the one staring up at the sky with an expressionless face.
Han Sooyoung stared closely at him and asked, ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, do you know something?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Answer me. The kids are worried.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk slowly turned towards Han Sooyoung. The party members noticed something and gathered behind Han Sooyoung.
¡°Master, what is it? Do you know something?¡±
¡°What happened to Dokja-ssi again?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk was silent for a while before replying, ¡°Kim Dokja has returned to Earth.¡±
¡°What? Without us?¡±
Lee Jihye btedly discovered something and opened her mouth. ¡°Ah... don¡¯t tell me?¡±
In retrospect, Gigantomachia wasn¡¯t their real purpose. In the beginning, participating in Gigantomachia was only a process. While everyone was feeling excited by the joy of victory, only Kim Dokja was thinking about the real purpose of this task.
Jung Heewon sighed with relief and smiled. ¡°...Still, he didn¡¯t have to quickly go back on his own.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll go back too!¡±
Then a system message emerged.
[The region will be restricted for one hour to stabilize the scenario.]
Lee Seolhwa¡¯s eyes widened with surprise. ¡°How did Dokja-ssi get out of here?¡±
¡°He probably used a special method.¡±
¡°A special method?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know anything else.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk replied and stared up at the sky again. It was still snowing. Snow was falling in summer weather. Based on Earth tie, it was snowing in August.
Han Sooyoung stared into his eyes and asked him, ¡°...Did Kim Dokja go back first because of Yoo Sangah?¡±
There was a reason for asking what should¡¯ve been obvious. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s answer came back after the miraculous snow melted in the sun. ¡°You¡¯ll know when you see it.¡±
***
In the vehicle that ran in dimensions, I was lost in thoughts. During the time when I was nning to overthrow Gigantomachia, I had contacted several constetions. Perhaps all those with the slightest acquaintance received my call.
Most of them were in a special rtionship with Olympus or were in a difficult position to participate in the 60th scenario. I could understand. What constetion would want to be in a hostile rtionship with a big neb like Olympus?
Nevertheless, there was one who made a unique suggestion.
-I can¡¯t help in Gigantomachia but if you fail, I can pave the way for you to get away. Just, it can only be you.
The one who made the suggestion was now sitting in the driver¡¯s seat and holding the steering wheel.
[...I didn¡¯t know you would take advantage of my proposal in this way.]
The owner of the Special Ferrarigini who could use the portals of the scenario because of his probability and who had free ess to the dimension.
The Mass Production Makerughed. [Originally, you were a type who rarely asked for help from someone else.]
¡°My thoughts are a bit different aftering back from another world.¡± I smiled and added, ¡°In addition, I identally left the X-grade Ferrarigini behind. I haven¡¯t finished the instalment n yet so I¡¯m still crying whenever I think about it.¡±
[Haha, the car you bought from me?]
¡°Thus, in the future, I have decided to ride in other people¡¯s cars without driving my own.¡±
[It is a disappointing decision from a seller¡¯s position. This time a new model came out and I was going to give you a free one.]
¡°...For free?¡±
[I¡¯m lying.]
...I knew it. There was no way this constetion would see any losses. The Mass Production Maker seemed to think of something as he held a cigarette in his mouth. The scattered smoke was sucked into the vents installed before it could reach me in the passenger¡¯s seat.
[I want to make a contract with your neb.]
¡°Contract?¡±
[Do you know what you¡¯ve done this time?]
I knew. I couldn¡¯t not know.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is flowing through your veins!]
It was because even now, the result of what I had done was flowing through the veins in my body.
Torch That Swallowed the Myth.
This story wasn¡¯t the ¡®One Who Erases God¡¯s Fingerprints¡¯ or ¡®Person Who Closes the Door of a Myth¡¯ that I had originally intended to obtain. Still, its essence was simr. The story of fighting against a great neb and overthrowing myths. This story would be a counter for the numerous nebe I would fight in the future.
[Many constetions havee to know of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.]
¡°Yes.¡±
[Some of them even im that you should put your neb in one of the 12 Great Nebe.]
...The 12 Great Nebe. I didn¡¯t realize I was already in a position to hear this story. The 12 Great Nebe dominating the Star Stream considered of three strong, four medium and five weak ones. Olympus, who was located between the three strong and four medium ones, was greatly upset this time and someone had to fill that space.
¡°There are many hasty stars.¡±
[They¡¯re always like this.]
¡°Then the Mass Production Maker wants to take advantage of this opportunity to sign a contract with my neb.¡±
[That¡¯s right.]
There was no hesitation in the Mass Production Maker¡¯s answer.
[I¡¯d like to leave this new product¡¯s advertisement to your neb.]
¡°That¡¯s good. I will ask the members of my neb.¡±
[Great. The incarnation I want to appear personally is...]
I listened to the Mass Production Maker while staring out the window of the scenes passing by the Ferrarigini. The seasons of the myriad of stories flowed through thendscape. The seasons of numerous stories flowed in the passingndscape.
That¡¯s right. Suddenly...
¡°It is fast.¡± As I spoke, I subconsciously grabbed the bottle of star fluid in my pocket. I hade this far faster than any of the original rounds. Yet this speed was only a rtive speed. I didn¡¯t know if this was fast enough.
The Mass Production Makerughed and said, [This new product is a bit faster. You will know if you drive it yourself but the driving sensation is very...]
¡°The time is too slowpared to the driving speed. Are you doing this intentionally to talk about the contract?¡±
[Hum, what are you talking about? I am going the fastest way. Look, it is already thest intersection.]
As the Mass Production Maker said, there were three portals emitting a white light on the other side of the dimension. I didn¡¯t ask but the Mass Production Maker exined.
[One is the road to Earth and the other is the road to the Context of the Constetions.]
¡°What is thest one?¡±
[A road that looks like a ¡®road.¡¯]
The Mass Production Maker smiled significantly. It was much darker than other portals and gave off a shady vibe.
[Do you know what is at the end?]
Of course, I didn¡¯t know. I might¡¯ve read Ways of Survival but there wasn¡¯t a description of all the portals in the dimension. In other words, this portal was a road that didn¡¯t exist in Ways of Survival.
¡°What is it?¡±
[It¡¯s nothing. It is just a blocked road.]
The answer came back like it was obvious. Before I could say anything, the Mass Production Maker continued. [The end of some roads. The road that looks different from other roads, it is a road that no one walked or a road that isn¡¯t even a road.]
The Ferrarigini sped past the dark portal. The sparkling navigation system was showing the route to Earth. On the screen, the portal we had just gone past was marked as ¡®no road.¡¯
[Such roads are usually cut off in obscure ces. The people who chose to walk along the path believe it is the end.]
¡°What is your meaning?¡±
[Please choose your path well.]
The Mass Production Maker put out the cigarette and gave his distinctly gentle smile.
[Sometimes the thing that looks like a road isn¡¯t a road.]
The next moment, thendscape of the dimension changed. I saw the appearance of the blue andnded on the ground.
The Mass Production Maker told me, [We¡¯ve arrived. Fortunately, this time it is good.]
***
The moment I arrive in Seoul, I naturally headed to the Factory. It was to the hospital ward where patients were admitted. The moment I stepped into the ward, I heard a voice that was close to a true voice.
[You came.]
It sounded like a true voice but it wasn¡¯t a true voice. It was a voice where the dignity of a transcendent could be heard. A blue-white magic power filled the air. As expected, every teacher wanted to look good in front of their student.
¡°This poor disciple is greeting you.¡±
[There is no time. Leave the greetings forter. Go.]
Perhaps it was the aftermath of the returnees war but Kyrgios had bandages wrapped around his body.
¡°The Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon...¡±
[I killed them. Don¡¯t talk to me and go quickly.]
I was amazed by the calm deration. He survived the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon who killed the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint in a past life. I didn¡¯t realize my teacher in this round was so strong.
Aileen found me in the distance and came running. She was the only Story Expert in the Factory. If she wasn¡¯t here, two of the party members would¡¯ve already died.
I waved the star fluids and shouted, ¡°I brought the star fluid!¡±
¡°Um, you haven¡¯t been told yet but...¡±
¡°I already know.¡±
In the distance, two red rooms could be seen. One was the hospital room of Yoo Sangah and the other...
¡°How is my mother?¡±
¡°Her symptoms are almost the same as Yoo Sangah.¡±
¡°The severity of the symptoms?¡±
¡°More or less the same level...¡±
I knew that my mother had been overworking herself. The stigma ¡®Giant Future¡¯ ced a great burden on the user¡¯s body. Moreover, the contract with the neb itself was in an obscure form and the burden increased even more after my mother¡¯s sponsor lost strength.
Aileen took the star fluids from me and spoke in a dark voice. ¡°I think it iscking.¡±
¡°That¡¯s why I have two bottles. They are different types.¡±
I didn¡¯t bring only one star fluid. There was the Nectar from Dionysus as well as the Soma I was originally supposed to receive from Surya.
Aileen¡¯s expression glowed as she received the two bottles of star fluids.
¡°...Medical staff!¡±
The staff rushed at her signal towards the two hospital rooms. Someone brushed past me and the wound in my side caused by Poseidon throbbed. My vision blurred for a moment.
...I might need to receive treatment. No, it would be strange to be fine after being hit by a myth-grade constetion. I worked hard to hide the pain from the wound. My consciousness was unstable. The doors to the hospital rooms seemed like the entrance to the portal that the Mass Production Maker had shown me.
[Are you okay?]
Kyrgios flew through the air and asked me. I replied that I was fine. To be exact, it felt like I answered but I lost consciousness for a while.
Once I woke up, I was lying on a chair in the ward. Aileen was standing in front of me. I endured the pain and stood up.
¡°...What happened to the two people?¡± I immediately asked despite my blurred consciousness.
However, Aileen¡¯s expression was strange. ¡°...It isn¡¯t enough.¡±
¡°It isn¡¯t enough? What?¡±
¡°The two of them worsened faster than I thought. I can barely cure one person if I use both star fluids.¡±
I couldn¡¯t understand the words. Aileen¡¯s words sounded like faraway alien words, like she was an outer god.
¡°That... what do you mean?¡±
¡°Demon King of Salvation.¡±
Aileen formally called out my modifier. She only called me this when she needed my orders.
The two rooms were wide open, like a portal waiting for me.
¡°You can only save one person.¡±
Chapter 341 - A Road That Isn’t a Road (2)
Chapter 341: Episode 64 ¨C A Road That Isn¡¯t a Road (2)
All types of thoughts passed through my head.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking violently.]
There were two doors and someone seemed to be whispering to me. I could go inside one of them. However, if I chose one then I had to give up the other one. I couldn¡¯t do that.
¡°Demon King of Salvation.¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
¡°If you dy then you can¡¯t save either of them.¡± There was no sense of reality in Aileen¡¯s voice.
¡°Please wait a moment.¡±
In my dizzy vision, the corridor across from the two hospital rooms was seen. The words of the Mass Production Maker crossed my mind.
-It¡¯s nothing. It is just a blocked road.
The end of the corridor was dim so I couldn¡¯t see anything. Yet everyone knew that there was nothing at the end of that corridor. In the first ce, the corridor was made to have nothing.
¡¸ Kim Dokja thought: It isn¡¯t possible. ¡¹
Stay calm. There must be a way. I hade all this way and now I had to choose between the two people? Who should live and who should die? I couldn¡¯t do that.
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you.]
¡¸ But you ha ve al ready cho sen. ¡¹
At the moment, the scene of the first scenario filled my head. The shaky subway. The appearance of those who died. Maybe I could¡¯ve saved everyone there.
¡¸ Th us, you can ch oose this ti me too. ¡¹
...It was different now.
¡¸ Wh at is diffe rent? ¡¹
Rather than replying to the Fourth Wall, I asked Aileen, ¡°How much time is left?¡±
¡°Around 20 minutes... Lee Sookyung-ssi¡¯s side is more critical. After that...¡±
20 minutes. It was short but there was enough time to try this and that. It was too early to give up.
¡°If there is more star fluid, can you save both of them?¡±
¡°...There isn¡¯t a lot of possibility.¡±
I immediately pulled out the Old to New Toad. The toad cried out,
-Give me an old house and I¡¯ll give you a new house.
I pointed to the half-filled bottle of Nectar and asked,
¡°Can you change this to something new?¡±
Then the Old to New Toad shook its head.
-It isn¡¯t old or new.
¡°This was half-eaten by me. Thus, it is old. I¡¯ll give you other items if you fill up a new bottle...¡±
-The change... I can¡¯t help you.
As expected, such a trick wasn¡¯t possible with the star fluid. I had thought it might be possible.
-Tired, don¡¯t call me.
Perhaps it was tired from swallowing the giant soldier earlier but the Old to New Toad fell asleep.
I put it away and decided to try a second method. If I couldn¡¯t duplicate it, I had to get a new one.
[The demon king ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯...]
[The use of the indirect message is cancelled.]
[The indirect messaging function is currently disabled due to checking and repairing certain scenarios.]
...What?
[The scenario being checked is the 60th scenario.]
It was an unexpected situation I hadn¡¯t thought of. I didn¡¯t think the aftermath of the 60th scenario would reach this far...
I needed the help of other constetions to get new star fluids.
¡°Jang Hayoung!¡±
At my cry, Aileen¡¯s gaze moved to another ce. The ce where Jang Hayoung was located was Yoo Sangah¡¯s hospital room. The moment I stood on the threshold of the hospital room where the emergency light was on, a cold sensation went down my back.
¡°You can¡¯t enter without permission!¡± Someone yelled at me.
The fragments of the story scattered from Yoo Sangah hovered in the air. I tried to ignore it and turned to Jang Hayoung. Jang Hayoung was sleeping in a corner of the hospital room. ¡°Jang Hayoung! Wake up! Quickly!¡±
¡°Wait a minute! He is also in critical condition!¡±
The medical staff rushed over and pulled me away. Jang Hayoung had arge number of story packs inserted in him and bandages were wrapped around his body. He was seriously wounded in the Returnees War. However, I needed Jang Hayoung¡¯s skill.
[The Unidentified Wall is looking at you.]
[The Fourth Wall is facing the Unidentified Wall.]
Sparks bounced as I felt the gaze of the wall. It was a coldness with no sense of cooperation at all.
...It was going to be like this? I opened Bookmark. In the end, the Unidentified Wall was also a skill. I still didn¡¯t have a good understanding of Jang Hayoung and needed some luck but...
I started looking for Jang Hayoung¡¯s name in the list of Bookmarks. Perhaps it felt ufortable due to my actions? The Unidentified Wall warned,
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ says: You are not my master. Don¡¯t do anything unnecessary.]
¡°I need your help.¡± I told it honestly. It was urgent. ¡°If you don¡¯t help me, you have to wake up your master.¡±
The wall was silent for a moment. It was a silence that showed it was thinking about something. A momentter, a message from the wall came back.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ says: ...I¡¯ll help you.]
At the same time, a small partition of space was created around me. It was a space reminiscent of a Mino Soft intern a long time ago. Arge panel was created in front of me and there was a familiar type of input device.
Perhaps Jang Hayoung had listened to the stories of countless constetions in this small wall. Jang Hayoung listened to stories that were written on this wall like graffiti and...
[The Unidentified Wall says: Do a good job.¡¯]
...I had nothing to say. I looked down at the sleeping Jang Hayoung for a moment before turning my head.
First of all, it was important to turn off the emergency light.
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ has temporarily granted you a license.]
[Enter the destination to send a message to.]
The first constetion was Dionysus.
[The message can¡¯t be sent to the constetion.]
[At present, allmunications with the neb Olympus is paralyzed.]
I ran into a snag from the beginning. I quickly changed the receiver of the message. Then a reply immediately came back.
-You need more Soma? I¡¯m sorry but... I gave all the Soma I had to you.
The reply was from Surya. The situation here also wasn¡¯t easy.
-Is it difficult to request more from the neb?
-I withdrew from Vedas and lost the Soma production rights.
-Is Dionysus beside you?
After a few moments, there was an answer from Surya.
-Recently, Olympus is suffering from the famine story and the supply of Nectar is cut off. There is no more left to give you.
-I understand. Thank you.
-I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t help.
-No.
It was impossible to ask for anything further when I already received Surya¡¯s help in Gigantomachia.
I thought about various types of star fluids that appeared in Ways of Survival through my head. However, none that could rece Nectar and Soma were avable right away.
I desperately bit my lips. If treatment wasn¡¯t possible then I had to find another way.
[Sending a message to constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring.¡¯]
Since Persephone and Hades weren¡¯t members of Olympus, it was possible tomunicate with them through the Unidentified Wall. I didn¡¯t want to use this method but it wasn¡¯t time to cover up cold water with warm water.
Nevertheless, the answer that came back from Persephone wasn¡¯t very positive.
-Son, as you might know, a presence broken through the flow of consciousness is.. All souls of this world go to the Underworld but that is a case when the soul is intact.
-...As expected, it is like this.
I actually expected it a bit. The flow of consciousness was a phenomenon where the stories of the soul were broken.
A soul suffering from this disease wouldn¡¯t go to the Underworld. To be exact, it didn¡¯t go anywhere. It just ended there. Just as everyone who walked on the wrong road disappeared forever.
Persephone continued speaking.
-Son.
-It is a situation where the session isn¡¯t properly established yet. Don¡¯t call me that right now.
I responded quickly before disconnecting. I opened the smartphone and then the file of Ways of Survival. There was still a method. There had to be.
[The Unidentified Wall says: You have done too many things that went against probability.]
...Shut up.
[The Unidentified Wall says: That probability was bound toe back to you.] It is aw of this world.]
¡°I told you to shut up.¡±
I quickly read Ways of Survival. I found several times when Yoo Jonghyuk met simr challenges in Ways of Survival. For example, the 161st and 275th rounds.
In those rounds, Yoo Jonghyuk was in a situation where he could only save one of his two colleagues. When told he could only save Lee Seolhwa or Lee Jihye, Yoo Jonghyuk had replied:
¡¸ ¡°I will save both.¡± ¡¹
The same was true for the 275th round. Lee Hyunsung and Shin Yoosung. In a situation where only one of them could be saved, Yoo Jonghyuk dered,
¡¸ ¡°I will save both of them.¡± ¡¹
This was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s answer. Thus, Yoo Jonghyuk of the 161st and 275th round failed. He couldn¡¯t save Lee Seolhwa, Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung or Shin Yoosung. Then he died himself. Yet every time, Yoo Jonghyuk made the same choice and I would choose the same.
My right hand holding the phone trembled nervously and I gripped it tightly.
¡¸ Bu t Kim Dok ja isn¡¯t Yoo Jong hyuk. ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk was able to make such a choice because he was a regressor. A regressor different from me. An existence who could repeat life many times.
On the other hand, I only had this one life. Therefore, this life didn¡¯t allow me to make any mistakes.
If I made a mistake, someone would die. Thus, I couldn¡¯t make any mistakes.
I hade all this way while taking the risk of twisting probability. Up to this point, I thought I had done well.
Briareus had told me.
-The real fate is inevitable. If you avoid it, probability must be distorted. The twisting of probability had to be resolved by someone.
I knew. I knew it very well. Just, I was dissatisfied. Why?
¡¸ ...ja-ssi. ¡¹
Why.. why should they be the ones to resolve it?
¡¸ Dokja-ssi. ¡¹
One drop, two drops. The voice that touched me was like a drop of water through hard granite.
I looked behind me.
¡¸ Dokja-ssi, I¡¯m fine. ¡¹
Through the curtains of the hospital room where Yoo Sangahy, the fragments of the broken story flowed out and spoke to me.
¡¸ Save Sookyung-ssi. ¡¹
No voice came from my half-open mouth. Yet she replied like she heard my words.
¡¸ I have a way to survive. I have already found a way through Hermes¡¯ system. ¡¹
[The exclusive skill ¡®Lie Detection Lv. 7¡¯ is activated!]
[You have confirmed that the statement is false.]
¡°Yoo Sang...¡±
¡¸ Dokja-ssi. ¡¹
It wasn¡¯t meant to call out to me. Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice was unbelievably firm. One day, I remembered a time when I teamed up with Yoo Sangah.
Even then, Yoo Sangah was the same. Every time she insisted on something she thought was right, she would never bend herself. Yoo Sangah would speak in this calm but strong tone. It was like appeasing a panicked little child.
¡¸ Dokja-ssi, listen carefully to me. Please be calm and rational. ¡¹
Why? Yoo Sangah¡¯s words were familiar.
¡¸ I still have some time remaining. However, Sookyung-ssi wouldn¡¯t be able to recover unless she is saved now. ¡¹
Why did I feel like I was sitting in a subway seat and why did it feel like this trembling hand wasn¡¯t mine?
¡¸ It is like a game quest. A quest that can be cleared properly if we follow the set route. ¡¹
¡°...Yoo Sangah-ssi.¡±
¡¸ Dokja-ssi, it is time to carry out the quest properly now. ¡¹
I understood Yoo Sangah¡¯s words. Perhaps I could understand better than anyone in the world. However, I couldn¡¯t understand the Yoo Sangah speaking right now. Perhaps I would never understand in this lifetime. Or I should say that I didn¡¯t dare understand it.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ has increased its thickness.]
Like the Yoo Sangah who stood up on the subway, I stood up and dered, ¡°Aileen.¡±
Aileen noticed my intentions and nodded. The medical staff standing next to Yoo Sangah rushed to the other side of the room. I also slowly turned to the opposite side of the room. The moment I went beyond the threshold, I couldn¡¯t help looking back.
¡¸ Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be waiting here. ¡¹
Beyond the curtain, Yoo Sangah¡¯s silhouette had already scattered a lot. Maybe, beyond that would be a Yoo Sangah I already didn¡¯t know. She might be torn and scattered apart, something that was no longer recognizable. I might be hearing the voice of Yoo Sangah, who was already disappearing.
Nevertheless.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. I don¡¯t know if you remember but I screened people¡¯s lives in the first scenario.¡±
I continued speaking towards the Yoo Sangah I remembered. ¡°I only let people I thought should survive, live. I thought I should¡¯ve done it in order to see the end of this world.
¡¸ ...Dokja-ssi. ¡¹
¡°However, if this is the one way I can see the ending of this story, I would rather not see the ending.¡±
In order to revive someone, another person had to die.
¡°If there is a choice over lives, it is a bad story in the first ce.¡±
At my answer, the Mass Production Maker might say this: It is a road that isn¡¯t a road.
[The Fourth Wall is looking at you.]
Nevertheless, this wasn¡¯t a choice. There was only one way from the beginning.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is looking at the Fourth Wall.]
I wasn¡¯t Yoo Jonghyuk. Yet when it came to this issue, my answer was the same as that guy.
¡°I¡¯ll smash that story. So that Yoo Sangah-ssi won¡¯t die. My mother too.¡±
There was a dead-end wall covered in darkness in front of my eyes. It was a hard and thick wall that I couldn¡¯t smash. I slowly reached out for that wall.
Chapter 342 - A Road That Isn’t a Road (3)
Chapter 342: Episode 64 ¨C A Road That Isn¡¯t a Road (3)
It was an hourter that Yoo Jonghyuk and his colleagues returned to Earth. Yoo Jonghyuk, Han Sooyoung, Lee Jihye, Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Shin Yoosung, Lee Gilyoung and Lee Seolhwa.
The first thing they discovered after safely passing through the portal was the shing sparks around the centre of the industrialplex. The sparks of probability were striking down on the centre of the Factory like lightning bolts.
Lee Jihye wondered, ¡°...What the hell is going on?¡±
She asked but no one could answer properly. They got on the chimera dragon and soon arrived at the Factory. The party members jumped over the walls and ran straight to the hospital room.
Flying Fox waved when he saw the people rushing in. ¡°Huh, you came back already?¡±
Jung Heewon asked, ¡°Dokja-ssi... no, where is Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡±
¡°He is over there, though I think you need to be treated as well...¡±
¡°We¡¯re fine. Just treat Hyunsung-ssi.¡±
¡°W-Wait a minute! My skin is just a bit¨D¡±
¡°Shut up and lie down.¡±
After throwing the burnt Lee Hyunsung onto a hospital bed, Jung Heewon and the others headed to Yoo Sangah¡¯s hospital room. Obviously, they thought Kim Dokja would first head there.
¡°Dokja-ssi! Sangah-ssi!¡±
¡°Hey, everyone! If you juste in...!¡±
Then the party members faced an unexpected sight after arriving. Han Sooyoung muttered. ¡°What is this situation?¡±
There was no one in Yoo Sangah¡¯s hospital room apart from the minimum number of medical staff. Yoo Sangah¡¯s soul was still broken. Kim Dokja couldn¡¯t be seen at all.
A ck aura was released from Han Sooyoung¡¯s body. ¡°I¡¯m asking you. What is this situation?¡±
The medical staff were daunted and spat out everything that happened, from the Returnees War to Kim Dokja¡¯s return.
¡°...So, Lee Sookyung went to receive treatment first. Maybe by now, thest step¨D¡±
Before the words finished, Han Sooyoung had already moved. It was so fast that no one could stop her. Han Sooyoung jumped over a nearby chair and grabbed the cor of a man taller than herself. ¡°You son of a bitch. You knew everything?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t you talk properly? If you knew this¨D¡±
¡°If I said it, could you change anything?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s cold voice rang through the room. Han Sooyoung¡¯s mouth trembled. Could she change it if she knew? She didn¡¯t know. Han Sooyoung couldn¡¯t answer the question.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked again, ¡°I asked if you could change anything?¡±
¡°You bastard...!¡±
This time, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t yield. The moment when the pressure around the two people was going to devastate the surroundings, Jung Heewon stopped them. ¡°Stop, both of you! Can¡¯t you see that Yoo Sangah-ssi is present?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is furious!]
Yoo Jonghyuk shook off Han Sooyoung¡¯s hand and spoke to the medical staff. ¡°Where is Kim Dokja?¡±
Han Sooyoung also turned to the staff at the question. Rather than answering, the medical staff nced in one direction in unison. It was a hospital room where Lee Sookyung¡¯s surgery was underway.
Han Sooyoung asked, ¡°Kim Dokja is in that room?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. Aileen said he is needed...¡±
The party members approached the operating room door quietly enough not to interfere with the operation. Through the transparent ss, Aileen and Kim Dokja could be seen conducting the operation in the room. Thanks to the lighting, Kim Dokja¡¯s expression couldn¡¯t be seen but he definitely didn¡¯t look good.
Kim Dokja¡¯s hand was trembling and his gaze was slightly lowered. It was Shin Yoosung who opened her mouth first. ¡°...Ahjussi¡¯s state is a bit weird.¡±
***
Once the operation started, the first thing Aileen said was, ¡°You muste with me.¡±
¡°...Is there anything I can do to help?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
The moment I ended the room, I saw the fragments of my broken mother. My mother, who defeated the returnees by summoning Pungbaek, was in a state where all her stories were broken.
¡¸ ...Dokja. ¡¹
Somewhere, I felt I heard these words. Maybe it was my mother¡¯s stories. I thought in a reassuring manner to her. ¡®Don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t choose anyone.¡¯
My mother¡¯s soul must be restored as quickly as possible. That way, I had the time to save Yoo Sangah. From now on, it was the time of Aileen.
¡°Staff, begin to supply the magic power.¡±
Aileen pulled out a small brush and started to collect the floating pieces of stories one by one.
The surgery itself was simple. Collect the fragments of the scattered stories and put them together in context.
It was to recover the meaning of the lost sentences. It was easy to say but the number of people in Ways of Survival who could perform this type of major surgery could only be counted on one hand.
The most remarkable one among them was Aileen Makerfield, the Story Expert next to me.
[The story ¡®Person Who Repairs the Story¡¯ has started!]
¡¸ Every word that reaches your fingertips restores itself. ¡¹
The end of the story was ultimately a share of the story. Every time Aileen¡¯s brush moved, the broken stories started to follow one by one. The star fluids I gained were the adhesive holding the stories together.
[The item ¡®Soma¡¯ is working!]
[The item ¡®Nectar¡¯ is working!]
By the time 40 minutes passed in the surgery, Aileen¡¯s forehead was covered with beads of sweat. The scene of Aileen¡¯s surgery also appeared in Ways of Survival but this was my first time actually seeing it and I was slightly impressed.
Once the overall story was repaired, Aileen took a sip of water. I asked Aileen, ¡°Is it okay if the fragments aren¡¯t in context?¡±
I was anxious when I saw that the story fragments Aileen put together weren¡¯t perfectly neat.
AIleen lightly wiped her lips. ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is what humans are like.¡±
Certainly, her words might be true. In general, humans weren¡¯t tidy existences.
By the way, Aileen¡¯s words weren¡¯t over. ¡°However, there are some sentences that can be serious if they aren¡¯t put together properly. For example, these parts.¡±
Aileen pointed to my mother¡¯s soul. Unlike the other restored areas, her half-copsed heart hadn¡¯t been operated on. ¡°In fact, Sookyung-ssi¡¯s surgery was a bitte. Her thema is already damaged.¡±
¡°Thema?¡±
The contents of Ways of Survival flowed through my head.
¡°Do you know that everyone¡¯s soul is made up of stories?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard it before.¡±
It was a story Persephone told me. Aileen continued speaking. ¡°In every soul, there is a core theme that prates it. The most important story that forms the essence of the soul.¡±
I btedly recalled a mention of it in Ways of Survival.
¡¸ Every story has a thema. Even a story without a thema, the thema is ¡®there is no thema.¡¯ ¡¹
¡°Only the person who best understands this soul can touch the thema.¡±
I hesitated for a moment. ¡°Then the reason you said I should go in with you...¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Aileen nodded and continued, ¡°The thema can only be restored by the person who best knows the soul. You have to do this part yourself. I¡¯ll share the story...¡±
I didn¡¯t hear the end of Aileen¡¯s words.
[The story ¡®Person Who Repairs the Story¡¯ temporarily dwells at the end of your hand.]
I had to do it myself?
¡°There isn¡¯t much time left. You need to start now. Medical staff, be ready to supply magic power!¡±
I stared at my mother¡¯s soul while holding the brush. My mothery there quietly with her eyes closed, like a person covered in a shroud. There were wrinkles and wounds I didn¡¯t know about. She had stiff eyebrows and dry cheeks.
Aileen said, ¡°Think of it as a book. Imagine all the stories in front of you bing a book.¡±
I looked at the difficult sentences floating in front of me and tried to show my imagination. Just like I was rereading the book I read as a child, I closed my eyes and stretched out my hand.
¡¸ ¡°Yes, do you want to read that book?¡± ¡¹
I cleared the cover of the dust and opened it to see the first page that was broken and worn out. I opened my eyes again and saw the floating stories gathered at the end of my hand.
¡¸ ¡°Dokja.¡± ¡¹
Sentence by sentence, the fragments started talking to me. I slowly moved the brush. I thought of my mother. I remembered my mother. There was a stale smell as words were lifted from the well of old memories.
¡¸ ¡°Dokja, what type of character do you like best?¡± ¡¹
I remembered. The books I read with my mother for the first time. I unconsciously moved the brush. The overflowing sentences were linked through my brush.
¡¸ ¡°You don¡¯t seem to like the ending. However, not all stories can have happy endings.¡± ¡¹
The person who gave me reasons to like books. For the sins Imitted, she went to jail. The person who wrote a book about our story. The person I wanted to see. The person I resented. She was my mother but also the person furthest from me.
¡¸ ¡°Dokja.¡± ¡¹
Blood in the living room and the feeling of the falling knife. My mother¡¯s following words.
¡¸ ¡°Read it again.¡± ¡¹
The moment I finished, the brush stopped. Still, my mother¡¯s thema was iplete.
¡°Demon King of Salvation?¡±
My mother¡¯s story that I knew was up to here.
¡¸ ¡°...Sin. If it is a sin, it¡¯s a sin.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Do all prisoners think this way?¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°It is funny, the justice of this world.¡± ¡¹
There were still numerous story fragments floating around me but they didn¡¯t talk to me anymore.
The fragments had a context I didn¡¯t know. I couldn¡¯t hear them and they were unknown sentences.
I was suddenly confused, as if thrown into the middle of the first book I read. The only thing I knew about Lee Sookyung was Lee Sookyung as my mother.
The hand holding the brush trembled. The trembling was speaking on my behalf. I couldn¡¯t do it. This wasn¡¯t something I could do.
Bted regret flooded me like waves. I should¡¯ve talked to her more. I should¡¯ve told her more.
I should¡¯ve shared more with her.
The height of the hand holding the brush gradually lowered. My mother¡¯s stories were crumbling again. My mother¡¯s unknown stories drifted like they mocked me.
¡¸ Maybe I¡¯m not the only one. ¡¹
The moment I had this thought, I felt something behind my back. Someone, who wasn¡¯t me or Aileen, was holding a brush and staring into the air.
¡°This is what you said to me.¡±
There was a middle-aged woman wearing a nice suit over a blue prison uniform. It was Cho Youngran, who had the First Spiritualist of Joseon as a sponsor. Another woman was holding a brush beside her.
¡°I can¡¯t believe I miss the days when we lined up for bread.¡± Lee Boksoon, who went with me to Peace Land,ughed.
There were several other wanderers in the room. They each held a brush, applied the star fluid and started to attach the sentences. The stories that were difficult for me flowed freely from them. The puzzles they filled up were obvious.
All the wanderers were talking about Lee Sookyung.
My vision was blurred and I couldn¡¯t speak for a while. My mother¡¯s life was drawn in front of my eyes. There were several things I should¡¯ve known but didn¡¯t. Even so, the wanderers didn¡¯tplete all the thema.
Some fragments still remained, searching for the owner. Then somebody grabbed my hand. My hand holding the brush moved freely and attached a sentence I didn¡¯t know. The moment I was about to express my confusion, the owner of the hand cut off my words.
¡°Kim Dokja, you know you aren¡¯t a godlike person.¡±
I smelt lemon candy from the grumbling voice. Han Sooyoung took the brush from my hand in a frustrated manner.
¡°There are some things in the world you don¡¯t know about, you idiot.¡±
Chapter 343 - A Road That Isn’t a Road (4)
Chapter 343: Episode 64 ¨C A Road That Isn¡¯t a Road (4)
Sparks sprang around the broken soul and my mother¡¯s vitality was slowlying back. The busy wanderers attached my mother¡¯s story fragments together as if they wouldn¡¯t tolerate a single error.
¡°This is what happened at the time. Do you remember?¡±
A single portrait was painted by arge number of people. It looked like a banquet of artisans gathered to sculpt a singleplete work of art. I was amazed that so many people remembered my mother.
Some gazes killed a presence. After some scenarios started, the incarnations died before the eyes of many constetions. They were exposed, peeped at and forced to follow the constetions¡¯ desires. Now, these gazes were saving someone.
¡°..Ah, I missed this time.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done if Sookyung-ssi wasn¡¯t there. Right?¡±
The voices of the wanderers murmured. Perhaps the entire life we lived became memories for one or two people.
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is showing pure admiration towards thendscape of the umted story.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is greatly pleased!]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is pulling his hair with an unknown expression.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is grumbling while looking at his incarnation.]
Perhaps the channel inspection ended as the constetions gathered in Biyoo¡¯s channel to watch the scene. My mother was finished in front of everyone¡¯s eyes.
My mother, Lee Sookyung. The King of Wanderers, Lee Sookyung. Lee Sookyung, a former prisoner. Lee Sookyung the essay writer. These ¡®Lee Sookyung¡¯ gathered to make the whole ¡®Lee Sookyung.¡¯
I stood still and Han Sooyoung poked me in the side. ¡°Get out of the way, you¡¯re disturbing us.¡±
Certainly, Han Sooyoung had been with my mother for the past three years and probably had a stake in her story.
I nodded and slipped out of the room. The restoration of the story was almost finished and I didn¡¯t seem to be any more help. I was a bit nervous but she was a writer... she probably wouldn¡¯t ruin my mother.
I heard Han Sooyoung¡¯s voiceing from behind me. ¡°This... did you mention it at the time? I didn¡¯t know. That¡¯s right, well...¡±
...Please be fine. I left the room and the party members were waiting for me.
¡°Ahjussi!¡±
¡°Dokja hyung!¡±
I hugged the two children while looking around at mypanions. Jung Heewon, Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung tied to a bed... Everyone was waiting for my answer. Everyone seemed to know the situation, even if I didn¡¯t exin anything. Shin Yoosung asked me, ¡°Grandmother? Is Grandmother Sookyung okay?¡±
¡°I think she should be fine. It is entering the final stages.¡±
Relief passed through the party member¡¯s faces at my words. Only one face was different.
¡°Hey, why is Dokja hyung¡¯s mother your grandmother?¡±
¡°Ahjussi¡¯s mother is my grandmother.¡±
¡°Dokja hyung isn¡¯t your father.¡±
I quickly patted them on the back. ¡°Now now, don¡¯t fight. You can both call her grandmother.¡±
¡°Really? Can I?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
I watched the red-faced Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung and tried to say something else, but quickly closed my mouth.
To these children, what had happened in the past three years? What did these children hear, see and talk about as they passed through dozens of scenarios without me?
¡°...Hyung?¡±
I stroked Lee Gilyoung¡¯s head for a long time and Lee Gilyoung looked up at me helplessly. Shin Yoosung, who was staring at the scene, grabbed my hand and ced it on her head.
I held the two children in my arms and told them, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°...Yes? What for?¡±
¡°Just, for everything.¡±
I knew that I couldn¡¯t ask for forgiveness, no matter what they told me right now. Still, I wanted to say something. Maybe my mother¡¯s story had influenced me. I didn¡¯t want to make any more tragedies that I couldn¡¯t talk about in time. Nevertheless, the words didn¡¯t fall easily from my lips.
¡®You suffered, I¡¯m sorry.¡¯ I wanted to say these words.
¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Shin Yoosung spoke. ¡°We¡¯re fine, Ahjussi.¡±
Shin Yoosung raised her head and watched me. This was the person who should beforted but she was the one asking if I was okay. ¡°Ahjussi... are you okay?¡±
I wasn¡¯t able to answer so I avoided Shin Yoosung¡¯s gaze. I looked up and all mypanions were staring at me. Lee Jihye looked pained while Jung Heewon was anxious.
I smiled while moving my lips. ¡°Why are you looking like that? I¡¯m fine. My mother has also recovered.¡±
¡°Are you really okay?¡±
¡°I¡¯m really fine. And...¡±
I carefully examined every party member. I felt the time that passed from the wounds all over their body. The moment the giant story Gigantomachia was over, they ran to this ce first. It was without feeling the aftermath of victory.
¡°Gigantomachia... you all suffered.¡±
Perhaps my expression looked ridiculous. For some reason, Jung Heewon burst outughing.
¡°Are those words the bonus? Dokja-ssi really... we are working here because it is good.¡±
Lee Jihye nodded by her side. Jung Heewon kept speaking. ¡°In addition... why did you run away alone again? Do you really want to die? Or do you want to be confined again?¡±
¡°That¡¯s because the Mass Production Maker told me¨D¡±
¡°You always have excuses.¡±
I bowed to them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
This was the best for now. I could rify thingster. As I bent forward, I could see the oldbat boots. My gaze went up and I saw the man in the dusty ck coat. Suddenly, I felt refreshed. I knew that Yoo Jonghyuk belonged here.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, you too¨D¡±
¡°There is no time for pathetic stories. It isn¡¯t over yet.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk walked towards the room opposite the corridor with peculiar and terrifying eyes.
As expected, Yoo Jonghyuk was Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡°Everyone seems leisurely? Did youe for a pic?¡±
The door to the hospital room opened and Han Sooyoung appeared. It seemed she had consumed quite a lot of magic power and her expression was tired.
¡°My mother?¡±
¡°It will take a while for her to wake up but her disease is healed. The rest will be in the hands of time.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡±
¡°Yoo Sangah?¡±
¡°The medical staff are watching her progress. Aileen will start the treatment as soon as shees out. Isn¡¯t there a bit of star fluid left?¡±
Aileen had told me that only one person could be saved this time.
¡°Let¡¯s go straight away.¡±
Aileen took the medical team and moved rooms straight away. By the way, once we entered Yoo Sangah¡¯s room, we faced a strange sight.
¡°Seolhwa-ssi?¡±
I saw Lee Seolhwa in a white gown and taking care of Yoo Sangah. Was it an illusion? I felt like the speed at which Yoo Sangah¡¯s story fragments flowed out was reduced.
¡°What happened?¡±
¡°I used some medicine that Jonghyuk-ssi gave me.¡±
¡°Medicine Yoo Jonghyuk gave you?¡±
Lee Seolhwa looked down at the small bottle on the table silently. It was a disease that never urred before. The moment I touched the ss bottle, the item information came to my attention.
¡°...The Empty and Clear Stone Milk?¡±
I was startled. If this was the Empty and Clear Stone Milk that I knew, it was a rare item that couldpare to a star fluid. It was one of the greatest elixirs that came from the veiled Zero Murim.
I had so many thoughts at once that I didn¡¯t know what to say.
¡°Where did you get this type of thing?¡±
¡°I heard he received it from the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.¡±
The Breaking the Sky Sword Saint hadn¡¯t yet returned to Earth. It might¡¯ve been dyed because she was reuniting with her kin for a while. By the way, the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint had the Empty and Clear Stone Milk... did she go to ¡®that ind¡¯?
Aileen examined Yoo Sangah and said, ¡°A bit of time has been bought.¡±
¡°How much?¡±
¡°Around 30 minutes.¡±
¡°If we acquire more star fluid...¡±
¡°It has reached a stage where she can¡¯t be healed with the star fluid. She has exceeded the threshold. Honestly, it¡¯s amazing the thema hasn¡¯t been damaged yet. Her mental strength is really...¡±
The party members cried out at Aileen¡¯s words.
¡°Wait, what are you saying?¡±
¡°Sangah unni will die?¡±
The party members listened to the medical staff¡¯s exnation and grasped the seriousness of the situation. Jung Heewon and the children were pale. Lee Jihye looked frightened.
¡°Ahjussi, are you lying? Right?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Sangah unni will die... there is really no way? Really? Not at all? Then what have we done so far...¡±
Lee Jihye staggered like a ghost and shook me. ¡°Ahjussi has died many times! If we get that attribute now¨D¡±
There was no way to get that attribute right now. Jung Heewon hugged Lee Jihye from behind and asked me. ¡°Perhaps... is it impossible to use that previous method?¡±
The previous method. Nobody exined it but everyone was looking at Biyoo in the air.
¡°It is hard.¡±
¡°You are the sessor of the Underworld. Can¡¯t you ask them for help?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve already asked them.¡±
In the meantime, several indirect messages were heard in the air. They were the messages of constetions who wanted to take advantage of the situation.
[The constetion ¡®Emperor Who Dreamt of Immortality¡¯ is making a proposal.]
[The constetion ¡®Emperor Who Dreamt of Immortality¡¯ says he will provide you with the ¡®Divine Grass of Immortality¡¯ right now if you sign a contract with him.]
The Emperor Who Dreamt of Immortality... it was that ¡®king¡¯ of China. The Divine Grass of Immortality¡¯ was definitely an item that could bepared to the star fluids and star fruit. However, the current Yoo Sangah couldn¡¯t recover even if I used it.
¡¸ Don¡¯t do it. ¡¹
Everyone stared at one ce.
¡¸ If you borrow their hands, they will surely ask for a ridiculous price. ¡¹
Yoo Sangah was talking. Her incarnation body had closed eyes but everyone could hear her. The soul had more than half of herself scattered and only her thema remained, yet she watched everyone here.
¡¸ Everyone. ¡¹
Yoo Sangah spoke to the party members.
¡¸ I¡¯m fine. So... ¡¹
I didn¡¯t know who many times they heard the words ¡®I¡¯m fine¡¯ today. Everyone in this ce knew what she meant by saying ¡®I¡¯m fine.¡¯ To us, it meant the time of hell had emerged.
¡¸ Gilyoung, noona is fine. Don¡¯t cry. Yoosung too. ¡¹
Yoo Sangah kept talking to the group. I held my throbbing chest and leaned against the wall. Jung Heewon sat down on a chair.
¡¸ Heewon-ssi. I really like Heewon-ssi. Do you know? ¡¹
¡¸ In addition, Jihye... ¡¹
Tears were falling. Lee Jihye was weeping bitterly as she grasped the bedspread. Her red eyes were gazing eagerly at me. From the side, I could hear the sound of teeth grinding together.
¡°Kim Dokja, I will sign an Outer World Contract.¡± Han Sooyoung grabbed my arm and dered. ¡°Then there might be a way. No, I will definitely make the contract. I¨D¡±
¡¸ Han Sooyoung-ssi. ¡¹
Han Sooyoung¡¯s chin trembled.
¡¸ You don¡¯t have to do that. ¡¹
Han Sooyoung dropped my arm. She left through the door like she didn¡¯t want to keep listening. Yoo Sangah continued speaking. She was a person pouring out all her remaining words.
¡¸ Hyunsung-ssi and Jonghyuk-ssi... I have something to tell you... but I don¡¯t have much strength left. ¡¹
¡¸ Yes, I want to say, I will leave the others... ¡¹
Then Yoo Sangah nced at me. I leaned against the wall while my wounds throbbed.
The world shook. Nevertheless, I had to hold on.
¡°Everybody.¡±
The moment I spoke, pain filled my head.
[The Fourth Wall is warning you.]
¡¸ N o. ¡¹
I ignored it and carried on. ¡°Everyone, please go out for a while.¡±
They all seemed to have lost their souls despite Yoo Sangah being the one who was dying. The first one to regain their senses was Jung Heewon. She exchanged nces with me for a moment before raising Lee Jihye. With her encouragement, the members left the room one by one. Finally, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung left and I was the only one in the room with Yoo Sangah.
I took a deep breath before opening my mouth. ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. Do you remember the words that you said on the subway?¡±
There was no answer from Yoo Sangah.
¡°You said you liked reading books.¡± I kept speaking to Yoo Sangah. ¡°Murakami Haruki, Raymond Carver, Han Kang...¡±
I recited the names of the authors Yoo Sangah said she liked. I sensed Yoo Sangah¡¯s expression changing slightly. Maybe it was a distant memory that was disappearing.
¡°If you can survive... are you willing to read books that aren¡¯t from those writers?¡±
A fleeting light returned to Yoo Sangah¡¯s soul.
¡¸ ...What book? ¡¹
¡°For example, Lord of the Rings.¡±
Yoo Sangah¡¯s soul bodyughed. She recalled the old memory and smile faintly.
¡¸ ...Okay. As long as I can read it. If it is possible... ¡¹
These precious words, I remembered every syble.
¡¸ If I can live again, I will read the entire story. ¡¹
I nodded. I didn¡¯t know if this method would work. In the original novel, this had never been attempted. Still, this was the only method I could do. There were huge sparks as the ¡®wall¡¯ appeared in the air.
I looked beyond the dead-end and stared at the Fourth Wall. Anyone facing this wall at the end of the road would be desperate.
¡°Fourth Wall.¡±
A thick and hard wall that couldn¡¯t be broken by anything. There was no such artificial thing as the ¡®wall¡¯ in this world. It was a wall that someone had made with an obvious purpose. I didn¡¯t know the exact purpose behind the creation of this wall. Still, it was obvious that the ¡®wall¡¯ was built to protect someone.
The moment I opened my mouth, the Fourth Wall also opened it. ¡°Swallow her. Don¡¯t leave behind even a single sentence.¡±
Chapter 344 - A Road That Isn’t a Road (5)
Chapter 344: Episode 64 ¨C A Road That Isn¡¯t a Road (5)
Feeding Yoo Sangah¡¯s soul to the Fourth Wall. This method was conceived based on the past incident where my mother was eaten by the Fourth Wall. At that time, my mother had been eaten by the wall when her soul body was damaged and part of her soul was restored when she was spat out again. In addition, there was the ¡®library¡¯ inside the Fourth Wall so it was worth trying.
¡¸Don¡¯t wa nt to. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall read my intentions but didn¡¯t listen to me. The Fourth Wall watched the scattered Yoo Sangah and reacted furiously.
¡¸ I won¡¯t ea t th at. ¡¹
¡°Eat.¡± The shock caused my body to shake. However, I didn¡¯t back down. ¡°If you won¡¯t eat then I¡¯ll turn off the skill.¡±
This was myst threat. In any case, the Fourth Wall was a skill and I could turn it off whenever I wanted. Based on previous incidents, the Fourth Wall really hated it. Then this time¡
¡¸ Do it if you c an. ¡¹
It sounded certain I couldn¡¯t do so.
¡¸ If y ou tu rn me off, the wo man can¡¯t sur vive. ¡¹
I bit my lips.
¡¸ In addi tion, turn ing me off will let the con ste tions see your in for mation. ¡¹
[Many constetions are paying attention to you!]
[Some constetions are doubting the existence of the ¡®wall¡¯ you have.]
The Fourth Wall was well aware that I was reluctant to disclose my information. In fact, I had no useful mental barriers apart from the Fourth Wall. If a high-grade constetion stared at me the moment the wall disappeared, I might be as helpless as a naked baby.
I stared at the wall for a moment. ¡°Then I will break it.¡±
¡¸ What? ¡¹
¡°I will break some parts of the wall and force you to eat her.¡±
Originally, the Fourth Wall wasn¡¯t reality. However, now I was able to hit the wall. I clenched my fists and dealt a blow to the wall in front of me The whole room shook from the devastating impact. There was a short scream and the sound of people rushing outside.
I swung my fist again. The wall still had no scratches.
¡¸ It is use less. ¡¹
¡°¡¡±
¡¸ It is too mu ch of a viotion to sa ve Yoo Sang ah. ¡¹
I thought about it. As I said earlier, the Fourth Wall wasn¡¯t reality. It was a skill I implemented. Then¡
I focused my gaze towards one part of the wall. Sparks flooded the room and Lee Jihye, who opened the door, was thrown out.
¡¸ N o! ¡¹
There was a small crack on a corner of the Fourth Wall. It was as I expected. Until now, I had been thinking of the skill as something that could be turned on or off. Perhaps the ¡®skill¡¯ might have the appropriate intermediate state. In other words¡
What if I could turn off a ¡®part¡¯ of the skill? The wall rapidly cracked and a small gap formed in an instant. There was an abyss that seemed able to swallow anything.
Soon, the gap started to suck in the surrounding story fragments like a ck hole. The stories of Yoo Sangah were quickly sucked into the wall.
¡¸ St op¡! ¡¹
Huge sparks hit my body and I let out a terrible groan. A probability storm was blowing through the wall. I heard the voices of the party members and my vision turned white.
In the darkness, Yoo Sangah came to her senses. She opened her eyes to only darkness. In this scene that didn¡¯t allow even a point of light, Yoo Sangah suddenly realized something.
She¡ wasn¡¯t dead? Thest scene she saw shed through her head. There was a probability storm and Kim Dokja¡¯s shout as he tried to save her. Then there was a memory of being sucked into somewhere¡
There was nothing she could be sure of.
Yoo Sangah checked herself from head to toe. Eyes, lips, tongue, ears, hands, feet, knees¡ there wasn¡¯t a single ce where sensations could be felt. it was as if her whole body was paralyzed and her sense of movement hadpletely disappeared.
Perhaps only her soul was left?
Yoo Sangah tried to calmly ept the situation. In Haruki novels, it wasmon for people to be ideas. This could be enough. The dead bing a soul¡
¡Scary. It was scary to be alone in the darkness. There were no sensations in this state. She didn¡¯t know if she existed or not. Yoo Sangah tried not to fall into the trap of thinking as she recalled the old proposition of philosophy.
¡¸ I think. Therefore I am. ¡¹
This was Ren¨¦ Descartes¡¯ maxim. It was such a famous saying that she was somehow ashamed to quote it. Yet for Yoo Sangah, this was her only line of salvation. At least, she knew she existed while she thought this. Then soon afterwards, Yoo Sangah had a frightening thought. Then was there anyone who didn¡¯t think? If she stopped thinking in this darkness¡
Therefore, Yoo Sangah kept thinking desperately. In order not to disappear, she remembered the things that she desperately wanted to avoid.
¡¸ ¡°Sangah.¡± ¡¹
A voice floated in her mind, followed by a face. It was a familiar face. Her family members before the ¡®scenario¡¯ came. Her father, a judge, and her older brothers who were doctors. Her mother who was born in a wealthy family.
¡¸ ¡°Don¡¯t do anything conspicuous.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°People who aren¡¯t you will see what you have.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°What fournguages? You just have to be a cute little girl.¡± ¡¹
Yoo Sangah watched the flowing words and smiled bitterly. To be exact, she lost them before that.
¡¸ ¡°¡You are going to join a gamepany? You aren¡¯t marrying the president of the gamepany?¡± ¡¹
Maybe she was living a ¡®scenario¡¯ even before the scenario started. No one called it for a scenario but for her, it was a scenario. If a dokkaebi had named the scenario, perhaps it would be ¡®Deration of Independence.¡¯
¡¸ ¡°I am a new employee.¡± ¡¹
After entering the gamepany and bing independent at home, his life changed a bit. She also met an interesting person.
¡¸ ¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. Do you have a mobile phone charger?¡± ¡¹
The man with a thin face who borrowed her charger.
¡¸ ¡°I am an important appointment at 7 o¡¯clock and my battery is running out.¡± ¡¹
A person who did the interview with her and who was uncooperative about everything in thepany.
¡¸ ¡°I will attend the ceremony but I must leave at 7 o¡¯clock.¡± ¡¹
He was always the person to leave thepany first once the work day ended.
¡¸ ¡°I won¡¯t participate in the pic. I hate climbing mountains the most.¡± ¡¹
The man who seemed like a ghost and didn¡¯t exist in other people¡¯s eyes as he stared at his smartphone.
¡¸¡±¡Yoo Jonghyuk, that jerk died again.¡± ¡¹
Thus, she might¡¯ve done something strange as well. She put things into the food of the boss who took projects from his subordinates or mixed pepper in the drinks of the manager who made them run coffee errands.
¡¸ ¡°Uwek! What is this? Why does the coffee taste like this?¡± ¡¹
It was the birth of Mino Soft¡¯s historic event, which waster called the ¡®Break Room Incident.¡¯
She poured pepper into the finely ground beans and felt a sense of liberation. Thepany was turned upside down. It was a criminal who couldn¡¯t even be caught by the surveince staff.
¡¸ Yoo Sangah, I still remember. ¡¹
Apany where everyone had left work. A smartphone light appeared quietly from behind a cab in the break room.
¡¸ Kim Dokja was clearly there. ¡¹
No matter whether she put in pepper or salt, the light just stayed there and tolerated her actions. It was as if the things that happened beyond the cab didn¡¯t involve him.
¡¸Maybe I should¡¯ve talked to him at that time. ¡¹
Why did he remain silent behind that cab? Why didn¡¯t he report what she died and why did he say, ¡°There is no one.¡± Why did he turn the CCTV away from the direction of the break room? Why¡ was he always looking at the phone with a variety of expressions?
Her surroundings brightened and her senses started to gradually return.
[A powerful presence doesn¡¯t allow your ¡®story¡¯ to fall apart.]
[Someone who likes to be tidy doesn¡¯t deserve your story.]
A voice was heard from somewhere.
¡¸ (Look, this is ¡®push and pull¡¯.) ¡¹
¡¸(No. I think that after watching every movie that exists on Earth¡) ¡¹
¡¸(Isn¡¯t it a desire to be one?) ¡¹
Yoo Sangah slowly opened her eyes and found three beings surrounding her. There was a squid-like creature wearing sses. An elderly man with grey hair and a bent back. Finally, a beautiful person who exuded a strange atmosphere where the gender was unknown.
The moment she saw thest existence, Yoo Sangah shot up with surprise.
¡¸ (You¡? ) ¡¹
¡¸ (You woke up, new librarian,) ¡¹
The neutral beauty, Nirvana smiled. Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t know what was going on. Why was this person here?
Nirvana looked at her and spoke. ¡¸ (It is a long exnation. You¡¯ll find out soon. You are lucky. You are the first one to enter this library since I¡¯ve been living here.) ¡¹
Abination of letters was overflowing behind the three beings.
[Wee, new librarian Yoo Sangah.]
Yoo Sangah looked around. Dim light from candles illuminated the darkness everywhere.
Library¡ There was an incredible number of bookshelves filled with books that didn¡¯t seem to end. It had been a long time since she saw a library of this size.
Kim Dokja¡¯s words popped into her mind. If she could live again, was she willing to read books that weren¡¯t from those authors?
¡Was this what he meant? She didn¡¯t know what this ce was. She didn¡¯t know why Kim Dokja sent her here or what he wanted. Still, she had a hunch. If she read these books now, she might be able to solve many of her questions.
¡¸ (Will you read it?) ¡¹
¡¸(Yes?) ¡¹
¡¸ (If you read it, you might be sorry. It might be a truth you can¡¯t handle.) ¡¹
Yoo Sangah¡¯s hand stopped as she approached the book. It wasn¡¯t because of Nirvana¡¯s words. It was because a man she knew well showed up in the darkness.
¡°She won¡¯t be a librarian.¡±
Kim Dokja was there.
***
¡¸ (¡Dokja-ssi?) ¡¹
I felt deep relief the moment I saw Yoo Sangah staring at me nkly. It was a sess. Somehow, I seeded in preserving Yoo Sangah¡¯s soul. Her soul body was still damaged but the power flowing faintly through the library was restoring her soul.
I bowed to Yoo Sangah. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have brought you to such a shabby ce. Please endure it a bit. I¡¯ll take you out soon.¡±
¡¸(What shabby ce? Foolish man who doesn¡¯t know the spirituality of truth.) ¡¹
¡°It¡¯s been a while, Nirvana.¡±
¡¸ (How did youe here. The ¡®wall¡¯ shouldn¡¯t have allowed it.) ¡¹
¡°I found a trick.¡±
Nirvana¡¯s expression was unusual.
¡¸ (I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking but this is a really bad decision. There is a reason you have the wall.) ¡¹
¡°I guess so.¡±
It wasn¡¯t talking to me right now but the Fourth Wall must be very angry because of what I did. A sharp air current reached my skin and I could feel its emotions. However, now wasn¡¯t the time to worry about it.
¡¸ (If the wall wants, it can turn one or two librarians into the dust of the story.) ¡¹
¡°I told you. She won¡¯t be a librarian.¡±
¡¸ (What nonsense are you saying? If you sent her here then naturally¡) ¡¹
¡°I¡¯ll bring her out again.¡±
Nirvana frowned like he heard something ridiculous.
¡¸ (Do you think the wall will allow that? Even if it is possible, that woman¡¯s body is already dead. There is no ce to return when the body is dead.) ¡¹
I silently stared at Nirvana. Then Nirvana¡¯s expression became strange.
¡¸ (Perhaps, you¡) ¡¹
He was now part of the Fourth Wall and might¡¯ve read my thoughts. His lips trembled as Nirvana shouted,¡¸ (No! Even if the wall allows it, I won¡¯t do it.) ¡¹
¡°Nirvana.¡±
Nirvana would know. There were many types of ¡®attributes¡¯ in the world but there were only two ¡®perfect immortality¡¯ attributes. One was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s regressor and the other was¡
¡°Where is your sponsor, Guardian of the Mand now?¡±
The first reincarnator. Now the time hade to meet the third protagonist of the story.
Chapter 345 - Good and Evil (1)
Chapter 345: Episode 65 ¨C Good and Evil (1)
Guardian of the Mand was a mysterious constetion. Unlike other constetions, he rarely showed up in a channel. Even if he entered, he rarely sent a message. He chose an incarnation and gave the ¡®reincarnation¡¯ attribute to the incarnation.
Nirvana in front of me was one of those reincarnators.
¡¸ (You don¡¯t know how terrible reincarnation is. No more reincarnators should be made.) ¡¹
¡°That isn¡¯t a matter for you to decide.¡±
At the same time, I nced at Yoo Sangah. She hadn¡¯t grasped the situation yet and her eyes were nk. Maybe she was examining the context of the conversation in her head.
¡¸ (...Doesn¡¯t this woman already have a sponsor?) ¡¹
¡°Not anymore. I asked Dionysus to cut off the connection during Gigantomachia.¡±
¡¸ (Is Olympus that passive? How did you pay for the huge probability?) ¡¹
I shrugged. I couldn¡¯t afford to borate on the details of the deal I made with Dionysus. ¡°Read it through the wallter. You will read about everything I do anyway. Before that, answer my question. Where is your sponsor now?¡±
¡¸ (I was absorbed by the wall and my ties with him broken. I don¡¯t know where he is now. Just...) ¡¹
Nirvana looked at me and continued,
¡¸ (I think you might¡¯ve suspected it already?) ¡¹
In fact, it was true. My question to Nirvana was only to change my guess to conviction.
¡°Yoo Sangah-ssi. Don¡¯t worry. These guys, they¡¯re not as bad as they look¨D¡±
I couldn¡¯t finish my words. There was a feeling of my space shrinking as my body was ejected from the library. The surprised Yoo Sangah reached out to me but my body was already scattering into sparks.
¡¸ Cheek y Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
Those were thest words I heard.
***
¡¸ ¡°...Dokja-ssi still isn¡¯t awake?¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°Yes.¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°It has been three days already...¡± ¡¹
I slowly woke up and could hear distant voices. Ufortable sensations that couldn¡¯t be expressed well pushed at me all at once. What should I say? It felt like I was being tortured with electricity.
¡¸ ¡°The electric eel doesn¡¯t work... what the hell is this?¡± ¡¹
¡¸ ¡°What about Sangah unni? Her body suddenly disappeared...¡± ¡¹
Thanks to the faint voices, I roughly guessed what was going to happen.
...Dammit, I had been unconscious for three days. My consciousness returned but my body didn¡¯t move at all.
[Your actions in preventing the death of your colleague have been caught in a probability usibility screening.]
[You are currently suffering from the aftermath of the probability storm.]
[For a total of five days, almost all your actions will be constrained.]
[Remaining constraints period: 2 days 3 hours 31 minutes.]
I tried to avoid it but I was caught in a probability storm. It was a miracle that it stopped at this degree of damage.
[A message has arrived to you through the ¡®Dokkaebi Communication.¡¯]
The message came from Bihyung.
-Kim Dokja, you crazy guy.
-Do you want to be eaten by Indescribable Distance again?
-If I hadn¡¯t put on the brakes in advance, a disaster would¡¯vee to Earth. You keep getting lucky. Don¡¯t you know what probability is?
The messages from Bihyung continued for some time. In order to reach the end of the scenario, it was necessary to umte the probability well and not be hated by the Star Stream. Since when did this person have such a nagging personality?
-At any rate, I let it pass this time but be careful next time. The will of the Star Stream is paying great attention to this incident.
I didn¡¯t know that forcibly breaking some of the Fourth Wall and sending Yoo Sangah in would bring about such bacsh. It would be absurd from the viewpoint of the constetions. It might feel like the actor on stage had disappeared.
[The Fourth Wall is currently repairing itself.]
[A considerable number of constetions are questioning the probability of your actions.]
[Many constetions are sad because they can¡¯t peek at your identity.]
[Several constetions noticed that you have a fragment of the Last Wall.]
The Fourth Wall responded quickly and the damage was minimized. My feet might be tied for a few days but I saved my mother and Yoo Sangah, so it was a cheap price.
Of course, in Yoo Sangah¡¯s case, it was a temporary measure and I couldn¡¯t leave it alone. In order to revive Yoo Sangah, I had to meet the constetion who was the king of reincarnators and the first reincarnation.
It was a little early but it wasn¡¯t too early. From Demon World¡¯s Spring to Torch That Swallowed the Myth. I had achieved the ¡®initial¡¯ and ¡®sess¡¯ portion of A Single Story.
Thanks to the emergence of me and Kim Dokja¡¯s Company, the development of the overall scenarios elerated and there would be the emergence of materials that should¡¯ve appeared long after in the original novel.
There were many candidates to get the giant story that would fulfil the ¡®turn¡¯ section. For example, there was Ragnarok of Asgard and some giant stories from the Emperor neb. Unlike the previous two sections, the ¡®turn¡¯ should be the climax of A Single Story. It was a scenario of a different scale based on the stories that had been told so far. Without such a stage, I couldn¡¯t reach the desired result.
Perhaps using the third giant story as a springboard, the ind where the first reincarnator stayed might be a good stage. In any case, I didn¡¯t know when it would happen.
Three days had passed but I still had two more days... I wasn¡¯t sure how to spend this boring time. If I sacrificed some of the giant stories, I might be able to get rid of the aftermath, but it wasn¡¯t good to sacrifice my barely collected stories here.
...If only I could read Ways of Survival.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
¡®Fourth Wall?¡¯
¡¸ Wi ll y ou con tinue do ing it your own way? ¡¹
Somehow, the voice felt childish. I wanted an opportunity and quickly answered. ¡®I won¡¯t do it again.¡¯
¡¸ Li ar. ¡¹
There was deep-rooted distrust in the words. I felt a bit sorry because this was the first time I saw the wall expressing its feelings.
¡®Believe me, I really won¡¯t do it.¡¯
¡¸ Bah. ¡¹
¡®...What happened to Yoo Sangah-ssi? Is she doing well?¡¯
No matter how intelligent and adaptable Yoo Sangah was, the existences in the library were far beyond most humans. One was an outer god, one was a creation of the constetions and thest one was a reincarnator. In addition, the owner of the library, the Fourth Wall was an unknown existence.
¡®Please don¡¯t be too hard on Yoo Sangah-ssi. She is a good person.¡¯
¡¸ That de pends on Yoo Sang ah. ¡¹
For now, I was forced to believe in Yoo Sangah. She might not have the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ cheat like me but she was someone who survived this far. Thus, I was sure she would do well in the library.
¡®There is one thing I¡¯d like to ask you.¡¯
¡¸ N o. ¡¹
¡®Just listen to me.¡¯
¡¸ N o. ¡¹
¡®...We used to be pretty friendly. Think about when we just arrived in the Demon World. At that time, we talked to each other a lot.¡¯
¡¸ It wa s on ly that ti me. ¡¹
¡®You can talk a lot in the future.¡¯
¡¸ Kim Dok ja does not ca re a bout what I say. ¡¹
I felt the hidden meaning and was lost for words. Come to think of it, the Fourth Wall always talked to me. There was the style it borrowed from Ways of Survival and even the Fourth Wall¡¯s peculiar way of talking. Still, it was true that I didn¡¯t respond properly to it.
¡¸ Th at dokkae bi who can¡¯t talk is be tter than Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
¡®Are you talking about Biyoo?¡¯
The Fourth Wall didn¡¯t answer. It was a bit of a confusing situation for me.
¡®You...¡¯
This guy also felt lonely. Did it feel joy, sorrow or pain? I never thought about it this way before and suddenly felt strange.
¡®...In the future, I will talk to you more often. I¡¯m sorry.¡¯
¡¸ Bah. ¡¹
¡®Calm down. I promise.¡¯
¡¸ Real ly? ¡¹
¡®Really.¡¯
The Fourth Wall thought of something and said.¡¸ But Kim Dok ja isn¡¯t e nough. ¡¹
¡®What?¡¯
¡¸ Gi ve me a frien d. ¡¹
What did this mean? A friend, how to give the wall a friend...
I thought about it and something suddenly shed through my mind.
...Don¡¯t tell me? As if to prove my feelings, the Fourth Wall opened its mouth.
¡¸ Kim Dok ja should ga ther the st wall. ¡¹
***
¡®I have to gather more stories.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk stared at the sky, obsessively thinking about it while munching on a lemon candy. He didn¡¯t like candy but there was no substitute for it right now. It would be nice if there was dumplings but... now wasn¡¯t the time to enjoy that type of taste.
¡®...No, the speed at which I gathered the stories is already fast enough. The important thing is to train the stories themselves.¡¯
Maybe it was time to go to ¡®that ind¡¯ now. The ind that Kyrgios and his teacher had visited. Yoo Jonghyuk clenched his fists as he envisioned future ns.
[Your sponsor is dissatisfied with your recent progress.
He suddenly felt his sponsor¡¯s gaze. Recently, his sponsor had been expressing feelings more often. A sponsor who had been only nonexistent in thest three regressions.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked with a frown. ¡°What is there toin about?¡±
[Your sponsor wants you to take proactive actions.]
The words touched something deep in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s mind. Certainly, his life had changed a lot since thest round. Needless to say, it was since he met Kim Dokja.
¡®...I don¡¯t know who he is.¡¯
He founded a neb with a man whose identity was unknown.
¡®Kim Dokja isn¡¯t a prophet.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk was immersed in his thoughts, as if solving the homework he had put off.
¡®Yet he knows information about the future.¡¯
The more he thought about it, the stranger things were. Why wasn¡¯t this person in thest round? He had an idea originally but now he wasn¡¯t convinced. That calm and meticulous guy didn¡¯t even pass the first scenario in thest round? The doubts started to multiply and overflow.
[An unknown power is putting a stop to your imagination.]
There was some dizziness and Yoo Jonghyuk frowned.
¡®...Again.¡¯
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t know why but his head hurt whenever he thought about Kim Dokja. In particr, whenever he wondered about Kim Dokja¡¯s identity.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, what are you doing?¡±
He looked back and saw Han Sooyoung with a lemon candy in her mouth.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked, ¡°Kim Dokja still isn¡¯t awake?¡±
¡°Not yet.¡±
¡°He is azy bastard.¡±
¡°...It is due to the aftermath of the probability storm so I wouldn¡¯t call himzy. It is strange that it hasn¡¯t happened until now.¡±
The two people stood there leisurely and looked up at the sky of the industrialplex. A cool breeze blew past their cor. It was peaceful but not a peace that wouldst a long time.
One person copsed and the life or death of the other person was unknown... however, this time was umon for the industrialplex.
Yoo Jonghyuk spotted Han Sooyoung staring at a distance ce with half-hooded eyes. He suddenly wanted to ask something.
¡®Would this person know what I¡¯m curious about?¡¯
Just like Kim Dokja, she appeared as a variable in this round. Whenever Yoo Jonghyuk saw her carrying on an unknown conversation with Kim Dokja, he had a feeling that this woman and Kim Dokja¨D
At this moment, an eerie sensation swept down his back.
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk.¡±
At almost the same time Han Sooyoung spoke, Yoo Jonghyuk pulled out the ck Demon Sword. Han Sooyoung was unwrapping the bandages around her hand.
In the distant sky, something was flying here at a fast pace. It was the presence of an uninvited guest. The presence left a dark glow in the sky as it slowly sank to the ground.
Magic power flowed from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s tense right hand.
¡°Asmodeus. What is going on?¡±
The demon king Asmodeusughed. [I came to meet the Demon King of Salvation. Where is he?]
¡°Why are you looking for him?¡±
[I have a lot to say as a Seeker of the End.]
¡°...Seeker of the End? Talk to me and get lost.¡±
[Ah, really annoying...]
Asmodeus might¡¯ve been an ally for a short time but Yoo Jonghyuk fundamentally didn¡¯t believe in him. Moreover, there was the grudge from thest round.
Nasty air currents flowed as Yoo Jonghyuk and Asmodeus¡¯ statuses collided with each other.
[Um? I didn¡¯t think you would be this strong...]
Asmodeus¡¯ eyes widened when Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t budge a single bit.
Obvious malicey below Asmodeus¡¯ yful expression.
[Regressor Yoo Jonghyuk.]
Asmodeus gave a demon-like smile as he came closer to Yoo Jonghyuk. The painted red lips of the demon king opened as if tomit a taboo.
[Have you ever heard of Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World?]
Chapter 346 - Good and Evil (2)
Chapter 346: Episode 65 ¨C Good and Evil (2)
Asmodeus continued speaking.
[Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. Among the incarnations, it is a story known as the Revtion... have you heard of it?]
At Asmodeus¡¯ words, the pale-faced Han Sooyoung stepped forward. ¡°You! What the hell did youe here to do?¡±
Asmodeus just ignored Han Sooyoung and studied Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s expression.
[An unknown power is putting a brake to incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s imagination.]
Sparks once again appeared in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s vicinity. In fact, Asmodeus¡¯ words sounded like this to Yoo Jonghyuk.
[Have you heard of Three ¡ö¡ö to ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö in a Ruined ¡ö¡ö¡ö?]
Yoo Jonghyuk got a headache as he asked, ¡°...What did you say?¡±
Asmodeus sighed. [Hmmm, you aren¡¯t yet allowed...]
¡°What are you talking about?¡±
[Well, it isn¡¯t a big deal. Then... based on the situation, the Demon King of Salvation is still asleep.]
Asmodeus grinned and nced at the Factory.
[Unfortunately, I will go back for today. Please tell this to the Demon King of Salvation. Thanks to what he has done, the bnce of good and evil is shaken. Jackals will emerge to take advantage of that imbnce.]
¡°Wait, just wait!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk pressed a hand to his temple and called out to Asmodeus, who had turned around.
He replied without turning around. [Regressor Yoo Jonghyuk. Do you want to know the truth of the world?]
¡°...The truth?¡±
[If you want to know,e to the Seekers of the End.]
With these words, Asmodeus¡¯ body disappeared. Han Sooyoung quickly approached the staggering Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°Yoo Jonghyuk. Are you okay?¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. He seemed to be thinking about something and was drowning in great anguish. Yoo Jonghyuk stared at the air for a while before shaking off Han Sooyoung and staggering somewhere.
¡°Hey! Where are you going?¡±
Despite Han Sooyoung¡¯s shouts, Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. Han Sooyoung shouted once again, ¡°Kim Dokja hasn¡¯t woken up yet!¡±
¡°It has nothing to do with him.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk triggered Red Phoenix Shunpo and disappeared. The only one left at the entrance of the Factory was Han Sooyoung. Han Sooyoung looked around and was lost in thought as she chewed on the candy bar.
¡®Is it time for the filtering to be lifted and information about Ways of Survival to begin?¡¯
It happened while Kim Dokja wasn¡¯t present and Han Sooyoung couldn¡¯t hide her nervousness. She couldn¡¯t guess what type of disaster would ur if Yoo Jonghyuk learnt about Ways of Survival now. Moreover, how did the demon kings learn about the existence of Ways of Survival?
Han Sooyoung watched the sky to the south and spat the candy on the ground. Something had to be done before Kim Dokja woke up.
***
Yoo Sangah was able to fully enjoy the experience of being a ¡®neer¡¯ as she organized the books.
In thest two days, Yoo Sangah learnt a lot from her three seniors. From the identity of this library to the identities of her seniors.
¡¸ (Please organize it slowly. Once Kim Dokja starts thinking unnecessary things, it gets messy.) ¡¹
The theatre master, Simtion.
¡¸ (It will take a long time to clean up with only two hands. I wanted a sessor with many hands to rece me.) ¡¹
The outer god, Eater of Dreams.
¡¸ (Do you want me to teach you Thousand Hands of Avalokite?vara?) ¡¹
The reincarnator, Nirvana Moebius.
All the seniors were slightly odd but they were generally kind to her. It would¡¯ve been nice if they were part of Mino Soft¡¯s human resources team.
Shelves covered with countless books. They were all the books Kim Dokja had read or forgotten. Most of the books were one ¡®novel.¡¯
¡º Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. ¡»
Yoo Sangah liked books and quickly identified her situation and the processes of her new job. This was a ce for Kim Dokja and what this story meant to Kim Dokja...
Once she realized, Yoo Sangah felt faint despair and sympathy at the same time. However, Yoo Sangah didn¡¯t show it. She knew that sometimes not expressing it was a way of taking care of the wounded. Instead, she thought about other things.
¡®If it developed like the original...¡¯
The following Earth scenario could have several implications. Among them, the most likely one...
¡¸ Work har d Yoo Sang ah. ¡¹
Yoo Sangah raised her head at the voice heard from the air.
¡¸ (I will work hard.) ¡¹
She felt like she was living a rented life but there was a possibility for her to live again. Fortunately, the general manager of this ce was a cute boss.
¡¸ (Thank you for the job. I really like it here.) ¡¹
¡¸ Bah. ¡¹
¡¸ (I¡¯m serious.) ¡¹
¡¸ Yoo Sang ah li kes books? ¡¹
¡¸ (I like it very much.) ¡¹
¡¸ Wh at book? ¡¹
¡¸ (For example... Lord of the Rings...) ¡¹
¡¸ H oh. ¡¹
Luckily, the cute boss seemed quite interested in her. She decided to ask about something she was curious about.
¡¸ (Then can I ask one question?) ¡¹
¡¸ Wh at? ¡¹
¡¸ (What exactly is the Fourth Wall?) ¡¹
A giggle filled the entire library.
¡¸ I pro tect Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
¡¸ (Protect him?) ¡¹
¡¸ Kim Dok ja would die with out me. ¡¹
It was a voice filled with conviction.
¡¸ Th en Kim Dok ja did some thing stu pid. ¡¹
The entire library trembled faintly.
¡¸ It is hard er recent ly be cause of you. ¡¹
¡¸ (...Because of me?) ¡¹
¡¸ My work is leak ing out. ¡¹
The sound of sparks pointed to a certain direction in the library. The Fourth Wall was indicating to a hole bigger than Yoo Sangah¡¯s fist.
¡¸ Ev en though I block ed it, it is de stroyed by Kim Dok ja. ¡¹
The cover of an old book was blocking the hole. It seemed to be a temporary action urgently carried out. Yoo Sangah carefully examined the cover of the book.
¡¸ (The hold, isi t going to the outside?) ¡¹
¡¸ Yes. ¡¹
Yoo Sangah pondered the hole for a while before making a yful expression.
¡¸ (Fourth Wall. I have a good idea.) ¡¹
***
I sleptfortably. It was as deep as when I had been forcibly confined. It felt like fluffy feathers were wrapped around my head. Or maybe someone came into my head and cleared up all the ufortable worries.
¡¸ (Dokja-ssi, it is a big deal. Dokja-ssi.) ¡¹
A mysterious voice rang in my head and I got out of bed in a startled manner. A hospital room with no one inside. My skin was tanned after being burnt by the sparks.
¡°Uh...¡±
I looked around but there was no one by the bed. None of the party members could be seen. Then who woke me up?
I decided to check the situation. I was still weak from the aftermath of the probability storm but I was capable of walking. Yet the feeling was strange. An unpleasant aura was flowing through the corridor of the ward. There was a foreboding feeling that something would break. A momentter, I realized there was a loudmotion outside the Factory.
I opened a window in the corridor and people¡¯s shouts entered my ears.
¡°Free Seoul!¡±
...What?
¡°We will no longer be ruled by the demon king!¡±
¡°Dictator of the Factory, stand down! Open all the stigmas and skills to the public!¡±
A crowd was gathered beyond the walls of the Factory. They were the incarnations from Seoul and the surrounding areas. I saw theposition of the forces that hade and immediately knew what type of people they were.
Most of them were people who failed in the scenario. They were also some key figures from the alliances.
¡°This is a legitimate struggle! Wake up the Demon King of Salvation and the evilpany, Kim Dokja¡¯s Company, who preempts the scenarios and monopolizes the capital!¡±
Preempt the scenario and monopolize the capital...
They wouldn¡¯t say that if they knew how hard it was for us to get through the scenarios. Inside the walls were the confused party members. The first one I heard was Gong Pildu¡¯s voice. ¡°Should I just shoot them?¡±
¡°Ahjussi, are you crazy? Most of them are novice incarnations!¡±
¡°Everyone! Don¡¯t do this! It is a misunderstanding!
Lee Jihye and Lee Hyunsung came forward to yell at the people butmunication wasn¡¯t possible from the beginning.
¡°Shut up! Open the gates! Share the items!¡±
¡°There is no such thing as items!¡±
¡°Share the coins!¡±
¡°We aren¡¯t gangsters...¡±
An ¡®incitement¡¯ of this level wasn¡¯t something that ordinary humans could do. Every alliance on the Korean Penins was taken over by my party members and the Gyeongi Alliance, which was thergest stumbling block, was destroyed by Yoo Jonghyuk not long ago.
The fact that so many people gathered together meant it was likely that someone outside had intervened. Then where were Yoo Jonghyuk and Han Sooyoung? What caused this division in the Factory? It seemed there were many things I didn¡¯t know.
[Many constetions are interested in what is happening in the industrialplex.]
I had to stop this before it became bigger. I was calcting things in my head and about to move towards the party members when I heard a dokkaebi¡¯s voice.
[Revolution...! I am someone who advocates for democracy!]
An ominous feeling rushed through me.
[Since a probability of this scale has been gathered, it is possible to open up a scenario?]
+
[Sub Scenario ¨C Seoul Revolution]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: Seoul is currently under the leadership of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. Incarnations have emerged to resist the dominance of the neb. Many constetions want both groups to fight for control of Seoul.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: 300,000 coins
Failure: ¨D
+
The moment I read the scenario, I had a nasty feeling. Kim Dokja¡¯s Company had umted two giant stories and was now well known in the Star Stream.
However, the neb¡¯s representative, Yoo Jonghyuk was absent. Someone was deliberately trying to hit us.
¡°There is no failure condition! Should I try it?¡±
¡°300,000 coins! Let¡¯s make some money!¡±
Lee Jihye shouted with frustration. ¡°Stupid... it isn¡¯t an amountrge enough to be divided!¡±
The moment I thought it wouldn¡¯t work, someone came forward. It was Jung Heewon. Jung Heewon used the Speech Amplifier skill and her voice was filled with great vigour. ¡°Don¡¯t hide your representatives!¡±
The people climbing the walls were aghast at Jung Heewon¡¯s words.
¡°There will only be senseless sacrifices if you wage war here. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to decide victory in a battle between representatives?¡±
Jung Heewon watched the people and continued. ¡°If we lose, we will hand over the Factory as you wish!¡±
¡°Heewon-ssi! Why promise such a thing...?!¡±
Lee Hyunsung stared at her with confusion while Jung Heewon calmly exined. ¡°These people, most of them haven¡¯t passed the 10th scenario yet. What will happen if a real war urs here?¡±
Lee Hyunsung shut his mouth at Jung Heewon¡¯s words. Rather than talking, the party members stared at each other in silence. How much time passed? One by one, they started nodding.
¡°..Heewon-ssi is right.¡±
Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung. Gong Pildu looked unhappy but...
Everyone agreed this was the best way to minimize the sacrifice of the citizens.
The dokkaebi saw the progress from the air andughed.
[...Good. Will this event be a ¡®Representative Exhibition¡¯?]
At the same time, the contents of the sub scenario were changed.
[Sub scenario ¨C Seoul Revolution is updated!]
[Through the representatives of both forces, the owner of Seoul will be determined!]
Jung Heewon yelled at the people beyond the walls. ¡°The representatives,e up now. This side is ready.¡±
It was a confident smile. Maybe Jung Heewon¡¯s determination stemmed from the faithful time she spent training.
The people who had been talking about revolution and the spring of Seoul suddenly fell silent when Jung Heewon came out so confidently. Then their shouts became louder.
¡°R-Representative! Where are you? Come out quickly!¡±
¡°Fight and win! Find our rights!¡±
Yet no one showed up. It was natural. Those who raised the crowd wanted to take advantage of the irrational incitement. However, the meaning disappeared if the story flowed like this.
The anxious incarnations cried out, ¡°Who...!¡±
I was a bit thrilled when I saw the ranks of the crowd crumbling. It was great to see who the party members had grown in the three years without me.
Perhaps Jung Heewon aimed for this from the beginning. She learned to maintain her sense of justice while being pragmatic.
She was already one of the strongest in Seoul. She had no chance of losing in a one-on-one fight against an incarnation.
The dokkaebi in the air stroked his chin. [Kim Dokja¡¯s Company has two representatives missing. Who wille forward?]
The party members raised their hands at the same time. However, Jung Heewon was first. ¡°I will do it.¡±
¡°Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. You know that I¡¯m strong.¡±
Certainly, Jung Heewon was the strongest in our neb apart from Yoo Jonghyuk. Lee Hyunsung, Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yoosung and Gong Pildu... none of them could surpass Jung Heewon when it came to individualbat power. In addition, Jung Heewon seemed to notice something. This was one of the reasons why Jung Heewon should be a representative.
¡¸ ...I will go. ¡¹
The reason for this was the three incarnations approaching through the crowd. One of their faces was especially familiar.
...This guy. The man who passed over the walls opened his mouth. ¡°I will be a representative.¡±
Chapter 347 - Good and Evil (3)
Chapter 347: Episode 65 ¨C Good and Evil (3)
The man with the imposing atmosphere was the one who confronted mest time. He was the one who ran away from me during thest ¡®confinement.¡¯
The leader of the Gyeonggi Alliance, one of the 10 Evils Cho Jinchul. In this round, I thought that our party members had be too strong yet this guy came back.
Jung Heewon smiled and pulled out her sword. ¡°You?¡±
Despite saying this, Jung Heewon didn¡¯t rx her guard at all. It was because she read the unusual energy flowing from Cho Jinchul¡¯s body. It was demonic energy.
Jung Heewon¡¯s expression hardened and filled with killing intent. While clearing Dark Castle, it was only in name but she was the one who cleared the 10th scenario by killing the ¡®demon king.¡¯ There was no way she couldn¡¯t know.
¡°You... were eaten by a demon king.¡±
It was the aura of a demon king. Theughing Cho Jinchul already wasn¡¯t Cho Jinchul. He was a man swallowed up by demonic energy.
[The demon king ¡®Monarch of the Snake Hell¡¯ has revealed his existence.]
Monarch of the Snake Hell. One of the Demon World¡¯s 72 demon kings. He was the master of the 72nd Demon Realm, Andromalius. In addition, the other two incarnation bodies were emitting simr energy.
[The demon king ¡®Thinker of Lies and Secrets¡¯ has revealed his existence.]
[The demon king ¡®Performer of Musical Instruments¡¯ has revealed his existence.]
Three demon kings appeared through their own power. Even so, Jung Heewon remained calm after knowing her opponents were demon kings.
¡°Is it a one-on-one fight?¡±
[Of course, it will be one-on-one. Fearless incarnation.]
Her hair raised from the true voice but Jung Heewonughed. ¡°Yes, I wanted to try it one day. How great a demon king is.¡±
There was deep anger contained in her voice. It might be Uriel¡¯s influence or it might be the umted anger towards me. In any case, Jung Heewon looked like she was doing well.
[The fight has begun!]
In fact, it was a confidence I could understand. The opponents might be demon kings but Jung Heewon didn¡¯t need to back down. In addition, there was the state of being possessed through proxy. If she stepped back here, the archangel¡¯s pride would be damaged.
A red light filled Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes as the Sword of Judgment moved through the air. The trajectory of the sword moved through the air like a. There wasn¡¯t a chance to avoid it and Cho Jinchul¡¯s arm flew through the air.
[You dare...!]
The surprised Andromalius let out a roar but Jung Heewon¡¯s sword showed no hesitation or fear. Andromalius was baffled by the arrogant style. It was a swordsmanship that didn¡¯t look at anything and only focused on killing. The incarnations who only went through ordinary scenarios couldn¡¯t afford to go against her.
Blood poured out once again as there was a deep cut on Cho Jinchul¡¯s right thigh. The gap in skill was overwhelming. The crowd¡¯s mouths dropped open and the party members felt admiration. This was the real power of the Judge of Evil, Jung Heewon.
[The character ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is preparing to activate Judgment Time!]
For the finish, Jung Heewon gathered her strength. It was thebination of Judgment Time and Hell mes Ignition. Jung Heewon was trying to press this ¡®Representative Exhibition¡¯ with overwhelming force.
However, at the same time, Andromalius increased his synchronization rate with Cho Jinchul and started the descent in earnest. Cho Jinchul¡¯s cut off arm soared up with demonic energy and the injury restored with magic power. This was the power of the 72nd demon king.
[Your tricks end here.]
A fist struck Jung Heewon¡¯s de like a lightning bolt. The Sword of Judgment shook and Jung Heewon immediately took a few steps back. Cho Jinchul pursued Jung Heewon and continued to attack.
Andromalius prepared for damage to his probability and incarnation body as he increased the synchronization rate.
A threatening power emerged from Cho Jinchul¡¯s body. No matter how strong Jung Heewon was, she couldn¡¯t fight against a demon king by herself without Uriel. In the end, Jung Heewon was thrown through the air from the power struggle.
¡°Keuk, dammit...!¡±
I couldn¡¯t understand the situation. To be exact, it was strange that Andromalius made such a choice.
Not all demon kings were in the same ss. By doing this, the scales of probability would move and Archangel Uriel would be able to intervene. Once she came, the demon kings would turn into ash in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless, the fact that they were earnestly dealing with Jung Heewon showed they had something they believed in.
[The activation of Judgment Time has been forcibly cancelled.]
The thing they believed in was quickly revealed.
¡°...Uriel?¡±
Uriel didn¡¯t respond and Judgment Time and Hell mes Ignition weren¡¯t activated properly. Putting aside Hell mes Ignition, it was strange that Judgment Time wasn¡¯t activated. Something was wrong with Uriel and the other constetions of the absolute good system.
...Don¡¯t tell me? At this moment, I understood how the story was flowing. I understood why the demon kings suddenly made such a move and why they visited my ¡®demon realm¡¯ at this time. Everything suddenly made sense.
Kyrgios floated in the air and was looking at me. I gazed back at him. I didn¡¯t move despite being able to intervene at any time due to him. Then Kyrgios spoke to me.
-You should do it.
I shook my head. It wasn¡¯t time yet. If possible, I didn¡¯t want to reveal my strength too early. It could backfire if I revealed my power just to win this. Kyrgios opened his mouth.
-This will happen frequently in the future unless you demonstrate your strength.
Maybe he was right. The current Kim Dokja¡¯s Company was rising and the demon kings hade to dampen the momentum of our neb.
If we didn¡¯t show our strength now, our neb would seem shallow to other constetions.
I sighed and looked up at the air where Bihyung wasughing.
He looked like he knew the scenario would turn out this way from the beginning. Maybe Bihyung had been calcting many things. It was why he only opened this scenario after I woke up. Really, he was a damn dokkaebi.
-Go ahead. Show me the status of a demon king.
I jumped out of the Factory onto the battlefield. There was a sound of surprise from the party members as I grabbed Jung Heewon¡¯s shoulder from behind.
¡°Heewon-ssi.¡±
¡°...Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have to fight here. I¡¯m not stopping you because you are weak.¡±
I went forward with Jung Heewon behind me.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is opening his ¡®status.¡¯]
The three demon kings were watching me. I used my true voice.
[All demon kings. Did you choose the wrong yground? I¡¯m sure you have something to say to me
but say it and get out of here.]
Andromalius¡¯ face distorted at my true voice.
[Cheeky guy.]
[Do you know why we came?]
I nodded. The reason the demon kings came here was obvious. Since Earth¡¯s incarnations had exceeded the 60th scenario, it was time for the event to be held. Perhaps these guys hade to invite me.
The fact that Jung Heewon couldn¡¯t use Uriel¡¯s power was rted to this. The demon kings giggled as if everything so far was just amusement.
[Be honoured that your elders have personally visited you.]
[Come with us. We have to prepare right now. We¡¯ll be leaving straight away.]
I smiled and nodded.
[You came here to pick me up and I should go. By the way...]
I looked back at Jung Heewon, who was wiping her bloody nose, and the party members supporting her. They hadn¡¯t sufficiently rested from the aftermath of Gigantomachia.
[I think it will be hard to just send you away.]
[What bullshit is that?]
[If you are a demon king, you should be worthy. Isn¡¯t that right?]
[The neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company¡¯ is requesting a representative change.]
[The demon king ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has be the new representative.
The demon kings realized my intentions and were astonished.
[You want to fight us now? You... do you know what happens when a demon king and demon king fight?]
[I know very well.]
I looked at each of the demon kings and answered.
[The demon king ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ has applied for a demon king promotion.]
A demon king promotion. It was a fierce duel between demon kings whopeted for rankings and honour.
[A promotion! Are you crazy?]
It might be true. Whether it was demon king or constetion, I was tired of being dragged around by these bastards.
[Do you agree or not? They¡¯re watching.]
[The demon king ¡®Immeasurable Austerity¡¯ is interested in the battle between the low-grade ones.]
[The demon king ¡®Duke of Everywhere¡¯ says this is a premature fight.]
[The demon king ¡®Monarch of Stars and Logic¡¯ is pointing out the spelling of the ¡®Duke of Everywhere¡¯.]
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Lust and Fury¡¯ is making an interested expression.]
Countless demon kings were watching the confrontation. I was the 73rd demon king, the lowest of the demon kings. It would be embarrassing if they refused my challenge.
The three demon kings would be formidable but I wasn¡¯t afraid at all. Rather, I wasposed as I watched them.
¡¸ Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk also felt like this. ¡¹
Andromalius made a humiliated expression as he opened his mouth.
[...I ept the challenge.]
However, I shook my head.
[You are out. I¡¯m not applying for you.]
[What?]
[Andromalius, you are the 72nd ranked.]
I pointed to another demon king behind him.
[I am applying for the 67th demon king, Performer of Musical Instruments Amdusias.]
If I was going to fight then it was better to kill the guy with the higher ranking. Andromalius¡¯ face turned red at my words and he rushed over. The fist that contained the formidable stories of the 72nd Demon Realm flew towards me.
[The giant story ¡®Snake That Crouches for 1,000 years¡¯ has begun!]
Clearly, their low ranking didn¡¯t mean they had bad stories when they had lived for a long time.
Nevertheless, they didn¡¯t know. I have lived a much shorter history than them but it was also much fiercer.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ has started the story.]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is revealing its crouching teeth.]
The next moment, blue-white lightning filled the area. It was Electrification through Bookmark. The blue-white magic power was astounding. A faint smile was seen on Kyrgios¡¯ face.
[There isn¡¯t a big gap between the character and your level.]
[Your understanding of the character has greatly enhanced your skills!]
[The exclusive skill ¡®Electrification Lv. 23 (+13)¡¯ is activated.]
It was a real hassle to use Electrification without Miniaturization.
[Your current body configuration is different from that of the character.]
[Your status has ovee the penalty of the physical conditions.]
Andromalius¡¯ fist stopped in front of my nose. He stared at me with astonishment before his eyes shifted to his stomach. Half of his body was gone.
I pulled my sword out of his body and dered. [First, the 72nd ce.]
Chapter 348 - Good and Evil (4)
Chapter 348: Episode 65 ¨C Good and Evil (4)
[The Monarch of the Snake Hell is wounded and has exited from the scenario.]
[You have won the demon king promotion!]
[Your Demon World ranking is adjusted!]
[You have be the 72nd Demon King!]
I passed by Cho Jinchul¡¯s ashes and looked around. They were two demon kings who hadn¡¯t yete to their senses. Indeed, it was natural to be surprised. It was because the lowest ranked 72nd demon king was finished in one blow. Even so, this was reality.
[Several demon kings are amazed by your power.]
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Comfort and Savagery¡¯ is spitting at your status.]
[The demon king ¡®Worthless Darkness¡¯ is threatened by your status.]
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is mocking the reaction of the demon kings.]
Not all constetions received a giant story. Even if they had a giant story, their stakes in it were low and they couldn¡¯t take full advantage of it.
I was different. All my giant stories weren¡¯t inherited from someone else but were a history that I created with my party members.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is continuing.]
The giant stories gathered in this way showed apletely different level of power.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is looking at the demon kings with greedy eyes.]
The confrontation with Poseidon still lingered in Unbroken Faith. I stared at the demon kings.
[The demon king ¡®Thinker of Lies and Secrets¡¯ is preparing to depart from the scenario.]
The 71st demon king, Dantalion. The demon who was known to be cunning noticed quickly.
[Where are you trying to run to?]
I used both Electrification and Way of the Wind and caught him. This time, I was helped by Bihyung.
[The bureau has rejected the scenario proposal of the Thinker of Lies and Secrets.]
[The game should be finished to the end, demon kings.]
Dantalion¡¯s eyes widened like he hadn¡¯t expected the dokkaebi to take my side. Was it the shock of Andromalius¡¯ defeat? I didn¡¯t feel any dignity from the appearance of the demon kings.
The demon kings outside the top 70 were like this. They became demon kings out of luck and barely clung to the bottom of thedder while abusing the title of ¡®demon king.¡¯
Blood rose and the head of a negligent incarnation body rolled to the ground.
[The 71st.]
[The Thinker of Lies and Secrets is wounded and has exited from the scenario.]
[You have won the demon king promotion!]
[Your Demon World ranking is adjusted!]
[You have be the 71st Demon King!]
I looked at thest remaining one, Performer of Musical Instruments Amdusias.
Amdusias asked, [Do you really have to do this?]
[Why, are you scared?]
[Do you see me in the same ss as Andromalius and Dantalion?]
The atmosphere changed. Unlike the two demon kings I had previously defeated, Amdusias was prepared for a fight. The horn of a unicorn grew from the head of the incarnation.
[The demon king ¡®Performer of Musical Instruments¡¯ has summoned the star relic ¡®Star Trumpet.¡¯]
From the 60s, the level of the demon kings went up a bit.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Reading Comprehension¡¯ is activated.]
The thickness of the story was different. However, there were no special feelings since I already met the 32nd ranked Asmodeus. Asmodeus might¡¯ve gone up the ranks a lot by now. There were demon kings who had particrly steep growth and one of them was Asmodeus. On the other hand, the demon kings in the lower rankings rarely had a chance to rise.
[Your status has increased greatly and your skill ¡®Reading Comprehension¡¯ is strengthened!]
[Your skill allows you to understand theposition of the story!]
The story that I felt from Amdusias was very dark and worn out.
[The story ¡®Hell Performer¡¯ is yawning while looking at you.]
It was a boring and long story that no longer made me curious about the backstory. This was the story that formed the backbone of Amdusias, Performer of Musical Instruments.
Amdusias asked, [What are you seeing?]
I said it earlier but the stories I umted were more intense than theirs. In fact, these words were wrong. There were fierce moments in any story but theparison of intensity was meaningless in the first ce. In this damn Star Stream, the only thing that won was time.
[...I just want to be able to fight.]
After hundreds of years, some constetions were dulled by the stimtion of the scenario. Rather than look for and explore new stories, they entrusted themselves to the flow of the stories they had already acquired. Stop thinking about it.
[The story ¡®Hell Performer¡¯ is moving ording to the will of demon king ¡®Amdusias.]
Those who were masters of the stories were eventually dominated by their stories.
[A person who hasn¡¯t lived for 100 years is mocking me?]
Amdusias knew that his anger wasn¡¯t entirely his own.
[The story ¡®Hell Performer¡¯ has begun.]
Finally, the concert of hell began. The sound waves filled with the power of the 67th Demon Realm moved through the air.
¡°Aaaack!¡±
The incarnations of Seoul shed blood and fell down. The performance of the Hell Orchestra was full of blood and death and there was nothing wrong with it. Nevertheless, I didn¡¯t back down. Amdusias was strong but it wasn¡¯t to the point where I couldn¡¯t beat him.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is continuing.]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is continuing.]
My sides and shoulders were wounded by the powerful sound waves but I didn¡¯t care. The stories that I and the party members built up were protecting me.
¡¸ Therefore, the man who swallowed God made his own me. ¡¹
The mes of the torch rose from Unbroken Faith.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is letting out a wild roar.]
[The great story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is exercising control over other stories!]
The stories I had were gathered around the torch.
[The story ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯ is agitated.]
[The story ¡®Person who Opposes the Miracle¡¯ is afraid of the giant story.]
[The story ¡®Giant¡¯s Liberator¡¯ is following the mes of the torch.]
White mes illuminated all of Seoul. Sparks of probability prated my body as the berserk story stretched out from my sword.
The mes of the torch raced through the darkness like turbulent waves and swept away Amdusias¡¯ incarnation. The power was so strong that my hand holding the sword trembled.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is disappointed by your ¡®status.¡¯]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ wants a fiercer sprint!]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ hasints about you.]
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is displeased with ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth.¡¯]
The giant stories were inherently different from other stories. The strong stories chose their master and had enormous influence, eventually bing the master itself. In particr, the Torch That Swallowed the Myth was particrly belligerent. If I showed even the slightest gap, this story wouldn¡¯t hesitate to eat me with its own mes.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is looking at you with greedy eyes.]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is ending the story.]
Before that happened, I had to tighten the reins on it. I had to hurry with my n or I might end up the same as Amdusias.
Only ashes remained where the mes of the torch passed. The appearance of the demon king was nowhere to be found. This was the gap in overwhelming force.
[The Performer of Musical Instruments is wounded and has exited from the scenario.]
[You have won the demon king promotion!]
[Your Demon World ranking is adjusted!]
[You have be the 67th Demon King!]
[Your reputation is spread throughout the Demon World!]
[Several demon kings are amazed by your strength.]
I heard the voice of the dokkaebi.
[The winner of the Representative Exhibition is determined.]
[The sub scenario ¨D Seoul Revolution has ended.]
[300,000 coins will be distributed to Kim Dokja¡¯s Company aspensation.]
The indirect messages poured out.
[The constetions of the absolute evil system have sponsored you 100,000 coins for your battle.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ likes your struggle.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is proud of your growth.]
[The constetion ¡®Mass Production Maker¡¯ is nodding in a warm manner.]
[Several demon kings are offering you goodwill.]
Between the pouring messages, I could feel the eyes of the crowd from below the wall. The survivors who lived through Amdusias¡¯ attack were watching me. They didn¡¯t even know they had been used.
I opened my mouth towards them. [Everyone, it is nice to see you for the first time. I am the Demon King of Salvation.]
The wings of a demon king spread out behind me while horns rose from my head. The surprised people screamed and stepped back. I took one step closer to them.
[Open the walls.]
There was a loud sound as the Factory forcibly opened its walls. The barriers they had been trying to cross opened so easily that the people seemed perplexed.
¡°W-What...?¡±
[Didn¡¯t you want toe in? Please enter at any time.]
¡°Is he trying to kill us?¡±
¡°He¡¯ll kill us! I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll kill us!¡±
Some horror-filled incarnations started pissing themselves at my true voice. I stared at them and spoke in a resolute voice. [I am a demon king but I have never once persecuted incarnations for unreasonable reasons.Kim Dokja¡¯s Company has never monopolized Seoul.]
In fact, the door of the Factory was always open. It was the citizens who first distanced themselves and gazed at us with fear.
[The Factory will ept you. I won¡¯t spare you support as you go up through the scenarios one by one. I will help you build your story as much as you can.]
The eyes of the people became cloudy at the words that came out of my mouth. Some made disbelieving expressions while others opposed it.
¡°How can we believe that?¡±
¡°T-That¡¯s right! You are already too strong. In addition, the constetions...!¡±
I understood their feelings. Some gaps are awe-inspiring while others created despair. The scene that the incarnations just witnessed was a great story that they couldn¡¯t catch up with in their lifetime.
[There is no guarantee that you will be left behind if you startte. The speed at which we go through the scenario is different. I was in the same situation as you a few years ago.]
The constetions of the sky were looking down at me. The beings had been far away even from the first scenario.
[I was an incarnation thatgged behind thousands of yearspared to those constetions. Yet I came all this way.]
Those beings were now in reach if I stretched out my hands.
I looked at the people with my horns and wings. [Look at my appearance. Do I look special?]
The people were looking up at me with bemused eyes. It was as if they were looking for something inherently special in my appearance. Someone muttered, ¡°...Can we be that?¡±
[You never know what will happen before any scenario ends. Don¡¯t give up until the end.]
I turned around and spoke final words.
[The front door is open. If you wish, pleasee in and seek help or advice.]
This might be a fake hope. Perhaps most of them wouldn¡¯t climb to the stars but they would be excited by the enchantment when they faced the starlight. Still, what the people needed right now was this fake hope.
Then someone muttered my modifier. ¡°Demon King of Salvation...¡±
There was a bitter taste on my tongue.
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Lust and Fury¡¯ likes your deception.]
[The constetion ¡®Saviour of Corruption¡¯ reveals hostility towards you.]
Demon King of Salvation. The Star Stream must be as bad at naming as I was. Many people wished to survive but I wasn¡¯t a phnthropist. I only liked the people I liked and saved the people I cared about.
¡°Dokja-ssi!¡±
In the distance, the party members were running towards me, including Jung Heewon. I waved lightly towards them.
Then I saw a glittering system message in the air.
[The master of the 73rd Demon Realm, representative of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.]
The moment I was going to check the message, someone spoke from behind me.
[You don¡¯t need to read that. I came directly.]
It was a familiar true voice. I stared at him with wide open eyes.
[Asmodeus.]
[It¡¯s been a while, Kim Dokja.
[Did youe to give up your ranking?]
[I came here to share a deeper friendship. Aren¡¯t we colleague who share a giant story?]
The words weren¡¯tpletely wrong. In fact, a minority share of the Demon World¡¯s Spring belonged to him.
[Are you already aware of why I¡¯m here?]
Of course, I knew. Asmodeus had probablye here with the same purpose as the other demon kings.
[Do I have to attend?]
[It is a foolish question. This close to the apocalypse, you should know the answer.]
I was silent as I stared in Asmodeus¡¯ serene eyes.
Asmodeus said, [The ¡®Duet Between Good and Evil¡¯ will soon begin. Now it is time for you to choose a side.]
The gaze towards me was inquiring.
Was I ¡®good¡¯? Or was I ¡®evil¡¯?
It wasn¡¯t only Asmodeus. The stars of the night sky split around me in unison. One side was a bright light while the other side was a dazzling light.
I inwardly sighed. The Duet Between Good and Evil. The implication of this scenario being initiated was simple.
¡¸ There isn¡¯t much time until the destruction in this world. ¡¹
Once the bnce between good and evil copsed, the stars in the night sky would fall one by one. It was fatal destruction that even the big nebe couldn¡¯t escape. If my memories were correct, perhaps the first victim of the destruction¡ª
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is looking at you.]
It would be the neb of archangels, Eden.
Chapter 349 - Good and Evil (5)
Chapter 349: Episode 65 ¨C Good and Evil (5)
Duet Between Good and Evil wasn¡¯t a main scenario. The ssification belonged to the hidden scenario but strictly speaking... the scenario was akin to an event.
I left Asmodeus for the moment and greeted my party members. There were too many things to blindly enter the scenario.
¡°Hyung! Are you okay?¡±
The party members had different expressions but the concern on their faces was the same. They probably had many questions.
I was reminded of the situation before I passed out and exined the whole story to the party members step by step. In return for saving my mother and Yoo Sangah, I was hit by the aftermath of the probability storm.
Jung Heewon listened calmly to the story and asked, ¡°...Yoo Sangah-ssi¡¯s soul is inside you?¡±
¡°To put it simply, yes.¡±
¡°If there was such a way, why...¡±
¡°I wasn¡¯t sure about the sess.¡±
Jung Heewon sighed and leaned down with her hands pressed against her knees. ¡°Then Sangah-ssi really died...¡±
¡°Then is Sangah unni alive?¡±
Lee Jihye muttered while sitting down. She couldn¡¯t seem to believe it and asked again several times. Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung had tears in their eyes. Lee Hyunsung was standing next to them like a bear.
¡°She is alive. And...¡± I stared straight at Lee Jihye and said, ¡°I¡¯ll revive her again.¡±
Yoo Sangah was obviously alive. However, it was hard to say she was living in her present condition.
Jung Heewon asked, ¡°How? If it is simr to Biyoo...¡±
¡°I was thinking of reincarnation but not into a dokkaebi. In the first ce, the existences that can be dokkaebis are fixed. The Flood of Disasters was a special case.¡±
The 41st round Shin Yoosung had been wandering around the Star Stream for thousands of years. However, that wasn¡¯t the case with Yoo Sangah.
¡°To save Yoo Sangah, I need to go to a certain ¡®star.¡¯ It is called the ¡®ind¡¯ among the transcendents.¡±
In the distance, Kyrgios pricked up his ears at the word ¡®ind.¡¯ Maybe Kyrgios knew about the ind. While I wasn¡¯t here, he had already gone to the ind.
¡°The problem is that I can¡¯t go there right now.¡±
Jung Heewon nced at Asmodeus who was wandering around the back of the Factory. ¡°Is it due to the invitation that the demon king brought?¡±
I nodded. My mind wasplicated. I had to go to the ind to save Yoo Sangah and also participate in the Duet Between Good and Evil. The more urgent thing right now...
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is asking for your help.]
My thoughts wereplicated. I couldn¡¯t believe Uriel would say this. Was the situation in Eden that bad? However, if I attended Duet Between Good and Evil...
¡¸ (Dokja-ssi, I told you. A quest should always be preceded by a quest.) ¡¹
...Eh?
¡®Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡¯
¡¸ (Yes.) ¡¹
¡®Did you wake me up before?¡¯
¡¸ (That¡¯s right.) ¡¹
It was surprising. How did she talk to me across the Fourth Wall? Even Nirvana couldn¡¯t...
¡¸ (I¡¯ll give you a more detailed exnationter but now you should focus on the problem at hand. I¡¯ll cut to the chase. Dokja-ssi must attend the Duet Between Good and Evil.) ¡¹
¡®But...¡¯
Yoo Sangah must be reading Ways of Survival in the Fourth Wall. Maybe she guessed my ns through Ways of Survival.
¡¸ (It doesn¡¯t matter if my reincarnation iste. You don¡¯t know it but this library is prettyfortable.) ¡¹
¡®But...¡¯
¡¸ (In addition, I think attending Duet Between Good and Evil will help when moving towards the next main scenario, right?) ¡¹
Yoo Sangah was right.
¡®Please endure it a bit, Yoo Sangah-ssi. I¡¯ll let you live again.¡¯
Yoo Sangah was faintly smiling. I looked back at the party members and outlined the current situation. ¡°The aftermath of thest scenario isn¡¯t over but something new hase up. I¡¯m sorry. Even so, I must attend this scenario.¡±
Lee Hyunsung heard my words and puffed up his chest. ¡°Dokja-ssi, I don¡¯t care. I have already restedfortably and want to move quickly.¡±
¡°That is only Hyunsung ahjussi. I wanted to get some rest...¡±
¡°Are we all going?¡±
¡°I think we should leave Seolhwa-ssi and Gong Pildu behind. We need a minimum number of people to manage the industrialplex.¡±
The next moment, light shed in the air.
[The ¡®Duet Between Good and Evil¡¯ is calling you.]
¡°I guess it has started.¡±
Along with the message, our bodies were surrounded by light. The forced transfer to the scenario began.
***
The Duet Between Good and Evil was literally a feast of good and evil. A banquet after one long scenario ended in order to identify ¡®good and evil¡¯.
One might wonder about the meaning behind such an action but for some constetions, this ¡®discrimination¡¯ had a very important meaning. It was because the overall discrimination of good and evil would change the status of the absolute good and absolute evil system, leading to a difference in the next quarter.
[It has been a long time since there was a banquet of this size.]
¡°Haven¡¯t you seen it often?¡±
[I didn¡¯t always attend. This is a bit unusual.]
Asmodeus gazed at the exterior of the magnificent banquet hall and smiled. In fact, the banquet was unusual in not just size but also position. The moment we were summoned, there was a crowd of people walking across the bridge.
The constetions and incarnations passing through the bridge and the dokkaebis waiting to broadcast the scene. In addition, there were the constetions belonging to the independent media of the Star Stream.
Asmodeus said, [Then I will enter first. Don¡¯t be ufortable and take it easy. Above all, you are the most likely candidate to win a prize this season.]
...Candidate to win a prize?
Before I could say anything, Asmodeus flicked his fingers and his clothing behind a gorgeous ck dress. He started to enter the hall by crossing the bridge with an elegant walk.
[Devil of Fury and Lust!]
[The demon king Asmodeusughed!]
There was the should of shutters as the bridge flooded with light. Asmodeus smiled at the dokkaebis and nced back at me with a charming expression.
Once again, I realized what a great existence Asmodeus was. Every one of Asmodeus¡¯ steps caused images of the battlefield where he fought to flow. I didn¡¯t know how many people he fought to be upgraded.
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Lust and Fury¡¯ ¨D is currently ranked 13th among demon kings.]
The guy who was 32nd rank not long ago was now at the top of the pyramid. It was a huge upgrade.
¡°We will enter.¡±
I looked around at the party members but their expressions were strange.
¡°Ahjussi. Is it okay if we go in?¡±
¡°D-Dokja-ssi. I didn¡¯t know it would be a ce like this...¡±
Jung Heewon, who visited Eden, took a deep breath to seek calmness but the situation of the other party members was serious.
Lee Jihye was nervously biting her nails while Lee Hyunsung¡¯s huge bear-like shoulders trembled. I could feel Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung holding my hands tightly.
¡°It¡¯s fine. We received an invitation.¡±
I was also nervous but I smiled to reassure mypanions.
¡°Don¡¯t be intimidated. We¡¯ve been fighting hard in the meantime. It doesn¡¯t matter what they think of us. It is more important that we build a history that doesn¡¯t shame us.¡±
¡°Dokja-ssi is right. What are we doing? We should enter quickly.¡±
The other members seemed to wake up due to Jung Heewon¡¯s strength. Lee Jihye struck her red cheeks.
Once the preparations were over, I walked over the opening bridge with mypanions. The path was covered with jewels and minerals, including obsidian and diamonds. There was also a river of stories flowing under the bridge.
The famous constetions, including Asmodeus, had already passed over so the crowd didn¡¯t pay attention to us. To be exact, I wanted it to be like that.
[Ah, that person...!]
[Demon King of Salvation!]
Now my modifier was quite famous and some of the constetions recognized me. At the same time, the dokkaebis broadcasting nced this side. The exmation began like a small p and soon spread throughout the bridge.
[The enemy of Olympus!]
[Kim Dokja¡¯s Company hase!]
Attention was concentrated on us in an instant. The huge amount of attention caused the walking party members to be embarrassed. Some of the constetions on the bridge even reached out towards us. Messages poured in from all over the ce and cards swayed.
[Handsome Kim Dokja!]
[9158 FOREVER]
I hoped that the party members wouldn¡¯t look at them but Jung Heewon spoke to me.
¡°Dokja-ssi, are you an idol?¡±
¡°Heewon-ssi is the same as me.¡±
-Judge of Evil! I¡¯ve been watching your scenario!
-Heewon unni is so cool!
-I support the love of the Steel Sword!
Lee Hyunsung was startled and nced over frightfully. ¡°D-Dokja-ssi! They are talking about me.¡±
-The ¡®Korean History Preservation Association¡¯ is supporting Lee Jihye, the sessor of the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.
Lee Jihye frowned. ¡°These guys...¡±
-Shin Yoosung ¡î Lee Gilyoung are the best!
I felt a strong force from Shin Yoosung holding my hand.
¡°Ahjussi, I feel terrible.¡±
¡°Why am I and Shin Yoosung...¡±
I knew that the reputation of our neb had increased since Gigantomachia. In fact, the Mass Production Maker had said so. Still, I never imagined the reaction would be so huge.
[Demon King of Salvation, say a few words!]
[How do you feel about being nominated the most likely to win a prize this season?]
The microphonesing from all over the ce caused me to panic. When I thought about it, this was the first time in my life that I had received such attention. At this time, there was someone who saved me from being embarrassed by the dokkaebis.
[¡ö¡ö, aren¡¯t you getting lost?]
The distinctive tinum hair spread through the air and emerald green eyes zed with fury.
[R-Run away!]
[Crazy angel!]
The dokkaebis scattered and an archangel in a ck silk dress reached me.
[Kim Dokja! You came!]
Uriel hugged me and rocked with me in her arms. I felt happy and embarrassed at the same time and removed Uriel.
¡°Uriel, it has been a while.¡±
[Yes yes!]
I felt good when I saw Uriel¡¯s glittering eyes. I was d to see her again. I was thankful but... Didn¡¯t she call me because Eden was in danger?
¡°...Excuse me? Don¡¯t you see your incarnation here?¡±
[H-Heewon! Hahahat! Of course, it is also a pleasure to meet Heewon! Let¡¯s enter!]
Uriel turned away from the crowd and guided us to the banquet hall. I entered the hall and felt overwhelmed with admiration. The demon kings and constetions were separated on two long tables.
On the left were the 72 demon kings©¤73 now©¤ while the right table contained the constetions of the absolute good system, including the archangels of Eden.
Our position meant everyone present was focused on me. It was as if they were asking me what table I was going to sit on.
[The demon king ¡®Monarch of Stars and Logic¡¯ is paying attention to your choice.]
[The demon king ¡®ck Mane Lion¡¯ is wondering about your choice.]
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is watching you.]
[The constetion ¡®Morning Star Goddess¡¯ is looking at you.]
Sadly, this time there seemed to be no other choice.
Chapter 350 - – Good and Evil (6)
Chapter 350: Episode 65 ¨C Good and Evil (6)
TL Note: OR will be on pause for a bit over a week. Read exnation here: https://imgur/DD0emzb
I sighed lightly as I thought about it. I had no idea what to choose but now I was a demon king. Thus, the table I would naturally sit at was...
[Now,e over here. I have prepared a seat for you in advance.]
Uriel started to take me and mypanions somewhere. I felt embarrassed as I was dragged by Uriel. Uriel led me in a more natural manner to the table with the archangel. On the opposite table, the demon kings were staring at me.
¡°No, wait a minute. Uriel. I...¡±
I sat down next to Uriel and the other members sat behind me in turn. Raphael sat in front of me and stared at me in a dumbfounded manner.
[Aren¡¯t you a demon king?]
¡°Well, that...¡±
Either way, Uriel sitting on my left was happy.
[Okay, okay.]
I felt something strange and turned to the right, only to see an unexpected person.
¡°What? You¡¯re here as well?¡±
When did hee here? Yoo Jonghyuk sat there with a peculiar and terrifying killing intent. Next to him was Metatron, who was looking at me with an unknown expression. Based on the seating, Yoo Jonghyuk had been brought here by Metatron. Why did I have an ominous feeling?
Metatron waved to me before shaking his head at Uriel. [Uriel, I understand your heart but the Demon King of Salvation is a demon king.]
[How is he a demon king, Scribe?]
[He is a demon king from his modifier. Send him back.]
[I don¡¯t want to.]
The moment Metatron and Uriel were bickering, a dokkaebi appeared in the centre of the hall. The number and size of the horns showed he was an advanced dokkaebi.
[Then from now on...] The dokkaebi¡¯s gaze stopped on me. [Hmm. I gave you the notice earlier but someone isn¡¯t keeping to it. I would be grateful if the constetions and demon kings sat in their ¡®own¡¯ seat.]
I btedly identified the modifier written in my spot.
[That seat is reserved for the Saviour of Corruption.]
...It was that jerk¡¯s seat. Michael wasn¡¯t in attendance. I hurriedly turned to the party members. ¡°You just stay here. That would be safer.¡±
¡°Then what about Dokja-ssi?¡±
¡°I am fine. Don¡¯t be too nervous and think of it as a year-end awards ceremony. Everyone has suffered so sometimes there should be a scenario like this.¡±
I told the group members this but I still couldn¡¯t rx. ording to the development of the original novel, the bnce of good and evil would be disturbed by this Duet Between Good and Evil. I smiled at Uriel and crossed the hall alone, everyone¡¯s attention on me.
[The demon king ¡®Duke of Everywhere¡¯ thinks you are a lesser demon king.]
[The constetion ¡®Morning Star Goddess¡¯ is shaking her hand in a dumbfounded manner.]
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Principles¡¯ is doubting your dignity.]
I really felt I was sitting in another ss alone at the entrance ceremony.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ likes your stupidity.]
Abyssal ck me Dragon? This brat was here too? After a while, I barely found my designated seat.
[What a coincidence. We are paired up again.]
I was sitting next to Asmodeus. ¡°Please don¡¯t say such bad things.¡±
Then the banquet began. The first phase was simple refreshments along with the performance of special guests. It really did feel like a year-end awards ceremony. I looked down at the steak on the te in front of me.
¡¸ Scream of the Finest Swordmaster on Phille Mountain. ¡¹
It was all the same taste. I put my fork down and watched the garish stage. The performances by the special guests... there were also incarnations.
[Today¡¯s stage is very special. I constantly tried to get in touch with them but they never responded to me once.]
Who was it?
[Introducing the God of Wine and Ecstasy! In addition, the Goddess of Love and Beauty!]
...What? Along with the colourful lighting, Dionysus in a suit and diamond gloves and Aphrodite in a ck jumpsuit appeared on the stage. Then music started to y. I looked back and Orpheus¡¯ band was ying music.
[Whoa ~ The shy lights are my own thing.]
Dionysus started singing. The song continued.
[You shall never break the excitement¨D you can¡¯t!]
I didn¡¯t know the song.
The constetions seemed excited by the unexpected event. In particr, they cheered at the exciting dances that Aphrodite and her incarnation showed. Meanwhile, some constetions were throwing forks at Dionysus.
Come to think of it, Dionysus had said something after Gigantomachia.
-...Thanks to you, Olympus will be suffering for a while.
I didn¡¯t know he meant it like this. Perhaps Dionysus and Aphrodite would receive arge amount of coins for this performance. It was shameful considering Olympus¡¯ great pride.
[Whoa! Don¡¯t break the excitement! Then excitement... thank you! Please continue to love Bhus and Goddess Do in the future!]
Dionysus, who was baptized with food for a while,ughing and walked off with spaghetti on his head. Laughing like this... I couldn¡¯t tell if he was acting or not.
During the show, I observed the demon kings sitting around me. Of course, I was also being observed. In particr, the lower ranks of the demon kings were prized.
[The demon king ¡®Monarch who is a Philosopher about Corpses¡¯ is wary of you.]
[The demon king ¡®Eyes that See the Forbidden¡¯ is checking you.]
It was natural since my rank was upgraded from 73rd to 67th in one day. They must be trembling because they didn¡¯t know when I would ask for a promotion battle.
[Now, we will proceed with the awards ceremony.]
I sat up straight. From now on, it was real.
[A good story is created through close cooperation between the constetions and incarnations. This season, there were people who showed great chemistry not only between constetion and incarnation, but incarnation and incarnation. Thus, I prepared a small award for them.]
The cheers of the constetions filled the hall. Was there something like this in the original?
[This season¡¯s ¡®Best Chemistry Award¡¯ nominees!]
At the same time, videos shed. Some of the candidates were very familiar.
-We can¡¯t do it.
-In any case, we will die if this continues.
Two children appeared on the screen.
[The first candidates are incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ and incarnation¡¯ Lee Gilyoung¡¯!]
The spotlight suddenly poured down and Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung¡¯s wide eyes were visible. This was something I didn¡¯t expect. Come to think of it, I saw a card talking about best chemistry when crossing the bridge.
The footage featured on the screen was when the two children met the chimera dragon in Dark Castle. There was the video of two children moving through the wave of monsters, plucking up their courage as they advanced towards the dragon. Somehow, I felt touched.
The candidate introductions continued.
[The second candidates are incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ and incarnation¡¯ Lee Hyunsung¡¯!]
More from our neb?
-Heewon-ssi, excuse me.
The screen showed the moment when Lee Hyunsung learnt Steel Transformation. Lee Hyunsung voluntarily sacrificed himself to quench Jung Heewon¡¯s Hell mes Ignition after she was affected by Nirvana.
On the other table, I could see Lee Hyunsung blushing and Jung Heewon touching her forehead. They both looked pretty good.
[Next are the third candidates!]
I was shocked to witness the scene.
...What was this?
-Kim Dokja, there is only one chance.
-It has always been ¡®once¡¯ for me.
Once this screen came out, Uriel and the archangels of Eden screamed. The two people on the screen were me and Yoo Jonghyuk. It was the moment we threw a spear together at Ares.
The dokkaebi continued, [The third candidates are constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ and incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯!]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s frown deepened even more. This jerk, I didn¡¯t like it either. Lee Jihye and Jung Heewon nced at me before chuckling.
[Then let¡¯s announce the winner of the award!]
I inwardly prayed. ¡®Please not the third candidates. Please not the third.¡¯
[The season¡¯s Best Chemistry Award goes to incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ and incarnation ¡®Lee Gilyoung¡¯!]
The names were released with popping fireworks. Fortunately, the constetions gave the right judgment. The archangels sighed while I could see Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung hesitantly walking to the stage.
¡°Eh, uh. I mean... thanks... for the award...¡±
The extremely nervous Shin Yoosung stared at me. Suddenly, Lee Gilyoung took the microphone. ¡°I love Dokja hyung!¡±
¡°I love Ahjussi!¡±
¡°Kim Dokja¡¯s Company is the best!¡±
The archangels pped like the children were adorable. The children received the prize money and que and returned to their seats.
[Hum hum. We will continue with the awards.]
The Best Chemistry Award was special. In fact, most of the awards in the Duet Between Good and Evil were given to the giant stories. Therefore, the people who got a decent ¡®giant story¡¯ in this season were very nervous.
There was a prize money but all the ques given here were star relics that enhanced their status.
How could the constetions not go crazy?
Asmodeus sat beside me and whispered. [Are you looking forward to it? What type of prize you will receive.]
¡°I haven¡¯t received it yet.¡±
I was sure it was just a neer award. In the first ce, the awards ceremony couldn¡¯t afford to give a demon king the biggest prize.
Asmodeus¡¯ expression was curious. [Do you think so?]
I shook my head and watched the following prizes. Putting aside the awards, I wasn¡¯t feelingfortable.
In the first ce, Duet Between Good and Evil wasn¡¯t just a ceremony. The Duet Between Good and Evil. The banquet of good and evil was to judge the good and evil of the scenario. In fact, this event was a contest of pride between the absolute good and absolute evil systems held at regr intervals.
The giant stories from all over the universe rose in the air.
[The winner of the New Evil Award is the giant story ¡®Descendant of Chiyou¡¯!]
Descendant of Chiyou. It was a giant story from the Emperor side. Perhaps it was a story that the incarnation ¡®Feihu¡¯ participated in.
From now on, all the giant stories receiving awards would be divided by ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®evil.¡¯ In other words, the prizes given to ¡®good¡¯ and ¡®evil¡¯ were different. I was judged as an evil person and thanks to that, I would be given the prizes of a demon king.
[The winner of the New Good Award is the giant story ¡®Protector of the Sphinx¡¯!]
Protector of the Sphinx. It was the giant story of Papyrus. It was probably Ranveer Khan. Ranveer Khan seemed to have received the support of the absolute good system because he was a good and generous man.
[Winners, pleasee forward!]
Feihu and Ranveer Khan received the awards as representatives and gave a brief statement.
Feihu, a master in one-on-one fighting.
Ranveer Khan, a master in fighting against an army. I thought they would¡¯ve entered the giant stories by now but I was surprised they already collected such great stories. It was different from the original novel.
[Now, the next one is...]
The neer awards passed and the awards for excellence in each field were continued.
One was evil and the other was good. There was a dividing line as the awards were given.
Perhaps some of these prizes were strongly influenced by the constetions. This was the constetion of the Star Stream¡¯s way of bncing good and evil.
[I sincerely thank the constetions of the absolute evil system and the demon kings who gave me this award. The maternal sponsor behind me, the dokkaebi who operated the channel and...]
The long speech for the Excellence Award finished and I felt a bit strange. I thought I would¡¯ve already received a prize at this point but all the awards for the neers had passed. Kim Dokja¡¯s Company didn¡¯t even qualify for a neer award? The stories were created...
[The winner of this season¡¯s Top Excellence Award, the giant story...]
The winner of the Top Excellence Award was Anna Croft¡¯s Zarathustra. She didn¡¯t attend and it was Selena Kim who received the award. Come to think of it, the grand prize in the original work went to Anna Croft.
All that remained was the grand prize. At this point, I started to be afraid of something.
¡¸ The Duet Between Good and Evil determines the bnce of good and evil through the Grand Prize. ¡¹
In fact, the ¡®Grand Prize¡¯ was the most important thing about this banquet. It was because the ¡®Grand Prize¡¯ determined the power status of good and evil. The giant story of this season was either good or bad.
I looked around and the smiling and chatting demon kings and angels were tense.
[The Grand Prize of this season¨D]
The dokkaebi¡¯s mouth opened. I heard the sybles spoken by him and felt the reality of the world gradually disappearing. The bnce of the world was staggering.
[The giant story of the neb ¡®Kim Dokja¡¯s Company¡¯, the Torch That Swallowed the Myth.]
Chapter 351 - Episode 66 - Beyond Good and Evil (1)
Chapter 351: Episode 66 ¨C Beyond Good and Evil (1)
I thought it was wrong at first. Then the gazes of the demon kings focused on me, Asmodeus pped and the expressions of the party members were dazed. It started to feel more real for me.
Kim Dokja¡¯s Company won the grand prize. However, an ominous feeling preceded any joyful feelings.
The grand prize? Us? In this Duet Between Good and Evil?
The reason for my ominous feeling was soon revealed.
[The good or evil of this year¡¯s grand prize hasn¡¯t been determined yet.]
The message about good and evil not being determined yet caused a stir among some of the demon kings and constetions.
[What does it mean that good or evil hasn¡¯t been determined yet?]
The dokkaebi replied immediately. [The winners of the past ¡®Grand Prize¡¯ were decided by the consensus of the great dokkaebis, the absolute good constetions and the absolute evil constetions. This time, we couldn¡¯te to a conclusion for the first time.]
[You couldn¡¯te to a conclusion? The great dokkaebis?]
The demon kings and constetions looked confused. The constetions belonging to the absolute good or absolute evil would naturally vote for their faction but the great dokkaebis couldn¡¯te to a consensus?
[No such thing has urred since the Duet Between Good and Evil started. No, it is the first time since the Holy and Demon War ended!]
[You can¡¯t identify it? There can¡¯t be such a story. The bnce of good and evil must tilt either way!]
The agitated constetions and demon kings cried out. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t understand.
Many giant story scenarios were determined by agreement or maniption of the nebe. Just as Gigantomachia was sold as a type of tourist product, other giant stories were also sold as preferred stocks, making the good or evil of the story already determined.
Yet out giant story was made bypletely breaking down Gigantomachia. The giant story of Olympus¡¯ copse was born out of nowhere. Since it was a story that wasn¡¯t scheduled in the beginning, it wasn¡¯t possible to decide the good or evil in advance.
The dokkaebiughed like this situation was interesting. [Well, what can someone like me know about the opinions of the big bosses? In any case, we are here to determine if the story is good or evil. If you have anyments, please raise your hand.]
The intention of the dokkaebi became obvious.
...This son of a bitch.
In the first ce, it didn¡¯t matter to them if Kim Dokja¡¯s Company won the grand prize. The important thing was the good or evil of the story we built, since it would change their status.
[This story is naturally ¡®evil.¡¯]
The first one to open his mouth was the demon king ¡®Duke of Everywhere.¡¯ Duke of Everywhere. His true name was Furcas, master of the 50th Demon Realm.
[The Demon King of Salvation is a demon king. He is less devious but he is still a demon king of the Demon World. Thus, all his actions are evil.]
Indeed, it was pathetic logic for the Duke of Everywhere who couldn¡¯t even spell properly. Then someone in the opposing camp raised a hand.
[I disagree with that opinion.]
Guardian of Youths and Travel, Raphael. Raphael shook a finger and started talking.
[For example, if someone steals something and bes a wicked person. Everyone in the world called him evil so he became evil. Then what if this evil man used the stolen money to save people? What if he saved a lot of people by giving bread to the poor and water to the thirsty?]
I nodded at Raphael¡¯s argument.
[Then is he still evil? Is he defined as evil?]
[Well, that...] The Duke of Everywhere was swayed by Raphael¡¯s logic.
At this time, the demon king sitting beside me raised a hand and helped the Duke of Everywhere. [Do you want to discuss the paradox of good and evil here?]
Asmodeus¡¯ red eyes were incensed. Come to think of it, Asmodeus owed Raphael a debt.
Raphael nodded. [I can do it if you want.]
Raphaely on a bed of clouds and flicked his fingers towards the air. Then on the big screen of the stage, scenes of me and the party members performing in Gigantomachia started to flow.
Raphael stared at the screen and started talking. [In the end, all existences are made of stories and stories are made up of the sum of the events. However, it is hard to find evil in the events umted in this story.]
The paradox of good and evil. This paradox implied that the good and evil of all beings were defined by the stories built up by them.
Raphael opened his mouth and pointed at the split screens. The first screen was a scene where I visited the Underworld and liberated the giants.
[The Demon King of Salvation liberated the underdogs from the unjust story that suppressed them.]
The second screen was a scene where the party members resisted the transition of Gigantomachia from a tourist destination to hunting the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
[The members of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company responded to the unreasonable scenarioposition of Gigantomachia.]
The final screen was a scene where the party members and I burned the torch and opposed Poseidon, a myth-grade constetion.
[They fought against a major object of force and overthrew the dominance of the giant neb. Look. Is it possible to find any evil in the events that happened?]
Many of the constetions nodded at Raphael¡¯s story, which described the details of the scene. On the other hand, the expressions of the demon kings distorted. At least, apart from Asmodeus.
[How interesting. Then the angels are saying that the Demon King of Salvation might be a good demon king?]
[Are you admitting it?]
[Nope. Your words have a loophole. One, as you say, the stories are the sum of the events.]
Asmodeus grinned at me.
[As you know, a story is never a solitary existence. A story is rted to other stories and affects it. It is the same for Torch That Swallowed the Myth.]
At the same time, another screen appeared and started to y. It was the scene of the first scenario. The screen zoomed in on the eggs of the pregnant grasshopper exploded in my hand.
[The Demon King of Salvation left the people on the subway to die. He could¡¯ve saved everyone.]
Some angels looked at me with dubious eyes.
Asmodeus continued speaking. [There was another thing.]
The next scene that appeared was the eighth scenario. It was the scenario where the strongest incarnation in Seoul sacrificed himself so everyone could live. The screen showed my Eight Lives attribute.
Asmodeus kept speaking. [The Demon King of Salvation had extra lives and knew he was the strongest sacrifice. If he wanted, he could¡¯ve ended the scenario before there were big sacrifices.]
The murmuring of the constetions intensified. The story continued.
[Sparing those he wants to live and ignoring those he doesn¡¯t want to live, the Demon King of Salvation is such an existence. He is a demon king who practices the discrimination that you dislike. Discrimination is the most serious sin in the Star Stream.] As if to dere victory, Asmodeus asked a final question. [Then I¡¯ll ask Eden. Do you still think the Demon King of Salvation is a ¡®good¡¯ demon king?]
The crowd fell silent. Some of the angels were watching me with suspicious eyes while many demon kings were smiling.
At this time, there was a constetion who rose. [¡ö¡ö, everyone has such a contradiction.]
It was Uriel.
[The important thing isn¡¯t the umtion of sin but the direction of change through these events. The Demon King of Salvation is heading towards the direction of ¡®good¡¯!]
[These days, angels are very generous with the definition of good and evil. There is a recent rumour that you have a personal crush on the demon king. Is this true?]
[What?]
[Hmm, I guess it¡¯s true. Last time you also wanted¨D]
Uriel jumped out. [This ¡öck ¡ö¡ö now...!]
Enormous sparks urred around both tables. There was a flurry of curses between the archangels and demon kings and the opinions became turbulent.
I wasn¡¯t the only target. Someone attacked Jung Heewon¡¯s killing. Someone attacked Lee Hyunsung¡¯s cowardice in the first scenario. There was also Lee Jihye who killed her friend. Our lives, the history we umted, was being torn apart.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is revealing its teeth.]
The faces of the party members were gradually bing pale. They were people who had already been hurt. The people who risked their lives and somehow survived to this point had be the amusement of the constetions.
[Wait! Is it necessary to do this?]
Uriel btedly noticed something and shouted, but the constetions and demon kings were busy dissecting the wounds of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. In the end, they started to bite at the past of Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung. It was the moment I learnt about Lee Gilyoung¡¯s trauma and sponsor.
¡°Stop it.¡±
At my words, the crowd momentarily turned towards me. I knew it would be dangerous if I spoke the wrong words here.
Now Kim Dokja¡¯s Company was like a sailboat ced between two currents. It was a small boat that could sink at any time. However, even a small boat could choose the direction it wanted to go. I was the captain of this boat.
¡°Isn¡¯t this enough? Don¡¯t you know that a conclusion can¡¯t be reached this way?¡±
I hadn¡¯t intervened because I had been waiting for the constetions and demon kings to realize it themselves.
¡°Do you think you can decide here what even the great dokkaebis couldn¡¯t judge?¡±
Kim Dokja¡¯s Company wasn¡¯t good or evil. In the first ce, I didn¡¯t intend to y with the concept of good and evil set by others.
[Your words are right.]
Unexpectedly, it was the 5th ranked demon king, ck Mane Lion Marbas who spoke. He looked at me and continued. [Surely it is useless to speak here. Stop the useless arguments.]
[Marbas! But...]
[In the first ce, I will ask you.] A chill went down my spine. [I will let you decide for yourself. Is this story good or evil? Isn¡¯t that why we created this ce?]
With this, all the eyes of the demon kings and constetions focused on me. A cold sensation flowed down my spine. Then a system message popped up.
[You have a share in the giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯.]
[Please determine the good and evil of the story.]
If I chose good or evil here, I would be taking sides with one of the ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®evil¡¯ that they imed. It would be hard if that happened. It might solve the current problem for Kim Dokja¡¯s Company but if we chose good or evil here, a terrible future might ur inter scenarios.
I worried about it for a long time before making a decision. It couldn¡¯t be helped, even if I received the criticism of the demon kings and constetions.
¡°The Torch That Swallowed the Myth is¨D¡±
¡°Good.¡±
I stared at the protagonist who interrupted. The man in the ck coat, who had been silent for a while, spoke nonsense. Yoo Jonghyuk kept talking. ¡°This story, it is good.¡±
I was so confused that I closed my mouth. I wondered if Yoo Jonghyuk had gone crazy or if he was trapped by something.
Beside Yoo Jonghyuk, Metatron was slightly smiling towards me. Goosebumps formed on my arm. Don¡¯t tell me, the reason why Metatron brought Yoo Jonghyuk...
[Those who have shares in the giant story can im the right to ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®evil.¡¯]
The subsequent messages caused the mouths of the constetions and demon kings to drop open.
[Incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ has a 22.8% share in the giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯.]
[Due to incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s deration, the story is tilting in the direction of ¡®good.¡¯]
It wasn¡¯t only me who could define this story as good or evil. It was because everyone in Kim Dokja¡¯s Company had a share in this story.
[Do you approve of the story as ¡®good¡¯?]
Yoo Jonghyuk was looking at me. It was an expression that I couldn¡¯t read. He seemed to be asking me what I would do now.
-Crazy bastard! What are you thinking?
I spoke to him through Midday Tryst but Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. I watched him and activated a skill.
[The exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
[This person is currently in an emotional state that you can¡¯t understand.]
...What?
[If there are no objections from another narrator, the corresponding story will be confirmed as ¡®good.]
[There are 30 seconds before it is confirmed.]
Dammit, I couldn¡¯t figure out what the hell was going on. The number counted down and I heard the demon kings screaming.
I stared at the surprised faces of the party. Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Shin Yoosung, Lee Gilyoung... They were people I wanted to bring to the end of this world.
I clenched my fists. Our story shouldn¡¯t be dered as good or evil. If that happened, I wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the correct ending of this world. Now that Yoo Jonghyuk dered it was ¡®good¡¯, there was only one way to reverse the ruling.
[The constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is opening his ¡®status.¡¯]
ck feathers pierced through my back and small horns rose from my head. The intense sparks caused all noises to subside. I stared at Yoo Jonghyuk and slowly opened my mouth.
Chapter 352 - Beyond Good and Evil (2)
Chapter 352: Episode 66 ¨C Beyond Good and Evil (2)
My deration caused the system message in the air to blink.
[You are currently the best narrator of the story.]
[You have a 33.7% share in the giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯. Thanks to your deration, the story is tilting in the direction of ¡®evil.¡¯]
The confused party members rose from their seats. I raised a hand as if to reassure them. I spoke to Yoo Jonghyuk through Midday Tryst.
-Yoo Jonghyuk, if this continues, our story will be evil. Do you want that?
My share in Torch That Swallowed the Myth was 33.7%. Meanwhile, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s share was 22.8%. I was 10.9% ahead of him.
[The opinions of the two speakers are in conflict.]
[The narrators should decide good and evil through consensus.]
[If an agreement isn¡¯t decided within the time limit, the ruling will be based on the side with the higher number of shares.]
[The end of the ruling has been extended by 10 minutes.]
Yoo Jonghyuk didn¡¯t answer. I once again sent him a message.
-I don¡¯t know what you are thinking but good and evil shouldn¡¯t be decided here. Quickly withdraw the deration. Then I¡¯ll withdraw mine too.
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ is looking at you.]
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Lust and Fury¡¯ is pleased with your judgment.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ is confused by your judgment.]
I was sorry for Uriel but the story couldn¡¯t be determined as good or evil here.
[The demon king ¡®Ruler of the East Hell¡¯ is feeling more favourable towards you.]
The top of the demon kings. The master of the 2nd Demon Realm, the Ruler of the East Hell was watching me with a warm face. They seemed to be misunderstanding something. I wasn¡¯t taking the side of evil.
I impatiently cried out again.
-Hey! Can¡¯t you hear me?
Then Yoo Jonghyuk moved. Yoo Jonghyuk walked from the table and pulled out his sword.
[The incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ refuses to agree with you.]
I reflexively avoided his sword. In an instant, the table was split apart and the stage became a mess. The demon kings screamed as I also pulled out a sword. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck Demon Sword and my Unbroken Faith collided. My wrist throbbed.
¡°This is crazy...¡±
The surprised Uriel tried to run this way but a green barrier prevented the constetions from moving.
[At present, the constetions and demon kings attending the Duet Between Good and Evil can¡¯t be hostile to each other!]
[The assistance of other people regarded the shares decision is prohibited.]
It was the worst.
[Great Dokkaebi ¡®Baram¡¯ is looking forward to your choice.]
[Great Dokkaebi ¡®Halong¡¯ is looking forward to your choice.]
Even the great dokkaebis exposed their presence. The bureau was paying attention to the good/evil ruling of our story. Perhaps the scenario was now being ryed to the Star Stream through another channel.
I stared at the increasingly raging Yoo Jonghyuk. I was unable to read his face. I didn¡¯t know why Yoo Jonghyuk was suddenly doing this. However, I couldn¡¯t yield to this guy who knew nothing.
-Yoo Jonghyuk, you might not understand right now but listen to me.
I had to somehow convince this guy.
-If our story is fixed to either good or evil, a terrifying disaster will arise.
ording to the original novel, the battle over the pride of absolute good and absolute evil would be huge this season. In the past few seasons, the Duet Between Good and Evil had tilted the bnce towards good. In other words, the demon kings were sharpening their swords in this Duet Between Good and Evil.
¡¸ If good wins here, the second ¡®Holy and Demon War¡¯ will start. ¡¹
¡¸ On the other hand, if evil wins, the position of Eden will decrease and its destruction will be elerated. ¡¹
I hadn¡¯t built up enough stories yet for the Holy and Demon War. However, I didn¡¯t want to let evil win.
-I¡¯ll exin the detailster. Just listen to my words...
¡°Is this your prophecy?¡±
A shadow of deep disbelief was in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes. Prophecy. When I first met Yoo Jonghyuk, I introduced myself as a prophet. I didn¡¯t know he still believed this but it might work out better. Before I could open my mouth, Yoo Jonghyuk asked me again. ¡°Or is it information from the book called Ways of Survival?¡±
¡°What?¡±
My heart suddenly jumped.
...How? How did he know about Ways of Survival?
[The sponsor of incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ isn¡¯t happy with this situation.]
[The constetion ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯ doesn¡¯t want you to fight!]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is confused by the unexpected situation.]
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is watching your decision.]
Sparks flew around Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body. He frowned like he had a headache. As if rebelling against another will, Yoo Jonghyuk continued, ¡°Will this scenario end safely if I follow your words?¡±
¡°Yoo Jonghyuk, you now...¡±
¡°Is this the way I will be used in the future?¡±
Kukukukung!
¡°Is this how to survive in this ruined world?¡±
Suddenly, there was no strength in my hands.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking.]
My surroundings shook and a small vibration rose in the depths of my body. The tremors rapidly spread from the epicenter. I grabbed my wildly shaking right hand. I looked up and saw Yoo Jonghyuk staring at the party members.
-Do they know?
How much did Yoo Jonghyuk know?
-Answer me, Kim Dokja.
The energy flowing from the ck Demon Sword became stronger. Yoo Jonghyuk had opened up the power of transcendence. It meant he really wouldn¡¯t back down from now on.
[The character ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯ is moving the giant story.]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is starting!]
I couldn¡¯t leave it like this.
[You are the best narrator of this story.]
[You are controlling the story.]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ isn¡¯t satisfied with your ¡®status.¡¯]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ refuses your domination.]
...What? The story didn¡¯t listen to me despite my high shares. Our torch, which broke through Poseidon¡¯s barrier, wound around Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck Demon Sword. The white me wanting to swallow me was approaching.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is strongly activated!]
¡¸(Dokja-ssi, wake up!) ¡¹
Along with Yoo Sangah¡¯s words, I released my status.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is protecting you!]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is showing hostility towards you!]
The two stories we built together collided in the air. The Torch That Swallowed the Myth and Demon World¡¯s Spring were like ferocious beasts. The torn strings scattered through the air like blood.
¡°What are you doing now? Are you crazy?¡±
[The incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ is jumping into the verdict of the giant story!]
¡°Master! What is happening all of a sudden? Why did Ahjussi pick evil?¡±
[The incarnation ¡®Lee Jihye¡¯ is jumping into the verdict of the giant story!]
¡°Dokja-ssi! Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi! Both of you, stop!¡±
[The incarnation ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ is jumping into the verdict of the giant story!]
¡°Don¡¯t bother Hyung, you bastard!¡±
[The incarnation ¡®Lee Gilyoung¡¯ is jumping into the verdict of the giant story!]
¡°Ahjussi! Avoid it!¡±
[The incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung¡¯ is jumping into the verdict of the giant story!]
It was a wee help. The Torch That Swallowed the Myth was a story involving all of us. In other words, Yoo Jonghyuk and I weren¡¯t the only ones who could judge this story.
[The narrators who have entered the judgment, please distinguish between good and evil.]
[If you don¡¯t choose good or evil, you can¡¯t intervene in the confrontation.]
The party members were confused. They panicked at suddenly having to choose between good or evil. In the confusion, Lee Gilyoung was the first to open his mouth.
¡°I will side with Dokja hyung.¡±
[Incarnation ¡®Lee Gilyoung¡¯ has a 3.3% share in the giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯.]
[Due to incarnation Lee Gilyoung¡¯s deration, the story is tilting in the direction of ¡®evil.¡¯]
I quickly called out to them. ¡°You can¡¯t choose evil anymore! Choose good!¡±
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°Do as I say! Quickly!¡±
If Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn¡¯t withdraw his deration then there was only one way remaining. It was to perfectly bnce good and evil.
The current difference was 14.2%. If the remaining four people¡¯s shares were joined together...
¡°Slowly choose one by one! Yoosung first!¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
[Incarnation ¡®Shin Yoosung has a 3.3% share in the giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯.]
[Incarnation ¡®Jung Heewon¡¯ has a 6.7% share in the giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯.]
[Incarnation ¡®Lee Hyunsung¡¯ has a 7.3% share in the giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯.]
[Three narrators have chosen ¡®good.¡¯]
¡°Stop!¡±
Thest one to choose, Lee Jihye paused at my cry.
[The bnce has tilted by 3.1% towards good.]
[If the consensus fails in the next five minutes, the Torch That Swallowed the Myth will be confirmed as good.]
The party members had a bigger share in the story than I expected. There was only Lee Jihye remaining.
¡°Ahjussi! I¡¯m 5.8%!¡±
The difference between good and evil was 3.1%. Meanwhile, Lee Jihye had a 5.8% share. No matter what option Lee Jihye chose, it was a situation where good and evil couldn¡¯t be bnced.
My brain worked quickly.
...What if I could bring the shares of the other party members to my side?
[Narrators participating in the good or evil judgment can¡¯t ¡®gift shares.]
Damn, this convenient way didn¡¯t work. Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck Demon Sword was flying towards my neck.
¡°Stop it!¡±
Jung Heewon, who was able to intervene in the duel, stopped Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s sword instead of me. Lee Hyunsung ran and hugged Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body from behind while the children surrounded me like they were protecting me. Lee Jihye stood in the middle with a helpless expression.
¡°Why are the two of you fighting? Fighting now...!¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s gaze alternated between the party members. It seemed like he wanted to say something. No, I knew what he wanted to say.
¡¸ You are being deceived. ¡¹
His trembling eyes were pouring rage towards me.
¡¸ This guy, he deceived all of us. ¡¹
I thought this day woulde eventually. In fact, I thought about it dozens of times a day.
¡°Everybody, get out of the way.¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk amplified his status, blew away Lee Hyunsung, knocked down Lee Jihye and ran this way. Jung Heewon and Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s swords collided. However, Jung Heewon couldn¡¯t use Judgment Time and wasn¡¯t capable of dealing with Yoo Jonghyuk.
I ced the children behind me and stepped forward.
[The demon king ¡®Monarch of Stars and Logic¡¯ is rooting for you.]
[The demon king ¡®Devil of Principles¡¯ wants you to win.]
[The constetion ¡®Morning Star Goddess¡¯ wants good to win.]
[Arge number of constetions and demon kings are watching Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.]
They were the messages of the existences watching me walk forward. Why were they so obsessed with good and evil?
[The exclusive skill ¡®Reading Comprehension¡¯ is activated.]
...I already knew the answer.
They were bound to do so.
[The giant story ¡®Practitioner of Encouraging Good and Punishing Evil¡¯ is continuing.]
[The giant story ¡®Guardian of White Evil¡¯ is continuing.]
[The giant story ¡®More Evil Than Evil¡¯ is continuing.]
[The giant story ¡®The Suitable Good¡¯ is continuing.]
.....
Numerous strings were swarming like insects in the eyes of the constetions and demon kings.
It was the stories they had. The stories were controlling them. They were on longer constetions or demon kings.
They only existed to execute ¡®good¡¯ and ¡®evil¡¯ in this world. Most of them were merely breeding tools that the old stories used to propagate themselves. These stories were trying to devour our neb.
[If the consensus fails in the next two minutes, the Torch That Swallowed the Myth will be confirmed as good.]
I couldn¡¯t allow that to happen. I quickly made a decision and shouted. ¡°Jihye! Choose good!¡±
¡°Eh? But...¡±
¡°Quickly!¡±
Lee Jihye made a puzzled expression. It was strange that I took her to choose good when it was already the dominant one. Lee Jihye chose immediately.
[The bnce has tilted by 8.9% towards good!]
[If the consensus fails in the next 40 seconds, the Torch That Swallowed the Myth will be confirmed as good.]
The difference was evenrger. 8.9%... yes, this was for the best.
I took a deep breath and used all my strength to call out the modifier of a certain being.
[Abyssal ck me Dragon!]
I knew that he was watching. It meant the urrences here were known to his incarnation. In this situation, there was only one person who would understand exactly what I wanted.
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ isughing madly.]
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s ck Demon Sword filled with the power of transcendence flew to my neck. It was an inevitable blow.
Then a crack appeared in the ceiling of the banquet hall. Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at the ceiling but it was already toote. The running Yoo Jonghyuk was crushed by the fragments of the broken ceiling.
Somerge pieces were avoided but there were too many stones pouring down. I saw a shadow in the dirty dust. The hair was sweaty like the person had rushed here. The bandages half released from the left arm was blowing in the wind.
In the dust, this person smiled as she trampled on Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°I knew you couldn¡¯t do this without me.¡±
[The incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ is jumping into the verdict of the giant story!]
Chapter 353 - Beyond Good and Evil (3)
Chapter 353: Episode 66 ¨C Beyond Good and Evil (3)
Under the rubble, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hands were sticking out. Han Sooyoung stared down at Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°This jerk, always appearing and trampling on people... do you feel good doing so?¡±
[Incarnation ¡®Han Sooyoung¡¯ has an 8.9% share in the giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯.]
As expected, Han Sooyoung would have the correct amount of shares.
[Narrators participating in the good or evil judgment can¡¯t ¡®gift shares.] It meant that those who hadn¡¯t yet participated would be able to exchange their shares.
Han Sooyoung watched me and grumbled through Midday Tryst.
-I lost 0.1% of this story to Lee Seolhwa.
Perhaps Han Sooyoung had adjusted her shares ownership to Lee Seolhwa as soon as she learnt the information here. Then she came straight to this ce. Han Sooyoung turned towards the surrounding constetions and dered with a growl, ¡°I am evil. In addition, that fucking Kim Dokja standing over there is definitely evil.¡±
Han Sooyoung made me evil regardless of everything else and continued looking at Yoo Jonghyuk and the party members.
¡°However, Kim Dokja¡¯s Company isn¡¯t good or evil.¡±
This person shouting with her short hair flying looked amazing. At this time, Han Sooyoung could be seen as the main character, not Yoo Jonghyuk.
[The time limit has expired and the judgment of good and evil has been finished.]
[A total of 91.8% has participation in the judgment of good and evil.]
[The participation rate of good and evil is 45.9% : 45.9%.]
[Good and evil are in perfect equilibrium.]
The astonished demon kings and constetions were looking this way. I looked back at them and added, ¡°We aren¡¯t defined by your definitions.¡±
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is a story that can¡¯t be distinguished between good and evil.]
The message drove in a wedge. I could see the dokkaebi in charge of hosting this event smiling. It seemed that he thought it would be like this or perhaps he wanted this ending.
The bureau must be excited right now. It was due to the huge amount of indirect messages entering my ears.
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ is satisfied with your judgment.]
[The constetion ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯ is proud of you.]
[The constetion ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯ is pleased with your mettle.]
[A number of constetions of the neutral system favour your neb.]
[The constetions of the neutral system have sponsored you 281,000 coins.]
It was expected that the constetions of the neutral system would like this. Some choices would ur while rejecting other choices.
[Someone has rmended your story to the Star Stream.]
[You have acquired a new story!]
Of course, this didn¡¯t apply to all constetions.
[Your choice has caused resentment among some of the constetions of
[What...?]
[The good or evil of the story isn¡¯t determined?]
The atmosphere of the constetions and demon kings were rapidly changing.
[The constetions of the absolute good system oppose the ruling.]
[The constetions of the absolute evil system oppose the ruling.]
An unusual flow was detected around the two tables, as if a riot would ur.
[Such a thing can¡¯t happen! Bureau, judge it again!]
[What the hell is this?]
From the demon kings to the archangels. All the gazes of the attendees were fixed on the dokkaebi. The advanced dokkaebi felt the crisis and responded while sweating. [Sorry, it isn¡¯t possible. No one can reverse the oue of a story that has already been judged. That¡¯s the rule.]
Fortunately, the bureau kept to its principles. However, keeping to the principles didn¡¯t always bring about a good result.
[...I was going to wait and see this season.]
Things were flowing differently from expectations. The mid and low ranked demon kings rose from their seats and released their status.
[If the targets can¡¯t decide good and evil, we have to make a decision in another way.]
Once the demon kings moved, the archangels stood up like they wouldn¡¯t lose.
[Many demon kings are showing hostility to the angels of the absolute good system!]
[Many archangels are showing vignce towards the demon kings.]
[The bnce of good and evil is shaking!]
The two camps confronted each other and it seemed they would rush forward at any moment.
I stayed closed to the party members and watched the situation. By my side, Jung Heewon pulled out the Sword of Judgment and spoke in a tense voice. ¡°Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±
I guarded the party members, who seemed relieved. The Constetion and Demon War might take ce but such a huge event wouldn¡¯t ur here.
[The constetion ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ is dissuading the archangels.]
[The demon king ¡®Ruler of the East Hell¡¯ is controlling the demon kings.]
Perhaps Scribe of Heaven Metatron and Ruler of the East Hell Agares knew this as well.
Good and evil must exist. If the scenario was triggered here, the two camps would be destroyed by a disaster. If I was right, the damn dokkaebis of the bureau would understand this the best.
[The great dokkaebi ¡®Baram¡¯ has revealed his presence on the stage.]
A great dokkaebi appeared like he had been waiting. Great Dokkaebi Baram. I was familiar with him in the original novel.
[Stop it. I¡¯m sure you know that fighting here won¡¯t solve the problem.]
The hard voice caused the demon kings and constetions to revolt.
[The bureau can¡¯t intervene in this fight!]
[Do you mean to end it like this?]
Some of the constetions and demon kings gathered here were close to the myth level. Thus, it was natural for them to not listen to the great dokkaebi. The story might¡¯ve been different if the dokkaebi king came directly. Comints came from everywhere and Baram told them.
[There is no reversal of the ruling. In addition, we can¡¯t allow hostilities in this ce.]
The resolute deration caused the sparks flying in the air to block the absolute good and absolute evil members. The opposing constetions were about to rebel again when Baram continued. [Yourint is that the status of good and evil can¡¯t be determined. If that¡¯s the case, how about one more giant story?]
[...What does this mean?]
[We will open up a previous scenario to determine the status of this season¡¯s good and evil.]
I couldn¡¯t conceal my confusion at the words of the great dokkaebi. This guy, what now...
[The Star Stream agrees with the decision of the great dokkaebis.]
[The Duet Between Good and Evil wants a new scenario to determine the status of good and evil.]
The probability of the Star Stream was moving. The rivers of the gxy were flowing towards the desired story of many constetions. The scenario that this probability was moving towards could be found in the hands of the Star Stream.
The Ruler of the East Hell asked, [Do you mean to open the Constetion and Demon War now?]
[If you want.]
Baram¡¯s deration caused an uproar among numerous constetions. Baram made an unknown smile as he looked at me.
[However, please set the stage of the scenario yourself.]
***
During the intermission, the constetions and demon kings spoke among themselves about where to set the stage for the Constetion and Demon War. Fortunately, the hostile gazes poured towards us seemed to rx thanks to the dokkaebi¡¯s intervention.
The party members were exhausted by the sudden situation and sat down. Han Sooyoung kicked at Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hand that was sticking out from the pile of stones. ¡°What is this? Why hasn¡¯t hee out yet?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk showed no reaction. I observed the hand of the buried man but I was afraid to grab hold of this hand. The words spoken by him were still ringing in my ears.
-Or is it information from the book called Ways of Survival?
Where did he hear this story? How far had the filtering been lifted and how much did he know about Ways of Survival?
Han Sooyoung and I cooperated to bring him out. Yoo Jonghyuk was unconscious. It was strange. He couldn¡¯t pass out just because he was hit by a pile of stones.
¡°...Why is this jerk in this state?¡±
I looked closer and saw that Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s body wasn¡¯t normal. I didn¡¯t know where he went but his body was covered inrge and small wounds. There were traces of him killing and cutting something. In the past two days, Yoo Jonghyuk seemed to have wandered through a scenario I didn¡¯t know about. Under these circumstances, he couldn¡¯t ovee his anger towards me and suffered severe injuries.
Han Sooyoung activated Midday Tryst and immediately sent me a message.
-Yoo Jonghyuk has noticed the existence of Ways of Survival.
-I know. Yoo Jonghyuk told me before you came.
I gave a brief overview of Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s words. Han Sooyoung frowned deeply when she heard the story.
-...This jerk, where did he hear about it?
-I don¡¯t know. Where have you been?
-I killed the remaining prophets. I wondered if the information leaked from them.
-Did you figure it out?
-No.
It was as I expected. The prophets would be characters once they ran out of information.
-The information didn¡¯t leak from the prophets. In my opinion...
I looked at Metatron who was discussing something with the archangels in the distance. Perhaps Yoo Jonghyuk became aware of Ways of Survival through Metatron.
Han Sooyoung said,
-Asmodeus also knew about the existence of Ways of Survival. Perhaps most of the top constetions know.
The top constetions... It was also time for the Seekers of the End to be active. Finally, I could start to see the end of this long-running scenario.
I looked down at the fallen Yoo Jonghyuk. Han Sooyoung stared at me.
-Kim Dokja, think about what¡¯s important right now.
I nodded. I looked up and Great Dokkaebi Baram was staring at me.
-We also have to participate in the Constetion and Demon War.
-Are you crazy? It isn¡¯t a scenario we can enter with our level right now.
Han Sooyoung was right. Originally, the Constetion and Demon War was a main scenario in the 80s. I hadn¡¯t intended to do this either. It was better to avoid the dangerous scenarios if possible. However, I couldn¡¯t do that with the Constetion and Demon War. It didn¡¯t matter if it didn¡¯t wake up but once the scenario urred, it absolutely couldn¡¯t be avoided.
-It doesn¡¯t matter if it is a higher-ranked scenario. The problem is the stage of the war.
-What...
Baram pped in the distance. The constetions sat in ce and Baram opened his mouth.
[We will end the recess. Constetions and demon kings, please choose the stage of the scenario.]
As if waiting, the constetions and demon kings stood up and shouted.
[The stage of the Constetion and Demon War will be the 14th Demon Realm¨D]
[Our Guardian Tree is a good giant story stage.]
[What nonsense is that? The stage is...!]
They all tried to make a ce favourable to them as the stage. There was also a ce I wanted as the stage but no one would support me if I spoke. I thought to myself. How to do...
¡¸ (Dokja-ssi, do you want the ind as the stage?) ¡¹
Then I heard a message from Yoo Sangah in my head.
¡¸ (Perhaps I can help?) ¡¹
¡®...Huh?¡¯
¡¸ (I found something interesting inside the wall.) ¡¹
¡®Interesting?¡¯
There was no answer from Yoo Sangah. Instead, I heard a rustling sound in my head. After a while, an uneasy atmosphere urred in the loud hall.
Several constetions were whispering together.
[The information that just came in...]
[What? Is that true?]
I noticed their whispers.
...Were they constetions with the power of ¡®revtion¡¯? The atmosphere was bing graver. The whispers spread like waves. After five minutes, even Metatron was making a serious expression. The voices of the arguing constetions and demon kings died down one by one. After a while, they started to nce at each other. It was the demon kings who acted first in the fierce battle of wits.
[I¡¯m sorry, there is a bit of work to do and I have to go.]
[Me too! It is the same for me.]
Several demon kings suddenly disappeared from their seats. I watched their faces closely. They were those associated with the Seekers of the End.
[I¡¯m sorry but I have to leave for a while.]
Once the Morning Star Goddess of the Guardian Tree neb spoke these words, the situation became a one-sided wave.
[I have a little work too©¤]
More and more people left and Metatron sighed lightly before ncing at Baram.
[I think you¡¯ll have to decide on your own.]
Great Dokkaebi Baram¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at the air.
[...Interesting. A revtion at this timing?]
Several constetions noticeably flinched at the word ¡®revtion.¡¯ Baramughed. [...Good. Even if everyone doesn¡¯t speak, the stage has already been decided¨D]
I listened to the words of the great dokkaebi and was in a daze. What the hell just happened? Then pain suddenly shot through my head.
[The probability of the Star Stream is doubting you!]
I perceived a terrible gaze starting at me. It was gazing at me as if it found something suspicious. The gazested for a moment before disappearing.
[The Star Stream has turned its gaze from you.]
I wiped my sweat and cautiously called out to Yoo Sangah.
¡®Yoo Sangah-ssi? What did you do?¡¯
Yoo Sangah was silent like she was looking for words to exin. Then she said.
¡¸ (Dokja-ssi, do you know how constetions read the future?) ¡¹
¡®...I know.¡¯
There were two main ways in which the constetions could read the future. One way was to gather data to measure the future, like Hermes¡¯ system. The other way was to receive a revtion like the Moerae, Eden and some of the demon kings. It was a force called ¡®divine revtion.¡¯
Yoo Sangah searched for words for a moment before replying with a lightugh.
¡¸ (Well, I think I became a god.) ¡¹
Chapter 354 - – Beyond Good and Evil (4)
Chapter 354: Episode 66 ¨C Beyond Good and Evil (4)
At this moment, Bihyung was watching the screen of Duet Between Good and Evil at the bureau.
[The stage of the 2nd Constetion and Demon War will be the ¡®Reincarnation Ind¡¯ located in the Dark Fault.]
The moment the great dokkaebi¡¯s deration was heard, all the dokkaebis of the bureau were in an uproar.
¡°No, why the ind all of a sudden?¡±
¡°Why are the great dokkaebis thinking?¡±
Even the great dokkaebis couldn¡¯t set the stage for the 80th main scenario. If the will of the Star Stream didn¡¯t move...
[The Star Stream is willing to open the 80th main scenario.]
[A new main scenario has been created.]
Bihyung was surprised by the system message. ¡°Did the Star Stream really move?¡±
The series of shocking scenario changes made Bihyung stunned.
¡°Bihyung! A revtion was just received!¡±
¡°...A revtion?¡±
After a while, a new panel was prepared. The screen hadn¡¯t surfaced yet but Bihyung knew what it was.
¡°...The te of revtion.¡±
An unknown b that only the constetions and demon kings who had acquired the power of ¡®revtion¡¯ could see. The material was unknown and even the space and coordinates weren¡¯t clearly known. The bureau could only observe the strange object.
Each neb had a different name for this ¡®te.¡¯ Divine revtion, a single word, the old devil¡¯s whisper...
It was an unidentified object that spoiled the information of the future, forcing the bureau to pay attention to it.
The method that the constetions of the Star Stream used to read the future was simple. Sometimes there was a hole in the te of revtion and a series of story fragments would be released from the hole. The fragments that spilled out had information about the future. The constetion and demon kings recognized it,bined words and used this to predict the future or read their fortunes.
The stigma called ¡®Revtion¡¯ was made. It was actually just reconstructing these words.
Bihyung asked, ¡°Is there another turn in the te of revtion?¡±
¡°Yes, it has been a problem since it started shaking a few years ago.¡±
The original version of the revtion released future information but it didn¡¯t have a significant impact on the bureau¡¯s scenario probability. The future reconstructed through the revtions were uncertain and unclear.
However, there had been a ¡®crack¡¯ in this te since a few years ago. Through that crack, whole information of the future came through.
¡°A strange hole urred a few days ago...¡±
The hole that urred a few days ago caused a problem in the probability that couldn¡¯t be overlooked even by the Star Stream. Information that shouldn¡¯t have been passed on crossed through that broken hole without damage.
Bihyung still had a headache when he thought about the work at that time. Strange strings had emerged through the hole for a while.
¡º Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. ¡»
The name seemed like the title of a book and the constetions of the Star Stream fell into chaos.
-What is Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.txt
-Does ¡®ruin¡¯ mean the ¡ö¡ö of every scenario?
The constetions who neglected the scenarios and remained rxed started to act like their feet were on fire after this revtion was released. The rumours about the apocalypse spread and there were rumours about the end of the Star Stream.
¡°The screen is ready!¡±
Bihyung watched the ck-white screen nervously. A few words that emerged through the hole caused the entire Star Stream to shake. What type of revtion would ur this time?
After a while, the screen of the revtion appeared. Then there was a very small hole in the centre of the te.
¡°There is no change... eh?¡±
The next moment, the dokkaebis were astonished by the whitish object that appeared inside the hole. It was someone¡¯s mouth.
-Ah, ah... so, um... microphone test?
The dokkaebi cried out, ¡°What is this...?¡±
The bureau was in chaos as the mouth kept on talking.
-Can you hear me? I¡¯m going to give you a revtion now. I¡¯ll only show you for a second so look and remember!
Along with the clear and cheerful voice, there was the sound of pages turning. After a while, fragments of a story passed through the hole.
¡¸ How to survive in a ruined world, the third way. ¡¹
The revtion appeared clearly. It was truly like a divine revtion.
¡¸ That method is on Reincarnation Ind. ¡¹
The story fragments scattered in the air and the voice said.
-Have you seen it? Then goodbye!
The hole closed and the voice disappeared.
Bihyung muttered, ¡°Oh my god.¡±
None of the shocked dokkaebis of the bureau could open their mouths. Bells were ringing from all over. The unstoppable inquiries of the constetions were pouring in.
The Duet Between Good and Evil was still ying on the panel on the other side.
[I will say it once again.]
The voice of Great Dokkaebi Baram rang out.
[The stage of the 2nd Constetion and Demon War will be the ¡®Reincarnation Ind¡¯ located in the Dark Fault.]
***
After the Duet Between Good and Evil, our group immediately returned to Earth. All the way back to the industrialplex, the party members were excited. In particr, Jung Heewon and Lee Jihye were checking the performance of the ques we received.
[Grand Prize of Duet Between Good and Evil].
In the Star Stream, the ¡®status¡¯ generally rose only through the umtion of stories. However, there were extremely rare star relics that raised the status without needing the umtion of stories. This was the case with the ques awarded at the Duet Between Good and Evil.
¡°My sword seems lighter... is this enough to be able to swing Hyunsung ahjussi lightly?¡± Lee Jihye¡¯s
murmur caused Lee Hyunsung to tremble.
Certainly, the que was more effective than getting two quasi-myth grade stories. Given that all the quasi-myth grade stories I acquired were those I gained after suffering and dying, it was a tremendous boost.
[5,000,000 coins Exchange Ticket]
In addition, they received five million coins as prize money.
¡°Ha, Dokja-ssi... we¡¯re rich now...¡±
¡°I won¡¯t have to worry about coins for a while.¡±
¡°Kids, how much did you get?¡±
Jung Heewon was busy asking questions to the children who received the Best Chemistry Award.
¡°Shin Yoosung, honestly, I was a bit more active. Give me another 100,000 coins.¡±
¡°What nonsense is this? It will naturally be split in half. It is the same with the story shares.¡±
Lee Hyunsung stopped the children. The party members seemed to be in good spirits for their own reasons, but on the other hand, they were also ncing at me.
¡¸ In fact, there is a question that everyone hasn¡¯t asked. ¡¹
Why did Yoo Jonghyuk and I fight? The party members had seen the scene with their own eyes but no one asked me about it. Maybe they were instinctively avoiding the topic. Perhaps it was their own consideration as they waited for me to speak first.
I was still listening to Yoo Sangah in my head while I carried the unconscious Yoo Jonghyuk on my back.
¡®...You mean, you leaked the contents of Ways of Survival through the hole in the Fourth Wall?¡¯
¡¸ (Yes.) ¡¹
¡®The constetions epted it as a revtion?¡¯
¡¸ (That¡¯s right.) ¡¹
I didn¡¯t understand at first. The information sent out of the Fourth Wall became a ¡®revtion¡¯ to the constetions? In the first ce, the role of the ¡®revtion¡¯ in the original novel... no, wait.
¡®Don¡¯t tell me?¡¯
There were many things in my head.
Yoo Sangah asked, ¡¸ (Dokja-ssi, have you noticed the Fourth Wall might be the original words?) ¡¹
¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know the exact sense but...¡¯
¡¸ (Originally, the Fourth Wall is a stage term. A wall separating the y from the wall. The characters in the y would never be able to recognize the Fourth Wall. It is because they don¡¯t exist outside the stage.) ¡¹
Outside the stage. It was the ¡®reality¡¯ I lived in.
Goosebumps formed on my arms. Indeed, if the name ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ had its origins in the same meaning as Yoo Sangah¡¯s description, it was natural there would be a Ways of Survival inside this wall. It was because the contents of Ways of Survival were created in reality.
In other words, the revtion was a ¡®spoiler¡¯ that flowed from the novel to reality. One couldn¡¯t find the source so it became a divine revtion in the eyes of the characters.
Yoo Sangah continued speaking,
¡¸ (I always thought it was strange. The filtered information about Ways of Survival was suddenly released... however, that time coincided with when I entered the Fourth Wall.) ¡¹
¡®Coincides?¡¯
¡¸ (Yes, the book blocking the hole I entered through was Ways of Survival. The title could be seen very well...) ¡¹
Now I understood everything. The reason why the constetions and demon kings suddenly knew about Ways of Survival. It was why the development that wasn¡¯t in the original novel suddenly unfolded. The information they knew had all leaked through the hole in the Fourth Wall.
¡®It is a bitplicated but this is a good thing.¡¯
¡¸ (Right?) ¡¹
Yoo Sangah replied with augh. She was probably thinking the same thing as me.
¡¸ (By the way, I can¡¯t use it very often. I noticed a lot of looks... oh, I¡¯m sorry. I have to go for a minute because the seniors are calling.) ¡¹
Then Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice disappeared from my head. She was the youngest member of the library but she had a lot of sense.
In any case, thanks to Yoo Sangah¡¯s performance, we got a new card to use. The Fourth Wall allowed me to manipte the revtions that the constetions received. Until it was revealed to be a false revtion, I could use the information to incite the constetions.
Han Sooyoung walked beside me and opened her mouth. ¡°You haven¡¯t spoken in a while?¡±
¡°I was just thinking to myself for a while.¡±
¡°You must have a lot of thoughts.¡±
Han Sooyoung bit her lips and used Midday Tryst while talking.
-What are you going to do now?
-What else? I have to prepare for the next scenario. The Constetion and Demon War is the 80th scenario and it will start in a month.
-Apart from that.
Han Sooyoung had aplicated look in her eyes. She was watching Yoo Jonghyuk being carried on my back.
-Do you know what happens when Yoo Jonghyuk will wake up?
Yoo Jonghyuk was aware of the identity of Ways of Survival. I didn¡¯t know what he knew but I couldn¡¯t keep hiding information from him. He might be shocked and receive a terrible wound but... nevertheless...
Han Sooyoung told me.
-For reference. I am against it.
-What?
-The thing you¡¯re about to say.
Han Sooyoung acted like she knew my thoughts. She sighed lightly and looked at the ground.
-With your personality, it is strange that you have been hiding it so far.
Han Sooyoung seemed to misunderstand me. If I could¡¯ve hidden it better, I would¡¯ve hidden as much as I could. If possible, until the end of the story.
Han Sooyoung shook her head.
-You can hide it as much as possible. Just pretend you don¡¯t know. Pretend to be a prophet, as you have done so far.
-Do you think they will believe it? I have to talk now. It isn¡¯t just Yoo Jonghyuk but the other party members as well.
Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes grew bigger at my words.
-What nonsense is this? Why are you going to tell them?
-They deserve to know.
-I tried it before. However, the characters can¡¯t know anything about Ways of Survival. They think it is just a joke.
-It might be different now. The filtering is released.
Han Sooyoung opened her mouth before closing it again. Instead of pressing me, she searched the faces of the people who didn¡¯t know anything. A faint contempt towards me could be seen in Han Sooyoung¡¯s eyes.
-Is it for you or is it for them?
-...
-You have already deceived these people. Now you are going to ask for forgiveness?
-I don¡¯t mean to be forgiven.
Like Han Sooyoung, I also studied their faces.
The strong but delicate Jung Heewon. The sincere and unsophisticated Lee Hyunsung. The tough but sweet Lee Jihye. The adult but pure Shin Yoosung.
I looked at their faces and recalled the ¡®descriptions¡¯ I knew. Some of them weren¡¯t ¡®described¡¯ and others had different faces from the ¡®descriptions.¡¯ They were faces I knew but didn¡¯t know.
Shin Yoosung suddenly looked back and waved towards me. I spoke while waving back at the child.
-...I want to be realpanions.
Han Sooyoung was silent for a long time before quietly turning around and disappearing into the Factory. In the distance, a message from her came back like an echo.
-Didn¡¯t I say it clearly? I oppose it.
Not long after, we arrived at the Factory and each of us took a rest to recover. That evenng, I summoned all the members of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company apart from the unconscious Yoo Jonghyuk.
I had Biyoo block the channel and ced a thick barrier to prevent other constetions from listening.
After some preparations, I looked back at the party members. ¡°I have something to say to you.¡±
I opened my mouth but couldn¡¯t speak easily. Perhaps she thought I was ying a joke but Lee Jihye trembled. ¡°Ahjussi, what is wrong with you all of a sudden? You are scary.¡±
I tried to smile at Lee Jihye.
I had been troubled for a long time. I had been certain that this moment woulde.
Lee Hyunsung and Shin Yoosung were looking at me with worry. I saw the people who were worried about my first, even in this situation, and bit my lips. ¡°Some of you.¡±
The eyes of the group shook. I saw Han Sooyoung turn away. Then I spoke like I was pulling the trigger. ¡°You are characters of a story.¡±
Chapter 355 - Beyond Good and Evil (5)
Chapter 355: Episode 66 ¨C Beyond Good and Evil (5)
The expressions of the party members changed at my words. Jung Heewon¡¯s eyes were wide while Lee Jihye looked confused. Lee Hyunsung had big eyes. Finally, Shin Yoosung...
¡¸ Kim Dok ja has the wrong id ea. ¡¹
The Fourth Wall was heard in my head.
¡¸ It isn¡¯t too te now. ¡¹
I didn¡¯t know if it was the will of the Fourth Wall or the weak part of my mind. The Fourth Wall reflected my feelings to some extent so both might be true. Either way, this time I made a decision.
¡°I know it is hard to understand my words.¡± I had to tell this story to the group of people. ¡°I¡¯ll slowly exin it from the beginning.¡±
I talked for a long time. One day, the novel I was reading became reality. In that story, I met them. I didn¡¯t tell them the whole story but at the same time, I didn¡¯t lie.
I knew about the group members before I met them. I didn¡¯t speak properly about the fact that I knew the future. I monopolized information alone and deceived people. I spoke about all of it. It was as if I was bringing out the old darkness.
A little further away from the party, Han Sooyoung was staring at me with a frown. I understood her feelings. It was the same with Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd round.
However, I couldn¡¯t live like Han Sooyoung. This story should be done properly. To move forward properly, some stories must bemunicated. Someday... just as Yoo Jonghyuk.
¡¸ I am a regressor. ¡¹
Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk also felt like me. He knew the future, experienced the same story again and again and met the party members in countless rounds. Then... he sent them away. I could
understand Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s feelings when he poured out the story without any tricks.
¡°...Thus, I brought you here.¡±
My story was over. Yet no one opened their mouths after the story was over. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t understand my story. It was a long story that even a young child couldprehend. Nevertheless, the party members didn¡¯t speak.
I bowed and continued. ¡°I want to sincerely apologize to all of you. I¡¯m really sorry to only be telling you this now.¡±
I wanted to know. What was the group thinking? What were they feeling? Even so, I didn¡¯t use Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint. In this situation, it really would be a deception if I read them using this skill.
I wanted to use my own strength without relying on any skills. I wanted to believe that whatever they thought and felt inside, the actions they chose was really their decision.
I slowly looked up and met Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes. Lee Jihye¡¯s eyes were red. The moment I saw these eyes, I suddenly realized something. I already knew these eyes.
¡¸ ¡°Then Master knew all of the future...¡± ¡¹
They were exactly the same as when Lee Jihye heard Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s story. Lee Jihye slowly opened her mouth. ¡°Then until now, you knew all about the future...¡±
As if the original character was reading the given script, Lee Jihye spoke. I also responded to her like there was a script.
¡¸ ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡¹
¡°Yes.¡±
Lee Jihye gritted her teeth and told me, ¡°Then now... why are you telling us this?¡±
The wounded Sword Demon was furious. I read the original novel and could predict what she would say.
¡¸ ¡°What the hell are we to you?¡± ¡¹
Lee Jihye¡¯s shoulders trembled slightly as she bowed her head. The situation that followed continued to flow in my mind. Lee Jihye would pull out her sword and might attack me because she couldn¡¯t suppress her anger.
There were many such asions in the original novel. However, Lee Jihye chose a way that I didn¡¯t expect at all. ¡°Let¡¯s say that you knew the future.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°It was all nned and Ahjussi used us for your purpose. Let¡¯s say we are characters of that damn Ways of Survival and everything is set!¡± Lee Jihye was crying, watching me while biting her pallid lips. ¡°Then... why did you throw your life away for us so many times?¡±
I saw the tears falling down her cheeks and tried to open my mouth several times. It was an unexpected question. It was because it was unexpected that I couldn¡¯t answer...
¡°Answer me! If we are really characters in a fictional novel, why did you die for us over and over?¡±
It was a question that I couldn¡¯t answer with the Ways of Survival that I read.
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking violently.]
Lee Jihye wiped her eyes and hit my shoulder as she walked past me. Jung Heewon hurriedly chased after her.
¡°...Dokja-ssi, we¡¯ll talkter.¡±
Shin Yoosung hesitated as she stared at me helplessly before following after Jung Heewon. Lee Hyunsung had nk eyes as he walked out of the room with a bowed head.
The only ones remaining were Han Sooyoung, Lee Seolhwa and Lee Gilyoung. Lee Gilyoung was staring at me withplicated eyes while Lee Seolhwa bowed her head like she was shocked. Han Sooyoung patted Lee Seolhwa¡¯s back and snapped at me. ¡°Kim Dokja, leave for a while.¡±
***
A hospital room. I gazed at my mother¡¯s sleeping face. I visited the hospital room in the interlude because the party members didn¡¯t return after a long time.
Since thest major surgery, my mother slept like this all day. She had shaded eyes and haggard cheeks. I peered at my mother¡¯s face and was reminded of a time when I visited her in prison. What did my mother think when her son visited her and only talked about a novel?
¡°Your expression is dark.¡±
¡°...You are awake?¡±
¡°I woke up from the moment you entered.¡±
It was a voice that didn¡¯t contain any energy. I dragged a matted nket up and covered my mother¡¯s neck. My mother smiled faintly. ¡°It is good to almost die. My son is taking care of me.¡±
¡°Get better quickly.¡±
¡°Talk to me. Anything is fine.¡±
I struggled for a moment before opening my mouth. ¡°In the 154th round of Ways of Survival, Yoo Jonghyuk brought up the story of his regression with the party members...¡±
¡°Did you talk to the group about Ways of Survival?¡±
¡°How do you know?¡±
My mother stretched out her bony hand and grabbed mine. ¡°You thought they would me you. You thought they would feel deceived and ask why you hid the information.¡±
¡°It didn¡¯t happen like that.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t know how to seek forgiveness.¡±
I silently nodded.
-Answer me! If we are really characters in a fictional novel, why did you die for us over and over?¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s voice was revolving in my ears.
My mother said, ¡°It isn¡¯t up to you to decide if it is a matter to forgive.¡±
¡°Then...¡±
¡°Maybe the person behind you can tell you.¡±
I turned my head and saw Jung Heewon standing at the door of the hospital room. I excused myself and left the hospital room.
Jung Heewon scratched her cheeks and suggested, ¡°Shall we take a walk?¡±
We walked down the corridor of the hospital wing. It was a simple corridor where no decorations could be found. It seemed to be Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s taste... this guy had been tinkering with the Factory in thest three years. In fact, the end of this corridor contained the hospital room where Yoo Jonghyuk was lying.
Jung Heewon looked out the window and opened her mouth first. ¡°Thank you... for telling me.¡±
I didn¡¯t know how much Jung Heewon had been troubled before saying this. It was worse because I couldn¡¯t see her face. The party members could be seen outside the window. Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung were bickering while Lee Hyunsung and Lee Seolhwaforted Lee Jihye.
¡°Everyone will be fine. Jihye will take a bit of time but...¡±
¡°Heewon-ssi...¡±
Before I could finish my words, Jung Heewon turned to look at me. Her face was smiling as usual. I closed my mouth and Jung Heewon asked, ¡°Are you surprised because I¡¯m fine?¡±
¡°That¡¯s not it¡±
¡°No, it isn¡¯t.¡±
Jung Heewon had long known that I had ¡®future information.¡¯ Perhaps among the characters, she was the person who knew the most about me.
Jung Heewon spoke as she started stretching. ¡°It isn¡¯t a big deal. This is a world where monsters and dokkaebis exist... it is something special that turned the novel into a reality.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°I understand the past now. The reason why Dokja-ssi said I didn¡¯t appear in the future. Does that mean I wasn¡¯t in the novel that Dokja-ssi read?¡±
¡°...Yes.¡±
Biyoo floated like a cloud and moved above Shin Yoosung¡¯s head.
Jung Heewon told me, ¡°Then I was able to safelye here thanks to Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°That, Heewon-ssi¨D¡±
¡°Thank you for finding me. I¡¯m not being sarcastic. I mean it sincerely.¡±
I knew. I was already familiar with the tone Jung Heewon used to tease me. Even so, I didn¡¯t know what to say.
¡°Don¡¯t be gloomy and depressed by yourself and look forward to the future. If you like, give me a promotion faster. Now, this is a handshake to cheer up.¡±
Jung Heewon grabbed my hand with a strong force. Something warm suddenly rose inside me.
I firmly bit my lips.
¡¸Jung Heewon, she isn¡¯t okay. ¡¹
I could feel the pulse from Jung Heewon¡¯s hand. She would also be sad. She would be in pain and it would be hard for her. Even so...
Jung Heewon held my hand tightly for a while before letting go with a smile. Then she asked, ¡°By the way Dokja-ssi... I have a question.¡±
¡°Yes, ask.¡±
¡°If this world is a novel, it means there is a protagonist.¡±
As expected, Jung Heewon was sharp. I told the group about Ways of Survival but I didn¡¯t say who the protagonist was. However, Jung Heewon was already aware of the identity of the protagonist.
Jung Heewon was staring at the end of the corridor. ¡°Is that why you were fighting?¡±
¡°I haven¡¯t exactly spoken to him but... it seems so.¡±
¡°Since you started it, you need to see the end properly. Do you know?¡±
I nodded.
¡°That person won¡¯t be easy.¡±
I knew. Still, it couldn¡¯t be avoided.
***
For the next two days, I was in Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s hospital room. I hardly met with other people. I was worried but decided to remain calm. I believed that the people needed time to think. It wouldn¡¯t be toote to talk once the party members were ready.
Yoo Jonghyuk still didn¡¯t wake up.
¡°The wounds of his flesh have almost recovered. I thin kit is a problem of the mind.¡±
¡°A problem of the mind?¡±
¡°It seems he is refusing to wake up... perhaps he experienced a severe shock.¡±
Those were Aileen¡¯s words. She exchanged the story pack and left, leaving only Yoo Jonghyuk and I in the room.
The floating dust settled on his nose. I opened my mouth while watching Yoo Jonghyuk. ¡°You grabbed me first and dropped me down the bridge.¡±
I knew he couldn¡¯t hear me but I still wanted to talk.
¡¸ ¡°Get your hand off me and get lost, you damn jerk.¡±
¡°I believe you. You are definitely a prophet.¡± ¡¹
The first time I encountered him on the bridge. Suddenly, augh emerged.
¡°Honestly, you aren¡¯t in a position to me me for anything. You are a regressor... how many people died because of you?¡±
Once I started speaking, the memories poured out like a waterfall. It was like Pandora¡¯s Box. It felt as if a lot of time had passed. I had spent a lot of time with this person.
¡°I thought I understood you better than anyone but I don¡¯t know these days. Why did you do that in during the Flood of Disasters?¡±
¡¸ ¡°...That person is mypanion.¡± ¡¹
¡°Why did you call me apanion? You wouldn¡¯t say that normally... Stabbing me in Dark Castle... even though I told you to kill me at the time.¡±
¡¸ ¡°Kim Dokja! No! Kim Dokja!¡± ¡¹
Every single memory caused numerous emotions to rise. The scenarios, which were really serious at the time, became stories once they were over. We were left with the stories.
¡°Still, I am grateful for the revolutionary game. I lived at that time because of you. Still, it is weird. Why did you sell my name when hitting the wrong industrialplex? Well... maybe you were trying to fuck with me.¡±
I poured out the things I was thinking about and gradually became sleepy. I hadn¡¯t slept properly...
Theints continued even as my consciousness dimmed. The times I fought with him passed like I was reading Ways of Survival.
The Disaster of Questions. The strongest sacrifice. Peace Land. The tomb of the scenario. The Demon King Selection and Gigantomachia. It was hard to find a battlefield where I didn¡¯t fight with him. I thought back on those times.
¡®Perhaps it will be okay.¡¯
I could convince him somehow if it was the Yoo Jonghyuk I knew. We had never talked about it properly. What if I took the time to exin it step by step? It was Yoo Jonghyuk, not someone else...
I could see Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s back in the distance. I forgot it was a dream and approached him.
¡®Yoo Jonghyuk.¡¯
At this moment, there was a stinging pain from my head and words appeared. It was a scene from Ways of Survival. The scene where Yoo Jonghyuk was betrayed by Anna Croft and lived miserably.
They were thest words Yoo Jonghyuk left.
¡¸ ¡°I will absolutely never forgive you.¡± ¡¹
Yoo Jonghyuk turned around and spoke to me. Killing energy was emitted from the ck Demon Sword.
¡¸ ¡°Kim Dokja.¡± ¡¹
I felt a coolness from my neck and woke up. I gasped while sweating before realizing it was a dream. The dim moonlight wasing in through the window. It was a bare hospital room.
I slowly rubbed my eyes. Then I realized something was wrong.
¡°...Yoo Jonghyuk?¡±
The bed was empty. Yoo Jonghyuk couldn¡¯t be seen anywhere in the room. The selected Ringer¡¯s solution was floating in the air. I hurriedly got up but I couldn¡¯t feel Yoo Jonghyuk anywhere.
On the bed, the pocket watch with the familiar design remained. The remaining time until the Constetion and Demon War was 26 days.
On this day, Yoo Jonghyuk left Kim Dokja¡¯s Company.
Chapter 356 - Forgotten People of the Scenario (1)
Chapter 356: Episode 67 ¨C Forgotten People of the Scenario (1)
It had been a week since Yoo Jonghyuk disappeared. In the meantime, the atmosphere of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company changed a bit.
The people were visible reticent. Rather than express it or talk about it, they silently trained. Jung Heewon was one of them. They trained their skills and their bodies... they pretended to do this while watching a certain person. ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t stand it anymore! How long will this atmospherest?¡±
Lee Hyunsung, who was using Great Mountain Push against the ground, was shocked by Jung Heewon¡¯s exmation while Shin Yoosung¡¯s shoulders shook as she used Advanced Diverse Communication. The most surprised one was Lee Jihye who was training in Kendo.
Jung Heewon pressed her. ¡°Jihye, you! Are you not going to talk to Dokja-ssi anymore?¡±
¡°...I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°Are you still angry? No matter what, you should have a conversation.¡±
Lee Jihye shouted, ¡°I¡¯m not angry! If I think about it, it isn¡¯t a big deal... it is simr to the prophets. I know Ahjussi is a good person. I just don¡¯t like the word ¡®character¡¯!¡±
It had been a week since Kim Dokja dropped the bomb. The party members thought about Kim Dokja¡¯s words in their own way.
In summary, this was the feeling.
On the first day, all party members felt shock.
On the second day, they thought it was simr to what already happened (Jung Heewon said, ¡°Thinking about it, this is the same thing as the constetions.¡±)
On the third day, some people were amazed by the novel (Lee Seolhwa said, ¡°How much importance did I have?¡±).
On the fourth day, they thought Kim Dokja was like a god of this world if he read the novel (Lee Gilyoung said, ¡°I knew that Hyung was a god.¡±)
On the fifth day, there were people iming that Kim Dokja should be the oneforted, not the party members (Shin Yoosung said, ¡°Perhaps he is the one having the hardest time right now.¡±)
Lee Hyunsung heard the story and said, ¡°Certainly, we don¡¯t know how Dokja-ssi is feeling now. A few days ago, Jonghyuk-ssi disappeared...¡±
The party members nodded in agreement with Lee Hyunsung. Eventually, their gazes once again concentrated on Lee Jihye.
¡°Jihye.¡±
Lee Jihye was red-faced as she yelled. ¡°Ah, I mean! How can I say anything when Ahjussi is walking around like a dead man?¡±
¡°Still...¡±
¡°Then why didn¡¯t Dokja ahjussi say anything? He just deceived us the whole time...¡±
¡°Jihye.¡± Jung Heewon called out and Lee Jihye bowed her head. Jung Heewon kept speaking. ¡°We can¡¯t ignore Dokja-ssi¡¯s choice just because we don¡¯t understand it. I don¡¯t know the reason but it must¡¯ve been necessary for Dokja-ssi. Dokja-ssi would¡¯ve thought about it in his own way.¡±
¡°Unni, do you think we are just characters?¡±
¡°I also don¡¯t know. However, so what if we are characters living in a scenario? It isn¡¯t Dokja-ssi¡¯s fault that such a novel exists.¡±
It made sense. Kim Dokja didn¡¯t create this world. He was just a reader who identally read the novel. Characters in a novel... that¡¯s how it was. From the moment this damn scenario started, they were puppets of the constetions. It didn¡¯t feel very real to hear such a story now.
Lee Jihye bit her lips for a long time before opening her mouth. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll go and speak to him. Instead, Yoosung and Hyunsung ahjussi should go with me.¡±
Shin Yoosung and Lee Hyunsung nced at each other after hearing Lee Jihye¡¯s words.
¡°Uh, um. I visited him after dinner yesterday...¡±
¡°I talked to him three days ago.¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s face was pale as she looked around the party members. ¡°What? I am the only one who hasn¡¯t gone?¡±
***
I had mixed feelings about the party members who came to me one by one.
Lee Seolhwa appeared in the middle of the night and inserted a story pack into my perfectly fine arm. Then when I opened my eyes in the morning, there was a huge monster and insect king in front of me.
I was the one who did something wrong so I couldn¡¯t figure out how to react when the party took care of me this way.
-If we are characters, Dokja-ssi threw yourself several times in front of these characters. I remember it and I¡¯m sure the others do as well.
Those were Jung Heewon¡¯s words.
-Ahjussi, I¡¯m young and I¡¯m not sure why you said that. Still, I know it is very hard for you right now.
Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung had told me.
-Dokja-ssi, my manual doesn¡¯t tell me how to deal with this situation. So don¡¯t be too troubled and
e back as usual.
Lee Hyunsung was Lee Hyunsung as always.
-I¡¯m not good atforting people. If I¡¯m really in that novel, shouldn¡¯t you already know?
In addition, Lee Jihye...
Thefort umted like spring raindrops. It was quiet enough not to notice it wasforting.
Snow was piling up underneath the walls. It marked the winter season. I looked down at the citizens who were in the process of removing the snow. In a world turned upside down and where monsters were rampant, we still had to clear the snow. The snow that wasn¡¯t cleared in time would be solid ice and would be a nuisance.
¡°Are the preparations good?¡±
I turned around and saw Kyrgios floating in the air. Kyrgios had regained his momentum and had been in charge of training the group¡¯s martial arts.
¡°I¡¯m working hard.¡±
The 80th scenario ¡®Constetion and Demon War¡¯ would soon begin. Currently, the maximum scenario we could advance to through the Context of the Constetions was the 65th scenario.
In order words, we had to build enough stories to break through the 65th scenario and reached the second Context of the Constetions. After that, Kim Dokja¡¯s Company would also qualify for the 80th scenario.
¡°The stories are steadily umted and we are smoothly clearing the scenario. In any case, the scenarios in the 60s have a simr difficulty apart from Gigantomachia.¡±
From Demon World¡¯s Spring to Torch That Swallowed the Myth. We secured a different probability than before and cleared the scenarios vertically. In the scenarios in the 60s, there was no neb that could deal with us.
In addition, the promised advertisement with the Mass Production Maker began and the share prices of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company soared. At the same time, the advertisement of the Mass Production Maker appeared on the panel in mid-air.
-The scenario, it has numerous paths.
Along with my voice that was speaking, several cars on the screen were racing towards the portal.
There was only one car that didn¡¯t choose the portal. It was the X-grade Ferrarigini that Han Sooyoung was driving.
-Everyone has their own way.
The X-grade Ferrarigini passed the scattered cars and ran through the darkness. The screen zoomed in on Han Sooyoung¡¯s face as she lip-synched to my words.
-However, the real power is to run on a road without a road.
The logo of the Mass Production Maker appeared on the ck screen.
I felt a bitter taste in my mouth. This old man¡¯s inspiration wasn¡¯t normal. He used the words he told me in the advertisement. I couldn¡¯t believe this advertisement would work on the constetions...
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ likes this advertisement.]
[The constetion ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯ wants the X-grade Ferrarigini.]
[Your ad has stimted the desire to to buy in some constetions.]
...There it was.
Kyrgios clicked his tongue while watching the advertisement with me. The transcendent from Murim seemed unable to ept modern civilization.
¡°I can¡¯t understand. Why ride that machine? I can run a lot faster than it with my martial arts.¡±
¡°That¡¯s true.¡±
¡°The disciple of Breaking the Sky hasn¡¯t returned yet?¡±
I shut up at the sudden question. He could only be talking about one disciple of the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint.
¡°I¡¯m not worried because he is someone who will find his own way.¡±
I was worried. I didn¡¯t know what that sunfish was doing again. My depression returned as I thought about the regressor. I couldn¡¯tpletely cover my anxiety despite reminding myself that not many things could touch the present Yoo Jonghyuk.
However, I was forced to believe in him right now. It was like the days when I only knew him in print.
¡°He will appear somewhere in the next scenario area. He is such a person.¡±
¡°Reincarnation Ind won¡¯t be easy.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
I nodded. Kyrgios was a transcendent and had already visited the Reincarnation Ind. Kyrgios¡¯ gaze turned to below the walls. I was able to see Jang Hayoung, standing alone a bit further away from the party members.
¡°Take Hayoung with you on this journey. This guy has made progress in Breaking the Sky. He won¡¯t be a burden.¡±
¡°I was going to take him anyway.¡±
Jang Hayoung was an indispensable figure for this scenario. The ce where he got the name ¡®King of Transcendents¡¯ was the Reincarnation Ind. I waved lightly and Jang Hayoung, who was looking over here, quickly turned his head away.
I gazed at the distant sky again. I could feel the vibrations of the watch needle ticking around my wrist. There were 21 days until the Constetion and Demon War.
I quietly turned on the smartphone and opened the file of Ways of Survival. It was because of this novel that I hurt the group members but it was also because of the novel that I could see them.
In the midst of these contradictory feelings, I opened the section on the Constetion and Demon Way.
The first sentence of the Constetion and Demon War began as followed:
¡¸ Finally, the season of destruction was slowlying to this world. ¡¹
***
The neb Eden.
At the entrance of the martial arts hall, which normally wouldn¡¯t be popr, crowds of angels were gathered together.
[Ah, that incarnation is...]
[...That is a human body?]
The angels were peeping at a man with a bare upper body swinging a sword through the air. At first nce, he seemed to just be holding the sword but he was actually cutting the air with the sword. Any angel with good eyes could tell that the de was pointing down at a very fine speed.
It was Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s repeated training when he wanted to forget time. It was to lengthen the time of the moment and to feel the eternity that wasing at that time.
The surrounding air was roughly shaken by his movements. It was restrained like a crouching dragon. The fact that it was understated meant that there was something that hadn¡¯t erupted.
[It¡¯s great. Even narrative-grade constetions can¡¯t easily rush at you now.]
Yoo Jonghyuk turned his head and saw a pale-faced archangel. The person who recorded everything in Eden. Metatronughed as Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s eyes asked why he came.
[
I came to give a bit of advice. If you are going to remove your top every time you train, you should move to another ce.]
¡°The probability density of Eden in this ce is the most appropriate for training.¡±
[It is thanks to you that the little angels¡¯ morals are...]
¡°Metatron, why did you show me that revtion?¡±
Metatron knew the other person wasn¡¯t listening at all and changed his words.
[I told you it was a bargain. You will side with ¡®good¡¯ at the Duet Between Good and Evil. It was nothing more than that.]
¡°Are you trying to split apart Kim Dokja¡¯s Company?¡±
[Why would Eden do such a thing?]
¡°I know that you are paying special attention to Kim Dokja. I guess that you are trying to keep his power in check.¡±
[Is that why you¡¯re holding a protest here, to the point of taking off your top?]
¡°Your words don¡¯t make sense.¡±
Metatron shook his head as if he couldn¡¯t tell which side made sense. Yoo Jonghyuk kept swinging his sword through the air. It was like he was slowly cutting a virtual adversary.
[If you are going to continue with the illegal demonstration, please leave Kim Dokja¡¯s Company officially and join Eden. Then you will be allowed to take off your top¨D]
¡°Give me the next chapter of the revtion. Is that all the information you had?¡±
[Haven¡¯t you thought that I might be giving you false information?]
¡°It is better than the demon kings who lie.¡±
[Is that why you came to us instead of Asmodeus?]
¡°If the demon kings know the information then you will definitely know it as well.¡±
[Hah...]
Metatron still hadn¡¯t forgotten the day Yoo Jonghyuk invaded Eden alone. He broke through the entrance guarded by the Powers Angels and Virtues Angels. Even the demon kings didn¡¯t dare do such a thing. In fact, if Metatron hadn¡¯t stopped it then Yoo Jonghyuk would¡¯ve died in Michael¡¯s hands on that day.
Yoo Jonghyuk said, ¡°Give me the revtion. Isn¡¯t it enough that I¡¯ve yed your game until now?¡±
Metatron¡¯s mouth twisted unpleasantly. A cold light shed in Metatron¡¯s eyes as he gazed at Yoo Jonghyuk.
[Incarnation Yoo Jonghyuk. The information I gave you isn¡¯t technically a revtion. It was information received from a special existence.]
¡°Special existence?¡±
[Do you really want to know?]
Metatron stared at Yoo Jonghyuk for a moment before slowly looking up. Yoo Jonghyuk also raised his head.
For a moment, the sky of Eden distorted. Some of the angels around the training hall sat down with a small scream. Yoo Jonghyuk instinctively grabbed the ck Demon Sword.
...A demon king? No.
It was more chaos than demonic.
[Your sponsor feels ufortable with this heterogeneous being.]
Yoo Jonghyuk blinked and his surroundings changed. It was the centre of the Star Stream. An intangible darkness filled this space.
There was a big existence that was too much even for the transcendent Yoo Jonghyuk.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±
[The constetion ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is looking at the incarnation ¡®Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯.]
The darkness spoke.
[ It has been a long time, puppet of the oldest dream. ]
Chapter 357 - Forgotten People of the Scenario (2)
Chapter 357: Episode 67 ¨C Forgotten People of the Scenario (2)
The winter time flowed quickly.
Kim Dokja¡¯s Company rapidly cleared up to the 65th scenario and reached the second Context of the Constetions a week ago. We finally seeded in meeting the minimum challenge condition for the 80th scenario.
[The advertisement payment has arrived from the Mass Production Maker.]
[You have received 2,500,000 coins.]
The neb¡¯s funds umted quickly. 2.5 million coins. It seemed that sales of the X-grade Ferrarigini were booming. Now we had been paid a portion of the sales revenue and we would continue to receive more ie in the future.
¡°It¡¯s time.¡±
Finally, the day of the scenario arrived. I looked around at the prepared party members. Lee Hyunsung, Jung Heewon, Lee Jihye, Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung. In addition, there was Jang Hayoung...
¡°Dokja-ssi, is it really okay to leave this way?¡±
Lee Hyunsung spoke in a somewhat uneasy manner. It was understandable. A week ago, my order was to rest and do nothing until the 80th scenario opened.
¡°This rxed discipline doesn¡¯t make sense...¡±
Discipline. It was the words of a true soldier who lost his cartridge and safety pin.
¡°No matter what we do, it is impossible to catch up with the top ranking constetions. The important thing isn¡¯t what we do here but what we do in that ce... by the way, I feel like a person is missing.¡±
¡°Sooyoung-ssi went first. She doesn¡¯t listen to orders.¡±
Thepany didn¡¯t have any employees who were good at listening. Well, Han Sooyoung would surely survive.
I turned my head and saw my mother and the other wanderers watching us from the front door of the industrialplex.
¡°Then, we will be going.¡±
¡°Take care.¡±
I entrusted the security of Seoul to my mother and the wanderer forces. They were people who didn¡¯t feel greedy for thetter scenarios. Rather than clearing the scenario, they were determined to live in their own way. Lee Seolhwa and Gong Pildu decided to stay in Seoul to supervise and manage the incarnations.
¡°I will leave Seoul to you.¡±
Lee Seolhwa nodded. On the other side of the square, Gong Pildu was surrounded by incarnations targeting the early stage scenarios and was exining something in a brusque manner.
¡°The important thing is to seize the best position. You have to upy the goodnd before anyone else! Understood?¡±
...It should be okay.
-I will jointer with the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint. Go ahead.
I nodded to Kyrgios in the distance and sent a signal into the air. Soon, there was a low-grade dokkaebi responsible for the scenario transfer.
[Kim Dokja¡¯s Company. Are the preparations finished?]
¡°Start transferring us.¡±
The low-grade dokkaebis recited something and we were sucked into the portal that appeared at our feet. It was a pretty advanced portal which meant I didn¡¯t feel dizzy when the space changed. How much time passed?
[You have entered the waiting room for the 80th scenario.]
Rather than the peaceful scenery of Gwanghwamun, a pale marble waiting room appeared. The waiting room was seething with constetions and incarnations who had arrived in advance.
[When will the scenario start?]
[Open it quickly! There is no time!]
There were familiar faces among the constetions. One of them was the Brash Swamp Predator. I thought he was dead because he hadn¡¯t been seen since the start of the Demon King Selection but he was still alive.
Jung Heewon muttered from behind me. ¡°There seem to be many great constetions.¡±
¡°Ahjussi, there is Ranveer Khan and Feihu over there!¡±
¡°I can see Papyrus and Tamna.¡±
The members of Kim Dokja¡¯s Company stuck to my back like penguins enduring the cold. They seemed like rural people who just came to Seoul.
Lee Jihye licked his lips and asked, ¡°Ahjussi, what should we do?¡±
¡°Smile while you can smile.¡±
In the distance, a few constetions from Olympus waved to this side. Dionysus and Aphrodite. They probably didn¡¯te to perform again this time. After that, several constetions from Vedas were soon, including the Supreme God of Light Surya. Maybe Anna Croft and Yoo Jonghyuk would also be mixed in among them.
[The demon king ¡®Duke of Everywhere¡¯ is staring at you.]
[The demon king ¡®Eyes that See the Forbidden¡¯ is checking you.]
As expected, these guys were here as well.
[The constetion ¡®Guardian of Youths and Travel¡¯ yawns as if bored.]
[The constetion ¡®Saviour of Corruption¡¯ is revealing a ferocious spirit towards you.]
The archangels of Eden as well. The scale of the 80th scenario was truly different. We had to nowpete with these terrible narrative-grade constetions.
In the centre of the square, a dokkaebi emerged. It was Bihyung.
[Everyone is gathered. I am Dokkaebi Bihyung and I¡¯m in charge of this scenario.]
Generall, this scenario was hosted by a great dokkaebi. It seemed that Bihyung¡¯s status in the bureau had increased considerably.
[Originally, the stage of the Constetion and Demon War was scheduled for another ce. Then Reincarnation Ind was selected as a scenario area for special reasons. Well, don¡¯t we all have to do what our bosses want?]
Several of the constetions burst outughing. This was the humour of the Star Stream or the bureau. That Bihyung jerk, he was in a form that wasn¡¯t scary.
[Some constetions might be unfamiliar with this stage. It is a very old ce and it is rarely used anymore. It has been lost in the flow of the time...]
Along with Bihyung¡¯s words, images started to flow on the screens in the sky. The stage of the uing scenario was Reincarnation Ind.
[We came here to participate in the Constetion and Demon War. I don¡¯t care about the stage!]
[Don¡¯t expect much. This is a world with a bunch of sword masters and 9th circle magicians.]
The constetions spoke sarcastically like they had already experienced the scenario.
Then Bihyung said, [Sword master... this time, you can leave those worries behind. It is because this world view is special.]
Bihyung¡¯s words caused a fuss among the constetions but he continued speaking.
[In the days when the ind opened, there were no concepts like sword master, 9th circle magician or even magic circles. This is an old ind.]
Many constetions listened to Bihyung¡¯s words. Those paying special attention were members of the Gourmet Association. Perhaps they knew some information about this ind.
[Well, you¡¯ll know once you personally experience it. I¡¯ll start with the exnation necessary for the scenario. Before entering the main ind that is the stage for the Constetion and Demon War, you will experience the tutorial area first.]
Soon a map of the ind appeared. There was arge ind floating in the middle of the universe, with numerous small inds surrounding it.
Bihyung pointed to the outermost inds. [You will start at the ind¡¯s edge, the small inds. Through this tutorial, you will learn how to adapt to the ind. Then you will be given a scenario where you will advance to the main ind, the main stage of the Constetion and Demon War.]
Based on the exnation, it was an existing rule of Reincarnation Ind. It was a wee thing for me. Of course, it wasn¡¯t the same for other constetions.
[Tutorial? We are constetions. Are you joking right now?]
[No, of course, you don¡¯t necessarily have to perform the tutorial. There are many ways to go straight to the main ind. Therefore, don¡¯t be too angry.]
Dokkaebis usually speaking like this meant that if they didn¡¯t proceed with the tutorial, the scenario would be like hell. In fact, if they knew what would happen on these inds, perhaps half the constetions here would withdraw their application.
Bihyung noticed my gaze and winked at me. [Originally, scenarios should start without any exnation and mine has been going on for too long. Please pick a small ind to start at. If you want to start on the same ind, you can choose the same ind.]
Bihyung concluded his exnation and the constetions started to pick their ce of departure.
My party members picked the same ind. There was no need to split apart when we could go together.
Some constetions noticed and choose the ind that I chose. They were going toe out like this from the beginning.
I looked around at the party members. ¡°Do you remember what I said yesterday?¡±
Jung Heewon replied. ¡°Once the scenario starts, we have to run to the middle of the ind.¡±
¡°Yes. Don¡¯t think about fighting with other people and run straight to the middle of the ind.¡±
This scenario waspletely different from all the other scenarios we experienced. It might be the tutorial but there was a chance the party members might not survive. I knew from reading Ways of Survival so none of the party members questioned my suggestion. I somehow felt bitter.
The constetions were ready and Bihyung¡¯s words were heard. [Let¡¯s start the scenario transfer!]
I held Unbroken Faith in my hands. Every minute in this scenario was important, including the time it took to draw the sword.
¡°Everyone, let¡¯s meet in the vige.¡±
At the same time, my party members and I turned into a group of lights.
[A new main scenario has arrived!]
[Main Scenario #80 ¨C Reincarnation Ind has begun.]
The message was heard and the darkness became brightly lit. The smell of grass entered my nose. I was thrown into the forest area of the ind. I didn¡¯t see any of the party members around. They had probably been transferred to other ces on the ind.
[You are currently in the expedition area of Ind 531. Find a vige with guides.]
[Hidden scenario ¨C Survival Game has begun!]
At almost the same time, the messages of the dokkaebis poured from the sky.
[It won¡¯t be fun like this, right? The taste of survival is a good start. Constetions, please feel like you have returned to the past through a fiercepetition for survival!]
+
[Hidden Scenario ¨C Survival Game]
Category: Hidden
Difficulty level: SSS
Clear Conditions: Enter the ind¡¯s vige or kill yourpetitors who entered together with you.
Time Limit: 24 hours.
Compensation: 50,000 coins, clear the tutorial area.
Failure: Death
+
I thought it would be like this. The dokkaebis who chose this ind as the stage couldn¡¯t afford to let go.
At almost the same time, I felt an ominous presence around me. It was tote to hide my figure.
[The demon king ¡®Magic Peacock of Geometry¡¯ is showing hostility towards you.]
There was a presence in the bushes. It was one of the demon kings who followed me. The demon king of the 65th Demon Realm, Andrealphus.
[Demon King of Salvation. You defeated Demon King Amdusias?]
Dark blue demonic energy was burning from the hands of the colourful feathered person. Andrealphus was a demon king known for having learnt all types of magic.
[Don¡¯t be arrogant like a stud horse.]
The peacock-like person spat words out of his beak and ran towards me while chanting a spell. Perhaps he set me as the first hunting game.
I also ran towards him.
Andrealphus muttered, [Your footwork is terrible and your skills are absurd. It is the level of a normal human. You managed to beat Amdusias with only this?]
I ignored him and ran hard. It was much slower than usual because I wasn¡¯t using Way of the Wind.
Andrealphus mockingly dered,
[Die.]
The magic he cast was the 9th circle Hellfire. It was literally borrowing the mes of hend I wouldn¡¯t be able to endure a direct hit.
However, something strange happened the moment he cast a spell. The hellfire, which should¡¯ve burnt the whole forest, only made small sparks before turning off.
[This ind¡¯s probability doesn¡¯t allow the spell ¡®Hellfire.¡¯]
The confused Andrealphus stared at me. I was now right before his nose.
¡°This ind has no sword masters or 9th circle magicians.¡±
The astonished eyes of Andrealphus grew bigger.
¡°Then is Hellfire possible?¡±
It was unbelievable but this was thew of the ind. It was the ce where the most powerful probability of the Star Stream dominated.
[There is the powerful effect of probability on this ind!]
[The Attributes Window isn¡¯t avable on this ind and the overall stats will be reset.]
The system wasn¡¯t avable on this ind.
[The usage of most ¡®skills¡¯ created after the first generation is limited on this ind.]
[On this ind, the proficiency of stigmas and stories are reset.]
All the fighting skills obtained were useless. Andrealphus, who was btedly trying to cast a defense skill, got a stiff face.
I ignorantly swung my sword without any skills. The blow, which contained no skill, pieced the heart of demon king Andrealphus.
Unbroken Faith was a few times heavier than normal. My hand holding the sword trembled. The benefits of my overall stats had disappeared.
In the forest, the hot sun was burning my skin. I pulled my sword out of the demon king¡¯s dead incarnation body while sweating. It was hard to even hold the sword thanks to my poor muscles.
¡°This is why I don¡¯t like the old stories.¡±
This world had no sword masters, no SSS-grade hunters, no systems and no Attributes Window.
[The old stories are responding to your gaze.]
Reincarnation Ind. This was the tomb of the ¡®first generation stories¡¯ that died out in the Star Stream.
Chapter 358 - Forgotten People of the Scenario (3)
Chapter 358: Episode 67 ¨C Forgotten People of the Scenario (3)
Lee Hyunsung had a thought. This must be how his grandfather who fought in the Vietnam War felt.
It was a lush, leafy forest. Lee Hyunsung hid between trees that boasted an unusual size and remembered his survival training.
¡®Go to the nearby reed forest while crawling low.¡¯
Lee Hyunsung moved through the forest by alternating between low crawls and high crawls. He wanted to run to the fields straight away but there were a few groups of constetions moving.
Lee Hyunsung saw someone moving and quickly hid himself at the base of a tree, holding his breath.
[The Demon King of Salvation definitely chose this ind.]
[How are we going to distribute it if we hunt him?]
[The one who cuts off his head will get half.]
There were the murmurs of the constetions. They were all targeting Kim Dokja. He wanted to run out and get their heads straight away.
-Unconditionally run towards the centre of the ind.
Kim Dokja had told them. Only then could they survive this bloody survival game. This was the message of a man who knew the future of this world.
He felt he should¡¯ve asked Kim Dokja more details about Ways of Survival. The more information in the manual, the better. What would happen to his future self and the life he was living...
¡®It isn¡¯t the time to think useless things.¡¯
Lee Hyunsung pped both of his cheeks. There must¡¯ve been a reason Kim Dokja didn¡¯t tell him those things. Now was the time to focus on the situation.
Rustle. There was another noise from nearby. No voices could be heard. Someone wasing this way. There were cautious movements. It was a person who had the basics of using cover. The sound was getting closer.
Rustle. If they kepting in this direction, they would encounter Lee Hyunsung sooner orter.
Lee Hyunsung nervously pulled out a dagger. Kim Dokja told them to avoidbat as much as possible but that couldn¡¯t always happen.
¡®I should do it well if I can¡¯t avoid it.¡¯
In the past few years, Lee Hyunsung became much stronger than before through training. Now he wasn¡¯t the ¡®soldier who turned away from injustice¡¯ in the first scenario.
Finally, the other person was right in front of him. Yet something felt strange. The pattern of a special uniform could be seen through the long reeds.
Lee Hyunsung muttered reflexively, ¡°Heewon-ssi?¡±
¡°Uwah!¡±
The Sword of Judgment popped through the bushes. Lee Hyunsung reflexively bent his waist and avoided the sword. After a while, Jung Heewon¡¯s head protruded from the bush. ¡°Hyunsung-ssi? I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine. Are you okay?¡±
However, he wasn¡¯t able to be d about meeting his colleague due to the desperate situation. He sighed and saw the two children glued firmly to Jung Heewon¡¯s waist.
They were Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung. Lee Hyunsung watched the sickly pale faces of the two children and asked, ¡°What is the status of the children?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. I just met them. They must¡¯ve seen something shocking.¡±
A shocking sight. Certainly, this ind was a strange ce. The Heracles Shield on Lee Hyunsung¡¯s back was very heavy. It was an item that he normally would¡¯ve have felt the weight...
Lee Hyunsung carried Shin Yoosung and said, ¡°I think we should go to the centre of the ind and meet Dokja-ssi.¡±
¡°Where is the centre of the ind?¡±
¡°The direction of the smoke...¡±
He looked up and saw smoke rising through the big trees. It wasn¡¯t too far away. Lee Hyunsung started to move with Jung Heewon. Maybe it was due to the presence of a strong colleague but the heartbeat seemed to be moving at a different tempo.
How long had it been? They soon arrived at the edge of the forest. Arge field unfolded in front of their eyes. It wasn¡¯t far away from the location where the smoke was ignited. The problem was that there were a bunch of people blocking the field.
Jung Heewon frowned and opened her mouth. ¡°Do you think they are chasing us?¡±
The constetions armed with weapons and star relics were searching around the field. Among them were people Lee Hyunsung had seen earlier.
¡°Don¡¯t fight and run. It is better to avoid them but...¡±
Once they entered the field, they would surely be visible. There was a way around the forest but they couldn¡¯t guarantee how long it would take.
Then Shin Yoosung opened her mouth from Lee Hyunsung¡¯s back. ¡°Ahjussi. Excuse me...¡±
Shin Yoosung¡¯s finger pointed to the forest on the opposite side of the field. Something was running.
There were rough and wild cries. Lee Hyunsung was familiar with the monster species that emerged from the forest. They were monsters that regrly appeared in fantasy manhwa and novels.
Jung Heewon asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t they orcs? They are too weak to appear in the 80th scenario...¡±
Orcs. They were representative monsters that emerged in numerous fantasy genres.
¡°I¡¯ve never fought an orc up to now.¡±
It was strange when thinking about it. Orcs were famous monsters that everyone knew about. Yet they made it to the 80th scenario without meeting any orcs.
In the field, the constetions eximed,
[Ignoring us to this degree!]
[Releasing this crap?]
They also thought it was absurd. As if there was no need to use a weapon, a single constetion stretched out his fist towards the rushing orcs with an annoyed expression.
They were usually monsters that would be killed in one blow. Yet at this moment, something strange happened. An orc swung its axe and the fist of the constetion was broken.
The moment the bewildered constetion was about to shout something, another stone axe came flying from somewhere. The head of the constetion literally burst apart. The incarnation body of the constetion fell down stupidly. The orcs roared andughed, turning the field into a terrible ce of ughter.
[Kuaaack!]
The fearsome constetions who could break mountains and split apart the sea. These constetions were dying, their bodies torn apart by only two orcs.
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung fell down as well. It was reality without a sense of realism. It was that easy to die? A constetion? To an orc?
¡°Run away!¡±
The orcs tore apart 10 constetions in an instant and were approached this forest area.
***
Please don¡¯t let me meet orcs. I repeated this prayer in my head as I moved through the lush forest.
My breathing was intermittent in this heat and my steps were heavy. I hadn¡¯t walked for very long but I was feeling exhausted as sweat flowed all over my body.
I didn¡¯t know the absence of my stats would be this great. It was unavoidable with only one point in physique. To make matters worse, it felt like my shoulders were being forced closer together. This was the reality of the ind.
Reincarnation Ind. It was the ce where the oldest stories of the Star Stream were gathered. Here, all the buffs umted from outside data were released.
In other words, it was a ce where only the innate abilities of the body were avable. This was why I could easily defeat the 65th ranked demon king. Many constetions neglected physical training. Then once they entered this ind, they made a mistake of misinterpreting theirbat power. It was the same for Andrealphus...
[You have killed onepetitor to date.]
[You will receive additional rewards when entering the safe zone.]
I tried not to miss the asional message as I moved through the shade created by the lush trees.
In order to prevent dehydration, I plunged my face into a rare stream and drank the water. It was clear and cold enough that my soul felt purified.
¡°The first generation water is so clean.¡±
In fact, I wasn¡¯t adverse to the old stories.
As a reader, I liked the old stories. A story of heroes filled with dreams and adventures. Fighting dragons in forgotten mountain ranges or looking for a legendary sword with beautiful elves and brave dwarves.
The problem was that I now entered the ¡®old story.¡¯ A world without the power of the Attributes Window and no convenient functions.
The danger here wasn¡¯t only the monsters. Since I couldn¡¯t receive the effects of the skills, my immune system would decrease and I had to be wary of the cold and diseases. In the original novel, some constetions died after being affected by infectious diseases.
In fact, the following sentence had appeared in Ways of Survival:
¡¸ The constetions, who were ustomed to the Attributes Window and the convenience of the system, died powerlessly. They were able to raise a proper resistance to the world that couldn¡¯t be read with their sensibilities. ¡¹
The constetions, who reigned in the Star Stream, died because they couldn¡¯t ovee diseases or orcs. Some constetions couldn¡¯t endure the disgrace and took their own lives.
It was funny.
[The participants of Ind 861 are wiped out.]
[The participants of Ind 1896 are wiped out.]
...It had started. By now, the entire ind would be engulfed in a terrible tragedy. The constetions died to lesser monsters that they had been ignoring in the meantime...
[Many constetions are greatly shocked by the difficulty of Reincarnation Ind.]
[Many constetions are sending a protest message to the bureau!]
It was useless to protest. The ind was originally like this. Demon kings or archangels... anyone could die in this ce if they were a bit careless.
I reflexively held my breath as I heard a sounding from a nearby bush. I only knew one monster on the ind that made a cry like this. It was a small monster half my height with green skin.
A goblin. I sighed with relief. It was worth an attempt if it was a goblin, not an orc.
There was a deafening roar. I reflexively swung my sword in the direction of the cry. My body was dragged in the direction of the swing due to my poor strength. Fortunately, the first one who jumped out was hit by the blindly swung sword and rolled on the ground.
The problem was after this.
¡¸ Onew of the first generation. Goblins will never move alone. ¡¹
Two goblins jumped out after the injured goblin and rapidly narrowed the distance, swinging their clubs. The club swung by one of them caused a long scratch on the outside of my left thigh. Damn... in this ce, the goblins were scarier than the demon kings.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is activated!]
If it hadn¡¯t been for the Fourth Wall, I might¡¯ve died to the goblins like other constetions. Then an ominous voice was heard.
[The administrator of the ind is concerned about the fairness of the skill you are using.]
[The administrator of the ind deres this skill isn¡¯t avable here.]
[The probability of the Star Stream agrees with the administrator¡¯sint.]
[The Fourth Wall is revealing difort.]
¡¸ Kim Dok ja, so rry. ¡¹
¡®Huh?¡¯
¡¸ I ha ve no streng th on this isnd. ¡¹
I felt the barrier covering my spirit fading. It felt like a sensation sleeping inside me was activated. At this moment, I realized what was happening.
[The thickness of the Fourth Wall has be thinner.]
[Your mental strength, reinforced by the Fourth Wall, has returned to its original state.]
[The physical pain relieved by the Fourth Wall has returned to normal.
Dammit.
Chapter 359 - Episode 67 - Deceased of the Scenario (4)
Chapter 359: Episode 67 ¨C Deceased of the Scenario (4)
I swallowed my curses. If the Fourth Wall became thinner...
There was a strange pain during the battle that I had forgotten. The cuts on my shin and arms were sore. My sweaty shirt was more ufortable and the heat of the forest made me dizzy. I would¡¯ve exercised more if I knew this would happen.
A spiked club flew towards my head. I rolled my body and avoided a goblin¡¯s attack. My joints creaked as I moved hastily. The goblin followed my avoidance path with the club like they were catching a mole. The fuzz on the back of my hand rose as blood stained the thorny club. It was obviously a smell I¡¯ve encountered many times but it was strange.
[The Fourth Wall has be very thin.]
[The ¡®Fourth Wall¡¯ is shaking dangerously.]
I jumped up from my position and corrected my sword posture. The two goblins lost theirpanion and were surrounding me with red eyes. At any time, they would rush forward and kill me. The moment I read this desire, the fear of death came to me.
Beyond the thinning Fourth Wall, the emotions I had ignored were gushing out. The story I looked at was actually something like this.
I controlled my trembling breaths. I had to fight. I could fight. All mypanions fought through this fear. I was the only one who cowardly avoided the pain using the wall.
¡¸ Kim Dokja held Unbroken Faith with trembling hands. ¡¹
Let¡¯s think. How could I hurt the goblins with my current body? Skills couldn¡¯t be used but stigmas were still avable. The level was reset but it was possible to use stigmas. The problem was how to apply the stigma. I saw the approaching goblin and cast Song of the Sword.
[This isn¡¯t your stigma.]
[The effect of the stigma is fixed to the minimum.]
¡¸ The second day. Sunny. I went out early and checked the weapons. ¡¹
Unbroken Faith emitted a faint sheen and returned to its original state. It would¡¯ve been nice if a fire arrow emerged, shit. It wasforting to feel that my sword was a bit lighter.
Kieeek?
The goblinughed at my resistance and swung its thorny club. The club hit the sword and my wrist seemed to break.
The goblins looked sloppy but they were more powerful than humans. They were monsters optimized for survival on this ind.
Then the second club flew towards my waist. It was toote to block it with my sword. I swung my feet and kicked the club. There was the sensation of thorns piercing the soles of my feet. I but my lips from the terrible pain. The angry goblins cried out at the smell of blood. If the stigma couldn¡¯t be used then I had to try the second method.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is responding to your will.]
On this ind, skills were sealed and the proficiency of the stigmas was reset. This didn¡¯t mean there was no power avable.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is responding to your will.]
Something existed even in the first generation without magic circles. It was stories.
[Currently, you can¡¯t exercise control over these stories with your power.]
[Your stories are rejecting your domination.]
The problem was that my strength was drastically reduced and the stories didn¡¯t listen to me.
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is looking at you with regret.]
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ covets your weakened body.]
Blood rose inside me because of the heat. The goblins momentarily shrank back from the power of the stories felt from me but they soon recovered their momentum and rushed forward.
The stigma was blocked and the stories didn¡¯t listen to me. I gritted my teeth as I watched the iing goblins. In the end, there was only thest method. I hadn¡¯t wanted to use this if possible.
It happened the moment I firmed up my heart and raised my magic power. A dagger flew through the bush and pierced the goblin¡¯s head. The goblin copsed in front of me. The de headed towards the other goblin¡¯s neck with fantastic swordy.
I watched the girl¡¯s ponytail flying and sighed with relief.
¡°Ajusshi, are you okay?¡±
The mud-covered Lee Jihye turned her head and stared at me.
***
In fact, the use of Song of the Sword wasn¡¯t just to confront the goblins. Like the system message stated, Song of the Sword wasn¡¯t my stigma. If I used this stigma, the master of it would surely be aware of my existence.
¡°...Phew, I¡¯m d it is Ahjussi.¡±
Lee Jihye washed her face in the stream. Lee Jihye had also experienced a considerable degree of hardship.
¡°What the hell is this ce? Skills and stigmas are all useless. I would¡¯ve died if I hadn¡¯t received training from Grandfather Kyrgios.
¡°Are you injured?¡±
¡°No. I hid well. By the way, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±
¡°It just happened.¡±
I was cing the Cut Medicine received from Lee Seolhwa on my wounds. I couldn¡¯t believe I was injured this much fighting the goblins. I couldn¡¯t guess how hard it would be in the future.
Lee Jihye watched me and grabbed the Cut Medicine like she was frustrated. ¡°Give it to me. You can¡¯t apply it to your back.¡±
Lee Jihye ced the Cut Medicine on my wounds.
¡°Be gentle. I might die if you press hard against it.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be a crybaby. By the way, were you this small?¡±
¡°My muscle mass was just reduced a bit.¡±
¡°Your shoulders look simr to mine?¡±
My pride was hurt so I took back the Cut Medicine. No, I tried to take it back but failed. It was because Lee Jihye was more powerful than me.
Lee Jihye spoke in warning, ¡°If you move, your shoulder will break.¡±
It had been a long time since I felt so helpless.
¡°Now, it¡¯s all done.¡±
The effect of Lee Seolhwa¡¯s Cut Medicine was quite good despite the probability of the first generation. It wasn¡¯t dramatic but the wounds covered by the Cut Medicine were healing quickly. There were magic and martial arts even in the first generation.
Lee Jihye and I continued to walk through the forest after taking care of my wounds. Fortunately, night wasing. Lee Jihye measured the smoke rising from the centre of the ind.
¡°It seems we will have to camp here today?¡±
I nodded. We can move all night but night time skills weren¡¯t avable and we could meet enemies that were much worse than the goblins.
[The night of the ind hase.]
[At night, some of the system¡¯s functions are restored.]
[The Dokkaebi Bag feature is now avable.]
I immediately opened the Dokkaebi Bag and bought a few necessary items. There was portable amodation for two people and safety devices for securing the perimeter. There ware also recovery items, just in case.
Lee Jihye received the items from me and blinked. ¡°What? You could buy something like this in the first generation?¡±
¡°In the end, the coin usage scenarios remain the same.¡±
Whether it was the first generation, second generation or third generation, the essence of the scenario was money. Thus, it was obvious that the use of the DOkkaebi Bag would be granted.
Lee Jihye was setting up the tent and looked at me like I was pathetic. ¡°Ahjussi, I heard you¡¯ve been to the army. Why don¡¯t you know how to set up a tent?¡±
¡°It has been a long time since I was discharged. Why are you so good at it?¡±
¡°I was in the scouts when I was an elementary school student.¡±
Come to think of it, there was that setting for Lee Jihye. Lee Jihye watched me struggle from the strength reduction penalty and set up my tent for me.
Night in the forest was cold. We gathered the surrounding twigs and lit a fire. In front of the zing bonfire, Lee Jihye and I were immersed in our own thoughts. I wasn¡¯t using Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint but I could see that Lee Jihye wanted to say something. I patiently waited.
Lee Jihye threw a dried branch onto the burning mes and finally raised her courage. ¡°Ahjussi, can I ask you something?¡±
¡°Ask.¡±
¡°When did that novel start?¡±
I thought this question woulde out. I decided to answer honestly. ¡°More than 10 years ago.¡±
My memories were a bit dim but I hadn¡¯t forgotten what happened in the days when I first clicked on Ways of Survival.
¡°How do I appear in the novel?¡±
The question was normal. I would also be curious if I was in Lee Jihye¡¯s shoes. I took my time to recall the description of Lee Jihye.
Admiral Lee Jihye. The girl who pulled out her sword to protect herpanions. Her pride was strong but she was more affectionate than anyone else. Her heart was always revealed on her face.
I tried not to touch on Lee Jihye¡¯s wounds as much as possible as I carefully chose the details to tell her. Lee Jihye had a suspicious look on her face as she opened her mouth. ¡°It¡¯s so good that I feel bad. There was that much detail?¡±
¡°The novel is a bit long.¡±
¡°Even so... Oh, how do you remember all the details?¡±
¡°I read it a lot.¡±
¡°Still, to remember it so meticulously... I feel bad.¡±
This was my only answer. ¡°I was a middle school student at the time and my only hobby was reading the novel.¡±
¡°Ahjussi was a middle school student? Puhahat, then you were younger than me when you first read it? That¡¯s ridiculous.¡±
¡°Everyone was 15 years old once.¡±
[The constetion ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is raising his head.]
Lee Jihyeughed like she heard something interesting. ¡°That¡¯s right. I was also 15 once.¡±
Lee Jihye looked down at her sheath with nostalgic eyes. A small keyring was hanging from the sheath. I read Ways of Survival so I naturally knew the identity of the keyring.
¡°Are you okay?¡±
¡°...Do you know about this keyring?¡±
¡°A little bit.¡±
¡°There is nothing private.¡±
The keyring Lee Jihye always carried with her was given by her friend who died in the first scenario.
The sentences of Ways of Survival passed through my mind.
¡¸ ¡°Jihye. Kill me. It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡¹
Lee Jihye was the wounded Sword Demon. Even if her characterization changed one day, this face wouldn¡¯t change. Lee Jihye was a person who never forgot the sins shemitted.
¡°Do you know what happens to me at the end of the novel?¡±
Lee Jihye¡¯s words caused a story I had long forgotten to appear in my mind. I knew the ending of Ways of Survival.
Jingle.
Then a bill ringing entered my ears. It was a sound from the safety device I ced beforehand. The sound of the bell soon continued in a horror-like rhythm, as if to rip off my ears.
Jingle. Jingle. Jingle. Jingle.
Jingle. Jingle. Jingle. Jingle.
¡°Ahjussi.¡±
Something wasing this way. It wasn¡¯t a goblin or orc based on the interval of the ringing. It was a much stronger monster. I gauged the direction of the rising smoke and said, ¡°You will live to the end and be happy. It was the same in the novel.¡±
It was a lie. However, the novel was a lie in the first ce. I lived so far to make my lies a reality.
¡°Run towards the vige. I will buy time.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to! Ahjussi, you run away! Aren¡¯t you weaker than me?¡±
¡°You can¡¯t deal with this monster. It isn¡¯t possible even if we join forces.¡±
Lee Jihye was only able to deal with goblins with her current abilities. I spoke calmly, ¡°Go to the vige quickly and get help. That way, both you and I can survive. You can move faster than me.¡±
¡°But...¡±
¡°Hurry! I have some way to avoid it!¡±
¡°Really?¡±
¡°Of course. Don¡¯t you know who I am?¡±
Lee Jihye nodded as if relieved. ¡°Hold on for a while! I will bring back help!¡±
A few seconds after Lee Jihye disappeared, a giant green monster appeared in the forest. It was a monster over three metres with a terrifying atmosphere.
Damn, it was a troll, not an orc. I was lying when I said there was a way to avoid it. The entire party couldn¡¯t cope with this troll. It would be good if they weren¡¯t wiped out.
Grrr...
The troll found me and revealed horrible teeth as itughed. The troll¡¯s iron club was covered with fragments of the constetions, as if it had already broken the heads of numerous constetions.
I smiled bitterly and gripped the sword. I would probably die from just one hit of that club. At least, if there was no one to help me.
Grrrrrrr!
In the first ce, this ind was impossible to attack in a normal way. As always, there were hidden pieces in impossible scenarios. It was time for them to show up, ording to the original novel.
The moment the troll¡¯s growl soared into the sound, a piercing sound was heard. A familiar de was piercing the belly of the troll. It was Lee Jihye.
¡°I knew this would happen. You are a liar.¡±
¡¸ The admiral doesn¡¯t abandon her colleagues, even if it means dying. ¡¹
This operation was possible from the beginning because I believed in Lee Jihye. The angry troll drew out the sword and made a strange noise. The wound was restored in an instant. It threw the sword and Lee Jihyeughed from beside me.
¡°Let¡¯s die together, Ahjussi.¡±
I saw the troll running towards us andughed too. Lee Jihye wouldn¡¯t die. The history of her life would eventually save her. The moment the troll¡¯s club fell, a sound was heard from the forest.
...It came. A silver sword split apart the darkness. I watched carefully. The pure sword that wasn¡¯t an ether de cut the fearsome troll¡¯s neck like a toy.
¡¸ The favourite themes of the first generation forgotten people are love, friendship and romance. ¡¹
First generation. One of the oldest stories in the Star Stream. The master of that story was talking. ¡°Sacrificing your lives for your colleagues? This is the first time in 381 years.¡±
I looked closer and it wasn¡¯t only one person.
¡°There was no need to speak. They are such friends.¡±
¡°Really, there are still good stories out there.¡±
Theughing voices spread out. Something was strange. This wasn¡¯t in the original novel. Then I saw the faces of those walking out of the darkness.
¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Has it only been three years in outside world time?¡±
Surprisingly, it was someone I already knew.
Chapter 360 - Episode 67 - Forgotten People of the Scenario (5)
Chapter 360: Episode 67 ¨C Forgotten People of the Scenario (5)
A handsome beard and thick eyebrows. The thick lips that showed a unique, upright personality. The man who appeared from the darkness was exactly the same as when I met him three years ago.
¡°Goryeo¡¯s First Sword?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t know we would meet in such a ce, Kim Dokja.¡±
A constetion of the Korean Penins, Cheok Jungyeong was on Reincarnation Ind.
***
I was indebted to Cheok Jungyeong from Dark Castle to the Demon King Selection. I swallowed down my pleasure. Cheok Jungyeong was a good constetion but his purpose here was unclear. It was time to look at the other person¡¯s purpose. It would be difficult if his purpose conflicted with me.
¡°I was worried because you haven¡¯t been sending any indirect messages.¡±
¡°I have been refraining from broadcasting on the stream for a while.¡±
On closer examination, Cheok Jungyeong¡¯s entire body seemed much more refined than before. Something shed in my mind. ¡°Did youe to the ind before the start of the scenario?¡±
¡°It¡¯s been 15 years already.¡±
15 years? At this moment, a sentence of Ways of Survival rose.
¡¸ Reincarnation Ind is located in the Dark Fault. ¡¹
It might be three years in Earth hour but time within the Dark Fault was a few times faster. In fact, Kyrgios and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint had also been here. At present, the time density of this ind was around five times that of Earth.
¡°The reason you are here...¡±
Cheok Jungyeong shook his head. ¡°It might be an outer god but I still wasn¡¯t able to withstand it.¡±
There was a scene ying in my head. It was three years ago, the day when the 73rd Demon Realm was destroyed. Cheok Jungyeong lost his incarnation body while dealing with the disaster.
The prideful Cheok Jungyeong was greatly shocked that there was such an existence in the world. Thus, it was even more amazing. The other constetions had their egos crumble at the mere sight of the disaster while Cheok Jungyeong was still trying to tear down the disaster.
Perhaps this was the theme of the constetion called Goryeo¡¯s First Sword.
¡°I felt that I had to train again from the very basics. This ind is the perfect ce for such training.¡±
Cheok Jungyeong spoke while looking at the people moving through the bushes in front. They had good mobility even in this hot and sticky forest. They were probably the forgotten people of this ind.
One of them noticed my gaze and walked over. ¡°You managed to survive. Usually, the constetions from the outside die in less than an hour. Ah, apart from that monster ¡®Cheok¡¯ over there.¡±
¡°Thank you for your help. I am Kim Dokja.¡±
I deliberately didn¡¯t say my modifier. Among the first generation forgotten people, there were many people who considered the modifier to be pretentious.
The manughed as if he liked my answer. ¡°I have long forgotten my name. That is what everyone does when they¡¯re here.¡±
The man spoke and moved ahead. The forgotten. They were those who forgot their names after numerous reincarnations. However, they didn¡¯t really forget their names. It was just that reminiscing on the past became too painful.
An old scent was felt from the bodies of the forgotten who were opening the path. A very strong, curved and hardened story.
Lee Jihye whispered, ¡°How are they so strong?¡±
It was natural to be curious. The forgotten people themselves didn¡¯t feel particrly great. Yet they used a single strike to kill the troll we struggled with.
¡°The quantity and quality of their stories seem better than us...¡±
¡°No matter how good the stories, it is useless if they can¡¯t take advantage of it properly.¡±
Lee Jihye stared at me with questioning eyes. The moment I tried to speak, I was interrupted by Cheok Jungyeong.
¡°He¡¯s right. Even if there are 10 swords, humans could only hold two swords properly.¡±
Goryeo¡¯s First Sword. His body was a sword, his heart was a sword, his story was a sword.
Lee Jihye looked down at her hands like she gained profound enlightenment. In the meantime,
Cheok Jungyeong stared at me with a deep gaze. ¡°You have collected many great stories. You won¡¯t fall behind the top rated constetions right now.¡±
¡°You¡¯re overpraising me.¡±
¡°By the way... you¡¯ve umted too much in a short period of time. Do you know what state you are in right now?¡±
I closed my mouth. In these eyes, I was currently in a very precarious state.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is aiming for your incarnation body.]
[The story ¡®Person who Opposes the Miracle¡¯ is doubting your qualifications!]
[The story ¡®One Who Killed an Outer God¡¯ is dissatisfied with you.]
It was the same in practice. I raised the giant stories wrong and almost had my life snatched away by the stories. If that happened, I would be the same as the constetions I met at the Duet Between Good and Evil.
¡°Don¡¯t forget. After an existence creates a story, the story creates an existence.¡±
I already knew. I came to this ind knowing it.
¡°I will keep that in mind.¡±
Not long afterwards, we arrived at the vige.
[You have arrived in the first safe zone!]
[You have met the conditions to clear the main scenario of the 133rd Small Ind!]
[You have met the conditions to clear the hidden scenario!]
[You have received additionalpensation for killing apetitor.]
[Additionalpensation is being prepared.]
The vige was peaceful. After passing through the main entrance, there was a lifestyle that revolved around a huge hearth in the centre. It was different from city life.
A stay at home woman in scruffy clothes was feeing a cow while a bearded man was doingundry. There were also children who seemed younger than Gilyoung and Yoosung. It was an incredibly rural vige where the first generation forgotten people lived.
¡¸ (...It is really amazing here.) ¡¹
¡®Yoo Sangah-ssi?¡¯
¡¸ (Ah, sorry. Did I surprise you?) ¡¹
¡®It¡¯s fine. Is it okay to talk now?¡¯
¡¸ (Yes, it is break time. The wall is also busy.) ¡¹
For some reason, Yoo Sangah¡¯s voice felt closer than usual. The Fourth Wall had be thinner, making her activities more convenient.
¡¸ (This vige is like a mural that many artisans painted over the years...) ¡¹
I was inwardly amazed as I heard Yoo Sangah trying to find the right words. It was apparently ordinary but as Yoo Sangah put it, the reality of this vige was never ordinary.
I might be a visitor but I could tell by the sight of the residents living their lives as usual. They looked bored, as if they had seen this hundred of thousands of times.
[Shit, I almost died.]
[This crazy ind... are they really orcs?]
I looked up at the true voices and saw a group of constetions appearing at the opposite entrance of the vige.
I quickly looked at the faces of the group. Unfortunately, the faces of my party members couldn¡¯t be seen. Instead, I saw an unpleasant guy.
[Demon king ¡®Eyes that See the Forbidden¡¯ is looking at you.]
The demon king with fiery eyes in the shape of a ck panther. He was one of those I saw when I visited the 1863rd round.
The master of the 61st Demon Realm. Eyes that See the Forbidden, uros. He was the one who died from Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s fist in the 1863rd round.
The demon king followed me to this ind. uros stared this way with strange eyes before turning his attention elsewhere. It was obvious even without reading his face. He probably judged that this wasn¡¯t a favourable ce to fight.
Cheok Jungyeong standing next to me would¡¯ve surely noticed it. I nced at Cheok Jungyeong beside me. ¡°What did you have to say?¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±
...They were really strong and reliably shoulders. I was envious.
[Is this the end of the scenario? Hey, NPCs. Guide me!]
The constetions entered and the vige became a bit crowded. One of the residents frowned at the turmoil urring everywhere and responded. ¡°This is the end of the small ind.¡±
[There is no sincerity in your words. Well, the scenarios are all created by the dokkaebis.]
Now that there were no monsters, the constetions were regaining their spirit.
[The story ¡®Weak Against the Strong and Strong Against the Weak¡¯ has started.]
The voices of the stories were flowing from the eyes of the constetions. As expected, Cheok Jungyeong was correct.
There were no exceptions, whether they were constetions or incarnations. If we didn¡¯t live the stories properly, the stories would live instead of us.
[Are there no additional rewards here?]
[Should we search through the houses? There might be some hidden pieces.]
The residents felt tired and replied in a voice that found the situation troublesome.
¡°There are no such things. The small ind scenario is over. Those who want to go to the next scenario should enter the hearth in the centre of the vige. It is the portal.¡±
Some of the constetions frowned at the cold tone and Demon King uros stepped forward.
[The NPCs are really noisy. It is up to us when we want to leave here.]
Perhaps he was looking for an opponent to go against as he suddenly raised his status.
[I have found a vige like this. It isn¡¯t bad to rest for a while. Bring out some drinks and food! This body is very hungry.]
The violent words caused the other constetions tough. Lee Jihye frowned and came forward. ¡°That¨D¡±
¡°Just wait.¡±
Perhaps there was no room for us to intervene in this fight.
In fact, the vigers weren¡¯t fazed at all by the threat of the demon king. The man washing hisundry yawned with boredom. ¡°NPC, always NPC... These days, the kids think of life as a game.¡±
An old man carrying a Korean A-frame said. ¡°It is a strange fate today... I have no enthusiasm and passion.¡±
The woman feeding the cows also added some words. ¡°Spit. This is why I was against opening our ind. No matter how urgent the need for coins, do I have to watch these snobs entering? It is better to raise a few cows.¡±
The flowing words were heard clearly. The situation headed in a strange direction and the constetions started to notice.
uros let out a roar. [Why are these group of bugs...?]
The little boy sucking candy in front of them said, ¡°You are the bugs who haven¡¯t lived for a thousand years.¡±
uros¡¯ mouth dropped open. He was the one who reigned over the 64th Demon Realm and it was natural for him to react like this. It must be the first insult he had ever received. A wicked expression shed across uros¡¯ face.
[The scenario didn¡¯t tell me not to kill NPCs.]
The demon king let out a powerful status. The moment he roared and revealed his fangs, all the residents of the vige gazed at uros in unison.
The man doing theundry. The woman cing food and water in the trough. The old man carrying the A-frame.
It looked like the whole world froze. The constetions sensed the strange air and faltered. The same was true for uros. He was a fairly keen demon king and must¡¯ve noticed something weird. Perhaps he was thinking this way.
¡¸ What the hell are these guys? ¡¹
However, he couldn¡¯t back down here. His ego as a demon king wouldn¡¯t tolerate being suppressed by the inhabitants of a small vige. In the end, uros chose the one who looked the weakest.
[Die!]
uros¡¯ ws aimed towards the little boy eating the candy. However, this was apletely wrong choice.
¡¸ He clenched his fists. Then the fist was there. ¡¹
Something exploded. The fragments of an incarnation body scattered through the air like fireworks. uros¡¯ incarnation body lost his head and slowly sank to the ground.
[Eyes that See the Forbidden has been eliminated from the scenario.]
The constetions witnessed the death of the demon king in front of them and withdrew with a shudder.
[W-What? This...]
The residents showed little response to the astonishment of the constetions. It was a serene atmosphere like no one was holding a funeral for the bug. The man started theundry again and the woman gave water to a cow. The old man shook his head and cutting at a tree.
The kid sucking the candy dered, ¡°Get out of the way. I don¡¯t want to see you anymore.¡±
The pale incarnations and constetions fled through the portal. In any case, the small ind scenario had ended. There was no reason to hesitate anymore. After disappearing through the portal, there were less than 10 constetions remaining.
[The huge story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ wants you to go to the next scenario!]
From the moment I faced this child, my giant stories reacted violently. Maybe they noticed something. I smiled bitterly and approached the child who killed the demon king.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is threatening you!]
I didn¡¯t know that uros would be so helpful. I was relieved to find what I had been looking for.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ deres that it will destroy your incarnation body if you keep approaching him!]
I ignored its words and continued forward. The swirling giant story was emitting threatening air currents. I was annoyed by the childish story who thought it was a provocation against him.
¡°What? Do you want to be like that guy?¡±
¡°One Invincible Fist, Yoo Hosung. ¡°You taught the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and Kyrgios.¡±
The expression of the child changed. The inhabitants of this ce were all ¡®reincarnators.¡¯ Their age couldn¡¯t be read from their appearance. The child in front of me was a reincarnator who had lived for at least 10,000 years. The child narrowed his eyes and asked me. ¡°Who are you? What is your rtionship with those children?¡±
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is revealing its teeth to the presence in front of you.]
There was another reason I came to Reincarnation Ind. Based on the future battles with myth-grade constetions, I had to obtain something from this ce.
I swallowed the rising blood and spoke in a congested voice. ¡°One Invincible Fist, please teach me ¡®Story Control¡¯.¡±
Chapter 361 - Inaudible Words (1)
Chapter 361: Episode 68 ¨C Inaudible Words (1)
(TL Note: This is the first chapter that uses female terms when referring to Jang Hayoung. Perhaps it is because it is from Jang Hayoung¡¯s perspective? Jang Hayoung¡¯s gender is still ambigious to me but I will be using female terms for her here).
Jang Hayoung moved through the forest of the small ind and was reminded of Kim Dokja¡¯s words.
-You are the hidden card of this scenario.
Before the scenario started, Kim Dokja had called Jang Hayoung separately. Jang Hayoung suddenly heard those words and was embarrassed.
¡®...He hasn¡¯t been interested in me so far.¡¯
Jang Hayoung was sad. No matter how much time he spent with the other party members, Kim Dokja neglected Jang Hayoung. Three years after the end of the Revolutionary Game or the Demon King Selection. Jang Hayoung had long felt alienated. It felt like she had been excluded from all the main scenarios.
-Why didn¡¯t you ask me to join Kim Dokja¡¯s Company?
This was the most disturbing thing. She wanted to ask. Why didn¡¯t Kim Dokja invite her to join the neb? Perhaps she was forgotten...
[The Unidentified Wall says, ¡°Don¡¯t trust Kim Dokja too much.¡±]
¡°Shut up.¡±
[The Unidentified Wall says, ¡°He is just using you.]
Maybe this really was the case. Kim Dokja was the most practical person Jang Hayoung knew. Nevertheless, Jang Hayoung replied, ¡°Kim Dokja isn¡¯t such a person. Why do you hate Kim Dokja?¡±
[The Unidentified Wall asks, ¡°Do you want to be friends with him?¡±]
¡°It would be good if we were friendly... We haven¡¯t talked muchtely.¡±
[The ¡®Unidentified Wall¡¯ asks, ¡°Why? Do you like him?¡±]
¡°I like who I like.¡± Jang Hayoung replied bluntly and bit her lips. ¡°My favourite is the Demon King of Salvation.¡±
[The Unidentified Wall is looking at you. ¡°That¡¯s him.¡±]
¡°It is different! In any case, I just want to get along with him.¡±
[The Unidentified Wall is sighing. ¡°Even if he kills you one day?¡±]
¡°Why are you saying such ominous things?¡±
The Unidentified Wall had never liked Kim Dokja. It was from the first time it met Kim Dokja all the way to the present.
¡°Don¡¯t get in my way. Last time, I didn¡¯t get a giant story because of you.¡±
The giant story that told of the victory in Gigantomachia, Torch That Swallowed the Myth. Jang Hayoung had watched through the screen and was overwhelmed, moved and finally sad.
She thought she should¡¯ve been there. She should¡¯ve hurled herself into that zing me. She should¡¯ve been part of the giant story. Yet she couldn¡¯t.
[The Unidentified Wall says, ¡°Trusting people will only make you disappointed. You have suffered enough in yourst life.¡±]
She had no confidence. Would the torch have gone out if she jumped in? What if the giant story was ruined with her involvement? What if Kim Dokja didn¡¯t want her involvement?
Jang Hayoung was different from the other party members. She was a resident of the Demon World and came to Earth. She wasn¡¯t apanion who fought with Kim Dokja since the first scenario. Thus, she couldn¡¯t say that she wanted to go together with him.
There was an insurmountable wall between them. It was a wall that couldn¡¯t be reached no matter how she tried. Jang Hayoung didn¡¯t have a history to share with them.
¡°This way! Just a bit more!¡±
¡°Heewon-ssi, please give me Gilyoung. I¡¯ll take him.¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay! I still have enough stamina left.¡±
Voices were heard in the distant bushes. Jang Hayoung reflexively hid herself behind a tree. A wounded man and woman were running while carrying a child on each of their backs. They were people Jang Hayoung knew.
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung. The two of them were being chased by monsters. They were followed by half a dozen orcs and two trolls.
Based on the direction, they seemed to be moving across the field o the source of the smoke. It was the wrong choice. The direction they were heading in had more fearsome monsters than orcs and trolls. If this continued, they would be wiped out.
Jang Hayoung reflexively clenched her fists and got up. To be exact, she tried to get up.
[The Unidentified Wall says, ¡°Don¡¯t save them.¡±]
¡°What? What nonsense is this?¡±
[The Unidentified Wall says, ¡°If they die here, you can be Kim Dokja¡¯s only friend.]
At almost the same time, the running Jung Heewon tripped over a stone and fell. Jung Heewon and Lee Gilyoung fell onto the ground. The orc close behind them raised a ive. It was toote to evade.
Jung Heewon shouted, ¡°Gilyoung! Run!¡±
Jang Hayoung looked at the falling ive and thought. Maybe the Unidentified Wall was right. If these people died here...
-Thank you.
The conversation she had with Kim Dokja beforeing here shed in her mind.
-For what?
-The words you said at that time.
Kim Dokja muttered with his usual distant face.
-You said it. Even if the other side of the wall can¡¯t hear it... still, leave something on the wall.
Jang Hayoung had wondered. Did she say that? When?
...Was she drunk?
Kim Dokja continued.
-Thus, I¡¯m doing it. As you said, one day somebody might look at the traces on the wall.
Jang Hayoung could see Jung Heewon closing her eyes as the ive fell. Lee Hyunsung was shouting something while Jung Heewon covered Lee Gilyoung. By the time she came to her senses, Jang Hayoung was already running.
[Your new attribute is preparing to bloom.]
Her fist stretched out. The orc¡¯s ive broke like straw before her transcendent fist. Jung Heewon stared up at her with wide eyes.
Jang Hayoung looked down at this person and thought. ¡®Fool...¡¯
Kim Dokja wouldn¡¯t recognize their feelings. The Demon King of Salvation was a demon king, not a god. He would have no interest in what they did. However, just because it couldn¡¯t bemunicated didn¡¯t mean their hearts weren¡¯t there.
Jang Hayoung stood as if guarding the party members and said, ¡°Leave it to me from now on.¡±
It wasn¡¯t toote to make history from now on.
She still had a lot of time.
***
I breathed out and opened my eyes.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint stage 3 has been turned off.]
[Exiting the third person viewpoint.]
Fortunately, Jang Hayoung met with some of ourpanions. I was nervous that she would be dyed but luckily, it went ording to n. They met with Jang Hayoung and now they would be safe.
I raised my stiff body and reconfirmed the message in front of me.
[You have earned the right to use the skill Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint as a reward for clearing the hidden scenario.]
It wasn¡¯t possible to use skills on Reincarnation Ind. The story was different afterpleting the hidden scenario, Survival Game.
[The exclusive skill ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ is fixed at the lowest level.]
[A system error has urred. There is no level concept for this skill.]
[This skill isn¡¯t affected by the first generation probability.]
At first, I thought it would be better to get the license for Bookmark. Then I thought about it and Bookmark was a skill that borrowed other people¡¯s skills.
In other words, if I got a license for Bookmark but no additional license for the other person¡¯s skill, Bookmark would be useless.
It was an ind with too many constraints but it couldn¡¯t be helped. The thing I needed to go on this ind was more important than skills.
I heard Lee Jihye¡¯s voice in the distance. ¡°Great Great Master!¡±
It was already the second day. Lee Jihye was chasing One Invincible Fist Yoo Hosung around. ¡°Great Great Master! Please tell me that story!¡±
It was the same with Yoo Hosung gave a cow food.
¡°Just one phrase! I can really learn well.¡±
Lee Jihye annoyed Yoo Hosung even when doing hisundry or cutting firewood.
¡°How did you do that yesterday? You stretched out your fist and his head exploded!¡±
Of course, Yoo Hosung didn¡¯t say anything. I thought it wouldn¡¯t be easy to learn Story Control. it took a long time for Kyrgios and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint to learn this technique.
Story Control. It was the name of a pure technique, not a skill or stigma. There were many exnations for it in Ways of Survival but I didn¡¯t know it precisely because there were many voices. Thus, I was actually a bit worried.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is growling.]
...I had to do something about this brat soon.
It was this evening that Yoo Hosung first became irritated. ¡°Stop chasing me. In addition, why I am your Great Great Master?¡±
¡°Well... you are the master of my master¡¯s teacher!¡±
I smiled as I heard Lee Jihye¡¯s words. It was true. Lee Jihye¡¯s master was Yoo Jonghyuk, Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s master was the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint¡¯s master was One Invincible Fist Yoo Hosung.
Yoo Hosung stared at Lee Jihye and sighed. ¡°It isn¡¯t something you can learn. Those like you who are ustomed to the system won¡¯t see any effect, even if you train for 100 days.¡±
¡°You taught Great Master!¡±
¡°They were transcendents without any sponsors. They are different from you.¡±
It was a sober refusal.
¡°You never know! I¡¯ll do exactly as you tell me!¡±
¡°Your position is wrong from the beginning. This isn¡¯t something you can learn just be doing as I say. Have you felt nothing while following me for two days?¡±
Yoo Jonghyuk¡¯s great master (they even had the same surname) gave an unlucky smile. In fact, I knew. Yoo Hosung was testing us the whole time.
¡°Haven¡¯t you heard anything here?¡±
Lee Jihye and I looked at the surrounding scenery at the same time. The man cleaning up the pig¡¯s poop stared at me, like he was asking what I was looking at.
[The story ¡®Master of Cleaning Defecation¡¯ is determined to live happily today.]
The woman harvesting the crops was drinking rice wine while humming a song.
[The story ¡®Master of Labour¡¯ is humming while helping its master¡¯s work.]
The old man carrying the axe sighed and sat down on the ground.
[The story ¡®Millennium Woodcutter¡¯ is saying that young people these days don¡¯t know how to respect adults.]
There were no great stories. They were stories made by cleaning up animal poop, singing while working or cutting wood. These stories were different from other stories that I knew. There was a strange harmony in the stories.
They felt different from the stories seeking power or the stories that tried to dominate their master. An ensemble of one story and one being created over many years.
Yoo Hosung said, ¡°It takes 10 years, 100 years, 1000 years to obtain only one sentence. Those are real stories.¡±
Real stories. It was an interesting expression.
¡°Don¡¯t you have stories? Train well in that method. It is useless to learn other stories now.¡±
¡°But... I can¡¯t be as strong as you.¡±
¡°That depends on what you do. The important thing is to look at the story correctly.¡±
¡°Look at it correctly?¡±
¡°A story that is too big makes it impossible to know the direction of the story.¡±
I had heard such cryptic words before. Was it from Lycaon when learning Way of the Wind? I had this thought and suddenly started to worry. Could I learn Story Control when I couldn¡¯t even learn Way of the Wind? I was troubled when hearing people talk about talent.
Yoo Hosung sighed and opened his mouth again. ¡°Phew, these damn kids. I¡¯ll tell you just once.¡±
At these words, Lee Jihye sat in front of him like a demure student. I also approached and listened to his story. ¡°What do you think is a story?¡±
Lee Jihye rolled her eyes and answered, ¡°Um... a tale?¡±
¡°Pitiful.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t just scold me. Let me know!¡±
¡°I have to exin from the basics.¡± Yoo Hosung clicked his tongue and raised his left hand. ¡°What do you call this?¡±
¡°...Left hand?¡±
Yoo Hosung raised his opposite hand. Then what about this?¡±
¡°Right hand.¡±
¡°Then what about when they are joined together?¡±
Lee Jihye pondered for a moment before answering. ¡°Two hands?¡±
Then the story replied on behalf of Yoo Hosung.
[The story ¡®Ambidextrous Boxer¡¯ is having fun.]
¡°Yes, this leads to the words ¡®two hands.¡¯ Many people call it a ¡®rtionship¡¯. They perceive it as a simr form.¡±
Lee Jihye had a nk expression. It was an expression that showed she didn¡¯t understand. Yoo Hosung spoke like he knew. ¡°If so, what would you call this?¡±
Yoo Hosung grabbed the twig on the ground with his left hand and asked, ¡°One is the left hand and one is a twig. What would you call them if they are tied together?¡±
¡°Um... a left hand holding a twig? Or left hand and twig?¡±
I felt a cool sensation.
¡°It isn¡¯t easy. Do you know why?¡±
Lee Ji-hye shook her head. Yoo Hosung said, ¡°There is no correct rtionship between the two. Whether it is left hand and twig or left hand holding a twig, it isn¡¯t something that falls naturally. It is awkward.¡±
Yoo Hosung held the twig like a dart and threw it at a tree far away. The twig flew quickly and stuck into a tree. It looked natural, like it was originally part of the tree.
¡°It is the story that narrows that awkward distance. It connects the most distant things in the world. If you want to control the story, you have to make sure to understand the story.¡±
It was a seemingly confusing exnation. Lee Jihye stared at the twig on the tree nkly. I carefully picked up a stone that was rolling on the ground. The power to connect the most distant things in the world... it was difficult.
Yoo Hosung saw my actions and clicked his tongue. ¡°Stupid guy. I just gave an example. A rtionship can¡¯t be made and a story generated by holding something! It takes a long time to narrow the distance between the materials and yourself...!¡±
The next moment, something strange happened.
[The full probability of the first generation is responding to your actions.]
[The story material has an affinity for you.]
The stone in the hand looked up at me in a pleasant manner.
[The story ¡®The Stone and I¡¯ has begun.]
Yoo Hosung stared at me with a dumbfounded expression and his lips trembled. ¡°You, what the hell are you?¡±
Chapter 362 - Inaudible Words (2)
Chapter 362: Episode 68 ¨C Inaudible Words (2)
The stone in my hand trembled like it was alive.
[You have acquired a new story!]
[The story ¡®The Stone and I¡¯ wants to continue.]
It was a first for me. I just touched the stone and a story urred? There were all sorts ofplicated hypotheses in my head but I didn¡¯t have an answer.
[The probability of the first generation is around you.]
[Currently, the Fourth Wall is in a very thin state.]
The only doubts were these two system messages. Yoo Hosung stared at me with suspicious eyes. ¡°I see, you are a reincarnator. Is that right?¡±
I
t seemed he had the wrong hypothesis about me.
¡°Were you stoned to death in your previous life? That¡¯s why the stone is...¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Oh, you¡¯re a stone head. That¡¯s why the stone¨D¡±
I picked up a branch thrown by Yoo Hosung.
[The material of the story is sensitive to you.]
[The story ¡®Kim Dokja Likes a Branch¡¯ has begun!]
I nced towards the dazed Yoo Hosung who had a gaping mouth. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that my head isn¡¯t that bad.¡±
By my side, Lee Jihye red at me. Yoo Hosung shouted with wide eyes.
¡°H-Hold this!¡±
I epted the flower that Yoo Hosung gave me.
[The story material has an affinity for you.]
[The story ¡®Kim Dokja with a Flower¡¯ has begun.]
Yoo Hosung continued to give me things and I epted all of them.
[The story material has an affinity for you.]
[The story material has an affinity for you.]
My surroundings were filled with singing stones and flowers. After much agonizing, Yoo Hosung made a decision.
¡°...Grab me.¡±
¡°Where do you mean?¡±
¡°Here, grab me here.¡±
Yoo Hosung¡¯s eyes were zing. I understood his anger. The ¡®real stories¡¯ that took 10, 100 or even 1000 years to build up were easily obtained by me... he was bound to feel like this.
¡°If you wish... please excuse me.¡±
I sighed and ced a hand on Yoo Hosung¡¯s shoulder.
...Why was this small shoulder so hard?
Yoo Hosung said, ¡°There is no change. Is it limited to inanimate objects? Hrmm...¡±
[The character ¡®Yoo Hosung¡¯ shows a small liking towards you.]
The shocked Yoo Hosung withdrew from my hand. ¡°W-What is this?¡±
The next second, I heard a message in my ears.
[The story ¡®Person Who is Loved by All¡¯ has been acquired!]
***
It was the other residents of the vige who showed interest in me while Yoo Hosung was in shock.
¡°It has been a long time since I¡¯ve seen this crazy talent.¡±
¡°Huh, this is a rare friend... did youe from the outside?¡±
¡°Are you interested in the cattle feed?¡±
I epted the cattle feed that the woman gave me in a dazed mood.
Human Kim Dokja. This was the first time I received such attention in my almost 30 years of living. I... was talented?
¡¸ (Dokja-ssi is definitely talented. You¡¯ve been reading this novel for over ten years.) ¡¹
Perhaps her librarian¡¯s work had been busytely because Yoo Sangah sounded tired.
¡®Is it rted to reading the novel?¡¯
¡¸ (I can¡¯t think of anything else but that.) ¡¹
¡®This has never happened in the meantime...;
Come to think of it, that wasn¡¯t true. There were some characters who had good feelings towards me as soon as they saw me.
¡¸ (Maybe it is because the wall is thinner?) ¡¹
I heard Yoo Sangah¡¯s words and thought it was possible. I didn¡¯t know the exact reason but it was possible the failure of the Fourth Wall had closed the distance between the world and me. Then how far did this power apply?
Looking back, Lee Jihye seemed to have her own sense of pride as she muttered to herself while holding a branch in her hand. I poked her with my finger.
¡°Eek!¡± The startled Lee Jihye screamed. ¡°Ahjussi, are you crazy? The finger that touched poop...!¡±
It didn¡¯t work. Now, let¡¯s see...
I poked the shoulder of Cheok Jungyeong sitting next to me.
¡°Is this a challenge?¡±
¡°That¡¯s not it.¡±
...This didn¡¯t work either. Then what were the principles behind it? No matter how I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t figure out how my talent worked.
¡°It is really fucking talent. I can¡¯t exin it any other way.¡±
The one who spoke with Yoo Hosung, who had been preupied with his thoughts for a long time.
Ferocious anger was seething on his face.
Yoo Hosung approached me with a child¡¯s stride. ¡°You might not know but I hate strange fates the most. In particr, I hate those like you who don¡¯t try hard and easily obtain something.
One Invincible Fist Yoo Hosung was such a person. He liked people with a persistent spirit and cared for those who strove to ovee their insurmountable talent. In Yoo Hosung¡¯s eyes, a man like me was a criminal who would destroy the first generation with talent.
¡°For the first time today, I am going to break my belief.¡±
Huh?
¡°I will teach you Story Control.¡±
***
I didn¡¯t know why Yoo Hosung changed his mind. The only certainty was that he discovered some possibilities from me. As if to leave a lifelong disciple, Yoo Hosung troubled me day and night.
¡°Phenomena and truth aren¡¯t the same. Using a story properly means understanding itsnguage.¡±
¡°Solid ground is needed to leap into abstraction. That is the details of the stories you have built up.¡±
...Etc. There were so many ghostly words that I thought it would be better to read Ways of Survival again.
I ate a tangerine that the vigers gave me and thought hard about it.
¡°Stupid guy. It is a face that doesn¡¯t understand anything.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t try to understand it if you don¡¯t know. Not everyone will learn control in the same way.¡±
¡°What are you saying?¡±
It was like I was struck.
¡°It is your problem from the beginning. Youck respect for the elderly.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°You must learn how to listen first.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think I can listen better than this.¡±
¡°I¡¯m telling you to listen to the words of your story!¡±
...Words of the story? Was this mentioned in Ways of Survival?
¡°You already have the talent tomunicate with stories. It is the talent to listen to their emotions and words.¡±
It was true. I didn¡¯t know when but I was able to read the stories, just like they were people.
¡°However, I want to control the stories, not chat.¡±
¡°The stories aren¡¯t controble.¡±
The one saying this was the person who taught the method to control stories.
¡°Can you control your thoughts?¡±
¡°Of course I can...¡±
¡°Then don¡¯t think of anything for five minutes.¡±
I nodded as if it was easy. Don¡¯t think, don¡¯t think...
Damn, I was thinking ¡®don¡¯t think¡¯. I tried hard to escape my thoughts but it wasn¡¯t easy.
In five minutes, many things passed through my head. For example, the probability of Yoo Jonghyuk bing a girl and killing the demon kings or Han Sooyoung suffering from an unknown delirium dering, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for giarizing Kim Dokja at the time¡±...
I raised both hands and surrendered. ¡°...I can¡¯t do it.¡±
¡°You¡¯re a fool.¡±
[The story ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ isughing at you.]
¡°This is what you have to do from today. Listen to the words of the story.¡±
¡°But...¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. No matter how big the story, they are stories that you gained.¡±
Turning away, Yoo Hosung looked like a teacher for the first time.
¡°A story can dominate us but sometimes it tells us the way.¡±
From that day on, I started practicing Story Control. To be precise, it was practice to hear the voices of the story more urately.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is annoyed by your interest.]
The stories were unfamiliar to me but after a day or two, they started to gradually open up. I listened to the voices of the stories that had refrained from expressing their emotions so far.
[The story ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯ says it was very happy at the time.]
The stories told their tales and I heard them. The stories became the memories we umted.
The feeling of pleasure as the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword broke the Absolute Throne. Yes, I really enjoyed it. It was because this was my first story.
[The story ¡®Person who Opposes the Miracle¡¯ says the returnee was really troublesome.
That¡¯s right, the Myung Ilsang bastard was really tricky. I fought with Yoo Jonghyuk and Han Sooyoung and still almost died.
[The story ¡®One Who Hunted the King of Disasters¡¯ misses the taste of the snake wine.]
[The story ¡®One Who Killed an Outer God¡¯ is asking you to remember.]
Every time I heard these words, I was immersed in my memories. On the other hand, it was hard to suppress the urgency if I dyed here for too long.
Han Sooyoung, Yoo Jonghyuk, Anna Croft...
Those who pursued a different ending from me might already be knocking at the door of the next scenario.
[The story ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ says you shouldn¡¯t run away anymore.]
I focused on the story again. From a certain point, the voices of the stories grew and I found it hard to distinguish between reality and the illusion. My sense of space was fading. I couldn¡¯t tell if I was in the story or if I was listening to the story in reality.
[The story ¡®Revolutionary of the Silver Screen¡¯ is hungry for a new revolution.]
Yes, I¡¯m sorry. I neglected you for too long.
[The story ¡®Gourmet Association¡¯s Heretic¡¯ isining of hunger!]
[The story ¡® Miracle Gambler¡¯ wants another big bet.]
In between, dream-like screens passed by.
-Dokja-ssi. We almost died. Do you know?
-Ahjussi!
The voices of the party members were faintly heard from somewhere.
-...Oh, how cheap. You are training alone?
-We will learn quickly! Who can we learn from?
I had a thought while listening to those voices. If this was really a dream, it was a sweet dream.
-...Why am I not getting a story? Dokja hyung got a story from doing this.
-Get your hands off him, Lee Gilyoung.
-You stay away, Shin Yoosung.
In my dream, I heard the children muttering things like ¡®Ahjussi and I¡¯ or ¡®Dokja hyung and Lee Gilyoung¡¯. I didn¡¯t know how they would use such stories even if they did obtain them but...
[The giant story ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯ is looking at your story together.]
Why? I listened to the voices of the children and felt warm. In my dim vision, countless stories were watching the scene with me.
[The story ¡®Person Who is Loved by an Archangel¡¯ likes your stories.]
[The story ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯ is watching the children.]
[The story ¡®Giant¡¯s Liberator¡¯ is looking at the party members with fond eyes.]
All the stories resembled me and I resembled all the stories. If so, that guy alone on the other side was surely part of us.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is turning away from you.]
I spoke to it. ¡®Stop being grumpy ande here.¡¯
There was no answer. The one who threatened other stories with its size was turning its back to us. Its head was drooping like a child reading something.
Maybe I already knew. This was a small child immersed in its own story. Still, such stories couldn¡¯t exist alone.
I spoke carefully to its back. ¡®It looks interesting.¡¯
The Torch That Swallowed the Myth looked up at me and raised its body.
¡¸ You...! ¡¹
The story will a veryrge body red at me. Strangely, I wasn¡¯t afraid of it. This guy was a story. All stories had to flow somewhere.
¡®Where do you want to go?¡¯
It couldn¡¯t easily answer my question and shut its mouth. It probably couldn¡¯t answer. I knew its heart.
¡®Come with me.¡¯
¡¸ ...To where? ¡¹
I slowly opened my mouth and spoke. I wanted all my stories to reach ¡ö¡ö.
The story asked,¡¸ What is at the end of the whole story? ¡¹
¡®I don¡¯t know. Still, at least we won¡¯t be alone.¡¯
[The story ¡®Hell of Eternity¡¯ is looking at you.]
After a while, I felt the stories wrapping around my fingertips. My body floating in the waves of the story gradually became heavy and I slowly opened my eyes.
I couldn¡¯t tell how much time had passed.
My legs were numb. I looked down and saw Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung leaning against them while sleeping. They weren¡¯t stories. They were children with real bodies. I lightly stroked the hair of the children.
[The giant story ¡®Torch That Swallowed the Myth¡¯ is listening to your story.]
Finally, I was ready to leave for the next scenario.
***
At this time, the only survivor of the 331st ind was moving towards the next scenario.
[You have ughtered all participants on the ind.]
[You are the only survivor of the 331st Ind.]
[You are qualified to enter the following scenario.]
A ck coat was pping and the ck Demon Sword shone. Looking at the portal to the next scenario, Yoo Jonghyuk was reminded of the insidious presence he met just beforeing here. The outer god in the third round whose identity was unknown.
-I can¡¯t tell you the full contents of the revtion. It is too much of a breach of probability, even for me. However, I can give this much. This way, it will be a fair fight.
He turned on the smartphone and a text file appeared.
¡º Han Sooyoung ¨C Record of the 1963rd Round (First) ¡»
Yoo Jonghyuk moved towards the portal while opening the first chapter of the story he didn¡¯t know.
TL Note: Due to personal reasons, I have quit and will no longer be tranting Omniscient Reader. A new trantor has already found so there should be no gaps in the chapters, but some terms and stuff might change.
Chapter 363 - – Inaudible Words (3)
Chapter 363: Episode 68 ¨C Inaudible Words (3)
(TL: Hi, everyone. This is the new TLer for this novel, A_Passing_Wanderer. Pretty much all the names of characters introduced so far will be changed to better reflect the official Korean romanisation standard/spellings. Certain technical terms will also be changed to better match that of the Korean terms used, as well. My apologies for any inconvenience caused.)
(If you have any questions, please refer to Wikipedia¡¯s ¡°Revised Romanization of Korean¡± for more details.)
It had been a week since my arrival in the vige.
After all the ¡®Fables¡¯ settled down in their ces, I began preparing for the next scenario right away. (TL: Previous term for ¡®??¡¯ changed from ¡®Story¡¯ to ¡®Fable¡¯.)
¡¸The Isle of Reincarnators is formed around three inds ¨C the ¡®Small Ind¡¯ where the Probability of the 1st generation of Fables is applicable. The ¡®Middle Ind¡¯, where the Probability of the 2nd generation of Fables is applicable. Finally, the ¡®Main Ind¡¯, where the Probability of the 3rd generation of Fables is applicable....¡¹
Unlike how it was in the ¡®Small Ind¡¯, I¡¯d be directly shing against the Constetions from the ¡®Middle Ind¡¯ onwards. Meaning, the beings that managed to survive while breaking past the rather realistic Probability of the 1st generation were waiting for me there.
[The Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, urges you to get a move on.]
As usual, one of the guys remained temperamental, but, well, I figured that I had gained enough control over them by now, anyway. Yu Ho-Seong said this before ¨C Fables would try to control their user, but at the same time, they would also show the person the way forward, too. (TL: Yu Hosung ¡ú Yu Ho-Seong.)
[The Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is waiting for your decision.]
These guys would have to continue existing within me from now on. We¡¯d get to tell new stories and they would shine, as new and different Fables, as well.
¡°Miss Hui-Won, good to see you that you¡¯re unhurt.¡± (TL: Jung Heewon ¡ú Jeong Hui-Won.)
¡°Can¡¯t you change your repertoire of greetings already? I almost died for real this time, you know?¡±
I was told that mypanions arrived around a week after I began my ¡®Fable Control¡¯ training. Apparently, they got lost at the outskirts of the ind and that dyed their arrival somewhat.
I looked around and asked her. ¡°Where is everyone?¡±
¡°They are in training right now.¡±
We walked for a bit and soon, the sight of the kids, Yi Hyeon-Seong, and Jang Ha-Yeong sitting cross-legged on the ground caught my eyes. It seemed that their training wasn¡¯t easy, judging from their current facial expressions. (TL: Lee Hyunsung ¡ú Yi Hyeon-Seong; Jang Hayoung ¡ú Jang Ha-Yeong)
But, that was rather obvious.
Even at the shortest estimation, the ¡®Fable Control¡¯ training would at least need around two months. The Yu Joong-Hyeok from the original story needed to waste over 3 weeks, even with his incredible talent, so..... (TL: Yu Jonghyuk ¡ú Yu Joong-Hyeok)
I quietly observed the Fables of mypanions.
[Fable, ¡®Kim Dok-Ja Company¡¯s Code of Conduct¡¯, is writhing around in pain.]
[Fable, ¡®One who Hears the Monster¡¯s Voice¡¯, is moaning in pain.]
[Fable, ¡®One who Craves for the Trust of his Comrades¡¯, is in great pain.]
Like how I earned my Fables, they too had earned theirs. Going through the same scenarios didn¡¯t mean that we¡¯d automatically earn the exact same Fables.
Their Fables would be different from each other¡¯s because they all possessed different levels of sensibilities.
¡°The flow of time here is slowerpared to other inds, so it¡¯ll be fine to take it easy with your training. You shouldn¡¯t try to rush it. You will be able to fight properly in the Great War of Saints and Demons only after you¡¯vepleted your training, you see.¡± (TL: Constetion and Demon War ¡ú Great War of Saints and Demons)
¡°I understand.¡±
[Fable, ¡®Demon King¡¯s Fanatical Believer¡¯, is singing a song.]
¡¸Oh, oh~, Dok-Ja hyung said it back then. I am the god of the world. Follow me, and you¡¯ll learn the truth of the world~.¡¹
¡°....And when Gil-Yeong wakes up, please tell him this. Something really bad will happen if he continues to acquire twisted Fables.¡± (Lee Gilyoung ¡ú Yi Gil-Yeong)
Jeong Hui-Won broke into a fit of giggles, and I reprimanded her with a slightly more serious tone of voice. ¡°This isn¡¯t a joke, you know.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not joking, either. Mister Dok-Ja, you really need to consciously recognise your position. I¡¯m talking about recognising just what kind of a person you are to these kids.¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Do you think they would¡¯ve made it this far without you, Mister Dok-Ja?¡±
I wordlessly stared at Shin Yu-Seung and Yi Gil-Yeong as they pinched the backs of each other¡¯s hands even during the training itself. These two kids trusted me and were willing toe this far while sharing our imperfect story together. (TL: Shin Yoosung ¡ú Shin Yu-Seung)
[A brand new Fable that had not existed before has begun sprouting within you.]
¡°....It¡¯s the same story for me.¡±
Thest person I looked at was Jang Ha-Yeong. Trickles of cold perspiration soaked her forehead as she maintained the intense battle against her Fables.
¡¸I don¡¯t want to hear it. Honestly, I don¡¯t want to.¡¹
¡¸But, you must hear it. No matter what, you must.¡¹
My ears overheard the Fable¡¯s voiceing out of her. With that, I could guess which Fable Jang Ha-Yeong was watching right now. Most likely, she¡¯d get to awaken a new attribute on this ind. And then, she¡¯d use that as a foundation to be the ¡®King of the Transcenders¡¯. (ED: ¡®Transcendents¡¯ ¡ú ¡®Transcenders¡¯.)
¡°Mister Dok-Ja.¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°Are you aware that you¡¯ve been behaving indifferently only towards Miss Ha-Yeong?¡±
¡°That wasn¡¯t my original intention. Things somehow worked out that way....¡±
¡°That story you told us, shouldn¡¯t you tell that to Miss Ha-Yeong, as well?¡±
The story I told mypanions.... It was quite clear what Jeong Hui-Won referred to in this case.
¡¸This world is constructed with a novel as the basis, and I¡¯m the sole reader who read that novel.¡¹
Currently, I¡¯ve told that story to only a small number of mypanions. Most other people, including Kyrgios and the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, didn¡¯t know this truth. Jang Ha-Yeong was no exception.
I lowered my waist and observed her face a little closer.
¡¸Deep double eyelids, and gently curling golden hair. Even without [Moisture Retention], pale-smooth and soft skin. Slightly plump cheeks, and charming dimples that appear when she smiles. Due to an oddly androgynous atmosphere, her gender is hard to identify with her face alone.¡¹
The descriptions from within the text of Ways of Survival, and thements I had left behind in the past, were alling back to me now. Her appearance that exactly matched my imagination became an indescribable guilt weighing me down.
¡°I¡¯m not sure how much I can be honest with her.¡±
¡°Pardon?¡±
I couldn¡¯t tell Jang Ha-Yeong the truth. I mean, how could I?
Tell her that I created you? That you were born because of myments...?
¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this quite oftentely. Maybe, it wasn¡¯t that the novel I¡¯ve been reading became reality, but that novel was simply a recording of this world....¡±
¡°....What are you suddenly talking about?¡±
Maybe, that was what I¡¯ve been wishing for.
¡¸Just like what the much-younger Kim Dok-Ja had been thinking, a long time ago.¡¹
Jeong Hui-Won looked back at me with a puzzled expression, and I replied with a weak grin.
¡°I like being with you, Miss Hui-Won.¡±
¡°Uhm, yes, me too.¡±
¡°It¡¯s the same story with our otherpanions, as well. For now, that¡¯s as far as my thoughts have gone. I apologise for being selfish like this.¡±
She was lost in a train of thought for a little while but nodded her head soon enough.
¡°Well.... It¡¯s fine. Mister Dok-Ja, you are doing what you want to do, anyway. I understand.¡±
¡°Thank you. Ah, by the way. When ourpanions wake up, please give them this.¡±
¡°And this is....?¡±
¡°It¡¯s the information on the uing scenario.¡±
The memo pad I handed over to Jeong Hui-Won contained information on the ¡®Middle Ind¡¯, our next scenario.
¡°Hang on, Mister Dok-Ja, again you....!¡±
Jeong Hui-Won and her quick wits seemed to have realised why I was handing this thing over to her.
*
¡°I knew that you¡¯d show up around today or so.¡±
I sought out Yu Ho-Seong first before leaving the ¡®Small Ind¡¯. Whatever the case might have been, he taught me the Fable Control, so I wanted to express my gratitude ¨C well, that was a lie. I had an ulterior motive for being here.
¡°May I ask, why did you ept our group?¡±
Yu Ho-Seong frowned deeply after hearing my sudden question.
¡°....It¡¯s just the whims of an old geezer.¡±
It was a rather bizarre sight to see a kid who looked to be ten years old or so refer to himself as a ¡®geezer¡¯, but it wasn¡¯t an improbable spectacle, either. Because, the Invincible Fist Yu Ho-Seong was an existence that had lived far longer than your regr Demon Kings or Archangels, after all.
, known only through legends being passed down. The greatest expert under the heavens in that Murim was none other than Yu Ho-Seong.
¡°If you¡¯re done asking your questions, get out of my sight this instant. I do not wish to look at your ugly mug any longer.¡±
He was putting up the exact same act of driving away one¡¯s guests, just like in the beginning.
¡°Don¡¯t you want toe with us?¡±
¡°What rubbish are you spewing now?¡±
¡°I¡¯m aware that, once the scenario on the ¡®Small Ind¡¯ concludes, you are allowed to advance to the next one. The uing ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ is a scenario like that, after all.¡±
Yu Ho-Seong¡¯s brows greatly quivered, just then.
Even back in the original story, there was a turn where the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ took ce in the Isle of Reincarnators.
¡¸The meeting of the ¡®New¡¯ and the ¡®Old¡¯; a fusion scenario with the 1st generation!¡¹
Most likely, the Bureau should be busy with advertising this scenario using such slogans on the outside. Which was by design, actually. It was a scheme to use the 1st generation of Fables, only spoken through rumours and hearsay, as the focal point of the advertisement itself.
The thing was, though, the Bureau¡¯s scheme to make lots of moh could also serve as an opportunity for the Forgotten who were left behind and abandoned by the passing of the eras.
¡°It¡¯s possible that you might be able to leave this ind by using this chance.¡±
The Isle of Reincarnators was like the living museum of the . The Reincarnators of this ce could live forever in perpetuity on this ind, but at the same time, must suffer the curse of never being able to step outside, all because of the contract these people signed with the ¡®Master of the Ind¡¯.
¡°How long are you nning to remain as a relic of the bygone era like some kind of a stuffed animal?¡±
Yu Ho-Seong slowly closed his eyes. It looked as if he was trying to calm his rising anger.
¡°What do you... expect from us after leaving here? The Forgotten being strong is only applicable within this ind. The 1st generation no longer matters. Nobody wants to see such a tale.¡±
For sure, he was right about that. The majority of the Reincarnators wouldn¡¯t be able to properly disy their prowess after leaving the ind where the ¡®Probability of the 1st generation¡¯ was still active.
The 1st generation of the Forgotten wouldn¡¯t be able to adapt to the outside world ruled by the System, rife with powerful ki and magic. However, not everyone would be like that.
¡°The Transcenders who studied under you are ying active roles in the outside world even now. Meaning, there are definitely some who yearn to see the Fables you have created.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure there are. However, I¡¯m also sure that such a thing can¡¯t be the trend.¡±
¡°Does it have to be, though?¡±
¡°What¡¯s that?¡±
¡°I¡¯m asking you whether it needs to be the trending topic in order to be a good Fable or not. Since when did you start caring about such a thing, anyway?¡±
Yu Ho-Seong¡¯s eyes shot open and the proverbial mes were flickering within them.
¡°Are you suggesting that, after all this time, I should be a ything of the Constetions once more?¡±
If I take one more step here, make that onest push, then I¡¯d definitely get my head blown away just like other Demon Kings. So, I couldn¡¯t take that step. What I did take, though, was just half a step, instead.
¡°You¡¯ve been listening to the story of the Fables for a long time.¡±
I had to shake this guy up exactly to the length of my half-step, so that he¡¯d willingly take the other half by himself.
¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s about time that you start personally telling your own story?¡±
Yu Ho-Seong¡¯s eyes opened even wider, clear ripples visibly spreading out within his irises. I formed a wordless smile and turned around to leave.
[Fable, ¡®Pebble and I¡¯, is cackling to itself.] (TL: Stone and I ¡ú Pebble and I)
Well, I¡¯ve cast my stone now, and the rest wasn¡¯t up to me anymore. Because, the one to make this seriously scary Transcender move his butt would be someone else, actually.
*
¡°Are you really leaving without saying goodbye?¡±
¡°Everyone is focused right now and I don¡¯t want to disturb them. Besides, we should meet up again pretty soon, anyway. Also, there¡¯s something that I must do after going there first.¡±
I chose not to say any special goodbyes to mypanions, but did say my farewell to Jeong Hui-Won. She carried a rather rueful expression, but it seemed that she had epted my decision as was.
¡°Please, you must survive.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s meet again.¡±
We lightly bumped fists.
Just before my departure, the vigers came to see me off.
¡°Would you like some bread on your journey? It¡¯s been freshly baked this morning.¡±
¡°I thought you liked stones, so I brought some of my collections.¡±
Several vigers I had grown friendlier with during my stay gifted me with some food. As the vigers grew further away in my view, I spotted Yu Ho-Seong among them.
He too wished for some kind of a change to take ce. And that was why he probably decided to teach me and mypanions ¨C while praying that the skill he taught would change the ind, flip the Great War of Saints and Demons on its head, and eventually, transform the itself, too.
[Fable, ¡®Reincarnator of Ten Thousand Years¡¯, is singing a song of farewell.]
[Fable, ¡®World¡¯s Most Ancient Farmer¡¯, is wishing you godspeed.]
Some would leave, while some would remain behind. The moments of the most distant things meeting and then parting again, would be remembered by the Fables.
That was how this world continued to exist.
As I turned around, I heard Yu Ho-Seong¡¯s voice projection enter my ear.
It¡¯s possible that the ¡®Master of the Ind¡¯ might be interested in you. It¡¯ll be better for you to be more cautious.
I returned a light smile as my reply. There was this message that kept repeating itself in front of my eyes since a while ago, you see.
[¡®Master of the Ind¡¯ is paying close attention to you.]
I approached the vige¡¯s giant brazier to find that Cheok Jun-Gyeong was waiting for me. ¡°Let us travel together.¡±
¡°Sounds good.¡±
We¡¯d get separated during our transfer to the Middle Ind anyway, but still, I felt somewhat more confident now that we were making our entrance together.
¡°By the way, about the next scenario....¡±
The scenario of the ¡®Middle Ind¡¯ was a preparatory one for the main ind¡¯s Great War of Saints and Demons. Cheok Jun-Gyeong nodded his head, seemingly having misunderstood what I said somehow.
¡°Now that I recall, you are a Demon King, are you not? Alright. If I¡¯m destined to fight you, then I swear to give it my all.¡±
¡°N-no, hang on a sec. That¡¯s not what I....¡±
¡°This great one shan¡¯t be tethered to the unnecessary personal emotions of fate during our true battle, so you can rest easy.¡±
No, hang on. I¡¯d much rather prefer that you be tethered to your unnecessary emotions, though.
Somehow, I now had to pray fervently that I don¡¯t be Cheok Jun-Gyeong¡¯s target during the uing scenario.
[Tutorial Scenario has concluded!]
[Transfer to the ¡®Middle Ind¡¯ has begun!]
[Main Scenario has been updated!]
Apanied by the ¡®update¡¯ message, the surrounding view began changing bit by bit.
[You have arrived on ¡®Middle Ind No.3¡¯.]
Thankfully, I couldn¡¯t see Cheok Jun-Gyeong next to me.
The moment my transfer wasplete, the acrid odour of blood stung my nose. I was greeted by the grisly sight of dead corpses belonging to Constetions and Incarnations strewn about on a vast in.
This sight was more than enough to dampen one¡¯s spirit, but I was relieved to see it, actually. It was far more advantageous to start this scenarioter than the others, as that would lower the odds of running into powerful Constetions that had entered here beforehand.
[¡®Probability of the 2nd generation¡¯ is active within the relevant area.]
[A portion of your skills have been unlocked.]
[A portion of your overall Stats have been restored.]
Along with the crackling noise, I felt my shoulders grow just a bit wider, while my height grew, too. I had been feeling really constricted for some time, but now, it felt like I could breathe a bit easier.
[A new Hidden Scenario has arrived!]
I quickly opened the scenario¡¯s info window.
< Hidden Scenario ¨C Snatching Modifiers >
Type: Main
Difficulty: ???
Clear Conditions: Take away the ¡®Modifier Ne¡¯ from the enemy designated as your target. (In case the participant does not possess any Modifiers, it will be reced by his or her true name.)
Time limit: ¨C
Reward: Randomly obtain one of the target¡¯s Fables, acquisition of a ticket for entry into the ¡®Main Ind¡¯.
Failure: ???
This scenario was the final hurdle before advancing to the ¡®Main Ind¡¯.
The content of this scenario was simple in nature. I needed to take away the mark of the Modifier from someone who was designated as my target. A small ne shimmering in silver already found itself dangling around my neck by then.
[Demon King of Salvation]
It was the ne with my Modifier written on.
[Number of survivors on ¡®Middle Ind No.3¡¯ is 262.]
262, huh. That was a far higher number than I expected.
However, it wasn¡¯t enough to change my n. Because the really powerful Constetions should have advanced to the ¡®Main Ind¡¯ by now.
No, the really important bit was just who got tagged as my target, but the powerful ones had already disappeared from here, so it must be....
[Your ¡®primary target¡¯ has been decided.]
[Modifier of your ¡®primary target¡¯ is....]
Right after that, I discovered a group of Constetions busy running towards this location from a distance ¨C a group that was urgently running away as if they were being chased down by something.
Along with the noise of the ground exploding, a part of the group became bloody sacks of meat and flew away like a splitting ocean wave. And I could see the one giving chase to the escaping Constetions through the rising murky dust cloud.
....God d*mn it.
Why was that b*stard still here?
< Episode 68: Inaudible Words (3) > Fin.
Chapter 364 - Inaudible Words (4)
Chapter 364: Episode 68 ¨C Inaudible Words (4)
Bloody hell, I definitely didn¡¯t want to run into that guy here.
I quickly hid behind the mountain of corpses while witnessing the waves of magical energy blowing around like violent storm winds. Not too long afterwards, I heard the voices of those hurriedly running away.
[That crazy monster....!]
[Uwaaaahk!]
The Constetions were crushed mercilessly and were killed off, leaving behind only their death throes. Fables flooded out among the bits of body parts flying about, and the blood shed by the Incarnations dyed thend crimson red.
[Run! Hurry!!]
Right behind them, the ughterer responsible for this bloody spectacle finally arrived on the scene.
I saw the purple-coloured aura bright enough to be visible even from behind the tall mountain of corpses. All I could do was to silently watch the proceedings, unable to even breathe properly.
[The Great Fable, ¡®Torch that swallowed the Myth¡¯, is growling.]
[The Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is shrinking back.]
Here came the possessor of the incredible Status that could even negatively affect my Fables.
[Fable, ¡®me that Annihtes Evil¡¯, has begun its storytelling!]
The ¡®me that Annihtes Evil¡¯ ¨C one of the Fables that would disy the greatest effect when dealing with evil-leaning Constetions. I knew the owner of this Fable really well.
¡¸Flowing locks of tinum-blonde hair, violet-coloured eyes. The radiant wings of an Archangel spreading behind his back.¡¹
He was the sole Archangel among that disyed its hostility towards me.
[Constetion, ¡®Saviour of the Corrupted¡¯, has begun its Judgement for Salvation.]
....The ¡®Saviour of the Corrupted¡¯, Archangel Michael, a being who possessed the same Modifier words, just like me. (TL: the Korean words for ¡®Saviour¡¯ and ¡®Salvation¡¯ is different by only one letter. Here, MC is not saying his Modifier has the word ¡®Saviour¡¯ in it, but the same first two letters.)
Ku-gugugugu!!
The [Sword of Saviour] held in Archangel Michael¡¯s hands split the world in half. The purple-coloured fog on the de spread out, and this fog ignited into mes that soon started burning the atmosphere itself. The mes crossed the air in the blink and reached the Constetions trying to escape.
[Aaaahhk!!]
Five or six Constetions running away screamed at the top of their lungs and crumbled to the ground. Fables became ash within the purple-coloured mes and scattered away.
The only things remaining on the spots once upied by the dead Constetions were ¡®Modifier Nes¡¯ gleaming in a silvery hue. Michael flew in the air andnded beside them to confirm the dropped loot.
[It¡¯s still not here.]
He seemed to be searching for something. A bizarre light shot out from his eyes as he began observing his surroundings.
[Feels like there¡¯s one more rat hidden somewhere nearby....]
Could I win if I was to fight Michael here?
I grew quite a bit stronger after learning Fable Control, but still, I wasn¡¯t confident of winning against that guy for the time being. Not only was he the strongest battle angel in , he was also infinitely closer to bing a Myth-grade Constetion, too.
If he decided to go all out, then he¡¯d not be in a disadvantageous position against even Poseidon who fought in ¡®Gigantomachia¡¯. Even if I knew all the info on the guy through ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯, well....
Gu-ohhhhh!
Silvery light oozed out from Michael¡¯s two eyes. That was [Eye of the Archangel.]
One of the exclusive skills possessed by Archangels that detected the presence of ¡®evil¡¯. It seemed that he could use that skill now after the Probability of the 2nd generation had been unlocked.
His eyes, burning like the ghostly mes of Dokkaebi, began scanning his surroundings. The range of his vision slowly shifted and was heading in my direction.
My heart began beating faster bit by bit.
Should I make a run for it?
It was at that moment that the pebble the vigers gave me writhed within my inner pocket.
[Fable, ¡®Pebble and I¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
And something quite unexpected happened next.
[Due to the effect of the Fable, your detectable presence has be simr to that of a ¡®pebble¡¯.]
[The demonic energy emitted by you has be assimted to the surrounding nature.]
Michael scanned the mountain of corpses I was hiding behind without much of a reaction, before eventually withdrawing his vision while muttering to himself.
[Was I mistaken?]
He thenined with an unhappy-sounding voice as he rose up in the air.
[All because the Scribe issued a time-wasting order....]
His wings spread out widely and his figure disappeared into the distance in an instant. Only after his presence waspletely gone did I stand up from my hiding spot, while wiping the cold sweat off my forehead.
[Fable, ¡®Pebble and I¡¯, is pestering you for praise.]
¡°You did well. Thanks.¡±
[Fable, ¡®Pebble and I¡¯, is giggling happily to itself.]
I had no idea that this Fable could help me out in this manner. A Fable that could turn my presence into that of a ¡®pebble¡¯....
I did feel a bit mixed about it, but still, it mighte in handyter on. I then quickly took a look around the devastated surroundings.
[Number of survivors on ¡®Middle Ind No.3¡¯ is 224.]
In that brief amount of time, 38 people got ughtered. Most of them were Incarnations or Constetions only on the level of ¡®Historical Figure¡¯-grade, but there were some Fable-grade mixed in among the victims, as well. (TL: The ¡®Historical Figure¡¯ grade was first introduced in Ch. 40, but it seems to have been not TLed by the former trantor for some reason. Also, previous ¡®Narrative-grade¡¯ will change to ¡®Fable-grade¡¯, as they both use the exact same Korean spelling.) (ED: Seems like ¡®Historical Figure¡¯ grade was TLed as ¡®upper¡¯ or ¡®great¡¯ grade.)
The sight reminded me of what it¡¯d look like right after a natural disaster swept by.
This was the true power of the Archangels. The high-ranking Demon Kings should also possess a simr level of power, too.
¡¸(Now that was a close shave. If things went wrong, I was nning to use ¡®revtion¡¯, even.)¡¹
¡®You were watching?¡¯
¡¸(Yes. I was on a break, you see.)¡¹
I recovered a bit of my energy after hearing Yu Sang-Ah¡¯s clear voice. (TL: Yoo Sangah ¡ú Yu Sang-Ah)
Right, even if the enemies that I had to fight against were extremely powerful, I too held several hidden cards up my sleeve.
¡¸(....By the way, don¡¯t the conditions of the corpses seem a little odd?)¡¹
I nodded my head and looked down at the sagging corpses. To be more specific, I wasn¡¯t looking at the remains, but their ¡®Modifier Nes¡¯, which seemed a bit off. Most of those had either disappeared, or a portion of the Modifiers were damaged.
Yu Sang-Ah asked a question.
¡¸(Even if we say that nes have disappeared after they were hunted down as targets, but.... Why would only portions of Modifiers disappear like that?)¡¹
[The Ancient ¡õ¡õ¡õ]
[The Aged ¡õ¡õ¡õ]
[¡õ¡õ and ¡õ¡õ¡õ¡¯s ¡õ¡õ]
Several Modifiers were missing words here and there. It was as if someone deliberately stole only certain letters and nothing else.
¡®Some people are exploiting the loophole.¡¯
¡¸(Loophole?)¡¹
¡®Do you remember the condition to clear this scenario?¡¯
¡¸(Wasn¡¯t it, snatch away the ¡®Modifier Ne¡¯ from an opponent designated as your target?)¡¹
¡®Correct. But in reality, there¡¯s no reason to hunt down your target, you see. What¡¯s important here is to get your hands on the ne itself.¡¯
Yu Sang-Ah replied in a surprised voice.
¡¸(Ah, could it be....)¡¹
Just as I nodded my head, a new message entered my ears.
[It is possible to collect ¡®Modifier sybles¡¯ in the corresponding area.]
[You can craft a new ne with the collected sybles.]
¡®There are those who steal Modifiers from other Constetions and create the ¡®Modifier Ne¡¯ that their targets are wearing.¡¯
Basically, a ¡®Modifier¡¯ was abination of words.
For instance, my Modifier, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, was made up of the following sybles ¨C [De], [Mon], [King], [Of], [Sal], [Va], and [Tion].
Meaning, as long as you collected those sybles, you didn¡¯t have to snatch my ne away but would still be able to construct the same thing as mine.
¡¸(....Why is the Bureau permitting this kind of shortcut?)¡¹
¡®The condition of snatching away the designated target¡¯s ne can potentially slow down the progress of the scenario, you see. Also, there¡¯s a possibility that your target has already escaped from this scenario too, which will furtherplicate the situation.¡¯
Constetions hated slow progress, and they really loved the fast-paced action and the continuous rush of that refreshing feeling.
¡¸(Which means, all these people were sacrificed for just a single word....)¡¹
I nodded my head again.
Most likely, powerful Constetions ughtered the lower-ssed ones andbined the necessary Modifiers belonging to their targets. Well, that would be a lot quicker than searching for a target that constantly ran away from you, after all.
Rather than praying for the dead¡¯s safe journey to the afterlife, I began rummaging through the discarded nes that now resembled corn on the cob missing many of its kernels.
Yu Sang-Ah didn¡¯t say anything.
[You have acquired the Modifier syble, ¡®Of¡¯.]
There were almost no useful words remaining. The majority of them weremon adpositions. Without a doubt, all the necessary words had already been collected by other Constetion as the pieces for their puzzlebinations.
I did rummage through the pile of corpses that Michael left behind and found a few useful items, though. As expected, it seemed that a Constetion like Michael wouldn¡¯t hesitate to throw away items that weren¡¯t ¡®Star Relics¡¯.
Indeed, his wealth was on another scale. But, besides all that....
¡°....Why don¡¯t youe out already? Michael is far away by now, you know.¡±
My voice quietly resounded out in this empty, devastated location. No presence of a person could be felt, but I still spoke up one more time.
¡°You shoulde out while I¡¯m still being civil, okay?¡±
There was one other person hiding within the corpses. This person managed to perfectly hide their presence, but I was pretty sure of them being there. Why? Because I clearly witnessed them going into hiding just as the bloody ughtermenced.
Apanied by ¡®Busuhsuh¡¯ noise, a corner of the corpse pile copsed and fell, as a certain someone stood up. An Incarnation that somehow managed to avoid the detection of [Eye of the Archangel] revealed themself.
¡°....Demon King of Salvation.¡±
A blonde-haired woman full of wounds was ring straight at me. Blood continued to flow out from both her torn arm and the grievous wound on her stomach. Even at a casual nce, they seemed to be pretty serious injuries.
I spoke while looking back at her. ¡°Looks like things are not going as well as you hoped, Anna Croft.¡±
*
I recalled the moments when Anna Croft first made her appearance within ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯.
The prophet of Asgard and capable of freely using [Precognition] and [Retrocognition], she was the one character that possessed the skills to counter the Regressor, Yu Joong-Hyeok.
Because of that, she became his chief rival in thetter half of ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯.
....During the original storyline, that was.
A woman willing to bear any cost for the sake of her great cause. One of the most powerful Incarnations, and a character who¡¯d be the master of ¡®Zarathustra¡¯ in the distant future, something that even Constetions feared ¨C such a person was sagging powerlessly right in front of my eyes.
I crushed one of the [Great Return Pills] I bought earlier and shoved it inside her mouth. She opened her eyes around 30 minutes after that.
As soon as she did, she spotted me and while breaking out in a near-convulsion, stood up from the ground in great haste.
¡°Sit down. Your physical condition is still dangerous.¡±
She confirmed that her wrists and ankles weren¡¯t bound, and quickly stepped back, still being wary of me. ¡°Why did you save me?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve got a few things to ask you.¡±
¡°And what makes you think I¡¯ll answer your questions?¡±
She growled like a wild beast. This was a slightly different appearance from the ¡®Prophet¡¯ that I remembered.
¡°Why are you participating in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯?¡±
¡°So I can earn a Great Fable, obviously. Could there be any other reason?¡±
¡°But, shouldn¡¯t you be getting ready to tackle a different ¡®Great Fable Scenario¡¯ by now? Am I wrong?¡±
Anna Croft bit her lips after hearing my question.
In the original storyline, she shouldn¡¯t be taking part in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯. Because, she was supposed to participate in another Great Fable Scenario called ¡®Ragnar?k¡¯, instead.
¡°That is....¡±
The light in her eyes shook visibly. And that was the same thing as me hearing her answer.
¡°You¡¯ve been discarded by the Neb.¡±
¡°This problem doesn¡¯t concern you.¡±
She began gritting her teeth now. I could easily understand the rage contained within those words, though.
Anna Croft and I shed against each other a couple of times so far, and that changed the ¡®future¡¯ of the original storyline she was supposed to live out.
Back during the ¡®Gourmet Association¡¯, or back during ¡®Gigantomachia¡¯, she didn¡¯t get to achieve any notable feats.
As her repeated failures umted, the Neb simply chucked her into the midst of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯, all by herself, after she was deemed no longer useful.
....Was this because of me?
The future that I changed didn¡¯t just transform the fate of Yu Joong-Hyeok and mypanions.
I spoke to Anna Croft as she red at me with eyes filled with contempt. ¡°What if you get to earn a Myth-grade Fable in this ce?¡±
¡°....What did you say?¡±
¡°Wouldn¡¯t Asgard have to reassess you in that case, then?¡±
The Myth-grade Fable ¨C her irises quaked visibly after hearing that term.
¡°What are you trying to say here?¡±
¡°I can help you.¡±
¡°I¡¯m asking you what your motives are.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have any ulterior motives. I only wish for you and ¡®Zarathustra¡¯ to grow without any issues. That is all.¡±
[Character ¡®Anna Croft¡¯ has activated ¡®Lie Detection Lv.8¡¯.]
[Character ¡®Anna Croft¡¯ has confirmed the applicable remark to be true.]
Her expression was dyed in pure astonishment, but it recovered quickly enough. The light in her eyes reverted back to the one belonging to the calm, level-headed Prophet from my memories.
¡°....And what do you want in return?¡±
As expected, prophets were quick on the uptake and that made my life easier.
¡°Lend me your ability for a bit.¡±
Most likely, Anna Croft had no idea that the first being I met on this ¡®Middle Ind¡¯ happened to be her, and just how d I felt about this lucky encounter.
*
Somewhere in the mountainous region of the ind. Asmodeus rubbed its chin while looking at the ¡®Modifier Ne¡¯ it ¡®earned¡¯ as it stood on top of a tall, ancient tree.
[The Hunter of ¡õdges.]
Now originally, Asmodeus was supposed to target the Modifier [The Hunter of Grudges.]
Unfortunately, otherpetitors hunted down its target already, and thanks to that, it was left with a tattered ne that said [The Hun¡õ of ¡õ¡õ], instead.
¡°So, I¡¯ve already acquired [Dges] and [Ter]... that means all I need to find is [Gru]....¡±
The problem was, there weren¡¯t that many Constetions remaining on this ind that still possessed the Modifier containing [Gru].
¡®The side effect of participatingter because I was taking care of my dependents is fairlyrge, isn¡¯t it.¡¯
Asmodeus stayed on top of the tree and scanned every corner of the ind to search for the remaining Constetions. It was at that point that the Demon King heard the explosions ringing out from the forest up north. Judging from their scale, it could guess who was behind them. Yet another round of ¡®clean-up¡¯ hadmenced, it seemed.
It¡¯d prove to be entertaining if Asmodeus decided to stick its nose in there, but...
But then, a familiar voice entered its ear canals.
¡°....ording to [Precognition], it is somewhere nearby.¡±
¡°Oh, really?¡±
Asmodeus¡¯s expression brightened up the instant it heard those voices.
It lightly jumped off from the treetop and arrived before the owner of the voice with a gob-smacking turn of speed.
There they were, a man wearing a white coat and a tinum-blonde woman. Asmodeus smiled brightly.
[¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, looks like we were fated to cross paths in this manner.]
The Demon King of Salva¡¯tion¡¯. The owner of the syble it was looking for was now standing right in front of its eyes. However, the man didn¡¯t seem to be flustered at all. (TL: There was a Korean pun at y here which can¡¯t be TLed into English, unfortunately. Grudge is written as ¡°??¡± while Salvation is written as ¡°??¡±. As you can see, ¡°?¡± part is the same in both words.)
¡°I didn¡¯te here to fight, Asmodeus.¡±
[That¡¯s not something for you to decide. Because....]
¡°You need the syble [Gru], right?¡±
[....!!]
¡°Killing me and taking away [Gru] is an option, sure. However, I have a more interesting offer. Do you want to hear it?¡±
Asmodeus formed a dazed expression for a bit, before making its reply.
[It¡¯s already quite amusing that you are making me an offer, yet it¡¯s also supposed to be interesting, too? Now I want to hear about it more than ever.]
Asmodeus¡¯s voice was thickly dyed in excitement and madness already. It even sported an expression that said it was seriously weighing the pros and cons of devouring the tasty prey right in front of its eyes, or an even more delicious potential preyter on.
It then continued on.
[However, if I don¡¯t find your offer interesting, then you will....]
¡°I¡¯m not the only one with the syble [Gru] on this ind.¡±
Another owner of [Gru]?
Asmodeus¡¯s expression shifted once more.
[Could it be...?]
¡°If we¡¯re participating in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯, we should start acting more seriously now, don¡¯t you agree?¡±
The reflection of Kim Dok-Ja in the eyes of Asmodeus was grinning like a true Demon King at that moment.
¡°Are you interested in Archangel hunting?¡±
< Episode 68: Inaudible Words (4) > Fin.
Chapter 365 - - Archangel Hunting (1)
Chapter 365: Episode 69 ¨C Archangel Hunting (1)
¡®It¡¯s no fun when no one is fighting back.¡¯
Michael stared at the corpses strewn about the field while smoking a rolled tobo. Ash-grey smoke mushroomed up in the air. This cigarette was manufactured by the second generation of craftsmen. The reason why Michael enjoyed hunting demons or going on a ¡®business¡¯ trip was because he got to smoke the cigarettes he liked so much, to his heart¡¯s content.
In , smoking was an ¡®evil¡¯, a sin.
Michael smoked through several cigarettes in a row and as he fell into a chain of thought, stubbed it out by rubbing it against the exposed flesh of a dead corpse.
¡®Have I taken too long?¡¯
¡¸What do you mean, too long? It¡¯s only just begun.¡¹
Michael heard the voice reverberating within his head and frowned deeply.
¡®Shut up.¡¯
¡¸Hurry, wake me up. Unshackle me already.¡¹
Michael pulled out a new cigarette.
He had been hearing this particr Fable¡¯s voice for a long time. And whenever he did, Michael simply had to burn through more cigarettes, one after the other.
¡®Now isn¡¯t the time.¡¯
Michael took another long drag of the rising smoke.
[Neb has issued a new revtion.]
*
[Archangel hunting, is it? It does sound rather interesting.]
Asmodeus grinned brightly to reveal two rows of pearly-white teeth after hearing my offer.
[It¡¯s not just any other Archangel, but the ¡®Saviour of the Corrupted¡¯, too.... Are you being serious about this?]
¡°Of course.¡±
[However, aren¡¯t you in a friendly rtionship with ? If you do something like this, won¡¯t you end up as their enemy?]
¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m a Demon King, after all.¡±
Even if I didn¡¯t mean it, I still had to say it out loud. Because... I¡¯m trying to convince none other than Asmodeus here. And the Demon King itself seemed to be seriously agonising over my suggestion at the moment.
¡°Do give it careful consideration. You need the syble [Gru], right? On top of that, you¡¯ll be able to earn a Fable concerning an Archangel, too. ¡¸The One who Hunted Down a Great Archangel¡¹.... Doesn¡¯t the thought alone excite you?¡±
Unfortunately, Asmodeus wasn¡¯t to be swayed that easily. No, rather than that, it was shooting me a proving gaze as if to ascertain what my true intentions were.
I decided to throw an even bigger bait at this juncture. ¡°Well, that¡¯s disappointing. As a member of the ¡®Gourmet Association¡¯, I figured that you¡¯d be different from other Constetions.¡±
Asmodeus¡¯s long, slender brows quivered noticeably after hearing my words.
[Your understanding of the Demon King, ¡®Asmodeus¡¯, has increased by a great deal.]
[Your understanding of the applicable individual is quite high.]
[2nd Stage of ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has activated!]
Now that¡¯s the first time I heard such a message.
Finally, the skill level of the [Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint] had risen up high enough to let me take a peek at the inside of selected Constetions. And right afterwards, I could hear Asmodeus¡¯s inner thoughts.
¡¸He¡¯s utterly, hatefully arrogant, this ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯.¡¹
Its inside was like a thick, sticky swamp. Listening to the private thoughts of a being looking back at me with a pair of quietly withdrawn eyes was making me feel rather ufortable.
Its thoughts continued on.
¡¸A trap that I want to fall into this badly, is it....¡¹
As expected, it wasn¡¯t for nothing that Asmodeus had climbed up to the position of the ¡®Candidate for the future Great Demon King¡¯. It had already figured out that my offer was a trap.
¡¸It¡¯s likely that the target of the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is the ¡®Saviour of the Corrupted¡¯.¡¹
¡¸And he wants to use me and other Constetions to hunt down Michael and steal the ¡®Modifier Ne¡¯ afterwards.¡¹
¡¸It¡¯smendable that he¡¯s using his brain so much, but well, it¡¯s a bit irritating to pretend that I fell for his schemes, isn¡¯t it.¡¹
Asmodeus¡¯s expression gradually changed into an icy one. Unsurprisingly, it seemed that this much convincing wasn¡¯t going to be enough.
¡¸Michael is a difficult angel to fight against, even when he¡¯s being restrained by the Probability of the 2nd generation....¡¹
Asmodeus¡¯s conflicting thoughts were gradually finding their heading now. A faint killing intent seemed to ooze out from its long nails.
I could sense Anna Croft next to me tense up and get into her battle mode. Maybe, she used the [Precognition] and saw something that was about to happen.
However, I wasn¡¯t worried in the slightest. Because, it was about time that a situation even her [Precognition] couldn¡¯t have predicted began, that was why.
Like clockwork, Asmodeus¡¯s expression became rather weird.
¡¸....Mm?¡¹
The demon¡¯s briefly-hardened expression shifted into one filled withplicated emotions. Its eyes danced around as if it was reading something in the empty air.
And so, how much time passed by like this? Countless emotions flitted in and out of Asmodeus¡¯s eyes before they finallynded back on me.
[Fufufu. Well, this is.... It¡¯s so hard to figure out the will of the sometimes, you know.]
¡°....What do you mean by that?¡±
[I was just talking to myself. Very well. I ept your offer. Let¡¯s try out this Archangel hunting thing, then.]
Asmodeus¡¯s announcement caused Anna Croft¡¯s eyes to gopletely round in shock. She then formed a puzzled expression next.
Completely disregarding her, the Demon King smacked its lips and concentrated on sending a message to someone somewhere. It was probably busymunicating with other ¡®Seekers of the End¡¯ right about now. And at the same time, a message from a certain someone entered my head.
¡¸(Did I do well?)¡¹
¡®You did. Thank you, Sang-Ah-ssi.¡¯
The reason why Asmodeus changed its mind? It probably read a certain ¡®revtion¡¯ just now. More specifically, the fake ¡®revtion¡¯ Yu Sang-Ah and I had cooked up and spread around, that was.
It said, ¡¸The corrupted Archangel will die by the sword of a ¡®Swordmaster¡¯ on the ind of the aged Forgotten People.¡¹
*
¡°....Another revtion was made??¡±
The Bureau was also turned upside down by the news of a new revtion. The first ce to be affected by this was the sales department.
¡°Sir, we have a sudden spike in the sale of the Swordmaster-rted skills!¡±
¡°Replenish their stock immediately! Call the rted subcontractors and tell them to speed up the output of the mass production-type Stigma!¡±
¡°B-but, even then, our stock is running low, sir!!¡±
¡°D*mn it.... Where did all the Fable manufacturers disappear to?! Ah?? Who was it again? Right, if we request the ¡®Mass Production-type Maker¡¯, then....¡±
In the meantime, Bihyung was quietly observing the developing situation from within this crucible of confusion and chaos. The Great Dokkaebi ¡®Baram¡¯ addressed him from the side.
[Bihyung, you should start a new scenario.]
¡°....I¡¯ve already done so, sir.¡±
A new message was floating up on the scenario observation screen that flickered into life just then.
[Sub-scenario, ¡®Archangel hunting¡¯, hasmenced!]
Soon, the sight of the Constetions hiding within the forest and the ins rushing somewhere en masse showed up on screen. They had all purchased Swordmaster-rted Fables from the [Dokkaebi Bag] just now.
¡°Will it be fine to open a scenario like this one, sir? Surely, would strongly oppose this.¡±
[We have already obtained the Scribe¡¯s consent. He said that it doesn¡¯t really matter. We¡¯ve alreadypensated them, so there¡¯s no need to hold back.]
¡°To think, he¡¯d allow one of his angels to be used as the subject of a scenario.... That doesn¡¯t sound like what the leader of the Absolute Good would do.¡±
[That¡¯s how the ¡®Absolute Good¡¯ operates. For the sake of the Greater Good, they would trample on smaller Good every now and then.]
¡°I¡¯m aware of that, sir. Buttely, it¡¯s bing harder for me to understand them.¡±
[Regarding?]
¡°Just what are and the Demon World thinking? Them agreeing to go ahead with the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ scenario, and.... Wouldn¡¯t they all perish together if they do this?¡±
Baram stared at Bihyung with unreadable eyes before forming a smirk.
[There is a saying about how short life is, but ¡®art¡¯ would go on forever.]
¡°That¡¯s a saying from Earth, isn¡¯t it, sir?¡±
[Correct. Those are words that exalt the story¡¯s eternal nature. But, you should be aware of this ¨C such a notion is false. Even the greatest Fable will die sooner orter. It¡¯s just that,pared to the length of a Fable¡¯s lifespan, a human¡¯s life is simply far too short, that is all.]
Baram¡¯s voice seemed to contain the regrets of an innumerable length of time. Indeed, those words belonged to a Dokkaebi that had continuously told the tales of Constetions for a truly long time.
[Did you know? Once upon a time, stories with no distinction between good and evil didn¡¯t exist within .]
¡°Yes, I know.¡±
[But, what about now?]
Screams from the Constetions killed by Michael¡¯s de could be hearding from the screen. And there were other Constetions silently peeping at this battle.
These Constetions were sponsoring someone else, they were busy swearing at others, or were fully enjoying the show. Coins exchanged hands, and cries of pleasure and despair continued to resound out.
And within this spectacle, not one person seemed to care about either good or evil.
¡°Ah....¡±
As he spat out that short gasp, Bihyung finally understood the Great Dokkaebi¡¯s wisdom. Baram addressed his junior once more.
[This is a war to stop them from disappearing.]
*
For the next two days, Anna Croft and I prepared for the hunt. Asmodeus didn¡¯t act with us, though.
[Let us meet again on the hunting ground at midday, two days from now.]
It left those words behind and disappeared on us. I was pretty sure that the Demon King was getting ready to hunt down an angel in its own way.
There were around 30 minutes left until midday. The promised location for our Archangel hunting was the ¡®Fertile Forest¡¯ located on the north of the ind.
Just before we reached our destination, Anna Croft threw me a question. ¡°Do you really think we can pull this off?¡±
¡°You¡¯re going to help me out, aren¡¯t you?¡±
¡°Even if it¡¯s me, I can¡¯t predict the [Future] all the time. You already know this better than anyone.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine to read the nearest future for the time being.¡±
What I needed to avoid were the unseen variables that might happen in the near future. And Anna Croft¡¯s [Precognition] was the most suitable skill for avoiding such things.
¡°....What will you do if I decide to betray you? If my target is you, then....¡±
¡°I know that¡¯s not the case.¡±
From the get-go, I couldn¡¯t have been her target. Why? Because she was inserted into the scenario way before me.
She narrowed her eyes to a slit and asked me again. ¡°....By the way, since when did you stop using polite speech to address me?¡±
¡°Oh, now that I think about it, you¡¯re right.... Should I address you with polite speech again, Ma¡¯am?¡±
¡°You¡¯re being a jerk right now, so please, just stop.¡±
¡°Ah, right. How many times can you use [Precognition] today, young miss?¡±
Anna Croft red at me with a dumbfounded expression, before making her reply. ¡°Three times.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t use them unnecessarily, and activate them only after I give you the signal.¡±
¡°Why should I listen to....¡±
¡°You should listen, so we can finish this sh*tty scenario for good.¡±
From afar, we could hear the screams of the Constetions and Incarnations. The hunting had begun already. Along with the horrifying explosions, the oppressive voice of the aloof, proud Archangel rocked the entire forest.
[You dare to use me as the subject matter for a scenario??]
Anna Croft and I hid in the nearby bushes and observed the battleground.
We couldn¡¯t spot Asmodeus anywhere yet. Instead of him, though, almost all the participants still remaining on ¡®Middle Ind No.3¡¯ had gathered here in the ¡®Fertile Forest¡¯.
Most of them just so happened to be ¡®Evil¡¯ or ¡®Neutral¡¯-type Constetions. There were many ¡®Historical Figure¡¯ grade Constetions, and I even spotted a lower-ranked Demon King, too.
It was ¡®Darkness of no Value¡¯ Belial, from the 68th Demon World. He must¡¯ve shown up here after heeding Asmodeus¡¯s call. Not just him, but other Constetions were each carrying a longsword of the 2nd generation at the moment.
[Attack him!!]
Michael watched the Constetions rushing towards him with Belial in the lead and fumed in pure rage.
[A measly little lower-ranked Demon King dares to.... You all must¡¯ve gone mad as a group!]
The Archangel used a stupendously powerful wind pressure to blow Belial away, and activated his Status to generate a barrier of winds. However, there were some who managed to break past the barrier to still take shots at him.
[Constetion, ¡®Hard-work Specialist¡¯, has activated the skill, ¡®Mass-produced Physical Sword Aura¡¯!]
The exact same skill was activated simultaneously from the longswords held by the participants. Waves of yellow, or even blue, coloured sword auras physically manifesting themselves sliced past Michael¡¯s Status and advanced forward. The Archangel formed a mocking grin.
[....Ether de? What a crazy bunch of fools.]
The revtion I leaked to the world through Yu Sang-Ah was fake. Without a doubt, no ¡®Swordmaster¡¯ out there would be capable of killing Archangel Michael. However, just because it was a ¡®fake¡¯ revtion, that didn¡¯t mean it wasplete rubbish with no odds ofing true, either.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-cheut!!
[Probability of the 2nd generation has granted a powerful buff effect on the applicable skills!]
The [Physical Sword Aura] was currently being ridiculed as an exclusive skill of the Transcenders. However, there was a period of time in the past when the 2nd generation viewed it as the greatest skill ever.
[It¡¯s working! Keep cutting him down!!]
Chi-eeek!
Michael¡¯s wind barrier began melting away gradually from the continual baptism of the sword auras. He got flustered and tried to activate a new Fable, but then, a jet-ck light of Ether suddenly sliced down from the air.
Sliiiice!!
Like magic, space separated, as if it had been sliced away in its entirety. Only the lengthy w mark left behind by a Demon King was visible from the gaps of the crumbling barrier.
[I always wondered whether an Archangel without wings can fly or not.]
Michael¡¯s torn wing moved with great difficulty in the air. Through the falling feathers, Asmodeus¡¯s smiling mug revealed itself to the world.
[And I finally got my answer today. The wing¡¯s existence is not rted to the Archangel¡¯s ability to fly.]
[....Asmodeus!!]
Taken over by his rage, Michael poured out his magical energy towards the Demon. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t aim at his target properly after his bnce was affected due to the damage to his Incarnation body. He began wasting his energy, instead.
On the other hand, Asmodeus used other Constetions to diligently pile on further injuries to Michael.
As expected of Asmodeus; I couldn¡¯t help but marvel at this battle.
¡°We should get going. That Demon King might end up snatching away our Myth-grade Fable at this rate.¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s not the time yet, ma¡¯am.¡±
My rxed voice caused a flustered expression to form on Anna Croft¡¯s face. As long as she didn¡¯t use up her [Precognition] allowance for today, she¡¯d never have guessed what was about to transpire soon.
[Fable, ¡®Evil that Destroys Evil¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
Pitch-ck aura suddenly began gathering around Michael¡¯s figure and enveloped him like some kind of a bud. It was hard to believe that such corrupted energy actually belonged to an Archangel.
¡¸And the ¡®Good¡¯ has chosen to walk the path of ¡®Evil¡¯ in order to destroy other ¡®Evil¡¯.¡¹
Constetions realised that something ominous was about to happen and they continued to pour out their barrage of powerful attacks, but too bad, they failed to scratch that ck bud even once.
Instead, it seemed to suck in nutrients by absorbing the power of the surroundings, and slowly began blooming itself.
[Archangel Michael has be corrupted!]
While witnessing this overwhelming spectacle, I recalled a certain part of ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ in my head.
¡¸Not every Constetion of this world was divided into ¡®Constetions¡¯ and ¡®Demon Kings¡¯. There is just one creature, an existence that could use the powers of a Constetion as well as a Demon King at the same time.¡¹
The sole being within the lengthy history of who ate the [Star Relic Fruit]... (TL: First appeared in Ch 316, initially TLed as ¡®star fruit¡¯.)
¡¸No demon shall survive upon witnessing his true appearance.¡¹
Ku-gugugugu!!
¡°....Oh, my god,¡± whispered Anna Croft.
Something was waking up from within the pitch-ck darkness.
First, a ck pair of wings. And then, the horns signifying a Demon King.
[Demon King, ¡®King of Corrupted Angels¡¯, is scanning the battlefield.]
The so-called ¡®King of Corrupted Angels¡¯ ¨C that was Archangel Michael¡¯s Modifier after he transformed into a Demon King.
Kuwaaaaaah-!!
With a simple flick of its hand, all Constetions leaning towards ¡®Evil¡¯ were swept away clean. Even if they were seemingly on the same ¡®Evil¡¯ side now, the difference in their sses was simply on another realm altogether. This was the true power of Michael, an Archangel on the level of a Myth-grade.
Even Asmodeus was forming a hardened expression now.
[This... wasn¡¯t in the revtion.]
Soon after, Michael¡¯s Status rained down, and several Demon Kings were flung away helplessly. The body of Asmodeus¡¯s Incarnation must¡¯ve received a tremendous amount of damage, because it too, began faltering about.
That was when I stood up from my spot.
¡°It¡¯s time.¡±
¡°You want to join the battle now?!¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°....Didn¡¯t you see what happened just now? Even if your target is that Archangel, this is....¡±
¡°What made you think that my target is the ¡®Archangel¡¯?¡±
After hearing my question, Anna Croft could only blink her eyes in sheer dumbfoundedness. Her [Eye of the Great Demon] began burning up in a reddish hue.
¡°C-can it be....??¡±
We could see Asmodeus¡¯s body being flung away like a puppet with its strings cut in the distance.
From the get-go, I wasn¡¯t nning to face off against the Corrupted Archangel. And besides, he wasn¡¯t the only one possessing a Myth-grade Fable.
[Your targetted Modifier is ¡®Devil of Lust and Wrath¡¯.] (TL: Devil of Lust and Fury ¡ú Devil of Lust and Wrath)
I unsheathed my sword as the message popped up in the air and spoke to her.
¡°Well, let¡¯s go and get ourselves a Myth-grade Fable, shall we?¡±
< Episode 69: Archangel Hunting (1) > Fin.
Chapter 366 - Archangel Hunting (2)
Chapter 366: Episode 69 ¨C Archangel Hunting (2)
Anna Croft and I moved towards the battlefield right away.
Completely lost to madness now, Michael was ripping apart every single Constetion and Incarnation near him to bloody shreds.
The ¡®Evil¡¯ born only to destroy ¡®Evil¡¯.
After transforming into a Corrupted Angel, just Michael¡¯sbat prowess alone would not lose out to that of Poseidon or Hades.
[Quite a few Constetions are paying more attention to the situation unfolding on the ¡®Middle Ind No.3¡¯.]
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of mes¡¯, is looking at you with worried eyes.]
Those Constetions who had either already made their way into the ¡®Main Ind¡¯, or hadn¡¯t participated in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯, began shifting their gazes in this direction now.
After we reached the edge of Michael¡¯s firing range, Anna Croft spoke to me. ¡°Getting any closer than this will be dangerous. My [Covert Operations] skill can only....¡±
I reached out and grasped her wrist.
[Fable, ¡®Pebble and I¡¯, has begun its storytelling!]
[Fable, ¡®Pebble and I¡¯, is puzzled by the existence of ¡®Anna Croft¡¯.]
¡°Take care of this woman, as well.¡±
[Fable, ¡®Pebble and I¡¯, is looking at you with a slightly dissatisfied expression.]
[Fable, ¡®Pebble and I¡¯, has assimted ¡®Anna Croft¡¯ into its effect.]
With that, we bravely ran through the battlefield. Michael and the other Constetions didn¡¯t sense our presence at all. Most likely, we looked like a pair of pebbles rolling around on the ground or some such.
Anna Croft asked me with a shocked voice. ¡°What is up with this Fable??¡±
¡°It¡¯s a Fable for turning into a pebble.¡±
Since we didn¡¯t have time, I replied to her like that.
Corpses of Constetions littered the pathways of the battlefield. Every now and then, we spotted still-breathing ones, too. Such as the Demon King from the 68th Demon World, ¡®Darkness of no Value¡¯, Belial.
After suffering from Michael¡¯s attacks, he was barely holding on as Fables continued to leak out from his body. Wait, now that I thought about it, this dude was also aiming for me, wasn¡¯t he?
Stab!
I oh-so-calmly sunk my [Unbreakable Faith] in his body next.
[You have eliminated the 68th Demon World¡¯s Demon King!]
[Applicable Demon King is of a lower ranking than you are, and there is no change to the ranking.]
[You have acquired the [Modifier Ne], ¡®Darkness of no Value¡¯.]
[You have murdered a fifth Demon King Incarnation Body.]
[Possibility of a new Attribute is opening up to you!]
¡°But, aren¡¯t you a Demon King yourself?! Can you actually kill them like that??¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯ll just give up being a Demon King, then.¡±
Anna Croft heard my perfectlyposed glib reply and formed a dumbfounded expression.
Ku-gugugugu!!
We heard the noises of Michael¡¯s Status flooding out right behind us. If the Probability of the 2nd generation was slightly weaker, the entire forest would¡¯ve been blown away by that power already.
¡°We don¡¯t have much time left, so let¡¯s hurry. Asmodeus should be in a state simr to this guy.¡±
The forest¡¯s path near our position was decorated by the fallen fragments of a Demon King¡¯s Fables. These traces belonged to a much-higher ranked Demon King, one that couldn¡¯t bepared to Belial. You didn¡¯t have to be a genius to figure out who they belonged to.
We brushed past the bushes for a bit until finally discovering a figure of a person leaning against the foot of a tall, ancient tree.
[....So, you did show up.]
As if it knew that I¡¯d show up, Asmodeus was waiting for me with a smile on its face.
An arm and a leg of its Incarnation Body were cut off and missing; its chest area had been crushed as well, and it was truly hanging precariously on itsst breaths.
[To think that Michael possessed the authority of ¡®Corrupted¡¯... you knew that from the beginning, didn¡¯t you?]
Asmodeus formed an expression of someone who had realised everything now.
[And you¡¯re going to take away my ne.]
¡°Correct.¡±
Asmodeus¡¯s overturned [Modifier Ne] gleamed brightly. If I took a hold of all the words on that ne, the Demon King should be kicked out of the ongoing ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.
[In that case, you should hurry up.]
Asmodeus¡¯s Incarnation Body belonged to a girl of around sixteen years of age. Even if this body died, Asmodeus¡¯s real self wouldn¡¯t die.
However, that body would die for real. And it... she, was the daughter of Manager Han Myeong-Oh. (ED: Han Myungoh ¡ú Han Myeong-Oh)
¡°I won¡¯t kill you. Instead, let¡¯s make a trade.¡±
[Trade? You want to trade aftering this far?]
¡°Kindly hand over a Myth-grade Fable to me. Then, I won¡¯t eliminate you from this scenario.¡±
Asmodeus broke out into a loud peal ofughter before vomiting out a mouthful of blood.
[Now that is a rather amusing notion. Are you threatening me right now?]
¡°I am.¡±
For a brief moment there, palpable tension flowed between the Demon King and I. Asmodeus red at me, but the light in its eyes seemed to contain this faint trace of resignation.
[You have be a true ¡®Demon King¡¯ now, haven¡¯t you. No one in the 72 seats would be able to deny that you¡¯re a true Demon King.]
¡°Thanks for thepliment.¡±
[However, there is a problem with your offer. Your target is me, so with what method will you not kick me out?]
¡°If you don¡¯t lose all of your words, you don¡¯t get eliminated from the scenario. I¡¯ll leave you with one word remaining.¡±
The word I was nning to leave behind was ¡®Of¡¯, which was something I already had as a spare. Asmodeus spoke back.
[I¡¯m so thankful that I might cry now.]
I extended my hand towards its [Modifier Ne]. Sybles began flowing out one by one from the item next.
[Modifier syble, ¡®Lu¡¯ has been acquired.]
[Modifier syble, ¡®St¡¯ has been acquired.]
[Modifier syble, ¡®And¡¯ has been acquired.]
[Modifier syble, ¡®Wra¡¯ has been acquired.]
.......
When around half of the sybles came my way, Asmodeus spoke up while ncing at my own Modifier. No, more specifically, it must¡¯ve been looking at the ¡®Tion¡¯ of my Modifier.
[Now that I take a look from up close, your Modifier truly is a tempting one.]
I quickly hid the [Modifier Ne] under my clothes and replied.
¡°Don¡¯t try to kill Michael, and just try to steal one word from him. If it¡¯s you, it should be more than doable, right?¡±
[Just one word, is it.... Are you perchance speaking of this one?]
It was at that moment that a certain ne held in its still-fine hand caught my eyes.
[Hunter of Grudges]
Its ¡®targetted ne¡¯ with all of the wordspleted began emitting a bright glow.
[Demon King, ¡®Devil of Lust and Wrath¡¯, has attained the scenario clear condition!]
[Transmission to the next scenario has begun.]
I reflexively took a look at my own ne of Modifier. It still said [Demon King of Salvation]. Meaning, that ¡®Gru¡¯ didn¡¯te from mine.
[I knew that this was a trap the moment Michael became corrupted.]
....No way, during such a short window?
The transmission to the next scenario began and Asmodeus¡¯s Incarnation Body slowly dispersed before my eyes.
[Did you really think that I wouldn¡¯t have made contingency ns for a situation like this one?]
From the onset, Asmodeus fought Michael for the express purpose of acquiring the syble [Gru], nothing more. I btedly reached out towards the Demon King, but things were already beyond my ability to interfere now.
[I pray you good fortune, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯. Because... you too also need to collect just one more ¡®word¡¯ from now on.]
Apanied by a brilliant sh of light, Asmodeus¡¯s body disappeared from the spot. And the only things I had with me were those Modifier words that it left behind.
[De¡õ of Lust and Wrath]
God d*mn it, why did it have to be [Vil]....?
I underestimated Asmodeus, didn¡¯t I? I turned my head around to find Anna Croft ring daggers at me.
¡°What about the promise with m....¡±
¡°Shh.¡±
I reflexively ced my finger on my lips. Something felt off. Up until only a few seconds ago, the whole forest was awash with the chaotic screaming, but it was just too d*mn quiet now.
....As if all lifeforms had been killed off within the area.
Just as all the leaves and des of grass in our surroundings stood up, so did the hair on my skin. I almost instinctively shouted out.
¡°Activate [Precognition], now!¡±
Her [Eye of the Great Demon] glowed in a bright crimson colour. Then, Anna Croft grabbed me and broke into a desperate sprint. After dashing over a hundred metres in an instant, she took a quick look behind her. I, too, was staring at the same spectacle as her.
Kuwah-aaaaah!!
The spot we were in only a moment ago was now being enveloped in a gigantic explosion. A purple-coloured half-dome reminiscent of a barrier copsed in on itself in the blink of an eye and destroyed everything trapped within.
That was the [Judgement Field], the ability to destroy everything that could only be earned through ¡®Corruption¡¯.
Anna Croft spoke in a despairing voice. ¡°There¡¯s too much noise and I can¡¯t see the future!¡±
¡°No need to see everything. You just need to read Michael¡¯s attack patterns.¡±
¡°You still wish to fight him? If we use that ¡®let¡¯s be pebbles¡¯ Fable or some such, we can surely escape from...¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you see that guy attacking even the stones on the ground just now?¡±
The Archangel hell-bent on killing me was walking out of the crater where purple-coloured smoke was rising up. Michael¡¯s Fable, now triggered by the [Fruit of Good and Evil], was controlling his entire being. The Corrupted Archangel had already lost half of his reasoning.
[Demon King... of... Sal... vation...]
His powerful voice roused up all the goosebumps on my skin just by hearing it from afar.
¡°....Yup, he¡¯s definitely not sane at the moment.¡±
¡°D*mn it, this is all your fault!!¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go with n B.¡±
¡°n B? You haven¡¯t even told me about that yet!¡±
¡°I¡¯m trying toe up with it n....¡±
I couldn¡¯t finish my sentence. Raging storm winds crashing in blew Anna Croft away to a distance, that¡¯s why. Right after that, I saw Michael¡¯srge, hulking frame rush towards me in a frightening turn of speed.
[¡®Demon King Transformation¡¯ has been activated!]
Along with cracking noises, my body began changing; a pair of jet-ck wings and the horns of a Demon King rose up from my back and my head. Thanks to the Probability of the 2nd generation, my own Status had been strengthened further, as well. Of course, it¡¯d still be a dog¡¯s death trying to fight him with only this much Status, though.
[Attribute, ¡®Scenario Interpreter¡¯, has been activated.]
However, it wasn¡¯t me who would be facing off against this guy.
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, has begun its storytelling!]
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, has begun its storytelling!]
Indeed, it would be the ¡®Fables¡¯ that I had earned so far.
KWA-BOOM!!!
The ¡¸Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¹ loaded up on my left hand collided with Michael¡¯s own left fist. Almost at the same time, the holy mes of the Torch burning on [Unbreakable Faith] aimed for the Corrupted Archangel¡¯s body.
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, is crying out in enjoyment!]
Michael was instantly shocked by what happened and quickly retreated while contorting his body.
The power of the ¡®Great Fables¡¯ was truly amazing. To think, they were able to face off against that frightening monster, even if he had been restricted currently by the shackles of the Probability of the 2nd generation. Indeed, it was not a waste of time to train under Yu Ho-Seong earlier.
[Fable, ¡®Evil that Destroys Evil¡¯, has begun its storytelling!]
[Great Fable, ¡®Eden¡¯s Demon¡¯, has begun its storytelling!]
Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t the only one who possessed a powerful Fable.
Kugugugugu-!!
The incredible pressure emitted with Michael as its centre caused all my Fables to gasp out in pain. My Status was not quite enough to fight face to face with this Archangel, as it turned out.
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, is roaring out in vexation.]
Sorry about that. If only I was a little stronger, you wouldn¡¯t have to hold yourself back like this. Soon afterwards, a fearsome strike flew in and I received an incredible, stomach-churning impact.
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, is protecting you.]
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is protecting you.]
[Fable, ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯, is protecting you.]
[Fable, ¡®the One who Opposes Miracles¡¯, is protecting you.]
.......
My Fables were dealing with the Archangel¡¯s attacks in my stead. For a brief moment there, several thoughts brushed past my brain.
What if I used [Hell of Eternity]?
What if I activated [Lightning Transformation] and [Way of the Wind] simultaneously? (ED: Electrification ¡ú Lightning Transformation. If you¡¯re curious, TL says the raw is literally ¡®lightning¡¯, ¡®human¡¯, and ¡®transformation¡¯.) (TL: I see that you decided to go with Lightning Transformation, then.)
Awaken [Bookmarks] and call upon other characters?
No matter what I thought of, I just couldn¡¯t see a clear way out of this. So, did that mean I only have that method left? But, I so wanted to avoid ending up in that pathetic state again.
Michael tookrge strides toe closer as I vomited out a bucketful of blood and backed away. He must¡¯ve decided to end this right now, as purple-coloured aura was oozing out from one of his hands.
Soon, a purple-coloured half-dome was generated within my surroundings. There it was, the Stigma that couldn¡¯t be cancelled once activated ¨C the judge that punishes all ¡®Evil¡¯, [Judgement Field], was spreading out around me.
It looked as if my punishment would be in the form ofpression to death.
¡°....Michael.¡±
However, did he know this small fact? That I¡¯d been waiting for him to activate that Stigma of his?
¡°No, hang on... Corrupted Angel ¡®Lucifer¡¯.¡±
[Demon King, ¡®King of Corrupted Angels¡¯, hates that name!]
Originally, Lucifer was one of the main yers that was supposed to lead the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ to its conclusion.
¡¸No ¡®Evil¡¯ in this world can defeat the ¡®King of Corrupted Angels¡¯.¡¹
This ¡®Evil¡¯ grew even stronger when confronting other ¡®Evil¡¯. And eventually, this monster would swallow up all ¡®Evil¡¯ out there. Heck, even a high-ranking Demon King within the top 10 positions wouldn¡¯t be able to kill this guy. Because, he¡¯d be the strongest existence in this world while fighting against ¡®Evil¡¯, you see.
¡¸However, what would happen if his opponent was not ¡®Evil¡¯?¡¹
All incredible power had a corresponding price to pay; while looking at the [Judgement Field] that was only around ten or so metres away from me, I reached into my inner pocket.
What I pulled out was a single apple ¨C the [Star Relic Fruit] that I received from the ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯ just before ¡®Gigantomachia¡¯ went underway.
¡°Hey, don¡¯t you miss the taste of this thing?¡±
Michael¡¯s eyes began to quake rather noticeably now. He should be able to recognise this apple, because he too, had consumed this fruit once before.
¡°When an angel eats a [Fruit of Good and Evil], it¡¯d go through [Demon King Transformation]. But, if a Demon King eats this fruit, what will happen?¡±
I could see the flustered Michael hurriedly extend his hand out.
Sorry, but it¡¯s toote now.
Just before the [Judgement Field] crushed my body...
....Issuing the ¡®crunch¡¯ noise, I took a bite out of the [Fruit of Good and Evil].
< Episode 69: Archangel Hunting (2) > Fin.
Chapter 367 - Archangel Hunting (3)
Chapter 367: Episode 69 ¨C Archangel Hunting (3)
This was a part of an ancient memory.
¨C Scribe, for how long am I supposed to repeat this war? A war that doesn¡¯t have any victors....
The times when he threw that question out, or how many times he asked it ¨C he couldn¡¯t recall them.
¨C Michael, there¡¯s no need to ponder too deeply about this.
The Metatron of his memories would always return the exact same smile. For several hundreds of years, or maybe even for thousands of years.
Metatron continued to carry that grin from the far side of time that Michael couldn¡¯t even remember anymore.
¨C Please, focus on hating the ¡®Evil¡¯ in front of your eyes, instead. That is your ¡®scenario¡¯.
¡®....My scenario.
Just how long have I been hunting down the demons?¡¯
Michael, for a long time now, could no longer remember his birth.
[The power of ¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ is going berserk.]
His memories were always incorrect, iplete. All he could remember were the final words of the Demon Kings dying at his hands.
¨C Howmentable, oh, the pitiful disciple of . Do you really need to go this far?
That was from the master of the 21st Demon World.
¨C Uwahahahahat!! You are now the same as us! Finally, Metatron has gone mad!!
And that was from the master of the 9th Demon World.
¨C Which ¡®number¡¯ Michael are you?
And finally, from the lips of the master of the 4th Demon World.
Past the faces of the Demon Kings with names he¡¯d forgotten, he could see the dead Archangels, hisrades, that fought alongside him.
¨C Michael, you must regain yourself. Please.... This, this is wrong.
An Angel and a Demon, that¡¯s what he was.
Faces breaking down like debris scattered away in tens of thousands of puzzle pieces, before gathering back together to create one giant form.
¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯, in conflict against each other for eternity itself. And Metatron¡¯s face, the one who had managed to endure all those years, continued to carry the exact same smile for thousands of years.
¨C You need to be careful about one thing. When using this power, you must never....
[The power of ¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ is going berserk!]
All of his memories were swept away in one go; Michael was enveloped in horrifying pain akin to his head being ripped to tiny shreds.
Aaaaaaaaah-!!!!
All ¡®Good¡¯ in the world cried out in sorrow. From the des of grass to trees; from small insects to every type of ¡®Good¡¯ living in Creation fell into a state of sorrow and cried out in grief.
[You have directed a fatal attack at an opponent on the side of Absolute Good!]
[Fable, ¡®Evil that destroys Evil¡¯, is roaring out in bitter sadness!]
[You have broken the taboo!]
[You have been handed a terrible penalty!]
A grey-coloured angel covered in blood was smiling at Michael.
*
The moment I bit into the [Fruit of Good and Evil], the view of the world changed.
[You have consumed a forbidden ¡®Star Relic Fruit¡¯.]
[You are currently a ¡®Demon King¡¯.]
[The power of ¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ has whispered the secret of the ¡®Absolute Good¡¯ to you.]
As the ginormous storm of magical energy raged around me, my ears were inundated by the continuous stream of messages.
[You have experienced all facets of ¡®Good and Evil¡¯!]
[You have achieved an impossible aplishment!]
[You have acquired the Possibility of a brand new Fable!]
[ is stunned by your aplishment.]
[ is pondering what your second Modifier should be.]
I felt the sensations of being a Constetion, the one I couldn¡¯t feel for a long time after bing a Demon King, once more.
[¡®Demon King Transformation¡¯ has been cancelled.]
[ haspletely restored your constetion.]
I saw a beautifully sparkling star high up within the pitch-ck sky above. That was my star.
[¡®Angel Transformation¡¯ is activating.]
My body began to glow brightly after receiving the starlight. The feathered wings dyed in ck morphed into pure white ones, and the demon¡¯s horns growing on top of my head withered away. Warm, pure energy filled up the entirety of my Incarnation Body.
Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t permitted enough time to rxedly enjoy the ¡®Status of an Angel¡¯. The [Judgement Field] had shrunk down around me and had begun crushing my body.
Kwa-dudududuk!!
My new wings were crushed and folded as I felt this horrifying pain. My arms and legs, that couldn¡¯t endure against the pressure of thepacting space, got crushed helplessly.
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that swallowed the Myth¡¯, is protecting you.]
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is protecting you.]
I was able to barely hold on against that enormous pressure, powerful enough to almost crush me in an instant, with the aid of my Great Fables.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is protecting your mental state!]
[Probability of 2nd generation is weakening the ability of ¡®the 4th Wall¡¯!]
It felt like several bolts of lightning were going off in my head. I thought that I¡¯d ckout at any given moment, and my vision darkened before reverting back a few times, too.
However, I endured. I simply had to. So that I could grasp that one and only chance soon to being my way.
¡¸As the price for being strong against ¡®Evil¡¯, the ¡®King of Corrupted Angels¡¯ possesses one weakness.¡¹
The power of the [Judgement Field] crushing and wringing my body was gradually weakening. The only weakness of this frightening monster capable of destroying all ¡®Absolute Evil¡¯, was....
¡¸The ¡®King of Corrupted Angels¡¯ cannot attack an opponent leaning towards the ¡®Good¡¯ spectrum.¡¹
If he broke this rule and attacked ¡®Good¡¯, then....
Craaaaack!!
The absolute Stigma [Judgement Field], capable of crushing a Demon King to death, began splintering into pieces. Like a moth escaping from its cocoon, I destroyed this barrier and spread out my wings.
Michael squatted down on the ground and grasped his head with both of his hands while screaming at the top of his lungs.
[Demon King, ¡®King of Corrupted Angels¡¯, is writhing in great pain!]
This was my only chance.
¡°Anna Croft!!¡±
As soon as my words resounded out in this forest, a blonde woman ran towards the rear of Michael. Her eye was now dyed in that crimson hue. She had seen something through [Precognition] and was now in full sprint while unleashing all of her Status.
Meanwhile, I gathered my remaining strength into my two legs and dashed forward as if I was falling over. Now, normally, killing Michael with only this muchbined firepower was impossible, even if he had been rendered defenceless like right now.
However, the story would be different while we were on this ind.
[Character, ¡®Anna Croft¡¯, has activated ¡®Physical Sword Aura Lv.9¡¯!]
As if we had a prior agreement, she unleashed several strands of powerful energy from the tip of her shortsword like clockwork. I unsheathed [Unbreakable Faith] with my tattered right arm.
[Fragment of a Fable, ¡®Right Arm of a Pitiful Sword Master¡¯, has activated!]
I had no clue that a Fable acquired through the special attribute of [Lamarck¡¯s Giraffe] once upon a time woulde in handy like this. (ED: Lamarck¡¯s Kirin ¡ú Lamarck¡¯s Giraffe. TIL this is a real thing.)
[Probability of 2nd generation has reinforced your aptitude!]
The explosive magical energy of [Purest Sword Force] extended by over ten-plus metres from the tip of [Unbreakable Faith]. (TL: ¡°White Pure Star Energy¡± ¡ú ¡°Purest Sword Force¡±)
I managed to barely hold the sword level as it sunk about half-way into the left side of Michael¡¯s neck. Almost at the same time, Anna Croft¡¯s shortsword sliced into the right of his neck.
A fountain of blood shot up into the air and Michael¡¯s severed head flew up.
[You have killed the 176th Incarnation Body of ¡®King of the Corrupted Angels¡¯.]
[You have acquired a Myth-grade Fable.]
[ is stunned by your aplishment!]
[You have brought the ¡®Fake Revtion¡¯ to reality.]
[You have achieved an unbelievable aplishment!]
[You have acquired an ungradable Fable.]
[You have acquired the Fable, ¡®Architect of Revtion¡¯!]
As the stream of messages cascaded down, my barely-maintained consciousness finally let go and scattered away.
*
When I reopened my eyes, I found myself all alone within a white space. A single sentence was floating up in the empty air.
¡¸The being who consumed the ¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ will face the truth he had been avoiding.¡¹
¡®....Where am I?¡¯
Before I had a chance to ask that, images suddenly popped up on the left-hand sidewall. Those were scenes from ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯.
It depicted Yu Joong-Hyeok and hispanions clearing out various scenarios. That was the world of ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ where I didn¡¯t exist. Thepanions who didn¡¯t buckle under all sorts of hardships and continued to defeat their enemies... existed there.
[¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ speaks to you. ¡®That story was your life, wasn¡¯t it?¡¯]
I nodded my head. Indeed, that story was my life. I grew up while reading those events.
[¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ speaks to you. ¡®However, this is also definitely your life, too.¡¯]
The right-hand sidewall rippled and a new screen appeared there. It now showed a boy, around 15 years old. He was looking at aputer monitor while inputting something with the keyboard.
¨C What will happen to Joong-Hyeok next? Is he going to die again?
This was back when Yu Joong-Hyeok was going through his 164th turn. I was in the 3rd year of middle school, and in love with Yi Ji-Hye back then. And I was busy typing ament. (TL: Lee Jihye ¡ú Yi Ji-Hye)
¨C Argh.... Really... I¡¯d like to stop chomping on the sweet potatoes now, please. (TL: Sweet potatoes = Korean ng for being frustrated/stifled)
And then, when Yu Joong-Hyeok was going through his 488th turn. I was in the 2nd year of high school, around the same age as Kim Nam-Woon; again, I was typing ament within the screen.
...
....
......
As Yu Joong-Hyeok went through more and more regressions, I too, grew older and older. While reading about his deaths, my beard began sprouting. I graduated from high school while spectating on his sacrifices.
And again, as I read his story....
¨C Wouldn¡¯t it be fine for him to just die during this turn, instead?
....Wait, did I ever write ament like that before?
¨C The story is going down the drain, so maybe it¡¯s time to go back? ??
Now, it was Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s 662th turn.
I was a university student by then, still typing away on a keyboard.
¨C Joong-Hyeok is going to die again, yes?
The words Imitted to record were in full disy here. All those words that I spat out under the excuse of being hurt by life and exhausted by living itself, they wereing back inside my brain.
¨C Please, can you skip the earlier scenarios? It¡¯s getting repetitive.
....I couldn¡¯t say anything, not anymore.
[¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ speaks to you. ¡®That is the total worth of the story you told as if it was your entire life.¡¯]
The tips of my fingers began trembling.
On the left wall, Yu Joong-Hyeok and his battles; and on the right wall, there was me, staring at Yu Joong-Hyeok. And right in the middle wall, the scenes of me ring at the stars in the sky yed out.
¡¸¡±Enjoy the show while you can. The fee for your entertainment shall be your lives in the end.¡±¡¹
[¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ speaks to you. ¡®Do you really have the qualification to tell ¡ö¡ö?¡¯]
My own words continued to float up above the screen.
¡¸¡±Yu Joong-Hyeok, I know the ¡®future you don¡¯t know¡¯.¡±¡¹
¡¸¡±Hey, Joong-Hyeok, we can save this world. You know this, right?¡±¡¹
¡¸¡±I¡¯ll finish your story in your stead.¡±¡¹
My voice, sounding so brazen and with not a speck of hesitation in it.
[¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ speaks to you. ¡®You, who have deceived the entire world by relying on the story only you know, and lived until now.... Do you possess the right to be saved?]
From some ce deep in my chest, I thought I heard something break. The whole world seemed to be shaking in my eyes.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is ring at the ¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯!]
[¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ is startled and is shrinking back.]
Tch-chuchuchuchut!!
A storm of Probability swept up my surroundings. As I stumbled and faltered about, someone¡¯s voice cried out to me.
¡¸(.....Dok-Ja-ssi! You need to move, now! Michael is still....!)¡¹
*
After I opened my eyes again, I found myself leaning against a cavern wall.
¡°....I was going to abandon you if you didn¡¯t wake up in the next minute or so.¡±
A blonde woman was looking down at me. Bandages were tightly wrapped around my belly and chest areas, and there were some crushed herbs applied to my thigh that had suffered a pration wound.
Warm liquid then flowed into my mouth. It tasted bitter, acrid.
I quickly regained my wits and after discovering the identity of the liquid, nearly got scared out of them again. Because... Anna Croft had cut her palm open to feed me her own blood.
¡°What the hell are you....?!¡±
She used her other hand to calm me down and exined herself without a hint of fluster.
¡°I possess the attribute [Elixir Maker]. My blood possesses the same medicinal effects as all the elixirs I¡¯ve consumed so far.¡±
¡°....But, drinking a lot of this blood will ce me under your control.¡±
¡°That happens only when your Status is lower than mine.¡±
She stemmed the blood flow from her palm and turned her head away.
It was nighttime already. I couldn¡¯t sense any presence or movements. I sucked in several slow but deep breaths and asked her.
¡°What happened to Michael?¡±
¡°.....He¡¯s dead. No, I¡¯m not sure whether to call him dead or not....¡±
¡°By any chance, did his Incarnation Body get enshrouded in a ckish fog?¡±
¡°....How did you know that?¡±
I wish I could exin to her, but this crippling pain assaulting my head prevented me from easily recalling the contents of ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯. I was pretty sure that Michael wasn¡¯t dead. To be more specific, he did die, but would revive again.
There were ¡®two moons¡¯ up in the sky outside the cavern, the symbol of Fables from the 2nd generation. I must¡¯ve drank a fair amount of her blood, because under the pale blue light, Anna Croft¡¯splexion was just as pale and wane.
¡°Why didn¡¯t you abandon me and leave?¡±
¡°I thought that, by saving you, I¡¯d earn a Fable like [Prophet who Pays her Debt] or some such.¡±
She probably knew very well that such a Fable wouldn¡¯t get created so easily. Suddenly, I was ovee with this sense of rejection to this whole idea in my head. The Anna Croft I knew was not like this. The woman I knew was definitely a cold-blooded type of a person who, for the sake of her cause, would not hesitate to sacrifice even her most preciousrade.
That was supposed to be the case, but....
¡°You should be able to move again in a few hours.¡±
However, was the information I know of her, everything there was to know about Anna Croft?
¡¸Anna Croft is an Incarnation of ¡®Absolute Good¡¯.¡¹
....I couldn¡¯t be sure why I was thinking up such things. Maybe, it was possible that I began thinking about lots more things after consuming the [Fruit of Good and Evil].
I spoke as if I was sighing. ¡°We should part ways around here. You must¡¯ve collected all the words necessary for your Modifier target, after all.¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me, but will you be fine?¡±
¡°Not sure who should be worried about who here. Even if you don¡¯t look after me, let me assure you, I won¡¯t die. These injuries weren¡¯t severe enough to kill me.¡±
¡°No, if you were left alone, you would have been dead.¡±
Not ¡®could have died¡¯, but ¡®dead¡¯, straight up. And I knew the precise moments when Anna Croft would say something like that.
¡°But, you shouldn¡¯t have been able to see my future?¡±
¡°....Until recently, yes, I couldn¡¯t.¡±
[Exclusive skill, ¡®Lie Detection Lv.7¡¯, has activated!]
[You have confirmed that the applicable assertion is the truth.]
¡°Starting from yesterday onwards, I could see little bits of your future. Some ¡®things¡¯ past an indistinct, faint wall....¡±
....She could see my future?
¡°What did you see?¡±
¡°....It¡¯ll be better if you don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°Just say it.¡±
Anna Croft¡¯s [Eye of the Great Demon] again emitted a crimson light. She then spat out a soft sigh before slowly opening her lips.
¡°Twelve hours from now, you will die at the hands of the ¡®Conquering King¡¯, Yu Joong-Hyeok.¡±
< Episode 69: Archangel Hunting (3) > Fin.
Chapter 368 - Archangel Hunting (4)
Chapter 368: Episode 69 ¨C Archangel Hunting (4)
[You are a ¡®1st turn¡¯ Regressor.]
The first time he chose to go back, he thought that he was given a great opportunity ¨C an opportunity to survive the scenarios by possessing more information than everyone else.
[You are a ¡®2nd turn¡¯ Regressor.]
When he chose to go back for the second time, he began thinking that this life wouldn¡¯t be as easy as he thought.
And, after witnessing hisrades die over and over again....
After losing the person he loved so much....
....He finally realised that he was destined to experience the same pain many more times in the future. As the price for possessing more information than anyone else, he had to lose his preciousrades many more times.
[You are a ¡®3rd turn¡¯ Regressor.]
During his third try, he thought that maybe this was a curse.
¡¸Just how many more lives like this one am I supposed to go through?¡¹
He realised that, if he were to get to the end of all the scenarios, he needed to kill off his emotions, that he must not live his life. And so, he decided to be not ¡®Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯, but the ¡®Regressor¡¯, instead.
The fourth time, fifth.... The timelines that he might¡¯ve had experienced, but a certain someone¡¯s unexpected words stopped him from regressing again.
¨C Being able to regress at any time is the same as having no meaning in ¡®dying¡¯ anymore. However, there being no meaning in dying is the same thing as the value of living disappearing, too.
¨C Yu Joong-Hyeok, you need to wake up. What I¡¯m saying here is that, don¡¯t mistakenly believe that things will get better by repeating them over and over again.
That was why Yu Joong-Hyeok chose not to regress. He gave up on several new ¡®lives¡¯ where he could¡¯ve started off from a higher vantage point while possessing more useful information than before.
[You have entered the ¡®Middle Ind No.3¡¯.]
Along with the blinding rays of light, he finally arrived on the ¡®Middle Ind No.3¡¯. Participants who had arrived alongside him looked around and murmured to themselves.
[What is this ce?]
[Weren¡¯t we supposed to head straight to the ¡®Main Ind¡¯?]
Yu Joong-Hyeok simply unsheathed his sword.
[Hidden scenario ¨C ¡®Snatching Modifiers¡¯ has begun!]
And then, the ughter began in earnest. The rampaging storm of crimson-coloured sword light sliced the heads of the Constetions off. There was not one shred of hesitation in Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s de. He carved out the hearts of the Incarnations and smashed apart the backs of the escaping Constetions¡¯ heads.
[You have acquired a syble from the Modifier of Constetion, ¡®Crow of the Gloomy Sea at Night¡¯.]
[You have acquired a syble from the Modifier of Constetion, ¡®Beachfront Tactician¡¯.]
There were a few supposedly-tough enemies here ¨C enemies that would¡¯ve been difficult to fight against were he in the original 3rd turn of regression. However, Yu Joong-Hyeok was able to defeat them rather easily.
¡¸The weakness of ¡®Birch Tree¡¯s Scorpion¡¯ is located below its tail.¡¹
¡¸You must attack the ¡®Sovereign of the Crescent Moon¡¯ repeatedly until the starlight on his head fades away.¡¹
The Yu Joong-Hyeok of the original storyline wouldn¡¯t have known that information. Indeed, he¡¯d only get his hands on them after going through the 4th, 5th, 100th, even 1000th regressions.
[You have acquired a syble from the Modifier of Constetion, ¡®Birch Tree¡¯s Scorpion¡¯.]
[You have acquired a syble from the Modifier of Constetion, ¡®Sovereign of the Crescent Moon¡¯.]
The Yu Joong-Hyeok of the 3rd turn knew all those information of the future he hadn¡¯t yet lived already.
¡ºHan Su-Yeong ¨C Records of the 1863rd turn (First)¡»
¡ºHan Su-Yeong ¨C Records of the 1863rd turn (Last)¡»
It was all thanks to the records from the 1863rd turn in the distant future that he might have gotten to experience if he lived as the story originally intended for him.
¡°Fuuu....¡±
Less than a hourter, Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s surrounding vicinity had be deathly still.
Staaab!
He ended the life of thest remaining Constetion and continued to move on. It wasn¡¯t just to quickly end this scenario, though.
After walking for a bit, he came across a battlefield soaked in blood.
¡®Fertile Forest¡¯
He was greeted by the countless corpses of the Incarnation bodies. This spectacle of ughter seemed to be the handiwork of a certain someone. While gathering the necessary Modifier sybles, Yu Joong-Hyeok chased after the direction of the ughterer.
It didn¡¯t take him too long to discover a giant cocoon seemingly painted entirely in a ck hue. He knew right away what this thing was.
¡°....A monster created by , is it.¡±
It was none other than Michael¡¯s cocoon. It only appeared after the Archangel was killed off by someone while he was in the middle of ¡®Demon King Transformation¡¯. Fairly soon, he¡¯d gain a new life and emerge from this shell.
....Just like how, after death, Yu Joong-Hyeok would get to start his next turn. If there was one difference, then it¡¯d be with Michael losing a portion of his memories whenever he came back to life.
The so-called ¡®Evil¡¯ created to eliminate ¡®Evil¡¯. The existence of Michael was the reason why Yu Joong-Hyeok could never be friendly with .
As the drizzling rain pelted down, Yu Joong-Hyeok searched the vicinity of the cocoon. Michael ended up in this state because someone managed to defeat him.
Not too long afterwards, Yu Joong-Hyeok discovered the fragments of Fables belonging to a rather powerful Demon King. Someone did fight Michael here and was gravely injured, it seemed.
The traces of these Fables glowed in brilliant white rays even within the faint, blurry fog of rainwater. They belonged to a being Yu Joong-Hyeok was quite familiar with.
Shudder.
That was around when Michael¡¯s cocoon began to quake noticeably. It emitted this gloomy, damp aura as its top began opening up.
Yu Joong-Hyeok frowned deeply.
¡®Already?¡¯
Dark emotions quickly permeated within the purple-coloured fog. Michael¡¯s nude figure, reformed into a brand-new Incarnation Body, slowly revealed itself inside the cocoon.
Yu Joong-Hyeok got ready to escape from here.
[Demon King of.... Sal... va... tion!]
Indeed, he¡¯d have left this ce were it not for those words. Yu Joong-Hyeok hesitated for a little bit, before approaching the half-open cocoon. Michael, still not fully alive yet,y in a defenceless sleep inside the shell.
sh!
Michael¡¯s eyelids moved and shot wide open, and just as they did, so did Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s de.
¡°You sleeping for a little while longer will be better for everyone.¡±
Staaab!
His version of [Purest Sword Force] prated straight into Michael¡¯s heart. The still-weak Incarnation Body that hadn¡¯t activated either the [Demon King Transformation] or [Angel Transformation] began to crumble away from the Probability of 2nd generation.
Guuwaaaaah-!!
[You have killed the 177th Incarnation Body of ¡®King of the Corrupted Angels¡¯.]
Michael¡¯s cocoon rapidly shrunk down in size and reverted back to its original status. He¡¯d be reborn in the 178th Incarnation Body, then.
[Neb, , is disying animosity towards your actions!]
[Constetion, ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯, is ring at you.]
Yu Joong-Hyeok faced off against the gaze falling from the sky and spoke. ¡°....I¡¯ve told you this before, haven¡¯t I? I shall be the one to kill Kim Dok-Ja. Stop your unnecessary actions.¡±
The sky didn¡¯t say anything else in return. Yu Joong-Hyeok sheathed his sword and his steps hurried after the trail of fragments scattered around the forest.
*
After he disappeared into the forest¡¯s path, a small shadow revealed itself next to Michael¡¯s cocoon. Bob-cut hair gently shook around below the ck raincoat¡¯s hoodie.
The master of the shadow grinned brightly after discovering all the items discarded in the vicinity.
¡°Yup, a bus of the main character is the best one out there.¡±
Han Su-Yeong hurriedly shoved the items inside her pocket while giggling happily to herself.
¡°In any case, that Regressor guy just doesn¡¯t understand the value of items....¡±
[Constetion, ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯, is wordlessly staring at the fragments of the Fables scattered on the ground.]
¡°What are you looking at?¡±
Han Su-Yeong picked up the fragments the ck me Dragon was pointing at. And then, her expression hardened in an instant.
[You have acquired the fragment of Fable, ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯.]
¡°Isn¡¯t this....?¡±
was blessed with countless types of Fables, but she knew of only one person that possessed a Fable with such a name. She abandoned the items she¡¯d been picking up and quickly ran in the direction where Yu Joong-Hyeok had disappeared to.
*
I¡¯d die at Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s hands.
¡¸(Dok-Ja-ssi.)¡¹
Three hours from now, Yu Joong-Hyeok would kill me.
¡¸(Dok-Ja-ssi!)¡¹
I quickly raised my head and made my reply.
¡®Yes, Yu Sang-Ah-ssi.¡¯
¡¸(How long will you stay dazed like this? It¡¯s not like you, Dok-Ja-ssi.)¡¹
¡®I¡¯m not dazed. I¡¯m actually thinking about some things.¡¯
¡¸(Such as?)¡¹
¡®On how to convince him.¡¯
Honestly, I didn¡¯t feel confident about doing that. The Yu Joong-Hyeok showing up here to kill me wasn¡¯t the same Yu Joong-Hyeok from the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ that I read for over ten-plus years of my life.
The oneing to see me now was the Yu Joong-Hyeok who realised that he was just a ¡®character of a story¡¯, just like Yu Joong-Hyeok from the 1863rd turn.
¡¸(Is it because of your guilt....?)¡¹
Sometimes, it felt as if Yu Sang-Ah could openly read my mind.
....And right now, she might have really done that, too.
¡®No, it isn¡¯t. It¡¯s something that I must do.¡¯
[The power of ¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ is worsening your guilty conscience.]
It was possible that this feeling had been forcibly triggered by the [Fruit of Good and Evil]. Meaning, it might not be mine at all. However, I still believed that this was the path I must take.
Anna Croft, supporting me during our journey, addressed me. ¡°We should arrive at the centre of the ind soon.¡±
I nodded my head as a reply.
The ¡®centre¡¯ of the ind, the location of the portal to transfer you to the next scenario, plus where I¡¯d meet Yu Joong-Hyeok in three hours¡¯ time.
¡°I don¡¯t wish to interfere with the future you have chosen yourself, but... The oue of my [Precognition] doesn¡¯t change all that easily.¡±
¡°....Are you trying to jinx me?¡±
¡°I¡¯m just trying to be honest with you. If you don¡¯t wish to die, it¡¯ll be better for you to locate the syble ¡®Vil¡¯ soon and get to the next scenario.¡±
¡°I¡¯m deliberately choosing not to go. There is a story that I must tell that guy.¡±
The story that I¡¯d been dying all along, something that I definitely had to discuss with him.
¡°A story, is it..... Does the ¡®Conquering King¡¯ really know how to listen to stories?¡±
¡°If he doesn¡¯t, then I better make him.¡±
Anna Croft remained silent for a little while. She must¡¯ve been thinking of something, as her eyes were looking up at the ckish-blue night sky above. Several Constetions were looking down at us from up there.
¡°I¡¯m sure that you know this already, but well, you can¡¯t convince every single person.¡±
She was a prophet. She probably experienced a simr situation as mine many times before. After all, she reached this ce by lying to Selena Kim and deceiving Iris, didn¡¯t she?
¡°I think that we should say such things only after we try everything in our power first.¡±
¡°A person must bear the burden as weighty as the future she sees, you know.¡±
The centre of the ind could be seen in the distance now. And the giant portal leading to the next scenario was there. Anna Croft withdrew her supporting hands from me and spoke. ¡°Well then, this is as far as we go.¡±
She had gathered all the Modifier sybles, and was qualified to step through that doorway now. Soon, she would continue to stride forward towards the destination she sought after.
Just as I turned around away from her, she called out to me. ¡°Kim Dok-Ja.¡±
Not as the Constetion ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, but as ¡®Kim Dok-Ja¡¯. She was calling out to ¡®me¡¯.
¡°My aim is to change the master of this .¡±
Right away, I was beset with this ufortable feeling. Because... I could tell what she was nning to say next.
¡°What is your goal, then?¡±
....I knew it.
¡°Do I really need to answer you?¡±
¡°I feel that only after hearing your answer, will I get to finally decide whether to let you live or not.¡±
She had ced me on a scale, basically ¨C whether I¡¯d be a help in her pursuit towards her goal or be a hindrance, instead. If she thought that I¡¯d be thetter, then she¡¯d not hesitate to make me disqualified here.
I quietly stared deeply into her eyes.
Would it be fine to tell her? Tell her what I truly want in this world?
Since she was a prophet, would she be able to understand me?
¡°I....¡±
Unfortunately, even before I could fully open my mouth, someone else¡¯s voice interrupted me.
¡°His goal is to see the end of a certain insignificant story.¡±
Icy-cold rage thickly permeated that voice.
And I knew that voice better than anyone.
< Episode 69: Archangel Hunting (4) > Fin.
Chapter 369 - A story that can’t be shared (1)
Chapter 369: Episode 70 ¨C A story that can¡¯t be shared (1)
Anna Croft¡¯s expression hardened instantly and she sneakily pulled out her shortsword behind her back. ¡°....¡¯Conquering King¡¯.¡±
Completely disregarding her, Yu Joong-Hyeok spoke while takingrge strides to approach us. ¡°You two seem to be getting along nicely. Do you feel a sense of camaraderie from the fact that you both know about the future?¡±
¡°....But, you also know the information about the future, don¡¯t you?¡±
¡°What I¡¯ve experienced isn¡¯t the future.¡±
Kugugugugu-!!
¡°It¡¯s simply the ¡®things that had happened¡¯. It¡¯s the past.¡±
Things that had happened, he said.
Yu Joong-Hyeok had to live through the story that I read while weing thousands of deaths in the process. As if to respond to all those years he had spent, the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] held in his hand began to cry out viciously.
Anna Croft snuck a nce in my direction.
I replied to her. ¡°You should go. This guy came to see me, not you.¡±
¡°I pray that I¡¯ll get to hear your end goal through your own words next time we meet.¡±
Leaving behind those words, she vanished through the portal without a trace. For sure, she had no reason to stay behind. She had paid her debt more than enough by assisting me this far, after all.
Yu Joong-Hyeok didn¡¯t try to stop her from leaving. If it was any other times, he¡¯d doggedly pursue her and cut her head off, but not today.
¡°Yu Joong-Hyeok,¡± I called out to him.
But, he didn¡¯t look at me. No, he simply stared at the empty, open mouth of the portal.
So, I called out to him one more time. ¡°Please, at least listen to what I have to say. You used to call me yourrade, once upon a time, didn¡¯t you?¡±
He shifted his gaze towards me and slowly unsheathed his sword.
¡°That was in the past.¡±
The icy-cold rage permeating within his voice wasn¡¯t something that I could readily unpack.
[Unique skill, the ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ has been activated!]
And so, I took yet another step into the curse of omniscience.
[Your degree of understanding on the applicable individual iscking!]
Unfortunately, Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s inner thoughts didn¡¯t permit my spying attempt, as if to assert that the person in front of my eyes was no longer the same guy that I knew all this time.
¡°I can already guess what you want to talk to me about. It¡¯s probably about that book of yours.¡±
¡°.....¡±
¡°Through that book, you peeked into my life, and used me as your entertainment. Is there anything else I should know?¡±
I couldn¡¯t mouth any excuses. Because those were all truths. What I did was no different from what other Constetions had been doing.
¡°I....¡±
I knew that. I definitely did. But....
But, was the sense of betrayal everything he felt?
[Your degree of understanding on the applicable individual is increasing gradually bit by bit.]
Yu Joong-Hyeok was waiting for me, as if he was the judge searching for that yet-undiscovered opportunity to frame me even further.
Too bad, I had no idea what to say here.
His emotions flooded into my head and filled it up to full in no time through the ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯. All the texts that I knew were steadily being overwritten by the wordspletely foreign to me.
The words that I should be saying, words that I wanted to say, they were all being buried under the ckened waves of emotions crashing in.
And then, his sword moved.
Even at that moment, it still didn¡¯t feel real to me. Indeed, it felt far too surreal that he¡¯d forget about all those times we survived together and try to kill me right here.
[¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ is influencing your emotions!]
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is shaking around violently!]
The moment I saw the de flying in right in front of my nose, a guilty conscience, as well as a sense of unfairness, welled up in my heart.
[¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ is dragging out your dark emotions to the fore!]
I did my best in my own way. After these scenarios got underway, I really tried my best. In my own way, I did my best to put what I read to practice.
I never once thought about hurting Yu Joong-Hyeok or any of mypanions. All I ever thought about was these scenarios ¨C what should I do to minimise the harm? What should I do so that we could safely reach the true end of everything?
That was all I did. Nothing more. Yet...
Just what made things to go so wrong like this?
aaang!!
Along with the explosive grinding noise, blue sparks danced in the air.
¡°Why are you standing around dazed like that, you dumbass?!¡±
Han Su-Yeong was standing next to me now.
*
It was no coincidence that Han Su-Yeong arrived on the ¡®Middle Ind No.3¡¯.
While progressing through the ¡®Small Ind¡¯s¡¯ scenario, she had a certain dream. And it was about a man wearing a white coat dying at the hands of another man wearing a ck coat.
It was the same rubbish dream she had already a while ago, so she even muttered to herself, ¡®It¡¯s that stupid dream again,¡¯ while dreaming it. Because, a dream would remain just that, a dream, and would nevere to reality.
....Just like a novel could never be reality, that was.
¨C Looks like the me of the 3rd turn is a bit of a moron, isn¡¯t she. I showed her the same image several times already, yet she doesn¡¯t seem to get it....
¡®What the heck was that?!¡¯
Han Su-Yeong in the dream nearly jumped up in fright and shifted her gaze towards the voice. A woman wearing a ck coat was standing there. This mysterious person possessed a simr physique to her. And as if someone deliberately erased her face, there were no distinguishing features at all.
That nk face continued to speak.
¨C Looks like this regression will end up as a failure if this keeps up, huh....
Han Su-Yeong felt this instinctive fear and took a couple of steps back. Unfortunately, she was still inside her own dream, and no person alive could run away from their dreams.
¨C You see, me, I like throwing a wrench in someone else¡¯s schemes.
The moment this woman of the dream extended her hand, strange, unexinable information flooded into Han Su-Yeong¡¯s head.
[Ability of ¡®Predictive giarism¡¯ is being awoken inside you!]
And that was how Han Su-Yeong woke up from her sleep. Unknown information swam inside her head, and her consciousness moved on its own volition to sort through her new-found knowledge base.
A short whileter, this one sentence formed in her head.
¨C Yu Joong-Hyeok will head towards the ¡®Middle Ind No.3¡¯.
She had no clue why such a sentence popped up in her mind. Even then, she decided to heed it. She didn¡¯t know what that unidentifiable dream was all about, or who that faceless woman within it was, but regardless, the thought of ¡®I must do so¡¯ rang clearly in her head.
And that was how she reached this very location, this very moment.
¡°Get out of my way. I have no business with you.¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok was ring at her with a pair of frightening eyes. Meanwhile, Kim Dok-Ja was staring at her with a dazed expression on his face.
Han Su-Yeong slowly sucked in her breath. She still didn¡¯t know what the dream was trying to show her. However, at least right in this moment, she knew what her role was.
Han Su-Yeong chuckled in her usual slimy manner and spoke up.
¡°I knew that you¡¯d cause a problem sooner orter. There¡¯s no way the ¡®Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯ I know would change like that.¡±
¡°If you don¡¯t move out the way, then I....¡±
¡°What, you want to kill me, too? And what would you gain by doing that? Is this thepensation for all those times you¡¯ve been deceived?¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok didn¡¯t reply. Instead, his sword skill seemed to be forgotten for a moment there. His de sliced down from the air and Han Su-Yeong defended against the attack with a smirk.
¡°....You and Kim Dok-Ja are exactly the same when ites to not listening to other people, you know.¡±
[Constetion, ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯, is roaring out in rage!]
The power of [ck mes] permeating within her entire figure shed against his sword swing.
The weight behind Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s sword strike after being boosted by the 2nd generation¡¯s power was quite heavy. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as she unleashed all of her strength.
He was indeed strong. However, it wasn¡¯t as if she was fooling around doing nothing up until now.
[Fable, ¡®Disciple of the Legendary Swordmaster¡¯, is shining brightly!]
That was the Fable she barely managed to earn by scraping and wing her way through the scenario beforeing here. The strength of a Swordmaster swirled around her figure and explosively rose up within her.
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!!
In other ces, it may not work, but if it was this ce, then....
¡°When a person is saying something to you...¡±
The strengthened [ck me] rushed towards Yu Joong-Hyeok through the gaps of the dancing dark-blue sparks.
¡°....You! Should! Listen!¡±
The barrage of the strengthened mes rained down in sync with her words. Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s eyes shook around, hard, at the unexpectedly robust resistance put up by her. She didn¡¯t miss that opening and loudly yelled out.
¡°All Kim Dok-Ja did was read a novel! A stupidly long and boring novel!¡±
Seeing Yu Joong-Hyeok get pushed back bit by bit, she thought that she could pull this off. This was not a tough dilemma to solve. This misunderstanding only came about because of people¡¯s words. That was why she believed that more words could resolve it once and for all.
¡°So, just talk to him, will ya! Speak to each other without holding back! Just like how everyone else does!¡±
The mes of [ck me] remained persistent and stuck on to Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s de. He coldly spoke as he shook off the darkish mes. ¡°You don¡¯t know anything.¡±
¡°No, I know already,¡± growled Han Su-Yeong, after hearing his words that cold-heartedly excluded her. ¡°What are you so pissed off about? About Kim Dok-Ja approaching you while knowing everything about you? But, aren¡¯t you the same? Just like him, you acquired info for yourself and have deceived everyone else until now, haven¡¯t you?¡±
Perhaps those words became the seed, because rage began filling up Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s eyes next. Their swords shed in the air once more.
¡°Of course, I know that you were being sincere. I know that you did those things to save people, to reach an even better world.... But what about Kim Dok-Ja, then?¡±
¡°.....¡±
¡°Tell me, just which idiot would throw his life away because a character from a story is about to die??¡±
She saw Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s de freeze up for a moment there and continued to pour out her words.
¡°Did you forget what Kim Dok-Ja has done until now? Just because he read that boring-ass novel a bit, you wish to pretend everything we experienced during your 3rd regression didn¡¯t happen?¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s Status was shrinking back now. Han Su-Yeong could feel it ¨C that she was almost there. Just one more push, and this unnecessary fight woulde to an end.
¡°Calm down and think rationally about this.¡±
Unfortunately, Han Su-Yeong took a wrong step at the final hurdle.
¡°You are not that kind of a character.¡±
¡°....A character, is it?¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s expression was changing back. He wasn¡¯t asking a question just now. She btedly realised her mistake, but it was far toote to take back what she said by then.
¡°You¡¯re the same as him.¡±
Enormous waves of magical energy spread out from the contact point of the two locked des. Han Su-Yeong¡¯s sword issued a cry of pain. The force behind [ck mes] was now being pushed back one-sidedly.
[Fable, ¡®Torch that swallowed the Myth¡¯, is roaring out!]
The [Great Fable] Yu Joong-Hyeok had acquired was now going on a rampage.
¡°I saw what you did during the 1863rd regression.¡±
¡°1863rd regression? What the hell are you....??¡±
It was at that moment a certain something popped up in Han Su-Yeong¡¯s mind.
¨C In the 1863rd world-line of ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯.... Ah, right. You were there, too. I couldn¡¯t tell which one of you was the real body, though.
For sure, Kim Dok-Ja said something like that in the past.
¡®Can it be?¡¯
Information in her head began consolidating; apparently, she existed within the 1863rd turn. And in that ce, she was living in a different regression. In that case, the person she saw in her dream was....
Just as Han Su-Yeong reached her answer, a momentary opening was created. Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s de didn¡¯t miss that chance.
*
Why couldn¡¯t I move?
Howe I didn¡¯t fight alongside Han Su-Yeong?
While watching her speak for my stead, why couldn¡¯t I voice my own thoughts with her?
¡°You... suck at telling your own story, that¡¯s why.¡±
I pulled the fallen Han Su-Yeong in as she looked up at me. Blood flowed out like a river from her waist. It was so vividly red that it all came across as far too unreal to my eyes.
She was bleeding, yet she was still talking to me. ¡°Kim Dok-Ja. I know the end you¡¯ve been wishing for.¡±
She formed a smile as yful as ever. As if to wipe the blood on my cheek, she rubbed my face while murmuring back to me. ¡°What a pitiful guy you are....¡±
I frantically tried to stem her bleeding while pulling out my recovery items. Her internal injuries were too severe. She had been wounded far too mercilessly.
Her innards werepletely destroyed by the 2nd generation¡¯s sword force.
I could save her. If only I had a little more time, if I could just find a proper healer and get her healed, then....
....But, would I be allowed to do that?
Her hand touching my cheek fell away lifelessly.
I called out Han Su-Yeong¡¯s name. Over and over again. However, she didn¡¯t wake up. What I heard was Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s voice, instead.
¡°Stand up, Kim Dok-Ja.¡±
I couldn¡¯t sense any guilt, no shaken emotions within that voice.
It was at that moment something inside me snapped.
I slowly stood up from my spot.
[Yu Joong-Hyeok.]
Fables were boiling over inside my head.
¨C There are some Fables that are simply too big and are difficult to read properly. If your mind isn¡¯t centred right, you will end up getting swept away by the Fable, instead.
Yu Ho-Seong told me that. I was aware of the dangers as well. The greater the Fable, therger the burden I had to carry.
That was why I sought to makerades. And we worked together to create history, to create our own Fables. All for the sake of reaching a different conclusion than that of Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s from the original storyline. That wish was what brought us this far.
And the end result of that wish was this.
Did I need to keep reading this story, then?
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
I¡¯ve imagined the final goal where every one of us would be there together. I truly believed that such a story was definitely achievable.
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that swallowed the Myth¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
However, if that was impossible, then....
If all the histories that I¡¯ve created so far werepletely useless, then....
[¡®Demon King Transformation¡¯ has been activated.]
....Then, the end I¡¯ve been dreaming about no longer held any meaning.
[I shall kill you, Yu Joong-Hyeok.]
< Episode 70: A story that can¡¯t be shared (1) > Fin.
Chapter 370 - A story that can’t be shared (2)
Chapter 370: Episode 70 ¨C A story that can¡¯t be shared (2)
?¡±I shall kill you, Yu Joong-Hyeok.¡±?
Everyone within the Library was looking at that text.
?(....Looks like all of us might end up perishing at this rate.)?
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is vibrating intensely!]
The entirety of the Library was shaking around. The books that had been neatly arranged tumbled down and created a mess. However, no Librarian tried to clean it up.
?(How frustrating. Why aren¡¯t theymunicating with each other? As I thought, these twock enough desire to be one being.)?
?(Our Su-Yeong didn¡¯t do anything wrong, yet....)?
The ¡®Squid¡¯ used one of its tentacles to lightly poke the round eye.
Meanwhile, the text continued on; every time Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s and Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s des shed against each other, Nirvana¡¯s teeth issued ttering noises.
?(Oii, newbie. What do you think?)?
When Yu Sang-Ah heard that, she stopped catching the books flying over her head and looked back at the Librarians. Her hand was full of Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s memories ¨C the book she¡¯d been reading up until just now.
?(Mm. I have two opinions about it.)?
?(You have two of them??)?
?(One. Miss Su-Yeong isn¡¯t dead. I know her very well and she¡¯s not someone to risk her life for a problem like this one.)?
The Squid¡¯s tearful eyes opened much wider from her reply.
?(What? But, you also read it, didn¡¯t you?)?
?(Looks like you still don¡¯t know how it works. The heroine loses her consciousness, her hand falling away. And the male hero awakens! You see, in all the movies I¡¯ve seen so far....)?
Not minding what the Squid or the Simtion were saying, Yu Sang-Ahposedly carried on.
?(Two. They are currently talking to each other.)?
Yu Sang-Ah spoke as she stared at the texts that continued to pile up.
?(Even though no one in this world would call that a ¡®conversation¡¯, but still.)?
*
Fragments of Fables poured out from the cracked arm. They were fables that we had created together.
[Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is pouring out its story!]
[Fable, ¡®Torch that swallowed the Myth¡¯, is growling threateningly!]
Like a dragon and tiger getting into a tussle, Fables collided with other Fables. Yu Joong-Hyeok, possessing the exact same ¡®Great Fables¡¯ as I, used the exact same power to fight me.
[Your share on the applicable Fable is higher than your opponent¡¯s!]
Even though my share on the Fables was supposedly higher, the shares held by Yu Joong-Hyeok didn¡¯t listen to mymands. Maybe that was due to all those years Yu Joong-Hyeok had gone through already. He had been telling his story far more fiercely than anyone else in , after all.
Ch-chuchuchuchut!!
The Probability of the 2nd generation was suppressing us. However, some things still managed to escape its suppression.
[Fable, ¡®the One who Opposes the Miracle¡¯, is thunderously roaring out!]
[Fable, ¡®the One who Opposes the Miracle¡¯, is bellowing out in anger!]
The exact same Fables created by experiencing the same history collided against each other.
[¡®Master of the Ind¡¯ is paying close attention to you.]
[Many Constetions are watching your battle.]
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of mes¡¯, is....]
The voices of the Constetions were getting fainter and fainter now.
[Unique skill, ¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is activating!]
We both swung our swords, fully prepared to kill each other in the process. The de that I desperately swung brushed past Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s waist, and his own de attacking right back, stabbed into my shoulder.
Hisbat intuition was higher, but my ¡®Status¡¯ was much higher than his.
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is protecting you!]
The Transcender¡¯s sharp aura pierced past the thickyer of ¡®Status¡¯ and flew straight in. From that sword energy, I was able to read his true intention. I saw how desperately he was standing his ground right now.
He didn¡¯t bother to ask, and I didn¡¯t bother to reply. No, we just swung our swords again and again. And instead of our mouths, our Fables told the tales for us.
[Fable, ¡®Paradise of Despair¡¯, is pouncing like a wild beast!]
The memories from the ¡®Paradise¡¯...
[Fable, ¡®the One who hunted the King of Cmity¡¯, is roaring out!]
Traces from the [Ped]...
[Fable, ¡®Liberator of the Industrial Complex¡¯, is in mourning.]
The moments from the revolution...
?None of those existed within the pages of the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯.?
The times we¡¯ve lived through didn¡¯t match up with any of the pages I read in the past.
[¡®Angel Transformation¡¯ is activating!]
Wings broke past my shoulder des. My Status instantly increased and permeated into [Unbreakable Faith].
Issuing a loud, explosive noise, Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s body flew up in the air after being unable to withstand the impact force.
¡°Come at me with everything you¡¯ve got, Yu Joong-Hyeok. Because I¡¯ll do the same, too.¡±
The light in his eyes changed. The outline of his Status rising up around him began distorting visibly. It was powerful enough to twist the space itself. The true power of the high-level Transcender was being unleashed for real now.
Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s figure, wrapped in the brilliant golden light, disappeared from my view.
[2nd Stage of the ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯ is still in activation.]
His de moved so fast that my eyes couldn¡¯t even follow it.
aaang!!
One sword, against another. The louder the grinding metallic noises became, the heavier my wrist got. Fables poured out from my thigh, and Fables flowed out from Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s shoulders.
And naturally, his voice could also be heard.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is activating strongly as if to fight back!]
Yu Joong-Hyeok had begun telling his story now.
?You....?
I tried to guess which words would follow that. Without a doubt, he¡¯d me me. Just as Han Su-Yeong had said, you were that kind of a person, after all.
?Why did you choose to remain in that particr turn??
Memories of the 1863rd regression brushed past my head.
?¡±I won¡¯t return to the 3rd turn. I¡¯ll remain here and see this thing to its end with the people of this ce.¡±?
The decision I made wasing back to me in full. The [Unbreakable Faith] was now issuing cracking, breaking noises.
Back then, that was the best choice avable. I thought that, after witnessing the end of the 1863rd turn, I would be able to return to the 3rd turn safely. That was why I tried to find the story where everyone could be happy.
However, what if Yu Joong-Hyeok of the 1863rd turn didn¡¯t help me out back then?
What if Han Su-Yeong of the 1863rd turn carried murderous intentions towards me?
Would I have been able to return to this world unscathed?
Even though I thought that I knew the scenarios better than anyone, could it be that I just got lucky and managed to survive until now?
?Yourrades are here.?
Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s first sword sh sliced apart my shoulder. And...
?Your own world-line was here.?
His second strike split open my elbow.
?You told people to live their lives in this world.?
The third strike punctured a hole in my wing. It hurt like hell. But what hurt even more than that, though, was the rage and disappointment contained within Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s voice.
?Incarnation ¡®Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯ is refusing to regress.?
Yu Joong-Hyeok who gave up on the path of regression and decided to live out his 3rd turn because of me was now looking back. The being who loved this world more than anyone, and wanted to protect it because of that, was staring straight back at me.
?But then, you....?
Certain types of rage and some types of betrayal couldn¡¯t be described in mere words. No matter how omniscient one was as a reader, one would never be able to read them.
Yu Ho-Seong said as thus:
¨C A Fable may not look all that amazing at first nce, but it¡¯ll present a maze-like abyss to all those who dare to peek deeper into their inner core. It¡¯s the same story, regardless of how small a Fable is.
What I was seeing shouldn¡¯t be Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s everything. I¡¯d never get to fully understand the reason why he was so furious like this. Because, everything could be his reason, or conversely, nothing could be his reason, too.
But, one thing was for certain, and that would be Yu Joong-Hyeok had decided not to be under the thumb of anyone anymore.
Not controlled by me, and not controlled by himself. And, maybe not even by those d*mn Constetions who should be watching right us now.
?Answer me, Kim Dok-ja.?
While receiving the outpouring of the sword strikes, I began faltering. Most likely, Yu Joong-Hyeok was aware of the truth ¨C that I was still reading him even right now.
But, even though he knew that I was reading him, he continued to think non-stop.
?Answer me.?
Just like how I observed him past this ¡®wall¡¯, he too was ceaselessly writing something just beyond it, hoping that someone would get to read it sooner orter.
Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t reply. Because, if I do, then....
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is getting thicker.]
....Then, you¡¯d end up bing a mere character of the story.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is getting even thicker.]
Because... you definitely couldn¡¯t be a mere character.
Ku-gugugugu!!
Yu Joong-Hyeok red at me with his trademark zing eyes. Here he was, existing in this ce and time, destroying me in order to prove that he wasn¡¯t just a mere character of a story.
?Is that so.?
His words floated up above the ¡®wall¡¯.
?So, that is your choice.?
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is getting even thicker.]
?Even during this regression, I didn¡¯t have anyrades, then.?
If I were to say something, anything, as a reply, it was possible that he¡¯d have forgiven me. Maybe, a miracle might happen and he¡¯d ept me, even.
However, even if that happened, Han Su-Yeong wouldn¡¯t return, and the hurt we inflicted on each other would not be erased, either. We would never berades ever again.
Whether it was Yu Joong-Hyeok or me, we both knew that truth all too painfully well.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is getting even thicker.]
And that was why we held our swords as we dashed towards each other.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is getting even thicker.]
The full-on attack collided with another full-on attack and issued a loud explosive noise. Thick, choking dust was kicked up in the air; neither of us could withstand the impact force and crumbled to the ground.
The first one to stand back up was me.
I staggered towards Yu Joong-Hyeok lying on his back, his entire body now looking like a torn rag, and pointed my de at him. He didn¡¯t offer any resistance, but instead, looked up at me to speak.
¡°.....I¡¯ve persisted with this regression for far too long. So, end this.¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok murdered Han Su-Yeong. He had already crossed the line that shouldn¡¯t have been crossed.
The sword aura of the [Unbreakable Faith] trembled noticeably. And the moment I raised my sword up high, I recalled what Han Su-Yeong of the 1863rd turn told me.
¨C If my novel was a rip-off of ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯, then whose rip-off are you?
The answer to that question was right in front of my eyes now.
?Kim Dok-Ja had learned how to live from this man.?
This man was my father; my brother; and my oldest friend.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ has increased its thickness.]
For a long time, I had been looking at him through this thick, thick wall. I was saved by him many times, and while looking at his story, I managed to survive.
The [Unbreakable Faith] slowly ttered back on the ground. I couldn¡¯t kill this guy. Nor could I beg for his forgiveness, either.
I had never learned to be that cowardly. No, I was taught to pay the price for the things I¡¯ve done.
Yu Joong-Hyeok was still looking up at me. And I too, stared back at him.
?I¡¯m right here, in this ce.?
I know.
?Even then, you only chose to read and nothing else.?
....Because, that is our way of living. You acted, and I read you doing it.
?If you¡¯re unwilling, then I shall do it myself.?
Yu Joong-Hyeok slowly got back up and grasped his de tightly.
I thought I could hear the sound of a storying to an end. The ¡®Mass Production-type Maker¡¯ once told me this ¨C that a certain Fable would end without ever getting closer to the ¡ö¡ö. However, if this ce was the endpoint for all the stories, and if I was destined to die right here, then wouldn¡¯t it be fine to at least say one thing?
¡°....Hey, Yu Joong-Hyeok.¡±
He stopped his actions when I spoke up.
¡°You probably know this already, but I¡¯m not a prophet. No, I am as far removed from such a being as you can get.¡±
Ever since we got into a tussle back on the Dongho Bridge, I had never introduced myself properly once. To Yu Joong-Hyeok, I was the prophet, a man with a mysterious background.
¡°I¡¯m not the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯.¡±
[Fable, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, has stopped its storytelling.]
¡°I¡¯m also not the ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯.¡±
[Fable, ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯, has stopped its storytelling.]
One by one, my Fables stopped their stories. Excluding my own, everything else became dead still.
¡°My name is Kim Dok-ja.¡±
The wings on my back disappeared, and the ballooned-up muscles shrunk back, too.
¡°Twenty-eight.... No, wait. I was twenty-eight, and I was an employee of a gamepany. My hobby was reading web novels....¡±
As if I was talking to someone I met for the first time, I continued to tell my own story.
¡°It¡¯s pathetic, right? Well, this is who I am..... Yu Joong-Hyeok, who are you?¡±
To me, Yu Joong-Hyeok was someone I ¡®knew¡¯ since from a long time ago. To be more specific, he was someone I read about all by myself.
That was why I had never heard about his story in his own words.
He finally opened his mouth.
¡°I am Yu Joong-Hyeok.¡±
His de slowly moved and cut me down.
¡°Yu Joong-Hyeok, a former Regressor.¡±
< Episode 70: A story that can¡¯t be shared (2) > Fin.
Chapter 371 - A story that cant be shared (3)
Chapter 371: Episode 70 ¨C A story that can¡¯t be shared (3)
As soon as she opened her eyes, Han Su-Yeong spat out a mouthful of blood.
Only after the ck-coloured blood filled up the ground in a ratherrge quantity did she finally regain her wits. The first thing she saw was the dense forest. It wasn¡¯t the location where she¡¯d been fighting against Yu Joong-Hyeok just now.
¡°I really almost died back there. Yu Joong-Hyeok, you son of a bitch....¡±
If she hadn¡¯t transferred her memories to a dummy Avatar on standby at the veryst moment, she¡¯d have died for real.
[You have exhausted today¡¯s allotment for the authorisation of ¡®Memory Transfer¡¯.]
[From now on, the applicable Avatar will act as your true body.]
She¡¯d been expecting something like this to happen.
[Fable, ¡®Predictive giarism¡¯, is hesitantly carrying on with its storytelling.]
Han Su-Yeong got to clearly witness several ¡®scenes¡¯ through this Fable called ?Predictive giarism?, the one she earned after experiencing that mysterious dream.
Such as, the various futures that would change ording to the choices she¡¯d make ¨C Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s death, or maybe, even Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s death. And then, the sole future where both of those terrible choices could be avoided altogether.
[Due to the penalty of ¡®Memory Transfer¡¯, your physical abilities will be weakened significantly.]
¡°I swear, if either one of them is dead, then I....!¡±
Han Su-Yeongined unhappily to herself and tried to sense the waves of magical energy from the surroundings. She still needed to locate the direction where those two were.
Not too long afterwards, her senses picked up on two rather enormous Statuses. She quickly ran in that direction.
Out of all the futures she read, this was the ¡®only one that worked out fine¡¯. Kim Dok-Ja didn¡¯t die, and for the first time ever, those two idiots would get to share a proper conversation.
That¡¯s what Han Su-Yeong¡¯s [Predictive giarism] had predicted, and that was why she didn¡¯t try to dodge Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s sword at thest second. So, Kim Dok-Ja should definitely be alive.
It was around here that she heard the sound of a sword shing against something else.
¡®....Are they still fighting?
These idiots, I even died so that you two could talk to each other, but this....¡¯
She figured that she really needed to give these two men a harsh earful when she arrived there. But, when she pushed past the bushes and stepped forward, the ensuing spectacle freaked her out in a rather grand manner.
Kwa-aaang!! Bang!!!
Yu Joong-Hyeok was mercilessly mming his sword down on Kim Dok-Ja, currently sprawled out on the ground.
¡°Hey!! You crazy son of a bitch!!¡±
*
¡®....I guess it didn¡¯t work?¡¯
Yu Joong-Hyeok observed Kim Dok-Ja lying on the ground. On the chest of the unconscious man, the shallow wound left behind by his [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] was clearly visible.
¡®But, I thought I saw it just now.¡¯
Yu Joong-Hyeok grasped his sword tightly and focused his mind. And almost right away, he sensed the dark aura oozing out from Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s body.
That was the ¡®wall¡¯, the identity of the strange ¡®foreignness¡¯ he felt whenever he was looking at Kim Dok-Ja.
¡®I can see it.¡¯
He could see a jet-ck wall,posed of countless texts. He raised his sword high up and powerfully smashed down on that wall again.
Now that a Transcender began pounding on it with serious intent, the wall started shaking around in an unstable manner.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is ring at you.]
Not caring whether it was ring or not, Yu Joong-Hyeok continued to pound on that wall.
¡®Beyond this wall, there might be....¡¯
If it didn¡¯t want to open up, then until it did; if it couldn¡¯t be broken, then until he broke it down. Again, and again.
But then...
¡°Hey, you crazy bastard!! Have you lost your mind?!¡±
Apanied by a shrill voice, he felt a rather powerful impact in the back of his head. Blood trickled down and blocked his vision. Through all that red, he saw Han Su-Yeong kneeling down next to Kim Dok-Ja.
¡°Hey, Kim Dok-Ja!! Get a hold of yourself! Wake u.... What the heck? He isn¡¯t dead?¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok scowled unhappily as he staggered on his feet.
¡°Han Su-Yeong. Do you really wish to die today?¡±
¡°You already killed me once today, you bastard.¡±
¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t die from the beginning.¡±
¡°Stop lying. My acting was beyond perfect, you know.¡±
She growled angrily and pointed at her Incarnation Body (which was her real body only until a few minutes ago) still lying on some forgotten corner over yonder.
The Incarnation Body, currently crumbling away, showed the definite signs of bleeding out. An [Avatar] wouldn¡¯t have bled anything in the first ce.
Yu Joong-Hyeok spoke nonchntly. ¡°An [Avatar] would bleed like the real body if it was imbued with a certain amount of memories.¡±
¡°Oh my? And how did you even find that out?¡±
¡°From the record you wrote yourself. Specifically, you from the 1863rd turn, that is.¡±
¡°Me of that turn wrote all sorts of crap, didn¡¯t I? God damn it.¡±
There were plenty of things she wanted to ask, but she chose not to. Instead, she poked Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s cheek and spoke up. ¡°Still, this guy looks like he gotpletely fooled, doesn¡¯t he.¡±
¡°Looks that way.¡±
¡°How did it go?¡±
¡°He went crazy and attacked me.¡±
Han Su-Yeong smirked and lightly pinched Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s cheek as if she was proud of him. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s the matter with his chest?¡±
¡°He¡¯s paying for making me eat dirt.¡±
¡°....Dirt??¡±
¡°There is something like that.¡±
She shifted her gaze back to Kim Dok-Ja and his cheek that sagged without any energy. In all honesty, he was only just barely alive, and not one part of his body could be described as ¡®okay¡¯. Indeed, the surrounding forest had beenpletely levelled by the battle just now, so it¡¯d be far stranger if his body was leftrgely unscathed.
Han Su-Yeong understood that this scene of utter destruction was the direct evidence of the conversation that took ce between Kim Dok-Ja and Yu Joong-Hyeok.
¡°So? Did you hear the answer you wanted?¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok paused for a moment before making his reply. ¡°A little.¡±
She could clearly read the depths of emotions contained in that simple reply of ¡°A little¡±. But they belonged to Kim Dok-Ja and Yu Joong-Hyeok, and no one else. That left her feeling just a bit rueful, a bit lonesome.
¡°Anyways. You areing back to now, right?¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok mulled over for a while, but then, turned around to leave as if he had said everything there was to say.
She frowned deeply. ¡°Hey, you! At least try to answer properly, will you? I even helped you out, didn¡¯t I??¡±
¡°The ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ is just around the corner.¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok continued to walk further away. One step, two steps...
Just as Han Su-Yeong was getting ready to shout out something else...
Tsu-chuchuchut!!
Sparks buzzed around Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s body and a ¡®voice¡¯ suddenly came out from him.
?(Yu Joong-Hyeok-ssi, that stupid scenario isn¡¯t the most important thing, you know.)?
Startled by this development, Yu Joong-Hyeok quickly unsheathed his de. The imaginary wall enveloping Kim Dok-Ja was actually moving. Past that wall, someone was speaking to him.
?(Do you believe that it¡¯s the end when you leave after talking one-sidedly like this?)?
No, to be more specific, it wasn¡¯t the wall, but rather...
?(You should experience it as well, what the ¡®feelings of being a reader¡¯ are all about. To understand what it really is.)?
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!!
The wall that didn¡¯t want to break no matter how many times he hit it suddenly developed a small hole on the side, and a hand popped out from this mysterious hole. That hand proceeded to lightly grasp Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s head and then, mmed it right against the wall.
*
I was lying in pitch-ck darkness by the time I regained my consciousness.
What happened?
Did I die?
....By Yu Joong-Hyeok?
As the thoughts continued to swirl in my head, I slowly stood back up. I looked around but couldn¡¯t see anything. It was then, a bright light from antern lit up in front of my eyes.
?(Dok-Ja-ssi, so this was where you¡¯ve been all this time.)?
¡®Is that you, Yu Sang-Ah-ssi?¡¯
?(Are you alright?)?
¡®Where am I....?¡¯
?(You¡¯re inside the Library.)?
Only then did I figure out what had happened. Most likely, I got sucked inside [The 4th Wall] as I cked out again.
¡®....By the way, is it always this dark inside?¡¯
?(No, it¡¯s just that the Library is in a state of chaos at the moment, you see. The aftershocks of the battle this time killed off all thenterns inside, and all the bookshelves have fallen down. Everyone is doing their best trying to restore everything right now.)?
¡®My apologies. I have created a lot of trouble for you.¡¯
Yu Sang-Ah grinned softly and shook her head.
?(No, not at all.)?
¡®Is there anything I can do to help...?¡¯
?(Oh, no. It¡¯s fine. You shouldy here and rest. I¡¯ll sit here and take a short break, as well.)?
Yu Sang-Ah let out a grunt and lightly settled down next to me. Her face, as illuminated by the dim light of thentern was the exact same one from my memories.
?(You really did well.)?
¡®....In regards to?¡¯
?(When you said those things.)?
I didn¡¯t need a lot of time to figure out what she meant by those words. No doubt, she would¡¯ve borne witness to the spectacle of the outside from behind [The 4th Wall].
?(A proper rtionship starts from the act of introducing oneself first, doesn¡¯t it? It¡¯s possible that you two might be real friends this time.)?
¡®....That would be great if such a thing was possible, but...¡¯
I wasn¡¯t expecting much, though. Honestly, I thought that it¡¯d be a huge relief with Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s anger being soothed, somehow. No matter what I said, it¡¯d be quite impossible to soften the sense of betrayal he must¡¯ve felt.
Books discarded on the floor seemed to be rolling around everywhere. Without thinking too much about it, I picked one up.
¡ºKim Dok-Ja, Records from 15 years old, Volume #25¡»
I sneakily closed the book and chucked the damn thing deep into the darkness.
?(Uhm, excuse me, Dok-Ja-ssi?)?
¡®Yes?¡¯
?(Actually, well, I read that book. Just a little bit.)?
¡®....How much did you read?¡¯
?(....Almost the whole book, if I¡¯m honest. I find these more interesting than the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯, you see.... I¡¯m sorry.)?
My face reddened from heat, but there was naught that could be done when she had already read it.
¡®It¡¯s fine. I do feel a bit ashamed, but still.¡¯
I did think that, with Yu Sang-Ah being a part of the ¡®Library¡¯, such memories would possibly end up being exposed, anyway. She carefully picked up the books rolling around on the floor, one by one, and dusted them before gathering them all together.
They were all my memories.
Her expression, as dyed by the darkness, was hard to see, but I could nevertheless sense how troubled she was feeling right now. Perhaps to console her, I picked up one of the books she had been gathering.
¡®....Been a while, this thing.¡¯
All these gathered books were my stories.
Kim Dok-Ja, 15 years old. 18 years old. 23. 28....
I slowly flipped through the pages.
Kim Dok-Ja, who didn¡¯t have a father.
Kim Dok-Ja, who didn¡¯t have any friends.
Kim Dok-Ja, who lost his mother.
It was a life that alwayscked something, or something kept disappearing from it.
?A lone existence is a being that doesn¡¯t exist. Kim Dok-Ja was always alone. And that was why he was the only child (dokja/ªš×Ó), and the ¡®Kim Dok-Ja¡¯ didn¡¯t exist.?
What sorrowfully reasonable words those were.
?However, there was a sole moment where that Kim Dok-Ja did exist; that was when the dokja (only child/ªš×Ó) became the dokja (reader/×xÕß).?
A life story being told like a lengthy report on a single book, that was basically my life in a nutshell. I spent my teenage years along with the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯, and hid behind the wall this story created for me to dodge the pointed fingers of other people.
?Atst. He¡¯de to life only when reading the ¡®Way of Survival¡¯.?
I sensed Yu Sang-Ah¡¯s gaze, staring at me from my side. I wasn¡¯t sure why, but it also felt like it wasn¡¯t her alone; maybe, other Librarians were also watching me from somewhere within the darkness.
It was right then, an unexpected text caught my eyes within the opened page.
?I met a strange person today during the interview. That person¡¯s name is Yu Sang-Ah.?
The moment I read that, I unknowingly closed the book shut.
....Could it be that, Yu Sang-Ah-ssi also read this part?
?(Haven¡¯t you ever wondered about this before, Dok-Ja-ssi?)?
¡®Excuse me? About what...?¡¯
?(What if ¡®scenarios¡¯ didn¡¯t start? What would have happened to us?)?
I hadn¡¯t thought about that.
What if, the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ didn¡¯t be reality back then?
What if, the novel ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ came to its natural conclusion and time continued to tick by, what would¡¯ve happened to me?
....Would I still be alive?
Could I have been able to carry on?
?(Would we be still working for the samepany as before?)?
¡®Well, my contract hadn¡¯t been extended, so.... I guess I might have been searching for a job in otherpanies.¡¯
Right, I wouldn¡¯t have died that easily. I would¡¯ve thought about dying every now and then, and also, there could¡¯ve been many a day when I fell asleep while re-reading the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯, but.... Yeah, I wouldn¡¯t have died. Not that easily.
I¡¯d have continued to live on, somehow.
¡®In that world, I wouldn¡¯t have be a friend with you, Yu Sang-Ah-ssi. My workce would¡¯ve changed, and we wouldn¡¯t have a reason to get in contact with each other, after all.¡¯
?(Even still, wouldn¡¯t we have tried to call each other some times?)?
¡®Well....¡¯
?(I think we would have. I¡¯m sure that, even after you left thepany, I¡¯d keep on remembering you. You are a strange person, after all.)?
¡®....Are you trying to get back at me?¡¯
Yu Sang-Ah formed a refreshing grin and carried on.
?(I¡¯d probably have gotten curious about your welfare. Is he doing okay? He¡¯s not sick, is he? Did he find a new job? What about marriage...)?
¡®I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have gotten married. I couldn¡¯t even take care of myself properly back then.¡¯
?(Well, it¡¯s true that one doesn¡¯t have to get married. I also found it easier to live alone, you see.)?
¡®Even you, Sang-Ah-ssi?¡¯
?(Yes. See, I told you. We¡¯d have been good friends, I think.)?
¡®....You really think so?¡¯
?(Yes, of course. We¡¯d study Spanish together, enter a rider¡¯s club and ride bicycles together, too....)?
¡®Or, to get ready for our old age, we start rmending savings n or retirement funds.¡¯
?(After we grow old and can¡¯t move anymore, we¡¯d help each other to get to hospitals.)?
¡®I guess we could have lived pretty close by, in that case.¡¯
?(Of course. Maybe, we might have lived right next to each other.)?
We continued to chat away. We talked about things that could no longer be. Things that could never be a reality.
Just like how the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ was to me once upon a time.
Yu Sang-Ah continued on.
?(Along with Hui-Won-ssi, Hyeon-Seong-ssi, and Ji-Hye, too.... It¡¯d be wonderful if other kids also lived nearby..... Even Su-Yeong-ssi, too.)?
Even if such a world did really exist, it was not possible that all of them could be together. Because... they were characters from a novel. They were...
¡®....Yes, it¡¯d be really wonderful if that was true.¡¯
?(Ah, Joong-Hyeok-ssi, as well. Although his personality is terrible, he¡¯s a great cook, so I think it¡¯ll be nice to be his friend.)?
Without a warning, something welled up from deep inside my heart.
?(Hui-Won-ssi and Hyeon-Seong-ssi would be.... Fufufu, in any case. And so we..... We¡¯d all be growing older, little by little. In a world without scenarios, no Constetions, and no Dokkaebis. Where we¡¯d meet up to share our stories, and while sharing nice foods....)?
I recalled the countless world-lines that I witnessed together with the ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯. Among all those possible worlds, maybe, just maybe, one of them could...
?(It¡¯d been nice if such a world existed somewhere. Don¡¯t you agree?)?
¡®There might be one just like that, somewhere.¡¯
?(Dok-Ja-ssi.)?
¡®Yes?¡¯
?(I really enjoyed being with you, Dok-Ja-ssi.)?
¡®........¡¯
?(I think it¡¯s time for me to go now.)?
¡®Yu Sang-Ah-ssi.¡¯
Actually, I had realised it a little while ago ¨C why she suddenly began talking to me about such things.
[¡®Master of the Ind¡¯ is calling out to Incarnation ¡®Yu Sang-Ah¡¯.]
By seizing the opening created by the weakening of [The 4th Wall], the master of these inds was calling out to Yu Sang-Ah.
....The King of the Reincarnators.
Finally, the moment we¡¯ve been waiting for hade. Indeed, one of the reasons why we decided toe to the Isle of Reincarnators was here.
?(This Library, it¡¯s a warm and cosy and nice ce to be, but... But, I can¡¯t remain here forever, you know.)?
¡®But, hang on for a second, Sang-Ah-ssi. You don¡¯t have to be in such a hurry to....!¡¯
Yu Sang-Ah shook her head. Just like me, she too had read the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ by now. What I wanted to say, she already knew them all.
?(There is almost nothing that I can do in here. As long as I¡¯m here, I¡¯ll always remain as a simple ¡®reader¡¯.)?
I looked up at her with a resolute expression, my lips firmly shut.
I wanted to stop her. I wanted to ask if it¡¯d be fine for us to talk for a bit longer.
Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t.
?(Dok-Ja-ssi, you told me this once before that you have only one turn, and that the world we need to live in is this one. That¡¯s why.... I¡¯ll say it like this.)?
White light enveloped Yu Sang-Ah as she ced her hand on my head, a smile forming on her lips.
?(Let¡¯s meet again in the next life.)?
< Episode 70: A story that can¡¯t be shared (3) > Fin.
Chapter 372 - A story that cant be shared (4)
Chapter 372: Episode 70 ¨C A story that can¡¯t be shared (4)
As I slowly regained my consciousness, I decided to activate [Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint].
?Sooo, the method to clear the ¡®Middle Ind No.4¡¯ is....?
After managing to master the ¡®Fable Control¡¯, Jeong Hui-Won had finally entered the Middle Ind¡¯s scenario and began massacring other participants.
?....I dunno. Well, if theye at me, I¡¯ll just kill them all.?
?Our general is also a Fable-grade, you know? Don¡¯t you look down on us!?
Jeong Hui-Won activated [Hour of Judgement], while Yi Ji-Hye activated [Demon ying] as they ran amok in their battlefield; around the same time, the kids began clearing the Middle Ind¡¯s scenario in their own clever way.
?I¡¯ve tamed the ¡®Invisible Wisp¡¯. Let¡¯s steal that person¡¯s Modifier using this guy.?
?But, we can just send insects over there, though??
What a crafty method of clearing the scenario. So much so that I didn¡¯t need to help them out at all.
?Keuh-euhk, keuheuk, groan...?
Yi Hyeon-Seong found himself alone on a different Middle Ind and was being severely beaten up by other Constetions and Incarnations. He was in a foetal position while ring at his enemies with sorrowful eyes, but then, he suddenly roared out like a huge bear.
?The one thing sadder then ending up all alone, is to get beaten up all by yourself!?
Powerful rays of light exploded out from Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯s body, causing the participants around him to explode en masse.
I was familiar with that technique. That was one of the special techniques possessed by the ¡®Master of Steel¡¯, [Impact Release], that released all the umted damage at once.
As expected, the folks from the original storyline were truly cheat characters. In any case, I got to clearly see that Yi Hyeon-Seong had be stronger as well.
?[Character ¡®Jang Ha-Yeong¡¯ has activated ¡®Breaking the Sky Force Punch¡¯!]?
As for Jang Ha-Yeong, she was clearing the scenario while disying overwhelming strength. To me, she seemed to be on the path to truly bing the master of the ¡®wall¡¯ she possessed. Well, she was a talented person from the get-go, and was also capable of absorbing the techniques of others rather quickly, as well.
?[¡®Unidentifiable Wall¡¯ is evolving!]?
Her ¡®wall¡¯ had be far more stabilisedpared to before. She could chat to other Transcenders through her ¡®wall¡¯, and got to learn and understand their abilities. In a way, one could say there were some simrities between her method and me reading the book.
?[¡®Unidentifiable Wall¡¯ has sensed your presence.]?
My view was instantly filled with white noise.
[¡®Unidentifiable Wall¡¯ is staring at ¡®The 4th Wall¡¯.]
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is staring at ¡®Unidentifiable Wall¡¯.]
The moment these two walls stared at each other, my view suddenly grew fuzzy, blurry.
[....The end of the world-line is approaching.]
As my view crumbled away, I could hear an unknown voice.
[Kim Dok-Ja, they shalle to find you.]
*
Vrrr...
The moment I regained my consciousness, I felt my smartphone vibrate. I switched the screen on without thinking too much about it, only to spot today¡¯s date.
February 15th....
As we weren¡¯t on Earth, the local weather report didn¡¯t appear. All I could confirm was the date. Even then, I couldn¡¯t say it was an urate one, either. The space-time indicator had long lost its meaning after I moved around different dimensions willy-nilly, after all.
Everyone within lived in a different time from the others. That was the case, but now...
15th of February, is it?
I fell into a bit of thought regarding this date, before giving up and ced the phone down. My head was in a disorganised mess, and almost every part of my Incarnation Body was aching painfully, too.
I blinked several times while looking down at my upper torso to find bandages tightly wrapped around my chest area.
....Where am I now?
The surroundings slowly filled my view. Firstly, the clean, white bedsheets, followed by the elegant Oriental d¨¦cor of the room I was in.
A certain someone leaning against the window and looking outside threw a question at me. ¡°You awake now?¡±
¡°You....?!¡±
Her eyes arched in a mischievous manner. ¡°Ahh, so this is how it feels likeing back to life after dying.¡±
¡°But, didn¡¯t you die.....¡±
¡°I did?¡±
Seeing Han Su-Yeong snicker like that, the inside of my head grew even moreplicated. I immediately recalled the sight just before cking out; the events of her dying at Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s sword, me fighting against him, and then, passing out from his attack, and finally, sharing a conversation with Yu Sang-Ah inside the Library....
Han Su-Yeong approached the bed before I noticed it and pinched my cheek. ¡°In any case, Kim Dok-Ja. You can be really adorable sometimes.¡±
Only then did I realise that she yed me for a sucker. I took a closer look and found a small IV needle stuck in her arm, too.
¡°....Where are we?¡±
¡°The waiting room of the Main Ind. The ce where that ¡®guy¡¯ and his castle is.¡±
It was then, I abruptly remembered something else.
[¡®Master of the Ind¡¯ is calling out to Incarnation ¡®Yu Sang-Ah¡¯.]
Back then when that guy was taking Yu Sang-Ah away, there was another message popping up in front of my eyes, as well.
[¡®Master of the Ind¡¯ is inviting you.]
The King of Reincarnators. The third protagonist of the book ¡®Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World¡¯ had summoned us to their territory.
¡°But, I¡¯m pretty sure that I failed to clear the scenario? Don¡¯t I need to clear the Middle Ind¡¯s scenario in order to get here, so how.....¡±
¡°Nope, you did clear it.¡±
I quickly confirmed the message logs.
[You have cleared Hidden Scenario ¨C ¡®Snatching Modifiers¡¯!]
[Reward handout is currently on standby.]
It¡¯s true.
¡°But, how? I hadn¡¯t collected the syble ¡®Vil¡¯, so how.....¡±
Han Su-Yeong wordlessly pointed at the ne hanging around my neck.
[Devil of Lust and Wrath]
Thepleted ne of Modifier was emitting a soft glow. Something like this couldn¡¯t happen, though. One of the sybles should¡¯ve been missing on my ne.
Han Su-Yeong spoke. ¡°Yu Joong-Hyeok gave it to you before leaving, saying that it¡¯s a leftover.¡±
....Yu Joong-Hyeok did?
But, why?
My thoughts were getting messy again. The things he said at the final moments rang vividly in my head.
¨C Yu Joong-Hyeok, a former Regressor.
Not the Regressor Yu Joong-Hyeok, but a former Regressor.
What was he thinking about when he told me that?
¡°Where is he now?¡±
¡°The next scenario.¡±
The sense of emptiness and relief brushed past me simultaneously when I heard her. He again went ahead before everyone in order to clear the scenario.
¡°....Who was his target, anyway?¡±
¡°You just woke up, but you¡¯re already so full of questions. How annoying.¡±
I sat on the bed, eyes blinking like an idiot. She pointed to my chest again. Upon taking a closer look, there were two [Modifier Nes] hanging around my neck. One of them was Asmodeus¡¯s Modifier, [Devil of Lust and Wrath], while the other one was....
[¡õ¡õ of ¡õ¡õ]
The ces where my Modifier should¡¯ve been were reced by empty holes, instead.
¡°No way?¡±
¡°Yes, way.¡±
Well, at least he did leave behind ¡®Of¡¯. That son of a bitch.
¡°It¡¯s my turn to ask questions now. Is Yu Sang-Ah still inside you?¡±
¡°....King of Reincarnators already took her.¡±
¡°....Did she say anything else before going?¡±
I unsteadily rose up from the bed and walked over to the window. While standing next to Han Su-Yeong, I stared at the unfolding cityscape.
Reincarnators were busy roaming the streets that possessed the unmistakable ancient Chinese vibe. Beings from other worlds were here; beings that had chosen to live a new life in this ce, along with different names and different faces.
¡°She said, let¡¯s meet again in the next life.¡±
To me, it¡¯d still be this life but to Yu Sang-Ah, it¡¯d indeed be the next life. She¡¯d earn a new body, a new life, through the power of the ¡®King of Reincarnators¡¯.
She¡¯d get to live a new life in this world, in other words.
Han Su-Yeong and I stared at the streets below without saying anything. It was as if we were searching for Yu Sang-Ah hiding somewhere within these nameless streets.
Han Su-Yeong abruptly opened her lips to speak. ¡°It¡¯s snowing.¡±
She was right; bits of snowkes were descending from the sky.
Originally, this particr world didn¡¯t have any snow. Yet, it was doing precisely that.
Snow fell like starlight. And beyond the tall skies where snowkes continued to fall, Constetions were watching my tale. No indirect messages reached me, but I could still feel that they were looking at me. Probability they had gathered bit by bit until now was scattering gently in the skies.
I turned my head to the side to find Han Su-Yeong studying me. She grasped my [Modifier Ne] and grinned. ¡°I guess you¡¯re no longer the [Demon King] of [Salvation]. Shouldn¡¯t you get yourself a brand-new Modifier now?¡±
I began recalling the days I spent as ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ while listening to her talk.
It hadn¡¯t been that long, but those days were the most brilliant moments in my life.
As my vision grew wetter and blurrier, I could see Han Su-Yeong giggling away.
¡°Should I make one up for you, then? Mm.... What will sound nice on you, I wonder. How about ¡®I Pass Out Too Often-Man¡¯? Or, ¡®Miraculous Piehole¡¯.... Eh? H-hey, you are... crying?¡±
My face was reflected in her irises, her eyes widening in surprise.
Actually, I wanted to ask her, an author.
As she was a writer, maybe she¡¯d be able to tell me straight.
Tell me that I did good until now ¨C whether I made the wrong choices or not, whether I would get to see the desired conclusion when I reach the end of this story or not.
¡°Hey, why are you crying like that? I get it, okay? I get it, so stop. There, there.¡±
She must¡¯ve thought up something, as she began rummaging through her pockets next. Soon afterwards, something sweet and slightly sour entered my mouth.
¡°Why are you crying on a nice day like today? I mean, it¡¯s even snowing, too.... I promise to think up a nice Modifierter on, okay?¡± Said Han Su-Yeong, before avoiding my gaze to stare into the far-off distance.
Today was the 15th of February.
That¡¯s what the smartphone said. However, the time of this ce and that of Earth weren¡¯t the same, therefore this indicator was simply an ¡®error¡¯. It was a coincidental date, with no meaning behind it.
Even then, what if there was some kind of a miracle and this date was indeed true?
Then, today would be my birthday.
Han Su-Yeong rubbed her eyes as she spoke. ¡°I want to see the others already.¡±
I summoned up every ounce of my strength to make my reply. ¡°....Yeah, me too.¡±
As if those words became the signal....
[Revised text haspleted its update.]
A gift sent by someone arrived at my doorstep.
¨C Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (Final Revision).txt
*
Inside the scattering, falling snow, Yu Joong-Hyeok was staring at the ¡®Castle of Reincarnators¡¯.
Most likely, Kim Dok-Ja had regained his consciousness by now. And Yu Sang-Ah would be in the middle of reincarnation, having met the ¡®Master of the Ind¡¯ already.
¡®....That woman.¡¯
A deep frown crept up on Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s face.
He¡¯d never be able to forget the moment when his head rammed into that mysterious wall a few days ago. He got to forcibly observe that wall¡¯s insides amidst the horrifying storm of Probability sparks. And that was where he bore witness to fragments of a tale he didn¡¯t know before.
Some of them were as per his expectations, while some of them were definitely news to him. Some of them even took himpletely by surprise, too.
It all happened for an instant, but he found the information he¡¯d been searching for from that wall, as well as the answers he wanted to find. And now, he realised that it was time to put to practice the answers he found.
¡°Secretive Plotter.¡±
He raised his head to greet the gaze of a certain scheming Constetion.
[Constetion, ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯, is looking at you.]
The ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯, the Constetion that made its first appearance in this regression. And, an unidentified existence whose information or evidence couldn¡¯t be found in any of the 1863 worlds.
[Constetion, ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯, is looking at you.]
¡°Haven¡¯t I yed along with your schemes long enough now? I¡¯m sure that I have the right to ask you a single question or two.¡±
The ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ didn¡¯t reply for a brief moment. But then, a portion of the skies suddenly became dyed in darkness, and a ray of ck light fell towards Yu Joong-Hyeok.
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
As the sparks from Probability crackled all around him, the space-time within the near vicinity began distorting noticeably.
He was currently in the world ruled by the ¡®Master of the Ind¡¯; no top-ranked Constetion would be able to exert that much Probability in this ce. Yet, the ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ was an existence who could do exactly that.
A pitch-ck shadow rose up within the darkness.
[What are you curious about, oh, the puppet of the most ancient dream?]
¡°Why did you show me that book?¡±
The shadow of the ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ wavered about as if to mock him.
Yu Joong-Hyeok continued with his questioning. ¡°Did you want me to fall into despair? You wanted me to kill Kim Dok-Ja after reading that book?¡±
[Maybe. Maybe not.]
¡°Why did you plot something like that?¡±
[You think you can understand it after hearing the answer?]
Its arrogant voice was filled with the confidence of knowing that a lowly being like him would never understand, even after hearing the truth.
Yu Joong-Hyeok asked another question. ¡°Why did you send Kim Dok-Ja to the 1863rd turn? Why did you order him to kill ¡®me¡¯ there?¡±
[Let¡¯s just say that such a scenario would¡¯ve been fun to observe.]
The shadow wavered around as if it was cackling.
Yu Joong-Hyeok remained calm and spoke his piece. ¡°All of your schemes were to destroy Kim Dok-Ja.¡±
[Why do you think that? Do you have any reasons to believe that¡¯s the case?]
¡°Maybe I do. Maybe I do have a pretty good reason.¡±
This Constetion, holding a mysterious animosity towards Kim Dok-Ja, and at the same time, didn¡¯t exist in the ¡®original work¡¯, just like him.
Yu Joong-Hyeok had been chasing after this Constetion for a long time. And he had finally reached the answer to his pursuit in this very moment.
¡°Secretive Plotter. Are you the ¡®Kim Dok-Ja¡¯ from the future?¡±
< Episode 70: A story that can¡¯t be shared (4) > Fin.
Chapter 373 - 50 years later (1)
Chapter 373: Episode 71 ¨C 50 yearster (1)
Four days passed by since we arrived on the ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯.
I confirmed through [Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint] that otherpanions hadpleted their Middle Ind scenarios and were ready to tackle the next one.
Currently, I was staring at the screen of my phone.
¨C Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (Final Revision).txt
It was possible that the ¡®epilogue¡¯ I so wished to read was waiting for me at the end of this text file. Was that all? If luck was on my side, I might even discover some information on the current 3rd regression turn, too.
The guideline that told me how to act and how to clear uing scenarios in order to reach the perfect ending might be there.
However....
?Wh at if the end of the story is tra ge dy??
If, by any chance, the ¡®Final Revision¡¯ bit implied that ¡®it¡¯ll no longer change¡¯?
?Are you rea lly cap able of cha nging it??
What if the action of me reading this thing only sets the ending in stone instead?
¡°Kim Dok-Ja.¡±
I raised my head to spot Han Su-Yeong, bandages wrapped around her left hand, staring back at me. She was the only other existence remaining in this world who read the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ besides me.
If she was in my shoes, how would she react?
If she was me, would she have opened this file?
¡°What are you looking at?¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡±
I switched the phone¡¯s screen off.
There mighte a day when I get curious about the contents of this story. However, now wasn¡¯t it.
The ¡®epilogue¡¯ I wished to know probably wasn¡¯t in this file.
After finishing maintenance on her equipment, Han Su-Yeong lightly jumped off from the bed and spoke to me. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. The longer we dilly-dally, the further ahead that bastard Yu Joong-Hyeok will get.¡±
¡°We have someone to meet first before leaving, though.¡±
¡°Who?¡±
¡°Looks like he¡¯s here already.¡±
We heard knocking sounds as the door creaked open behind us.
The first thing we saw was the thick, brown-coloured Buddhist rosary hung around the person¡¯s neck. Next up was the grey Buddhist monk robe, and the firm, tough muscles peeking out from underneath it. He was a Warrior Monk, who had gone through the repeated rigorous training for a very long time.
¡°I¡¯vee to fetch you, Benefactor.¡±
I nodded my head and replied back. ¡°Guide me to your King, please.¡±
*
{Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World}
ording to the analysis of the best expert alive on the novel ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ ¨C me ¨C the ¡®three ways¡¯ in its title referred to the three main characters of the novel itself.
The first was the Regressor Yu Joong-Hyeok.
The second was the Returnee Jang Ha-Yeong.
And finally, the third was...
¨C There was another main character???
Han Su-Yeong asked back hurriedly through [Midday Tryst], sounding a bit flustered after listening to my tale. I remembered then that she wouldn¡¯t have such information on her, since she only read up to 100 chapters or so....
¨C But, then again, it¡¯ll be a huge ask to keep milking one main character for over three thousand chapters, won¡¯t it?
....She still remained needlessly sharp, though.
¨C Besides all that, three protagonists, eh? As expected of this novel, treading on the sure-fire shortcut to the failed novel-dom like that.
I couldn¡¯t think up of a retort. Because, that failed novel had messed up our reality in a big way, hadn¡¯t it?
¨C So, the master of this castle is the ¡®Third MC¡¯, am I right?
¨C Yeah.
¨C How important is he in ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯? As much as Yu Joong-Hyeok?
¨C No, not really. Regardless of what, the main will always be Yu Joong-Hyeok.
For sure, the majority of the story spanning over 3000 chapters unfolded with Yu Joong-Hyeok as its focal point. The other two were called main characters only ording to the narrative description provided during the story itself.
¨C However, the other two are just as monstrous as Yu Joong-Hyeok, alright. Especially in the current point of time, the ¡®third protagonist¡¯ is a far stronger existence than Yu Joong-Hyeok is.
¨C ....Even more powerful than that dude?
I nodded my head while scanning the empty meditation chamber around us.
This was where the Reincarnators would perform penance and cleanse themselves ¨C a chamber designed to soothe one¡¯s mind, fatigued and frayed by experiencing many cycles of Samsara.
I could hear the recitation of Buddhist scripturesing from here and there, but couldn¡¯t see the King anywhere.
¡°Where is the ¡®King of Reincarnators¡¯?¡±
¡°The King is already with us.¡±
¡°But, all I see are the baldy monks, though?¡±
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s words were countered with an emotionless reply from the Warrior Monk. ¡°He is everywhere, yet at the same time, nowhere.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t bring us here to crack jokes.¡±
¡°He does not speak to those whock the qualifications to see him.¡±
¡°How amusing. Is that your way of bringing up the next topic of conversation?¡± replied Han Su-Yeong, as the corner of her lips curled upwards.
I silently observed the expression of this mysterious Warrior Monk for a while, before opening my lips to speak. ¡°If your King is everywhere, then that means anyone can be the ¡®king¡¯, doesn¡¯t it?¡±
Geeee-iiiing!!
The [Unbreakable Faith] held in my hand cried out sharply, and at the same time, the illusory sword light shot out towards the Adam¡¯s apple of the Warrior Monk.
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
As if an invisible wall was blocking it, the de¡¯s tip pouring out powerful magical energy came to a dead stop right in front of the Warrior Monk¡¯s nose. He grinned and spoke.
[You¡¯ve settled on a rather provocative solution. You¡¯re correct. Anyone can be a Buddha once they be enlightened.]
His mantra reverberated throughout the space itself. (ED: True voice ¡ú mantra.)
I withdrew my sword and observed the Warrior Monk once more. An ethereal, subtle aura was oozing out from his entire body. His irises were now dyed in pure white, and within them, the shadow of a mand spun anti-clockwise.
Most likely, this Warrior Monk was one of the countless Incarnations the ¡®King of Reincarnators¡¯ operated.
[However, you won¡¯t be able to continue on with the scenarios in that fashion forever, oh, the apostle of ¡ö¡ö who carries the weight of salvation.]
¡°Please, don¡¯t speak as if you¡¯re aware of all my methods.¡±
I no longer thought of ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ as a mere novel, and I definitely didn¡¯t see mypanions as simple ¡®characters¡¯ of it, as well. That didn¡¯t mean that I would never utilise the information already in my possession, though.
¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, the ¡®Guardian of Mand¡¯.¡±
Even though [The 4th Wall] was active, I was still subjected to a considerable oppressive force. The ¡®friendly¡¯ Status in front of my eyes wavered around gently. The true appearance of the formidable being slowly materialised behind the Warrior Monk to our observing eyes.
There he was, the ruler of the most ancient stratum of darkness in existence.
Even if it were Metatron of or the highest-ranked Demon Kings of the Demon World, none of them could contend against this being within this ind.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is quivering its non-existent eyebrows.]
[¡®Wall that Decides Samsara¡¯ is showing an interest in you.]
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
Jang Ha-Yeong¡¯s [Unidentifiable Wall], Metatron¡¯s [Wall Dividing Good and Evil], and finally, the third wall ¨C the ¡®Guardian of Mand¡¯ was the owner of the [Wall that Decides Samsara].
[I see that it¡¯s the ¡®fragment of the Final Wall¡¯. I¡¯m guessing that Nirvana is trapped inside it?]
¡°You¡¯re correct.¡±
[He was a child who could¡¯ve be a good Bodhisattva. Unfortunately, he met you and had to leave my path of Buddhism.]
¡°Well, I believe that the person in question feels satisfied.¡±
It was around there that Han Su-Yeong butted in to our conversation.
¡°Hold up.... By any chance, are you the Buddha? THE Buddha?¡±
[There are many different types of Buddhas in this world, and I¡¯m merely one of them.]
Han Su-Yeong now carried a dumbfounded expression on her face.
But then again, her reaction was wholly understandable, considering that a Constetion iming to be the Buddha had made his entrance. This Buddha-nim carried a gentle smile as he spoke to me.
[I¡¯ve watched your stories for a very long time, dear Bodhisattvas.]
¡°But, I don¡¯t remember receiving your sponsorships before?¡±
[There are those Constetions who would reveal their gazes and unt their authority, and there are also those whose existence is a mystery. The true Buddhist offerings aren¡¯t in the forms of sponsorships, but through simple but meditative contemtions.]
¡°You sure can dress up the fact that you¡¯ve been watching the show for free. Alright, then. What is that you want from me?¡±
[What I want? Do you believe that this self wishes something from you, dear Bodhisattva?]
I shifted my gaze over to the giant bell located in the middle of the meditation chamber. A small soul wrapped in a blinding light was inside the bell made out of transparent material.
I already knew whose soul that was.
¡°You¡¯ve decided to reincarnate Yu Sang-Ah-ssi. Even though I didn¡¯t request it of you.¡±
[......]
¡°You have invited us here and allowed us to recover. Again, even though I didn¡¯t request for your aid.¡±
[Those are simply a part of one¡¯s path to attain Buddhahood.]
¡°There is this lesson I¡¯ve learnt while dealing with Constetions until now. And that would be, there is no Constetion in this world who doesn¡¯t expect anything in return when helping you out.¡±
[Dear Bodhisattva, you have arrived at a rather hasty conclusion. Only the one cing faith in the exceptions of everything can discern the end of the scenario.]
I wordlessly red at the Warrior Monk, before pointing at the bell in the centre of the meditation chamber. I addressed the monk. ¡°Don¡¯t confine the Incarnation Yu Sang-Ah to this ind, please. She is far more valuable than you can imagine.¡±
[All beings reincarnating on this ind will be a part of the ind.]
I shook my head. ¡°Like what you said just now, there are exceptions to everything, aren¡¯t there? She¡¯ll be able to pick up after where Nirvana left off. Make Incarnation Yu Sang-Ah your new [Arahat].¡±
The ¡®Arahat¡¯, or the Seekers of Truth, were not shackled to the ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯, and were free to roam the worlds of scenarios and continue to experience the cycles of reincarnation.
¡°I¡¯m willing to make the deal with you when you do that.¡±
[Making a deal, is it. Do you believe that you know what this self wishes for?]
¡°Isn¡¯t it to stop the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯?¡±
[A futile attempt, that is. This self does not hold any interest in the contradictory Fables such as ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯.]
¡°Even when those contradictory Fables are about to make an unholy mess out of your ind?¡±
As if he found this topic rather amusing, the eyes of the Warrior Monk arced rather elegantly.
The ¡®Guardian of Mand¡¯ was neither on the side of ¡®Good¡¯ nor ¡®Evil¡¯. If I were to describe it in words, then he was an existence far closer to ¡®nothingness¡¯. So, there was just no way that such a being would wee the authorities of ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯ growingrger within his territory.
¡°I¡¯ll try to stop the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.¡±
[Do you believe such a thing is achievable with your power?]
My Fables replied in ce of me.
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is bellowing out!]
[Giant Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, is growling menacingly!]
The air in the surroundings began trembling unstably as the two Great Fables revved their engines.
If my guess was correct, then the ¡®Guardian of Mand¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be able to reject my offer. Because, he couldn¡¯t take part in the uing ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯, that¡¯s why.
As a being who was neither ¡®Good¡¯ nor ¡®Evil¡¯, he had no pretext to enter the war, you see.
[....Is the Incarnation named ¡®Yu Sang-Ah¡¯ bing this self¡¯s ¡®Arahat¡¯ your only wish, dear Bodhisattva?]
¡°One other thing.¡±
[You are a greedy Bodhisattva, it seems.]
¡°Allow my Neb to start the Great War from the area we prefer. As the master of the ind, I believe that you can interfere with the proceedings at least that much.¡±
At that moment, I sensed the quickening of the faint magical energy from throughout the entire temple. It was a riot of Status, as if to make its existence known to me. It was a Status possessing a certain aura that wasn¡¯t at all threatening or murderous, but nevertheless, something that I couldn¡¯t even hope toe close to yet.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is strongly activating!]
[¡®Wall that Decides Samsara¡¯ is smacking its lips.]
A short whileter, the ¡®Guardian of Mand¡¯ nodded his head.
[I agree to your conditions, dear Bodhisattva. Unfortunately, it¡¯s not possible for the whole of your Neb to start from your preferred area on the Main Ind.]
¡°In that case, I ask of you to send Incarnations Yi Gil-Yeong and Shin Yu-Seung at the least.¡±
[H-mm.... Where do you wish to send them?]
¡°The Next City.¡±
[The Next City, is it.... Oh my, dear Bodhisattva, could it be.....]
If it was the ¡®Guardian of Mand¡¯, he should have cottoned onto what I was nning here by now.
The Main Ind of the ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯ was where the Fables from the 3rd generation had been stuck frozen in time. As these Fables boasted a far wider spectrum of varietypared to 1st and 2nd generations, your starting point yed a factor in you acquiring unexpected Fables.
Even if others couldn¡¯t, I had to ensure that those two kids would start from the ¡®Next City¡¯.
[....In return, the rest of yourpanions will start in locations that this self has selected.]
¡°Understood.¡±
Han Su-Yeong standing next to me, silently observing the unfolding situation until then, sent me a probing nce after hearing my reply.
¨C Hey, you. What will you do if this baldy monk sends us to a weird ce?
The Warrior Monk saw us get into a bit of argument and a strange smile suddenly crept up on his lips. [Dear Bodhisattva, this self truly enjoys watching your story, but.... Unfortunately, the Fables you have umted so far is simply too inadequate to contend with other Nebs participating in the Great War of Saints and Demons.]
Maybe she felt a bit triggered by the word ¡®inadequate¡¯, Han Su-Yeong began to retort in a snarky manner. ¡°....Looks like you haven¡¯t heard the news that we smashed apart not too long ago.¡±
[The Fables dear Bodhisattvas have umted are indeed peerless, but they haven¡¯t experienced the trials and tribtions of time itself.]
In the next moment, both Han Su-Yeong¡¯s body and mine were suddenly wrapped up in bright light.
[Constetion, ¡®Guardian of Mand¡¯ has agreed with your transfer to the next scenario.]
[Transfer to the next scenario has begun!]
....So suddenly?
I was taken by surprise a little, but quickly regained my bearings.
Finally, I was heading towards the location of the third Great Fable that¡¯dplete the ¡®climax¡¯.
Most likely, my otherpanions were in the middle of transferring, just like me. I shifted my head to find Han Su-Yeong looking up at me.
¡°Kim Dok-Ja.¡±
I reflexively extended my hand towards her and replied. ¡°Do your best. I¡¯ll try to find you as soon as possible.¡±
¡°....Yeah, right.¡±
The moment Han Su-Yeong¡¯s fist bumped into mine, she waspletely enveloped in bright light. As I watched her figure disappear, I became aware once more that she had be myrade for real.
Like back when Yu Joong-Hyeok said it, Han Su-Yeong had be an indispensable existence for me to reach my desired conclusion.
On my way to this ce, I ended up owing her a lot. So, it was time that I pay my debt.
?However, Kim Dok-Ja of then had no idea.?
It was also in that very moment that the screen of my phone began glowing brightly, as well. Words from a page I didn¡¯t recognise began rising up line after line in front of my eyes as if to foreshadow an ominous future.
?He didn¡¯t know that, by the time Kim Dok-Ja got to meet her again....?
No, hang on a minute here.
?50 years had passed by already.?
.....What the hell?!
< Episode 71: 50 yearster (1) > Fin.
Chapter 374 - Episode 71 - 50 years later (2)
Chapter 374: Episode 71 ¨C 50 yearster (2)
50 years? What the hell was that all about?
As my vision grew blurrier, I caught the smile floating up on the Warrior Monk¡¯s lips.
¨C Oh, dear Bodhisattva. Please, try to endure time itself.
[Transfer to the Main Ind has begun!]
[¡®Wall that Decides Samsara¡¯ is investigating information of your Fables!]
[Investigation has concluded!]
[The scenario location for you and yourrades has been decided.]
This was the veryst message I heard before losing my consciousness.
[Sub-scenario, ¡®Genre Selection¡¯, has begun!]
*
Ricardo stared into the pitch-ck liquid filling up his transparent cup and recalled the memories of the distant past.
?¡±Even if you train for 50 years, it¡¯ll be difficult for you to be a royal court mage.¡±?
That was back when he first started learning magic.
?¡±You don¡¯t seem to possess the suitable constitution to be a schr.¡±?
That was when the number one schr in the Kaixenix Archipgo came to tutor him.
?¡±Your hands are not suited to holding a sword.¡±?
And that was back when he grabbed a sword for the first time in the royal swordsmanship training grounds.
?¡±Some lives are like that. What¡¯s important is to never fall into despair and continue to strive forward, son.¡±?
Ricardo¡¯s father, Verchen Von Kaixenix, said those words.
That couldn¡¯t console him, though. A man who had no talent nor desire to do anything wouldn¡¯t be consoled after hearing those words, anyway.
Even with no talent, he should strive forward regardless? What would he be if he continued to live on like that, anyway?
Ricardo drunk himself into a stupor every single day. He hung around with the archipgo¡¯s worst hooligans and did drugs. He even became addicted to gambling and squandered away the fortunes of his family, too.
He even fell in love. Once upon a time.
She was older, and the most beautiful woman in the entire archipgo. Unfortunately, even that had to end after she married his oldest brother.
Ricardo stared at that ck liquid and muttered to himself.
¡°I¡¯ll just kill myself.¡±
That resolution was the first time he swallowed the brave pill in his life.
He lightly grasped the cup, and as if drinking wine, he emptied its contents in one go. Its effect manifested itself not too long afterwards. Hisplexion became dark and lifeless, and his arms faltered to the side with no energy.
And exactly four hourster.
Someone else opened his eyes in Ricardo¡¯s body.
*
Besides ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯, I had read quite a few other stories. When I was young, I read those great works of literature my mother rmended, and after I grew up a bit, I began selecting books on my own volition to read.
As an aside, the very first web-novel I read began with its protagonist harping on about his misfortune while dying before waking back up again.
Just like now.
¡°Blergh.....!¡±
¡°Your highness! Prince Ricardo! Are you alright, my lord?¡±
Someone was patting me on the back, and I vomited out the contents of my stomach for a long time.
I wiped my mouth and raised my head only to discover a mirror. The handsome face reflected in it was pale and charmingly attractive.
....It was definitely my face, but something felt unfamiliar about it.
Who was I?
....Ricardo....?
?¡±You probably know this already, but I¡¯m not a prophet. No, I am as far removed from such a being as you can get.¡±?
I am....
?¡±I¡¯m not the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯. I¡¯m also not the ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯.¡±?
I am....?
?¡±Twenty-eight.... No, wait. I was twenty-eight, and I was an employee of a gamepany. My hobby was reading web-novels....¡±?
[Your Fables are resisting against the Great Fable that sets this world¡¯s view!]
[Exclusive skill, ¡®The 4th Wall¡¯, is strongly activating!]
I slowly closed my eyes before opening them again, and was immediately ovee with the sensation of the world separating itself from me.
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ has impeded your character immersion.]
[Due to the effect of ¡®The 4th Wall¡¯, your ego has been fully retained.]
[Probability of the Ind is suspicious of your preferential treatment.]
I was greeted by the feelings of an unfamiliar body. This one didn¡¯t belong to me.
?I am Kim Dok-Ja.?
My consciousness returned to me in full, and the chain of memories was organised in an instant. I was participating in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ scenario, and had just entered the Main Ind.
It was awash with the various spectrum of 3rd generation Fables. Different Fables created different genres of worldviews, and the one right in front of my eyes was....
¡°.....Body possession.¡±
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
[A term not aligned with the worldview has been spoken!]
[Penalty will be imposed!]
By the time I woke up again, two hours would have passed by.
*
¡°Your highness, are you feeling alright?¡±
Someone was calling out to me from beyond my hazy view.
¡°....Please, may I have some water?¡±
[You have usednguage not in line with the worldview!]
[Penalty will....]
¡°....Hand me some water.¡±
¡°Here it is.¡±
After drinkingrge gulps of cold water, I felt my reasoning return bit by bit. My head was in a mess as the memories of someone else rushed in. I was now upying the body of a man who had already lived for over 30 years.
?In certain areas on the ¡®Main Ind¡¯, words that don¡¯t align with the applicable worldview will be prohibited from being spoken.?
I could just about remember some stuff from the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯. Although this particr turn barely got a passing mention, the novel definitely did feature a scenario such as this one.
The so-called ¡®Possession scenario¡¯.
I¡¯d be advancing the scenario ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ from this person¡¯s perspective from here onwards.
[It is impossible to summon a Dokkaebi when in the applicable area.]
[You are unable to receive indirect messages from the Constetions when in the applicable area.]
....Not only that, strange restrictions were in ce, too. This was a different development from the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ that I knew of.
¡°....Looks like I¡¯ll have to collect information first.¡±
[You have performed actions befitting the personality of the host body.]
[Your understanding of the applicable host body is increasing.]
Straight away, I began rummaging through the memories from the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯.
?The Kaixenix Archipgo, the isle of heroes that led the Age of Saints and Demons.?
I couldn¡¯t really recall any particrly useful information. Why did it have to be an area that didn¡¯t get much of a mention in the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯?
But, it didn¡¯t feel like apletely foreign ce to me, though....
Was that because of the memories of the person I had possessed overflowing into me?
[Exclusive skill, ¡®Character List¡¯, has been activated!]
Now originally, I couldn¡¯t see my Attribute Window. However, if it was the one belonging to the host body that I took over, then....
+
Name: Ricardo Von Kaixenix (Kim Dok-Ja)
Age: 31
Constetion Support: None (Currently, ¡®1¡¯ Constetion has shown interest.)
Exclusive Attribute: A Gifted Hoodlum
Exclusive Skills: [Royalty¡¯s Outer Appearance Lv.3], [Soliloquy Lv.6], [Roley Lv.5]
Stigma: None
Overall Stats: [Physique Lv. 10], [Strength Lv.10], [Agility Lv.10], [Magic Power Lv.10]
Overall Rating: The person you have taken over is the 4th Prince of the Kaixenix Archipgo. Unfortunately, hecks talent in all types ofbat abilities, including swordsmanship, magic, etc.
* Currently afflicted by Abnormal Status Condition: ¡®Possessed¡¯.
+
....Why was I stuck inside such a guy¡¯s body?
The scenario¡¯s message definitely told me that I¡¯d upy a ¡®host rted to me¡¯. However, what did this wastrel prince have inmon with me? Not only that, this dude¡¯s natural muscr stat was 10. The only thing simr between us would be our age, but even then....
¡°Your highness, are you immersing yourself in roley once more?¡±
¡°Roley?¡±
¡°Last time, you were imitating our First Ancestor.... You¡¯re now wearing an outfit that I haven¡¯t seen before, your highness. You¡¯re dressed like the people from Earth¡¯s chronicles, sir.¡±
I took a look at the mirror without thinking too much about it and spotted the familiar outfit. Bizarrely enough, all my equipment had been transferred along with my possession of the host body.
I replied in a dead-pan manner. ¡°It¡¯s an outfit of a certain Demon King.¡±
¡°....A Demon King, your highness?¡±
I reached into the coat¡¯s inner pocket, and fortunately enough, I could feel the equipment I possessed still in there. I took out my smartphone first. In order to acquire more info on this ce, I needed to check the contents of the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯....
Tsu-chuchuchut!
[The applicable item does not line up with the worldview and therefore cannot be used.]
....Screw this damn penalty.
The butler alongside me must¡¯ve interpreted my actions in his own way, since he spoke as thus. ¡°Indeed, your highness, it¡¯ll be better to enjoy yourself for onest time. Soon, ¡®his¡¯ majesty will call for you. Well, then.¡±
Leaving behind those words, the butler went away from my side. And I was left all alone in this small room.
?Kim Dok Ja is lone ly.?
Right, it¡¯s a relief that at least you¡¯re here with me. I wonder what had happened to my otherpanions...
ording to thest message I heard, it was highly probable that they all ended up in the same area as me. For the time being, I switched the scenario window on. The backlogged messages rose up non-stop in my view.
[You have entered Main Ind¡¯s ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯.]
[¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯ is currently cut off from the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ conflict region¡¯s space-time.]
[You can advance to the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ after solving the applicable area¡¯s sub-scenario.]
I¡¯d probably have to raise an army here and participate in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯. Meaning, this ce would serve as a foundation to enter that war.
[You can¡¯t view the information on the scenario yet.]
[The plot of the applicable scenario will change ording to the route you have chosen.]
The route I¡¯ve chosen?
No, hang on a minute. At least I need to know what the conditions for failure is, so I can....
[You won¡¯t fail the applicable scenario as long as you do not die.]
Now, this kind of situation would be my first.
In any case, I wouldn¡¯t fail this scenario as long as I stay alive, was that it? I sat down on the bed and calmly organised my thoughts.
My name in the current worldview was Ricardo Von Kaixenix.
As this scenario was built upon the basis of ¡®possession¡¯, I had to perfectly carry on acting like the prince I took over.
My current priority should be to search for the other members of . It was highly possible that they were possessing other people like me, so only after I find them would I be....
¡°Your highness, are you in? It¡¯s Knight Bilston.¡±
Just as I began thinking, someone knocked on the door.
The Knight Bilston Framer ¨C if Ricardo¡¯s memories were correct, then that guy was supposed to be my escort knight.
¡°His majesty is calling for you, your highness.¡±
The moment he pushed open the door to enter the room, I was immediately taken over by this unexinable feeling. The person standing before me was a knight boasting white moustache in his early 40s. Without a doubt, I should¡¯ve been unfamiliar with his appearance. But then...
[Your Fables are reacting towards the applicable individual!]
[Exclusive attribute, ¡®Scenario Interpreter¡¯, is disying its effect!]
The knight¡¯s face was changing bit by bit.
?¡±Mister Ki.....¡±?
A voice that I really missed entered my head, even though it hadn¡¯t been that long sincest I heard it.
?¡±Back when I was still in the military, there was an incident where I lost a spent cartridge.¡±?
The Fable umted within the man was talking to me right now. Words that lost the majority of their strength were desperately pleading with me regarding something.
?¡±I told myself to never lose one ever again.¡±?
I knew the owner of that particr Fable well.
¡°....Mister Hyeon-Seong?¡±
When I spoke up, Yi Hyeon-Seong stared back at me.
[Applicable individual does not understand your words.]
¡°It is you, isn¡¯t it? Mister Hyeon-Seong?¡±
[Applicable individual does not understand your words.]
[Applicable worldview has rmended that you perfectly act ording to the role you were given.]
Yi Hyeon-Seong staring at me with vacant eyes soon formed an awkward grin and replied back. ¡°Hyeon-Seong? Haha, are you still in the middle of your roley, your highness? May I be permitted to inquire as to who you were imitating just now?¡±
It seemed that Yi Hyeon-Seong couldn¡¯t recognise me at all ¨C along with an expression of someone who didn¡¯t remember me on his face.
I called out his name. ¡°Lord Bilston.¡±
¡°Yes, your highness.¡±
¡°Do you not recognise this outfit?¡±
¡°Mm.... Is that the outfit of the Demon Hunters? Or, maybe, a member of Revolutionaries....¡±
Although my current face was different, my current attire was the white coat that I¡¯ve been wearing all along. If this man was really Yi Hyeon-Seong, there was just no way that he¡¯d not recognise it.
But the fact that he still failed to do so could only mean....
[Exclusive skill, ¡®Character List¡¯, has activated!]
+
Name: Bilston Framer (???)
Age: 43
Constetion Support: None
Exclusive Attribute: Loyalty, An Honourable Knight
Exclusive Skills: [Rapid Reaction Force Lv.8], [Kingdom¡¯s Royal Swordsmanship Lv.8]
Stigma: None
Overall Stats: [Physique Lv.80], [Strength Lv. 80], [Agility Lv. 80], [Magic Power Lv. 80]
Overall Rating: Once upon a time, there used to be two souls living within this body. He was a knight of the kingdom, and at the same time, a shield of someone else. The shield waited for his master to appear. He waited, and then waited some more. Finally, the master of the shield has appeared after a long wait, but the shield can no longer perform its role anymore.
+
While reading the exnation in the Attribute Window over and over again, I recalled the Invincible Fist Yu Ho-Seong¡¯s warning.
¨C When you get to the Main Ind, be careful of the ¡®Great Fable¡¯.
¨C If it¡¯s a Great Fable, I think I can control it now.
¨C I didn¡¯t mean it that way. You will end up fighting against a Great Fable itself when you get there.
Only then did I understand the meaning behind those words.
I raised my head to sense the movement of a gigantic Probability encasing the entirety of the archipgo. Something was staring at me. Something that was neither a Constetion nor a Demon King.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is avariciously staring at you.]
I clenched my fists and bit down on my lip.
The still-oblivious Yi Hyeon-Seong continued to mutter to himself in the meantime. ¡°Hmm, if it¡¯s not the Revolutionaries, then maybe, another kingdom¡¯s....¡±
The Yi Hyeon-Seong that I knew had been swallowed up by this world and disappeared already.
Chapter 375 - 50 years later (3)
Chapter 375: Episode 71 ¨C 50 yearster (3)
While on our way to the audience chamber, I continued to engage Bilston in conversation. ¡°Sir Bilston. By any chance, have you lost anything recently? Maybe often, as well? For instance, an empty cartridge....¡±
¡°Pardon?¡±
[A term not fitting the worldview has been used and therefore....]
¡°I mean, such as miscing a portable magical explosive....¡±
¡°Your highness, do I look like such a pathetic fool capable of doing that?¡±
I just couldn¡¯t think of what to say here.
When looking at that stiff walking posture or the firm pectoral muscles, or even that slightly dopey expression on his face, this guy was definitely Yi Hyeon-Seong, but.... But, ording to ¡®Character List¡¯, he was not him, but the character of this world¡¯s setting, ¡®Bilston Framer¡¯.
I re-read the ¡®Overall Rating¡¯ portion at the bottom of the Character List.
¨C Once upon a time, there used to be two souls living within this body. He was a knight of the kingdom, and at the same time, a shield of someone else.
The ¡®knight of the kingdom¡¯ bit must be referring to ¡®Bilston Framer¡¯, while the ¡®shield¡¯ bit must be referring to Yi Hyeon-Seong.
¨C The shield waited for his master to appear. He waited, and then, waited some more. Finally, the master of the shield has appeared after a long wait, but the shield can no longer perform its role anymore.
The most important portion was this part. I kind of realised that Yi Hyeon-Seong had been waiting for otherpanions to arrive.
The issue here was with the number ¨C just how much time was this ¡®long wait¡¯ thing implying here?
¡°Your highness?¡±
I couldn¡¯t help but feelplicated when looking at the man staring back at me with those dopey eyes.
There were only two things I could be sure of at the current juncture.
One, Yi Hyeon-Seong had been entered into this scenario far earlier than me.
Two, he had been swallowed up by this world¡¯s Great Fable and his ego had disappeared.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is smacking its lips in your direction.]
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is ring at ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯.]
In that case, could the others who didn¡¯t possess [The 4th Wall] have ended up in the same state as Yi Hyeon-Seong?
¡°Your highness, did something happen?¡±
I wordlessly stared into Bilston¡¯srge eyes.
This guy was definitely Yi Hyeon-Seong. But, could he really be called ¡®Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯ right now?
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir Bilston.¡±
¡°I beg your pardon? Why so suddenly....¡±
¡°I must¡¯ve put you through a lot of hardship. I know that it was difficult for you to protect me until now.¡±
I wasn¡¯t addressing Bilston Framer right now.
¡°I always used the excuse of being too busy and didn¡¯t take good care of you. Even though you have saved my life several times already.¡±
Yi Hyeon-Seong helped me out many times during our journey towards this scenario. I had enough chances to share a deep, meaningful and personal conversation with him, but as it was the usual case, his spot in the queue continued to get pushed back under the pretext of me preparing for the next scenario.
I believed that we understood each other without the need to say something. I believed that the Fables we earned together could ably sub for us in that regard.
And the end result of that was this.
Bilston must¡¯ve thought of something after he heard me because he wiped his nostrils while shifting his gaze to the outside view.
¡°Your highness, you really do possess a warm, gentle heart.¡±
[Character, ¡®Bilston Framer¡¯, has been moved deeply by you.]
....I wasn¡¯t trying to impress him but someone else, though.
Without saying anything else, we continued down the long hallway.
Portraits of the previous kings lined up the walls of the hallway in sequence. The one that caught my eyes the most among them was a depiction of a lone man holding up a broken sword in the middle of a storm.
¨C The First Ancestor, the Storm King Ulysses Kaixenix the First.
I stopped walking for a moment and studied that painting.
¡°It has been my honour to serve you throughout my life, your highness.¡±
I turned my head around, and Bilston began telling his tale as thick teardrops formed around his eyes. He locked his gaze at the distant parapets of the castle and continued on.
¡°Can you still remember it? I almost lost you when you were around seven years old, your highness.¡±
¡°....Mm?¡±
¡°Just by recalling the sight of you precariously dangling on the castle¡¯s parapet still causes my heart to tumble to the pits of my stomach, your highness. Was that all? When you were thirteen years old, you went to thevatory and then....¡±
Hey, hang on a minute, this dude.... He¡¯s way too simr to Yi Hyeon-Seong, wasn¡¯t he?
¡°But then, you¡¯re still worried about this lowly one even until thest moment....¡±
¡°Last moment??¡±
Bilston stared back at me with sorrowful eyes, before quickly avoiding meeting my gaze.
¡°.....We¡¯ve arrived. Let us go inside.¡±
The doors to the audience chamber were before us already; they opened up to reveal the royal guards lining up on either side of the red carpet. And the captain of the guards, decked out in the silver crest, stood proudly in the middle.
¡°Sir Bilston, why are you sote?¡±
¡°I was sharing a final goodbye with his highness the prince.¡±
There were several spots in their conversation that I wanted to butt in, but thanks to the overall atmosphere, I couldn¡¯t squeak a word out.
Bilston, who had been in a tearful mood only a minute ago was now carrying a grave, serious expression. The gazes of two people growling at each other collided in mid-air.
The captain continued on. ¡°A final goodbye, is it. A traitor found guilty of high treason dares to enjoy unnecessary luxury.¡±
¡°You better watch what you say.¡±
The two of them got into a battle stance simultaneously. Bilston pulled out a bastard sword, while the captain.... Eh?
....Why was this person carrying that sword?
Indeed, the weapon held in the captain¡¯s hands was something that I was intimately familiar with. I personally collected the materials and had it crafted for the sake of a certain someone, after all.
[Sword of Judgement]
¡°Sir Bilston, do you wish to be another dewdrop of the execution ground alongside your prince?¡±
The captain¡¯s red eyes wavered threateningly from beyond ¡®his¡¯ helm.
?¡±Oh, my king.... If you will it, then so be it....¡±?
?¡±Dok-Ja-ssi, you¡¯re trying to do it by yourself again... I told you not to do that, didn¡¯t I?¡±?
I knew who this person was.
¡°Stop, both of you!!¡±
Bilston heard my urgent cry and stopped gathering momentum, and stepped back. Meanwhile, the captain of the guard, ring at me with hostile eyes, removed ¡®his¡¯ helm.
And ¡®his¡¯ face matched exactly that of Jeong Hui-Won¡¯s.
[Exclusive skill, ¡®Character List¡¯, is activating!]
+
Name: Erich Striker (???)
Age: 37
Constetion Support: None
Exclusive Attributes: Loyal Servant, Swordmaster
Exclusive Skills: [Demon ying Lv.10], [Kingdom¡¯s Royal Swordsmanship Lv.10]....
Stigma: None
Overall Stats: [Physique Lv.75], [Strength Lv.80], [Agility Lv.90], [Magic Power Lv.70]
Overall Rating: Once upon a time, there used to be two souls living within this body. ¡®He¡¯ was the Guard Captain of the kingdom, and at the same time, a sword of someone else. The sword waited for that someone to appear with the shield. ¡®He¡¯ waited, and then, waited some more. Finally, the sword met the one he¡¯d been waiting for after all this time, but ¡®he¡¯ can no longer remember him.
+
Bloody hell, even Jeong Hui-Won was in that state, too?
The captain staring at me with quiet, still eyes eventually spoke up. ¡°It seems that the prince is aware of the situation he is in. Guards, ce the criminal under arrest.¡±
.....Under arrest?
I was caught by the guards without a chance to resist. But then again, I couldn¡¯t fight back even if I wanted to, what with this body¡¯s average Stats being only 10.
I could see the guillotine beyond the lines of the guards. Only then did I realise why I was brought to this ce in the first ce.
It was quite likely that this scenario would begin with my execution.
*
Among all the novels I read in the past, there was this genre referred to as the so-called ¡®hooligan tales¡¯.
The story usually went along the lines of the hooligan protagonist being born as thest-born child of a royal family or nobility, and he¡¯d be a better person by going through all sorts of trials and tribtions.
Now normally, most of those stories began in a simr way.
?The Kaixenix Royal Family was ruined.?
Such as, the family being ruined even before the start, and....
?The ruler of the Archipgo died after being stabbed by the dagger of his most trusted adviser.?
....And, he¡¯d fall into moments of mortal danger after his parents and best friends were killed off.
?The Second Prince, renowned for his mastery of the sword, and the Third Prince, renowned for his magical prowess, lost their lives at the hands of the usurpers.?
....What the hell. What was I supposed to do when such important memories came back to me only just now?
¡°I shall guide the criminal personally.¡±
All thanks to that, I ended up delivering myself to my own execution ground like an idiot. Many different thoughts floated up in my head; I was wondering why this wastrel killed himself, but huh, maybe he didn¡¯t want to be executed?
Bilston, now being forcibly held back by the guards, could only call out to me in desperation. ¡°Your highness! Prince Ricardo!!¡±
The captain grabbed a hold of my hair and dragged me towards the gallows. If Jeong Hui-Won¡¯s consciousness was still here, this would¡¯ve turned into a rather amusing spectacle, but s.
I spotted a lte designed to perfectly amodate my neck. In a short while, I¡¯d be forced up on the gallows and have my head cut off. And when that happened, I¡¯d fail this scenario.
[Unique Skill, ¡®the 4th Wall¡¯, is strongly activating!]
I looked up at the face of the Guard Captain and asked ¡®him¡¯. ¡°Are you really going to do this?¡±
The captain smirked back. ¡°Oh, so you feel scared now that you¡¯vee this far?¡±
¡°That¡¯s not it.¡±
¡°Then what?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t you promise to be my sword?¡±
A faint sense of fluster floated up on the Captain¡¯s face.
¡°What rubbish are you spewing now?¡±
¡°Have you forgotten your pledge already? Was that all a lie, your promise of seeing the end of the scenario alongside me?¡±
[Character, ¡®Erich Striker¡¯, is feeling a small amount of confusion towards you.]
¡°Looks like you¡¯ve begun rambling nonsense now that you¡¯re about to die.¡±
Just like it was with Yi Hyeon-Seong, Jeong Hui-Won¡¯s ego didn¡¯t want to return that quickly.
The coldness of the wooden lte surrounded my neck. It was at this point in time that someone loudly shouted out.
¡°Her majesty is making her entrance!¡±
I heard the sounds of curtains being pulled back. Someone was walking towards the audience chamber enveloped in still silence. The footsteps sounded dignified, light, but at the same time, weighty. Apanying those footsteps, Ricardo¡¯s memories flowed into my head like a song.
?The enemy of my father and my brothers.?
?The Dark Magician of the Kaixenix Archipgo.?
?The regicide.?
?And....?
My heart began powerfully pounding away.
?The woman that I used to love.?
¡°Convict, raise your head.¡±
I slowly raised my head and saw a short-statured ¡®king¡¯, decked out in a ck medieval-style cloak embroidered in silver, with neat and tidy tights underneath.
¡°Do you have any final words?¡±
I dazedly stared at this ¡®king¡¯ and murmured something inside my mouth.
[Exclusive Skill, ¡®Character List¡¯, is activating!]
[Due to an unknown reason, only a portion of the applicable individual¡¯s information can be viewed.]
+
Name: ???
Age: 50
Overall Rating: The applicable individual¡¯s? overall? rating? is still being pre?pared.
+
The info on the ¡®King¡¯ didn¡¯t show up properly. However, her face looked to be in her early 20s no matter how hard I looked.
I stared at the face of this king, the one that couldn¡¯t be the age as dered by the Character Information, for a long time.
Both Yi Hyeon-Seong and Jeong Hui-Won were characters from the pages of the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯. However, what would it be like for someone who wasn¡¯t a character, to begin with?
Just like me, who wasn¡¯t the character of the novel?
I was holding onto a certain expectation, a hope.
¡°I asked you if you have anyst words.¡±
If it was her, wouldn¡¯t she be able to remember me?
?He didn¡¯t know that, by the time Kim Dok-Ja got to meet her again, 50 years would have passed by already.?
Those were the words from the final revision of the novel that I saw just before I was thrust into the scenario.
So, this was what they meant, huh.
¡°I have.¡±
¡°Then, I permit the convict to speak.¡±
¡°I...¡± I forced a smile and spoke up. ¡°....I¡¯m sorry that I came sote, Su-Yeong-ah.¡±
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
Powerful sparks wrapped around me from my deration that didn¡¯t align with the worldview¡¯s Probability. I had to say those words out loud, though.
It was unknown how Han Su-Yeong took my words, but she simply continued to look down on me without any movement whatsoever. But then, she slowly lowered her head and matched my eye level.
Her emotionless eyes; the beauty spot just below one of them; and her lips that always mocked me for fun, now arching up in a smooth line.
¡°Proceed with the execution.¡±
The guillotine¡¯s de chopped down. But, I didn¡¯t try to dodge it.
I had my reasons, of course.
?Scenarios of the Main Ind are all based off on the ¡®3rd generation of Fables¡¯.?
If my thoughts were correct, then ¡®Ricardo Kaixenix¡¯ would not be killed off in this manner.
Ka-booooom!!
One of the castle¡¯s walls exploded, and at the same time, the guillotine falling down was destroyed. I could see the broken de of the guillotine through the grey dust cloud rising up.
¡°It¡¯s the Revolutionaries!¡±
¡°Protect her majesty, now!¡±
Amidst the chaos, I could hear the loud shouts of the royal guards. Soon, the audience chamber became the scene of pure pandemonium filled with pained moans and screams.
¡°Damn it, it¡¯s the First Prince!¡±
¡°Stop him! You must stop him at all cost!¡±
It was the First Prince of the Kaixenix Archipgo ¨C Ricardo¡¯s blood brother, as well as a genius in swordsmanship and magic as well as academia.
¡°I¡¯vee to save my little brother.¡±
I was greeted by this overflowing sense of happiness. When the arrestingly-beautiful sword light danced and sparkled within the audience chamber, the royal guards rushing in all copsed one after another like puppets with strings cut.
There was someone who¡¯d never change even if the worldview or scenarios around him did. Indeed, there would ever be only one such person even if you searched through this entire world-line.
But, I closed my lips just as they opened up half-way. I wasn¡¯t sure why, though.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is enjoying the bloody, gory battle.]
Myrades so far had forgotten about me. I was sure it¡¯d be the same story for that dude, too. In a way, it might be the best thing for him, I thought.
[Fable, ¡®Comrade of Life and Death¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
It was then ¨C the First Prince suddenly red at me.
And then, a message popped up in my head.
¨C You fool. You must be Kim Dok-Ja.
Fin.
Chapter 376 - 50 years later (4)
Chapter 376: Episode 71 ¨C 50 yearster (4)
¨C Capture them! Apprehend the eldest Prince first!
¨C They are taking the Fourth Prince away!
Angry Reincarnators inside the screen were pouring out a barrage of arrows and sword lights. And there were two men running within the thick, choking smoke ¨C Yu Joong-Hyeok and Kim Dok-Ja.
[Ba-aht, baaaht!]
With a very restless expression on its face, Biyu jumped up and down in the air like a ball of mochi.
Arrows flew past Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s head with barely any room to spare; some of them even urately fell towards his back, but the First Prince quickly swung his sword to deflect them all.
¨C Retreat!
With that order, the revolutionaries receded away. And there were Constetions watching this spectacle from afar.
[Constetion, ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯, is gazing at ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯.]
[Constetion, ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯, is looking at the Underworld¡¯s sessor.]
[Constetion, ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯, is roaring out in frustration!]
Unfortunately, their messages couldn¡¯t reach the Incarnations within the channel.
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯, is pleading for at least one message to get through!]
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯, is requesting for the permission to send indirect messages.....]
[Ba-aht, baaaht.]
With a sad look, Biyu shook its head.
Dokkaebis might possess the authority to change broadcast set-up of their channels, but the situation this time with the ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯ was a rather unique one.
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯, is ring at the ¡®Guardian of the Mand¡¯.]
The one who offered up the stage for the scenario of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ was the master of the ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯, ¡®Guardian of the Mand¡¯. He was not allowed to participate in this scenario personally, but at the same time, was given the same level of authority to interfere as the high-ranking Dokkaebis during this war.
[Oh, young angel, that is regrettably impossible to do so. Unless, you decide to convert to the path of Buddhism through this opportunity.]
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯, is throwing a temper tantrum.]
[You should be mindful of your temper. Those with much anger in them will get consumed by itter.]
[A great number of Constetions are expressing their indignation!]
Not caring whether they were furious or not, the ¡®Guardian of the Mand¡¯ continued to stare with quiet, distant eyes at Kim Dok-Ja inside the screen ¨C as if he was searching for a certain profound epiphany from that man¡¯s face.
[Channels nearby are momentarily being frozen!]
Tsu-chuchuchut....
It was around then that someone revealed himself in the air apanied by a sudden storm of sparks. The ¡®Guardian of the Mand¡¯ shifted his disinterested eyes in that direction.
[This one doesn¡¯t recall giving entry permission to a Dokkaebi from the Bureau.]
[I simply had toe with the situation being what it is, oh, ¡®King of Reincarnators¡¯.]
The one that appeared was the upper-grade Dokkaebi, Bihyung. He courteously performed the Buddhist-style greeting and began his questioning right away.
[I¡¯m aware that you possess ten different names. Sakya, Sakyamuni, Siddhartha, Tathagata, Sugata, Buddha.... Which one among them are you, exactly?]
The expression on the Guardian¡¯s face shifted ever so slightly after hearing Bihyung¡¯s question. The fact was, he would transform into a different existence ording to the name he currently possessed.
[This one is currently Sakyamuni.]
[Sakyamuni, please cancel the abnormal scenario currently imposed on the Neb .]
[That is contrary to our prior agreement. Have you not handed over all control of the preparatory scenarios to me?]
[I believe you were strongly requested to remain neutral in the uing ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.]
Bihyung¡¯s sharp gazended firmly on Sakyamuni. The Warrior Monk¡¯s eyes quietly held that gaze, and the mand within them reversed their spinning direction.
[Well. This one isn¡¯t the first person to stop being neutral, it seems.]
[Can you rify that, please?]
[I heard recently that there is an upper-grade Dokkaebi greatly favouring Incarnations from a certain Neb.]
Right after Sakyamuni finished replying in a subtle but usatory tone of voice, Biyu popped up in mid-air and plopped its soft tummy on top of Bihyung¡¯s head.
[Are you here because of the Bureau, or by your own volition?]
Bihyung lightly bit his lip, but didn¡¯t provide an answer. Instead, he looked at Kim Dok-Ja in the screen, currently breaking past the clouds of explosions and running away.
[The trial you have put them in is far too excessive. It might be only a blink to the Constetions, but that length of time is as much as one¡¯s lifespan from a human¡¯s perspective.]
[This one was also a human once upon a time. And this scenario is a necessity. Especially if they are to reach the ¡ö¡ö.]
[....Sakyamuni.]
[Oh Dokkaebi, the celebration of the end will soonmence.]
The mand within Sakyamuni¡¯s eyes continued to spin. And the faint figures of Kim Dok-Ja and Yu Joong-Hyeok could be seen above the spinning Mands.
[Which ¡ö¡ö will you vote for?]
*
With the aid of Yu Joong-Hyeok, I was able to safely escape from the audience chamber. The pursuit attempt by the guards proved to be annoyingly persistent, but thanks to the sacrifices of a few revolutionaries, we made it to the safe house in the end.
Yu Joong-Hyeok chucked the unconscious Bilston ¨C the host body of Yi Hyeon-Seong ¨C on the floor and opened his lips to speak. ¡°Why did you show up thiste?¡±
¡°It wasn¡¯t because I wanted to, okay.¡±
[The worldview is growing suspicious of your conversation.]
[¡®Midday Tryst¡¯ has been activated!]
Yu Joong-Hyeok shot me his trademark murderous re for a little while, and then continued on with his story.
¨C I arrived in this ce around two years ago.
I calmly listened to his experiences.
He suddenly became the First Prince of the Kaixenix Archipgo, and just as suddenly, throne usurpation broke out.
Yu Joong-Hyeok was thrown into the middle of that armed revolt and began his bid for survival. He escaped from the royal castle and created the group of freedom fighters. And then, he searched around for the rest of thepanions.
¨C By the time I arrived here, Yi Hyeon-Seong, Jeong Hui-Won, and even Han Su-Yeong were already in that state.
¨C Are the three of them the only ones here? Where are the others?
¨C Haven¡¯t found anyone besides them. It¡¯s likely that only they were summoned to this world.
Yu Joong-Hyeok possessed the [Sage¡¯s Eyes]. In some regard, that skill allowed him to spy on far moreplete information than my own [Character List]. He had been relying on this skill to search for the otherpanions. He probably discovered me through it, too ¨C since the [Sage¡¯s Eyes] didn¡¯t work on me.
I observed the still-unconscious Yi Hyeon-Seong.
Yu Joong-Hyeok said he got here two years ago. In that case, just how long was Yi Hyeon-Seong trapped in this worldview for?
¨C They have all been swallowed up by the Great Fable, haven¡¯t they?
¨C Probably.
¨C What about you? You alright?
¨C You think a measly couple of years is enough to break me down?
I btedly recalled what an amazing dude Yu Joong-Hyeok was. The trustworthy Yi Hyeon-Seong, the driven Jeong Hui-Won, and even Han Su-Yeong all broke down and lost themselves.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is shooting a dissatisfied re at Incarnation ¡®Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯.]
However, Yu Joong-Hyeok waspletely unscathed.
But then again, that was pretty obvious when I thought about it. The method employed by this worldview¡¯s ¡®Great Fable¡¯ to break us down was ¡®time¡¯ itself. However, Yu Joong-Hyeok possessed far stronger resistance towards the passage of time than anyone. Well, he had already spent hundreds of years in the Dark Stratum going through harsh training, after all.
[The worldview is expressing its puzzlement over your lengthy silence.]
I raised my head towards the sky.
The current scenario was governed by the rules set out by the worldview. Even Yu Joong-Hyeok seemed to have realised how we should start acting from here onwards.
I finished preparing myself and opened my lips. ¡°Older brother.¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s expression crumpled into something unsightly.
¨C Hey, don¡¯t make a face like that. This is the restriction of our current scenario. Do you think I¡¯m enjoying this, either?
Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s eyes bubbling over like boilingva finally softened just a tad.
Yup, this guy was going to experience severe difficulties pretty soon; ording to Ricardo¡¯s memories, the original setting for the First Prince was ¡®loving and warm-hearted big brother¡¯, that was why.
Yu Joong-Hyeok opened his lips. ¡°Speak, Ricardo.¡±
¡°What are you going to do next? It looks to me that even the revolution has failed now. No, besides all that, why did you even appear in the execution ground, anyway?¡±
¡°I was nning to kill the false king.¡±
[Character, ¡®Ricardo Von Kaixenix¡¯, is being agitated.]
I was pretty sure of him being dead serious here. The Yu Joong-Hyeok I know was fully capable of doing something like that, after all.
Too bad, that wasn¡¯t my style.
¡°But, should you be doing something like that? She¡¯s originally your bride, isn¡¯t she?¡±
¡°Correction. She was supposed to be one. The throne was usurped on the first day of the wedding, however.¡±
Oh, I see. So, it¡¯s that sort of development? I felt just a bit relieved now.
Han Su-Yeong and Yu Joong-Hyeok as a couple? hadn¡¯t allowed any dating at the workce yet, so hell no.
It was at this point in time that an unexpected message entered my ears.
[The worldview finds your words interesting.]
[The genre of the applicable scenario has tilted slightly towards ¡®Romance¡¯.]
....The genre had tilted?
Yu Joong-Hyeok continued on. ¡°It was already farte to save her. She was stained by the corrupted magic and lost her original humanity.¡±
Oh, really?
[The worldview finds Incarnation Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s words interesting.]
[The genre of the applicable scenario has minutely tilted towards ¡®Fantasy¡¯.]
I gave another signal to Yu Joong-Hyeok with my eyes.
¨C Did you hear that?
He nodded his head.
¡°In any case, we both are toote now. We can¡¯t save them all.¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s not toote. Whatever the case may be, there are two of us, right?¡±
After saying that, I shifted my gaze down to Bilston on the ground, still snoring away, and carried on. ¡°Maybe, three.¡±
¡°Those three will be everyone.¡±
¡°Who knows? There might be more. Maybe, a miracle happens and an existence crossing over from another dimension will help us out.¡±
[The worldview finds your words interesting.]
[The genre of the applicable scenario has acquired the possibility of being ¡®Fusion Fantasy¡¯.]
And in the following moment, new scenario messages popped up right before my eyes.
[The Selection Point for the Sub-Scenario, ¡®Genre Selection¡¯, has been generated!]
[A new scenario message has arrived!]
We quickly essed the scenario window.
+
Type: Sub
Difficulty:???
Clear condition: The worldview you¡¯ve been summoned into can participate in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯. Choose the ¡®genre¡¯ of the worldview you¡¯re now a part of, and lead it to its natural conclusion. The worldview that witnesses the conclusion will earn the right to participate in the war.
Time Limit: None
Reward: Participation of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯, 300,000 coins, ???
Failure: You will be bound to the ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯.
+
1. Romance
2. Fantasy
3. Fusion Fantasy
* The attributes of a genre will strengthen the further you act in a manner befitting said genre.
+
¡°....So, this is how it was.¡±
I raised my head and found Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s dumbfounded expression.
I kind of understood how I should go about advancing the scenario now. However, the problem here was the difficulty of figuring out which ¡®genre¡¯ was the right one to select.
¨C We just don¡¯t have enough information. It¡¯d been nice if only we knew what the original plot of this world was....
It was unknown what kind of a conclusion we¡¯d get after choosing a particr worldview. What I wanted was to ensure the survival of everyone and move onto the next scenario together.
But, what if someone were to die as the price for me choosing a genre?
Yu Joong-Hyeok threw out a question.
¨C I guess your high and mighty book didn¡¯t mention this part, then?
I flinched slightly before making my reply.
¨C How can I know something that a Regressor like you doesn¡¯t know?
¨C But, I do know.
¨C What? You know what, exactly?
¨C The course of this scenario.
I stared at him in pure shock. Yu Joong-Hyeok knows of this scenario¡¯s plot? But, that couldn¡¯t be.
If my memories were correct, then the Yu Joong-Hyeok of the 3rd Regression turn had not experienced a scenario like this one. And he¡¯d not go through one in the future, either.
¨C I read it in a book.
¨C What book was that?
I momentarily wondered if he was talking about the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯, but quickly realised that was impossible. Because, even that novel didn¡¯t contain any in-depth information on this scenario.
¨C I read the diary written by Han Su-Yeong from the 1863rd turn. She experienced this scenario in that Regression.
¨C Han Su-Yeong of the 1863rd turn? And why do you have her diary in the first ce?
¨C I got hold of it via special means.
I red at Yu Joong-Hyeok for a little while.
Well, I was slightly ovee withplicated feelings of betrayal.
Han Su-Yeong from the 1863rd turn didn¡¯t mention any information on this scenario to me. Why was that? Did she think that I must not know about it? Or... Just to spite me?
My thoughts remainedplicated, but I shook my head and got rid of them. They weren¡¯t important right now.
¨C If you possessed such information, you should¡¯ve told me that already, you dumbass. Okay, so. How did the 1863rd turn Han Su-Yeong clear this scenario?
Whatever the case might have been, the important thing was that we did have info on this scenario. If we had info, then that meant there was an already-set method to clear it.
However, Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s expression was gloomy.
¨C This world is not unfolding in the original direction.
¨C What are you talking about?
¨C ¡®Throne usurpation¡¯ didn¡¯t happen in the original plot of this world. Meaning, the event of the current king bing ¡®king¡¯ shouldn¡¯t have happened.
¨C Which means.....?
¨C Before we entered this world, someone changed the plot of this story.
I was flustered.
Currently, we were in a situation where neither of us ¨C Yu Joong-Hyeok the Regressor, and me, the sole reader ¨C had any idea on the future storyline. Sure, there had been a few times when the progress of the story didn¡¯t match up with the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ in the past, but this would be the first time we couldn¡¯t predict what the future held for us.
The ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯ I knew didn¡¯t contain any potential solutions to a scenario like this one.
?Ma ybe you sho uld have read the Final Re vision.?
Regret btedly rushed in.
It was at this time that someone knocked on the door.
¡°Enter.¡±
Almost at the same time Yu Joong-Hyeok issued his order, the door was pushed open and the revolutionaries entered. They brought along an older man, currently tied up by them.
¡°He says he¡¯s the secret envoy from the king. He wishes to speak to you, sir.¡±
The older man turned out to be the same butler who handed me water back when I first regained my consciousness after the ¡®possession¡¯. His beard trembled in fear; he sucked in deep breaths and addressed us.
¡°First Prince, and the Fourth Prince.... Her majesty told me to give you a certain item. Specifically.... Her majesty from 40 years ago....¡±
....40 years ago?
Yu Joong-Hyeok and I exchanged nces. Meanwhile, the butler rummaged through his inner pocket and pulled something out.
It was a certain book.
{Three Ways to Survive a Totally Ruined Scenario, by the author Han Su-Yeong.}
< Episode 72: 50 yearster > Fin.
Chapter 377 - Episode 72 - Three methods (1)
Chapter 377: Episode 72 ¨C Three methods (1)
I received the book and stood around in a daze, but somehow managed to ask the butler in the end. ¡°When was it that her majesty gave you this book, again?¡±
¡°It was 40 years ago when she gave me the first manuscript. And for the next ten years, she consistently gave me more manuscripts. All I did was to bind them into a single book, your highness.¡±
¡°Have you read its contents?¡±
¡°I swear on my life, I¡¯ve not read a single line, your highness. Let me emphasize it again that I only merely organised them and bound them, sir.¡±
I quickly opened the book and was greeted by the clean, well-organised table of contents.
¡®.....¡¯
Episode 13. Counterattacking Princes
Episode 14. One Prince and I
Episode 15. Three Methods
.....
I frantically leafed through the pages. Although the collected book itself was rather thick, I didn¡¯t have too much trouble reading it, thanks to the special effect of my attribute.
Someone here was still unhappy about my reading speed, however.
¡°You¡¯re reading it way too quickly.¡±
¡°It¡¯s you who¡¯s slow, ¡®older brother¡¯.¡±
¡°What does it say?¡±
I didn¡¯t reply right away.
As I flipped through the pages, this vague listlessness washed over me. Each page was thick with the fatigue of the passing time and the sense of desperation, an urgency. I couldn¡¯t be sure whether that was Han Su-Yeong¡¯s intention or not.
But, I was sure that she had foreseen the moment of me reading her book arriving in the future.
I stopped reading the page I was on and went straight to the veryst portion of the book. That was where the were.
?Seriously now. There are always those folks who go straight to the author¡¯s afterwords when first reading a book.?
The words greeted me as if they were waiting for my arrival. Even though I knew that couldn¡¯t be the case, I almost broke out into an unconscious chuckle, nheless.
?By the time you¡¯re reading this book, I....?
I steeled my heart and read the next line of the text.
?...I¡¯d still be living a pretty good life, I guess. Hahah, were you scared??
This idiot...
?In any case. If my prediction is correct, then the person reading these words is Kim Dok-Ja. Prince Kim Dok-Ja, no less. What an unfortunate thing that is, not being able to spectate on that sight.?
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s trademark dry sarcasm could be sensed so vividly among each and every word she wrote.
?You wanna know how I can tell? Well.... Actually, even I can¡¯t be sure. There¡¯s a limit to how much I can guess what would happen, you know. It¡¯s just that, I looked at all the potential circumstances on how you might arrive here, as well as countless cliched conditions attached to it, and predicted the one with the highest odds, that¡¯s all. Ah, of course, my prediction could be wrong, though.?
These words were written in a yful manner. However, the contents being conveyed were definitely not a joke.
?In all honesty, I wish I was wrong, though. Me, waiting for someone for decades and decades.... You think such a thing is even possible? You crazy fool.?
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s wasn¡¯t written in one sitting, it seemed. Most likely, she began collecting records the moment she possessed someone in this world. And then,mitted those records to these pages once she was finally able to write them down.
Her records continued on.
?I¡¯m sure you have figured it out, but well, I was born into that woman¡¯s body. At first, I really thought that I had reincarnated, you know.... I almost went crazy out of boredom and frustration during the first year. If I hadn¡¯t activated [Avatar] in my head and organised my memories, then I might have really lost my mind back then. Things got better a little bit when I hit four years old and began writing stuff. What a screwed up thing that is, me being a wordsmith and needing to write things even in moments like this. Maybe I want to be saved by writing.?
I didn¡¯t know whether tough or shed a tear. All I could do right now was to silently turn the page.
?At first, I thought you¡¯d show up in three years at thetest. I mean, you did show up three yearster before. But then, after three years went by, then four, and five.... (Don¡¯t be mistaken that time flew by just because I¡¯m writing like this, okay?) My thoughts changed. And from a certain point on, I epted it.?
It was getting harder and harder to flip the pages.
?I see. Kim Dok-Ja isn¡¯t going to show up for a while.?
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s handwriting seemed to be trembling just a little.
?That damn asshole told me to wait for him, yet he¡¯s still not here.?
What could I possibly say to her?
?However, I guess this can¡¯t be Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s fault.?
What the hell. It was as if whatever I wanted to say already was conveyed to Han Su-Yeong just as she began writing this.
?My bad, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to read about something like this, either. But, the thing is, it¡¯s not easy toin in this ce, you know??
Her words continued on.
?I had no idea when I was still writing novels, but now that I¡¯ve been living in this ce, there¡¯s just way too many cumbersome details that I haven¡¯t thought of before. Like, the shower facility being really terrible, and there are bugs the size of my fist crawling around in my bedroom, and as for food.... Let¡¯s not even mention that, shall we.?
On the sixth year....
?Did you know that my speech is bing weirdtely? I¡¯m beginning to sound like some kind of a high-ssdy from medieval times or something.?
And on the seventh year...
?Dear Sir Kim Dok-Ja, just when will youe??
Eighth year....
?Blergh....?
Finally, ninth year.
?This is like a bad joke, a person¡¯s life fleeting past this quickly.?
From here onwards, the records were asionally cut off. The sequence of time was not consistent, and I discovered parts that seemed to be added inter on every now and then.
?God damn it.?
?Kim Dok-Ja, you son of a bitch.?
?Just what the hell do you want from me, you stinking Dokkaebi bastards??
...
......
?The years I¡¯ve been living in this ce is now almost the same as what I spent living on Earth.?
?....So, like, when you see me again next time, you better call me noona, got that??
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s handwriting was changing bit by bit, with the distinct feeling of it slowly bing something no longer hers but someone else¡¯s.
?Honestly, I¡¯m writing this because I can pretty much guess what will happen to me in the future. And also, in a way, the future of this world view, too.?
Decades would prove to be a short length of time for Constetions. However, it¡¯d not be the same for a human being.
Han Su-Yeong had to endure yet another lifetime in this ce.
?I thought that, this scenario probably isn¡¯t in the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯. Because, we¡¯ve changed too much of the original storyline, right??
¡®We¡¯.
You have experienced that lengthy amount of time all by yourself, yet you can still call me that....
?If I take the hands-off approach here, the idiot you and Yu Joong-Hyeok will probably go around doing dumb things and mess up the scenario, instead.... So.?
At that moment, it felt as if Han Su-Yeong was standing right in front of me. I mistakenly thought that she was here and speaking to me in her usual confident and shrewd tone of voice.
?Oh, my sole reader. This is the tale of a certain woman who managed to survive in the messed-up scenario.?
Goosebumps began slowly rising up from the ends of my neck.
This was the recorded history of Han Su-Yeong¡¯s life; words containing her rage, her resentment, and her longing.
?I don¡¯t know whether you¡¯re a suitable guy for this ¡®three methods¡¯ or not, but at the least, I¡¯m sure of this one thing.?
The following words were eerily simr to a certain body of text that I was familiar with.
?The you reading this story will definitely make it out of here alive.?
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s afterwords came to an end there. For the longest time, I couldn¡¯t tear my eyes away from the full-stop at the end of the sentence.
¡°Ricardo.¡±
I looked to my side to find Yu Joong-Hyeok staring at me.
¡°Did that woman possess the power to predict the future?¡±
¡°....Maybe.¡±
Now originally, the [Predictive giarism] was the 1863rd-turn Han Su-Yeong¡¯s power. The Han Su-Yeong of this turn, the one responsible for writing this book, also had acquired that power now.
And the result of that was this very book.
Here was the brand-new signpost for me to follow, me who had read the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯.
[The worldview is paying close attention to your conversation.]
[Genre of the applicable scenario has tilted slightly towards ¡®Fusion Fantasy¡¯.]
I flipped to the first page of the book. Now was the time to study the required information in-depth. For some reason, a line of text that I glossed over earlier caught my eyes.
?PS: This novel is an original secondary creation rted to ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯, and not created for the purpose of mary gain.?
I ended up smirking just a little then.
?Episode 1. Birth of an SSS-rank Reincarnator?
I read and re-read the words that Han Su-Yeong had written with so much care.
As if I was drunkard walking straight into another world, I voraciously ate up her words. Because that was the only courtesy I could pay to the author of this story as its reader.
And it was fun, god damn it. In some passages, much more so than the ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯.
Just how long passed by like that? I finally raised my head.
*
Han Su-Yeong had said this ¨C that there were three ways of clearing this scenario.
?The three clearing methods will represent each different genre.?
The three would be, Fantasy, Romance, and Fusion Fantasy.
?The course of ¡®dynastic revolution¡¯ will fall mainly to the ¡®Fantasy¡¯ genre. If you select this route....?
All the avable route had pros and cons; if you got something, then, in turn, you¡¯d have to lose something, as well.
However, there were certain things that would be lost regardless of which route was chosen. For instance, the first thing to be lost would be....
¡°P-please, spare me! Your highness!! Spare me!¡±
....Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯s human rights.
¡°Roll to your left.¡±
¡°Euh-euhk, Keuh-euk!¡±
¡°To your right.¡±
¡°Y-your highness....!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t remember permitting you to speak.¡±
Like a military drill instructor, Yu Joong-Hyeok was in the middle of ¡®punishing¡¯ Yi Hyeon-Seong. As for me, I was spectating that from the side.
¡°B-but, why are you making me do this?! Fourth Prince! Your highness! Please, say something to your brother!¡±
¡°Can you recall anything now by any chance?¡±
¡°Euh, euh-euh... My, my back.... I¡¯m an old soldier, so why....¡±
In order to tread the route Han Su-Yeong¡¯s [Predictive giarism] had foreseen, we need to make Yi Hyeon-Seong regain his memories first. And certain memories were better remembered by one¡¯s body, rather than one¡¯s brain.
?This might be a cruel thing for Yi Hyeon-Seong to go through, but....?
Unfortunately, we didn¡¯t have any other choice right now.
Even Han Su-Yeong¡¯s book failed to record the life of Bilston as lived through Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯s perspective. As we had no idea what kind of a life he lived before he got swallowed up by this world, there was only so many methods we could resort to for waking him up.
And so, how long did it pass by like this?
¡°Something feels strange.¡±
Yi Hyeon-Seong, his head nted on the floor, suddenly began rambling nonsense.
¡°I feel morefortable now.¡±
[Character, ¡®Bilston¡¯, is under tremendous confusion.]
[Ego of the character, ¡®Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯, is wiggling around.]
Yu Joong-Hyeok and I stared at each other simultaneously.
Now normally, it¡¯d been a tall order to wake Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯s ego with such little stimtion. However, the story was a bit different right now. Because I was here, and so was Yu Joong-Hyeok.
[Beings sharing the same Fable as you are in your near vicinity.]
[The bond between the Fable is strengthening!]
Right now, three members of had gathered here, in this ce.
There was a certain old adage regarding this situation ¨C ¡®Sam-in-seong-ho¡¯(ÈýÈ˳ɻ¢).
Which means, when three people gathered, they could create a fake story of a tiger.
We might not be able to create a tall tale of a tiger, but it could be possible to do something else, instead.
[Fables possessed by your Neb are beginning to resist against the ¡®worldview¡¯.]
....For instance, summoning back the memories that didn¡¯t exist within this worldview.
[Ego of the character, ¡®Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯, is slowly opening its eyes.]
Faint rays of light were now being emitted from Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯s body.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is ring at your group!]
Han Su-Yeong said that this scenario yed out in a world controlled by that ¡®Great Fable¡¯. So, if one could escape from the Fable¡¯s control, then it¡¯d be possible to regain one¡¯s forgotten ego.
¡°Euh, euh-uh, uh....¡±
Yi Hyeon-Seong blinked his eyesboriously, his lips bobbing up and down like a newborn trying to form words.
¡°....D-Dok-Ja-ssi?¡±
[Worldview is imposing a penalty on the words not aligned with the Probability!]
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!!
¡°Uwaaaaahhk?!?!¡±
Yi Hyeon-Seong writhed painfully as he got electrocuted by the sparks. I shifted my head to the side and saw the battle-ready Yu Joong-Hyeok standing up from his spot.
The important preparations had beenpleted now.
Yu Joong-Hyeok grasped his [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] and threw me a question.
¨C Which route are we choosing?
¨C The one we¡¯d been treading all along.
The author of this scenario was Han Su-Yeong. Regrettably, there was no guarantee of the work ending up as a sess even if the author did an excellent job.
¨C Time to start our attack, Yu Joong-Hyeok.
Because, the ones toplete the story were the ¡®Characters¡¯, not the author, that¡¯s why.
[A new ¡®Great Fable¡¯ is beginning to sprout in your Neb.]
< Episode 72: Three methods (1) > Fin.
Chapter 378 - Three methods (2)
Chapter 378: Episode 72 ¨C Three methods (2)
Erich Striker was the captain of Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯s royal guards.
¡®She¡¯ wasn¡¯t just the archipgo¡¯s best knight in title only; ¡®she¡¯ was also the first sword of the nation¡¯s ruler. And the sole reason why ¡®she¡¯ was able to climb up to that position was due to her constant training throughout the day and night.
Swiiiish!
Erich sliced and cut the silent night of the training hall over and over again. Thick sweat drops fell non-stop. ¡®She¡¯ looked down on the droplets and thought that they should¡¯ve been someone else¡¯s blood drops, instead.
¡®I let them slip away. In front of her majesty, no less.¡¯
The rebellion of the First Prince ¨C the assault on the audience chamber three days ago had found itself in the mouths of the gossipers already. Some minstrels began singing songs about it, too. Most of them were singing songs that extolled the First Prince.
?Oh, oh~ the great revolutionary Schweichen Von Kaixenix~.?
?Look at his wide shoulders and his back~.?
The bright sword light scythed past the darkness of the practice grounds. The hateful face of the Fourth Prince, who had escaped alongside the First Prince, floated up. It didn¡¯t want to disappear no matter how many times it was cut apart.
The strange thing was, every time Erich recalled that face, ¡®she¡¯ felt a rather subtle emotion float up, too.
Seeing the backs of the First Prince Schweichen and Fourth Prince Ricardo, as well as Bilston Framer, getting further away, Erich was ovee with this inexplicable longing.
Not wanting to acknowledge that emotion, ¡®she¡¯ continued to swing ¡®her¡¯ sword. As usual, ¡®she¡¯ swung the de over and over again, trying ¡®her¡¯ best to shake off all the distracting thoughts.
Unfortunately, it seemed that today¡¯s training would have to end here.
¡®Is it a sneak attack?¡¯
There was a slender shadow gently wavering within the darkness.
Erich quickly unsheathed the real sword mounted from ¡®her¡¯ waist. ¡®She¡¯ thought of killing the intruder the moment it disyed any suspicious behaviour. Quite unexpectedly, though, the opponent revealed his presence first.
¡°Please, put away your weapon. I didn¡¯te here to fight.¡±
Under the faint light of the moon, a man with the slender physique walked out from the darkness. It was Ricardo Von Kaixenix, the Fourth Prince of this archipgo.
Erich loudly shouted out. ¡°Are you out of your mind? With what balls have youe here?¡±
¡°Even though the world has changed, you still enjoy swinging your sword.¡±
Erich raised ¡®her¡¯ sword up high while emitting a dense murderous aura. The Fourth Prince, however, ced his sword down on the ground, instead.
The former¡¯s eyes narrowed to a slit. ¡°What are you nning here?¡±
¡°I know that in ten minutes, guards would show up to surround me. And also, subduing me wouldn¡¯t be all that hard for you with your skillset.¡±
¡°So?¡±
¡°I¡¯m turning myself in. Meaning, I¡¯ll have you arrest me and take me to the execution ground.¡±
Erich knew that the Fourth Prince was not right of his mind recently. However, ¡®she¡¯ didn¡¯t expect to see a situation like this one. It had been only a couple of days ago that he escaped with the First Prince¡¯s help, yet he walked right back in, of his own volition, so he could be executed?
Still being wary, Erich slowly walked over to the Fourth Prince.
Without a doubt, he was in apletely unarmed state. Erich didn¡¯t miss this chance and quickly captured the Fourth Prince. A pair of pure eyes sparkling under the moonlight met ¡®her¡¯ gaze now.
¡°In return, I¡¯d like you to listen to my tale for the next ten minutes.¡±
¡°And why should I do that?¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to die anyway. Not hearing thest words of a dying man will leave you with an unclean taste in your mouth.¡±
Erich stared at the Fourth Prince withplicated eyes. ¡°If you¡¯re going to plead your innocence, I won¡¯t have any of it.¡±
¡®She¡¯ knew that the Fourth Prince was not guilty. However, the throne had changed hands, and Erich was the captain of the guards serving the new ruler.
The Fourth Prince smiled and shook his head. ¡°This story isn¡¯t about that.¡±
¡°If not, what then?¡±
¡°Honestly speaking, I was in a serious dilemma on what to say here so we could get the ¡®you¡¯ we know back. I couldn¡¯t even make a wild guess at all.¡±
The unexpected opening remarks managed to make Erich flustered and ¡®she¡¯ frowned deeply.
Was this a new type of underhanded scheme? Everyone in the kingdom knew that the Fourth Prince used his silver tongue to seduce many women in thisnd.
¡°A long time ago, there was a certain woman.¡±
Regardless of what his listener was thinking, the Fourth Prince began his tale.
¡°She loved kendo and was talented enough to enter thepetition as the representative of her own district.¡±
Along with a faint bout of pain, an unknown emotion began stabbing ¡®her¡¯ head.
¡°And with her sword, she rescued her preciousrades many times.¡±
Something that disappeared a long time ago....
¡°She swung her sword against the unfairness of the scenarios over and over again, and with that very same sword, she also protected me.¡±
¡°What are you even talking about? I¡¯m solely the de of her majesty.¡±
The Fourth Prince looked up at Erich with emotions ofmentation.
¡°You really can¡¯t seem to remember anything.¡±
It was then, another voice came out from within the darkness.
¡°Prince Ricardo. I¡¯d like to say something.¡±
Erich flinched in surprise and quickly raised ¡®her¡¯ body up. Since from when did those two men appear in the darkness? She growled menacingly and spoke. ¡°So, it was a trap all along.¡±
¡°No, it is not.¡±
The one to reveal himself from the darkness was Bilston Framer, the only knight she acknowledged in this kingdom.
¡°Sir Erich.¡±
Bilston took a step towards ¡®her¡¯. ¡®She¡¯ got startled and quickly issued her warning. ¡°Take one more step, and I shall cut off the Fourth Prince¡¯s head.¡±
This is a trap. I must escape from here ¨C Erich thought like that and scanned the exit to the training ground.
However, something felt wrong.
[Fables rted to you have begun going on a rampage!]
As if her entire body had be frozen, she couldn¡¯t move at all.
[Your Fables are resisting against the control of the ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯!]
¡°We promised never to forget, didn¡¯t we?¡±
Bilston stared at her with sorrowful eyes.
¡®No, but, his.... name is....¡¯
[Fables rted to you are ruminating on the old memories.]
¡°Hui-Won-ssi.¡±
[Forgotten Fables have begun their storytelling.]
At that moment, ¡®her¡¯ world crumbled away. Fables flooding in covered up Erich¡¯s memories.
That was the story of the forgotten ten years. A story from when Erich wasn¡¯t Erich yet, while Bilston was not Bilston, either.
*
It was exactly ten years ago when both Yi Hyeon-Seong and Jeong Hui-Won arrived in this world.
¡°Hyeon-Seong-ssi! It is you, right?¡±
¡°Uht? Hui-Won-ssi??¡±
Tsu-chuchuchut...!
They had be the ¡®possessors¡¯ at a simr point in time and luckily enough, got to recognise each other pretty quickly.
¨C Looks like we¡¯ll have to resort to using voice projection in this ce.
The two of them began gathering information on this world little by little.
First, they learnt that this was the final preparatory stage before they could participate in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.
Two, that there were time differences between the summoning of each member of to this ce.
And that the scenario wouldn¡¯t begin unless all the actors had arrived.
¨C Besides all that, Hyeon-Seong-ssi, it looks like you took over a person pretty simr to you.
¨C Hui-Won-ssi, you also suit your host really well.
And finally, their sense of self would steadily erode away with the passage of time.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is monitoring your actions.]
[Probability of the world is pressuring you to perform your given role.]
Whenever they sensed the gaze of the Great Fable, they acted out their roles in order to not get on that thing¡¯s nerves.
¨C It seems that Su-Yeong-ssi haspletely forgotten about everything. It doesn¡¯t matter what I say, she....
¨C Will we end up in the same situation as her?
¨C I believe that Dok-Ja-ssi will show up before that.
And so, they waited, and then, waited for some more.
¨C Are Ji-Hye and the kids doing well, I wonder?
¨C If it¡¯s them, they should be alright.
They only had each other to rely on in this world.
[Fable, ¡®Most Pure Comradeship¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
In a world where no one knew of their story, they simply had to continue talking to each other in order to protect themselves.
aang!
¡°Sir Erich! Please defeat it right now!¡±
¡°Let us get going, Sir Bilston!¡±
The hosts of the two being rivals came about quite naturally; they needed to create more opportunity to stay next to each other, as that would increase the opportunities to use [Voice Projection] to talk to each other.
¨C Looks like your swordsmanship has improved by a lot. Your title of ¡®Emperor of Steelsword¡¯ perfectly suits you, no?
¨C When we go back, I better ask Dok-Ja-ssi to buy me a new sword.
Every time their des crossed, they shared voice projections.
¨C At this rate, we might end up bing Swordmasters before Dok-Ja-ssi arrives here.
One year passed by, and the second year went by just like that.
And they were assigned to different posts that matched their personalities. Yi Hyeon-Seong was thrust into Fourth Prince Ricardo¡¯s faction, while Jeong Hui-Won was put under the banner of the ¡®Dark Magician¡¯.
Once their affiliation changed, the environment they experienced also changed.
The two of them couldn¡¯t cross their swords as often as before. And they had to live the lives of ¡®Erich Striker¡¯ and ¡®Bilston Framer¡¯ more and more, and not as Jeong Hui-Won and Yi Hyeon-Seong.
They had to eat food as Erich Striker and speak as Bilston Framer. In the process of acquiring something that wasn¡¯t theirs, Yi Hyeon-Seong and Jeong Hui-Won began gradually forgetting some things about themselves.
The two of them were slowly and steadily bing the characters of the ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯.
There was a time when Jeong Hui-Won, drunken out of her mind, came to speak to Yi Hyeon-Seong.
¨C I¡¯m a horrible person, Hyeon-Seong-ssi.
¨C Why are you saying such a thing?
¨C Isn¡¯t that reason why I¡¯m being punished right now?
She then began talking about things no one had brought up until now.
¨C Do you remember.... the Geumho Station¡¯s mother and her child? They fought against Cheoldo faction with us.
¨C ....Yes, I remember. We also met them in the Dark Castle, didn¡¯t we?
Yi Hyeon-Seong recalled the mother-and-daughter duo from the Geumho Station ¨C the mother who fought to protect her child, and a little girl who was holding onto the hand of such a mother.
The child¡¯s mother lost her life in the Dark Castle, and the girl was handed over to the care of the wanderers.
¨C Both of them could have survived. If only I had realised the truth of the ¡®Paradise¡¯ sooner....
¨C It¡¯s not your fault, Hui-Won-ssi. That was not something we could¡¯ve prevented.
¨C In all honesty, there were many smaller Fables then ours, right? Those fables that couldn¡¯t even be proper Fables.
The drunken Jeong Hui-Wonughed out. When she did, the vestiges of Fables staining her hands glowed brightly. All of them were the stories that she had acquired along the way. Stories created by fighting against the great and noble Constetions as a member of .
Jeong Hui-Won was proud of that story, and lived her life without shame.
However, a slightly different thought had permeated her headtely.
¨C Maybe, the Fables we have collected so far were created after we also trampled on such small Fables?
¨C Hui-Won-ssi....
¨C And maybe, it¡¯s our turn now to be trampled on.
Four years, then five, passed by like that. Both Jeong Hui-Won and Yi Hyeon-Seong didn¡¯t give up.
¨C By the way, what were the surnames of Yu-Seung and Gil-Yeong?
¨C Wasn¡¯t it.... Yi Yu-Seung, and Shin Gil-Yeong?
¨C Something sounds wrong, but...
Their memories disappeared bit by bit. And the sixth year passed them by.
¨C Where is Dok-Ja-ssi and what¡¯s he doing right about now?
¨C I don¡¯t think he¡¯lle this year, as well.
The seventh year passed by.
¨C Being seven years in arrears with our wages, isn¡¯t itpletely an evil corporation?
¨C Let¡¯s definitely create abour unionter.
¨C Yes, we must. Let¡¯s not forget it.
Their initial promise of meeting up at least once a week to talk was changed to once a month, and that eventually became once every two months, instead.
The days they did meet but were unable to say anything increased, too.
And on a certain day during their eighth year, Jeong Hui-Won asked him in a dazed voice.
¨C Weren¡¯t we supposed to wait for someone?
Yi Hyeon-Seong couldn¡¯t reply to that question.
¨C You know, Hyeon-Seong-ssi. If I ever forget about you, then...
¨C I¡¯ll remember you.
¨C ....Then, please kill me.
That was thest time they met.
A short whileter, the ¡®Dark Magician¡¯ started a revolt. And Yi Hyeon-Seong stood on the side of the former royal family to face off against Jeong Hui-Won.
¨C Hui-Won-ssi.
Their swords shed intensely several times in the air.
Wounds on Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯s body umted inside the storm of blinding sword lights. The trajectories of her sword swings were definitely differentpared to when they were sparring in the past; each of her attacks contained her clear will to kill him.
¨C Hui-Won-ssi!
Even when subjected to the repeated [Voice Projection], Jeong Hui-Won didn¡¯t reply. Her silence substituted for her answer.
As if she had been holding back until now, Erich¡¯s merciless sword swing sliced Yi Hyeon-Seong down. Thetter¡¯s vision seemed to grow distant, then. Even though he was staggering about, he still walked closer to Jeong Hui-Won.
One step, two steps...
Finally managing to get close, Yi Hyeon-Seong stared into her eyes and, for the first time ever, spoke the words he couldn¡¯t say for the longest time, and quite likely, he¡¯d not get to say ever again.
¨C I love you, Hui-Won-ssi.
*
[Fable, ¡®Most Pure Comradeship¡¯, has concluded its storytelling.]
I wordlessly read the unfolding Fable. Some words were quietly sorrowful, while some parts were painful enough to tear my heart out.
[Ego of Character, ¡®Jeong Hui-Won¡¯, is waking up little by little.]
Faint light floated around the bodies of both Bilston and Erich. I could sense that their souls were resonating with the Fable.
Yi Hyeon-Seong copsed, but a smile remained etched on his face. I quietly studied that face for a bit, before breaking the silence. ¡°Looks like thepany¡¯s internal rules need to be changed somewhat....¡±
In any case, our second goal had been met. Next up would be....
¡°Over there!¡±
¡°Sir Erich is in danger!¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok picked up both the unconscious Jeong Hui-Won and Yi Hyeon-Seong. But, before we could safely get out from there, the doors to the training ground burst open and the royal guards rushed in.
However, it wasn¡¯t just them who showed up here. Someone else was walking out from the line of guards and towards us.
?The First Triple Master of Kaixenix Archipgo?
?The genius who had reached the peak of Swordmaster at barely 18 years old?
?The youngest-ever Ninth Circle Archmage?
?The ruler of the Archipgo who controls an evil ck dragon?
No one in the Kaixenix Archipgo was capable of defeating her right now. The ¡®king¡¯ with a silver-coloured crown was quietly smiling at us.
¡°You dare to steal away my loyal knight?¡±
The royal guards all knelt down before her.
Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s expression hardened and he sent me a message.
¨C This is different from our n.
¨C Actually, this is for the better.
Because, our next target was Han Su-Yeong, anyway.
There were four members of present right now. The Fable of the Neb would be strengthened further if more of the Neb¡¯s members were in one ce.
I looked at the queen¡¯s face and spoke up. ¡°Your majesty, we didn¡¯te here to fight.¡±
Without a doubt, Han Su-Yeong¡¯s ego was lying inside that queen, asleep. And I simply had to get her ego back from that character, no matter what. And, with things like this, we could use our Fable and....
¡°I¡¯m aware. You came to tell me a story.¡±
Feeling startled just a little, I stared at her.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is sending a mocking jeer in your direction.]
¡°Why are you so surprised? This one, too, enjoys stories very much. However, this one enjoys telling stories rather than listening to them. So, keep your ears wide open and listen well, Ricardo Von Kaixenix.¡±
The queen spread her arms wide and grinned brightly towards me.
¡°No, should that be the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, Kim Dok-Ja?¡±
< Episode 72: Three Methods (2) > Fin.
Chapter 379 - Three Methods (3)
Chapter 379: Episode 72 ¨C Three Methods (3)
I stared at the queen wearing Han Su-Yeong¡¯s face.
That person was definitely not her. But then, how could she possibly know what my name was?
The queen was still smiling away.
¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re curious as to how I know your name.¡±
She was the character from this worldview, and she was merely an existence that acted ording to the rules set out by the ¡®Great Fable¡¯. So, it was impossible for a person like that to recognise me not as ¡®Ricardo¡¯, but as ¡®Kim Dok-Ja¡¯.
On top of that, she spoke of things that didn¡¯t align with the worldview, yet the sparks of Probability weren¡¯t suppressing her at all.
[Worldview is considering the possibility of expanding the genre types.]
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is condoning the current situation.]
[Probability restrictions imposed on some words has been rxed.]
[Meta words rted to the worldview have been acknowledged!]
I wordlessly stared at the queen before activating my skill.
[Unique Skill, ¡®Character List¡¯, has activated!]
+
Name: ???
Age: 50
Overall Rating: the applicable individual holds hatred towards you.
+
The queen¡¯s info still didn¡¯t want to appear.
I thought that was because it was Han Su-Yeong in the beginning. I figured that, as a person not registered with the Character List, her possession of the host would make it impossible to check out the information on the queen herself.
But, what if I was wrong?
¡°Are you Han Su-Yeong?¡±
¡°I used to be called that once upon a time.¡±
¡°What do you mean by that?¡±
The queen slowly blinked her eyes and continued on with her story. ¡°Do you know the tale of a certain woman who tried to endure decades upon decades of time with nothing but her ultimately empty hope?¡±
¡°I do know of a man with a simr story.¡±
It was Yu Joong-Hyeok who replied in my stead, as he unsheathed his [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword].
The smile remained on the queen¡¯s lips as she spoke. ¡°Oh, my pitiful former lover, it seems that you¡¯vee to your own execution ground.¡±
¡°Our engagement has been annulled already. Call me that one more time, and I shall slice your head off.¡±
Almost at the same time, the figures of both people disappeared from view. And then, these two incredible existences collided against each other, as the ear-shattering sounds of explosions rang out. The ceiling of the training grounds blew away; the sword winds and magical energy shed to create a rising pir of destructive winds kissing the heavens above.
At a casual nce, they seemed to be evenly matched, but if one were to look deeper into the flow of the battle itself, then that was definitely not the case.
After they exchanged dozens of moves in the blink of an eye, Yu Joong-Hyeok was left with a slight injury on his left arm. On the other hand, there was not one scratch on the queen.
Yu Joong-Hyeok was being pushed back. That inconceivably strong dude wasn¡¯t quite powerful enough to contend with the queen of this worldview.
On top of that, Han Su-Yeong¡¯s speciality, [Dark me]¡¯s aura was rising up from the queen¡¯s left arm, as well.
¡°Dok-Ja-ssi! You must get out of there!¡±
Yi Hyeon-Seong protected me from the royal guards trying to rush in.
¡°.....Dok-Ja-ssi??¡±
It seemed that Jeong Hui-Won too had somehow regained her wits. Sadly, though, there was no time to pay them any mind right now.
The seconds ticked by and the previously-even bnce of the battle rapidly tilted away from Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s favour. Because his opponent today just so happened to be none other than the ¡®Triple Master¡¯.
¡°Han Su-Yeong! You need to wake up!¡±
I brought forth the power of the ¡®Great Fable¡¯ without hesitation.
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
The Fable I shot into the air above with all my power created a gap in the fighting in an instant. I didn¡¯t miss that opening and jumped into the battlefield.
The queen grinned and opened her arms wide.
¡°Oh, the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯. The woman you¡¯re searching for has died a long time ago.¡±
¡°Stop making meugh. Han Su-Yeong would never speak in that manner.¡±
¡°Are you aware of what the lifetime of 50 years means to a person?¡±
No, I had no idea. I hadn¡¯t lived that long yet, after all.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
The entire world seemed to wiggle around, and the figure of Han Su-Yeong living in thisnd floated up on the empty air.
This was her Fable. Her history, as she lived in this world.
More specifically, the history as experienced by her host, ¡®Yuri di Aristel¡¯.
?The beautiful esteemed daughter of an Earl.?
?A girl brought up for the sake of bing a new queen.?
?¡±Once you turn 18, you shall enter the royal castle.¡±?
The Han Su-Yeong I know could be seen among the chaotically-rising lines of texts.
?¡±Fine. In that case, should I be a Swordmaster before I turn 18?¡±?
She began fighting against the world itself. She was living in this world with a clear, focused expression on her face.
She was experiencing this world with an expression I couldn¡¯t recognise.
?¡±Why is a young girl swinging around a sword?¡±?
?¡±Magic is nothing but an illusion.¡±?
Certain cliches would try to hinder a person with the pretext of being cliches. And the Han Su-Yeong I know hated cliches more than anyone out there.
?¡±Screw it, you think I¡¯ll marry just because you say so?! Bring someone stronger than me, than I¡¯ll marry that person, then!¡±?
Countless men stepped forward to take possession of the Earl¡¯s beautiful daughter. Among them were famed knights of the archipgo as well as renowned magicians.
Han Su-Yeong became stronger and stronger in order to defeat all the potential suitors with her own hands.
At the end of the harsh training soaked in her blood and sweat, she became the Swordmaster, and eventually rose up as the Ninth Circle Archmage, and finally, the master of fear who controlled the powers of an evil dragon.
Her flesh became younger through the power of the Swordmaster, and the aura from the evil ck me enhanced her air of mysteriousness even further.
Ironically, though ¨C the stronger she got, the world grew to desire her even more.
Han Su-Yeong continued to fight against such a world.
She spent a far longer life in this ce than she did on Earth, and did her very best to diligently endure that lengthy period of time.
Her Fable carried on with its storytelling, but I couldn¡¯t hear it anymore from a certain point onwards.
It was lonesome. I felt a sense of rebellion. Even though Han Su-Yeong was in this world alongside me....
....It felt as if she was so, so far away.
¡°This isn¡¯t Han Su-Yeong¡¯s world.¡±
¡°Who are you to decide that? You have known her for less than four years, no more than that. And if you count the days you spent with her, it¡¯d be less than one year, even.¡±
That was probably all true.
¡°What do you really know about Han Su-Yeong?¡±
I recalled the Han Su-Yeong that I knew in my head.
A person with a strong pride who didn¡¯t know how to apologise or take back what she said; a person who pursued efficiency, but who¡¯d readily give up on that very efficiency for the sake of herpanions.
A person who acted all selfish and the like, but who¡¯d always go ¡°You guys can¡¯t do anything without me¡± and get ready to risk her life....
....In what kind of manner did she speak?
Was the Han Su-Yeong I knew the real ¡®Han Su-Yeong¡¯?
Did she still exist in the story that I know?
¡°The Han Su-Yeong you knew no longer exists. The past 50 years had moulded her into a brand new existence. And that is precisely me.¡±
The Great Fable rushing out from behind the queen¡¯s back emitted incredibly dense fighting intent in our direction.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is excluding your existences.]
In front of the time spanning 50 years, the memories of the short time Han Su-Yeong and I shared together gradually looked pathetic and insignificant.
To make sure that the memories wouldn¡¯t grow any more insignificant, I forced out a smile and had to open my mouth. ¡°As I thought, you are not Han Su-Yeong. She¡¯s not as serious as you, you know.¡±
There was a faint trace of agitation in the queen¡¯s expression.
And from that hint of unrest, I became certain of ¡®who¡¯ this queen was. Without a doubt, she was infinitely closer to being Han Su-Yeong. However, she could never fully be her.
¡°You are none other than ¡®Yuri di Aristel¡¯, the daughter of the Earl and who just so happened to watch Han Su-Yeong¡¯s life for the longest time. You probably seized the opening created by the Great Fable swallowing Han Su-Yeong up and took over her body.¡±
¡°.....¡±
¡°Now, speak. Where is the real Han Su-Yeong?¡±
Instead of a verbal answer, an incredible Status poured out from her entire body.
Kwa-dudududu!!!
As if the intense battle we fought until now was nothing but a warm-up, the waves of Status unshackled from her entire being crashed into us, causing our bodies to be rooted to the spot ¨C Yu Joong-Hyeok, Yi Hyeon-Seong, Jeong Hui-Won, and me.
The queen slowly made her way towards us as our movements werepletely sealed now.
I asked her. ¡°Are you nning to kill us all?¡±
¡°Kill you?¡± A derisive smirk floated up on her lips. ¡°Looks like you still don¡¯t know much about this scenario. Since you all have survived this far, that means none of you will die. I, and... Han Su-Yeong, also wishes for that.¡±
¡°However, you tried to execute me earlier, didn¡¯t you?¡±
¡°That was your assigned test. And you were scheduled to be rescued by the First Prince, anyway,¡± the queenughed as if she was Han Su-Yeong. ¡°And now, the end of this scenario is upon us.¡±
Sparks danced in the air and the new scenario message could be heard now.
[The deciding moment for the Genre Selection has arrived!]
[You must select this worldview¡¯s genre!]
The queen stared at the air and spoke. ¡°The end of this world has always remained the same.¡±
A sense of destion refined through a lengthy period of time brushed past her expression.
The Isle of Reincarnators was a series of inds where the dead Fables were put on disy like stuffed animals. It was a grave of Fables that managed to continue existing by supplying suitable stages to other scenarios.
I could more or less guess the life she had lived until now.
The archipgo of Kaixenix must¡¯ve offered up hundreds of ¡®possession scenario¡¯ and hundreds of Ricardos and Schweichens must¡¯ve resolved their stories in their own preferred manner.
¡°The protagonist became a better person by braving all sorts of trials and tribtions, and finally gets his hands on wealth, honour and the love of his life, heading towards the inevitable happy ending. Although the progress of this scenario had been a bit more peculiar..... In the end, the conclusion won¡¯t change. So, let us just end this already.¡±
She spoke in a fed-up tone of voice. And then, issued an order to me. ¡°Marry me, Ricardo Von Kaixenix.¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok stared at me with a dumbfounded expression. Yi Hyeon-Seong and Jeong Hui-Won freaked out and began shouting something in my direction.
I calmly asked a question, instead. ¡°Is that the conclusion of this scenario?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°If I marry you, are you going to let us move on to the next scenario?¡±
¡°Also correct, but with the exception of one person.¡±
One person, she said.
The deep-seated shadow of avarice danced within the eyes of the queen. ¡°Han Su-Yeong must remain in this world. You see, I really like her. And you shall be the tragic lovers saying goodbye inside a scenario.¡±
[Genre of the applicable scenario is tilting towards ¡®Romance¡¯.]
[Scenario clear condition will be fulfilled as soon as the genre has been confirmed.]
This world was negotiating with us for a deal, telling us to abandon Han Su-Yeong.
¡°Living in this world, and not in her original world, suits her better.¡±
That might be true as well.
Rather than ¡®Han Su-Yeong¡¯ of , ¡®Han Su-Yeong¡¯ of ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯ might be able to enjoy a happier life, instead. The queen arrogantly staring down at me extended her left hand out.
¡°Stand up and kiss my hand. And say your farewell to your long-timepanion.¡±
It was a white hand; Han Su-Yeong would have fought against this world with that hand.
On the back of her white hand, I could see dozens of scars and calloused skin. Just, for what purpose did she fight so hard like that?
I recalled her book tucked away within my inner pocket and raised my voice. ¡°....Just like you said, I do not know Han Su-Yeong.¡±
¡°Indeed, you¡¯ve finally acknowledged it.¡±
¡°That is why I definitely can¡¯t let her go.¡±
¡°What was that??¡±
¡°You see, I haven¡¯t heard the conclusion of this story from her yet.¡±
I slowly got up from my spot while summoning up every ounce of strength I possessed, in order to resist this world¡¯s Fable.
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that swallowed the Myth¡¯, is roaring out!]
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is nodding its head.]
The queen¡¯s expression changed and she red at me. ¡°You¡¯re ruining a scenario on the verge ofpletion.¡±
¡°Nope, this is the way it¡¯s supposed to go.¡±
¡°....What was that?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been curious about this since the beginning. Out of all the potential scenarios out there, why were we thrown into this ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯ in the first ce? However, when I thought about it, the reason was actually quite simple.¡±
I pulled out a certain sword from my inner pocket and spoke. ¡°That¡¯s because I am the legitimate heir to the throne in this scenario.¡±
The [Unbreakable Faith] glowed brightly and emitted blinding rays of pure light.
[Worldview is reacting to the Star Relic ¡®Unbreakable Faith¡¯!]
[Applicable Star Relic belongs to this particr worldview.]
[Natural abilities of the Star Relic are increasing tremendously!]
The First Ancestor of the Kaixenix Archipgo was the legendary Storm King, Ulysses Kaixenix ¨C and this was his sword.
¡°T-that sword is....?!¡±
¡°That¡¯s the sword of the Storm King!¡±
The royal guards recognised the sword and they all copsed down to the ground. The queen fell into a state of panic and began pouring out her powerful physical aura and magical energy in my direction.
Unfortunately for her, though, not even the power of a Swordmaster nor that of an Archmage could do much in front of the [Unbreakable Faith].
[Star Relic, ¡®Unbreakable Faith¡¯, is crying out!]
This was the true power of the ¡®Star Relic¡¯; it would exhibit a near-omnipotent level of power when inside the Fable where it was created.
My hand gripping the sword began trembling non-stop. Sure, the Star Relic itself might be powerful, but ¡®Ricardo Von Kaixenix¡¯ simply didn¡¯t possess enough strength to hold the weapon for too long. That was why I needed to end this as quickly as possible.
I smacked away the queen¡¯s magical energy waves and got closer to her, a step at the time. By the time I reached her, she had fallen on her butt.
She was carrying an expression of resignation ever since she saw the sword.
[You have chosen the route of ¡®Dynastic Revolution¡¯.]
[You must kill the queen.]
[Genre of the applicable scenario is tilting towards ¡®Fantasy¡¯....]
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s book said that there were three ways toplete this scenario. Unfortunately, she left out the most crucial ¡®third method¡¯ in her book.
If I kill the queen now, then Han Su-Yeong would die, as well. But, if I marry her, then she would be left behind. In that case, how should I conclude this tale, then?
What would be the end of the scenario that Han Su-Yeong wanted?
The queen spoke. ¡°Hurry, and kill me.¡±
¡°If I do that, then I¡¯d be a true king. And end the scenario right here.¡±
Han Su-Yeong didn¡¯t tell me the correct answer. As if she was telling me to use my own imagination for something like that.
That was why I decided to carry out what I thought was the correct solution. The method to save Han Su-Yeong without killing the queen and still manage to seize the throne.
¡°The thing is, though, I¡¯m already the ¡®king of a kingless world¡¯, you see.¡±
¡°What was that?¡±
¡°Not only that, I¡¯m the head representative of , and the heir of the Underworld, too.¡±
I looked at the queen¡¯s scar-filled hands. Han Su-Yeong became a Swordmaster and an Archmage through those hands.
The Han Su-Yeong that I knew wasn¡¯t someone who¡¯d set a simple goal of ¡®survival¡¯ in this world. Because, she was an author who knew how to look at the bigger picture.
I smiled and raised my voice. ¡°You see, I¡¯m really fed up with being a king.¡±
[You have chosen a course that has never been thought of before.]
[Worldview is flustered by your selection.]
I held the queen¡¯s hand and slowly helped her up. And rather than kissing her hand, I ced [Unbreakable Faith] in there, instead.
¡°What are you trying to do? This....¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken. I¡¯m not trying to give you the ruler¡¯s position.¡±
¡°Then, what?¡±
¡°The one who¡¯ll be the king isn¡¯t you, but myrade.¡±
As the queen¡¯s eyes grew wider, I finished what I wanted to say.
¡°It¡¯ll be Han Su-Yeong from .¡±
In the following moment, there was an explosion of scenario messages before my eyes.
[Error has urred during the scenario¡¯s selection process!]
[Potential genre option, ¡®Fantasy¡¯, is falling apart!]
[Potential genre option, ¡®Fusion fantasy¡¯, is falling apart!]
[Potential genre option, ¡®Romance¡¯, is falling apart!]
[Hidden option, ¡®Genre: Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s Company¡¯, is activating!]
...
......
And then, someone spoke to me.
?You¡¯ve managed to figure it out, haven¡¯t you, Kim Dok-Ja.?
Fin.
Chapter 380 - Three Methods (4)
Chapter 380: Episode 72 ¨C Three Methods (4)
¡°....Han Su-Yeong?¡±
I thought I heard her voice, but her aura disappeared rather quickly.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, cannot acknowledge your selection!]
[Worldview is disying an abnormal reaction.]
Yuri di Aristel, inadvertently now holding [Unbreakable Faith], began trembling and shouted out loudly. ¡°You d-dare to do something like this....!!¡±
[You¡¯re a suitable heir to the crown of Grunsiad Archipgo.]
[Your throne is being handed over to the character ¡®Han Su-Yeong¡¯.]
[Worldview cannot understand your choice.]
Rays of bright light began leaking out from Yuri di Aristel¡¯s body.
Those were Fables that didn¡¯t belong to her; indeed, they were Han Su-Yeong¡¯s, stuff that I knew very well.
Yuri di Aristel hugged her shoulders as if she didn¡¯t want to let any of those Fables to slip out of her.
¡°I won¡¯t let Su-Yeong go like this!¡±
Tsu-chut, chuchuchut!!
¡°Be still! I told you that I¡¯ll take full responsibility, didn¡¯t I??¡± She wasn¡¯t speaking to me right now. ¡°I didn¡¯t want this sort of development, either! I, I only thought that, if you continued to stay in this ind....!¡±
I could guess who Yuri di Aristel was talking to, and what the topic of their conversation right now was.
[Exclusive skill, ¡®Omniscient Reader¡¯s Viewpoint¡¯, has activated.]
The time Yuri di Aristel and Han Su-Yeong had spent together was flowing by like a river of fragments.
?¡±You said that you¡¯ll stay with me! You said that you¡¯ll be my guardian, didn¡¯t you?! I really loved the scenario you¡¯ve shown me. I can¡¯t let you go like this! I....!!¡±?
?¡±My bad, Yuri.¡±?
Blood bubbled out of her mouth and she staggered unsteadily before copsing on the ground. I hurriedly held her in an embrace. Most likely, there was a war being fought between Han Su-Yeong and Yuri di Aristel inside this body right about now.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is....]
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that swallowed the Myth¡¯, is....]
Great Fables were bitterly fighting against each other in order to take over her body.
The surrounding folks also fell into a pit of sudden confusion as well.
¡°Our king has changed?¡±
¡°But, with a method like this....?¡±
¡°So, does this mean that the legitimate king has appeared among us?¡±
The royal guards and the kingdom¡¯s citizens were exchanging nces withplicated eyes and whispered amongst themselves.
¡°In that case, what about our world¡¯s genre....¡±
¡°Shh! Have you forgotten that such words are still prohibited? Just focus on sticking to your role!¡±
Then again, I¡¯d also form an expression simr to theirs if I heard that this world¡¯s genre had suddenly be [Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s Company].
Yu Joong-Hyeok standing next to me spoke up. ¡°Kim Dok-Ja, we acted too rashly.¡±
¡°I know.¡±
¡°This archipgo isn¡¯t prepared enough yet to ept Han Su-Yeong as its ruler.¡±
¡°Since she had built up a good foundation already, I thought it was doable, you know. I mean, she was the queen of this ce up until a few moments ago.¡±
¡°She wasn¡¯t its rightful ruler. Because there is a faction unwilling to acknowledge her that we still have the ¡®revolutionaries¡¯.¡±
A forceful change of the throne would always lead to a great deal of birthing pain. For instance, Yuri di Aristel¡¯s ¡®throne usurpation¡¯ during this scenario was not a part of the original ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯ scenario.
The queen¡¯s unpredictable action, and our subsequent actions, werepletely foreign events to the Reincarnators of the ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯ who had repeated the exact same scenario over and over again.
[Genre selection has beenpleted.]
[Applicable genre¡¯s clear conditions have not been met.]
This world was not yet ready to ept the brand-new genre that we had created.
*
[ is discussing the topic of the applicable scenario¡¯s clear condition.]
¡°Things have beplicated.¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok and I were looking at Han Su-Yeong lying on top of a luxurious bed.
From a while ago, the sounds of chaotic explosions continued to ring out from beyond the royal castle¡¯s walls. All the ruckus was made by two factions fighting a bloody battle, one agreeing to the ascension of their new ruler, and the other being the citizens who rejected her.
¡°Yuri di Aristel¡¯s rule was bound to fail in the end,¡± said Yu Joong-Hyeok in a critical tone of voice. ¡°As for us, we should¡¯ve tried to gather the king¡¯s gbearers scattered around the powerful families in the kingdom. After that, steadily erode away the king¡¯s influence, and unveil the [Unbreakable Faith] toplete the task. If that happened, the archipgo wouldn¡¯t have fallen into chaos like this.¡±
¡°Right, that would¡¯ve been the best-case scenario.¡±
¡°If you knew that, then why....¡±
¡°However, had we stuck to that n, then....¡± I stopped there for a bit and observed Han Su-Yeong¡¯s face. ¡°....Her 50 years would¡¯ve be even longer, you know.¡±
¡°.....¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t want to extend her 50 years by even one minute if I could help it.¡±
I was being serious here.
The moment I arrived in this world and realised that Han Su-Yeong had to spend 50 years here, I just couldn¡¯t escape from this one overwhelming emotion.
Someone was sacrificed again because of me.
Han Su-Yeong who had to endure the time frame of 50 years ¨C could she still maintain a normal, functioning mind?
Was she able to maintain the ego of the Han Su-Yeong that I know of?
¡°This is all because I made a deal with the ¡®King of Reincarnators¡¯.¡±
?It ¡®d b een be tter if I sac rificed myself ins tead.?
I turned my head to discover Yu Joong-Hyeok ring at me as if I was a pathetic fool. His lips bobbed up and down several times, but then, squeezed his eyes shut as if to suppress his anger and leaned his back against the couch¡¯s cushions.
¡°I¡¯d like to say something, but it seems that someone else will do that for me, instead.¡±
¡°What?¡±
Right in that next instant, fiery pain shot up from the back of my head.
¡°Hey, Kim Dok-Ja!¡±
I looked back to find a familiar grinning face waiting for me.
¡°Everything¡¯s screwed up because of you!¡±
Han Su-Yeong brushed her hairzily and sat upright, before smacking me in the head once more.
*
Once Han Su-Yeong woke up, we immediately dove into an emergency meeting. Other than her paleplexion, she was in pretty high spirits.
¡°I left behind methods for you to follow, didn¡¯t I? Howe you lot can¡¯t even do what¡¯s in the manual?! You guys are even worse than Yi Hyeon-Seong! You hear me?!¡±
I spotted Yi Hyeon-Seong, guarding the door to our room alongside Jeong Hui-Won, peek his head inside through the open gap for a moment there.
¡°Kim Dok-Ja. Recite to me the three methods I wrote down.¡±
¡°First method, ¡®Fusion Fantasy¡¯ route.¡±
¡°And what did it say?¡±
¡°Borrow the powers of the Outer Gods and clear the scenario.... Hey, you. That¡¯s a stupid idea from the get-go, isn¡¯t it??¡±
¡°Okay, then. The second one.¡±
Even though I felt this inexplicable sense of unfairness, I nevertheless continued to read Han Su-Yeong¡¯s book like a school textbook.
¡°The second method, ¡®Fantasy¡¯.¡±
¡°The contents?¡±
¡°Start a revolt and kill the king. Hang on a sec, why am I reading thi.....¡±
Her palm smacked me in the back of the head again.
God damn it, this punk....
¡°The third method, ¡®Romance¡¯.¡±
¡°And its contents are?¡±
¡°Marry Yuri di Aristel.¡±
¡°And just what did you choose?¡±
¡°The third method?¡±
¡°And are we currently married?¡±
¡°Nope.¡±
¡°And why the hell not?!¡±
I quickly evaded her flying smack and cried out. ¡°Hey! There¡¯s no freaking way that these are the correct methods! Did you write these down while seriously expecting us to carry them out?!¡±
¡°You think I wrote them for your entertainment, then??¡±
Han Su-Yeong breathed heavily like an angry bull and began wagging her finger at me.
¡°If only you epted the marriage proposal, everything would¡¯ve been resolved by now! If your legitimate im to the throne was united with Yuri di Aristel¡¯s martial prowess, the archipgo wouldn¡¯t have fractured into pieces like right now!¡±
¡°But, if I did that, then you¡¯d have ended up stuck.....¡±
¡°I could¡¯ve easily convinced Yuri! My original n was supposed to begin properly only after you got married to her!¡±
¡°.....You were busy praising me for finding a solution on my own earlier, though?¡±
¡°I was merely impressed by your stupidly bad interpretation of the situation.¡±
Damn it, that¡¯s how it was?
Han Su-Yeong spat out a groan and continued on. ¡°So? What are we going to do now?¡±
The revolutionaries, or the royal guards ¨C didn¡¯t matter which side we pick, the situation would quickly descend into the worst situation imaginable.
[Error has urred in the scenario.]
[Worldview cannot ept the conclusion to the applicable scenario.]
[Worldview is uncertain whether the character ¡®Han Su-Yeong¡¯ possesses the qualifications of the ruler or not.]
[ is discussing the topic of the applicable scenario¡¯s clear condition.]
Citizens were fighting amongst themselves, and we were unable to leave the scenario.
I looked at Han Su-Yeong and spoke. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for being sote.¡±
She shrugged her shoulders and replied. ¡°Yup, it¡¯s been long, these past 50 years.¡±
I couldn¡¯t find the right words to reply to her rxed attitude.
As if wanting to lighten my load, she continued on. ¡°Actually, I can¡¯t remember all that well.¡±
¡°But, that doesn¡¯t sound right.¡±
¡°Do you honestly believe that I¡¯d really live out those 50 years, just like that?¡±
¡°What then?¡±
¡°I forgot most of them. More correctly, I erased them deliberately. If I did remember them, I¡¯d probably have gone crazy by now.¡±
Only then did I finally realise what her situation was. She possessed the skill [Avatar]. And it was a pretty useful skill in erasing her memories, depending on how it was utilised.
¡°The reason why I left that book behind was to preserve the stuff I¡¯d forget.¡±
¡°You made a wise decision.¡±
¡°It was a cowardly method, you know. Not something to be praised, anyhow.¡±
Han Su-Yeong nced at the corner of the room and spoke up. ¡°Well, there is a monster in the world who had lived far longer than I have and chose not to forget a single thing, after all.¡±
She didn¡¯t have to say who it was for me to know who she was referring to here.
In order to lighten the awkward atmosphere, I resorted to making exaggerated gestures while raising my voice. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not worry about that and think up of a solution from now on. Speaking from the perspective of a reader, the next portion of the story should be.....¡±
Han Su-Yeong realised what I was trying to do and quickly butted in. ¡°Nope. Judging from the perspective of a writer, the things we need to do right now are.....¡±
Han Su-Yeong and I began yapping amongst ourselves with whatever we could think up. Such as, summon a Dokkaebi and lodge ourints, or summon a low-ranked Outer God we are confident of dealing with, or even smashing apart whatever was in our way, scenario or not, and try to escape from here.....
¡°Both of you, shut up.¡±
....And both of us did shut up after hearing Yu Joong-Hyeok¡¯s words.
Han Su-Yeong studied his mood for a bit and stuck to my side while muttering out loudly. ¡°Well, it should be fine to trust the instincts of the protagonist every now and then.¡±
I nodded my head in agreement.
Yu Joong-Hyeok opened his mouth in the meantime.
¡°Later, today in the afternoon, the gbearers of the archipgo will gather at the royal pce. That¡¯s when we fight.¡±
¡°A bog-standard tactic, then.¡±
¡°That¡¯s the only method.¡±
Yu Joong-Hyeok was right, though.
Sometimes, the standard way of handling things was the best solution avable.
*
Night came knocking pretty quickly. Nobles dispatched by the influential families had gathered in the audience chamber; we hurried our steps towards there as well.
The whole of the archipgo was boiling over with this unidentifiable hostility.
The faction arguing to distinguish the legitimate king; another faction who sympathised with the Dark Magician; and finally, a faction utterly hostile towards our entire group.
As we walked in the hallways filled to the brim with chaotic aura, Jeong Hui-Won muttered to herself. ¡°.....If only the kids were with us, it¡¯d have been so much better. How unfortunate.¡±
True, if the kids possessing taming skills were here, or even Yi Ji-Hye with the ability to fight in arge-scale battle, we wouldn¡¯t have felt this much pressure.
¡°They have things they must do by themselves. Most likely, they are in the middle of their own scenarios.¡±
¡°What about Ha-Yeong-ssi?¡±
¡°Technically speaking, Ha-Yeong isn¡¯t a member of , so she should¡¯ve been summoned to a different scenario from ours.¡±
If things were going ording to the original storyline, then Jang Ha-Yeong should be performing her own role somewhere else. And that was something I couldn¡¯t help her with.
I walked faster through the hallways under the protection of Jeong Hui-Won and Yi Hyeon-Seong.
In front of us, Han Su-Yeong and Yu Joong-Hyeok werepeting in a mini foot race to see who could stay ahead. It felt like I was watching a stork and a crow-titpete against each other. (TL: An old Korean idiom. Basically, it means don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew.)
Jeong Hui-Won watching the same spectacle as me sneaked closer to whisper something in my ear. ¡°Dok-Ja-ssi?¡±
¡°Yes?¡±
¡°I might be overstepping my boundary here a bit, but I think you should know about this.¡±
¡°Regarding?¡±
She locked her gaze on the backs of Yu Joong-Hyeok and Han Su-Yeong, and hushed her voice even further.
¡°In regards to those two¡¯s rtionship.¡±
< Episode 72: Three methods (4) > Fin.
Chapter 381 - Three Methods (5) Those two, they are engaged.
Chapter 381: Episode 72 ¨C Three Methods (5)
¡°Those two, they are engaged.¡±
¡°Pardon?¡±
I let my jaw drop at that huge bombshell and slowly shifted my head over to Yi Hyeon-Seong. He blushed his cheeks a little when our gazes met, and I saw him look away soon after.
Yu Jung-Hyeok and Han Su-Yeong ¨C the First Prince of the Kaixenix Archipgo, and the esteemed daughter of an Earl.
Sure, there was quite a difference in height to ovee, but..... When looking at them some more, they did seem well suited to each other. Their personalities were a bad match-up, but then again, they had a surprising amount of simrities, too.
My mischievous streak reared its head and I raised my voice. ¡°Oiii. You two kind of resemble a ck bear and a newborn chick.....¡±
Almost at the same time, gigantic murderous intent flew in my direction.
¡°I¡¯ll kill you.¡±
¡°One more word, and I¡¯ll tear your mouth wide open.¡±
Cold sweat trickled down my backside.
Jeong Hui-Won whispered in my ear. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s better not to provoke them?¡±
¡°I guess so. By the way.... Didn¡¯t something happen on your side as well, Hui-Won-ssi?¡±
¡°....Excuse me?¡±
I replied Jeong Hui-Won¡¯s confusion with a grin and quickly got in between Yu Jung-Hyeok and Han Su-Yeong. Their facial expressions were frozen stiff as if they were unhappy about my joke earlier.
¡°Han Su-Yeong. Your role is the most important one. You know that, right? You gotta do your part properly, so that.....¡±
She didn¡¯t answer back.
¡°....Han Su-Yeong?¡±
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
Strange sparks suddenly danced around her figure. I instantly figured out what happened; Yuri di Aristel¡¯s ego was pushing aside Han Su-Yeong¡¯s.
?I¡¯ll never let you go.?
Yuri was crying out, tears streaming out of her eyes.
?Sooner orter, you¡¯ll regret leaving this ce!?
?All the Fables you possess will wither away like ruins with no one visiting them, and no one will remember them anymore.?
?And in the end, they won¡¯t even be able to stay frozen in this ind and vanish from this world!?
I looked back at her and made my reply. ¡°That could happen.¡±
?What was that??
Yuri sounded dumbfounded. I quietly observed her for a moment.
Yuri di Aristel ¨C this scenario¡¯s original heroine.
If the scenario unfolded as it should have, then by this time, she¡¯d probably have be the king¡¯s lover after experiencing a regr life of growing up as someone¡¯s daughter.
?If you remain in this world, you¡¯ll all be safe.?
I could sympathise with her, who had no choice but to say something like that, but at the same time, I could not im to sympathise with her point of view. Because we weren¡¯t living in the same Fable.
In a way, you were simply reading the stories, no matter how many you had read so far. Perhaps that was why, all I could do for now was not to arrogantly convince her, but to simply imagine.
....What if Han Su-Yeong was me, what would she have said right about now?
?I¡¯ll ask the ¡®King of Reincarnators¡¯ for a favour. Let us remain in this ce together. And entrust yourselves to the Samsara¡¯s wall. When you do.....?
¡°Then, we¡¯d live on while carrying out the exact same scenario every single time.¡±
?What??
I slowly blinked my eyes and asked her. ¡°Yuri di Aristel. How did it feel when you became the queen for the first time ever?¡±
Her irises quaked intensely just then.
?I.....?
The ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯ was basically a museum of ancient Fables that had disappeared in the back alleys of the changing era.
The foundation of this world was one of the 3rd generation¡¯s medieval-themed fantasy settings. Yuri di Aristel would¡¯ve lived the same life over and over again while repeating the actions and speeches as set out by the Great Fable.
Han Su-Yeong knew this, and she probably wanted to show her host the possibility of new stories.
....Tell her that we were not ves ruled by the Fables.
?I, only....!!?
Most likely, Yuri had realised it by now. Because, Han Su-Yeong was an excellent writer, after all.
¡°You like Han Su-Yeong, yes?¡±
?....?
¡°If you do, please believe in her. She will definitely not abandon you.¡±
Yuri di Aristel looked at me for a little while before forming aplicated expression; her presence vanished afterwards. A round of lightly-dancing sparkster, Han Su-Yeong¡¯s white irises reverted back to their normal state.
She staggered a little bit as if she was struck by a dizzy spell. She then looked at me as if impressed by my actions and spoke. ¡°....Kim Dok-Ja. Not too shabby, eh?¡±
¡°I learned from you.¡±
¡°Yuri might really want to marry you at this rate....¡±
¡°Stop with your nonsense and get ready. We¡¯re about to make our entrance.¡±
We pushed the doors to the audience chamber wide open. And almost immediately, threatening air poured down on us from either sides of the chamber itself.
At the same time, Jeong Hui-Won stood next to me and spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that time, Dok-Ja-ssi.¡±
I didn¡¯t have to ask her to know what she was apologising for.
¡°In return, I¡¯ll protect you properly this time.¡±
¡°I trust you.¡±
When Yi Hyeon-Seong and Jeong Hui-Won stood on my sides, the threatening air pouring down on me softened by a good deal. I felt reassured with the greatest sword and shield gathered in one ce like this.
I scanned the crowd of people lining up on either side of the audience chamber.
On one side, representatives from the revolutionaries.
And on the other, nobles and their gbearers.
We walked past them and headed straight towards the throne. But, just as we arrived before it, someone among the gathered crowd loudly shouted at us.
¡°Who is the king?¡±
Who was the king....
They were here to get the answer to that burning question.
¡°Is it like what the rumour said and the Dark Magician is the new queen?¡±
¡°Show us the legitimate king!¡±
¡°Oh, dear Princes! Tell us the truth!¡±
The moment I saw their faces, a realisation dawned on me; none of these people were here on their own volition.
It was this world¡¯s Fable that had summoned them here.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, has bared its animosity.]
Yu Jung-Hyeok and I looked at Han Su-Yeong simultaneously. She nodded her head and took a step forward.
¡°I am the new ruler of the Kaixenix Archipgo.¡±
The crowd immediately began protesting.
¡°You dare!¡±
¡°Where is the rightful heir of the Kaixenix line?¡±
¡°Kill that wench!¡±
Han Su-Yeong didn¡¯t panic and unsheathed the sword.
¡°And this sword is the proof of my kingship.¡±
[Unbreakable Faith] emitted blindingly pure white light. Several of the crowd recognised the weapon and went down on their knees, but still, the majority were shooting the res of distrust in our direction.
It was here that Yu Jung-Hyeok stepped forward.
¡°She is indeed the Archipgo¡¯s new ruler.¡±
The expressions of fluster appeared on the faces of First Prince¡¯s supporters after he made that deration. Vigorous opposition quickly rose up from the revolutionaries.
¡°But, but, how can that be.... Something like this has never happened before!¡±
¡°There¡¯s a first time for everything.¡±
¡°Our family cannot ept this result....!¡±
And atst, folks breaking character to voice their opinions made their appearance, too.
¡°Your choice does not align with our worldview!¡±
¡°Our worldview simply wants....¡±
I addressed them with these words. ¡°Your worldview? What could that possibly be?¡±
The crowd shut their mouths. Without saying anything else, I shifted my gaze above to the message floating in the air.
[Genre of the applicable scenario is ¡®Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s Company¡¯.]
There was no such genre called ¡®Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s Company¡¯ in the world. However, there being none didn¡¯t mean a story couldn¡¯t be told, either.
¡° isn¡¯t like any other genre,¡± Yu Jung-Hyeok spoke up again. ¡° is simply .¡±
Han Su-Yeong raised [Unbreakable Faith] up high, before stabbing it deeply into the floor.
¡°Just like how is simply the .¡±
[Special effect of the Star Relic, ¡®Unbreakable Faith¡¯, has activated!]
This sword utilised Ether of three differing attributes.
[Ether attribute is transforming into ¡®Fire¡¯.]
Pure-white petals of me rose up from the de held tight in Han Su-Yeong¡¯s hand. I ced my own on the hilt of the sword.
[Ether attribute ¡®Darkness¡¯ has activated in tandem.]
And Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s hand was ced on top of ours.
[Ether attribute ¡®Divinity¡¯ has activated in tandem.]
The three attributes of [Unbreakable Faith], fire, darkness, and light, began burning up at the same time. The Archipgo¡¯s citizens had never witnessed such a miracle before, and they stared at us in wonder.
Han Su-Yeong addressed them. ¡°The king? If you want to be one,e here and give it a shot. That is, if you¡¯re confident of grasping this sword.¡±
No one tried toe closer. Everyone gathered here knew the truth already ¨C that the moment their hands touched that brilliant light, their bodies would crumble away like fine dust. Even though the overwhelmed crowd trembled in fear, some still managed to ask us questions.
¡°All of you, why are you doing this?¡±
¡°....What are you nning to do to this archipgo?¡±
This was an unprecedented development. And they had grown fearful of this world¡¯s end.
The one who replied to them was Yu Jung-Hyeok. ¡°We didn¡¯te here to upy the measly little ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯.¡±
¡°But, we came here to liberate you all,¡± I quickly followed that up, and several people began muttering among themselves.
?You already know what they mean, don¡¯t you??
Neither Han Su-Yeong, Yu Jung-Hyeok, nor I said those words.
?We also can¡¯t repeat the exact same scenario over and over again.?
No, it was Yuri di Aristel who had raised her voice, instead. She had finally realised what the conclusion to this scenario we¡¯ve been wishing for was.
?I... n to journey with these people.?
At Yuri¡¯s words, the crowd formed utterly stunned expressions. However, it wasn¡¯t just her who had made up their minds. I felt my heart beat powerfully all of a sudden, and someone began speaking through my lips next.
?If she¡¯s willing to do so, then I shall do the same.?
These words belonged to my host, Fourth Prince Ricardo. Soon afterwards, another voice came out from Yu Jung-Hyeok, as well.
?I can¡¯t let my feeble brother go all by himself.?
That was from the First Prince Schweichen. After him, two more voices came from Yi Hyeon-Seong and Jeong Hui-Won¡¯s position.
?My sword will apany you wherever you go, your highness.?
?I¡¯ll protect you, your majesty.?
Both Bilston Framer and Erich Striker, too; it wasn¡¯t just Yuri who had been watching our tales until now.
Indeed, the original protagonists of this world also had been watching us.
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, is roaring out loudly!]
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is looking at this world.]
¡°We will participate in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.¡±
Everyone gathered here was looking at . As thepany¡¯s head representative, I addressed them once more. ¡°And we will liberate every person on this ind from ¡®reincarnation¡¯.¡±
One by one, the crowd began kneeling down. These people, having been ythings of the Great Fable¡¯s scenario for such a long time, were looking at us now.
¡°Let¡¯s all go together.¡±
The world was rocked by an intense vibration as soon as those words came to an end. That was the sound of a world crumbling down. And...
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is crying out!]
....It was also the sound of a Great Fable copsing on itself.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is activating its authority to control every citizen in the archipgo!]
The giant story exhausted its own existence to continue its life. Unfortunately, what made a Great Fable a fable was....
[Every Reincarnator in the Archipgo ¡®Kaixenix¡¯ is resisting against the Great Fable¡¯s control.]
.....None other than the people in it.
[Worldview has epted your reply.]
[You have satisfied the scenario clear condition.]
[Sub-Scenario: ¡®Genre Selection¡¯ has concluded.]
[Scenario clear reward is being calcted.]
[The space-time of the applicable scenario¡¯s location is synchronising with that of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.]
[Portal to the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ has been generated.]
An enormous portal emitting blinding rays of light was generated in mid-air. It was the doorway leading up to the Great War.
¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok was the first to walk inside. Other Reincarnators, finished making up their minds, followed after him and entered the portal¡¯s innards.
Someone even asked me this. ¡°Do you believe we can really do this?¡±
¡°I do not know. I can only pray that you can.¡±
¡°How honest.¡±
The Reincarnator smiled awkwardly and stepped across the portal.
The waves of people flooded out of here. Han Su-Yeong and I stayed back at the end of the queue and watched them leave.
She opened her lips to speak. ¡°You should go ahead first.¡±
Most likely, she still had fond memories of this ce. I figured that it¡¯d not be such a bad idea to let her have some alone time to reminisce a bit. But, just before I could step inside the portal, she grabbed me.
¡°Hey, Kim Dok-Ja.¡±
It seemed that she wanted to ask me something. I quietly stared at her for a bit, and eventually, she grandly sighed and waved her hand about.
¡°Forget it. It¡¯s nothing.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±
¡°I said, it¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±
She tried to avoid my gaze while grumbling loudly.
I got worried somewhat and pulled my leg out of the portal with a sigh.
¡°You can just tell me. We went our separate ways in a simrly meaningful manner thest time, and that¡¯s what¡¯s making me worried here.¡±
¡°It¡¯s nothing major.¡±
¡°Well, in that case, you can tell me no problem, right?¡±
¡°....Aren¡¯t you a persistent one.¡±
Han Su-Yeong sighed grandly once more and opened her lips. ¡°In the future....¡± Her gaze fixed to the floor slowly rose up as her words continued on. ¡°In the future when all the scenarios have ended, I may want to get back to writing novels again.¡±
It was the first time she looked at me with such serious eyes and that took me by surprise just a little.
Meanwhile, she carried on. ¡°When that happens, read my novel, okay?¡±
¡°Your novel?¡±
She nodded her head. ¡°I¡¯m giving you the opportunity to be its very first reader.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not such a good reader, though.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be an ass and just read it when I tell you to.¡±
¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll definitely read it.¡±
I replied good-naturedly.
Well, it¡¯d not be a problem to read her novel. I mean, I liked reading novels, to begin with.
However, she must¡¯ve found my response out of her expectation, because she asked me back to confirm it. ¡°....For real?¡±
¡°Yeah, for real.¡±
She stared at me with disbelieving eyes. ¡°But, it might be over three thousand chapters?¡±
¡°That¡¯s probably right up my alley, then.¡±
¡°It might be boring, too.¡±
¡°It¡¯s you writing it, so that¡¯s not possible, you know.¡±
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s eyes grew wider after hearing my reply.
I felt somewhat embarrassed at myself, so I quickly said something else. ¡°What genre will it be?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll cross that bridge when I get there....¡±
¡°How about romance?¡±
¡°....How can I milk ¡®romance¡¯ for three thousand chapters??¡±
We shared such light-hearted banter while shifting our gazes back to the portal. That¡¯s where Yi Hyeon-Seong and Jeong Hui-Won walking together could be seen. I sensed this awkwardness in the air between them and it was nice to see that.
¡°Well, those two might need three thousand chapters, and then some.¡±
It was then, nice-sounding messages resounded out from the sky.
[Restriction on indirect messaging has been lifted.]
[Constetion, ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯, is cheering out in happiness!]
[Constetion, ¡®Abyssal Dark me Dragon¡¯, is enjoying the warm atmosphere!]
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of me¡¯, is freaking out!]
It seemed that, with the conclusion of the scenario, the channel had been reopened again.
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of me¡¯, is shielding her Incarnation.]
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of me¡¯, is being vignt of Constetion, ¡®Master of Steel¡¯.]
[Constetion, ¡®Master of Steel¡¯, is feeling wronged.]
Han Su-Yeong smirked and muttered to herself. ¡°Romance, is it....¡±
She and I stepped across the portal together. I could see the Constetions waiting for our arrival in the distance.
[You¡¯vee, .]
Finally, we reached the opening stages of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.
Fin.
Chapter 382 - The hottest place in Hell (1)
Chapter 382: Episode 73 ¨C The hottest ce in Hell (1)
Shin Yu-Seung opened her eyes because of the bright spotlight ¨C lights that danced in the air. One of the flying drones circled around her head once, before disappearing into the distant ck sky.
¡°Urgh, my head....¡±
Under the head-spinning dizzy spell, she staggered unsteadily back to her feet. The only things she could see around her were scrap metal and rubbish. She couldn¡¯t see any of thepanions she was with.
....Could she havended in this ce all alone?
¡°Shin Yu-Seung?¡±
A boy pushed his head out from among the scrap metal like some kind of a baby octopus.
¡°Yi Gil-Yeong?¡±
Feeling happy now, she shifted her gaze over there, but then, the figure of woman leapt out from the piles of rubbish while stepping on the boy¡¯s head.
¡°Get out of the way! You stink, you know!¡±
¡°Ji-Hye unni!¡±
She figured out who came along with her. Herpanions brushed away all the trash stuck on their bodies and stood upright.
¡°What¡¯s this? Is it just us?¡±
¡°I think so.¡±
¡°Heh, it¡¯s the reformation of Busan Alliance.¡±
Yi Ji-Hye spoke with a slightly excited tone of voice, but Shin Yu-Seung was different.
Why did it have to be Ji-Hye and Gil-Yeong? She alternated her gaze between her twopanions and made a resolution in her mind.
¡®I¡¯m the only adult here. So, I gotta stay sharp.¡¯
Whether they knew her thoughts or not, Yi Ji-Hye and Gil-Yeong continued their ring contest, only to suddenly delve straight into deciding the pecking order.
¡°Hm, hm. Hey, kids. We should choose the leader first, like how we¡¯ve done so far, right?¡±
¡°Noona, you were the leader back in Busan Alliance. So, it¡¯s my turn now.¡±
¡°Hey, you. You weren¡¯t even born yet when I got admitted to the kindergarten, you know.¡±
¡°Ah? What¡¯s that got to do with anything?!¡±
¡°Shh. Both of you, keep quiet!¡±
The moment Shin Yu-Seung¡¯s voice was heard, all three of them pressed themselves tightly against a nearby wall in unison. A millisecondter, a drone flying around like some sort of an insect shone a spotlight on the alleyway they were standing in just now.
Giiiiii-iiing....
The drone hovered in position for a little while, and eventually, it disappeared beyond the alleyway, its sensors tilting this way and that.
Yi Ji-Hye asked in a tense voice. ¡°Hey, wasn¡¯t that a drone?¡±
It was right then, the system messages could be heard from the sky.
[Someone has interfered with the scenario system.]
[Due to the unprecedented power, you have been forcibly summoned to the Main Ind¡¯s ¡®Next City¡¯!]
[¡®Next City¡¯ is currently cut off from the space-time of the conflict region of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.]
[You can advance to the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ once you solve the sub-scenario of the applicable location.]
¡°Next City??¡± Gil-Yeong¡¯s eyes began sparkling. ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look!¡±
¡°Stop being childish, Yi Gil-Yeong. This isn¡¯t a game!¡±
Despite Shin Yu-Seung¡¯s warning, the boy broke into a sprint. Fortunately, there was no drone nearby, and the spot they were hiding in was situated in a surprisingly high altitude.
¡°Wow, this....¡±
They were treated to a magnificent sight where the whole city could be seen in one take. Bright neon signs illuminating the night streets; androids emitting blue light beams from their heads, roaming around said streets as if putting on a protest march.
They could immediately tell what the worldview here was from this spectacle.
Yi Gil-Yeong spoke confidently. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get super strong in this ce and surprise Dok-Ja hyungter.¡±
¡°He¡¯ll get even mooore surprised if you get killed here, instead.¡±
¡°....Noona, why do you hate me so much??¡±
Disregarding the bickering duo, for now, Shin Yu-Seung carefully observed the panoramic view of the city below.
If one were to discount the slight disturbance created by the protest, it looked as if the city was functioning systematically ording to a set of strict rules. This was a sci-fi worldview retaining a level of social order previously unheard of.
She remembered hearing that the ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯ were graves of fading Fables. If so, why did a world like this one meet its doom?
In the meantime, Yi Ji-Hye and Gil-Yeong were excitedly yapping away, without any care given for Shin Yu-Seung¡¯s concerns.
¡°Will they have stuff like a lightsabre here?¡±
¡°What a helpless sword otaku....¡±
¡°Shut up.¡±
¡°Uh? Wait, I think they are really equipped with something like lightsabres.¡±
¡°Really? Where?¡±
They could see the guards patrolling the city sauntering closer to their location. Maybe because of the worldview¡¯s effects, information windows of the guards floated up in front of their eyes after they took a closer look.
[Lv. 12 Guard-type Android]
[The applicable unit is around 4 times stronger than you.]
Yi Ji-Hye freaked out and muttered out loudly. ¡°What the hell? Why are they so strong?¡±
¡°I think it¡¯s us who got weak.¡±
For sure, the density of the magical energy in the surroundings had decreased noticeably ever since they arrived in this worldview.
[Your main Stats have been reverted back to their initial values in the applicable worldview.]
[This worldview is subjected to the corrective effect of ¡®Level System¡¯.]
¡°God damn it, they areing this way!¡±
When did they realise it? Guards were suddenly rushing towards the group¡¯s position. They looked up at the sky only to discover several drones circling above their heads.
[Reaction to Fable energy detected!]
[Reaction to Fable energy detected!]
Along with the loud warning sounds, the guards increased their speed by engaging the boosters mounted on their backs and pounced on the group in a row. Yi Ji-Hye, Shin Yu-Seung, and Gil-Yeong hurriedly pulled out their individual weapons.
¡°Screw it, there aren¡¯t even any bugs here..... Hey, Shin Yu-Seung, can you summon the Chimera Dragon?¡±
¡°The cooldown time isn¡¯t over yet.¡±
[Your current level is 1.]
[Earn experience points by hunting low-level enemies.]
With a deeply agonised look on her face, Yi Ji-Hye unsheathed her longsword. She was the only one specialised in close-quarter battles among her group.
Quickly activating [Demon ying] and [Ghost Walk], she faced off against a guard in order to protect the kids. Just as the android¡¯s lightsabre collided with her longsword....
Giiii-iiing!
The lightsabre simply let her de slide by and proceeded to cut her forearm.
¡°Aaaahk!¡±
[Android ¡®Yi Ji-Hye¡¯ has been seriously injured!]
[Please administer Fable energy to preserve your life.]
She backed away quickly, but it was already toote by then.
¡°Get out of the way!¡±
Shin Yu-Seung pushed Yi Ji-Hye aside and stepped forward. Thetter¡¯splexion paled instantly and cried out towards the former; Gil-Yeong stretched his arms out, too.
Unfortunately, the lightsabre was already descending towards the crown of her head.
¡®Ahjussi.¡¯
At that moment, the girl looked back on her short life. She felt this sense of unfairness, knowing that it¡¯d be over in a ce like this; yet, at the same time, there was also a sense of satisfaction, too, knowing that her choice was correct.
Shin Yu-Seung thought that this was the final moments befitting the Incarnation of the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯.
And then, in the next second....
[The applicable attack does not work on you.]
Along with the sparks going ¡®Tsu-chuchuchut!¡¯, the guard¡¯s lightsabre stopped millimetres away from her nose as if blocked by a formless wall.
¡°Uh?¡±
And new messages popped up in the air one after the other.
[Error has urred in the scenario¡¯s system.]
[Great Fable, ¡®Next City¡¯, is expressing its puzzlement over the existence of Incarnation ¡®Shin Yu-Seung¡¯.]
It was the exact same story for Yi Gil-Yeong, as well. The lightsabres attacking the kids were all being powered down simultaneously.
The boy dazedly looked up at the air and muttered softly to himself.
¡°....What¡¯s going on?¡±
He could see letters written in the faint grey font on the top right-hand corner of his vision.
[Current scenario¡¯s age restriction is 18+.]
[Due to the applicable worldview¡¯s consideration, murderous actions aimed at children/teenage units are prohibited.]
Shin Yu-Seung and Yi Gil-Yeong exchanged nces.
¡®....Isn¡¯t this, like, huge?¡¯
It was unknown how they ended up getting summoned here. However, if it was this sort of a worldview, then....
Gil-Yeong formed a sneaky grin aimed at Yi Ji-Hye and her wide-open jaw behind him.
¡°Noona? Get ready for a free bus ride.¡±
While watching the boy shove his shortsword into the guard¡¯s upper thigh area, Shin Yu-Seung began thinking to herself.
¡®Maybe, remaining as a kid for a bit longer is....¡¯
She didn¡¯t know what was waiting for her at the end of this scenario. However, she was sure of one thing ¨C at the end of this scenario, they should be strong enough to utterly stun Kim Dok-Ja.
*
I was left utterly stunned by the Constetions waiting for me on the other side of the portal. Even at a quick nce, it was well more than one or two here.
....Could it be that they knew we wereing?
¡°Dok-Ja-ssi.¡±
Yi Hyeon-Seong¡¯s voice sounded tense, and I nodded my head at him. Yu Jung-Hyeok, Han Su-Yeong, Yi Hyeon-Seong, and Jeong Hui-Won. Including me, the five of us gathered in one spot like a constetion in the night sky.
Soon, though, scenario messages floated up in the air.
[Main Scenario has been updated!]
[You and your Neb have entered the neutral zone of ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯!]
[You can select either camp of ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯!]
Right after those alerts, a notice message dyed the sky in rainbow colours next.
[Neb, , has entered the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯!]
Without a doubt, Dokkaebis must¡¯ve been behind that. We had just got here, yet they were advertising it all over the ce already.
[Many Constetions have noticed your presence!]
[Some Nebs are keeping an eye on your group¡¯s next move.]
It wasn¡¯t an ideal situation, but naught we could do about it, as it was spilt milk. I met the gazes of the Constetions looking at us from the other side. They were emitting pretty hefty Statuses, too.
I even spotted a familiar Constetion among them.
[You¡¯rete, Descendant.]
A man with a dignified smile was looking in our direction. I called out to him in happiness.
¡°Goryeo¡¯s First Sword!¡±
He was none other than Cheok Jun-Gyeong, the one we had to say goodbye to during the ¡®Middle Ind¡¯ scenario.
As expected of a Constetion who had reached the Fable-grade, it seemed that he advanced to the main ind without any issues.
[You must¡¯vepleted quite a substantial scenario. You¡¯ve gained morepanions.]
His gaze was now studying the Reincarnators emerging from the portal alongside us. They were people from ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, entering the main ind with me.
¡°They are folks who¡¯ll participate in the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ with us.¡±
Cheok Jun-Gyeong nodded his head.
[Higher number ofbat forces can certainly help. More importantly, however.... Something seems to have changed with you, Descendant.]
He scanned me from top to bottom as if he was searching for something.
[I can sense this vague depth to your group¡¯s Fable.]
¡°....Is that so?¡±
Cheok Jun-Gyeong¡¯s gaze left me and headed towards Han Su-Yeong. She met his stare with a pair of impetuous eyes that said, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±
A strange light flickered within the former¡¯s eyes.
[....I see.]
I abruptly recalled what the ¡®Guardian of Mand¡¯ told me.
¨C Oh, dear Bodhisattva. Please, try to endure time itself.
Our Neb¡¯s Fables had experienced an unknown change after clearing the Kaixenix Archipgo.
The time Yi Hyeon-Seong, Jeong Hui-Won and especially Han Su-Yeong, spent in Kaixenix was definitely not in vain. Everything that happened was recorded as Fables, and they would raise our Statuses in turn.
It might have been due to what Cheok Jun-Gyeong said, but well, I could sense Constetions spying on us from behind, staring far more openly than before.
[Constetion, ¡®Expert at ying Both Sides¡¯, is getting interested in you.]
[Constetion, ¡®King of Archers¡¯, is observing you in great interest.]
[Constetion, ¡®Three Mouths But Only One Head¡¯, is sneering at the Reincarnators from ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯.]
Reincarnators from the archipgo retreated from the feast of Statuses. Now that they have emerged outside the ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, they were no longer protected by their worldview.
[Constetion, ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯, is growling!]
It was Han Su-Yeong who stepped forward as if to shield these Reincarnators. The atmosphere wiggled and the aura of the ck me Dragon manifested itself behind her. The folks from Kaixenix bowed their heads to pay their respect to her, then.
Indeed, that must be what they refer to as the kingly air.
Unfortunately, some Constetions didn¡¯t seem to like her disy. It didn¡¯t take long for their aura to be threatening.
Ku-gugugugu!
[An Incarnation from a small Neb dares to....!]
Feeling a bit annoyed now, I decided that I should stop the current flow right about here.
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, is ring at the Constetions!]
The activation of the Great Fable managed to startle the Constetions and they took several steps back.
I didn¡¯t miss that opportunity and asked Cheok Jun-Gyeong a question. ¡°Enough about that. Why have you been waiting for us?¡±
He formed a slightly troubled expression. The light in his eyes flickered as he tried to decide whether it¡¯d be okay to say it or not.
I could think up a couple of hypotheses just then, and chose to test one of them out. ¡°I know that this is the neutral zone. Have you decided on which camp of the Great War to join yet?¡±
[No, not yet.]
....I see. He still hadn¡¯t chosen his side.
Cheok Jun-Gyeong continued on.
[As you may well know, ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯ of the Constetions aren¡¯t the same with that of the mortals. If I¡¯m allowed to be honest, then I do not wish to be a part of either camp.]
Cheok Jun-Gyeong, starting as a mortal and reaching the ranks of Constetion through his own power only, like me, wouldn¡¯t have agreed to the concept of good and evil as imed by the Archangels and Demon Kings. That was why I could sympathise with his dilemma.
However, that story would always be his to mull over, no one else¡¯s.
I nced at the Constetions behind him and asked. ¡°They haven¡¯t chosen their sides, I presume?¡±
Cheok Jun-Gyeong nodded his head.
Behind him, scattered groups of Constetions could be seen loitering around tents set up here and there on a huge open in.
[What is the current war situation like?]
[From what I was able to find, it....]
Faint ¡®true voices¡¯ could be hearding from them.
I smirked inwardly; in all honesty, it was easy to see what they were thinking of by not having chosen a camp yet.
Constetions in the neutral zone were nning to stay back and observe the proceedings, and then join the side with the advantageous position and enter the Great War.
Yu Jung-Hyeok and Han Su-Yeong engaged [Midday Tryst] at the same time to talk to me.
¨C I can tell what the current situation is like.
¨C These bastards, they are going for ¡®that¡¯, right?
I nodded my head.
The stronger the ¡®neutral¡¯ camp that hadn¡¯t chosen a side grew in power, the potential benefits to be gained when it did choose would be even greater.
[Constetion, ¡®Prisoner of the Golden Headband¡¯, is looking down on the Constetions of the neutral zone.]
[Constetion, ¡®Hell¡¯s Scribe¡¯, is letting others know that the hottest ce in Hell is reserved for those who maintain neutrality in times of moral crisis.....]
Didn¡¯t matter whether it was ¡®Good¡¯ or ¡®Evil¡¯, they were thinking of selling their influence to the highest bidder out there.
Han Su-Yeong broke out in a smirk.
¨C Their aim is so easy to see through.
It was right about then that Cheok Jun-Gyeong ended his deliberation and opened his lips. [There is someone who wishes to meet you.]
¡°Who is it?¡±
[A high-ranking Constetion from the Neb, .]
Thought as much.
It seemed that Cheok Jun-Gyeong was here to win us over.
I hid this faint sense of disappointment and asked him again. ¡°But, didn¡¯t you tell me that high-ranking Constetions of have all disappeared?¡±
Indeed, I heard something like that a long time ago. Once, at the ¡®Constetion Banquet¡¯, and when facing ¡®Founder¡¯s Mother¡¯ back inside the [Dark Castle].
[We did not disappear. Because, there is one right in front of you.]
It was a true voice containing aloof, proud Status; the ranks of the Constetion parted, and a Taoist hermit holding a pure-white folded fan was walking towards us. From each of his steps, I felt the power of vigorous winds.
.....Hey, I think I know who this is.
[Kneel and pay your respects, oh, descendants of the Penins.]
Fin.
Chapter 383 - The hottest place in Hell (2)
Chapter 383: Episode 73 ¨C The hottest ce in Hell (2)
This guy just popped out of nowhere and demands us to kneel down.....
Han Su-Yeong next to me carried a dumbfounded expression, while Yu Jung-Hyeok was already reaching towards his sword. Cheok Jun-Gyeong was massaging his forehead; it seemed that he expected a situation like this already.
¨C My apologies, Descendant. I tried to talk him out of it, but I wasn¡¯t sessful.
True, he¡¯d not enjoy situations like this. But, he owed a lot, so he probably couldn¡¯t say no to them asking him to organise this meeting....
¨C I shall leave it to your decision.
I nodded my head and looked at the Taoist hermit.
[Constetion ruling over the Penins¡¯s Winds has revealed his Modifier!]
[Constetion, ¡®Heavenly Wind God¡¯, is now looking at you!]
The ¡®Heavenly Wind God¡¯ ¨C the Constetion who founded alongside the Heavenly King.
His real name was ¡®Pungbaek¡¯, although most of us simply knew him as the God of Wind. (TL: One of the three gods/ministers that served Hwanung the Heavenly King, father of the ancient Korea¡¯s founder, Dangun. Wind God/God of Wind switcheroo isn¡¯t a typo, though ¨C the first one¡¯s from the raw, while the second one is the official name of the god.)
Ku-gugugugu!
The Status of the Constetion who had finally revealed his Modifier, caused strong gusts of wind that resembled the pping wings of a giant Phoenix, to sweep past the surroundings. And then, all ambient noises disappeared.
The Reincarnators outside the wind wall were shouting something in my direction, but I couldn¡¯t hear them. Pungbaek had cut off all the soundsing from outside.
He probably didn¡¯t want others to hear our conversation.
[Oh, descendant of the Penins, I¡¯ve heard the tales of your bravery. As your fame spreads far and wide, the status of the Penins rises higher in ordance. This god sees that situation as very satisfactory.]
I quickly sent a signal with my eyes to Yu Jung-Hyeok busy raising his momentum ¨C telling him to hold it, let¡¯s at least hear this guy out first.
[However, I¡¯ve heard disturbing stories thattely, you¡¯ve been building inappropriate rtionships with foreign Constetions.]
....I began wondering whether I should keep listening or not, though.
[Archangels and Demon Kings are not Constetions originally from East Asia, or the Penins. Meaning, they are foreign influences.]
Han Su-Yeong shot me a sneaky re.
¨C Hey, you. Are you just gonna let this guy be?
¨C I shall cut him down.
¨C What the heck, is the wire crossed or something? Howe I can hear Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s voice?
¨C Ibined the Midday Tryst¡¯s space.
My deration prompted an explosion of messages from her and Yu Jung-Hyeok.
¨C Hey! Stop messing around! You want me to listen to that arrogant bastard¡¯s voice in my head, too?
¨C You¡¯ve taken words out of my mouth.
I sighed softly after seeing the two growl at each other.
¨C Stop it, both of you. That¡¯s not important right now, is it?
While we were squabbling inside our chatroom, Pungbaek was still continuing on with his dull moral lecture.
[....meaning, descendant¡¯s friendly behaviour towards foreign influences has caused much dishonour to the Penins, and this god considers that as a weighty crime. However, if you, the descendant, reflect deeply regarding this matter and repent, then.....]
Hell, a Constetion that agreed with those words even made his appearance, too.
[Constetion, ¡®Founder of National Istion Policy¡¯, agrees in part with the assertion of ¡®Heavenly Wind God¡¯.]
Of course, not everyone was like that; our little penins boasted a surprisingly wide variety of Constetions, after all.
[Constetion, ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯, is polishing his head.]
[Constetion, ¡®First Sorcerer of Joseon¡¯, is clicking his tongue.]
[Constetion, ¡®Prisoner of Golden Headband¡¯, is yawning in boredom.]
[Portion of Korean Penins¡¯s Constetions thinks the deration by ¡®Heavenly Wind God¡¯ is old-fashioned.]
[Who dares to hide behind anonymous Modifiers and run their mouths off?!]
As Pungbaek¡¯s true voice rang thunderously in the air, the weather above began shifting ominously. Suppressed by that tremendous aura, several Constetions quickly shut their mouths.
Whatever the case might have been, he was an existence very close to the ancestor god of the Penins.
Although the individual amount received differed, Constetions of the Penins had indeed received benefits and favours from , and none could challenge them face to face as a result.
Not even Cheok Jun-Gyeong himself.
[By the way, why are you still standing up?]
Eventually, Pungbaek¡¯s gazended on me. The current atmosphere shifted ever so slightly from what it was like earlier.
[Did I not tell you to kneel?]
Ginormous pressure pushed down on me. Not just me, though; it pushed down on the entire .
[Fables from Neb are observing !]
It felt as if a giant ancient tree had bent down to take a look at us ¨C a giant tree that salivated after the nutrients meant for a new-born sprout.
I quietly held that gaze for a little while, before making my reply. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±
[Indeed, you don¡¯t.... What did you say?]
¡°I said, I don¡¯t want to.¡±
[Constetion, ¡®Prisoner of Golden Headband¡¯, is liking your attitude.]
[Constetion, ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯ is coaxing you to start with a punch first.]
¡°I came here to participate in the Great War, not to kneel to you.¡±
[How boundlessly arrogant. I looked favourably at your bravery and wished to pardon your sins, but....]
¡°After you pardon me, what then?¡±
Pungbaek¡¯s brows quivered at my pointed reply.
¡°You were thinking of absorbing through the authority of , were you not?¡±
As if his hidden plot had been urately pointed out, emotions could be spied on that stoic Constetion¡¯s expression now.
[It is only obvious that your group muste under the wing of .]
¡°Why do you think that?¡±
[If did not exercise its might at the beginning, your Neb wouldn¡¯t have been born.]
As if he was a parent being betrayed by his child, Pungbaek began shouting at me.
[ is the founder of the Penins! We gave birth to you, we set the morality you must follow, and we created the rules. It was us who determined what you¡¯d see, feel, and think. Because the Fable of exists, you exist here now, and through that Fable, you survi....]
¡°Four years ago in Earth¡¯s time, ¡®scenarios¡¯ began on the Korean Penins.¡± I cut Pungbaek¡¯s words off. ¡°When the Penins fell into mortal danger, what did do at that time?¡±
[.....!!]
¡°When scenarios began on the Penins, when the [Absolute Throne] appeared, when Outer Gods and Cmities descended, and when the Penins¡¯s Incarnations and Constetions had to work together because of them....¡±
Certain memories began rushing back every time I spoke a word. Scenarios, ovee by the gathering of people who had no one to rely on; the [Four Yin Demon Beheading Sword] plunging down on the blind throne and the Penins¡¯s Constetions who lent their Probabilities to that weapon.
[Fable, ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯, is ring at ¡®Heavenly Wind God¡¯.]
[Fable, ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯, has begun its storytelling!]
I didn¡¯t do anything, yet the Fable beganing to life, anyway. ¡®King of a Kingless World¡¯ was born as the [Absolute Throne] was destroyed.
I recited the story of this Fable, and through me, this Fable spoke of itself. ¡°During those times, where were you and the oh-so-great Constetions of ? And what were you all doing?¡±
Tsu-chuchuchut!
[You bastard!]
Pungbaek red at me as if he¡¯d start vomiting blood at any second.
¡°Of course, I know that you and worked hard to aid the Penins during its infant stages. I do acknowledge the value of the Fable you people possess. Unfortunately, that doesn¡¯t mean everyone from the Penins must swear loyalty to you,¡± I finished my speech while watching Pungbaek¡¯s beard tremble from rage. ¡°Everyone has their own way of clearing ¡®scenarios¡¯. Even if you¡¯re the Penins¡¯s highest-grade Constetion, you can¡¯t interfere with the actions of .¡±
Cheok Jun-Gyeong seemed to be enjoying my daring, fearless tone of voice. It¡¯d probably be his first time seeing Pungbaek get treated in this manner.
[You dare, you dare....!]
In ce of the rendered-speechless Pungbaek, a Fable¡¯s forceful aura rose up from behind him.
[Great Fable of the Neb, , is staring at you!]
[Neb, , is extending its roots towards !]
Great Fables belonging to began rising up to the heavens one by one like tree branches, and eventually, formed an image of a gigantic tree. I knew what that was straight away.
?The tree that connects the Heavens to Earth below, as well as the totality of all the Fables that puts to practice; the one Fable that supports all those Fables.?
?The Fabled Tree, Shindansu.?
Every Fable of began with that very tree in front of my eyes. Shindansu spread its holy aura all around and extended its branches made up of Fables.
Seeing that admonition alone wasn¡¯t doing the trick, it was now trying to show off its might, instead. What a bitter experience that was.
The truly bitter thing about this situation was, though....
¡°I see that the real highest-ranked Constetions of did disappear.¡±
[....What do you mean by that?]
This Shindansu was so much smaller and shabbierpared to the one that I knew. Not only that, the ends of the tree¡¯s roots extending towards us were all horrifyingly damaged. What I saw were Great Fables failing to sustain their shapes after not having absorbed nutrients for a long time; most of the branches connected to these roots had withered almost beyond recognition.
That was the total sum of what currently possessed.
¡°I speak of these words because I pity you.¡±
The ¡®Pungbaek¡¯ from the original storyline that I knew was not an obstinate geezer like this guy. Sure, he wasn¡¯t exactly the warmest guy around, but still, he was a Constetion possessing far greater ss and righteousness.
However, something happened to and the Neb¡¯s influence shrunk back at a rapid pace. The reason why Pungbaek became so destitute probably had something to do with that event.
[You dare to show disdain towards this god?!]
Pungbaek roared out and roused up the powers of the wind; giant storm energy began gathering all around us. As the enormous Status suppressed the entirend, Reincarnators from ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯ began writhing around in pain.
Han Su-Yeong urged me one more time.
¨C Kim Dok-Ja.
I nodded my head.
Although the current appearance of wasmentable, at the end of the day, it had nothing to do with us.
I took a step forward, prompting Yu Jung-Hyeok next to me to unsheathe his sword, while Han Su-Yeong unfurled the bandages on her left arm. And then....
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, has begun its storytelling!]
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, has begun its storytelling!]
The Great Fables that had been held back until now opened their mouths simultaneously. Not only that....
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is repeating its storytelling as if it¡¯s displeased.]
....Along with a Great Fable that wasn¡¯t even one of ours, too.
Shu-weh-eh-eh-ehk!!
The roots of the giant tree flying in towards us began crumbling away from the billowing waves generated from our Fables.
[Body of the Great Fable, ¡®Shindansu¡¯, is in great pain!]
Those menacing roots extending out to swallow us whole faltered in their tracks and scattered away ¨C as if scared by the stories it could not devour. The still-intact roots btedly retreated, and the withered, bony branches screamed out loudly.
[Body of the Great Fable, ¡®Shindansu¡¯, refuses to heed the orders of ¡®Heavenly Wind God¡¯.]
[But, how....?]
Shindansu withdrew its roots and instantly vanished from the view.
Perhaps taken greatly by surprise from the Statuses of the Great Fables we possessed, the freaking-out Pungbaek staggered back several steps.
I sensed the Constetions scattered around the neutral zone looking in this direction after getting startled by this disturbance.
[Ba-aht!]
Biyu suddenly popped up right above my head as if she was waiting for this moment. At the same time, I sensed her channel opening up.
[Arge number of Constetions have joined the channel!]
Biyu¡¯s channel was connected to Bihyung¡¯s broadcast channel; I could picture that Dokkaebi¡¯s pleased face already.
It was pretty clear why he had induced this situation; although I wasn¡¯t too happy about it, this was something that had to be done sooner orter, anyway.
[Constetion, ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯, is paying attention to your voice!]
[Constetion, ¡®Maritime War God¡¯, is waiting for your story.]
[Demon King, ¡®Ruler of East Hell¡¯, is staring at you.]
[Constetion, ¡®Scribe of Heaven¡¯, is waiting for you.]
[Constetions of ¡®Good¡¯, ¡®Evil¡¯, and ¡®Neutral¡¯ are carefully observing you.]
Several indirect messages floated up one after the other.
I stared at Pungbaek and opened my lips to issue a warning not just aimed at . ¡°I will not say that everything we do will be righteous. However, the paths we tread will be decided by us alone.¡±
I dered loudly towards the Constetions of the world.
¡°And, no one can change our decision.¡±
Fin.
Chapter 384 - The hottest place in Hell (3)
Chapter 384: Episode 73 ¨C The hottest ce in Hell (3)
As if they were waiting for it, gazes rained down from the heavens.
[Constetion, ¡®Bald General of Justice¡¯, agrees with your words.]
[Constetion, ¡®Maritime War God¡¯, nods his head at your words.]
[Constetion, ¡®Prisoner of Golden Headband¡¯, asks you why you had to repeat something so obvious.]
[Constetion, ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯, is coaxing you to quickly punch that old bastard.]
Pungbaek heard what the ck me Dragon said in disbelief and shot a re at the sky. He was about to say something, but then, the next indirect message made him flinch just a little.
[Constetion, ¡®Goryeo¡¯s First Sword¡¯, believes that ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ is correct.]
Pungbaek¡¯s head snapped towards Cheok Jun-Gyeong right away.
[Jun-Gyeong, even you...!]
As if he felt ashamed by it, thetter avoided the piercing gaze.
Honestly, even I was surprised.
No matter how badly it had fallen, was still the Korean Penins¡¯s main Neb. Even under the current circumstances, it wouldn¡¯t have been easy for Cheok Jun-Gyeong to go against and side with me.
[Many Constetions are getting interested in the sh between and !]
Maybe it was due to Cheok Jun-Gyeong¡¯s deration, I now could sense the attention of other Constetions. Among the winds newly blowing in the neutral zone, I could sense their wary eyes locked on me.
I looked back at Pungbaek. ¡°Are you going to continue?¡±
Honestly, watching his eyelids tremble intensely like that was difficult even for me.
I spoke as if to mock earlier, but in truth, it wasn¡¯t as if Pungbaek had been doing nothing to help with the Korean Penins¡¯s scenarios. The thing was, the Constetion who lent his aid to my mother back during the ¡®Returnees War¡¯ was none other than Pungbaek himself.
That damn event stole away her lifespan in its entirety, though. Maybe, that could be the reason why I was so pissed off right now.
[The Wind shall never forget today¡¯s matter.]
Pungbaek red at me for the longest time before snapping his fan shut to vanish like specks of scattering dust.
[Arge number of Constetions are impressed with your backbone!]
[Small number of Constetions will remember that the reputation of is not unwarranted.]
[Gossipers of have recorded the applicable incident.]
Yu Jung-Hyeok, Han Su-Yeong, Jeong Hui-Won, and Yi Hyeon-Seong ¨C everyone was staring at me. I couldn¡¯t spot any traces of fear in their expressions.
Most likely, they were thinking something simr.
It didn¡¯t matter what others said about our Neb. No, we only had to move forward towards the story we believed to be the right one.
[A choice befitting you, Descendant.]
Cheok Jun-Gyeong, observing us, spoke.
[Some Constetions will like that aspect of you and follow after you. Truthfully, many Constetions of the Korean Penins are focusing more on you rather than on . But.... In return, those who hold animosity towards you have grown in number, as well.]
I grew cognizant of the fact that the surrounding gazes now felt different after hearing him; some Constetions were ring at us, while some were looking on with envy. And some even shook their heads, their eyes saying that we¡¯d eventually be just like everyone else.
?Once upon a time, we used to be like you.?
Suddenly, it felt as if the Fables these Constetions experienced were near enough for me to reach out and touch them.
[Ancient Great Fables are staring at the Fable of .]
Every Fable was the evidence of one oveing scenarios. At times, they¡¯d serve as someone else¡¯s entertainment.
Every Fable that reached this far had to break down and bend over in order to survive. The times when they had to makepromises with the reality of , and when they had to agree to the demands of the Constetions and Dokkaebis in order to carry on; that was how they managed to get here.
As if he was the voice of those times, Cheok Jun-Gyeong spoke up.
[ hates stories that haven¡¯t been broken yet. Especially so, with a story as pure as yours.]
Pure and not broken yet....
A chuckle left my lips after hearing that.
I was surprised that the world viewed us like that. Because, that was basically ignoring every road we¡¯ve walked on so far.
¡°We had been broken over a dozen times already.¡±
didn¡¯t stand on two feet from the word ¡®go¡¯.
After the Korean Penins¡¯s scenarios began, it had to endure against the Constetions¡¯ schemes and their inexplicable rage. Just like so many other countless Fables, in other words.
¡°However, we managed to stand back up every single time. And now, we¡¯ve reached this far.¡±
To us, the word ¡®pure¡¯ was more like an insult at this point.
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, is calmly staring at you.]
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, is holding back its intense crying.]
As if they were agreeing with what I said, the two Great Fables showed some reactions.
¡°And in the future, we will continue to get back on our feet.¡±
[The germinating third ¡®Great Fable¡¯ has disyed fetal movements.]
Even the third Great Fable soon to awaken reacted the same. Cheok Jun-Gyeong observing us slowly nodded his head.
[I shall continue to watch your story.]
At the end of those words, he turned around to leave. Korean Penins¡¯s Constetions under him nced at us for a bit before disappearing alongside him.
He had surpassed the level of ¡®Historical Figure-grade¡¯ and stepped into the ¡®Fable-grade¡¯. On top of that, he had been a Constetion for a far longer period of time than I, and he would be one of the best allies to have on our side as he was a gifted natural-born fighter.
Of course, that would be under the assumption of us fighting on the same side.
I must¡¯ve stood around looking too cool for my own good, since Han Su-Yeong, staring at me from the side, pped my shoulder and jeered at me.
¨C Hey, you. Some people might think you¡¯re the protagonist or something.
Feeling a bit sheepish, I sneaked a nce in Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s direction, but he wasn¡¯t looking at me but at the distant horizon, instead.
¡°It has begun.¡±
[Scenario event has been generated!]
[Regional conflict for ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ is scheduled to take ce in the near vicinity of the applicable area!]
Neutral-leaning Constetions and Incarnations sitting around their scattered tents were stunned by the system messages and hurriedly stood up.
[When entering the conflict zone, ¡®camp selection¡¯ will automatically generate!]
The sight of two enormous factions marching forward could be seen from afar.
The white-winged angels, decked out in armours brightly reflecting the light were dyeing thend in a silvery hue along with Incarnations and Reincarnators.
On the other side, Demon Kings stained in corrupted and demonic energy were advancing forward with their dependents in tow.
[Updated Main Scenario has arrived!]
+
Type: Main
Difficulty: Indeterminable
Clear condition: Participate in the Great War by siding with either camp of Absolute Good or Absolute Evil. ¡®Good/Evil Points¡¯ of the camps will increase when the affiliated camp umte a higher number of victories in the scenario. Once the Points of a camp exceeds 100, the victor in the war will be decided.
Time Limit: the applicable scenario¡¯s time limit is affected by ¡®Chaos Points¡¯.
Reward: Fable rted to ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯, ???
Failure: Death
+
[Current state of Great War¡¯s progress]
Absolute Good Points: 56
Absolute Evil Points: 56
Chaos Points: 51
[Chaos Points will increase the longer the Great War is being fought.]
+
[You must select a camp in order to participate in the applicable conflict.]
[The scenario rewards will be greater the sooner you choose your camp.]
We fell into a bout of silence while reading the scenario¡¯s contents. The first one to break it was Han Su-Yeong.
¡°Kim Dok-Ja, what next? Do as we always did?¡±
[Constetion, ¡®Hell¡¯s Scribe¡¯, is letting others know that the hottest ce in Hell is reserved for those who maintain neutrality in times of moral crisis.....]
¡°That wasn¡¯t even something he originally said, yet why is he being so damn chatty with that line??¡±
[Constetion, ¡®Hell¡¯s Scribe¡¯, flinches in surprise and has closed his mouth.]
This ¡®Hell¡¯s Scribe¡¯ was actually the author of [Divine Comedy], Dante Alighieri. And that famous line often credited to him actually had been repurposed by the politicians of ater era. Still, that quote served to enhance his fame in the long run, so he should have epted that as a part of his own Fable.
?The hottest ce in Hell is reserved for those who maintain neutrality in times of moral crisis.?
It sure was a stirring quote when you first listen to it. Although, it was hard to figure out what meaning was there to it in the world where even one¡¯s moral choices served as someone else¡¯s entertainment....
¡°We need to decide this time. It¡¯ll be difficult to weasel ourselves out of this one like in the past, unfortunately.¡±
Whatever the case might have been, we were standing on the crossroads just like the others, regardless of what Dante had said. Well, one couldn¡¯t even participate in this ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ if they hadn¡¯t chosen a side from the get-go, anyway.
Yu Jung-Hyeok stared at the message and spoke up. ¡°The Great War during the 1863rd turn ended in the victory of ¡®Evil¡¯. Han Su-Yeong chose the side of ¡®Evil¡¯, that was why.¡±
¡°Why is it me again?? Besides, this isn¡¯t the 1863rd turn, you know?!¡±
Han Su-Yeong was right, though ¨C this was not the 1863rd turn.
Indeed, this was the 3rd turn world of .
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
The ferocious battlefield where the ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯ shed could be seen in the distance. One of the battlefronts belonging to the expansive ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ had raised its curtains.
[113th regional conflict of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ has been generated!]
[List of individuals participating in the applicable regional conflict has been released.]
Right at the forefront of this Great War stood a Constetion that I knew pretty well.
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯, is participating in the applicable scenario.]
*
¡°P-please, spare me.¡±
Staaaab!
¡°Archangel-nim, p-please....!¡±
Pained moans rose up from all over the ce.
Heads belonging to the Incarnations who chose to side with ¡®Evil¡¯ at the crossroad, were being sliced off by the des of the Archangels.
This was the war of Fables.
Just because of your affiliation with the Fable of one side, you¡¯d be treated as an enemy by the other side.
Leaving the fallen Incarnations behind, Uriel studied the battlefield with an expressionless face.
Once upon a time, she sympathised with them. She felt sad at the Incarnations being swept away and consumed by the great narrative, and she was angry at the misfortune they had to suffer. She was like that for a long time. At one point, doing that was the entirety of her life.
¡®....I wanted to catch up with all the broadcasts I missed, though.¡¯
Uriel chewed her lip while looking at the waves of a Demon King¡¯s army rushing in.
Being born to spread the ¡®Good¡¯ didn¡¯t mean you could live your entire life doing only just that; truth was, the physical dangers didn¡¯t eat away at a Constetion, but the erosion of one¡¯s mind did.
The emotionalbour thatsted for an innumerable length of time had instilled a deep-seated disillusionment of the world, as well as unfathomable madness, inside her.
[Soul of Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯, is trembling unstably.]
Whether it was a strong Constetion or a weak one, there was not one being who could take it easy inside scenarios. Because, ¡®scenarios¡¯ were a system like that, to begin with.
Gu-ooooh!
To forget that they were being consumed by the scenario, and to live for yet another day, Constetions had to consume other Fables. They would spectate on the scenario, get angry at someone¡¯s situation, pour out their criticism, show respect, or be moved by what they saw.
It was the same story even for an Archangel like Uriel.
[¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö, get out of my way! I missed the initial broadcast because of you lot!]
[Hell me Ignition] spewing out from Uriel¡¯s de struck the Demon King¡¯s dependents and turned them into ashes. She couldn¡¯t properly control her own power unleashed out of urgency; also, hastily summoning only half of her true body to participate in the war yed arge role in that, too.
[Demon Kings participating in the regional conflict are shocked by the Archangel¡¯s power!]
Of course, this half of a true body was none other than Uriel¡¯s. So, any ol¡¯ Demon King couldn¡¯t even serve as her opponent.
[Demon King, ¡®Monarch of Stars and Logic¡¯, releases his Status!]
[Demon King, ¡®Grand Duke of Dragons and Foul Odour¡¯, unleashes a Great Fable!]
[Demon King, ¡®Speed of Sound Demon King¡¯, lets out a crimson howl!]
[Demon King, ¡®Duke of Everywhere¡¯, is being taken over by excitement and madness!]
The problem was, the Demon Kings participating this time were not some run-of-the-mill types, either. Uriel¡¯s expression hardened after she spotted the Demon Kings brushing past her [Hell me Ignition] toe closer.
[The crazed Archangel is right before us!]
[Do not fear! I, the Demon King, Buer, will be with you!]
Originally, the Demon Kings scheduled to enter this particr regional conflict were not supposed to be them. However, they shifted around the location ofbat personnel, and that meant Uriel now found herself having to deal with all these Demon Kings at once.
[You bunch of ¡ö¡ö¡ö! Get lost!]
Arrows imbued with demonic aura nketed the entire battlefield; Uriel spread [Hell me Ignition] like a barrier to block them.
As she tried to look after the lower-ranked Angels retreating in haste, several arrows managed to lodge themselves in various parts of her body.
[How amusing. Oh, great Angels, are you running away?]
[You bring dishonour to the reputation of ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯.]
[Shut up! You¡¯d all be dead meat if only my full body had descended!]
Even under the barrage of attacks raining down, Uriel didn¡¯t moan once, breathing angrily like a bull, instead.
[Stop ganging up on me like a bunch of cowards and face me one on one, you ¡ö¡ö!! Fu¡ö! If it¡¯s one on one, I can kick all your butts even if you¡¯re Agares, Gamygyn, or Marbas!]
Yells from the agitated Uriel only elicited mocking leers from the Demon Kings. They all knew how powerful she was; they knew, and that was why four of them showed up to hunt down a single Archangel. And right up until thest moments, they remained meticulous.
[This is war, oh dear Angel.]
[Hell me Ignition] of the Uriel covered in blood shed with the Demon Kings.
She was seriously strong; with only the strength of half a true body, she still managed to cut the arm off of ¡®Monarch of Star and Logic¡¯, and crushed the favoured pet dragon of ¡®Grand Duke of Dragon and Foul Odour¡¯. Not only that, the ¡®Speed of Sound Demon King¡¯ even lost both of his legs.
Unfortunately, that was as far as she could go.
She looked behind the moment she felt a chilling sensation ¨C and the dagger belonging to the invisible Duke of Everywhere flew in squarely aimed at her heart.
[I shall be devouring an Archangel¡¯s Fable today.]
She btedly swung her sword in desperation, but her Incarnation Body had been slowed down by injuries and it was far too difficult to respond. And in the next moment....
Staaaab!!
A de glowing brightly stabbed past the chest of the ¡®Duke of Everywhere¡¯ from behind. ck blood sshed down to the ground.
The de repeatedly pierced through the Duke¡¯s back, right up until the broken Incarnation Body¡¯s breath finally stopped, fragments of Fables bursting out in a grotesque fashion.
And a single stream of the white de sliced off the head of the Duke next.
[Someone has killed the Demon King, ¡®Duke of Everywhere¡¯.]
Uriel saw the two people standing behind the fallen Duke. The ones she¡¯d recognise no matter how far they were, they were standing so close to her at this minute.
¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll sit back and watch my Constetion get beaten up like this.¡±
Indeed, it was none other than her one and only Incarnation.
And then...
[Demon King, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, is victorious in the ¡®Demon King Promotion¡¯!]
[Demon World ranking is being adjusted!]
[Demon King, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, has be ¡¯50th Demon King¡¯!]
The protagonist of the story she¡¯d been watching for a long time addressed her. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Uriel.¡±
[Demon King, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, has chosen the camp to side with.]
Fin.
Chapter 385 - The hottest place in Hell (4)
Chapter 385: Episode 73 ¨C The hottest ce in Hell (4)
There were times when a person¡¯s emotion of sheer happiness could be felt so vividly. Those moments, when one would go, oh, so you can make that sort of facial expression, too.
[Kim Dok-Ja-!!!]
The current appearance of Uriel was just like that to me.
She extended her arms and vigorously embraced both me and Jeong Hui-Won, proceeding to rub her cheeks all over us for a long time.
In the end, Jeong Hui-Won had to scold her a little. ¡°Uriel, I can¡¯t breathe.¡±
[S-sorry.]
She got flustered and backed away, but her eyes continued to sparkle. Sometimes, I found it hard to fathom how such a pure-but-dumb Archangel like her ended up with a Modifier of ¡®Demon-like¡¯.
[How did you know this ce? When did you get here? Ng? Did you finish the ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯ scenario already? I barely managed to catch a couple of scenes, because I didn¡¯t have a lot of spare time.... I¡¯m really sorry! Y-you aren¡¯t angry because I didn¡¯t properly sponsor you, right? I-it wasn¡¯t deliberate, you know....]
It wasn¡¯t just her expression, even her voice conveyed her happiness, too.
Jeong Hui-Won and I looked at each other while listening to Uriel; she must¡¯ve felt something simr to what I did, probably.
The Angel spoke without a hint of elegance nor carefully-considered pretence. Fortunately, some words conveyed a greater level of emotion when the speaker was so earnestly over the moon like this.
¡°Uriel, we understand. However, we should discuss the details at ater date.¡±
[Ng? Aht, you¡¯re right! Now isn¡¯t the time, is it?]
Uriel¡¯s gaze on me quickly shifted andnded on the army of Demon Kings ring at us from the other side. I saw her expression cooling off in an instant, and realised that my thoughts were perhaps premature.
This Angel was, without a doubt, ¡®Demon-like Archangel of mes¡¯.
[Demon King, ¡®Monarch of Star and Logic¡¯, cannot understand your actions.]
And then, there were Demon Kings willing to face off against such an Archangel.
Ranked tenth in the Demon King Ranking, ¡®Monarch of Star and Logic¡¯ ¨C ¡®Buer¡¯.
Eighteenth in the ranking, ¡®Speed of Sound Demon King¡¯, ¡®Bathin¡¯.
Finally, 29th in the ranking, ¡®Grand Duke of Dragons and Foul Odour¡¯, ¡®Astaroth¡¯.
Even after excluding the ¡®Duke of Everywhere¡¯ who died at my hands, there were still three Demon Kings alive. Each and every one of them was not an easy opponent to fight against. Especially so, the ¡®Monarch of Star and Logic¡¯, and the ¡®Speed of Sound Demon King¡¯.
If both of Buer¡¯s arms were still intact, or for that matter, Bathin¡¯s legs, then I¡¯d probably have to risk my life here.
[¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯!]
[What is the meaning of this?! Why are you fighting against other Demon Kings??]
I shrugged my shoulders and glibly muttered my excuse. ¡°I simply continued on with the promotion battle, that was all.¡±
[Do you honestly believe that such an excuse will.....]
¡°Is there a rule that said the ¡®Demon King Promotion¡¯ battles shouldn¡¯t be fought just because the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ is underway? Such a thing happened pretty often back in the ¡®1st Great War¡¯, too.¡±
[What are you....!]
Bathin became incensed by what I said and formed an expression of a creature wanting to cut my head off, but too bad, there was nothing he could do when both of his legs were gone.
[You have re-enacted a portion of the ¡®1st Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯!]
[Demon King ¡®Asmodeus¡¯ is getting interested in your unexpected actions!]
Actually, what I¡¯ve done was exactly the same as what Asmodeus did back in the 1st Great War. The ¡®Monarch of Star and Logic¡¯ Buer¡¯s expression hardened as he threw out a question. [You think you¡¯ll be fine after doing something like this?!]
¡°Of course not.¡± I remained utterly unfazed by the Demon Kings¡¯ auras while awakening my Status. ¡°However, I do think that you shouldn¡¯t be worried about me here.¡±
[You have unleashed the Demon King¡¯s Status!]
[Exclusive skill, ¡®Bookmark¡¯, is activating!]
[5th Bookmark has been initiated!]
[Exclusive skill, ¡®Lightning Transformation¡¯ Lv.23 (+13) has been initiated.]
[Your current physical constitution is different from that of the applicable character.]
[Your ¡®Status¡¯ has ovee the physical constitution penalty.]
My shoulders itched as the wings broke past my skin and emerged out into the open. And the buzzing sensation of the [Lightning Transformation] ovepped on top of that. In an instant, my body was enveloped in lightning.
The three Demon Kings now carried flustered, panicky expressions after witnessing my rapidly-rising ¡®Status¡¯.
¡®Monarch of Star and Logic¡¯ had lost one of his arms, ¡®Grand Duke of Dragons and Foul Odour¡¯ had lost his pet Dragon and was wounded all over, and finally, ¡®Speed of Sound Demon King¡¯ had lost both of his legs, so basically, they were no longer relevant to the overallbat situation.
Jeong Hui-Won next to me unsheathed the [Sword of Judgement] and activated [Demon ying].
¡°I wasn¡¯t satisfied by the fight I had with a Demon King thest time because it got stopped, so.....¡±
Uriel saw the Demon Kings taking retreating steps and became triumphant in no time at all. She opened her lips to speak.
[You bunch of ¡ö¡ö, weren¡¯t you so noisy back then? Why don¡¯t you say something now?]
¡°....¡±
[Dok-Ja-ya, Hui-Won-ah, let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s utterly smash those ¡ö¡ö Demon Kings apart.....!!]
I reached out and grasped Uriel¡¯s shoulder as she tried to advance forward with her broken Incarnation Body, currently fuelled by her incendiary wrath. Her shoulder felt so feeble and weak right now. She formed a pair of small rabbit-like dot eyes after being held back so helplessly by my hand and looked back at me.
¡°Uriel, please step back.¡±
[Ng? Ah..... Are you worried about me? I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m Uriel, after all!]
She held my hand with a deeply-moved expression on her face. I felt a bit sad watching her be like that, and could only form a quiet smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way.¡±
[But, what then....?]
[Demon King, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, has selected his affiliated camp.]
My participation message was floating up in the air. Most likely, she hadn¡¯t read that properly yet. Soon, though, the body of the puzzled Uriel gradually stiffened; her eyes grew wider and wider, too.
I stared into those eyes and spoke. ¡°Please, be still. Uriel, this is going to end very soon.¡±
Maybe, she had seen the message I was looking at by now.
[Camp the Demon King, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, has chosen is ¡®Evil¡¯.]
*
¡°Kim Dok-Ja pulled another Kim Dok-Ja stunt, didn¡¯t he?¡± muttered Han Su-Yeong, as she watched the battlefield in the distance.
The battle had entered a bit of a lull earlier, but after Kim Dok-Ja made his unexpected entrance, it was heading towards a chaotic conclusion now.
He was the Demon King who murdered another Demon King, yet didn¡¯t hide the fact that he was ¡®Evil¡¯.
She now could see the lower-ranked Angels moving to surround him, and the same time, Jeong Hui-Won and her troubled expression, too.
Yi Hyeon-Seong asked, sounding worried. ¡°Will it really be alright like that?¡±
¡°Even if it¡¯s not, what can we do? Tell him to side with now? Kim Dok-Ja is originally a Demon King, you know,¡± grumbled Han Su-Yeong, before shifting her gaze over to Yu Jung-Hyeok. ¡°You ain¡¯t gonna sit back and just watch, right?¡±
¡°Of course not.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need to ask me ¨C I¡¯m ¡®Evil¡¯.¡±
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s sponsor was ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯. From the get-go, she didn¡¯t have much of a choice.
¡°What about you, Yu Jung-Hyeok?¡±
¡°....¡±
¡°What did your sponsor say? Or was there no answer?¡±
Rather than answering her, he stared at the Incarnation Bodies strewn about the battlefield, instead. Corpses of Angels and Demon Kings could be seen among them, but in reality, most of them belonged to humans ¨C meaning, Reincarnators.
¡°You see someone you know?¡±
Without saying anything, Yu Jung-Hyeok observed the copsed Reincarnators. A few still surviving and writhing about extended their hands towards him. Their wounds were too serious and it was toote to save them. He lowered himself and stabbed his shortsword in each of their necks. When he did, they all passed on with a peaceful expression on their faces.
Yuri di Aristel watching that scene suddenly raised her voice.
?Su-Yeong.?
¡®Don¡¯t worry, Yuri. I won¡¯t let that happen to you.¡¯
She could see the souls of the dead Reincarnators scatter away.
The ones fettered to the Mand would be revived even if they were killed on this ind. However, being an immortal certainly didn¡¯t mean that it was okay for them to die.
[Great Fable that lost its name has ceased to exist.]
Every time they were mobilised for a different scenario, they would gradually lose their own worlds. They¡¯d forget their original lives, and eventually, even forget about their own deaths, too.
[Most ancient ¡®Good¡¯ advises the Reincarnators to be virtuous.]
[Most ancient ¡®Evil¡¯ demands the Reincarnators to choose.]
The majority of the dead would be those who had never thought about the concept of the greater ¡®Good¡¯ or ¡®Evil¡¯. Han Su-Yeong closed the eyelids of a dead Reincarnator. The dead¡¯s face, his eyes now closed, was quite obviously neither good nor evil.
[You need to select your camp in order to enter the applicable battlefield!]
¡°I shall choose my camp.¡±
The moment Yu Jung-Hyeok opened his lips to speak, Han Su-Yeong narrowed her eyes and asked him. ¡°You, you ain¡¯t thinking of something else, are you? Before you guys got to Kaixenix Archipgo, you two fought like crazy, right?¡±
He didn¡¯t answer and simply stared at her. She could pretty much guess what that frustratingly-stiff expression of his was implying, and just as she got ready to yell at him, he finally made his reply.
¡°This war must not be the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯, but a fight between us. Meaning, this ce must not be a battlefield of others.¡±
Not the Great War, but the battle of Kim Dok-Ja Company ¨C Han Su-Yeong immediately realised the meaning behind those words.
¡°Only then, neither ¡®Good¡¯ nor ¡®Evil¡¯ will win this war. And that development should be what Kim Dok-Ja wants.¡±
¡°I get what you¡¯re saying, but that¡¯s gonna be really tough, you know?¡± Han Su-Yeong immediately came in with a tackle. ¡°We do that, and we¡¯ll be turning our backs on both the and at the same time.¡±
¡°You said that this isn¡¯t the 1863rd turn.¡±
Han Su-Yeong pouted a bit, looking as if she got sucker-punched. ¡°Kim Dok-Ja.... He¡¯s a hardcore bastard, alright. He might be the only idiot who¡¯de up with something this crazy as a solution in situations like this one.¡±
¡°He¡¯s originally like that.¡±
¡°It¡¯s the same story for you, too! You two are so damn simr.¡±
At her rebuke, Yu Jung-Hyeok retorted with a curt tone of voice. ¡°You aren¡¯t that different from us, either.¡±
¡°Whaaat? I¡¯m different from you two idiots. Anyway, let¡¯s stop yapping and get cracking already.¡±
They now could see Kim Dok-Ja getting beaten up by the Angels surrounding him in the distance. But then again, he suddenly dered himself to be ¡®Evil¡¯ in their midst, so it was only natural that the Angels of would be quaking in rage born from the sense of betrayal.
Yu Jung-Hyeok dered first. ¡°I won¡¯t do it in half-measures.¡±
¡°So what? I¡¯m nning to kill you if things go sideways, you know?¡±
¡°Good. Only then is there some fun in fighting you.¡±
¡°Fine. That match we didn¡¯t get to finish back in Kaixenix? Let¡¯s finish it right here.¡±
The figures of these two vanished towards the battlefield; Yi Hyeon-Seong, now left by himself and all alone, could only cry out in sorrow.
¡°H-hang on!! Su-Yeong-ssi! Jung-Hyeok-ssi!!! What about me?!¡±
¡°Do whatever you want!¡±
[Incarnation, ¡®Han Su-Yeong¡¯, has chosen her affiliated camp.]
[Incarnation, ¡®Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯, has chosen his affiliated camp.]
[Camp the Incarnation ¡®Han Su-Yeong¡¯ has chosen is ¡®Evil¡¯.]
[Camp the Incarnation ¡®Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯ has chosen is ¡®Good¡¯.]
Finally, their own ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ had begun.
*
On a wide-open in of the ¡®Main Ind¡¯, where Heaven¡¯s entire fighting force had gathered.
The leader of the Heavenly forces, Metatron, was in the middle of listening to the updates on the current situation from other Angels inside the barracks designed to mimic his office back home.
¨C has revealed their desire to participate.
¨C has sent a dispatch, saying that they will participate.
¨C has also dered their intention to participate. However, due to their own Great Fable, it seems that not many Constetions will participate from this side.
¨C There hasn¡¯t been any contact, but we have spied some movements from as well. They are famous for their stick-and-carrot strategy, so....
¨C ¡®Hell¡¯s Scribe¡¯ is diligently moving inside the neutral zone. Thanks to him, the participation rate has shot up irrelevant of whether they are Constetions or the Reincarnators.
Metatron studiously took notes of every single report and after attaching a suitable response, sent them back.
The ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ this time was, as the name implied, a war with the fate of ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯ on the line. That was why Metatron was far more cautious and careful with this scenario.
[Absolute Good Points in the applicable camp is currently 56.]
And so far, the war was chugging along without any issues ¨C with the sole exception of the special limitation that was attached to this particr ¡®Great War¡¯, that was.
[Chaos Points is currently 51.]
The so-called ¡®Chaos Points¡¯; when he asked the Great Dokkaebi about it, this was the answer he got.
¨C It¡¯s a very rare urrence to present a stage of this magnitude for a conflict between ancient Great Fables. So, there needs to be a suitable risk of danger in ordance with the Probability.
¨C What does that mean?
¨C It¡¯ll be no fun when detailed exnations are provided, so I won¡¯t offer you anything substantial. However, do remember this. No matter what happens, do not let the Chaos Points reach 100. Do you understand? If not, something truly horrifying will ur.
Great Dokkaebis couldn¡¯t care any less about the fate of a Neb. No, they were only hell-bent on creating more stimting scenarios. So, these ¡®Chaos Points¡¯ must have been the fruit of their malicious scheme.
[This is boring, Scribe.] Michael, polishing his sword in the corner of the barracks, spoke. [I shall bring the head of Agares. Send me out.]
Michael had tasted humiliation twice at the hands of Kim Dok-Ja and Yu Jung-Hyeok on the ¡®Middle Ind¡¯ scenario; his Incarnation Body had fully recovered through the authority of revival and now, he found himself inside the ¡®Main Ind¡¯s¡¯ scenario, waiting.
Metatron formed a thin smile at Michael and his hotly-burning desire.
[If we do that, the war will end too soon.]
[Isn¡¯t it better to end a boring war as soon as possible?]
[No, not necessarily. This war must be longer and more wretched than any other scenario in existence.]
Metatron looked at the screens being broadcast from all parts of the battlefields. Beings who had chosen the side of ¡®Good¡¯ or ¡®Evil¡¯ through their own decision were pointing their weapons at each other. Metatron knew that, although they were participating in this war as nothing more than simple mercenaries, their moral leanings would gradually change the longer the time went on.
[Most ancient ¡®Good¡¯ is wishing for a magnificent holy war.]
Constetions participating in this war would eventually grow to hate each other in the name of ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯, and that hatred would burn brightly to create the next generation of Fables.
Michael, watching the battle, spoke in a sulky tone of voice. [In that case, allow me to kill the bastards of , at least. I have a score to settle with them.]
Metatron shook his head. was an important variable in this scenario. That faction had to be used as much as possible.
[If it was before, sure, but it¡¯s not possible now. I have a different n for them. If you step forward, Michael, then....]
It was right there that a scenario message announced itself.
[113th regional conflict of ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ has been forcibly concluded.]
Metatron confirmed the attached information on the message. The 113th regional conflict was the battlefront that Uriel participated in.
[....Forcibly concluded?]
There had never been a message like that before. It didn¡¯t end there, though.
[Chaos Points have increased by 5.]
[Chaos Points is currently 56.]
[Warning! Chaos Points have exceeded 55!]
....
.......
........
[Something is writhing around in the hottest ce in Hell.]
[The Cmity of Revtion that decides the end of everything has begun its quickening.]
Fin.
Chapter 386 - Great War of Saints and Demons (1)
Chapter 386: Episode 74 ¨C Great War of Saints and Demons (1)
Bluish arcs of electricity danced in the air and thest android rushing towards them copsed on the ground.
Pu-shu-shuk.
Yi Ji-Hye yanked her sword out from the bisected cables and wiped her forehead.
[Level up!]
Gil-Yeong, watching her from the sidelines, picked his nose and spoke to her. ¡°Noona, you¡¯ve gotten really good at this, haven¡¯t you?¡±
She oh-so-badly wanted to smack the boy in the head after listening to his sky-high ego-filled words, but had to stop.
[You can¡¯t attack the target.]
Regardless of what else, these two kids were invincible in this worldview. Nothing good woulde from rubbing them the wrong way.
She alternated her gaze between Yi Gil-Yeong and Shin Yu-Seung before throwing them a question. ¡°What are your levels now?¡±
¡°84.¡±
¡°I¡¯m 87, unni.¡±
¡°What?! But, you were 83 a few days ago!!¡±
¡°I lied, you dummy.¡±
Yi Ji-Hye watched the two kids bicker and replied with a lengthy sigh. ¡°I¡¯m still 79, though....¡±
Still, she was able to level up quickly thanks to these two kids. Just as the ng implied, her levelling-up was lightning fast, as if she was riding on a bus, and that ced them on the list of the most wanted individuals of Next City.
[Android Yi Ji-Hye ¨C 1888G]
More correctly, it was her alone. From the get-go, the kids couldn¡¯t be attacked anyway, so they didn¡¯t even show up on the wanted list.
¡°I guess it¡¯s about time we escape from this worldview.¡±
¡°I think it¡¯ll be over if we bring that down, unni.¡±
There was a huge tower upying the centre of Next City where Shin Yu-Seung was pointing at. There was a battleship parked on top of that tower, and every time she looked at it, Yi Ji-Hye would receive a message from her sponsor.
[Constetion, ¡®Maritime War God¡¯, strongly rmends that you acquire that Star Relic.]
¡°.....Now that is surprising. Especially from our miserly general, no less.¡±
[Constetion, ¡®Maritime War God¡¯, dry coughs.]
It wasn¡¯t as if she couldn¡¯t understand her sponsor¡¯s heart, though. Anyone who pped their eyes on that battleship¡¯s appearance would indeed understand where he wasing from.
¡°I just can¡¯t figure out why that thing¡¯s parked over there....¡±
If they manage tomandeer that ship, then the skies of all the worlds would be the ¡®Maritime War God¡¯s¡¯ ocean.
Yi Ji-Hye tightly grasped the hilt of her sword and spoke. ¡°Yeah, it might be fun to shock the socks off ahjussi and my master. Hey, guys? Why don¡¯t we clear this ce now?¡±
¡°Sure! It was getting boring using the bug all the time, too!¡±
¡°Yes, let¡¯s.¡±
The three arrived at a mutual agreement and began walking towards the tower, only for apletely unexpected message to enter their ears.
[Emergency patch has been updated.]
[From tonight¡¯s midnight onwards, the applicable scenario will institute ¡®Shutdown¡¯ system.]
[From 00:00 to 06:00, children under the age of 18 cannot utilise the applicable scenario.]
Yi Gil-Yeong and Shin Yu-Seung merrily running forward side by side suddenly began faltering precariously.
The boy muttered in a flustered vice. ¡°N-noona, I¡¯m sleepy....¡±
¡°Unni, run....!¡±
The two kids plopped down after saying that and fell into slumber. Yi Ji-Hye ced her hand near their noses and confirmed that they weren¡¯t dead.
[Applicable yer is in ¡®Shutdown¡¯ state.]
For Yi Ji-Hye, this was one bbergast-inducing situation.
¡°What the hell? I thought this worldview was 18+ from the get-go? Why is this shutdown thing even introduced??¡±
Too bad, there was no time to rxedly stand around andin; the tower¡¯s gates opened up wide and hundreds of drones began sortieing simultaneously in order to kill her, that was why.
¡°.....Oh, shit.¡±
It seemed that this night was going to be a very long one for her.
*
[113th regional conflict has been concluded.]
[Oue of the applicable regional conflict cannot be decided.]
This particr skirmish had no victors or losers. Heavily-wounded Demon Kings supported each other and retreated, while panic-stricken Uriel vanished from here along with the lower-ranked Angels. The only people remaining in the empty battlefield were Reincarnators strewn about like the remnants of a defeated army, plus five men and women among them copsed on the ground.
¡°.....I had no idea this would happen,¡± muttered Han Su-Yeong in a dumbfounded voice.
What did after entering the regional conflict was pretty simple ¨C participate in the war between ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯, and suppress every other participant beside themselves. And then, the remaining folks would go for it and slug it out for the war with no winners.
[Applicable battle¡¯s oue can¡¯t be decided.]
[Lack of will to fight by the participants of the applicable battle has been confirmed.]
The battle of was not a life-or-death fight but a game, a sparring session, something with no determined winners or losers. And that was why it was not a war between ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯, and naturally, was not the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯, either.
[Applicable regional conflict has been excluded from the category of ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.]
[New 113th regional conflict is waiting to take ce.]
The strength to forcibly break up a battlefield ¨C that was the power possessed right now.
¡°....My sponsor should be really sad and disappointed by now.¡±
¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped this time, Hui-Won-ssi.¡±
¡°If it¡¯s at all possible, I don¡¯t want to fight against Uriel.¡±
¡°It¡¯s the same story for me.¡±
With a slightly regretful face, Jeong Hui-Won and Yi Hyeon-Seong looked at the Reincarnators of the battlefield. Although many had died and returned to the cycle of rebirth, there were a few who still managed to survive.
They split the [Eine Forest Essence] in their possession and distributed it to the survivors. Kim Dok-Ja too, supported the surrounding Reincarnators one by one and stemmed their bleeding by pressing their pressure points.
Han Su-Yeong spoke while looking at him. ¡°You started this whole thing with a definite n, right?¡±
¡°I always have a n before starting anything.¡±
¡°Then you should know that we can¡¯t keep this up forever.¡±
The timing for this particr conflict proved to be fortunate for them, but there was no guarantee that their luck would be as good the next time.
Besides, there were definitely beings among the Constetions on the side of ¡®Good¡¯ or Demon Kings that the strength of couldn¡¯t handle, and if they rushed into a battle with a too-great disparity inbat strength, they might find themselves in mortal danger, as well.
However, Kim Dok-Ja maintained aposed expression.
¨C We don¡¯t need to hold out for long, so it¡¯ll be fine.
Han Su-Yeong heard his rxed Midday Tryst voice and hushed her own in reply.
¨C Okay, what then?
¨C We just have to hold on until the Chaos Points go past 90.
[Chaos Points currently is 56.]
As if it was waiting for this moment, the message floated up in the air and Han Su-Yeong shot a re at it.
¨C What¡¯s this point thing about? It sounds different from the ¡®Good/Evil¡¯ Points, though?
¨C You¡¯re right.
Kim Dok-Ja briefly exined what this ¡®Chaos Points¡¯ thing was ¨C that it would rise up when neither the ¡®Good¡¯ nor ¡®Evil¡¯ imed victory and the world¡¯s order copsed as a result.
¨C What happens if that gets to full?
¨C The Cmity of Revtion will start.
¨C The Cmity of Revtion? .....Hold up, are you talking about the ¡®Apocalypse Dragon¡¯?
The Dragon of Destruction from the Book of Revtion, also known as the Final Dragon of the Revtion ¨C a being referred to as the so-called ¡®Apocalypse Dragon¡¯.
A humongous cmity that descended on the 95th scenario during the 1863rd turn, it was capable of sweeping away the Constetions of the with just a single flick of its tail.
Kim Dok-Ja grinned and nodded his head.
¨C Right. You knew about it?
¨C ....You want to increase these Chaos Points even after knowing that? Are you insane?! What will you do if the Apocalypse Dragon is revived?? Have you forgotten what happened during the 1863rd turn?
If the Apocalypse Dragon did wake up during this scenario, then it¡¯d bring forth a scale of destruction iparable to that of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.
However, Kim Dok-Ja carried a determined expression.
¨C It won¡¯t revive.
¨C And how do you know that??
Kim Dok-Ja shrugged his shoulders and turned around as his reply to her question. She was about to fly off her handle and yell out at him, but someone suddenly butted in.
¡°You¡¯re supposed to be a writer, yet youck imagination.¡±
¡°What was that, you bastard?¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok easily caught Han Su-Yeong¡¯s small fist flying in.
She growled menacingly. ¡°Why are you butting in on someone else¡¯s conversation?¡±
¡°I couldn¡¯t endure any more of your pathetic mutterings, that¡¯s why.¡±
¡°What bullshit are you talking about now?¡±
¡°He¡¯s not the only one who knows about what happened in the 1863rd turn regression.¡±
Han Su-Yeong immediately understood what he was saying.
Indeed, Kim Dok-Ja didn¡¯t hop over to the 1863rd turn alone; he departed along with two Archangels in tow, and came back with one of them.
And what that implied was...
¡°.... also knows about the stuff in that ce, then. And he¡¯s using that fact to his advantage.¡±
Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s n was pretty clear-cut.
Once the Chaos gauge reaches 100, the Apocalypse Dragon would be unleashed. And was well aware of what would happen if that creature is released, since it had the information from the 1863rd turn.
If they wished to avoid the fate of being destroyed, then they should immediately stop the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.
That was the crux of the message Kim Dok-Ja wished to convey.
Han Su-Yeong felt ever so slightly bbergasted while looking at him consoling the Reincarnators with an utterly calm expression on his face.
Just who in this world was capable of threatening arge Neb?
¡°That evil dude, he.... He¡¯s basically telling them to choose between surviving together, or perishing together!¡±
¡°If things work out well, that¡¯s what should happen. However, a future where only we are killed could happen, instead.¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s expression was hard as he polished the ¡®Dark Heavenly Demon Sword¡¯. It was the most dignified, serious expression he had in a while.
She could see his resolution from that expression. Most likely, his head was filled with thoughts of the worst potential situations ¨C Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s n ends up as a failure, then the members of are annihted in this ce, and finally, he¡¯d have no choice but to regress once more.
Han Su-Yeongined loudly. ¡°Is imagining horrible futures a unique habit of regressors?¡±
¡°Only by thinking of the worst will you be able to prepare for the aftermath.¡±
¡°Someone might think you¡¯ve regressed ten thousand times if they hear you.¡±
¡°In some other universe, that might have happened already.¡±
¡°....Didn¡¯t know you could say stuff like that,¡± smirked Han Su-Yeong, and she shifted her eyes back to Kim Dok-Ja in the distance.
Him still wobbling about like that reminded her of looking at an intable tube sky puppet shaking around against the wind.
Just as she couldn¡¯t read the inner workings of an empty sky puppet, she also couldn¡¯t read Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s inner thoughts. She sometimes felt as if she could, but that was nothing more than some air leaking out from the puppet, instead.
Why was she even trusting that guy, anyway?
Maybe, the one she couldn¡¯t really understand was herself. Why was she fighting together with Kim Dok-Ja?
She might find an answer if she used [Predictive giarism], but Han Su-Yeong purposely didn¡¯t. She thought that she should not do that.
She looked to her side to discover Yu Jung-Hyeok staring at the same spectacle as her.
¡°Hey, I wanna ask you something.¡±
¡°It¡¯s mystifying that you still mistakenly believe I¡¯ll answer you earnestly.¡±
¡°Right, you were one hell of a stubborn dude. I mean, you didn¡¯t even moan in pain once after you got tortured that badly during ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯.¡±
His expression stiffened. ¡°I thought as much. You were behind that, weren¡¯t you?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t order it, but my kind Yuri understood my heart, that was all.¡±
[Fable, ¡®Kaixenix¡¯s King¡¯, slowly nods its head.]
Yu Jung-Hyeok never once revealed his identity or information rted to him even when subjected to Yuri¡¯s horrifying torture.
Han Su-Yeong dusted her butt off and stood up. ¡°In any case, you really okay with this? You were trying to kill Kim Dok-Ja earlier, right?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t concern you.¡±
¡°A guy like you doesn¡¯t easily change his mind, so. That means you didn¡¯t have a change of heart, but never nned to kill him in the first ce....¡±
¡°...¡±
¡°Well, then. Who was egging you on? Metatron?¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s thick eyebrow twitched slightly when Metatron¡¯s name was brought up.
¡°H-mm, so, it was rted.¡±
¡°.....It seems that you¡¯ve done your homework.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t have spare time to do crap like that. Nah, I just brought it up because you suddenly mentioned , you know.... But, after seeing your reaction, I guess ¡®Metatron¡¯ wasn¡¯t the main instigator, then.¡±
Han Su-Yeong¡¯s power of deduction caused both of his brows to quiver this time.
¡°H-mm, who could it be.... Who could have upset our precious Regressor like this....?¡±
¡°He¡¯s not a being that someone like you would know.¡±
¡°Yup, I knew it. It¡¯s the ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯, right?¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok looked up at the standing Han Su-Yeong.
Her lips twitched a little as if to say, why are you so surprised like that. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not a moron, I¡¯ll have you know! I can easily guess the stuff your head manages toe up with.¡±
[Incarnation, ¡®Han Su-Yeong¡¯, is using ¡®Predictive giarism¡¯.]
¡°More correctly, it¡¯s the multiple ¡®mes¡¯, though.¡±
A Fable where hundreds, thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of Han Su-Yeongs gathered together to predict the uing events.
It was Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s turn to ask this time. ¡°Do you know something about the ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯?¡±
¡°A really powerful Outer God, right?¡±
He formed a disappointed face for a bit before speaking in a convinced tone of voice. ¡°.....I see that even if thousands of morons gather, they can¡¯t be a single genius.¡±
¡°Wanna die?? Fine, you know who that is, then?¡±
¡°There is one being that I can think of.¡±
¡°Ho-oh? Who is it?¡±
Rather than answering her right away, Yu Jung-Hyeok recalled his memories, instead. ¡°....That bastard knew all of my histories. From the 0th regression to the far-flung futures, the ones I haven¡¯t even experienced yet.¡±
¡°H-mm....¡±
¡°If my guess is correct, then there can only be one such existence in this entire world-line.¡±
Han Su-Yeong nodded her head in agreement. ¡°That sounds about right. There¡¯s only one with high enough probability.¡±
The two of them stared at each other for a little while, before muttering out the answers they thought of.
However....
¡°....Who did you say it was?¡±
¡°What kind of bullshit was that?¡±
Their answers were different from each other¡¯s.
Fin.
Chapter 387 - Great War of Saints and Demons (2)
Chapter 387: Episode 74 ¨C Great War of Saints and Demons (2)
The first person to raise her voice was Han Su-Yeong. ¡°What the hell? How can you even think that? Does one¡¯s intelligence get worse the more you regress?¡±
¡°Taken words right out of my mouth. To think that a so-called writer would cook up something so unpleasant.¡±
She and Yu Jung-Hyeok growled and red at each other.
And the first one to back off was also Han Su-Yeong. ¡°Fuu.... Right, regressing three times could mess with your mind and cause you to dream up weird things. So.... You¡¯re saying that ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is ¡®Kim Dok-Ja from the future¡¯?¡±
¡°That¡¯s what I think.¡±
¡°Fine, well. It¡¯s notpletely impossible, I¡¯ll give you that. All sorts of crazy things happen in the , and....¡±
Han Su-Yeong was about to say ¡°A novel can also be reality in our world¡± but quickly swallowed those words back. Even if that was true, she thought that such a thing shouldn¡¯t be mentioned in front of Yu Jung-Hyeok.
So, she said something else. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be quickest to ask the ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯? Did you try to confirm it?¡±
He nodded his head. ¡°I had a deal with him. If I do something for him, then he¡¯d answer a single question of mine.¡±
¡°What did you ask him?¡±
¡°I asked if his identity was truly Kim Dok-Ja from the future.¡±
¡°And then, what?¡±
¡°He said that he wasn¡¯t.¡±
¡°In that case, why are you.....¡±
¡°Let me be more clear. He said, ¡®Once upon a time, I might have been someone, but now, I am no one.¡¯¡±
....Might have been someone, but now, they are no one?
Han Su-Yeong quickly realised what was wrong with that statement.
The ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ didn¡¯t implicitly deny being ¡®Kim Dok-Ja from the future¡¯ in that reply. No, what he said was much closer to ¡®I might be Kim Dok-Ja, or I might not be¡¯ than anything else.
In that case, Yu Jung-Hyeok not backing away from his guess made sense.
Han Su-Yeong asked one more time. ¡°Was that all you asked him?¡±
¡°He knew of all the regression turns I¡¯ve lived through.¡±
He was something once upon a time, but now, just a simple ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯; a being that knew every regression turn Yu Jung-Hyeok had lived in.
¡°Anything else?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°You kidding me? You fought like crazy just to ask him only that?¡± Han Su-Yeong yelled at him while panting like an angry bull. ¡°That guy didn¡¯t exist in your previous regressions, right? If you couldn¡¯t find out his real identity, you should¡¯ve at least tried to learn other info, you know?!¡±
¡°....I did hear what his goal was.¡±
¡°What was it?¡±
¡°He said that there was something he wanted to change. And, someone he wished to kill, as well.¡±
It felt as if the more she heard, the deeper she was being sucked into the quagmire. By flipping the term ¡®someone he wished to kill¡¯ around, you¡¯d get ¡®someone he can¡¯t kill yet¡¯.
Was there a being on the level that even a godly existence like ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ couldn¡¯t do anything about?
¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯ve heard from him. That was all the questions I was permitted to ask.¡±
¡°You couldn¡¯t dig out more info, though?¡±
¡°That means I¡¯ll have to make another deal with him. If I do, then I¡¯ll have to bear a heavier cost than thest time,¡± said Yu Jung-Hyeok, and he shifted his gaze to the sky.
She also looked up as well and activated [Midday Tryst].
¨C Is he looking at us?
¨C I can¡¯t sense his gaze.
That was a slightly disappointing result; they were chatting away openly like this so that the subject in question would hear them, but it seemed that he wasn¡¯t even watching them right now. Should she say it wasn¡¯t like ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯?
Han Su-Yeong spoke.
¨C Well, this is problematic. If a godly being on that level decides to butt into the middle of something important, then no matter how good our n is, it¡¯ll be useless.
Especially so when on a stage as important as the current ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯; if a small variable could flip the table on its head, then there was no way she¡¯d not be concerned by it.
However, Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s thoughts were different from hers. ¡°He probably won¡¯t step forward personally.¡±
¡°What makes you think that?¡±
¡°The evidence is with him using Kim Dok-Ja or me to carry out his schemes. If he was able to make a move, then he¡¯d have done so already. An existence of his level would need to exhaust a great deal of Probability if he intends to make a move.¡±
¡°....That makes sense. Who knew that the moment I¡¯d thank the shitty Probability would actuallye?¡±
¡°I have something to ask you now.¡±
¡°Ng?¡±
¡°I still haven¡¯t heard the basis for your unpleasant hypothesis. Why did you say the ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ is ¡®that person¡¯....?¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s question elicited a smirk from Han Su-Yeong. ¡°What¡¯s this? I thought you weren¡¯t interested, but I guess it does bug you.¡±
¡°You never fail to add unnecessaryments, don¡¯t you.¡±
Just before he could grasp the cold hilt of his sword, a rather sly voice came towards them from nearby. ¡°You two seem to be enjoying each other¡¯spany.¡±
Two people¡¯s cold, murderous res squarelynded on Kim Dok-Ja.
He formed a bitter smile and was about to wave his hands around while backing away, but then, a new scenario message rose up in the empty air.
[New coordinates for the 113th regional conflict have been set.]
The gazes of the group were now fixed on Kim Dok-Ja. Finally, time to make another move had arrived.
¡°Well, let¡¯s go and cause another scene, then.¡±
As if they were all waiting for it, Fables of began mouring loudly.
[New Fable is sprouting in the Demon King, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯!]
[List of candidates for ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯s¡¯ second Modifier have been generated.]
*
The Demon World¡¯s second-inmand was called by a variety of Modifiers; ¡®Ruler of East Hell¡¯, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Proxy¡¯, ¡®Destroyer of Sanctity¡¯.
Even though he carried many varied names, there could ever be only one true name for him.
The Master of the 2nd Demon World, Agares.
Ever since the Master of the 1st Demon World suddenly disappeared, Agares had been protecting the Demon World for the past thousands of years or so. He cut off the heads of Archangels salivating over his territory, and protected those Fables that allowed ¡®Evil¡¯ to exist as evil.
While he tested the qualification of ¡®Evil¡¯, restricted, and even ruled over it, he focused all of his being on only one question.
What did ¡®Evil¡¯ exist for?
Every time he ripped apart yet another living being, he immersed himself in that question. It was not important whether this question had an answer or not; no, that question simply enabled him to carry on.
[113th regional conflict has been forcibly concluded.]
[114th regional conflict has been forcibly concluded.]
However, this was his first time seeing such a spectacle in the thousands of years he¡¯d lived so far.
¨C Everyone, be strong for a little bit longer!
¨C We¡¯ve almost suppressed them all!
There were people rescuing the Reincarnators from the chaotic battlefield. The expendables being sacrificed regardless of the oue of the great battle between ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯ were being saved by someone.
Now normally, such actions would correspond to the side of ¡®Good¡¯. However, the problem here was that a Demon King was responsible for performing that very action.
[Chaos Points have increased by 4.]
[Chaos Points are currently 60.]
[Warning! Chaos Points have exceeded 60!]
Chaos. Neither ¡®Good¡¯ nor ¡®Evil¡¯, it was ¡®something¡¯ that existed outside of the world¡¯s Probability and its natural order.
[You want to increase the Chaos Points and stop the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯, is that it?]
Reddish horns sprouted up below the fedora pushed down deeply on Agares¡¯s head, which was his unique quirk whenever he was intrigued by something.
[Stop smaller-scale destruction with the threat of even bigger destruction. It truly is an idea only the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯ can cook up.]
The one to offer his opinion was the ¡®Devil of Lust and Wrath¡¯, Asmodeus.
Agares spoke, his fingers gripping the throne wagging to and fro. [Why does he not side with ¡®Evil¡¯? Surely, he¡¯d not lose out by joining this side.]
[Once this ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ concludes, his ¡®Climax¡¯ will bepleted. It also means that the ¡ö¡ö he pursues is not on the path of ¡®Evil¡¯.]
[Even then, he doesn¡¯t seem to be pursuing the ¡ö¡ö of ¡®Good¡¯, either.]
This was a far more awkward situation than if he had chosen to side with either the ¡®Good¡¯ or ¡®Evil¡¯.
Agares asked again. [What are your thoughts?]
[Metatron will make a move first before we do. There is simply no way that the aged Angel who had been thirsting after this war more than anyone else would let his careful ns get thrown into disarray.]
Almost at the same time as those words came to an end, a single line message arrived through the Demon King¡¯s line of transmission.
¨C Agares, I¡¯ve contacted you with a matter I need to discuss.
The torn corners of Agares¡¯s lips curled up in a smile.
¨C Metatron, I¡¯m sure we don¡¯t enjoy a rtionship where we can rxedly chat away our spare time like this.
The highest authorities in the Demon World and currently were speaking face to face through a screen. Just from the exchange of their gazes, a powerful burst of Probability¡¯s sparks exploded out.
¨C I don¡¯t mind shooting the breeze with you, but for now, it seems that I need to borrow your power for a little while.
¨C Have you ever heard of a story where ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯ joins hands?
¨C Well, the stories of ¡®Evil¡¯ trying to achieve its goal by any means necessary are quitemon, aren¡¯t they?
Even after hearing Agares¡¯s sarcastic tone of voice, Metatron remainedposed.
¨C There is a certain immature Neb; young juniors, that believe they are the centre of the universe.
It was pretty clear who those juniors were in this little story. Agares chuckled and replied.
¨C To think, you¡¯d use the hotline just so that you can trample on a small Neb. How amusing.
¨C If things go wrong, then even the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ could copse because of that small Neb.
¨C Do you wish to instil discipline in them as a senior of the , then? Your ¡®Kkondae¡¯ disposition still remains, I see.
¨C Let¡¯s just say that I merely wish to teach them the true ways of the world.
¨C I decline. I don¡¯t need to join hands with someone like you, because crushing a Neb like that is nothing to me.
¨C I¡¯m not proposing that we join hands.
¨C Then, what?
Rather than a verbal reply, Metatron floated a small crucifix above his hand. It rose up in the air and continued to spin around.
¨C was able to ruin the battlefields due to the fact that they have been exploiting how the forces are bnced, each side¡¯s power being equal.
-So what?
¨C But, what if it¡¯s a battle where that bnce has been broken from the beginning?
Metatron blew at the crucifix; when he did, its axis of rotation was slightly disturbed and it began spinning unstably. Agares asked as if he was displeased by something.
¨C Are you suggesting that we create a battlefield where one side is at a disadvantage from the beginning?
¨C That¡¯s correct.
Unless thebat forces of either side were evenly matched, would have to try to shift the bnce if it had tilted to one side already. If it had tilted towards ¡®Evil¡¯, then lean towards ¡®Good¡¯, and if it was tilting towards ¡®Good¡¯, then push back to ¡®Evil¡¯.
If that situation was exploited inversely, then it¡¯d not be an impossibility to engineer a regional conflict where would be met with annihtion, too.
¨C And you want to start a battle with who in disadvantage now?
¨C We should y fair in this matter, at least. If we create a regional conflict with the ¡®Evil¡¯ side in a disadvantage, then I shall create another one with ¡®Good¡¯ at a disadvantage.
¨C Interesting. I guess that you dearly wish to kill them even at the expense of sacrificing angels.
¨C We can¡¯t sit back and watch the Chaos Points rack up like this. Also, by creating several regional conflicts we will be able to disperse .
¨C What if they don¡¯t react to this provocation?
¨C Wouldn¡¯t that still be enough, then?
Metatron¡¯s eyes, as seen on the screen, were glowing in white light.
¨C If they don¡¯t respond, then the ultimate victor of this war would end up being ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯, after all.
*
[Gate leading to 115th regional conflict has opened!]
[Gate leading to 116th regional conflict has opened!]
[Gate leading to 117th regional conflict....!]
I chuckled hollowly while watching the Gates nket space in real-time.
I knew it. There was just no way that Metatron or Agares would let this matter slide like that.
Jeong Hui-Won watched the portals that appeared and disappeared in real-time and asked a question. ¡°Dok-Ja-ssi, what¡¯s going on?¡±
¡°They¡¯ve started several regional conflicts at once.¡±
¡°But, can that even happen?¡±
¡°Originally, no. Even if it¡¯s nominally a regional conflict, it can¡¯t start and end that quickly, you see.¡±
[115th regional conflict has concluded.]
[116th regional conflict has concluded.]
Along with the battlefields that were concluding abruptly, the scenario message floated up in the air as well.
+
[Current state of Great War¡¯s progress]
Absolute Good Points: 57
Absolute Evil Points: 57
Chaos Points: 60
+
The ¡®Good/Evil¡¯ Points were rapidly climbing up as if topete against the Chaos Points we had racked up. The one who eventually shot up from his seat first was Yi Hyeon-Seong.
¡°We can¡¯t just sit back and do nothing.¡± He clenched his fist tightly and continued on. ¡°There must be Reincarnators being sacrificed in those battlefields.¡±
¡°Of course there are. But if we enter one of those, we¡¯ll all die,¡± replied Han Su-Yeong as she chewed on her nails.
¡°....Excuse me?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you get it? Those are all traps. They made up their minds to totally destroy us, that¡¯s what.¡±
Yi Hyeon-Seong dazedly stared at me, and I nodded my head at him. ¡°Han Su-Yeong is correct. Most likely, we will be attacked the moment we enter there.¡±
¡°It¡¯ll be the same end even if we don¡¯t enter.¡±
Theplexions of the group became gloomier after hearing Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s words.
Currently, the members of were split up among ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯.
If the victor of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ was dered in this fashion, then the losing side would be met with a terrible fate. Obviously, the Incarnation bodies would cease to exist, and even if one¡¯s luck was good and they became a soul, one would be tortured by the intense heat of Hell and his or her ego would be destroyed in the end.
We had no choice but to participate in the battles.
¡°....It can¡¯t be helped, I guess.¡±
Sometimes, one had to step right in knowing that it was a trap.
I quickly divided the members. ¡°Jeong Hui-Won-ssi and Yi Hyeon-Seong-ssi, please participate in the 117th regional conflict. Han Su-Yeong and Yu Jung-Hyeok, you two enter the 119th Gate...¡±
¡°Hey, hold up, what about you?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll enter the 121st Gate alone.¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok red at me and wordlessly grasped the hilt of his sword, so I quickly made myself clear.
¡°N-no, I¡¯m not saying that I¡¯ll really enter alone, you know.¡±
¡°Then, who are you going with?¡±
¡°Folks who will be our allies.¡±
This time, Han Su-Yeong tackled me. ¡°Who? Who¡¯d wanna be our allies in the current situation?¡±
Indeed, no one would want to side with us, normally.
However, if my thoughts were correct, then at least, there was one. No, make that two.
[Neb, , is waiting for you.]
I smirked and replied. ¡°My parents.¡±
Fin.
Chapter 388 - Great War of Saints and Demons (3)
Chapter 388: Episode 74 ¨C Great War of Saints and Demons (3)
After sharing brief goodbyes with mypanions, I immediately sent a message to the . A reply came back in no time at all.
[Constetion, ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯, has permitted your entry.]
[Constetion, ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯, has permitted your entry.]
[Neb, , has opened a portal that will summon you.]
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
Now originally, it was not easy to leave beyond the scenario¡¯s boundaries when a massive scenario was already underway. However, the had willingly spent an enormous amount of Probability for my sake.
I was really grateful for that.
I might be called their sessor, but, I haven¡¯t even paid them a proper visit to say hello after getting their help thest time.....
Now that I thought about it, I was kind of apprehensive, too; what if the reason for them permitting my entry without any issues was to beat me up for not visiting the until now?
¨C Kim Dok-Ja.
A message suddenly came flying in and startled me. I quickly looked up. It wasn¡¯t via [Midday Tryst], which meant there could be only one who had sent me this message.
¨C What¡¯s this? I thought you¡¯d be busy after bing the branch manager. But you still have enough leeway to mind what¡¯s happening this side, too?
¨C No, I don¡¯t. I made time, though.
Bihyung, floating in the air, grumbled a bit while sucking on leaf tobo. This guy.... It looked as if he was fatigued from overworking after bing a manager recently. He stared at me withplicated eyes and let a long sigh escape from his lips. I sensed the surrounding channels¡¯ transmissions get blocked off temporarily.
¨C You¡¯re trying to do something really dangerous.
¨C When did I ever not do that?
¨C This is different from the past. This time, the entirety of the is paying attention to the things you¡¯re doing.
¨C I think I¡¯ve heard that hundreds of times by now.
¨C You keep this up, and all the Probability¡¯s karma you¡¯ve umted so far will blow up in your face. You know what that means, don¡¯t you?
I nodded my head. I clearly saw all the horrifying things that happened after the twisted Probability exploded forth back in the ¡®Demon King Selection¡¯.
And honestly, I¡¯d been often feeling as if I was standing on a Jenga tower missing quite a few blockstely.
¨C You be careful now. You can¡¯t stay lucky forever. Even if you are under protection by Great Dokkaebis or Outer Gods.....
¨C Under the protection of who??
¨C ....Forget it. I shouldn¡¯t have said anything.
Bihyung shook his head and lightly spread some smoke in the air. When he did, the frozen channels began opening up once more with the tobo smoke as the centre.
¨C Come back alive. Don¡¯t die.
¨C Is that something you should say to a guy heading to theherworld?
He didn¡¯t have to say anything, but I knew that, most likely, Bihyung had been stopping all the interference attemptsing from the Bureau. He was just a measly little low-ranked Dokkaebi the first time we met, but now, he became big enough to help me out in this manner. Indeed, one had to live long enough first to see something like this.
[Transmission through space-time has begun.]
All sensory perception seemed to split apart before me and when I opened my eyes again, the ckened and withered grounds of theherworld greeted my presence. It was the . Originally, I needed to utilise the services of the boatman Charon and cross the river first, but that step had been omitted this time.
I walked on the gravelled banks of the dried-up river and headed off towards Hades¡¯s pce for a while. The moment I stepped inside the outer castle, though, tens of thousands of gazesnded on me as if they had been waiting for my arrival.
From the three Judges of the to the innumerable number of souls ¨C judging from how ferocious the overall atmosphere was, I had to conclude that their gazes were not friendly at all.
[Judges of the have discovered your presence!]
As expected, there was another purpose in summoning me here, wasn¡¯t there?
Shu-shu-shut...
Emitting Statuses that might turn every living thing into withered, mummified husks, the three Judges of the approached me as if they were gliding in the air.
Each judge was a Fable-grade Constetion.
I quickly grasped the [Unbreakable Faith] attached to my hips. Even if I had grown stronger, it was not going to be easy trying to fend off against these three when we were in the .
It was right then that the leading Judge¡¯s eye level began lowering towards the ground. That was the start; the second and third Judges also lowered their eye level. All three of them were now kneeling before me.
.....Uh?
And the army of the following after them all began settling down like a violent but low tidal wave. I took a closer look, and that vtile atmosphere I felt earlier was a bit different in nature to what I was assuming earlier. In fact, the Judges of the were looking at me while wiping away at their eyes ¨C as if they were deeply moved about something.
Ku-gugugugu!
The itself seemed to have knelt before me to open up a path.
It was the path that led into the inner sanctum of the pce. Only two Constetions were allowed to walk on this path up until now.
[We wee you to the Kingdom of the Night, oh, Heir to the !!]
Along with the Judge¡¯s deration, a system message floated up in my view.
[You are currently the Prince of the .]
*
While moving through the pce¡¯s interior, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit strange inside.
I figured that something like this might happen after bing the ¡®sessor to the ¡¯, but still, experiencing a near-vertical rise of my station made the inside of my brain go all soft and mushy.
I had never been treated this warmly before in my life. On top of that, what was up with this rather gloomy and decorative costume?
[Character, ¡®Ricardo von Kaixenix¡¯, asks you if you were also a prince.]
The Fourth Prince of the Kaixenix Archipgo, sharing the same vision as me, decided to say something. As I deliberated on what my reply should be, the Judge attentively studying me also decided to address me. [Excuse me, your highness.]
¡°Yes?¡±
[I¡¯d like to apologise for the matters of thest time.]
Now that I thought about, this ajussi, he was the same Judge who ¡®greeted¡¯ me when I entered the in order to recover Shin Yu-Seung¡¯s soul. He was the one who drank lots of ¡®Yamata no Orochi¡¯s Snake Wine¡¯ and helped me in secret.... What was his Modifier again?
¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Things worked out well in the end so it¡¯s alright. I was actually grateful back then.¡±
The Judge lowered his head as if he was feeling apologetic, and pushed the doors to the audience chamber wide open. [The King of the is waiting for you.]
I tensed up and stepped across the doorway along with the Judges. The confidence-inspiring Statuses from them guarding my side made me feel a bit weird inside, though.
If I be the master of the , I¡¯d get to order around Constetions like them.
[....Fufu. I see. So that¡¯s what happened.]
Persephone¡¯s voiceing from the darkness interrupted my chain of thoughts. She sat on her throne and was busy chatting away with someone sitting on the top of her hand.
[Ba-aht, ba-aht. Aba-aht!]
[H-mm, it was the same story back then, too?]
[Ba-aht, ba-aht!]
It was a little ¡®mochi¡¯ bouncing around; I knew who that voice belonged to. And even before I could say something, Biyu discovered me first and cried out in happiness.
[Abahat! Abahat!]
[Our young sessor has finally arrived, it seems.]
I didn¡¯t know why Biyu was here, but still, this wasn¡¯t a bad development. Persephone seemed to be thoroughly entertained by her adorable antics, after all.
Hades¡¯s stony gaze and Persephone¡¯s warm, gentle onended on me simultaneously. It felt as if my whole body was freezing up as this itchy sensation travelled all over me. As expected, just the nce of a Myth-grade Constetion contained enough power to overwhelm all existences.
I recalled Hades¡¯s incredible battle against Poseidon and performed a simple standing greeting with a bow of my head.
¡°It¡¯s been a while, oh, ¡®Father of the Rich Night¡¯, and ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯.¡±
[Indeed, it¡¯s been too long, my child. Have you been well?]
¡°Uh.... Yes, I have. How about you, my queen?¡±
[Fufu, we¡¯ve been doing well. Although, we were a little saddened that our only son paid us a visit so btedly like this.]
The conversation we shared had this festive holiday vibe to it. Since I didn¡¯t have any experience in things like this, I couldn¡¯t figure out at all on how to carry on with the conversation.
Hades sitting on amodious throne was looking down at me with an expression I still couldn¡¯t read, while Persephone carried a brightly-smiling face as she continued to talk to me.
[The loneliness from your absence has been filled by our littlest granddaughter here. To think, I¡¯d get to see a Dokkaebi granddaughter in our old age.... Indeed, one needs to live long enough first to see such a thing.]
She must¡¯ve really liked Biyu still going ¡®Ba-aht, ba-aht¡¯; Persephone gently patted the small Dokkaebi sitting on the back of her hand. [Although we have a grandchild, you still regretfullyck a partner. When are you nning to introduce us to your mate?]
¡°Ah, that, I still need to think abo....¡±
The top question nobody wanted to hear during the holidays flew in at me right away.
It was right then the silent Judges decided to step forward.
[ording to our investigations, there are several potential candidates, your majesty.]
[Ho-oh, is that so?]
[Yes. This data has beenpiled after investigating through the Olympus¡¯s Fate Matching System ?Cupid¡¯s Arrow Shot? and ?Help us DUO Venus?.] (TL: DUO is apparently a match-makingpany in South Korea, specialising in finding marriage partners. Not sure if I got the reference right, though.)
[Judges, you seem to have done something productive for once.]
....N-no, hang on a minute here. Why were these geezers called Judges investigating my private life??
Unfortunately, a hologram floated up in the air without giving me a chance to stop them.
[Firstly, this is the Candidate no.1.]
What popped up on it was a certain footage.
¨C Dok-Ja has a dokja¡¯s life to live, after all.
¨C A Dok-Ja¡¯s life.... Dok-Ja-ssi, that¡¯s a wonderful assertion.
What the.... Out of all the footages avable, why did they have to go and bring out such dark history?
The Judge spoke in aposed tone of voice. [Candidate No.1 is a deeply considerate woman. Not only can she ept our Prince¡¯s peculiar sensibilities with tolerance as vast as rivers and oceans, but she also possesses a gentle, warm personality and natural decisiveness, as well as a wonderful outer appearance. Honestly speaking, she may even perhaps be out of our esteemed Prince¡¯s league....]
It felt as if the more I heard him speak, the more dazed I got.
[Next up is Candidate No.2.]
Following her, a certain woman sucking on a lemon candy and blessed with prim eyes as well as a distinctive beauty spot just below one of them appeared on the screen.
¨C Dummy.
¨C Why are you crying on a nice day like today? I mean, it¡¯s even snowing, too.... I promise to think up a nice Modifierter on, okay?
The Judge formed a contented smile while looking at the footage and continued on with his story. [Although Candidate No.2 possesses an abrasive personality and often resorts to biting, sarcastic remarks, she also happens to share a special rtionship with our Prince. She is the sole existence who fully understands our Prince¡¯s dark hobby, and not only that, they can even converse freely regarding that hobby. Truly, a special being, with no one else like her in the.....]
Yup, the match-making system of had definitely lost a lot of its marbles, hadn¡¯t it?
Before the face of the third candidate could appear, I summoned up all my courage and shouted out. ¡°No, hang on a minute! I don¡¯t have any thoughts of marriage yet!¡±
The Judge lowered his head as if he wanted to apologise and backed off. [If the esteemed Prince isn¡¯t ready yet, then the introduction of the next candidate can be dyed until the next time....]
[Hmm.... I wonder who¡¯ll be able to tame this stubborn Prince of ours.]
Persephoneined in a tone of voice eerily simr to my real mother.
[Well, if all else fails, it¡¯ll be fine to bring the Dokkaebi that gave birth to this child as your partner. Both Hades and I are not bound by humanity¡¯s trifling and old-fashioned idea of one¡¯s preference....]
Marry Bihyung? I¡¯d rather kill myself.
[Hades and I will not interfere even if you possess the sexual preference of ¡®Man Who Knows His Ignorance¡¯ and ¡®Sage of Idea¡¯.....]
[Judges of the are waiting for your choice with keen anticipation.]
[A small number of Constetions are getting interested in your preference.]
[Constetion who enjoys changing genders is paying close attention.]
I lightly sucked in a breath and quickly opened my lips to speak. ¡°Mother.¡±
Persephone¡¯s eyes trembled after she heard my words. [What did you...]
¡°I believe you already know why I came here.¡±
[........]
¡°I¡¯vee to ask you for a favour.¡±
Even if the time flow was slower in the , I couldn¡¯t dither about for too long. From the get-go, I had only one reason to pay a visit to this ce, anyway.
¡°Please, lend me the army of the .¡±
My words finally prompted Hades to break his silence. [Do you understand what that implies?]
A voice that seemed to nket the world in pure darkness began pressing down on the entire pce.
An existence of the permitted to lead the army ¨C there was only one such being, and that was the master of this realm, the King of the .
¡°I am aware.¡±
[Does that mean you shall officially ept the position of the sessor?]
I nodded my head.
[If you agree to be the King of the , then once all these scenarios are over, you must remain here to rule this realm. Do you truly understand what that means?]
¡°It means that I cannot go to the world of the living without special circumstances.¡±
[Are you saying that you shall willingly seed the throne of the and be locked up here for the rest of your life?]
¡°Yes,¡± I unhesitantly replied.
Hades slowly stood up from his throne and stared at me with a certain air of aloofness.
Even though I¡¯ve grown much stronger, fighting against Hades was still out of the question. My heart felt as if it¡¯d explode from the nervousness, but since I was doing it, I had to see it till the end.
The power of the was essential if I wanted to win the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.
¡°I shall be the official sessor of the throne of the .¡±
Fin.
Chapter 389 - Great War of Saints and Demons (4)
Chapter 389: Episode 74 ¨C Great War of Saints and Demons (4)
I¡¯d be official sessor; even though I was the one who said it, it didn¡¯t feel all that real to me.
However, it seemed that I wasn¡¯t the only one who suspected the sincerity of my deration. The King of Tartarus and the ruler of the night, Hades, was ring at me.
[You have spoken a lie in .]
Apanied by the icy sensation, cold enough to freeze my toes, ¡®death¡¯ was now staring straight at me.
[Right after bing our child, I see you¡¯re already learning to deceive us.]
Hades rebuked me in a cold voice and stood up from his throne to walk closer to my position. I wanted to stand up from my spot right then, but my body didn¡¯t want to move.
The Status of a Myth-grade Constetion had currently suppressed my entire body, that was why.
Thankfully, nothing untoward happened. Hades did get to where I was, but then, unhurriedly brushed past me and walked straight out of the royal pce.
I breathed a sigh of relief and turned my head around to find Persephone rubbing her chin with a meaningful smile on her face.
[H-mm.... Is this the conflict between father and son that I¡¯ve only ever heard about....?]
For a tone of voiceing from a troubled-looking face, she sure sounded rather entertained.
[An eternal battle between a father and a son, with the mother in between.....]
....That sounded like a narrative deeply stained by the ways of Olympus.
As if to say I shouldn¡¯t worry, Persephone lightly patted me on the shoulder. Only then did I sense the muscles of my body frozen by Hades¡¯s Status loosen up.
[Do not be too concerned, for your father¡¯s personality has always been like that.]
¡°....¡±
[However, your guilt in this matter is just as grave after daring to spout a lie first. You¡¯ve never harboured thoughts of staying in from the beginning, have you?]
She perfectly hit the mark and I had nothing to say. I never wanted to take over for Hades and be this realm¡¯s king. What I wanted was powers, not to inherit its throne.
Hades probably had cottoned onto my motives a while ago.
[It will take some time before that fellow¡¯s anger has sufficiently cooled down.]
¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±
[No need to apologise ¨C it¡¯s true that both Hades and I already knew you never nned to remain in this realm anyway.]
Persephone¡¯s eyes arched to a pair of gentle crescents.
[If it¡¯s alright with you, apany your mother to a meal.]
*
Persephone¡¯s dining table I hadn¡¯t seen in a while remained pretty much the same; bs of well-cooked and delicious-looking steaks, as well as sd,id out in severalyers on top of arge te. On the outside, they resembled foodsmonly found everywhere, but I already knew very well that those were no ordinary meal.
[Bravery of an Empress of Swords who Conquered the World]
[Wisdom of a 3rd Circle Magician who Spent his Entire Life in a Library]
[Will of a Swordmaster who Couldn¡¯t use Either Sword Strengthening or Sword Manifestation]
I wondered if I saw something wrong here and read the menu one more time.
[Hurry and have your fill. Do you not find the menu to your liking?]
¡°....No, it¡¯s not that, but....¡±
[Now that you¡¯ve be a Constetion, you must consume proper Fables to survive. You won¡¯t be able to absorb enough nutrients through the foods of regr humans. I hope that, as you¡¯re an adult now, you¡¯ve managed to fix your picky eating habit.]
She sounded like my real mother by saying that.
[Your mother worries a lot about you ¨C whether you¡¯re eating properly and on time or not, if you¡¯re getting enough sleep....]
My hand moving towards the fork came to a stop at her words. ¡°Have you spoken to my mother?¡±
[Fufu. We¡¯ve talked to each other a few times.]
If it was Persephone, then she was fully capable of doing that. The foie gras ced before me had this name, even:
[Heart of a Mother Sending her Child Away]
....This couldn¡¯t have been my mother¡¯s actual heart, now was it?
I put the fork down and spoke. ¡°I see that the type of foods has changed since thest time. There were Swordmasters and Archmages here in the past, if I recall correctly.¡±
[The ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯ have opened now, so we should enjoy special dishes for a change, wouldn¡¯t you agree? I may look this way, but I¡¯m still a member of the Gourmet Association, so I shouldn¡¯t be eating the same food every day.]
Her fork and knife moved; apanied by rich gravy, aromatic paragraphs leaked out from thinly-sliced Fables. Persephone¡¯s graceful hand movements brought that food into her mouth. What she ate just now was [Will of a Swordmaster who Couldn¡¯t use Either Sword Strengthening or Sword Manifestation.]
[And, some Fables will disappear if you don¡¯t make an effort to consume them.]
Dying Fables were disintegrating at the end of the fork.
Fables that no one searched for were pouring out entrancing sentences on the tip of Persephone¡¯s tongue right up until she consumed them.
I feltplicated while watching that sight; Persephone looked back and smiled. [I¡¯m aware that you are dissatisfied by the eating habits of the Constetions. You probably don¡¯t like the way we easily consume the joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures of Incarnations.]
¡°....¡±
[However, every incident taking ce in the universe is destined to be left behind as a Fable. You, me, other Incarnations, and Constetions. We¡¯ll be consumed by something else eventually.]
The lives of all living beings would be the stories of the .
[If we¡¯re bound by such a fate, then the best any Constetions could do is to act towards preserving the most varied spectrum of Fables.... That is my belief.]
Leaving behind varied Fables, and preserve varied types of stories.
Maybe, what Persephone said might not be wrong. In her own way, she was pursuing what she believed to be right in the . This was probably the reason why she was a member of the ¡®Gourmet Association¡¯, too.
But, I was sure that she didn¡¯t invite me here to speak of her philosophy towards Fables.
¡°May I ask what is it that you really wish to tell me about?¡±
[In truth, Hades does not want you to remain in this ce.]
¡°.....Does that mean he doesn¡¯t want me to be his sessor?¡±
[It¡¯s different from that. If I were to put it into words....] Persephone spoke, as she began cutting the delicacy ced on the te in the middle of the table. [Hades, and I.... We do not wish for you to stop as just the ¡®King of the Underworld¡¯.]
¡°That means....¡±
[Olympus has fallen. The Underworld, too, has lost its former glory. Being satisfied with the position of the ¡®King of the Underworld¡¯, now that is no different than cing your name on the coattail of a disappearing Fable.]
¡°Underworld is a good Fable.¡±
[And it¡¯s a declining Fable, too.]
Indeed, the power enveloping currently was not like this in the past. An ancient and withered Fable; a story that got progressively spoken of less and less in the would lose its power little by little.
Persephone¡¯s unreadable eyes staring at the delicacies contained deep-seated mncholy. Maybe, she had been constantly thinking about this, even as she dined on and enjoyed many different Fables.
The fear that eventually, his and her would be buried under the forgotten alleys of passing time and be another stuffed piece in the ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯.
[That is the undeniable way of time itself as long as we exist within the .]
The moment I heard her words, I was ovee by this unfathomably deep, intense sorrow. It was the kind of sadness that I¡¯d never experienced before.
Both Persephone and Hades would disappear. From the memories of people, from my own memories ¨C and the story they hadpiled would disappear forever.
I didn¡¯t like Constetions. I disliked their actions, and I disliked the way they peeped on the world itself, too. But why....
....Did I not want to see Persephone and Hades disappear?
Maybe I didn¡¯t want to acknowledge this truth, because I unknowingly spoke in a curt voice. ¡°Why are you being so nice to me?¡± I bit down on my lips before opening them again. ¡°I merely came here to use you.¡±
If I failed to acquire the power of , then would end up in grave danger on the ¡®Isle of Reincarnators¡¯. Even then, I came out and said those words. Perhaps I wanted to confirm something, as a human called ¡®Kim Dok-Ja¡¯, and not as .
[¡®The 4th Wall¡¯ is faintly shaking!]
[¡®Fruit of Good and Evil¡¯ is worsening your guilty conscience.]
....Even if that confirmation turned out to be a useless waste of time.
Persephone quietly studied me for a little while, lightly wiped her lips with a napkin, and extended her hand in my direction. Her eyes were gentle and friendly, with not a hint of animosity in them. Flustered, I tried to get up, but her Status had already reached my shoulder.
[A very long time ago, we have received a certain revtion from the ¡®three sisters of fate¡¯.]
¡°....A revtion?¡±
[It said, ¡®A sessor to the darkest night who will end the most ancient Myth, will appear.¡¯]
Abruptly, I recalled the story Dionysus told me before.
¨C Several Constetions, including myself, believe that you will be the one to reach the ¡ö¡ö.
The ¡®several Constetions¡¯ back then must¡¯ve been Persephone and Hades.
Meanwhile, she continued on. [I was initially furious after hearing that oracle.]
.....Furious?
[Because, I possess the ¡®Fable that can¡¯t have children¡¯.]
I had no idea that Persephone had such a backstory. Could it be that the reason why she had no children until now was because of that?
Persephone lightly brushed my hair back.
[At first, I waited, wondering if it was possible. Maybe, I¡¯d be blessed with a miracle. Maybe, we¡¯d be blessed with a beautiful child who¡¯d remember our stories. Even if only the darkness, hellishndscape, and prisons existed here, we were confident of raising our child better than any of the 12 gods of as long as given a chance. To teach our child the ways of understanding the darkness of other beings, to tell him the kind of Hell that others could never sympathise with, and to show him the merciless prison punishing the evil that tramples on the righteousness of the universe.]
¡°...¡±
[For many hundreds of years, I lived on in that delusion.]
The ends of her fingers were trembling ever so slightly.
I couldn¡¯t dare to understand the meaning behind that tremor. I simply couldn¡¯t even begin to unpack the pain and the hatred towards contained in each word she spoke.
Persephone managed to sigh softly and continued on. [Hades and I forced our way past many things for a very long time. We knew that we couldn¡¯t have children, but we were never unhappy. Even if the woulde to an end in our generation and no one would remember the Fables we had lived through ¨C we are different from the 12 gods, that we¡¯re different from those parents who forcibly passed on their Fables to their children. That we areplete as just us.]
¡°...¡±
[But then, one day, you made your appearance.]
Persephone¡¯s eyes were now looking at me.
[Actually, he was the first one to discover you.]
She continued on in the voice of someone in a dream.
[He said that he started watching your history from when you managed to survive in the subway. At first, I could hardly believe that there was a child like you. Because I believed that such Fables were over in this world. I can still remember his excited voice when he talked about you.]
¡°....¡±
[We watched a small Fable that grew up all alone fighting against the world itself. We watched, as you challenged the mighty Constetions, faced off against the Outer God, and while resisting against Dokkaebis¡¯ scenarios.... managing to amass five Fables to be reborn as a small Constetion among the stars.]
I recalled the moments of being born a long time ago. Back then, Persephone was one of the five Constetions who supported me.
[That was when we first began thinking about this ¨C that we wanted to be your parents.]
I barely managed to swallow back a certain something trying to well up. I felt that I could just about understand the truth of the affection Persephone had shown me all this time.... Just a tiny little bit.
[Both Hades and I do not wish for you to end up as the ¡®King of the Underworld¡¯. We also do not wish for you to be bound to us, and do not wish for the lives we¡¯ve lived, our history, to be the rules that you must abide by. No, all you need to do is to advance forward towards the end of all scenarios, like you¡¯ve been doing all along.]
¡°But, I.... I am the Underworld¡¯s....¡±
[You¡¯re our son. That is all that matters.]
I didn¡¯t possess a single thing to repay that kindness. All I could give them was just the promise of a future that hadn¡¯t been written yet, the one without any guarantees.
¡°When I reach the ¡ö¡ö of all scenarios, I.... I¡¯ll definitely be with your stories, as well.¡±
Persephone formed a faint smile.
[Head to the terrace. Your father is waiting for you.]
*
I didn¡¯t have any good memories of my father.
My father, drunken out of his mind and beating me up; dissatisfaction towards the world spat out like curses, and the inexplicable animosity aimed at me.
I only had memories of a life where I simply had to endure and live on.
¡°Pardon me....¡±
Hades, possessing the shadow of the noble night, stood waiting at the far end of the terrace. He was staring at the sight of the Underworld stretching to the other side of the pce.
I didn¡¯t know what to say and could only stare at the wide expanse endlessly; I saw the tributaries where the river of hell flowed within, and beyond them, wandering souls looking in this direction.
[Do you see it?]
The deaths of countless people were there; sadness was there too, and so were the joys and pains of life. All those cherished desires that failed toe to fruition floated down the river¡¯s surface.
[This is the Underworld.]
While Constetions were fulfilling their desires in the scenarios, souls sacrificed to those desires were swept into this ce. The world of those who were discarded, wounded, and broken by the scenarios ¨C that was the Underworld.
I shifted my gaze over to Hades.
He understood this darkness and became the ¡®King of the Underworld¡¯.
....While never turning away from the tides of sadness rushing in from the world of the living, while saving each and every one of those souls. While listening to other people¡¯s stories for thousands of years, nay, even tens of thousands of years.
At that moment, I thought for some reason, I could say the words I held back for the longest time.
¡°....Father.¡±
Hades didn¡¯t reply. Maybe, that word was just as foreign to him as it was for me.
Still, he did reply. [Command the army.]
I looked at him again, utterly stunned now.
And in the next moment, I heard the sound akin to the darkness roaring out.
Souls in the near vicinity of the fortress walls were rushing towards the pce. Some of them carried determined expressions, while others carried heroically grim ones. And in front of them all, stood the Three Judges.
It was an enormous army, crashing in like a tidal wave. I had a hard time trying to hide my heart palpitating from the powerful aura of the great army that had not been seen before.
[For the glory of !]
The first Judge shouted out.
[For the glory of the Underworld¡¯s Prince!]
The second Judge prostrated and looked at me.
And as the third Judge powerfully raised his spear towards the heavens, every soul here began roaring out in a single voice.
[For the eternity of all scenarios and their epilogue!]
As the roar continued on, the ¡®King of the Underworld¡¯ addressed me. [Now, go.]
Hades didn¡¯t even look at me when he said that.
Even though he didn¡¯t, he was still looking at me.
He had always been looking at me.
[ is your ally from this moment on.]
Fin.
Chapter 390 - Great War of Saints and Demons (5)
Chapter 390: Episode 74 ¨C Great War of Saints and Demons (5)
Du-oong.... Du-oong.... Du-oong.....
The beating war-drums resounded out from the other side of the Gate.
Han Su-Yeong stood before the Gate leading to the 119th regional conflict and looked behind her. ¡°Hey, you ready?¡±
This battle would be fought alongside Yu Jung-Hyeok. Their personalities were a bad match, but there was no other ally that instilled as much confidence as he did.
Unfortunately, that Yu Jung-Hyeok was disying a slightly strange behaviour right now.
¡°Yu Jung-Hyeok?¡±
Rather than getting ready to enter the 119th Gate, he was staring at the newly-generated the 123rd Gate, instead. Now beset with a certain ominous foreboding, she was about to call out his name, but then, his figure suddenly vanished. And then, a strong repulsive force pushed her back forward.
[You¡¯re entering the 119th Gate.]
¡°....Uh?¡±
Thest thing she saw was Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s hard, emotionless expression.
¡°You go there alone. I¡¯ve another battlefield to get to.¡±
¡°Hey, you! You can¡¯t make that deci.....!¡±
Even before Han Su-Yeong could shout something in reply to that sudden deration, the surrounding space tore and swirled about to reveal a brand new battlefield.
¡°God damn it....¡±
[Incarnation ¡®Han Su-Yeong¡¯ has entered the 119th regional conflict.]
[Incarnation Han Su-Yeong¡¯s affiliated camp is ¡®Evil¡¯.]
She had already crossed the Gate and couldn¡¯t go back now. She simply had to end this battle first if she wanted to return.
[Many Constetions have taken notice of you.]
The only person on the wide-open camp of ¡®Evil¡¯ was just Han Su-Yeong alone. On the other hand, frightful gazes from Constetions belonging to the opposing camp were raining down on her one after the other.
[Constetion, ¡®Master of the Ark¡¯, is looking at you.]
[Constetion, ¡®Guardian of Youth and Travel¡¯, is looking at you.]
[Constetion, ¡®Morning Star Goddess¡¯, is looking at you.]
[Constetion, ¡®the One who faces God¡¯, is looking at you.]
[Constetion, ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯, is looking at you.]
Han Su-Yeong could only moan in horror as she confirmed the owners of those gazes.
Even if she discounted the ¡®Master of the Ark¡¯ Noah, there were the ¡®Guardian of Youth and Travel¡¯, Archangel Raphael, and Goddess Vakarine of ; ¡®the One who faces God¡¯ Archangel Camael, and the ¡®Demon-like Judge of Fire¡¯, Archangel Uriel, too....
And then, the absolute riot of Valkyries standing behind with nary a gap between right behind them.
Just looking at them alone made her nearly soil herself.
She knew this was a trap, but still, to think that they created a battlefield with such a difference in thebat strengths. No, did this even qualify to be called a battlefield in the first ce?
¡°....I wonder if Kim Dok-Ja will take care of my funeral properly.¡±
[Oh, small ¡®Evil¡¯,]
The moment Han Su-Yeong heard the true voice of the ¡®Morning Star Goddess¡¯, she realised that this situation was not something to be made fun of.
[Many in the ¡®Good¡¯ camp wish to judge you!]
Han Su-Yeong bit her lower lip and just as she unfurled the bandages on her left hand, someone suddenly stepped up to her side.
[Someone has joined the ¡®Evil¡¯ camp!]
....Someone entered such a disadvantageous battlefield?
But, who?
[I was originally going to sit back and spectate, but.... You see, I have someone I must settle a score with.]
It was such a uniquely-annoying voice that Han Su-Yeong immediately recognised who it belonged to.
¡°Asmodeus?¡±
[It¡¯s been a while, Incarnation of the ck me Dragon.]
It was right then, she recalled something Kim Dok-Ja told her some time ago.
¨C Raphael and Asmodeus have a history together. If these two ever run into each other in the battlefield, try to use that to your advantage.
Asmodeus¡¯s ws extended out and even without Han Su-Yeong doing anything, the Demon King was already brimming full of desire to fight.
[Raphael. Finally, it¡¯s time to pay you back for the previous battle!]
Leaving ck afterimages behind, Asmodeus dashed forward; at the same time, two immense magical energies collided in mid-air. The Demon King might be an untrustworthy being in any other situation, but at least, it was better than not having any as an ally right now.
Ku-wahhhh!
Han Su-Yeong avoided the explosion and rose up higher in the air. The view of the battlefield as seen from above stretched on forever. Even if Asmodeus was fighting against Raphael, there were still a lot of other Constetions left.
¡°Screw it, Kim Dok-Ja! And screw you too, Yu Jung-Heok!!¡±
In order to fight against that huge army, she had no choice but to unleash the hidden card she¡¯d been saving up, until now.
¡°I, the master of the ck me, Han Su-Yeong, shall awake the Dragon of the ancient seal! Oh, the Constetion darker than darkness itself, oh, the abyss deeper than the flowing night....¡±
She really didn¡¯t want to mutter out this chant even if she were to die, but with the situation being what it was, her lips began reciting it all by themselves.
Her left arm reacted to her incantation and wiggled around; a Dragon¡¯s roar could be hearding from a distant somewhere.
¡°Here in this ce, reveal yourself!¡±
[Constetion, ¡®Abyssal ck me Dragon¡¯, is getting ready for the ¡®Advent of Half-God¡¯.]
*
On the other hand, Yu Jung-Hyeok had entered the 123rd Gate all alone and began searching for someone in this battlefield covered in bushes fluttering in the wind.
¡®No mistaking it. It¡¯s her aura.¡¯
The reason why he went against Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s request and entered this particr Gate was standing right before his eyes now.
¨C Yu Jung-Hyeok, please be my ally.
He had never forgotten the moment of the distant past when he heard those words for the first time.
Her elegantly-shaped nose and neatly arranged blonde hair; her eye with an ominous red glint circling within, as if to ridicule everything in this world.
¡°Anna Croft.¡±
She was just as he had remembered.
¡°You came, Yu Jung-Hyeok.¡±
[Incarnation, ¡®Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯, has entered the 123rd regional conflict.]
[Incarnation Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s affiliated camp is ¡®Good¡¯.]
The reason why he entered this battlefield was that he knew Anna Croft would be here. And the Constetion who told him that was....
[Constetion, ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯, forms a bizarre smile.]
Yu Jung-Hyeok gritted his teeth and spoke. ¡°It¡¯s time to settle the score from the second regression turn.¡±
He quietly unsheathed [Heavenly Dark Demon Sword], and its de let out a sharp ckened cry.
The moment of vengeance he had been waiting for a long time was here. He pointed his weapon at her as she remainedposed in her spot.
¡°Take out your weapon.¡±
¡°I have no desire to fight you.¡±
¡°Then, just die.¡±
He strode forward threateningly, yet she simply shook her head in reply. ¡°Are you really here to get even for the second turn?¡±
¡°....¡±
¡°Your revenge is meaningless. You should know that I¡¯m not the ¡®Anna Croft¡¯ from the second turn.¡±
¡°Is the you of yesterday not you anymore?¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°You have inherited the memories and the desires of the second-turn Anna Croft. You possess the exact same ideal and goal as her. Without a doubt, you are that ¡®Anna Croft¡¯.¡±
¡°.....What determines one¡¯s existence is the Fables in one¡¯s possession. I see that your views are the same whether it¡¯s the second turn or now.¡±
Even though she was staring at Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s approaching sword, she still remained utterly defenceless. Seeing the signs of near-resignation in her eyes, his expression hardened.
¡°Where are the Zarathustras?¡±
¡°They are not here.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t make meugh. It¡¯s not possible that you¡¯de alone.¡±
¡°If it was the ¡®Anna Croft¡¯ you knew, then yes, she¡¯d never do that.¡±
He took anotherrge step forward and her hair fluttered from his Status. Her face, now revealed in full, disyed hints of wounds here and there. What caught his eyes the most was the scar surrounding the [Eye of the Great Demon]. It was as if someone tried to deliberately cut it out.
¡°....What happened to you?¡±
¡°Many things happened.¡± She shoved his hand away and shot back at him. ¡°It means that the lofty Anna Croft you knew has fallen a long time ago already.¡±
Just as her words came to an end, some things came rushing in from the other side of the battlefield.
Constetions that had chosen ¡®Evil¡¯ were dashing across the field while fully unleashing their Statuses. As if he knew something like this would happen, Yu Jung-Hyeok moved to take Anna Croft as a hostage. However, something felt off.
[A portion of Constetions from the Neb, , have entered the applicable regional conflict!]
[A portion of Constetions from the Neb, , have entered the applicable regional conflict!]
[A portion of Constetions from the Neb,
, have entered the applicable regional conflict!]
Anna Croft was actually smiling as she stared at the sword pointing at her neck. ¡°Please stop with your foolish actions, Yu Jung-Hyeok. We¡¯re on the same side, after all.¡±
[Incarnation Anna Croft¡¯s affiliated camp is ¡®Good¡¯.]
¡°....I thought Asgard was your Neb sponsor?¡±
¡°I understand your grudge, but can you please postpone it until the next time?¡±
They might have been talking about two different things, but they still fully understood each other¡¯s situations.
Such a thing was obvious, however ¨C one was a Regressor who understood the past better than anyone, while the other was a prophet who used to face off constantly against such a Regressor.
Yu Jung-Hyeok withdrew his sword and spoke. ¡°A fitting end for you, Prophet.¡±
¡°And it seems that I¡¯ll have to share this end with you.¡±
Ku-gugugugu.....
The great army of marching forward while kicking up dust clouds finally came to a halt.
[Constetion, ¡®God of Fairness and Friendliness¡¯, finds this situation regrettable.]
[Constetion, ¡®mes of Muspelheim¡¯, wishes to burn everything within this battlefield.]
[Constetion who likes to change genders is looking at Incarnation ¡®Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯.]
As if to show their final bit of consideration, Selena Kim and Iris stood at the front of the marching army that had stopped advancing.
Yu Jung-Hyeok could read many emotions written on their faces.
¡°Their final consideration, then.¡±
Unfortunately, them stopping didn¡¯t mean that other Constetions would do the same.
¡°Dodge it.¡±
At the end of Anna Croft¡¯s words, both of their figures vanished from the spot. And then, a massive explosion noise enveloped the entire battlefield. A stupendouslyrge crater could be found caved in on the ground where they used to stand.
Kwa-rurururung!!
Currents of lightning could be seen encroaching the skies above; sounds simr toughtering from shady, dark Constetions could be heard.
[Constetion, ¡®ck Wolf God of Death¡¯, has chosen ¡®Evil¡¯ camp.]
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolt¡¯, has chosen ¡®Evil¡¯ camp.]
Anna Croft¡¯splexion paled as she confirmed the Modifiers of the Constetions. The ¡®ck Wolf God of Death¡¯ was a powerful Constetion from
, Anubis. As for the ¡®God-King of Thunderbolt¡¯....
¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s ¡®Indra¡¯.....¡±
If had its twelve gods, then Neb had its eight lokaps, as well. And one Constetion lorded over those eight lokaps as their king.
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, has summoned the rain of thunderbolts.]
And that was precisely the ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, Indra.
[Many Constetions are pleading for the case of unfairness at the ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯ involvement.]
It was not difficult to see why some criticised this situation; Indra was not your average Constetion who should be appearing in a measly little regional conflict, after all. It¡¯d not be an exaggeration to call Indra the strongest existence in , if one excluded its three main gods.
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, is currently in ¡®Advent of Half-God¡¯ state.]
On top of this, he was not in an Incarnation Body but Half-God state, as well.
Anna Croft squeezed her mouth shut as she dodged the falling raindrops of lightning. Even if she was an excellent fighter, and no matter how powerful Yu Jung-Hyeok was, it was impossible to fight against that Constetion right now.
Meanwhile, Yu Jung-Hyeok asked her a question. ¡°Why did you betray me?¡±
¡°....Is this the right time for such a conversation?¡± said Anna Croft, but then, she saw his wordless gaze still locked onto her, and replied with a sigh. ¡°That was the best avable way forward at the time. I believed that I¡¯d reach the end I thought of by doing that.¡±
¡°So, did you reach that end, then?¡±
Anna Croft didn¡¯t reply this time.
The ¡®Ways of Survival¡¯, or the records from the 1863rd turn, didn¡¯t exin which scenario Anna Croft of the second turn had managed to reach.
So, only she knew what her own result was.
However, she spat out her words in an angry voice, instead. ¡°.....Why do you ask when you know the answer already?¡±
The ¡®ck Wolf God of Death¡¯ made its move, then. Anubis, the Fable-grade Constetion wearing a jet-ck jackal mast and wielding a ck spear ¨C its weapon urately stabbed past the falling rain of thunderbolts and took aim at Anna Croft¡¯s heart. But then....
Ku-dudududuk!
¡°I¡¯ll be the one to kill her,¡± said Yu Jung-Hyeok in a low, heavy voice as he grabbed the spear with his bare hand.
[Constetion, ¡®ck Wolf God of Death¡¯, is stunned.]
An incredible Status began emitting from Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s body ¨C the Status of a Transcender. Now bathed in golden rays of light, magical energy boiled within his body; Anubis¡¯s spear began rocking powerfully as if it was having a seizure.
Anubis loudly dered as if it wanted to oppose this power.
[Oh, the one who resists against death, I am the God of Death, Anubis. I shall reap your life in this ce.]
¡°God of Death?¡± replied Yu Jung-Hyeok. ¡°You are no God of Death.¡±
At the same time, blue light exploded from his right arm.
Just as Anubis screamed and backed away, the [Heavenly Dark Demon Sword] in his hand roared out once more.
¡°I¡¯ve already seen the real God of Death.¡±
This was one of the techniques Yu Jung-Hyeok had been hiding until now.
Fin.
Chapter 391 - - Great War of Saints and Demons (6)
Chapter 391: Episode 74 ¨C Great War of Saints and Demons (6)
A battle fought on a beach not too long ago flitted in and out of Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s irises.
?On that day, the spear that separates the boundaries of the oceans shed against the abundant night.?
It was the battle of ¡®Gigantomachia¡¯ he witnessed back then. In that ce, he saw the boundless ocean and infinite night go head to head.
Poseidon and Hades.
A battle of Statuses between two Myth-grade Constetions; the brilliant showdown of the enormous Statuses possessed by the Constetions upying the top rungs of the expansive .
Yu Jung-Hyeok bore witness to that battle and was shocked by it, felt moved by it, and had to despair because of it. And he stood back up again. He did what he needed to do in order to surpass those distant enemies.
This sword strike was a technique he created by copying those enemies he couldn¡¯t surpass yet.
Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship.
Inner Mysteries. (ŠWÁx)
Split the Dark Ocean.
Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s sword moved along with the illusion of the jet-ck ocean splitting apart.
It was a sword strike imitating Hades¡¯s scythe colliding against the spear of the oceans. The Ether de burning up in the blue hue was immediately dyed in the ck light, and the explosive magical energy from the Transcender substituted for the darkness of . And in the next instant, Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s [Breaking the Sky Energy] cut apart Anubis¡¯s torso.
Gu-waaaaaah!!
The powerful sword strike tore through Anubis¡¯s body; it screamed and copsed to the ground.
Even if they were in the 80th scenario, this power to defeat a Fable-grade Constetion was....
[Many Constetions are shocked by Incarnation Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s godship!]
The power of a human that had finally exceeded that of Constetions caused them to seethe in agitation.
[Attack him together!]
[Fire! Kill him!!]
Someone¡¯s cry became the signal for the bombardment tomence. Arrows imbued with powerful magical energy rained down. Yu Jung-Hyeok confronted them all from the front.
Pu-shuut! Pu-shuuut!!
Even as the arrows pierced his side, shoulders, and thighs, he stood before Anna Croft to deflect all of the attacks.
She had to ask him. ¡°.....Why?¡±
¡°You¡¯ll die.¡±
¡°Then, why don¡¯t you let me?¡±
¡°Not in this ce. That isn¡¯t a part of Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s n.¡±
She bit her lips, hard.
Kim Dok-Ja. Of course, she knew who he was. However, what was he, anyway? Just what was his importance, that this proud and unyielding man decided to bend his own belief for that guy?
Yu Jung-Hyeok muttered loudly as if to answer her silent inquiry. ¡°I once glimpsed the memories from the regression turn of a far-flung future.¡±
A far-flung future, he said.
Before she could say something, though, he continued on. ¡°It seemed that many things had happened.¡±
¡°Well, looks like you¡¯ve glimpsed something really fun, then. Did you also happen to see the end of the 3rd turn, too?¡±
¡°I did not. However, I did see what your future was like.¡±
Anna Croft¡¯s shoulders flinched a little from surprise.
She possessed [Precognition], but all she could spy on was snippets of the future. She definitely couldn¡¯t see the distant future beyond this world-line.
Yu Jung-Hyeok asked her. ¡°Do you wish to know?¡±
¡°Not at all.¡±
He ignored her and opened his lips. ¡°Like how you¡¯ve inherited the memories of yourself from the 2nd turn, the you of the next turn will inherit the memories of you from the 3rd turn. Just like that, you¡¯ll continue to use [Retrocognition] to glimpse into the portions of memories from the previous regression turns and inch forward into the future. Just like how you¡¯ve doing until now.¡±
¡°You¡¯re speaking of obvious things. Someone who can¡¯t see the future can also say stuff like that. What are you trying to tell me here?¡± replied Anna Croft with a dismissive smirk.
But, Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s expression remained unreadable. ¡°Past the 700th turn.... Many things changed. You, me. Under the curse of remembering our past turns, we grew weaker and weaker.¡±
¡°...¡¯We¡¯? No, hang on!¡±
¡°And past the 900th turn, and then, the 1000th.... One day, you told me this.¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok slowly blinked his eyes and recalled a certain passage he read from the records of the 1863rd turn.
?Yu Jung-Hyeok, I won¡¯t be transferring the memories of everything that happened so far to the next turn.?
?I can¡¯t do this anymore. I¡¯m not like you. I can¡¯t keep fighting on while carrying all this burden.?
?From here on, you¡¯ll be alone.?
?Are you confident of carrying the burdens of everything??
Anna Croft¡¯splexion paled as she yelled out. ¡°That can¡¯t be me. I won¡¯t break down! I am....!¡±
¡°You¡¯ll change.¡±
His words digging in like a sharp oracle made her entire body shudder. Her empty eyes began quaking next.
Before she could say something, though, he opened his mouth first. ¡°However, I¡¯d like you not to change.¡±
Her eyes opened wider and wider.
¡°I wish to keep hating you. I n to remember every single thing you¡¯ve done and never forgive you for them. For that purpose....¡±
He left the trembling Anna Croft behind and stepped forward while unleashing his Status.
¡°.....You must not go to the next turn.¡±
As they broke past the endless rain of arrows, they saw a lone Constetion standing on the field, waiting. He was the strongest being on this battlefield.
[All of you, step aside. I shall fight that human.]
It was the ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, Indra. Countless other Constetions could only tremble when confronted by his enormous power that symbolised the Status of .
Ku-gugugugu!!
[Constetion, ¡®Thursday¡¯s Thunder¡¯, is keeping a wary eye on ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯.]
The Constetion who also symbolised ¡®thunder and lightning¡¯, ¡®Thursday¡¯s Thunder¡¯, seemed to be burning with fighting spirit more than usual.
¡°Yu Jung-Hyeok, stop! Even if it¡¯s you....!¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok ignored Anna Croft¡¯s words and dashed towards the God-King of Thunderbolts.
He already knew the Status of Indra well enough. This being¡¯s power exceeded even that of Surya he fought some time ago. However, he wasn¡¯t nning to cower before this being. Not at all.
¡®Still not enough.¡¯
Indra was not his ultimate target.
Compared to the Myth-grade Constetions or Outer Gods he needed to fight in the future, a being like Indra was simply another crossing on the road he had to walk on.
Also, the being he wanted to surpass more than anyone else was....
[Constetion, ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯, is impressed by your will to fight.]
[5000 Coins have been sponsored.]
Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s figure soared high into the sky before shooting straight towards Indra.
[How arrogant....!]
The thunderbolts fired by the God-King split thend apart. Ash-coloured arcs of electricity danced violently as the field cracked open like a crashing tsunami wave. The electrical currents pounced up and tore into Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s arm; they tore into his legs and prated into his stomach. With every step he took in the air, he looked back to the time he had lived so far, and thought about the lives he might have to repeat.
The 41st regression turn.
The 362nd regression turn.
Times Kim Dok-Ja had shown him. And then...
....The 1863rd turn.
The future he got to spy through the ¡®Secretive Plotter¡¯ flitted in and out of Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s brain.
For him, this was a battle against himself.
The realm he couldn¡¯t reach no matter how hard he tried; there he was, the 3rd turn of himself struggling crazy hard, and then struggling some more, so that he could surpass those moments.
Kwa-kwakwakwakwa!!
Yu Jung-Hyeok ploughed forward as if he was borrowing all of the possibilities of the life he¡¯d have to live, and the lives he might have lived.
The ¡®Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship¡¯.
Breaking the Sky Sword Saint once told him this ¨C that he should not permit the heavens existing above him. That he should destroy everything, annihte, and to disdain everything.
However, what was he supposed to do when, after destroying the sky above, he finds there was something else up there?
The ¡®Secret Technique: Inner Mystery Transmission¡¯.
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯ is ridiculing you.]
The Constetions looking down on Incarnations from beyond the heavens above ¨C this sword strike was created solely to cut them down.
As he sensed the magical energy flowing within [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword], Yu Jung-Hyeok recalled Cheok Jun-Gyeong¡¯s sword.
With just one sword, he cut apart mountains. With that sword, he let the world know that even the oceans could be cut.
So, what did one need in order to cut a star down with just a single sword?
Kaaa-boooom!!
One of Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s legs exploded in mid-air. It wasn¡¯t because of Indra¡¯s thunderbolts, however. His muscles, tightly bunched together to a nonsensical degree, exploded with a loud noise; this noise was caused by the Fables permeating into every corner of the muscle fibres, exploding to create a forward thrust.
[Stop that! You bastard....!]
He saw the eyes of Indra freaking out.
Yu Jung-Hyeok felt the time slowing down. No, it didn¡¯t actually slow down, but rather, he had sped up, instead.
?In order to destroy a star, you must be a star yourself.?
This was the answer for someone like him, born as a mere human, to reach the Constetions.
The speed that a lifeform couldn¡¯t withstand began tearing apart Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s entire body. That was the price to pay to be a star when he wasn¡¯t one.
His body shot forward like a ck supernova and broke past the walls of the arcing electricity, shattered all the Constetions daring to block him, and finally, reached Indra¡¯s heart.
The ¡®Shooting Star sh¡¯.
He felt a definite sensation from the tip of the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword].
And then, there was the voiceing from a star splitting apart; apanied by the sound of something exploding in the distant cosmos, Yu Jung-Hyeok sensed his body falling from the air. His eyesight blurred and he couldn¡¯t confirm the sight of the star he managed to cut. The muscles of his body refused to heed his orders; not an ounce of energy remained in him. He still felt someone catching him through his fading five senses, though.
The one he hated the most was busy running away with him in her embrace.
¡°Yu Jung-Hyeok, you¡¯re truly insane. But, I already knew that....¡±
While vomiting out more blood, Yu Jung-Hyeok spoke to her. ¡°.....Indra?¡±
¡°He¡¯s probably dead. His Half-God Body exploded, after all. Even if he survived that, he shouldn¡¯t be called a living being anymore.¡±
Anna Croft¡¯s voice was infused with a certain, unexinable heat. Just her emotions conveyed in the tone of her voice was enough for him to understand what he had achieved here today.
He had managed to destroy a star.
A measly little human had indeed destroyed one of the eight brightest stars of , the lokap.
[All Constetions belonging to the Neb are furious at Incarnation Yu Jung-Hyeok.]
Sadly, though, there were still countless stars left in the sky.
¡°If I hadn¡¯t rescued you just now, you¡¯d have died there.¡±
He knew that she was speaking the truth.
Through her [Precognition], Anna Croft must¡¯ve seen his death.
¡°Even though I did rescue you, it¡¯s nothing more than just dying the inevitable, though....¡±
Blood continued to flood out of the wide-open wound on his waist. One of his legs was gone, and he didn¡¯t have any strength left to hold his de upright.
And eventually, her fleeing steps came to a halt, too. He couldn¡¯t see the front, but he understood what her action meant.
They no longer had any ce left to escape on this battlefield.
Anna Croft spoke. ¡°....Yu Jung-Hyeok, I don¡¯t have any desire to live up to the 700th turn alongside you.¡±
¡°I¡¯m the same.¡±
¡°But then, god damn it, looks like we¡¯ll have to live together in the 4th turn.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not going to happen. Because I won¡¯t die in this ce.¡±
Yu Jung-Hyeok didn¡¯t possess [Precognition] ability like her. He didn¡¯t know what would happen next. Even then, he continued to speak in a hushed voice. ¡°Because....¡±
His voice was fading away, yet it was definitely not the voice of a man preparing himself for death.
Almost at the same time, roars of crackling thunders could be hearding from the far side of the heavens. They did not belong to Indra¡¯s thunderbolts. The space-time was distorting, and the noises were generated by something crossing over a gigantic Gate.
Yu Jung-Hyeok couldn¡¯t see that spectacle, but Anna Croft witnessed it in his stead.
It was an army enveloped in pitch-ck darkness; a single realm buried deep inside an ancient Myth was currently crossing over to this world.
¨C Yu Jung-Hyeok, you stupid bastard!!
Yu Jung-Hyeok heard the loud yelling from the one standing at the forefront of that army and spoke up. ¡°....Because, I have allies in this turn who won¡¯t betray me.¡±
[Neb, , has joined the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.]
Fin.
Chapter 392 - Great War of Saints and Demons (7)
Chapter 392: Episode 74 ¨C Great War of Saints and Demons (7)
The strength of was incredible.
The army of the Underworld that entered the 121st regional conflictpletely swept away thebatants from both the ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯ camps and reverted all ¡®Good/Evil¡¯ within the battlefield to ¡®neutral.¡¯
[Advance!!]
Constetions participating in the 121st regional conflict saw the army of Hell encroaching their battlefield and either they ran away, or ended up being incapacitated.
[121st regional conflict has been forcibly concluded.]
[Applicable battle¡¯s oue can¡¯t be decided.]
[Lack of will to fight by the participants of the applicable battle has been confirmed.]
[Applicable regional conflict has been excluded from the category of ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.]
I nced at the now-concluded battlefield and without taking a break, shifted my gaze over to the next Gate.
[117th Gate is currently in activation.]
[119th Gate is currently in activation.]
[123rd Gate is currently in activation.]
ording to the n, mypanions should be in the middle of a dogfight inside the 117th and 119th Gates right now, having split up earlier. Jeong Hui-Won and Yi Hyeon-Seong were in the 117th Gate, while the 119th was manned by Han Su-Yeong and Yu Jung-Hyeok.
Which means, I should help with the situation in the 117th, rather than 119th....
[Constetion, ¡®Mass Production-type Maker¡¯, says that you must enter the 123rd Gate.]
....123rd?
But, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone there?
I focused on the blurry images of the battlefield that could be seen from the Gate. And then....
¡°What the f.....?¡±
....I immediately issued a new order to advance.
¡°All personnel, we march through the 123rd Gate!¡±
My order prompted 30,000-plusbatants from the Underworld to march through the Gate. The great army of theherworld riding on the pitch-ck clouds crossed the portal and began arriving on the skies of the 123rd regional conflict zone.
¡°Yu Jung-Hyeok, you stupid bastard!¡±
There he was, bleeding profusely and dying. And then, Anna Croft carrying him on her back.
I kind of understood why that fool decided to not stick to the n and participated in this particr battle.
¡°¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯!!¡±
I heard her urgent calling and at the same time, I spotted the enemies hurriedly chasing after her and her human cargo.
They were Constetions from the very angry and
. Most of them were Historical-grade, but there were a few Fable-grade among them, as well.
[Your affiliated camp is ¡®Evil¡¯.]
Meanwhile, Yu Jung-Hyeok and Anna Croft were on the camp of ¡®Good¡¯.
In other words, the enemies pursuing them were ¡®Evil¡¯. If this was the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ of the original storyline, then they would¡¯ve been myrades, instead.
¡°....Kill them all.¡±
Unfortunately, my allies in this battlefield were neither ¡®Good¡¯ nor ¡®Evil¡¯.
[For the glory of !]
The Three Judges riding on the Hellsteeds burning in hell¡¯s mes roared out in unison and dashed towards the enemy ranks.
Aeacus of Mercy and Righteousness.
Minos of Wisdom and Law.
Rhadamanthys of Impartiality and Incorruptibility.
When alive, they walked the path of the king, and now, they tread on the paths of theherworld¡¯s judges. They unleashed the auras befitting the Fable-grade Constetions that they were and began cutting down the approaching enemies¡¯ numbers.
[Howe the has....!!]
[Kuwaaahck!!]
Inded next to Yu Jung-Hyeok and Anna Croft while watching the enemies bleed out Fables and die.
His entire body was covered in grievous wounds. Even his coat featuring strong resistance against heat couldn¡¯t withstand the high temperature and had melted half-way down; I couldn¡¯t really hear his breathing, either.
I observed his left leg, now gone. There were traces of it ¡®disappearing¡¯ due to the internal expansion force.
....This idiot, he must¡¯ve used ¡®Shooting Star sh¡¯.
He might be able to fool the others, but there was no fooling my eyes. This was a truly stunning rate of growth.
Originally, the ¡®Shooting Star sh¡¯ was Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s hidden trump card that he barely managed to learn after going past the one-thousandth regression turn. But here he was, managing to reach that realm on only his third turn.
¡°He¡¯s still breathing.¡±
¡°How did he end up like this?¡±
¡°He was trying to save me.....¡±
¡°Yu Jung-Hyeok was saving you??¡±
She quietly stared back at me, but her gaze eventually dropped lower. Her ensuing voice sounded bitter.
¡°He said that my death isn¡¯t a part of your n.¡±
For a moment there, I felt at aplete loss.
Why would Yu Jung-Hyeok.....
I took over his care from Anna Croft. I pressed his pressure points to stem the bleeding, and afterying him down, I took a better look at his current condition.
The ¡®Shooting Star sh¡¯ was a technique the current him couldn¡¯t handle yet. The left leg that somehow managed to withstand the explosive forward thrust was beyond saving. Limb dismemberments couldn¡¯t be healed even with [ine Forest Essence].
I sighed for a brief moment there, before pulling out a certain item from my inner pocket. And it was something that reminded one of a tentacle belonging to a dark, sooty-coloured squid.
[Fragments of Squid Kim Dok-Ja¡¯s seventh tentacle]
Anna Croft red at the item with suspicious eyes. ¡°What is that?¡±
¡°I got it as a gift not too long ago.¡±
¡°A gift? .....That?¡±
I was at a loss again as to how I should exin this.
Actually, this item was a ¡®not-for-sale¡¯ bonus article avable only during the ¡°Kim Dok-Ja Company Coboration¡± event held by ¡®Mass Production-type Maker¡¯ just before the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ went underway.
I remembered that those who purchased a brand-new [Ferrarghini] received this on a firste-first-served basis. I can still vividly recall the conversation I had with the ¡®Mass Production-type Maker¡¯ back then.
¨C Thank you. All thanks to you, this season has been a huge sess. The tentacles of Squid Kim Dok-Ja were all gone in less than one minute, you know.
No matter how hard I thought about it, this just didn¡¯t make any sense. There were Constetions who bought Ferrarghini just to get their hands on my ¡®legs¡¯?
The ¡®Mass Production-type Maker¡¯ grinned slyly and asked me.
¨C What¡¯s wrong? Do you wish to know who they were?
¨C .....No, not really. Besides all that, how did you acquire the fragments of my tentacles?
¨C Eh? Of course, they are not your real tentacles. No, those were simply [Kraken legs]. Here, why don¡¯t you take one yourself as a souvenir?
I was toozy to exin all this to Anna Croft, so I simply handed the item over to her and ignored her question altogether. Once she got a hold of it, though, more suspicion clouded up her expression.
¡°Why is your name attached to this [Kraken leg]?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need to know. Just activate the [Elixir Maker] attribute, instead. Mix your blood with this item and have him eat them.¡±
A [Kraken leg] possessed the effect of healing grievous wounds such as dismemberment, as well as to maximise the user¡¯s base self-healing ability, as well. And then, Anna Croft¡¯s blood carried the effects of elixirs, so when the two were mixed together, it¡¯d be possible to heal any serious injuries pretty quickly.
For some reason, though, she seemed to be hesitating, however.
¡°But, if I feed him my blood....¡±
¡°He won¡¯t be your subordinate.¡±
It had been said before; Anna Croft¡¯s blood possessed a power to make anyone who drinks ite under her influence.
¡°Because, the current Yu Jung-Hyeok has higher Status than you.¡±
She flinched slightly when she heard my words.
Meanwhile, I observed the unconscious Yu Jung-Hyeok sleeping quietly on the ground. He wouldn¡¯t be her subordinate or some such.
I didn¡¯t see any trace of him activating [Recovery], though. It seemed that he was nning to keep that power to thest possible second. He made a wise decision; if he wasted Recovery in this ce, then I¡¯d not be able to borrow his powers when it was really neededter.
¡°....Gotta hand it to this sunfish bastard.¡±
I grumbled a little and turned around to see the sight of the Underworld¡¯s soldiers sweeping the enemies away like an iing tidal wave. But then, upon taking a closer look, I could see that wave falter unstably.
As if the ends of the wave were being blocked by a massive dam and were crumbling away. And in the middle of the waves, a stupendous amount of sparks were dancing and exploding.
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, is roaring out in pure rage!]
.....The God-King of Thunderbolts?
Anna Croft spoke with a stiff expression. ¡°But, that can¡¯t be.... I witnessed his Half-God Body getting destroyed, so how??¡±
With that, I could figure out more or less on what had transpired here. It seemed that the ¡®star¡¯ Yu Jung-Hyeok had cut down was that dude over there.
¡°Indra possesses many Incarnation Bodies. He must¡¯ve called one over here after paying for the Probability.¡±
Out of all the Constetions of , Indra had so many Incarnation Bodies that one couldn¡¯t count them using one¡¯s fingers.
It was a pretty famous anecdote of the three main gods of asking Indra ¡°Which number Indra are you?¡± all the time.
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯ has summoned Star Relic ¡®Vajra¡¯!]
Along with the loud boom akin to the skies splintering, the front of the army began splitting apart.
The ¡®Vajra¡¯, Indra¡¯s main weapon capable of shooting thunderbolts containing an incredible amount of magical energy.
But, I simply snatched up the iing thunderbolt with my bare hand.
Tsu-chu-chu-chut!
And then, I threw it back where it came from.
I could see Indra making a stunned face. But, it¡¯s still too early for that.
[So, you¡¯re the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯.]
¡°And you¡¯re Indra.¡±
[Why is the helping you?]
¡°Do I have a reason to exin that to you?¡±
Indra stared at me with a look of a person discovering a mysterious lifeform. [You are ¡®Evil¡¯. Behave ording to the scenario¡¯s rules. I shall overlook your disrespectful manners this time in consideration towards other Demon Kings, so....]
¡°It was you who caused myrade to end up looking like that. Right?¡±
[So? What about it? That is the price to pay for an arrogant human when he opposed a Constetion. Do you wish to avenge him, then?]
Avenge, was it?
¡°That guy hates it when someone else pays the debt for him. Right, he¡¯s the kind of a guy who must settle the score himself even if it kills him. So, the reason why I¡¯m going to kill you now isn¡¯t because of Yu Jung-Hyeok.¡±
[A Demon King with a uselessly chatty mouth, aren¡¯t you.]
Kwaaa-boooom!!
Beams of blinding thunderbolts nketed the sky and rained down on my position. I managed to deflect a few and defended against others. Some didnd on me, but the pain was rather tolerable.
Indra did possess many Incarnations, but ordingly, the dispersion of his powers was just as great.
On top of this, he suffered irreversible damage from Yu Jung-Hyeok¡¯s attack during his Half-God Body state, so he¡¯d be unable to even summon up half of his usual power right now.
However, Indra was still smiling away. [Oh, you foolish Demon King. You shall regret this!]
[Neb, , has blessed ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯ with its grace!]
The Neb had spent Probability for him.
The power enveloping the God-King was growing even greater. Rapid changes took ce on Indra¡¯s Incarnation Body, and soon, golden rays of light began shooting out from his entire figure. He grew humongous, and the one thousand eyes he possessed began opening up one by one.
¡°We can¡¯t let him continue!¡±
Anna Croft must¡¯ve seen something through [Precognition] because she began crying out next.
....Hell, it looked like to me that Indra and had made up their minds for good this time.
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, has activated the Stigma, ¡®Eyes that Observe Everything¡¯!]
When all those eyes fully open up, Indra would be able to disy the power of his true self through an Incarnation Body. Currently, about half of those eyes had opened.
Ku-gugugugu!
At this rate, every Incarnation participating in the 123rd conflict would be swept away by the overflowing electrical shock.
However, I was getting progressively happier watching that electrical energy filled to the brim with < Vedas¡¯> Probability, instead.
¡°Actually, I have a score to settle with your Neb. Make that a very big score.¡±
I remembered everything the Neb did to me. Well, anyone who had suffered that badly would be the same as me.
I unsheathed [Unbreakable Faith] and continued on. ¡°Because of you lot, I had to be a Demon King.¡±
During the Dark Castle¡¯sst scenario, I became the 73rd Demon King.
¡°I had to order myrades to kill me, and in the process, ended up inflicting them with terrible memories back then.¡±
[You have activated ¡®Demon King Transformation¡¯.]
The Status I earned after bing the Demon King flooded out with my heart as the centre. ck wings tore out from the back of my shoulders, and horns broke out from my head.
[Fable, ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
Back when I lost my life to the swords of my allies and was cast out to the scenario¡¯s horizon, I looked up at the heavens and swore to myself over and over again.
?Wait for a little while longer. Because I will bring all of you down from the damn sky.?
The stars in the distant sky, seemingly out of reach no matter what Fables I managed to acquire.
The distance so far away that it induced despair.
Now, I could clearly see the locations of the stars that previously seemed so high up.
I spoke in my true voice. [Back then, all of you seemed so high up....]
I grinned and stared at Indra.
[But, it seems that you lot were actually located lower then I thought.]
Fin.
Chapter 393 - Great War of Saints and Demons (8)
Chapter 393: Episode 74 ¨C Great War of Saints and Demons (8)
As soon as words left my lips, golden streams of aura flooded out from Indra¡¯s entire figure. It was the same story back then with Surya; those from must¡¯ve had a thing for the golden colour.
Ku-waaaah!!
Waves of powerful Status formed aplicatedwork with Indra as their centre. Ripples of electrical energy crashed into me, and I could hear Indra¡¯sughter at the same time.
Indeed, this was a mighty power that no Constetion would dare to go up against. A violent suppressive force that ripped through one¡¯s body, pulverised it, and crushed it.
[Great Fable, ¡®Demon World¡¯s Spring¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
However....
[Great Fable, ¡®Torch that Swallowed the Myth¡¯, has begun its storytelling.]
....I was withstanding it.
Sparks danced in the air like fireflies. I brushed past the currents of the electrical energy and took a step forward, then another one after that.
[Many Constetions are startled by your ¡®Status¡¯.]
Constetions on the other side of the battlefield were looking at me with wide-open eyes.
[Exclusive skill, ¡®Bookmark¡¯, is activating!]
[Fifth Bookmark has been initiated!]
[Exclusive skill, ¡®Lightning Transformation¡¯ Lv.23 (+13), has been initiated.]
[Your current physical constitution is different from that of the applicable character.]
[Your ¡®Status¡¯ has ovee the physical constitution penalty.]
I arrived before Indra¡¯s eyes as the blinding shes of light continued to go off.
[Ku-uhhhhk!]
My powerful kick to his stomach resulted in the opened eyes there to go ¡®pop¡¯ one after the other. Other eyes looked at me in pure shock as if they couldn¡¯t ept this situation.
Not that surprising, really.
It was impossible for a newbie Fable-grade belonging to a small Neb to exercise this much Status, after all. Indeed, it was impossible to exert this much power with only the two Great Fables that I managed to acquire.
[Great Fable, ¡®Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯, is aiding you.]
[Great Fable, ¡®Underworld¡¯, is providing you with Probability.]
[¡®A Single Story¡¯ you havepiled has almost reached its ¡®Climax¡¯.]
However, the story was different now.
With my two Fables and Kaixenix Archipgo¡¯s Fable, as well as Underworld¡¯s Great Fable all working together, I could exhibit power on a simr level to a Constetion who hadpleted their ¡®Climax¡¯, at least within the confines of this ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.
[How can you, with that much Probability.... You bastard...!]
The current me wouldn¡¯t lose against an upper-rank Fable-grade Constetion.
[I am Sakra devanam Indra! The leader of the eight lokaps, and the king of !]
....Even if that Constetion just so happened to be the king of those gods.
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, is activating ¡®Thunderstorm of Heaven and Earth¡¯!]
Eyes found all over Indra began emitting bright light, and the entire world became awash in pure whiteness. The sky was seemingly writhing within the lightning itself.
I dashed towards that spectacle of a thunderstorm.
[Probability you¡¯ve used far exceeds the limit by a great degree.]
[Blessing from Neb, , is protecting your Incarnation Body!]
[Vajra] and [Unbreakable Faith] collided. Indra¡¯s lightning and the Status of ¡®Lightning Transformation¡¯ opposed each other as grey sparks danced in the air. My sword was pushed back by Status and flew up into the sky.
A smile of satisfaction crept up on Indra¡¯s face.
However, the sword was just a diversion from the get-go. I didn¡¯t miss that moment the sword was sent flying and powerfully stomped on his leg.
[Ku-uhrk.....!]
Just as Indra¡¯s massive figure crumbled, I grabbed the bastard¡¯s cors and mmed him down to the ground. He crashed head-first and gasped out in pain, unable to withstand the impact force.
I easily climbed on top of him now that he had lost his bnce, and began pounding on his face with my bare fists. Apanied by the sounds of flesh being squashed, lumps of Fables poured out from Indra¡¯s mouth.
[The measly Underworld dares to, Olympus¡¯ measly little low-ranked Neb dares to....!]
[Measly ¡®Underworld¡¯? You want to belittle my family, is that it?]
The number of Constetions actually affiliated with was less than ten. Even then, there was a reason why other Constetions feared this Neb.
[Neb, , has handed down the divine punishment of wrath!]
[You see, my parents? They can get really terrifying when they are angry.]
[Constetion, ¡®Queen of the Darkest Spring¡¯, nods her head.]
[Blessing from the Constetion, ¡®Father of Rich Night¡¯, is protecting you.]
Perhaps as a disy of his final struggle, a baptism of electricity exploded forth from Indra¡¯s body. My skin began burning up like charcoal, and my heart being electrocuted pounded away irregrly. My vision flickered like a brokenmp, too. I gritted my teeth.
This level of lightning? Compared to what I had to go through at Kyrgios¡¯s hands, this was nothing.
I extended my hand out, and [Unbreakable Faith] that got flung away during our initial sh returned to my grasp. I powerfully stabbed Indra¡¯s heart with the de enveloped in the pure-white magical energy.
Along with the sound of ¡®Pu-shu-shuk!¡¯, Indra¡¯s Incarnation Body writhed. How much time passed by like that? The trembling body eventually stopped moving and sagged powerlessly.
I leaned closer and whispered to his ear. [Try reviving again and again. I¡¯ll just keep killing you.]
And then, a series of messages cascaded down.
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, has suffered horrible damage to his true body!]
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, isn¡¯t summoning any other Incarnation Bodies!]
[Constetion, ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯, has given up on the applicable scenario!]
[Another defeat has been recorded on the Constetion ¡®God-king of Thunderbolts¡¯ Fable.]
[You have be one of ¡®God-King of Thunderbolts¡¯ mortal enemies.]
[A portion of Constetions of the are in awe of your achievement.]
....
.....
.......
[Neb, , has been inflicted with terrible damage!]
[Neb, , is being swallowed up in the storm of Probability¡¯s aftermath!]
Every Constetion on this battlefield witnessed a Neb tasting defeat right in front of their eyes and closed their mouths shut.
[You have achieved an unbelievable aplishment!]
[A new Fable rted to ¡®Neb¡¯ is germinating in you!]
I raised my body up from Indra¡¯s corpse, leading to the Judgesmanding the battle formations as well as the Underworld¡¯s soldiers to kneel before me.
[Your Incarnation Body has suffered serious damage!]
I also felt like copsing on the ground right about now. Just from thinking about that made me realise how incredible Yu Jung-Hyeok was.
He managed to defeat Indra in the Half-God Body State with one attack without the blessing of .
Obviously, I must not lose to him.
[Is there anyone else who wishes to tour the depths of the ?]
I couldn¡¯t disy any weakness in this ce. Plenty of enemies remained, and I was the Underworld¡¯s Prince, after all.
[Constetions of the battlefield are fearful of you!]
I saw the Constetions previously fighting against hesitantly retreat now. Constetions that had been looking down on me from high up in the sky were now scared of me.
Of course, not everyone was like that; unlike the Constetions from and
, the party from was still intact.
[Constetion, ¡®God of Fairness and Friendliness¡¯, is looking at you.]
[Constetion, ¡®mes of Muspelheim¡¯, is looking at you.]
[Constetion who likes to change genders is looking at you.]
....Every single one of them were prominent Constetions.
The ¡®God of Fairness and Friendliness¡¯ must be the God of Light Baldr, while the ¡®mes of Muspelheim¡¯ should definitely be the me Giant Surtr.
As for the ¡®Constetion who likes to change genders¡¯.....
¡°¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯.¡±
The Incarnation stepping forward to represent Asgard¡¯s forces was someone that I knew pretty well.
[Selena Kim.]
¡°We don¡¯t have any intentions to fight you.¡±
[Is that the intentions of the Incarnations, or the Constetions?]
Selena Kim looked troubled by my question. Unfortunately, this was an important distinction.
[Constetion, ¡®God of Fairness and Friendliness¡¯, finds it uneptable that it must be affiliated with the ¡®Evil¡¯ camp.]
[Constetion, ¡®mes of Muspelheim¡¯, wishes for a fight that burns brightly.]
Honestly, I¡¯d be really grateful if that side decided to back away first. Because, it wouldn¡¯t be good for my side if we ended up fighting here, too.
Whatever their reason was, several powerful Constetions from their side had chosen to participate in this conflict, and would definitely suffer some losses by fighting against them.
On top of this, I had to participate in other regional conflicts as well. Sadly, though, the situation didn¡¯t unfold as smoothly as I hoped for.
[A portion of Neb Constetions are displeased with the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯.]
[A portion of Neb Constetions argue that they need to make an example out of the ¡®Demon King of Salvation¡¯.]
As expected, it couldn¡¯t be helped when ites to a great Neb, could it? Whether it was Constetions or humans, if arge number congregated....
[Constetion who likes to change genders is persuading Constetions.]
.......Ng?
[Using masterful conversational techniques, the Constetion who likes to change genders is arguing that this fight will not be good for either side.]
I couldn¡¯t figure out what¡¯s going on with this situation.
....The Constetion who likes to change genders was doing what?
[Constetions of are paying attention to the words of the Constetion who likes to change genders.]
It seemed that both Selena Kim and Iris were surprised as well. For a while there, the air was filled with indirect messages thanks to all the back-and-forth.
[Constetion, ¡®mes of Muspelheim¡¯, says they can¡¯t trust the words of a fool who likes to change genders.]
[Constetion, ¡®God of Fairness and Friendliness¡¯, says that one¡¯s preference and credibility should be separate from each other.]
[Constetion, ¡®Thursday¡¯s Thunder¡¯, argues that, although that fool is naturally a trickster, he can sometimes speak of sensible things.]
[A portion of Constetions argue that they should not forget the distress found itself in after trusting that Constetion¡¯s words before.]
[Constetion who likes to change genders argues that will suffer losses in this battlefield, unrted to the worth of his own name.]
Well, this was a mess, alright.
In any case, I became pretty sure of who that ¡®Constetion who likes to change genders¡¯ was by looking at the unfolding situation.
[Constetion, ¡®Goddess of Love and Cats¡¯, argues that by leaving this battlefield, they will suffer losses rted to the Great Fable of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.]
[Constetion who likes to change genders argues that that might not be the case.]
And so, just how long did they argue back and forth for?
[Constetions of havee to a decision.]
A short whileter, I spotted Selena Kim¡¯splexion brighten on the other side.
She quickly opened her lips. ¡°Constetion-nims are agreeing with us. does not have any intentions to fight against you and .¡±
[Neb, , makes it clear that there is no reason to fight you.]
I had no idea how that Constetion managed to convince his uptight, stubborn fellows of Asgard, but there was no denying that this friendly offer would be good for us.
I nodded my head, and Constetions affiliated to and all withdrew their Status at once. I, as well, cancelled the [Demon King Transformation].
[Constetion who likes to change genders is looking at you.]
[Constetion who likes to change genders is praising his own aplishment.]
...For sure, without that Constetion¡¯s help, an unnecessary fight might¡¯ve broken out. I briefly lowered my head as a sign of my appreciation.
[Constetion who likes to change genders wants a reward.]
¡°....Do you want coins from me?¡±
[Constetion who likes to change genders says he has a very small favour to ask.]
¡°A favour, you say?¡±
[Constetion who likes to change genders adds that this favour is nothing serious.]
A small, nothing-serious favour, was it. I was getting more worried, instead.
I pondered it for a bit, before making my reply. ¡°If it¡¯s not a favour that will harm , then I can do it.¡±
I carefully studied the modifier attached to the indirect messages, before adding something else. ¡°And yes, it must not be about changing genders.¡±
[Constetion who likes to change genders says that it definitely isn¡¯t a favour like that.]
If it wasn¡¯t, then well.
I nodded my head, and a sound simr to a childughing could be hearding from the sky next.
[All beings in the 123rd regional conflict no longer hold any intention to fight.]
Constetions from have lost their will to fight, while only a small number of Constetions from
had participated from the beginning ¨C and they were unable to carry on due to Yu Jung-Hyeok. On top of this, both and currently were not intending on fighting each other, either.
[123rd regional conflict has been forcibly concluded.]
[Applicable regional conflict¡¯s oue can¡¯t be decided.]
[Lack of will to fight by the participants of the applicable battle has been confirmed.]
[Applicable regional conflict has been excluded from the category of ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯.]
With this, the 123rd regional conflict had drawn to a close.
[Chaos Points have risen by 5.]
[Warning! Chaos Points have surpassed 70!]
The Chaos Points had already gone past 70.
There was no way that Metatron and Agares wouldn¡¯t feel the heat with things like this. Especially so with the former, who had seen the destruction of during the 1863rd regression turn.
Thinking of participating in the next regional conflict with my otherpanions in it, I looked up at the Gates in the sky.
[117th Gate is currently in activation.]
[119th Gate is currently in activation.]
One was where Jeong Hui-Won and Yi Hyeon-Seong were, while the other Gate was Han Su-Yeong¡¯s.
I quietly stared at the two Gates, before choosing which one to enter and walked into it.
But then....
[You can¡¯t enter the applicable Gate.]
I can¡¯t? Why not?
[Applicable Gate¡¯s regional conflict has been concluded.]
.....The battle had ended already?
I looked behind me and found Anna Croft staring dazedly at the Gate.
¡°Kim Dok-Ja.¡±
The moment I heard her, my heart grew cold.
Regional conflicts of the ¡®Great War of Saints and Demons¡¯ with no victor among ¡®Good¡¯ and ¡®Evil¡¯ were treated as invalid and would enter the ¡®forced conclusion¡¯ sequence.
However, this regional conflict had simply been ¡®concluded¡¯. Meaning...
[Victor has been decided in the applicable regional conflict.]
....Meaning, that entered the Gate in question had failed in their mission.
[Death penalty will be applied to the defeated participants of the regional conflict.]