{Kim Dokja POV}
It was finally the promised time.
I gathered on the line 3 platform 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 struggle last night. The blades 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 explain 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 uncomfortable 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 become 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 you come 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 man laughed at my gaze.
“Ahh, this friend didn’t see her land… This matter doesn’t concern you.”
“S-Save me. Help me!”
The woman was gazing at me pitifully. In my head, the constellations of the ‘absolute good’ started clamoring. 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 place to spend the remaining coins.
Kwaaaang!
Small blasts 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.]
“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 belatedly chased after us.
“These crazy guys! Stop them!”
A corridor on B2. It was the private land 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 clash 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.’]
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.
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.
[The compensation 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 my land?”
“We’ll see. More than that…”
[Some of the trespassers’ stats are reduced by the effect of Gong Pildu’s private land.]
…It had started. This was why Gong Pildu’s power was scary. The special effect of Armed Zone was a ‘private land debuff.’
Red magic power started condensing on the turrets.
[The character ‘Gong Pildu’ is preparing the ‘strengthened magic bullets.’]
As long as the combo of ‘private land’ 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 be launched, I heard the screams of people from far away. The wounded landlord alliance members were rushing to this side.
“P-Pildu-ssi! The land…!”
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―
[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 transcend common sense.
Lee Hyunsung’s fists flammed down onto the ground.
There was a loud sound and the fragments of the broken floor scattered in the air. The alliance members screamed.
“W-What?”
Dangerous cracks spread across the ground and the positions of the turrets started to twist. The magic bullets were fired towards the wrong place. An explosion spread and dust clouds rose. Then after a while.
There was a great vibration and the ground of B2 started to collapse.
[The green zone has been destroyed.]
[The character Gong Pildu’s private land has been destroyed.]
I looked at the collapsing ground and grinned towards Gong Pildu.
“Let’s go back to the days when we didn’t have our own land.”
I couldn’t kill Gong Pildu because he was useful in future scenarios, but I needed Gong Pildu to leave his land.
This was a difficult dilemma so I focused on the premise of the dilemma. For example, if he was on ‘private land’ then I had to destroy the private land.
“Uhh… h-he is out.”
“This dog…”
However, using this method required strong force. An overwhelming force that could destroy a ‘huge’ private land in one blow. That’s why I hastened to evolve Lee Hyunsung.
The people who fell down to the third underground floor groaned with pain.
The operation was a success.
The green zones disappeared and the landlords 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 constellations that rang in my head.
[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband likes your recklessness.]
[The constellation ‘Bald General of Justice’ likes your revolution.]
[The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame 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 platform with Lee Hyunsung.
“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 place 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 ‘dokkaebi communication’.
‘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 constellations 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 flagship 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 welcome face. The blade 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 will come 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 occurred!]
+
[Bounty Scenario – Assassination Commission]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: C
Clear Conditions: The constellations 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 platform 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? Hmm, will Cale Henituse group have that much coins in the third scenario? It's impossible to have that much coins in this early stages of scenario. Should I ask for 200,000 coins if I could find Cale Henituse group...
“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 access. 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 angry landowners 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 collapsed.]
[The difficulty is automatically adjusted according to the remaining schedule of the scenario.]
[The scenario content is updated!]
+
[Main Scenario #3 – 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: ―
+
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.
___________________________________________
At Gyeongbokgung Station.
“Dongsaeng, have you checked your status?”
“No, we could still use our power even without knowing our status. Have you checked your, Hyung?”
“Yes, I have checked mine because I'm interest in what will be written in my status. Taerang also told me that the status has some similarities with the status in Earth 3. But there’s some part with questions marks on it.”
“Alright, I’ll check my status now.”
Cale who checked his status started to frowned and his face getting more vicious.
“What the hell are this bullshit!!! Who’s the one who writes all this bullshit! How dare they lied and writes all this nonsense in my status!”
[Some constellations interest in your status.]
[Some constellations want to know your status.]
[Some constellations interest in your reaction.]
[Some constellations surprised by your reaction.]
[Some constellations want you to tell them about your status.]
[Some constellations watching you with interest.]
[Some constellations shocked by your anger.]
[Some constellations...]
...
[5000 coins have been sponsored.]
Cale got extremely angry at his status. The other try to asked him but he never told them about his status.
The fans were surprised when they saw Cale get angry.
“Our Young Master Cale-nim is angry! It must be the work of those villainous dokkaebis and constellations. What are they doing to make our calm, elegant, beautiful and kindhearted Young Master Cale-nim to be that angry?”
“I think they give him some vicious scenario with some terrible content like killing someone or something. Our kind heart Cale-nim will never harm anything. We never saw him kill the monsters. He’s so kind, I think that he’s an angel!”
“No, our Cale-nim is greater than god or angel.”
“Who needs any Gods or angels if we have our Young Master Cale-nim?”
The fans reactions to Cale anger were the same passionate discussion while some of them started to cursing the dokkaebis, constellations, god, demon and angel. The Dokkaebis and constellations seems to be too tired to respond with the fans word because they already learned to ignore those crazy bastards. Some male survivors could only sweating with nervous expression looking at the fans angers.
The other telling Cale about their status because it seems that they have a different status from the other. There are skills or attributes that written in question marks. Choi Han age is also written in question marks. Some of their skills are leveled up, for example Clopeh reporting about his Incite skill level that leveled up from the first scenario.
“The things that only exist in our world are being censored. Some part is being translated to this world interpretation so our status is not accurate and we don’t need to look or depend on it.” Cale reminded them.
“We need to remember that this system has the possibility of influencing ourselves for making us dependent on it. It’s better to not using it and just do what we always do in our world. Without those attributes, skills and the overall status, we can still win our battles with White Star.”
Because of Cale always reminds them to not using the system, the five of them had never tried to use the coins they obtained for their status and they keep getting coins from the constellations. They have the average around 100,000 coins for each person and it’s keep increasing.
<to be continue>
Author’s note: Accepting any ideas for our TCF group status. Please don’t tell Cale that I put ‘Saint’ and ‘Legendary Hero’ attribute because I got bribes from God of Death and Pope Clopeh. Thank you for reading, votes and comments. Hope you enjoy the story and have a nice day. God (Cale?) Bless You.