"Ugh, unbelievable," Han Sooyoung griped, shaking her head. "Too bad, you're getting me anyway."
Kim Dokja sighed and rolled his eyes. That didn't mean he was particularly happy about the situation, though…
[many constellations are excited for the next scenario.]
Dokja walks forward with the three talismans of the disasters he encountered, placing them into the slots on the glowing
Defeating the 'Disaster of Water' and the 'Disaster of ice' gave talismans as well.
After they place the talismans, the golden 'arms' of the crystal open up as it glows brighter, floating to the height of the second story of a building. Below it, a large warping portal opens in a swirl of spacetime. Dokja looks at it with determination as a window informs them that this scenario is called 'Abandoned World'.
Lee Seolhwa frowned slightly upon seeing Kim Dokja walk forward to begin activating the portal to the next scenario. "Dokja-ssi… how were you planning on starting the sixth scenario if the Disaster of Floods hadn't been defeated?"
Ah, well… hm. That was a problem, wasn't it? Maybe they'd be able to obtain it on a technicality, since she'd be considered defeated even if she wasn't dead…
[several constellations ponder the question of the incarnation 'Lee seolhwa'.]
Well, it was too late to speculate on that for now. Kim Dokja would cross that bridge if he came to it once this hidden scenario was over, because right now he needed to focus on their future.
"Whoa," Lee Gilyoung gasped, looking excited as the portal formed. "Hyung, we get to go through that?"
Kim Dokja nodded, ruffling the boy's hair as he did. "Just remember that you might feel sick after, so it probably won't be as fun as expected."
Lee Jihye grinned widely. "So what? It's a massive portal, ahjussi! I know we've done some wild stuff in the apocalypse, but jumping through a portal is so much cooler than however we got here!"
Okay, that was a fair point.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is tearing out his hair in anticipation.]
As they head towards the portal Dokja remembers how both Heewon and Sangah volunteered to stay back for now and join them later once the second batch is dispatched from Seoul. Heewon then mentions that she's a bit worried since Dokja seems a bit out of it, but she follows that up by saying that she's sure Dokja will be fine with the scary guy on his side. Dokja just looks confused at the 'out of it' comment while Joonghyuk—the aforementioned scary guy—has no visible reaction to her words.
If it's Jung Heewon and Yoo Sangah, I'm sure it'll be fine if they stay behind. Even if a fight breaks out again to determine the extra participants, both of them are strong enough to rise above the competition.
The scene switches to show Hyunsung scratching the back of his head as he politely greets the old woman before him. She just chuckles and teasingly states that she gets to accompany a fine catch of a man.
Which left no other way to tie up loose ends than to partner Hyunsung with the elderly lady.
"Ah dang it," Jung Heewon sighed. "Guess we're not working together after all, Hyunsung-ssi."
Oh wow, Kim Dokja had never seen the lieutenant wilt so fast before. After this, he supposed that Han Sooyoung and Gong Pildu could be considered like… anti-cupids. Their mere presence was screwing up a slowly developing relationship.
Almost like him, apparently. Internally, Kim Dokja just prayed that he wouldn't accidentally do it a third time.
Despite his sudden sadness, Lee Hyunsung looked up at her with a shaky smile. "Maybe next time, Heewon-ssi…"
[the constellation 'master of steel' is consoling his incarnation.]
Yoo Sangah, on the other hand, smiled in a slightly embarrassed way. "I must still be somewhat hungover…"
After how much she had drank, in addition to Dionysus' meddling, it would make complete sense that she wouldn't want to deal with the portal nausea on top of whatever hangover she was experiencing. That combination didn't sound fun at all.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is agreeing passionately with her incarnation.]
"But I'm going to be with ahjussi, not the sooty bastard…" Shin Yoosung grumbled under her breath.
Kim Dokja laughed awkwardly. "Yoosung-ah, I'm sure that Heewon-ssi just meant that everything will be okay with Joonghyuk-ie there in general."
Yoo Joonghyuk just nodded once, but he stayed as silent as his future self.
Yoo Mia, on the other hand, didn't have the same reservations. "Unnie is right! As long as oppa is there, everything will be fine."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is wiping a tear of joy from her eye.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' wants everyone to hurry up so he can see the incarnation 'han sooyoung' again.]
Yeah, the likelihood of finding her quickly in that place was pretty slim. The dragon would have to wait, despite her preening.
At the very least, the two women smiled when they heard about Kim Dokja's confidence in them, and he knew that they'd be fine. Lee Hyunsung seemed a bit conflicted as he met with Prisoner 406, but he did seem somewhat flustered by her compliment regardless.
Though the setup wasn't ideal, at least they'd have a solid start. Everything would be fine.
Back in front of the portal, Dokja gestures for Sangah to come closer. He whispers to her to tell the King of Wanderers to watch out for Ildo, even though she might already be aware. Behind them, Heewon grins and a silly expression overtakes her features. Sangah tells him not to die and he nods solemnly, but the seriousness of the moment is then promptly ruined by Heewon laughing and whistling in a teasing manner and calling it a drawn out farewell.
Ignoring her, the pairs all get ready, holding onto their gear as they prepare to enter the portal. Dokja holds Yoosung's hand and the two walk forwards, bracing themselves as they leap into the portal and into the unknown.
Kim Dokja suddenly froze when he saw what his future self was doing, biting his tongue to keep himself from saying anything. He was warning her about the other King, and that wasn't something he had expected. Sure, he was well aware that Jeon Ildo was a slimy bastard of a man who tended to side with whoever he felt was most likely to win, but no matter how much he hated to admit it, the King of Wanderers was strong.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is surprised by the actions of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
"So you do still care, Dokja-yah," she said, sounding almost fond. Kim Dokja refused to look back at her to see what kind of expression she was wearing; he couldn't take that right now. It made inexplicable emotions rise in front of him, and he didn't want to acknowledge anything other than the inherent revulsion of having to interact with her further after everything that had just happened.
At the very least, she didn't say anything further when he didn't respond, and he relaxed slightly… only to grimace when Jung Heewon started teasing again. Yoo Sangah looked away awkwardly, and Kim Dokja forced himself to take a deep breath.
"I promise I won't die, Sangah-ssi. Thanks for the concern."
She shot him a weak smile in return. "Of course."
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' is grabbing more wine in excitement.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is narrowing his eyes at the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy'.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' harshly reminds the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' to not interfere.]
So it seemed that their truce was still going, somehow. At the very least, it helped to relieve the tension, and the two of them could rest easy knowing that two constellations would absolutely step in if Dionysus or any other constellation tried anything funny.
Jung Heewon sighed and looked at Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah awkwardly. "Man, I'm really sorry for teasing so much. You must be feeling like shit."
Well, she wasn't exactly wrong, but they'd get over it eventually.
"We're really just friends," Kim Dokja reaffirmed with a small smile. "She's a wonderful person, but I'm not interested in her like that."
"We know," Han Sooyoung groaned, looking exhausted as she shot him a glare. "Fuck, do we ever."
And what the hell did she mean by that?
[several constellations are nodding in agreement with the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Whatever, he wasn't going to pay attention to her. Instead, he just ruffled Shin Yoosung's hair and smiled as she beamed up at him. All he could do was hope that the portal wouldn't affect them all too much.
The only thing he could be certain of, though, was that Yoo Joonghyuk would be absolutely fine. No matter how sick everyone else had gotten, in the novel his infuriating protagonist genes had ensured that he made it out of the portal looking as perfect as ever.
The screen turns bright blue before dissolving into the image of a leaf in the sun. Below the leaves, in the dappled shade, Dokja and Yoosung are revealed to be laying on the ground in a forest. After a moment of unconsciousness, they get up and Yoosung immediately clutches her stomach and brings a hand to her mouth. Running and leaning on a tree, she retches as Dokja soothingly pats her back and asks if she's ok in a soft voice. Dokja is seemingly immune to the nausea from dimension travel, but poor Yoosung isn't so lucky.
As she tries to recover, Dokja takes the time to observe their surroundings and try to figure out where they've landed. Unfortunately, since they're in the middle of a forest, all he can see is trees. When he hears a rustle of leaves in some nearby bushes, he places a hand on the hilt of his sword—worried that they could be ambushed by incarnations of other countries—and calls for Yoosung to pay attention.
"That's a pretty forest," Yoo Mia remarked, sounding a bit upset. Did she want to go as well, or something?
Well, she'd probably change her tune as soon as she learned the reality of this scenario, unfortunately.
Shin Yoosung's ears went red as she realized how affected she was by the nausea, and she looked away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, ahjussi… you look absolutely fine, and I'm getting sick."
To be fair, that might be partially because of [The Fourth Wall], if Kim Dokja was being honest. If it could zap away inebriation, why not dizziness as well?
"No, I'm just glad I'm doing alright so I can look after you," Kim Dokja told her in response, then let out a small "oof" when she flopped onto him in a hug.
[constellations who like children are looking fondly at the incarnation 'shin yoosung'.]
"Stay on your guard," Yoo Joonghyuk said suddenly, tensing up upon hearing the bushes rustling. Kim Dokja clenched his jaw as he stared at the screen anxiously. If a foreign incarnation wanted to ambush them, catching them as they were still disoriented and nauseous from the dimension travel would be their best opportunity.
Lee Gilyoung let out a shaky breath, and reached over to grab onto both Kim Dokja and Shin Yoosung anxiously. No matter how much those two bickered, they really did care about each other.
Suddenly, a group of Grade 7 Steel Wolves—which are easily identified by the steel plates around their joints—emerge from the brush. The camera angle changes suddenly, showing an almost first person view as it looks up at Dokja and Yoosung from below the Steel Wolves' jaws. Seemingly unafraid of the intruders, the wolves prowl their way closer, letting out threatening growls. Dokja and Yoosung, who were previously ready for a fight, look confused and exchange a glance before Yoosung looks at them once more. The camera angle suddenly changes to a wide shot, displaying the true scale of the beasts.
At their maximum height, they come maybe to Yoosung's knees. This is exceptionally strange considering the fact that standard monsters are the size of an entire house.
"All of these guys are on the smaller side, Ahjussi," Yoosung states, confusion still clear in her tone. With a sigh, Yoosung uses her skill to make the Steel Wolves turn on each other and kill each other, and any that can't be tamed are easily dispatched by Dokja. To her surprise, the wolves' strength seems to be proportional to their size.
Lee Seolhwa sighed in relief. "Oh, they're just wolves. Yoosung-ie can just tame them if needed."
That was true, and they could be valuable assets this early in the scenario. Still…
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is scratching his head in confusion.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is deeply amused.]
"Hey ahjussi, I'm not seeing things, right?" Lee Jihye wondered as she squinted at the screen. "Why the heck are they so small?"
Oh, wow. Kim Dokja had known that everything in Peace Land was small, but reading it and seeing it were two very different things.
Lee Hyunsung just blinked at the wolves in confusion, looking even more confused than their future selves. "They're supposed to be the size of a house?"
Kim Dokja nodded, trying desperately to keep a straight face. Of course, these creatures were small to them, but when compared to the people here, they were exactly the right size. Still, he couldn't wait for that realization.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is grumbling that this is not exciting enough.]
"I almost feel bad for making them fight each other, ahjussi," Shin Yoosung admitted quietly. "They just look sad."
They weren't particularly strong either, which just seemed to confuse everyone further.
"Well, at least we can be assured that Pildu-ssi and Sooyoung-ssi weren't in much danger…?" Yoo Sangah said with a laugh, and yeah, she had a point. They wouldn't have any trouble against the local monsters.
The other incarnations, on the other hand… well, they'd be a different story.
After the fight is over, Yoosung sadly remarks that they're not dropping any coins or items. Dokja explains that the coin event is over and that the difference in level between them and the monsters is too large for items or nuclei to drop.
She looks around at the fallen beasts, asking if they were really Grade 7 monsters and not Grade 9 ones, and that they also seem oddly small. Looking at the forest, Dokja frowns as he recalls that this type of forest normally has trees that would tower over them, but that these trees also seem short since they're barely taller than he is. Dokja bends his knees before hopping, and that's somehow high enough to see above the treeline. In a matter-of-fact tone, he announces that it isn't all forested and navigates towards the open area.
Looking at the scenario window once more, Dokja notices that only the title has lost the question marks, meaning that they have yet to meet the criteria to activate the rest. Suddenly, the two of them hear a noise and Yoosung calls out to Dokja in confusion.
[a few constellations are disappointed that the monsters are not dropping coins.]
Though the kids looked somewhat upset that nothing was dropping at all, Kim Dokja chuckled. "Just think of it this way—you're so strong that you've outleveled this zone already."
"But we just got here!" Lee Gilyoung protested, frowning slightly. "That's not fair."
Kim Dokja shrugged. "Then we can hope that it's just an easier scenario."
"Think of it like a vacation, maybe!" Jung Heewon exclaimed. "They sure made it seem like one on that projection earlier."
[the constellation 'defense master' is reminding the incarnations to find his incarnation before relaxing.]
Yeah, yeah. They'd find him eventually.
"The trees are small too?" Yoo Mia wondered, sounding a bit skeptical, but her eyes widened dramatically when Kim Dokja easily hopped high enough to see over the tops of the trees.
[many constellations are baffled.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is snickering]
"This is so weird," Lee Jihye muttered. "We didn't get turned into giants or something, right? Is this like some kind of weird Att█ck on Tit█n scenario or something?"
Kim Dokja bit his tongue. She was a bit more on the nose than she expected, but he couldn't ruin that surprise just yet.
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is curious about the hidden clear conditions of the scenario.]
A horse gallops across the field, and the rider announces that 'they' have arrived just like the scenario said they would. Behind him, a group of archers march as the army begins to charge at the lead rider's call. There are dozens of cavalry, and hundreds of archers and infantry. In terms of numbers alone, they absolutely outnumber Yoosung and Dokja.
As the army charges, preparing their skills and weapons, Yoosung gasps and steps towards Dokja. Within a second, the soldiers launch their attacks at them, and soon the air is filled with the sounds of snapping bowstrings, war cries, hoofbeats, and the swish of flying arrows.
"There's people here?" Lee Hyunsung exclaimed, looking at the screen with wide eyes. "And they have cavalry?"
Kim Dokja knew what was likely running through the man's head, and he was doing everything he possibly could to keep a straight face. Cavalry meant an exceptionally dangerous chance of being trampled, and they had to assume that this army was hostile. After all, who else could 'they' be referring to other than the two strangers who had suddenly appeared due to a scenario?
[constellations who like medieval warfare tactics are watching excitedly.]
Lee Seolhwa frowned. "It's unlikely for an army of that size to be using poisoned arrows, but please don't rule it out, Dokja-ssi. I know you have access to the dokkaebi bag in case of emergencies, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious."
[the constellation 'guam divine doctor' is looking fondly at his incarnation.]
It was getting harder and harder to avoid giving it away, but Kim Dokja had to keep it in. It would be so fucking funny once they realized what was actually going on, and considering Yoo Joonghyuk's sideways glance at him, Kim Dokja knew that the protagonist was already well aware of it. Okay, maybe he didn't find it as funny as Kim Dokja did, but at least he was keeping quiet and not spoiling the surprise.
It didn't matter to him whether Yoo Joonghyuk was doing that because he was choosing to humour Kim Dokja, or whether he just couldn't be bothered to say anything.
"Fuck, are you just going to stand there and get turned into a pincushion?" Han Sooyoung shouted, whirling around to look at Kim Dokja intently. "You just said you weren't going to do stupid shit like that!"
Kim Dokja looked at all of their expressions—at Han Sooyoung's fury, Lee Jihye's bafflement, Yoo Sangah's concern, Jung Heewon's slowly-building anger, the kids' astonishment, Lee Hyunsung's absolute confusion, and Yoo Joonghyuk's exhaustion—and he just couldn't hold it in anymore.
Suddenly, in front of everyone, Kim Dokja lost it and burst into laughter.