"It looks as though you fought off a lot of demons, Sooyoung-ssi," Yoo Sangah said worriedly as she looked at the injured woman on the screen. "Considering how strong the demons there are, that's a real achievement."
Han Sooyoung's gaze darted away from Yoo Sangah. "Well, it's only natural. I'm awesome, so something like that isn't a problem for me."
Yoo Sangah giggled in return and Kim Dokja wanted to roll his eyes. It probably wasn't that easy; she wasn't Yoo Joonghyuk.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is nodding in agreement with the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Though it's crazy to act like this in a scenario crawling with demonic enemies, no demons come after Sooyoung speaks. Judging by the carnage around her, someone has already defeated them all—but it wasn't her. As Sooyoung sits up abruptly, she complains about the protagonist being crazy and wonders how Dokja even plans to control him. As she picks up her bag, she continues muttering about how the demon species aren't a problem compared to Joonghyuk, and that he's the real demon here.
Though Joonghyuk was ranked third strongest in Seoul and Sooyoung was ranked fourth, there's such a massive gap in abilities that when they had confronted each other half an hour ago, she had been disastrously defeated.
Jung Heewon squinted at the screen. "Y'know, even if you did kill some demons, this looks like overkill. Your avatars can get torn apart pretty easily, and you're not built for a direct confrontation."
That was true—Han Sooyoung had truly decided to go for the full assassin-type build, and relied a lot on misdirection and quick, stealthy attacks. Even though she was strong, especially with the support of her sponsor, it felt unreasonable to believe that she had managed to single handedly defeat all of those demons.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is snickering at the misfortune of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Lee Seolhwa looked carefully at the fallen demons on the screen and sighed. "Sooyoung-ssi didn't kill them."
"What!? How would you know that?" Han Sooyoung retorted, looking almost offended at the insinuation that she hadn't done something that cool.
In return, Lee Seolhwa pointed to their injuries. "Sooyoung-ssi, you stab your enemies with your knives. Those are sword slash wounds."
Wait, then—
Kim Dokja's eyes widened as he looked over at the protagonist, who had this odd aura of smugness despite his impassive face. He only seemed more satisfied as Han Sooyoung sat up and began griping about him.
Lee Gilyoung looked up from Lee Jihye's shoulder to scoff. "Yeah, the sooty bastard is a demon, alright."
Now that wasn't nice…
"Even if Joonghyuk-ssi did defeat those demons, that doesn't explain what Sooyoung-ssi was doing lying down with all those corpses, though," Lee Hyunsung pointed out, looking rather concerned.
[a few constellations are confused by the strange pastimes of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Han Sooyoung cursed under her breath and glared at the messages, muttering about how they needed to mind their own business. Notably, Kim Dokja was amused by the fact that she had completely forgotten to deny that she enjoyed relaxing in puddles of demon blood.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is grinning widely.]
However, when the future Han Sooyoung revealed that she had fought Yoo Joonghyuk only thirty minutes ago and had been completely defeated, her curses only increased in volume and intensity.
"Fuck! Fuck you, you shitty protagonist bastard," she hissed before turning to glare at Kim Dokja, "and fuck you too, asshole!"
As Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed and completely ignored her, Kim Dokja plastered a confused yet innocent expression on his face. "Me? What do I have to do with this?"
Her eyes narrowed further. "It's always your fault, somehow."
She certainly was jumping to conclusions, wasn't she?
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is looking disapprovingly at the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
The scene then falls into a flashback of how that confrontation had concluded, with Joonghyuk's boot stomping on the floor beside Sooyoung's head. While Mia checks out the corpses in the background for any loot, Sooyoung knows that Joonghyuk wouldn't even hesitate to kill her. In a last-ditch effort to prevent losing her life, Sooyoung quickly informs him that she has Dokja's items, and asks if he's planning to steal them.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is amused by the current events.]
"Of course you lost, ahjumma, there's no way you could win against my oppa!" Yoo Mia declared, sticking her tongue out at Han Sooyoung.
Han Sooyoung didn't respond, likely because her future self was honestly looking pretty anxious. Considering that she was down on the ground, Yoo Joonghyuk stomping his boot right next to her head would definitely make her nervous. After all, it was an unspoken threat that he would crush her head under his boot—a threat that she knew full well he wouldn't hesitate to carry out. Plus, since he knew her identity, Kim Dokja was fairly certain that it was a direct reminder of how their very first encounter had gone.
"Mia! It's you!" Shin Yoosung yelled suddenly as the camera seemed to zoom out on the scene, and she pointed at the girl in the background. Yoo Mia nearly melted into her brother's arms from relief, and the protagonist also looked far calmer than before. Still, he held onto her tightly, and he looked more determined than ever to keep her safe.
"That's such a relief," Lee Hyunsung sighed, smiling gently, and Kim Dokja had to agree. The poor girl had been so anxious, and she had finally gotten some proof that she was alright.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is praising the incarnation 'yoo mia' for her perseverance so far.]
Han Sooyoung, on the other hand, looked rather nervous as Yoo Joonghyuk prepared to kill her, and Kim Dokja genuinely had to wonder how she had gotten out of that situation. The protagonist had no attachment to her, after all, and there was no way she had overpowered him to escape. She had to have said something to convince him not to kill her, but what…?
He got his answer only a second later, when Han Sooyoung hurried to tell Yoo Joonghyuk that she had Kim Dokja's items, and that killing her would be a bad idea. Kim Dokja groaned. She couldn't actually think that would work, right? That would be like telling him that she was a treasure trove of items and coins!
"Oooh, you should not have said that," Lee Jihye muttered, sounding a lot better than before. "Master is gonna be so mad."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is calling for the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk' to defend his companionship.]
Sure enough, Yoo Joonghyuk looked even angrier, but Kim Dokja was struggling to realize why that would be the case.
"Sooyoung-ssi, you realize that by saying that you have Dokja-ssi's items, you basically just told Joonghyuk-ssi that you were involved in Dokja-ssi's death somehow. He wasn't buried with any of his items, so it couldn't even be that you robbed his grave," Yoo Sangah told her after a moment.
Han Sooyoung's jaw dropped before she began swearing a blue streak, and Kim Dokja was fairly certain that she had cursed him out at least five different creative ways in the process.
Shin Yoosung sighed and shook her head. "Ahjumma, you're not very smart sometimes."
Looking rather constipated as she scowled, Han Sooyoung turned back to Kim Dokja. "What the fuck did I say earlier, huh? It is your fault! I shouldn't have helped you with your bullshit sacrificial plan, screw whatever you paid me for it."
Ah, right… hadn't she been freaking out because of the chance that Yoo Joonghyuk would hunt her down for it? Huh.
Unfortunately for her, Joonghyuk only looks angrier and demands to know why she has his items. Hesitantly, she attempts to use the excuse of being 'the most trustworthy', but that backfires when a cold fury overtakes the protagonist's face as he begins drawing his sword. "Then it'd be fine if I just killed you and held onto them myself."
In a panic, Sooyoung asks what Dokja would think if Joonghyuk killed her, heavily implying that he would take it badly. The threat of Dokja's disappointment in him seems to work way too well as he pauses with his sword held aloft in the air for a moment, but after some thought, Joonghyuk sheaths his sword again and tells her not to mention Dokja in front of him again or he'll really kill her. Then, without saying anything further, Joonghyuk turns and takes his sister up to the second floor.
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is advising the incarnation 'han sooyoung' to think her words through more next time.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is greatly offended by the words of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
"The most trustworthy?" Kim Dokja asked in disbelief, raising a brow. "Stop flattering yourself."
If he thought she was trustworthy, then he wouldn't have needed to make her sign a contract to ensure that he'd get his coins and items back. No, everyone completely trustworthy—like Yoo Sangah—would be too hesitant to kill him, so he had recruited her instead.
"Fuck you," said Han Sooyoung.
Yeah, that was about what he had expected.
What Kim Dokja didn't expect, however, was for Yoo Joonghyuk to get even more furious than before, and to outright declare that he'd kill her so he could hold onto Kim Dokja's things himself. Kim Dokja blinked at the screen in shock, unable to believe his eyes.
What? Was the protagonist basically saying that he considered himself someone trustworthy to Kim Dokja—or, at the very least, more trustworthy than Han Sooyoung was. It's not that it wasn't true—Kim Dokja did trust Yoo Joonghyuk, he had even said so at the banquet—but it's not like the future Yoo Joonghyuk actually knew that fact either.
"Joonghyuk-ah…?" Kim Dokja asked, turning his confused look to the man in question. Yoo Joonghyuk raised a brow in return.
"I am only speaking the truth. Stop thinking foolish things."
But that didn't make any sense! They might be companions, and even though Yoo Joonghyuk knew that he'd revive eventually, he wasn't the kind of person who would take on an extra burden that would make him go out of his way when he had a goal. He was clearly on his way to the second floor, so why would he even think of doing something like that when it would mean that he'd have to stick around on the first floor until Kim Dokja was able to reunite with him?
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is declaring that this is because of companionship.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is thinking that the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk' is too insecure.]
"Ahjumma, maybe you should pass ahjussi's stuff over. Master will make sure that it's all taken care of!" Lee Jihye declared, but Han Sooyoung only scowled more. Oh wait, if Kim Dokja had forced her to sign a contract, then it would likely have an oath of existence as part of it. She could literally die if she didn't return his items to him directly.
As she scrambled to find a way to prevent the protagonist from killing her, Kim Dokja did not expect for her to jump to the conclusion that she did. Since when were his feelings relevant to this situation?
"Will that actually work…?" Jung Heewon muttered, narrowing her eyes in confusion. "I mean, he seems pretty determined to get you out of the picture…"
"Joonghyuk-ssi can be rational too," Yoo Sangah said weakly, shooting glances over at the protagonist. "I think…"
Yeah, no. Kim Dokja seriously doubted that those specific words were what got the protagonist to spare her. She had probably tried to bribe him with information, or something… Kim Dokja's opinion couldn't have that much of an effect on Yoo Joonghyuk, right?
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is howling with laughter.]
[many constellations are curiously wondering about certain rumours.]
To Kim Dokja's complete and utter bafflement, it worked. Yoo Joonghyuk backed off and, with another threat, left with Yoo Mia.
"Shitty protagonist…" Han Sooyoung grumbled, crossing her arms and looking more like a petulant child than anything else. "The fuck did you mean by that, huh? Why am I getting threatened for that asshole's fucking stupid decisions!?"
Yoo Joonghyuk looked at her with disdain. "You killed Kim Dokja, and now you're hiding behind his name to save yourself. Figure it out."
"He asked me to kill him, dammit!" she cursed. "Fuck you."
Kim Dokja felt a bit weird as he stared in awe at the protagonist. He didn't say things like this often but… it was pretty cool, wasn't it?
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' is snickering as he refills his glass.]
Just the memory of what happened infuriates her further and Sooyoung throws a tantrum, swinging her fists around in the air and stomping her feet as she curses the protagonist and demands to know why 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' claims to be the strongest when he can't even beat Joonghyuk. Calming down, Sooyoung mutters that Joonghyuk taking Mia along is a problem, and that it will lead to a situation that Dokja will hate. She then sighs about how Joonghyuk took her 'proofs' so she'll have to start gathering them all over again, and how Dokja still isn't there.
Looking over the scenario window, Sooyoung moves between the corpses while thinking about the current status of different groups and her own situation.
What should I do?
Sooyoung's thoughts are then interrupted by a call of her name, which surprises her as Hyunsung runs up to her.
Lee Hyunsung?
"Ahjumma, that's so childish," Yoo Mia, a literal child, scoffed. Han Sooyoung's face practically went purple, but she couldn't even deny it. After all, her future self was throwing a full-blown tantrum worthy of her sponsor.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is unimpressed.]
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is rolling on the floor in laughter.]
Kim Dokja scoffed as she berated her own sponsor for not giving her the power to beat Yoo Joonghyuk. Seriously, what was she expecting? He was the protagonist for a reason, and if it was so easy to beat him, then Nirvana wouldn't have had to specifically target his mental weaknesses to win.
However, the kids looked over at him in confusion as Han Sooyoung remarked that he wouldn't like that Yoo Mia was there too.
"Ahjussi, what does she mean?" Shin Yoosung asked nervously as she glanced over at Yoo Mia, who looked unsure of herself once again.
Kim Dokja sighed. "Dark Castle is extremely dangerous. While the safest spot for her is probably at Joonghyuk-ie's side, that doesn't change that I'd rather not have kids running through this place."
"But we're strong, right?" Lee Gilyoung muttered as he looked at Kim Dokja. "If we can go, then why not her?"
[constellations who like children are saddened by the current discussion.]
"I think what Dokja-ssi is saying is that he'd rather leave the more dangerous scenarios to the adults, if possible," Yoo Sangah remarked, looking over at him for confirmation. He nodded, and she sighed in relief.
Though the kids didn't seem thrilled, they were at least amused at Han Sooyoung's expense when she revealed that Yoo Joonghyuk had stolen all her proofs instead, forcing her to start gathering them all over again. Well, instead of wondering what she should do, Kim Dokja figured that she should probably get working on it.
Suddenly, a voice they recognized called out Han Sooyoung's name, and Lee Hyunsung's eyes went wide from shock as he pointed to himself wordlessly.
[the constellation 'master of steel' is surprised by this turn of events.]
While mentally lamenting that he's the one who showed up, she explains that she was injured while fighting the demons. Looking like a cat who's been caught doing something wrong, Sooyoung thinks that Dokja's other companions would be there as well. Her thoughts soon devolve into confusion as three of the four 'women' following him cling to the soldier while looking at her like she's some sort of threat.
When the women start trying to convince the nervous Hyunsung to leave since they believe that Sooyoung is setting a trap, she gives a stiff smile in return. "Did your companions change? Why are you building a harem all of a sudden?"
When Hyunsung tries to respond to tell her that he got separated from the others in the labyrinth, one of the women cuts him off to call Sooyoung suspicious as another backs her up by saying that Sooyoung's injuries clearly weren't caused by demons. They then call Hyunsung naive and say that he shouldn't trust anyone. Sooyoung's smile twitches from the accusations before a brain cell seems to activate in her brain and she uses [Detect Attribute].
As Sooyoung recognizes what she sees, her smile becomes sly yet genuine. Calling out louder, she then subtly teases Hyunsung—off-handedly saying that she didn't know that he played for the other team—and asks if he's really that clueless. Seeing the poor puppy's confusion, she gleefully hammers the nail into the proverbial coffin. "Those girls… are all ahjussis."
Lee Hyunsung slumped in defeat as Han Sooyoung sounded disappointed to see him, but thankfully Jung Heewon patted him on the shoulder in consolation.
[several constellations are astounded by the shamelessness of the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Wow, she was really lying to Lee Hyunsung? That woman was truly heartless. It was basically illegal.
At the very least, Lee Seolhwa brightened up. "Ah, that's true—if Hyunsung-ssi is there, then the others—"
Her voice trailed off as the other people appeared, and they didn't recognize a single one.
[the constellation 'bald leader of the peasant's army' is scratching his head in confusion.]
"Well, I can't say that I'm surprised," Jung Heewon remarked. "Hyunsung-ssi is rather noble, so it makes sense that he'd try to help everyone he stumbled across in that scenario."
Lee Hyunsung's cheeks went beet red as he stuttered out a thank you for the compliment, but something about the situation felt weird to Kim Dokja. It made sense for these women to be suspicious of Han Sooyoung because, well, she was rather suspicious, but there was something else nagging at him.
"Ah, Heewon-ssi, um," Lee Hyunsung hurried to say as the future Han Sooyoung accused him of building a harem. "I would never do something like that!"
[a constellation who likes harems is disappointed in the declaration of the incarnation 'lee hyunsung'.]
"I know you wouldn't," Jung Heewon reassured him, but she was starting to look pretty irritated with the women on the screen. The way they were talking to Lee Hyunsung was already pretty strange, but for her… well, it probably sounded even worse.
All of her growing anger instantly turned into confusion as Han Sooyoung essentially asked if Lee Hyunsung actually liked men, though. Everyone else in the room stared at the woman in complete and utter bafflement, but Kim Dokja's eyes widened as he realized just who those people actually were.
[many constellations are flabbergasted.]
When Han Sooyoung confirmed his suspicions by declaring that the women were all actually ahjussis in disguise, Kim Dokja really wished that he had a camera. The look on Lee Hyunsung's face was so priceless that he wanted to preserve it for later. He looked somewhere between a confused puppy and a gaping fish, while simultaneously seeming to have lost his soul. Clearly, being tricked hadn't even crossed his mind.
Hyunsung's face remains confused as the three women hounding him flinch violently. Their voices clearly faltering, they try to call Sooyoung out as she informs Hyunsung that they're going to 'drain him of his essence and leave him for dead' if he stays with them. With a triumphant tone she states that they call themselves the 'Pinkies'.
Though they have a name akin to a girl group, they're actually all men in their forties. They're a four-man group that leeches off other strong rankers or kills weak people by using skills like 'Disguise Attire' and 'Forbidden Charm'.
Behind the four 'women', images of their true male forms appear as Sooyoung struts forward. She thinks that this tactic of lying about oneself to take advantage of others was common in TWSA and uses [Avatar] while thinking that it's possible that these old men could be reformed since other people do much worse, but she caps off the thought with it being something that Dokja would have thought. But she's not Dokja.
"Dokja-ssi, what is she talking about?" Yoo Sangah asked in confusion, and Kim Dokja sighed.
How could he explain this…?
"They're older men who disguise themselves as young women to take advantage of other people's kindness, or to get people to underestimate them."
As far as survival tactics went, it was actually pretty effective. They had survived this long, after all.
[a constellation who likes to change genders is amused with the current events.]
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' disapproves of this kind of trickery.]
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned slightly deeper. "People will do anything if they think they'll survive. This shouldn't be a surprise."
While Kim Dokja remembered that most of the members of the group were terrible people for reasons unrelated to their method of trickery, it definitely wasn't the worst thing that could have happened either. By now, some of the worst coin farms had probably already hit their stride and were raking in the profits through atrocities, after all.
"Is that really what you think I'd do?" Kim Dokja asked after Han Sooyoung assumed that he'd try to reform the Pinkies. He didn't go around trying to reform everyone—just the people who would be useful to him. Most of those guys weren't necessary, so he honestly couldn't give a shit about what happened to them.
Han Sooyoung shrugged. "My future self doesn't exactly have a direct line to your shitty thoughts or anything."
Fair. She was probably basing that assumption off of what she had seen him do for the sake of coins, regardless of whether or not that actually reflected his true thoughts.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is very excited for a massacre.]
As Sooyoung pulls her daggers out, she declares that she likes to get rid of bothersome things promptly. Seeing Sooyoung's hostility, the women scream and run behind the still-shocked soldier who still doesn't really know what's going on, and Sooyoung is irritated because if things don't change, he'll get backstabbed by the Pinkies and that'll change the course of the future scenarios. Though Hyunsung doesn't seem to be bewitched by their charm skill, he's still a righteous person, so he defends them anyway.
Sending out three avatars, she and Hyunsung trade taunts for a moment. True to what he said, Hyunsung activates his steel transformation and begins killing the clones, causing Sooyoung to grit her teeth and curse because of the enormous amount of damage that he's doing. Noticing that the Pinkies are planning to run away, Sooyoung decides that she needs to pull out a secret weapon and asks Hyunsung if he wants to see something interesting as she sends more avatars his way.
His eyes go from confused to terrified and his face turns an odd shade of reddish purple as Sooyoung's clothes drop to the ground around him. Hyunsung, being the polite man that he is, quickly falls to his knees and throws an arm over his eyes as he avoids looking at the naked avatars. The—thankfully undetailed—avatars then dance around him while taunting by repeatedly pointing out that they're naked.
"Sooyoung-ssi, I don't think that's going to work…" Lee Hyunsung admitted nervously. He knew himself, after all, and it was pretty clear what he'd choose to do if she suddenly lunged for them in order to attack. Lee Hyunsung truly was a good person, even if he was defending people who weren't.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is tearing out his hair in excitement.]
[a few constellations are betting on which incarnation will win.]
"You can do it, Hyunsung-hyung!" Lee Gilyoung cheered eagerly, clearly excited to see the lieutenant tearing through the avatars like they were nothing more than an afterthought.
It had only been a week, but he had really gotten used to that story, hadn't he? It was impressive, and Kim Dokja was certain that he'd learn to use it even better than before at this rate.
"A secret weapon?" Yoo Sangah wondered, glancing over at Han Sooyoung with a concerned look. "You're not actually going to try to kill Hyunsung-ssi, right?"
Han Sooyoung shrugged. "I honestly don't have a clue."
Ha, now she could feel what it was like to watch your future self do something utterly baffling.
[the constellation 'scribe of heaven' is aghast.]
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' is thrilled by the current events.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is complaining that this is gross.]
The second Han Sooyoung's clothes went flying, Lee Hyunsung shrieked in fear and instantly covered his eyes. Thankfully, Yoo Joonghyuk had covered his sister's, and Lee Jihye had shoved both Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yoosung into a tight hug where they were facing away from the screen and couldn't see what was going on. Kim Dokja, for his part, grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut. He really didn't want to see this.
"Han Sooyoung," Yoo Joonghyuk rumbled dangerously. "What do you think you're doing."
"Well shit, I wasn't expecting that," she muttered, as though it was just another ordinary event and not her future self stripping. "Calm your protagonist tits, or whatever. I'm just getting that guy out of the way."
"Sooyoung-ssi, isn't this a little…" Lee Seolhwa said hesitantly, her voice trailing off.
"Pfft, what's the problem? There's nothing inappropriate going on."
How the fuck was she saying that when she had naked avatars—at least he hoped it was the avatars—doing who knows what on the screen!?
"You're traumatizing him!" Jung Heewon hissed, clearly feeling pretty defensive of Lee Hyunsung.
"What? No— oh for fuck's sake, did everyone close their eyes? Ugh, you're all lame."
Did she seriously think he wanted to look at that? Absolutely not.
"It's literally just my face on a blank body, which you'd know if you looked at it for more than half a second."
Again, he'd rather not, even if it wasn't her actual body. It was uncomfortable in so many ways, and even if she didn't seem to care all that much whether or not they saw, Kim Dokja still didn't want to. It would feel too much like looking at the body of a teenager, even if she was older than that (hopefully—now that he thought about it, he had no idea how old she was even though the kids called her ahjumma to tease her, and she acted pretty immature most of the time…), and Kim Dokja felt sick just at the thought of it.
Though he could hear her sigh amidst the dings of indirect messages, Kim Dokja didn't open his eyes. Plus, even though he wasn't looking, the distinctive icy aura of her disapproval was unmistakable, and he really didn't want to have it see that either, thanks.
The rest of the avatars rush past the incapacitated soldier to move towards the fleeing 'women'. As she beheads them, she names them and their crimes. In seconds, the three main offenders are dead. As she looks up at the last one, she seems confused, not knowing his identity but goes to kill him anyway since he's part of the group.
Before she manages to, however, Dokja's voice rings out and tells her to leave that one alive. After she processes what he said, her dagger freezes centimetres from the 'girl's' neck. As Dokja casually walks forward, he declares that this guy is needed alive for clearing this scenario. Snorting lightly, Sooyoung declares that he's late.
The scene briefly passes over the three resting kids before moving to Dokja and Sooyoung, where Dokja is investigating the corpses. As he does so, he has to constantly tell Sooyoung that he did, in fact, become a constellation. As Sooyoung walks circles around him, looking for differences, she grills him on the specifics of what becoming a constellation entails. It's understandable that she doesn't know about it because it hadn't been in anything she had read, but Dokja just sighs as he thinks about all the things that have changed—he can borrow stories, strike deals with other constellations and nebulae, and change the attitude of certain constellations towards him.
Through the sounds of violence, Kim Dokja could tell that Han Sooyoung was going for the kill. It made sense for her, but fuck he really hoped that it would be safe to look again soon.
Thankfully, Yoo Sangah spoke hesitantly. "Um, I think it should be okay to look now."
Kim Dokja blinked his eyes open only to see the author looking extremely exasperated while being pinned under Yoo Joonghyuk's furious glare. Now that he thought about it, had the protagonist closed his eyes too? Kim Dokja had almost assumed that he would have kept looking out of spite, but maybe he didn't feel like it.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is frowning deeply.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is scoffing.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is happy to see more murder.]
As Han Sooyoung moved to kill the last member of the group, Kim Dokja suddenly froze. Shit, that person was—
"Ahjussi!" Shin Yoosung cried excitedly as she managed to wiggle her way back around to see the screen. "You saved that guy!"
"Yeah," Kim Dokja sighed in relief. "If that's who I think it is, we'll need him for something."
It's not that the scenario couldn't be cleared without that guy, but it would make the process significantly easier. At the rate they were going, a less intense end to the scenario would be like a vacation.
[many constellations are confused by the plan of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
Thankfully, it seemed that the woman had heeded his words, and now she was grilling him about what it was like to be a constellation. Kim Dokja sighed, but didn't pay too much attention since everyone in the room already knew how it worked. This wasn't any kind of new information, even if it was pretty funny to see her get all worked up over it.
Plus, with his new capabilities, he'd be able to help propel the protagonist towards a happy ending even more smoothly than before. And with the help of that nebula he had accidentally created, too, he supposed.
When Dokja gets annoyed by some of the indirects he's getting, he glares at the constellations using a message of his own that costs 200 coins to send. When she asks if it was him who sent it, he agrees while standing up once more, sighing as he realizes that it took coins to send the indirect message, so he shouldn't do it too much. Sooyoung then asks if this is why he actually held off on accepting a sponsor. When he agrees, she asks if it's too late for her to do the same now—something that Dokja confirms in a very casual way. This prompts Sooyoung to glare at the air, and an image of a dragon evading her gaze appears as it's confirmed that she's glaring at her sponsor.
Brushing off her annoyance, she asks why Dokja doesn't have a modifier yet. Dokja doesn't verbally answer, guessing that it's because he has yet to gather enough fables. The Star Stream is currently looking for a modifier for him, after all.
Being a constellation without a modifier is similar to gaining citizenship without having a home to live in.
When Sooyoung calls him a vagrant for this, Dokja responds that he'll likely have one by the end of his fifth fable—currently titled [The Lonely Messiah]. She looks vaguely annoyed before a smile blooms on her face once more, and she asks if he's strong enough to beat Joonghyuk yet.
Shin Yoosung giggled as Kim Dokja used some coins to send an indirect message of his own. "You can finally get back at them, ahjussi!"
Oh that was so satisfying, even if he wished it didn't cost 200 coins per message.
[several constellations are gasping at the audacity of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
Sucked to be them.
"Fuck, I should have done that," Han Sooyoung grumbled. "If only I had known about it…"
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is feeling betrayed.]
It was her fault for choosing the chuuni dragon, so she had to live with that decision now.
"Ahjussi, I have a question!" Lee Jihye exclaimed, looking at Kim Dokja intently. When he tilted his head in confusion, she carried on. "At the banquet, you talked about Master's perfect jawline—"
Kim Dokja was pretty sure that he hadn't said that part out loud, but whatever.
"—but you never guessed that the constellation could actually be Master. I thought it was just because Master hates constellations, but is this the real reason?"
Ah, so that's what this was about. He nodded. "Well, Joonghyuk-ie would rather die than become what he hates, but yes. You can't become a constellation yourself if you have a sponsor, and since Joonghyuk-ie is already bound by the sponsor contract even before the Sponsor Selection in the first scenario, there was never any chance of the Secretive Plotter actually being him in the first place."
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded once, but that and his obvious displeasure were enough to prove that he would never do such a thing.
"And constellations can change their appearance, just like the 'Queen of the Darkest Spring' does to look like Sangah-ssi," Lee Seolhwa recalled. "Well, considering his attitude towards you, Dokja-ssi, I can't say that I'd be particularly surprised if he'd choose to look like Joonghyuk-ssi specifically."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is staring suspiciously at the constellation 'secretive plotter'.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is scoffing at the inane assumptions.]
What was she getting at there? Did she think that he would do something like that specifically to piss off the protagonist, or something? What did Kim Dokja have to do with it?
Jung Heewon and Yoo Sangah nodded in agreement with her words, and even Han Sooyoung did the same despite looking done with everything. Lee Jihye was snickering, but Kim Dokja was glad when the topic of his modifier was brought up because it meant that he could leave this topic behind.
"Oh right, you don't have a modifier yet, Dokja-ssi," Lee Hyunsung remarked. "Those are usually made based on your identity or feats, right?"
Kim Dokja nodded. He hadn't done anything yet that would earn him one, and he was honestly a bit nervous about what it could end up being. God, he hoped that he wouldn't end up with something lame because he would never live it down.
"I think hyung should get something about scamming," Lee Gilyoung said excitedly, and Kim Dokja died a bit inside. He'd rather not…
"No, it's gotta be something about reading," Shin Yoosung protested.
Yoo Mia scoffed. "Everyone thinks ahjussi is ugly, so it's probably going to be about that."
Ow.
"Mia," Yoo Joonghyuk scolded, using only his tone of voice. The girl huffed and pouted, appropriately chastised.
"Sorry, ahjussi."
Huh, he hadn't been expecting an apology for that, even if she absolutely sounded like she had been forced into saying it. Kim Dokja waved her off with a small smile. He'd get his modifier soon enough, and he really hoped that it was something he could be proud of.
[many constellations are curious about what the modifier of the incarnation 'kim dokja' will be.]
Though Kim Dokja wasn't exactly thrilled by the name of his fifth story—he wasn't a messiah of anything, what the fuck—at least he had it. However, he did feel a bit apprehensive as Han Sooyoung asked whether he'd be able to beat the protagonist. She wasn't thinking about asking him to get revenge for her or something, right? Because there's no way he would.
Thinking about this, Dokja looks down at his fist, which has probability crackling around it. His gaze is impassive as he guesses that the Star Stream doesn't yet know the right level of constraints that should be applied to him, and that he's still being evaluated. Finally answering Sooyoung, he states, "Maybe I could beat him if I fought him now."
Her eyes widen in shock before he states that he could only do it right now—the protagonist is the protagonist for a reason, and becoming a constellation is the only way that Dokja can match him. Her face then freezes comically in a very 'one brain cell orange cat' kind of face as Dokja moves onto asking for his stuff back. Grumbling, she passes it all back while lamenting the loss of feeling rich.
As he continues to get his items back, the contract fulfillment pop-up appears and it's revealed that he gave her 20,000 coins for the trouble, which she feels isn't much. As she grumbles about having to give him back 600,000 coins while only getting 20,000, Dokja asks if she'd rather give that amount back too, which makes her scoff and turn her back to him. He then points to the side, "By the way, when are you going to release that? That's sexual harassment you know."
Following his gaze, Sooyoung sees Hyunsung nearly crying in fear as the avatars continue their bizarre taunt and dance around the poor soldier. Sounding not sorry at all, she declares that she forgot and that it isn't a big deal since the avatars have no body features anyways. Sure enough, Hyunsung was incapacitated by what were basically mannequins with Sooyoung's face on them.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is watching the current events curiously.]
He wouldn't have too much time before he got slapped with probability constraints, but while he was still being evaluated, he had a lot more leeway. As much as Kim Dokja hated to admit it, his power scaling abilities didn't lie—while he could potentially beat Yoo Joonghyuk right now, he would definitely lose the second the constraints were put into effect.
Yoo Joonghyuk, however, raised a brow. "Do not be overconfident, Kim Dokja."
Fuck.
A shudder went down his spine. "Joonghyuk-ah, don't take it so seriously…"
Considering what his future self was saying, shouldn't the guy be taking this as a compliment!? Kim Dokja literally had to become a constellation to even hope of matching him! That was saying more about Yoo Joonghyuk's insane strength than anything else.
[several constellations are shocked by the declaration of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is watching the discussion excitedly.]
"Also, my future self is right. Give me back my stuff." There was no way in hell that Kim Dokja was about to go through the rest of Dark Castle without his sword.
Though Han Sooyoung grumbled, she did give his stuff back. Sure enough, he had paid her for it, so why was she still so upset?
"That's a lot of coins," Jung Heewon whistled. 600,000 wasn't shabby at all, but he definitely needed to have more for what he was planning.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is grumbling that the incarnation 'kim dokja' is a cheapskate.]
And so what if he was? Kim Dokja could have not included any payment on the contract at all.
Unfortunately, Kim Dokja winced as his future self pointed out the sexual harassment that poor Lee Hyunsung was still putting up with, and thankfully the screen seemed to have stylized the avatars in the distance to only be outlines. It felt less invasive to see this, but that didn't mean that he liked it either.
"Ahjumma, that's gross," Lee Jihye deadpanned. "I feel bad for Hyunsung-oppa."
Lee Hyunsung was once again hiding his face, always the gentleman. Kim Dokja just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Why did Han Sooyoung have to be like this?
[the constellation 'scribe of heaven' is insisting that the incarnation 'han sooyoung' make her avatars decent this instant.]