Contract (1)
As the sensation of water filling my lungs hit me, my body became unbearably heavy. It felt like I was being sucked down somewhere, swaying and sinking. I had timed the fall right, so I wouldn't get torn apart. But losing consciousness now would be fatal.
Stay focused.
Just hold on for a little longer.
I curled my body as tightly as I could and held my breath. Ten seconds, twenty, thirty… I barely managed to draw a breath when my hand brushed against a soft wall in the darkness.
"Urgh… ughhh."
After retching up water several times, I was finally able to catch my breath.
Thanks to my level 10 stamina, I managed to avoid passing out upon impact with the water's surface, but the large and small bruises all over my body stung like hell.
I calmed my breathing to avoid panicking and reached into my clothes to turn on my smartphone.
I was worried it might've broken from the fall, but thankfully, the power was still on. Buying a waterproof phone had been a good call after all.
Click.
As the flashlight lit up, the dim outline of my surroundings came into view.
A spacious stomach wall and pieces of concrete debris floating around.
The Sea Commander's stomach was more disgusting than I'd imagined.
"Goddamn it."
I could still vividly recall Yoo Joonghyuk's face as he let go without hesitation and walked off the bridge. I'd expected it, sure—but actually experiencing it was far more shocking than I thought it'd be.
...This was probably his way of saying, "If you want to be my companion, prove you can survive this."
It wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
Companion. For someone like Yoo Joonghyuk, that word carried immense weight. Since the failure of his first regression, he'd never made a true companion.
Very few people could keep up with a regressor's growth. That's why he handled everything on his own, became revered as a savior, and inevitably ended up alone.
To Yoo Joonghyuk, "people" were either subordinates or enemies.
So this was a test.
A test to see if I could solve a situation on my own—to prove I could stand beside him as an equal.
...From Yoo Joonghyuk's perspective, anyway.
"Companion, my ass… fucking psychopath."
I swam over and barely managed to haul myself onto a chunk of floating Styrofoam panel.
The warmth inside the Sea Commander's stomach eased the cold a bit, but now the real problem began.
I closed my eyes and replayed the message log I'd heard during my fall.
[You have failed to clear the scenario.]
[Paid settlement is beginning.]
[100 coins have been deducted as a channel fee.]
[The Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Gobi' nods at your bold statement.]
[You have received 100 coins in sponsorship.]
[The Constellation 'Demonic Fire Judge' nods at your decision.]
[You have received 100 coins in sponsorship.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is disappointed in your reckless comment.]
A decent number of messages had come through. Among them, I noticed some Constellations who'd exposed their epithets had sponsored me.
Most likely because of the last conversation I had with Yoo Joonghyuk.
As I read through the Constellation messages and reclaimed the coins, a sense of regret crept in.
Maybe if I'd chosen one of them as my sponsor in the first , none of this would've happened.
But I didn't regret my choice.
Having faced Yoo Joonghyuk directly, I now understood clearly.
The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was an upper-tier sponsor, no doubt. But even he alone wasn't enough to stand up to Yoo Joonghyuk. To go up against him, I needed more than just a sponsor—I needed something beyond.
And here, I would obtain it.
Squelch.
The stomach wall rippled, and a small wave surged inside the Sea Commander. It looked like it was moving somewhere. I turned on my smartphone and calculated the time.
According to Ways of Destruction, Sea Commanders begin secreting stomach acid roughly three hours after feeding.
Meaning—I didn't have much time left.
[Haha, what a shame. This was getting really exciting.]
A sizzling sound came from the air, followed by a voice.
"…Dokkaebi?"
[Yes, that's right. You're not the least bit surprised, are you?]
"Knew you were coming."
[Hmm. You make it sound like you were waiting for me.]
"I was. Obviously."
A flash of light burst into the air as the dokkaebi appeared. Its expression was unreadable, but its interest was obvious.
I deliberately spoke as casually as possible. If I let it take control of the mood now, I'd lose everything.
"You're here to collect the coins I owe, right?"
[…Coins?]
"I failed the scenario. That means you're here to collect the cost, aren't you?"
[Hmph. Not your life?]
"If you wanted my life, the result would've just said 'death,' not put a bunch of question marks. That means there's room for negotiation, doesn't it?"
[…Hahaha. How interesting.]
Actually, there was a hole in my logic.
The message from the scenario—"Upon failure: ???"—literally meant the penalty for failure was unknown.
Saying that the cost would be paid in coins had just been an assumption.
And yet, the reason I could speak with such certainty—
"Was I wrong?"
—was because I already knew about the scenario.
The dokkaebi paused for a moment, then nodded.
[You're correct. Amazing. To draw such conclusions from so little… you're certainly worthy of the Constellations' attention.]
The dokkaebi's tone was one of genuine admiration.
[As you said, even if a sub-scenario fails, survival is possible—as long as you pay the price in coins.]
"How much?"
[Pay 5,100 coins. Then I'll spare your life.]
I checked the number of coins I currently had.
[Owned coins: 5,100 C]
A laugh slipped out.
This little bastard's messing with me.
"That's too much."
[Haha, then go ahead and die? Whether or not I accept coins is entirely at my discretion. If I feel like it, I could end this right here and now.]
"Then go ahead. Try killing me."
[…What?]
"Kill me. Go on."
[…]
"You can't, can you?"
The dokkaebi didn't move. Of course it didn't.
It was having too much fun with me right now. And if it really meant to kill me, it wouldn't have bothered coming all the way down here in the first place.
There had to be a reason—for me to either survive this or at least die a spectacularly miserable death.
[Ha… you're seriously starting to piss me off. Look here, you and I—]
The dokkaebi's straight-line eyebrows twitched sharply. Maybe it was time to stop provoking it and get to the point.
"Low-class dokkaebi Bi-Hyeong. How's the streamer gig treating you?"
If facial expressions could crack, that's what it would look like. For the first time, a look of shock spread across Bi-Hyeong's face.
[H-How do you know my name?]
"Not feeling the spark lately, are you? The Constellations are stingier than ever with their spending."
[W-Who the hell are you? How could a mere human possibly know that…]
Bi-Hyeong's horns trembled violently.
As expected.
No ordinary human should know anything about the Star Stream system.
But I wasn't an ordinary human.
[A few Constellations are starting to question your identity.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' sparkles with interest at your plan.]
From this point on, it was best the Constellations didn't hear what came next. I mouthed the words to Bi-Hyeong:
"Close the channel for now. Let's talk."
After a moment of hesitation, Bi-Hyeong shut it down.
[#BI-7623 Channel has been closed.]
Once the Constellations were gone, Bi-Hyeong dropped the act.
[Now speak. How does a mere human know about the Star Stream broadcasts?]
"That's not what's important."
[What?]
"Bi-Hyeong, don't you want to become the Dokkaebi King?"
[What are you talking about—]
"I'm saying, don't you want to surpass Dokgak and Gildal? Don't you want to become the greatest streamer among all the demons and spirits?"
Bi-Hyeong's expression began to shift.
"Dokkaebi Bi-Hyeong. Form a contract with me. And I'll make you king of the dokkaebis."