Even Hypocrisy is a Kind of Goodness (1)
A meteor shower was raining down across the pitch-black night sky. It was a scene that would leave anyone awestruck — anyone except Yoo Joonghyuk.
「So it's finally starting.」
Because to him, the meteor shower was a harbinger that the third main scenario was about to begin. Now, following the scenario's procedures, Seoul would be destroyed one step at a time.
Looking up at the sky for a moment, Yoo Joonghyuk soon lowered his gaze toward the Han River estuary.
Because a large group of sea dragons had recently migrated downstream, the area near Dongho Bridge was unusually quiet.
「I guess it was too much after all.」
It had already been three days since that guy, Kim Dokja, had dived into the river. Expecting someone who had barely cleared the first main scenario to hunt a sea dragon might have been asking too much.
「Even for me, it would take three days to hunt one.」
But Yoo Joonghyuk thought that if Kim Dokja couldn't even achieve that, there was no point in taking him along. If he couldn't handle that much, he would only be a burden.
「So much for being a "Prophet."」
Yoo Joonghyuk closed his eyes with a look of disappointment. He would continue alone. Without any companions — just like always.
And it wasn't anything special.
He had always been alone up until now.
「This time, I will change it for sure.」
With that thought, Yoo Joonghyuk turned away.
But perhaps... he had turned away too soon.
"Wait a second...!"
[W-What the?]
I blinked several times. All I could see was a dull gray ceiling. I was still inside the sea dragon's body. Turning my head, I spotted Bihyung staring at me with wide, startled eyes.
"...I had a dream."
[Oh? Setting up some foreshadowing to spark curiosity? Not bad at all!]
That wasn't exactly the case, but I didn't bother to correct him.
[Some of the constellations are hoping you'll hurry and move to a new location.]
I had just used the Elain Forest's Essence, a 500-coin item I bought from Bihyung, and fallen asleep. I figured it was too dangerous to move while utterly exhausted.
Elain Forest's Essence forces you into deep sleep for two hours but rapidly heals fatigue and injuries during that time.
Basically, it's an expensive but very worthwhile item.
"...Guess it's time to actually get out of here."
Stretching my stiff body, I mumbled the kind of monologue that would satisfy the watching constellations.
The dream I just had was still vivid. Maybe it wasn't even a dream at all.
Zzzzt!
I heard the crackle of scattering electricity — and then Bihyung silently disappeared. He was probably off to take care of some business.
I felt a strange sense of relief.
The stream contract with the dokkaebi...
If I hadn't known Bihyung's background information from Ways of Survival, I could never have gambled like that.
But somehow, I had done it — calmly and perfectly.
In the real world, I could barely even land a mediocre contract.
[Your exclusive skill, 'The Fourth Wall,' is currently active.]
...The real world, huh.
I clenched the thorn I was holding even tighter.
Do I really think of this world as reality?
[Some of the constellations want you to hurry up and take action.]
Yeah, this wasn't the time to sit around thinking about that.
I swung the thorn with all my strength, smashing through the weakened walls of the sea dragon's stomach.
CRASH! Water came rushing in as the wall collapsed. I dove into the Han River.
"Puhah!"
Thankfully, there were no other sea dragons in sight. A few smaller aquatic monsters swam curiously toward me, but they didn't seem hostile. Not every monster attacks humans.
Dongho Bridge should be that way.
Using a piece of the sea dragon's floating corpse as a makeshift flotation device, I paddled awkwardly toward land.
The frigid water stung my skin, but I didn't have the luxury of worrying about that. After about thirty minutes of swimming, my hand finally brushed against the shore.
[Some of the constellations are growing tense as they watch you.]
Usually, right after a message like this, something dangerous shows up.
[The Constellation, 'Black Flame Dragon of the Abyss,' is smiling sinisterly.]
Bad luck for the constellations rooting against me — that won't happen this time.
Because I already knew what kind of danger was coming.
[You have entered the area of the second main scenario.]
[The land within this scenario area is deeply contaminated.]
[Hold your breath and move underground as quickly as possible.]
The system may explain it nicely like that, but to be clear, the moment this scenario starts, you shouldn't even be above ground at all.
Why? Well, you only have to look at my skin to know.
[You have been exposed to poisonous mist.]
The skin that touched the purplish mist was starting to turn black.
Gyaaaaaaah!
I followed the source of the mist and saw a monster emitting terrible shrieks.
A massive creature towering over thirty meters tall.
The mist came from the farts of a seventh-grade monster species: the Toxic Rhinoceros.
The rhinoceros was snorting and blowing mist at another monster through the haze — and from the shadowy glimpse of its form, it seemed to be a King Insect species.
Grrrrrr...
It wasn't just humans fighting for survival in this new world.
The monsters were also battling for their own territory.
I moved as quietly as possible, holding my breath.
Although they were Grade 7 monsters like the sea dragons, they weren't something I could take on right now. I had only been able to kill the Sea Commander because I'd been thoroughly prepared.
Using"LungoftheElrainMonkey."Using "Lung of the Elrain Monkey."
The monkey's lung, which I had purchased from Bihyung in advance, could serve as a substitute for a purification device for about twenty minutes.
AfewConstellationsareimpressedbyyourpreparedness!A few Constellations are impressed by your preparedness!
Oksu Station, the above-ground station, had already been destroyed.
The nearest "underground station" was Geumho Station.
The others had probably also moved there.
I avoided the small monsters feeding on corpses, moving quickly along the roadside. With only twenty minutes, I had to secure essential supplies as quickly as possible before moving underground.
First priority: clothing.
My outer garments had been melted by the sea dragon's digestive fluids, so I needed something to wear. Luckily, plenty of clothes were scattered around, although it was disgusting.
...I guess I had no choice.
I dug through some corpses and put on whatever clothes roughly fit, then headed straight to a nearby convenience store.
I grabbed several plastic bags and swept anything small and calorie-dense into them.
Food would become valuable trade goods once I went underground.
After stuffing about three or four bags full, I noticed the monkey's lung turning darker in color.
Not much time left now.
That's when I heard a voice.
"P-Please... help..."
Someone was still alive?
A young woman was curled up in one corner.
She showed signs of contamination on her skin, but thanks to a medical-grade mask, she wasn't severely poisoned yet.
Her clothes were half torn, her top half-bare and her skirt frayed at the seams.
"Are you alright? Can you stand?"
"Uuhh..."
Was there such an extra in The Ways of Destruction? I wanted to look closer but didn't have time. I hoisted the woman onto my back and ran toward Geumho Station.
Turning onto the main road, I saw it — the station entrance was about a hundred meters away.
I inhaled sharply and sprinted at full speed.
Exit 3's sign came into view in the distance.
...Closed.
What about the other exits?
Due to the disaster situation, every exit was blocked by fire shutters. I could have smashed them open with the Thorn, but doing so could injure people inside.
"Exit 4, Exit 4..."
Unexpectedly, the woman helped by mumbling directions. I dashed toward Exit 4. There, I found a shutter just beginning to lower. I jammed the Thorn into the narrowing gap.
Someone shouted.
"Shit, what the hell?!"
"Open the door!"
"N-No! You can't come in! Stay away!"
"There's an injured person here!"
"We're already at full capacity! We can't take anymore!"
Full capacity? They were refusing entry?
That didn't seem right. Was this part of the original storyline?
"That's not my problem."
Using the Thorn as a lever, I forced the shutter up with all my strength. Since I'd boosted my Strength stat to level 10 with the coins I'd earned, I now had the strength of five or six grown men.
"Uwaaah!"
With a loud crash, the people holding the shutter down on the other side tumbled backward.
"R-Run!"
The terrified men fled into the darkness of the underground passage.
I pulled the shutter down behind me and laid the woman carefully on the ground.
YouhaveenteredaSafeZone.You have entered a Safe Zone.
The poisonous mist didn't reach underground. Not because of any logical reason — it was simply the "rules of the scenario."
"Here, put this in your mouth."
I removed the woman's mask and placed the monkey's lung into her mouth. It wouldn't heal her completely, but it would at least neutralize some of the poison.
"Ugh..."
A faint moan escaped her lips.
A woman abandoned to die.
I suddenly grew curious about her identity. If the story had gone as in the original novel, she should have died already.
I was about to activate the "Character List" skill when a voice called out.
"That's him!"
Flashlights flickered toward me from the darkness.
Squinting, I could make out several men, each holding something like an iron pipe.
TheConstellation,′PrisoneroftheGoldenHeadband,′frownsattheintruders.The Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband,' frowns at the intruders.
The one who spoke was a burly man, his body balanced and powerful — clearly someone who knew how to fight.
"Who the hell are you?"
For some reason, I found myself at a loss for words.
What should I even say in this situation? After a moment of thought, I decided to speak like Yoo Joonghyuk would.
"Kim Dokja."
"…Kim Dokja? That's your name?"
"Yeah."
"Who the hell asked for your name, asshole?! I'm asking what the hell you're doing here!"
A trickier question.
"H-Hey! That woman...!"
One of the men noticed the woman lying by my side, shining his flashlight at her.
"What the — it's one of the Outcast group women! Weren't you guys supposed to return with the others?"
"W-Well, you see..."
The flashlight moved suggestively over her waist.
"...Ha. I see how it is. Cute little punks. Thought you could sneak a girl without the boss's permission?"
"S-Sorry! We didn't mean to! We were going to offer her to Boss Cheolsu first... hehehe."
Cheolsu? Was there a character with that name? I couldn't recall, which probably meant he wasn't important.
"Hey, hand over the woman — and what's that?"
The flashlight stopped on the convenience store bags at my feet.
Looks like I survived the fog, but now things were taking a bad turn.
"Drop the bags and get the hell out. Maybe we'll let you live."
They weren't bad news for me — they were bad news for themselves.
TheConstellation,′PrisoneroftheGoldenHeadband,′isannoyedbythesmallfries′intrusion.The Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband,' is annoyed by the small fries' intrusion.
TheConstellation,′Demon−likeJudgeofFire,′burnswithrageattheinjusticebeforethem.The Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire,' burns with rage at the injustice before them.
DuetotheConstellations′demand,aBountyScenariohasbeengenerated!Due to the Constellations' demand, a Bounty Scenario has been generated!
Category: Sub
Difficulty: F
Clear Condition: The Constellations are furious at the arrival of nuisances slowing down the progression. Eliminate them within the time limit.
Time Limit: 5 minutes
Reward: ???
Failure Penalty: ???
I knew this would happen. Poor bastards.
I grabbed the Thorn and stood up.
I hope none of the Constellations are minors.
Because what's about to happen is definitely adults-only content.