Chapter 16

2 Sometimes I wonder. Why do so many post-apocalyptic stories feature cliché villains? Do the authors just assume there’ll be wanton rape and robbery because they’re too lazy to write complex villains? If the apocalypse actually happened, wouldn’t people behave in a rational manner? “He’s not leaving? Kill him!” The answer to that question was in front of my eyes. The group of thugs warily slinking toward me. And the man standing in the back watching it all, as though taking in beautiful scenery. [Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is looking forward to righteous judgment.] This reminded me—human imagination is boring and predictable, but actual humans are even more boring and predictable. One of the men awkwardly swung his iron pipe. It didn’t seem like it was meant to be a killing blow. I doubt it would’ve hurt even if the hit had connected. “Buzz off, or I’ll kill you for real! Scram!” Four men surrounded me. One of them was shaking a bit, but they seemed more confident than before. It was probably because they outnumbered me. “Why are you just standing there?!” Finally, a man yelled and charged at me. He was so full of openings that I almost felt bad. I swung my thorn. “Gaaah! My leg! My leg!” He collapsed to the ground, clutching the gaping wound on his thigh. “That crazy bastard!” “Everyone, attack at the same time!” They came at me all at once, but I wasn’t afraid. Their strength stats were around five. I just stood there as they hit me, and stabbed with my thorn. One by one, they dropped to the ground, screaming in pain while clutching their thighs. But I didn’t kill them. The mission for the bounty scenario had only said to “take care of” them. [Constellations of the absolute good alignment nod in approval of your decision.] [A small number of constellations scoff at your sense of morality.] [They have donated 100 coins.] Brutal murder might get you the constellations’ attention, but only for a moment. Dialing up the shock value too much at once is not smart in the long run. [Three minutes remain until the end of the sub scenario.] I’d used up two minutes so far. Efficient management of time was crucial for scenarios with time limits. “Wh-what is this bastard? Why isn’t he dead already?” Finally, the leader who’d been watching from the back stepped forward. “Hmm, he’s tougher than he looks. Y’all fall back. I’ll deal with him.” “Cheolsu, sir! That bastard must have a sponsoring constellation!” “Good. He must have plenty of coins, then.” His brass knuckles gleamed a slick black. They weren’t an ordinary weapon. Had he gotten them from his sponsoring constellation? Cheolsu cracked his knuckles. [Character Cheolsu Bang has activated the stigma “Threaten.”] [“Threaten” failed due to a large gap between his stats and yours.] “Oh? You’ve got balls. Most idiots would be pissing their pants by now.” The man was throwing a punch before he’d even finished his sentence. A precise strike aimed at my chin. He grinned when I stepped back to dodge the attack. “Not bad. You do martial arts or something?” Anyone with an agility stat over ten could do this, even without a skill. After buying the items I needed, I’d invested most of my remaining coins on my stats, bringing the total of my stamina, strength, and agility up to thirty-three. Let’s see what this guy’s stats are. [Exclusive skill “Character Profile” has been activated.] <Character Profile> Name: Cheolsu Bang Age: 34 Sponsoring Constellation: Monarch of the Small Fries Exclusive Attribute: Assault Captain (Common) Exclusive Skills: [Dogfight Lv.2], [Bluff Lv.2] Stigma: [Threaten Lv.1] Total Stats: [Stamina Lv.6], [Strength Lv.7], [Agility Lv.7], [Magic Power Lv.2] Summary: A small-time crook who got lucky and obtained a sponsoring constellation. He has a tendency to overestimate his abilities. Ah…I see. I remember now. “Cheolsu Bang of the Cheoldu Gang.” “Huh? You know who I am?” “Maybe.” He’d only appeared briefly near the beginning of the story, so I could only recall vaguely, but I did remember a character named Cheolsu Bang. He was the dumbest character among the groups at Geumho Station. According to the novel, he should’ve been killed by Junghyeok Yu, so why was he still alive? “Ah, I get it now. You’re on ‘this side,’ too. Killed a bunch of people, haven’t you? I can tell you and I are of the same breed.” [Character Cheolsu Bang has activated the skill “Bluff.”] “Bluff.” A skill commonly possessed by thugs like him. It’s a good debuff against an opponent with a weak mind, but that’s not the case here. [“The Fourth Wall” has blocked character Cheolsu Bang’s attempt to bluff.] [Character Cheolsu Bang’s confidence has greatly decreased.] “Are you ignoring me? That’s it. I’ll kill you.” Cheolsu posed Greco-Roman wrestler style, like he was about to charge me. But that was a bluff, too. I knew he didn’t have any wrestling skills. “Hurry up before I die of boredom.” “What did you say?! You little—!” Cheolsu Bang’s main skill was level-2 Dogfight. As long as the fight didn’t turn into a messy brawl, he was laughably weak. “Die!” Due the difference in our agility stats, he couldn’t land a hit on me. I looked at him with pity. Not every constellation had the desire to make their incarnation the main character of the scenarios. Unfortunately for Cheolsu, Monarch of the Small Fries was notorious for not caring about their incarnations. They’d just find some idiot they could toy with for a bit, and get a kick out of watching the poor fool get beaten up by another incarnation. A real masochist. That was Monarch of the Small Fries. [Constellation Monarch of the Small Fries is entertained.] [Constellation Monarch of the Small Fries has donated 100 coins.] Just look at that sick bastard, rooting for the enemy who’s pummeling their incarnation. I’d been planning to finish Cheolsu off since there was a time limit, but this changed things. [Two minutes remain until the end of the sub scenario.] Time to milk every last second. “You little rat!” Cheolsu even talked the way Monarch of the Small Fries loved. Poor guy. Pow! “Ha-ha. I hit him!” By sheer luck, he’d landed a hit, but it didn’t hurt at all. I just felt a slight sting. “Wait— How?” What do you mean, “how”? My stamina stat was twelve. And that guy’s strength stat was only seven. Having a different first digit in total stats values results in a huge gap in combat power. “It’s my turn, right?” I said. Cheolsu looked stunned. I gently patted his face a few times before slapping him with all my strength. A couple of his teeth flew out of his mouth, and he rolled to the ground with a scream. Without missing a beat, I pierced his arm with my thorn. “Aaargh!” I pinned one of his arms to the wall with the thorn and beat him relentlessly. His back, thighs, and waist. I only hit the parts that would cause the most pain without knocking him unconscious. [Constellation Monarch of the Small Fries is delighted.] [Constellation Monarch of the Small Fries has requested to extend the sub scenario time.] [The sub scenario has been extended for one more minute.] The spots I was hitting mirrored where the woman had been wounded. “Gaah! Argh! Gyaaaah!” Flesh tore and blood spurted. Broken teeth clattered to the ground. Cheolsu’s joints were bent at all the wrong angles. Still, I continued to kick him. “S-stop! Let him go!” His men sounded panicked. I looked at each of them, then at the woman lying on the ground. Humans are weak. So how were these weaklings capable of such cruelty just because the world had ended? They killed, raped, and robbed other humans. Because of human nature? In the face of a greater violence, Cheolsu’s eyes were filled with fear. I became curious. “Why did you do it?” The question came out of nowhere, so I wasn’t expecting an answer. But as I was about to kick him again, he glared at me. “Shit…shit! Just kill me already, you bastard.” Looking at his eyes, I realized he’d answered my question in his own way. There was no attachment to life in his eyes. I see. It wasn’t instinct that drove him. Cheolsu’s voice faded as he mumbled. “Screw this world, this shitty hellhole…” This man had been in despair long before the world had ended. Just like me. [Ten seconds remain until the end of the sub scenario.] Without further delay, I kicked him hard in the neck. Cheolsu let out a weak groan, then finally passed out. [You have fulfilled the conditions of the sub scenario.] [You have obtained 300 coins.] I’m sure this was enough to please that sick bastard. [Constellation Monarch of the Small Fries is satisfied and has donated 100 coins as a bonus.] The rest of the men were crawling over one by one. “H-how cruel…” They checked on Cheolsu’s ruined body, then gazed up at me without a word. They looked like animals at the slaughterhouse. I put the woman on my back and grabbed the convenience store bags. The old world was no more, and I had to live my new life. “Take me to where the groups are.” Originally, Geumho Station was supposed to develop into a central hub after being cleaned up and reorganized by Junghyeok Yu. In his first loop, Junghyeok cleared the second scenario with the group at Geumho, so the people here had ended up being key supporting characters. But that was just the first loop. Third-loop Junghyeok was a different beast altogether. In the third loop, Junghyeok is a monster who takes everything for himself. “…Still, I thought he’d do some basic cleanup before moving on.” “Pardon?” The man who was guiding me asked nervously. “Just talking to myself. It’s a habit.” [Constellation Secretive Plotter is pleased that you talk to yourself.] “Oh, okay…It’s this way.” Members of the Cheoldu Gang who were leaning on each other to walk came to a stop. I made my way down to the darkened platform. Some sections still had electricity. As soon as we went down the stairs, people began to murmur. “It’s the Cheoldu Gang! They’re hurt!” Some people ran to help Cheolsu and his men. They were more organized than I’d expected and moved in a surprisingly orderly manner. Then I saw some familiar faces running toward me. “My gosh, Dokja! It’s Dokja!” Luckily, they seemed fine. “Sangah.” “Thank goodness, I’m so glad!” Sangah stood in front of me, looking like she didn’t know what to do with herself. I awkwardly extended a hand for a handshake. There were small cuts and scrapes all over her hand. She must’ve been through a lot these past four days. Fwump—I felt someone hug my legs. Gilyeong Lee. I patted the boy’s head. “You doing all right?” Gilyeong nodded. He must not have been eating properly, judging by his sunken cheeks. I took out a candy bar and put it in his hand. “You’re alive, Dokja. Phew…” The last person to welcome me was Hyeonseong Lee. His upper body looked even more muscular than I remembered. He’d likely been fighting to protect the other two. “I’m so sorry we had to leave you behind…” “It’s okay. You had no choice.” “Whew, good thing Mr. Junghyeok Yu was right.” …Junghyeok Yu? Why was that name coming up now? Hyeonseong looked at me and continued. “Well, he said you were probably still alive…” “Where is he now?” “Um, he’s not here.” Not here? “He left this station yesterday, so…” Even before Hyeonseong had finished, I was able to deduce a few things. I see. I get it now. What an impatient guy. “By the way, it looks like someone else is missing.” “Oh, you mean Mr. Han? He’s—” Sangah was interrupted by a group of men rushing in. But that was a good thing. “Get out of the way!” Because I could see at a glance what had happened without Sangah having to explain. Several men, each brandishing a hammer or a pipe, surrounded me. I spotted a familiar face at the center of the group. “You…!” Myeongoh, who had abandoned me on the Bridge of Even Numbers, looked at me as if I were a ghost. How very like him to join that group. “Kick him out. He’s bad news! He shouldn’t be here!” Terrified that I was here to get revenge, Myeongoh yelled hysterically. But the other men only exchanged uneasy glances. Something was off. Myeongoh Han wasn’t their boss? “Ha-ha, Mr. Han. Come on, now. We survivors should get along, no?” “Well, th-the thing is…” “Ah, you must be the newest addition to our group.” The thugs stepped aside to make way as a slim man walked up from the back of the crowd. One look at his eyes, and I could tell. This guy had a sponsoring constellation. “Nice to meet you. May I ask your name?” “I’m Dokja Kim.” “Dokja Kim. I see. I’m Inho Cheon.” Inho Cheon? That sounds familiar… I gripped the thorn tightly. The Cheoldu Gang must have been his lackeys. Had he come to get revenge on me for what I’d done to them? “I heard everything from the others. You fought the monsters and saved our group members, right?” …Eh? “Everyone, please, gather around. We have a brave new team member.” With that, people began to approach one by one. I knew it. Myeongoh Han didn’t have the charisma to lead a group of this size. This man was the true leader of Geumho Station. “Whoa! It’s food!” The people were hungry, and their eyes were on the plastic bags in my hand. Inho spoke as if he’d been waiting for this. “He says he brought food for us. How generous of him, right?” There were gasps of relief, and I became the center of attention. A mother holding her child, an old man with an injured leg…everyone was staring at me with desperation in their eyes. Inho Cheon… I think I remember him now. That’s right, this bastard was in Geumho. [Constellation Secretive Plotter is agitated.] In a fallen world, the truly dangerous people aren’t the ones who have gone mad from despair, like Cheolsu Bang. It’s the ones who use other people’s despair to seize power. Like this one. “Welcome to Geumho Station, Mr. Dokja Kim.” Inho Cheon was extending his hand with a friendly smile. I smiled back at him and shook his hand. I bet he has no idea…that his fate has been sealed just now.