Chapter 20

2 Everyone fought well. To be honest, I was a little surprised. Without being told to, Hyeonseong stepped up to the vanguard next to me, with Huiwon close behind. This naturally shaped our group into a solid formation—the three of us in the front, and the other three in the rear. Less than one minute passed, but by then, the ground was strewn with the corpses of monsters with their necks pierced. Hyeonseong took down another ground rat and wiped sweat off his brow. “…I think we’re doing all right.” Once our overall stats are raised, humans are not weak by any means. Even so, Hyeonseong’s willpower was exceptional. The average person wouldn’t have been so casual in their first fight against monsters. There was a reason why he would later be called Steel Blade. But the one who surprised me most was Huiwon. “These monsters have a pretty simple attack pattern.” She was proving that her “Kendo” skill wasn’t just for show. Each time her blade met a ground rat, a limb or its tail went flying through the air. “Hiiyah!” Huiwon had invested most of her recently earned coins on her strength stat. Her endurance left a bit to be desired, but each one of her strikes was forceful. Shunk! Just as I was having that thought, her sword cut an arc through the air. “Damn it, I missed one! Can you get it?!” Her voice was shaky like she was out of breath. Since her stamina stat was low, she was not suited for a prolonged fight. That was probably her only weakness. Grrrr! A ground rat dashed into our ranks, ignoring our blows. It was a devious move. Having scattered our formation, the monster did what every predator knows how to do by instinct: It lunged at the weakest-looking member. “I got it.” But unfortunately for the ground rat, it had chosen the wrong target. Whack! Gilyeong gripped his weapon tight with both hands and slammed it down on the monster’s head. Due to his small frame, the blow didn’t have the power to kill, but he had done enough. The rest of us could finish the job. Pshk! Sangah’s sharpened spear pierced the ground rat’s body. The monster flailed violently in an attempt to shake it off. Sangah looked panicked, but she maintained a tight grip on her weapon. Kreee… The ground rat ran out of energy and slumped. To be honest, I’d expected Sangah to have trouble adjusting, but she had proven me wrong. Most people would have seized up with terror like Myeongoh over there. “U-ugh…!” Myeongoh was busy hiding while the rest of us were fighting hard. But he couldn’t even do that properly, and his shin was bleeding from a monster’s attack. Kreeek! Once I’d stabbed the last ground rat with my thorn, it finally became quiet. I shook the blood from the thorn and checked on the group. Other than a few scrapes and bruises, no one was seriously injured. An impressive first victory. Sangah and Gilyeong plopped down on the floor, and Hyeonseong stuck his spear in the ground to wipe his brow. “…Dokja, how many did you kill by yourself?” “Four.” “Tch, I only got two.” “Three here.” Watching Hyeonseong raise his spear confidently, my pride was a bit hurt. Only one fewer than me? I wasn’t going all out, but still…I peeked at Hyeonseong’s character profile. <Character Profile> Name: Hyeonseong Lee Age: 28 Sponsoring Constellation: Master of Steel Exclusive Attribute: A soldier who turned a blind eye to injustice (Common) Exclusive Skills: [Bayonet Lv. 2], [Camouflage Lv. 1], [Patience Lv. 2], [Justice Lv. 1], [Weapon Proficiency Lv. 2] Stigma: [Great Mountain Push Lv. 1] Total Stats: [Stamina Lv.12], [Strength Lv.9], [Agility Lv.9], [Magic Power Lv.6] Summary: This character’s attribute is nearing evolution. He has quite a bit of trust in you. His sponsoring constellation is wary of you. *A “Starter Pack” is currently in effect. Huh, a starter pack? No wonder he’s so strong. Master of Steel must’ve taken quite a shine to Hyeonseong. The Starter Pack was a coin package that could be used by incarnations whose stat points were below level 10. It not only raised each stat by one but also granted the skill “Weapon Proficiency,” making it useful in the early levels. Hyeonseong was very lucky. Never mind a starter pack—most incarnations were thrust into danger with no support from their sponsoring constellations. “Dokja, you don’t look so good…” “Ah, no. I was just thinking about something.” Must be nice…It’s not like I don’t have the money to buy one. I just don’t want to buy it. It’d be a waste, since my average stats are well over ten already. Damn it, if I’d only gotten access to the Goblin Shop a bit earlier… “Let’s gather all the ground rats we killed. We need to prepare food for today.” “Hmm…So how do we cook this? I don’t think we should eat it raw.” “We can’t eat it now, but there should be a way.” Did I sound too matter-of-fact? Everyone suddenly went silent. Hyeonseong was the first to speak. “Dokja, I’ve been meaning to ask…” “Yes?” “Do you…know something about this whole situation?” It was only then that I realized I’d slipped up. “That’s…” I thought of regressors in novels I’d read, then about Junghyeok Yu. So this is how they must feel when their secret is in jeopardy. How would they respond in this case? I remembered a few options. I could try to convince them it was just a hunch, or come up with a lie like the one I told Junghyeok back on the bridge. [Constellation Secretive Plotter is looking forward to your choice.] [A small number of constellations are looking forward to hearing your answer.] But, as a reader, I daresay the best response is… “G-gaaah!” …to make it so that I don’t have to respond. [Constellation Secretive Plotter nods in approval.] “One’s still alive!” Huiwon screamed. Hyeonseong jumped to his feet. But the ground rat that had been hiding moved faster than anyone. It was also much bigger than others. Grab— “H-help meee…!” It grabbed Myeongoh’s leg and dragged him into the hole it had come from. Sangah, who was next to him, tried to swing her spear, but Myeongoh made the situation worse by clutching her body in panic. “Grab onto this!” Hyeonseong offered the handle of his spear, but it was too late. The ground rat had vanished underground, taking the two of them with it. [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is furious about the predictable cliff-hanger.] Huiwon was livid. “Ugh, seriously…I knew that guy was nothing but trouble…” “…I’m sorry. I was too slow.” Hyeonseong sounded despondent. I patted him on the shoulder to console him. “There was nothing we could do.” “Should we go after them?” I stared at the hole the monster had disappeared into. It was no ordinary hole. I could sense something on my skin. It was like the darkness had mixed into the air. I pretended to think and quietly stepped back to turn on my phone. The battery was at five percent. I’d traded some food to someone in the minor group in exchange for charging my phone this much. [Your reading speed has increased due to your exclusive attribute.] It didn’t take long for me to find the passage I was looking for. …Ground rats live in the deepest part of the dark fold, a sort of a subspace emanating from dark roots, a tree of the demonic realm. Ground rats breathe in the black aether instead of air. Thus, they can only live near the dark fold… I knew this already, but it was worth reviewing. I see. This is the entrance to the dark fold. I read the rest of the passage, then put my phone back in my pocket. “Dokja?” Hyeonseong was looking at me anxiously. I nodded. “We’re going in.” “Oh, then…” “But it’d be too risky for all of us to go. You and Huiwon should stand guard here. I’ll send you a signal if something goes wrong.” Huiwon was shocked. “No way…You’re going in there with just Gilyeong?” “His ability will be helpful for tracking down those monsters.” As she was about to strongly object to my decision, I gestured to Hyeonseong. “Huiwon is in bad shape, so please take good care of her.” It looked like Hyeonseong had come to a realization. “Understood.” “Hang on. I’m really fine, though.” “Huiwon, being confident is good, but you shouldn’t be reckless.” “……” She looked like she was out of breath. Clearly, she hadn’t healed completely from the poisonous fog. I left those two behind and ventured into the hole with Gilyeong. The shaft extended downward at a nearly vertical angle, but as soon as we entered, we could walk down somewhat normally, as if the direction of gravity had shifted. This was due to the magical energy emanating from the dark fold. “This way.” We couldn’t see a thing this deep in the darkness. I was only able to move forward thanks to Gilyeong holding my hand. Because the black aether absorbed all light, flashlights were useless. If it weren’t for his “Interspecies Communication,” I would’ve had to spend more coins. “Uh, Dokja.” Gilyeong broke the silence. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” “…Did what?” “When the monster went for Sangah and the old guy, you let it take them.” I paused for a brief moment. The boy’s hand now felt strange in the dark. Even before I could ask him how he knew… “I know ’cause I was watching your face.” I couldn’t believe he’d been observing me during all that. Scary kid. No point lying to him. He’s way too sharp. “You’re right.” Messages came as soon as I answered him. The constellations must have thought this was interesting. [Constellations of the absolute good alignment frown at your cruelty.] [Constellation Secretive Plotter’s eyes glint in anticipation of your scheme.] “Why did you do that?” “I did it because of the ground rats’ behavior.” I decided to answer him honestly. “They have a habit of storing their catch in one spot. Sometimes, they not only hoard food but rare items as well. But it’s like a maze down here, so the only way we can find the nest is by following their trail.” Gilyeong was quiet. I continued. “I was expecting Myeongoh to get dragged off, but not Sangah, too.” “So your goal was the items all along? Not to save Mr. Han and Sangah?” “That’s right. Are you disappointed?” “No.” I felt Gilyeong’s little hand grab my finger tightly. “You’re not a good liar, Dokja.” “……” “If you really were that kind of person, you wouldn’t have saved me in the subway. I trust you.” I thought he was mature for his age, but a kid was a kid. He didn’t know being mature and being an adult were two separate things. [Some constellations get misty-eyed at this moving scene.] [They have donated 200 coins.] And this world was full of despicable adults who would take advantage of his “maturity.” The tunnel was longer than I’d thought, so we went down for quite a long time. “Dokja.” “Yeah?” “By any chance, are you a god?” “…What?” “Or maybe the ‘main character’?” Sometimes children ask the most acute questions. Perhaps it’s because they still lack the ability to separate metaphor from hard fact. Gilyeong probably didn’t know exactly what he meant by his own question. “I’m not a god or the main character. In fact, I’ve always been jealous of the main character.” “But you do know something about this world, right?” I debated for a bit before responding. “I do.” “Then can I ask you something?” “If it’s something I can answer.” “Once I clear all the scenarios…will I get to make a wish?” “A wish?” That caught me by surprise. “You know, there’s usually a reward at the end of this kind of story. There’s one at the end of this story, too, right?” Gilyeong’s breathing was shaking in the darkness. I suddenly remembered how he’d looked at his dead mom. People who adjust to the new world each have different ways of coping with it. Some descend into madness, while others turn to fanaticism. And some cling to irrational optimism. “Yes, that’s right.” I was glad it was pitch-black in here. This boy couldn’t see my face right now. “We’re almost there, Dokja.” The black aether around us decreased rapidly. This meant that a dark root was nearby. I tensed up and pulled out the thorn. [A small number of constellations hold their breath.] I heard the sound of ground rats digging nearby. As the noise grew closer, my sense of the environment expanded. I could see a fire someone had made in the distance. Beyond the fire was a black chest. As soon as I was sure I was in the right place, the messages came. [The sub scenario has been updated.] [You have entered the ground rats’ treasure vault.] “Dokja! That’s…” Before Gilyeong could excitedly point out the treasure chest, I clapped my hand over his little mouth. “Shh, wait.” The world of TWSA was ruthless. Constellations entertained themselves watching humans fight adversaries, and the obstacles in a scenario were designed to screw us over. If an enemy looked defenseless, like those ground rats, then chances were it was a trap. We couldn’t even trust the system messages. “Sometimes, there are things other than treasure in treasure vaults.” [Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is disappointed.] Abyssal Black Flame Dragon…that bastard has wanted to see me dead for a while now. Anyway, I waited. Soon, shadows began appearing near the chest. Grrr…Squeak! They were ground rats. They brought something through the tunnel and exchanged information by making odd crying noises. Fwoosh. As the number of ground rats grew, the number of flames brightening the area increased as well. Dark flames fueled by the black aether. The fact that they were burning all around us meant that we’d reached the center of the dark root, where black aether was overflowing. We heard some people talking. “This is all your fault, Sangah!” I’d have recognized that voice anywhere. Gilyeong seemed surprised, so I squeezed his shoulder firmly. It wasn’t time yet. “What do you mean, it’s my fault?” I could see the two of them being guarded by ground rats in the faint light. They were tied up with vines from the ground. “I-if you hadn’t gotten on the subway, I wouldn’t be in this mess!” “What does me taking the subway have to do with any of this?” I can’t believe Sangah’s even bothering to respond to Myeongoh’s nonsense. Is she a saint? Or is her sponsoring constellation Buddha himself? “W-well…you always commuted on your bike, so I…” Myeongoh blabbered on. There was a cold edge to Sangah’s voice now. “Wait. Manager Han, you were the one who stole my bike?!” “C-come on! I offered to give you a ride in my car! You should learn when to accept someone’s kindness.” “Answer me. Did you steal my bike?” I suddenly understood what had happened. So this was why Myeongoh had been riding the subway instead of taking his fancy car. Well, there were a lot of men who had their eyes on her—not only in our company, but around Geumho Station as well. [Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire dislikes incarnation Myeongoh Han.] Myeongoh’s face had turned so red I could see it clearly even by the light of the dark flames. This isn’t looking good. “Fine! I did! So what?!” “Why are you yelling at me? You’re the one who took my stuff! That’s theft!” “Theft? None of that would’ve happened if you’d just gotten into my car!” [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is tired of this pointless bickering.] I was going to wait a bit longer, but I had no choice. I quietly readied the thorn. “Look, Sangah. Did I harass you? Huh? It’s not like I asked you out or anything! I simply offered to give you a ride home out of the goodness of my heart. But you kept refusing, so I—!” I threw the thorn with all my might. It flew past Myeongoh’s mouth and hit something in the dark with a whack. “Gaaaah! Wh-what was that?” [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is pleased.] [You have received 100 coins as a donation.] “Dokja!” Sangah called my name. But I wasn’t looking at them. Craaack… The darkness opposite the ground rats began to crack. It’s coming. Of course that bastard had to be where a dark root was. [A warden of the dark has appeared!] [The sub scenario has been updated!] [Sub Scenario - Defeat the Warden has begun!] Ground rats cowered in fear like slaves before a king. A pitch-black figure appeared in the faint light. The monster reminded me of a grim reaper, but with tentacles on its back. Gilyeong’s face quickly turned pale. “Ugh, Dokja, I—” “It’s okay, go ahead.” Gilyeong bent over and started vomiting. It was understandable, considering we could sense an incredible pressure from the warden of the dark, even from here. All the cockroaches near us were dead on their backs, having burst open from the presence of the warden. Gilyeong must’ve suffered quite a bit of mental damage since he had been connected to those insects. “Gilyeong, how many more times can you use ‘Interspecies Communication’?” “…I can still do it once or twice.” “Okay. Stay here and rest for a bit.” I made him lean on the wall and then walked toward Sangah and Myeongoh. Myeongoh was in a panic and struggling to get loose. “Ahh! What’s that…?!” I cut the vines wrapped around their bodies with my Swiss Army knife. I only used the weapon a few times, but it was enough to corrode the blade. That was the power of the demonic species. “Stay back,” I told the two of them as I picked up Myeongoh’s spear. The level-7 demonic species, warden of the dark. Of all the monsters that had appeared since the apocalypse, demonic species were a bit special. The ground rats’ treasure served as an offering to these horrors. Their kind was far more dangerous than other monsters of the same level. [The warden of the dark is under the protection of the demon king it worships.] “Kamun, Dehr, Etur.” Each demonic species has their own language and worships a demon king. They can draw upon their master’s power through dark roots. [The warden of the dark emits “Fear.”] [Exclusive skill “The Fourth Wall” nullifies the effects of “Fear.”] In other words, killing a member of a demonic species meant making an enemy of a demon king. “Etur!” I couldn’t understand what it was saying, but this was bad. I really wanted to avoid fighting it. “…Mother?” It was Sangah’s voice. Why hadn’t she fled yet? “I told you to stay back!” “No, wait. That monster just said ‘mother’…” It was so unexpected that it took me a second to process what she’d said. No, hang on. “Let’s see…K-kardu emiren? Huh? Did I pronounce that wrong? Akedu?” For a second, I thought I’d heard her wrong. But no, she was actually trying to speak to it. “Kalidu!” Surprisingly, the warden of the dark was nodding at what Sangah said. [Character Sangah Yu has activated the skill “Interpretation” Lv.3.] …No way. She’s not only good at Spanish, but also demon tongue? “So what is it saying?” “Um…it keeps repeating—‘become mother.’” …Become mother? The warden of the dark pointed at Sangah and yelled once again. “Kalidu!” Sangah blanched. “W-wait, no! I’m not even married yet!” The warden of the dark pointed at Myeongoh this time. “Kalidu!” Myeongoh, who had been wiping his bloodied lips, turned pale. “Wh-why would I be a mother?! A father, maybe!” A tentacle from the warden’s back whipped through the air. Swish! “Urbff!” Myeongoh’s face began to turn black as the tentacle entered his mouth. Something went down his throat with a gurgling sound. So that’s what it means by “become mother.” I’d just remembered that demonic species impregnated other beings with their offspring. “Sangah, you don’t want to have kids yet, do you?” “Of course not!” Sangah understood what I meant and quickly stepped back. I swung the spear and cut the tentacle attached to Myeongoh. The monster cried out in anger. “Kaliduuu!!” Swoosh! Clang! Little by little, its tentacles broke down the spear. Even the Stone Hog’s Thorn, which had damaged the angler dragon’s stomach, had begun corroding on contact with the warden, so this makeshift spear stood no chance. Sangah had already dragged Myeongoh to safety. She looked at me, as if asking, “We can beat this thing, right?” But to be honest, I had zero chance of winning. Swoosh! Swoooosh! Clang! The spear was too damaged to use after it had parried just a few attacks from the monster. The hand I was using to hold the spear throbbed painfully. This monster’s not like the angler dragon back at the bridge—it’s not meant to be fought and defeated. That was why I’d been planning to wait for it to leave, then open the treasure chest. But every good plan has a contingency in case something goes wrong. “Goblin! You’re watching this, right?” U-umm. Y-you knew? The goblin appeared like a bright light bulb in the dark. I didn’t know its name, but it looked like Bihyeong’s cousin or something. “There should be a package for me. Give it to me, quick.” Hee-hee. That’s not m-my job. B-Bihyeong’s in charge of that. “And you’re supposed to be filling in for him. Can’t you see the constellations are getting impatient?” [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is nagging Goblin Biryu.] [Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is threatening Goblin Biryu.] Biryu let out a squeal, then gulped loudly. F-fine, just th-this once. A-and only because it sounds f-fun! The goblin mumbled something, and an item began to appear. [An item has arrived from the auction house.] [You have obtained the item Broken Faith.] [The commission fee is waived due to your contract.] Broken Faith. I had put the Angler Dragon’s Nucleus up for auction through the Goblin Shop in exchange for it. And it had finally arrived. “Keh.” The warden of the dark sneered at the item that had appeared in my hands. Understandable, since it was only a D-grade sword. Also, it was broken. [This item is too worn out to be used. Its durability is too low for it to be effective.] Even the goblin who’d given it to me was laughing. Y-you thought you could fight with that? And you can’t u-use it unless you have a very s-special skill anyway… Of course, I knew that. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have traded for it. “Haah…” I took a deep breath and concentrated. Vweem. The sword was vibrating rapidly. Biryu was shocked. Huh? H-how?! Yeah, you’d better be shocked. After all, I purchased this skill from your friend for a whopping ten thousand coins. A whitish-blue aether began surrounding the broken blade. “White Star Weapon Aura.” After I’d killed the angler dragon, I’d purchased this skill from Bihyeong. Unlike the top-level martial arts skills, this one had a small penalty. But it was the most powerful weapon aura skill I could get right now. [Broken Faith reacts to your magic power!] [Blade of Faith has been activated!] Soon, the blade glistened as a new blade emerged from the tip of the broken one. Broken Faith. This sword’s true power is revealed when it’s imbued with a weapon aura skill. Swoooosh! Dozens of tentacles spawned and obstructed my view. Even with my stamina level, I couldn’t bear the monster’s attacks. I was afraid. But there was a chance of winning now. After all, Blade of Faith was an extremely effective weapon against demonic species. Fsssh! The blade of light cut through the tentacles like a hot knife through butter, disintegrating them upon contact. The warden of the dark cried out and withdrew its tentacles. I felt my mana draining quickly, but I remained calm. Shunk! I focused on wielding my sword. I missed a few tentacles because I didn’t have “Combat Sense,” and my technique was awkward because I didn’t have “Blade Proficiency.” Naturally, since I’m not a swordsman. I’m a reader. And a reader should fight like a reader. [Your exclusive attribute improves your memory of the pages you’ve read before.] The pages of TWSA turned in my head. The scene I’d read over and over, the moves I’d fantasized about pulling off countless times. I calmly reviewed the novel’s description of this fight. …It’s possible to control the warden of the dark’s attack pattern. When striking its left ankle, a tentacle on the top right reacts first… …And after two attacks in quick succession, there will be an opening… …Its tentacles can regenerate, but it takes several minutes, so… Read a lot and apply what you’ve read in real life. “Kraaah!” Several tentacles flew into the air, severed by my attacks, and the warden of the dark screamed. Gilyeong was watching from the other side. The boy’s eyes were full of awe. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the god of this world or its main character like he wished. But there was one thing I was confident about. “Kardu. Mien. Dehro.” The warden of the dark roared in shock as it barely pulled itself together. From behind me, Sangah interpreted without being asked. “How…my attacks…all of them…?” So that was what it had said. I answered casually, as if this was nothing. “Wanna know how? I read a lot.” I knew this world better than anybody.