Chapter 23

2 As I was about to speak, I heard Inho’s voice. “Ah, Mr. Dokja! Good timing.” He looked happy to spot us. I had an uneasy feeling as he continued to speak loudly. “If I recall correctly, you had quite a few coins…How many did you have again? I think you were the richest among us.” [Character Inho Cheon has activated the skill “Incite” Lv.2.] People in the crowd hastily turned in my direction. “C-coins?” “Who has a lot of coins?” Before long, everyone’s eyes were on me. What a sly bastard. “M-Mr. Dokja, right?” “Please, help! I beg you!” People ran toward me, gasping in desperation as they clutched at me. There were about twenty of them. If I handed out a hundred coins to each of them, I’d lose a whopping two thousand coins. But if I didn’t, I’d become the most hated villain in Geumho Station. [Your understanding of character Inho Cheon has increased.] “Ha-ha, Mr. Dokja. Sadly, I don’t have enough to help these poor people…But you have plenty, right? Are you just going to watch?” I sighed to myself. I’m done playing along with your games. [Constellations of the absolute good alignment have deemed character Inho Cheon “Evildoer.”] I’d been patient with this scum for long enough. “H-help me!” “Help me, please!” People cried out to me with the most pitiful expressions on their faces. Ha-ha-ha! This is getting interesting! By the way, you have ten minutes left! Bihyeong looked like he was having the time of his life, and my allies were helplessly staring at me. I slowly closed and opened my eyes and took a deep breath. “I see. You want me to give out coins?” Then I smiled. “Why should I?” I looked over the crowd. The first scenario had been the original sin. No one here was innocent. They’d trampled other lives to save their own, only to squander their second chance by cowering down here and doing nothing. “Wh-what do you mean, ‘why’?!” “You have a lot of coins! So it’s your duty to share them with us!” Inho burst out laughing at the chaos. “Mr. Dokja, you never disappoint!” “……” “You’ve been like this ever since you came here. You even charged for the food you brought. Do you know how many of these people would be safe now if you hadn’t forced them to pay in coins?” “Yeah! Inho’s right!” “You thief…! Gimme back my coins!” It was quickly turning into a kangaroo court, and I was the defendant. I’m sure this was Inho’s goal all along. “Everyone, please, calm down! You’re being irrational…!” “Dokja isn’t that kind of person!” Sangah and Hyeonseong tried to calm everyone down, but the crowd was out of their minds. And then, Inho threw a torch into the kindling. “Mr. Dokja, I’ll give you one last chance. Give back their coins.” “What if I say no?” “Then I can’t guarantee your safety anymore.” A mob of around twenty people began to approach me. “Y-you…Gimme back my coins!” Yet no one seemed quite ready to make the first move. Eventually, a member of the Cheoldu Gang stepped forward impatiently. “What’re you waiting for? Kill him! Take the coins he has on him!” The inciter was a man with a muscular frame. I activated “Character Profile” to check his information. <Character Profile> Name: Minsang Han Exclusive attribute: Gangster (Common) Total Stats: [Stamina Lv.8], [Strength Lv.8], [Agility Lv.8], [Magic Power Lv.2] His stats were quite high for a petty thug. He couldn’t possibly have started out this strong, which could only mean…So that’s what these bastards have been doing. This guy had clearly let his high stats go to his head. “Die, you little shit!” Minsang swung a steel pipe. A deadly weapon powered by level-8 strength. The Dokja Kim of the past would’ve been paralyzed with fear, but… Shhk! Minsang’s steel pipe clattered to the ground, along with the hand that was holding it. “Gaaaah!” Having tasted blood, Unbreakable Faith surged with a blinding white light. I quietly scanned the crowd in front of me. “Uh-ughh…” They had turned pale as a sheet, having witnessed me dispatching a thug of the Cheoldu Gang with a single strike. That should’ve been enough of a show. Time to get to the real game… “How pathetic…Do you really think I’m the reason this is happening?” I spoke slowly, gazing at each of them one by one. I spotted Inho’s panicked face on the other side of the mob. “You know deep down that I’m not the one to blame.” People opened and closed their mouths like dumb goldfish in a bowl. I continued. “You’re taking it out on me because you’re scared of those thugs. You know exactly what the real problem is and why you’re about to die, but those guys are stronger than you…” “Ha-ha, you can stop right there, Mr. Dokja! What are you trying to—?” “…because they have higher stats and more coins than you, so you don’t dare stand up to them! But you know what?” I stepped forward. The entire crowd moved back like startled goldfish. But they were already in my fish tank. “Think about it. How did they get so strong?” I moved one more step. “Where did they get all those coins? Just because they’re violent thugs? Of course not.” [The people are starting to get agitated.] Even in the midst of their fear, there was a moment of clarity. Suspicion spread from face to face. “C-come to think of it, how do you have so many coins, Inho…?” “Ha-ha, you know why. I’ve sold this and that, and—” “Do you really think you get high stats just like that? Really?” Inho shut his mouth. I scanned everyone’s faces once again from left to right as I spoke. “When I first arrived at Geumho Station a few days ago, there were eighty-seven people here.” “……” “How many people are here now? It looks like fifty at most. Do you know why?” “Th-that’s because people were killed by monsters during recon—” “Monsters? Do you really believe that?” “Then how…” “Use your brain, idiot. How come none of the Cheoldu Gang members have died?” The whole place went silent at once. “And why did they come back strong?” [Constellation Secretive Plotter nods at your deduction.] “Th-that can’t be—” One by one, people exchanged looks. The Cheoldu Gang slowly began to back off. It was my turn to throw a torch into the kindling. “They egged you on, saying you could get coins by killing me.” [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband pulls out his hair in excitement.] “But how did they know you can get coins by killing other people?” “Y-you people…Inho! Did you really…?” “Shut up! It’s all a lie!” As soon as Inho stepped back, the rest of the Cheoldu Gang pulled out their weapons. A collective groan came from the frightened crowd. Ha-ha-ha! Seven minutes left! I moved closer to the others as I spoke. “If you have a shred of pride left, stand up and fight.” Blade of Faith blazed to life. Anger began to fill people’s eyes. “Take back what was stolen from you with your own hands!” As if on cue, all the Cheoldu Gang members came at me at once. And I charged right toward them. “Because that’s the world we live in now!” A bright white flash, and people screamed. Someone yelled, “Damn it, he’s right!” “You sick bastards!” People began making their moves. Everyone here had previously killed someone. “M-mommy!” “Come here, Dayeong! Hold this! Swing it like you did back in the subway!” There was a child and his mom. “You bastards!” There was a middle-aged man, too. “You son of a bitch!” However, the Cheoldu Gang had similar numbers to the mob that had turned against them. And they were incomparably stronger, as a result of hunting their fellow humans and seizing their coins. It was shaping up to be a very one-sided fight. If I hadn’t been there, that is. Shhk! In a moment, the Cheoldu Gang members who came at me lost their arms or legs. The sickening sensation of cutting through human limbs spread through my hands. The incapacitated thugs looked up at me. “P-please spare—” But before he could finish, someone lunged past me and stuck her sword into his pleading mouth. “I told you I’d kill him.” [All conditions have been met for the evolution of attribute “Crouching Figure.”] [Character Huiwon Jeong’s attribute is about to evolve.] Huiwon’s body emitted a bright and beautiful light. I nodded. It was time. [Character Huiwon Jeong’s attribute has evolved into “Judge of Evil (Heroic).”] Judge of Evil. The strongest of the three “judge” attributes had awakened. [You are a major contributor to the evolution of the Crouching Figure.] [From here on, character Huiwon Jeong will not hesitate to be your sword.] “You can stand back now.” Huiwon’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. “Because these bastards are mine!” [Character Huiwon Jeong has activated the exclusive skill “Time of Judgment.”] [Constellations of the absolute good alignment consent to the use of this skill.] [“Time of Judgment” has been activated.] A bloodred aura surged around Huiwon’s blade as it cut a ruthless arc through the air. With graceful and precise swordsmanship, she danced through the ranks of the Cheoldu Gang. Sprays of blood everywhere. “Arghhh!” It was a downright massacre. Of course, it wasn’t just Huiwon fighting. Sangah, Hyeonseong, and even Gilyeong were holding their own. But no one fought as hard as Huiwon. She killed and killed again like she was born to slay. I cut a thug’s arm, and she ran her blade through the heart. I cut another’s leg, and she sliced off his head. Huiwon finished off each and every one for me, no hesitation in her swordplay, as if she had been waiting for this moment. “…” Our surroundings were drenched with blood. In the blink of an eye, Inho was the only remaining Cheoldu Gang member. And even he was gushing blood from wounds inflicted by the people he’d been lording over. Huiwon looked at me and I nodded. Inho bared his teeth in a malicious smile. “Heh…heh-heh…Dokja Kim, you—” But he was not allowed to finish. Huiwon had come up behind him and brought down her blade in a straight line, from the top of his head all the way to his chin. [Every constellation in the channel feels an intense catharsis.] With that, everyone stopped moving. The battle was over. But it hadn’t hit anyone yet. Just a short while ago, we’d been roasting meat and joking around, but that felt like a distant dream now. In this damn scenario… …Sangah was crying… …Gilyeong closed his eyes… …Hyeonseong bit his lip so hard that it bled… …and Huiwon had slumped down in a pool of blood, having spent every ounce of her strength. Yes, this was the reality of the new world. [Survival fee is being processed.] The sickening sound of bursting heads came all around the station. Those who had the coins survived and those who didn’t died. None of us could save anyone. I faced them and stared straight into their eyes. “Get up, everyone.” I looked up, but there was no sky down here. And yet, I glared up at the invisible sky, as if in defiance of some vast, inexorable destiny. “The scenario has only just begun.” As the others got to their feet, I alone thought about the next scenario. Like turning a page, moving on to the next chapter. I felt only calm focus. I had gained everything I should have from Geumho Station. The next stage was Chungmuro. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint will continue in Volume 2.