Chapter 32

2 It was time for my plan. My companions and I were on the Line 3 platform. They were checking their weapons. It looked like Hyeonseong had done his job well. “I handed out the weapons like you asked, Dokja.” Everyone’s old weapons were quite worn out, so I had asked Hyeonseong to make new ones. The parts came from the level-8 subterranean species we fought last night—swords and spears made out of grolls’ horns. They wouldn’t last long, but they should be serviceable for what was to come. Huiwon smiled in satisfaction. “This is much lighter and stronger.” “Ah… Thank you, Dokja and Hyeonseong. I mean it.” Sangah bowed her head. We couldn’t fashion a blunt weapon with a groll’s horn, so Gilyeong was stuck with his old ground rat skull mace. I patted him on the head as he wordlessly stared at the ground. Poor kid. He looks disappointed… “This won’t be easy. It could get more dangerous than yesterday. Is everyone ready?” They all nodded, looking serious. “Then we’ll commence the operation.” From now on, it was a race against time. We’d have to work as quickly as possible before the Landlord Coalition figured out what we were up to. Hyeonseong and I started going up the stairs after the other three dispersed to each floor for their missions. “Dokja, I’m not so sure about this,” Hyeonseong admitted. Wait, you can’t say that. You’re the key to this whole plan. I tried to sound as firm as I could as I replied. “This has to go well.” But Hyeonseong looked unsure. “Seems like everyone’s really counting on me. It’s a lot of pressure. I don’t know if I can live up to that.” “Hyeonseong, you’ve earned every bit of the trust we’re putting on you.” “I appreciate you saying that. Honestly, this is all very new to me. No one’s ever relied on me like this, not even in the army.” It was the first time I’d heard of that. Now that I thought about it, I didn’t know much about Hyeonseong’s life back in the army. It was only briefly mentioned in TWSA. “When this scenario is over, I’d like to hear your story.” I said that without much thought, but Hyeonseong appeared to be quite touched. [Character Hyeonseong Lee begins to open up to you.] [Your understanding of character Hyeonseong Lee has greatly increased.] “Sometimes, I get an odd feeling when I talk to you, Dokja.” “Pardon? How…?” “Almost like you’ve known me for a long time… It’s hard to explain, but…” Hyeonseong’s trailed off as he scratched his cheek. “Oh, I didn’t mean it in a weird way. I’m just saying…” “Yes, I know what you mean.” “Thank you. Actually, now I’m curious about your story too.” “My story?” “Yes, I’ve never met anyone like you before. There’s a lot I want to know about you. Like what you used to do before all this.” It felt strange. A supporting character from a novel I read was curious about me. It was weird and a bit embarrassing. “It’ll be a boring story.” “I still want to hear it.” Suddenly, a question popped into my head. If TWSA hadn’t become reality, would Hyeonseong Lee be living in the same world as me? Or was he a character who only appeared when the novel became reality? Whatever the case, one thing was certain—he had become a living character, and he was right in front of my eyes……and that was that. At that moment, a group of middle-aged men approached us. “Oh, it’s Junghyeok Yu’s pal. You here to negotiate?” The Landlord Coalition was here. “Hmm, it’s just you two? What about the others?” The man speaking had a woman by her collar. She was one of the people we’d seen occupying a five-person room yesterday. The man smirked as he noticed I was staring at her. “Oh, her? She kept refusing to sell her room, so… Anyway, don’t worry about her.” “H-help me! Please!” The woman looked at me desperately. Constellations of the absolute good alignment began to make a racket in my head. But I waited because I knew there was someone who needed to make a move first. “Let her go.” It was Hyeonseong Lee. “Who the hell are you?” asked the man in a mocking tone. Hyeonseong looked at me as if he was waiting for my permission. I nodded. [Character Hyeonseong Lee wants to carry out justice of his own will.] [Character Hyeonseong Lee’s attribute is about to evolve.] The members of the coalition pulled out their weapons. There was a murderous glint in their eyes. I checked the time. Shall we get started? I increased my stats with coins. [You invested 1,200 coins in stamina.] [Stamina Lv.15 -> Stamina Lv.18] [Your stamina level has increased.] [You invested 1,200 coins in strength.] [Strength Lv.15 -> Strength Lv.18] [Your strength level has increased.] I needed to get maximum efficiency with minimum investment here. [Coins owned: 20,450C] Because I had to use the rest of my coins elsewhere. Boooom! The sound of small explosions rang throughout the subway station, followed by people’s screams. These were signals from my team. “Hyeonseong!” He nodded. We charged at the men in front of us. The members of the coalition went into a panic. “What the hell?!” [Exclusive skill “White Star Weapon Aura” has been activated.] “Gaaah!” The arm of the man who had the woman by her collar went flying through the air. His companions looked stunned as the blood gushed out of his wound like a fountain. Hyeonseong and I ignored them and kept running. The middle-aged men quickly came back to their senses and chased after us. “Those crazy bastards! Stop them!” We got to the aisle on B2. From here on was Pildu Gong’s private property. [You are trespassing on private property!] “Surround them!” The members of the coalition standing out front spotted us. There were fewer than I expected, as if some of the members were missing. Twelve up front and twenty at the back. It was still too many for the two of us to handle. Well, I wasn’t planning on dealing with them anyway. Hyeonseong moved ahead of me as we were about to collide with the landlords in the front. [Character Hyeonseong Lee has activated the stigma “Great Mountain Push” Lv.1!] “Aaargh!” Hyeonseong charged forward with incredible force, knocking the men down like dominoes. [Character Pildu Gong has activated the stigma “Militarized Zone” Lv.4.] Soon, turrets began rising up from everywhere on the private property, loaded up with red magic bullets and ready to open fire. There was a total of five turrets. It looked like Pildu Gong’s “Militarized Zone” had leveled up since last time. “Dokja!” I ran to stand in front of Hyeonseong and took his shield. As soon as I held it up, a hefty force slammed into it, pushing me back. Boom! Blam! Kaboom! I felt like I was hit by a cannon. My arm holding the shield was in pain. The “Militarized Zone” with level-19 magic power was a force to be reckoned with. But it was manageable. [Your stamina level has exceeded 20 due to the boost from Unbreakable Faith.] [A powerful protection surrounds your body.] “If it isn’t Mr. Squatter.” I heard Pildu Gong’s cold voice coming from the other side of the shield. The coalition seemed to relax, seeing me and Hyeonseong pinned by the power of the magic bullets. The iron shield’s durability had decreased greatly. I could probably only block about a dozen more bullets. Pildu Gong spoke up, sounding amused. “You don’t look like you’re here to pay the fine. What is it?” “We’re done being tenants.” “Interesting. Are you trying to take my land?” “Well, not really.” [Character Pildu Gong’s “Private Property” causes the stats of intruders to decrease.] ……There it is. This was what made Pildu Gong such a fearsome opponent—the debuffing effects of “Private Property” combined with the defensive prowess of “Militarized Zone.” The red-hot barrels of the turrets began to glow with a crimson light as they gathered magic power. [Character Pildu Gong’s mini turrets are preparing to fire magic bullets.] With the combined power of “Private Property” and “Militarized Zone,” almost no incarnation could challenge Pildu Gong at this point in the scenarios. “Die.” As magic bullets were about to be fired, I heard screaming in the distance. Wounded members of the Landlord Coalition were rushing here. “M-Mr. Gong! The ground is…!” A sword wound. Jihye had made her move. This was it. I looked at Hyeonseong. “Hyeonseong, now’s the time.” He blinked rapidly. “Take it all down.” Hyeonseong raised his fist high as if he had been waiting for this moment. His eyes looked nervous and anxious, but at the same time, his face was full of determination. He would not run or hide from this moment. [Character Hyeonseong Lee’s attribute is evolving!] A blinding flash, then a silver aura began to surround Hyeonseong’s body. I felt a bit emotional as I watched. The evolution of Hyeonseong’s attribute was one of my favorite scenes in TWSA. Steel Blade Hyeonseong Lee was one of the strongest supporting characters in the novel. And this was why— [A new stigma has been unlocked due to the evolution of his attribute.] When it comes to a single powerful blow, few in all of TWSA could match him. [Character Hyeonseong Lee has activated the stigma “Great Mountain Crush” Lv.1] All of Hyeonseong’s magic power was concentrated in his white-hot fist, and his arm bulked up to an abnormal size. “Hiiyah!” His fist slammed into the ground. An ear-piercing explosion echoed throughout the place as the broken ground scattered into the air. Members of the coalition cried out in shock. “Wh-what?!” Fissures spread across the ground, knocking the turrets out of position. Magic bullets missed their marks, blowing up all around the area. Smoke from the explosions made it hard to see. With an enormous quake, the B2 floor began to collapse. [The Green Zone has been destroyed.] [Character Pildu Gong’s private property has been destroyed.] I smiled at Pildu, who had turned pale at the sight of the crumbling floor. “Now, let us go back to a time when no one owned land.”