Chapter 33

3 I couldn’t kill Pildu because he was needed to clear the scenario. But there was no way to make him leave his land. When face with this kind of dilemma, it can be helpful to focus on the very premise of the overall situation. If the problem was that Pildu was on his private property, you needed only to destroy said private property. “U-ugh… G-get me out.” “Y-you son of a…” The only issue was, I needed an enormous force to accomplish this. The kind of power capable of destroying a large property in a single blow. This was why I’d prioritized the evolution of Hyeonseong’s attribute. “Arrrgh…” The people who had fallen down to B3 were buried under the debris and moaning in pain. My plan had worked. Green Zones were gone, and the landlords had lost their rooms. Amid clouds of dust, Pildu Gong was glaring in our direction, his face contorted with rage. As he was about to open his mouth, Bihyeong’s voice came into my ears first. What have you done?! Aaaaah! Be quiet. Are you out of your damn mind? All the goblins in Chungmuro are going crazy because of you! I was well aware. I already had a headache from all the constellation messages. [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is delighted by the mess you created.] [Constellation Bald Leader of the Peasants’ Army supports your revolution.] [Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon revels in the chaos and carnage.] [You have received 300 coins as a donation.] “G-get that bastard!” “Kill him!” Members of the coalition were getting up one by one and yelling at us. I started running toward the lower-level platform with Hyeonseong. [Exclusive skill “Character Profile” has been activated.] <Character Profile> Name: Hyeonseong Lee Exclusive Attribute: The Man Who Regained Justice (Rare) Exclusive Skills: [Bayonet Lv.2], [Camouflage Lv.2], [Patience Lv.1], [Justice Lv.2], [Weapon Proficiency Lv.3] Stigma: [Great Mountain Crush Lv.1], [Great Mountain Push Lv.2] Hyeonseong Lee’s evolution was successful. To be precise, it was only the first step, but our group’s combat power was greatly enhanced with the addition of his “Great Mountain Crush.” “Hyeonseong, how many more times can you use that?” “Two at most.” Hyeonseong was panting and looked quite exhausted. That was understandable. A stigma on the level of “Great Mountain Crush” was like an ultimate skill that consumed a great amount of stamina and magic power. When it came to simple brute force, there weren’t many abilities of the same type that could match “Great Mountain Crush.” My companions, who had been scattered throughout various spots in the basement, were now running toward us. I asked Sangah, who was in the front of the group, “Did you get them all?” “Yes, we took them all down!” “I had no idea you could destroy the rooms like that. We struck the floor together, and it went kaboom!” said Huiwon, who was right behind Sangah. Sangah, Huiwon, and Gilyeong had each taken care of the small Green Zones. Most of them, except Pildu’s land, were for three people or fewer. There were slightly bigger Green Zones, but someone else would take care of them. Hey! Can’t you hear me? What’re you gonna do now? Meanwhile, Bihyeong was still ranting at me through Goblin Communication. What’s the issue? Did you forget? There are other channels than mine in Chungmuro! Don’t you know what’ll happen if you pull this kinda stunt? Of course I did. The constellations in Pildu Gong’s channel must’ve gone mad. Which channel is Pildu Gong? …Biryu’s. #BIR-3642. Isn’t that the goblin who was filling in for you before? Yeah, right. That jerk. What’s his viewership like? It’s mostly thrill seekers. A goblin whose viewership was mostly thrill seekers… That was why Biryu’s hosting style was so violent. This worked for me. Reactions for his channel would be hotter than I expected because they had to be quite frustrated. As soon as we went down the stairs to the Line 4 transfer platform, I spotted a familiar face. She was twirling her sword in the air. “Did you get ’em all?” “Yeah. It was easy.” Jihye Lee destroyed the bigger rooms for five to eight people. I had her take care of the ones Huiwon couldn’t handle alone. She was definitely a student of Junghyeok Yu…no, the incarnation of Korea’s greatest hero. There were no more Green Zones in Chungmuro. “Now what? Those bastards will come after us soon. Ah, speak of the devil,” Jihye quipped nonchalantly, as she glanced behind me. “By the way, I’m not helping you this time.” “I wasn’t expecting you to.” Huiwon squinted at Jihye as she stepped back. “What’s her deal?” I just realized that Huiwon wouldn’t know her, but there was no time for introductions. Hahhh… You’re in big trouble now. With Bihyeong’s words, a system message rang in my ears. [A bounty scenario has been activated.] <Bounty Scenario - Assassination Request> Category: Sub Difficulty: C Mission: The constellations of Channel #BIR-3642 have requested the assassination of a specific character. Kill incarnation Dokja Kim in Chungmuro. Time Limit: 10 minutes Reward: 2,000 coins Penalty for Failure: None I knew this would happen. Things were getting interesting. By now, every single incarnation in this station would be gathered on the Line 3 platform to hunt me down. “So whoever kills you gets two thousand coins?” asked Huiwon standing next to me. “Why? Are you gonna go for it?” “Nah, ’course not. If it were two hundred thousand coins, maybe…” Did she know how much that was even worth? “Dokja, get behind me.” It was Hyeonseong who moved first, stepping in front of me. Then Huiwon stood beside him. Sangah and Gilyeong positioned themselves on either side of me. It was quite an impressive defensive formation with me in the center. Huiwon smiled. “Looks like we’ll finally get to repay a little bit of what we owe you.” “Dokja, we’ll block them no matter what.” People began to gather around us, their hostility in open display. Not just the furious Landlord Coalition, but also the tenants who were blinded by the bounty. I turned to Gilyeong, who was gripping his weapon tightly. “Relax.” I glanced at the train track while patting the boy on the shoulder. “We’re not the ones they’ll have to fight.” I couldn’t remember the exact chapter, but there was a certain scene in TWSA. I didn’t have the time to check which loop it was, but at one point, Junghyeok, who had gone mad from repeated regressions, destroyed all Green Zones as soon as he arrived at Chungmuro. In other words, just like right now. [Due to the destruction of all Green Zones in the station, the main scenario system has become overloaded.] [The difficulty of the scenario has been adjusted according to the time remaining.] [The scenario has been updated!] <Main Scenario #3 - Emergency Defense> Category: Main Difficulty: B- Mission: Monsters scheduled to spawn over the remaining days of the scenario will now appear all at once. Survive the onslaught of monsters during the remaining time. Remaining Time: 8 hours Reward: 1,000 coins Penalty for Failure:— If the scenario had progressed normally, there should’ve been three days remaining. Once the Green Zone scenario became overloaded, the monsters that were scheduled to appear over the rest of the scenario were spawned all at once. In other words… [Emergency Defense has begun!] …a defense game had started. “Wh-what?!” People who were coming after me went into a panic. Threatening howls came from beyond the safety screen doors. We could see the shadows of monsters coming like an angry wave. “Shit! What the hell is this?!” The Line 3 platform quickly fell into chaos. People’s faces turned pale at the sight of the oncoming monsters. It looked like they had already forgotten about the bounty scenario. As grolls chomped down on members of the Coalition, others freaked out and ran away. This was our only chance. I yelled at my team. “Run up the stairs to the transfer!” We sprinted upstairs at full speed. As we neared the top of the stairs, a logjam of panicked people blocked our way. “Hey! Get out of my way!” “You wanna die?” I kicked some people aside and immediately pulled out my sword. The crowd stepped back, startled by the sight of the gleaming blade imbued with “White Star Weapon Aura.” “You still don’t get it, do you?” “Wh-what?” “You people won’t survive even if you make it up here.” Despair fell over the people’s faces. There were no rooms left anywhere in Chungmuro. That meant there was no place safe from the monsters. “What are we supposed to do, then?” “What else? Stand and fight.” “You’re crazy! Cut the crap and move! This is all because of you! If you hadn’t destroyed all our rooms…!” I lifted up the Blade of Faith and thrust it into the staircase. Craaaack! The staircase collapsed with a loud noise, sending dozens of people tumbling down. It was cruel thing to do, but it had to be done. “What the—?! Look for the other stairs! Hurry!” I don’t think so. I looked at Hyeonseong running toward the other side of the platform. There was only one staircase still intact. A moment later, there was a loud crashing noise. “No! Aaah!” Now stuck on the Line 3 platform, people were yelling in desperation. I didn’t know when she got here, but Jihye was already at the top of stairs with us. There was no trace of her usual playfulness in her face. “This isn’t what you told me earlier. If you leave them there, everyone will d—” “I know,” I replied, looking down at the floor below us, which had devolved into total chaos. Yes, if I left them like that, they would all die. And the swarm of monsters would step over each other’s bodies to climb up here. That was not my plan. [Exclusive skill “Bookmark” has been activated.] [“Character Bookmark” has been activated.] [Available bookmark Slots: 3] [Loading the list of bookmarks available for activation.] <List of Bookmarked Characters> 1. Delusional Demon Namwoon Kim (Understanding 35) 2. Steel Blade Hyeonseong Lee (Understanding 65) 3. Rabble-Rouser Inho Cheon (Understanding 20) Activate the third bookmark. [The third bookmark has been activated.] [Duration is shortened because your “Bookmark” skill level is low.] [Duration: 5 minutes] [The character’s skill will be only partially effective due to your low understanding of this character.] [“Incite” Lv.2 has been activated.] I suddenly felt my tongue squirm in my mouth as if it had a will of its own. I guess this was how it felt to be Inho Cheon. I looked downstairs. I spotted a middle-aged man who was standing like a statue in the middle of the chaos. “Hey, Pildu! How long are you gonna stand there like an idiot?” He glared at me after hearing my voice. “You son of a—!” “You should get moving if you want to live. Depending on what you do, everyone can survive.” The power of “Incite” was ringing in the ears of the horrified people. “M-Mr. Gong!” “Sir, please help us!” I saw Pildu’s face contorting. I continued as if I had actually become the real Inho Cheon of Geumho Station. “The third scenario isn’t as hard as it seems. If everyone gives up their rooms and joins the fight, the number of monsters gets adjusted to a manageable level.” What I just said was half-true. If everyone in Chungmuro had banded together from the start and fought, there would’ve been far fewer casualties. In other words, the real trap of this scenario was the Green Zones. “Pildu, if you fight alongside these people, everyone can stay alive.” Those who fought together would live, and those who ran for their lives would die. [Jihye Lee’s sponsoring constellation reveals his epithet.] [Constellation God of Naval Warfare nods in agreement.] “There are no more rooms to run away to. Landlords, tenants…forget about all that and fight together. Otherwise, you’ll die.” The “Incite” skill worked best in an urgent situation like this. “That bastard…” “Mr. Gong! Please help us!” The members of the Coalition gathered around Pildu. If he ran away now to save himself, his Landlord Coalition would be completely destroyed. Quickly, he made his decision. “Damn it… Everyone, gather around!” People on the lower floor began to group around him. “It takes time to set up the ‘Militarized Zone.’ Hold them back for just a bit!” The core was Pildu Gong’s “Militarized Zone.” But its weakness was that it would take time to install whenever he moved positions. The air was filled with sprays of blood and the screams of people who had their arms and legs torn off. “Ack!” As I expected, the first ones to be sacrificed were tenants, not members of the Coalition. “Sangah.” “I’m on it.” She understood what she had to do even without my explanation. Using her skill “Lashing Thread,” she began rescuing people who could no longer fight. After all, they had already done their job if they’d bought even one second for Pildu to set up his “Militarized Zone.” “Ugh… Th-thank you.” One by one, the tenants were dangled up into the air, then pulled to the safety of the upper floor. The rescued tenants trembled as they covered their wounds. In spite of the situation, some of them furtively gripped their weapons when they spotted me. “Oh, you’re gonna go for the bounty?” I asked them with a smile. [The bounty scenario has timed out.] [The bounty placed on incarnation Dokja Kim has been annulled.] “Shame. You should’ve come at me a bit sooner.” “I-I’m sorry.” The tenants dropped their weapons in shame. Pildu’s voice rang out from downstairs. “Get out of the way!” [Character Pildu Gong has activated the skill “Private Property” Lv.3!] [Character Pildu Gong’s stigma “Militarized Zone” Lv.4 has been activated!] With a mechanical sound, five turrets rose up from the ground. In no time, a volley of red magic bullets crisscrossed through the air. The initial barrage was a direct hit, and the swarm of ground rats squealed in panic, momentarily pausing their onslaught. People cheered excitedly. “Get ’em, Mr. Gong!” “Yeaaah!” As expected of Pildu Gong. When it came to defense-type scenarios, there was no incarnation better than him. He was one of the Ten Evils for a good reason. “Die, you damn monsters!” Excited by the initial success, Pildu Gong began to fire his turrets like a madman. Hyeonseong Lee seemed amazed. “What an incredible stigma. Looks like he’s using up a lot of magic power, though. Is he going to be okay?” “It’s an efficient ability. He’ll be fine on his own for a while.” “If we don’t help him…” “He can handle them by himself. We’ll just get in his way if we go down.” Pildu’s sponsoring constellation, Defense Master, was crazy about this kind of scenario. He wouldn’t die here as long as his constellation supported him. That is, if Defense Master could continue to support Pildu. “Let’s sit back and enjoy the show,” I said sitting down and stretching out my legs. “…Are we off duty for now?” When Hyeonseong sat down with me, the others began to relax as well. “Thanks. I could use a nap since I didn’t sleep much,” said Huiwon. “Go ahead.” She lay down and was snoring within ten minutes. I did tell her to go ahead, but…this woman had nerves of steel. “…Is it really okay for us to relax like this?” Sangah sounded worried. I could see why she’d feel conflicted. After all, no other scenario before this had been so “easy.” All we were doing was occasionally pulling up people who were in danger. “Be glad you chose the right side.” “What about them…?” “It’s simple. They chose the wrong side.” Down below, Pildu was in a mess. “Gaaaah!” This is karma, you asshole. “Damn it! Damn it all…!” Pildu Gong’s screams echoes amid the endless onslaught of monsters.