Chapter 44

5 After the rooftop, I went straight to Myeong-dong Station with Hyeonseong and Sangah. Dongmyo Station was important, too, but there was something we needed to take care of first. Since I had taken away the Myeong-dong group’s flag following the group leader’s death, I needed to quickly occupy that unclaimed station. “Are you sure we don’t need to bring more people?” Hyeonseong asked, sounding worried. “We’re not going there to fight. It’s to decide what to do about them. The people of Myeong-dong will die if we leave them like this.” Unless they were extremely lucky, people who lost their groups, or “drifters,” would fall prey to other groups. Like what happened to the former Landlord Coalition members who left Chungmuro. But when we arrived at Myeong-dong Station, an unexpected scene was waiting for us. Everyone had already been killed. In an extremely violent manner, at that. Men in commando uniforms were standing around the flag slot. They flinched in surprise when they saw me, then quickly disappeared toward Hoehyeon Station. They used motorbikes, so it was unlikely we’d be able to catch up to them. It looked like they had been prepared to escape at a moment’s notice, as if they’d known I’d come. It was all very suspicious. “Who are those people? What happened here?” Hyeonseong asked. “I’m not sure.” “Even Dokja doesn’t know…” Hyeonseong swallowed nervously. The one bit of good news was that Myeong-dong Station’s flag slot was empty. [Myeong-dong Station is currently unoccupied.] [Will you take over this station?] I took the flag from my back and planted it into the flag slot. Then the same flag as mine appeared in its place. [You have taken over Myeong-dong Station.] [A station you have taken over cannot be seized by others unless someone captures your flag or takes over your headquarters.] [Currently occupied territory: Chungmuro (HQ), Myeong-dong] [Your red flag has accrued more points.] The red color of the flag got darker. [You have expanded your territory by taking over another station.] [A hidden scenario has arrived.] [King’s Path has begun!] <Hidden Scenario - King’s Path> Category: Hidden Difficulty: A Mission: Occupy at least ten stations within the given time. Time Limit: 10 days Reward: The King Attribute Penalty for Failure: If you fail to occupy at least one station per day, you and everyone in your group will die. Finally, this dreadful scenario had begun. Once I started this quest, there was no turning back. The destiny of a king was one of two: become the king or die. [A new candidate for the king began making his own path!] Capture the flag would now begin in earnest. As soon as I returned to Chungmuro, I gathered my team and explained the scenario. Huiwon looked intrigued, but Hyeonseong looked like he had mixed feelings. Sangah looked worried as usual. “That sounds very hard… Will you be okay, Dokja?” “I’ll be fine.” Were they some kind of angels? Or just naive…? The normal reaction was to be jealous that I got the hidden scenario. But they were sincerely worried about me. “Still, it’s reassuring that you’re the candidate to be king,” Hyeonseong said. “Thank you.” “Wait, does that mean…I should start calling you ‘Your Majesty’?” I quickly waved my hand at Hyeonseong’s completely serious question. “…You’re kidding, right? Of course I don’t want you to—” “Your Royal Majesty, according to the hidden scenario, shouldn’t we go take over another station right now? The lives of your subjects are at stake, O king.” I smiled bitterly as I answered Huiwon. “We need more information on the people who attacked us. We’ll head to Dongmyo Station right away. Huiwon and Hyeonseong, will you come with me?” Sangah quietly raised her hand. “What about me…?” “Please stay here, Sangah.” “Oh…of course, okay…” I realized I made a mistake when I heard the disappointment in her voice. Sangah was probably questioning her own worth. She didn’t have Huiwon’s attack power or Hyeonseong’s stamina. Nor did she have an impactful ability like Gilyeong’s. “Sangah.” “…Yes?” All Sangah’s professional certifications and skill set had become useless in the new world. And yet, she was too nice to be jealous of others. So she was probably hurting in silence, mired in insecurity. “Not everyone can be good at the same thing.” “Yes, I know that.” Sangah smiled weakly. I carefully chose my words so I didn’t sound like I was lecturing her. “Do you remember what I said back in the subway? Dokja lives Dokja’s life, and Sangah should—” “Live Sangah’s life. Yes, I wrote it down and saved it on my phone.” I wanted to ask why she would write down something like that, but that was probably just how she was. She even looked a bit proud of the fact… How could anyone not like this woman? I sighed softly. “I need you right here, Sangah. Gilyeong’s still unconscious. We can’t leave him like that. And someone has to keep an eye on Pildu and lead the group members who are nervous.” Sangah seemed to waver. “Not to mention guard against Hoehyeon. They could attack while we’re gone. Sure, that’s what Pildu is here for, but we may need your thread depending on the situation.” She thought about what I said for a moment, then nodded solemnly. “I understand. That’s the only thing I can do right now so—” “That’s why…I’d like to appoint you to a new position. What do you think, everyone?” “Huh?” Hyeonseong and Huiwon thought about it for a bit, then nodded. “Sounds good. I trust Sangah.” “By your will, my king…” I glared at Huiwon and shook my head. [You use your authority as the leader.] [The leader of Chungmuro, Dokja Kim, has transferred a portion of his authority to group member Sangah Yu.] [Group member Sangah Yu has been appointed the vice leader of Chungmuro Station.] [Sangah Yu now has the ability to punish disobedient group members in the leader’s place.] Sangah looked at me like she couldn’t believe what had just happened. Then she spoke in a nervous tone. “Um…I’m not sure I deserve such an important position…” “Sangah, you’re the only one I trust for this job.” I truly meant it. Not everyone could be good at the same thing. But I knew she could certainly do this job well. From my experience, there was more to Sangah Yu than just “the pretty and kind-hearted HR employee.” No such person existed in this world. That was just a character from a novel or something. And Sangah wasn’t a character from the novel, and “Character Profile” proved it. After a long pause, Sangah raised her head. “I’ll do my best.” There was now determination in her eyes. That was the Sangah Yu I remembered. “I know you will.” We went directly to the tunnel connecting to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station. There were three more stations until Dongmyo. We took the unconscious Ilhun Kang with us. To be honest, bringing him along was a burden, but I needed him in order to single out the Oracles. When I looked back at Chungmuro Station behind us, I could hear Sangah’s voice. “Everyone, please gather around.” She was the type of person who worked even harder when no one was watching. It looked like she had already organized the group members. I heard people receiving orders from her. She would have to decide how to guard the station and appoint people for each section. Most of the group was composed of former Coalition members, so there might be some troublemakers who refused to listen to a younger woman, but… [Sangah Yu, the vice leader of Chungmuro, has used punishment.] A scream of agony… It’ll be okay, right? Yes, everything will be fine. Huiwon stared at me, then spoke. “That was nice of you. Sangah seemed a bit down earlier.” “I didn’t do it to cheer her up. I did it because I know she’ll do a good job.” “Then gimme a title, too. Something that suits me.” “How about ‘Headsman’?” “…Never mind.” Huiwon grumbled and turned her head. “By the way, is it okay to just leave that jerk on the rooftop?” “You mean Junghyeok?” “I guess that was his name.” “He’ll be fine.” “You talk like you know him well. What’s your relationship to him?” “That’s…” I thought about it and asked Huiwon a question back. “Huiwon, do you have a younger sibling?” “…Yeah. Why?” “A sister or a brother?” “A little brother.” “How old is he?” “I think he’s in seventh grade…” “What’s it like having a younger brother?” “Annoying. He’s a huge pain and doesn’t listen… One time, he got in trouble at school, so I had to go in mom’s place…” Huiwon proceeded to give a long rant about her younger brother, then tapered off. She then just stared out into space. “But you’re worried about him, right?” I asked. “Well, yeah… I mean, we’re family.” “That’s similar to how I feel.” “You have a younger sibling, too?” “No, I’m talking about Junghyeok.” “Huh? Oh…” Huiwon thought about something for a bit and nodded a little later. “I thought you hated him. Guess not,” she said. “Oh, I do hate him. I got into so many fights because of that jerk.” In the early days of TWSA, I wasn’t the only reader of the series. For the first ten chapters, there were quite a few people who were curious about the new series. Even up to chapter fifty, there were twelve readers other than me. Back then, I was as crazy as Namwoon Kim… I fought with them all the time in the comments section. I wondered what those people were up to. Perhaps the so-called Oracle I was going after now was one of them. “You two seem to have gotten quite close.” After Hyeonseong said that, I realized Huiwon and I were too close as we walked. She smiled. “What? Are you jealous, Mr. Army Man?” she teased Hyeonseong with a smile. “A-ahem. I-it’s not that. I’m just…” Right. Hyeonseong Lee went to an all-boys middle and high school. Then he majored in engineering, then went to the army… Poor guy. “…Letting you know we’ve arrived at Dongdaemun Park.” From this distance, we could see the entrance to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park’s platform. Inside, we nervously clung to the tunnel wall as we carefully explored the station. We were prepared in case of any enemies that might be there. However, we worried in vain. “Strange. There’s no guard,” said Huiwon. It was the middle of capture the flag, but there was no guard at this station. That meant this station was claimed by another group. We went straight to the flag slot after confirming there was no other presence. [This station has been claimed by the Dongmyo group.] [In order to take over this station, seize Dongmyo Station’s flag or plant your flag in the station’s flag slot.] I knew it. At that moment, Ilhun came to. I thought he was having a seizure because his body shook violently. It was odd. I lifted the thread from his mouth, and he yelled. “N-no…!” “…What’s wrong with him?” “D-Dongdaemun…our station…!” Ilhun stuttered and drooled. I had a certain suspicion and put my hand on his shoulder. Then… [Character Ilhun Kang is currently a drifter.] Ilhun had been the part of Dongdaemun group until just now, but it changed. “What’s going on?” asked Huiwon. “It seems Dongdaemun Station has been taken over.” “…Eh?” I suddenly understood everything. The people who had leaked the information had planned this all along. “…Tsk, it was a double trap.” The real masterminds had goaded Myeong-dong and Dongdaemun into attacking Chungmuro, knowing full well that they didn’t stand a chance against us. And while those stations were left unguarded, they swooped in and took over Myeong-dong and Dongdaemun. The mysterious commandos we saw in Myeong-dong were probably with their group. But…how did they know we’d win? There was no way they could’ve known about me. After all, in the third loop, the leader of Chungmuro was supposed to be— …I see, so this is what those bastards were after. This confirmed it. The so-called “Oracles” who came up this plan had to be… Hyeonseong spoke up. “Someone’s coming.” Actually, a group of people was coming from the tunnel connecting to Dongdaemun. Even at a glance, I could tell they were very well-armed. Their items looked at least C-grade or higher. It wasn’t easy to acquire those weapons by completing ordinary achievements. They had very high combat power. The first one to address us was a man in the middle of the group. He had a slim build, and there were various items attached to his arms and around his neck. “Huh? Ilhun Kang? My, you’ve brought some unwelcome guests.” Ilhun trembled and then fainted with foam coming out of his mouth. So he must be the one… [Exclusive skill “Character Profile” has been activated!] I received a surprising message shortly after. [This character’s information cannot be viewed via “Character Profile.”] [This character is not registered in “Character Profile.”] Oh? The man looked at us. “Aren’t you going to introduce yourselves? Or…?” With that, the others in the group pulled out their weapons. I moved forward and answered. “We’re from Chungmuro.” “Chungmuro?” Just then, sparks flew into the air with a crackling sound. [Someone is using “Search Attribute” on you.] [Exclusive skill “The Fourth Wall” has blocked “Search Attribute.”] The man’s knees buckled as if he was mentally shaken. He hesitated before turning to me with panic in his eyes. “…Pardon me. May I ask your name?” I looked at Huiwon and Hyeonseong. Then I smiled and spoke with the coldest and deepest voice I could muster. “I am Junghyeok Yu.” Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint will continue in Volume 3.