Chapter 57

4 He was the main character for a reason. I’d sent him on a wild goose chase all the way through northern Seoul, but he had a black flag already. When a non-leader took flags from leaders, a hidden scenario—the Path of Revolution—would open. Since Junghyeok knew this, he probably became a king by killing a leader from another station. Seeing how angry he was, Jihye and Huiwon must’ve carried out their missions successfully. I turned to Suyeong as I stepped back a few steps. “Hey, give me the sword.” “No.” “Do you want to die here?” Suyeong looked shaken, and Junghyeok took another step toward me. I yelled. “Gilyeong!” As if he had been waiting for my signal, the boy’s eyes turned white. Rumble—! A tearing sound came from the ceiling above us, following by a loud thumping noise. Then a gigantic mantis came crashing through the cave wall. [Level-6 monster species insect Titanoptera has appeared!] Gilyeong was the best for creating chaos. The whole cave shook from the power of the monster species insect. The moment Junghyeok looked away in surprise, I smacked Suyeong on her small head. “Ack…!” She moaned and dropped the Four Tigers Evil Slayer. I picked it up and, as a bonus, grabbed the flag wrapped around her neck. [You have acquired the Hongik University Station group’s flag.] [Your purple flag has absorbed the purple flag’s accumulated points.] [Your purple flag has evolved into a black flag.] [You may use the special ability of the black flag.] [Congratulations! You have met the first condition for the King’s Qualification.] [The Number of Kings Remaining: 6] I ran toward the Tyrant King. He was buried under rubble. His body was crushed like so much bread dough. It looked awful. From the start, I’d been waiting to kill him myself and couldn’t believe he’d died like that. Suyeong desperately yelled at me from behind. “Hey, you thief!” I ignored her and picked up the items left behind by the Tyrant King. [You have acquired the item Three-Wheeled Ring.] [You have acquired the item Dragon Jar.] The Dragon Jar was the jar of rejuvenation. It looked like the Tyrant King came here after clearing the seven-man dungeon. “…Dokja Kim!” Junghyeok was coming at me at an incredible clip. Although my agility was thirty, the gap between him and me closed in no time. I looked around. I had no choice but to hide behind the king who was the closest to me. “Wh-what the—?” It was Taeseong Gu, a king of Later Baekje. “Argh!” Junghyeok’s merciless strike connected with Taeseong’s head, and he effortlessly took Taeseong’s flag. [Constellation Lord Hannam is glaring at you.] I felt bad for Kyon Hwon, but I had no choice. Good luck to him in the next scenario. I stopped running away and decided to pretend not to know anything. “Junghyeok, wait. Stop. We can talk this out.” “That note.” “Note?” “My sister.” I understood, although he had said only two words. Luckily, Jihye had taken care of the matter. That note got to Junghyeok in time. “What about your sister?” “Where did you hide my younger sister?” “What are you talking about?” [Character Junghyeok Yu is using “Lie Detection” Lv.6.] [Character Junghyeok Yu has confirmed your words to be a lie.} Uh-oh. “Start talking now, or I’m really going to kill you this time.” I could tell he really meant it, even without “Lie Detection.” Junghyeok’s late arrival at the mysterious cave was due to my strategy. I lured Junghyeok north to save his younger sister. He wasted time searching for her in northern Seoul. This was only possible because Junghyeok was in his third loop and still immature. That might seem like a cowardly move, but I had no choice. If Junghyeok, who was much stronger than he had been in his third loop in the original novel, had joined the War of the Kings, the scenario would’ve been over so fast. And I wouldn’t have gotten the end that I wanted. “…All right. But first, why don’t you put down the sword? I mean, what if I really am a bad guy? You wouldn’t want to provoke me like that.” “Are you saying you’re holding my family hostage?” “Whoa, chill, buddy. I never said that.” Holding his family hostage didn’t make sense, since it would all be over if he died. “Then, why did you do that?” “What do you think?” Junghyeok seemed to realize I was trying to buy time, and his expression turned cold. “I should have killed you back then… Better late than never. Die.” As Junghyeok raised his sword, a voice came out of midair. Hey, everyone. Please calm down. You shouldn’t start fighting yet. Let’s see… You’ve all met the qualifications. Finally, the mid-level goblin is here. Junghyeok eventually checked the board in the air. [The Number of Kings Remaining: 5] [The qualifying kings will be transferred to the final testing location.] The rest of the kings, including Junghyeok and me, were forced to transfer elsewhere. “Dok—!” Junghyeok extended his hand a little too late, so his sword didn’t reach me. Finally, the last phase of the scenario. [The qualifying kings will be transferred to the space for the final test.] My vision blurred, and the scene changed. It felt like I had been sucked into another place. My head bumped into something with a thunk. But I soon came back to my senses. [You are excluded from being a candidate for the final qualification.] …What? When I looked around, I noticed I was in the middle of Gwanghwamun. I had bumped into a barrier the size of a schoolyard. The Absolute Throne, which was the last reward for this scenario, should have been in the middle of the yard. Why couldn’t I get inside? Ha-ha-ha! My, my! Looks like you were too focused on the big picture and missed a crucial detail! When I looked up toward the laugh, I saw that mid-level goblin’s ridiculous face. I wondered if the bastard had played some kind of trick, but the notifications came. [You have not occupied your designated target station for the fourth scenario.] [You must first occupy your target station in order to participate in the final qualification.] [Your group’s target station is Changsin Station.] Oh… I was so focused on dealing with the other kings that I forgot about occupying Changsin Station. How could I forget that? Unless you’ve cleared all the previous steps, you cannot take part in the last phase. That should’ve been obvious. Did you think you could get away with it? Battles were already happening inside the barrier. If I didn’t do something now, everything I’d already done would go to waste. Should I run to Changsin right now? Then… “Dokja!” In the distance, Sangah was running toward me, carrying an unconscious Gilyeong on her back. When I looked closer, there were more people in my group. Huh? “Huiwon?” She was running in this direction, tightly holding the hand of a girl I didn’t recognize. “Is my brother really here?” “Yes, how many times do I have to tell you?” “But I’m hungry.” Huiwon shouldn’t have been there. Her role in this scenario was to save a girl in northern Seoul and wait for us at Changsin Station. “Huiwon, what’re you doing here? I told you to stand by at Changsin Station…” “Are you kidding me…? How long do you expect me to just wait there? Besides, she hasn’t eaten anything since this morning. Aren’t you worried about your sister?” The girl pointed at me. “Um, that guy’s not my brother.” “Huh?” “He’s way uglier than my brother.” You little— Huiwon nervously looked back and forth between me and the girl. “Huh? She’s not your sister, Dokja? I thought that was why you told me to rescue her.” “No.” “Then who is she?” Huiwon didn’t realize what she had done. Who would think this girl was that psychopath’s little sister? A growling sound came from the girl’s stomach. The sound rendered me speechless, but I laughed in spite of myself. …Is this how my perfect plan falls apart? “Dokja, where are you going?” “To Changsin Station…” I had no choice but to try, even if I was late. I wished I had the long-distance teleport scroll. I couldn’t even open the Goblin Shop because the mid-level goblin was watching. “Why would you go there?” “Huh?” “Hey, remember the thing I gave you earlier? Can you take it out?” “Okie!” Mia Yu, Junghyeok’s little sister, put her hands in her mouth. Soon, her mouth grew abnormally large, and an abnormally large block of stone came out of it. That was Mia Yu’s exclusive skill, “Inventory.” “What’s this?” “What do you think?” I checked out the stone’s smooth top surface. Then I noticed a little slit where I could put something in. …I wouldn’t have imagined this. Is it really possible? Never in all 3,149 chapters of TWSA did anyone think to try this. Huiwon sounded pleased with herself. “All you need is the flag slot in order to take over a station, right?” What kind of crazy person would think of this? Huiwon brought the entire flag slot from Changsin Station. [Constellation The Adventurer Who Makes Eggs Stand Up is amazed by Huiwon Jeong’s idea.] I wanted to say something, but kept my mouth shut. “What? Is there a problem?” “…No.” “Then why are you just staring at it? Hurry up and stick your flag in it, Your Majesty.” I nodded and pulled out my flag. [Your group has occupied Changsin Station.] [You have received 2,000 coins as a reward for Capture the Flag!] It worked. It actually worked. [Your group has occupied your target station.] [You will be able to transfer to the arena for the final qualification.] Shoom— My body was sucked up again as I fell in and out of consciousness. A message came up in my head, and another King’s Qualification was added. <King’s Qualification> 1. Only the brave shall sit upon the Throne. The Absolute Throne will not accept a weak king. You must be a king with a black flag in order to participate in the scenario. 2. For those who dream of the Throne, ambition is a virtue. Only a limited number of kings may vie for the Absolute Throne. You must eliminate other kings around you for the right to compete. 3. The one true king is able to stand on their own. Any king who wishes to sit upon the Throne must prove their might without any outside help or special abilities. [Constellation God of Naval Warfare is calmly observing the situation.] [Constellation Bald Leader of the Peasants’ Army is cheering for historical-grade constellations.] [Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband is cackling while picking his ear.] [Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is picking his nose in the direction of the historical-grade constellations.] Unlike other times, constellations displayed different reactions. Constellations weren’t all on the same level. The power gap between a historical-grade constellation and a fable-grade constellation was as great as that between a child and an adult. This was why the constellations watching this channel had different reactions. Much like some adults weren’t interested in children’s games, fable-grade constellations had little interest in the outcome. But it was different for historical-grade constellations. The historical-grade who won in this scenario could build a fabled deed after sitting on the Absolute Throne. This was why historic kings seemed anxious after the King’s Qualification scenario started. When I opened my eyes, I saw the battleground of the kings. [From here on, none of the kings can receive support from their sponsoring constellations.] [All attack and defense bonuses from items will be limited.] [All skills, stigmas, and item abilities will be restricted.] [Every king’s overall stats will be set to 10/10/10/10/10.] [The final qualification will continue until only one person is standing.]