A World Without a King (8)
“Hey, hey! Already tired?! What a waste of that big body, you bastard!”
Bang!
“Puhk…!?”
Park Jinwoo’s fist slammed squarely into Song Minwoo’s face.
He held back just enough so Song Minwoo wouldn’t die outright, toying with him instead. Thanks to that, Song Minwoo couldn’t even die cleanly—he just suffered.
Blood poured from Song Minwoo’s nose and mouth as he sprawled on the ground. He looked up at Park Jinwoo with a face twisted by terror.
“Khuhk…! Cough…! Who… who the hell are you…? Why are you doing this to me….”
“Huh? Why should I tell you?”
Park Jinwoo cut him off without mercy, lifted one foot, and drove it down into Song Minwoo’s gut.
Thud!
“Khuhk…!?”
Song Minwoo couldn’t make sense of any of it.
He’d been a “strong one” since elementary school, never mind high school. Family, connections—everything about his life had been leagues above ordinary people. He’d always been the strong one.
And now that strong one was getting beaten half to death by some stranger he’d never even seen before. Thoroughly, humiliatingly.
Song Minwoo stared up at Park Jinwoo with trembling eyes.
This… this can’t be happening… there’s no way…
“You little shit! Block properly! You take a bad hit and you’re dead, got it?”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Khuhk….”
Under the savage flurry of fists, Song Minwoo felt pure humiliation. He threw both arms up and tried to weather the blows.
Each punch was strong enough to one-shot an ordinary Incarnation. Song Minwoo clenched his teeth and endured, and endured again.
“Hey.”
“Grrrk…?”
Suddenly Park Jinwoo stopped punching and looked down at him. Song Minwoo stared back, confused.
“See that one over there?”
“………?”
Park Jinwoo pointed with one finger. Song Minwoo followed it. A little girl and two adult women stood there.
The girl was watching with shining eyes. The short-haired woman in black stared at Park Jinwoo like he was some kind of monster. The long-haired woman in a suit jacket was looking this way with tears in her eyes.
“See the long-haired one? You don’t know who she is?”
“…Who is she?”
“Kim Dokja.”
“What?”
“Kim Dokja. Your high school classmate.”
“Kim Dokja… Kim Dokja…? Kim Dokja?”
At last the name clicked. Song Minwoo’s eyes flew wide. He glared at her and snarled.
“Ah, Kim Dokja? That bitch who turned down my confession back then?”
Bang!
“Puhk…!?”
The moment Song Minwoo called Kim Dokja a bitch, Park Jinwoo’s expression went blank. He drove his foot into Song Minwoo’s stomach even harder than before.
“Minwoo, Minwoo. Still can’t read the room? Did turning into a beast wipe out your brains and common sense?”
Grab!
Park Jinwoo seized Song Minwoo’s face in a crushing grip and slowly shook his head.
“Our Dokja said she’s got trauma because of you. I’m a little curious about that. Mind telling me quietly?”
“Kh… khrrk… F-fine. Then lean in a second.”
Park Jinwoo bent down expressionlessly and put his ear near Song Minwoo’s mouth.
“You dumbass! You fell for that?! Die!!”
Crunch!!
The second Park Jinwoo obligingly leaned in and left an opening, Song Minwoo opened his massive jaws and clamped down hard on his neck, trying to tear it out.
“…………?”
A second later Song Minwoo’s eyes went round with pure panic.
Wh-what? Why won’t it tear?
He chewed and ground with those razor fangs, putting everything he had into his jaws, but the flesh of Park Jinwoo’s neck simply would not give.
“…Ah, fuck. This mutt’s trying to leave a hickey on my neck. Disgusting…?”
Park Jinwoo answered in a dead-flat voice. One hand moved, sliding down to Song Minwoo’s most important part.
Riiip—!!
And tore it clean off.
“KRAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!”
Something tore—no, was ripped free—between Song Minwoo’s legs. Agony exploded through his crotch and he screamed at the top of his lungs.
“A horny mutt needs to be neutered, right?”
Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband', hurriedly covers his important parts with both hands.
Constellation, 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon', contorts his face and lets out a silent scream!
A large number of Constellations hurriedly cover a certain area with their hands.
A few Constellations hastily shut their eyes and cover their ears at the horrific sight.
Crunch!!
Park Jinwoo looked down expressionlessly at Song Minwoo thrashing and screaming on the ground, then squeezed the thing he’d torn off until it burst in his fist.
“Huh? This bastard regenerates?”
Something wriggled between Song Minwoo’s legs. A red lump of flesh pushed out and restored what had been there.
“Perfect. Means I can rip it off again and again.”
At Incarnation 'Park Jinwoo'’s horrific remark, every male Constellation recoils in unison!!
Then something seemed to occur to him. He shouted toward Han Sooyoung.
“Hey, Han Sooyoung! Sorry, but cover Yooseung’s eyes for me!”
“…O-okay!”
Han Sooyoung, who’d been staring blankly at Park Jinwoo, jumped and gently covered Shin Yooseung’s eyes, shielding her from the shocking scene.
Shin Yooseung said something to Han Sooyoung, but Park Jinwoo ignored it and glared down at Song Minwoo, who was still rolling around with a certain dangling part.
“Ah, fuck. You piece of shit. I just wanted to hear what you did to our Dokja, and you had to tank my mood into the abyss? Forget about dying easy.”
When Song Minwoo’s regeneration visibly slowed, Park Jinwoo pulled a mid-grade stamina recovery potion from My Room, pinned the thrashing body down, forced Song Minwoo’s mouth open, and started pouring it in.
“Kh… khuhk…!? Kk…!”
Instinctive terror flooded Song Minwoo at the potion entering his mouth. He thrashed desperately to spit it out.
Crack!
“Keh… kehuk! Khuhk!!”
Fed up with the struggling, Park Jinwoo shattered Song Minwoo’s jaw and forced the potion down.
“You’re not dying easy.”
Park Jinwoo stripped off his tattered T-shirt and tossed it aside as he spoke.
Tremble… tremble…!
Even Song Minwoo’s strongest bite force had left Park Jinwoo completely unharmed. Pure terror made his whole body shake.
Park Jinwoo noticed and let out a short snort of laughter.
“This bastard’s a real comedian.”
Bang!!
“Khahk!!”
A low kick from Park Jinwoo sent pain lancing through Song Minwoo’s leg. Tears spilled as he clutched it.
“Khuhk…! Grrrk…!”
Park Jinwoo snorted and started toward him again when—
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' glares at Incarnation 'Park Jinwoo'.
“What, a nobody like you actually has a sponsor?”
Park Jinwoo casually ignored the message from Song Minwoo’s sponsor—Demon King Andras—grabbed Song Minwoo by the scruff, and hauled him up.
“Hey, Sponsor-nim? If you don’t deposit 10,000 coins right now, this guy dies to my fists. What do you think? Gonna pay up?”
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' snorts that a mere mortal dares propose a deal with him!
“If you don’t like it, just sit there and watch him get beaten to death.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
When Andras refused, Park Jinwoo tightened his grip on Song Minwoo’s scruff and slammed him into the ground over and over.
“Khuhk! Khuhk! Ugh! S-save me…!!”
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' looks at his subordinate with restless eyes.
Park Jinwoo smiled coldly at Andras’s message.
“Hey, Sponsor-nim. Still thinking? Hmm?”
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' asks for time to think.
“Fuck off. I only take lump-sum payments.”
Crunch!
“KRAAAAAAGH!!!”
Without a second’s hesitation Park Jinwoo stomped Song Minwoo’s crotch and crushed the regenerated part.
“Hey, Sponsor-nim? If you don’t decide fast, this guy won’t be able to function as a person… no, as your subordinate anymore?”
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' grinds his teeth and says he understands, just wait a little!
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' has sponsored 10,000 coins to Incarnation 'Park Jinwoo'.
Park Jinwoo burst out laughing at the sponsorship message.
“Haha, look at that—he actually cares about his subordinate. Fine, a promise is a promise. Song Minwoo won’t die to my fists. To my fists, that is.”
He smiled wickedly and low-kicked Song Minwoo’s already broken leg again.
Crunch!
“KRAAAAAAGH!!”
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' is greatly flustered by Incarnation 'Park Jinwoo'’s actions!
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' flushes red and demands to know what this is supposed to mean!
“Hey, Sponsor-nim. Listen carefully next time. What did I say earlier? ‘If you don’t deposit 10,000 coins right now, Song Minwoo dies to my fists.’ Right? So I won’t use my fists. Just my fists.”
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' gapes in shock at Incarnation 'Park Jinwoo'’s words!
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' screams that this is fraud and throws a fit!
“If you’re so pissed, go get a refund on the 10,000 coins you sponsored me, you bastard. I don’t care.”
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
“………Grrk! Kk!”
With that, Park Jinwoo stomped every one of Song Minwoo’s limbs until the bones shattered.
He was about to crush the regenerated part between Song Minwoo’s legs again when—
“Park Jinwoo.”
Kim Dokja’s voice came from behind him. Park Jinwoo slowly lowered the raised foot and turned.
“What, you’re here already? I can still beat him more.”
Kim Dokja gently shook her head and smiled.
“No. I’ll take it from here. Thanks for thrashing him so thoroughly for me.”
Park Jinwoo studied her face for a moment, then looked down at her hands.
They were still trembling a little, but far calmer than when he’d first seen them.
“…If it gets too hard, just say so. I’ll finish it.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Park Jinwoo scratched his head at her smile and walked over to where Han Sooyoung and Shin Yooseung were waiting.
Kim Dokja watched his back for a second, then turned a cold stare on Song Minwoo still convulsing on the ground.
This was still while Park Jinwoo had been pounding Song Minwoo with his fists.
Han Sooyoung watched the werewolf leader get reduced to a half-dead mess under Park Jinwoo’s fists and stared at him with a thoroughly creeped-out expression.
“Scary bastard… he really knows how to beat someone.”
Whatever Han Sooyoung was muttering beside her, Kim Dokja just stared blankly at Park Jinwoo.
Then a small hand tugged at her waist. She flinched and looked down.
Shin Yooseung was there.
“Unnie… are you okay?”
Looking down at the worried little face, Kim Dokja managed a small smile.
“Yeah… I’m fine. Just a little rough because of some predictable trauma.”
Han Sooyoung frowned and cut in.
“What do you mean ‘predictable trauma’? Trauma is always serious.”
“She’s right, Unnie…. Like Sooyoung Unnie said, all trauma is bad.”
Kim Dokja closed her mouth. Han Sooyoung pressed on.
“What’s the problem? This unnie will listen, so spit it out.”
Kim Dokja shut her eyes for a moment, organized her thoughts, and spoke slowly.
“It’s just… in high school we were in the same school, same year. I turned down his confession.”
“……Ha?”
Han Sooyoung’s face went blank with pure disbelief. She covered her eyes with one hand and shook her head.
“Wait, wait. Don’t tell me the next part is he held a grudge over the rejection and either harassed you himself or got someone else to do it?”
“Yeah. I told you it was predictable trauma.”
“…There’s no such thing as predictable trauma. And what kind of pathetic piece of shit does that?”
Han Sooyoung shot a look of pure contempt at Song Minwoo currently getting stomped by Park Jinwoo.
“Still, it must feel a little good. Your comrade’s beating the crap out of him for you.”
“Yeah. It does feel a little good.”
Kim Dokja quietly watched Park Jinwoo. Watched him getting angry on her behalf.
—KRAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!
“Whoa! Jesus!”
“………!!”
Song Minwoo’s sudden scream made Shin Yooseung, who was clutching both women’s clothes, flinch hard.
Han Sooyoung looked toward Park Jinwoo and Song Minwoo first. She saw Song Minwoo rolling and screaming, and Park Jinwoo looking down at him while crushing something in his fist.
“Wh-what? Why’s he reacting like that all of a sudden? What did he rip off?”
Constellation, 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon', says you’ll get hurt if you know!
“Wh-what…? What is it?”
Han Sooyoung looked back and forth between the Black Flame Dragon’s message and Park Jinwoo in confusion.
Then Park Jinwoo shouted over to her.
—Hey, Han Sooyoung! Sorry, but cover Yooseung’s eyes for me!
“…O-okay!”
Han Sooyoung went over to Shin Yooseung standing beside Kim Dokja and covered her eyes as requested.
“What is it? I want to see too, Sooyoung Unnie.”
“No. Park Jinwoo told me to cover your eyes. If I don’t, I’m the one who gets yelled at.”
“Hmph….”
Han Sooyoung listened to Shin Yooseung’s little pout while trying to calm her own startled heart. Then she glanced at Kim Dokja beside her.
Seeing Kim Dokja’s stiff face, Han Sooyoung sighed quietly.
“Hey, you said it felt good, so why the face?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve got the face of a dog that needs to take a dump right now.”
“…What kind of analogy is that? Are you even a real author?”
Kim Dokja stared at Han Sooyoung with pure disbelief at the weird comparison.
“Ah, shit! But that was exactly your face! Anyway, why’d you make that face?”
“I… maybe.”
“Maybe?”
Kim Dokja kept watching Park Jinwoo still diligently beating Song Minwoo.
“I think I was wondering if it’s really okay to just leave the trauma I have to overcome entirely to Park Jinwoo.”
At Incarnation 'Kim Dokja'’s words, a Constellation who loves revenge stories lights up.
A Constellation who loves revenge stories reveals their modifier.
Constellation, 'Overcomer of the Belated Trial', cheers for Incarnation 'Kim Dokja'.
Several Constellations agree.
Ding!
“Huh?”
Kim Dokja’s eyes went wide at the messages floating in front of her.
Bounty Scenario — Overcome Trauma
📂 Category: Sub
⚔ Difficulty: C
📍 Clear Condition:'Overcomer of the Belated Trial' and several other Constellations commission a bounty scenario to Incarnation 'Kim Dokja'.
Overcome your trauma within the time limit and free yourself from the ghosts of the past.
⏱ Time Limit: 1 hour
🎁 Reward: ???
💀 Failure: Contempt from 'Overcomer of the Belated Trial'
“…………….”
Kim Dokja’s face hardened at the bounty scenario. Then, with a look of resolve, she took a slow breath and began walking toward Park Jinwoo.
Han Sooyoung watched and shouted in surprise.
“Hey, hey! Where are you going?”
“Park Jinwoo was right. Trauma is something you have to overcome yourself. And I’ve made up my mind.”
“Hey! Will you be okay?”
Kim Dokja nodded slowly.
“I’m fine. The awakening event’s over.”
Invested 6,000 coins in Agility.
Agility Lv.30 → Agility Lv.40
Wind-like lightness settles into your entire body.
Invested 15,500 coins in Strength.
Strength Lv.25 → Strength Lv.50
Your muscles writhe like a monster’s.
Kim Dokja spent coins and raised her overall stats high enough that she could now thrash Song Minwoo with ease.
She crushed down the anxiety and fear coiling through her body and walked steadily toward Park Jinwoo.
“Park Jinwoo.”
And she spoke the name of the man who had suffered in her place.
I gave the spot to Kim Dokja and walked back to the alley where Han Sooyoung and Shin Yooseung were waiting.
“Hey, you sure it’s okay to leave it to her?”
When I arrived, Han Sooyoung glanced between me and Kim Dokja behind me.
I nodded slowly.
“I trust Dokja. And after I beat him that hard, if she loses to him? She should step down as leader.”
“…That’s true, but it’s also a pretty good way to kill the emotional moment.”
“If I started spouting hot-blooded lines like ‘I believe in Dokja! I trust her!’ right here, some of the Constellations would get secondhand embarrassment.”
I turned and watched Kim Dokja now beating Song Minwoo in my place.
“She’s hitting well. But her hands are still shaking.”
“Trauma isn’t something you just overcome that easily.”
I stood beside Han Sooyoung and quietly watched Kim Dokja with her.
“Oppa.”
“Hmm?”
Shin Yooseung, who’d had her eyes covered until a moment ago, slipped free of Han Sooyoung’s hands, ran over, and latched onto my pant leg.
“Aigoo, our Yooseung. Were you good next to Sooyoung Ajum—”
“I’ll kill you?”
“…next to Sooyoung Unnie?”
I quickly corrected the word mid-sentence at the chilling voice from the side and asked Shin Yooseung.
“Yes, I was good. But Oppa.”
“Hmm? What?”
“Why did you tell Sooyoung Unnie to cover my eyes earlier?”
I made an awkward face.
“…Our Yooseung is still too young to see that.”
“I already know everything I need to know.”
“Ahem! If you saw that, this oppa would get cursed out by the Constellations. It really wasn’t anything special, so let’s just drop it, okay?”
“…Okay.”
Shin Yooseung pouted and turned her head away. I gave a bitter smile and ruffled her hair.
Ding!
Then a Constellation message arrived.
The sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' glares at you and grinds his teeth!
“What? You’re still here? Want me to actually refund the coins? Just say the word. Our dear regulars can cover that pocket change for you.”
Snap!
I flicked my fingers with a bored expression at Andras’s message.
And nothing happened.
I sighed at the complete lack of social awareness from my regular viewers.
“Ha… seriously. Our regulars have zero timing. You’re really gonna leave me hanging? Not matching the beat?”
Constellation, 'Secretive Plotter', looks puzzled at your words.
Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire', looks confused and asks if this was supposed to be the moment we sponsor.
Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband', looks at you like you’re insane and asks if we left our coins with you.
Constellation, 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon', looks wronged and asks if this is somehow our fault.
I sneered at their protests.
“Ah, our regulars are all broke now? Can’t even match the 10,000 coins that scrub put up?”
I shook my head slowly.
“Aigoo, our regulars have fallen off too, huh? That display of wealth back then was the peak, I guess….”
I waved a hand with a disappointed look.
“Forget it, forget it. I asked too much. My bad? Dear regulars?”
A large number of Constellations look thoroughly provoked by your words and expression!
“Don’t force it. You guys don’t have coins right now, do you? Can’t even put up 10,000 and you’re still trying to save face?”
I looked at their messages with a completely unimpressed face.
Constellation, 'Secretive Plotter', crumples his face and asks who the hell is broke.
Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire', insists she has far more coins than that sponsor of 'Ronin Song Minwoo' and refutes your words!
Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband', looks at you with wounded pride.
Constellation, 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon', roars not to ignore his wealth!
Constellation, 'Lily Blooming in Aquarius', glares at you with a thoroughly provoked expression!
Constellation, 'God of Wine and Ecstasy', opens his wallet at your pride-scratching words.
Constellation, 'Lord of the Rabble', quietly begins opening his coin pouch.
Demon King, 'Demon God of Wrath and Lust', bursts out laughing at the Constellations’ reactions.
…
…
…
…
…
A large number of Constellations, greatly enraged by your pride-scratching remarks, sponsor you coins.
Total: 67,000 coins received.
I glanced at Han Sooyoung, who was staring at me with her mouth hanging open and drool practically running down her chin.
“Fourth great way to earn coins.”
‘Scratch the Constellations’ pride.’ How about it? Killer performance, right?