The Flooding Disaster (2)

Kim Dokja, who had been chatting with the party in the center of the abandoned building, suddenly called out to me. I walked over toward her.

“What’s up, Dokja?”

“Yeah. You can view the channel screens like the Constellations right now, can’t you?”

“Yep. That’s how I gave Yooseung an item and crossed over here.”

While speaking, I reached out and gently stroked the head of Shin Yooseung, who had already sidled up beside me.

“Hehe.”

Shin Yooseung broke into a truly happy smile just from a simple head pat. Kim Dokja watched that for a moment before looking at me and asking,

“Then can you find Jung Heewon, Gilyoung, and Gong Pildu’s locations for me?”

“Easy enough.”

At Kim Dokja’s request, I began flipping through the channel screens in search of Jung Heewon, Lee Gilyoung, and Gong Pildu.

…Not #BFB-16580, not #DEZ-7415, and not #AGH-4752 either.

After scrolling through the screens for quite a while hunting for the three of them, I finally spotted Jung Heewon and Lee Gilyoung.

“Couldn’t find Gong Pildu, but Heewon’s up north with those Wanderers’ King people, and Gilyoung’s riding around on a giant mantis with Han Donghoon. They’re right across the Han River.”

“Ah…”

Yoo Sangah, who had been listening beside me, let out a soft sigh of disappointment when she heard I couldn’t find Gong Pildu.

I looked at her and gave her shoulder a light pat.

“Don’t worry, Sangah. You know how strong that old man Gong Pildu is.”

“That’s true… Uncle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Pildu will definitely be fine.”

Whether my comfort worked or not, Yoo Sangah nodded and offered a small smile. I stared blankly at her for a second, then cleared my throat and created the door to My Room, shouting toward it.

“Ahem! More importantly, I’m hungry. Joonghyuk! Make us some food!”

Creeeak.

“Why the hell should I cook for you?”

Barely two seconds after I yelled at the door to My Room, it flew open and Yoo Joonghyuk stepped out, scowling as she glared at me.

I shrugged at her words.

“Well, I helped you out, and I’m injured! Plus your cooking’s the best, isn’t it?”

“So?”

“If I cook, the food’s gonna end up with blood on it. You okay with that?”

“Hah…! Now you’re making empty threats.”

“Scared you won’t be able to satisfy all these people’s tastes? The great Yoo Joonghyuk?”

“……………….”

I openly provoked her. Yoo Joonghyuk fixed me with a murderous glare.

Even under that bloodthirsty stare I smirked and started moving toward My Room, continuing,

“Ah, forget it, forget it. Our great little Joonghyuk’s already terrified she can’t please everyone’s palates here. Why bother making her cook? I’ll just do it myself.”

That “Supreme King of the World” title of hers is gonna start ringing in her ears.

Just as I nearly reached the door, the sound of someone grinding their teeth echoed behind me.

Grit!

“Who the hell’s scared? Move, Park Jinwoo. You’re just in the way.”

“Our Joonghyuk falling for my provocation so openly? More importantly, you sure? I just got a cooking skill this time. Think you can make something tastier than me?”

“Hah…! My cooking skill hit level 10 ages ago. Some bastard who just picked up the skill now couldn’t even come close to my cooking.”

“That so? Then I can look forward to it, right? Tell me if you need ingredients or sauces. I’ll get them.”

Yoo Joonghyuk, who had been scowling and growling, rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment before looking at me and listing what she needed.

“In that case, I’d like the disaster meat you obtained this time, a black silkie chicken, ginseng, garlic, jujubes, a samgyetang broth pack, sliced ginger, ginkgo nuts, and a large pot.”

“Those are ingredients for dragon-phoenix soup. You sure? The difficulty’s pretty high.”

“It’s low difficulty for me.”

“Sure, sure. Our Joonghyuk’s the best. I’ll leave it to you then.”

I handed over the ingredients and pot I’d bought from the General Shop, along with a chunk of Ice Ghost Dragon meat. Yoo Joonghyuk accepted the materials and kitchenware with a slight frown.

“I clearly said ginseng.”

“Isn’t wild ginseng better than regular ginseng?”

“…Huu. Do whatever you want. More importantly, hand over the rest as well.”

“What? Even more?”

The Ice Ghost Dragon had been enormous, so a single chunk of meat extracted as a byproduct was the size of a person. That alone was already a huge amount, yet she was asking for more meat.

Is this woman planning to make everyone’s stomachs explode?

“…I can see exactly what you’re thinking. You’re an easy-to-read bastard.”

Yoo Joonghyuk stared straight at my face, sighed softly, then fixed me with another murderous look as she continued.

“I know you extracted every last byproduct from the disaster. And I seem to recall I also contributed to taking it down. Were you planning not to give me any of the disaster’s byproducts?”

“……!”

At her words I flinched slightly.

…Tsk. I thought I could hog them all.

I’d been planning to sell the byproducts from the Ice Ghost Dragon on the Dokkaebi Bag exchange and pad my coins nicely. That plan was about to get wrecked by the Yoo Joonghyuk standing in front of me.

I put on a friendly smile and spoke to her in a gentle tone.

“Aww, Joonghyuk! I’m really sorry. I already asked a blacksmith Constellation I know to turn those byproducts into weapons, so there’s nothing left. What am I supposed to do?”

“So it says. Anything else to add?”

“…………….”

Th-this woman is playing dirty?! Using Lie Detection?!

I stared at the system message blocking my vision and at Yoo Joonghyuk, who was looking down at me with a mocking sneer, my mouth working soundlessly. Quickly recovering, I continued with trembling lips.

“Really, Joonghyuk. You don’t trust me? I’m Park Jinwoo! Park Jinwoo! You think I’d ever lie to you? That Lie Detection’s broken! It’s trying to deceive you!”

“Don’t spout bullshit, Park Jinwoo. Then I’ll ask. Are there really no byproducts left?”

“……………….”

Damn it. It’s over. As expected, Yoo Joonghyuk was a far tougher woman than the others. If it had been anyone else in the party, they would’ve believed me at face value.

Ah, except for Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja, of course.

Those two also had Lie Detection skills just like the Yoo Joonghyuk in front of me.

Anyway, I carefully avoided her piercing gaze and bit my lip.

I couldn’t see any way out of this predicament.

Khh… D-do I really have to give her at least a little?

My precious coins… this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easily?

No matter how hard I thought, I had no confidence in overcoming the massive wall that was Yoo Joonghyuk. In the end I hung my head and handed over three chunks of Ice Ghost Dragon meat, one claw, one fang, one scale, and one bone.

“Here. This much is enough, right?”

“…That’s all the byproducts you extracted from that enormous thing? Are you messing with me right now?”

“Ah, I don’t know! Cut me open! I lured it, I hit it, I finished it! I can’t give any more!”

At her sharp words I flung myself down on the filthy floor of the abandoned building and flailed my arms and legs while shouting.

“…Haa. Park Jinwoo, what the hell are you doing. Get up.”

“No! I can’t give more! Cut me open!”

Crack!

Yoo Joonghyuk looked down at me with pure pity, then twisted her face as if she couldn’t take any more of my continued whining. A vein bulged on her forehead.

She stared down at me with a murderous gaze and slowly began drawing the Twin Dragon Sword hanging at her waist.

“If that’s your wish, I’ll grant it.”

Shing!

“W-wait? There’s a kid watching? You’re gonna go full trash like this? Aren’t you embarrassed in front of our kid?!”

“Shut up. Who the hell is ‘our kid’?”

“Obviously our Yooseung! Right, Yooseung, ah?”

I turned my head toward where Shin Yooseung had been behind me, but no one was there. Looking around in panic, I spotted the rest of the party far off, having already put a considerable distance between themselves and Yoo Joonghyuk and me.

“Come on, Yooseung. That’s something you shouldn’t watch. Don’t look at that.”

“Right. Learning that kind of thing is bad for your mind.”

Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung covered Shin Yooseung’s eyes with their palms and looked down at the startled girl.

“Is it that bad, Unnies?”

“Yeah. Let’s listen to your unnies this time, Yooseung.”

At their words the flustered Shin Yooseung looked up at Yoo Sangah beside her, and Yoo Sangah nodded with a small smile.

Lycaon crossed his arms and carefully glanced my way. Beside him, Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung, and Lee Seolhwa, who had been quietly watching, opened their mouths as well.

“Oppa… this time you’re too pathetic.”

“I’m sorry, Jinwoo-ssi. Even so, for an adult to act like that…”

“The bandages… I just rewrapped those.”

The more the party spoke, the more it felt like an invisible transparent blade was piercing straight through my heart.

I stared up at the ceiling of the abandoned building with trembling eyes. Then the Constellations’ indirect messages appeared.

Caught between the party’s reactions and the Constellations’ indirect messages, I felt simultaneous shame and humiliation. My face flushed as I yelled.

“Ah, what do you people know?! These byproducts are rare goods—if I sell them I can make some real coins!”

If I just sell a little of this I can easily gather two million coins! How am I supposed to give that up?!

I roughly pushed myself up from the floor and looked at Yoo Joonghyuk.

“If you cook carefully and make it delicious, I’ll give you a few more byproducts! Deal?!”

“Haa… Fine. Just never throw a tantrum in front of me again. It’s pathetic.”

Thud!

“Keuhk…!”

Yoo Joonghyuk’s words stabbed deep into my chest. Tears welled in my eyes as I thought,

I-I know… I know how pathetic I just looked…

But, but…! How am I supposed to just sit on the achievement of being the first incarnation in Seoul Dome to gather two million coins?!

Yoo Joonghyuk looked at me with pure pity as tears gathered in my eyes, then opened My Room and disappeared inside.

Whether she went into My Room or not, I opened my attribute window for the first time in a while with tears still in my eyes.

If this attribute window is flashy, it’s definitely flashy.

There were almost no other incarnations right now who possessed this many attributes, skills, stories, and coins like me.

The only incarnation who could even come close was probably Yoo Joonghyuk alone. Probably.

But even Yoo Joonghyuk right now has far fewer stories than me.

Anyway, with this, preparations to face the Central Disaster were complete. What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠remained was to raise the levels of my other skills over the next few days, gather coins, and get a feel for the new skills I’d obtained this time by using them.

And I also have to prepare to face the Water Disaster tomorrow.

But my current physical condition was the worst. Even circulating a little magic power made my body reject it and start bleeding.

A broken body gets stamped down with coins.

I uncorked the potions I’d bought from the Dokkaebi Bag and downed them one after another.

“Huuuu…”

With this, my body should recover by tomorrow.

Jung Heewon had faced the Northern Disaster together with Kim Dokja’s mother and the members of Nouvelvague under her command.

The system message announcing that the Northern Disaster had been subjugated had appeared at “night.”

That meant the Water Disaster that would appear in the north would be fought as early as the next morning, or at latest by afternoon.

I’m looking forward to what kind of skills the Water Disaster will have.

And its byproducts, the achievement rewards, the additional rewards—I’m looking forward to them. Looking forward…?

“Ah, right! The additional reward!”

“Aigoo! You startled me! Why are you making a fuss again?!”

Han Sooyoung, who had been brushing past me, jerked like a cat sensitive to sound when I suddenly shouted, then glared at me and yelled.

But I didn’t have time to care about her right now. I stared at empty air and shouted again.

“I will check the additional reward!”

I nodded at the system message that floated up. Immediately, a list of tens of thousands of skills began filling my vision.

The additional reward I’d obtained this time was a free-choice type. That meant I could pick one skill I wanted for free from among these tens of thousands of A-rank skills.

In the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint webtoon, Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk, and Jung Heewon, who took down the Central Disaster, got this kind of reward.

The three people with the highest contribution to subjugating the Flooding Disaster had also received the same reward as me. The one difference was that in the webtoon the three of them got “B-rank” while I got “A-rank.”

I slowly began scanning the skill list.

Sturdy Mind, Wind Strike, Thunder’s Roar, Energy Blast, Finger-Flicking Divine Art… It’s really packed with all kinds of skills.

Then my eyes were stolen by one particular skill.

…………………….

Ah, this is seriously tempting. But there are definitely plenty of other good skills too. For example…

Ah, this is seriously hard. Really…

I rolled my eyes in thought, then opened the Dokkaebi Bag and typed “Virility Enhancement” into the search bar.

“It exists, huh.”

The only catch was that it cost a full 25,000 coins for just one.

I rested my chin on my hand and began seriously deliberating. Even after thinking for a long time, only time passed, so I finally shouted with a “screw it” expression.

“I choose Incarnation of All Weapons as my reward!”

I nodded at the system message. A faint light spread from it, and a new message appeared.

Next I looked at Virility Enhancement in the Dokkaebi Bag and shouted,

“Purchase the A-rank skill ‘Virility Enhancement’ from the Dokkaebi Bag!”

Having obtained the two new skills, I opened my attribute window and smiled as I confirmed both had been safely added to the skill list.

And then—

Puh-heuuuup———!!!

From inside the abandoned building came the sound of multiple people spitting something out. At that sound I broke into a cold sweat.

Ah, right. I wasn’t alone here, was I?

I’d gotten so absorbed in choosing the skill that I’d completely forgotten.

I forced my neck, which had locked up like a rusted machine, to turn, and there were the women of the party (excluding Shin Yooseung), faces flushed bright red as they stared at me in flustered shock.

“W-w-what…?!”

Kim Dokja had been drinking water and spat it out at my voice; clear, transparent water ran down her chin. But she was so thoroughly flustered by my words that she didn’t even think to wipe her mouth.

Looking past her, I saw Yoo Sangah’s face had turned incredibly red as she stammered like a broken machine.

“E-eh? V-virility? Virility…?”

Having grown up in a wealthy household, Yoo Sangah apparently had zero immunity to words like that; her eyes darted around while her face burned.

Come to think of it, I heard she got quite a few confessions from guys at Minosoft. So she had no immunity to this kind of talk?

I learned something new.

Looking further, Han Sooyoung was frozen solid while staring straight at me.

“……………….”

She too had a flushed face and was just staring blankly at me, her mouth working soundlessly.

Next to her, Lee Jihye was staring at me with a bright red face and a thoroughly flustered expression.

Like Han Sooyoung, she just stared blankly and moved her lips. And Lee Seolhwa—

“…………….”

Uncharacteristically for her usual self, she also looked extremely flustered, her hands trembling. Since she was holding a cup of water, the liquid inside sloshed wildly and soaked the floor.

Finally, perhaps because she was still an innocent child, Shin Yooseung tilted her head at her suddenly frozen unnies and approached the nearest one, Kim Dokja, to ask,

“Dokja Unnie. What’s virility?”

“Uh, uh? Uh?! V-virility?!”

At Shin Yooseung’s question, Kim Dokja snapped back to her senses, looked at the girl in panic, then rolled her eyes and shot me a fierce glare.

I rolled my eyes and avoided her gaze.

Then the Constellations’ indirect messages began filling my vision.

Faced with the reactions of everyone except Lee Hyunsung and Lycaon, plus the Constellations, I crossed my arms and shouted boldly.

“What! A man can buy a skill that’s good for his virility!!”

I’m not embarrassed at all!! When it comes to men, virility is what matters most!!

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from behind me.

Clunk.

“Food’s ready. Come in.”

With perfect timing, Yoo Joonghyuk stepped out of My Room and called us to dinner. I immediately brushed past her and went inside.

Along with the thought that the blankets probably wouldn’t survive tonight.