Disaster of Floods (10)

Brilliant starlight began to glitter across the night sky. Then those stars shot out across the whole of Seoul.

They're insane…

Every single one of those lights was a Constellation. All that starlight illuminating the Seoul Dome belonged to the Constellations watching it right now.

Maybe it was because I had become a Constellation myself, but the gazes of those beings above felt even heavier than before.

Some Constellations looked north. Others looked west. Each of them searching for an Incarnation they liked well enough to contract with.

I let myself get pulled in by the beauty of the spectacle overhead for a moment, then finally snapped out of it and looked around.

From the Incarnations waiting nearby came voices thick with joy and despair.

"Finally, a contract! I'm getting one too!"

Some Incarnations had been chosen at last and were celebrating their new Sponsors.

"…Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!"

Others, still unable to catch a Constellation's eye, could only hang their heads and spit curses.

Tiny stars ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠floated above the heads of those who had been selected. Above those who hadn't, there was nothing at all.

And I was no different.

Having gone from ordinary Incarnation to Constellation, I couldn't even pick a Sponsor anymore.

If I weren't a Constellation right now, how many of them would have wanted me?

Probably more than the male Kim Dokja from the Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint webtoon. A whole swarm of them would have been fighting to become my Sponsor.

Then a light like a bright lamp caught my eye from beside me — a glow so brilliant it should have made me squint, yet somehow didn't sting at all.

I turned my head quietly. Hundreds of stars blazed above Kim Dokja's head, lighting her up like a beacon.

The number of little stars floating over an Incarnation's head during this second Sponsor Selection showed how many Constellations wanted them.

If the average person nearby had one or two, Kim Dokja had hundreds. That was how badly the Constellations wanted to be her Sponsor.

If there was ever a person blessed by the gods of myth, this was what it must have looked like.

The starlight was that sacred. That grand.

Nearby Incarnations stared at the hundreds of stars over Kim Dokja's head with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vacant faces.

"Hey, look at that person…"

"Holy shit…"

"What the hell is she…?"

Just like the strangers around us, Lee Gilyoung, Shin Yooseung, Yoo Sangah, Jung Heewon, and Han Donghoon were all staring blankly at the top of Kim Dokja's head.

Shin Yooseung, still gazing up in a daze, spoke first.

"…Unnie, you look just like a Christmas tree."

"Right…? I only have five. Dokja-ssi has hundreds at the very least."

Jung Heewon, five little stars floating above her own head, looked at Kim Dokja as she said it.

"But."

Jung Heewon rolled her eyes, then looked up at the empty space above my head.

"Jinwoo-ssi, why don't you have any stars?"

"Because I'm already a Constellation?"

"Ah, so once you become a Constellation you can't get a Sponsor anymore?"

"Right. No more Sponsors for me. Instead, I can take Incarnations the way the Constellations do."

Though to actually take one, I'd need something like the Sponsor Contract Kim Dokja had offered Shin Yooseung.

Either way, this second Sponsor Selection was completely useless to me, so I just looked around with a bored expression and waited for time to pass.

At the mid-grade Dokkaebi's words, the Incarnations nearby who still hadn't been chosen looked up at the night sky and wailed. The little stars over Kim Dokja's head shone even brighter.

They're all brown-nosing her right now, begging her to pick them.

By now Kim Dokja would be raking in sponsorships from the Constellations.

I'm jealous…

I liked coins too. Sure, I already had two million, but more coins were always better.

If my companions ever found out what I was thinking, they'd tear me apart for having no shame. Still. I wanted those coins.

Time kept ticking. Cheers and screams from all over Seoul rang through the Dome, and the little stars above Kim Dokja's head glittered on.

"Haaawn…"

Standing around like a lamppost for almost thirty minutes was starting to wear on me.

Boring…

I considered pulling out a chair and sitting down, but with the event Bihyung and Kim Dokja had cooked up about to start, it felt wrong.

I was staring blankly up at the night sky with that bored look on my face when—

The second Sponsor Selection was finally over.

I was glancing at the system message floating in front of me when a light sigh came from beside me.

I turned. A system window had appeared before Kim Dokja's eyes.

It was Bihyung's channel — the one I'd seen in the webtoon. That suspiciously round 9,999 was hard to miss.

And what's with that last tag — "Crazy But Fun Incarnations Here"? Is that about me?

Kim Dokja put on the most shameless con-artist face imaginable, looked up at the night sky, spread her arms wide, and said in a brazen voice:

"Ahh~ what a shame. I was going to pick the moment it hit ten thousand."

Huh?

I tilted my head at the sudden indirect messages aimed at me.

When did I ever say anything like that… ah!

I remembered. When Kim Dokja put up the ten-thousand-subscriber promise during Dokgak's bet, she'd mentioned that I'd prepared something special too.

Shit.

If I explained that Kim Dokja had said that on her own without consulting me, things would get messy…

Something special… something special…

I'd completely forgotten about it until now, so nothing that would please the Constellations was coming to mind.

Something cheap but special… that's hard… ah!

After a long moment of thought, an item popped into my head. I opened the Story Shop.

I ordered two bottles of Hair Growth Tonic and held them up toward the night sky.

Yeah. Of course you're curious.

Kim Dokja would be the one doing the talking, not me — but you'd still be dying to know after hearing I had something special prepared.

And the moment I introduced this item, a war would break out.

The First Great War of the Bald was about to begin.

"This item is called Hair Growth Tonic. It cures hair loss, and for people who are already bald, it makes brand-new hair sprout on their heads."

Faced with the chaos of indirect messages, I nodded with a serious expression.

"One bottle I'll raffle off among you for free. But this other bottle—"

"—I'll register in the Dokkaebi Auction. The Constellation who bids the highest gets it. If you're rich, if you've got coins to spare, and you want to cure your hair loss or escape baldness — keep an eye on the Dokkaebi Auction."

"Ugh…"

The balding Constellations were sending me indirect messages like madmen.

Kim Dokja's business was already the last thing on their minds.

Rumble! Rumble-rumble!

Some tactless low-grade Dokkaebi had tried to calm the Constellations so the scenario could continue — and only made them angrier.

The Constellations fighting for the sacred potion (Hair Growth Tonic) were genuinely furious at the low-grade Dokkaebi getting in their way.

The Great Hall above the night sky was showing ominous signs. Thunder rolled. Intermittent cracks of lightning split the air.

I raised a hand and opened my mouth to settle them down.

"Like I said — one bottle is a raffle, the other goes to the Dokkaebi Auction."

"That's simple."

I bought a roulette wheel from the general shop and continued.

"Constellations who want in on the raffle — call out your modifiers. Now."

At those words, a flood of Constellations began shouting their modifiers.

…

…

…

"Okay, stop. Holy shit, that's a lot of entries."

In under five minutes, a hundred Constellations had joined the raffle.

"Spinning it. This is pure luck, so no blaming me no matter who wins, got it?"

Clatter-clatter-clatter!

I put force into my hand and spun the roulette wheel covered in Constellation modifiers as hard as I could.

The furiously spinning roulette began to slow.

Clatter… rattle…

Then the arrow on the wheel came to rest on one Constellation's modifier.

I read the name under the arrow out loud.

"The raffle winner is — Prisoner of the Golden Headband!"

Cry all you want. Go ahead.

I glanced over the tantrum of indirect messages and sent the Hair Growth Tonic to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

"Ah, right. Prisoner of the Golden Headband."

"It grows new hair on the bald and cures ongoing hair loss — but if you don't take care of it, it can come back. So be careful."

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven must have gone straight off to rub the tonic on his head, because his indirect messages stopped for a while.

It had been Kim Dokja's promise, but I'd kept it all the same. Next I registered the remaining Hair Growth Tonic in the auction house inside the Dokkaebi Bag.

I listed it at the same price as the Story Shop — a fair starting bid — then turned to look at Bihyung.

He was staring at me with an expression of pure disbelief.

"Hey, I kept my promise. Now pick up the conversation from earlier."

"Why is that my fault? I raffled off the special something like I promised. Do you even know how much one bottle costs? A hundred thousand coins, you bastards! And the stock is limited!"

Who the hell gives away a hundred-thousand-coin item for free in a raffle? Me, that's who. You ungrateful shits.

At my scolding, a few Constellations reluctantly returned to the conversation that should have continued earlier.

Bihyung covered his eyes with those tiny hands, let out a long sigh, then opened his mouth to play along with the Constellations' messages and push Kim Dokja's plan forward.

Rumble… rumble….

"Are these bastards kidding me? Hey! Is that what you call a riot!? Riot properly, you assholes! Do it right!"

Unlike the webtoon, the Constellations were putting on a limp, energy-draining riot while complaining that I'd killed the mood — so I chewed them out for it.

Rumble-rumble! Rumble-rumble!!

The sky over Yongsan-gu warped, and lightning began to strike without pause.

"Ah, finally. See? You can do it when you try. Why hold back?"

"…What the hell are you even trying to do right now?"

I was satisfied with the big sparks flying just like in the webtoon. Kim Dokja looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

Bihyung glanced briefly at Kim Dokja, then continued.

The Constellations must have quieted their riot for a moment, because the lightning and sparks falling from the sky temporarily stopped.

Bihyung pointed at Kim Dokja with a tiny hand, put her image up on the channel screen, and went on.

"Oh my."

Kim Dokja put on a startled face at Bihyung's words and the Constellations' messages. But she had no talent for acting. Anyone could tell how painfully awkward the performance was.

"Dokja. You're a terrible actress."

"…I know, so shut up, Jinwoo."

I gave her my honest review. Kim Dokja clenched her teeth and glared at me.

Shin Yooseung, standing between us, looked at Kim Dokja with pure disbelief.

"…What on earth is she doing?"

"Setting me up to get wrecked, basically."

"Unnie, why didn't you pick a Sponsor?"

"Just didn't feel like it."

That was a lie. Kim Dokja was refusing Sponsors so she could gather Stories and become a Constellation herself, same as me.

But Shin Yooseung didn't know that. She only tilted her head and looked at Kim Dokja with worry.

Kim Dokja turned toward us and started giving orders.

"Jinwoo. Take the others and hide."

"I hate to say this, but if I help, those guys will all die before they even lay a hand on you."

"What are you staring at? Want me to kill all your Incarnations?"

Damn it. These bastards had fewer coins than me and Incarnations who'd get wiped out by a single one of my AoE skills.

Thud.

Kim Dokja grabbed my shoulder and shook her head.

"Leave this one to me, Jinwoo."

"Ugh. Fine. I'll trust you and stay out of it."

"Thanks. Don't come out until I give the signal first. Got it?"

"Got it, got it."

I shot Kim Dokja a look, then gazed up at the night sky and spoke.

"Twenty minutes. I won't leave this spot for twenty minutes. Do whatever you want."

"Any Constellation who's been watching me knows — I keep my word. Exactly twenty minutes. If any Incarnations are still attacking Dokja after that, I'll kill every last one of them. Consider yourselves warned."

Rumble! Rumble-rumble!

Dark clouds gathered over Yongsan-gu, and lightning began to strike once more.

The Constellations were burning Probability to set a bounty scenario on Kim Dokja.

Ding!

A red skull mark appeared above Kim Dokja's head. That was her Target marker.

My companions must have seen the bounty scenario on her too, because they looked at her with worried faces.

Then the Incarnations nearby checked the bounty scenario floating in front of them and shouted in shock.

"What? Forty thousand?!"

"Holy shit! Forty thousand coins?"

I looked at the people screaming about forty thousand coins with pure incomprehension.

"Not even a hundred thousand — just forty thousand, and they're this worked up. I don't get it."

"Are there Constellations here who don't even have two million coins?"

Broke-ass freeloaders.

"If you're mad about it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go earn a million coins first. You broke bastards."

I didn't even have a modifier yet and I'd already made two million coins. You lot have lived tens, hundreds, thousands of years longer than me — so why are you this broke?

I glanced over the messages from freeloaders with fewer coins than me, then took Yoo Sangah, Jung Heewon, Shin Yooseung, Lee Gilyoung, and Han Donghoon and started putting distance between us and Kim Dokja.

Holding Yoo Sangah's hand as we moved away, Shin Yooseung looked back with worry.

Kim Dokja caught her gaze, raised a hand as if to say don't worry, and smiled at her.

Then Incarnations who had been searching everywhere for the bounty target 'Kim Dokja' spotted her and charged.

"Hey, there's the forty thousand coins!"

"Get that bitch!"

"Don't let her escape!"

"Forty thousand coins! Forty thousand!!"

"The minimum is forty thousand! The more cruelly you kill her, the more coins you get!"

Blinded by a mere forty thousand coins, the Incarnations gripped their weapons and sprinted toward Kim Dokja in a frenzy of greed.

Kim Dokja glanced at them once, then fled in the opposite direction.

As Kim Dokja ran from the Incarnations, the Constellations who had placed the bounty on her sent cheerful indirect messages.

Bihyung looked down from the sky at the fleeing Kim Dokja and the Constellations' messages, then spoke.

The moment Bihyung finished speaking, a Constellation sent a sponsorship.

Hit with the speed penalty from the sponsorship, Kim Dokja's body seemed to grow heavy. She suddenly stopped in place.

"Got her!"

A few Incarnations who had already caught up gripped their weapons with greed-clouded eyes and swung at her.

Kim Dokja calmly watched their movements, then spun and swung Blade of Faith.

"Gah…?!"

The Incarnation whose torso was cut by her blade only took a light wound. He didn't die.

With her attack power reduced by the sponsorship penalty, Kim Dokja's strike only managed a simple wound.

"Kh, khuh…!"

"Hey, you okay?"

"…The wound isn't as deep as I thought!"

The Incarnations beside the wounded one looked down at him and muttered.

"Get her! She's nothing!!"

"She's weaker than expected?!"

Thinking they could handle her, the Incarnations chased after Kim Dokja again.

I watched quietly, my face twisting.

This is kind of pissing me off.

Should I have just jumped in, whether she tried to stop me or not?

With cold observation, I checked the overall stats of the Incarnations chasing her.

Most of them averaged around 25 overall. A few hit the mid-to-high thirties, but those were truly rare.

Trash like that dares go after Kim Dokja without knowing their place?

I could wipe them all out with a single AoE skill. Looking at these pathetic Seoul Dome Incarnations, I felt nothing but exasperation.

I stopped thinking and rolled my eyes toward Kim Dokja. She threw herself toward the Han River, where sea dragons thrived.

"Th-that…! That crazy bitch…!"

I sighed at the Incarnations who clicked their tongues and refused to jump into a river full of sea dragons, and at the Constellations' messages.

"Aigoo. More boring waiting, I guess."

"J-Jinwoo-ssi."

"Yes?"

Yoo Sangah, standing beside me, looked at me with a hesitant expression.

"Are you sure we don't need to help Dokja-ssi?"

"She's right. At this rate, Dokja-ssi might end up in real danger…"

Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon watched Kim Dokja swimming in the Han River, looking up at the sea dragons, with worried eyes.

I looked at them and at the children watching me, then continued.

"Dokja will be fine. Right now, among us — no, inside the entire Seoul Dome — she's one of the top three in overall stats and strength."

"What? Really?"

Jung Heewon's eyes went wide. I nodded.

"Of course. I'll personally guarantee Dokja's strength."

"But if Dokja-ssi is one of the top three, who are the other two?"

I glanced at my companions staring at me with curiosity, then slowly opened my mouth.

"Second place is Yoo Joonghyuk, who we saw not long ago. And first place is—"

I pointed at myself with my thumb.

"Me."

"What?"

My companions looked at me in shock.

I understood the reaction, but this was certainty. Later might be different, but right now, the strongest in the Seoul Dome was me.

Not long ago, when I'd briefly clashed with Yoo Joonghyuk inside the mouth of the Disaster of Ice, I'd been unsure. Now I was certain.

The current strongest in the Seoul Dome was me.

Overall stats all at 80. High-grade skills across the board. Including Story fragments, I already had nine Stories.

If not me, then who?

Well, as the scenarios progress and Yoo Joonghyuk awakens as a Transcendent, I might have to hand over the strongest title anytime. But for now.

I turned my head and watched Kim Dokja riding Queen Mirbad — summoned through Shin Yooseung's multi-species communication skill via Bookmark — as she headed toward Nodeul Island. Then I looked at my companions.

"Everyone, head into My Room for now. I'll need your help soon, so rest while you can."

Soon, the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung would hatch from the disaster meteor.

And Kim Dokja would die once at the hands of that 41st-turn Shin Yooseung.

Finally. It's time.

The moment to kill the final disaster — the Disaster of Floods — and save the 41st-turn Shin Yooseung had at last arrived.