Hidden Scenario - Escape from the Ichthyosaur's Stomach (8)

"What the hell is this…?!"

"This is impossible—!"

Kim Dokja and Bihyung shrieked in outright denial at the sight before them. In the world of Ways of Survival, the Dokkaebi Bag was the sole cash shop. It was never just a store; it also served as an exchange and auction house.

The Dokkaebi Bag was managed directly by the Dokkaebis, and at this point in time the Constellations were essentially its only customers. For an Incarnation to be able to use that very Dokkaebi Bag as a personal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skill…

Originally the Dokkaebi Bag’s clientele were Constellations, though Incarnations could use it as well—provided they all had sponsors behind them.

That fixed idea was why Bihyung told me an Incarnation without a sponsor couldn’t open the Dokkaebi Bag. But there was never any actual rule forbidding it. I pointed that out—threatened him, really—and forced him to open it so I could use it myself.

Most Constellations who used the Dokkaebi Bag regarded it as their exclusive privilege. That was why, whenever Kim Dokja used it, she could only do so while the channel was open, and Bihyung had to run ads to block the Constellations’ view.

But to be able to use it as a skill… I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere in Ways of Survival.

Kim Dokja was the sole reader who had finished every chapter of Ways of Survival except the epilogue. For a skill she had never even heard of to appear now…

…I’ll have to start treating variables from the real world—people like Park Jinwoo—as seriously as possible. And…

Watching Park Jinwoo grin smugly while glancing back and forth between Bihyung and herself, Kim Dokja ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made up her mind. She absolutely had to bring this man in as a companion.

And yet…

Even if he did some pretty annoying things, I think I went a little too far. Is he okay?

She wondered whether Park Jinwoo already harbored a grudge against her. The thought made recruiting him as a companion seem suddenly impossible—but what choice did she have? The man standing in front of her was the optimal, no, the absolute best possible ally.

How am I supposed to resist a companion who’s basically a merchant NPC from a game…?

And not some rare black-market dealer who spawns at random locations, or a fixed shopkeeper you only meet in a village market. This was a merchant NPC who would follow her around with a shop she could access anytime.

Looking over the “General Store,” she could already guess that every item he had pulled out so far had come from that very shop.

I have to win him over somehow. He has to become my companion.

If he held a grudge, she would just treat him well enough to erase it. From what she could tell he was a pervert with normal tastes in women, so she could use that. She was reasonably confident in her figure, after all.

In this damned world, if she could just bring this one man in as a companion and pay him properly in coins, she would have unlimited access to modern goods and the Dokkaebi Bag itself.

I absolutely cannot let him go.

Kim Dokja stared at Park Jinwoo with the eyes of a predator locking onto prey and began seriously calculating every possible way to make him her companion.

"T-this really doesn’t make any sense! An ordinary Incarnation using the Dokkaebi Bag?! And the authority to use the Bag itself is registered as a skill?!"

"How the hell did you even get that skill—?!"

While Kim Dokja was deep in thought about recruiting Park Jinwoo, Bihyung turned on him and screeched the question like an accusation.

"…Even if you ask me where the skill came from, how would I know?"

Park Jinwoo’s face twisted slightly at Bihyung’s high-pitched, almost monstrous voice.

"And even if I did know, I wouldn’t just go around spilling my personal information, would I?"

He said that to Bihyung, then lightly tapped the shoulder of Kim Dokja, who was still frowning in deep concentration.

"Dokja-ssi. I don’t know what you’re thinking so hard about, but you need to focus on the present."

"Ah, I’m sorry. I was lost in thought. Has a lot of time passed?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Not that much, but we should start thinking about how to get out of this eel-like monster’s stomach."

At this rate the gastric acid would come and melt us both to death.

Kim Dokja nodded in agreement. Judging that this was the perfect moment to leave a good impression on Park Jinwoo, she looked straight at him with shining eyes and spoke.

"Actually, there is one way to escape this place."

"A way…?"

Park Jinwoo already knew the method from reading the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint webtoon in reality, but he deliberately tilted his head and pretended not to know.

"But to escape this way, you’ll have to follow my instructions from now on. Even if they sound completely absurd, you have to trust me and do as I say."

"………."

Kim Dokja spoke with a hardened expression. Seeing that look, Park Jinwoo also grew a little more serious and quietly nodded.

"Bihyung, bring up the items I’m about to name."

Just like in the webtoon, Kim Dokja listed the names of Hammer Seahorse Mucus and Stone Hog’s Sharp Spines. The item list appeared before her eyes.

He clearly remembered those two items being the absolute best cost-performance options for clearing the ichthyosaur.

Whether Kim Dokja purchased them or not, four long spines and four pouches of black mucus materialized out of thin air.

"Four mucus, four spines? What are you planning to do with those junk items?"

"You don’t need to know. And Jinwoo-ssi, please buy four of each of the items I just purchased from your shop as well. They’re essential for this clear."

"Understood. Hammer Seahorse Mucus and Stone Hog’s Sharp Spines, right?"

Park Jinwoo nodded and double-checked the names. Kim Dokja nodded back.

A moment later Park Jinwoo also bought the spines and mucus; just like when Kim Dokja had purchased them, the items appeared in midair.

After carefully observing Kim Dokja and Park Jinwoo’s actions, Bihyung manipulated something with his tiny hands, and the message that the channel had closed appeared.

"You haven’t forgotten, right? I still haven’t agreed to any contract."

"…Yeah. If I—no, if we succeed in clearing this scenario, we’ll negotiate the contract terms afterward."

"Then I’ll be heading out for now. Try to clear it properly. I can’t stay stuck to just the two of you forever."

"Do that."

"You’re really full of yourself… Well, give it your best. May the blessing of the story be with you both."

With Bihyung’s finger snap, the message that the channel had reopened appeared, golden light flared in the air, and Bihyung vanished.

"Shall we get started as well?"

"Understood."

At Kim Dokja’s words, Park Jinwoo—who had been standing quietly behind her holding a camping lantern—nodded, set the lantern down among the concrete debris, pulled a boat oar from behind his back (when had he even bought that?), and began paddling.

"So, Dokja-ssi, what do we do now?"

"…Gastric acid will start secreting here soon. This mucus has the property of not dissolving in the ichthyosaur’s digestive juices. We’ll smear it on our skin and on these spines, and whatever’s left we’ll eat."

Hearing the explanation while still paddling, Park Jinwoo glanced sideways at the pouches of black mucus. His face completely crumpled as he made a retching sound and answered in pure disgust.

"……This disgusting-looking black slime?"

"Yes. The ichthyosaur’s gastric acid is extremely strong. The only way to protect our insides is to swallow it."

There’s always the chance that if we accidentally open our mouths, the acid will get inside.

After finishing her explanation of the Hammer Seahorse Mucus, Kim Dokja opened her mouth again to explain the Stone Hog’s Sharp Spines.

"And these Stone Hog’s Sharp Spines come from a monster that parasitizes ichthyosaurs and other sea-type monsters and slowly kills them by drying them out. We’re going to jam these spines into those digestive-fluid ejection ports over there. The spines will absorb the ichthyosaur’s bodily fluids, expand little by little, and eventually kill it."

"Protect ourselves with the mucus, jam the spines into the ejection ports, and wait for them to grow and kill the monster—I get that much… but a monster this huge is going to take a long time to die. How long are we talking?"

"……At least three or four days."

"…So in the end it’s a battle of mental fortitude."

Once the conversation ended, the atmosphere grew heavy. Even with the mucus protecting them, they would still have to endure the searing, burning pain of the gastric acid while waiting for the spines to finish the job—a pure endurance meta.

"Let’s start by coating our bodies and the spines with the mucus. The acid will start falling any moment."

"Understood. We’d better hurry before we melt to death."

Park Jinwoo and Kim Dokja opened the mucus pouches, carefully coated the spines, and began spraying the mucus over their bodies and clothes. Places like their backs were hard to reach, so they took turns applying it to each other.

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"Damn it, I never thought I’d end up eating something like this…."

"…If we want to live, we have to. Let’s just get it over with."

When Park Jinwoo scowled at the black mucus, Kim Dokja gave a bitter smile, encouraged him, and dumped the mucus down her own throat. Seeing that, Park Jinwoo immediately followed suit.

"Keup…."

"Ugh…."

The salty, fishy, sticky texture made both of them grimace and gag. But it was better than dying, so they had no choice but to endure.

Soon the entire stomach began shaking with such violent force that it felt like an earthquake. With grave, hardened expressions, Kim Dokja and Park Jinwoo looked at each other and nodded.

"We’re out of time. We have to hurry and jam the spines into the digestive-fluid ejection ports."

"Let’s get them in fast…."

At Kim Dokja’s words, Park Jinwoo grabbed a spine and drove it into one of the ejection ports. Watching him, Kim Dokja did the same, firmly plugging another port.

They each managed to insert three spines.

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa——!!

The ichthyosaur’s agonized scream was loud enough to make their ears ring. Looking at the spines they had driven in, they could see them growing—slowly but unmistakably.

Kim Dokja and Park Jinwoo watched for a moment, then hurriedly jammed the last remaining spines into the final ports.

"Ugh—!"

"Dokja-ssi?!"

"I’m fine…. The spines are all in now. From here on it’s just a battle of willpower."

A few drops of gastric acid had splashed from an ejection port on the opposite stomach wall, drawing a sudden pained groan from Kim Dokja. Park Jinwoo whipped his head around in alarm, but she forced a bitter smile and insisted she was all right.

"Actually… about that. I don’t think we’ll need a battle of willpower at all."

"Huh? What do you mean…."

Park Jinwoo grinned at Kim Dokja, pressed his hand against the stomach wall, and activated his exclusive skill. A single door appeared on the wall.

"Wait, what is this…?"

"Let’s just go inside for now."

Kim Dokja froze for a second at the sudden appearance of a door right in front of her. Park Jinwoo grabbed one of her arms, opened the door, and pulled her through with him.

The space they entered was a room of about five pyeong. But it was completely empty—just a bare room with no furniture or objects of any kind.

"Jinwoo-ssi, what exactly is this place?"

"If you compare it to a game, this is like a My Room."

"My Room… as in the kind of place where you decorate your room in a game?"

"Exactly what you just said, Dokja-ssi."

And we’re going to camp here for three or four days. We can rest comfortably the whole time.

Park Jinwoo looked at Kim Dokja, who was staring at him with a blank, almost dumbfounded expression—ahem!—and smiled brightly while thinking to himself.

Dokja! You don’t have to clear this the hard way, getting soaked in gastric acid for four days. Just this once, I’ll give you a free bus ride!