Underworld Sightseeing (3)

The rest of the party and I stared for a moment at the spot where the Bureau dokkaebi had vanished.

Ha… that was seriously, disgustingly hard.

How much absolute hell had I gone through preparing to save Shin Yooseung, the Disaster of Floods?

Without the Story Shop, I never would have been able to save her.

But ever since the level of Shop User rose and the Story Shop opened, I had put in real effort.

Gathering coins, racking up experience fighting hordes of monsters, facing disasters, raising skill levels, hunting down scattered party members…

I had gone out of my way to suffer every kind of hardship imaginable.

Still.

I snuck a glance at the future Shin Yooseung, who was stuck to the side of the young Shin Yooseung and carefully looking after her.

I got paid back for all that suffering, no question.

Of course, somewhere between thirty and fifty percent of her soul had been damaged. Kim Dokja would probably handle that on her own.

Anyway, the most important thing right now was that the future Shin Yooseung was here beside our party, looking free and smiling.

Next thing to worry about is…

I had to start fretting over that “eight-headed radioactive snake bastard” waiting in Peace Land, the stage of the sixth Main Scenario.

I gazed up at the sky, turning over the scenes I’d seen in the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint webtoon, and began sketching out a plan.

…I’ve got the rough flow of the plan down.

This was the branching point of the sixth Main Scenario.

Whether this plan worked or not would completely change the flow of the sixth Main Scenario.

“Sangah-ssi.”

Kim Dokja’s voice came from behind me, so I turned.

She looked at Yoo Sangah and stated her business.

“Could you call the ‘Abandoned Labyrinth’s Lover’ for me?”

“…I’ll try.”

At Kim Dokja’s words, Yoo Sangah shot me a brief sidelong glance, hesitated, then nodded.

…Is she still holding a grudge about me putting her in a bunny ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠girl outfit when Ariadne descended?

When Yoo Sangah glared at me, I carefully averted my eyes and lowered my head.

Crack! Crackle!

A moment later, faint sparks flickered around Yoo Sangah.

Sparks similar to the ones that had flowed through her body the last time Ariadne descended ran across her, and I could confirm she had successfully connected with Ariadne.

Kim Dokja looked at her and spoke.

“Olympus. I want to make a deal with you.”

Yoo Sangah’s head, whites of her eyes showing, turned toward Kim Dokja.

Kim Dokja got to the point.

“Let me meet your King of the Underworld.”

At those words, the sparks swirling around Yoo Sangah began thrashing wildly.

If I had to guess, Ariadne was currently spewing every curse in the book at Kim Dokja’s request out of sheer disbelief.

If my guess was right, I understood.

It was like a customer walking into a company and yelling at a regular employee to bring out the chairman.

Eventually the sparks settled. Yoo Sangah carefully opened her eyes and, after a long hesitation, cautiously called Kim Dokja’s name.

“Um… Dokja-ssi.”

Kim Dokja looked at Yoo Sangah’s dejected expression—clearly the result of getting thoroughly cursed out by Ariadne—and carefully asked,

“…Could you tell me what your Sponsor said?”

“She said the ‘Father of the Rich Night’ isn’t someone she can just casually bring over…”

Father of the Rich Night.

That was the modifier of Hades, King of the Underworld, one of the three main gods of Olympus in Greco-Roman mythology.

“But Dokja-ssi, maybe…”

Yoo Sangah looked at Kim Dokja with a hesitant face, lips moving.

…She’s sharp as always.

Clever Yoo Sangah had clearly figured out that the “Father of the Rich Night” was Hades.

But she seemed curious why Kim Dokja was looking for him, and for what. Or maybe she already had a vague idea.

After all, right now Yoo Sangah was shooting sidelong glances at the future Shin Yooseung.

“…Is it very dangerous?”

That single line from Yoo Sangah carried a lot of meaning.

Worry for the future Shin Yooseung, doubt about whether the situation was urgent enough to meet the ruler of the Underworld, concern for Kim Dokja—all of it was packed into those few words.

In the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint webtoon, Kim Dokja’s monologue went something like this.

In principle, the resurrection of the dead is impossible. If indiscriminate resurrection were possible in the first place, Yoo Joonghyuk wouldn’t have needed to regress.

That was what it said.

But right after that line came this addition:

I’m receiving Probability correction thanks to the effect of the King of No Killing, though.

Interpreting Kim Dokja’s words, it seemed that in this Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint world, any attribute, Story, or item with a resurrection effect only worked because it received Probability correction.

I snuck a glance at the resurrection items sitting in the Story Shop without a word.

Did these items also receive Probability correction?

If they did and there was no problem, great. But if—if—they didn’t receive Probability correction, what then?

…I’d better be careful about using the resurrection items in the Story Shop whenever possible.

While I was distracted by that sudden thought, Kim Dokja carefully answered Yoo Sangah’s question.

“I can’t go into detail right now. I’m sorry.”

She then looked around at the party members nearby and opened her mouth.

“Shall we take a moment to get organized?”

At Kim Dokja’s words, the party members approached her as if they’d been waiting for it.

Yoo Joonghyuk talking about something with Lee Jihye; Lee Seolhwa treating Jung Heewon, who had been injured fighting the disaster that was Shin Yooseung; Lee Hyunsung sitting on the ground polishing his shield; the future Shin Yooseung smiling as she watched the young Shin Yooseung and Lee Gilyoung bicker.

Everyone gathered around Kim Dokja.

The low-ranking dokkaebi Youngki I had seen before appeared again and spoke from midair.

He kept shooting nervous glances at me, body stiff and voice rigid as he continued.

Apparently dokkaebi society worked just like human society. Once all the dokkaebis above Youngki had disappeared, he had been stuck with the leftover grunt work in their place.

Small fruits dropped from midair equal to the number of people present, and everyone took one.

Youngki looked at a few of us including me and Kim Dokja, then bowed his head.

With that, Youngki vanished from midair.

I watched him go for a moment, then checked the system messages floating in front of my eyes.

“Wow, holy shit.”

I had just made 550,000 coins in one go.

Paul, you stupid bastard. You didn’t cancel the sub scenario?

I grinned ear to ear at the idiotic behavior of Paul, who had kept shoveling coins at me right to the end.

“Ha… this is fucking great.”

I’d gained a bunch of Legendary-grade Stories and raked in a mountain of coins.

Not only had I recovered the 510,000 coins I’d spent—I’d come out ahead.

Apparently people really should live kindly. Do one good deed and the rewards just pile up like this.

“Gonna need a drink tonight.”

Just in case, I bought hangover cures from the General Shop.

After finishing the fifth Main Scenario, we rested properly until the evening Youngki had mentioned.

The kids played among themselves, the adults killed time however they liked, and for the first time in a while we all got real rest.

And I finally took a nap in my My Room.

Ha… I missed how soft this bed is.

For the past few days I’d been grinding skill levels and farming coins, tossing aside even my beloved sleep. Now I was collecting the reward for that effort.

After waking from my nap, I rolled around on my king-size bed, re-reading the web novels I’d saved or listening to songs stored on my phone, making good use of the time.

Time flew by, evening arrived, and the additional settlement for the main contributors began.

“Ah, finally getting this.”

I firmly pressed the YES button on the system message floating in front of me.

With this, I now had proper Probability to take the wrists of any bastards who dared lie to me.

But am I actually going to use this much?

Suddenly receiving Lie Detection made me feel a tiny bit of regret, but since the protagonists Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk used it a lot too, I figured it was better to have it. I looked around.

“Hmm…. Which one should I pick so people say I chose well?”

Jung Heewon was fretting over which of the B-grade skills to choose for her additional reward.

Kim Dokja seemed to have already picked hers and was looking around.

Come to think of it, what did Kim Dokja get for this B-grade reward?

Because I had fought in her place at Anguk Station, Kim Dokja had used First-Person Protagonist’s Viewpoint on Yoo Joonghyuk and, when inheriting one of Yoo Joonghyuk’s skills, had chosen Lie Detection instead of the Cold Resistance she was originally supposed to receive.

Maybe I should ask her later.

Kim Dokja was currently talking about something with Lee Jihye beside her.

Probably, just like in the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint webtoon, she was asking Lee Jihye about the whereabouts of the Yoo Joonghyuk who was nowhere in sight.

And since the fifth Main Scenario was over, Lee Jihye would say “The vow period is over,” and Kim Dokja would panic hard.

Remembering that, I smirked and closed my eyes for a moment.

Ah~ it’d be nice if this kind of peace could last.

Then suddenly I heard the sound of someone running toward me. I opened my eyes and looked toward the noise.

Kim Dokja was sprinting at me with a face gone deathly pale.

What? Why is she running at me?

I tilted my head at the sudden sight of Kim Dokja charging my way.

She ran right up to my face, grabbed both of my hands tightly with both of hers, and said,

“Jinwoo! You’re the only one who can stop Yoo Joonghyuk!”

“What…?”

I had no idea what she meant, so I just stared blankly at her.

“No, I have zero idea what you’re talking about. Can you explain properly?”

“That is…”

Kim Dokja told me about the time when she, me, Han Sooyoung, and Yoo Joonghyuk had gone to catch Antinus.

More precisely, about when the three of them had been in My Room while I was flying toward Antinus.

To summarize:

Inside My Room, Kim Dokja had forced Yoo Joonghyuk into an Existence Vow on the condition that she not harm her until the fifth Main Scenario ended.

Now that the fifth Main Scenario was over, Yoo Joonghyuk could touch her again, so she had come running to me asking me to protect her.

…I’m a little scared of Yoo Joonghyuk too, you know?

Right now I was stronger than her, but just thinking about the Transcendent Yoo Joonghyuk made me not dare mess with her too hard either.

But.

“…You’re the only one, Jinwoo! The only person who can protect me…!”

Looking up at me with big, sparkling eyes while tightly holding one of my hands with both of hers, Kim Dokja’s expression made it impossible for me to even hint at refusal.

I let out a small sigh and said,

“If Yoo Joonghyuk really attacks, I’ll stop her. So don’t worry.”

“Really?! You mean it? I’m counting on you alone?!”

“Okay, okay. More importantly, where did Yoo Joonghyuk go?”

“According to Jihye, she took Seolhwa-ssi somewhere. Probably hunting for a Hidden Item or skill?”

“The fifth scenario just ended. That girl really doesn’t know how to rest.”

While Kim Dokja and I were chatting, Jung Heewon’s voice rang out.

“Dokja-ssi—! Jinwoo-ssi—!”

At her call, the two of us went over wondering what was up.

And we both froze in surprise.

Jung Heewon had come out of My Room carrying a six-pack of beer and soju bottles.

“Where in the world did you find these?”

“Whoa… the outside’s cold. Did you put these in a fridge?”

“Hehe. They were over there so I snagged them and stuck them in the fridge inside My Room for a bit.”

Jung Heewon grinned at us, then held up a bottle of soju and said,

“Times like this call for a drink. To celebrate.”

At her words we lit a bonfire and sat in a cozy circle.

Why drink outside when we had a clean, comfortable My Room?

Because that’s the romance!!

Taking the constellations in the sky as side dishes while drinking. As a man, how could I possibly resist this romance?

I spread a picnic mat on the ground and set out fruit and snacks that would work as drinking snacks.

Then I pulled out the extra alcohol I’d looted from Dokgak’s dokkaebi hat last time.

“Wow… where did you get these fancy liquors again, Jinwoo-ssi?”

“Ah, these? Looted them off that dokkaebi Dokgak we ran into before.”

“Pardon…?”

Yoo Sangah lifted the high-end bottles I’d brought out and asked, then when I answered honestly she stared at me with wide, startled eyes.

Smack!

Then the sound of someone getting a solid hit rang out. I turned my head that way.

Lee Jihye was clutching the back of her hand and whining.

“Ah, why, Dokja unnie…! Why’d you suddenly hit the back of my hand?”

“You’re a minor. Where do you get off reaching for alcohol?”

“…There’s no law anymore, so what’s with the minor talk?”

“You drink cider with the kids.”

Lee Jihye, handed a cider by Kim Dokja, looked longingly at the soju and beer, then grumbled as she trudged over next to Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yooseung.

Seeing that, I handed Lee Jihye a can of beer and a bottle of soju, then looked at Kim Dokja and said,

“Come on, Dokja. At least let her have one drink on a day like this.”

“Hey, Park Jinwoo!”

“It’s fine if an adult gives it to her, right? Here, here. Jihye, you have just one. Overdrinking is obviously banned, though.”

“Oppa…! You’re really the only one for me!”

Lee Jihye snagged the beer and soju from my hands in a flash, beamed, and ran over to the kids.

“…You.”

“Uh, Dokja? Just for today. Okay? Only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠today!”

“…Haa. Only today. If you give her any next time…”

Kim Dokja glared at me, but when I rubbed my hands together and begged, she sighed and gave permission.

Whew. That worked.

I turned my head and glanced at Lee Jihye, who was cheerfully and skillfully cracking open a soju bottle with a bright expression.

Normally I was also against minors like Lee Jihye drinking.

But I remembered one night when I’d gotten thirsty and headed to the kitchen, only to stop at the sound of sobbing coming from Lee Jihye’s room.

Bori… I’m sorry…. I’m really sorry….

Hearing her voice calling the name of the best friend she had killed and suffering over it, I had wanted her to wash even a little of that grief away with alcohol, so I’d handed her the drinks.

Well, there probably wouldn’t be a next time I gave her alcohol like this.

Anyway, I laid out a spot between Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah and sat down. At last the entire party was seated on the ground, each holding a drink or alcohol, looking at Kim Dokja.

Receiving their gazes, Kim Dokja looked around at the party and slowly opened her mouth.

“Everyone worked hard. Really, you all worked so hard.”

And then Kim Dokja fell silent.

Huh?

I turned my head to look at her and asked,

“That’s it?”

“What about it?”

I reeled at her words.

Maybe it was because when she worked at Mino Soft she never went to company dinners and always left right on time.

I never imagined she wouldn’t even be able to give a toast at a drinking party with the party.

I shot to my feet in her place and shouted at the group.

“In place of our socially oblivious leader Kim Dokja, I, Park Jinwoo, will take the first toast!”

“What the hell?”

“Alright! Everyone grab your glasses and drink cups!”

At my shout, the adults among the party raised their alcohol glasses while the still-young Shin Yooseung and Lee Gilyoung raised their soft drink cups.

“First of all, everyone worked hard clearing the fifth Main Scenario! And future Shin Yooseung!”

“Uh, uh?”

“Smile more, you! Your life of being alone and lonely is over now, right? You don’t have to cry about being lonely anymore, right?”

“…I never cried, okay?”

“Ignore adult-version Yooseung’s words, and now! For us who worked hard! For the future Shin Yooseung’s new regression! For the future Shin Yooseung who has become our party member! Everyone raise your first glass higher!!”

At my words the party raised their glasses even higher. The future Shin Yooseung shot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me a look that said she was momentarily speechless, but then she gently smiled and raised her glass high like the others.

“When I say ‘Yooseung-ah! To a new beginning!’ you all shout ‘Congratulations!’ nice and loud, okay? Here we go!?”

I thrust the glass I was holding high and shouted.

“‘Yooseung-ah! To a new beginning!!’”

Congratulations!!

Clink!

Soon the clear sound of glasses clinking rang out among our party.

The adults poured the long-awaited alcohol into their mouths like mad.

The young kids drank their soft drinks with carefree, happy expressions for the first time in a while.

“Hahahaha! Pour it! Drink it!!”

“Drink in moderation…”

“Hehe. But it’s been so long since we had an atmosphere like this, isn’t it okay to get a little excited?”

Kim Dokja lightly scolded me as I dumped soju and beer straight into my stomach, while Yoo Sangah smiled softly and sipped her drink, saying it was fine since it had been so long.

“Hyunsung-ssi, another glass?”

“Ahaha… please go easy on me, Jinwoo-ssi.”

“Jinwoo-ssi! Me too, another glass!”

Next I drank again with Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon. Lee Hyunsung seemed to have a low tolerance—his face was already a little red after just a few glasses—while Jung Heewon downed her drinks with excitement.

“Hyung, I want pizza for the first time in forever!”

“Oppa, I want chicken!”

“Me too! Me too chicken! And soju!”

“Alright! Today I’ll order everything you kids want!”

“““Waaaaah—!”””

Even though they were kids who normally suffered every hardship imaginable, I ordered everything they wanted to eat.

Bright smiles bloomed on the faces of Lee Gilyoung and Shin Yooseung as they ate pizza and chicken, and Lee Jihye, chugging chicken and soju, was filling her stomach freely with an expression free of any worry for once.

“Lycaon. How’s Korean alcohol treating you?”

“Thank you for looking after me as well, Hoju. However, compared to the alcohol of our Chronos, the proof is a little low.”

“That so? Then how about vodka?”

“If Hoju offers it, I will gratefully drink it! Hahaha!”

I didn’t forget to share a drink with Lycaon, who had joined late after helping the incarnations of Seoul Dome.

For now, Lycaon too forgot about his homeland and cheerfully tilted his glass.

“Ah, I ran too hard. Yooseung-ah, this oppa is dying.”

“That’s because you ran too fast, you idiot. And who are you calling oppa?”

“If you shared memories with our little Yooseung, you’d know why I want to be called oppa. So call me oppa.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

I spoke while looking at the future Shin Yooseung, who was quietly sipping her drink while gazing at the bonfire.

“Anyway, congratulations, Yooseung-ah.”

“Hm?”

“This is your new regression now. I’m not saying forget the regression of the worldline you came from. But take only happy memories from here.”

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

“In that sense, bunny girl?”

“…Suddenly?”

“Ahahaha! Joke! Joke!”

“You get even worse when you drink…”

After sharing at least one glass with each party member, I settled back into the spot between Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah.

“Ah, did I overdo it? I already feel a hangover coming on.”

“If you’re going to throw up, go to the bathroom right now.”

“Jinwoo-ssi. You can’t throw up here, okay?”

“…I could never throw up even if only because the alcohol would be wasted.”

Quite some time had passed since our party started drinking alcohol and soft drinks.

“So then, I was saying… that constellation just…!”

“Ugh, I can’t drink any more…”

Jung Heewon, cheeks already flushed and apparently fully under the alcohol’s influence, started drunken rambling with hiccups, while Lee Hyunsung, after a few glasses of beer and the soju I’d shared, snored like a bear and talked in his sleep.

“Feels so gooood…”

“…Hyung smells like alcohol.”

“…Oppa smells like alcohol.”

Lee Jihye went to bed with her face bright red, hugging a soju bottle.

Lee Gilyoung and young Shin Yooseung had somehow managed to sneak a few sips— their cheeks were oddly flushed as they mumbled in their sleep.

…Is it because I was drinking and making noise with them on my lap earlier? Did I really smell that much like alcohol?

At the kids’ sleep-talk I glanced at them with a complicated expression.

“Keuheoong… kekekek…”

Lycaon chugged several bottles of the vodka I’d handed him and then just left.

“……………….”

Adult Shin Yooseung, maybe because it had been a long time—exactly a thousand years—since she’d last drunk, passed out quickly and fell into peaceful sleep.

Among the party, the only ones still conscious were me, Yoo Sangah, and Kim Dokja.

I looked at Yoo Sangah quietly sipping her drink and Kim Dokja, who had only had the first glass and was now sipping a soft drink, and said,

“I’ll go put the kids in My Room. I can handle it alone, so you two keep drinking.”

“Okay.”

“Take care, Jinwoo-ssi~”

I picked up Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung, young Shin Yooseung, adult Shin Yooseung, and Lycaon and put them in their rooms.

Well, adult Shin Yooseung still didn’t have a room, so I put her in mine, and the rest went into their own private rooms.

“Ugh… ah, as expected, after so long my body isn’t handling it.”

“Ha! You trying to provoke me right now? Just wait. I’ll come find you soon with some good liquor.”

After stuffing the party members into My Room, I sat back down between Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah and picked up my glass.

Glug.

“Hm?”

Someone poured alcohol into my glass, so I turned my head. There was Yoo Sangah, smiling softly.

“Cheers?”

“Of course.”

Clink!

I downed the drink Yoo Sangah had poured in one go. Then I turned my gaze back to her.

I’d seen it in the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint webtoon too, but Yoo Sangah was quite the heavy drinker—she had already cracked open five bottles of soju and was sipping away.

…Since she shared one bottle with me earlier, that means she drank four by herself?

Even after five bottles of soju, there wasn’t the slightest hint of drunkenness on Yoo Sangah’s face.

I felt a little scared. I’d thought I could hold my liquor pretty well myself, but against Yoo Sangah it seemed I didn’t stand a chance, and a strange sense of defeat washed over me.

“I’m strong with alcohol, you know.”

She must have noticed my gaze at some point. Yoo Sangah spoke quietly.

“…It would be troublesome if I got drunk carelessly.”

…Well, with a beauty like her, of course the men at the company wouldn’t have left her alone.

The bitterness contained in Yoo Sangah’s words felt a little sad.

I recalled the scene from the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint webtoon where the male Kim Dokja watched Yoo Sangah sipping alcohol and thought to himself.

At Mino Soft, where Yoo Sangah and Kim Dokja had worked, the men at company dinners had been full of guys who only wanted to get Yoo Sangah drunk and try something.

Yoo Sangah turned her head, looked at me, and smiled gently as she spoke.

“But today should be fine, right?”

Because of the bonfire, Yoo Sangah’s white skin and her beautiful eyes sparkled. I stared at her blankly for a moment, then grinned and nodded.

“Yes. If not a time like this, when else would we drink?”

I picked up the soju bottle beside me and refilled Yoo Sangah’s glass.

Then I turned my head to the right, looked at Kim Dokja, and asked,

“Dokja, want a glass too?”

“…Yeah, give me one.”

Glug.

I filled Dokja’s empty glass and my own with alcohol.

“Alright then, a toast to the three who survived to the end!”

““Cheers!””

Clink!

The three of us downed the alcohol in our glasses in one go.

“Khh~ more than that, it’s weird.”

“What is?”

“What is, Jinwoo-ssi?”

At my words, Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah looked at me and asked.

I answered their questions while briefly looking up at the night sky.

“For some reason today I can’t hear any monster cries, and around us I only hear the sounds of other people from Seoul Dome throwing drinking parties just like us. Well, that’s a good thing, though.”

Someone might say we were drinking way too freely in a situation like this. But it was precisely because of a situation like this that we had no choice but to drink.

Everyone—this was a world you couldn’t endure without drinking.

I was about to pour soju into my empty glass for another round when it happened.

Crack! Crackle-crackle!

“Ah, damn…. What a waste of alcohol.”

A small spark jumped in my glass, and the soju that had been in it scattered across the ground.

I was looking at that and smacking my lips over the spilled alcohol when it happened.

Crackle! Crackle!

The alcohol spilled on the ground began moving this way and that, and eventually letters formed out of the liquor.

The time for Kim Dokja to head to the Underworld in search of the lost soul of the future Shin Yooseung was drawing near.