Master of the Throne (1)

I had killed Chu Wangin and earned the coins. But I ignored the notification and simply stared down at his corpse in silence.

I twisted the story's flow again…

If I had just left things alone and let Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint play out the way it was supposed to, Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung would have found the Ganpyeongui at the Seoul History Museum and handed it over to Kim Dokja any minute now.

After that, the stage would have been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠set for a reenactment of the Battle of Hwangsanbeol. Kim Dokja would have used the Ganpyeongui and borrowed the power of Great King Heungmu, the Gukseon of Silla.

But my interference had derailed the whole thing.

The stage never formed, and the Ganpyeongui's remaining uses were never deducted.

…So the real crisis starts from here.

We would be heading for the National Palace Museum of Korea soon. And a major war might break out there.

Because I killed the Tyrant King.

So far, I had twisted the axis of the story in two major ways.

The first was what I had just done — preventing the Battle of Hwangsanbeol before it could even begin.

The second was killing the Tyrant King.

Honestly, killing Chu Wangin barely mattered. But killing the Tyrant King was on a completely different scale.

Because I had killed him, the "Anti-Tyrant Alliance" that was supposed to form inside the hidden dungeon of the National Palace Museum would never come into existence.

That meant the place was more than likely — no, almost guaranteed — to turn into a free-for-all battlefield of kings.

The Tyrant King, the one who had kept the other kings in check with sheer force so they wouldn't act recklessly, no longer existed.

As the price for rewriting the story, Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, and Lee Gilyoung's lives could end up in danger.

I shook my increasingly complicated head and forced myself to stop thinking.

…Dwelling on the worst-case scenario is a disease of its own. Right now, excluding Yoo Joonghyuk, there isn't a single Incarnation in the Seoul Dome who can beat me.

That wasn't arrogance or pride. It was certainty.

Overall stats of 43. Firearms. Two A-grade items. One S-grade item. An instant-death wide-area skill. Over two hundred thousand coins in the bank.

With stats, items, skills, and coins this stacked, if I somehow get wrecked by any Incarnation other than Yoo Joonghyuk, I deserve to die.

Thinking seriously for the first time in a while made my head start to ache.

I gave up on thinking, left the rest to future me, and turned around to put my discarded clothes back on.

Thud.

"?"

And then I bumped into something.

"What the—?"

The moment my body hit something, I looked straight ahead. There was nothing in front of my face. No — something was standing lower than my line of sight.

I tilted my head down slightly, and a brown-haired beauty was standing there.

Yoo Sangah.

"……………."

"……………."

We stared at each other in silence. Her expression was frozen solid.

"Sangah-ssi?"

"…………."

I called her name, but she didn't react. Or rather — it wasn't that she had no reaction at all.

She silently looked over my bare upper body, the clothes I had thrown off, and Chu Wangin's corpse, then met ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my eyes again.

"Jinwoo-ssi."

"Uh… yes?"

The gentle smile she usually wore was nowhere to be found. She just stared me down with ice-cold eyes and a face as frigid as winter.

"…………."

"…………."

She glared at me for a long time, and I looked away. Then I made a decision.

Thud.

I dropped to both knees on the ground under her gaze. The posture was already familiar by now.

"It was all my fault. Everything was my fault. So please, put away that look and that expression…."

"……………."

Even with my desperate plea, Yoo Sangah just quietly looked down at me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with that same chilling face.

It's weird how I can't bring myself to push back against Yoo Sangah at all…

Even if her scolding style was identical to my mother's, it was still strange. With her specifically, the will to resist just never appeared.

"Jinwoo-ssi. I know how strong you are. I know how warm-hearted you are."

At last, Yoo Sangah leaned down, met my eyes, and spoke. Then she carefully lifted my hand, gripped it tightly, and continued almost in a whisper.

Her actions made cold sweat run down my back for no good reason.

"But… the world we live in now — this reality — is a place where no matter how strong you are, no matter how warm your heart is, one single mistake can cost you your life."

"Yes… you're right."

"And someone who knows that let himself get hit by that man's attacks three times?"

Yoo Sangah's face turned sharp and fierce. I hurriedly dropped my gaze.

Just like when Mom lectured me and I would suddenly start inspecting the dust on the floor, analyzing the floor patterns, or thinking about something else entirely.

That was how time passed faster, or how you got lectured less.

"Jinwoo-ssi. Are you listening?"

"…Of course."

I was not listening.

Yoo Sangah let out a small sigh.

"From now on, please refrain from this kind of dangerous behavior. Understood?"

"Got it. Thanks for worrying about me, Mom— I mean… Sangah-ssi."

"…I'm still a virgin, you know. Calling me Mom…."

My slip of the tongue made Yoo Sangah's face droop with a dejected look.

Relieved that her scolding session had ended short this time, I let out a quiet sigh of relief, gathered the clothes scattered on the ground, and started putting them on while looking over at Kim Dokja.

The Ganpyeongui was in her hand.

Good. Yoo Sangah found it properly.

With this, the Absolute Throne could be safely destroyed. Which left only one thing….

I need to get the Dragon Jar…

There were four dungeons accessible from the National Palace Museum of Korea.

1-person dungeon — Chamber of the Conch Horn.

3-person dungeon — Chamber of the Acupuncture Bronze Man.

5-person dungeon — Chamber of Donguibogam.

7-person dungeon — Chamber of the Dragon Jar.

Among them, the Dragon Jar was an S-grade item you could only obtain by entering the 7-person dungeon — the Chamber of the Dragon Jar — and clearing it.

Its effect: sacrifice the item itself to restore the remaining uses of an equal or lower-grade item.

Originally, the Dragon Jar was something the Tyrant King had obtained by clearing the Chamber of the Dragon Jar. But since the Tyrant King was dead, I had to figure out another way to get it.

Should I just wait at the National Palace Museum, strong-arm seven decent people, and make them clear it and bring it back?

It was a bit of a dilemma.

I was resting my chin in my hand, lost in thought, when I felt someone's gaze from the side.

"…………."

"……?"

I turned toward the source of the stare and found Min Jiwon glaring at me and Yoo Sangah.

Yoo Sangah tilted her head, wondering why Min Jiwon was staring at her like that.

"Min Jiwon, what are you doing over there?"

"You two seem… quite close, don't you?"

"W-what?"

Ignoring me completely, Min Jiwon spoke to Yoo Sangah. Yoo Sangah looked flustered by the remark.

"I-I… why are you looking at me like that…?"

"……It's nothing."

At Yoo Sangah's question, Min Jiwon brushed it off with a slightly cold expression. Then she turned to me and spoke.

"I came to repay the debt for my rudeness in front of Gwanseongmyo, but in the end I wasn't of any help at all…."

"Don't say that, Min Jiwon. You and your Hwarang arrived just in time, and our group's leader, Kim Dokja-ssi, made it out safely because of that. Your debt is as good as settled."

"Is that so?"

Min Jiwon smiled brightly. Then Kim Dokja approached us and spoke to her.

"So the next time we meet, we'll be enemies?"

"…Heh. Weren't we already on the same side? In most dramas, this is how people become close."

Min Jiwon gave a seductive smile, stared straight at me, and slowly opened her mouth.

"Gyouisin! Make friends through trust. That is the banner of our Hwarang. Well then — until next time."

With that, Min Jiwon led her Hwarang away, gradually growing distant until she vanished completely from sight.

We stared for a while at the spot where she had disappeared, until Kim Dokja turned to us and spoke.

"All right. We should get going too."

And so we followed Kim Dokja north, heading toward Gwanghwamun.

A short while later, we arrived in front of Gwanghwamun. Kim Dokja looked up into empty air and called out to someone.

"Jung Minseob-ssi. Are you there?"

"Representative!"

At Kim Dokja's call, Jung Minseob — who had been hiding beside Gwanghwamun under the Cloak of the Hermit — threw the cloak off and revealed himself.

Once he appeared, Kim Dokja asked him:

"How many have gone in so far?"

"Including the First Apostle, a total of eight kings have entered."

"What about the flag colors?"

"Six purple, two brown. Among the purple ones, one was especially deep in color."

"Then that would be the First Apostle. Good."

Satisfied with Jung Minseob's answer, Kim Dokja smiled and continued.

"This time, only me, Yoo Sangah-ssi, Gilyoung, and Park Jinwoo-ssi will go in. You two wait outside. You can hide under the cloak if you want."

"Is that really all right?"

"There's a high chance the kings are already fighting each other inside. So if you two come in with us…."

"Ah, understood. We'll wait here—"

"Hold on a second, Dokja-ssi."

I cut off Jung Minseob, who had been answering with a tense expression and a hard swallow at Kim Dokja's warning, and stepped between them.

"What is it, Jinwoo-ssi?"

"I have some business here for a moment. If it's all right with you, I'd like the three of you to go in first."

"…You're not about to cause another incident, are you?"

"No. This is genuinely important."

"……Fine. Then the three of us will go ahead."

Kim Dokja stared hard into my eyes, then gave a small nod and took Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung with her into the National Palace Museum of Korea first.

Once Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, and Lee Gilyoung disappeared from view, I called the two men beside me.

"Jung Minseob. Lee Seongguk."

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have something for us to do?"

Both of them looked at me with tense faces. I walked up to them, put a hand on each of their shoulders, and spoke.

"Yeah. I have a very important favor to ask of you."

"Of us?"

"A favor?"

The two glanced at each other for a moment, then Jung Minseob spoke up as their representative.

"What kind of job is it?"

"There are hidden dungeons inside this National Palace Museum. Four of them, in fact."

"F-four of them?"

"Yeah. One-person, three-person, five-person, and seven-person. Four types."

Greed flickered in both of their eyes. They already knew how sweet the rewards from hidden dungeons could be.

"Then are we going into the three-person dungeon like the Representative?"

"Ah, no."

"What? Then what on earth…."

I grinned.

"You two are going into the seven-person dungeon."

"…What?"

Jung Minseob's pupils shook back and forth in panic, and Lee Seongguk, standing beside him, asked:

"But we don't have enough people. How are we supposed to…."

"Don't worry about that. If you wait here, other kings and their followers will show up soon."

I clenched my fist and raised it.

"I'll rough them up a bit and turn them into your servants. Then you just clear the seven-person dungeon with them and bring back the reward."

Jung Minseob and Lee Seongguk's eyes darted around, their faces full of bewilderment.

"…B-but even if we make them servants, there's a high chance they'll betray us inside the dungeon."

"There's something called a 'Temporary Oath Contract' or an 'Oath of Existence.' Just use those so they can't betray you."

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Right then, the sound of running footsteps approached from the distance.

"Just keep that in mind for now. Guests have arrived, so we should greet them properly."

I turned around, and sure enough, a king holding a brown flag and about a dozen of his followers came into view.

"Over there! That's the place where you get the hidden items!"

"But boss, who's that standing in front?"

"What, it's just three people. Just take them out quick and go inside! Let's move!"

They exchanged a few words among themselves, then drew their weapons and locked eyes on me.

I looked straight at them and started walking toward them.

"Hmm… you're out. You barely pass. You — out."

I pointed with my index finger, sorting the people I would send into the seven-person dungeon. But once I finished sorting, something felt off.

"…Tch. Can these guys even clear it?"

The king in front of me had overall stats in the low-to-mid twenties — very solid. But the rest were mediocre.

The ones standing on either side of the king had overall stats in the high teens, so they barely passed. Everyone else was hovering around the low-to-mid teens.

But we were short on time, so I had to hold back tears and send even these guys in.

"Hey. You lot. Become my temporary lackeys."

The king, who had been looking at me with a startled expression, flushed red in the neck and glared at me as he opened his mouth.

"What the hell are you talking about… shut up and die—"

SMACK!

"Guh—!"

"B-boss?!"

With a light slap that I had deliberately held back on, the enemy group's king went skipping across the ground like a stone on water.

The men of the hostile group stared blankly between their king and me with dazed eyes.

"Kids. Big bro here doesn't have time. You gonna be lackeys or not? For the record, I'm going to keep beating you until you say yes."

Beat them half to death, feed them potions to recover, then beat them again. Until they agreed.

The faces of the hostile group in front of me went deathly pale. They seemed to have figured out I was serious.

"I-if we follow you… will all of us survive?"

"Uh…."

I couldn't answer the man's question easily. I was about to send them into the seven-person dungeon, and I had no idea how high the difficulty was or how ridiculous the patterns would be, so I hesitated.

At that, the men's faces turned even bluer. Every one of them looked thoroughly terrified.

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

"No — I have a job for you guys, and I just don't know how hellish that dungeon is, so I hesitated. If you clear it safely and bring back the reward, I'll let you live."

"R-really?"

"Yeah."

Only then did the men let out sighs of relief.

"But."

"But?"

"Swear it."

"Swear what?"

I cleared my throat and began laying out the conditions of the oath.

"First: until you clear the hidden dungeon, you will not betray Jung Minseob and Lee Seongguk beside me. Second: you will do everything in your power to clear the hidden dungeon. Third and final: any rewards obtained from clearing the dungeon will be handed over to me. If you understand, just say you swear."

"……Y-yeah. We swear."

The moment the men spoke the oath, blue flames erupted from their bodies, then moved toward their hearts and vanished.

I smiled at the men, who were wearing dazed expressions.

"That's called an 'Oath of Existence.' If you break any of the conditions I just stated, those blue flames will burn the hearts of whoever broke them."

The men's faces started turning blue again. Whether they did or not, I bought two HK416s and three hundred rounds of 5mm ammunition from the general store.

But that alone wouldn't be enough for Jung Minseob and Lee Seongguk to protect themselves. So I decided to take additional measures.

"Enchant. Explosion."

I handed Jung Minseob and Lee Seongguk each an HK416 enchanted with the explosive attribute and a hundred and fifty rounds of 5mm ammo, then said:

"There. All set. Now go clear the seven-person dungeon."

"…Yes, sir."

"…Understood."

The two Prophets wiped cold sweat from their foreheads and entered the seven-person dungeon together with the five lackeys I had selected.

"U-um…."

"Hm?"

"What should the rest of us do now…?"

One of the remaining six men asked on behalf of the group what they were supposed to do next. I rested my chin on my hand and thought for a moment.

Then I reached a conclusion.

"You guys don't have anything left to do. See that building over there?"

"Y-yes. We see it."

"Go hide in there and kill time."

"…What? W-what?!"

The men jumped in shock at my words. I ignored them and started walking toward the National Palace Museum of Korea. Then a system message appeared before my eyes.

There was only ever going to be one option for me.

"I choose the one-person dungeon — Chamber of the Conch Horn."

Fwaaaash!

The moment I finished selecting which dungeon to enter, a blue light formed around my body, and I began to be transported inside.