Exclusive Skill
“Why me?”
“Why us?”
We both answered at the same time.
Of course we did. Neither of us wanted to shoulder the coin burden of saving that many people.
These were the ones who hadn’t even managed a simple monster hunt, the ones who had failed to earn their own survival fees. There was no reason in the world to lend coins to people like that.
“Pff… pffhahahaha! I knew it! Exactly what I’d expect from Dokja-ssi and Hayeon-ssi!”
What the hell are you laughing at?
I’ll tear that mouth of yours right off.
“Why?! You said you had plenty of coins!”
“You could spare a little, couldn’t you?!”
“Dokja-ssi and Hayeon-ssi have been like this from the moment they first appeared here.”
“They sold the food they brought for coins, didn’t they?”
“If we hadn’t bought that food back then, do you have any idea how many more people would still be alive right now?”
“He’s right! That’s exactly it!”
“You son of a—! Give me my coins back!”
“Hand them over!”
“Everyone, please! What you’re doing right now is—!”
“Dokja-ssi and Hayeon-ssi aren’t that kind of people!”
“Dokja-ssi, Hayeon-ssi. I’ll give you one last chance.”
“Give the people some coins…”
“I’m done listening.”
Captain of the Pequod
Current Enkephalin: 10/100
How dare you threaten my people with that worthless tongue of yours.
I’ll show you what real gaslighting looks like.
“Hayeon-ssi? If that’s how you’re going to play it, then I have no choice.”
“K-kill him! Kill that bastard and take the coins—!”
“Attention!!!!”
At my shout, every citizen’s voice cut off in an instant.
Countless eyes locked onto me at once.
But by then, a smile was already spreading across my face.
“You’re saying it’s our fault you’re on the brink of death?”
“What a joke! The reason you’re like this—the reason things turned out this way—has nothing to do with us!”
“All of this is your fault, Cheon Inho!”
“W-what? How is any of this my fault—”
“Why is it that only the scouts from Cheon Inho’s faction come back perfectly fine?”
“Why do the people from the fringe groups keep disappearing while your mainstream group only grows stronger?”
“Th-that’s because we hunt the monsters…!”
An opening.
“Monsters? Ha! What a load of crap!”
“Do you honestly believe hunting a few monsters is enough to get that strong?”
“You all know the truth, don’t you?!”
“Why do those people keep getting stronger while we keep dwindling?!”
“Why do they already know that killing people gives you coins?!”
“I-Inho-ssi… you don’t mean…?”
“Shut up! That’s slander!”
I won.
“Hahaha! Only seven minutes left!”
“I-Inho-ssi…”
“H-how… how did…”
“Dokja.”
“…Yeah. I know.”
I’m not the protagonist of this place.
Which means I ought to hand the stage over to the real one.
“If you still have any pride left, fight with your own hands!”
“At the very least, take back what was stolen from you with your own hands!”
Constellations of the Absolute Good lineage have designated Incarnation ‘Cheon Inho’ as an ‘Evil Person’.
“This world is”
“that kind of place now.”
All right… now…
“All hands, charge!”
“U-uaaaaaah!!!!”
“You bastards!”
“Y-you sons of bitches!”
It was pure chaos.
People tangled with people, weapons clashed against weapons.
Shunk—!
“I told you I’d kill you.”
All evolution conditions for the Attribute ‘The One Who Hunkers Down’ have been met.
Incarnation ‘Jung Heewon’’s Attribute is blooming.
Incarnation ‘Jung Heewon’’s Attribute has bloomed into ‘Judge of Destruction (Hero)’.
Jung Heewon’s awakening at that exact moment shook the battlefield all over again.
Her eyes flooded crimson as she tore through the fight.
The floor turned red with blood; corpses rolled across the ground.
It was a true asura’s field.
And when Jung Heewon finally took Cheon Inho’s head, the fighting ended.
Survival fees are being settled.
As if it couldn’t care less about any of their circumstances, the survival fees settled without mercy.
Heads burst open all across the station; headless bodies crumpled lifelessly to the floor.
And there sat Jung Heewon, slumped on the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Get up.”
Kim Dokja held out a hand to her.
“The scenarios have only just begun.”
It was a merciless thing to say.
But it was also the truth.
Countless scenarios still remained, and countless people would die.
In a world like that, the blade named Jung Heewon could not be allowed to break.
“Hey. You two.”
“Are you really not coming with us?”
“…We’ll go our own way. We’ve still got some coins left.”
After the massacre of the previous night, most of the survivors had left Geumho Station.
Only about five people remained behind.
They would manage somehow.
These were people who had survived last night’s hell.
They would keep surviving just fine.
“So… we’re leaving now?”
The quiet question was less a question than a confirmation.
Even if we said we were going, no one intended to stop us.
Our freeloader… no, Han Myungoh, had vanished without a trace.
Not that disappearing would help him much when a Demon King already had eyes on him.
We left a thousand thoughts behind and started walking again.
How long had we been walking when—
Thud—
◈ Received from Jung Heewon
“…What’s this, Heewon-ssi?”
“I’m splitting them. Felt wrong keeping everything for myself. I gave some to the others too.”
“Most of those bastards’ coins ended up in my pocket, after all.”
…
“If it gets hard, tell me.”
“…Okay.”
I watched Jung Heewon—looking somehow fragile—walk ahead, then followed after her.
Honestly, I’d earned several times more coins than what I’d just received.
Quite a few Constellations had apparently enjoyed last night’s carnage; a sizable amount of sponsorship had come in.
Kim Dokja and I had split those coins between us.
Owned Coins: 19,050C
Aside from Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk, I probably had the most coins out of anyone.
I’d raised my stats as well.
Six thousand coins vanished in an instant, but it couldn’t be helped.
And honestly, I still didn’t see much point in Magic Power, so I left that alone.
Thud—
Ding—!
Main Scenario #2 — Encounter
📍 Category: Main
⚔ Difficulty: E
🎯 Clear Condition: Cross the tunnel and meet the survivors of the first base area.
⏱ Time Limit: None
🎁 Reward: 500 Coins
💀 Failure: ???
Here it comes.
The next ‘Major Base’ is ‘Chungmuro’.
We had been walking straight through the tunnel the whole way.
At one point the enemies had swarmed us so heavily that the entire party was thoroughly exhausted.
I had burned through most of my remaining Enkephalin as well; the W Corp Cleanup Agent Identity I was currently wearing would be the last one I could use.
When we finally reached Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station, Dokja suggested we all rest, and everyone agreed.
One by one they drifted off for their own reasons, until only Dokja and I were left.
“…“
“…“
An awkward silence.
I was just about to say something—anything—to break it when—
Flicker—
Deep inside the station, something glowed like the light of a lamp.
“Dokja.”
“H-huh? What?”
“That thing over there. Do you know what it is?”
“…A light?”
The glow drew closer, and soon I could see what was casting it.
A round black body with not a single feather on it.
A grotesque bird covered in countless huge yellow eyes.
One of the Abnormalities I had seen while playing Lobotomy Corporation.
It was Big Bird.
And then—
Specific conditions have been satisfied!
Exclusive Skill ‘Lobotomy Corporation’ has been activated!
…What?