That Long One
Slash—
BOOOOM!
"What kind of crazy bastard is that...?!"
"Huh, damn. Doesn't look like the type worth wasting bullets on."
I split the flying magic bullet cleanly in half.
It looked impressive, but it was actually easy.
Just cut. Done. Easy, right?
I drew one leg back, raised the Heaven-Shaking Sword high, and lowered my stance—like a tiger coiling to strike.
"I'm about to use a big one, so don't die and ruin the fun, yeah?"
"You son of a—!"
Swift Blade Chaos
BOOM!
I pulled the trigger and let the propulsive force of the roaring flames carry me as I slammed the ground.
The scar left behind was something no human should have been able to make. The floor shattered outright.
The 'Green Zone' has been destroyed.
Incarnation 'Gong Pildu's 'Private Territory' has been destroyed.
"What the hell is this…"
"Stand there like that and your head's coming off."
Whoosh—
In an instant the blade of the Heaven-Shaking Sword streaked toward Gong Pildu's throat.
But then—
CLANG!
"Huh. Just a little late, damn it."
"That's enough, Park Hayeon."
Yoo Joonghyuk blocked my attack with almost insulting ease.
"You've been sitting back watching the whole time and now you jump in?"
"He still has his uses."
"You think I don't know that?"
I knew perfectly well that Gong Pildu still had value. As someone who already knew the future, he was someone I couldn't afford to kill either.
But I really didn't feel like hearing that from someone who only showed up now.
"One hit."
"What?"
"Take just one hit. Then I'll let that bastard go and we'll call it here."
"…Nonsense."
"Oh? You think that sounds like nonsense?"
Right now I could fight Yoo Joonghyuk as an equal.
No—I could win.
If I used that technique, even she would take a critical wound.
"Just one hit. Then I'll back off."
"…One hit."
"Deal. I'm a man of my word."
Yoo Joonghyuk drove the sword she was holding into the floor.
Then an aura began to rise from her body.
I settled into my own stance.
I called up the terrible memories—memories that were mine and yet not mine at all.
Muscles, reflexes, even the senses themselves were unnecessary.
Only the heart moved.
Specific conditions have been met!
Exclusive Skill 'Heart' acquired!
A blue window floated before my eyes at the same moment a golden aura bloomed from my body.
Ting—!
And a single golden net coiled around the edge of the Heaven-Shaking Sword.
Specific conditions have been met!
Exclusive Skill 'Hope' acquired!
Constellation 'The Courage That Protects' shows interest in the new technique.
"I, Park Hayeon. Capo of the Thumb, and one of the Eastern Ten Swords."
"I will cut you with everything I have."
"You cut with your mouth?"
BOOOOM!
The instant her words ended, my body launched forward.
A single line of sword scars carved itself across Yoo Joonghyuk's body.
Spurt—!
"Kh…!"
Even she couldn't fully withstand that strike; blood burst from the wound.
A moment later she staggered and dropped to one knee.
"Wow~ Still didn't cut all the way through~"
"Even with Hope wrapped around it, that much means you're pretty damn tough~"
Yoo Joonghyuk glared at me with murder in her eyes.
Then the wound began regenerating at high speed.
Probably one of her skills.
"I think I've played around enough! Time to wrap this up cheap and head back."
"Had a great time~"
I hoisted the still-healing Yoo Joonghyuk over my shoulder and left the area.
Gong Pildu glared at me like he wanted me dead, but after watching the attack I'd thrown at her, he didn't say a single word and simply let us go.
We descended the stairs again and returned to the place where we had first arrived.
"Um… Hayeon-ssi."
"Hm? What is it?"
"That just now… what was that? Your form vanished and then in an instant…"
Yoo Sangah asked carefully, worry written across her face.
"Ah~ That? Just, you know~ I cut really damn hard~ Haha!"
My half-assed explanation and hearty laugh left her staring at me with a blank look, as if she'd lost the words.
"Good to see you, kid."
"…So you were alive after all."
Yoo Joonghyuk had already finished regenerating every wound and answered Dokja as if nothing had happened.
The two of them exchanged a few brief words before their gazes shifted to the rest of the party.
"You've gathered companions."
She examined each of them in turn, no doubt reading their stats and skills.
Her gaze stopped on one person in particular.
Jung Heewon, clearly irritated by that stare, spoke with a slight edge in her voice.
"What are you looking at?"
"Yoo Joonghyuk!"
Dokja read her thoughts and urgently called out to her.
"There's something I'm curious about. Why are you leaving Gong Pildu alone?"
"A prophet should already know."
"Being a prophet doesn't mean I know everything."
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at him for a moment, then let out a small sigh and continued.
"I suppose so. Even a prophet would still have a low level of 'Future Sight'."
"I'm keeping Gong Pildu alive because I need him."
"Because of the scenarios to come?"
"I know that Gong Pildu is necessary for the later scenarios."
"But you only need 'Gong Pildu' himself—not the entire group that follows him."
"Isn't it your style to eliminate anything unnecessary?"
"Why are you just watching?"
After listening to Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk turned away as if she found the whole conversation tiresome.
"I have a lot to do. You will never understand."
"Wait! You can't just say that and walk away."
"If you don't move now, most of the people in Chungmuro will…!"
"I don't care."
Wow. Look at that personality.
"Can I hit her just once?"
"Do you think you can?"
The same aura from earlier began flowing from Yoo Joonghyuk's body again.
Dokja seemed to give up; he sighed and lowered his fist.
"Then let me ask one thing of my own."
"What."
Her gaze turned toward me.
"Hm? What. Why are you staring so hard it feels oppressive?"
"What the hell is that guy?"
"…I don't know either."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah. It's an attribute and skills I've never seen before either."
"Tsk. Useless."
With that, Yoo Joonghyuk took Lee Jihye and set off down the path.
What the hell am I supposed to do with that girl…
"Alright, alright! Shall we get started on the Day 3 main scenario?"
Bihyung reappeared, snapped his fingers, and a scenario window floated up before our eyes.
Main Scenario #3 — Green Zone (Day 3)
Category: Main
Difficulty: C
Clear Condition: Occupy a [Green Zone] within the station and survive the monsters that swarm every midnight. This scenario lasts a total of 7 days.
Duration: 8 hours
Reward: 1,000 coins
Failure: —
It was finally starting.
A scenario where you had to seize a Green Zone just to survive the monsters that poured in like mad every single night.
"Let's split up and look for rooms."
"If you still haven't found a 'room' twenty minutes before the scenario starts, gather back here."
At Dokja's words the party began to scatter.
I stayed with him, though.
I already knew there were no rooms left in Chungmuro, and right now I simply didn't feel like moving.
30 minutes remaining until the start of the third main scenario.
Constellation 'The Clock-Headed Administrator' ticks.
"Come on… You can say that all you want, but I still don't understand a word of it."
Constellation 'The Clock-Headed Administrator' grows frustrated.
Constellation 'The One Who Burned into Light' interprets the words of 'The Clock-Headed Administrator' for you.
"So… why aren't you looking for a room?"
Constellation 'The Clock-Headed Administrator' nods.
"You really think there are any rooms left here?"
"There are already plenty of people killing others just because there aren't enough rooms."
Constellation 'The Librarian of the Library' is pleased with your efficient judgment.
Constellation 'The Courage That Protects' is pleased that you take no unnecessary actions.
"Looking pretty relaxed, mister. Miss. You two looking to die?"
Lee Jihye called out from behind us.
"You're looking pretty relaxed yourself."
"Nobody touches my room. Everyone knows they'll die if they try."
"I'd rather you two didn't die, though."
"The way you talked back to my master earlier, and that technique—pretty impressive."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"We won't die, so don't worry."
"And not finding a 'room' doesn't automatically mean you die."
There was a way to survive even without a room.
A truly stupid strategy, but surprisingly doable.
"Go back to your room already."
"Ah, Master! Yes, sir!"
Yoo Joonghyuk sent Lee Jihye away.
"Planning to fight the monsters?"
"You will die. And so will your companions."
"Except for this one, that is."
"Huh. Since when did you start rating me so highly~?"
"We'll see about that."
Yoo Joonghyuk left us behind and walked on again.
"Ha! I can't even…"
"Two thousand coins for one night? Are you kidding me right now?!"
"I swear I'm gonna gut them myself!"
"Dokja-ssi. Hayeon-ssi."
"We… couldn't find a room."
The party returned looking thoroughly dejected.
It couldn't be helped.
Dokja had known there were no rooms left in Chungmuro, and I hadn't stopped him either.
"We now have two options."
"The first is an easy method that lets all of us live."
"Uh… usually in these situations people pick the second option… so what's the other one?"
"The second is extremely difficult. And there's a high chance one of us will die."
The party asked about the first method with slightly pale faces.
Dokja then climbed the stairs and pointed at one of the Green Zones.
"That one."
"The 'room' they're occupying is exactly six spaces."
"But none of them have particularly high individual stats. Honestly, even if all five of us don't go…"
"Wait a second! Dokja-ssi, are you saying…"
"Yes. Killing them and taking their room is the first method."
The party turned ashen and strongly objected.
In the end they chose the second method.
And so we went down onto the subway tracks.
"The monsters will probably spawn from that direction and come flooding in."
"They'll sweep through Line 3 and climb floor by floor toward the surface."
"So we're fighting the monsters here?"
"No. We can't. If we fight here, we all die."
"This plan requires us to split the party. Lee Hyunsung-ssi, Yoo Sangah-ssi, and Jung Heewon-ssi."
"Even if it's hard to believe, you have to trust me."
"When the monsters appear, all of you…"
"Run straight toward the direction they're coming from."
We left the others on the tracks while Gil-yeong, Dokja, and I waited behind them.
Then a blue window appeared.
The third main scenario is now active.
At the same moment the beasts appeared.
I opened the cylinder of the Heaven-Shaking Sword and loaded a bullet marked with a flame pattern against a black background.
"Now!"
At Dokja's signal the others charged toward the beasts.
From here on out, the survival game began.