Escape
Commander Slayer
📍 Classification: Hidden
⚔ Difficulty: A+
🎯 Clear Condition: Kill the sea dragon ‘Sea Commander’ and escape from inside its belly.
⏱ Time Limit: 10 days
🎁 Reward: 9000 Coins
💀 Failure: Death
“Aigoo, Constellations~”
“Please, everyone, calm down a little~”
“Hey, are these really the only products available right now? There should be a search function.”
“There certainly are a lot of them.”
“Right? Look at this one…”
“Haa… those damn bastards…”
In the end we secured the Dokkaebi Bundle through a thoroughly amicable(?) contract with Bihyung.
“Search product: ‘Ancient Dragon.’”
“?! Are you insane? How do you even know about the ‘Ancient Dragon’?!”
“I just threw out any cool-sounding name that came to mind.”
That was how Dokja, after a few more searches, began purchasing items.
“So what we finally bought was…”
“Four slime, four spines? What are you planning to do with that junk?”
“You don’t need to know.”
400 Coins have been consumed.
Kim Dokja and I split the cost evenly. Then she began peeling off her coat and arranging the items along her waist.
“Well then, I should be heading out.”
“Go on and clear it properly.”
“I will.”
“See you later, Dokkaebi.”
“You’re really full of yourself.”
Bihyung flicked his fingers and vanished in an instant.
“So, Dokja-ssi? What’s the plan now?”
“First, smear the slime on the spines. Rub whatever’s left onto your body.”
“And after that?”
“We wait. Any second now…”
Swaaaash—!
The moment the words left her mouth, gastric acid erupted from holes in the stomach wall.
“Plug every hole the acid’s coming from with a spine!”
“Then grab on and hold!”
“Yes!”
One by one we drove the spines into the openings, then each of us seized two of them and hung on for dear life.
“If you let go even once, it’s over!”
“I know already—stop talking!”
And so our desperate endurance began.
How much time had passed?
Strength drained from my arms; my vision blurred. Kim Dokja had already lost consciousness. When she let go of the spine and nearly tumbled into the acid, I barely caught her, jammed a harpoon into the stomach wall, and held on—cradling her against me the entire time.
Crackle—
“…Truly remarkable.”
“To use a Stone Hog’s spines like that… I never would have imagined…”
Ah. I can’t hold on any longer.
Thud—
The Hidden Scenario has ended.
You have acquired 9000 Coins as a reward.
When I came to, Kim Dokja was already on her feet, doing something. She held out a glittering object to Bihyung.
“I’m selling this. Put it up for barter on the Dokkaebi Auction.”
“You really…”
“The exchange item must be ‘Broken Faith.’ No exceptions.”
Leaving Bihyung behind as he floated an advertisement across the channel, I walked over to her.
“Dokja-ssi.”
“Ah. Hayeon-ssi. You’re awake.”
“Yeah. We made it. Both of us.”
“Yes. Thank you for the help. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have died.”
While we spoke, Bihyung approached and summoned a blue window—a contract. In short: do not create a sponsor constellation, operate exclusively on his channel, and split the profits.
“Something important is missing.”
“The seal? Verbal agreement is enough. Stream contracts are soul oaths—”
“There’s no ratio.”
“Ah… aah.”
“Haha… ha, right…”
“Five-five, how about it? In exchange I’ll waive the channel fees you’d normally pay.”
“Exactly according to the ratio of sponsorships you receive from now on…”
“Do you take us for suckers?”
Bullshit. Pure bullshit. Settle for a mere five-five? Not a chance.
“We’re Incarnations without sponsors.”
“And when Constellations sponsor unbacked Incarnations, they pay the Dokkaebi a massive fee.”
“Oh~? So you must have raked it in, you Dokkaebi bastard?”
I fixed him with a chilling smile. He flinched as if something had pricked his conscience.
“Ten to zero.”
“That sounds good.”
“Wh… what?!!!”
“You can live off the fees alone. We won’t hand over a single coin.”
“Th-that’s ridiculous…!!”
“This is also your fault, Dokkaebi!”
“What the hell are you talking about…!”
“How many coins have you already taken in fees?”
At that he clamped his mouth shut, nothing left to say. This is what a captain looks like.
“Damn it, fine… So we’re contracting, right?”
“Ah, one more thing.”
“What?! What now?!”
“A separate contract fee. Hand it over—five thousand Coins.”
“?@#%!^@&!”
“Five thousand each. Don’t get it twisted.”
When I delivered the finishing blow, the Dokkaebi nodded with the look of a man whose soul had left his body.
Coins taste sweet.
“Puhah!”
“Ha! Fresh air after so long!”
After fleecing Bihyung of every coin we could, Kim Dokja and I climbed out of the sea dragon’s body. The clean air I hadn’t tasted in ages felt like it was scrubbing my lungs clean. We made for the nearest shore and started walking.
“Where to now, Dokja-ssi?”
“Around here, it should be…”
You have entered the second Main Scenario area.
The land of this scenario region is deeply contaminated.
Hold your breath and move underground as quickly as possible!
“Ugh! What is this…!”
You have been exposed to the Poison Mist.
“Bite down on the item I gave you earlier!”
Kim Dokja and I clamped the Ellain Monkey’s Lungs between our teeth. The stinging on our skin eased as if the mist were being purified, and breathing grew easier.
“Let’s hit a convenience store first. Restock supplies and change clothes.”
“Yes. I remember there’s one over that way. Let’s go.”
We pushed through the fog. Before long a convenience store appeared. Without a second’s hesitation we stepped inside.
“Dokja-ssi, change in the back. I’ll stay out here.”
“Yes. See you in a bit.”
While she disappeared inside, I began looting the store—food, daily necessities, simple medicines. More remained than I’d expected.
In the middle of the ransacking—
“Save… save me…”
“…A voice?”
I followed the sound and found a woman collapsed on the floor, her body blackened in patches from the mist’s poison.
“Hayeon-ssi? What’s wrong?”
“Dokja-ssi! Her condition…!”
Dokja took one look, then in a single motion hoisted the woman onto her back.
“We have to move! Staying here will only make it worse!”
“Geumho Station! It’s the closest!”
And so we ran—carrying a fragile life that might gutter out at any moment.
The Constellation, ‘Black Tea Lover,’ smiles.