Episode 15 – A Kingless World (3)

The first narrative was built. With this, the main goal of the fourth scenario was achieved.

“What the hell is going to happen now?”

“No, why did you break the throne?”

There were people who were bewildered by the situation while others were scared about what the angry dokkaebi would do.

From the perspective of the people present, I was a sinner who made the fifth scenario difficult. Some people cried out to the dokkaebi.

“Make the Absolute Throne again! I’ll join the scenario again!”

“This time I will be the master of the throne!”

[The scenarios that have already ended can’t be changed by anyone. Anything that happens to you from now on is the fault of that human.]

The intermediate dokkaebi’s answer was cold.

The dokkaebi pointed towards me while the wet shoulders of the gathered people shook.

[A world with no kings? Okay. Let’s try it once. I will see how well you can survive without a focal point.]

The intermediate dokkaebi flicked his finger. Then the people in Gwanghwamun started to disappear like smoke. People screamed and ran away.

“What? What is this all of a sudden?!”

…This was an unscheduled development.

I looked back and saw Jung Heewon, Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung and the others calling out to me.

“Dokja-ssi!”

The next moment, Yoo Sangah disappeared. Then Lee Gilyoung and Jung Heewon. Next was Jung Minseob and Lee Sungkook. One minute after the dokkaebi flicked his finger, I was the only one remaining in Gwanghwamun. The intermediate dokkaebi looked at me with a creepy smile.

[Please keep this in mind. If this world is destroyed, it is all because of you.]

The moment I wanted to speak, there was a ringing sound.

My body shook and I was moved elsewhere. It was accompanied by severe nausea and a headache. I lost consciousness because I had consumed a great deal of energy.

[10,000 coins have been earned as settlement for the fourth scenario.]

***

I slept for quite a long time because I was tired from excessive contact with the constellations.

I even dreamt. It was a dream from before the end began.

–Hey, aren’t you awake?

The moment I heard the voice, I realized it was my high school days. They were the days when I was beaten up by the school gangsters.

…Yes. There were times like this. It was a childish dream but I became furious when I thought about it again.

–What? Why are you looking at me like that? Do you want to kill someone?

My head fell back from his slap.

Blood flowed from my cracked lips and my tingling cheeks caused a feeling of shame.

Arms, legs, and shoulders. Pain came from all these places. It might be a dream but it was more painful than reality. Maybe it was because there was no Fourth Wall here.

–Why? If it is too much, stab me. Do you want to appear in the same newspapers as your mother?

My clenched fists trembled but I couldn’t hit him. At that time, what had I been thinking?

‘…If only I was Yoo Jonghyuk.’

Yes, that’s right. This was what I thought in my misery. It was the time when I was reading Ways of Survival.

I say the name on the uniform’s name badge.

Song Minwoo.

What was he doing now? I remember that he had gone to university and was working well. That was the first time I thought the world was unfair. I didn’t know if he was still alive.

[The exclusive skill, ‘Fourth Wall’ is activated!]

My dream collapsed and I was left in the dark again.

[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint stage 3 has been activated!]

Voices started to overlap.

「 Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay? 」

「 Representative-nim? 」

「 Dokja-ssi, where are you? 」

They were the familiar voices of people I knew.

The words were conveyed through the ‘third person perspective’ of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint’s third stage. I knew who the voices belonged to without looking.

「 “Ah…why here? Dokja-ssi? Can you hear me?” 」

There was a bar with various types of wine. Jung Heewon was frowning and sighing.

「 “A love letter… I will meet that ahjussi again… damn, why did I fall to the school?” 」

Lee Jihye was touching her cheeks as if she had been hit by someone.

「 How come… why… here…? 」

Lee Hyunsung was trapped in a nearby military base.

…I could roughly guess what happened based on people’s reactions.

The people in Gwanghwamun seemed to be moved to places they had an association with. That’s why Lee Jihye was at a school while Lee Hyunsung was sent to a military base. Lee Hyunsung was the most pathetic one.

Maybe it was the damn intermediate dokkaebi’s doing.

He created a situation where the incarnations were scattered all over the place. No matter how irrelevant it was to the main scenario, the intermediate dokkaebi would surely be reprimanded.

I looked at the confused people and muttered.

‘I’m fine so take care of yourself. I will see you soon.’

They couldn’t hear me but I hoped the words would reach them.

[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint stage 3 has ended.]

I slowly returned to consciousness as my eyelids opened. Black clouds were still swirling over Seoul like a black hole.

I got up and looked around. It was a panoramic view of Seoul. It was a place where skyscrapers and high-rise buildings could be seen.

That reminded me, I should be moved to a place related to me. At first glance, it looked like the rooftop of a high-rise building in Seoul…

“This place…?”

Damn, I thought it was possible but I really didn’t want to come here.

[A few constellations are looking forward to the words you will say to yourself.]

“…Mino Soft?

This was the rooftop of the company I worked for, Mino Soft.

[A few constellations are disappointed.]

[The constellations who don’t like to be rushed are pleased.]

When I saw the indirect messages that came to my mind, I felt that the constellations focusing on me had expanded after I broke the Absolute Throne.

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ threatens the newly appeared constellations.]

[The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is coughing at the pretentious people.]

Why did I come here? A street in Seoul without any cars. The offices with the lights turned off.

I felt nostalgia as I saw these familiar buildings. It was the first time I went to work in a month.

I felt really weird when I remembered coming up to the rooftop with Deputy Yoon after being scolded by Team Leader Han. When previously I had been testing new games, now I was cutting people with a blade.

Was Deputy Yoon still alive?

I turned my head and saw messages flashing in the air.

[There are 10 days before the start of the fifth scenario.]

The scenarios were flowing as I expected. If the Absolute Throne was destroyed, Seoul Dome would get a respite for 10 days.

The fifth scenario, the Great Hall.

During this grace period, I had to find a way to clear the fifth scenario without the Absolute Throne.

[A sub scenario is in progress to supplement the interlude.]

+

[Sub Scenario – Survival Activities]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: C+

Clear Conditions: Survive for 10 days in the ruined city. You should eat three meals a day and get at least six hours of sleep a day. Don’t forget to pay 500 coins per day before going to sleep every night. There will be a clear penalty if you violate any of these three rules.

Duration: 10 days

Compensation: None

Failure: Death

* This is a scenario where a ‘coin event’ is applied.

* All monsters in the scenario have a certain probability of dropping coins.

+

I roughly knew how things had gone. The existing scenario was completely destroyed so they hastily put together a sub scenario.

Furthermore, it overlapped with a coin payment event. I thought they were going to do it soon but I hadn’t expected it to start already.

A survival fee of 500 coins a day… it was a scenario that couldn’t be cleared without a coin event.

Anyway, now I had to move. I couldn’t miss out on the chance to replenish my coins.

Then people’s voices were heard from below the roof.

“Drag it! Quickly!”

I looked down and saw armed people entering the building, with others behind them.

Mino Soft was located near Seocho-gu. But in my memories, there were no ‘king’ forces in the Seocho area.

…Then who were they? I carefully observed the armed people and realized something.

Yes, they were the ‘wanderers’. Each person had a different way of living in this destroyed world.

Someone would become ‘king’ and others would become ‘the people.’ Someone else would become a ‘wanderer’ without any affiliation.

And Seocho was the land of wanderers.

I turned on my smartphone to look up the information on this area. Unfortunately, I was out of battery. I needed to find a place to recharge the battery or find a spare battery…

I opened the roof door and went downstairs. I passed through the president’s office, the planning department and the finance department. I walked through the office of the QA team that I had worked in for a while when I stopped.

It was fair to say that my memory was quite good. I went into the office and opened the drawers one by one.

It was because I thought a spare battery might be left behind. At that time, someone entered with a flashlight.

I reflexively pulled out my sword but there was a strange noise.

“Eh?”

…?

“D-Dokja-ssi? It is Dokja-ssi!”

Then I saw the man’s face.

“Deputy Yoon?”

“Ahh, you’re alive! You are alive!”

It was Deputy Yoon of the QA team.

***

“It was really terrible.”

I heard from Deputy Yoon about what happened at Mino Soft. To be exact, it was what happened after I got off from work.

“The first scenario started for all the people on the night shift.”

Deputy Yoon spoke while holding his nose.

The corridor of the company was filled with rotting body odor and maggots. Some of the bodies had faces of people I knew but I didn’t see any mourning or sadness on Deputy Yoon’s expression.

“Do you know? That guy over there, Team Manager Kim, I killed him.  Why, that bastard… I stabbed his neck with a ballpoint pen and blood… it really was like a game.”

“…Deputy Yoon.”

“S-Sorry. Is it uncomfortable talking about this? Haha.”

It was a natural change but I felt bitter seeing Deputy Yoon’s changed appearance. No… maybe this was what Director Yoon was like now.

“Are you alone here?”

“Huh? Ahh, I’m not alone. By the way, where was Dokja-ssi?”

“Ah, I…”

“I didn’t see you in the company. What group are you affiliated with? Where you somewhere else?”

“Yes, well… Something similar. I was originally on the Gwanghwamun side of the bridge when…”

Deputy Yoon didn’t listen to the end as he interrupted.

“Aha, I see. Dokja-ssi, you luck is really bad.”

“…Huh?”

“There is no need to pass through all the scenarios. Don’t you know? If you hide well and use moderate tricks, most scenarios will be broken by other people. There is no need to risk your life. Haha, it is very comfortable despite the world being like this.”

It was true. If you became a ‘wanderer’ who didn’t belong to anyone, you could get rid of some scenario that must be cleared and have the main scenarios cleared by someone else. There were many such people in Seoul Dome.

They problem was that if you lived in hiding and were caught by surrounding groups, you would die. There was no prey as good as the ‘wanderers’ moving alone.

“You don’t have to worry. Wanderers also have a lot of power. Is there a need to be a king to build power?”

We exited Mino Soft. People were crowded around the company and there were a bunch of wanderers gathered. Some of them were seen moving kidnapped people. At this time, one armed man asked, “Yoon Sangho-ssi, who is this?”

“Ah, he is one of my coworkers. We met by chance.”

“Hrmm… a wanderer? No one from a group is accepted. Do you know?”

Deputy Yoon nodded lightly and the man passed by us. I looked at the man and asked, “Who is this person?”

“The manager of a ‘coin farm’.”

“Coin farm?”

“Ah… Dokja-ssi doesn’t know.”

For a moment, a dismal expression appeared on Deputy Yoon’s face.

Coin farm… that reminded me of something. But these guys already started it?

“Look here.”

There were two people trapped in cages placed at regular intervals, like it was a zoo or police station. The wanderers around them screamed with excitement.

“Hey! Are you kidding me? Fight harder! Who will give you coins if you look like this?”

Inside the cage, two people were fighting each other. Blood splashed, eyes were pulled out and a man with guts hanging out cried out like an animal.

[The constellation who likes the Colosseum is delighted.]

I looked closely and there were several such cages. Not all of the cages contained fighting.

There was one cage with a naked woman and several men inside, while another cage contained a lone woman, like the men had already finished with her. I could hear pained moans and cries from all corners.

Outside the cages, the wanderers holding their penises were laughing.

“Hey, how are you? Good? Come out quickly!”

“Next is my turn you bastard!”

[The constellation who likes excitement is delighted.]

Deputy Yoon opened his mouth.

“In the game industry, consumers were the king. In Mino Soft, the president was the king. Dokja-ssi, who is the king in this new world?”

“…Are you depending on the sponsorship of the constellations?”

“Yes. Sometimes there are crazy constellations like this. The most stimulating the sight, the more coins that the constellations will give. It is like the star balloons. We get coins from these people and in return, we provide them with food to survive.” (TL: Star balloons are the way of donating on Korean video streaming sites)

Deputy Yoon threw a chocolate bar into one cage. The woman behind bars cried out and grabbed for it.

There were those in the world who first identified the system and figured out how to exploit it. The ‘coin farm’ was the structure that those who first understood the world devised in order to take advantage of the system.

“I see people from our company…”

“They were from our company.”

I realized for certain after hearing his cold tone. The ‘Deputy Yoon’ that I knew from Mino Soft, he didn’t exist in this world anymore.

“Hey! There are new slaves! Imprison them!”

“Yes!”

The slaves were moved to the prisons. I was stunned to see a familiar face among them.

Deputy Yoon smiled.

“Oh, there is a new one? Hey! Strip her and bring her to the cage!”

A petite person with white skin. Fine black hair that fell down to the shoulders and slightly raised eyebrows.

I rubbed my eyes but there was no doubt. The First Apostle, Plagiarist Han Sooyoung was here.

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