“Dad’s face? I don’t remember it anymore. Maybe he was never there to begin with. Anyway, who cares? We’ve got Mister, don’t we?”— Beast Lord Shin Yooseung.***I’d wanted to hear more from Ye Hyunwoo, but the connection cut off before I could ask anything.I headed straight for Gwanghwamun. Fortunately, Seoul Station and Gwanghwamun were only two subway stops apart—close enough to reach within thirty minutes.Rrrrrrrr...If only I hadn’t run into a pack of Grols on the way.KIEEEEK!I shaped Thoughts on Almost Everything into Broken Conviction and activated the Blade of Conviction.The fact that I could continually regenerate such a consumable item was one of the greatest advantages of Thoughts.GRAAAAH!The Grol pack was quickly wiped out by a single light sweep of the blade.I could feel it—I was definitely stronger than before.Part of it was my overall stats skyrocketing, but the real reason was the fortuitous encounter I’d gained while treating Jeong Eunho.[Trait, “Circulatory Body,” is activating!]Trait: Circulatory Body.It was an unexpected reward obtained in the process of enduring Jeong Eunho’s deviation together.It wasn’t as famous as martial traits like Heavenly Martial Body or Taiji Yin-Yang Body, but in terms of improving mana circulation efficiency, it was quite useful to me now.[Constellation, “Greatest Sword of Goryeo,” takes interest in your growth speed.]Thanks to the efficiency of the Circulatory Body, even when maintaining Blade of Conviction at maximum output until Broken Conviction shattered, I no longer ran out of mana.After mowing down the Grol pack, I looked around the street and raised my voice.“Don’t hide—come out! You can take these!”Several incarnations who had been hiding between buildings and smoke booths timidly poked out their heads.When I sheathed my weapon to show I meant no harm, one of them—relieved—approached me and asked,“Are you sure we can really take them?”He eyed the Grol remains suspiciously.Early in the scenario, monster-type creatures were quite valuable as food sources. Especially the Grol—its horn could be refined into a decent weapon, making it a welcome prize for wanderers.“Yes. Take them.”“Thank you…”At his gesture, three sturdy men appeared from somewhere and quickly began dismantling the Grol corpses.While Kim Dokja and his companions were breaking through the main scenario, most incarnations probably survived like this—barely scraping by.I watched them work for a while, then pointed out several dissection points mentioned in Annihilation Method.“Here, this part.”“Ah…!”The man nodded repeatedly, quickly understanding what I meant.He admired the cleanly carved Grol horn and spoke in awe.“You really know a lot about monster species.”“I’ve handled them a few times.”At that, he hesitated for a moment, as if thinking of something, then turned and called out,“Everyone, come out and greet him!”Apparently, the three men weren’t his only companions.A woman and some children timidly stepped out from behind cover and bowed toward me.“Thank you!”They were all dirty and worn from rough sleeping.I wondered if any of them might be readers.I activated [Reader Comment List].No readers.Maybe that was a relief.“May I ask your name?”“I’m Cheon Inho.”“I’m Kim Nakmoon. Those behind me are my friends and cousins.”“I see.”Judging from their route, these people had clearly come down from the Gwanghwamun direction.They might know something about what was happening there.Kim Nakmoon hesitated, studying my appearance, then cautiously asked,“By any chance… are you a ‘King’?”His insight surprised me a little.“Why do you think that?”“Well, judging from how you handled those monsters—and ordinary incarnations almost never travel alone. Most of all… you seem to be heading toward Gwanghwamun.”He’d deduced I was a King from just that?This man—Kim Nakmoon, was it?I couldn’t recall him appearing anywhere in Three Ways to Survive.“Kim Nakmoon the Observer.”The information from Annihilation Method surfaced naturally in my mind.“The Observer served as Yoo Joonghyuk’s strategist alongside Bi Cheonhori in several regressions.”Scenes from the text flickered through my head like a video.“I’m sorry, Captain. I can’t go with you this time. I have to protect my family.”So this man had once been one of Yoo Joonghyuk’s subordinates.In this round, perhaps his attachment to family was why Yoo hadn’t chosen him.“You might already know—Kings from every region are gathering at Gwanghwamun. We came from there ourselves.”As expected. The movements of the Kings had already begun.It made sense; this world had plenty of readers who knew the future.They must have spread the information, drawing Kings to gather in Gwanghwamun.“I’m telling you this only because you saved us—if you can, don’t go there. The atmosphere in Gwanghwamun is dangerous right now.”Kim Nakmoon rubbed his trembling hand as if in fear and continued.“A powerful King from the north side of the river has united several forces. He’s planning to wipe out all the other Kings in one stroke. It’s probably begun already.”A powerful King, huh?The first name that came to mind was—“Is that King’s name Yoo Joonghyuk?”“Yoo Joonghyuk…?”Judging by his expression, it wasn’t.Right—Yoo Joonghyuk worked solo by principle.Then who could it be?“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you the King’s name…”That was when I noticed faint violet sparks flickering around his body—not plausibility sparks.“You defected from the King’s group, didn’t you?”Traces of Punishment still scarred his body.They were deserters—those who had left their King’s group, enduring the penalty of Punishment.The King must have placed a special restriction preventing them from even speaking his name.Seeing Kim Nakmoon bow his head in silence, I spoke gently.“If you’ve got nowhere to go, head toward Seoul Station.”“Seoul Station?”He lifted his head sharply, eyes wide.“Wait—are you the King of Seoul Station?”To reassure him, I gave him my contact number—technically, Cheon Inho’s number—and added,“Just tell them you came on my recommendation. You don’t have to join the group if you don’t want to. The people there won’t discriminate.”Kim Nakmoon hesitated, then bowed deeply in gratitude.Kim Nakmoon the Observer.I didn’t know if he’d actually join the Seoul Station group or not.Either way, it wasn’t a bad idea to establish ties with a character from Annihilation Method.***About twenty minutes later, I arrived safely at Gwanghwamun.I couldn’t help but marvel—the city looked almost exactly as I remembered.For a moment, memories of my time as Lee Hak-hyun resurfaced.Back when I majored in literature, I often visited the big bookstore at Gwanghwamun with my college friends.I wondered if any of them had been possessed into this world too.I shook my head with a bitter smile.Probably not.I could still remember their faces when I told them I was writing web novels.They’d never read them—so of course they wouldn’t be here.Looking at the scene before me, I felt oddly relieved that they weren’t.Where protesters and riot police had once stood, the broad Gwanghwamun boulevard was now stained with the blood of incarnations and monsters.Cars lay wrecked across the street, and uncollected corpses dotted the roads.Many had died to monsters, but the closer I got to the center of Gwanghwamun, the more corpses bore wounds from weapons instead.As I passed the square and approached the road leading toward the National Palace Museum, I began seeing large tents.Makeshift flags fluttered in the wind above them—likely the temporary camps of each King’s faction.“What’s that guy’s deal?”Incarnations near a tent eyed me warily.Just as Kim Nakmoon said, the atmosphere was tense.Some of them clearly looked powerful even at a glance.Maybe it was because I’d awakened Circulatory Body, but even without using [Character List], I could now sense the aura of incarnations around me.One incarnation sitting on a bench caught my attention—the aura rolling off him was unusual.A huge bow slung over his back, a curved blade at his waist.The moment our °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° eyes met, I recognized him.[Constellation, “The Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol,” watches you.]Choo Wangin, incarnation of General Gyebaek.In Three Ways to Survive, he had died at Kim Dokja’s hands, but in this round, he’d somehow survived.I scanned the rest of the area.The various Kings’ factions had all staked their territory across Gwanghwamun.Ji Eunyoo should be somewhere nearby too.During the Banquet, I’d promised to meet her here.But now that I thought about it—Gwanghwamun was huge.I should’ve agreed on a specific meeting point. The bookstore, or somewhere.I considered calling out her name—but maybe using a phrase only the two of us would recognize would be smarter.What was something only we knew?After thinking for a bit, I shouted,“...Genius Editor!”Genius Editor—that was the nickname Ji Eunyoo had used during Kim Dokja’s Banquet.Maybe it worked.Several groups nearby reacted to my voice.Among them, one group in particular responded with hostility.A man leading his gang strode toward me with a scowl.“Hey, you.”Feeling a flicker of unease, I asked cautiously,“Ji Eunyoo?”“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”Thank god, not her.“It’s nothing. What do you want?”“Which group are you with?”“Seoul Station.”At my answer, he looked me over, surprised.“Seoul Station? You mean that beggar camp?”He rubbed his chin, then said decisively,“Come under us. You look like a runaway. Our group could crush Seoul Station if we wanted.”“Who’s your group’s leader?”“Lord Maitreya. You’ve heard of him.”Maitreya King Cha Sangkyung.Of course I had.Incarnation of the One-Eyed Maitreya, one of the Seven Kings of Seoul.“And if I refuse?”“Then we’ll have one more miserable demon to put down.”The men around him released killing intent, surrounding me.If they couldn’t have it, they’d destroy it instead.So by the fourth scenario, killing was already second nature to most of them.I kept my distance and slowly reached for Thoughts, now resting in bracelet form.Once, I would’ve backed down immediately. But now? I felt no urge to avoid it.At least for the moment, I was confident I could defeat even Kim Dokja from this same stage.Since the fourth scenario had begun, maybe it was time to make a show of dominance.“Hey. Wait.”A low, heavy voice came from between the men.The thug who’d been threatening me muttered, “Who the hell—?” and turned.The first thing I saw was a brilliant purple flag flapping in the wind, guarded by a line of incarnations.And beside them, scurrying back and forth—a mole cricket.The little creature buzzed around the incarnations as if playing, then rubbed affectionately against the leg of a middle-aged man standing near the flag.The sight of that man made the thugs blanch and scatter in panic.“Bald King…!”Just hearing the name told me which group this was.I waved cheerfully, and beside the Bald King, Ye Hyunwoo came running toward me.“Inho!”The Chungmuro Group.Thank goodness—our reader had secured a place here safely.But then—[“Character List” update complete.]As soon as I saw Ye Hyunwoo, an unfamiliar message appeared.[Update for this individual completed.][Would you like to view this character’s information?]Until now, it had been impossible to use the Character List on people possessed by readers.“Inho, are you all right?”Ye Hyunwoo, now fully adapted to this world, clasped my hands with a worried look.But I couldn’t smile back.When had it started?[“Character List” activating.]The Seventh Apostle, Ye Hyunwoo,was now a character.

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