"Yawn..."
It felt like I had finally gotten a deep sleep after a long time.
Lately, there hadn't been any time to rest properly, so this nap finally let my blindfold do its job. Wait, is the only job of a blindfold to cover eyes?
"Did you sleep well?"
"Mmm... yeah. Did I oversleep?"
"I won't deny it. Preparations for departure were finished long ago, and the treatment of those two has already been decided."
Kim Dokja spoke as he put on a mask in front of me, altering his appearance. His features shifted instantly into a face that was all too familiar to me.
"So, you’re Yoo Joonghyuk now?"
"Does it even fool your eyes?"
"I can tell who you really are, but on the surface, you're definitely Yoo Joonghyuk."
"Ah, I think I understand what you mean."
As we talked, Lee Seongkuk and Jung Minseob approached and began staring intently at Kim Dokja’s face.
"Is this the real Yoo Joonghyuk...?"
"So handsome... the revelations were right."
Kim Dokja looked like he wanted to snap at them for a second, but he restrained himself and remained silent.
"Oh, right. Give me your smartphones."
"Yes! Here they are!"
Kim Dokja immediately opened a device, smirked at a message, then regained his composure and focused on the screen.
"Thirty-six in total?"
He was checking the number of Prophets on Seongkuk's phone.
"Out of the 48 surviving Prophets, that excludes the 12 Apostles," I noted.
"Correct! Only the early Prophets are in that group chat. None of the Apostles are included."
That made sense. They weren't on good terms with the Apostles. There was no reason for them to share a chatroom.
"Representative... you said it yesterday, didn't you? 'You should have read until the end'... Do you also know the Revelations?" Jung Minseob asked with expectant eyes.
Kim Dokja gave a thin smirk.
"I’ll make sure you don't regret choosing my side over Yoo Joonghyuk's."
A short while later, we avoided the surrounding conflict zones and headed toward Anguk Station. That was the venue for the "Night of the Prophets."
During the trip, Kim Dokja was busy spying on their group chat through Seongkuk's phone.
"Anything important?"
"No. It’s mostly useless chatter."
"Is that so?"
"Pardon the interruption, but we have arrived," Seongkuk announced.
The group consisted of Lee Seongkuk, Jung Minseob, Kim Dokja, and myself.
Kim Dokja had initially intended to bring Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon, but when I told him an enemy attack was imminent at Chungmuro, he looked puzzled but trusted my word and sent them back.
"I can hear the commotion from here."
"Haha, they aren't exactly the quiet type."
I looked toward the distant flag holder.
"Do we have one flag left?"
"Most likely."
"Let's take the station if we see an opening."
Kim Dokja shifted his gaze to the flag holder, and Seongkuk and Minseob followed his lead.
"Ah, that's an agreement among the Prophets. Meeting at an occupied station can be dangerous, so we treat it like a DMZ."
"Then we'll just occupy it ourselves," Kim Dokja said with a nod.
Exactly. We never agreed to that nonsense.
"Hey! Number 1089!"
"Oh, Number 763."
A man who appeared to be one of the Prophets waved and approached. Jung Minseob waved back and greeted him.
"How’ve you been? You look good."
"Good? I’m dying because of the Tyrant King."
"I told you not to expand toward Dobong-gu. Why don't you listen...?"
The talkative man, Number 763, glanced at us and suddenly froze.
"I-Is that... him?"
As Jung Minseob nodded, the man’s eyes filled with shock.
"It is... an honor to meet you, Yoo Joonghyuk!"
"Wait, is that really him?"
As the commotion spread, the scattered Prophets began to gather one by one.
"He’s even more handsome than I imagined..."
"They said his companion was good-looking too, but this is on another level."
"Greetings, Yoo Joonghyuk! I am Number 1055!"
Amidst the noise, I felt eyes and whispers directed at me. My face certainly drew attention wherever I went.
"Your battle against the Demon King Asmodeus in the second regression was truly impressive. It was only mentioned as a flashback in the Revelations, so I’ve always wanted to hear about it from you directly."
'Asmodeus? Sounds like a big deal. If stuff like that is popping up, this isn't the early game anymore, is it?'
I muttered only for Kim Dokja to hear as I looked ahead.
"Which number are you?" Dokja asked.
"I am Number 1168. But if I may ask... is this truly your third regression, Yoo Joonghyuk?"
"It is."
"Ah... as I thought..."
The expressions of several Prophets darkened. It made sense. Since Ways of Survival was a regression story, they were likely disappointed that Joonghyuk was only in his third cycle. To them, a higher regression count meant an easier path.
"Let's see the weapon first. Wouldn't that be better, Joonghyuk?" I suggested.
"Indeed. Where is the weapon?"
"The weapon? You mean..."
"The weapon you’ve hidden. Let’s verify it first."
At Kim Dokja’s word, one of the Prophets pulled back a tarp. Beneath it sat a large, glowing red stone. Kim Dokja flinched, looking startled.
"Is this... a meteorite?"
"Haha, yes. The current Yoo Joonghyuk might not be aware, but—"
I immediately pointed my finger at the meteorite. It was dangerous. If the visual data matched what I remembered, this was exactly what appeared in the original story. The same entity would emerge.
"You’re holding onto something dangerous," I said.
"Pardon? No, this contains all sorts of weapons—"
"You think weapons are inside that thing? It’s boiling with lava."
At my words, Kim Dokja sensed something and took a step back.
"We need to get out of here. This is a trap."
"What?"
"Right now!"
Kim Dokja barked the order, but it was too late. The pedestal holding the meteorite began to vibrate.
A low rumbling filled the station, enough to terrify the Prophets. Kim Dokja continued to retreat.
"Ooh, finally!!"
Some idiots actually ran toward the meteorite, screaming with joy. The sharper ones realized something was wrong from Kim Dokja—or rather, the person who looked like Yoo Joonghyuk—and started backing away.
"The barrier..."
It was too late to run. A red aura surged through the platform, and a faint barrier encased the station. No one was leaving Anguk Station now.
[The Constellations who were protesting excessive filtering lower their pickets.]
[A large number of Constellations' eyes sparkle at the 'Omen.']
[The Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Tightband' watches the situation with curiosity.]
The Constellations were clearly enjoying this. Whether in the original story or this reality, it was always a bad sign when the stars got excited. This was the most dangerous type of situation.
"Where is the person who leaked the info on the meteorite? Is he here?" Dokja asked.
"He doesn't seem to have come today..."
"Definitely a trap."
[An omen of the fifth main scenario appears.]
"Huh? What? Why the main scenario all of a sudden?"
While several Prophets were still foolishly touching the meteorite, cracks appeared in the stone and red light spilled out. Any Prophet hit by the light was instantly sliced in half and collapsed to the floor.
Crrr-ack.
The meteorite split open, and crimson lava began to surge out. The surrounding platform scorched, emitting a foul stench. The temperature plummeted upward, making it hard to breathe. The environment was transforming.
"A lava zone..."
I wondered if Jogo’s lava was hotter than this. I recalled the scene from Jujutsu Kaisen where Jogo fought Gojo Satoru.
[Grade 5 Fire Dragon, 'Lesser Dragon Igneel' has appeared!]
"Good thing we sent Heewon and Hyunsung away early, right?" I noted.
Kim Dokja nodded silently. He used to argue with me quite a bit, but I suspected he wouldn't be doing much of that from now on.
"Everyone, get to the perimeter."
"I’m not saving the Prophets," I said. "Occupying the flag is up to you."
- Are you planning something?
I looked at the group chat message and turned to Kim Dokja.
"Kill the Prophets, except for those two. I’ll handle the big guy."
"The Prophets?"
"No point in leaving them alive. These two allies are the exception."
I gave a brief explanation and turned my gaze toward the dragon.
[Due to an abnormal difficulty setting, an intervening entity will soon appear.]
I recalled the progression of the original story. Ah, right. This is where... a Dokkaebi appears?
[Some Constellations protest the abnormal scenario difficulty.]
Immediately after the message, sparks flew in mid-air and a creature the size of a small child appeared. It was a Dokkaebi wearing a neat suit with two small horns on its head. An Intermediate Dokkaebi.
[Hmm, this is quite a predicament. How did you all end up on this 'Route'? I felt you were being a bit too active lately, but really... good grief.]
As the dignified voice echoed, the Lesser Dragon’s movements froze. The Prophets, who were being slaughtered seconds ago, turned their attention to the newcomer with relief.
[You haven't even cleared the fourth scenario, and you’ve awakened a Catastrophe? Some Constellations are quite fond of their incarnations, so I can't just leave this as it is... but I can’t exactly lower the difficulty either...]
"But this is too much! we haven't even cleared the fourth main yet!" one Prophet screamed.
Stupid. Had he never seen what happens to those who talk back to a Dokkaebi?
[Hmm, I’ve decided. There will be no difficulty reduction. However... it’s no fun if everyone dies right away, so I’ll slightly adjust the scenario parameters by my authority.]
As the Dokkaebi rambled, a hidden scenario alert appeared.
[A hidden scenario has arrived!]
<Hidden Scenario - Die if you clump, die if you scatter>
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A
Clear Condition: Hunt the Lesser Catastrophe 'Lesser Dragon Igneel' within the time limit, or survive its attacks.
Time Limit: 20 minutes
Reward: 3000 Coins
Penalty for Failure: Death
*Hidden pieces are concealed within this mission.
Hidden pieces, huh? Probably some platform to help with survival, I thought.
"I’ll ignore those, since they don't apply to me anyway."
Igneel was right in front of me now. Its tail slammed down toward my position.
"Satoru!!" Kim Dokja shouted.
But as always, such attacks could never reach me. The Limitless technique wasn't some mere shield; it was an infinite space that ensured nothing could ever make contact with my person.
"Don't worry. Just do what I told you earlier!"
"…!"
Kim Dokja nodded.
Now then, shall I hunt a dragon?
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