"This time, I really am going to kill you!!!"
"You were all swagger and confidence a moment ago, so what the hell is this now?!"
She had even wrapped herself in a defensive aura, just like when she fought me earlier. Does she only pull that out against me?
"M-Master! Calm down!!"
"Move. Before I cut you down too."
"As if you could. Then why couldn't you take me down earlier?"
I didn't think Yoo Joonghyuk had gone easy on me.
She had done everything she could.
I only held out because my stats were high.
"I suppose I need to reconsider whether you're fit to be my companion."
"Who said I was joining? You're the one who offered, yet you're already counting your chickens before they've hatched."
Grind.
Looks like she really was furious.
I could hear her grinding her teeth from here.
But what can you actually do about it?
The moment you offered to recruit me, the power dynamic shifted. I'm the one in control now.
"M-Master! I know you're angry, but if you keep this up, you're just playing right into his hands!!"
"Hoo... Fine. Let's go."
That ended more blandly than I expected.
I'd gotten a little more used to Yoo Joonghyuk's movements; if we went again, I felt like I could perform even better.
.
.
.
[1 hour and 30 minutes remain until the third Scenario is activated.]
The third Scenario was the one where you had to secure a room and endure the monsters' assault, right?
For me, it was a meaningless Scenario.
I'd heard Yoo Joonghyuk endured it by fighting barehanded without a room, which meant I could do the same.
I might have lost to Yoo Joonghyuk, but that was only because she was 'Yoo Joonghyuk.'
You could say I just had a bad matchup.
But the monsters?
They didn't have powerful skills or attributes like Yoo Joonghyuk. They were just beasts that charged at the humans in front of them.
For someone like me, who had already reached the Scenario limit, their attacks wouldn't even scratch me.
If anything, it was such an easy task that I'd be more worried about the fatigue of staying up all night.
"Why did you pick a fight with that guy earlier?"
"I've hated Yoo Joonghyuk for a long time."
"For someone who says that, you sure seemed to enjoy messing with her."
"If you're going to talk nonsense, go say it to Dokja, who's terrified of Yoo Joonghyuk."
Once Heewon got comfortable, she only maintained a polite tone on the surface; in reality, she was hell-bent on making fun of me.
Maybe I shouldn't have treated her so casually.
"I heard they're occupying public facilities and charging rent? What kind of trash does that?"
I didn't like bastards like that either.
But if I caused another scene...
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is watching you.]
[The Constellation 'Lily Blooming in Aquarius' is watching you.]
[Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment are watching you.]
This time, I really felt like I'd be branded as absolute evil, so no thanks.
I've spent a lot of time talking shit about the Absolute Good crowd, but I still didn't want to become outright enemies with an entire alignment.
Blindly faithful bastards like angels were often scarier than demons.
"I'll go beat the shit out of them right now!"
"That's impossible."
Dokja said exactly what I wanted to say.
She knew it too.
"If we work together, we can win. That's what happened at Geumho Station, right?"
Behind Jung Heewon, I saw the red scales I'd seen at Geumho Station.
She had probably activated a skill.
But the scales vanished shortly after.
"Huh? What? Is it broken? Why won't it activate?"
"...Do you want to explain, or should I?"
"You do it. I have something else to think about."
I didn't know what she was thinking about, but I trusted she'd tell me later.
Given the situation, she was obviously thinking about how to handle Gong Pildu.
"But those guys are obviously evil too?"
"Can you trust an ant's sense of justice?"
"What?"
"I asked if you can trust an ant's sense of justice."
"What is that supposed to..."
To the Constellations in the sky, we probably looked smaller and more insignificant than ants.
"It's the same thing. The concepts of good and evil for those Constellations in the high heavens are different from human morality."
What was justice?
By human standards, justice had changed countless times, and every iteration was nothing more than the judgment of the majority of that era.
"Think about it from the Constellations' perspective. Do you think beings who don't even live a fraction of a fraction of their lifespan—beings who barely survive through their mercy—would believe our justice is the same as theirs?"
"What kind of bullshit is that..."
It must have been a cruel reality for Jung Heewon.
She had probably believed Absolute Good was truly good by human standards.
I just hoped she'd face the truth now.
"T-Then, Mr. Dokyun, please step in. Like before—!"
"That'll be difficult."
"...At least tell me why."
"Because I've been too flashy. If I push it any further, I'll be designated as absolute evil and make enemies of the Absolute Good alignment."
The problem with making enemies of Absolute Good didn't end with getting fewer Coins.
I'd become a target for the Incarnations sponsored by the Absolute Good alignment.
If I were alone, it would be one thing. But now that I had companions, I had to consider if that trouble would splash onto Dokja or Gilyoung...
"It's not like there's no way."
"What?"
"It'll be difficult, but there is one way to defeat him without your help."
"What is it?"
The simplest method, and the hardest one.
"Make Gong Pildu come outside the [Armed Zone]."
Just as Dokja said, if we could lure him out of the [Armed Zone], his ability would become useless.
At that point, Gong Pildu would literally just be some middle-aged man. Even Gilyoung could beat him easily.
The problem was that, perhaps because he had every luxury imaginable inside, he had no reason to ever leave.
"Let's think about Gong Pildu later... We should start looking for a 'room' ourselves."
[N-now then! Shall we begin Day 3's main Scenario?]
For some reason, it felt like it had been a long time since I'd seen Bihyung.
It had only been a few hours, but why did seeing him feel weirdly welcome?
[We've got new participants today too, so this should be even more fun, right? Hahaha!]
Ding!
<Main Scenario #3 - Green Zone (Day 3)>
Category: Main
Difficulty: C
Clear Conditions: Survive the monsters that swarm in every night at midnight to seize the station's [Green Zone].
This Scenario will continue for a total of 7 days.
Time Limit: 8 hours
Reward: 1,000 Coins
Failure: —
[1 hour remains until the third main Scenario is activated!]
[The rules are simple. Claim a 'Green Zone' before anyone else does. Of course, you may also steal someone else's 'Green Zone.']
On the surface, it just sounded like he was explaining things to us, the newcomers.
But the fact that he specifically mentioned stealing them meant he actually wanted to see us do exactly that.
Unlike us, the people who had originally been in Chungmuro already knew all this.
That meant they had already prepared to secure rooms in advance... so unless we took one by force, claiming a room would be nearly impossible.
[Well then, everyone, do your best!]
That would be true if Dokja weren't here.
"Dokja."
"Why?"
"I don't need a room. I'm spending tonight without one."
"I want to say no... but if it's you, then I guess you can do it."
Even Dokja seemed to think I could survive the night the same way Yoo Joonghyuk did—by simply killing everything that came my way.
That only made me more confident.
"Die! Just die!!"
I'd expected it, but it really was a complete mess.
There were far too few rooms for the number of people, so this was the natural result.
Gong Pildu probably still had rooms left, but to get into one, you'd have to be willing to use the filthiest methods.
"Surely... we don't have to fight each other like that too, do we?"
"There's no need for that. We just need to find a 'room' with a large capacity. Let's split up and search."
Dokja already knew there were no rooms left in Chungmuro, though...?
If so, then this was part of her plan too.
Which meant I had to play along.
"Mr. Hyunsung, please move with Ms. Sangah. Ms. Heewon, take Gilyoung with you."
"Then Dokja, you'll be with Mr. Dokyun?"
"No, we'll move separately. If you still haven't found a 'room' by 20 minutes before the Scenario starts, gather back here."
Smart, huh?
She was naturally making everyone split up, letting them realize there were no 'rooms,' and testing them.
Testing whether they could kill other people who had claimed rooms in order to survive.
Looking at their personalities, that would be impossible.
Then even if it was dangerous, they'd have no choice but to follow Dokja's lead.
Smart. Our Dokja really was smart.
"Don't look for me."
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"You're one to talk. Just don't die. The reason I'm separating from you is exactly what you said—'If we don't grow stronger together, then it means nothing.'"
Even if Dokja knew the hidden elements, she still had to take risks all the same.
But if I kept her by my side, she'd stay so weak that she could die the moment I looked away.
Damn it.
Save her now, and watch her die later.
Or let her take risks now, so we can move forward together.
Dokja, you aren't a strategist.
You're a villainess.
The worst kind of villainess.
.
.
.
[30 minutes remain until the third main Scenario begins.]
"Constellations in my channel, pay attention."
[All the Constellations in the channel are paying attention to your words.]
"You all already know there aren't any 'rooms' left in Chungmuro, right?"
[Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment criticize you, saying that even so, you kill far too cruelly.]
"Whoa, whoa. At least let me finish first, yeah?"
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' calms the Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment and says they should hear you out first.]
"As expected of Judge. One of the Constellations I like most."
[The Demon King 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust' asks what about him.]
[The Constellation 'Goddess of Love and Beauty' asks what about her.]
"We can talk about that later. How about making a bet with me?"
[Constellations of the Absolute Evil alignment show interest in your words.]
"Tonight, I'm going to survive without a 'room.' If I survive, sponsor me with 'at least 10,000 Coins.'"
[Most of the Constellations show interest in your proposal.]
[A few Constellations protest, asking what they gain from doing that.]
I figured there'd be a few sharp bastards like that.
"Normally, it'd be nice if there were some kind of betting function, but it doesn't seem like this place has one."
It was basically gambling, but if such a feature existed, I could've made a fortune off this.
When the loser's Coins got transferred to the winner, a lot of it would've fallen into my hands as a kind of fee.
"Forget Absolute Good and Absolute Evil for a second and think about it. What's the fundamental reason you watch the Star Stream? 'Entertainment,' right? I'm saying I'll satisfy that entertainment for you!"
[Constellations of the Absolute Evil alignment accept your proposal.]
[Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment accept your proposal.]
Good. I can earn back the Coins I spent raising my stats.
But there were still 20 minutes left... What should I do with the time?
Maybe I should take a look around and mess with some people.
As it happened, everyone already thought I was the one right below Yoo Joonghyuk.
"This should be fun."
[Many Constellations feel uneasy about you.]
[A few Constellations look forward to your performance.]
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