"Uahahahaha!!!"
"Kim Dokyun, you crazy bastard!!!"
"How dare you show such disrespect to the Emperor!!"
This must be what riding a cloud feels like.
I don't know what riding an actual cloud feels like, but wouldn't it be something like this?
Aside from the part where I'm touching bugs with my bare hands, it's actually quite comfortable.
[All the Constellations in the channel are shocked by your actions.]
[The Constellation, 'Secretive Plotter,' admires your ability to execute your plans.]
[The Demon King, 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust,' smiles at your talent.]
[The Demon King, 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust,' persuades you that your talent will truly bloom if you join her.]
She's a lot more aggressive than I expected.
I remember Asmodeus as a Demon King who didn't care much for her Incarnations...
There was no way this favor came for free.
The problem was that I had no idea what she was plotting by trying to use me.
"Alright, let's go down, you bugs."
Buuuuuzz!!
The insects descended with a powerful beat of their wings.
It felt as if everyone was looking up at me in awe.
Was this what it meant to return in glory?
"...What's with that getup?"
"It's not a getup. It's bug blood splatter."
"How are you controlling the bugs?"
"A beauty trap... no, a handsome trap... no, a bug-beauty trap?"
Someone who can seize and shake another's heart is always scarier than a simple strong enemy.
Even more so if the things being controlled are bugs driven by nothing but instinct.
"Anyway, want to guess why I brought all these bugs here?"
"I know!"
"That's right! Jihye!"
"So Kim Dokja can beat the crap out of you!"
"...This mister isn't a masochist."
I didn't know what Dokja's stats were right now, but...
It really hurt.
Now that her stats had gone up, it hurt even more than before the apocalypse.
If her stats rose even higher from here... I didn't even want to imagine it.
I was definitely going to get beaten to death by Dokja someday.
"Then did you see her face?"
"Yeah, I could tell she was pissed."
"Then why'd you come down looking so proud?"
"Because she doesn't have time to get mad at me right now?"
Wouldn't that just mean I'd get beaten later?
It's fine.
My future self will deal with it somehow.
"Um, hyung..."
"...Those bugs are all yours."
I saw his eyes light up when he looked at the ancient insects, so I brought as many as I could.
It wasn't just for a prank.
"Really? Hyung, you're seriously the best!!!"
As expected, nothing wins a kid's heart like a gift.
Still, this felt a little strange.
He hadn't smiled that brightly even when I saved his life.
What a bitter reality...
Clap!
Everyone's gaze turned at the sound of Dokja clapping.
"Let's go inside now. Like Oppa said, we don't have time."
Nice!
Just like I expected—
"We'll talk laaater~"
I could tell Dokja was genuinely furious.
Seeing her speak through clenched teeth made it even clearer.
Future me... hang in there.
.
.
.
[So those so-called Prophets told you, and that's how you were able to enter the Hidden Scenario?]
[Yeah.]
[Then I was right... it wasn't just you.]
I had already expected it to some extent.
Ways of Survival was never a novel with only one reader from the start.
So the Prophets were readers other than Dokja.
They were a major variable, but the further the Scenario progressed, the more useless they'd become.
After all, they were the ones who dropped the story midway through.
On the other hand, Dokja was a "real reader" who had read all the way to the end...
Even so...
Squeeze!
Would it be better to eliminate variables in advance?
"You were acting all serious just a second ago, so what are you looking at now?"
The girl who'd just been talking with a grave face about Prophets or whatever had suddenly found something and was grinning from ear to ear.
"Seriously. Ahjumma, what are you pocketing right now?"
Jesus, that startled me.
Jihye really needed to fix that habit of popping up out of nowhere.
"What, a Strength Enhancement Ampoule?"
Glare
Ah, whatever.
So what?
It's your fault for trying to hog it all for yourself.
If you were going to do it, you should've done it secretly.
You were openly stuffing them away. Even if I denied it, did you think nobody would notice?
And not just anyone, either. This was Lee Jihye.
"You're not trying to eat them all by yourself, are you?"
"Unni, look at this! This ahjumma is—!"
[Once we get out, you're dead.]
[No, how is this seriously my fault?!]
[It is.]
[It's your fault for being so obvious! Why are you blaming me?!]
[When something weird happens to me, if I point at Oppa, I'm usually right.]
Wasn't that the phrase people used for Britain, the root of all evil in world history?
Dokja was treating me the same way she treated Britain...!
Me, a cursed empire of bad vibes!!!
"Can I have the Strength Enhancement Ampoule? I'm seriously lacking in strength."
"Quit your bullshit. You're Yoo Joonghyuk's disciple. Did you think I wouldn't know you're a gorilla with the highest Strength stat, just like Yoo Joonghyuk?"
"..."
"What."
Look at those eyes.
She definitely learned that from Joonghyuk.
This was why violent people shouldn't raise kids.
The kid just learns the same thing.
Just look at that stare. She looked like she'd killed two or three people already.
Ah, right. She actually had.
"Even if you try to cut me, all you'll do is hurt your hand, you know? You realize the gap between your stats and mine is huge, right?"
Lee Jihye ground her teeth after hearing me.
"Do you think that would scare me?"
"Once I get stronger later, I'll definitely cut you down."
I wanted to ask if she thought I'd just sit around doing nothing while she got stronger, but...
It looked like she'd lunge at me with her eyes rolled back if I said that, so pass!
[It's true, but that's a bit harsh to say to a girl.]
[She's a kid, not a woman.]
[A high schooler is an adult.]
[Do you think someone half my age looks like an adult to me?]
Well, it was true that she was more mature than most kids her age.
The proof was that she was already pulling her own weight just fine in a world like this.
Still, the fact that her mental side was obviously immature was exactly why I called her a kid.
If you grow up and still can't fix your childhood habits, you just turn into an old fossil later.
"Heewon unni, please scold this mister for me!"
"Unfortunately for you, I'm the one who saved Heewon, so she's on my side."
If we were being exact, we saved her together... but wasn't the important part the fact that she got saved?
"Please stop teasing Jihye."
"Tch."
"Jihye, you stop too."
"Tch."
The conversation had drifted off course, but the important thing was the ampoules.
The question was, "What do we do with the ampoules?"
More precisely, "Who gets to use the ampoules?"
First, I was out.
I'd already reached the Scenario's stat cap, so even if I drank one of those, it'd just be a useless potion.
That left Dokja, Jihye, Heewon, and Gilyoung...
But Jihye was on Yoo Joonghyuk's side, so it felt like a waste to give one to her.
"Let's leave the ampoules to Dokja to decide."
"You're protecting her just because she's your little sister..."
"If it weren't for Dokja, we might not have found them. With items like this, the one who finds them gets them."
Lee Jihye wasn't even a companion. She was closer to a temporary ally, so that made it even more true.
"Then how about rock-paper-scissors? The last person standing gets one each."
"Sounds good!"
"Are you sure? If things go wrong, one person could end up taking everything."
"Then that just means that person's lucky."
People who say rock-paper-scissors is about psychology are liars.
It's just a cheap luck-based trash game.
But there was no way Dokja would suggest something that would put her at a disadvantage...
You have a skill that lets you read people's thoughts, don't you?
Then had she been reading all my thoughts this whole time?
"You play against me."
"I'm really good at rock-paper-scissors. You sure about that?"
"Aha, is that so?"
Tsk tsk.
I almost felt bad for Jihye...
"But why isn't mister playing? Does he get a free pass? That's unfair."
"...Did you forget I'm already at the Scenario cap?"
"Even if Oppa drinks a potion, it won't do anything. So naturally, he's excluded."
If the world had stayed normal, Jihye might've become a repeat college applicant or something...
"Then let's start."
"Rock, paper...!"
.
.
.
Rumble
Rumble rumble!
"No way... I didn't win even once..."
"Did you really think Dokja would do something that made her lose out?"
In the end, Lee Jihye didn't get a single ampoule.
"If there's profit in it, she's the kind of girl who'd leave even me out."
Though depending on the situation, she'd probably yield to me.
"But is this kind of ending really okay? Did this movie even have a scene where they kill a tyranno?"
"No, but isn't this more fun?"
"If the genre is fantasy-action-adventure, you need at least this much."
[The owner of the theater is satisfied with the ending of the altered movie.]
[You may now move to the next floor.]
"Huh?"
"Now you get it, right? You can just smash everything."
This dungeon might actually suit me better than anything else.
You didn't have to follow the movie's original ending. You just had to create what the "owner of the theater" wanted.
And that "owner of the theater" liked the kind of catharsis where everything just got smashed to pieces.
Then if all I had to do inside the movie was smash things apart with my specialty... this might actually be the easiest dungeon for me.
"...Goodbye, Titano. Mega."
Mega was a Meganeura.
In other words, a giant dragonfly.
It had been the one at the center of the insect swarm I brought in, and it looked like he'd already found it and tamed it.
As expected of Fabre.
Since we couldn't take the monsters created in here with us... saying goodbye nicely was the best option.
The only thing we could take out was a single type of item.
"..."
[Strength Enhancement Ampoule]
While Dokja was busy playing rock-paper-scissors earlier, I secretly slipped one away.
[The Constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire,' scolds you, saying stealing is bad.]
[Constellations of the Absolute Good alignment are glaring at you.]
It felt like it'd been a while since I'd seen the Absolute Good crowd.
"I'm not going to use it."
What the hell had they been listening to earlier?
I already said it wouldn't work on me even if I used it.
"Lee Jihye."
"What?"
"Take it."
"!!! This is...!"
"You said you were lacking."
"...Thanks."
A thank-you coming out of Lee Jihye's mouth.
"What a performance."
I'd called Lee Jihye over and handed it to her right in the open. There was no way Dokja wouldn't notice.
"Oppa, take this instead."
[ITEM]
Tyrant T-Rex DNA Ampoule
When consumed, all stats +10 for 30 minutes
[Theater Dungeon exclusive item]
"You might need it."
[Especially if Yoo Joonghyuk has fallen into the worst situation we can imagine.]
"Oh, thanks!"
[But I'm already at the cap. Can I even use it?]
"...You probably can."
Rumble rumble rumble rumble
"Oh, we're moving."
[You have reached the first 'Ending Credit'.]
[Cast: Kim Dokyun, Kim Dokja, Jung Heewon, Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung]
[Each participant has earned 500 Coins as an appearance fee.]
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