Episode 16 – The Fifth Scenario (5)
I stepped away from the bleeding Yoo Jonghyuk lying down and spoke to Bihyung.
‘Is this your doing?’
Even if Yoo Jonghyuk was nearby, he couldn’t be found in such a timely manner. It was clear that Bihyung had made a sub scenario to bring Yoo Jonghyuk over here.
[Are you suspecting me? Is there evidence?]
There was no evidence but I felt it in my heart.
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is concerned with your judgment.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
I felt a strong belief.
Han Sooyoung whispered to me as I looked down at Yoo Jonghyuk with a dumb expression. “…We found him. What are you going to do?”
“What else?”
“Shouldn’t you save him? This jerk, he is the protagonist.”
Of course I had to save him. However, if I saved this b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I would surely die. Han Sooyoung looked scared that Yoo Jonghyuk would wake up straight away.
“Do you have anything that will restrain him?”
“Yoo Jonghyuk won’t tolerate them.”
“Lock him up…”
“Then he will commit suicide.”
“But if he goes back… d.a.m.n, what will happen if he regresses?”
Han Sooyoung belatedly came to this realization.
What would happen to this world if Yoo Jonghyuk went back? It was one of my biggest challenges living in this world.
“We have to stop it. n.o.body knows what will happen.”
It was right to a.s.sume the worst when things were unknown. If I made a mistake and the world was reset, my existence would disappear.
By the way… how did this jerk end up like this?
I looked closely at him. There was a wound around the belly. All internal organs and ribs were broken. It felt like someone incredibly powerful had hit Yoo Jonghyuk in one blow…
At this moment, I stared blankly at my fist. Perhaps?
“What is with that expression? Why is your face suddenly dark?”
“…It is nothing.”
All of a sudden, I was convinced. He was. .h.i.t with a fist filled with 100 strength…
Then he had been like this for two days. I felt sorry with the benefit of hindsight. With this, it might not be possible to restore my relations.h.i.+p with Yoo Jonghyuk.
As I slowly looked from his belly to his face, I took a few steps back because I got gooseb.u.mps.
“…s.h.i.+t.”
Yoo Jonghyuk was staring at me with b.l.o.o.d.y and teary eyes. His lips were moving and he was obviously saying something like ‘Dead, Kim Dokja.’
I thought Han Sooyoung was beside me but she had run away as quickly as possible. I shouted towards Yoo Jonghyuk from a distance.
“Hey! Can’t you release your anger?”
“…”
“Wasn’t it a fair fight? Didn’t you try to kill me as well?”
Yoo Jonghyuk’s eyes didn’t change. Dammit…
I had no choice. Yoo Jonghyuk had to survive here, even if he killed me. I might be able to stop the Disaster of Questions without Yoo Jonghyuk but I wouldn’t be able to prevent the other disasters and the world would be destroyed.
Why was the protagonist of Ways of Survival such a person? The story would’ve been easier of it was Lee Hyunsung or Jung Heewon.
…This wasn’t the time for complaints.
I decided to use a skill. It was obvious what he was thinking but I needed to check.
[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint stage 2 has been activated!]
At this moment, something amazing happened.
「 Kim Dokja. 」
My eyes widened as I watched Yoo Jonghyuk.
…Did he just call out to me?
「 You can hear my words. Isn’t that right? If I look back at what you have done so far… 」
…What?
「 Say that you can hear me. If you don’t move now, the world will… 」
I looked at him in a slightly confused state.
「 …It was my mistake. Dammit. 」
Yoo Jonghyuk’s eyes slowly closed. I hesitated for a moment before approaching Yoo Jonghyuk. Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t seem to have the power to fight me at all in this state. Besides… I didn’t see any animosity towards me.
“Yoo Jonghyuk. Can you hear me?”
Yoo Jonghyuk struggled to raise his eyelids, only to close them again. It was strange.
No matter how badly wounded he was, he would’ve automatically triggered Recovery when he was. .h.i.t. Then why was he still in this state?
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Summary List.]
+
[Character List]
Name: Yoo Jonghyuk.
Private Attribute: Regressor (3rd turn) (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare), Supreme King (Hero)
Exclusive Skills: Sage’s Eyes Lv. 8, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 9, Advanced Weapons Training Lv. 8, Mental Barrier Lv. 6, Hundred Steps G.o.dly Fists Lv. 6, Red Phoenix Shunpo Lv. 6…Omitted…
Stigma: Regression Lv. 3, Transmission Lv. 3
Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 60, Strength Lv. 60, Agility Lv. 60, Magic Power Lv. 60.
* Currently in an abnormal condition.
* Currently, this person is affected by the Thousand Spirits Poison.
+
There were no problems with his stats. Yoo Jonghyuk was still one of the strongest incarnations in Seoul and his skills had grown compared to the last time I saw him.
The problem was his abnormal status.
Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t have the skills Thousand Poisons Resistance or Immunity to Ten Thousand Poisons yet. Therefore, poison was currently one of Yoo Jonghyuk’s few weaknesses.
He was like this because he was poisoned.
I looked closer and saw that there were blue blood vessels all over his body. It hadn’t been long since he was poisoned. Fortunately, he was still alive.
But it was strange. I knew of only one person who could infect Yoo Jonghyuk with Thousand Spirits Poison at this time…
A woman watching me in the distance asked, “You… are you Kim Dokja-ssi?”
I nodded. I looked at the woman who brought Yoo Jonghyuk here.
“He was like this the whole time. He kept asking me to take him to Kim Dokja…”
Yoo Jonghyuk?
I looked down at Yoo Jonghyuk’s face, which was more blue-tinged than before, and instantly had many thoughts. The terrified Han Sooyoung who had been fleeing came back.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Han Sooyoung poked my shoulder but I didn’t answer.
I struggled for a moment before speaking to Bihyung.
‘Bihyung, open the Dokkaebi Bag.’
[Now do you understand? This wasn’t my doing.]
‘Open the bag.’
After confirming my remaining coins, I found a coin item that could cure Yoo Jonghyuk.
He was affected by the THousand Spirits Poison so it couldn’t be removed simply by eating the Ellain Forest Essence. I quickly turned on the text and checked some of the ingredients before purchasing items from the Dokkaebi Bag.
[You have purchased one Midday Tryst.]
[You have purchased one Old Barbara Branch.]
[You have purchased two Putna Daltun Horns.]
[You have purchased one Detox Potato.]
[You have purchased two Aintern Temple’s Purification Water.]
[You have purchased one Ellain Forest Essence.]
[A total of 7,370 coins are consumed.]
It was an unexpected bleeding service. I asked the survivors around me for a small bucket, lit the Magic Power Stove and poured the ingredients into it. Han Sooyoung asked,
“What are you going to make?”
“An antidote.”
“Did you decide to save him?”
I nodded and replied, “This b.a.s.t.a.r.d, he came to me deliberately.”
“Deliberately? Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he come to ask you for help? I don’t think Yoo Jonghyuk would come all this way to kill you.”
“That is impossible for Yoo Jonghyuk.”
“How do you know?”
“I know. He is that type of b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
I adjusted the flames of the stove.
Fire blazed and the contents in the bucket started to boil. Based on the colour and form, it looked like food from the Death Valley goblins. It might seem terrible but this soup was an excellent antidote.
Han Sooyoung placed her hands on her knees and stared at the terrible food. “By the way, was Yoo Jonghyuk such a bad person in Ways of Survival?”
“…What?”
“It was a thought that I had. Didn’t Yoo Jonghyuk save a lot of people and do good deeds? Of course, he is like a psychopath but isn’t he moving for the people? He is fighting to save the world. I don’t want to admit it because I am a bad person.”
When I thought about it, Han Sooyoung’s words weren’t completely wrong. I laughed and said, “Your defense of Yoo Jonghyuk is energetic because you haven’t read as far as me.”
“But that is that and this is this. You can’t judge people by only looking at one side.”
It was an unexpected conversation so I looked up at Han Sooyoung for a while.
Han Sooyoung was smiling coldly.
“No matter how much you claim that my work is plagiarism, it has actually never been affected by Ways of Survival.”
“…You almost convinced me without saying that. It is a real pity.”
I said this but my mind was a bit complicated.
What type of person was Yoo Jonghyuk? Could I really say that I was familiar with the existence of Yoo Jonghyuk?
I was able to confidently answer until a while ago. I was the only reader who read all of Ways of Survival.
But I felt that some of my answers were being diluted in the soup. Did I know Yoo Jonghyuk at all?
Not long after that, the soup started boiling.
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is impressed with your good deed.]
[The constellations of the absolute good system support your good deed.]
[3,000 coins have been sponsored.]
It was rare for a person to be damaged by sponsors.h.i.+p. s.h.i.+t.
I approached Yoo Jonghyuk with the soup. Han Sooyoung brought me a spoon from a nearby store. I scooped up the soup with the spoon and put it in Yoo Jonghyuk’s mouth. Han Sooyoung watched me blowing on the soup.
“You are acting like a wife.”
“Do you want to do this?”
“I don’t want to.”
In fact, I wouldn’t have given the job to her anyway. It was due to the system message that I heard every time I scooped up a spoonful of soup.
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is impressed with your good deed.]
[500 coins have been sponsored.]
It was tremendous to receive coins every time I fed him.
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is impressed with your good deed.]
[300 coins have been sponsored.]
I thought it was a loss to me but it turned out to be a huge honey event. Indeed, people should live a good life.
However, I started to feel a bit strange after 10 spoonfuls.
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is impressed with your good deed.]
[400 coins have been sponsored.]
…Was this constellation really impressed with the good deed? Would it last until the bowl was empty?
Yoo Jonghyuk started to open his eyes with a slight groan. He was still in bad shape but he was gradually healing from the poison. I didn’t miss his opportunity and took out one item.
[You have used the Midday Tryst.]
[You are seeking consent from the target.]
Midday Tryst was an item that allowed for a one on one conversation with the selected target for a specified time period. If I had a bit more coins, I would’ve learnt the Sound Transmission skill but I didn’t have that much to spare. Therefore, I chose the next best thing.
[The target has agreed to communicate with you.]
[The Midday Tryst has started.]
Once I sent a message to Yoo Jonghyuk, a small messenger window emerged in front of me.
–Hey, can you hear me?
The connection was formed.
I purchased this item for three reasons.
One was because Yoo Jonghyuk’s tongue was paralyzed by the effect of Thousand Spirits Poison and the second reason was to avoid leaking information to Han Sooyoung. The third and most important reason was that I didn’t want to confirm to Yoo Jonghyuk that I could read his thoughts.
The next moment, Yoo Jonghyuk’s message came up.
–Kim Dokja, move to the east right now.