Kim Namwoon fluttered his eyes open once he sensed that the bright light had dissipated. Contrary to his expectation, the so-called teleportation felt oddly warm. He thought it'd make him nauseous. It was simply unfamiliar, not uncomfortable.

The teen observed his surroundings before casually whistling in amazement. The usual bustling environment was empty, it was kind of eerie. Some of the buildings had been destroyed as well.

Just what happened within the past 30 minutes?

Namwoon began taking a few steps forward, eager to have a closer look.

"Careful. There are some monsters lurking around," Cale warned monotonously, as if this sight didn't affect him the slightest.

"I got it, I got it," The white haired boy answered dismissively, waving a hand to reassure the man before giddily rushing towards a fallen debris in the distance.

Cale only watched his back, holding a shudder.

'Only this bastard gets excited after seeing the world in ruins. How vicious.'

"Whoa~ Ahjussi, check this out!" Namwoon exclaimed as he pulled out the black dagger— a generous present from Cale, and stabbed the neck of a creature who lied lifelessly on the ground.

The black haired male winced as he slowly approached.

It was a monster— well, a half dead monster before Namwoon killed it. From the huge scratches on its body, Cale assumed it fought another monster and lost.

Namwoon dragged the dagger aside, completely ripping off the head before holding it upwards to inspect it. "Wah~ This is so cool! It looks kind of ugly though."

Cale rolled his eyes. "What else did you expect from a mons—"

Then he stopped, narrowing his eyes to look at the 'scratches' on the monster's body.

Those scratches... Instead of them being natural, meaning wounds that were caused by claws or teeth, they're too deep, intentional, and were most likely inflicted by sharp weapons, and...

Cale inhaled a sharp breath before scrunching up his nose.

It reeks of rusty iron.

He could only come up with one conclusion. A human had killed this beast. But...

Humans shouldn't be able to kill a monster so early in the scenarios, except for Yoo Joonghyuk.

However, Yoo Joonghyuk is inside that train, and he should be somewhere else by now, so there's no way that guy was the one who did this.

Who could it be? If there was another strong incarnation, how come the book didn't mention them? Is it because Kim Dokja didn't encounter this person?

Or there's another reason. A variable...

"Ahjussi, you okay?" Namwoon asked with a frown, the monster's head was still held up in his hand.

Without changing his expression, Cale responded, "Why? Are you worried?"

The teen scoffed in disbelief. "Ha, no way! Just didn't want you pissing your pants when you've only seen something like this," He retorted, shaking the ugly head.

Cale decided to ignore him and looked around. He raised a brow when he spotted a small supermarket. "Let's head there and stock some food."

"Eh? Why do we need that? Can't we just hunt monsters? We can bring this big guy and cook it!" Namwoon suggested with a happy grin.

The stoic man's face twisted in disgust at the thought of eating something that smelled rusty. "We can hunt monsters soon, and it's always better to be prepared for light snacks. Also, leave it, we should eat something that's killed by our own hands."

Namwoon paused, considering it before nodding enthusiastically. "You're right! Can I bring the head though? It really does look funny."

"... Do what you want."

• • •

They heaved a sigh after they finished putting the food and drinks in their spatial bags. Namwoon truly thinks he has a special privilege for even owning this item.

'Ahjussi really is the best,' He thought in satisfaction.

Soon enough, there was a window pop up in front of them.

[Sub Scenario #1 - Gathering Supplies has ended.]

[300 coins have been acquired as a basic clearance reward.]

The sub scenario had appeared the moment they stepped into the store, and they're not really complaining. This scenario was an absolute win to them.

"Rich Ahjussi, what's that?" Namwoon asked warily upon seeing something creeping in slowly from the distance.

Cale squinted his eyes, and he was immediately able to identify it.

"Let's hurry. That's poisonous fog. This area will soon be the region of the second main scenario. It'll become extremely polluted," He briefly explained, heading towards the door.

Namwoon snapped his head at him. For some reason, his wit and awareness had increased in a short amount time he's been with Cale. This is why people describe Namwoon as someone with great adaptability. He can even keep up with the brain of someone who others could not easily comprehend. "You... Did you know about this when you said we should go to Gumho Station?"

How much do you know about all of this?

When Cale saw the other didn't move, he walked back to pull on his arm and dragged him outside to run.

— Leave this to me.

A familiar voice, Sound of The Wind, spoke in his mind. Whirlpools began to form underneath his feet, as well as Namwoon's. After a few moments, they were already flying through the air, rushing to their destination. Cale's grip on Namwoon's hand never loosened.

Meanwhile, the boy had his eyes wide. He didn't stop moving either and could only watch in astonishment as they flew past all obstacles easily, the wind guiding them along.

[The constellations are cheering for you!]

"Ahjussi, are you sure you're not the main character?!" Namwoon listened to the system's voice and shouted loudly to not let his voice get blown away.

"Stop saying nonsense!" Cale replied, almost having a heart attack at the assumption.

The teen laughed heartily as both of them sped up ahead.

• • •

[You have entered the safety zone.]

[You are now in the region of the second main scenario.]

[The land in the scenario area is deeply polluted.]

[Stay underground until the second main scenario ends.]

A couple of messages arrived the moment they entered the station.

Namwoon had a wide smile on his face and his hands were slightly shaking because of the adrenaline. "Holy sh*t, that was f*cking awesome! Ahjussi, how come you've gotten a cool ability like th—"

Cough.

Drops of blood fell down from Cale's pale lips, and the man frowned before wiping it without a word.

The teen was frozen, dumbstruck— both from the blood and the way Cale is acting nonchalant, like this was normal.

"...What the hell, why did you cough up blood?"

"It's a minor setback," The other responded calmly.

Namwoon's expression shifted into one of disbelief again. What minor setback? Coughing blood isn't something that a healthy person experienced, ever.

"What minor setback are you talking about?! F*ck. If you knew that this is the recoil of using your abilities, then don't use them at all!"

He genuinely felt frustrated. Not because he's worried, absolutely not— he's simply in shock and wondering how a person could be so stupidly reckless.

Cale furrowed his eyebrows, confused.

'Why is he reacting so strongly? It's not like I'm dying.'

"We had to quickly get away from the fog."

He looked away, not bothering to watch Namwoon's exasperated expression.

'Though I do wonder why I coughed up blood. I didn't even use that much power.'

As if on cue, The Thief answered him in a similar state of confusion.

— I'm not completely sure of what's happening... You should've been fine since you only used a small portion of my wind. I think your abilities are... being adjusted in this world.

Cale's frown deepens.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

The ancient powers could not hear his thoughts, but thankfully, he heard the Super Rock spoke.

— I'm assuming it's this world's limitations, or what you know as probability. Since we and your powers came from another world, it's only fair for this world's system to try and limit us for the sake of balance.

That makes sense. But what Cheapskate said next was a bit surprising.

— But it's weird. I can feel it! Your powers definitely became stronger!

— It's as I've said. Your powers are in the middle of being adjusted. I think the world is trying to test the waters.

— SO OUR CALE IS GOING TO XXX COUGH UP BLOOD FOR THE WORLD'S EXPERIMENT OR SOMETHING?!

— How dare they?! Let's just destroy everything!

After that, Cale ignored whatever vicious things the ancient powers are saying.

"Let's head inside," He said after the silence and began to walk.

"Whatever," Namwoon grumbled but quietly followed him.

'It's a bit weird though. I don't think he's supposed to be this obedient,' Cale thought as he discreetly glaced at the younger male.

"It'd be really nice if I could somehow see the window attributes," He muttered. A character list skill that Kim Dokja has. That would definitely come in handy.

[Sovereign of Eternal Rest says to not worry.]

[You have gained an exclusive skill!]

[Would you like to take a look?]

[Y / N]

'Huh?'

Cale stared at the message, a bit dumbfounded before pressing the 'Yes' button.

[Exclusive Skill: Attribute Reader]

[This skill allows the user to read the 'Attribute Windows' of people.]

'Hey, isn't this bastard useful?'

A familiar smile slowly appeared on his face.

[Sovereign of Eternal Rest feels iffy.]

[Sovereign of Eternal Rest tells you to stop making that expression.]

Cale suppressed another smirk.

'Let's see then.'

[The exclusive skill, Attribute Reader is activated.]

+

[Target Information]

Name: Kim Namwoon.

Age: 18 years old.

Constellation Sponsor: ???

Exclusive Attribute: ???

Exclusive Skills: Scent of Warfare Lv. 1, Weapon Mastery Lv.1, Close Combat Lv.2

Stigmata: ???

Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 11, Strength Lv. 8, Agility Lv. 10, Magic Power Lv. 2.

Overall Evaluation: Someone who currently follows an incarnation. You must gain permission from his constellation to fully see the information.

+

Oh?

Cale raised an eyebrow, somewhat feeling satisfied. This way, none of the constellations or Kim Dokja could see his attributes if not for God of War's permission.

[Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed has granted you permission.]

+

[Updated Target Information]

Name: Kim Namwoon.

Age: 18 years old.

Constellation Sponsor: Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed.

Exclusive Attribute: Ferocious Bloody General (Rare).

Exclusive skills: Scent of Warfare Lv. 1, Weapon Mastery Lv.1, Close Combat Lv.2

Stigmata: [Bloodthirst Lv. 1]

Overall Stats: Stamina Lv. 11, Strength Lv. 8, Agility Lv. 10, Magic Power Lv. 2.

Overall Evaluation: Someone who currently follows the incarnation, 'Cale Henituse'. He's a laid back youngster with an uncouth mouth. He's quite aggressive and unpredictable, but secretly soft to animals.

+

His gaze landed on the private attribute and Stigmata. Even the names sound scary so he decided to ignore them for now.

Cale's lips twitched upon reading the last sentence. It seems even the world's system knows about that.

"What's so amusing to you?" Namwoon snapped, folding his arms defensively.

"Nothing. Also, you should invest your coins to your stats."

Namwoon brightened at his words. "How much?"

'Why is he asking me that? He can do whatever he wants.'

Cale brushed away his thoughts to reply, "Enough to beat up a large group of people."

"Alrighty~"

The teen cheerfully invested his coins, increasing his skills rapidly. Even so, the coins didn't run out. In fact, he still has so much more of them, courtesy to Cale's brilliant preparation in the first scenario.

They continued to walk as Namwoon murmured something such as how thankful he is to have learned math while observing his own window.

Speaking of which, he should probably check his own attributes.

However, he stopped the moment they heard a loud thud and a shriek. Namwoon also looked up ahead. They glanced at each other, conversing through their eyes.

[The constellations are wondering what's going on.]

[Some constellations are urging you to check the situation.]

[A few constellations are worried about you and told you to be cautious.]

Both of them ignored the messages and quickly yet stealthily walked further into the station. The closer they got, the clearer the shouts became.

"No! What are you doing?! Stop hitting him!"

"And what can you do about it? Did you see what happened out there, hm? Shouldn't you at least be grateful that there are people willing to step up as the leaders?"

"Why do we have to listen to you?!"

"Because we're the ones who can actually do something, unlike you bastards. Or perhaps you want us to prove the gap in our strengths?"

"Ack!"

"Should we just throw you out and feed you to the monsters like the others? How about it?"

Namwoon peered around the corner, catching a glimpse of a man on the ground, his head being held up by the hair. His face was beaten quite badly. A bunch of thug-like people were obviously trying to intimidate the others.

"How unsightly," The teen muttered with a disgruntled gaze, but didn't make any move from his spot.

Then another person stepped forward in the middle of the commotion.

"Everyone, settle down."

A person with the highest charisma and aura of a leader.

[The incarnation ‘Cheon Inho’ has activated the ‘Incite Lv. 2’ skill.]

"It's that bastard, isn't it?" Somehow, Namwoon instantly knew.

Cale nodded.

The white haired boy scoffed. "Ha, and he tries to play the hero to fool everyone. Is that it?"

He was met with silence, but that was enough to answer his question.

Kim Namwoon usually likes this type of method. He likes people who act for themselves, not playing hero for others, but for some reason, Cheon Inho's annoying face prevented him from feeling amused.

"Come on," Cale's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"We're interfering?"

The black haired man took Namwoon's bag to pull out the huge item they had brought. "Mm. Let's steal the spotlight and be the 'heroes', shall we?"

Namwoon slowly smiled before it widened. Now, he really felt amused.

They emerged from the shadows and finally approached the crowd.

[The exclusive skill, Dominating Aura Lv.??? is activated.]

[The exclusive skill, Scent of Warfare Lv.1 is activated.]

Immediately, all the attention goes to them.

Even the thugs had to take a few steps back, letting go of the man on the ground.

They could see two people. First was a stoic man with shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. He looked a bit frail, but it wasn't something they paid attention to. They could only focus on his mystical yet mysterious appearance. The other was a white-haired teen, wearing a uniform that was tainted by blood. A monster head was in his hand, casually thrown over his shoulder as they walked leisurely.

Dangerous.

Both of them emitted the aura of extremely powerful individuals.

"What's going on here?" Cale asked with disinterest, glancing down upon the poor victim of violence.

There was a long silence, and none of them dared to break it.

"A-Ah, and who might you be?" Cheon Inho was the first to answer, stumbling on his words as he tried to hide the cold sweat that was dripping down his back. His heart thumping wildly in his chest.

"Oi, he's asking what the f*ck is going on. Answer him first," Namwoon retorted, uncaring about how rude he's being to the adult.

"T-That... We had a simple disagreement, that's all," Cheon Inho tried to reply with a polite smile, as if he's not minding Namwoon's attitude.

However, that answer made the others shift uncomfortably. It was clearly not a simple disagreement if it resulted in someone getting beaten up.

"W-Who are you?! If you're a newcomer and disagree with us, then get lost!" A person, one of the thugs, had spoken quite bravely. Cale had to give him a point for foolishness.

His intuition tells him that they're all in the same group. These people being nervous could only mean that their plans of making the others follow them were falling apart.

Cale kneeled, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "Ahjussi, are you okay?"

"A-Ah..." The man's eyes shook. "Y-Yes... Thank you, young man."

The group watched with conflicted eyes and Cale stood up. But before he could open his mouth, a knife was suddenly aimed towards him.

He was certain. He's definitely going to get hurt.

But it's fine, there's the Vitality of The Heart that can heal him almost instantly.

Then a flash of white appeared, and before he knew it, Kim Namwoon had stood in front of him, the monster's head had been completely abandoned.

The knife was grabbed by Namwoon's hand, but thanks to his increased stats, he didn't bleed. However, he couldn't pay attention to it, because damn it, he was angry.

And he wasn't the only one.

[The constellations are enraged!]

[Sovereign of Eternal Rest lets out a string of curses at this daring incarnation.]

[Benevolent Light of Judgement glares menacingly.]

[Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed is sharpening his weapon.]

"What the f*ck do you think you're doing?" He snarled, venom dripping in his every word as he tightened his hold.

The knife shattered into pieces.

"A-Ah..." The thug instantly backed away in fear, but there was no way Namwoon was going to let him go.

He quickly snatched the man's hand and gripped it tightly, followed by a bone cracking sound.

"AAARGH!"

"Hey, a*shole, were you really about to kill the person who provides me with what I need?" Namwoon questioned with a smile on his face, his eyes were wide open with a sense of madness in them.

He crushed the hand further upon hearing no answer.

"AAAAAAGGHH!!" A louder scream, and it made Namwoon's grin bigger.

"Annoying. Should I just kill you all right here?"

The thugs tensed, not oblivious to the killing intent.

Namwoon turned his head to look at Cale who was standing there calmly as if he wasn't about to get killed a few seconds ago.

[A bounty scenario has occurred at the request of the constellations!]

+

[Bounty Scenario – Remove the Distasteful Scumbags]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: F

Clear Conditions: The constellations feel great anger at the repulsive act of attempting to kill incarnation 'Cale Henituse'. Obliterate them within the time limit.

Time Limit: 5 minutes.

Compensation: ???

Failure: ???

+

Without even glancing at the newly-arrived scenario, Cale sighed.

"... Do what you want," The man said.

Namwoon turned back towards his opponents who were ready to attack him, his other hand reaching for his black dagger.

[The exclusive skill, Close Combat Lv.2 is activated.]

[The stigma, Bloodthirst is activated.]

[The attribute 'Ferocious Bloody General' of incarnation ‘Kim Namwoon’ is gradually blossoming.]

With a merciless slash of his dagger across the neck of the thug, Namwoon began to laugh.

"Come at me, bastards."

———

a/n : oh boy oh boy. the way i just threw in violence after chapters of peace and quiet.