Kim Dokja was absolutely stupefied.

'Where the f*ck did these powerful kids come from?'

He eyed the underground rats who lied limp, obviously dead. Meanwhile, Kim Namwoon and Na Bori stood tall over them, wiping a few sweats with twinning grins. Both of them had killed the monsters with so much ease, he's incredibly flabbergasted. The woman, Jung Heewon, was the same. Although she wasn't as brutal as the two, she still seemed experienced.

Dokja glanced at everyone's respective weapons that were given by Cale (—He had no idea where the guy had gotten so much good quality weapons). Sangah, Hyunsung, and Myungoh were holding a spear, Gilyoung had an axe, Namwoon is casually swinging his dagger, Bori didn't even pull out her weapon (Did she fight with her bare hands, whatthef*ck-), while he and Heewon had swords.

On a side note, Cale had also given him a knife made out of the spine of a ground rat??? 'A precaution,' the younger man said.

"I killed 17," Namwoon bragged, snapping him out of his thoughts and flashing a smug look towards the teen girl.

Bori stared at him, unimpressed. "18 for me. I win." She smirked.

His jaw dropped, forming an offended expression as his eyebrows furrowed. "Oi, you were damn lucky! The difference is just one number!"

"One number higher than you."

"Why you—!"

Heewon quickly grabbed the back of his collar before he could lunge at her. "Aigo, these kids... Namwoon-ssi, didn't Cale-ssi tell you to behave? Would you like me to tell him that you fought Bori-ya and disobeyed him? Hmm?" She asked in a challenging manner.

It irked Namwoon greatly, but at the mention of his hyung, he reluctantly backed down. His annoyed look was replaced by a scowl. On the other hand, Na Bori seemed satisfied.

"And Bori-ya, no mocking and provoking him. I can report about that to Cale-ssi too," Heewon added before letting go of Namwoon.

The girl pouted and nodded obediently.

Bori and Namwoon ended up in a vicious staring contest as they quietly followed Lee Gilyoung who was leading the team with the help of his insect.

Lee Hyunsung approached the sword-wielding woman, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "Is it always like this...?"

"Everyday." Jung Heewon sighed. "I honestly have no idea how Cale-ssi managed to keep them under control."

"He must be a great guardian," Sangah commented, watching the children with a fond look in her eyes, and Heewon nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Soon enough, Kim Dokja decided to ask, "Heewon-ssi, how did Cale manage to be the leader and pick up the kids?"

"Ah..." Her gaze drifted towards the dark ceiling thoughtfully. "Honestly, I have no clue about the first one. He's been the leader ever since I arrived. Namwoon, too. I heard they came to the station together to get rid of a tyrannical group or something. Bori-ya arrived with me, but she got attached to Cale-ssi ever since they met."

"I see..." Dokja slowly nodded, processing the newfound information. "What about Donghoon-ssi?"

"Pft. Bori told me Cale-ssi found him and brought him here, but I know he got kidnapped."

He blinked. "...Excuse me?"

Heewon smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "Just don't think too much of it," She said before walking ahead of him.

'How can I not think too much of it?! He's one of the Seven Kings!'

[ The exclusive skill, 'Fourth Wall' has offset some of your mental shock. ]

Kim Dokja took a deep breath, calming himself down and followed ahead.

'Right. No point in getting riled up over this. There's something more important I have to do.'

"Oi! Ahjussi! Where are we goin' anyway?" Namwoon shouted from the front.

Dokja replied, "Collecting items."

No one questioned him.

"Dokja-ssi, aren't you too confident? You look like someone who knows too much about all this," Heewon said with a crooked grin, turning her head to look at him.

"... I read a lot of books."

Before she could retort, a youthful voice spoke.

"Stop," Gilyoung said, alerting the others.

"Gilyoung, what's wrong?" Sangah asked cautiously in concern.

The boy stayed silent, and the others didn't dare to utter more words. That was until—

“A-Aaaack!”

“Sh*t! There's still one left!”

Jung Heewon shouted and Lee Hyunsung ran. However, the action of the hidden ground rats was faster than anyone else.

“S-Save me…!”

It dragged Han Myungoh into a tunnel by one of his legs.

Namwoon instantly recalled a memory.

< "You two. Don't get yourselves involved in any trouble that might occur. Stay away from it as far as possible. Understood?" >

Cale's stoic voice echoed in his mind. Maybe this is what his hyung was talking about, and he truly planned to listen.

However, the plan quickly went down the drain the moment he felt a hand latching onto his ankle.

"Namwoon!" Bori was the first to call out his name in panic.

Yoo Sangah immediately began to act, reaching out her hand and managed to touch his fingertips, but Myungoh and Namwoon soon disappeared into the darkness.

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ resents this frustrating person.]

His incarnation couldn't help but agree with her sponsor.

Jung Heewon bursted in frustration. "Argh, I knew I was going to get a headache because of that uncle."

Lee Hyunsung bowed his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, I was too late."

She patted his broad shoulder with a comforting smile. "Hey, it's fine, that's not your fault."

Kim Dokja nodded.

"That's right. No one could've done anything."

"Should we chase after them?" Na Bori asked, frowning as she began fidgeting while uneasiness gradually filled her chest.

'I know that idiot Namwoon would be fine, but Ahjussi was especially firm with his instruction this time. What if something bad happens?'

Kim Dokja bit his lips, retracting to the back and pulling out his phone.

[Your reading speed has increased due to the effect of the exclusive attribute.]

His gaze quickly fell over the texts. It didn't take long before he put it back in his pocket. He turned to the others.

“We will enter.”

“Ah, then…” Hyunsung hesitantly drifted off.

“But it's very dangerous to enter with a lot of people. Lee Hyunsung-ssi, Jung Heewon-ssi, and Na Bori-ssi will wait here at the boundary. If something happens, I will give you a signal.”

The startled Jung Heewon asked, “Surely… you don’t intend to go with only Gilyoung?”

“Gilyoung’s ability will be helpful in pursuing them.”

'I can't bring them with me. The monsters inside will undoubtedly become more troublesome if more people are present.'

“Then, all of you hold on and take care of yourselves."

“Wait a minute. I'm fine!” Jung Heewon tried to reason again.

“Unnie," Bori spoke calmly. "It's going to be okay." Her attention then fell on him. "I trust Dokja Ahjussi."

< "No matter what happens. Trust Kim Dokja." >

She smiled at the reminder.

So Kim Dokja conveyed his thankfulness with a nod and left the three people to enter the hole with Lee Gilyoung.

Meanwhile...

Grrr…

Kim Namwoon stared at the ground rats in disgust. He watched as they brought something through the tunnel, threw it and exchanged information.

Hwaruruk!

Once a certain number of ground rats gathered, the number of lights illuminating the surroundings increased. It was black fire, flames made with black ether.

"Is this like a cult or something?" He muttered under his breath.

Namwoon attempted to move his arms again, but the branches around his limbs were too tight. He had long concluded that there's something else in this place. A monster far stronger than he is.

'Hyung was right. There's definitely some kind of danger going around here.'

Just then, he heard an annoying complaint.

“This is all because of Cale-ssi!”

His eyes dropped into a glare as he whipped his head towards Han Myungoh.

"What the hell do you mean by that, old man?"

Myungoh was offended by the insult, but decided that letting out his frustrations sound better. "If he didn't put us in the same team and assigned us to this location, then this wouldn't have happened!"

Namwoon's eye twitched in irritation. "If I get out of this and kill you, then you wouldn't have to experience something like this ever again. How about it?"

"Wh— You disrespectful little—"

The teen grinned. "What's wrong? I'll be doing you a favor, won't I? You like running your mouth so badly, it's dangerous so I can cut it for you. That's also another option."

[Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed is cheering at your viciousness!]

[Everlasting Shelter of Bloodshed is very proud of his incarnation!]

[Constellations nodded in agreement.]

[5,000 coins have been sponsored.]

Myungoh's face was flushed slightly as he frowned in anger. "Does no one ever taught you some manners?! Gaah, I'd rather be stuck with Yoo Sangah-ssi instead—"

Soon enough, a thorn landed on the side of Han Myungoh's head.

“Uwaaaaack! What?”

Not too far away, Kim Dokja observed the situation after throwing it.

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is pleased.]

[100 coins have been sponsored.]

Dokja didn't pay attention to the indirect messages nor Namwoon and Myungoh.

Kuoooooh…

Across the habitat of the ground rats, the darkness was split apart by the thorn. Then that damned guy came. There was no way it wouldn’t be here.

[‘Dark Keeper’ could appear!]

[The sub scenario has been updated!]

[Sub scenario ‘Kill the Guard’ has begun!]

Kim Namwoon blinked at the scenario displayed in front of him, and his jaw slightly dropped as a dark figure emerged in the dim light.

'What in the actual donkey sh*t is that? Ew, are those tentacles? Gross... I watched and read too many stuff to know where this is going.'

He just hadn't expected his future self to watch it with his bare eyes as a tentacle entered Han Myungoh's mouth.

• • •

Cale shifted in his sleep, his arms had long embraced something beside him. The familiar scales gave him comfort. The children had grown used to sleeping together with him, and Raon would always press himself closer to seek warmth.

His hands subconsciously caressed it, and Raon snuggled closer, causing him to smile slightly.

Until he realized something.

Cale abruptly sat up and snapped his eyelids open, only for his gaze to meet a pair of bright orange eyes.

"..."

"..."

They stared at each other, and Cale began to sweat at the intense glare the hatched dragon was giving him.

Then it made a noise.

"Kyung~!" The dragon, Igneel, said happily as it began bouncing on the bed.

'What?'

He was dumbfounded, blinking twice before a look of contemplation appeared on his face.

'Hm. He can't talk? Is it because he's a disaster?'

Cale slowly reached his hand out, and Igneel easily leaned its head to rest on his palm. "Haahhh... Didn't you get out a bit too early?" He commented, and the dragon simply stared at him in confusion, but it purred when he began stroking its cheek.

The lesser-dragon, Igneel, should appear in a future scenario, but it hatched way earlier than it supposed to.

No wonder the dragon's size was small, even smaller than Raon when he was 4 years old. Igneel's neck is long, and the scales are red. Perfect for the creature to curl around his neck like a snake.

He tried cupping the baby dragon's cheeks, and it allowed him with a pleased sound.

"Aren't you being excessively friendly with me?" Cale asked again.

There's no way a disaster would be this amicable to anyone. They were assigned to finish a scenario that the star stream made them do. Igneel was one of the cases where it had to destroy and kill everything within its path.

Then finally, Cale noticed the blue window beside him. The message has probably been there for a while, but he raised his eyebrows after reading it.

[Fable, '■n■ ■■o ■■ ■o■■d ■■ ■■a■■■s', is looking at you.]

'Huh?'

A fable? Whomst? He has a fable? How did that happen? Since when? What does it say? Why is it glitched?

Many unanswered questions suddenly piled up in his head and he pinched the bridge of his nose to ease his headache.

He had no more chances to ponder about it when someone entered the tent and Han Donghoon froze at the sight of a dragon casually lying on Cale's lap.

The man looked up with a tired smile and waved. "Hey, Donghoon-ah. It seems like we have a small problem."

———

a/n : cale & dokja in future chapters: "trust kim dokja/cale in dangerous situations, but never with himself."

i honestly can't wait to develop their bond in this story. it's like trusting the other self sacrificial bastard to not sacrifice themselves so you can sacrifice yourself instead.

also... listen, i know i said i wasn't going to update for 2 weeks... my sickness became worse and i had nothing to do, so... ha ha ha.