War of Kings and...? (1)
[ Where are you going? ]
Cale blinked at the familiar voice before he turned his head to see a floating Saga.
Instead of answering, he asked, "What are you doing here? Aren't you busy managing the channel?"
The dokkaebi merely shrugged. [ I left that to Bihyung, he can handle it. ]
"... Again? Aren't you just slacking off?"
[ Would you be surprised to know where I learned that from? ]
Cale shut himself up after that swift monotonous retort.
He whipped his head back to look at the road. For a moment, he stayed silent before the edge of his lips quirked up into a sly smile. "Saga, dokkaebis are creatures with the most knowledge about the world, right?"
Saga blinked and answered carefully, [ Yes...? ]
"Good. I need you to tell me one thing."
Saga frowned in confusion but nodded nonetheless. [ If it's something that I am not forbidden to say, I'll tell you. What is it? ]
The man's smile widened.
• • •
"You know, I feel like I've seen that handsome Oppa's face somewhere," Lee Jihye commented through their walk, a hand holding the hilt of the sword on her shoulder.
Kim Namwoon scrunched up his brows. "Which Oppa are you talking about?"
At his confusion, Na Bori could only smack him lightly on the back. "Obviously Cale Ahjussi, idiot."
Namwoon scowled. "How was I supposed to know? Besides, aren't I more handsome than hyung?" The boy retorted, a sly smirk on his face as he puts two fingers under his chin, creating a check mark to complete his so-called handsome pose.
Lee Jihye and Na Bori merely responded to him with blank stares.
"Anyone who likes you more than Cale Oppa has extremely bad taste," Jihye replied, turning away from him so she can stay close to her master.
Kim Namwoon's jaw dropped in disbelief before looking towards Na Bori, asking for backup. However, the girl only shrugged and went to follow her best friend.
He could hear glass cracking in the background.
"Yah! Take that back! Come back here, you traitor!" Namwoon shouted as he quicken his steps to not fall behind.
In the front, Yoo Joonghyuk clicked his tongue at the teenagers' antics. "Noisy."
Beside him, Lee Hyunsung chuckled. "That's how kids are, Joonghyuk-ssi. Dokja-ssi and Cale-ssi are really good at taking care of them. I feel like they secretly have a soft spot for children."
Yoo Joonghyuk stayed silent, but internally, he pitied the innocent Hyunsung.
'Kim Dokja and Cale Henituse only took them in because they're useful, just like I did when I took in Lee Jihye. No one has any need for additional baggage when the world is ending.'
He kept his thoughts inside. Joonghyuk is a blunt person who won't hesitate to speak the truth (if it's not regarding his feelings), but he decided to not burst Hyunsung's little bubble. It was unnecessary, and it might preserve Dokja and Cale's image in the others' eyes.
"We're almost there," Yoo Joonghyuk announced, then the party immediately prepared their stances and weapons.
He's near to completing the King's Scenario.
• • •
After giving instructions, Kim Dokja scanned his surroundings. His current party seemed to be prepared and he felt relieved. The upcoming situation won't be easy, but he trusted that the others would do well, especially since they had improved from the first time the scenario started.
As they readied themselves to set off on their journey, he couldn't shake off the strange feeling that someone had been observing him. At first, he tried his best to ignore it, thinking that it will pass, but it didn't. The strange thing was that it happened since he first arrived at Gumho Station.
He turned his head to see the piercing eyes of Jung Heewon staring at him not too far away and usually, he would immediately avoid her intense gaze.
Not this time.
Dokja pursed his lips tightly as he slowly and discreetly approached Jung Heewon so they could stand beside each other. Without any small talk, he cut straight to the point, "Do you hold a grudge against me?"
The silent Jung Heewon blinked, glancing at Kim Dokja momentarily before drifting her attention elsewhere. "Why do you ask such a weird question?" She replied with an awkward chuckle.
He shrugged. "I don't know if you noticed, but you keep looking at me as if you're about to murder me."
"..."
He was met with silence. Meanwhile, Heewon simply bit her lip, looking away from the man.
"... So? Did I do anything to make you hate me?"
"It's not like that."
"Then...?"
There was a pause, and Heewon gradually whipped her head to face Kim Dokja properly. Her face was unreadable, to the point it made the latter nervous. She slowly opened her mouth, "You..."
Kim Dokja raised his eyebrows, waiting patiently.
"Honestly, I'm not sure."
He blinked. "Eh?"
Jung Heewon sighed. "I don't think I hate you or anything. None of our interactions should make me feel extreme anger towards you. You've been nice and treating everyone well too."
Kim Dokja was silent as he listened to her.
Then her face scrunched up in confusion. "I really have no idea. My best guess is, I just find your face really annoying."
"Hey, that's mean!"
Heewon laughed. "I'll stop trying to look like I'll murder you, I promise."
"That's... good." He nodded slowly. "But you really don't hold any grudge towards me?"
"Do you want me to? I think I can name a couple of things you've done."
"No, you don't have to," Kim Dokja swiftly shut down her words and stopped prying.
He could hear Jung Heewon's carefree cackle before the voice of Gilyoung caught his attention.
"Hyung, the other kings have moved."
Kim Dokja's expression shifted into one of resolve as he gave a firm nod. "Then, let's hurry."
Thus, they embarked on the journey to Gwanghwamun.
All of Chungmuro members waved goodbye at the party, all except for a certain teenager that kept himself occupied in his tent, typing on a keyboard while his eyes narrowed towards the computer screen.
Beside him, on top of another table, a small red dragon tilted its head curiously, watching him focus. After a long silence, Igneel spoke, "Kyu?"
"Hm?" Han Donghoon hummed, glancing towards the source of the sound before smiling at the dragon. "Are you wondering what I'm doing?"
"Kyu!" Igneel beamed and crawled on his lap, causing Donghoon to laugh.
"Here, do you see those green dots?" Donghoon asked as he pointed at the screen. "Those are the locations of Gilyoung-ah's insects. An insect will be assigned to each king so we can keep an eye on their movements," He explained and Igneel cooed.
Then the dragon tilted its head again, turning its attention back to the teen. "... Kyu?"
Seeing the concerned look in Igneel's bright amber eyes, Donghoon smiled and shakes his head. "Are you asking what I'm worried about?" He chuckled again and sighed, gazing back towards the dots that were moving slowly. "... Cale Hyung would be a red dot, but there's none. It's odd because I've placed my skill on him so he should appear."
"Kyu..." Igneel placed its small dull claw on his arm as an attempt to comfort him.
Donghoon's smile returned as he gently caressed Igneel's head. "Don't worry too much. Why don't you practice your cool amazing powers, hm? I'll handle the rest."
Before Igneel could reply, he was already turning his full attention towards the screen, watching a blue dot— Kim Dokja, and a green dot— another king, slowly approach each other.
He quickly searched for a certain purple dot before typing away on the keyboard while Igneel went ahead to lie down on a bed inside the tent instead of practicing.
> [ Nam Hyung. Update. ]
It took a few seconds before Kim Namwoon responded.
> { Ah, geez, you're a dry texter, arencha? }
> [ Namwoon Hyung. ]
> { Okay, okay! We just need 3 more stations to take over. It's going pretty quickly because most of the kings have left their bases for some reason. }
> [ They left because of something Dokja Hyung did. ]
Then a few longer seconds passed before there was a reply.
> { I don't really care what that Ahjussi did but Grumpy Mister told me to ask. }
> [ I'm not sure, it was between Dokja Hyung, Cale Hyung, and the apostle. ]
Another few seconds.
> { Grumpy Mister doesn't seem happy. }
> [ Joonghyuk Ahjussi is never happy. ]
> { Good point. Anyway, where and what's Cale Hyung doing on your little tracker? }
> [ ... I have no idea. ]
More moments passed.
> { Hey, Donghoon-ah. It's Bori. What do you mean by that? }
> [ I can't track his location. It doesn't appear on my screen, but I know for sure the connection is not broken. If it was, I would've felt it. ]
...
> { THAT GUY! IF HE GETS HURT, I'M GOING TO KILL HIMWKSKAM }
Then another pause.
> { Sorry, Namwoon is throwing a tantrum. }
> [ I can imagine. ]
> { Just let us know if you feel that your connection becomes weird. }
> [ Will do. Stay safe, Bori-ya. ]
> { You too, buddy. }
Han Donghoon turned away from the virtual chat and looked at the blue dot. It seemed that Kim Dokja had walked away from the king safely.
Still, for some reason, he could not shake off the unpleasant feeling in his chest.
• • •
[The main scenario has been updated!]
[Main scenario # 4 – The King’s Qualifications has begun.]
+
[King’s Qualification]
1. 「 The owner of the throne should be braver than anyone else. 」
— The Absolute Throne never wants a ‘weak king.’ To challenge the throne, you must own at least a black flag.
(Additional qualifications will be released after a while.)
+
A black flag.
It was needed for the 4th main scenario, but now, Kim Dokja doesn't need to worry about that.
Because he has a black flag.
Seeing it, his mind wandered to a certain stoic man for a brief moment.
"Dokja-ssi, what do we do?" Sangah asked, looking around warily.
"... Right now, there are a bunch of kings with flags in Gwanghwamun. Representatives would undoubtedly fight each other to obtain the other's flag," He explained before giving them a firm expression. "Don’t worry. This wasn’t unexpected. We will proceed as planned.”
As planned. He said this but it wouldn’t be easy.
There were clouds of war hanging over Gwanghwamun. It was a breathless tension just before the storm blew. The sound of weapons being pulled out and the organization of battle lines could be heard.
People would soon start moving.
Those competing for a promotion would now kill each other with real swords. Those who wanted a wider territory would take each other’s flags to occupy more stations.
Kill each other and get better items. It was in order to survive.
Gilyoung watched the buildings around them and muttered in a surreal tone. "It's scary..." He looked up at the man. "Hyung, aren't you scared?"
“I’m afraid.”
It wasn’t a lie. He was obviously scared. To be honest, He often felt that way. Even if he read Ways of Survival, he was still a regular office worker. He didn’t express it but he often wondered if he could survive.
Of course, his worries didn’t last long. It was because it was useless to think about it. It was the same in any world.
Kim Dokja who worked at Mino Soft was now Kim Dokja who lived in the world of Ways of Survival. Death would come whether he wanted it to or not. The most important thing was…
“At least I feel like I am living right now.”
[The exclusive skill, ‘Fourth Wall’ is activated!]
Without further ado, he nodded to himself. "Let's not waste any more time."
They quickly and discreetly moved through the chaos and stopped at the Seoul History Museum.
“We must find the Ganpyeongui. It's a relic of the Joseon Dynasty that resembles a disc, but I don’t know what floor it's on.” (A/N: Ganpyeongui is an astronomical observation device.)
“Got it, I'll try and find it.” Sangah nodded.
“We have to find the relic quickly so let’s scatter. Gilyoung, you move with Sangah Noona. And―”
As Kim Dokja was speaking, he felt an ominous energy that couldn't be explained. Something sharp flew from behind him. He reflexively crouched down, pulling the party members with him.
The exterior wall of the building was pierced by an arrow, causing it to crack. The steel arrow glistened grimly, sending chills down his spine.
He got goosebumps.
Kim Dokja knew for certain, if that arrow had hit him, it would be over.
He tried to collect his thoughts immediately. This person had learnt the archery skill properly. Who was it? The unexpected ambush threw his mind in shambles. Was there someone who read the movements of them?
“Everybody go inside! Quickly!”
Several more arrows flew. But they were smaller and weren't made of hard steel.
[Blade of Faith is activated!]
Kim Dokja swung his sword and struck the flying arrows. There were oddly no magic within them, but the raw strength used to shoot the arrows were dangerous, causing him to have difficulty to deflect and block them. That, and the numbers.
He grunted and his eyes widened when two arrows were about to hit him in different places. However, before they could, a strong gush of wind blew them away.
'Wh- huh...?'
His black hair was all over the place because of the wind, but he wasn't paying any attention to his appearance right now.
Where the hell did that wind come from?
It was unfortunate that Kim Dokja cannot hear the voices chirping around him that Cale would usually find loud and annoying.
There were a few more sets of arrows flying towards him, but Kim Dokja quickly took cover.
“Hahaha! Where oh where are you, novice king? I've been dying to meet you.”
A voice echoed through the area. A single person, not armed with any weapon, appeared 500 metres away with an eerie wide smile.
The voice sent another chill down his spine. He couldn't see a flag, but he assumed that it must be another king. However...
His instincts were screaming at him that this individual was not a king and is more dangerous than anyone he had ever encountered, and he had met Yoo Joonghyuk.
He gulped.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
...
[This person isn't registered in 'Character List'.]
'... Damn it.'
———
a/n: hello! i'm baaaack!! it's been so long but i've finally published this chapter ;-; i hope i didn't make you wait long (i did lmao).
i've been doing better, thankfully. i'm still trying to get back on track, sort out my life a little bit. plus, i've been so busy with college projects, it's hard to find the time to update my stories. so much happened, it's craaazy.
thank you so much for the votes and the comments you've left in this story. it truly motivates me to keep going and i'm so so happy to know that people are genuinely enjoying something i like, i can't say that enough. thank you.
anyways, i'm here to bring a little news! i'm planning to open a small donation page because, well, unfortunately society and capitalism is pushing me to gain money by doing something. of course, the donation is completely optional. it's just there if anyone wants to support me financially. i'll probably make an official announcement in the next chapter along with the donation page so yeah. money motivates me (this is my inner cale speaking).
that's all! thank you for reading, and i hope you have a wonderful day!
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