< Episode 12. First-Person Protagonist Perspective (1) >
I heard that one of the most painful deaths in the world is "splitting oneself into pieces," and I just experienced it.
It felt like every neuron in my brain was firing at once.
[Exclusive Skill: 'Fourth Wall' mitigates mental anguish.]
Gradually, the pain subsided.
So, it's [Fourth Wall] again.
Whenever this skill helps me escape a crisis, it leaves me with a strange feeling.
"Melssalbeop" has definitely become reality, and I am living inside it.
Then… what exactly is this "wall" that I feel every time?
…No, I shouldn't waste time on such thoughts.
I successfully acquired the trait of 'The King Who Does Not Kill', and I must move again.
A trait granted only when the condition of non-killing among one's own kind is maintained to the end of the path: The King Who Does Not Kill. Despite its name, the real benefit of this trait is closer to immortality, not non-killing. Conditional, yes, but still…
Anyway, I should soon return to a physical body.
Or so I thought.
[Exclusive Skill Collision Error: Activation of 'The King Who Does Not Kill' perk delayed.]
…Huh?
A skill collision error?
[Due to death, consciousness is completely freed from the constraints of the body.]
[Exclusive Skill: 'Omniscient Reader Perspective' Level 3 forcibly activated.]
A wave of dizziness swept over me, accompanied by a strange sensation.
No—this is not the time for that.
「"Damn it, if only it weren't for him."」
For a moment, vertigo hit as the surroundings brightened.
And I saw a certain 'scene.'
「Gong Pil-doo of the Ten Evils observed the people pacing inside the platform, pursing his lips. Perhaps they could run away even now, he thought, but he knew better than anyone that he lacked the courage to act.
"Hmm… Reader-hyung."
Feeling the weight on his knees, Pil-doo looked down. There was a boy, probably around ten years old, sleeping on his thigh.
"Why am I in this situation…"
Pil-doo frowned gently as he looked down at the fair skin of the sleeping Lee Gil-young.
Old memories resurfaced.
A child.
He had a daughter around Lee Gil-young's age.
He shook his head and sighed.
―"Pil-doo, let's stop now…"
―"Dad, how long are you going to keep talking about land?"
He too had been a head of a household once.
He earned money to support his family, bought land with that money, dabbled in speculation, got lucky and became a building owner, took in tenants…
Eventually becoming a major figure in Chungmuro, only to realize that even this "big hand" couldn't protect a small family—it didn't take long to figure that out.
"Surprisingly, it's not bad, right? Getting along with people."
When he looked up, he saw a beautiful woman with delicate features.
Yu Sang-ah.
Two days ago, she became the deputy director of Chungmuro.
"Hurry up and take these people away."
"Yet you were laughing just a moment ago…"
Pil-doo's lips twitched in disapproval.
With a grunt, Yu Sang-ah sat down beside Pil-doo.
"Mister, how much land did you actually own?"
"Huh?"
"Come to think of it, the 'Building Owners' Association' is made up of people who own land, but you were the only one who got the 'Landowner' trait."
"…Owning lots of land isn't automatically a good thing. It has to be good land. So naïve."
"Then, what counts as good land?"
"Expensive land is good land."
"What kind of land is expensive?"
"Land that many people want."
"Was the land you owned like that?"
"Yes."
It wasn't the land I wanted, but Pil-doo met Yu Sang-ah's gaze.
Her curiosity was strangely sharp. She smiled outwardly, yet carried an indescribable unease beneath it.
Thunk. Thump. Thump.
From afar, it sounded like very thin threads snapping.
Yu Sang-ah's expression stiffened, and Lee Gil-young, who had been sleeping on Pil-doo's lap, snapped awake.
Shiver.
A cockroach on the back of Lee Gil-young's hand twitched its antennae.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu.
Line 4, Hoehyeon tunnel.
Something was approaching this way.
Yu Sang-ah jumped to her feet, and Pil-doo activated a skill.
[Character 'Gong Pil-doo' activates skill 'Fortified Zone Lv.8'!]
Wheeeeee—
Pil-doo bit his lip.
It was… a gut instinct only landowners have.
This was…
―"Hey! Everyone, gather!"
It was the feeling when someone tried to seize his land.
Dudududududu!
Pil-doo's turrets all fired simultaneously. Something fell, spewing blood in the darkness—it was the mole rats.
"It's an invasion! Everyone, take positions around Pil-doo! We'll use the formation we practiced this morning!"
At Yu Sang-ah's shout, the scattered people on the platform ran into position.
"Group A, near the front turrets. Group B, in the firing blind spots. Group C, protect Pil-doo!"
The people moved in unison, forming the formation they had practiced.
The mole rats charging at them fell helplessly to the ground. Handling them was much easier than the 'Emergency Defense Battle'.
As dozens of mole rats collapsed, the members of the Chungmuro group all had the same thought:
It's easy. If everyone cooperates, it's doable.
Then, a voice echoed from beyond the tunnel.
"Still, the [Pied Piper of Hamelin] isn't enough, huh?"
"Yoo Joong-hyuk went there. Do you think a mere 9th-rank underground species could match him?"
A group of men and women appeared from the darkness.
Four men and one woman.
Gong Pil-doo's expression stiffened.
He didn't know why. But one thing was certain.
These guys… were different from anyone he'd faced before.
"Damn it… quickly, call that samurai girl!"
"She's already here."
A chilling presence approached, and there was Lee Ji-hye, brandishing her bright blue sword.
"And don't call me a samurai. Unless you want divine punishment."
Despite her scolding, Gong Pil-doo felt a bit reassured. Ji-hye was that powerful an ally.
Still, he felt uneasy.
Uneasy enough that, like a frightened animal, he growled first.
"Who are you? Where did you come from?"
"It's true… the Naval Admiral and the Armed Lord teaming up."
The reply was more of a muttered aside than an answer.
Gong Pil-doo asked again.
"What nonsense is that? Quickly take positions, or I'll shoot you all dead!"
But the five men and women ignored him, continuing their conversation among themselves.
"Who was assigned to the Dragon Hunt?"
"The fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth. Plus one guy—not an Apostle, but pretty competent."
"Excluding the ones outside Seoul, that leaves the five of us."
"The five of us will be enough. Let's sweep them away quickly."
The first to step forward was a rotund man in his thirties.
The man with the number '7' on his shoulder. Thick eyebrows, oily skin on his face, and he licked his lips at the sight of Ji-hye's pale legs.
"I'll take the Naval Admiral. Without the sea, she's nothing special."
"What the hell did you just say?"
Ji-hye yelled sharply and charged forward. Realizing he had no choice, Gong Pil-doo infused his turrets with magic.
"Damn it! Just die already!"
Dudududududu!
The man with the number '4' on his cape let out a grim laugh.
"Ten Evils are ten Evils. If we'd come a little later, we'd have been wiped out."
"The third and fourth, you handle Gong Pil-doo. Don't let your guard down and start clearing the turrets from the edges."
The man with a '3' on his forehead nodded.
"Well… understood. If it's the Ten Evils, we two have to go."
"And second, you take care of the rest."
At those words, the woman with the number '2' on her cheek frowned.
She held a small flute in her hand.
"Why am I stuck with the small fry?"
"It's most suitable for you to handle them."
"And what will you do?"
Then the man in the dark cape with a '1' spoke.
"I'll seize the flag post."
For a moment, my focus wavered and consciousness returned.
Now everything made sense.
Omniscient Reader Perspective.
I'd experienced something similar inside the belly of the Sea Dragon before.
Back then, I had seen Yoo Joong-hyuk's perspective.
Still, it was astonishing.
I'd known the Apostles prepared a lot, but not to this extent.
Even judging by the items they brought, their thoroughness was evident.
Gong Pil-doo had his [Magic Bullet Decomposition Shield], and they even had [Pied Piper of Hamelin] to command the mole rats.
They truly intended to capture Yoo Joong-hyuk by taking Chungmuro and dominate this world.
But it wouldn't be that easy.
"W-what the…! Was the Naval Admiral always this strong from the start? Hey, something's wrong here!"
The seventh Apostle was the first to complain.
Ji-hye's precise swordsmanship was gradually pressuring the seventh Apostle. It had to—at this point, Ji-hye was far stronger than the original Ji-hye from the third cycle.
"Damn, Gong Pil-doo's turrets are this solid?"
The third and fourth Apostles were in trouble as well.
The second Apostle, playing [Pied Piper of Hamelin], struggled against Yu Sang-ah's [Thread Binding] and Lee Gil-young's 'Mjolnir's Thunder'.
Finally, the first Apostle stepped forward.
He frowned and pulled something from his coat, setting it on fire.
Then he threw it at the Chungmuro group.
Kraaaang!
With a deafening explosion, the entire Chungmuro platform was engulfed in fire.
Even I was startled for a moment.
…That damn bastard?
[A Mass-Destruction Magic Bullet]
While it's hard to inflict serious damage on top-level monsters, it's extremely effective against humans.
It's a weapon that requires certain materials from the Gangseo and Gangnam areas, plus some items purchasable with [Goblin Bundles].
That guy was the 'King' of the Apostles.
The purple flag planted on his back proved it.
Through the gray dust, Chungmuro's platform came into view.
My chest tightened.
If they had that, the situation was now unfavorable for our side.
Among the settling dust, the fallen members of the Chungmuro group lay scattered.
People were bleeding from sharp fragments.
Yu Sang-ah and Lee Gil-young were down. Even Gong Pil-doo, with his [Protective Barrier], hadn't avoided the ambush entirely—his whole body was covered in wounds.
"Finally, it's shaping up nicely, isn't it?"
The seventh Apostle lifted Ji-hye by the head—her uniform torn. She had taken the heaviest damage in the group from the earlier explosion.
"Then act like a supporting character, alright?"
"You bastard… ugh!"
Lee Ji-hye screamed as she was punched in the stomach.
"Can I take her then?"
"For what? There's no time."
"For what? I don't know about the back, but a character like this is going to get screwed over by the protagonist and discarded anyway, right? In that case, I might as well…"
Ji-hye's small body swayed in midair like a doll.
Her trembling lips.
She was looking at me.
"P…please… help me…"
An impulsive rage twisted through my mind.
This wasn't like me.
Surely, Ji-hye was just a "character."
[Exclusive skill, "Fourth Wall" lightly vibrates.]
But just because she's a "character" doesn't mean…
[Excessive immersion limits part of the functionality of the Fourth Wall.]
Had I immersed myself too deeply?
For a moment, my vision wavered and a wave of nausea hit me.
[Due to excessive immersion, mastery of "Omniscient Reader Perspective" increases dramatically.]
[Perspective shifts to first-person.]
The surroundings spun in a full circle, and consciousness stretched like a rubber band.
The next moment I opened my eyes.
I was… truly in Chungmuro.
…How?
Ji-hye's shaking eyes were fixed on me.
And she wasn't the only one.
At that moment, everyone on the platform was looking at me.
My vision moved slowly.
I began walking toward Ji-hye.
To be precise, my body moved on its own, regardless of my will.
One step, then another.
Slowly, but steadily.
The distance between her and me was closing.
The seventh Apostle frowned and asked,
"Who… are you?"
The sensation was uncomfortable, like wearing clothes that didn't fit.
A subtly different eye level than usual, and dissonant senses.
At that moment, I realized… who I really was.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
I hated it. I really hated it.
Ji-hye's lips moved slightly.
"Ah…"
As if repeating a task I had done millions of times, my hands gripped the hilt.
The sensation of my fingers on the grip felt unfamiliar.
Yet drawing the sword was so natural, even beautiful.
A thrill ran through me at this unprecedented, fantastic sensation.
The silent blade moved.
No one could see it.
It simply…
Something passed.
Something was cut.
Something fell to the ground.
Some gasped in horror, some stood dumbfounded.
The seventh Apostle, who had been holding Ji-hye, slowly sank to the ground. Blood gushed from his hollow neck.
My hands moved to catch Ji-hye's small, falling body.
"A-ah…"
I gently set her down on the platform.
Rising to my feet, the Apostles glared at me.
The third Apostle spoke first.
"Who… are you really?"
Ridiculous.
Could there be a dumber question?
I moved my lips slowly.
As if I had always been this man.
"I am Yoo Joong-hyuk."
The coldest, loneliest voice in the world.
Finally, the Sleeping Prince had awakened from his deep slumber.
"And all of you… will die here."
Now, Chungmuro would be safe.
The consciousness that had left Yoo Joong-hyuk's body slowly returned to its original form.
[Exclusive skill "Omniscient Reader Perspective" Level 3 is deactivated.]
[Skill collision error has been normalized.]
[The delayed bonus of "King of No Killing" is reactivated.]
[Your physical body resurrects from death.]