< Episode 14. The Owner of the Throne (3) >
We enter the dungeon—but not to obtain the Sign-Devouring Sword.
Yoo Sangah and Lee Gilyoung immediately understood what that meant.
"You intend to steal the flags."
"Then I guess we're allowed to kill everyone from now on."
Of course, they meant very different things.
Yoo Sangah looked down at Lee Gilyoung with startled eyes. What was amusing was that Lee Gilyoung looked up at Yoo Sangah with an expression of disappointment.
"Hyung, leave the finishing blows to me."
This kid… he's even noticed already that I don't personally take human lives.
[Activating exclusive skill, 'Character List.']
[This individual is not registered in the 'Character List.']
[Currently collecting information on the individual.]
Still, Lee Gilyoung's information didn't appear.
When I turned my head, I met Yoo Sangah's worried gaze. She looked back and forth between me and Lee Gilyoung, then lowered her head deeply. I spoke to Lee Gilyoung.
"Do as you see fit."
I knew what Yoo Sangah was worried about. Lee Gilyoung wasn't even a middle schooler yet. But she, too, probably understood vaguely.
In this world, the ethics we once knew were no longer of any use.
"But this isn't a game. Be careful."
"Yes, don't worry."
Listening to Lee Gilyoung's confident voice, I hid the flag I had been carrying on my back inside my clothes.
Until now, the flag had been good bait to lure in pathetic kings. From this point on, however, it would become the scent of blood that summoned predators.
On a battlefield meant for hunting kings, there was no benefit in letting others know that I was one.
The voice of a mid-level dokkaebi echoed through the air.
[Hehe, everyone's doing quite well! So many of you are carrying out the 'Hidden Scenario'—it hardly feels 'hidden' anymore, does it?]
How shameless.
Sometimes I think it must be hard to be that sly all the time.
[Someone has already fulfilled the requirements for the 'First Qualification.' As expected, that's what makes it fun.]
It seems a king who achieved the [Black Flag] has already appeared.
Probably one of the Seven Kings.
[The requirements for the 'Second Qualification' will be revealed shortly, so please look forward to it.]
I looked around at my companions and said,
"Let's hurry. A dokkaebi's 'shortly' is longer than you'd think."
I placed the collected Sangpyeong Tongbo coins one by one into the carved holes at the lobby entrance.
[By using 10 Sangpyeong Tongbo, you may enter a hidden arena.]
[Do you wish to enter the hidden arena, 'The Arena of the Big Dipper'?]
The flag I currently possessed was a [Purple Flag].
All kings with flags of the same purple rank would be gathered in the 'Arena of the Big Dipper.'
In other words, all my prey were now gathered in one place.
[You have entered the 'Arena of the Big Dipper.']
My vision rippled, and the scenery of the lobby changed. The pristine white marble lobby turned into a wide, open waiting hall.
At the far end of the hall stood seven doors.
"Ugh…"
Yoo Sangah let out a short groan and took a step back. At her feet lay a human corpse—members of a group that had fought a faction war. Lee Gilyoung stared silently down at the body.
So many corpses that one couldn't walk without stepping over them. Hundreds of bodies lay piled here and there like makeshift graves.
It looked like a storm of blood had already swept through this place.
My mood began to feel strange.
If I hadn't spread the plagiarist author's text file, perhaps these people wouldn't have died.
Then… did they ultimately die because of me?
"Over there—there are people."
In the center of the waiting hall, a massive bonfire burned, fueled by human corpses.
I could see the faces of the survivors murmuring among themselves. Whether they were remnants of defeated groups or in the middle of a truce, they weren't fighting each other.
Looking at the groups, I spoke to my companions.
"Be careful."
The groups slowly rose to their feet.
Greed glimmered in the eyes of those approaching us.
"Newcomers, huh. Who's your king?"
While someone distracted us with words, others quietly took positions behind our party. The encirclement gradually tightened.
"Is it you? Or the woman next to you? It can't be this kid…"
[A large number of constellations are annoyed by such trivial interference.]
[Several constellations wish for you to begin acting in earnest.]
I was planning to anyway.
"Hey, why aren't you ans— Aagh!"
A white radiance shot forth from [Unbreakable Faith], coloring the air.
The relentless trajectory severed the man's limbs.
A panicked man beside him shouted,
"Damn it! Just kill them!"
As if on cue, they drew daggers from their clothes.
But it was already too late.
"W-what's with this speed…!"
Very few people at this point have Agility starting with a 3.
Since it's still the early stage, the level of footwork skills won't be very high either, so aside from the Seven Kings of Seoul, there aren't many humans who can keep up with my movements.
Slash!
The blade of conviction, swung in a semicircle, severed the legs of five or six men who had been waiting for an opening—all at once.
Slice!
The follow-up strike cut off the hands gripping their weapons.
Pshhk!
It pierced straight through the wrists holding concealed throwing weapons.
"Kuaaagh!"
Severed limbs flew unrealistically through the air. I stepped behind the men who were screaming in agony and quietly pressed their blood points.
[Exclusive skill, 'Blood Point Strike Lv.1,' has been activated.]
Cutting off limbs and then sealing blood points—it was a cruelty beyond measure, but in this place, there was no other way.
The dark bluish daggers hidden in the men's clothes. The tips of those daggers were coated with a deadly poison obtainable from the five-person dungeon, [Arena of Donguibogam]. If our response had been even a little slower, we would have been the ones going down.
When the entire group collapsed in an instant, I called out to Lee Gilyoung.
"Please."
Lee Gilyoung nodded.
Thud! Thud!
One by one, people's throats were crushed by Lee Gilyoung's hands.
A mechanical, emotionless motion, like crushing insignificant insects.
It surprised even me a little.
Unable to watch any longer, Yoo Sangah stepped forward.
"I'll do it, Gilyoung…"
"…I can do it, though?"
"Still, I'll do it."
Her tone was unusually stubborn for Yoo Sangah. Lee Gilyoung glanced at me with a dissatisfied expression. With her back turned to me, Yoo Sangah gripped her sword. Without saying anything, she might even have been looking down on me.
Perhaps it was better that I couldn't read Yoo Sangah's thoughts.
Thud! Thud!
With movements far more efficient than Lee Gilyoung's, Yoo Sangah ended the lives of the remaining people.
A faint tremor ran through Yoo Sangah's fingertips after she finished, then gradually subsided.
"…So this is how it's going to be from now on, isn't it?"
"Yes. It will be."
"Then I'll take over Gilyoung's role from now on."
"Can you handle it?"
"…No problem. It was just like cracking eggs."
A metaphor unlike Yoo Sangah. She seemed to be forcing herself to sound calm.
"I could do it better, though…"
Yoo Sangah placed a hand on the grumbling Lee Gilyoung's head. There would be many such twists and turns ahead. More than once, we might break down—or feel like giving up.
But we had to endure.
The Seven Kings of Seoul we would soon face mostly had better stats than ours, and their skills were unique as well. Even if they didn't show hostility first, there would surely come situations where we couldn't win unless we struck preemptively.
Silently, we collected the items the group had been carrying.
[You have acquired 2,300 coins.]
[You have acquired the item 'Donguibogam — Miscellaneous Diseases (Volume 1).']
As expected, they were people who had cleared a five-person dungeon. The 'Donguibogam' obtainable from five-person dungeons consisted of a total of eight volumes, each with different uses. Since quite a few people must have advanced through five-person dungeons, it wouldn't be too difficult to obtain the other volumes.
Unfortunately, none of the group we had just killed was a 'king.'
Clap, clap, clap.
That was when we heard applause.
From beyond the large bonfire, one of the men who had been watching us approached with a broad smile. Despite having just witnessed another group being wiped out right before his eyes, he showed no sign of panic at all.
As I finished collecting the items, I warned him in an indifferent tone.
"What do you want?"
The man took a small step back and raised both hands, as if to show he had no intention of fighting.
"Hey, hey, calm down. I'm not here to fight."
I examined the man's appearance closely.
A large spear slung across his back. Thick biceps and pectorals hidden beneath his clothes… and a horse-tail hairstyle tied long behind his head.
…It felt like I had read a description like this somewhere before.
"Impressive skills. You didn't seem to have any particular passive skills, yet you wiped out the Chungjeongno group in an instant… Those guys, even without their king, were still among the better ones."
So that's why they were acting so recklessly.
"But you're a bit late. The main 'kings' have already entered the dungeon. By now, they're probably hacking away at each other inside. Well, the winner is almost decided, but… the last king who passed through here and left this place in such a state was terrifyingly strong."
"Who was it?"
"Do you know the 'Tyrant King'?"
The man continued.
"He's currently the strongest king in northern Seoul. Among those in the know, the rumor's already spreading. That the owner of the 'Absolute Throne' will undoubtedly be the Tyrant King."
Well, anyone who had seen the Tyrant King in person would probably think that.
The Tyrant King's combat power was certainly top-tier even among the Seven Kings of Seoul.
But the owner of the 'Absolute Throne'? That was laughable.
As if he had read my thoughts, the man spoke again.
"But you see, I think differently. The Tyrant King is strong—but I don't believe he can ever become the true 'Owner of the Throne.'"
"…Why do you think that?"
"I've seen him with my own eyes. His personal combat power is strong, but he doesn't know how to handle people. A true king must know how to understand the hearts of his subjects."
The hearts of the people?
"The king I serve can do that. That's why so many incarnations follow him. I'm certain my king will become the owner of the 'Absolute Throne.'"
I followed the direction of the man's brief glance. The 'Arena of the Big Dipper' consisted of a total of seven entrances.
His king must have chosen one of those paths as well.
"So what's your point? You want me to join your side?"
"Haha, of course that would be ideal, but you wouldn't agree so easily, would you? I'm simply making a proposal. If you're willing, would you like to join hands with us?"
Only then did I understand why this man had been staying in the waiting hall all this time.
In other words, he was a recruiter.
"Why should I?"
"The 'Tyrant King' is strong. I believe in my king, but to be honest, I don't think raw combat power alone is enough to defeat the Tyrant King."
Despite his loyalty, he was remarkably realistic.
And perhaps that was exactly what made him a true retainer.
"Think about it. What do you think would happen if an unstoppable butcher were handed a legendary holy sword? And what if that monster were to ascend to the 'Absolute Throne,' which controls all the kings of Seoul? Don't you think that no matter what, something like that must be prevented?"
I vaguely remembered.
It wasn't from the third regression, but there had definitely been several instances in Ways of Survival where such an 'Anti-Tyrant Alliance' was formed.
As expected, it must be because the future had changed.
"You make a fair point."
"That's why I'm proposing this. Our group is about to strike the 'Tyrant King.' We've already finished talks with a few other kings as well. I don't know which group you belong to, but honestly, joining now wouldn't put you at a disadvantage. You'd just be tagging along."
He wasn't wrong.
The problem was that the price for that one spoonful would likely be far higher than it seemed…
As if interpreting my silence, the man continued.
"If it still makes you uneasy, you can meet our king first and decide. It's about time he returned to the waiting hall anyway… Oh, perfect timing—there he is."
Sure enough, one of the seven doors opened, and the group that had entered the interior of the 'Arena of the Big Dipper' was returning.
"My king…"
The people lingering near the entrance with the man all dropped to one knee at once.
And from the center of the group, a man was walking toward us.
His head was cleanly shaved, one eye covered with an eyepatch.
And in his hand, a brown dharma staff…
Wait a second.
That guy—don't tell me…?