< Episode 15. A World Without a King (1) >
The final trial of the king.
It was an extreme ordeal that had to be overcome using nothing but one's own body.
The ground of Gwanghwamun was torn to shreds.
Thud! Crack!
With the 'Absolute Throne' at the center, the kings were locked in a chaotic brawl.
The Queen of Beauty, Min Jiwon.
The Maitreya King, Cha Sang-gyeong.
The Tyrant King, Yoo Joonghyuk.
And standing off to one side, that middle-aged man…
I see. The 'Neutral King'.
When our eyes met, the Neutral King raised both hands.
['Neutral King' Jeon Ildo is currently abstaining.]
As his title suggested, the Neutral King had no desire for the throne.
Only the remaining three did.
And among those three was Yoo Joonghyuk, so ordinarily the fight should have ended in less than a minute—ordinarily, that is.
"Die, you demon!"
Cha Sang-gyeong's dharma staff cut through the air, and Yoo Joonghyuk's kick slammed into Cha Sang-gyeong's abdomen.
"Keugh!"
However, Cha Sang-gyeong didn't take as much damage as expected.
That was because everyone's stats had been adjusted to an average of 10. With skills sealed as well, it meant the fight came down to muscle memory alone. As a result, even Yoo Joonghyuk couldn't easily overwhelm the other kings right away.
From behind them, Min Jiwon—who had been watching cautiously—spotted me.
I gave a slight nod.
"So we meet again."
"...Indeed. I didn't want to fight you."
Given that she'd made it this far, Min Jiwon must have completed all the qualifications of a king as well. That was impressive. Honestly, I hadn't expected her to survive to the end.
"If you don't withdraw, I'll attack."
"Go ahead. I won't be easy."
A fight with no skills, no stigmas, and average stats of 10.
Compared to the battles where kings had been flying around destroying cities just moments ago, the scene was pathetically plain.
A dull thud echoed, and Cha Sang-gyeong screamed.
"Keough! H-how…?"
After taking Yoo Joonghyuk's punch, Cha Sang-gyeong was writhing on the ground in agony. Until just a moment ago, it had been an even fight, but the tide was slowly turning.
Even without skills or stigmas, Yoo Joonghyuk's attacks were growing faster and harder by the second. It wasn't just superior combat sense.
Min Jiwon looked shocked as well.
"...How?"
If my memory was right, this was the point in this regression where Yoo Joonghyuk realized the loophole in the 'final phase'.
Right about now, a message like this must have been appearing in his mind:
[300 coins have been invested in Stamina.]
[300 coins have been invested in Agility.]
[300 coins have been invested in Strength.]
Ironically, although this battlefield 'restricted everything,' there was one thing it didn't restrict—
Coins.
[Constellation, 'Venerable Lord of Buried Gold,' raises doubts about the fairness of the scenario.]
The intermediate dokkaebi laughed.
[Haha, what's unfair about it? Using the coins you possess is a perfectly natural right. At the very least, 'coins' are something the incarnations earned through their own hard work. They've worked so hard to gather them—there should be a chance to use them, shouldn't there?]
Yoo Joonghyuk was raising his stats using the coins he had saved up.
[Ah, of course, any stats raised with coins here will be reset once the scenario ends. So use them carefully! It's practically the same as throwing coins into thin air! Hahaha!]
At the dokkaebi's words, the expressions of Min Jiwon and Cha Sang-gyeong darkened rapidly. They probably had almost no coins left.
Naturally so. In a battlefield where kings were constantly clashing, there had been no room to conserve coins.
But Yoo Joonghyuk was different.
From the very beginning, he had grown by clearing countless hidden scenarios, and as a result, he always carried a reasonable reserve of coins.
In the original third regression, Yoo Joonghyuk had around 30,000 coins at this point. And now, having gained even more than before…
Maybe around 40,000?
With a heavy thump, Cha Sang-gyeong's body was flung away like a rag doll.
['Maitreya King' Cha Sang-gyeong has been rendered combat-incapable.]
Yoo Joonghyuk turned to look at Min Jiwon nearby. Startled, Min Jiwon hurriedly raised both hands.
"...I withdraw."
['Queen of Beauty' Min Jiwon has withdrawn.]
At last, Yoo Joonghyuk looked at me.
The rage that had filled his eyes had settled into calm.
I understood.
If he claimed the 'Absolute Throne,' he could control all the kings at will—so retrieving his sister from me would be no problem, or so he must have thought.
But would it really turn out that way?
"Yoo Joonghyuk."
We drew our swords toward each other.
With no skills available, I had to rely solely on my body's memory—and the handful of overall stats I possessed.
Whoosh!
For the first time, I could clearly see Yoo Joonghyuk's blade.
It was obviously a feint.
He was probing—testing how strong I was now, and how many coins I still had left.
As expected, he's a cautious one.
He was probably planning to win by investing only the bare minimum of coins.
But that arrogance—this time, it would be his downfall.
Because among all the 'kings' in Seoul right now, there wasn't a single one with more coins than me.
[Coins Held: 80,850 C]
I mean, honestly—who in their right mind would think to hoard eighty thousand coins?
I flashed a grin at Yoo Joonghyuk as he charged toward me.
"I'll go easy on you, so don't die."
It was finally time to take profit after holding forever.
As if venting all the resentment I'd built up from never being able to spend them, I poured a massive amount of coins into 'Strength'.
[4,000 coins have been invested into 'Strength'.]
[Strength Lv.10 → Strength Lv.20]
[5,000 coins have been invested into 'Strength'.]
[Strength Lv.20 → Strength Lv.30]
[6,000 coins have been invested into 'Strength'.]
[Strength Lv.30 → Strength Lv.40]
[11,000 coins have been invested into 'Strength'.]
[Strength Lv.80 → Strength Lv.90]
[12,000 coins have been invested into 'Strength'.]
[Strength Lv.90 → Strength Lv.100]
[A total of 72,000 coins have been consumed.]
[Your 'Strength' has broken through the limits of human potential.]
[Monumental Achievement! You are the first to reach a three-digit Strength level.]
[You have received 30,000 coins as a reward.]
I carefully adjusted the power in my fist. A blow from Strength 100 was terrifying. It'd be a problem if I accidentally killed Yoo Joonghyuk.
I could feel the space around my clenched fist subtly warping.
According to Ways of Survival, once any overall stat breaks into three digits, its destructive power becomes fundamentally different.
What does it feel like?
Obviously—killer.
Like gripping a fistful of hundred-million-won checks.
Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes widened as he hurriedly began using coins himself.
But it was already too late.
With a sound like a bursting money bag, a sonic boom erupted.
Yoo Joonghyuk was launched into the air like a baseball smashed dead-on by a bat.
Unfortunately, this arena didn't allow home runs. The flying Yoo Joonghyuk slammed into one barrier, then another opposite it, ping-ponging back and forth five or six times before finally crashing into the ground.
…That might actually kill him.
Feeling a bit flustered, I ran toward Yoo Joonghyuk.
Damn it, why did I do that? I should've held back a little more.
I carefully pulled Yoo Joonghyuk out of the crater in the ground. And then—
Ah. This is why he's the protagonist.
Yoo Joonghyuk was staring straight at me, eyes wide open.
No way. He took a direct hit from Strength 100 and he's still conscious?
"…Yoo Joonghyuk?"
"..."
"Joonghyuk?"
"..."
His eyes didn't move.
This bastard—did he pass out with his eyes open?
Did I hit him too hard?
Well, whatever. When else would I ever get a chance to hit Yoo Joonghyuk like this?
"Serves you right, idiot. You should've behaved yourself. Why is it every time I see you, the first thing you say is that you're going to kill me?"
I slapped his usually irritating face a few times. It kind of felt like his eyeballs were moving every time I hit him, which bothered me a bit, but…
Anyway, he was still breathing.
Every bone in his body was broken, and blood was pouring from all seven orifices, but…
Since the 'Last Stand' skill couldn't be used here, his life really could've been in danger.
I had to move fast.
['Tyrant King' Yoo Joonghyuk has been rendered combat-incapable.]
[Congratulations! You have passed all trials of the 'Absolute Throne'.]
The barriers in the air began to slowly dissolve.
[Temporary stats raised with coins are being withdrawn.]
[All restrictions placed upon the kings have been lifted.]
[Constellation, 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband,' bristles at the excessive carbonation.]
[Constellation, 'The Secretive Schemer,' applauds your steadfast endurance.]
[Constellation, 'Demonic Judge of Fire,' admires your patience.]
[You have received a sponsorship of 4,500 coins.]
Messages from hero-grade constellations followed.
[Constellation, 'Venerable Lord of Buried Gold,' laments bitterly.]
[Constellation, 'One-Eyed Maitreya,' throws away his eyepatch.]
[Constellation, 'Founding Duke of Hannam Commandery,' resents you.]
As expected, all the kings of the Later Three Kingdoms were resentful of me.
From their perspective, they had lost one of the very few chances to ascend to the level of a 'myth-grade' existence, so of course it would sting.
[······Oh? An unexpected winner has appeared.]
The intermediate dokkaebi looked displeased.
He probably hadn't expected me to win either.
But I did.
[Well… very well. A result is a result. Now then, I announce this to all incarnations in Seoul. At this very moment, a new master of the 'Absolute Throne' has been born!]
I stopped the intermediate dokkaebi just as he was about to display the system message.
"Wait a second."
[······What is it?]
The dokkaebi's eyebrow twitched.
"You're rushing things. I haven't even sat on the throne yet, and you're already making declarations. Shouldn't you at least ask for my opinion?"
[You're about to ascend it anyway, so what does it matter?]
I strode toward the 'Absolute Throne'.
At that moment, I could feel every constellation observing the Seoul Dome focusing their attention on me.
The 'Absolute Throne', towering high in the sky, slowly descended toward me.
As if it had been waiting for me all along, it radiated a polite, golden brilliance.
I asked the intermediate dokkaebi,
"What can I do with this?"
[Anything a human can do.]
It was a short answer, but a frightening one.
[The 'Absolute Throne' is exactly what its name implies. As long as you sit upon it, you will become an omnipotent ruler. No citizen living on the land you govern will be able to defy you. All will bow their heads before you!]
At that explanation, several people looked at me with envy.
Of course they would.
Everyone here had run all this way, coveting nothing but this seat.
[Constellation, 'Venerable Lord of Buried Gold,' smacks his lips.]
Even those constellations…
It was truly regrettable—and strange.
That they could envy it so openly, even while knowing what this item truly was.
I really hate the lot known as constellations.
"Is that all?"
[······Pardon?]
"It only has absurdly overpowered abilities attached to it. Absolute authority over the 'land' I rule?"
[If you've gone through hardship, isn't it natural to be rewarded? This is a throne you reached after narrowly escaping death countless times—]
"Ah, so that's why this throne can do all that without even being bound by the 'constraints of plausibility'?"
[What are you—?]
"You're really good at lying. Is it because you're a dokkaebi? If you scam people like this, does the Bureau not say anything?"
For a moment, the intermediate dokkaebi failed to keep his composure, before stiffening his expression. On the other side of the air, Bihyung was staring at me with a deathly pale face. He probably thought I'd finally lost my mind.
[Let's end this tiresome argument. We need to conclude the scenario. Now, hurry and sit on the throne. If you spout nonsense one more time, I might just destroy the 'Absolute Throne'.]
"······Ah, about that. Do whatever you want."
[What?]
I looked once at the dokkaebi, then at the people standing there with their mouths hanging open, and slowly spoke.
"I will not ascend the 'Absolute Throne'."
A terrifying silence swept across the Gwanghwamun area.