Timely Fate6
Starting the Paid Service(5)
The panicking started immediately as soon as the clear box hit the floor with a loud thud and the remaining crickets jumped out. Yoo Sangah looked a bit concerned as she watched the commotion, wiping her hands with the wet wipe, while Kim Dokja looked as if he had expected something like this to happen.
Our eyes met. I stared straight at him in the eyes, daring him to question my actions but he stared back and nodded his head. Of course, he would agree, I did almost the same thing that he had in the original novel of 'Omniscient reader's Viewpoint.'
"H-hey why would you do such a thing-"
Some turned their heads to glare at me while the others immediately scurried forward.
"You son of a bitch."
"You better start looking for them quickly, there are only three minutes left." Dokja intervened, crossing his arms as he confronted the small group of people that had started walking towards me.
His words were a signal for the people to start looking everywhere on the subway train. They crouched down to look under seats and in between cracks.
"Yes! I got one! Aaaack! N-no...stop-!"
The joy that the more fortunate ones gained after finding an insect quickly dissipated as they also became targets of the others and their malicious attacks. The carriage quickly became chaotic.
"Hey, why'd you do that? Shouldn't you have just given them the insects?"
Looking back, I saw that Kim Namwoon had directed his gaze towards me and had finally decided to quit being silent. I looked at the silver-haired teen, annoyance creeping up my neck, but I responded calmly.
"There are twelve people left."
"What?" He tilted his head to the side, confused.
"Only three insects were remaining inside the net."
He frowned, quickly mulling over my words, before he quickly put on an ear-splitting grin. "Kekekeke, twelve to three? Not all of them will be able to survive, right? So you threw the net and the lucky ones would find the remaining three?"
"Yea,"
"Don't make me laugh!"
"...." He was starting to piss me off.
"A normal person with common sense wouldn't do that sort of thing without a reason." He grinned, as he looked up at me with a sadistic gleam in his eyes. "Tell me honestly...You just wanted to see this scene, didn't you?"
And there was the question. [Exclusive skill, Character List is activated] a message rang in my ear. Though I was surprised, I made sure not to show it.
[Character Information]
[Name: Kim Namwoon
Age: 19
Constellation Support: None (Two constellations are showing interest in this person)
Private Attribute: Chunnibyou (General)
Exclusive Skills: Unusual Adaptability lv. 3, Knife Fighting lv.1, Blackening lv.1
Overall Stats: Stamina lv.3, Strength lv.4, Agility lv.6, Magic Power lv.4
Overall Rating: A chuunibiyou who was blackened by a special occasion. It is recommended that you don't get involved with him.]
Kim Namwoon wasn't like most chuunibiyous. Unlike the others that had decided to end their own suffering because they couldn't endure the nightmare that had become a reality, Kim Namwoon became know as the Delusional Demon.
He had been waiting for the destruction of the world the entire time and had adapted at an 'unusual speed.'
He looked from me to Dokja and back. "Why don't you two team up with me?" There was a few seconds of silence as Dokja and I met eyes.
[The character 'Kim Namwoon' has a favorable impression of you]
[Your understanding of the character 'Kim Namwoon' has now increased]
I looked at the notification that had popped up in front of me, my face not betraying anything. I closed my eyes, pretending to be mulling through the idea. I opened my eyes to see Dokja was staring at me.
I smiled at him, tilting my head to the side. He stared at me before grinning. We looked at Kim Namwoon, who had been watching our little play, before speaking at the same time.
"No."
Immediately, his face contorted a bit before returning to that annoying smirk. "Ah, what a shame. I mean it. Then can you step aside? I have something to do with that old lady behind you." I could feel Yoo Sangah stiffen behind me. Gilyoung's hand on my hoodie tightened.
"What do you want?" Dokja asked, crossing his arms as he looked down at the arrogant chuunibyou.
The other leaned his head back, "Do you have to ask?"
"You aren't catching the insects?"
I held my breath. "Insects? Why would I catch that? I've already caught one in front of me." He grinned down at the old lady who was struggling to breathe and was bleeding.
Yoo Sangah immediately moved in front of the grandma, fear prominent in her eyes but radiating a protective aura. I couldn't help but feel proud of her.
I looked back at Kim Namwoon. He had a murderous aura.
He was every bit the person I had always imagined him to be.
[The character 'Kim Namwoon' has a slight decrease in favor towards you and your companion 'Kim Dokja']
He stared right at Kim Dokja, his eyes occasionally moving onto me. "Well, aren't you going to move aside?"
Kim Dokja crossed his arms and tilted his head, his eyes closing as he feigned a serious thinking expression. I snorted, turning the other way when Kim Namwoon's slightly confused by slowly reddening eyes turned towards me, oops, he was getting angry.
"Hah...it's really a tough decision." Kim Dokja muttered to himself, yet speaking loud enough for those around him to hear.
Kim Namwoon stared at him. "What?"
Kim Dokja smiled, looking at the white-haired boy as if he was looking at the eyes of an innocent child that wouldn't grow to be a young man obsessed with blood and murder. "I won't move aside." He said in an almost doting tone.
"Haha," Kim Namwoon chuckled darkly, "Are you two going to imitate the Apostle of Justice? Hey, do you have multiple personalities? Fuck you."
He looked at me directly in the eyes, completely ignoring the taller man in front of me. "Who cares what the others go through, the type of place this country has regressed to is nothing that can be saved with a bit of compassion."
He looked at me, his dark eyes seemed to be glowing when he spoke. The words he had spoken weren't in the official novel or the novel based off of the original, 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.'
But there was truth in his words, I knew it. Still, I couldn't think about what he said, my mind was focused on one word.
Regressed.
I knew that Dokja would be focused on the fact that his words hadn't been in the original novel but the fact that, during this life, I knew Yoo Jonghyuk on a personal level only the realization that he had regressed three times already, made my heart stutter. It all felt real now.
Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, and Lee Gilyoung weren't just characters from a book. Now they were real. The years of interactions I had had with the 'characters' of a novel felt like years I had gone through in befriending people.
Not that they weren't people before, because they were.
They were all people just like me only, I hadn't thought of them that way. I had thought of them as lesser than what they were.
I felt hot tears prick the corner of my eyes, I hurriedly rushed to wipe them, thankful for the fact that no one had caught me in the act.
Kim Namwoon's cackle brought me out of my musing. "No, wait a minute. It couldn't have been, could it?" He cackled, holding his stomach. "Did you throw over the net just to do this from the beginning? Really?"
His question was directed to me. I leveled myself, fatigued and unwilling to answer him "...".
"You wanted to save the grandma? Hahaha! Amazing! Really fucking amazing! No? Yes?" What the hell was this idiot saying.
"Ah..." He sighed, shuffling. "It turns out the two of you are the type of people I hate the most."
'Hah....you're the type of person I hate the most too, ok?' I thought to myself silently, readying myself to block the first hit sent my way.
[The character 'Kim Namwoon' despises you and your companion 'Kim Dokja']
"What did you say?"
Dokja lowered his head, seemingly casually avoiding the punch that flew over his head eve before Kim Namwoon's words were over.
"Oh? Not bad.." He said as he sent a right cross in my direction. I stepped aside, watching the fist move towards me and back. There was a hint of heat as his fist moved, proving that it wasn't any ordinary punch.
[Blackening Lv.1]
"Oh~ You too?"
"Not bad, not bad at all." The grin that had formed on his face turned maniacal.
A dark aura rose from his body, enveloping him from head to toe. He looked at me in the eye, I stared right back only to be met with glowing pupils. I couldn't help but shiver.
This was an exclusive skill of his 'chuunibyou' trait. It was rare rough to release an exclusive skill before the end of the first scenario, but Kim Namwoon was already showing one. It was expected of him though, after all, there was a reason who he had been recruited by the main character.
Hah... this was really starting to get too predictable. I really didn't want to but-
Peeok! I felt my shoulder spasm where he hit me, with my mixed martial arts experience I might be able to go against him.
[Your understanding of the character 'Kim Namwoon' has increased]
[You and your companion 'Kim Dokja' are close to the conditions of use for the exclusive skill 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' Lv. 1]
Here it was.
[The conditions of use for the exclusive skill 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' Lv. 1 has been reached for you and your companion 'Kim Dokja!']
Kim Dokja sent me a look of surprise, Kim Namwoon struck again.
His fist narrowly missed Dokja, who had been distracted, and came my way once more. I pulled on his arm and sent him towards the ground.
"Haha, what's this?" He turned to look at me from the ground he had been pushed towards and..unlodged his fist from the ground. A faint fist mark remained, he was realizing this newfound strength of his little by little.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
"Haven't I become stronger?" He grinned, the fist that could break bones with a single blow kept on hitting the ground. Kim Namwoon let out a frustrated growl.
"Ah, why can't I hit you?"
Of course, he couldn't hit us. Thanks to 'Omniscient reader's Viewpoint' we could observe Kim Namwoon's attack direction like we were reading his thoughts.
[Right side]
Dokja moved away from the direction of the attack.
[Left eye]
I bent down to avoid the fist and sent a fist towards his gut, his attention immediately moved towards me.
"You're a little different aren't you Princess?" I glared at the nickname, disgust welling up in the back of my throat as his attention.
I held my hands up in front of me and sent a jab towards him, I hit him square in the eye. He grinned at me as he sent a sidekick towards my waist. I caught his leg, and twisted it, he yelped in both shock and pain.
"You-!"
I grinned, grabbing his collar and hitting him square in the jaw and then in the same eye. Dokja came up behind him and threw him to the ground, his head banging loudly against it.
"Are you ok?" He asked me, taking my clenched fists into his hands and rubbing my knuckles lightly.
"Yeah," I smiled. "I'm ok."
Kim Namwoon got back up, a frustrated snarl on his face as he hurriedly sent a punch towards Dokja, face grimacing in pain as he stood on the twisted leg.
I jumped away and towards the grandmother and the others, I pointed to the timer that had been slowly decreasing. "There are less than two minutes left kid, you better hurry." I stood in a protective stance if Kim Namwoon killed anyone he would be able to pass this scenario.
He grinned, knocking himself into Kim Doja and pushing the older man to the ground. He pulled something out of his bag. A blade shone in the fluorescent light. It was-
"-a portable MacGyver Knife." Dammit, I had forgotten. This kid was a diehard military otaku.
Swiiiik-
There was an obvious link between the technical skill 'Knife Fighting' and the strengthening skill 'Blackening'. It was obvious to which direction the knife was pointing.
[Heart]
It was an unavoidable attack but I had to do some quick thinking, I changed the direction my body pointed towards, and instead of my heart, the knife pierced my shoulder. The deep cut on my shoulder immediately spilled red.
I gritted my teeth, pain searing on my skin as my vision shook.
"Ha-Neul!" I heard the voices of others call out as I struggled to keep my attention on Kim Namwoon.
"Hahahaha! Now die."
Less than a minute and thirty seconds left. I pitied the grandmother, I swear I really did, but it was time to use 'that'.
"Chungil High School, 2nd Year, Kim Namwoon. I have one question for you." I stated, reciting the same lines Kim Dokja had said to Kim Namwoon from the novel.
"...What?"
"I wonder....do you think an insect egg is a living thing?" I took out the cricket I had killed earlier from my pocket. Its egg-sac was abundant, then the sound of popping as fluid trailed down my hand. The disgusting feeling spread over my hand and I felt bile rising in my throat as I heard a message.
.
.
.
[You have killed a living thing]
[100 coins have been earned as additional compensation]
[You have killed a living thing]
[100 coins have been earned as additional compensation]
[You have killed a living thing]
.
.
.
Multiple messages bombarded my ears.
He frowned, "Insect eggs? Are you trying to waste time?"
I chuckled, shrugging. "I guess so."
"How would I know something like that? I've always slept during bio." He looked at my bloody shoulder, face contorting into a happy laugh. "But there is something that I'm sure of. Wanna know what?"
"...What is it?"
"You will die right now!" He moved the swiss knife before I could answer in an attack that was hard to avoid.
[A large number of coins have been acquired! Do you wish to check the coin usage tips?]
I snorted, omitting the explanation that entered my ears as I snarled at the teen, there was no need to listen when I already knew the contents.
"Hah! Me dying? No, it's you who will die!" I spat out, muttering something else quietly.
[2.700 coins have been invested into 'stamina']
[Stamina Lv. 20 → Stamina Lv. 30]
I would think about that later.
[Your stamina has increased dramatically!]
[The durability of your body has greatly increased!]
Kim Namwoon's knife penetrated my heart, to be exact, it looked as if it was penetrating my heart.
My skin had turned rock solid, not even a scratch remained. His eyes widened in astonishment.
"H-how?" His eyes moved from the stab wound in my shoulder to the knife that should've been lodged directly into my heart.
"Let me tell you the correct answer to my question: Yes. An egg is a living thing."
"W-what?"
"And in spawning season, female crickets can lay over 100 eggs, sometimes over 200 eggs.
"What are you saying?"
"There's no need to understand. Since there's barely a minute left."
Finally, fear appeared over Kim Namwoon's face. "Aaaaaah! Die! Die! Diediediediedie!"
The knife moved towards my neck, there was no reason to move.
Kakakang
It must've been since the area was more vulnerable than the chest. There was a slight scratch this time, nothing to be worried about though.
"Kim Namwoon."
Behind us, people were crawling around that section of the train, searching for crickets. Some had already given up, others were still searching and once they suspected someone already laying hold of one, they attacked.
"You were right about one thing. I am the same type of human as you."
Maybe I could've saved some of those people.
"Shit! Fuck! Why won't you die?! JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY!"
50, 45, 40...
The knife barely left any scratches, small beads of blood bled from a few of the scratches. 45 seconds left when Kim Namwoon opened his mouth, dropping the knife and kneeling in front of me.
"S-save me...p-please."
30...
"Save me! Please! Please!"
I grinned, "Why should I?"
[You are close to the conditions of the exclusive skill 'Capture the Target' Lv. 1]
[The conditions of the exclusive skill 'Capture the Target' Lv. 1 have been met]
[Do you wish to 'Capture the Target → Kim Namwoon?']
Oh? What a pleasant surprise.
[Accept or Decline]
25 seconds left.
"People's lives are important! Th-that's obvious!"
"That is the rule of the old rule. This is a new world, just as you said. A new world requires new laws."
20 seconds.
"I don't want to die! Please! I don't want to die!!"
His face contorted as he wailed, tears and snot covering his face.
I smiled down at him, my face gentle and showing a fond look. He continued wailing, closing his eyes.
15 seconds left.
"Then.." He looked up at me, desperation in his eyes.
10 seconds.
"Be a good boy from now on, ok?" He nodded frantically, grasping at the ends of my hoodie. "Accept," I said quietly, a golden light forming like a bracelet on my wrist. A golden 'string' of light trailing down from the bracelet to the neck of Kim Namwoon.
5 seconds.
A notification appeared from my [Companions] 'tab' as gasped sounded around me. Kim Namwoon stared at the golden light that had slowly disappeared into nothingness, a confused look appearing in his eyes before he caught sight of the timer.
He wailed out in fear, desperately searching for his knife that had been kicked away by Dokja at some point.
[The given time has run out]
Throughout the train, the sound of heads exploding came like a chain reaction.
[Paid settlement will begin]
One head, two, three, four...
They were like bloody fireworks introducing us to a new era. I watched the scene with joy, a bit of guilt, and an unidentifiable feeling swarming n my gut.
It was unnerving how calm I was.
[You have killed 156 living things.]
[Kill History: 1 cricket, 155 cricket eggs]
[You have killed non-resistant living things. The numbers of coins you have acquired is now reduced by half]
[7,800 coins have been acquired]
[The number of coins used towards stats level up is automatically subtracted]
[The 'Mass Murder' achievement has been gained through excessive killing]
I looked up towards the mirror and saw a streak of blood on my face, I didn't bother wiping it away, knowing the blood was on the window.
Kkiiiik.
There was a lurching feeling as the train started moving once more, making the familiar sound of the train.
Soon, light-flooded in, and the darkness was finally lifted from the windows. We had arrived at the surface ground section of Line 3 between Apgujeong and Oksu.
From the outside of the window, we could see the Han River and Seoul.
Ahhh, someone let out a moan of relief.
It didn't take long for the moan of relief to change to one of both terror and disbelief. The landscape outside the window was no longer the one of the Seoul and Han River we had all became familiar with as children.
Smoke and dust rose from the ruined city, my heart pierced at the sight of the devastated city.
The Han River bridges had collapsed, its waters dyes red from the blood of fallen soldiers as a monster, while amongst the fallen buildings, trampled on a K1 tank like it was a Christmas toy.
[Main Scenario #1-- Proof of Value has ended.]
[300 coins have been acquired as a basic clearance reward]
[100 coins have been reduced for the channel usage fee]
[Additional compensation settlement will now begin]
One world was destroyed and a new world was born.
Dokja and I looked at each other, our eyes reflecting the mess that the other ad become.
...I was the only reader who knew the true outcome of this world.
[Accepted]
[You have now become 'Kim Namwoon's master, in place of his constellation]
I looked down at the white-haired teen who was looking down at his hands, obvious shock on his face.
There was still this kid to deal with.
[The character 'Kim Namwoon' had a favorable impression of you'
[The character 'Kim Namwoon's favorability had increased]
[The character 'Kim Namwoon's favorability had increased]
[The character 'Kim Namwoon's favorability had increased]
[The character 'Kim Namwoon's favorability had increased]
I sighed. This child.
(3417)