Using his shield, Hyunsung blocks the next blast of fire for him and Heewon. Dokja falls back, panting as tries to assess the outcome of his first strike. Unfortunately, he failed to kill the dragon in a single blow, and proceeds to get side-swiped by the tail hard enough that he's thrown across the room and he spits up blood.
Ah… Maybe I might die for real this time. If I'm not the real 'protagonist'... is it really going to be this hard to survive?
As Dokja thinks this, Igneel begins to ready his skill once more.
If I was Yoo Joonghyuk… If I was the protagonist… I could have killed it in one move.
"Come on, ahjussi, you can do it…" Shin Yoosung pleaded under her breath, watching intently as the next segment began almost immediately. Kim Dokja just patted her head affectionately, trying his best to wordlessly reassure her that everything would be okay.
[a constellation known for dragon-slaying is cheering on the incarnations.]
Yoo Mia winced, shooting Kim Dokja a pitying look. "That must have hurt."
"Yeah," he mused absently. It had hurt, but it was nothing when compared to the death he had just come back from or the time Yoo Joonghyuk had punched him. Plus, he had [The Fourth Wall], which thankfully muted his pain more often than not.
"I couldn't have killed it in one strike," Yoo Joonghyuk stated suddenly, crossing his arms over his chest and shooting Kim Dokja a sideways glance. "It would have taken at least two."
At least two, he says. Goddamn protagonist.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is rolling his eyes.]
'To hell with that!' Dokja thinks as his eyes glow with the frosty aura, throwing his sword towards the dragon even as he still flies through the air from the force of the previous attack.
This is the pride of a 'Reader'.
As the sword soars towards the dragon's chest, Dokja prays for it to hit the weak point he had previously found. As he says this, the weak point almost turns translucent, allowing for everyone to see the sword piercing the dragon's heart.
It's my pride, as the novel's only 'Reader' for more than ten years!
Ice erupts from the tip of the sword, quickly spreading out from the heart and engulfing Igneel until he becomes a glorified ice sculpture. Finally back on his feet, Dokja stands and looks at the now-solidified dragon. On his back, the flag for Chungmuro silently flutters. As he pants, Dokja thinks that he can't let himself die so early in the scenarios and a pop-up informs him that he's drawn first blood on Igneel.
"Yeah!" Lee Jihye cheered exuberantly. "Get him, ahjussi!"
[many constellations are excited by the current events.]
"That idea was really smart, but also really dumb," Jung Heewon sighed in relief as she shook her head. "If you had missed…"
Then they would have died. Yeah, it had been insanely risky, but there wasn't much else in terms of viable options at the time. Kim Dokja had just made the choice he thought would result in the best possible outcome.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' laughs at the pitiful lesser dragon.]
The Seoul Bureau's Branch head dokkaebi, Baram, frowned while reading the scenario material he was holding in his hand.
A dapper dokkaebi appears on screen, suited up in a waistcoat and monocle, while also sporting a magnificent moustache. As he reads, the document's title is revealed—it's a probability review request about Joonghyuk. It also reveals that the dokkaebi are very much aware of the fact that Joongyuk's a regressor.
He asks about who filed the report, only to learn that it was filed by a Japanese dokkaebi. Baram just gets very annoyed about the other dokkaebi's overstepping.
Without a doubt, there was every reason why the man called 'Yoo Joonghyuk' needed a request for a probability assessment filed against him, according to the data. Not only did he start with a lot of advanced skills, but also many important parts from his profile were automatically filtered out. There were details that were not accessible due to the skill [Eye of the Sage], so help was needed from the senior management department just for this data survey.
An image of a haunted Yoo Joongyuk is seen inside the dossier. Baram tells the others to leave it alone, since a higher up said that Joonghyuk has permission for free-reign.
As one of the others wonders about the probability backlash, Baram sighs. "The fact that the backlash is not an issue is proof of what his sponsor is capable of."
Baram then reminds them of the imminent fifth Scenario and how the excess probability will likely be offset as the scenarios progress.
"Huh? Why are we suddenly seeing stuff about the asshole protagonist?" Han Sooyoung asked, a frown crossing her features.
Kim Dokja's eyes widened. "That's from Yoo Joonghyuk's sixth regression. It was the first time that a probability review was mentioned in TWSA, and I definitely remember thinking about it at the time. I just had the feeling that someone would file one against me."
[many constellations are shocked that the dokkaebi are aware of the stigma of the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
But still…
"[Eye of the Sage] blocks information from even the dokkaebis?" Yoo Joonghyuk murmured in surprise, and Kim Dokja had to nod. While his information could still be accessed, if the dokkaebi had sufficient clearance, it was definitely more of a pain to do.
His eyes narrowed in suspicion a moment later. "My sponsor… is the Bureau so afraid of them that I have permission to do whatever I want…?"
That was something Kim Dokja didn't have an answer for.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is curious about the sponsor of the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is narrowing his eyes suspiciously.]
"I don't know who your sponsor is—that was a secret never revealed in TWSA—but they're definitely powerful. I can't imagine how much probability it takes to literally reverse time, let alone as many times as you regressed in the novel," Kim Dokja said quietly, sounding almost regretful.
He truly wished he had those answers for Yoo Joonghyuk, but he was just as much in the dark as everyone else.
He frowned, though. "For a while, I did wonder if keeping your stigmas available to you took so much probability that your sponsor couldn't afford to help you otherwise, but I never found out if that theory held any weight."
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is pondering this theory.]
Kim Dokja remembered asking about it in a comment once, curious and excited to see if he had figured something out about Yoo Joonghyuk's mysterious sponsor. All tls123 had responded with was "That's an interesting theory."
It was such a non-answer that Kim Dokja had basically given up on it. Still, it was better to talk about that one than to tell Yoo Joonghyuk that his second theory was that his sponsor was just a major asshole who enjoyed seeing him suffer, or who had completely lost interest in him after his first life.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is touched by the idea of a constellation sacrificing so much for their incarnation.]
Yoo Joonghyuk looked pensive, glancing down without even a frown on his face. It seemed as though he was trying to put everything in that perspective, and Kim Dokja felt the guilt eat at him. Was it just cruel to give him hope that might not even be true?
[many constellations are debating about the existence of a constellation with that much probability.]
Oh?
"Do you not think that anyone could afford such a thing?" Kim Dokja asked curiously. How had he never thought of asking the constellations before? If anyone had the possibility of knowing how much probability a regression stigma would cost, it was them.
[several constellations glance around awkwardly.]
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is doubtful that any one constellation could afford the probability costs incurred by the 'regression' stigma.]
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' believes that only a nebula could shoulder that kind of cost.]
A nebula? How had Kim Dokja never even considered that before? If Anna Croft could be sponsored by the entirety of
[Many constellations are considering this theory.]
As Kim Dokja spiralled into his own mind to consider some theories of his own, he completely missed Yoo Joonghyuk's deep frown at the thought of having not just one, but multiple constellations acting as his sponsor, as well as Yoo Sangah's suddenly uncomfortable expression.
Back in the present, Dokja pulls his sword from the frozen corpse, reminiscing that the previous scene came from Joonghyuk's 6th regression.
As Dokja jumps back down, messages flash about the impossible achievement he has completed, but also that his rewards will be delayed. Looking up at the intermediate dokkaebi while holding Igneel's core, Dokja wonders if the flashback came about due to him likely being in a similar situation. Just as he had expected, some low-level dokkaebi have requested a probability review on him.
Dokja is snapped out of his thoughts by a swift thwack on the back by Heewon, which causes him to drop to the ground and curl in on himself, using one hand to gently massage the spot she hit. He weakly jokes that he might die from a hit like that due to being low on stamina, causing Heewon to judge him. The other three join them at various speeds and levels of enthusiasm.
Many messages come in, with the ones from 'Eyes Waiting for Tuesday Night' lamenting his scrawny body and 'Bald General of Justice' telling him to wear the robe with reverence being of particularly comedic note.
Lee Hyunsung shot Kim Dokja a pitying look. "Dokja-ssi, was the review difficult to deal with?"
Ah, Lee Hyunsung, always too nice for his own good. Kim Dokja just shot him a good-natured smile and shook his head.
"I didn't have to do anything, don't worry."
The lieutenant looked relieved, but Jung Heewon stared at Kim Dokja with a frown.
"We really need to work on your stamina," she sighed in disappointment. "I barely smacked you."
Did he have to? Kim Dokja could just solve that problem with enough coins, if he really needed more stamina—he didn't need to do any kind of physical training.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' reiterates that the incarnation 'kim dokja' is flimsy.]
Sure, he wasn't someone like Yoo Joonghyuk who looked like he was probably born with godlike abs and biceps, but Kim Dokja wasn't flimsy! He knew full well that he could take a punch or ten if he needed to—on the condition that they weren't from the protagonist.
He didn't have a death wish.
Heewon angrily mutters, asking if he acted while knowing everything all along. When Dokja admits that he didn't, Heewon rapidly slaps his back, letting out her repressed emotions and yelling that he could have gotten himself killed.
"Resurrection is just my new privilege. It's not like my sponsor is Jesus or something," Dokja says plainly as an explanation while they pick up the dropped items lying around Anguk station. Since it would be too overpowered to get one resurrection per person saved, Dokja explains that he needs to save 100 people per resurrection.
The 'King of No Killing' has a deadly drawback in exchange for being a fraudulent ability. The King cannot kill anything of the same species directly by their own hand.
Heewon states that she'll kill people for him, making Dokja feel reassured while also nervous.
The moment they do, they will lose their crown. (Just for the record, I have not killed a single person up till now.)
Lee Gilyoung blinked for a moment, thinking back over everything they had seen, before staring at Kim Dokja in bewilderment. "Hyung, were you really planning to get that attribute the whole time!?"
Well… yes and no.
"It wasn't my only plan, Gilyoung-ah," Kim Dokja replied with a sly grin. "This was my first choice of attributes, but I knew that there was a chance it could have been taken."
Yoo Sangah's eyes narrowed in confusion. "There would have been someone else eligible for it?"
He completely understood where she was coming from. After all, even though they hadn't killed another person in the first main scenario, they were definitely part of a very small minority who had managed that. Still, apart from Kim Dokja, everyone else in their group had dirtied their hands in the scenarios that followed.
[many constellations wonder which other incarnation would want such an attribute.]
"Selena Kim," Yoo Joonghyuk said suddenly, recalling her from his previous round. He probably didn't have many fond memories about her either, considering that she was basically Anna Croft's second-in-command.
"Selena Kim?" Yoo Sangah asked curiously. "Who's that?"
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned, but he answered her nonetheless. "An incarnation from America."
Kim Dokja nodded. "I was extremely lucky that it was available."
[the constellation 'maritime war god' believes that lucky is an understatement.]
As Hyunsung remarks that this feels like they're in some kind of fantasy novel, Minseob and Sungkook flinch violently behind him. Dokja glares hard at them in a nonverbal cue to keep their mouths shut, while telling poor innocent Hyunsung that he's glad they're all fine.
Better send the look of 'Don't try to say anything stupid' their way.
As the two readers wonder why Dokja has changed his way of speaking, he informs them that he's no longer impersonating Joonghyuk before he demands that they give him their phones. As Sungkook sobs, handing over his phone, he learns that Dokja is just like this.
Dokja looks at the phone, lamenting the loss of his items and worrying about the text file. Suddenly a pop-up appears on screen and asks him if he wants to sync his profile with the device. Confused, Dokja does so. When the download completes, it's revealed to be the text file for TWSA.
'I see, so that's how it is. Of course a file that even dokkaebis and constellations can't read won't disappear so easily,' Dokja realizes while deciding to be cautious about reading it around the two renouncers since he doesn't know if they'll be able to see it.
Lee Hyunsung buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe I was right…"
Kim Dokja laughed and glanced away awkwardly, especially as the kids started giggling at the expression he had made to make sure the prophets didn't blurt out anything important. To be fair, looking at it from an outside perspective, it did look pretty amusing.
"So that's what you meant about the file transferring…" Jung Heewon muttered in astonishment. "That is really freaky."
Yeah, it absolutely was. Once again, he couldn't help but wonder just how much power tls123 had.
"Of course you made him hand over his phone too, you bastard," Han Sooyoung scoffed. Clearly, she was unimpressed with him.
Kim Dokja didn't particularly care what she or Lee Sungkook thought, so he just shrugged.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is amused by the antics of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
Soon enough, a new message from Bihyung comes in, lamenting about being called to the Bureau because of Dokja. Dokja casually asks how it went.
{What happened? Everything's been turned upside down, that's what happened. What kind of skills do you have? Why can I not get your profile information even when I ask the Bureau's high level management branch?} Bihyung blurts out before stating that Dokja won't be penalized since they've concluded that he has only a few low level skills, and that he's not even that good at using them. Dokja notes that he's glad that he hasn't learned any advanced passive skills.
Bihyung continues on, saying that while some others tried to raise an issue, a message from someone higher up told people to let it go. Allegedly, this higher-up is rumored to be the Dokkaebi King himself.
[a large number of constellations are greatly alarmed.]
"The Dokkaebi King?" Lee Jihye asked curiously. "Who's that?"
"He's the dokkaebi in charge of the entire Bureau," Kim Dokja replied, feeling a bit more unsettled by this information this time around. "I have no idea why he would interfere with a measly probability review, though."
[several constellations cast suspicious glances upon the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is extremely curious about the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
Yoo Joonghyuk seemed to be incredibly suspicious as well, and Kim Dokja wasn't sure if he should have anticipated that. It made no sense for such an important dokkaebi to have any interest in an incarnation like him, especially since—as Bihyung pointed out—he wasn't even that good at using the skills he did have.
Seriously, if that Dokkaebi King had the time to waste on a probability review, then why couldn't he spend it more productively doing something else? Like fixing the really irritating issue that was preventing Kim Dokja from seeing his own attributes page, for one.
He then tells Dokja to ask any further questions to the intermediate dokkaebi who is still present, since he's not technically supposed to be there. Bihyung reminds Dokja to be careful as the intermediate dokkaebi overseeing the area has a grudge against Dokja and warns him that it will be tough, relating a probability assessment to a tax investigation.
The intermediate dokkaebi appears before them and apologizes, stating that the rewards were delayed due to some conflict.
A number of windows appear, gifting Dokja coins and the
The dokkaebi continues to speak, mentioning that there has been a change to the scenario due to the average level of incarnations not matching the current difficulty. Dokja gets a bad feeling as soon as he hears this, and with the snap of the dokkeabi's fingers, the time limit has been reduced to a mere 48 hours to complete the scenario. If he can't take over his target station within that time, everyone in their group will die.
Dokja curses out the dokkaebi in his head, knowing that he has to somehow claim Changsin station within the next two days, or else they're screwed.
"So you're part of the reason why the scenario was shortened," Yoo Joonghyuk muttered resentfully, shooting a glare at Kim Dokja.
"Sorry?" Kim Dokja genuinely wasn't sure what Yoo Joonghyuk wanted to hear, but considering that he was rewarded with a sharp glance, it probably wasn't an apology.
To be fair, it wasn't done intentionally, and it wasn't even entirely his fault! He did feel a bit bad, though. It had been awful enough for him to gather his last ten stations, but Yoo Joonghyuk only had two days to gather twenty. It was ridiculously impressive that he had managed it, even if just barely. The protagonist was so capable that Kim Dokja was almost afraid of him for it—but maybe fear wasn't quite the right word.
It was more like respect and admiration tinged with a healthy dose of something else that he couldn't quite explain. Still, it made his heart race and his palms feel sweaty, which was something he had only ever associated with fear before, so that was just what he was going to call it for his own sanity.
[a few constellations wonder about the fairness of the scenario change.]
Back at Chungmuro station, an injured Sangah looks relieved as their party walks back in. Heewon looks surprised at the destruction that surrounds them and quickly asks what happened. Minseob, noticing something on the tracks, stops and points with a horrified expression.
"T-that's…! Those are the Apostles….right?"
On the tracks, the Apostles' severed heads have been arranged neatly into a line, all looking towards the station platform, and almost resembling a much more gruesome version of a cat leaving its kill on its owner's doorstep. As Dokja glances over, Gilyoung flings himself into the older man's arms, hugging him around the waist.
Dokja grimaces while looking at the severed heads before questioning where Joonghyuk is. At that moment, another severed head comes tumbling down the tracks. When it rolls to a stop, it's revealed to be the head of the First Apostle. Dokja quickly guesses that this is Joonghyuk's handiwork, realizing that the man had chased down and killed the runners. Dokja is simultaneously impressed with Joonghyuk's prowess and annoyed that he won't be able to get information out of them.
The man himself strides confidently back to the station, sword drawn and coat flaring behind him in a manner befitting the protagonist he is. Joonghyuk glances up at the group gathered on the platform, eyes narrowed and expression unreadable.
Just like his on-screen counterpart, Lee Gilyoung hugged Kim Dokja tightly. Unlike the Lee Gilyoung on screen, though, he started hissing at Shin Yoosung when she tried to do the same on his other side.
"Get off! I was here first!"
"So what, bug boy? Ahjussi has two sides."
Kim Dokja sighed in exhaustion when they began to squabble until he placed an arm around each of them. All of a sudden, they both melted against his side and Kim Dokja genuinely wondered why they were so possessive of him in the first place.
He shot a glance over at Han Sooyoung, who was extremely quiet and was watching the screen with a worryingly blank expression. She knew full well what was about to happen, and it looked almost like she was closing herself off as best she could in preparation.
Knowing that there wasn't much he could do there, Kim Dokja turned his attention to the protagonist. His shoulders appeared to be less tense than earlier, which was probably a good thing. Yoo Joonghyuk was always so tense—he really needed to lighten up every once in a while. For an instant, when the Kim Dokja on the screen complimented Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja could have sworn that he saw the protagonist's eyes widen a fraction.
Was he really that surprised that Kim Dokja was impressed with him?
"Joonghyuk-ah, next time keep one of them alive, okay?" Kim Dokja teased, shooting a wry glance at the other man. Yoo Joonghyuk just shot him a dark look in return.
"I did," he said firmly, a frown on his face. "You were able to question her."
Well, that was technically true, even if only just because the First Apostle was an Avatar. It definitely wouldn't have worked if Han Sooyoung had actually been there and got murdered
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is fretting.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' tells the incarnation 'kim dokja' to acknowledge the efforts of the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk' to show off in front of him.]
And now Uriel was being delusional again. Yoo Joonghyuk's expression was complicated and mostly unreadable, but Kim Dokja didn't know him the best for nothing. Considering Yoo Joonghyuk's baseline state, and Uriel's nonsensical ramblings, the protagonist was probably just irritated.
All Kim Dokja could do was sigh and shake his head. That archangel really needed to learn how to read Yoo Joonghyuk better before she made any more ridiculous claims like that.
"So it was you! The one who messed up all my plans!" The severed head of the First Apostle yells, a slight smile visible on his face as he looks at them. Dokja's mouth drops open as he realizes that the First Apostle is somehow still alive despite being decapitated.
Suddenly, he has a flashback to when he had asked the two other men about how all the prophets grouped up so quickly as they were walking back to Chungmuro. Minseob had revealed that they were gathered by the First Apostle, but that it had weirded him once he realized that the man had the same conversation in multiple places at the same time. Behind him, Dokja had casually glanced over at Sungkook and demanded his pants, since he was still completely naked under the robe.
Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung groaned, remembering that moment clearly too.
"You really just stole his pants," Yoo Mia said in astonishment, gaping at the screen in shock.
Well, yeah. Was he just supposed to walk back into Chungmuro with only a flimsy robe to save his dignity?
Lee Jihye grinned. "Remember what I said about shame, ahjussi?"
And now it was his turn to groan and bury his face in his hands as he wallowed in his regret. "Will you ever let me live that down?"
Lee Jihye hummed thoughtfully for a moment before barking out a laugh. "Nah, I don't think so."
Well, fuck.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is laughing at the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
As Dokja observes the head, he's certain that this is the First Apostle that they had been talking about. He knows that skills that allow you to survive decapitation are rare, but he notices that the man's neck isn't even bleeding. Jumping onto the tracks to get closer and confirm his suspicions, Dokja listens as the First Apostle continues to speak, talking of Dokja's feats before demanding to know who he is. Dokja doesn't respond, and just asks the same in turn.
Ah. So he doesn't know who I am? The moment the scenarios began, he was able to appear in multiple places around Seoul to gather the renouncers, go through station barriers at will, and doesn't die or bleed even from being beheaded. This kind of guy claims to be the 'Reader of the end' for the revelations.
A figure appears on screen before splitting into 4 more, identical, figures.
'It's the [Avatar] skill,' Dokja realizes.
There are very few people who can use the [Avatar] skill in the entirety of TWSA. But all of them have a high possibility of being in some kind of creative work, or they've experienced dissociative or ego division due to excessive stress…
"Say…." Dokja starts, leaning down close to the head as he narrows his eyes. "Are you a 'writer'?"
[some constellations are impressed at seeing a rare skill.]
Lee Gilyoung frowned. "Are those like clones?"
Seeing as Han Sooyoung wasn't jumping to respond to anyone right now, Kim Dokja nodded in her stead. "In a sense, yeah."
"Huh," Lee Gilyoung said thoughtfully. "That's cool."
The skill itself was pretty cool, even if it did have some large drawbacks. Still, this was definitely an efficient way to use it.
"While I didn't appreciate anything you did, Han Sooyoung, I have to admit that you know how to use your skills well," Kim Dokja said. The woman glanced over at him for an instant, staring at him with a complicated yet blank expression before glancing back at the screen.
"It's not a big deal," she muttered. "You fucked everything up anyway."
At first it hadn't been intentional, but it had absolutely been on purpose later.
Then, Han Sooyoung returned to being frighteningly still as Yoo Sangah's glare only intensified. Kim Dokja couldn't even feel that much sympathy for her—she was just reaping what she sowed, in his opinion.