682 Episode 22 Name (4)

After saying the first word, I suddenly became nervous.

Kim Dokja gave a very rigid first greeting even though he was not my boss.

Maybe?

No. Still, it's a hint.

It's a constellation.

"Um, hey, nice to meet you."

Without realizing it, another polite word came out.

Anyway, since this is my first time seeing him in real life, it would be right to be respectful.

But is this really my first time seeing him?

Come to think of it, I met Kim Dokja a few times in the 'Snowfield'.

What was Kim Dokja like? Did Kim Dokja also say 'hello'?

I thought about Kim Dokja’s face, who talked to me with a sad face in the snowy field.

—Oh yeah. Nice to meet you.

The moment I heard the first words, the image of Kim Dokja changed in my head.

His eyes, which were filled with faint sadness, became strangely lazy, and his friendly expression changed to that of an office worker exhausted from work.

—But is it okay if I contact you through this? 'Indirect messages' cost too much coin.

What?

"Oh, yes. Of course."

Even though I was thinking that, I ended up answering like that.

—Thank you.

Then there was silence for a moment again.

I waited.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

I wondered what kind of situation this was.

"Hey……?"

—Uh, wait a minute. What are you doing now?

It seems like he's somewhat cold-hearted, or his mind is preoccupied with something else.

What is certain is that he is different from the Kim Dokja I know.

"I guess you are doing something important...."

No. Come to think of it, 'Kim Dokja' might be busy.

Kim Dokja is an observer of this world.

Because if he wants to maintain this world, he'll have to be watching this world all the time.

Therefore-

—I’m looking at Ways of Survival.

Yes, Ways of Survival.

—This is a fun part.

Ways of Survival... TWSA?

—Now Yoo Jonghyuk…

?

—He had a fight with Poseidon...

For a moment, I thought I had read it wrong.

I narrowed my eyes even more and concentrated, reading the message that Kim Dokja had sent me.

—I was really surprised. Jonghyuk, this kid has already grown so much. So, in this round...

I read and reread.

So, Kim Dokja's message was roughly as follows.

Yoo Jonghyuk, that bastard. In the early rounds , the guy who was so scared of the constellations and ran away has already grown so much.

…

Was it because he got spanked so many times by Pacheon Swordsman in the last round that he turned around, or was he hit in the back of the head again by Anna Croft and his head got a little weird?

…

So, the child who has just become a Transcendental Constellation is finally ready to take on Poseidon, a mythical constellation. What should I say about this? Should I say that his chest feels magnificent?

…

I felt like I was losing my mind.

Who am I talking to now?

—Anyway, that’s why Yoo Jonghyuk is in crisis…

It was me, not Yoo Jonghyuk, who was in crisis.

I know that Kim Dokja likes TWSA. But no matter how much Kim Dokja does, this is not the case. He couldn't have lost his social skills to this extent—no.

Since he is 'Kim Dokja', isn’t this correct?

I decided to calm down and revise my conversation strategy.

The opponent is Kim Dokja.

He is crazy about Ways of Survival.

Then.

"Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World is fun."

—Do you know TWSA?

"Sure."

—Oh?

It worked.

—You know something, huh? Anyway, when I wrote a recommendation like that, no one read it...

All constellations are crazy about 'stories'.

After loving a story for a long time, the stars finally became the story itself.

Perhaps the story of Kim Dokja becoming a constellation will be destroyed.

—What is your favorite episode of Ways of Survival.

"The episode where Yoo Jonghyuk dies."

—Yoo Jonghyuk dies all the time.

"That’s the fun part. Even though he always dies, he always decides to start living again."

Actually, I have never properly read 'Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World'.

That's right, although I know 'Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint', I don't know the contents of 'Ways of Survival'.

Because I never wrote it.

Therefore, my answer just now was not from 'Ways of Survival', but the crudest and slyest reply that a person who knows Yoo Jonghyuk could give.

—Well, that makes sense.

"Yes?"

—But he wasn't always so strong.

You don't know if you haven't read 'Ways of Survival'. I was silent for a moment and then asked bluntly.

"…Do you find it fun to tease me?"

It seemed like a mischievous laugh could be heard from somewhere.

It was a bit of a sigh, but it seemed like he was ready to start a full-fledged conversation.

"Are you aware that this is our first encounter as constellation and incarnation?"

—Um, well.

"But from the first greeting, do you start talking about Ways of Survival? We introduce each other and say simple first names. That’s the normal, social way of communicating."

—It's social... It's been a while since I heard someone say that.

I felt a strange sense of longing in his bitter tone.

Is he thinking of someone?

If you think about it, it was right after the apocalypse began that Kim Dokja became a social person.

—Good. Well then, let me introduce myself first.

As if stretching, Kim Dokja introduced himself.

—I am the 'Demon King of Salvation'.

A simple and clear introduction.

The Demon King of Salvation.

That was the epithet of someone called 'Kim Dokja'.

"I am…"

—Now Cheon Inho. Your real name is Lee Hakhyun. A person from another world line possessing someone.

"You know very well."

I said in a shaky voice.

But. It's strange that he doesn't know, since he’s probably been watching me all along.

"Then I guess you know what the current situation is."

-What is the situation now?

"You were watching. No, we met and talked in a dream last time. Have you forgotten?"

—Dream? Isn’t this my first time talking to you?

I paused. As expected, this 'Kim Dokja' who spoke to me was not the Kim Dokja I met in 'Snowfield'.

Then who is 'Kim Dokja'?

And this 'Kim Dokja' I am talking to is someone else,

"Then, Kim Dokja, who talked to me in the 'Snowfield'…"

—What does that person look like?

"He just looks like Kim Dokja."

—There must be an atmosphere or something like that.

"I guess I should say he feels a bit sad."

—He’s sad... Is it the second child? Or not…

Second?

—Anyway, he's not me. It's my first time meeting you, and honestly, I'm not that interested in you.

Yes. You are so cold-hearted.

—Your story is honestly not interesting.

It's not fun.

I was a little taken aback because I never expected to hear such words from Kim Dokja.

—It is too heavy and dark. As for your actions and judgments, it feels like something that befits the main character is missing.

"Well, I—"

I wanted to protest.

It's natural because I'm not the main character.

But am I qualified to say that now?

Even though I have no complete memories of my past life, I am here now because of my past life.

I came here only because I wanted to have my own story and find out who I was.

What remains is that I have the right to say such things on such a topic.

Do I?

—If you drag along the stories attached to you like shackles, one day you will be weighed down by those stories. You’re the youngest.

After reading the message in a daze, I suddenly looked up.

"What did you just say?"

—You’re going to die from being crushed by stories.

"Not that, what you said after."

The youngest.

Apparently he called me that.

-Ah.

The Demon King of Salvation spoke in a bored tone, as if he were counting the numbers of rounds of 'Ways of Survival'.

—That’s because you are the 'last Kim Dokja'.

From the moment I found out I was part of Kim Dokja, I had an idea.

"Perhaps there is more than one Kim Dokja in this world."

If you think about it, it wasn't an impossible story.

I am the reincarnation of 49% Kim Dokja.

If so, other Kim Dokjas also exist in a similar form.

There is a good possibility that it can be done.

And perhaps one of those 'Kim Dokjas' is ripping me off right now.

—Hey, just give me 500 coins.

"No."

—If you just pay 500 more coins, I can switch to voice chat. It's inconvenient to send and receive messages through messages, so hurry up.

I saw that my coins were being extorted. It occurred to me that I may have been mistaken about Kim Dokja all this time.

Wasn’t Kim Dokja originally a bad guy?

"So you are the 'first'?"

—Yes.

The clear voice of Kim Dokja echoed in my head. Right. It's definitely the voice of Kim Dokja that I imagined.

—You called me.

"Who I called is 'Kim Dokja'."

I miss Kim Dokja in the snowfield.

Where did the kind and handsome Kim Dokja go, and why did a gangster appear wearing Kim Dokja's mask?

—No. You called the 'Demon King of Salvation'.

Yes, that's right. What's the difference?

—You don't know what that means?

There was a memory that came to mind at that moment.

At the time when I was fighting with the god of the other world, 'the founder of the absolute throne', I called Kim Dokja for a sponsorship contract.

To be precise, I called 'Kim Dokja’s modifier'.

As far as I know, Kim Dokja has a total of four names.

And the only one that responded to me was the Demon King of Salvation in front of me.

"Wait a minute, then what you mean by 'first' is..."

—That's right. 'The order in which the modifiers were created'.

Kim Dokja's first modifier is the 'Demon King of Salvation'.

He is a being who was reborn as a constellation by having the story of 'King of a Kingless World' as his birth story and obtaining the story of 'Demon King of Salvation' on the last floor of the Dark Castle.

The story that made up him began to become visible. Little by little, I began to guess his identity.

"So, 'Kim Dokja' is divided by modifiers?"

—Well, excluding the small fragments, I guess the big chunk was broken up like that. I am the first among them.

Seeing that he put a lot of emphasis on being the firstborn, it seemed like he was quite proud of it.

Anyway, it was a disappointing situation for me.

"Then you are not 'Kim Dokja'."

If this Kim Dokja is the 'Demon King of Salvation', there is a high probability that he only has memories related to the story of the 'Demon King of Salvation'.

According to his self-introduction, he is not Kim Dokja but the 'Demon King of Salvation'.

—It's not? Aren’t Kim Dokja?

"You are the Demon King of Salvation."

— Kim Dokja, the 'Demon King of Salvation'. If I don't have all the stories related to Kim Dokja, does that mean I’m not Kim Dokja?

"Not really."

—I am Kim Dokja. If I'm not Kim Dokja, who on earth is Kim Dokja?

Who is it?

I thought I was jealous of that confidence.

Perhaps what makes Kim Dokja Kim Dokja is not Kim Dokja's memories but his attitude.

—By the way, I didn’t know you would call me. Should I say I'm lucky or unlucky?

"What does it mean?"

—This isn't the first time I've been involved in a 'sponsorship contract' with you.

This time too, a memory came to mind.

When the 41st round had just begun and the first scenario named 'Proof of Value' was over, I found a rather unusual modifier in the 'sponsorship list'.

"Surely that was you?"

The only three question marks that came up on the list of hints.

As expected, it seems Kim Dokja was right.

—To be exact, it was me and other Kim Dokjas.

Other Kim Dokjas?

—There was no separation back then.

Kim Dokja grumbled slightly and continued.

—Anyway, what went wrong then? In the process of contacting you, a separation occurred. I also left at that time.

In other words, at the beginning of this round, Kim Dokja was not several, but one.

"Why on earth did that happen? Who made you-"

—I don't know. Because I don’t have detailed memories of that time.

Anyway, he was torn apart and now exists as the 'Demon King of Salvation'.

Kim Dokja yawned lightly as if it was no big deal and continued.

—By the way, you are the youngest. Isn’t there a reason you called me?

The reason for calling Kim Dokja.

"Yes, there is."

But when I tried to open my mouth, no words came out.

What should I ask first?

Should I ask for advice on how and what I should do from now on to reach the end of the scenarios?

Should I ask why the 41st round started and if he knows anything about Han Sooyoung’s whereabouts?

No. Maybe what I really want to ask is-

—It seems like you have all the frustrating aspects of 'Kim Dokja'.

Hearing those words not from anyone else but from Kim Dokja makes me feel like I'm losing confidence.

Perhaps Kim Dokja didn't like the sight of me like that.

I sighed.

—Ugh, yeah. First, let’s look at it from the beginning. What are your specifications? What are your overall abilities? What are your characteristics? There are no people around to listen, so you can speak comfortably.

"That is…"

The answer came out of nowhere to a sudden barrage of questions.

What are your overall abilities and what characteristics do you have...

"I don’t know all the characteristics. I also can't see my Attributes’ Window. Ah, I recently acquired the trait called [Circulatory Retardation], but-"

—What skills can you use?

"Not that many. With [Sentence Strengthening], [Incite]..."

Kim Dokja listened to my story in silence. Perhaps I was overwhelmed by his calmness, but before I knew it, I was continuing the conversation in a calm voice.

"And..."

As I continued to talk, my mind cleared up little by little.

It felt like the time I had crossed into this world and lived as 'Cheon Inho' unfolded clearly before my eyes.

—What are your items?

"Your main item is this bracelet. It's an item called 'Thoughts of Almost Everything', and it can be transformed into a weapon of your choice using the mimicry function.

—What about the stories?

"I have two."

—What?

I recited two stories I had.

One was obtained by defeating the 'God of Another World' at Seoul Station called 'Recorder of things that will disappear'.

And the second was 'tenacious martial arts master' received from the Ark of the Beggar Sect.

"There will be one more soon. You have dealt with a fairly high-ranking god from another world. Even if it isn’t mythical, you will receive a 'semi-mythical grade' story."

Once again, I thought that these were not bad specs.

In the seventh scenario, there are already three stories.

Even though I was unconscious for 45 days, this is enough.

It's an achievement.

Maybe I was looking at the situation too pessimistically.

Actually, Kim Dokja's voice wasn't that bad.

—Well, that's about it for the seventh scenario.

Kim Dokja's signature smile flashed across my eyes.

I felt like an aspiring writer whose work was being appreciated for the first time.

How does my sponsor, who loves stories more than anyone else, evaluate the time I have lived?

—Are you by any chance an 'Immortal King'?

"I am not."

In this round, the 'Immortal King' was the characteristic of Lee Dansu.

—What about 'Eight Lives'?

"I haven’t even been near Peace Land."

'Eight Lives' was an attribute that could be obtained by defeating Yamata no Orochi in Peace Land.

—Have you signed a resurrection contract with <Eden>?

"Is it possible that such a large contract would be possible at such an early stage?"

—Okay. I didn't ask because I was expecting it either.

"Then why did you ask?"

Actually, why did he ask? There was no need to ask why.

—I thought I was going to fall asleep soon.

That was the 'Demon King of Salvation'’s first evaluation of me, Lee Hakhyun.