770 Episode 34 Sibling (1)

When I was young, I was an only child and begged my parents to give me a younger sibling.

Every time that happened, my parents would laugh or make a sad face as if they were in trouble, or they would say with a half-joking face, "Actually, you had a hidden older brother."

Looking back now, I wonder if that was some kind of metaphor.

My father added this with a somewhat solemn expression.

As expected, looking back, he was just saying that raising me alone would be difficult, but there was no way my young self could have understood that.

My father’s words sounded like a famous line from a boy’s cartoon. So, like an extra in a shonen's cartoon, I said, "Oh!"

And now, more than a dozen years later, I was once again thinking about my father’s famous line.

"Dokja-ssi!"

Even though I was called not by my name but by my brother's name, I felt strongly overwhelmed for a moment.

"Everyone stand back!"

The demons that had come were biting the students in a mess.

My colleagues were at the center of it all.

"Sein-ssi! Dansu ahjussi! This way! Avoid this way! Ilhoon-ssi! Seyeon-ssi!”

Killer King and Cha Yerin heard my voice and immediately joined the group.

"Kim Dokja, why did the exam suddenly start?"

"When did you tell me it started? Please follow me!"

There were over a hundred demons that flooded the entrance of the forest.

If you deal with them right away, you will be eaten without leaving a single bone behind.

"Aaaahhh!"

"Run! Run!"

Not only were the numbers large, but the rank of demons was also formidable.

At least grade 5.

Students who had lost limbs were running away from the feast of monsters that looked as strong as Viscount Demons.

I saw scared incarnations running into the school. They were the ones who gave up on the scenario due to the pressure of the demon species.

At the school, 'teachers' including Uriel, Waryong, and the mass production type producer are waiting.

Perhaps they will protect the students who ran away.

I could see Uriel watching from afar. It seemed like she wanted to come this way right away. But there is something that holds her back, and she will not be able to defy it.

I looked back at my companions.

"Let’s go into the forest."

Normally, there would have been a sound of panic, but none of the group members made a sound of pain.

Rather, they nodded as if they had been waiting.

Suddenly, an old memory came to mind.

Kyung Sein and Dansu ahjussi were whining because they couldn't catch a single groundhog, and Cha Yerin and Killer King were having a hard time fighting Guardians of the Darkness.

Boom!

The fist swung by Kyung Sein crushed the head of the grade 5 demon species that was charging at her.

Now that the restrictions on skill use had been lifted, the party members were running wild and beating up the demons to their heart's content.

From afar, Kyung Sein waved her hand.

"What are you doing? Come quickly, Dokja-ssi!"

If they want to live, they just have to go back to school. Nevertheless, no one in the group backed down.

"I will clear a path."

They have decided.

I also stood next to them and swung my sword.

The 'Unbreakable Faith' left by Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja shone brightly.

The [Way of the Wind] condensed at the tip of the sword swirled, and the blades of wind scattered in all directions.

Gyaaaaaaaaa!

In 『Infinite Prison Guard』, this 'demon flooding' incident is a kind of entry event. Once you break through the initial waves of demons and enter the forest, it is rare to deal with demons of that size until you encounter the great demons.

We soon broke through the demon troops and entered the forest.

As expected, the scenario content has been updated.

The eyes of the group members widened as they confirmed the clear conditions.

"This… isn’t right, is it?"

As soon as they saw the words '73rd Demon King', each member of the group began to imagine sinister thoughts in their own way.

The 73rd Demon King.

The '10th main scenario' that Kim Dokja and his companions faced. On the top floor of the Dark Castle, the party completed the scenario by killing Kim Dokja, who became the 73rd Demon King.

Killer King opened his mouth.

"Rather than one of us becoming the 73rd Demon King, it could be a scenario where we defeat the '73rd Demon King' who already exists. That was the original development in the Book of Revelation."

"Then that would be a relief…"

Is it really fortunate that such a development unfolds?

For a moment, I thought about the '73rd Demon King' who would be strong at the source of the forest. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to indulge in sentimentality for long.

"We need to split into teams."

"Here? It would be dangerous—"

"If we stick together, our survival rate will be high for a while. However, group action may be disadvantageous in this 'forest'."

Cha Yerin seemed to immediately understand what I was saying.

I sent a message to Cha Yerin through [group chat].

—Yerin-ssi, please move with the rest of the group. I have somewhere else to go.

—Is it because of item farming?

I nodded.

—Yes. Do you remember?

—I roughly know Ma Hyunsung’s exclusive farming route.

Treasures to fight against demons are buried in this forest. Some of them were buried by teachers, while others were used by previous students.

There are a total of 8 farming routes for items.

I was planning to choose route A, which was the most difficult of them all.

—Yerin, please take route B. Do you remember the route?

—Yes. I remember.

As expected, she is a person with the characteristic of being 'Literature Girl (S)'.

As long as I somehow collected the items that could be obtained from routes A and B, I had a chance of winning no matter what demon appeared.

In 『Infinite Prison Guard』, didn't Ma Hyunsung defeat the Great Demon in the same way?

Now, in my head, the 'Demon Forest Strategy' practiced by Ma Hyunsung was intact.

—But would you mind if I went alone?

—It's okay. It's your novel.

I was fortunate that Cha Yerin was a reader of 『Infinite Prison Guard』.

"I have a few items that I need to farm alone. Everyone else, please follow Seyeon-ssi. Let’s meet again at the checkpoint in an hour. Seyeon-ssi will give a detailed briefing."

The companions seemed to think I had some kind of clever idea, so they kept looking back and disappeared into the forest, following Cha Yerin.

Cha Yerin's B route is a relatively safe route among Ma Hyunsung's previous farming routes. If all four of them go together, they will be safe unless they encounter a marquis-level demon.

The problem is on my side.

I smiled bitterly and took out a cigarette of 'Mana Tobacco' from my pocket. I had stolen something that Yoo Joonghyuk had kept on the rooftop. As soon as the fire was lit, thick smoke rose.

I opened my mouth, staring at the slowly spreading smoke.

"Why don’t you stop and come out?"

Sending the party to route B wasn't just because of 'item farming'.

How much time had passed since I opened my mouth?

Something flew in as if it had been waiting for me from deep in the bush.

It was a bomb filled with 'poisonous fog'.

Push-shu-shu, accompanied by a sound, particles of pitch-black poisonous fog instantly surrounded the entire area.

"Catch him!"

Incarnations wearing masks popped out from all over the bushes.

A typical pattern of poisoning with poisonous fog and then attacking.

Squawk!

Five or six weapons flooded into the place where I was, but none of them could touch me.

Kim Kyungsik’s exclusive skill, [Smoke Man].

I used the cigarette smoke I had already smoked to escape outside the spray radius of the fog and hid myself among the bushes.

"What? Wasn’t he here a little while ago?"

The total number of incarnations that appeared was nine.

The panicked guys kept looking around.

Let’s take a look at who the guys chasing me are.

As soon as I activated [Character List], information about them quickly appeared before my eyes. Judging by their characteristics and potential, they were not very strong.

What they have in common is that they all belong to the same 'force'.

I've felt it since the poisonous fog pattern, but is it him again this time?

"Find it! He has 'Kim Dokja Fragments'!"

The purpose he was pursuing was as expected.

"Both Gu Seonah and Ye Hyunwoo collected them and became stronger. If we just eliminate that guy and collect the fragments, we can become as strong as the guys from Class A."

On the surface, this scenario represents the 'graduation exam' of 『Infinite Prison Guard』, but the inside story is a bit different.

The constellations of the Zodiac, readers from all over, and even the Recycling Center Director—know what the hidden purpose of this scenario is.

How many more readers will die this time?

At the constellation's command, students began wandering around looking for me. In the past, I would have run away, but things are different now.

I am the representative of the 'Demon King of Salvation'.

Now it was enough to fight against the Constellations of the Misreading Association.

"Is it this way?"

"Damn rats, the players…"

The problem is that the forces that came together are not one.

From the 'snake cutting off its tail' to the 'dog throwing itself into the flames'.

As students belonging to the rat, snake, and dog groups appeared, the nearby forest quickly became crowded.

"Find him! Find Kim Dokja!"

No matter how strong I am now, it wasn't easy to fight against that number.

Since there were no hidden items nearby anyway, I was wondering if I should retreat at this point—

Skag.

One student's head fell off.

The number of remaining graduates appeared in the hologram window in the air.

The number of survivors decreases in real time.

"W-Who are you—"

The scared students instinctively took up arms.

They swung them around. However, the weapon only split the air and could not cut anything.

Sugagak.

When a student's head fell again, the terrified students began to scatter.

"Ugh, wow! It’s him! It’s Kim Dokja!"

I didn't do it.

The student who cried out my name immediately lost his voice. It was so fast that I couldn't even see it properly.

As more than thirty students were slaughtered in an instant, the constellations' voices were heard in the air.

After a while, a demon species appeared through the blood-soaked bushes.

I couldn't believe it.

Just one demon slaughtered thirty incarnations in an instant? And the descendants of the <Zodiac>?

Despite the indignant voices of the constellations, the demon species was not intimidated at all. Instead, he just boredly dug his ears and muttered.

With that one word, the constellations in the air became quiet. And after a while.

Even the constellations of the Chinese zodiac are entities that need to take a step back.

I belatedly remembered the second floor of 'Zodiac Ball'.

I forgot about it for a while.

Besides the <Zodiac> guys, there are constellations that are interested in the 'Kim Dokja fragments'.

They are constellations that desire all the stories of this <Star Stream>.

The Gourmet Association.

Those damn gourmet experts took part in this scenario wearing the guise of 'advanced demons'.

While a high-level demon was licking the blood from his arm, another guy appeared.

The moment its gaze passed over the surrounding bushes, a shiver ran down my spine.

Are those things called 'high-level demons'?

This is ridiculous. Even with all my might, it was impossible to hunt down that one guy.

It wasn't even one.

Even though I thought I should run away right away, my body did not move easily. It wasn't out of fear. It was because I saw a weapon in the hands of a newly appeared high-level demon.

The guy who muttered that was holding a familiar looking spear in his hand.

It was Yoo Jonghyuk's main weapon in the 41st round.

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