931 Episode 54 8 years ago (2)

Five months after the monsters of the 'Fear Realm' appeared in the scenarios.

"We've finally come this far."

Killer King and the readers finally arrived in the 'First Murim'. This was before the 'First Murim' was reborn as the 'New Murim District'.

"The injured, come this way!"

"If you need the 'Essence of the Elaine Forest', follow that man!"

"Okay, the sick, this way!"

The Inho faction at Geumho Station. And even the followers of the 'Beggar Sect' near Seoul Station.

The legacies of Kim Dokja's 41st round were gradually gathering in the higher-level scenarios.

There, the group also encountered a familiar constellation.

"Cheongae-nim!"

Cheongae, the Dragon Head Ark of the Beggar Sect. He had been hiding in Murim after suffering a major blow when the Fear Realm appeared, and he had welcomed the group.

"I see. So you're his colleagues?"

Cheongae told the group about what had happened.

How Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk had come to Murim.

How Yoo Joonghyuk, now a child, had eaten Murim dumplings.

How Kim Dokja, after causing numerous troubles, had entered the Fear Realm to protect the First Murim.

Someone was moved to tears upon hearing this story.

"As expected, Dokja-ssi was here. The real 'Kim Dokja'."

Kyung Sein and her group were elated.

Here was the Kim Dokja they remembered.

They had come to the right place.

"So this is the Breaking the Sky Swordsman."

Finally arriving at the manor where Breaking the Sky Swordsman resided, the group was overcome with emotion.

They might soon meet Breaking the Sky Swordsman. Perhaps with her help, they could track Kim Dokja's whereabouts.

"Unfortunately, the lord is out of town."

The one who greeted them was the former head of the Namgung family, Jewanggeom Namgung Jincheon. After the 'Fear Realm Incident', his energy had deteriorated significantly, so he resigned from his position as head of the family. He had been living in the Breaking the Sky manor, caring for his son, who hadn't awakened for months.

"Where is Breaking the Sky Sword Master?"

"She entered the Fear Realm with her disciple. Frankly, I'm surprised she had allies other than the Supreme King."

Perhaps due to the shock of the 'Fear Realm Incident', Namgung Jincheon seemed to struggle even with brief conversations with his companions.

Getting additional information from him seemed difficult, and the group's pursuit ran into trouble.

"This is where our plan goes awry."

"If we can't get help from the Transcendents... what should we do?"

"Is there any way for us to enter the Fear Realm alone?"

"Even if we find a way, if we go in alone, we're certain to be annihilated."

Despite their arduous efforts, they couldn't find a way into the closed 'Fear Realm', and so naturally, they settled in the 'First Murim World'.

They tended to the injured martial artists, and occasionally fended off the 'Nameless Things' that crossed dimensions.

"Damn, those guys are out here too."

Perhaps because they were near the 'Terror Realm', the 'Nameless Things' were quite numerous.

But the group wasn't ordinary anymore. After successfully completing the 'Recycling Center', they had each trained themselves in their own ways.

"Ye Hyu-woo! Formation X!"

Under Killer King's command, Ye Hyunwoo's [Armed Fortress] activated.

"Invincible Castle Master Tech Tree. Stage 10 activated."

As the Armed Fortress revealed itself according to the contract with the 'Defense Master', the 'Nameless Things' that had torn through the dimension quickly collapsed into a hive.

"Yerin-ah!"

Cha Yerin followed suit, dispatching the larger entities with a dazzling performance.

"Wow, where did they come from—"

A force so powerful that even the Murim people were amazed.

Even after entering the 'First Murim World', the group continued their training. They mastered new martial arts and explored hidden pieces, the kind Kim Dokja would have found.

This happened when Killer King and Ye Hyunwoo were away to handle Scenario 32 on the Korean Peninsula.

"What is that?"

'It' suddenly appeared in the vast Murim sky. The sky changed color, and the Murim people screamed and bled.

A gigantic cephalopod, reminiscent of the 'Dream Eater', wriggled its legs as it crossed the 'Great Hall'.

Kyung Sein also knew that such monsters often appeared near the Fear Realm.

Cheongae had clearly warned her.

But Kyung Sein trusted herself and her companions. With the group they had now, they could face any enemy. They weren't weak anymore—that's what she clearly thought.

She had thought.

When she came to her senses, Kyung Sein found herself unconsciously taking a step back. Her legs trembled, and a cold sweat ran down her spine. Her mouth—

"IwaswrongIwaswrongIwaswrongIwaswrongIwaswrong—"

She kept repeating the same words.

She looked around and saw that Lee Dansu was in a similar state. Lee Dansu, kneeling and coughing up blood, stammered with a pale face.

"Se, Sein-ssi."

Amidst all this, there was one comrade who remained calm and burning with fighting spirit.

Cha Yerin stumbled out of the manor, blood pouring from her mouth.

"No! Yerin-ssi!"

Cha Yerin had suffered internal injuries from a previous scenario that even the 'Essence of the Elaine Forest' could not heal.

"You can't move yet!"

According to the divine prescription, the wound could only be healed with a 'Sacred Oil' item.

Sacred Oil is a rare item not available in lower-level scenarios.

Killer King, Ye Hyunwoo, and Ji Eunyu were all traveling between different scenarios, executing the constellations' 'personal scenarios', all to obtain the Sacred Oil that would save her.

"It's okay."

Yet, Cha Yerin had revealed herself outside the manor to protect her companions.

"Both Sein-ssi and Dansu ahjussi were injured, right?"

Kyung Sein and Lee Dansu were also seriously injured in the previous scenario. While their injuries weren't as severe as Cha Yerin's, their combat capabilities were significantly impaired, making them equally unable to fight.

"Please take care of my back."

Kyung Sein knew perfectly well when she would make that face, her tone surprisingly calm and her expression serene.

Kyung Sein screamed as she watched Cha Yerin leap into the sky, her fists clasped in both hands.

What if Killer King, or Ye Hyunwoo, had been there? Or Ji Eunyu, who was exploring a different scenario area, disagreeing with the group's cautious approach?

No.

Kyung Sein knew. No matter which of them was present, a monster like that couldn't be stopped. The only one who can protect the group from that monster—

The giant cephalopod's legs twitched, then struck Cha Yerin's incarnation body with a loud noise. The sound of something exploding was heard, and Kyung Sein sank to the ground.

A warm yet sharp wind.

Kyung Sein knew what that wind was.

When she raised her head, she saw the legs of an Outer God pouring out stories from the sky.

A terrible scream. Then someone stood down in front of her while holding the fainted Cha Yerin in their arms.

"Everyone, wake up. Are you just going to collapse in a place like this?"

It was the time she heard that voice. Nevertheless, the moment she heard the voice, she got goosebumps. Because that voice was the voice that Kyung Sein had imagined countless times while listening to a certain story.

"I'll tell you how to attack from now on."

A white coat fluttering in the wind.

Giving a glimpse of that familiar back, Kyung Sein rose from her seat as if possessed.

Someone grabbed her shoulder.

"Kyung Sein."

It was Killer King.

Kyung Sein glanced back and forth between Killer King and the man in front of her, saying,

"Killer King-ssi, could that man—"

She wanted to ask. But even without asking, Kyung Sein had a vague idea of ​​who he was.

As if to confirm this, Killer King nodded with a blank expression and muttered,

"The protagonist has returned."

When Kim Dokja first appeared, Kyung Sein didn't believe it.

Even after defeating the Outer God, 'Eight-Forked Wandering', with Kim Dokja's help, Kyung Sein still couldn't trust him.

"Now? That doesn't make sense. He can't be the real Kim Dokja."

Because he said he was 'Kim Dokja'.

"No matter how similar he is to Kim Dokja, he's not that person. Everyone knows that."

At least in this world, the 'Kim Dokja' she knew was someone else.

A person who always smiled with narrowed eyes. A person whose tousled blond hair flowed in the wind, a person who sacrificed himself for the group as if he had several lives left.

A person who always seemed to be looking toward a distant ending unknown to them. A person who, even though right next to them, seemed to exist beyond a thick wall.

She came all this way to save him, to meet him again.

But here, she met another Kim Dokja.

A face that seemed to be a product of the very word 'Kim Dokja'. A person who appeared with a sorrowful smile, cleared the scenario, and rescued the group.

The moment Kyung Sein saw him, she felt an inexplicable sense of rejection.

That person wasn't Kim Dokja.

"Min Jiwon... No, if Ji Eunyu-ssi was here, she would definitely—"

"Kyung Sein, he's a help to us."

Killer King added in a calm voice.

"Since his appearance, the stagnant scenario sections that had been blocked have begun to clear up."

"I know that. But—"

"That guy is Kim Dokja."

Kyung Sein opened her lips in confusion, watching Killer King calmly pronounce the name 'Kim Dokja'.

"How… Can you say that?"

Kyung Sein, though she rarely showed her emotions, deeply trusted Killer King. It wasn't just because Killer King had read the main story more than anyone else in the group.

Killer King wasn't just someone who read a lot, but someone who felt a love for this story more than anyone else.

He endured life by reading and rereading a single story. In a way, he was a man who infinitely resembled Kim Dokja.

With someone like that, she thought he would naturally recognize the 'real Kim Dokja'. She believed he wouldn't deny the 'Kim Dokja' who had been with them.

"Of all people, how could Killer King—"

Killer King's face darkened. For a moment, information flooded through Kyung Sein's mind.

A thought occurred to her.

Killer King—Cha Sungwoo—was in a position where he absolutely had to save his younger sister, Cha Yerin. In that situation, regardless of whether that 'Kim Dokja' was real, he would have no choice but to protect him.

Kyung Sein, who had turned her head, spoke again.

"Dansu ahjussi, you too, say something."

At that, Lee Dansu, who had been silently looking down at the floor, raised his head.

"Sein-yang, I believe Inho-ssi is 'Kim Dokja'."

"Right? After all, the real Kim Dokja—"

Kyung Sein's expression brightened.

As expected, Dansu ahjussi was different. He knew who the 'real Kim Dokja' was.

"But that man is definitely 'Kim Dokja'."

"Huh?"

Following Killer King, now Lee Dansu.

Kyung Sein's lips trembled.

She was angry. Shouldn't he have not said something like that to them, let alone anyone else?

But Lee Dansu's expression, raised, was unusually strange.

"Sein-yang, have you ever thought about that?"

Lee Dansu, who always had a pleasant smile, asked in a strangely gloomy voice.

"The Inho-ssi we knew... did he really want to become 'Kim Dokja'?"

For a moment, her heart sank.

"We've cleared every scenario relying on Inho-ssi. We've nearly died countless times, and we've come this far relying on his life."

It was a question she'd never considered.

Did the 'Kim Dokja' she knew really want to become 'Kim Dokja'?

"That friend... we call him 'Kim Dokja' as we please."

Now the group knew.

He resembled Kim Dokja, and like him, he saved them, but his real name wasn't 'Kim Dokja'.

"Perhaps we've been burdening Inho-ssi too much up until now."

A faint breeze blew from outside the manor. A white-faced man they knew well was walking across the manor. His figure, illuminated by the dazzling sunlight, looked like the protagonist, tearing through the pure white space and striding towards them.

Lee Dansu muttered in a feeble voice.

"Perhaps it's time to stop tormenting Inho-ssi."

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