Chapter 12

My body suddenly became heavy as I felt water entering my lungs . Then I was sucked in somewhere . I wasn’t torn apart because I fell with perfect timing . However, I couldn’t lose consciousness here . I had to stay awake . I needed to wait for a while . Somehow, I managed to curl up and hold my breath . 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds… I was barely breathing when my hands hit a tangible wall in the darkness .

“U-Uwek . ” I could barely breathe even after coughing up the river water several times . My level 10 physique saved me from being killed by hitting the water surface, but the large and small bruises all over my body were very painful . In order not to fall into a panic, I controlled my breathing and then turned on my smartphone . I was worried it might’ve broken in the fall, but fortunately, it powered on just fine . It was good that I’d spent a lot and bought a smartphone with waterproof capabilities .

The flashlight turned on, and the surrounding scenery entered my eyes . There were huge walls with concrete by-products floating by . The insides of an ichthyosaur’s stomach were more disgusting than I’d imagined .

“Dammit . ”

Yoo Jonghyuk’s expression as he released his grip on me without hesitation and then got off the bridge was vivid in my mind . I’d expected it, but it was still more shocking than I thought it’d be .

…If I wanted to be his companion, I had to survive . It wasn’t that I didn’t understand . The weight of this word, ‘companion’, was too great for Yoo Jonghyuk . Since his failure in the first round of regression, Yoo Jonghyuk had never made a real ‘companion . ‘ It was rare for humans to easily follow the growth of a regressor . As a result, he had solved everything alone, was revered as a savior, and was naturally lonely . To Yoo Jonghyuk, ‘humans’ were only subordinates or enemies .

Thus, this was a test . If I wanted to be in an equal position with him, I had to solve this much alone .

…Well, this was when I looked at it from Yoo Jonghyuk’s viewpoint .

“A companion like you… Crazy psychopath . ”

I barely doggy paddled to a floating styrofoam panel and raised my body onto it . Thanks to the warmth of the stomach, I wasn’t cold . However, the problem was what was to happen from now on . I closed my eyes and played the message log I’d heard .

[You have failed to clear the scenario . ]

[Paid settlement will begin . ]

[100 coins have been reduced for the channel usage fee . ]

[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ has nodded at your exciting remarks . ]

[100 coins have been sponsored . ]

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ nods at your choice . ]

[100 coins have been sponsored . ]

[The constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’ is disappointed in your rash remarks . ]

There were quite a few messages . Additionally, a few exposed constellations sponsored me . Maybe it was due to the final conversation I had with Yoo Jonghyuk . I felt a little down as I read through the messages of the constellations one by one and collected the coins . If I had picked one of these constellations in the first Sponsor Selection, this might not have happened . However, I had no regret in my choice .

After encountering Yoo Jonghyuk directly, I was certain . The Great Sage the Equal of Heaven might be a sponsor of the highest quality but he wasn’t enough . I needed more than just ‘sponsorship’ if I wanted to confront Yoo Jonghyuk . That was what I would gain from here .

The walls of the stomach growled, and small waves rose inside . The sea commander seemed to be moving somewhere . I turned on my smartphone and calculated the time . According to Ways of Survival, the ichthyosaur started to secrete stomach acid around three hours after ingesting food . In other words, I didn’t have much time left .

[Haha, it is sad that things turned out like this . It was very interesting . ] There was a sound effect before the dokkaebi’s voice rang out .

“…Dokkaebi?”

[Yes, that’s right . You don’t seem panicked at all?]

“I knew you would come . ”

[Hrmm . It sounds like you were waiting for me?]

“Of course, I have been waiting . ”

A light turned on, and the dokkaebi appeared . I couldn’t tell for sure from his expression alone, but this guy was clearly interested . If I was pushed here, I wouldn’t be able to eat my meal . So, I deliberately spoke calmly, “Are you doing to take coins from me?”

[…Coins?]

“You have to take coins in exchange for me failing the scenario . ”

[Hmm, not your life?]

“If it was my life, you would have written ‘death’ in the failure results column, not three question marks . Doesn’t this mean there is room to negotiate?”

[…Hahaha . How interesting . ]

In fact, there was a loophole in my words . The scenario message was ‘Failure: ???’ . This literally meant that the penalty of failure was unknown . It was just my assumption that it was in exchange for coins . Nevertheless, there was a reason why I was so certain .

“Am I wrong?”

It was because I already knew about this scenario .

The dokkaebi hesitated for a moment before nodding . [You are right . It’s amazing that you could determine this point with such a clue… As expected from someone who is attraction the constellations’ attention . ] The dokkaebi’s tone was filled with sincere admiration . [As you said, you can survive this sub-scenario if you pay coins, even if you fail . ]

“How much?”

[Pay 5,100 coins . Then I will let you live . ]

I looked at how many coins I currently possessed .

[Coins Possessed: 5,100 C]

I couldn’t help smiling . This brat was messing around right now .

“That is too much . ”

[Haha, then won’t you die? It is up to me to accept the coins or not . If you do something wrong, I can just end it here . ]

“Then kill me . ”

[…Huh?]

“Kill me . ”

[······ . ]

“You can’t kill me?”

The dokkaebi didn’t move . This was a natural reaction . After all, he was having a lot of fun with me right now . Furthermore, he wouldn’t have come down here to see me if he had been planning to kill me . For this guy, I had to survive here or at least to die miserably .

[Haha . You are really making me angry . Look, now…] The dokkaebi’s flat-shaped eyebrows wriggled furiously . It was time to stop the taunts and get to the main point .

“Low-grade dokkaebi, Bihyung . How are the activities of a streamer?”

If there was a crack in the face, it would look exactly like this . Dokkaebi Bihyung showed confusion for the first time .

[H-How do you know my name?]

“You haven’t been enjoying broadcasting lately, right? The constellations are too stingy . ”

[W-Who the hell are you? How does a human…] Bihyung’s horns shook . It was a natural reaction . After all, an ordinary human couldn’t know about the Star Stream system . However, I wasn’t an ordinary human .

[A few constellations have doubts about your existence . ]

[The constellation Secretive Plotter’s eyes are shining at your plan . ]

From now on, it wasn’t a story for the constellations . I mouthed to Bihyung, “How about we talk after you close the channel?”

Bihyung was worried and closed the channel .

[#BI-7623 channel is closed . ]

Once the constellations left the channel, Bihyung showed his true colors .

[Feel free to speak . You… How can an ordinary human know about the Star Stream broadcasting?]

“That isn’t important . ”

[Huh?]

“Bihyung, do you want to be ‘king of the dokkaebis’?”

[What now―]

“Don’t you wish to be the best streamer in the network, surpassing Dokgak and Gildal?” Bihyung’s complexion was changing . “Dokkaebi Bihyung, sign a contract with me . Then I will make you the king of the dokkaebis . ”