Chapter 257

“Things have been roughly sorted out . ”

I sighed with relief as I looked at Yoo Jonghyuk through the screen of the channel . I was anxious about the bureau arriving but fortunately, Yoo Jonghyuk was faster . It was a good choice to convey a message to Uriel through Jang Hayoung .

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is smiling brightly . ]

It was Uriel who took Yoo Jonghyuk to that place . Yoo Jonghyuk was angry with me over the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint incident so I decided that Uriel’s words would have more influence on Yoo Jonghyuk .

Jang Hayoung watched Bihyung on the screen and muttered, “It is the first time I’ve seen a dokkaebi so helpless . ”

“The racial stories are intertwined . In order to deal with a wenny person, a great dokkaebi or at least four dokkaebis must appear . ”

“…You know it very well? Aileen said that everything about the dokkaebis and wenny people was covered in a veil . ”

“This is basic information among the constellations . ”

Jang Hayoung stared at me with strangely respectful eyes after hearing my words . Of course, not all constellations knew this information . The screen showed a short close-up of Biyoo and Yoo Jonghyuk holding her .

「 I will get revenge for you . 」

「 Goodbye, Captain . 」

「 Good job . 」

「 I’ll leave it to you . 」

「 Rest . 」

The sentences that only I could see were passing through my head . Now these words had gone to the place they were meant to . I didn’t know much about it but one thing was certain .

At least now they understood each other without words . The things I couldn’t read had definitely touched them . I didn’t know why but I felt lonely thinking about it .

“…Kim Dokja?” Jang Hayoung was staring at me .

I scratched my head and quickly opened my mouth . “In any case, Yoo Jonghyuk will do it somehow . This side must be ready…”

…Shit . Already? Jang Hayoung and I looked out the window of the office at the same time . Clouds of sand were gathering beyond the walls of the industrial complex . There was a commotion among the citizens . I could see Mark and the other lawmakers calming them down .

[Oh, there are some hot-tempered constellations . There are still 48 hours until the Demon King Selection . ]

The familiar voice of a dokkaebi was heard in the air . High above the industrial complex, Dokgak stared at me and laughed .

[I was originally thinking the beginning should be more boring…]

He was obviously smiling but his eyes were full of resentment against me . No matter how much he disliked me, he couldn’t start his own game within the Demon King Selection story .

[This time, it isn’t bad to start early . ]

…What?

[A new sub scenario has been acquired!]

[The Sub Scenario―’Skirmish’ has started!]

I saw the emerging window and noticed how things were progressing . A sub scenario . In the absence of Biyoo and Bihyung, this jerk…

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[Sub Scenario – Skirmish]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: ???

Clear Conditions: Protect the ‘Story Core’ of the industrial complex for a limited amount of time . Or steal it .

Time Limit: 48 hours .

Compensation: Attacking side― qualification for the Demon King Selection

Defending side―200,000 coins, ???

Failure: ―

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I frowned . It might be a sub scenario but opening a scenario in this way was clearly out of the ordinary .

[Some constellations are dissatisfied with the unfair process of Dokgak!]

[Some constellations are requesting a ‘probability conformity screening!]

Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one to think so .

[Ahh, I knew some of you would think so . Certainly, there is some unfairness . The number of defenders and attackers aren’t equal . ]

Dokgak was sneering at me . It was a smile that told me I could handle such a scenario . It was an obvious provocation .

[Thus, I have slightly adjusted the difficulty level . As far as this sub scenario is concerned, the individual constellations of the attackers and defenders will have equal levels . ]

The moment Dokgak spoke, a faint aura surrounded my incarnation bodies .

[The stats of everyone participating in the scenario is fixed . ]

I slowly clenched my fists before opening them . The attacking constellations would’ve received the same penalty . I couldn’t see whether my stats had fallen or increased .

[Some constellations are still protesting that this scenario is against the probability!]

Dokgak had a troubled expression .

[Ahh, don’t say that . This is really… you have all become weak . Have you already forgotten that scenarios are fun because they’re difficult?]

The channel became a terrible mess with indirect messages supporting and opposing it . In the meantime, Dokgak pushed ahead with the scenario .

[You are currently the owner of the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex . ]

[You are playing the role of ‘defender’ in the Skirmish . ]

[You must protect the Story Core from the attacking constellations . ]

I smiled bitterly as I faced Dokgak . Yes, this was what he came up with .

“Kim Dokja, how…”

Rather than answering Jang Hayoung, I opened the wide and yelled towards the citizens .

[All citizens . This is the first time I am personally greeting you . ]

My true voice resonated through the industrial complex . I once again breathed in and shouted, [Please calm down and concentrate on my words . ]

The voice of the duke was heard for the first time and all the citizens looked at me . Voices came from all over the place . “It is Kim Dokja!”

“That person is the duke!”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t match their expectations .

[I can’t protect you . ]

Perhaps there had never been such a duke in the Demon World . In addition, I hoped there wouldn’t be any more in the future .

[So don’t die here like dogs and find your own way to live . I will personally recommend the Yoo Jonghyuk Industrial Complex!]

I could see the mouths of the citizens dropping open at my absurd declaration . Even Mark looked up in a bewildered manner from where he was calming the citizens . Still, it couldn’t be helped . This was the only way to save them . There should be no unnecessary sacrifices in this scenario .

[Do you want to free the citizens of your industrial complex?]

“Free them . ”

[All citizens of the industrial complex are freed from your influence . ]

[The citizens of the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex have received the ‘Escape Scenario . ’]

[The citizens of the Kim Dokja Industrial Complex can now choose an industrial complex . ]

[You have acquired a new legendary story!]

[The story ‘Liberator of the Industrial Complex’ has been acquired . ]

Messages poured out and I left a final message .

[Everyone, please leave . I will stop them until everyone leaves . ]

Bihyung might’ve argued against this if he was here but now he was lying in a distant place .

[The citizens of the industrial complex are giving a standing ovation for your noble sacrifice . ]

Thanks but I wasn’t planning a noble sacrifice . I focused on the energy coming from beyond the barrier of the industrial complex . There were four huge energy sources . At least four constellations were approaching .

“Jang Hayoung . Take Han Myungoh and the Breaking the Sky Master . Flee and don’t look back .

Never think about fighting them . ”

“What? I don’t want to!”

“I don’t care if you want to! Go directly to Yoo Jonghyuk . Quickly!”

There were ‘four’ coming now but there would be more behind them . They weren’t something a transcendent dog, a human whose gender was ambiguous and a middle-aged man who had been pregnant could face .

“I am one of them anyway . ”

I immediately ran downstairs and pulled out the Story Core of the Factory .

[The Factory has stopped running . ]

The important thing was to protect this Story Core . I didn’t have to stay in the industrial complex to defend it . I opened Bookmark and used Way of the Wind to climb onto the wall of the industrial complex .

[Is this what you want?]

The four approaching constellations listened to me .

[If you want it then you’ll have to take it away . ]

***

The fearsome constellations followed behind me . The reason I could flee was because we had equal stats .

They were four and I was one . I didn’t have much of a chance, regardless of whether the constellations were high or low ranking .

I ran over barriers using Way of the Wind . The constellations confirmed I was holding the Story Core and started to chase me . If they took me down here, they could qualify to participate in the Demon King Selection . It wasn’t strange for them to go on a rampage like this .

Dokgak laughed at me . [Hahaha, it is very easy to run away! Constellations, do you really want to stay on Bihyung’s channel to watch such a person?]

This son of a bitch… I wouldn’t have suffered from this sub scenario if Bihyung hadn’t been distracted . However, I couldn’t do anything because Bihyung wasn’t here .

“Requesting a rise in membership level of the Dokkaebi Bag . ”

I had already become a ‘platinum’ level which was an increase by two levels . Still, platinum wasn’t the highest rating .

[The dokkaebi in charge is currently absent . ]

[The status update will be automatically executed due to the dokkaebi’s absence . ]

[500,000 coins have been consumed . ]

[Congratulations! You have become a diamond member of the Dokkaebi Bag!]

[Due to the increase in membership level, the items list of the Dokkaebi Bag will be updated . ]

The diamond members could purchase VIP exclusive items . If my memories were correct, the ‘items’ would’ve been released by now .

[You can see the list of exclusive VIP items . ]

If Bihyung was here, he would’ve hidden this list even if he died . It was because Bihyung’s black history was among the items on this list .

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* Random Story Box (ver 1 . 3) ― 20,000 C

* Story Fusion Box (ver 1 . 3) ― 200,000 C

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…It was as expected . These crazy coin items were being sold . Fortunately, the updated version was the one I was looking for .

「 “Shit, what are the odds… why didn’t they publish the odds?” 」

In the 71st round, Kim Namwoon bought this wrong thing and was ruined .

[You have purchased ten Random Story Boxes . ]

[You have purchased one Story Fusion Boxes . ]

[400,000 coins have been consumed . ]

The Random Story Box was one of the few gambling items that consumed coins to get ‘stories . ’ Due to the description that the best quasi-myth grade story could be obtained, the incarnations and constellations ran towards this item once it was released on the market .

Of course, it went without saying that they all became bankrupt . The result was natural . The probability of getting a history-grade story from the Random Box was less than 0 . 001% and the odds of a quasi-myth story wasn’t even 0 . 00001% . Then what about the remaining 99,99%?

「 “Crazy! 50 history-grade stories? There is even the lowest-grade? Is this a joke?” 」

I grabbed a falling box and opened it with my mouth .

[Do you want to use the Random Story Box?]

I knew there was little chance of a good story coming out of this box . Then why did I want this box?The story I wanted wasn’t a good story .

.

.

[The story ‘Head Shoulder Knee Feet’ has been acquired . ]

[The story ‘Don’t Cut My Hair’ has been acquired . ]

[The story ‘Nose Pendant Hanging from the Nose’ . ]

[The story ‘Earring Hanging from the Ears’ . ]

.

.

Indeed, it was as I saw in Ways of Survival . In the 1 . 3 version of the Story Box, there was a more than 80% chance of stories regarding the ‘body’ coming out . The most common of them was the Nose Pendant Hanging from the Nose and Earring Hanging from the Ears .

From behind me, a serpent’s fangs grazed my sides and thighs . It was an attack containing the power of a story . I gritted my teeth and activated Way of the Wind to the extreme, hiding behind the ruins of a building . I needed a bit more time .

[Wh…ere… are… you…!]

I ignored the ugly true voice and confirmed the stories I had just acquired .

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[History-grade Story: Nose Pendant Hanging from the Nose]

Description: If you place anything on your nose, it will trigger an effect that makes it look like an accessory . The item doesn’t matter .

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[History-grade Story: Earring Hanging from the Ears]

Description: It anything is hung on your ears, an effect that makes it look like an earring will be activated . It is a story made in combination with Nose Pendant Hanging from the Nose .

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Needless to say, these stories weren’t helpful when it came to breaking through the current situation . However, it was different with the next item .

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[Item Information]

Name: Story Fusion Box ver 1 . 3

Rating: ―

Description: It can fuse together different types of stories . There is a very low probability of randomly creating a higher-grade story .

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An item that had a very low probability of generating a high-level story when mixing certain combinations of stories . Originally, this item wasn’t very useful . The same stories being put together produced different results every time and the odds of getting a good story were ridiculously low .

Nevertheless, according to the characters’ remarks, there was a bug in the 1 . 3 version of the fusion box .

「 “The sale of the box was discontinued because of this . Shit, I should’ve tried it before Anna Croft―” 」

There was a bug with the 1 . 3 version fo the Story Fusion Box . It was that when mixing certain stories, the first person who did it must receive a ‘certain story . ’

The two stories were poured into the box without hesitation and there was a bright flash of light . A message entered my ears along with the throbbing pain .

[The legendary story ‘Distorting Things as One Pleases’ has been acquired . ]

TL: Rainbow Turtle