It's sitting there, amongst everyone, that Kim Dokja takes a deep breath and feels at ease. The whole TWSA thing didn't blow up in his face. His... friends? have seen the worst of him and have not left him yet. His worries so far, the ones digging in his chest and squeezing his lungs, slowly release their hold on him. There is nothing to worry about here.
He catches a familiar face out of the corner of his eyes and he snaps his head away. There is no point driving himself into another tizzy.
Amidst the fire and death in cabin 3707, a man in black boots and a long coat approaches the window dividing his cabin from cabin 3807. He's barely shown as he peers through the window, but everyone can somehow tell that he's incredibly attractive. On the other side, in cabin 3807, he sees nothing but chaos as people scream about catching something.
Surprised at the appearance of Yoo Joonghyuk again, Dokja looks over at him. "You were actually curious about that?"
He is ignored as Lee Jihye calls out instead. Her words are sorta whiny as she looks at the sunfish bastard with a slightly betrayed look. "You look so cool here, Master! How do you do it?"
The protagonist bastard always look cool, Dokja muses, thinking about the times Joonghyuk has done his epic entrances. He gushes in his thoughts, so happy he got to see it in person instead of as words on a page.
Yoo Mia turns her nose up haughtily, a smug smile on her face as she answers Jihye for her brother. "My oppa is always cool."
Rolling his eyes fondly, Dokja smiles at the scene. It's nice to be apart of these kinds of conversations.
"Sorry, I work alone." Dokja tell Namwoon back in cabin 3807. A look crosses the teenagers face before he just sighs in disappointment.
"Well, that's a bummer."
'If I really did team up with Kim Namwoon, my survival would be guaranteed for the time being. If I hadn't read TWSA, I probably would have agreed to the kids proposition, but I am the reader who knows about him and his future. And after seeing him in person...'
The screen bleeds into something new, going from the gory subway cabin to a school gym that looks mostly clean and tidy. There's a couple of students milling about in the area, groups just getting in some sports practice and some others just sitting around on the bleachers talking and eating. The atmosphere and calm and serene.
A group of boys leave the gym's storage room, some of their uniforms askew and ruffled, laughing and pushing each other as they walk. The last one to leave knock the door with his foot, intending to close the door. It doesn't close the whole way, leaving it open just a crack.
In the storage room, a frail looking kid is laid sprawled out on the ground. Dead eyes looking forward in the dark, the only light coming in a sliver from the partially closed door. The line of light aligns right with his eyes. His uniform is rumpled and dirty, shoeprints left all over him but focused on his stomach area. A thin line of blood dribbles down from his crooked nose. There are other bruises on the limited exposed skin.
Kim Dokja just lays there breathing slowly and watching the things happening out in the gym. He only moves when his phone dings, a notification sound he set up recently. Shifting so he can grab his device from where he hid it under himself, he pulls it up to his face slowly to check what notification decided to grace his phone.
|Novel 'Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse' has just updated!|
His eyes seem to brighten at that as he clicks on the pop up, quickly typing in his password to get to his novel quicker. He rolls over from where he was facing the door, the events in the gym outside blurring to nothing as Kim Dokja reads. When lunch ends and he leaves, he has cleaned himself up and has the smallest smile on his face.
It switches back to the cabin, Namwoon pushes past Dokja, ready to go back and kill the grandmother, even referring to her as a bug he caught. However, Dokja catches his wrist and stops him.
"Are you trying to act like a hero now?" Namwoon asks, frustrated. Dokja looks at him, eyes filled with disgust and then a certain coldness overtakes them.
'... I realized how much I hate his character in TWSA.'
Namwoon yanks his wrist out of Dokja's grasp and narrows his eyes. "People like you make me sick."
[Kim Namwoon despises you.]
[Your affinity towards Kim Namwoon has slightly decreased.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is astonished at the events shown]
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is infuriated at the bullies.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter'...]
And with that, it's time for Kim Dokja to ignore everyone around him, actually. This is not what he was expecting when it had started again. Why did it keep bringing up unimportant stuff? This is really not helping his case with his companions here.
"Wha- WHAT THE HELL?" Han Sooyoung abruptly stands, throwing her hands out towards the screen. "THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU SHOW AT A TIME LIKE THIS! WHAT HAPPENED TO PACING?!"
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' reluctantly agrees with Incarnation 'Han Sooyoung']
"That's- that's horrible." A horrified Lee Hyunsung blurts out, wide eyes trained on the theater's screen. The scene passes easily as if it hasn't dropped vital information.
"No wonder you just let that guy die." Lee Gilyoung mumbles, squeezing Dokja's bicep a couple of times before letting go. Big eyes are turned toward his own, a little mischievous glimmer in them. "You made the right decision, hyung."
Under his head, Shin Yoosung turns to Gilyoung and whispers to him "Did ahjussi kill that guy?"
"No, hyung didn't even have to touch him." GIlyoung answers, puffing out his chest in a misplaced sense of pride.
Beside him, Joonghyuk grunts, grumbling something under his breath about wasted potential. Kim Dokja pointedly ignores that as he won't be entertaining trying to keep alive the guy that was trying to kill him. Han Sooyoung sits back down with a huff.
"I said move!" Namwoon yells as he throws a punch towards Dokja's head, his fist glowing with a dark purple energy on instinct alone. He seems impressed that Dokja could dodge it, but thankfully, Namwoon is exactly as Dokja imagined. He's predictable.
The teenager throws another heavy punch tha tDokja manages to block with his arm, and he recognizes the move as the skill of the [Edgelord] attribute.
[Grimdark Awakening lvl.1]
'He's already activated his skill!' Dokja thinks as he just barely dodges another heavy punch that leaves a dent in the metal floor of the subway cabin.
Namwoon cackles, already drunk on the feeling of power. "What's this? I'm so fucking strong!"
'This is probably why the protagonist still recruited him even though he's a little psychopath,' Dokja realizes, seeing just how much power the boy has even in the first scenario.
[Your understanding of 'Kim Namwoon' has increased.]
As Dokja tries to figure out what he should do, a new window pops up in front of his face that leaves him confused.
[You have unlocked level 1 of your exclusive skill 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint!]
'The fucking what?'
Kim Dokja dodges another hit thrown his way, bewildered at the pop up window in front of him.
'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint? What exactly is that?'
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is intrigued.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' sponsored 999 coins]
Now, what is that for?
"Omniscient? I guess that suits a rat like you." Sooyoung grumbles, whispering under her breath curses. Dokja imagines those are for him.
"What does that mean?" Yoosung asks, turning to the witch to their right. She continues her question, "What does omniscient mean?"
"An omniscient viewpoint is where the narrator knows everything. Things like the characters thoughts, backstories, and actions even if the character isn't physically there." Sooyoung muses, looking like she is getting lost in her own thoughts. "So I'm curious about how that translates."
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' commends Incarnation 'Kim Dokja' for such a useful skill.]
Yoo Mia face scrunches up, eyeing Dokja with suspicion. "Does that mean that ahjussi can spy on us whenever he wants?"
No. Why would he even want to do that? Mia-yah, be nice please.
The other passengers are still searching for the escaped grasshoppers, but some of them have gotten distracted by the fight taking place in the other half of the cabin. Namwoon swings wildly, his fists cutting through the air, but he can't land a hit and it's making him more and more frustrated. However, he won't be able to land a hit so long as Dokja's skill has activated.
Another punch comes flying towards him.
[Right Shoulder]
There's the echo of a voice in his head, sounding like his own. It reminds him of when he would read out loud to himself. Maybe that's what it is, Dokja thinks while he leans to the left just in time for the punch to miss him. Next will be an uppercut.
[In the face]
It's sort of weird hearing his own voice detached from his body. He leans back as far as he can, avoiding it, but falling backwards and landing on the floor.
'As soon as the skill activated, I was told what he was going to do, like I was reading from his mind.'
"So you are able to read minds!" Shin Yoosung called out in the most 'Aha!' voice Dokja has ever heard, smiling wryly he agrees while settling her in the chair again. These kids are so energetic.
'She doesn't know the half of it.'little smug, and slightly scared for when they find out exactly how much he can read their minds, Dokja settles into his chair with the kids once more. Heewon leans over him again and her body heat is a comfort. The children seem to enjoy it as well.
"Dokja-ssi, it seems like that would be very useful in combat." Lee Hyunsung said, looking more cheerful than he did earlier. He jumped back pretty quick...
It absolutely is very useful. Without that ability, there's no doubt he would be done for ten times over.
"It is certainly helpful." Kim Dokja agrees.
"Oh fucking hell! You slimy little jerk!" Namwoon roars, fed up with getting dodged, as he advances towards the prone man.
'But all I can do is dodge his attacks, I can't exactly retaliate here.' Dokja analyzes in his own head, trying to piece together a strategy. 'I just need to hold on a little longer.'
"You got just two minutes left, Kid." Kim Dokja tells him not even looking over at the timer. He knows exactly how much time is left. Kim Namwoon freezes and swears loudly, quickly glancing over at the old lady still trembling on the floor, heavily injured.
It's then that Dokja realizes an important fact that he's been overlooking. 'If that old lady dies, Namwoon will clear the scenario. Whatever happens, I can't let someone like him move onto the next scenario!'
Dokja stumbles up from where he was still on the floor, dodging past Namwoon and rushing over to the old lady with his hand extended. Namwoon smugly remarks that he knew Dokja would do that, a manic glint in his eyes as he reaches into his blazer and pulls out a pocket knife. Dokja is forced to react immediately as his own voice passes through his ears.
[Heart]
His eyes widen, jerking his head over his shoulder to look at the teenager. Kim Dokja just barely manages to move enough out of the way for the knife to slash against his shoulder instead of through his chest. He does his best to protect the old lady in the process. He succeeds. It hurts for a moment, throbbing along with his rapidly beating heart, before it ebbs away to a dull feeling that he can ignore. Dokja gathers the old lady in his arms and stands to carry her out of the way.
['The Fourth Wall' has numbed the pain] flashes up in a window but it goes away quickly. He doesn't see it.
Death is just around the corner, and Dokja wonders if he will die here too if he looses to Namwoon.
Several young wide eyes look over to him, the kids are worried for him it seems. How cute.
It's only Lee Gilyoung in his lap that is relaxed, looking like the cat who got the cream. Nudging the smug kid, Dokja looks at him with a raised eyebrow.
"No need to worry." Gilyoung states proudly with his head turned up. "Hyung was super cool. He won!"
'This kid...' Dokja chuckles a bit under his breath, watching as his words made several other people relax.
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' dislikes spoilers.]
'What spoilers? You were there during the first main scenario. That's no spoiler.' Dokja huffs, a hand on Giloyung's head. Endearingly, the kid leans even further into him.
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' coos at the cute scene]
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' takes screenshots.]
Hey now...
This is a world that is simply based on the survival of the fittest. No, the world has always been like this. According to the law of the jungle, the strong prey on the weak.
The same kid with the scuffed up uniform from before is laying on his back, his nose broken and blood dripping down the side of his face towards the floor. Dead eyes look up, a ground of blurry faced gathered in a circle above him. Many of them are laughing and grinning. He just lays there, waiting for them to be finished.
Nothing has really changed. Rather, that rule has just become clearer.
This time, it's an older Kim Dokja stood bowing in apology. Many of his coworkers are watching the spectacle as pages of a rejected report are thrown at his face, fluttering to the floor around him. The same tired eyes as he looks to the floor.
I must also adhere to that rule if I want to survive.
"Come on, Mr. Smarty-pants. You don't even have the strength to run anymore." Namwoon mocks him, flicking his knife in his hand as he slowly approaches. "Do me a favor and let's just get this over with. We're running out of time."
There's a feeling that bleeds into his rational mind, a familiar feeling that he's had to kill over and over again. His calm facade fades into desperation that fades into a feral sort of aggression.
'If I hesitate...'
Dokja stands, still looking away. There's an adge to his voice that wasn't there before. "Kim Namwoon, second year student at Cheongil High School. Is an insect egg also an organism?"
"What? What the hell are you talking about so suddenly?" The change of topic throws Namwoon off guard, and that's what Dokja is counting on. He raises his fist, the body of his grasshopper clenched inside.
'... I will die.'
"The answer," Dokja starts, that manic glint in his eyes and a tug at the edges of his lips.
['The Fourth Wall' stabilizes.]
His expression is almost immediately schooled, turning back to the cold look and dead eyes. "is yes."
Without hesitation, Dokja crushes the grasshopper's body entirely. Notifications pour in that tell him he's killed an organism, awarding 100 coins each. There are so many that it's almost overwhelming.
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' admires the actions of Incarnation 'Kim Dokja']
Ah, it seems someone appreciates his plans. Pleased, Kim Dokja swipes away the other star stream notifications. They're not as important as stroking his ego. The Secretive Plotter has been supporting him since the very beginning, even if the constellation occasionally mocked him for his poor decisions. He could mock himself for those well enough, though, so he really didn't need another person doing it.
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' appreciates that Incarnation 'Kim Dokja' avoided senseless murder.]
[The Constellations of 'Absolute Good' feel favorably about Incarnation 'Kim Dokja']
It's always a good day when things he does gains some brownie points with those guys.
Namwoon seems confused, demanding how he's supposed to know that, and deciding to let his actions speak over his words as he swings the knife once more. Dokja steps back, ready to dodge when another pop-up window appears.
[You have obtained coins. Would you like a tutorial on coin usage?]
'Skip!' Dokja thinks as quickly as possible. 'Allocate 2,700 coins to the stamina stat!'
In an instant, his stamina level rises from 1 to 10, greatly increasing his durability. As Namwoon's knife meets its mark in the middle of his chest, it can't even penetrate Dokja's skin. The coins were used just in time.
Confused, Namwoon tries pushing harder before stumbling back. "What? How?!"
Smugly, Dokja informs him that grasshoppers lay over a hundred eggs at a time during their mating season. His eyes are harsh as he stares down the delusional demon, the power of hundreds of coins backing him up.
"I'm not the one who's going to die. You are."
The seconds continue to count down, everyone in the cabin was still scrambling to get a grasshopper to kill. For the first time, Namwoon looks nervous and he starts swimging his knife wildly out of desperation.
"Fuck!" He yells. "Die! Die you fucking jerk! Why won't you die?!"
The timer hits zero and Dokja watches emotionlessly as the fear in Namwoon's eyes peaks.
[Your time has run out. Proceeding with checkout.]
Many of the screams become louder, raising in pitch as people start bleeding from the different places on their face. It's unnerving to see it happen to Namwoon, the youth's face of desperate rage turning into pained despair. The blood on his face definitely didn't look like it belonged there. It's soon after that his head bursts, blood splattering everywhere in the cabin as the people dropped like flies around him.
"You were too close." Joonghyuk gruffed out beside him, frowning and looking at Kim Dokja with a constipated look. Miffed, Dokja pointedly looks away from him and back to the screen. Though, it was just as stressful watching it happen again.
"You were pretty lucky with the timing there," Jung Heewon remarked, remembering how if Kim Dokja was even a moment later with his coin usage, he would have a knife in his chest.
Kim Dokja pointedly ignore her. He doesn't want to think about that, actually.
[The Constellation 'Prisoner of the Golden Headband' grabs onto his hair with excitement.]