Omniscient Mola Mola (3)
[The constellation 'Secret Schemer' admires your wickedness.]
[A constellation who loves monopolies sponsors you with 200 coins.]
The winner of rock-paper-scissors was determined in an instant. Lee Gilyoung had a slightly flushed face, Jeong Heewon looked satisfied, and Lee Jihye sat down with a dumbfounded expression.
"...This is nonsense!"
Unfortunately, I couldn't read Lee Gilyoung's mind, so two of the ampoules went to him.
"You didn't have to give me any..."
"Keep them."
Because you're cute, I'll let it slide.
I patted Lee Gilyoung's head.
Aside from that, I gave two stamina ampoules to Jeong Heewon.
Jeong Heewon accepted them with a bright smile.
"Thanks. I've been struggling because of my stamina anyway."
The only one who didn't get a single ampoule was Lee Jihye.
"How can you win 18 out of 20 rounds by yourself? You cheated, didn't you?"
"I'm just good at rock-paper-scissors."
"Did you seriously read our minds? Come on, just give me one..."
"Ask Yoo Joonghyuk instead."
Watching Lee Jihye tear up pitifully, I ostentatiously opened an ampoule.
Jeong Heewon patted Lee Jihye's drooping shoulder and, staring at her glowing longsword, said softly:
"Kiddo, life's about picking the right line to stand in."
Whirrrrr. The sound of the helicopter rotor echoed around us.
As the dinosaur island receded in the distance, Lee Gilyoung asked:
"Hyung, can we not take this guy to the next floor?"
A giant mantis that had been talking to Lee Gilyoung earlier sat on his lap.
It must've grown fond of him—it was rubbing its antennae against his chin.
"Sadly, you can't take it with you."
With a disappointed expression, Lee Gilyoung picked up the mantis, like he was trying to emotionally detach from it.
"...Goodbye, Titano."
Chirp...
Looks like he even gave it a name. Unfortunately, monsters created within the 'Theater Dungeon' cannot be brought to other floors.
However, items can be carried over. Like the stat-boosting ampoules we got earlier—and the item I'm holding right now.
[Tyrant T-Rex's DNA Ampoule]
This small, golden-glowing ampoule was the main reason I chose this movie. It increases all stats by +10 for 30 minutes. The catch is that it can only be used inside the Theater Dungeon—but without it, the final floor would be impossible to clear.
Especially if Yoo Joonghyuk is stuck in the worst-case scenario I'm imagining.
As the released mantis flew off into the void, the dark sky scenery began to collapse.
[You have reached the first "Ending Credit."]
[Cast: Kim Dokja, Jeong Heewon, Lee Jihye, Lee Gilyoung]
[Each cast member receives 500 coins as appearance fee.]
With a slight wave of dizziness, we returned to the first floor. The poster of the movie we just escaped was now torn and stuck to the wall—evidence of a successful clear.
Lee Jihye grumbled:
"How many more floors do we have to do this for?"
"There are probably floors Yoo Joonghyuk already cleared, so it might not take as long as you think."
We headed straight to the second floor via escalator. From the second floor onward, the actual theater rooms began, so the remaining space was more limited. Jeong Heewon asked:
"There's no change here?"
No matter how long we waited, the environment on the second floor remained the same. There were no visible cameras, and no screening began. Looking closely, all the posters on the second floor were torn. Lee Jihye seemed to realize something as well.
"Could it be that only movies with intact posters get screened?"
I checked the torn posters one by one.
Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim... A movie with giant robots fighting, right? Shame. If that one had been intact, the clear reward might've been something like [Enhanced Armor].
Christopher Nolan's Inception... Good thing that one's torn.
"Aw, I wanted to see this one."
I looked at the poster Lee Jihye had been staring at.
"You like superhero movies?"
"Yeah."
"Good. If you had gone through that one, you'd probably hate them now."
"...That's fair."
Behind the torn poster, a green monster was roaring at us.
We immediately headed to the third floor.
"This place got swept too."
Sure enough, all the posters on the third floor were torn. Yoo Joonghyuk must've cleared it thoroughly. Honestly, that's a relief—there were a lot of dangerous movies on this floor.
James Wan's Final Destination... How the hell did Yoo Joonghyuk clear this one? It's a total slaughter film.
"Looks like we'll get through faster than I thought."
Unlike Jeong Heewon's cheerful tone, I was growing more uneasy with each floor. Clearing the Theater Dungeon requires a certain amount of luck. Some posters aren't covered in Methods of Annihilation. Yoo Joonghyuk didn't clear every movie, after all.
As soon as we stepped onto the fourth floor, a system message rang out:
[You have entered the 4th floor.]
Before we could even look for posters, a spotlight hit us.
Jeong Heewon clasped her hands together as if praying.
"Please not a ghost movie..."
That was unexpected coming from her. I glanced at her. She offered a quick explanation:
"You can't kill ghosts with swords."
...Fair point.
[The screening begins.]
With a whooshing sensation, the scene changed. When I opened my eyes again, we were standing at the bow of a ship, sea wind in our faces.
"This is...?"
The salty breeze stung my lips. The wide-open ocean stretched before us. The seascape was so breathtaking that I blanked out for a moment. It had been years since I'd taken a trip—working non-stop had drained everything from me.
"What movie is this?"
Next to me, Jeong Heewon was wearing a long, flowing dress.
Inside the cruise ship, the sound of a violin ensemble drifted out. People chattered excitedly. The setting was too romantic to be just a reproduction of a movie.
Ah. I get it now.
Just then, I heard Lee Jihye's voice.
"Ugh, I suddenly feel sick..."
I turned around. Lee Jihye was vomiting into thin air. Jeong Heewon rushed over and patted her back. After a long bout of dry heaving, Lee Jihye looked up with teary eyes.
"I get seasick."
"It's okay, just let it out."
...I've been wondering for a while now: why was Lee Jihye chosen by Admiral Yi Sun-sin? I mean, I know from reading the novel—but I'd really rather not.
"But unnie... this is that movie, right? The one where the ship sinks."
"Seems like it."
"Wait... are you Kate Winslet?"
Lee Jihye looked longingly at Jeong Heewon's dress, then glanced my way.
"Then that guy must be... DiCaprio? Blerrgh!"
Watching her vomit while making that joke just somehow made me feel annoyed.
That's when Lee Gilyoung popped up from the back.
"Hyung!"
He was dressed in soggy, wrinkled clothes.
Something about that outfit felt eerily familiar...
Anyway, everyone in the group had gathered.
"We don't have much time, so let's think of an ending."
This ship was about to sink.
But unfortunately, the 'solution method' for this movie hadn't appeared in 'Destruction Law.'
How on earth are we going to come up with a 'refreshing' ending against Titanic?
Should we fight the sea or something?
Lee Ji-hye came up with the first idea.
"Since the ship is sinking anyway, what if we just sink it ourselves?"
"That's a bit..."
It was tricky. It would have been easier to just smash things and move on if it was that kind of movie.
"How about we take out the villains, hyung?"
This was Lee Gil-young's suggestion.
I wasn't sure if there was a clear villain in this movie, but there didn't seem to be any other sharp ideas, so I decided to go along with that one.
"Then let's deal with the irritating villains."
We moved on. But how were we going to find the villains in this movie? The last time I watched Titanic was... well, quite some time ago.
But we didn't need to worry. The villain found us. A man in a neat suit with slicked-back hair was staring at us.
"Jack Dawson!"
Wait, Jack Dawson...? Isn't that DiCaprio's character name?
But the man wasn't looking at me.
"...Me?"
...Could it be that you're DiCaprio?
I sighed and looked at Lee Gil-young.
A moment later, we had tied up and kidnapped the character we thought was the most annoying villain. But the theater owner didn't react. Apparently, a kidnapping alone wasn't enough...
I hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Then..."
"Let's kill him."
Lee Ji-hye cut in and drew her sword. The man, whose body was tightly bound, struggled.
"The theater owner is a cider-passer, right? Then, wouldn't the answer be to kill these guys quickly?"
Honestly, I thought so too. No, I was sure of it.
In 'Destruction Law,' a similar scenario in another movie had the same solution. But just as I was staring at the trembling man in fear, Jeong Hui-won suddenly said something unexpected.
"But... he looks so much like a real person."
"...Pardon?"
"This is a movie, but he really does look like a real person."
It felt strange hearing that from Jeong Hui-won, who had been dispatching villains cleanly just a few days ago. Come to think of it, Jeong Hui-won had said something like that before. Even though she had become a murderer, she didn't want to become a monster. Lee Ji-hye said,
"Sis, are you going to get all sentimental now? Are you saying we shouldn't kill him?"
"No, it's not that..."
"I like saving people. But if we don't kill this guy, we'll die. We're alive, but he's just an 'extra!'"
Extra...
I felt a bit dazed after hearing Lee Ji-hye's words.
Jeong Hui-won tilted her head.
"Is that really the case?"
"Even if this guy is a 'real person,' he's still going to do bad things, right? What's wrong with killing a guy like that?"
Lee Ji-hye's words might be right. This man was definitely the 'villain' in the script, and he was going to do bad things. So, it was probably okay to kill him. But amusingly, this logic was something Yu Joong-hyuk often used in Destruction Law.
Just as I was about to speak, Lee Ji-hye suddenly jumped up and drew her sword.
"Oh, what a loser. The master is about to die!"
The sword, which came down from the air, pierced the man's chest. Gushing blood poured out. It was so realistic that I couldn't believe it wasn't fake blood. Then, we heard a system message.
[The theater owner is satisfied with the changed ending.]
[A passage to the next floor at the ship's stern has opened.]
"See? We did it right, didn't we?"
Lee Ji-hye triumphantly shouted.
There was no doubt the answer was correct.
The theater owner recognized this as a 'refreshing' ending, and the stars would reward us with coins. With those coins, we would survive.
That was the way to live in a ruined world.
[You've reached the second 'Ending credit.']
[Cast: Kim Dokja, Jeong Huiwon, Lee Ji-hye, Lee Gil-young]
[You've each earned 500 coins as acting fees.]
Since we couldn't get any decent reward items from Titanic, we immediately moved to the next floor as instructed by the system message.
[You've entered the 5th floor, the Reward Room.]
After taking the escalators, the [Reward Room] finally appeared.
"The Reward Room? It looks like there's no movie here?"
"I think this is an exhibition hall. It looks like they used to display movie props here."
I knew this, but I still pretended to be confused.
Inside the glass cases were movie props I recognized. Various items used by the protagonists of different films, costumes, and stage props...
What was interesting was that these were no longer just "props."
Jeong Hui-won gasped as she approached a glass case.
"Oh my God, look at this sword!"
[Mikazuki Munechika — Replica]: A-grade Sword
I nodded toward Jeong Hui-won, whose eyes were sparkling as she looked at the case.
"Finally, a proper sword, Hui-won."
"Wow..."
It was an incredible sword. It was better than the horn knife I used and even Lee Ji-hye's sword, for that matter.
Jeong Hui-won took the sword in her hand and started swinging it around.
"This is amazing! It's sharp, light!"
I'd never seen Jeong Hui-won this excited before.
[The character 'Jeong Huiwon' feels deeply grateful to you.]
No need to mention it.
The biggest goal of clearing the theater dungeon was this 5th floor's 'reward.' The theater dungeon was a good place to farm early items for the group. Especially for Jeong Hui-won, who didn't have a weapon, this would definitely make her stronger.
[Reward items are limited to 2 per person.]
Though they were just replicas of movie props, these items were still A-grade, meaning they were close to overpowered for the early stages.
I had a feeling that Yu Joong-hyuk had passed through here too.
I could tell because two items had already disappeared.
"Let's grab our items. We can each take two, so choose carefully."
I had Jeong Hui-won pick one more item that might be useful for Yoo Sang-ah, and I decided to pick an item for Lee Hyun-seong. I spotted something useful.
[Hercules' Shield — Replica]: A-grade Shield
Perfect... this should work. It was miles better than the [Worn Iron Shield]. Thinking about how Lee Hyun-seong would light up with loyalty, I felt proud already.
The fan of hero stories, Lee Ji-hye, had been struggling to get something from a corner.
"Ugh, why won't this come out?"
I went closer to see what it was.
[Mjolnir — Replica]: A-grade Blunt Weapon
Thor's hammer was there. If this had been a real artifact, it would have been an insane item... but even as a replica, it seemed like it would have great power.
I saw Lee Ji-hye struggling with the immovable hammer and said,
"Isn't that something only special people can use?"
"Damn, I'm special too, you know?"
At that moment, Lee Gil-young suddenly appeared from behind and reached for Mjolnir.
"Hey, kid! This is mine..."
Mjolnir effortlessly wrapped around Lee Gil-young's hand. Swinging it around, he looked at me and asked,
"Hyung, can I take this?"
"Yeah, it suits you."
Lee Ji-hye looked utterly defeated.
"Why is it only me... why only me..."
I ignored her and looked at the remaining items.
Hmm, what should I choose with the last one?
[External Reinforced Suit — Replica]: A-grade Armor
I didn't know what might happen, so it seemed wise to stock up on some armor.
I squeezed into the suit, and the contact points on my arms and legs tightened.
[Damage taken from external attacks is reduced by 10%.]
[Ability to detect enemies is enhanced.]
[You can move more nimbly than before.]
It was a little tight, but much better than not wearing anything, especially considering the battles that would come.
Alright, now we were ready.
Since there hadn't been any changes in the dungeon, I figured Yu Joong-hyuk was still alive. If not on the 6th floor, then he must be on the 7th. Worst-case scenario, he might be fighting the boss on the 8th floor... but at least he was alive.
Now, let's go take a look at our returning hero's back, shall we?