[Thought Acceleration Lv. 1 is activated]
[Observation Haki Lv. 5 is activated]
Haki was the extension of one's will. It didn't require mana or stamina. No, it required pure willpower. Though maybe, after being shoved into the ORV leveling system, it became a bit more just that.
As I peered outside the frosty glass of the cabin window, I could see the purple-black sky covered in white dots, dots that seemed brighter than before, almost as if they were watching the world burn below them. And boy, was it burning.
Underneath that same sky, where Seoul should have been—where millions of people should have been going about their morning commute—there was only destruction. Twisted skeletons of skyscrapers jutted from the earth like broken teeth, their steel frames bent at impossible angles. Fires burned in the distance, their orange glow reflecting off low-hanging clouds that moved against the wind.
And below it all…were monsters.
I could sense it all. The negative emotions of every human, even monsters, in a large portion of the city. I empathized with their pain. Their suffering. And I let it flow. The constant stream of pain. I let it channel. I did not let it overwhelm me this time.
It was definitely tedious, but if I was going to grow in this verse, I had to come to the realization. This was no longer just 'fiction'. This was reality. And the proof was right here. These emotions…or whatever this was. I could sense the presence and location of every plant, animal, human, monster, and even Dokkaebi, within 10 or so kilometers, which is just the RADIUS. I could sense fear, anger, pain, suffering, hatred, the whole package. Not exactly a large part of Seoul, but pretty good nonetheless.
'I can't let it overwhelm me.'
I started to lower the distance of my Observation Haki. Well, not exactly lower. Just control it enough to adapt to it.
-Deep breath-
'I see...so that's how it works, huh...'
[The conditions for using the exclusive skill 'Adaptive Mind' Lv. 1 have been fulfilled.]
[Exclusive skill 'Adaptive Mind Lv. 1' has been activated]
'Ahhh. That's MUCH better.' I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. With the base radius of Haki covering 5 km, even without me focusing, it was practically impossible to take me by surprise.
[The second scenario has arrived!]
_________________________________________
[Second Scenario – Escape]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: E
Clear Conditions: Cross the broken bridge and enter Oksu Station.
Time Limit: 20 minutes.
Compensation: 200 coins.
Failure: ???
_________________________________________
[Exclusive skill 'Teleport Lv. 6' has been Activated]
[Second Scenario – 'Escape' has ended.]
[200 coins have been acquired as a basic clearance reward.]
[An additional 300 coins have been awarded due to clearance speed.]
[100 coins have been reduced for the channel usage fee.]
I didn't even bother looking at the scenario screen and instantly teleported to the safe zone near Oksu Station. I landed on the concrete floor with my hands in my pockets. They no longer had (my own) blood on them. I had frozen the blood and crumbled it away like flakes of dust earlier.
[Many Constellations are shocked by your display of abilities.]
[The Constellations have sponsored 200 coins.]
[''H-how in the name of the Dokkaebi King did you clear the scenario so fast?!'']
I looked back to see the Dokkaebi, Bihyung, flailing his hands around and his eyes bulging out of his sockets. Not bothering to respond to him. I turned to where I could faintly sense a presence watching me. The camera. Or where I believed the Camera was.
''Curious, aren't you? If you wanna know. Keep watching and giving me coins. And I MIGHT just tell you.'' I remarked with a slight smile and a teasing tone.
[Many Constellations sneer at the audacity of the incarnation 'Ethan Callas'.]
[A Handful of Constellations are intrigued by your boldness.]
[The Constellations have sponsored 300 coins.]
'Suckers.' I smirked inside my head. In the end, the only way to rake up coins was either by clearing scenarios, getting achievements, or from these so-called Constellations. I was going to bleed them dry.
[''Stop Ignoring me!'']
''I think you should focus more on the other survivors, yeah?''
He looked at me like I had grown another head. Before grumbling and floating away. He's funny, I'll give him that, but I still despise him.
[1800 coins have been invested into 'Agility'.]
[Agility Lv. 4 -> Agility Lv. 10.]
[900 coins have been invested into 'Strength'.]
[Strength Lv. 2 -> Strength Lv. 5.]
[Coins: 13,537.]
I felt a lot faster than before. And a bit stronger too.
[Exclusive skill Thought Acceleration Lv. 1 has been deactivated.]
"Ugh…" Even though it was a lot more tame than before, a small wave of nausea and a slight migraine still assaulted me the moment thought acceleration was off. Causing me to massage my head with one hand while leaning over.
"There goes all my aura." I muttered out loud.
[A few Constellations wonder what you are talking about.]
'Uncultured stars.' I was definitely going to pass on ball knowledge to this world. Maybe I should farm coins by telling the constellations stories about different fictional worlds. Food for thought.
As I stood with my back facing the safe zone. I could feel two distinct presences approach from behind. One on top of the other. I knew who they were.
"AH! We made it! Dokja-ssi!…Dokja-ssi?" A 20-30-year-old man said behind me, carrying a 10-year-old.
The older one had thick eyebrows and a big mouth. He was definitely a very expressive person. Short black hair and a tangy build. He was tall, too. About 6 feet.
Then there was the child on his back. Brown hair that stuck out from under his cap, his expression was slightly reserved and fearful. He looked worried and traumatised. Not that I found any fault in that.
They hadn't even noticed me, even though I was standing RIGHT HERE. Rude…
"You might wanna brace yourselves." I gave them a word of advice, sensing a massive entity move towards the bridge. I could see the following scene four seconds before it even happened.
"Wha-"
－ Ｂ Ｏ Ｏ Ｍ －
Even though the area was behind a safe zone, the shockwave and sound caused the adult in front of me to stumble.
"Oh no… Dokja-ssi! Yoo Sangah-ssi! Are you both okay!?"
Putting the kid down safely, the man hurried over toward the barrier to shout for his fellow survivors. The child followed closely behind and did the same.
"Don't bother. The barrier seems block all sound and sight from reaching within. Probably to stop those who finish a scenario to help those who haven't." I said calmly while walking upto the barrier myself. The adult, Lee Hyunsung if I remembered his name correctly, looked at me with slight surprise and weariness. The boy just hid slightly behind his leg. I was almost as tall as Hyunsung, so it made sense to be a bit scared. I was still 19 though.
"Erm, excuse my manners. You are…?" He asked while positioning himself ever so slightly in front of the little one, Lee Gilyoung. Both of them were Lee. The whole being in Korea thing still didn't feel normal to me, despite the memories of spending a year here.
"Im Ethan Callas, yes, I'm not Korean, I came here to study from America. I was travelling in the same train you both just came from. Cabin 3207." I gave a brief introduction to diffuse any tension they might have felt. Usually revealing information and not sounding cryptic did the trick. I didn't wanna scare them after all. "And you are?"
That seemed to have worked flawlessly, as Hyunsung's shoulders relaxed. He was still placing himself between the kid and me in a protective way. I could almost read his thoughts as though they were displayed on his head.
[ Dokja-ssi entrusted the safety of Lee Gilyoung to me. I can't fail at this too… ]
Observation Haki was as busted as ever. Though I guess reading the surface-level thoughts of someone as simple-minded as Hyunsung wasn't exactly an accomplishment.
"Oh. I see…my name is Lee Hyunsung. And this is Lee Gilyoung." The kid only slightly peeked out from behind him.
"Hmm." I hummed in understanding before turning towards the barrier. Although I could not see through it, that didn't mean I couldn't 'see' through it. My Haki had never deactivated. Since it wasn't a mana or stamina-reliant ability, it could be kept on indefinitely. It also looked pretty cool. I could literally see the projection of people's aura in my eyes directly. It reminded me of the glowing effect from Minecraft. Cranked up to a thousand, I could see a VERY large number of auras behind the people I was currently looking at. Also, it seems zombies don't exactly have an aura. But I could still tell they were there due to residual energy. Strange.
"Looks like something interesting is happening in the scenario area." I could see a bridge made of light(?) suddenly materialize across the broken parts of the…I forgot the name of the bridge.
"Huh? What do you mean, Ethan-ssi? Can you see through this wall?!" He sounded flabbergasted. I did just tell him it was impossible to see beyond it after all. He still looked goofy though.
"Just call me Ethan, Im wayyy younger than you. And yeah. It's one of my exclusive skills"
[Many Constellations wonder how many skills the incarnation 'Ethan Callas' has.]
'As if I'd ever tell.'
Hyunsung looked confused at my first statement, before he shook it away and asked about the more important thing in his mind.
"What's happening on the other side? Can you see three people?" He asked in worry.
[ Dokja-ssi…Yoo Sangah-ssi... ]
[ Is Hyung okay…? ]
This time, I could hear two distinct voices beside me. Hmm. Oh, would you look at that.
"Someone's crossing over. You can see for yourself." I said as a middle-aged man with a slight belly came running through the barrier, carrying a woman who was wearing a simple white blouse and stockings. She had brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. Overall, she was very pretty and dressed up like an ordinary office worker. Though her expression was anything but soft right now.
"Let go of me! We left Dokja-ssi behind!" She flailed helplessly before both fell over. The man almost collapsed; his leg looked sprained, judging by the blood movement.
"Put Yoo Sangah-ssi down this instant!"
It was funny, actually. While the adults bickered and fought like children, the actual kids, being Gilyoung and me, ignored them and opted to keep staring at the barrier. Though I don't know why Gilyoung was staring, considering all he could see was a wall.
"Mister…is Hyung still alive?" I glanced at the kid standing next to me. He had gotten closer to me when Hyunsung went over to help Sangah. Now he looked at me with slightly shaky eyes. I could see a bit of hope still in there.
I gently patted his head and gave it a ruffle. "Yeah, kid, he's okay right now. Though I don't know for how long." I said before, looking back towards the barrier. Currently, I was trying to memorize the presence of Dokja and Joonghyuk. Could come in handy later.
Gilyoung merely let my hand rest on his head for a second before slightly nodding, and then started staring at the wall again. Weird kid. Cute, but weird.
_
__
___
-=< "You. Who are you?" >=-
. . .
-=< "A strange name" >=-
—-
—
-
I could hear the conversation through the wind, as if it was guiding the sound to my ears. But I knew what I was hearing wasn't sound waves. It was intent. Or something similar to soul reading. Was Haki always this OP?
"Excuse me?" I spared some attention to the woman behind me while listening to the conversation between the two protagonists.
"Yes?"
"I heard from Hyunsung-ssi. Is Dokja-ssi…" She didn't look as wary as I expected her to look. Her expression was one of pure worry and slight regret.
"Hmm. He's okay. The two seem to be having a pretty interesting conversation." I merely stated before turning my full attention to the two buffoons.
[The Constellations agree with the incarnations statement, but still complain about the censorship.]
"Two…?" I didn't respond this time.
'Their talk seems to be over.' I thought after witnessing Joonghyuk drop Dokja off the bridge, his bright mood apparent, as if he didn't just potentially murder his new companion.
"You can ask him yourself." I said, walking away from the safe zone barrier. The less I interacted with that psycho early on, the better. In the novel, Dokja's presence significantly boosted his growth speed. I didn't want this regressing murder hobo getting any stronger before Dokja gives him some therapy. Although I'm confident I could beat him right now. It's better not to engage.
Before Yoo Sangah could ask me who I was talking about. He finally entered the safe zone. And I, almost completely erased my presence.
[Heavenly Restriction Lv. 5 has been activated.]
[Mana Power has been fully converted to Physcial Stats.]
[Physique Lv. 10 —> Physique Lv. 35.]
[Strength Lv. 5 —> Strength Lv. 30.]
[Agility Lv. 10 —> Agility Lv. 30.]
[Magic Power Lv. 5 —> Magic Power Lv. 0.]
'Ridiculous…' I was still completely baffled at the intense feeling of power and speed, even after expecting it. 'Is this what Toji felt? Insane.' Heavenly Restriction was overpowered no matter what the verse. But the ORV system completely overhauled it. Would the ratio of conversion increase exponentially with each increase in the skills' level? Would it be 1:10 next? Just the thought made me feel [Invincible].
As I looked at the burning city from the view at the edge of the bridge, I could feel the others snapping out of their surprise at seeing someone they didn't recognize suddenly appear from the scenario zone, and one of them finally asked what had been on their minds for a while.
"Who are you…and what happened to Dokja-ssi?" The first to open his mouth was Hyunsung. There was unspoken tension in the air. It seems everyone present understood that the person who just appeared was the same person banging on their cabin door. In other words, someone who mass murdered everyone in their own cabin.
Though the same could be said about me.
"Yoo Joonghyuk. As for Kim Dokja…he will probably be fine. You should go to Oksu station if you want to survive." After staring blankly at Hyunsung for a bit, with his right eye slightly glowing, he answered with no change in his tone. Before walking off without looking back. Completely ignoring everyone else. Though he did give me a slight glance. I knew why.
'I'm not Korean.' His fleeting glance was just that. I could tell his intent was as clear as day to me. He probably gauged the strength of everyone here by reading their presence and emotional state. He couldn't sense any presence from me, so he must have assumed I was just THAT weak. Hah…
His prolonged stare at Hyunsung was most likely him using Sage's eye to check if his stats and constellation sponsor were still the same. He was still pretty shook at the changes in the timeline. Poor fool has no idea.
The guy with glasses, whose name I forgot, nor cared to remember, limped towards Oksu Tunnel. I turned towards the others, who were still hesitant to move away from the bridge. Even though the barrier separating the two sides was gone, there was no sign of Kim Dokja on the other side. So everyone present just assumed the worst.
"Your friend is still alive. Let's move along, though. We can't exactly stay here until another scenario starts." I said simply and started walking toward the tunnel as well, causing the three to snap out of their despair and hurry along.
"What do you mean? Dokja-ssi is alive?? Is he okay? Where is he?!" Yoo Sangah asked from my left as she walked alongside me at a brisk pace. Hyunsung and Gilyoung were to my right, with Gilyoung sticking closer.
"I'll tell you when we settle down a bit, i don't want that guy to hear anything." I said softly while slightly gesturing towards the depressed regressor way ahead. They got the clue and quieted down, as all six of us moved towards Guemho station.
• • •
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(AN: If you have any questions regarding anything ask away. And criticism and ideas are welcome. My best trait is not writing, it's improvising. Im a pro at it. Also, I will take some time to do some research on what Joonghyuk should be doing the four days Dokja is gone. He leaves for Chungmura on the third day, I believe, or the morning of the fourth day. I need to understand the state of the station when the Mc arrives. Do gives ur thoughts if you can.)