Chapter 111: Episode 22 – Three Promises (3)

I could see Olympus’s answer from Yoo Sangah’s expression. She became red and then paled. Based on Yoo Sangah’s eyes, I thought I was too hasty in bringing up the story.

“That…Dokja-ssi.”

I wondered what she had heard to make her hesitate while watching me. I felt sorry for some reason.

“Can you tell me what the sponsor said?”

Sparks flew from Yoo Sangah’s body. Ariadne seemed to be running wild. I waited a bit until the situation calmed down. I hadn’t realized the aftermath of the three questions and answers would be so large. The sparks soon subsided and Yoo Sangah spoke in a mixed voice. “The Father of the Rich Night isn’t someone who can be easily met…”

The Father of the Rich Night. It was the modifier given to King Hades, one of the three head gods of Olympus.

One of the three head gods of Olympus, he resided in a famous place that the ’12 gods of Olympus’ couldn’t enter. Hades was far too great for Ariadne to contact him.

I quickly thanked her. “Thank you Yoo Sangah-ssi.”

“By the way, Dokja-ssi…”

The smart Yoo Sangah probably already knew that the Father of the Rich Night was Hades. She had a vague idea of why I was looking for Hades.

The story of Orpheus, who visited the Underworld in order to revive his wife Eurydice, was a famous myth in South Korea.

“…Is it possible?” Yoo Sangah wondered.

As a rule, resurrecting the dead was impossible.

I was subjected to the probability correction of the King of No Killing effect, but in most cases, there was no such correction. It was the same for Shin Yoosung. If resurrection was possible then Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn’t have needed to regress.

Yet if I could somehow obtain her soul…

“I can’t tell you the details right now. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t want to speak about my future plans in a situation where the constellations were staring at me. There were many constellations who disliked me due to the previous situation.

I threw the bait and now I had to wait and see if they bit. The important thing was to be patient.

I looked at the people around me and opened my mouth. “Shall we organize things?”

Then my party members approached me one by one, as if they had been waiting. Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung were with Lee Hyunsung, while Lee Jihye stood in a distant place with a slightly sulky expression.

I heard the voice of a low-grade dokkaebi.

[I am the dokkaebi ‘Younggi’, who will temporarily take charge of the compensation settlement.]

He was a newbie dokkaebi and spoke in a slightly stiff voice.

[I will now settle the addition compensation for the fifth scenario.]

Perhaps all the higher level dokkaebis had disappeared.

[You have received the ‘Ellain Forest’s Vital Energy.’

People caught the small fruit that fell from the air.

[This is the most popular recovery item in the Star Stream. Even if you are seriously injured, you can recover quickly by eating this and sleeping.]

It was the first time I had seen such a polite dokkaebi and it gave me a feeling of resistance. Then dokkaebi talked to me and some other people.

[Additional compensation for the key contributors will be given this evening. Thank you for all your hard work. I hope you cheer up in the following scenarios.]

The voice disappeared and I watched all the people holding the fruit. Characters I didn’t know would be dead and some people would be dying right now. Still, we survived. The party members weren’t sure to be grateful or sad. Once this happened, someone was bound to act as the representative.

I stared at them and slowly opened my mouth. “Everyone, you have suffered.

The moment when nothing was decided only remained for a moment. Sadness was sadness and happiness was happiness. If we made decisions then at least these moments would remain meaningful.

“You really struggled.”

Relief slowly filled the party members’ faces as I didn’t say anything about rewards. They deserved it.

Lee Jihye was the one who spoke first. “…By the way, it was really shocking Ahjussi. You looked cooler than Master for a moment? I acknowledge you.”

Then Lee Hyunsung and Jung Heewon also opened their mouths.

“…It was wonderful.”

“I felt refreshed.”

…These people, this was all they wanted to say to me? A wry smile appeared on my face as they started making a fuss. The biggest crisis of the beginning scenarios was over and Seoul was protected. For the time being, Seoul wouldn’t be threatened until a few scenarios had passed.

“Dokja-ssi also suffered.” Yoo Sangah stared at me and smiled brightly.

Maybe this was the reward given to me.

There was the sound of something hitting me and Shin Yoosung placed her forehead against my side. Lee Gilyoung was somewhat disgruntled but he didn’t say anything. I placed my hand lightly on Shin Yoosung’s head.

…Yes, this as well.

***

In the evening, the additional compensation for the main contributors began. There were three main contributors who received additional compensation. They were me, Jung Heewon and Yoo Jonghyuk.

[The additional compensation for the fifth scenario is a B-grade skill.]

Someone else might say that a B-grade skill as a reward wasn’t right, but it was actually balanced. A low alphabet letter didn’t mean the skill was useless.

In addition, the scenario compensation was in the form of a ‘free choice.’ In other words, I could choose the B-grade skill I wanted. There was a skill that was difficult to acquire among the B-grade skills and I had to get it.

[Do you want to see the list of B-grade skills?]

It was a list with tens of thousands of skills. I was able to avoid a difficult choice because there was a skill I thought of from the beginning.

[Do you want to receive the B-grade skill Lie Detection as compensation?]

I nodded and there was a faint glow as additional messages appeared.

[The exclusive skill ‘Lie Detection’ has been added to the skills list.]

I finally obtained it. It had been really frustrating not having Lie Detection…

I looked back and saw that Jung Heewon was having a hard time picking something.

I asked Lee Jihye who was next to me. “Hey, do you know where Yoo Jonghyuk is?”

“Ah, he was going somewhere with Seolhwa unni.”

…Lee Seolhwa? Lee Jihye looked at me with pitying eyes, as if she knew what I was thinking.

“…Sigh, it isn’t what Ahjussi thinks.”

“…”

“Really. I watched the whole time. It is completely different from the two of you. I’m certain.”

I had a headache. Speaking of which, it was certain that they were lovers in the second regressions but I couldn’t remember in the third regression. Yoo Jonghyuk had a long road to walk. So where the hell did he go? Was it to pick up his younger sister?

[The sixth scenario will start in three days.]

A system message was heard. I think I knew what Yoo Jonghyuk wanted to do. The sixth scenario was when we finally encountered incarnations from other domes.

He was a restless guy so he probably went to get some hidden skills and items that he couldn’t get in the last regression.

There were still some hidden scenarios in Seoul Dome. It was a bit upsetting that they would be taken away by Yoo Jonghyuk but it was better than he eating up skills.

Moreover, he needed to be stronger than he was now to make the rest of the scenarios easier.

“Ah, that’s right. I have a message for Ahjussi from Master?”

“For me?’

Lee Jihye nodded as she grasped her sword and declared in a serious tone. “Kim Dokja, the oath period is over.”

My heart sank. The Oath of Existence. I had forgotten about it.

–Then swear you won’t hurt me until the fifth scenario is over. If you can’t do that, I really won’t help you.

–I swear.

We had made this oath. That guy… surely he hadn’t left me alive because of the oath? Then I remembered strange nonsense.

–I won’t kill you. I will hit you once.

I couldn’t help gulping. Surely this wasn’t his plan? Was he going to learn a skill to hit me?

“By the way… what oath did the two of you swear?”

“Shut up.”

Yes, it would somehow be okay. Above all, I had the Beast King’s Sensitivity used by the disaster Shin Yoosung. It was also level 3.

…I had Way of the Wind through Bookmark and there were also my strong companions.

I met Lee Jihye’s eyes as she said. “You know that I won’t help you against Master, right?”

“I wasn’t expecting anything from you.”

Instead, I looked at Lee Hyunsung. I was really impressed when he told Shin Yoosung that he was part of my party, not Yoo Jonghyuk’s. Lee Hyunsung gazed at me with perplexed eyes before opening his mouth. “That…Dokja-ssi.”

“Yes.”

“To tell you the truth, I’m a bit scared of Yoo Jonghyuk-ssi.”

“…Ah, it’s okay. I understand.”

Come to think of it, Lee Hyunsung’s strength was because of Yoo Jonghyuk. Dammit. However, it was too early to be frustrated.

I also had Jung Heewon. She was someone who didn’t appear in the original novel and I raised her with my own hands.

Then Jung Heewon scratched her head and said, “I don’t know what this is about but I won’t get involved in the fight between the two of you.”

“…Huh?”

“I won’t disturb the two of you… what the hell is this?”

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is making a loving smile.]

I suddenly got a chill down my spine. What was that angel thinking?

[The constellation ‘Scribe of Heaven’ is watching Demon-like Judge of Fire with solemn eyes.]

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ has jumped and changed her expression.]

“Dokja-ssi.” I looked up with astonishment and saw Yoo Sangah smiling calmly at me. “Don’t worry. Jonghyuk-ssi isn’t a bad person.”

“…I hope so.”

“I’m sure that he is a good friend.”

I heard Yoo Sangah’s words and inwardly sighed. I didn’t know why but I thought of Han Sooyoung at this time. Apart from me, she was the only one who knew what type of person Yoo Jonghyuk was. Well, she wouldn’t have protected me even if she was here…

The scenario was over but I didn’t know what she was doing now. We finished organizing the surroundings and collected items.

It became late in the night and Yoo Jonghyuk still hadn’t returned. Instead, Jung Heewon went to scout and returned with welcome things.

I was amazed. “That is still remaining?”

Jung Heewon had six bottles of beer and soju with her. She said with a smile. “Let’s have a drink as a memorial.”

We set up a campfire and sat down. I quickly hit Lee Jihye’s hand as she grabbed a beer.

“You’re a minor.”

“…There are no laws now. Why does it matter if I’m a minor?”

“Drink cider with the kids.”

In the meantime, I took a quick swallow of the alcohol. Jung Heewon had red cheeks as she drank while Lee Hyunsung snored like a bear after drinking a few beers. He was weaker to alcohol than he looked.

“The mood…”

Lee Jihye secretly drank a few cups and collapsed with a red face. Surprisingly, Yoo Sangah had already drank four bottles of soju. I couldn’t see any signs of her being drunk.

“I’m a heavy drinker.”

Come to think of it, I had never seen Yoo Sangah get drink at a work party.

“…It is hard to get drunk.”

There was sorrow in her words. The company had a few men who wanted to do something to Yoo Sangah while she was drunk. Maybe this was the first time she could drink while at ease.

“Isn’t it okay for today?”

Perhaps it was because she was paler than usual that I looked away with shame.

There was a lonely moon in the sky and the cries of monsters couldn’t be heard today. The other drinking groups around us were making loud noises.

I wanted to drink well in this situation but I also thought it was because of this situation that I had to drink.

It was a world where everything couldn’t be endured without drinking. Then small sparks appeared around my glass. The surprised Yoo Sangah looked at me.

I nodded. It was a good thing I hadn’t drank too much alcohol. The alcohol poured down onto the ground.

[The constellation ‘God of Wine and Ecstasy’ wants to talk to you.]

Olympus had finally taken the bait.’