[Main Scenario #4: Struggle for the Flag]

Category: Main

Difficulty: C

Clear Conditions:

1. Every Station has a 'Flag' and a 'Flagpole' that can be occupied.

*The flag can only be carried by the representative of the station.

2. You need to protect your flag from other station groups. If a flag is taken away by another group, the losing group will be taken over by the group that occupied the flag.
3. You can put a 'flag' in the 'flagpole' of another station. The authority of the 'flag' is only for the representative of each station. Once the representative dies from an armed conflict, the authority of the representative is transferred to the person who holds the flag first. If you take the 'flag' of another station group, the treatment of the group deprived of the flag is determined by the group that took the flag.
4. You must occupy the 'flagpole' of the 'target station' within a certain time limit. Failure to do so will result in the deaths of all your group members.
5. The Target Station your group should occupy is Dobong station

Time Limit: 15 days

Compensation: 2 000 coins.

Failure: ???

+

I sighed.

"Spy friend, what's wrong?" Jie Kushin asked and looked at the me who was rubbing my face in distress after reading the description.

He was holding a conspicuously white flag in his hand and flashing it for the whole world to see.

In truth, it was a fake, because I was the one who really had Bonghwasan's Station flag.

We were lucky in taking over this station through their lack of information after picking a fresh representative and entering the 4th Main Scenario. Additionally, we took over this station smoothly due to there only being a dozen or so members in this station in the first place.

That was not the point.

Reading the target station we needed to take over, I wanted to give up Bonghwasan station already.

[The Target Station your group should occupy is Dobong station].

If I recall correctly, Dobong Station's representative was the future Tyrant King, that Jung-something fellow.

Although he couldn't possibly hope to match up to the protagonist, the Supreme King (and each name is chunnier than the next), the Tyrant King was so strong that he deterred all the other kings.

It was one of the reasons many other kings drew upon an Alliance to face off against him in several regression runs.

Surveying the alert and scared people looking like unsettled pigeons, I only had one conclusion in my mind with our measly company.

We're not winning today.

By right, none of the people in the group were weak, being tempered and going through the baptism of the new world's 'the strong survive', but everyone that lived at this point needed a certain amount of strength. And I mean, the ones in the other stations.

Even the number of survivors in Chungmuro was 24 people, at least!

No, calm down, the Tyrant King isn't too powerful now.

It was still early in the scenarios, and the kings were still fledglings. There was still a chance.

Snapping out of it, I decided to learn more about our station members first, and then rake my brain for any possible ideas.

But as I approached the station members, some subdued and others voluntarily having their hands over their heads in show of surrender, there was still someone who did not give up.

"Go f*ck yourself. I won't accept a little girl like you as the station representative."

Along with the strong statement, a spiel of spit flew toward me, which I sidestepped out of the way.

The one who said this was currently tied up on a chair using chains due to her high strength stat, her hair that was up in a bun messily disheveled and almost undone.

She was a middle-aged woman who was wearing office attire, and her eyes were sharp and fierce.

Even while tied up, her momentum was strong, and her back was straight.

I lowered myself until we were eye level, and instead, asked curiously,

"Why can't you accept it?"

"Why else? Children are ignorant and stupid. They can't do anything by themselves. How about you go whine to your Daddy and Mommy to solve all your problems?" Her lips drew themselves into a sneer.

I frowned, feeling angered by the malicious intent in the words. Still, the knowledge of it being a taunt kept me grounded.

Returning my face into a more pleasant one, I ignored the taunt and asked instead,

"What's your name?"

The middle-aged woman just said nothing and huffed a laugh, her sneer growing larger and derision danced in her eyes.

So I dropped my attempt at being polite, and my voice deepened.

"Our target station is Dobong. Failure to capture it will result in the deaths of us all. Is that what you want?"

My sentence was not just directed at the middle-aged woman, but to all the members of this station.

Some looked away, not knowing how to respond, broken and bent to the whims of the scenario.

Others tried to look at me and respond, but still nothing came out. They knew they had nothing suitable to say.

The majority subconsciously looked at the middle-aged lady, who seemed to be their backbone. Strange, considering she had not been their representative who held the flag in this station.

And she did not disappoint them.

"Sure, but I would rather die in this godd*mn scenario before letting your intellectually lacking orders drive us to a stupid way to die."

I thought about it for a moment.

I could use the punishment option to beat her into submission, even if I wouldn't take pleasure in such a thing.

Or I could abandon her, cast her away as a wanderer.

After all, a person who would not cooperate would only cause all of us to go through worse consequences.

But I didn't do that.

Force may be the answer-

Ok, that sounded like bogus.

Well, at least, I wasn't a strong enough force that could make them obey, or strong enough to arouse each person's potential to do more.

I glanced at the people who trusted this middle-aged woman.

It was another reason why I admired her, even as she spat out insults at me.

"Ugh, you sure make me want to dump you into a butt load of mold...what kind of luck did we have to run into you..." Christina was sporting a mix between disgust and incredulousness at the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman was unruffled by the comment.

"Since you look like you want to skin me alive," I spoke self-deprecatingly, "How about we make a bet?"

"Little girl, -" She began as a retort, but I cut it off.

"If I defeat you by myself, you'll cooperate with us to take over the target station. What you do after that will not be my business. If you win, I'll get out of the station. Sounds fair enough?"

Her eyes held a clear rejection, but I was not going to give up until she agreed.

"In this new world, strength speaks the most, yes?"

The woman gave me a level-eyed stare that was weighing my words, but it seemed she sensed that I wouldn't let go, for she sighed and resignedly agreed.

"Fine."

"Mrs-Mrs. Wang!" One of them protested, quieting down from a look from Mrs. Wang.

"What are the terms?" The middle-aged woman, or Mrs. Wang, indifferently spoke, like this conversation was a chore.

I took a moment to reflect on the decision I was going to follow through with.

Am I really here, saying these words? Is this the best course of action? Am I going to regret this?

"Little one, go on."

Just keep going.

I turned my head to Cho Youngran, Lee Sookyung's close companion in that jail life I heard about in snippets during my ghost days.

She had a calm and patient air about her that pushed me forward.

I wasn't sure why Lee Sookyung let Cho Youngran to join my team, for she was the main reason we were able to take over this station despite our lacking numbers.

Her aim with her hand-gun was impeccable, and I was sure even if I had lv 30 agility, I would not be able to escape her shots.

If any person was going to be the spokesperson, Cho Youngran would be a better choice.

So I was continuously puzzled as to why this person who had more experience, more power, and more qualities for leading let me be the leader of this group's decisions.

I turned back to face Mrs. Wang.

[Youngkik, send a scenario for us to compete in.] I communicated with Youngkik secretly.

[You only come to me to ask for these kinds of things. A dokkaebi won't create a scenario just for an incarnation.] Youngkik replied, sighing.

[I know this place is under your jurisdiction, and it's a good piece of entertainment for those 'constellations' anyway.]

[No! Why would I spare energy for this small thing? It's not part of the deal either. I've got more important things to do than focus on this losing contract.]

[Youngkik.] I called their name.

[Hm?] They grumbled.

[Please, and thank you.]

[...Fine, but this means you won't get any of your portion of the commission.]

[That's too much for just this. That'll only last after this portion of the scenario. As soon as I get the king's qualification, it's over.]

[Deal.]

Youngkik then popped up in between Mrs. Wang and I, with a look in their eyes that spoke volumes of 'happy now?', but when they actually began talking, enthusiasm radiated off their body.

[Dear Constellations, let's take a look at what's happening here! It seems there is a conflict between an usurper and a brave unit?]

I had a feeling I was that 'usurper' from Youngkik's description.

[Well, well, where is the fun if they can't sort out their differences? Hehe, you know what time it is...]

[Sub Scenario: Circle Crisis]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: F

Clear Conditions:

- a series of rings will appear. After each 'round' eight of the rings will disappear. The ring that the player has moved to will not disappear until the player has departed from the circle.

*One round means every player has had their turn.

- If each person chooses the same circle, a 'battle' will occur. In this case, push or incapacitate the opponent outside of the 'circle'. The player who has been pushed out will lose their turn.

- players are only able to move to the circles beside them. This is a turn-based game. After twenty seconds pass and the player hasn't 'moved', they will lose their turn.

- The last person to remain standing in the last circle will clear the scenario

*Note: to ensure fairness of the game, all stats will be balanced to be the same. This is a temporary status.

Time Limit: ???

Compensation: 200 coins

Failure: ???

+

Balanced stats...?

I didn't have the time to read over and ruminate the scenario carefully, before a rush of power gushed through my body.

If I made one wrong move, one small shift in my weight, and I would be knocked unbalanced. That was the state in which I was unused to the new status.

[Strength lv. 6 --> Strength lv. 15]

[Physique lv. 10 --> Physique lv. 12]

I glanced at Mrs. Wang, who had a faint inkling of surprise on her face. She was probably the same as I, not used to the sudden surge in agility, in her case.

However, my magic stat refused to budge for some sardonic reason. I considered it not possible for Mrs. Wang's magic stat to also be at lv. 0, for no human caught up in the scenario should start off at lv. 0.

[Magic lv. 0]

It was a stat that I hadn't bothered to upgrade since none of the skills I possessed required it, nor did I invest it for any long-term skill that I was aiming for.

Surviving the next day was enough for me.

[And now constellations, who do you think will win? Please vote 10 coins for incarnation 1, or 20 coins for incarnation 2!]

Youngkik continued his act at being enthused with being a streamer.

[The constellation, 'Alligator who ate a watch' votes for incarnation 2!]

[The constellation, Lily Blooming in Aquarius, is annoyed at the broadcasting change, and votes for incarnation 2]

[The constellation, Maritime War God, will not partake in the vote.]

[Sorrowful Heart of Silver timidly votes for incarnation 1]

[The constellation...]

In the background, Youngkik harped on, raking in profits in the misery of others, and snapping me back to attention.

I tried to familiarize myself with the change in status quickly, but unlike people with a sense for it, it was not easy.

[May Incarnation 2 and Incarnation 1 step to the designated site.]

A floating, neon arrow pointed downwards at two spots a ways distance from the other.

Jie Kushin, Christina, and Du Peng shifted closer like they wanted to join in, but I looked at them and shook my head.

Nodding solemnly, the three stopped.

"Shall we?" Turning back to Mrs. Wang, I gestured to the spots.

Mrs. Wang scowled, glaring at me with distrust, and the Dokkaebi with fierce disgust, but followed along.

She did this silently, brooding in the meantime. This was her answer to her question about "terms".

[Let us begin the countdown. 3!]

Taking my spot, I looked to the other side at Mrs. Wang, who was looking at the Dokkaebi with disgust, mirrored by the similar expressions of the people around here, or of the fear on some people's faces, not forgetting the atrocities they had witnessed under the hands of Dokkaebi.

However, no one said anything, having come to the realization that their lives were at the mercy of the Dokkaebis and constellations, and silently endured.

None of them wanted this anymore.

[2!]

So did I. But sometimes, I wondered if the world we once lived in was not the same thing - a world of scenarios, one after another.

Until, we were ready to collapse one day.

Alas, that was not for me to think about. So I once again heightened my attention to the task at hand.

[1!]