CHAPTER 11 - Different Conditions

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{Kim Dokja POV}

[Yes but…where are you going to use these miscellaneous items?]

“You don’t need to know.”

[…I don’t want to be nosy but why don’t you buy something else? For example, this Woryeong Sword Technique. It is originally 8,000 coins but I will now sell it for 4,000 coins. Wouldn’t buying this be more helpful to clear the scenario?]

“Thank you but I will just buy this.”

Bihyung wasn’t satisfied but received the payment.

[800 coins have been consumed.]

    In the darkness, a sparkling powder gathered and four elongated thorns and four pockets of black mucus appeared.

[I can’t give a refund if you regret it now. Do you understand?]

“I know.”

    I briefly nodded and started working. I took off my top, tied it around my waist and stuck the thorns in the gap, while the pockets were hung from my waist.

    The stone hog’s thorn was stumpy but became sharp at the end. It was approximately one metre in length. It was a reasonable size to pierce something.

[Hrmm…then I’ll be going. I can’t stay with you. There is something fun going on in another place.]

“Do it.”

[Huhu, then hang in there. I hope the story will bless you.]

   Bihyung disappeared in a flash of light and the surroundings became dark again. I could use the light on my smartphone but I wanted to save the battery as much as possible.

    In the darkness, the stone hog thorn was emitting a bluish light. It was a feeble light but for the moment, it would be sufficient.

    I pulled out a thorn and swung it. Maybe it was because I didn’t have a skill such as Weapons Training or Incarnation of All Soldiers. I couldn’t get used to holding the thorn.

[A few constellations are bored.]

   The impatient constellations left the channel. I couldn’t see it but Bihyung was probably fretting right now.

    I didn’t like it but I no longer had a problem handling the thorn. The surface finish was rough and didn’t seem like it would slip easily from the hand.

    It was time to begin. I used the proper force and stabbed at the ichthyosaur wall above me.

   It was like poking a rubber elastic wall as the thorn bounced off. My current strength wasn’t high enough to tear at the stomach of the ichthyosaur. It would probably be the same if I used a skill.

    At that moment, the small holes at the top of the stomach wall opened simultaneously. Then an absolutely disgusting liquid poured out.

    One of the demonic people floating on something in the stomach started shrieking.

     The skin of the demonic person started burning. The digestion of the ichthyosaur had begun. The ichthyosaur’s digestive juices quickly mixed in the river water and started to melt away at the concrete and other floating products.

   There was no time. It was going as planned.

   I jumped from the floating object and gripped a bump on the wall of the stomach. Then I started climbing up the wall like I was rock climbing.

   The outlet of the digestive juices was right above. I put the thorn in my mouth and grabbed a pocket of mucus.

   The mucus of the hammer sea horse. I poured the mysterious dark blue liquid onto my hand and applied the mucus carefully from the tip to the end of the thorn.

    It was with precision and care, as if applying shaving cream to an area to be shaved. If the shaving cream protected the skin from the razor, the mucus protected the thorn from the digestive juices.

     I swung the thorn towards where the digestive juices were coming from. The angle was correct and I used my maximum strength.

    The digestive juices flowed down the thorn and dissolved the skin on my forearm. I experienced a terrible pain but didn’t stop. If I made a mistake here then everything was over.

[The exclusive skill ‘Fourth Wall’ has relieved some of the pain.]

     Before long, the thorn jammed up the emission point.

“Just one.”

     After a deep sigh, I pulled out another thorn from my waist. I applied the mucus of the hammer sea horse, found another opening and blocked it.

[A few constellations admire your calmness.]

[The constellations have sponsored you 200 coins.]

    I used this method to block three opening points. There were some left, but the small openings didn’t release large amounts of digestive fluids.

    There was one thorn left in the top tightly tied around me. All that was left was one thorn and two pockets of mucus.

    I used the remaining mucus on my skin and clothes, then poured what was remaining down my throat.

    The fishy taste on my tongue was sickening but it was better than dying. The bitterness was nothing compared to the disaster that would occur from now on.

     It was around five minutes afterwards that the entire stomach started trembling.

…It had started.

    The ichthyosaur let out a painful scream. The blood vessels on the wall of the stomach were squirming. The thorns were visibly expanding into the blood vessels.

    The thorns in the openings had started their aggressive growth activity. The stone hog’s thorn grew in response to the body fluids of seawater species.

    The thorn that became immune to the digestive juices due to the applied mucus absorbed the surrounding fluids and started to take root in the body of the ichthyosaur.

    The stone hog’s thorns wouldn’t stop expanding until the ichthyosaur was completely dead.

    As I watched the liquid swirling under my feet, I grabbed the thorn tightly. I did everything I could. From now on, it was a mental fight.

    Either I died or this guy would die. Only one of us would survive.

    I didn’t know how much time passed. My breathing was often interrupted and all my muscles were so stiff that I could barely move them.

[A few constellations admire your will to survive!]

[The constellations have sponsored you 100 coins.]

    But I persisted. I persisted because I believed I could hold on. The light emitted from the thorn in the darkness confirmed that I was alive. After confirming the falling temperature of the stomach wall, I was convinced that he was dying.

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ admires your spirit.]

[The constellation has sponsored you 100 coins.]

    When I was hungry, I placed my tongue to the end of the thorn.

    The condensed fluid that flowed out contained the life force absorbed from the ichthyosaur. The reason I drank the mucus in advance was to absorb this concentrate.

[Your stamina has slightly increased due to absorbing the power of the ichthyosaur.]

    There wasn’t an immediate effect of my stats level increasing, but by the time I escaped from the ichthyosaur, I would gain at least two levels in stamina.

    It wouldn’t work at a higher level, but this was one of the few tricks I could use to raise my stamina without using coins.

…Indeed, this wasn’t a dream.

    This was all I could do. I was just an ordinary reader. I wasn’t a protagonist. It felt like I would wake up screaming in bed at any moment, but no such miracle happened no matter how much I blinked.

…Mother would be fine. She was okay. This wasn’t anybody else, it was ‘Mother.’

    I fell asleep whenever the liquid on the floor drained away and woke up every time the cold river water entered my mouth.

    Finally, the ichthyosaur’s digestion stopped. The warmth of the viscera suddenly cooled down and the elastic stomach lining gradually solidified. Thus, I could be sure.

He died.

[…You are really great.]

    A bright light in the darkness. Bihyung’s dim figure was floating in the air.

[Using the stone hog’s thorn like this. I never even thought about it. Constellations, isn’t it the same for you?]

   Bihyung looked at the stone hog’s thorn emitting a faint light.

[The stone hog is a guy who mainly lives on the coast and feeds on small sea species. They insert the thorn into the skin of the prey but I didn’t think it would be used to plug up the openings for the digestive juices…]

   Bihyung’s shining eyes weren’t looking at me. The words weren’t an explanation for me either.

[A few constellations are smiling as if they already know.]

[The constellations have sponsored you 100 coins.]

[A few constellations belatedly understand your judgment.]

[The constellations complain that you should tell them by talking to yourself from now on.]

    I ignored the messages from the constellations and drank the last of the condensed fluid.

[Your stamina has slightly increased due to absorbing the power of the ichthyosaur.]

[Your stamina level has risen!]

[Stamina Lv. 11 -> Stamina Lv. 12]

    I accomplished my intended purpose. Bihyung came down to me and looked at my burnt arm.

[Furthermore, the mucus…I didn’t know the mucus of the hammer sea horse was so potent.]

    Originally, my skin should’ve melted from the ichthyosaur’s digestive juices. I opened my mouth to stop Bihyung’s nonsense.

“The mucus of the hammer sea horse is immune to digestive fluids. They evolved in this way after often being eaten by the ichthyosaurs.”

[A few constellations admire your knowledge.]

    Then Bihyung looked at me with a betrayed expression.

[Excuse me, I should be the one explaining…]

“I did it because you don’t know. Now is the explanation over?”

[…Yes.]

“Then give me the reward.”

[Cheeky bastard.]

   Bihyung grumbled while at the same time, a reward message appeared in front of my eyes.

[The hidden scenario has ended.]

[You have obtained 9,000 coins in compensation.]

[You are the Second to have successfully hunted a grade 7 species.]

[You have earned 1,000 coins as an achievement reward.]

9,000 coins plus an additional 1,000 coins. It was a very huge income.

[Coins Possessed: 14,800 C]

      If I added the 500 donated coins from filming my survival, the total income was 10,500 coins.  It was over my target.

“There is someone who had killed the ichthyosaur!?”

[Yes, there is an incarnation that killed three ichthyosaurs to cross the river.]

   I feel like hearing something ridiculous and impossible things. I never read such munchkin characters in Three Ways to Survive in Ruined World.

   Why can I remember about such characters. Is there any part that not written in it?

      *****

    A meteor shower was pouring down in the starry sky. It was a sight that anyone would admire, but not Yoo Jonghyuk.
「 It is starting. 」

    The meteor shower was the precursor to the third main scenario starting. Now Seoul would be destroyed one by one according to the scenario.

    Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at the sky before bowing his head and looking at the Han River.

    The landscape around Dongho Bridge was quite desolate since the large group of ichthyosaurs had recently moved downstream.

「 It was too much. 」

    It had already been three days since Kim Dokja entered Han River. It might’ve been too much to demand that he catch the ichthyosaur at the first level.

「Indeed, it would be hard for me to catch an ichthyosaur in three days. 」

    But it would be impossible to take him if he couldn’t do this much. If he couldn’t even do this much, it would only hinder Yoo Jonghyuk.

「 A prophet isn’t a big deal. 」

   Yoo Jonghyuk closed his eyes with disappointment. He would go on his own again. Without any companions.

    It wasn’t a big deal. He had been alone all this time.

「 This time I will definitely change it. 」
    Yoo Jonghyuk turned around.

    But maybe he had turned away too soon.

     *****

“Wait…!”

[W-What?]

     I blinked several times but could only see a grey-white ceiling. I was still inside the ichthyosaur. I turned my head and saw the surprised Bihyung.

“…I had a dream.”

[Ohu, are you trying to raise curiosity? It isn’t bad?]

     I didn’t mean to do such a thing but I didn’t mind the misunderstanding.

[A few constellations want you to move to a new place quickly.]

     I used 500 coins to buy the Ellain Forest’s Vital Force to help me sleep. I thought it was too dangerous to move while exhausted.

    The Ellain Forest’s Vital Force quickly recovered fatigue and wounds in exchange for two hours of sleep. In other words, it was an expensive item.

“…I really want to go out.”

    I talked to myself while stretching my body. The dream I just had was still clear. Maybe it wasn’t a dream.

Kwajijijik!

     I heard the sound of an electric current scattering and Bihyung disappeared without a word. Maybe he went to do his job.

     I sighed with relief.

     The stream contract with the dokkaebi. It was a gamble that I never would’ve attempted if I hadn’t known about Bihyung from Ways of Survival. But I did it with surprising calm. I never succeeded in any contracts in ‘real life.’

[The exclusive skill, ‘Fourth Wall’ is in use.]

…This was real. I inserted strength to my right hand holding the thorn. I really thought this world was reality.

[A few constellations want you to act.]

     Well, there was no time to worry about it. I swung the thorn as hard as I could at the stomach wall that lost its elasticity. At the same time, there was the sound of something collapsed and water pouring out. I plunged into Han River.

“Puah!”

     Fortunately, I didn’t see any other ichthyosaurs. Small seawater species approached with curiosity but no hostility was felt. Not all creatures would attack humans.

...Maybe that munchkin killed the ichthyosaurs. It was an unbelieveable thing to do. I need to find out who's that and try to persuade that incarnation to help me.

    Dongho Bridge was over there.

    I used a piece of the ichthyosaur corpse as a floatation device and made my way towards dry land.

    My skin was cold from the cold water but I couldn’t worry about it. After 30 minutes of swimming, my hand reached land.

     [A few constellations are nervous looking at you.]

    Normally, danger would immediately come after this message popped up.

[The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ is making an insidious smile.]

     It was a pity for the constellations but something bad wouldn’t happen to me. It was because I already knew the dangers.

[You have entered the region of the second main scenario.]

[The land in the scenario area is deeply polluted.]

[Be careful about your breathing and move underground as quickly as possible.]

   The message said this but in fact, I shouldn’t be on the ground from the moment this scenario started.

    Why? Look at my skin now.

[You have been exposed to poisonous fog.]

    The skin touched by the violet fog turned black.

    The struggle in this new world wasn’t just for humans. The monsters were also fighting for their homes.

    I moved while holding my breath as much as possible.

    They were grade 7 monsters like the ichthyosaur but I couldn’t do with them right now. In the first place, I could kill the sea commander because I was prepared.

[You have used the Ellain Monkey’s Lungs.]

    The monkey’s lungs was an item I bought in advance that could be used as a substitute for an air purifier for 20 minutes.

[A few constellations admire your readiness!]

    The aboveground station, Oksu Station had already bee destroyed. The nearest underground station from here was ‘Gumho Station.’ Maybe the others had moved there.

     I moved quickly while avoided the small species that were eating the corpses. I only had 20 minutes, so I needed to move as quickly as possible while securing supplies.

     The first thing I needed was clothes. My outerwear was melted by the ichthyosaur’s fluids so it was necessary. Of course, there were many of them all around but… I felt uncomfortable.

…It couldn’t be helped. I searched some bodies and grabbed clothes that roughly fit.
Then I headed to a nearby convenience store.

      I grabbed a few plastic bags and swept in food randomly. Food would be a valuable trading item after going underground.

    I filled three or four bags like this. It seemed that the colour of the monkey’s lungs was becoming increasingly darker. There wasn’t much time left.

    Then I heard someone’s voice.

“Help…help me.”

    There was someone still alive? A young woman was lying down in a corner. The poisoning was progressing on the surface of the skin, but the toxic condition wasn’t severe due to the mask she was wearing. Her jacket was half removed and a bit of her skirt was torn.

“Are you okay? Can you stand?”

“Uhhhh…”

    Was there such an extra in Ways of Survival? I wanted to take a closer look but I didn’t have enough time. I picked up the woman and ran to Gumho Station.

“E-Exit 4…”

    Unexpectedly, the woman I was carrying was helpful. I ran towards Exit 4. Then I found a fire shutter that was rolling down. I placed the thorn in the gap of the shutter that was trying to close. Somebody yelled out.

“Shit, what is this?”

“Open the door.”

“N-No! You can’t come in! Go away!”

“There is a wounded person.”

“We are already in a full state! We don’t need any more people!”

    It was full of people? Strange. Was there such a development?

“I don’t care about that.”

    I used the thorn as a lever and lifted the shutter as hard as possible. Since I used the coins to increase my strength to level 10, I now had the strength of half a dozen adult males.

    There were a loud sound and the people on the other side of the shutter became nervous.

“R-Run away!”

    The scared men escaped into the darkness of the underground passage. I entered the station safely, lowered the shutter and put the girl down on the floor.

[You have entered the safety zone.]
____________________________________________

       In these three days, Cale group was walking around looting and sometimes killed the monster that they met and turned them into their skeleton allies.

     They also go to the supermarket to get some food and put most of it inside the spacial pocket. They also took the cooking ingredients they found.

“Dongsaeng, how about you cook something? We have portable stove and cooking utensils in our spatial pocket and we have the ingredients.”

“Alright then, I also tired of eating ramen. I will make gimbab because it’s convenient. Please take those food containers so I can put some in the spacial pocket.”

     While Cale cooking, Clopeh secretly recorded it with his video camera.

“I will show the fans that Cale-nim is a great person who could do everything because he is a Legend. Kekeke... I will share it in the website so everyone will know it. Kekeke...”

[A few constellations are drooling.]

[Some constellations are watching incarnation ‘Clopeh Sekka’ with weird look.]

[Some constellations are interested in what incarnation ‘Clopeh Sekka’ said.]

[Some constellations are watching incarnation ‘Clopeh Sekka’ with shining eyes.]

[The constellations have sponsored you 1500 coins.]

       Basically, they are still doing whatever they want in this

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