Beyond the Eternity

「 There are many ways to survive in a ruined world 」

Each person used different methods to survive the horrors known as the Fables, just like how every route can become a possibility in the Stories.

The direct route was to participate in the Fables to survive. However, others take the indirect route and become 'Strays' to avoid the harsh Fables.

In original work, Gangnam was the land of the Strays since there was no king to control the land.

"Tch."

Park Joonhyuk's lips twisted in a bored sneer.

"What are these guys deal anyways? How could these guys survive without becoming kings or servants of a king?"

"Don't you know? It's not necessary to go through the Fables to survive. If you hide well and use moderate tricks, you will be able to survive for a while."

"So basically, they're living like rats. Did I get that right?"

"I guess you can put it that way. I mean, using indirect methods can only take you so far."

If you became a 'stray', you will not belong to anyone. Therefore, It was possible to pass the Fables by having someone else clear it first. Many people would have survived using this indirect method.

There was only one problem with that method. It was impossible to build their narrative using such a method. There is also the problem of being wiped out by other groups if they were caught.

Realistically, It was a terrible method of survival in the long run.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The strays approached. They had no intentions of hiding their greed.

"Are you newcomers? I haven't your faces around this parts."

While some approached from the front, the other people were encircling us to block our escape routes.

"Are you lots strays? Or are you associated with a king?"

"Oi! Oi! Why aren't you answering? Can you see we're talking to you?"

"Who cares if they talk, really? We'll just take them to the coin farm—"

Coin farm? These guys has already created that?

[Many constellations are annoyed by the pests.]

[A few constellations want you to take serious action.]

The constellation messages appeared. I remembered that the constellations disliked strays to the point that they viewed them as nothing but pests.

I looked at Park Joonhyuk and said. "Let's not waste thing here. Make sure not to kill all of them."

"I was also thinking the same, so there is no need to tell me."

"Good. Now then..."

[Exclusive skill, Sprint has activated.]

The Blue Dragon Sword was swung and multiple people were cut. It was a speed that could not be followed with the eyes. A person with a severed arm shouted.

"Fuck! Someone kill that bastard!"

Noticing the situation, the rest of the strays picked out their weapons. Too bad, they were just too slow.

Schlk! Schlk! Schlk!

If a fight broke out between a king and a stray, the outcome would be obvious. But with two kings involved, the battle had become laughably one-sided.

The rogues did not stand a chance.

The limbs of the people were cut and blood flew uncontrollably through the air. At the same time, multiple bodies dropped one by one.

"Kuaaaak!"

The arm was pierced by the sword and the hand owner screamed. But I decided against killing the man infront of me.

I glanced at the long, curved dagger shaped like a fang that had stabbed into the ground. No, It seemed like the dagger It had melted Its way into the very earth as if it was made of paper.

I recognised that item. It was the Serpent's Venom Fang, the reward item for clearing the 'Hapjeong Subway Dungeon'. Obviously, this man did not have the capabilities of clearing that dungeon even if he went in the station with a group.

Therefore, he must have killed the previous owner or the item was given to him by someone else, probably the man behind the strays.

Thunk! Thunk!

Park Joonhyuk created a puppet and the puppet started stabbing the strays one by one.

Was there any need to create a puppet? I thought he was out of magic power?

Thinking about it, he always used indirect means to kill someone— back at the World's Territory, back when he stabbed my side instead of finishing me off and even now with the strays.

Was It possible that he wasn't able to kill anyone directly?

I see. Apart from the Saint attribute, there were a few other attributes that prohibited the user from killing. If they did kill, they would lose the qualifications to retain that attribute.

Considering that Park Joonhyuk was not the athletic type, there was only one attribute he would choose.

"Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing."

Of course, I couldn't tell him that I knew his weakness. I needed some kind of leverage against him in case he tries anything like that time.

Park Joonhyuk looked at the man missing an arm and raised an eyebrow.

"So... can I kill this guy?"

"No. I need to ask him a few things."

The man in question glanced between us with wide eyes. He was probably anxious because he heard the word 'Kill' from Park Joonhyuk's mouth.

"Please... I didn't mean to get involved in this. Just let me go!"

"You might want to reconsider your choices before begging for mercy. Tell me who sent you."

"T-That..."

"If you don't talk, I'll kill you right now."

The man hesitated but his act crumbled once I raised the sword.

"Okay! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

I lowered the sword just enough to give the man hope.

"We were promised safety in exchange for bringing in people."

"By who?"

"Mr. Yu"

Mr. Yu?

"He's the leader of the people without groups. Our hideout is not too far from here. I can show you the way—just don't kill me, please."

"You'll lead us to this hideout. If you're lying, I'll make sure to cut your neck."

The man swallowed hard but nodded frantically. "I'm not lying! I'll take you there, I promise."

"Good. Now lead the way."

"Ah, yes."

The man stumbled to his feet while clutching his bleeding arm and walking ahead of us. He guided us to a dark alley located in the heart of Gangnam.

As we arrived infront of a metal door, the man stepped forward and knocked three times.

"..."

In no time, the lid was opened and someone peeked through the hole. The person studied our faces intently before he spoke out.

"Minho, who are these people?"

"Ah, T-That... They are people that managed to survive the Fable without a group."

"Strays? Hmm... As long as they don't belong to any group, then it's fine."

Crack!

The metal door was opened with a sound and the man allowed us to enter. The man known as Minho guided deeper inside the building.

Finally, we arrived at a wide open space filled with several strays. At the same time, there was a loud noise as if a huge fight was taking place.

"Look at this guy? Why are you eating that beating like a punching bag?!"

"You bastard! I placed alot of coins on your head so you better not lose."

There were people fighting inside a cage while the people surrounding them screamed in excitement.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Hey, get the hell up you fat pig!"

The prisoners were fighting with small weapons like a knife or a switchblade. The skin and body parts were cut until one person collapsed.

Park Joonhyuk muttered. "Is this..."

That's right.

[The constellations that likes fighting are delighted with the performance.]

This was a coin farm. It was a term used in RPG video games that usually refers to a place where the players can repeatedly kill enemies and grind levels. But in this scenario, the people had taken advantage of the system to exploit coins from the constellations.

As the crowd chanted for blood, it became clear that the entire place was teetering on the edge of madness.

"...?"

There was the sound of pained moans and crying. I turned my head and noticed there were several cages with people inside. Of course, not all of them were fighting.

My eyes scanned the cages. The people inside—some scared, others broken—didn't look like they had any hope left.

[A few constellations show interest in your growing displeasure.]

"Tch."

Park Joonhyuk's expression crumbled unsightly before he turned his head towards Minho.

"What's the meaning of this? You guys created a coin farm?"

"Well... We had to achieve coins one way or another and It was difficult to acquire coins without participating in the Fables. As such, this was the only solution to get quick money."

"So you're depending on the constellation donations, Is that it?"

"Yes. There are alot of constellations that likes bloodshed. It's an equivalent exchange of sorts. We create a good show and the constellations provides us with coins. And we provide food for the actors. Everyone wins in the end."

"Winning, huh? Is that what you people call surviving like rats nowadays?"

"T-That..."

I interrupted the conservation. "We didn't come here to chat. Where is the King of Strays?"

"Ah, he's the one over there."

Minho pointed somewhere in the crowd and I narrowed my eyes. There was a man talking with a group of people in the middle. He was the King of Kingless people?

[Exclusive skill, Omniscient Wall has activated.]

[The Omniscient Wall cannot read the target's information.]

The Omniscient Wall did not work?

In other words, that person was not a character. On the other hand, Park Joonhyuk looked rather shocked.

"Isn't that Deputy Yu?"

"You know him?"

"It's natural that I would know him since we worked in the same company. In fact, we used to drink beer together on the rooftop of MinoTech."

At least, one mystery was solved. But there was something else.

"How did he know about the coin farm? The only people that should know about the coin farm are the readers and gamers."

"Haha! You see, It's a funny story..."

Park Joonhyuk looked away and started stratching his cheek. This bastard, don't tell me...

"You told about the novel, didn't you?

"....."

He did not answer. It made sense how that person knew about the coin farm without being a reader.

"How much did you..."

"Will you get off my neck? I didn't tell him everything. I just told him some random things from the novel while I was drunk, that's all."

For some reason, his explanation sounded very reasonable. If you read a story, you would want to share It with others and the process repeats itself.

Wouldn't it be unfair to blame him for simply wanting to share a story that resonated with him?

"Hey! Take this people to their cages!"

"Oh, new actors! You guys really found something interesting."

The newly arrived slaves were moved to the cages. Park Joonhyuk seemed to recognise a few of them and opened his mouth.

"Hold on... Aren't those people from MinoTech? The department head, the deputy manager, the director."

As I listened to Park Joonhyuk words, I roughly understood the true purpose of this coin farm.

What if the coin farms were not merely created to please the constellations, but also as a means for the average salary workers to exact punishment on those who had maltreated them in the Old World?

"Put this one in the cage too."

"Oohhhhhh, Isn't one rather nice?"

The people became excited for some reason. I looked towards the source of the commotion and saw something unexpected. Inside one of the cages, there was a familiar face.

If someone told something like this happened, I would have laughed. The person inside that cage turned to be the protagonist, Soo Jinyoung.