Chapter 302: Suspicious? Pushover?
"Why do you look unhappy, Hee-won?" Haru asked, noticing that Hee-won looked a bit discontent.
"You've ruined the scenario in my head again. I thought it would be something better than just seeing the label on his shoe by chance," Hee-won huffed unhappily.
"Well, what should we do now?" Haru asked.
"Don't ignore me," Hee-won shook Haru in faked anger.
"But we need to be serious now," Haru looked at Hee-won.
"I don't want to hear that from you," Hee-won made the joke while ignoring Haru's expression that said 'I was asking you to make that joke.' Honestly, this made her want to make the joke more than anything.
'Ah, Myung-oh, no one likes you,' Dok-ja offered his silent prayers to Myung-oh, no one is worried about him even when he is clearly in danger as he could see how carefree everyone was. But their carefree attitude was strange.
'None of them look nervous in the slightest, it doesn't even feel like we are all in danger of being killed at any moment, that is the type of world TWSA is,' Dok-ja sighed deeply looking at Hee-won and Haru. He would have also thought it was strange for them to be like this if he didn't know how strong they were.
Dok-ja still knew very little about how to counter Haru's abilities, including the ability to set people on fire for lying and the ability to create realistic illusions. He knew almost nothing about the latter and was completely clueless.
'I couldn't even sense anything with the fourth wall,' Dok-ja knew he needed more information and he knew how to get it.
"Is Myung-oh okay?" Sang-ah asked worriedly, and Dok-ja almost couldn't believe that someone could be so kind. But this was exactly what he wanted.
"I think there's a high chance he's still alive," Dok-ja said, throwing the ball in Haru's court. He still needed to determine where Haru stood with his character. Would he ignore the situation or face it by giving the correct answer?
"I also think the same," Haru said, examining the area around the burrow and the shoe. "There's no blood near the burrow, so it's highly likely he wasn't injured when taken away."
"So there's a high chance Myung-oh is alive down there," Dok-ja said, relieved that he got the answer he wanted from Haru. He could also see Sang-ah's eyes brightening with hope that Myung-oh might be alive.
"Do you plan on saving Myung-oh, Dok-ja?" Haru asked, turning everyone's attention to Dok-ja.
'That's exactly the question I wanted,' Dok-ja thought as he saw the blue windows popping up in front of him.
[Some Constellations of the 'Pure Good alliance' are eagerly awaiting your answer.]
[The Constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is smiling while looking at you.]
[100 Coins have been sponsored.]
The people in the group knew what Myung-oh had done to Dok-ja, so this was the moment of truth. Would Dok-ja risk his life by going into the rat's burrow to save someone who had tried to kill him?
"I want to at least check the burrow once to verify the situation," Dok-ja said, trying to appear compassionate and understanding.
"Fucking pushover," Nam-woon looked at Dok-ja with disgust and muttered a curse under his breath.
Dok-ja remembered that Nam-woon had a habit of cursing at people he suspected of ulterior motives, as a way to keep them at a distance.
[Your understanding of character 'Kim Nam-woon' has increased.]
Dok-ja noticed the notification window that appeared in front of him and realized that his actions had indeed drawn suspicion. However, he also knew that he could use this suspicion to his advantage if he was careful enough.
The reason Dok-ja had mentioned checking the burrow was because he wanted to gauge the range of Haru's Stigma. It was risky, but he believed it was worth it.
Hyun-sung looked touched by Dok-ja's words and Sang-ah smiled slightly in agreement. Dok-ja also noticed Hee-won looking at him with a more favorable expression. Even the constellations seemed pleased with his decision.
[Constellations from the pure good alliance are pleased with your decision.]
[500 Coins have been sponsored.]
[The Constellation 'Demonic Judge Of Fire' is happy to know you are a good person.]
[200 Coins have been sponsored.]
[The constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is shaking his head.]
[100 Coins have been sponsored.]
Dok-ja was a bit puzzled by the response of the 'Secretive Plotter' constellation, but he didn't have time to dwell on it.
"I see that you've made your decision then," Haru said, causing Dok-ja to tense up momentarily as he wasn't sure how to interpret the pause in Haru's words. However, it seemed he was overthinking it as Haru continued.
"Gil-young, can you use your friends to search the area and see if there are any other burrows nearby that the rats could use to ambush us if we go through this one?" Gil-young nodded and sent out five roaches to search the area.
"There aren't any," Gil-young reported after thoroughly scouring the area.
"Then should we go?" Dok-ja asked, looking at Haru for his decision.
"No, I don't think that will be possible," Everyone was stunned on the spot when they heard him.
"Don't look at me, look in front," Queresha, Sang-ah, and Hyun-sung moved their flashlights to see in front and they saw nearly 30 ground rats looking at them with drool falling out of their mouths as their red eyes shone in the darkness.
"When did so many of them gather?" Hee-won got into her attacking position quickly, Nam-woon was the same, he seemed rather excited for the fight.
"Now isn't the time to think about how it happened, we need to split the team to deal with this," Queresha said, much to everyone's shock.
"What Resha said is correct, Hyun-sung, Sang-ah, and Gil-young follow Dok-ja into the burrow and look for Myung-oh," Haru followed up, making them even more speechless.
"What's the matter, you guys wanted to save Myung-oh, No? You guys need to go fast if you want to, The rest of us will hold clear these guys, we're confident of that, are you not confident in saving him?" Haru looked at the four he mentioned before.
"We'll go in first," Sang-ah chose to believe in Haru, and so did Hyun-sung, they both knew that if Haru said they could handle it then there was no need to worry about it.
'That is a good judgement on his part,' Dok-ja gave Haru a nod and turned around, going into the burrow with the other three.
All they saw next was...nothing.
It was pitch black inside the burrow with no light.
"Gil-young can you look for the path?" Dok-ja said as he held the kid's hand. His other hand was on Hyun-sung's shoulder, and his coat was held by Sang-ah.
"I can," Gil-young said and got to work. These tunnels were complex like a maze, and without a person with a navigation skill, it would take ages even if there was light. But it would be even harder since there was no light now.
This is also the reason Haru asked Gil-young to search for another entrance inside, as it would allow more rats to pour in and attack them from all sides. Given how dark it is here, they would be doomed if that happened.
But since there was only one entrance to the place where rats stored their food, it made it easier. This way, some of them could stay behind and prevent more rats from entering, like they were doing right now.
'Let's go slowly and steadily, there is no need to rush. Since we haven't encountered any rats yet, they all seem to be outside,' Dok-ja knew that what he planned would take time to implement, but they were making progress with Gil-young at the helm. This kid's ability was no joke.
'Although I missed the chance to see Haru-ssi's combat power, it surely looked like he planned to be serious,' Dok-ja came to this conclusion because the people outside were vastly outnumbered, with only four people facing nearly 30 rats.
The ground rats may be weak initially, but they are cunning and use their numbers to their full potential. However, since Dok-ja had brought this situation upon himself, he could just roll with it.
After five minutes of making their way through the darkness, Gil-young spoke up.
"We are almost at the place,"
Hyun-sung and Sang-ah prepared themselves, firmly holding the weapons they had, as Dok-ja saw a window pop up in front of him and the darkness faded away.
[The Sub-Scenario has been updated.]
[You have entered the Ground Rats' Treasure Trove.]
Dok-ja gestured for Hyun-sung, Sang-ah, and Gil-young to remain silent as they heard a person screaming from inside.
"Someone help me," It was Myung-oh. Sang-ah and Hyun-sung were relieved that they made it in time, but it wasn't just Myung-oh; there were many ground rats around the area on the lookout.
"Anyone, please get me out of here - HIIEK*" Myung-oh screamed in terror as Dok-ja threw a spike near his head.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone