Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I opened my eyes to a stark white ceiling.

I know, it sounds like the oldest cliché in the book, but unfortunately, that really was what I saw. And before I could take in my surroundings, a blue system window blinked open in front of me. I hurriedly pushed myself upright.

A hidden scenario?

A wave of dizziness hit me, and I fell back to the floor. Only then did I realize my condition was far from good. My whole body felt drained, like mild blood loss. My white coat had vanished without a trace, and the black shirt I had on was shredded into fringe-like strips. The fact that it was still clinging to me at all was a miracle.

I pushed myself up again and looked around. I was in a wide, empty room. In the far corner stood a familiar black silhouette. Yoo Joonghyuk was leaning against the wall, looking just as battered. His clothes looked like they’d been torn by claws and blades, and beneath his ripped sleeve I could see wounds that hadn’t healed yet.

He shot me a fierce look. I could only stare back, mouth slightly open, momentarily blank.

I couldn’t make sense of the situation. I remembered that before I lost consciousness, I had fought Yoo Joonghyuk hard over Han Sooyoung’s death, and he had knocked me out with a sword strike. Then Yoo Sangah had pulled me into the Fourth Wall. We talked about many unreal things, illusions about the future， and I sent her off to reincarnate. After that… whether Yoo Joonghyuk killed me, or I failed the scenario, I should have died either way.

“Han Sooyoung is still alive,” Yoo Joonghyuk said.

“…What?”

“The one who died was her avatar.”

Yoo Joonghyuk tossed something at me. I lifted my arm to catch it but didn’t notice something was already in my right hand; both objects slipped and went clattering across the floor. Rolling on the ground were a lollipop he had thrown and another silver object, a [Modifier Necklace].

“…You could have taken this off her corpse,” I said, staring at the familiar lollipop, suspicious.

“Why would I do that?”

He had a point. Yoo Joonghyuk wouldn’t go rummaging through Han Sooyoung’s corpse for a few lollipops. He wasn’t a snack-obsessed kid. The only explanation I could think of was that Han Sooyoung had shoved it at him for some reason, and he hadn’t had time to throw it away before being dumped into this place. And for that to happen, she had to still be alive.

I roughly understood the conclusion, but the reason behind it eluded me. I looked toward the necklace lying face-down on the ground. I couldn’t see the inscription, so I reached instinctively toward my collar. Oddly, my own necklace was still there, but it felt empty. When I lifted it, I saw that at some point it had turned into [□□ of □□].

I stood, ignoring the dizziness, and picked up the necklace that had flown away. It was unmistakably the Modifier of Asmodeus, the one I needed to clear the scenario.

I looked at Yoo Joonghyuk. “Where did this come from?”

“No idea.”

I frowned. There were too many things to worry about right now, and the earlier details had to wait. I asked again, “What is this place?”

“I thought you knew.” Yoo Joonghyuk remained expressionless “Looks like your novel didn’t cover this.”

I ignored the barbs in his voice and opened the scenario panel again. Still the same short description.

Damn it, could you at least tell us what the sub-scenario is?

And just as I thought that, a new scenario window popped up.

I stared at the scenario panel in front of me, trying to find some kind of similarity between the two options. I couldn’t understand how a hug and a solid punch were supposed to sit on opposite sides of the same scale.

And for fairness, shouldn’t it be either I punch Yoo Joonghyuk or he punches me? Why did Yoo Joonghyuk get a hug while I had to take a punch?

A translucent blue panel was floating in front of Yoo Joonghyuk as well, and he looked at me.

“Let’s see if there are any other clues first,” I said.

But the room was completely empty, not even a door. I quickly tapped along the walls and found nothing. Yoo Joonghyuk resorted to violence. He hammered the wall several times until blood welled up around his knuckles, but the surface didn’t budge at all.

“Where is your sword?” I asked.

“It disappeared when I was transported in.”

That was strange. If this place wanted me and Yoo Joonghyuk to keep fighting, it should have given us weapons. If not, then what exactly did the planner behind this want to see?

While I was thinking, Yoo Joonghyuk walked up to me.

“Go on,” I said. “Give me the punch. I want to see what the points can do.”

Yoo Joonghyuk frowned.

“What is it? It’s not like you haven’t hit me before,” I said. “And……Han Sooyoung is still alive. I misunderstood you.”

But strangely, Yoo Joonghyuk still didn’t move. I looked at him in confusion.

“You’re not telling me you’d rather have me hug you,” I said. “Besides…”

The punch came at a timing I completely did not expect. I meant to say that if I suddenly tried to hug him, I would probably get punched too. but I had barely said the transition word when Yoo Joonghyuk swung at me.

It was just like when I had made a decision for him and challenged Nirvana on his behalf. I staggered from the blow and slammed into the wall. But as always, the Fourth Wall blocked most of the pain. I only felt a faint sting on my cheek. I was about to curse at Yoo Joonghyuk for being a violent bastard who couldn’t let me finish my word, when the Fourth Wall inside my mind suddenly shook violently.

A burst of electric light shot out from my body, followed by a sharp pain across my cheek and a wave of dizziness in my head. My vision went black for a moment. When I opened my eyes again, I was already crouching on the floor.

My mouth was full of the taste of blood. The dizziness made me nauseous, and I opened my mouth to spit out a mouthful of bloody foam.

It took me a long time to recover. During that time I vaguely heard the notification sound for the scenario completion, and Yoo Joonghyuk was doing something beside me. He pried my mouth open and poured some kind of sweet liquid into it, then held my head so I could swallow it.

A minute later, I felt much better.

“…Where is your skill?” Yoo Joonghyuk’s voice came from somewhere far away.

“It was blocked,” I said. I finally managed to focus my eyes and saw a bottle in Yoo Joonghyuk’s hand. “What is that? Where did it come from.”

“Medicine,” Yoo Joonghyuk said. “I bought it with points.”

I glanced at him in disapproval and turned back to check my scenario panel. It showed that the scenario had been cleared. Ten points had been distributed to both of our accounts, and a link to the shop was attached.

I entered the shop. Even the catalog itself was overflowing with items. Furniture, food, toys, and even additional rooms that could be purchased. One hand covered my swollen cheek while the other quickly scrolled through the list. Halfway through, I found the section for medicine. Fortunately, a bottle of healing medicine was cheaper than I expected, costing only one point.

But strangely, I had thought the shop would contain some clue for escaping this place, yet everything inside was overly practical and domestic. The more I looked, the more confused I became. I leaned in closer without thinking, and my finger slipped. What popped up in front of me was an entire page full of extravagant sex products.

“Damn it.”

“What is it?” Yoo Joonghyuk asked.

I swiped quickly across the screen, but unfortunately the shop had such a wide variety of adult products that one page could not fit them all. Yoo Joonghyuk’s gaze had already fallen on my screen. I struggled to flip to the next page. The good news was that my screen no longer showed ribbed fake penises or butt plugs that looked three-dimensional enough to poke out of the screen. The bad news was that the page had changed to all kinds of lingerie.

“…What are they even selling these for here?” I could only use sarcasm to deal with my embarrassment.

Yoo Joonghyuk did not answer, and I kept looking. I finally stopped at the options for expanded rooms. It was clear that if we were going to be stuck here for ten days, we would need a basic bathroom for dignity, a simple kitchen for survival, and basic food supplies.

And I thought that inside the expanded rooms, there might be additional information.

I showed Yoo Joonghyuk the items I had selected. Each room cost four points, and a basic food pack cost one point.

“I’ll buy the bathroom and the food,” I said. “You get the kitchen. Let’s each save some points just in case.”

The moment we made our purchases, the room let out a subtle sound. When I looked up again, two new rooms had appeared on the opposite side. Yoo Joonghyuk and I each walked into one. I searched the bathroom, and to my disappointment, it was just a normal bathroom.

From the look on Yoo Joonghyuk’s face, he had also found nothing. With no other choice, we sat cross-legged in the original room, staring at each other. My phone had disappeared along with my coat, and I truly had nothing to pass the time with. I also had no idea what to say to Yoo Joonghyuk. The atmosphere grew awkward, so I shifted my gaze toward the bathroom.

“I’m going to take a shower,” I said.

A long-awaited hot shower should have been relaxing, but the hot water tore open the wounds on my body, and with the Fourth Wall gone, everything stung. I could only rinse off the half-dried blood and dirt quickly before turning off the water. I had no idea how to wear my shredded clothes. My shirt was torn into strips, and after flipping it several times, I could not even find the sleeves. I eventually gave up, wrapped a towel around my lower body, and walked out of the bathroom like that.

“…Huh?” I blinked.

The empty room now had a few more things. A bed, and two loose outfits laid on top of it. The air carried a faint smell of seared meat. I followed the scent to the kitchen and found Yoo Joonghyuk cooking two patties. On the plate beside him were sliced bread, lettuce, and tomatoes.

“You bought a bed?” I asked.

“We need rest,” he said.

“That doesn’t sound like something you would say,” I said. “What about the clothes?”

“Were you planning to dress like that for ten days?”

I lowered my head to look at my towel. After just a few steps, it was already about to fall off. I quietly walked to the bed. The two outfits were almost the same, only one was a white long-sleeved shirt and the other was black.

I did not need to compare sizes. I naturally took the white one. After changing, I wandered back to the kitchen and saw that the chef had already assembled two burgers. One was taller, and one was shorter. The taller one had a slice of something red inside, which was tomato.

Yoo Joonghyuk handed me the plate without the tomato. I held the plate and blinked at it.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” I said. Yoo Joonghyuk should not know that I do not eat tomatoes.

This made me suspicious. Maybe the Yoo Joonghyuk in front of me was a phantom created from my imagination. That would barely explain why he had not picked a fight with me again.

But after taking a bite of the burger, I quickly withdrew that thought. The patties were from a frozen pack, but Yoo Joonghyuk still managed to sear it so that the juices spilled out. I had never eaten a burger this good, and I could not imagine something like this.

We finished eating and cleaned the kitchen a little. Yoo Joonghyuk went to shower and changed out of his damaged combat uniform. Then the two of us returned to our original state, barefoot, sitting cross-legged on the floor, not knowing what to say in the silent room.

What should I say? I wondered, but nothing came to mind. I could only take out the Modifier Necklace from my pocket. The Demon King of Wrath and Desire. I had not managed to collect all the words. Someone saved me.

“…Was it Han Sooyoung?” I asked.

“You think that damn woman saved you?” Yoo Joonghyuk asked back.

“If it wasn’t her,” I said, “Then it…has to be you. Anna left already.”

Yoo Joonghyuk did not speak.

I still could not figure it out. I rubbed my finger across the smooth metal and touched the empty chain on my neck. Then I finally noticed a glint of metal on Yoo Joonghyuk’s neck. A necklace was tucked under his shirt.

“Who is your target?”

Yoo Joonghyuk took off the necklace and tossed it to me as if he did not care. I caught it and looked at it. The words on it were very familiar. It was my own Modifier. The Demon King of Salvation.

The necklace was almost burning against my palm. It had been pressed to Yoo Joonghyuk’s chest just a moment earlier, and the leftover body heat felt so close that I could barely hold onto it, and I instinctively handed it back. Yoo Joonghyuk caught it easily and did not put it back on. He kept it in his pocket like a trophy.

I realized what had happened and glared at him. “That is my Modifier.”

“You do not need it anymore,” Yoo Joonghyuk said. “And you just gave it to me.”

“Why are you taking my Modifier?” I asked. “Planning to show it off later?”

“This is an exchange,” Yoo Joonghyuk said.

“You took three words from me,” I said. “You only gave me one. That is not fair.”

Yoo Joonghyuk rolled his eyes at me, then pulled out another Modifier necklace from his pocket and threw it at me. I caught it. It was 【Conquering King】.

“What am I supposed to do with your Modifier?” I asked. “Why would I need this?”

“Do you not like using my title to stir up trouble?”

I tried to deny it, but as soon as I lifted my neck, countless memories flashed in my mind and I shrank back guiltily.

“I do not know what tomorrow’s scenario will be,” I said. “I hope it is fair enough to let me punch you.”

After that, Yoo Joonghyuk and I took turns resting on the bed for a few hours. When one of us slept, the other kept watch in case the scenario tried to trip us up.

But keeping watch only meant sitting on the floor by the bed and finding ways to pass the time. Half the time, I leaned against the ground, doodling and thinking of plans for the upcoming scenarios. The rest of the time, I stared at the three Modifier necklace in my hand. I still had not understund what they meant.

And less than an hour after Yoo Joonghyuk woke up, we received a new scenario.