Why did he let all those people die on the subway?

Just reread. I guess it was so he could get all those coins so he could power up his skill levels then?

At the time, I doubt he had the time to worry about everyone on the train, and the kid was the only one there and he was also the owner of the bugs so I guess it nagged his conscience to let the kid die as well.
I don't think he's a paragon or anything just some dude trying to live through the entire ordeal.
He cares, or course, just not enough to actually do anything about it unless he sees no other way. The others were main characters, or people he already knew. Seeing them die would leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Thanks for replying! I’ve been trying to understand it bc not sure if we are supposed to find the MC likeable so far. I wonder if the novel explains more about his thinking? I also thought, maybe he killed all those eggs to receive all the coins he got right after so he could use them to level up his skills? If that’s the reason, I would understand it better.

I get that he’s trying to survive, and I’m not looking or wanting him to be a hero. I appreciate characters who are practical and calculating. It was just a very stark contrast and decision for him to let everyone die like that, and was wondering if the MC is meant to be portrayed as cold hearted like that for the rest of the story

Remember how other people joined to kill the old lady? He was quite pissed back then. As for the skill part, he can't see his own status, remember? So he only upgrade his strength and other status to beat the silver hair kid.
And since he has read the novel for 10 years, he knows and have imagined so many thing. So he has his plan. And if you read the novel you can know more clear detail of how his skills work. Like how he has the skill to read really fast, my theory is that the reading skill improves his thinking, so he thinks fast too.
Everyone read something and imagined yourself in the protagonist situation, right? He's the same. He's a reader like us.(๑•ㅂ•)و✧
Trust me, Kim Dokja has so much to give you, much more than Jinwoo from solo leveling. don't get me wrong, I love SL, just that ORV is my number 1. (づ￣ ³￣)づ
SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!!
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The romance development is better than SL, although the romance here won't be about Kim Dokja. But that's what I love about it. The other characters have their own stories too.

Well I think MC is indeed a pretty smart character because he carefully planning & thinking about every possible advantage he can get since he's the only reader, but he cherishes his companions a lot so I wouldn't say he's really cold-hearted

He probably thought saving more people would cause problem lmao idk he's not that kind ksksskdjd

(≧∀≦) they're just some messed up potato who live in the messed up world.(≧∀≦)

Although there are a hundred eggs, they are still contained in the mother grasshopper and not to mention their small size. If he should hand out those eggs, he would still have to spend time digging it out, but he also had that crazy chuunibyou student guy to handle as well. (Also, this was probably to get rid of all the extras (-_-|||)

Not going to lie, his character can seem sorta shaky, but I think if you read the novel it makes more sense? I personally don't get it, but the fanon representation of him is more amusing to me than the canon one, so maybe it's my own misunderstanding.

I assure you, however, that he isn't supposed to be a 'cold, mysterious' character, more of a 'confusing, weird, dumbass' character who's not good at telling people things.

He didn't save all of them because it's not supposed to be his job and two more people surviving means more people dying in the second scenario. He saved Gilyoung because the bug belonged to him. Yoo Sangah was saved because she was a colleague and letting her die would stab his conscience and Hyunsung was saved because he is an important character.
Kim Namwoo was killed off because in all the chapters he read, he was a psychopath who killed a lot of people.
now spoiler




































































Dokja meets Namwoo way into the future when when he visits the underworld and there namwoo has changed which makes himwonder if he should have killed him off but he should have be ause he changed because he got time to cool himself after death.

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He also travels into one of like the 1000th world in which junghyuk regressed into and ther Han sooyoung (another main character) was the leader instead of Dokja and junghyuk perceived as the villain. In there Namwoo is soo cute. A lovestruck boy.

Makes sense, thank you.

He's lovestruck like crazy, still kinda psychopath tho

I prefer the current Namwoo who is chilling in the underworld. He's really adorable (づ￣ ³￣)づ

Dokja gets character development to the point that I wish he’d think of his own happiness. He’s not a saint by any means. He thinks about the subway situation often even several chapters after but I agree with his decision even if it’s morally grey. There is no fucking way he’s gonna lug all those people like some kind of Good Samaritan leader, and he knows how tough it’s going to get after. That’s a lot of responsibility. Getting attached to them is going to hurt a lot. I’m guessing you want a protagonist like the girl, Sanga? She was willing to step in to protect a stranger. Dokja feels more relatable tbh.

I’ve seen people dropping this story because they thought he’d be a callous bastard but boy, they’re so wrong. If you’re wondering why he’s so calm and calculating, he’s actually got a wall that protect him from breaking down and emotional/physical pain. It’s a power called the fourth wall which saved his ass multiple times. It explains a lot too. The more you read, the more you see how much there’s more to this than you think. Sadly, this story isn’t for everyone. No one has the time to truly sit down and read the whole thing, but if you’re like Dokja. Bear with it through the end and you’ll be rewarded.

I do highly recommend the novel, it’s mostly written in Dokja’s point of view so you get to see his thoughts about things. This guy, I swear. He’s one of the best protagonists I’ve ever read in a genre like this. He’s a rat but god, I’d protect him with my fucking life. His teammates feel the same way lmao.

This motherfucker,,,,, and all his selfishly selfless decisions and even until the end he chooses tO HDHJSSHSSNS I’m sorry I just remembered all those fingers he sacrificed for someone’s happiness and so many fucking years oh lord imcdhsdcshj his absolutely soft and pure wish during the beach episode I’m cryin......

Hjhjdjdnhdjdjdjsncicjeebxxjs I know right!!! I fxcking love him, Kim Dokja deserves the best protagonist of the year award. He's just everything I ever need. And God, some people just have to compare him to Jinwoo. Dokja is so much better than Jinwoo. Dokja deserves so much.

I took a break from reading because I cried too much and needed time for me to process all of the information. But now after seeing your comment, I'm gonna go back to read it.

Thanks. Yeah, probably reading the novel will give a better understanding of his character. I probably will do that. Inconsistent characterization really takes me out, but I understand mangas can’t go into full detail. I enjoy morally grey characters, but it has to make some sense and not just out of nowhere, if you get what I mean the person below you who replied helped me understand that at least he’ll revisit this, so that helps!