[Episode 02] Survivors (5)
Seven men and women were sitting crowded together at a large table in the living room.
“I’m sorry, but what can I do? There aren’t enough seats.”
I spoke to Park Hye-won, who was watching me and not knowing what to do.
“It’s okay. It’s our fault for barging in so suddenly.”
With seven grown adults barging into a house where a family of four lives, there’s bound to be a shortage of space.
“There’s nothing prepared, but enjoy your meal.”
Contrary to Park Hye-won’s humble words, a feast was laid out on the table.
It was a very bountiful table, with freshly cooked rice dripping with luster, beautifully rolled eggs, fluffy steamed eggs, and deliciously fried eggs.
“You didn’t prepare anything! This is a total feast, sis!”
As Kim Ga-young started to fuss, Park Hye-won waved her hand and returned the ball to me.
“It’s all thanks to the ingredients Jaehyun gave me. If it weren’t for Jaehyun, I would have only served rice and tangerines.”
In fact, there was no way that there would be any proper food left in a house that had been there for ten days.
That’s why all dishes were made with eggs.
I filled Choi Hyeong-jun’s empty refrigerator with things like milk and eggs, and I also filled up the rice container that was starting to empty.
In the process, Park Hye-won’s trust level reached 50.
‘I never thought I’d reach 50 before Choi Hyung-jun.’
Of all the Choi Hyung-jun family members, the one who started out with the lowest level of trust was Park Hye-won, but she was someone who found great happiness in small things.
“thank you for this food!”
As the full meal began, everyone was busy playing with their spoons without stopping.
“Mmm! The steamed eggs are so delicious!”
“Wow, is this the sweet omelet? It’s the one you get at Japanese restaurants!”
At that time, Choi Seo-yeon grabbed Park Hye-won’s trouser leg and muttered.
“Mom. Seoyeon also wants scrambled eggs…”
“Seoyeon-ah. Mom will make it right away after all the guests have eaten. Okay?”
“Ugh.”
Kim Ga-young, who saw that, spoke to Choi Seo-yeon.
“Seoyeon, would you like to eat scrambled eggs with me?”
“huh!”
Choi Seo-yeon, who ran to the seat next to Kim Ga-young without Park Hye-won being able to stop her, accepted the egg roll that Kim Ga-young gave her and ate it.
“Ahhh—hmm.”
The sight was just like a baby bird receiving food.
At that time, Ha Dong-geon spoke to Choi Hyeong-jun’s family who were standing awkwardly in the kitchen.
“If you don’t mind, would you like to eat together?”
“Oh, we’re fine. We don’t have any seats, and we ate earlier…”
Contrary to his words, Choi Hyeong-jun was drooling as he looked at the sumptuous feast laid out on the table.
After all, all I had eaten earlier was plain rice mixed with water, so it was only natural.
I opened my mouth.
“Come and eat together. There’s still some food left.”
“Is that so?”
Eventually, eleven people sat closely together at the table and ate.
I picked up a piece of rolled egg that was cut into bite-size pieces and put it in my mouth.
“!”
Kim Ga-young’s reaction was not a fuss.
Park Hye-won’s cooking skills were better than I expected, and the taste really reminded me of the egg rolls sold at Japanese restaurants.
‘It’s delicious.’
Not only that, the steamed eggs were also seasoned just right.
I felt like it was perfect even if I just mixed the steamed egg into the rice and ate it.
“Wow. It’s been a while since I’ve had a home-cooked meal like this.”
It was just as Kang Deok-su exclaimed.
‘It’s been a while.’
As I was eating a meal without ramen, I couldn’t help but think of my mom.
This was especially true because of the table that was laid out so extravagantly and unnecessarily.
‘I hope everyone is safe.’
I missed my family.
After learning about Moon Byung-ho’s circumstances through the eyes of the Absolute Being, my heart was moved because the worry for my grandmother was clearly expressed on Moon Byung-ho’s face.
I knew very well that you were worried about your family.
In addition, I liked the loyalty of Ha Dong-gun’s party who all worked together for Moon Byung-ho.
That’s why we came here and had a meal together without any worries.
Because I could tell that they were good enough people.
“······.”
Suddenly a heavy silence descended upon the table.
When I raised my head to ask why, I saw that everyone was looking at me.
I guess it was because my face was seriously stiff that I looked unnecessarily nervous.
I tried to soften my expression and pretend that I was okay.
“Ahem. Hmm. Oh, it’s delicious.”
I felt like everyone was giving me a hard time.
‘That’s strange.’
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Maybe because I have a relatively youthful appearance, there were people who looked down on me or treated me comfortably, but no one treated me this difficult.
But everyone is having a hard time with me.
Of course, except for one person.
“Mom, Seoyeon is sleepy.”
It felt like only the youngest, Choi Seo-yeon, felt comfortable with me.
Even in the case of Choi Na-yeon, who is a little older than me, I can see the way she looks at me.
“That, that’s right, Seoyeon. Nayeon, should you go to sleep with your mom now?”
“Yeah.”
So, after Park Hye-won took the two children into the room, they started talking in earnest.
He spoke to Ha Dong-geon.
“Shall we continue the story we were talking about earlier? Why couldn’t you go to your grandmother’s house even though it was so close?”
He opened his mouth slowly.
“It’s because of the goblins.”
“A goblin?”
“yes.”
It was strange.
The scene I saw was where Hadonggun’s party instantly crushed four goblins.
As I looked puzzled, Ha Dong-geon continued to explain.
“You may be aware that there is a large space in the underground parking lot of the apartment complex.”
“That’s obvious.”
“It seems like all the goblins around the apartment complex have gathered and settled in, perhaps because it’s a good place to hide like a cave.”
How large is the underground parking lot?
A space large enough to park thousands of vehicles, how many goblins can it accommodate?
“There must be at least a few thousand of them gathered there.”
“······.”
The situation was more serious than expected.
There are thousands of goblins swarming underground.
The dozens or so I saw on the trail were really just the tip of the iceberg.
“And as you know, all the entrances to the apartment are located near the underground parking lot. There are so many goblins roaming around that I can’t even think about leaving.”
I objected to Ha Dong-geon’s words.
“I think there is a shortcut.”
“Yes, that’s right. From the beginning, what we were aiming for was to escape through a shortcut…”
Ha Dong-geon’s eyes were shaking violently, his voice trailing off.
“There was something there that looked more dangerous than a goblin.”
“He looks dangerous?”
Hadong Geon answered with a serious expression.
“······It is presumed that he was a werewolf.”
“A werewolf?”
“We don’t know for sure. It was so dark and it looked so dangerous that we ran away the moment we saw it.”
If you can’t use the shortcut, you’re back to square one.
“In the end, it seems like we have to make a head-on breakthrough.”
“Yes. So I’ve been focusing on thinning out the goblin numbers for a few days.”
Hadong Geon confessed with a dark face.
“I’ve killed quite a few goblins, but I don’t feel like their numbers are decreasing much, and now I’m almost at my limit.”
“What is the limit?”
At that time, Kim Ga-young, who was next to Ha Dong-geon, stepped forward and continued the explanation.
“Our main weapons are bows and baseballs. But since arrows are consumables, they are running out. We are collecting and recycling them, but… there aren’t many baseballs left for my husband to throw.”
“I can help you with that. Can I see some arrows? And some baseballs?”
Kim Ga-young brought her bow, arrows, and baseball.
“Here it is.”
We registered them in the store and then proceeded with the repair of the items right away.
The arrows and baseballs didn’t cost much to repair.
The problem was the bow.
[To repair a ‘Compound Bow in Good Condition’, you will need 1,530,000 won.]
[Would you like to restore it?]
After thinking about it for a while, I made a decision.
‘Repair.’
Regardless of anything else, it was clear that the bow and arrow would continue to be very useful in the future.
If it was an item that I was going to continue to buy in the future, it was a better deal to repair it.
“Do you all shoot arrows?”
After hearing my question, Ha Dong-geon’s party looked at me with an expression that said they didn’t understand English.
I smiled meaningfully at them and thought to myself.
‘Buy five sets of bows. Buy five sets of arrows.’
Jiiing―
He said, pointing to the five newly appeared sets of bows and arrows.
“Even if you can’t shoot it, use this opportunity to practice. You’ll be using it continuously in the future.”
The rest of the group didn’t use baseball bats because they were more useful.
Since he didn’t have a bow, he had to swing a baseball bat.
But immediately five more men were armed with bows.
Having a weapon that could strike from a distance, even if it was clumsy, was a huge advantage.
The moment you hand them the bow and arrow.
[Citizen Ha Dong-geon’s trust level increases.]
[Citizen Kim Ga-young’s trust level increases.]
[Citizen Yoo Hye-rin’s trust level increases.]
······
······
The trust level of everyone present increased at once.
“This will definitely make the goblin hunting process a few times faster.”
“If there are this many arrows, there’s no need to force yourself to retrieve them. If you do this, you might even be able to force your way into the apartment entrance.”
Hadong Geon and his group were very excited.
The one who showed a particularly encouraging response was Moon Byung-ho.
[Citizen Moon Byung-ho’s trustworthiness increases significantly.]
That was understandable.
Because the hope of saving my grandmother was being realized right before my eyes.
I spoke to him like that.
“It’s still early. We need to greatly reduce the number of goblins before then.”
“but···!”
“Even if you somehow manage to escape, if the goblins are still alive and well, then coming back in will be a problem. You’re not planning on not coming back, are you?”
“······.”
Hadong Geon nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. For safety, we must first reduce the number of goblins. So when will you carry out the operation?”
When Moon Byung-ho heard those words, his face darkened again.
As time goes by, the chances of my grandmother being alive decrease.
I said.
“The operation will be implemented tomorrow.”
“···Tomorrow?”
“Yes. The sooner the better for this problem.”
“That’s true, but···.”
“Tomorrow. I will rescue Mr. Moon Byung-ho’s grandmother.”
Everyone who heard that had a puzzled expression.
The response was that even if we reduce the number of goblins in just one day, how much can we reduce it?
After looking them over, he declared as if he was making a declaration.
“We’re going on a hunting expedition.”
I began to briefly outline the operation.
Everyone who heard the plan had a determined look on their face.
“Maybe it’s possible···.”
“If only things worked out well…”
“We don’t have much time, so please finish your meal here and move as I instruct.”
That was when.
[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun completed the quest.]
[Quest cost is 30,000 won.]
I frowned as I checked the notification.
‘Was it something that required spending money?’
If the quest could be granted for free, then cheating would be possible.
‘For example, giving a quest with very easy content.’
All you had to do was give them a quest like do 10 push-ups and get a small amount of experience points as a quest reward.
If that were the case, it would have been possible to slowly raise the level of citizens without having to hunt monsters.
‘In other words, if you have enough money, you can raise the level of citizens as much as you want.’
The argument was that if you have enough capital, you can use tricks.
‘There’s no need to use it unless it’s really necessary.’
Because my wallet wasn’t that well-off yet.
At that time, a message suddenly appeared saying that Choi Hyeong-jun’s trust level had increased, perhaps because he had received a quest completion reward.
[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun’s trust level increases.]
At the same time.
[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun’s trustworthiness has reached 50.]
[Loyalty is open.]
[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun’s loyalty has surpassed 30.]
[Citizen Choi Hyeong-jun has met the conditions for registration.]
Finally, Choi Hyeong-jun’s trust level reached 50.
Moreover, as soon as I opened the loyalty, there was a notification that it had surpassed 30.
‘Is that possible? Citizen Information, Choi Hyeong-jun.’
『Name: Choi Hyeong-jun (Lv. 9)
Trust: 51 Loyalty: 62
Awakening Ability: None
Experience distribution rate: 0%
Settlement distribution rate: 0%
★Quest Granting Exit』
When checking the citizen information, Choi Hyeong-jun’s loyalty was a whopping 62, which was higher than Choi Seo-yeon, who had opened her loyalty first.
This will allow you to register immediately.
‘Registered as deceased, Choi Hyeong-jun.’
At that moment.
Woohoo!
Bright light seeped into Choi Hyeong-jun’s body.
“What, what was it just now?”
“Something flashed···.”
Tiring!
[The first vassal was appointed.]
[As a reward, you will receive the skill ‘Summon the God’.]
{Summon the corpse}
Summons a spirit into a corner of the house.
However, once a vassal has been summoned, it can be summoned again after two hours.
The newly acquired skill was very intuitive.
It seems like it would be a very useful skill if used well.
Additionally, there were some fairly large changes in Choi Hyeong-jun’s citizen information window.
『Name: Choi Hyeong-jun (Lv. 20) [+]
Title: [First Bell]
Trust: 51 Loyalty: 62
Awakening Ability: Gorilla’s Strength
★Quest Granting』
I had immediately leveled up by 11 and had a new title, ‘First Seed’.
In addition, he had awakened to the ability called ‘Gorilla’s Strength’.
Gorilla’s Strength (C) [Passive]
Become the owner of incredible strength comparable to a gorilla.
Let’s take a closer look at the title and its effect becomes apparent.
{First species}
The experience points and settlement money from monsters hunted by the vassal are doubled and paid out.
Creates an area within a 5m radius outside the corner of the house where the ‘Eye of the Absolute Being in the Corner of the House’ can be summoned.
Now, if we send Choi Hyeong-jun out on a reconnaissance mission, it will be possible to understand the outside situation in more detail.
‘What is the plus button next to the level?’
[Would you like to level up Choi Hyeong-jun by spending 1,000,000 won?]
When I saw that they were asking for a whopping 1 million won, I turned off the message without any hesitation.
‘Surprise.’
As I was trying to calm my surprised mind, I saw Choi Hyeong-jun staring at my hand from the side.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Ah, Jaehyun. After being hit by that light just now, I feel like I’m overflowing with strength. It’s like I can do anything… Did Jaehyun do this too?”
It was probably the effect of the gorilla’s strength.
“you’re right.”
I looked at him and smiled warmly.
“Thank you, Jaehyun. You really do seem ten years younger···.”
I handed him a newly purchased bow and arrow set and said to him, who seemed to be in a good mood.
“I hope Hyungjun will also participate in the operation.”
“·········yes?”
A 10% experience bonus given to citizens by default.
Since it was paid out twice as much as the effect of the ancestral rite, it was like gaining 220% experience points.
What I meant was that it would be more rewarding to catch the monster with Choi Hyeong-jun’s help than to catch it myself.
“Please, please catch as many as possible.”
He once again asked Choi Hyeong-jun, who was crying.
“I will believe you.”
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