[Episode 09] Gathering (3)
‘shit.’
Baek Seung-yeop has been in a bad mood all day since yesterday.
‘It’s gone!’
When I woke up, the standard spear that I had received from Kim Jae-hyun and the orc spear that I had obtained by luck were gone.
In addition, all of my hard-earned assets were confiscated. When I woke up, all the money I had worked hard to earn was gone.
He wasn’t the only one who had experienced something like that.
“Yours are gone too?”
“Oh. When I woke up, everything was gone.”
The weapons and all assets of the twins who accompanied him, Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon, also disappeared without a trace.
Moon Ji-hoon said in an irritated voice.
“I found out that quite a few people have experienced this. But do you know what they all have in common, including us?”
“What is it?”
“You didn’t go when the military conscription call was called at the main gate, damn it. Even the guys who went there and came back seemed fine.”
Moon Sang-hoon sighed deeply and expressed regret next to him.
“Oh, I should have just gone then.”
Upon hearing that, Baek Seung-yeop immediately grabbed Moon Sang-hoon by the collar and said.
“So it’s my fault? Huh?”
“Ah, no, that’s not it···.”
“fu*k, you agreed! You said with your own mouth that those who follow such orders are retarded. Are you right or not?!”
Moon Sang-hoon answered, looking very nervous.
“Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry, Seungyeop.”
“Tsk.”
Baek Seung-yeop clicked his tongue and let go of Moon Sang-hoon’s collar.
He knew it too.
It was clearly Kim Jae-hyun who took the weapons away from them. But they couldn’t get angry at him for that.
In the first place, it was because they were the ones who were at fault first, so they had the right to blame, but more honestly, it was because they were afraid of Kim Jae-hyun.
‘You might get kicked out.’
There was just one instance where that happened.
Rumor has it that he was kicked out after being caught trying to harass a minor, and that criminal bastard was found dead on the street a while later.
He was killed by goblins.
‘If you disobey, I will be like that too.’
In fact, it was impossible to even imagine confronting him, as being kicked out of here would be tantamount to a death sentence.
So, he ends up taking his anger out on Moon Sang-hoon.
‘fu*k, I should have run outside the complex instead of to the underground parking lot.’
Although it is not yet certain, I heard that none of those who went hunting at the time the giant appeared were punished.
All those who had no choice but to go to the main gate were lucky enough to avoid punishment.
If he had run outside the apartment complex instead of into the underground parking lot when the giant invaded, he probably wouldn’t have been punished either.
‘This sucks.’
What made him even angrier was the presence of his younger brother, Baek Seung-min, who had responded to the summons at the main gate.
He was even given a pistol by Kim Jae-hyun.
To be honest, I really wanted to steal that gun right away, but I didn’t know what kind of trouble I would face if I dared touch something that Kim Jae-hyun had personally given me.
Now, I was in a situation where I had to watch my younger sibling’s face from the corner of the house.
“Ha. How did it end up like this···.”
But Baek Seung-yeop still didn’t know.
That what we’ve experienced so far is only the beginning.
He still didn’t know how the men who were labeled as ‘punished’ by Kim Jae-hyun would later be treated by the survivor group.
also.
《Quest》
Quest Content: Goblin Hunt. (0/20)
Time limit: 24 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds
Reward: A small amount of experience points.
Failure Penalty: 1 minute of extreme pain.
‘······What is this? Extreme pain?’
They had no idea what responsibilities they would have to live within this safe zone in the future.
***
Primal vitality.
One of the A-rank skills that Owen Ju possessed was the ability to rapidly increase regenerative power in proportion to the increase in wounds.
‘I thought the 100 trust reward was a skill that the target had.’
This skill wasn’t helpful right away.
Since I’m not going to fight and I don’t have any reason to leave the house, there’s little chance of me getting hurt.
However, it was worth noting that the skill was obtained as a reward for 100 trust.
‘Moon Byung-ho’s trust level is approaching 100. If you gain Moon Byung-ho’s awakening ability…’
Teleport.
It was a skill that allowed movement to a place with a clear view.
‘What if I activate the outpost and then use teleportation with the Eye of the Absolute?’
In theory, it would be possible to travel there if you had enough mental power.
‘I need to increase my mental strength.’
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From now on, I think we should give mental power enhancement as a quest reward instead of skill proficiency.
That way, I can strengthen my mental power with daily quest rewards.
At that moment, Owen Ju, who had stopped crying, spoke with a determined expression.
“Jaehyun, please let me go now. I will personally rescue Jaehyun’s family members.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Originally, the operation was supposed to start yesterday, but I know it was delayed by a day because of me. Thank you for giving me your valuable time. I want to repay you for your consideration.”
I was grateful for the words that hit home so accurately, but at the same time, I felt a little embarrassed.
“Did I show my impatience too much?”
“No. It’s just that I think I would have been impatient if I were Jaehyun. Everyone thinks their family is the most important thing.”
Perhaps it was because she had met Siwoo once, albeit in an imperfect way, that her eyes were filled with solid trust instead of the blazing anger that had been burning in them.
“That’s why I know so well how valuable the day you gave me is. Thank you again.”
Owen’s sincere gratitude made me smile.
“Thank you for your understanding. Then, please wait in room 2901 with Mr. Ha Dong-geon’s party. I will also come down soon.”
“yes.”
There was a reason why they didn’t send them straight to Seomyeon Station.
‘Some of the tracks at Seomyeon Station collapsed because of the giant.’
Not only the subway tracks, but most of the underground area of Seomyeon Station was destroyed.
It was a natural result, as the giant with such a heavy body was running wild.
‘I guess I’ll have to dig a new route.’
For him, Seo Ye-jin has been diligently ordering mice since yesterday.
Thanks to exploring all day yesterday, I thought I had a rough idea of the route.
‘The Eyes of the Absolute.’
As I focused my gaze on Seo Ye-jin, it immediately moved to the mouse with which she was sharing her senses in real time.
‘hmm?’
The mouse’s condition was a little strange.
-Tick tick!
It was running away quickly as if being chased by something, and the mouse looked bigger than an average small dog.
“Tamed Giant Rat (Lv. 7)”
As expected, the name of the mouse seen through the eyes of the Absolute had changed.
‘You’ve evolved.’
Among the new abilities that Seo Ye-jin gained when she registered as a resident was evolution, so it seemed like it was probably influenced by that.
“Ugh!”
There were beings that were eagerly chasing after the evolved giant mice.
Images of corpses with unfocused eyes, flailing limbs, and blood all over their bodies.
“Zombie (Lv. 11)” “Zombie (Lv. 13)” “Zombie (Lv. 11)” “Zombie (Lv. 9)” “Zombie (Lv. 9)”
Dozens of zombies were chasing the mice.
-Tick!
The zombies came from all sides, not just behind the mouse, so a natural encirclement was formed around the mouse.
The mouse stopped and looked around.
The zombies were swarming so densely that there was no way to escape.
If it had been smaller, it would have been able to somehow escape by relying on the darkness, but since it had evolved, there was no place to run to.
It was ironic.
‘It’s over.’
At that time, I was thinking of using a gas explosion to wipe out the zombies rather than killing the mice for no reason.
The giant rat, which had stopped walking, started running at full speed towards the zombies.
It seemed like they were going to attack in a last-ditch effort, but they soon managed to squeeze their way through the gap between the zombies’ legs and break through the encirclement.
‘oh.’
As it happened, there was an exit there, and the giant rat ran up the stairs with great effort.
There.
[5 Nampo]
I saw a sign that said “Nampo Station Exit 5.”
‘It feels somehow familiar.’
It was too dark to see, but this was where the Busan Gwangbok branch was.
‘I wondered where all those zombies came from.’
That day was Saturday, the weekend.
There must have been a lot of people in the department store, and if zombies had appeared, they would have spread very quickly.
There must have been quite a few people in the underground shopping mall, and it was obvious that a disaster had occurred.
‘If you give up on going to Jagalchi Station and come up, it seems like the subway tracks are in the same situation.’
At that time, I was seriously considering whether to give up the route from Jungang Station to Jagalchi Station.
-Squeak-!!
A monster appeared in front of the giant rat.
Smooth skin and menacingly protruding teeth.
It was a shark.
“Land Shark (Lv. 23)”
Wow!
A giant mouse was devoured by a land shark’s teeth without even being able to fight back.
Along with that, the eyes of the Absolute were also forcibly turned off.
‘······.’
It wasn’t a very good sign.
The distance from Nampo Station, where the department store is located, to my hometown is only a few kilometers.
But the fact that such a dangerous guy was wandering around meant that there was a high possibility that such monsters were wandering around the main house as well.
‘I have to hurry.’
I stopped by room 2402, took Seo Ye-jin, and headed to room 2901 where Ha Dong-gun’s party was waiting.
“Hello. My name is Seo Ye-jin.”
Although Ha Dong-gun and Seo Ye-jin were acquainted with each other, this was the first time they had introduced each other like this.
It was because I was in a state of confusion due to various unexpected events.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Ha Dong-geon.”
“My name is Kim Ga-young!”
“My name is Oh Eun-ju. Nice to meet you.”
They quickly became close friends because they already knew that Seo Ye-jin was the one handling the mice.
In particular, Kang Deok-su showed great interest in Seo Ye-jin.
“My name is Kang Deok-su! Please take good care of me!”
“yes.”
“You are so pretty!”
“Go, thank you.”
After exchanging brief greetings, I spoke to them.
“We will now begin the operational meeting in earnest. As you all know, the appearance of the giant has made it difficult to pass through Seomyeon Station.”
The station was completely destroyed by the giant’s footsteps.
“But it’s a shame to give up the subway tracks like this.”
The area near Seomyeon Station was destroyed, but the road from Beomnae-gol to Choryang Station was intact.
After checking with Seo Ye-jin’s mice, it was confirmed that there were no monsters in that area yet, so it was possible to use it with a free pass.
“Therefore, our first goal is to open a route to Beomnae-gol Station.”
I looked at Seo Ye-jin and said.
“From here on, Seo Ye-jin will explain.”
“yes.”
Seo Ye-jin took out a crumpled A4 paper from her bosom and spread it out on the living room floor.
There was a map drawn by Seo Ye-jin herself.
Kang Deok-su started to fuss.
“Wow, you drew it so well!”
“···thank you.”
weird.
To me, it looks like it’s a little better than elementary school summer homework.
Anyway, Seo Ye-jin continued her explanation while pointing to the map.
“This is our apartment. And this is Jeonpo Station. And this is Beomnaegol Station, our destination. The recommended route is like this, moving along the main road.”
There were relatively few monsters on the main roads.
Even if we were to encounter it, we could have prepared sufficiently since we knew about it in advance.
‘And now, even a small group of monsters won’t be a match for the Hadonggun party.’
Before carrying out the giant hunting operation, I poured money into raising the level of the Hadonggun party members as much as possible.
It was to make it a little easier to deal with the giants.
Thanks to this, everyone has now reached level 30.
Now, among those who had passed, only Choi Hyeong-jun and Yoo Hye-rin were lower than level 30.
“Before arriving at Beomnae-gol Station, here is a spot to watch out for. There are Orcs operating out of Homeplus, and their size is estimated to be at least 500.”
Ha Dong-gun asked Seo Ye-jin’s words.
“Isn’t there really a need to bump into it?”
“That’s right. Our goal is to get to Beomnae-gol Station and use the subway tracks anyway.”
“I think there might be a monster at Beomnae Station too.”
Hadong Geon’s point was correct.
“There’s nothing to worry about. There may be a lot of them, but they’re just goblins, so you can just kill the ones you come across and quickly enter the gate.”
Seo Ye-jin continued her explanation, pointing to the map again.
“Once you enter the subway tracks, you will be able to get to Choryang Station without any obstacles. The problem starts from the next station, Busan Station.”
Kang Deok-su, who heard the story about Busan Station being destroyed by a giant, asked with a shiver in his eyes.
“So, does that mean there’s a giant at Busan Station too?”
“No. There are only traces of the giant’s rampage, but it seems like the giant has already left. I think this guy is the same guy who came to our apartment yesterday.”
“Well, that’s fortunate.”
The stiff expressions of the people softened as Seo Ye-jin continued to explain.
“Anyway, Busan Station is in a state of ruin, just like Seomyeon Station, so you have to go up from Choryang Station and then cross over from above. You don’t have to worry about the area near Busan Station either. There are almost no monsters because the giants ran wild. However, from now on, it would be better to find another route other than the subway tracks.”
“Why?”
“There are a huge number of zombies filling the tracks. It’s probably going to take a lot of time just dealing with them.”
Seo Ye-jin muttered with a dark expression.
“Unless you have the ability to annihilate monsters in a small space, this route will actually be a disadvantage.”
At her words, the entire Ha Dong-geun party looked in one direction.
“to?”
Yoo Hye-rin, who suddenly received everyone’s attention, spoke in embarrassment.
“I, I decided not to go outside anymore···.”
When everyone looked disappointed for a moment, Yoo Hye-rin changed her words.
“···I did, but, Yejin.”
Yoo Hye-rin spoke to Seo Ye-jin in a trembling voice.
“I… I think my abilities could be of help….”
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